This is the Statt Mann Baby!!  Time to Scatt a little bit.

Uber entertainer John Legend was a guest host on Mike and Mike In The Morning Friday.  During the conversation, the difference between an entertainer or performer and an athlete got clearer.

Performers like actor Denzel Washington can play a professor in The Great Debaters, and deliver the magnificent line: “I want to give you back your righteous mind.”  He also can play a demented cop in Training day who can explain his personality with: “It's ugly, but it's necessary.”

We’re entertained because Denzel is convincing.

In racing, I want drivers to excel in competition.  It’s not enough to have them performing and mugging with guitars and funny hats.  Isn’t that what clowns do?

You expect a performer to perform in any role.  You expect an athlete to excel in any competition and when they do, that’s entertaining.  There’s a difference.

Would Dale Earnhardt Junior be just as popular if he crashed every race?  Shouldn’t he be expected to compete every time?  Same for Danica Patrick.  Or should we allow them to lip sync their way through a career?

Another line from Denzel in Training Day:  “It's not what you know, it's what you can prove.”

I want drivers to prove it, in every race.

And I don’t want John Legend in The 500 just like I don’t want Danica singing with Stevie Wonder.

We’ve blurred that line, to our loss.

Peace.