racingmeridian.com

According to Forbes magazine, the five most unpopular athletes in sports are; Michael Vick, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Terrell Owens and Kobe Bryant. My top five? I’ll call my selections the Tie Domi List; Todd Bertuzzi, Kurt Warner, everyone who plays professional baseball, Tracy McGrady and Bernard Hopkins. On the non-playing side, what we’ll call the Damien Cox list, ones I loathe include John Ferguson Jr, Dick Jauron, Oscar De La Hoya, J P Ricciardi and (California thoroughbred trainer) Jeff Mullins…Peter King of S I reports that Brett Favre intends to continue working out with his local high school football team. Huh? Isn’t he retired? Well, according to King, Favre is quite certain he cannot play an entire season in the NFL. But, but, if a team were to call him on Nov 1^st, he is not willing to commit to staying on the sidelines. Okay, now I think I really have had enough of this story. Like an old bloodhound, Commissioner Goodell should take Favre out behind the barn and, as famously suggested in the Onion, let a shotgun blast send Favre to a better place…as the dust settles, the Minnesota Vikings find themselves with two seriously impaired quarterbacks…I’m noticing an inordinate amount of media attention being paid this off-season to the Philadelphia Eagles. Haven’t we read all this “Eagles on the verge” nonsense a couple of times before? Here’s the flash; Donovan McNabb is a confirmed and consistent choke artist. He does not possess the intestinal fortitude to ever win a Super Bowl. Secondly, Brian Westbrook will never, never ever, make it through a season without suffering a series of injuries. Clear? The Philadelphia Eagles will not be winning the 2010 Superbowl…the Onion currently has a video up of Evander Holyfield preparing to fight a horse. A three year old filly, in fact. A trainer remarks Holyfield will need to land powerfully with the first punch. Otherwise, he notes, the filly will go nuts in the ring, thrashing about and hammering the former four time champ. These days you can only hope the video is a joke! A training montage shows Holyfield sparring with a head gear wearing Holstein cow…Bloodhorse has reported six fatal break downs during the past ten days at Del Mar, California. The scenic course features a polytrack, the installation of which was purported to minimize the danger to animals. The contrast between the hope and the reality continues to gnaw away at outsiders. What was the real reason racing moved from dirt to plastic surfaces? Why is no track touting a robust improvement in the health of their thoroughbred population? At Woodbine the racing currently presented is drab and tedious in comparison to the competition on the old dirt track. Rexdale racing currently features odiously slow early fractions and bunched up, jumbled fields. I loved the blazing speed of yesteryear, and also found the sharp delineation between racing styles (i.e. speedball, stalker, closer) invigorating and an interesting part of the handicapping puzzle. The flavour today is mush, with any one of a number of competitors capable of dawdling on the lead if the opportunity presents itself. I would love an investigative reporter to “follow the money” and offer the real story on the switch to the plastic. I know millions exchanged hands in consultant fees and the like, and I don’t believe for a second that the scandalous reinvention of horse racing in America was the result of an altruistic impulse on the part of the prosperous business moguls…Rip Van Winkle, winner of the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood this week, is going to be a serious horse for the rest of the racing season. Aiden O’Brien has finally figured out the mercurial son of Galileo, and his newfound prominent early approach will reap dividends. This is especially of interest if the colt is sent to Santa Anita in late October. His form may appear a bit dark based on three losses to Sea the Stars but the colt had been handicapped by the tendency to pull him to the back of the field in the early stages of races. He is far too fast and classy for that tactic. I’m thinking a big upset in the Breeders Cup is brewing…the infamous “arms” photo of Madonna posted on TMZ and wending it’s way around the web has everyone tossing jabs at the Material Girl. Drivel. The Immaculate One looks absolutely gorgeous as she exits a restaurant. She is carrying items in both hands which is naturally going to cause her arms to flex. It’s a cheap paparazzi snap and one that aims to denigrate without explanation. There is a non stop compulsion in this devils playground to slander and revile Ms. Ciccone and I’ve never been able to figure out why. Don’t understand her or enjoy her, then just piss off…