The last of Goodyear's fabled fleet of blimps has gone flat, but the company's flight program will continue.
About two dozen company employees were on hand early Tuesday to witness the deflation of California-based "Spirit of Innovation."
Spokesman Priscilla Tasker said crew members yanked a rip line to open a section at the top of the blimp's gas bag, known as an envelope. It took about two minutes for it to crumple to the ground.
The craft's historic gondola will be displayed at Goodyear's Ohio airship base.
Its replacement, "Wingfoot Two," resembles a blimp but is a semi-rigid dirigible.
The new airships, which don't go flat when deflated, are faster and more maneuverable.
And Goodyear said they'll still be called blimps. That's because, well, blimp just sounds better.
Senior moment
A month after turning 50, Steve Stricker makes his debut on the PGA Tour Champions.
He just won't be there all that much.
Stricker, who missed the cut at Innisbrook last weekend, is playing in the Tucson Conquistadores Classic this week. At the moment, the only other 50-and-older events he has on his schedule are the senior majors, the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf and the American Family Insurance Championship in Wisconsin that he helped to put together. He also has the Masters coming up as part of his PGA Tour schedule.
"I still feel like I've got a lot of game. That's why I want to continue to play out here," Stricker said. "I'm waiting to see where I play well. If I play well out here a couple of times, I might stay out here."
Either way, this probably won't be a limited schedule that he has kept the last couple of years. Another reason for Stricker to remain active on the PGA Tour is to scout players for his Presidents Cup team which is scheduled for the last week in September.
He's a ninja
NASCAR Cup Series driver Joey Logano, who was involved in a post-race confrontation with former teammate Kyle Busch on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, joined NASCAR Race Hub on Tuesday on FS1 to discuss the incident.
Logano's appearance alongside NASCAR Race Hub co-hosts Adam Alexander and Shannon Spake was part of his regular duties as an analyst on the one-hour program. Here are some excerpts from Logano's comments regarding the events that unfolded on and off the track with Busch:
Spake: There has been a lot of discussion on social media about whether or not the punch landed. Did it land? Did it not land?
Logano: "Honestly, [with] my ninja reflexes, I was able to just kind of lean back just enough to get past it [the punch]. But no, I did not get hit."
Sports quiz
In 1976, Goodyear allowed use of its blimps for the filming of a movie which was about a terrorist attack during the Super Bowl. What was that movie?
Sports answer
Black Sunday
Sports on 03/16/2017