Former NASCAR driver Dick Trickle is dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Lincoln County (N.C.) police.

At about noon on Thursday, the Lincoln County Communications Center received a call indicating that there would be a dead body at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Boger City, and it would be the speaker's. Return calls to the number went unanswered. Crews arriving at the scene found Trickle's body lying near his pickup truck.

Trickle ran in 303 races in the Sprint Cup series over the course of 24 years, finally retiring in 2002. His best year was 1989, where he notched six top-5s, including three third-place finishes, driving the #84 Miller High Life Buick. He ended that year ranked 15th, ahead of Michael Waltrip, Brett Bodine and Richard Petty, among others.

Look, we all know where the conversation about Mr. Trickle is headed. The guy's name was a punch line his entire career. But he was a hard-nosed racer in his day, and this is how we prefer to remember him

Tiger Woods takes a drop on the 14th hole during the final round of The Players Championship. (Getty Images)Barely a third of the way into the 2013 golf season, Tiger Woods has already found himself the focus of three different rules controversies. He's been questioned for his behavior on the course and, in effect, called a liar for his comments off it.

He was penalized two strokes for an illegal drop at the HSBC Championship in January, nearly got disqualified from the Masters after an illegal drop there and this past weekend was questioned for giving himself a favorable drop in the final round of The Players Championship.

[Related: Two marshals on the grounds at Players said Tiger Woods did not lie]

(And if that weren't enough, Sergio Garcia accused Woods of a breach of etiquette during their third-round pairing on Saturday at The Players, leading to a he-said-she-said exchange from four course marshals, two of whom essentially called Woods a liar, two who defended him.)

All of this leads to the question: Why is this happening to Woods again and again?

While it's certainly true that Tiger is

Remember that infamous Seattle-Green Bay Monday Night Football game last season where the replacement refs completely butchered the outcome? (Sorry, Packers fans.)

Richard Sherman, who was on the winning Seattle team, sure does, and in a bit of devilish humor has hired replacement ref Lance Easley (he's the one making the "touchdown" score there) to umpire at his upcoming charity softball game. Easley ruled that Seattle's Golden Tate snagged a touchdown even though it sure appeared that Green Bay's M.D. Jennings intercepted the pass. (The NFL even admitted the refs' error, and that game was seen as one of the reasons hastening the NFL's settlement with its regular refs.)

"Don't be surprised if a few flags are thrown," reads Sherman's event's Facebook page. The game will take place on July 7 at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, Wash., which is a good thing because any closer to Wisconsin, and Cheeseheads would be on the march.

-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-

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This is not pretty. (@JoshScobee10)

Why is it the kickers who are always the most interesting players on any football team? Theory: too much time with nothing to do + lack of repeated hits to the head. Anyway, here's Jaguars kicker Josh Scobee with a tweet you cannot unsee:

That's ... whew, that looks like it's going to hurt. For The Win speculates that the unnamed O-lineman is Jason Spitz, who tips in at about 300 pounds. If he could put that beef behind a kick, he'd be able to boot 80-yarders, right? Forget what it looks like -- has Josh Scobee unintentionally altered the balance of the kicking game in the NFL?

Minnesota Vikings/HKS Sports and Entertainment

The Minnesota Vikings have unveiled prospective images of their new stadium, and, in the spirit of similarly asymmetrical and eye-snagging designs like the new Atlanta Falcons design, it's pretty darn striking.

Minnesota Vikings/HKS Sports and Entertainment

Designed by HKS Sports and Entertainment, the stadium will seat 65,000, and can seat as much as 73,000 for a Super Bowl (which, of course, is always the goal). Since a retractable roof was too expensive, the stadium will have a clear roof to let in some of that sweet, sweet natural sunlight.

Minnesota Vikings/HKS Sports and Entertainment

The venue will be configurable for all sorts of events, including concerts, baseball and NCAA basketball, just in case. And there promises to be a manicured plaza that will give Vikings fans something pretty to stare at if Christian Ponder throws the team out of the postseason.
Minnesota Vikings/HKS Sports and Entertainment

The stadium's shape made us feel something ... something we hadn't felt in a long, long time. But it took the fine folks at Kissing Suzy Kolber to nail it:

The Vikings hope to start work on the giant immobile

LeSean McCoy and Michael Vick. (Getty Images)

Earlier this offseason, Eagles running back LeSean McCoy challenged quarterback Michael Vick to a foot race. McCoy turned the air green with trash talk, calling Vick "old man" at every turn. But the old man still had some hops; according to Philly safety Colt Anderson, Vick dusted Shady by as much as five yards over a 40-yard distance.

Now, with OTAs underway, both sides are talking to the media ... and McCoy is hinting that the "feud" (spoiler: probably not a feud) isn't really over.

"The jubilation I felt that day was unbelievable," Vick told Yahoo! Sports' Jason Cole, "not only to myself but for the morale of this team. Nothing against LeSean, but he asked for it." Vick conceded that he didn't know he had that speed still in himself. He credited the Eagles' strength and conditioning coaches for getting him ready, and the Eagles players for getting him pumped.

"The build-up has been going on since the beginning of April," Vick said. "I was conservative about it because I didn't want

Scary moment at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan recently, as a Ferrari careened out of control and took out a good chunk of the wall and safety barrier. This wreck happened during the second Challenge race of the Ferrari Racing Days at Suzuka. Driver Shigeru Terajima lost control of the Ferrari 458 Challenge for still-unknown reasons. At last report, Terajima was in serious condition at a local hospital. A volunteer, presumably the one you can see running in the video above, was also hospitalized. The wreck halted the racing for the day.

Here's another angle on the wreck:

Ferraris. Man, they are trouble.

Want to live like a NASCAR driver? You don't need to get grease under your fingernails or sip sweet tea while listenin' to country music. No, all you need is a mere $30 million, and you can live just like Jeff Gordon. Easy, right?

Gordon is selling his three-bedroom, 3,454-square-foot condo in New York City's ultra-exclusive 15 Central Park West address. Here, per the New York Times, are the specs:

The floors are Brazilian cherry; flamed black granite, a matte surface with intriguing variations, makes repeat appearances on portions of the floor, walls and countertops. Except for the glass doors that separate the dining area from the eat-in kitchen, the doors throughout are rift-cut oak; a hulking built-in that Mr. Gordon refers to as “the sushi bar,” an oak bar with a blackened-steel countertop and a hidden refrigerator, is the showpiece of the living room...

The bedroom wing faces west onto the courtyard, and all three bedrooms have en-suite baths and ample closets; the opulent master