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Screen shot of Calvin Borel kissing an outrider at Churchill Downs today:
The happy moment came after Borel rode Super Saver to victory in the Kentucky Derby. I’m pleased to report that that gentleman wasn’t the only person who received an amorous advance from Borel after the race. Read more…
This year ESPN took over Kentucky Derby radio coverage from Westwood One, so that meant my family and friends welcomed Brent Musburger into our home today as we gathered ’round the radio to listen to the race. With Westwood One losing the rights, I was wondering where former Derby host Fred Manfra would land.
Nice to see Fred, third from the right, land on his .. something.
Also worth mentioning that though the celeb contingent at the Derby is always strong, I never could’ve imagined it including Nick Lachey’s future girlfriend.
How unbelievable was Mine That Bird’s Kentucky Derby win? So unbelievable that even his jockey doesn’t think he has a shot in the Preakness Stakes next week.
Calvin Borel is abandoning Mine That Bird for the nation’s top filly, Rachel Alexandra. He calls her a “once-in-a-lifetime horse,” but isn’t just having the chance for a triple crown a lot rarer for a jockey than once in a lifetime? It’s a curious decision, and maybe he knows something we don’t.
Over the past week, the sports world has gone from a sadly predictable near-tragedy to a shockingly real one. While most NASCAR fans and drivers could have told you that a scene like Carl Edwards’ car almost flying into the packed stands at Talladega was almost inevitable, no one could have predicted what happened during a freak windstorm at the team’s practice facility on Saturday afternoon: the entire thing collapsed, trapping players, coaches, staff and media inside.
When first reports came out about the accident on Saturday, it looked like any major injuries had been avoided. But Sunday brought additional news, and most of it not good: the FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAPH says that scouting assistant Rich Behm has been paralyzed from the waist down as a result of the accident. Among the 11 other people who received medical attention, special teams coach Joe DeCamillis suffered a broken vertebra but somehow was not paralyzed, while assistant athletic trainer Greg Gaither has a broken right leg.
And as horrific as the situation was, it apparently could have even been worse, if eyewitness reports from players and media members who were there for a rookie minicamp (welcome to the league, rooks). Such as former kicker and fifth-round draft pick David Buehler, who wound up with a concussion and various cuts and scrapes.
“My initial thought was, how many people are dead in this?” Buehler said tonight. “I thought I was the lucky one.”
(It should be noted that Buehler became the kicker at USC after incumbent Mario Danelo was killed in a drunken fall from a cliff after the 2007 Rose Bowl, so he’s seen enough football-related tragedies for his lifetime.)
Somehow Buehler suffered the most severe injuries of the players (I guess that armor does help), and many of the players acted as rescuers immediately after the collapse. Two players might have helped save DALLAS MORNING NEWS reporter Todd Archer from further injury after he was pinned down by falling debris:
Then I saw two pairs of cleats near me and two blue jerseys, so I knew they were defensive players. Later, I was told it was cornerback DeAngelo Smith and linebacker Brandon Williams. Eatman said Williams pushed him out of the way so he could help get me out.
With whatever was on me raised a few inches, I was able to turn on my back and inch my way out. I remember seeing players hurdle over pieces of the wreckage to make sure their teammates – strangers to most of them just a week ago – were all right.
I ran into the team’s Valley Ranch complex. Blood trickled down my right elbow. My right shin had some road rash. My left knee was sore, and as the time went by, my left shoulder and right ribs became sore.
It all took about 25 seconds, but it seemed much longer.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones cut his trip to the Kentucky Derby short and returned Sunday morning to grimly look at the resulting carnage. As you could expect, OSHA is investigating; but while you might question the safety of having a 85,000 square-foot inflatable tent in an area hit by occasional huge thunderstorms, chances are this will be just an incredibly fluky situation that had tragic consequences.
Getting back to more positive news: I know it’s a cliche that there’s “nothing like playoff hockey,” and that’s a lie: mint chip ice cream is better than playoff hockey; finding “Caddyshack” on HBO at 3:30 a.m. when you can’t go sleep is right up there as well. But yesterday’s three-OT thriller between the Ducks and the Red Wings was a reminder: the Celtics vs. Bulls series had some great games, but no one does extra time like the NHL.
Why? Because of getting a set amount of time to complete a period, the end of an OT playoff game could come at any second, on a power play, shorthanded or completely against the run of play. It’s that “lightning in a bottle” moment that makes it so unique, and often times the game-winner comes from an unusual source.
On Sunday, that unlikely hero was Todd Marchant. The ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER says the third-oldest player on the team came through when it was needed, putting away a shot from the top of the face-off circle (after breaking up a Detroit rush) to give Anaheim a dramatic 4-3 three-OT road victory to level the series at 1-1.
Think about it: this game went three overtimes - and we’re not talking fake NBA five-minute OTs either, but honest-to-God 20-minute periods. Basically, the Ducks and the Red Wings played 2/3s of an extra game, but most casual fans are too jaded (and expect this every NHL playoff time) to appreciate it. Meanwhile, the Bulls and Celtics go three five-minute overtimes and everyone freaks out.
(Now-former Dodgers beat writer Tony Jackson, enjoying a power nap.)
Finally, in baseball news: for a fundamentally flawed team, the Dodgers sure do look pretty good. They beat San Diego 7-3 on Sunday, which the LOS ANGELES TIMES says is their franchise-record 10th straight home win to start the season. Not bad for a team that supposedly lacks the pitching depth to be a contender. Now if there was only more than one beat writer covering the team.
Today was not a good day to be a front-runner. Even after morning-line favorite I Want Revenge scratched, there were a handful of horses with great odds; any one of them a potential Triple Crown Contender. Then, the rains came, and any hope of a normal race washed away.
Mine That Bird, a 50-1 longshot, took the Kentucky Derby with one of the best stretch runs I’ve ever seen. And while a lot of people who thought they had sure things picked out in an underwhelming field are out a few bucks tonight, quite a few people are quite a bit richer.
As always, the reach of SbB stretches across the country, and last time we checked, Louisville is still in the country. So, as the Derby closes in on the starting horn, we bring you some of the day’s best, in the form of photos from the red carpet and infield.
And what kind of a big event would it be if Shawn Marion wasn’t in attendance … with his orange striped suit coat? Ummm, Shawn? Really? And on an orange shirt?
But first, if you’re still deciding who to bet on, take a look at the track. Start looking for mudders, because Lord, that’s a ton of mud.
Bedlam, horror, and panic rule the day today, as the morning-line favorite in the Kentucky Derby, I Want Revenge, was scratched from today’s race this morning. Let’s get this straight: they’re doing this to a giant, muscular animal that is actually named “I Want Revenge.” This can’t end well.
(”I also want oats. But mainly REVENGE.”)
What’s strange about his scratch is that it’s due to an ankle injury… only it isn’t. You see, I Want Revenge isn’t really hurt. Not yet, anyway. According to the AP, this came down to a routine examination and something called a “hot spot”: Read more…
• How did porn star Jenna Jameson & MMA fighter Tito Ortiz ever get together in the first place? ‘Twas through the miracle of MySpace!
• Any ex-Florida football players who dare critique Urban Meyer’s current regime should consider themselves persona non Gator.
• Hilarity ensues when Erin Andrews spends her NFL Draft day with the comic duo of Quan & Dr. Bill Cosby.
• The University of Oregon rules that naked ultimate frisbee is a no-no.
• A horse had to be put down after a two-horse collision during Kentucky Derby practice.
As you watch the Kentucky Derby this weekend, you’ll see all of the pageantry and excitement of the largest horse race in the world taking place in front of hundreds of thousands of screaming fans. But don’t let that fool you: Almost all of those fans are there for the spectacle of race day more than the actual race itself (and also there to get plowed on mint juleps and puke in the infield). In truth, horse racing is in a deep decline that is starting to look like a death spiral more and more every day.
Case in point: Hollywood Park in Los Angeles is one of the most famous tracks in the country, and is currently in the middle of its spring 2009 meet. But for the first time in its history, the LOS ANGELES TIMES said it had to cancel racing today because there weren’t enough horses to fill the field. Apparently, Sarah Jessica Parker wasn’t available to help fill out the vacancies either. She probably would have gone off at 12:1 odds for the fifth race.
The discerning reader prefers the news (and most foods) wrapped in bacon and liberally salted with panic. Therefore, we provide your Thursday morning sports-centric swine flu stories to better arm you at the water cooler to pass along the latest gossip mumbled through your faux designer mask:
Whew. That’s a lot of abject terror sensible precaution for one morning. Please add any additional sports-related swine flu stories to the comments below so the few remaining survivors have a record of these final days.
Thankfully, our few remaining moments left as a functional species can be well-represented by the following people tellin’ it like it is and keepin’ it real with the kids, assuming your kids take Don Rickles’ routine at face value:
(Emergency vehicle sized appropriately to emergency)
Finally, a false alarm (possibly a fire alarm) in the eighth inning could not shake the New York Yankees from barely holding onto a 8-6 lead at Comerica Park over the Detroit Tigers last night despite holding a 7-1 advantage late in the contest. As Joe Girardi put it, “In this day and age, that’s a little scary.”
Heck, Joe … in this day and age, what isn’t?
And now a hail of bullet points caused by two heroin-slingin’ senior citizen sisters (though you can’t fault them for looking for a new retirement plan these days) …
