As Fonner Gently Weeps

Sad news for the Fonner Park faithful such as myself back in the college days: the ageless Newil Wall has passed on to the great winner's circle in the sky.

Wall spoiled many an exotic for me during those halcyon spring days spent at Central Nebraska's finest gambling and cheap hot wing emporium. Of course, we never really minded because it was Newil. There was always the fact that a jockey in his mid-50s (but looking much worse for the wear) could still saddle up on a random Thursday afternoon and ride in front of 30 or so degenerates. Old punters, stupid college kids, tattooed members of MS-13, they all loved Newil.

I could never really curse the guy for the damage he dealt to my bank account because I would always think of his knees. They had to be shot. Just bone on bone. You don't ride a horse 300 days a year for 30-plus years and come out unscathed. You just don't.

So, like Teddy KGB, I just resigned myself to getting Newiled from time to time. "He beat me. Pay that man his money."

And in an equally sad note, Fonner Park might be just off Newil's pace according to this AP article that--absurdedly--appeared in the Boston Globe in late April.

We'll save the gambling debate for another venue but, as a horse racing fan, the outlook is certainly dire for the sport in Nebraska (the first state in the US to legalize parimutuel wagering):

Horse wagering in Nebraska, from its peak in 1985, has dropped 76.8
percent, according to the Nebraska State Racing Commission.

In 1985, there were 233 racing days in Nebraska, $214.6 million
dollars--that's $418 million in today's dollars--was wagered.

There are now just 103 racing days in Nebraska...

I haven't been to Omaha since Aksarben was demolished, but driving by the old track when I did live there always made me wistful for the Cornhusker Handicap, a race that now takes place in Iowa. (Iowa! Dammit!) Sinatra played there and so did Nirvana and now it's nothing.

Let's hope that in four years Fonner is still kicking around and the Gus Fonner Handicap isn't being run in Kansas. (Kansas! Dammit!)

Morning Walk-thru - The Middle "Jewel"?

Poor Pimlico...I remember reading a story two years ago leading up to the Preakness saying the race might move due to the dire financial situation at Pimlico. Can't say that I was surprised. I've been by the track, although never during a race day, and it looks like most horse tracks. Run down. Shady neighborhood. Starving, basically, and constantly reaching for the mythical, magical teat that is the slot machine.

But if you don't want to take my word for it, just take a look at Preakness.com. I'm no design maven, but I know something from 2002 when I see it. To compare, here's the Kentucky Derby website. It's got so many damn bells and whistles it will likely gum up your computer. Meanwhile the Preakness site is best viewed in Netscape Navigator.

Such is the difference between the two. Kentucky has the mint julep. The Preakness has something called the Black Eyed Susan, which I'm not sure really exists. Conceivably, you could go to a good bar with real bartenders and cocktails and order a mint julep although nobody ever does. But if you try to order a Black Eyed Susan, and you're in a good bar with real bartenders and cocktails, I suspect someone, likely a good bartender, will punch you in the face. It doesn't show up in Mr. Boston and that's to alcohol what the PGA rule book is to golf.

But it's more than just Pimlico, its underpaid web designer and fake signature drink. I'm also having a hard time getting up for the race itself. I have yet to sit down and take a serious look at all the newcomers for the Preakness, but none of them really grab me at a first glance. I'd be much more interested if we just let the three Derby horses, Street Sense, Hard Spun and Curlin, run a three-way match race.

That's how many think the race should end up anyway, why not just cut out all the riff-raff and not afford them the opportunity to bump, grind and otherwise ruin it for the real runners?

No Mo? Could be a problem...I was a wide receiver in high school. We called it a split end, but I wore a bunch of wristbands, had a two-bar face mask and always flashed some fancy shoes so I know what it's like to line-up out wide.

(In case you didn't know, high school football is the perfect metaphor for everything: college football, pro football, thermodynamics, Dr. Mario, etc. Playing high school ball immediately allows you to intricately understand every thing. Just ask someone who did.)

Anyway, after Maurice Purify was arrested, I was a little skeptical as to how much it would hurt the Cornhuskers. Sure he's our best receiver, but he's still a receiver, ultimately dependent on a lot of factors to even have a chance to make plays.

But now I'm not so certain. Jeff at DoubleExtraPoint (who else) has an eye-opening look at Purify's contributions last year. Just look at his third-down performance alone.

Maybe I'm just not used to having game-breaking receivers at Nebraska yet, but that's basically what Mo was last year. I hope he only misses the Nevada game because we might need him down in Winston-Salem.

Somebody is taking this ball and going home...To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of interleague play, MLB has designed a special logo featuring two screaming eagles, one red one blue, fighting to wrest a baseball from the other's talons.

That Seattle-San Diego series this weekend just got a lot more intense. The fate of the West Coast, and that ball, are at stake.

A literal walk-off...For four innings last night it looked like the Cubs were going to be given a game. Of course, they ended up giving it away.

The Northsiders went up 4-0 on the Mets on three balls that could've (should've?) been caught and I was feeling good. So good, in fact, that I made a special note to be thankful next Thanksgiving because this was precisely the sort of thing I'm constantly whining about happening to the Cubs, not for them.

Then the bullpen got involved. I'm seriously considering just calling them the baby-killers for the rest of the season because it's the only thing I can think of that's more distasteful than actually watching them pitch.

The Cubs lost 5-4 when Michael Wuertz walked Carlos Delgado with the bases loaded. Freakin' walked the Big Slump. I don't care if you have to throw it underhand, get the ball over the plate. There's always a chance he'll hit it right at an overachieving Ryan Theriot. But no, Wuertz gave him one at the eyes. Game over.

That marks the tenth loss for the bullpen this season. Say the bullpen won half those games, which seems more than reasonable for a group whose job it is to get outs. The Cubs would be 22-14 and only four games back of the Milwaukee Brewers, currently the greatest team ever assembled, in the NL Central.

What's better is that there's nothing you can do about this right now. You're not trading for anyone. There's nobody down on the farm. You just have to keep trotting the same guys out there.

I love baseball season.

Morning Walk-thru - Perfection, Unattainable

Cornhuskers-Rainbow Warriors almost too close to call...Athlon, seductress that she is, is slowly unveiling their top 25 college football teams for next year and Nebraska checked in yesterday at #18.

It's difficult to know what to do with this information. For one, the season is still four months away so any ranking assumes that no Cornhuskers will be felled by TVs, overzealous bouncers, academic indifference or tornados/floods/drought/etc. Anyone believe that? Me neither.

The other problem is, we don't know who's ahead of Nebraska, just the seven teams who are lower. I guess the good news is, Athlon likes us better than Tennessee (#20), Auburn (#21), and Texas Ag. & Mech. (#23). The bad news is, we're only one spot better than Hawaii. The fact that Nebraska plays its games at a civilized hour has to have something to do with that.

To summarize: Preseason rankings are crap, but they're fun to look at and I would say 18 is just about right for a 2007 starting point.

Marquis flirts with perfection, but perfection is such a tease...Jason Marquis did not throw a perfect game last night. He retired the first 16 batters of the game, flirted with her for a while before the perfect game decided she was going to throw it all away and hook up with Don Kelly. Bitch.

Not to worry, however, as Marquis didn't lose his composure. He went the distance, got the three-hit shutout and realized that the frumpy girl in his chemistry class was actually a beautiful butterfly underneath the big hair and glasses.

Marquis is now 5-1 with a 1.70 ERA, and the Cubs doubled their total number of one-run wins on the season.

Preakness field rounds out, but where's Curlin?...The challengers are lining up to take on Street Sense. Hard Spun will be there and so will Teuflesberg off his 17th-place Derby finish.

Non-Derby horses include King of the Roxy, Xchanger and the unfortunately named, Mint Slewlep. (If I never see another horse with the word "Slew" in it's name, I'll be just fine.)

Word out of the Curlin camp should come today. Not only do I expect him to be there, I expect him to win...for now.

Morning Walk-thru - We're a contender now

Mas Boxeo, Por Favor...I didn't get to watch any of the De La Hoya-Mayweather fight because boxing still refuses to operate like an actual sport, making people pony up $54.99 to see the fight that was supposed to save boxing. If you want to to be more relevant than WWE how about putting your product where people can see it? In other words, on television for free.

I did see the highlights, however, and the first thing I noticed was Mayweather's trunks. The red, white, and green motif was nice little jab below the belt at De La Hoya's Mexican heritage. But that was just the tip of the iceberg.

After talking with a friend who bought the fight and searching for a bit of evidence, Mayweather's entrance was precisely why I love boxing. He entered in the get-up pictured to the right, complete with sombrero and 50 Cent rapping, live, in a similarly colored bullet-proof vest.

Is there any greater spectacle in the world than boxing? It's absolutely ridiculous in the best way possible. Watch for yourself:



Now that's an exacta...I was already convinced that you couldn't have asked for a better sports weekend than this one just past. Horse racing and boxing? It felt like it was 1954 again which is pretty much my hope for any day of the year.

But then I began to wonder, if you're a celebrity, which event would you choose? The Derby is the Derby. Can't be beat but it happens every year at precisely the same time in precisely the same way. But fight night in Vegas is supposedly unparalleled. Additionally, with the late start for the fight, you're still in Vegas and could lose your house on the Derby before the undercard for De La Hoya-Mayweather even started. This wasn't such a difficult choice after all.

Of course, being rich and famous has its privileges. Primarily, you don't have to make tough choices. Why not do both?

Michael Jordan did. Here he is at the Derby. (Pay close attention to Charles Oakley in the background. He's wearing a lime green linen suit and white fedora that would make even Andre 3000 proud. Rarely has an enforcer looked so dapper, and I love that that's still his role. Jordan's right hand man. Could there be a better job?) And here's Jordan, in the same jacket, at the fight hanging with Jack Nicholson.

How much would you have paid to be on that flight from Lexington to Las Vegas, just having watched the Derby and knowing your day of debauchery had barely started? Talk about fantasy camp, that's mine.

Do you think Jenny McCarthy (Derby, fight) was along for the ride?

Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey in May...In case you missed it, the Cubs are undefeated in May after sweeping the Nationals with a come from behind, extra innings win yesterday.

It was the Cubs first sweep of the season, their first win in extras and their first win when trailing after the 8th.

Alfonso Soriano extended his hitting streak to 15-games while Derrek Lee has hit safely in 14-straight and reached base in every single game this season.

You gotta love the NL Central. Where else can you go from last to second (at 15-14 no less) in the length of a week?

You're probably saying hold on, it was only the Nationals, you're supposed to sweep them. That's precisely the point. You are supposed to beat the Nationals at home and the Cubs did, but simply doing what you're expected to do is so often a challenge for Chicago.

They seem to be doing that...for now.

Twinkling on the Eve of the Derby

"On the TV the announcer is predicting how the race
will be run and famous people are asked their opinions.
I wait for a twinkle in my brain but nothing happens. Still
it's all so exciting I want to talk to someone about it..."
--Kentucky Derby Day, Belfast, Maine
Stephen Dobyns

I've been waiting for that twinkle all week, through the workouts and the draw for post and the conjecture, but I'm fairly certain no magic realizations are coming. They never do.

You can't even call handicapping the Derby an inexact science. The inexact part is accurate, but science seems to imply that there's a way to figure this all out. In theory there is, but after seeing Giacomo win in person, I'm not so sure it isn't like trying to predict that lottery. The fact that I keep trying has less to do with some inherent belief in my own intellectual capacity and more to do with the excitement of participating in the spectacle, the excitement that Dobyns mentions above.

I've got my own julep in hand--no EarlyTimes though, Old Whiskey River for me and my horses--so let's start piecing this puzzle together.

1. Sedgefield (50-1) - Should be near the front with the early speed, but his best race came in the Lane's End where he sat in the middle of the pack and ended up second to Hard Spun. The horse is experienced by new Derby standards with five starts this year, but that 75 Beyer in his last race scares me. Needs a lot to go right to have any shot.

2. Curlin (7-2) - The big mystery horse. He's only run three times, but he's won them all impressively. His Arkansas Derby was effortless, beating Storm in May by 10 1/2 lengths, but he got a pretty good trip so I'm still throwing him out. Look at it this way, winning the Derby after not racing as a 2yo is like a high school star winning the NBA MVP award in his rookie season. WillCurlin be Kevin Garnett or Johnathan Bender? I think the experience factor is a lot to overcome, but if he does let the hype begin.

3. Zanjero (30-1) - The sort of horse, from the three slot, that spoils exotics. This year alone he's already lost to fellow starters Dominican, Street Sense, Circular Quay and Imawildandcrazyguy but he finished third in all three of those races. Classic example of a good but not good enough. Additionally, Garrett Gomez, Zanjero's jockey for his past two races, will be atop Any Given Saturday. I won't be shocked if this horse screws me, but if you can't omit a horse who's lost to 20% of the field already who can you omit?

4. Storm in May (30-1) - Showed a little heart to hold on to second in the Arkansas Derby, but there's not a lot else here. Beaten by both Curlin and Sedgefield and I'm not favoring either of those horses.

5. Imawildandcrazyguy (50-1) - If Zanjero was good but not quite good enough, Blahblahblahguy is average and not nearly good enough. Finished off the board in every race thus far this year.

6. Cowtown Cat (20-1) - Intriguing colt here coming off consecutive wins in the Gotham and the Illinois Derby after hooking up with Todd Pletcher. He's not the best horse Pletcher will have going on Saturday, but somehow that makes me like him more. War Emblem anyone? One to watch on the toteboard for win bets and probably a part of exotics.

7. Street Sense (4-1) - What more is there to say? Best Beyer in the field with victories over most of the other mid-range prospects. Let's just say he's probably not running for show money.

8. Hard Spun (15-1) - The toteboard will tell you all you need to know. How is the betting public going to respond to Hard Spun's ridiculous workout? I already think he's a value at 15-1 and if he goes up from there I'll bring out the hammer.

9. Liquidity (30-1) - Nakatani likes his chances better astride Great Hunter. So do I. Put up a 102 in the Sham Stakes, but still lost.

10. Teuflesberg (30-1) - After a one race stand with Edgar Prado, Teuflesberg is back with Stewart Elliot but it probably won't matter. Devil's Mountain has already been beaten by seven other Derby horses. That's not my kind of pony.

11. Bwana Bull (50-1) - The winner of the El Camino Real, my favorite graded stakes race name, has never won the Derby. Bwana finished behind both Tiago and Sam P. in the Santa Anita Derby and I barely like those two.

12. Nobiz Like Shobiz (8-1) - Consistency, consistency, consistency. Winner of three of his last four, Nobiz was bumped early on in his loss to Scat Daddy and Stormello in the Fountain of Youth Stakes. This horse is definitely on my ticket.

13. Sam P. (20-1) - Occupies an odd middle ground at 20-1 which gives me pause, but he's been beaten too often by too many others for me to give him a second look. Could be Pletcher's pawn in the grand scheme of things.

14. Scat Daddy (10-1) - He's beaten Nobiz and I like that horse, but Scat Daddy's had to work hard for his last two wins. The Derby is all about making tough choices and this might end up being mine.

15. Tiago (15-1) - Has improved his Beyer in ever race thus far, including an impressive Santa Anita Derby in his first race with Smith. Will probably end up near the bottom of my ticket, but if he floats upward of 15-1 he might be an intriguing win bet.

16. Circular Quay (8-1) - He's been in the hunt with every horse I like, but it probably won't be worth it to play him straight up. Easily a part of my exotics.

17. Stormello (30-1) - I was skeptical at first, but I think Stormello still gets to the front breaking from 17. That won't be where he ends up.

18. Any Given Saturday (12-1) - Finished on the board in all three 2007 starts and there's no reason not to play him. That said, I'm nervously leaving him off because I like others more.

19. Dominican (20-1) - Pretty good price considering he beat the second choice, Street Smarts, in his last out, but I think the extra distance does him in.

20. Great Hunter (15-1) - The first horse I fell in love with, it hurts me to see him all the way out there on the end. He's got the speed, he's got the jockey and he's got an excuse in the Bluegrass. After careful consideration, I'm saying screw it and taking him anyway.

My standard Derby approach is to work out an exotic or two early, then go shopping for value in the last hour before post. Without further adieu, here's how I'm leaning:

Great Hunter
Nobiz Like Shobiz
Storm Sense
Tiago
Circular Quay

And I'll be keeping a close eye on where Hard Spun and Cowtown Cat end up odds-wise.

At least that's my "twinkle." With all that thinking out of the way, let's remix Dobyns a bit: Troy has yet to fall, but play those country songs anyway.

I need to hear "Whiskey River" right now.

Great Hunter Shot Down? - The post Post Draw post

The NFL Draft should be so easy. In barely more than hour, using little cardboard cut-outs of jockey silks, they drew for post positions in Louisville Thursday. There were winners and losers and Mike Battaglia's morning line, all of which you'll find below.

Basically, we've got some information now so let's get started.

• I was starting to love Great Hunter (15-1). He's beaten Street Sense, the best horse in the field in my opinion, his speed figures are right there and he had an excuse in the Bluegrass Stakes. Now he's breaking from the 20th post, as poorly placed as possible. Fantastic. Thank you cruel fate.
• Stormello (30-1) was in over his head anyway, but he could've been a pacesetter in this race. His name would've been called most of the way around the track, the owner's silks would've gotten prime TV time. But now, breaking from 17, he's just another speed horse fighting to get inside.
• Street Sense is right in the thick of things, literally. He opened as the second choice at 4-1, but I'll be surprised if he doesn't end up as the people's choice.
• It might be time to reconsider Hard Spun (15-1). Sure he may have left his race on the track with his freakish workout on Monday, but out of the 8 slot he's in the right place for a big run. Now all that's left to see is the betting publics reaction to that workout. Will more people jump on or jump off?
• Oaklawn's dual champ, Curlin (7-2), drew the second post. Now, you can't discount what Curlin has done thus far this year. What you can discount is the fact that this is his only year. How will this lightly raced horse deal with starting in what amounts to the Derby's aisle seat, getting bumped and bruised in the sprint to the first turn?

So there you have it, some starting points. Talk amongst yourselves.

*UPDATE: For a my decidedly unscientific analysis of some of the contenders for FOXSports, click here.

Let the pre-race hype begin

I've got a new column about the Kentucky Derby and what it means for your status as a die-hard sports fan up on FOXSports.com right now.

Now, it's time to break out the green and red ink pens and track down the videos from the Derby preps on-line. Once I do that and they draw for post positions tomorrow, we can finally start handicapping.

That said, I've got a couple of early favorites. Street Sense has shown some heart and Great Hunter has the potential to do it, but he's been spotty.

Nevertheless, I'll at least put something down on Great Hunter simply because it reminds me of the good doctor and Kentucky Colonel, Hunter S. Thompson. Reading his article, The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved, should be as much a part of your Derby preparation as buying fresh mint.

And if you're still feeling literary after that, check out Stephen Dobyn's poem, Kentucky Derby Day, Belfast, Maine. I hate poetry, but I love that one.

Morning Walk-thru - An Ink Splot

Not good, fellas...I'm not a graphic designer, but I know a couple and that leads me to say, the newest Kentucky Derby logo looks like crap.

I think that's a horse there underneath the twin spires but I'm not quite sure. Kind of looks like the Broncos current logo, which, we all know, is far inferior to its predecessor. Look at that steam coming from the old bronco's nose! He was fired up.

This horse just looks futuristic and if there's one thing that isn't futuristic, it's the structure of a horse. Seeing this, it's hard to believe that I bought a hat featuring the 131st Kentucky Derby logo to commemorate my one and only (to date) trip to Louisville. That was good. Horse, rider, rose, twin spires.

Just about all you need.

Who is worse right now?...the Cards or the Yankees? Technically, the Cubs are worse than the Cardinals, but it hardly feels that way even after the Cubs pissed a win down their leg against the Pirates thanks to a cheap home run from Jason Bay.

Either way, I really couldn't be happier.

Need tickets?...And by that I don't mean I have a bunch to sell. Some good tips here for getting in to games anywhere except Boston. Not sure these would work in the Fens but even the Cubs seem to have ample ducats available right now.

Thank you, Scott, for the link. That's the first official tip here at HiPlainsDrifter.com, which is sort of a watershed moment. All the big blogs have official tip lines and while I'm hesitant to add that feature at this point, you can always reach me at brandonlvogel [at] gmail.com.

Book It!..Good friend, former competitor and better writer, Ty Hildenbrandt has posted his first piece for SIonCampus. Ty was the guy who beat me in the first Next Great Sportswriter competition over on FOXSports.com and we--we being those of you who read this blog and unyieldingly support HiPlainsDrifter.com-- hated him for that. Luckily, the second contest came around and I was able to realize he's a pretty good guy for a Yankee/Fighting Irish fan.

Check out his piece and then feel free to leave awe-inspired comments on his blog, QuickSlants.com.

Morning Walk-thru - SAWX!

Fenway Open for Business...While I won't be at the game today, I'll merely be working a few hundred feet away, you can be damn sure I'll sneak down to Lansdowne Street to patronize the Sausage Guy right behind the Monstah by the third inning.

Now, it's entirely possible that I'll step in an ankle-deep pool of vomit and my commute home will be extended by an hour, but who cares? It's opening day at Fenway, and if Papelbon pitches anything like he did Sunday night against Los Rangers (they didn't stand a chance) it could be a happy season in the Fens.

And, yes, this entire section was just an excuse to use my own original photograph from a Fenway tour a few years back. Will the Mariners remember how to play after a four-day vacation in beautiful Cleveland?

Cubs winless at Wrigley this year...The Cubs suffered their fourth loss of the season in the home opener yesterday. Bob Howry has pitched 3.2 innings this season and has two of those loses. Sizzling.

Meanwhile, Soriano has a seven-game hitting streak to start the season, problem is he's gone 1-4 three times and 1-5 in the other five. No RBI. No homers. One stolen base.

It's still early to draw any long-term conclusions, but it is a bit alarming to see the Cubs already a game below .500 when you consider they've only played fellow Central foes.

Mas Caballos, por favor...In addition to spitting out some of the best sports related t-shirts around, including the only t-shirt I'd spend $36 on (even more here), No Mas runs a kick ass blog and now they've added a horse racing columnist to the mix.

The site was already covering the sweet science but getting Frank Mitchell to write about the ponies officially makes them the best blog for sports fans who still wish it was 1934. And I do.

The Derby preps are in full swing and the first Saturday in May will be here before you know it. Make No Mas a daily stop before then.

Weekend Reader

Some fresh and not so fresh links to keep you entertained before the Final Four and after, during that long, lazy Sunday before Monday's title game...

--Yesterday I expressed excitement, and confusion, over the fact that Chuck Klosterman was blogging from the Final Four in Atlanta. Gawker.com (Deadspin's daddy) has a significantly more vitriolic take on Chuck's blog-bash in his initial post. While their post is interesting enough on it's own, the comments might be even better.

I wondered how bad the Chuck-lash currently was, but it seems as if he, to borrow from Malcolm Gladwell, reached his tipping point a few years ago. There were people in the comments claiming to hate him from the moment he started at SPIN, and others who cited Killing Yourself to Live as the last straw.

Now, Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs still sells remarkably well, so if I had to estimate said tipping point, it seems like somewhere between Cocoa Puffs and Killing Yourself so circa-2005. That seems fitting. This was also the year Maria Carey was "Emancipated" to the delight of 10 million music fans.

--So Oprah has officially endorsed Cormac McCarthy's The Road as her latest book club pick and, despite protestations to the contrary in today's Boston Globe, it still seems like a dark, edgy pick to me. Maybe I'm wrong, but I would guess that the majority of Oprah's disciples hadn't read McCarthy's post-apocalyptic opus. Stories about cannibalism and a father-son struggle to survive in a world gone dark aren't exactly mom approved, so I'm sticking to my guns.

I have yet to read the book, but it's on my queue now. (Does this make me a disciple?) In the meantime, Oprah's omnipresent reach has resulted in a media blitz for all things McCarthy which is good news for us. The New York Times has made available one of the few interviews with the reclusive author and you can find it here.

Now that that's out of the way, I should probably provide some sportswriting since that's sort of what I typically do around here.

--The Tim Tebow Bill? In Alabama? After you get done reading that (and stop ogling the accompanying photo), the college big-rig race that I mentioned a few days ago is still getting submissions. Browse around on The Wizard of Odds to see the latest entries. (Congrats to the site for starting a legitimate Internet phenomenon with that initial post.)

--The great thing about baseball previews is that there are so many of them. Don't like the placement of your favorite team, no worries, just find another one. After seeing far too many realistic evaluations that had the Cubs as low as fourth in the NL Central, I was delighted to find that One More Dying Quail has the Cubbies in the World Series against the Sawx.

I'm not so certain that could happen, but I like to dream. It feels like 2003 all over again. (Side note: How hard is the NL Central to handicap this year? A number of previews I've seen have the Brewers taking the pennant. Now, I like the Brewers team and honestly I'd be delighted if they did, but I'm not sold yet.)

--Don't forget that we have the first major Derby prep race of the year on Saturday, the Grade 1 Florida Derby. Problem is, you might have trouble finding it. No national coverage. Luckily, Left at the Gate has you covered.