The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page B4

Page 4B Des Moines Register ruin the franchise play- offseason a rever- al of oft- tated position that Griff in needed as much game xperience as possible a nd would play to the end the season. got to take a ASHBURN, It akes quite the sales job explain why a medic ally cleared Robert riffin III play for he rest of the season. mbattled Washing- on Redskins coach ike Shanahan realized hat and gave it his best hot Wednesday, speak- i ng passionately at imes in a 28-minute ews conference that inc luded references to the atmos- and insistences hat the move a ploy get himself fired. he upshot is that riffin will be the inac- ive third quarterback or the final hree games, behind tarter Kirk Cousins and ackup Rex Grossman. reasoning is hat he fears Griffin, ho has taken a pound- i ng in recent weeks, will et hurt, and that would ook at the risk and re- Shanahan said.

And with Robert I hought that his hits ere piling up on him, iving him his toll, and I as afraid that we ould set him riffin, who publicly lashed with Shanahan a times this year, clear- happy with the ecision. He gestured, hrugged and shook his ead throughout his urn at the podium, and declined to answer hen asked if he be- ieves ration ale for the benching, aying: this point, I ust have got to leave it to I expressed my des ire to Griffin aid. course, I want be out there and finish he season with my uys, see it through. He xplained to me his rea- oning, and at the end of he day decision i what we go A sked if rather lay for a different oaching staff next year, riffin said: think the general mis- onception, that players i our locker room want eople till, the move only erves to stoke the tur- oil surrounding the edskins (3-10) in genera and Shanahan in part icular. The team has ost five straight, giving he coach his third seas on of double-digits osses in four years in ashington.

It appears i ncreasingly unlikely return for the final ear of his five-year, $35 illion contract. hanahan went into reat detail about his de- ision to sit Griffin, to he point that he made a uote that he no doubt ishes he could re-word ecause it will rank high i all-time Redskins in- amy: trying do is be as honest as I an. And I normal- do NFL Report RG3 benched for last three games By Joseph White Associated Press GAME WHO: San Diego (6-7) at Denver (11-2) 7 :25 p.m., NFL Network INE: Broncos by UTLOOK: Broncos coach ohn Fox missed last game between these teams while recovering in a North Carolin a hospital from heart surgery. Says he remember much about that game. a quick recap: Demary- ius Thomas had 3 TD catches in Jack Del debut as i nterim head coach.

QB Philip Rivers 118 yards shy of fifth season. Has FL-best 70.3 completion percentage in The City of Des Moines ut its collective foot own. I 2012 and 2013, city eaders allowed Dam to am to use its revised 2 0-kilometer race route hat traveled down Grand A venue for about 10 locks after exiting the ew Principal Riverwalk ridge. But in doing so, he city dealt with head- a ches caused by backed- traffic for close to two ours on two key Satur- ays in late spring. any people were oming off of Interstate 2 35 heading to the farm- rs market south of rand.

Others were Dam Dam spectators trying make it to the finish est of the Central Lib rary. The Principal Chari ty Golf Classic at Wakon- a and the state soc- er tournament at nearby ownie Soccer Park also ere in play that week- nd. We were mucking up he downtown Dam Dam race director Kurt chaeffer said Tuesday ight. were blocking ff the major arteries for 2 1 2 hours. We knew they ad major traffic prob- he final straw ame when DART moved i ts hub to Cherry Street.

main routes go orth and south, andbus- runon Saturdays. The ity afford to tall buses for Dam to am runners. hen the Dam to Dam ommittee metwith city eaders in the fall, they ere given an ultimatum. The city said, ou guys are going to hange this work- i Schaeffer said. They said it in a nice ace organizers elieve a bridge venue or he former Nollen site rovided enough nearby arking or space to acc ommodate the approxi- ately 20,000 people who a ttend the Dam to Dam ostrace party.

Our only alternative as to go way out chaeffer said. keyed i on the Western Gate- ay Park. There are a lot parking garages down here, a lot of available arking. A flat finish area. ood flow down there that see at the ut the new location equired the dist ance to increase or face a omplete overhaul of the 1 2.4-mile route.

The hange to the half mara- honreluctantly was app roved by the seven- ember board. chaeffer saidthe 29- ember, all-volunteer ommittee tried to keep he distance at 12.4 miles. We hate to break with Schaeffer said. We would have been hap- to keep it at a ead the full blog at esMoinesRegister.com Running: Dam to Dam Analysis City implored race to find calmer area By Lance Bergeson regional, we broke attend ance records, had great eedback on the city and he facilities and every- hing else. So a big he timing of the bask etball decision felt part icularly painful, given hat the decision was rev ealed on the eve of to- top 25 atchup between Iowa tate (17th) and Iowa 21st).

I 2012, Des Moines osted the highest attend- basketball re- ional. Part of the draw- as Baylor star Brittney riner, as well as the final eason forTennessee oach Pat Summitt. I hope that a isservice to Des Moines, ith someone saying, They had Britney Griner a nd coach Summit so they ad an but I think that was the Iowa State coach ill Fennelly said. Des Moines did a fan- astic job drawing fans, onsidering that there a chance for Iowa tate or Iowa to play here. Even without those ocal teams, the city and tate supported asketball in a big way.

I hope what it means i that there are a lot of reat bids out there. That odes well for interest in basketball and he future of bask I owa State and Iowa ach are scheduled to host irst- and second-round ames for the NCAA hampionships next arch, however. helocations that beat ut Des Moines for one of our regional slots in 2015: A lbany, N.Y.; Greensboro, Oklahoma City; and acramento, Calif. The Fin al Four in 2015will be in maha, Neb. es Moines did land an CAA volleyball regional or the first time, with orthern Iowa set to be he host university.

That vent is scheduled for ec. 11-12, 2015. dwards said the addi- ion of volleyball provides ope for a larger event own the road. excited about he said. will the first time ver hosted.

We bid on do- i ng the championship ound, but had a feeling hat have to do some egional stuff. So this is a ood step in that direct CAA events during he last five years have reated $29 million of econ omic impact in central I owa, with the wrestling hampionships alone gene rating $15 million. Wrest ling championships were a warded to St. Louis for 2 015 and while New ork (2016) and Cleveland 2018) round out the list. he Division III wrest ling championships will in Cedar Rapids in 2 016, while the 2018 Divis ion II finals are set for he same city.

he bid process for the econd and third rounds the highly sought asketball tournament, hich only require seat- i ng of about 12,000, still is et to begin. They given a imeline Edwards aid. would guess the iddle of next year, then a nnounce cities like a ear from he NCAA also sur- rised many with its an- ouncement that Eugene, will be the site for he outdoor track and ield championships hrough 2021. rake associate athlet- i director Brian Brown, ho oversees rake Relays, said he was urprised by the length of he agreement. surprised that the CAA wanted that it in hat location for that peri- of Brown said.

It adds value to all the ember institutions to ove it around and exp ose other parts of the ountry, so sur- NCAA Continued from Page 1B NEWS ON OTHER I OWA-RELATED CAA EVENTS The University of Iowa found out it will host the 2 015 NCAA swimming a nd diving championships on March 26-28. I owa and Iowa State also ere awarded regional events: Iowa State will host gymnastics in 2015 a nd cross country in 2017, while Iowa landed regionals i and cross ountry to go with gymnastics (both in 2016). hen will the I owa Speedway and a NASCAR print Cup Series race? ver since the Rusty allace-designed track aved its initial green lag in the fall of 2006, hat question has been a sked by race fans more imes than the average ife has told her hus- and to take out the rash. oday, Iowa Speed- new owner ASCAR will show i ts face in central Iowa or the first time pub- icly since acquiring the acetrack just before hanksgiving. With that, ou better believe that he holy grail of motor ports in America, the print Cup Series, will brought up a handful times.

ASCAR will conser- atively play its cards hen answering those uestions. A new track resident is going to be a nnounced. Specific easons behind the pur- hase will become pub- ic, and the message of ow the reatest days are ahead it will be delivered. owever, the prom- i se of a future Sprint up date will not come. A nd race fans need to be with that.

I nstead of obsessing ver top ow across America, otable that Iowa Speed- ay sold out the perma- ent grandstands for its inal NASCAR Nation- ide Series event of last eason in August. There a many facilities in he country that can ake such a claim. just relax, race ans. I it is a Carl Edw ards backflip, an op- ortunity to boo Kyle usch or a Danica Patr ick-caused wreck that ou are looking for, the ieces are in place for top series to ventually make its way central Iowa. all just need to be atient.

Chris Williams is the publisher of ycloneFanatic.com and the auto-racing blogger. ollow him on Twitter: illiams. worn off just a tad. The peedway have rimmed its schedule rom five weekends to hree in 2014 if that the case. I owa race fans are raving a Sprint Cup ate, and there is no oubt that should that ay ever come, the vent would sell out aster than Bacon Fest.

ut these things appen overnight. here are two import ant points to remember hen dissecting this ngoing topic. The first i that NASCAR uy the Iowa Speedway tear it to the ground. econd, NASCAR does hat NASCAR wants. ould bringing the print Cup Series to I owa be a good business ove? While the a ttendance figures have een an issue for years ircuit finding its way to ewton, take this ews for exactly what it i at the moment: Good.

ow about being appy about the fact hat Iowa Speedway is ven going to be open or business in 2014? otor-heads will still ave their shrine to ongregate at for three eekends next summer, a nd from a pure racing tandpoint, one of the op tracks in America sit empty. he new owners have a checkbook deeper han the ocean. Bills will paid. And the stands hould remain some- hat full. For now, eve rybody should be hap- y.

ut even so, we have a lready learned that to a oint, the novelty of ig-time asphalt racing i central Iowa has Clamoring for a Sprint Cup race? ust exercise a little more patience By Chris Williams Special to the Register First and foremost, the recent news of NASCAR purchasing Iowa Speedway is to be celebrated simply because the track will be operational in 2014. MARY REGISTER Small, a native of sub- rban Detroit with an conomics degree from otre Dame, addressed everal topics during an i nterview Wednesday. reiterated osition when it bought he track that a Sprint up Series race is not a art of Iowa oreseeable future. he 2014 schedule and ontracts already have een finalized for Sprint up top cir- uit though many won- ered if a new TV deal in 2 015 that includes NBC ight create an opportu- ity for the speedway. mall confirmed for he first time, however, hat 2015 has been ruled ut as well.

he said. an never say never, but ot for 2015. Our focus is oing to be on the popu- ar series we already mall, believed to be he youngest president a major racing facility i the United States, said hen Iowa Speed- new president was a sked for unique details his life away from mot orsports, he jumped to a nother sport. grandfather im Small played center ield for the Detroit Tig ers in the 1950s. The el- er Small was a a Major League aseball program that rohibited players igned directly out of igh school at a certain onus level from being a ssigned to a farm club or two seasons.

he program include Hall of Fame players uch as Harmon Kille- rew, Sandy Koufax and im Hunter. So that was mall said. trying to rag, but at one time my randfather was consid- red one of the fastest layers in the peed runs in the fam- i ly, it seems. I tell you how xcited I am about being a Iowa mall said. means verything to me, so oing to do everything ossible to make sure a inue to be an economic orce in this area and ontinue to drive devel- pment.

We want the peedway to be an enter- ainment hub year- ew speedway uses: mall said explore ow to use the facilities a nd land in new, revenue- roducing ways hough he cautioned oo early to discuss spec ifics. rofitability, vend ors Any vendors wait- i ng for money from pre- ious owners will be paid i full within two weeks, mall said, and the peedway will be profit- a ble. saw this as a via ble business or we have consid- red he said. ring financial stability. A nd a company hat takes pride in taking are of our role: Track arc hitect and former min ority owner Rusty Wall ace will remain in an adv isory capacity.

I too early, too, to now if ticket prices will affected for future easons, Small said. is roles at NASCAR in aytona Beach, and harlotte, N.C., provide nique experience for is age. A NASCAR, Small as worked with nearly 3 0 tracks to develop and rchestrate everything rom prerace activities victory lane. orked on company- ide strategic planning a range of other ronts, as well. Anything a fan sees experiences, been i nvolved in he said.

My entire career so far as been dedicated to ervicing the industry, rom the teams to the rivers to the tracks and ans. mall responded to a ange of topics related to he speedway: egislative request: I May, the Iowa Legisla- ure failed to support a id for an $8 million app ropriation to expand pgrade facilities. Small aid he hopes to revisit hose discussions based shared benefit. ope we bring a lot of val- to Newton, to Des oines, to the state of I owa. We want to con- TRACK Continued from Page 1B.