MOTOGP » Hayden focused on reclaiming #1.

As H Flick rightly pointed out, the tires are going to be the key this year. I think the bike will be o.k. to start with and grow stronger through the season. Honda seems to be on a better path this year by not being so devoted to the mass centralization principal. The bike also appears to be adult-sized, which means it isn't built exclusively for Pedrosa. But to me the tires are still the big question mark. I don't now and never have doubted Hayden's talent and abilities. Some do - that's their prerogative - but it seems to be based primarily in jingoism. I don't base my opinions on riders due to their nationality, but rather on the way they race and how they conduct themselves.

MOTOGP » Suzuki team-mates to see where they stand.

What's wrong with cable is that SPEED packages the programming into a 1 hour segment including commercials. You end up missing so much of the action (they'll cut out a few laps) and the interviews after. They just whack it off when the commercial needs to go without any thought to the action, then if you miss something they don't catch you up. It's not unusual to be watching a couple of riders dice for position, then after programming returns from commercial one of the riders is gone having crashed out. They don't even mention it. The 125 and 250 races are usually not shown until Tuesday morning. Don't get me started about the lack of WSBK coverage...

MOTOGP » Suzuki team-mates to see where they stand.

Just checked the prices for the 2008 season packages. OOOOFFFF! The prices have been raised by $15! That's 20 percent! They've also taken away service. Subscribers are limited to watching the live race stream and ONE viewing of the race later on. Cable is looking better and better, at least I can tape the race...

MOTOGP » Suzuki team-mates to see where they stand.

I've subscribed for years to the MotoGP online service. Every year I am left feeling frustrated. Like a battered lover in an abusive relationship I keep coming back for more. Here in the USA my only other option is to pay even more outrageous rates to the cable TV company to get a package which includes SPEED. It's a pretty sad situation, fellows. Dorna seems to be charging big $ to race fans without plowing $ back into the infrastructure. I've still not forgiven them for the big server crash during the final race of 2006. They admitted a problem then, and what was their response? They offered a discount rate on the lousy winter testing package! That crap ought to be included anyway!

WSBK » Bayliss back on top.

Bayliss amazes me. What a hard nosed professional. I wish there were more like him.

MOTOGP » PICTURES: Gresini unveils 2008 livery.

I fail to see how Gresini's actions towards Elias were unethical. They had a contract and from what I can gather neither side broke it. Sure it's not nice, and I agree that it may have cost Elias some bargaining power, but like Don Corleone said in The Godfather "It's business." I'm only speculating, but there's more to the equation than rider and team owner. There are sponsors and manufacturers to factor in. As far as DAntin lowering his offer to Elias, I really doubt that Gresini would have told a rival what he pays for a rider. DAntin is not exactly a high budget team. I hope the new sponsor isn't highly discounted, like Rizla is reported to be.

MOTOGP » Hayden ready for 'round zero'.

It's kind of incredible to me that Honda still appears to be playing catch up. While the new chassis looks pretty good, we won't know it's true potential until the pneumatic engine is ready to go. Honda can't be putting all these resources into a technology just to decide in the end that the spring valve engine is the way to go. Here's hoping that the Kentucky Kid has a shot to show his true talent, skill, and resolve from the beginning of the season. I'd like to think that Honda and Michelin can give him a package that can compete for wins from the start. With all due respect to half of the Fiat Yamaha team, Repsol Honda is the #1 Michelin team. Team Repsol will show if Michelin is back.

MOTOGP » Final MotoGP entry list, no Team KR.

cont'd The problem will trickle down to the smaller classes. Just how many teams running relatively inexpensive 250's will survive the move to 400cc machinery? How much development money will be available to that class with the enormous development costs of the 800cc machines? I fear that the grid in the classes that develop riders will shrink and team bosses will be reluctant to take a chance on a young rider. There will be even greater pressure to sign the kids who come with sponsorship money. It would be more difficult for someone to take a chance on a young Australian rider that crashes a lot. I hope I'm wrong, but this series may be headed for some seriously tough times.

MOTOGP » Final MotoGP entry list, no Team KR.

That's a shame. Team KR showed how an independent team can compete in 2006. Instead of losing them we need 2 or 3 more teams like that on the grid. Surely something can be done to increase the sponsorship money in the series so that the grid can grow. No wonder they line up 3 across instead of 4 - otherwise there would only be 4.5 rows of bikes on the grid. To me this is a far more worrisome problem than whether or not a certain rider will get Bridgestone tires, or what rider will ride for which factory. cont'd

WSBK » Haga: WSBK to out thrill MotoGP.

Does anybody know whether the official site will offer the races online this season? Of course you couldn't get them in the US last season until they ran on SPEED. Which was usually Tuesday following the races. Which sucked.