racingmeridian.com

…the second biggest comeback in baseball post season history and, admit it, you were asleep in bed, having turned the game off when the Rays plunged forward with a 7-0 lead…or am I the only one being honest?…hell, I actually spent more time watching the Red Wings and Canucks. And, by the way, wasn’t it great to see Chris Osgood again? I did not recognize the brilliant puck stopper who backed the Wings to the 2008 Stanley Cup. He was fast, intelligent and dynamic. He also had OSGOOD written on his back. I had a serious disconnect. But last night the bumbling stumbling I’ve come to know and associate with Chris was back. We missed you, son…the Wings turn to Tye Conklin when the starter needs a rest, and you’re telling me the Champs don’t have a vulnerability?…Andrew Raycroft won his first start for the Colorado Avalanche last night, defeating the dozing Philadelphia Flyers 5-2…Whispers have Scotty Bowman as a prime mover in the firing of Denis Savard. Apparently Bowman dismissed Savard as an inexperienced rube, but firing a coach off a win just seems Machiavellian. Joel Quennville, new coach of the Chicago Blackhawks, has coached over 800 NHL games … what do you make of Brett Favre contacting Dallas Cowboy QB Tony Romo and telling him to play through the pain? It’s a broken bone, not a pull or stomach flu…with Joe Flacco slowly coming apart at the seams we’re delighted to give up the three and take the resurgent Dolphins at home on Sunday…how the mighty Pats have  fallen. Matt Cassel remarks,” We’re 3-2 right now. There are a lot of teams that would like to be 3-2″. Dude, you’re the putative leader of the New England Patriots, not the Arizona Cardinals or Winnipeg Blue Bombers…the Los Angeles Rams received brutal news with word that Orlando Pace is suffering from a damaged thigh. They can’t win without the leagues pre-eminent left tackle. Okay, they hardly win with him, too…the Globe & Mail seems remarkably pessimistic concerning the Toronto Raptor prospects for the upcoming season. A weak bench is cited as the reason the team may regress…appears 46 year old Evander Holyfield will get a December shot at the heavyweight belt held by man-giant Nikolai Valuev. Holyfields purse totals a meek 750k, minimum wage, really, for a fighter who has fought for in excess of 100 million dollars through a storied career…and, no, he has no chance to win. Valuev will use a passable jab and his bulk to waltz to a tedious decision. There is no need to stage the fight; there is only one way this farce can unfold…interesting group of 180 animals pre entered for the Breeders Cup, set for Oct 24-25^th at Santa Anita. The Friday card will be exclusively for the ladies, an excruciatingly stupid idea…do the Breeders Cup people not understand what the bulk of the population do on a Friday? Namely, work? And this is the day you stage races comprising purportedly racing’s biggest weekend? Truthfully, hasn’t the Dubai World Cup and its power packed under card passed the Breeders in terms of excitement and impact?…it’s so bloody tedious to hear the plethora of excuses American trainers offer up for not entering their animals on America’s biggest race day. Nick Zito, for instance, has declined to enter Commentator due to the vagaries of shipping the gelding to the West Coast. Shut up and race…so yesterday we complain about the cost of Madonna tickets. Today? Gulp, we’re keeping our eighth row seats in a safety deposit box until Sundays show…at WOODBINE…GELHORN looks promising in the second. The young filly adds the juice while taking the plunge. Adding Emma is certainly not a hindrance…MY SPECIAL ANGEL over Largo Lady in the fourth…in the fifth we’ll try BAG OF HAMMERS again, blinkers come off and Da Silva sticks…SEA SPICE encounters a bulky field in the days last. He is by far the best runner but will need to be coaxed on the front end by a patient Landry…