Dark Knights and pit fights

I have failed myself. After going through the weekend not seeing the much-hyped and money-making phenomenon that is the latest Batman installment, The Dark Knight, I wonder just how to live with my decision.

In lieu of that, while my eyes weren't fixated on the silver screen, the tube did capture a wealth of attention for the 48-hour period. NASCAR's Sprint Cup division had its final off week before a brutal 17 consecutive race weekend stretch, so the racing fan had many picks to choose from.

The catch was, at some point or another, there was overlap between IndyCar and American Le Mans races from Mid-Ohio, F1's German Grand Prix, and the MotoGP stop at Laguna Seca.

Through the magic of DVR and the "last" button on the remote, I managed to capture viewing of most of those events.

One crucial event of the weekend, though, was the incident during practice for the IndyCar race with Danica Patrick waltzing down to Milka Duno's pit to confront the Venezuelan about blocking.

Ever the drama queen, the princess was actually in the right on this one, because sooner or later someone had to point out that a turtle might run quicker than Duno in a car on a road course, and blocking could have caused an accident. It didn't, but the point was taken.

But naturally, since this was the series' two female drivers in a disagreement, it was bound to raise attention. It was more interesting than the race - the start of which was skipped due to the 40 minutes of post-round coverage at the British Open. Duno throwing towels and yelling? She'll earn more attention for that than any of her on-track performances.

Look at it this way, though. Patrick's act of going up to any male was not only getting old but revealed a catty, disrespectful side where she could just get away with it. A man can't push back but Duno wasn't going to stand for DP going bananas. She can't drive much but she does have a fighting spirit. And a thousand-times better personality.

To outsiders, this will be something to generate attention and a PR buzz because it's already been played up on ESPN and FOX News, where Bill O'Reilly nominated Patrick for a "pinhead" award. O'Reilly is the pinhead emeritus for what it's worth, so it must of been nice of him to lose the crown for one show.

Should Danica be picking fights when she is not that quick on road and street courses to begin with? Not necessarily. Should she keep doing it to generate interest in the series for people that don't appreciate racing for the spectacle but do in case of a fight? Probably.

Would this have received any attention if these were two males? Of course not. One guy notorious for picking fights, Paul Tracy, is back for this weekend's event at Edmonton, to be run on Saturday to as not conflict with the NASCAR race at TGeorge's track. Until next week, cheers.