Vacation ramblings while wondering if Lance Armstrong saved his best move for the Pyrenees or Cheryl Crow.

The Laker soap opera has reached its conclusion. Our long national nightmare is over. We now return you to your regular programming, until ESPN can beat another story to death.

And here’s the next one. The Randy Johnson sweepstakes have turned into A-Rod II, with the only difference being that at least we know this will all be settled by the July 31 trade deadline. Unless of course he isn’t traded, in which case the speculation will continue through August. Fantastic.

Someone should do a study on how NASCAR has continued to grow even though the national media treats it like the NHL, as in no blood, no coverage. The only time you hear about auto racing on the talk shows or see highlights beyond the day of the race is when there’s a fight involving drivers and/or pit crews or when there’s giant inflatable fruit running amok on the track.

This Nextel Cup season has had plenty of fodder – how the new points system is working out, all of the caution flag finishes, Jeff Gordon chasing the pole record, Matt Kenseth defending his crown – yet six days a week, it’s virtually ignored by the “mainstream” media.

I have to add that I am the furthest thing from a racing fan, but have to admit the fact that the defending NASCAR champion is coming to Maine to race and will be driving a car loaned to him by a guy in Bath is pretty cool.

Bruins fans shouldn’t worry about whether they’ll have Joe Thornton next season, if there is a season. What they should worry about is whether the team has a plan to replenish the talent around him or will just replace all the guys they’re losing to free agency with the Baby B’s checking line.

Forget the NFL, Major League Baseball is really where the parity is at. Of the six teams in first place at the All-Star break, none but the Yankees were considered favorites to win their division at the beginning of the season. There were 10 teams within six games of the division lead, and several others still with at least a reasonable shot at the wild card.

The Maine Principals’ Association has actually done a good job assigning venues for its championships and tournaments in recent years. Despite all the heat they took, moving the Mt. Ararat-Deering game at Hadlock Field was in the overall best interest of Maine high school baseball. The state championship football triple-header at Fitzpatrick Stadium has been a success. Along those same lines, moving the Eastern A basketball tournament to Augusta and the Western B tourney to Portland makes too much sense. So why can’t I help still feeling a little bit nervous that the MPA will find a reason not to do it?

This isn’t sports related, but this has been driving me insane for years. Have we as Americans become so lazy that we can’t even bother to turn on a blinker anymore?

A third of my life has been spent sitting at stop signs waiting to make a left hand turn and watching car after car make a right turn onto my street without their directional on. Anyone who’s tried making a left onto High Street from Academy Street in Auburn around 5 p.m. on a weekday knows what I mean.

Watching Derek Lowe pitch is like watching Titanic after the first time. You know something bad is going to happen, and yet you’re willing to sit through hours of bad acting because once the disaster comes, it’s going to be quick and spectacular.

And yes, Derek, until you stop acting like a three-year-old anytime a pop fly falls between three teammates or someone makes an error behind you, you will continue to be thought of as a “mental Gidget”. Stuff happens in baseball, even if it’s not your fault. You’re supposed to pitch through it, not pout through it.

Another disaster you can see coming a mile away is the Athens Olympics. Between all of the drug scandals and the threat of terrorism and the apparent ineptitude of the host city, I’m getting the feeling we’ll be seeing more of Tom Brokaw than Bob Costas on NBC.

The one consolation to being in Fenway to see Lowe pitch against Texas a week ago Saturday was witnessing Manny put on a hitting exhibition like I’ve never seen in my life. Why would a guy coming off that kind of a night even want to sit out the next game? And yet management continues kowtowing to him and Pedro and any other superstar with an excuse. This is why the Red Sox are where they are and the Yankees are where they are.

Regarding Fenway, the new ownership has done a fine job of making it less of a dump. Yawkey Way is closed to the fans before the game, which makes for a festive atmosphere. The concourse is wider in spots, particularly in right field and behind the bleachers. The bathrooms are cleaner (no troughs in the men’s room I went to, at least), and the seats on the wall and the roof add to the aura.

All that said, I’m still popping Advil twice a day because I had to spend three hours sitting with my knees up around my chins.If you live in a box, you can add a picture window, a patio and cable TV to the box, but you’re still living in a box. Could we please have a new ballpark?

The Tiger Woods apologists are a little touchy these days, aren’t they?

Only 53 days until Peyton Manning self-destructs against the Patriots and the winning streak reaches 16.