Folks, I am not a racer, but I gotta tell you...watching the two America's Cup shootouts on the internet over the past few days was a thrilling way to spend time. Once these guys put aside their legal wranglings and got on the water, they put on a helluva show! OK, one can be a grump and talk about two rich guys going at each other in a cage fight, but to watch the two fastest sailboats in the world doing 30 knots plus in match racing, THAT was fun. (Of course, it's always more fun when your guy wins.)

Larry Ellison stated in the press brief afterwards that the next America's Cup race, AC34, will have an independent jury, independent referees, and be managed by an independent organization. He stated that the boats to be sailed next time will be decided in consultation with other potential competitors, the Swedes, the Chinese, etc, in a desire to have the next AC open to competitors from many nations. That's a praiseworthy goal, to return the Cup match to true sailing, quite a contrast to its being highjacked over the last 10 years.