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  • Senior Writer
  • Columnist
  • Analyst
  • Scribe
  • Contributor
  • Member

M Brian Ladner

Joined 10 months ago

  • 19 articles written
  • 698 comments posted
  • Syndicated Writer

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M Brian's Bio

I caught a terminal case of "NASCAR fever" while living in Las Vegas and it has only progressed since then. I've been told there is no cure and after seeing my first live race back in 2003, I came to believe it. I am a fan of the incomparable Brothers Busch. Kurt was the hometown boy when I first started watching, but it was his quote about his little brother being the best driver in the family that piqued my interest in Kyle. Although I missed Kurt's entrance into the truck and cup series, I was able to follow Kyle from his start with HMS. From the beginning, "Rowdy" may not have always won, he may not have always said or done "the right thing," and he will most likely never be voted "Most Popular Driver," but he has never let me down.

Since I've begun writing and even moreso since being named a "syndicated writer" here at B/R, I've had articles or blurbs from them appear on websites for the Wall Street Journal (Digital Edition), cbssports.com, Google News, Yahoo Buzz, ask.com, jayski.com, sporttopix.com, NASCAR News Only, NASCAR Chatline, Motorsport Maniacs, Infield Parking, The Racing Daily, 164mph, MicroPlaza Tribal News, and Sprint Cup/NASCAR Lover Video and a lot of mentions by various people on twitter. Of course, many are sites that scrape sports news from other sites, but that's still a lot more than I expected...

As for my life outside of NASCAR, I have been programming for over 30 years, and building, working on, teaching about, and surfing the net since 1990. I used it extensively for my research in grad school. I team-taught the first ever "Introduction to Computers" class at UCSD that focused primarily on the internet, where our motto was: "You don't have to know any programming to get in, and if you know any after the course is over, it's not our fault."

I have an M.S. and the only ever C. Phil. Degree granted by the UCSD Cognitive Science Department. The C. Phil. degree is no longer official - they sent a letter saying they didn't officially offer the degree, but not until after they had sent the diploma, so it's mine. I studied neural networks and computational neuroscience/theoretical neurobiology for my Master's and Ph.D. theses. I also have a B.A. from UCLA in History (History of Science Emphasis).

I have worked as the founder and head of the Web Systems IT Group at EarthLink Networks (1995-1997), technical lead and senior programmer for USWeb/CKS (1997-1999), founder and system administrator for Redgorilla.com (1999-2000), and technical director/consultant for Virtual Interactive (1997-present). Within the past year i have been a Part-time Guide for Mahalo.com, a search engine Quality Rater for Google/WorkforceLogic, and technical consultant-on-call/system administrator for Square-Enix.

M Brian Writes About

The Short List What M Brian thinks about sport's most pressing questions

  • Favorite Athletes

    Kyle "Rowdy" Busch, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, Joey Logano, Danica Patrick, Helio Castroneves, Dario Franchitti, Ichiro Suzuki

  • Favorite Sports Teams

    Joe Gibbs Racing, Hendrick Motor Sports, UCLA Bruins, Seattle Mariners, San Francisco 49ers

  • All Time Sports Moment

    Craven Edges Busch by 0.002 seconds at Darlington (2003)

  • Most Memorable Game Attended

    UAW Daimler-Chrysler 400 (LVMS, 2003)

  • Most Unbreakable Sports Record

    Most NASCAR Cup Wins - 200 (Richard Petty)

  • Ruth or Mays?

    Ruth - The Tony Stewart of Baseball

  • Unitas or Montana?

    Montana

  • Jordan or Russell?

    Jordan

  • Gretzky or Orr?

    Gretzky

  • Pele or Maradona?

    Pele

  • Federer or Sampras?

    Borg or Connors

  • Tiger or Nicklaus?

    Tiger - The Kyle Busch of Golf

  • Petty or Earnhardt?

    Yarborough

  • Schumacher or Senna?

    Hamilton

  • Pac 10, Big 12, Big 10, SEC, ACC, or Big East?

    Pac 10

Bulletin Board (147) Post a note »

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  1. by L.J.
     about 24 hours ago

    Kyle is running in 3rd, 50 some votes behind Edwards in the Nationwide most popular poll.

    We need to catch him up;

    http://www.nascar.com/news/features/mpd.poll.nationwide.series/index.html

  2. by Mary Jo
     5 days ago

    Thanks for the pick sir! Happy 4th!

  3. by Rob
     15 days ago

    What up man? Hope everything's good! Check out my latest work, looking at the age-old debate....is it the coach, player or both?

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/205505-measuring-success-coaching-vs-talent-from-the-field-to-nascar-track

  4. by Dann
     22 days ago

    He mate

    wrote a piece which I tried to make my master piece. Could you please cheack it out. Don't be scared of telling me if it is bad

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/200865-painting-my-sports-idol

  5. by Rob
     23 days ago

    Hehe, as you can bet the same when it comes to me and any Jeff Gordon work. Kyle's really an interesting figure, and when I think about it, him being around helps me understand why a lot of fans hated on JG — both are pure winners. JG, though, was a sponsor-rolling machine while Kyle's keeping it real. But both are what the sport needs character wise and hey, NASCAR without Kyle would just be weird for me.

  6. by Rob
     23 days ago

    Thanks for chiming in on with my Mark Martin/Kyle Busch piece! It really is interesting to compare and weight the pros/cons of both drivers. I think Kyle is honestly going to be one of the legendary drivers of NASCAR if he keeps it up!

  7. by Dann
     27 days ago

    Hey mate.
    Did my first slide show today. It is supposed to be humor. Tell me if you like it

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/197755-looking-at-sports-once-again-when-it-sickens-me#page/13

  8. by L.J.
     about 1 month ago

    You are more than welcome to use that title...I look forward to reading the story.

  9. by L.J.
     about 1 month ago

    Hey, I think all REAL racing fans know what the deal is. At his absolute worst the kid has done more for racing than anyone since Stewart threw his last camera over the fence.

    I feel the same way about Danica.

    Without them...what are we gonna yak about? Shock rates? Stagger? Jimmie freakin' Johnson?

    If I ever wrote a story about him, I'd title it: Kyle Busch is an ass...thank God.

  10. by David
     about 1 month ago

    Man whats been up i like how you stand up for yur driver esp. on Bens story

    You Rock Brotha

  11. by Blaine
     about 1 month ago

    Thought I would give The Relay for Life one more push before our big event Saturday. This one is a more in-depth look into the story of Dave Dravecky. Also posted a link for the Josiah Herring Funeral Fund!

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/186686-outreach-of-hope-the-dave-dravecky-story-relay-for-life-part-two

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/186833-please-donate-to-the-josiah-herring-funeral-fund

  12. by al
     about 1 month ago

    Whats up bud have not see anything from you lately, there are only a few here like you and I who like to write on the edge once in awhile..lol..lol...

  13. by Mary Jo
     about 1 month ago

    Now I know you better than that - know you weren't apologizing for the content at all! Like I said it's fun to stir the hornet's nest up and get 'em all going. It's either about Kyle or Dale Jr. isn't it? We need to get another driver or two in this mix - maybe this evening??!! LOL

  14. by Mary Jo
     about 1 month ago

    Please never apologize for your comments. I totally know where you are coming from and it sure does stir the hornet's nest!! You are just the best defender of Busch - I hope that he is reading and knows all you do for his fandom! Comments make the article so I should be thanking YOU!!

  15. by Blaine
     about 1 month ago

    You can help. Please give a read and "pay this forward"

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/182116-fallen-san-francisco-49ers-et-al

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