Nobody In IndyCar Can Stop Álex Palou — and more

The IndyCar circus has been dormant since the 2025 season ended 183 days ago, and in spite of that lengthy off season, it doesn't seem any of the drivers in the series have figured out a way to beat four-time champion Álex Palou and his Chip Ganassi Racing team. Sunday's St. Petersburg Grand Prix once again went Palou's way as he brute forced his way to the front and delivered the largest margin of victory in the history of the event. Palou came home a full 12.49 seconds ahead of pole man Scott McLaughlin. He kept his cool and made it look easy. 

It may be a little early in the season, but allow me to be the first to congratulate Mr. Palou on winning his fifth IndyCar title in 2026. Sure, there are still 17 races in the season to be run, but all that feels more or less like a formality at this point. I've seen this guy get better every single year, and while everyone else on the grid is still dang fast, they're not developing at the same pace.

On Sunday Palou ran a strategy that very few other drivers in the field chose to take. With the new 2026 rulebook requiring every car to run two stints on soft tires and one stint on hards, Palou started the race on softs, ran softs again in the middle stint, and moved to the hards to close out the race. The top competitors started on the hards and closed with two sets of soft tires, hoping to catch up to Palou in that final stint with a tire advantage. Not only did Palou work himself a huge gap to the chasing pack, but he stayed fast on the worse set of tires. It was magic.  

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The once and future champ

IndyCar is a more or less spec series with some of the top international drivers and incredibly talented teams of individuals. There's no way any one driver should be able to dominate the way Palou routinely does. The cars are the same, the tires are the same, everyone has essentially the same equipment. In 2026 the main differences between cars on the grid are how their dampers are tuned, and teams are spending millions to have an infinitesimally small advantage over one another. All of that is moot if you don't have Palou in the car.

It looks like 2026 is shaping up to be another Palou versus the world season. I was hoping that McLaren could bring a tighter ship to the grid this year for its superstar driver Pato O'Ward, or Penske could figure out a few of the things that have been plaguing the team for the last couple of years. It's possible both will be able to improve through the season, but St. Pete didn't fill me with a ton of confidence that Álex will have anyone to push him to be faster, except himself. We're witnessing a generationally talented run in IndyCar right now, and I love to see the Spaniard succeed. 

Nobody but Palou has led the IndyCar championship since June of 2024, so just let that little factoid sink in for a moment. This weekend's run at Phoenix will be Palou's 100th race in the series, and St. Pete marked his race victory. There isn't a driver in IndyCar right now who could deliver that kind of win rate, and now that Palou has essentially closed the door on a potential run in Formula One, there isn't anything coming to save the current grid from his pace.

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The Seattle Seahawks enjoyed a productive week at this year's NFL Scouting Combine. John Schneider and Mike Macdonald return from Indianapolis having gathered information for their approaches in free agency and the 2026 NFL draft. With the combine now officially in our rearview mirror, we've conducted a brand-new three-round Seahawks mock draft.

Round 1 (No. 32 overall): Brandon Cisse, CB, South Carolina

South Carolina cornerback Brandon Cisse has been connected to the Seahawks by analysts throughout the pre-draft process. Cisse had a good performance at the combine, leaping a 41 inch vertical and 10-foot-11 broad jump. The Gamecocks standout would be an excellent fit at cornerback in Mike Macdonald's defense.

Round 2 (No. 64 overall): Derrick Moore, EDGE, Michigan

Schneider loves adding pass rushers. Boye Mafe is a pending free agent and probably isn't returning. The aging DeMarcus Lawrence could be entering his final season in Seattle, and Uchenna Nwosu's future isn't guaranteed, either. Schneider will want to restock the cupboard. Derrick Moore didn't participate at the NFL Combine, but he's an athletic pass rusher who broke out at Michigan in 2025.

Round 3 (No. 96 overall): Kage Casey, IOL, Boise State

Guard Anthony Bradford is entering a contract year. The Seahawks may think ahead and try to grab a replacement since it appears the Christian Haynes pick did not work out. Kage Casey looked smooth during on-field combine drills. Casey is making the position switch to guard despite playing offensive tackle at Boise State.

This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks 3-round 2026 NFL mock draft: Post NFL Combine edition

My dad turned 64 this weekend, and so far things are looking good. I still need him, and he’s been well-plied with an assortment of Thai food, homemade brioche and apple cobbler. He taught me about rhythm and keeping time one afternoon while we sat on the floor in his office, my clumsy five-year-old hands working hard to hit the one, TWO, three, FOUR of “Love Me Do” before giving up in the chaos of “Yesterday,” so there were lots of these jokes leading up to Saturday. 

Baseball isn’t really his thing. He’s more driven by nitrate-rich hot dogs than discourse around the hot corner, but we turned the radio on yesterday and midway through the seventh inning, as he sliced salami and cheese (are you sending a theme?), he looked up and asked, “Is this Shannon Drayer?” I was flabbergasted. 

“Wow. Um, yeah, it is.” And then, because meat isn’t the only thing this man thrives on, “Great job, Dad! I’m shocked – and so impressed!”

He smiled, pleased to still be surprising me. “Of course I know her. She was so nice to my girl, I’ll always remember that.”

Almost a decade ago, I was granted Mariners media credentials for a freelance piece I’d pitched without considering the consequences of my actions. Namely, that in order to write said piece, I’d have to actually conduct interviews with the players. I was so petrified of appearing as young, foolish and inexperienced as I was, I did something absurd. I asked for help. Specifically, I sent a message to Shannon Drayer on Twitter (rip), asking for any tips about how to navigate the clubhouse. Rather than send me some vague info, or leave me on read, or any of the other things she would have been well within her rights to do, she replied and said I could meet her in the press box and shadow her as needed that day. Sure enough, I arrived hours before first pitch, heart pounding, and there she was. I followed her everywhere, as she introduced me to folks, kindly explained the unwritten rules of the clubhouse, helped me navigate the elevators and did her best to get me in front of the players I needed to talk to. I’d never felt like a more grateful duckling, and it solidified me as a Shannon fan for life.

This is a long-winded series of anecdotes to get to the real question, but it’s an off-day during Spring Training and we are a community, not (just) a soulless pit of letters and numbers. Sometimes it’s nice to channel the beloved old-school blogger vibes. Anyway, what’s one of your favorite baseball celeb memories? Did you almost step on Mike Leake while he was lying on the floor? Did you lose by a country mile to Jonatan Clase in a foot race? Did you have to chase after a perhaps-not-sober Wade Boggs on a golf course? Did you flag a random guy over during BP to ask for an autograph without knowing who he was, only to show the accompanying picture to your family and learn it was mid-Cy Young Award-winning season Blake Snell? Did you have a near-death experience after choking on your coffee when Félix Hernández walked into Chace’s Pancake Corral while you were enjoying your Tuesday morning ritual? Lay it all on me (or try to guess which of these examples is made up)