Dave is excited about this year's Indianapolis 500, more so than usual. There are two great stories going into the race, and both involve Team Rahal Letterman.

1. Danica Patrick is starting in the fourth position, the highest start for a woman in Indianapolis 500 history. And judging from her practice runs and recent races, she is definitely one of the favorites going in.
2. Buddy Rice filled in for Kenny Brack on the Rahal Letterman team when Kenny suffered a serious accident. Last year, Buddy won the Indianapolis 500. Now this year during the time trials, Buddy had an accident which resulted in torn ligaments in his back. Buddy is unable to defend his Indianapolis 500 title. Who will be taking his place? Kenny Brack (pronounced Breck). Brack is back. Two great stories in this year's Indianapolis 500.
3. And watch for Vitor Meira, starting in the 7th position. He may surprise all in this year's Indy. Keep an eye on the Rahal Letterman Team: Danica Patrick, Vitor Meira, and Kenny Brack. This Sunday.

On the show tonight out on 53rd Street, Mythbusters Andy Savage and Jamie Hyneman. Their program, "Mythbusters," can be seen on the Discovery Channel, Wednesday nights at 9:00. It's one of the few shows I'll stop on while I sail up and down the remote. What do they do? They use science to prove or disprove urban legends; such as:
-can dropping a penny from the top of the empire Statue Building really kill someone below? --- No. its velocity of 30-60 mph would barely break skin.
-will eating pop-rocks candy and soda make your stomach explode? -- No, but consuming large amounts of baking soda and juice would
-Can you save your life in a plummeting elevator if you jump in the air just before impact? --- No, the elevator would be dropping at 50 mph --- your drop is only 4 mph. What myth will they be testing tonight? Can a person be lifted and carried away into the air by party balloons? Stay tuned!

There are reports that Al Qaeda is running low on money. Dave wasn't aware of how desperate they were until he saw this commercial.
Osama bin Laden: "The desert can be a hot, unforgiving place. How do I stay refreshed during a hard ay of jihad? I enjoy the sparkling goodness of Poland Spring." (Osama takes a sip) "Oh, that's damn good water. Poland Spring . . . . . and death to America. Don't forget to pick up a 24-pack for the cave!"

CBS announced the cancellation of "Joan of Arcadia," the program about a girl who can talk to God. CBS President Les Moonves announced the cancellation and we have a clip of this from the CBS Upfronts at Carnegie Hall last week.
We see Mr. Moonves announcing the replacement of "Joan of Arcadia." Suddenly, from the dark skies above, a bolt of lightning explodes through the ceiling of Carnegie and obliterates the CBS President. I'm not sure but I think Vinnie Favale will take his place.

The photos in the newspapers of Saddam Hussein in his underpants have elicited a wide range of reaction around the world. This is what Dave saw on the TV this morning.

"Get ready for the craziest video ever - 'Dictators Gone Wild!' Featuring Saddam Hussein (Saddam in underwear). Kim Jong Il (Kim in his undies). Joseph Stalin! (Stalin in his underpants.) And everybody's favorite bad boy . . . . Dwight Eisenhower! (Ike in tiny undies) 'Dictators Gone Wild!' Be there."

Back from the break, Dave apologizes for not being able to place the name of Paul Newman's wife. It was at the tip of his tongue but all he could come up with was Sally Struthers. He knew it wasn't Sally Struthers so he kept his lip zipped. Often times, Dave will just blurt it out now knowing it he is correct or not. Of course, Paul Newman's wife is the lovely and talented, Joanne Woodward.

Taking another look at the festivities on 53rd Street, Dave explains some of the expense of what we are doing, pointing out the many balloons and the many balloon staffers who had to blow them up.

PAUL NEWMAN: Looking great as always. Paul explains, "The external is holding up but the inside is rotting."
Dave asks, "So, you still like the beer?" Paul smiles, and says he loves it. He then points to his head and says, "Nothing up here but foam." I like a guy who likes beer. Paul is involved in auto racing and was in Monterrey, Mexico over the weekend for the Monterrey Grand Prix. His driver Bruno Junqueira for Newman-Haas Racing won. The Newman-Hass Racing team is the most successful in the Champ Car World Series.
Not only is Paul a team owner, he likes to drive as well. Has he ever been in an "incident" on the track? He has. Ever apologize after the race for something he may have done? "Never."
Will Paul be at the Indianapolis 500 with his team? The team will be there but Paul will not. Why? Paul admits to having a bit of trouble with the management. Dave got a big kick out of that, and points out that everybody has trouble with management.

This may sound crazy, but watching Paul Newman made me think of . . . . Norm MacDonald. The way Paul looked out the corner of his eye at Dave . . . the way his mouth was ready to speak before he was ready . . . the smile that would brighten up the room . . . Paul and Norm, two polar opposites . . . but their facial mannerisms reminded me of each other.

Paul Newman is the executive producer and stars in the HBO mini-series "Empire Falls." Part 1 is Saturday night at 9:00. It's based on the Pulitzer book and is already getting rave reviews.

Of course, Paul has been incredibly charitable over the years, contributing over $200 million by summer's end.

This old saying is so true about Paul Newman: "Every guy wants to be him . . . every woman wants to be with him." Or something like that.

ACT 4: It's Paul Newman getting into the harness for the balloon ride. You could tell Dave was a tad nervous inside (Marlin Perkins) while Paul was out on 53rd preparing for the ride (Jim). Dave was asking for all things to be double and triple checked. Paul did not seem a bit nervous. With Andy Savage and Jamie Hyneman ready to unleash, the word was given to let it go. One of the tethered ropes was cut and Paul Newman, Academy Award winner, began elevating skyward, proving that YES, a man can be lifted and carried away by holding onto too many party balloons. How many balloons did we have on hand? Over 6,000.

ACT 5: It's Paul Newman disembarking from the Party Balloons aircraft. Safe. Sound.

DANICA PATRICK: She's one of Dave's drivers in this year's 89th Indianapolis 500. She's only the 4th woman to ever qualify for the race, and attained the best starting position ever for a woman in that race. She almost qualified for the pole but the car got away from her for just an instant and that's all it took to drop her to 4th. She received many kudos for her regaining control. She is a top-notch driver and certainly one to watch in this historic event.
Dave is searching for the answer to his query: Can women in general race competitively against the men or is Danica Patrick a once in a lifetime competitor who is the exception to the rule. After dancing around the question a bit, Danica finally hits the nail on the head, in my opinion, when she answers it's merely a numbers thing. She says only 1% achieve the ability level to compete in the Indianapolis 500. With men, there are thousands at any time waiting for the opportunity. With those numbers, finding a man to qualify isn't a hard search. With women, it's still 1%, but since not nearly the number of women pursue this line of work as men, it's a bit more difficult to find a woman to qualify. Not until as many women as men work at qualifying will the number of male and female entrants in the Indianapolis 500 be closer.
Dave wonders that in another 3 or 4 years if the Indianapolis 500 be all women? Danica doesn't see the allure to that. Dave does.
Watch for Danica in Sunday's Indianapolis 500. She'll be starting in the 4th position. Also from Team Rahal Letterman: in the 7th position: Vitor Meira. And at 23, Kenny Brack.

And that was our show for Monday, May 23, 2005. Wahoo EXTRA!

"MYTHBUSTERS" - on the Discovery Channel - Wednesdays at 9:00. I think this week they test to see if you drop an open peanut butter sandwich, will it land peanut butter-side down. I think it will, since it's the heavier side. Of course I'm kidding, but I did do a one-sample "experiment" with an open peanut butter sandwich last night when I got home. My findings: The peanut butter-side will land face down. And it's a bitch to clean, especially if it lands on the grout.

It was the big Yankees/Mets series at Shea Stadium this weekend. It was odd in that the Yankees are now on channel 9 whenever they are on free TV and the Mets are on 11. For years and years and years, the opposite was true. PIX was the Yankees. WOR, the Mets. But in life, nothing ever stays the same. The good thing about this, having the Yanks and Mets play each other and both carrying the game on free TV, was I was able to click back and forth to see who covers the game better. I learned that BOTH directors feel the need to show us a player from third walking across homeplate when the outfielder is chasing down a basehit and trying to keep it to a single rather than a double. But I have to give a thumbs-up to the Mets broadcast for less camera shots of the fans, and players and managers in the dugout. The Yankee broadcast is very interested in people watching the game, sometimes even more interested than the game itself. We get shots of fans, the manager, the pitcher who was just taken out, and then with the ball halfway to the catcher, it's a sudden cut to the game. Your eye can't adjust fast enough. It creates headache.

And speaking of sports, I went to a Communion party this weekend and talked auto racing for about 20 minutes and did a pretty good job keeping up. Actually, I talked for about 3 minutes. The other guy talked for the remaining 17, but I did say "uh huh" and "yeah" and "you got that right" in all the right places. He was more of the NASCAR while I hyped the IRL. I told the guy about Jeff Gordon running a red light at 51st and 7th Avenue last week. He was impressed with that.

I pitched an idea for Tuesday night. Dave is billboarding the show and remembers something urgent. He grabs the phone and punches out a number. He waits. And waits. Then he says "Bice" and hangs up. He goes back to billboarding without mention. Watch for it. And if you don't see it on our show, I'm told maybe Ferguson will pick it up.

And now another installment of LATE NIGHT THE DAY THEY WERE BORN!
Danica Patrick was born March 25, 1982. So what happened on Late Night the day Danica Patrick was born?
Dave's Guests: Hugh Dunne, John Ehrlichman and his Home Movies; Ed Subitsky, Ozzy Osbourne. Also, Viewer Mail. Late Night show #32 was a Melman Production. This has been Late Night The Day They Were Born!

THIS DATE IN NHL HOCKEY HISTORY
May 23: I don't know. How about Dave Babych being born on this date in 1961? Is that anything?