Barbaro awaits Eight Bells at the Pearly Gates

So I guess Big Brown is among that 31% of frontrunners that go on to WIN the Kentucky Derby. With an exceptional second place finish in the Run for the Roses, Eight Bells was immedeatly euthanised after finishing the race and breaking both ankles. IMMEDEATLY EUTHANISED. Should have been you....Rodger Clemens

Not to Worry, I can just see the filly frolicing with Barbaro in the green pastures of Heaven. In my mind, they have become fast friends.

The drama of the race and surprising casualty perked up my dissapointment regarding the prostitution of the historic Churchill Downs venue by corporate sponsors. Anyone see the Taco Bell/ Pizza Hut banners around the stadium. For all the money, sophistication, and tradition of The Kentucky Derby- I thought this event would be above tacky advertising. I underestimate the power, money, and influence of corporate America in not only our sports but our LIVES. Pizza Hut? Taco Bell? Are You Kidding Me? Racing thoroughbreds costs millions of dollars, the Women and Men at the Derby are dripping in designer clothes ,diamonds, and pearls. Sheesh!

Michael Strahan and his lady friend ( with an ass you could serve drinks on, love it!) as well as Dwayne Wade hit the red carpet. Rumor has it Tom Brady was there with former coach/fearless leader of Notre Dame Football Charlie Weiss. Good to hear Charlie is holding himself to his off season pledge of seeking advice on his abismal program from his Patriot friends. Doubtful Jimmy Clausen was discussed. Rumor has it the seersucker suit Weiss had on was quite slimming.

Molly Sims looked Fantastic, Best Dressed Award Hands Down(I cannot find a picture of her at the moment) Hugh and those silly "Girls Next Door" looked endearing and tacky per usual. Bridget, Kendra, and Holly may set women back 100yrs- but you can't help but love them! Gabrielle Union looked dissapoingly ordinary. I loved her shoes, but the whole blue dress, all matching black accessories looked dated. She is a fashionista trendsetter usually, this was way too safe. Spencer and Heidi, never ones to miss a photo-op, were also there. I don't even want to justify their existence by indulging further, wastes of air! But the subtle color coordination was lovely .

Overall, The Hat Parade brought out America's craftiest people. Glitter, Beads, Fake Flowers- One would have thought it was an audition for the Mummer's Parade. My overall favorite (below) was the dramatic large brimmed, small flare or decoration, in a sophisticated color. It seems the general approach was preppy simple ( Top Photo) or all out flamboyant; but there was the occasional winner.

Weekend Update

Golf- Wachovia Championship [CBS], 3rd round. No Tiger, No Viewers.

Baseball- Game Finals
Seattle 1 NY Yankees 6
Pittsburg 2 Washington 9
Chi White Sox 2 Toronto 5
Baltimore 1 LA Angels 3
NY Mets 4 Arizona 10

And If you think you're having a bad weekend, This Guy has you beat.

1st step in overcoming regular season MLB boredom

Is admitting you have a problem. My name is Whitney, and I am a hypocrite. I say I love everything sports, follow everything sports- and claim to have the same knowledge of everything sports as any average guy. However, when it comes to baseball, I can't bring myself to truly immerse myself and follow Major League Baseball until the playoffs in October. (GASP!)

Part of my 12 step program for reconnecting with baseball is a roundup of the Weekend feature games. That doesn't sound so hard does it?

Chicago Cubs 9, St. Louis Cardnials 3 "So your sayin there's a chance..."

OK so the Cubs haven't seen a World Series Championship in well, over a century. One would say this franchise, they're fans, might be slightly..well..pathetic. Fear not Cubbies, I get it. I'm from Philly, home of teams that tease you in the playoffs only to crap the bed. We too are pathetic. While we are pathetic in a raging, bitter, guns and religion kind of way ( just because you thought what Mr. Obama said about us Pennsylvanians was not nice- that doesn't mean it wasn't true.) ya'll are pathetic in a hoplessly optimistic desperate kind of way. Nonetheless, I get it. Ted Lilly recorded his 1,000th strikeout and added his second career extra-base hit. He threw seven solid innings. Cubs have tied the series 1-1. Cardinals are still 1/2 game up the Cubs in the NL Central but Cubs are a better team. Ssshh, don't tell them it's only May.

Seattle 1, New York Yankees 6 "Dad's Mad"

Just Yesterday, Hank Steinbrenner said he was "disappointed with the way the season has gone," in this last season in the historic Yankees Stadium, and first season in 15yrs with a new manager, I'm talking about YOU Joe Girardi. The Yankees (16-16) stepped it up for their sugar daddy with 13 hits and beat Seattle for the second time in a row. Hottie Yankee and former Red Sox Johnny Damon scored 3 times. The Mariners on the other hand are on a 4 game losing streak, and apparently manager John McLaren had a post game rant that could be heard from space.

Arizona Diamondbacks 10, New York Mets 4 " a tangled Webb they weave."

Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Webb is having the hottest start (7-0) in franchise history, and was NL pitcher of the month for April. Webb pitched six innings, gave up a career high 4 runs. Augie Ojeda starting for the Diamondbacks injured 2nd basemen, had a game high 6 RBI's. Among all time Diamondback 2nd basement game high's - he's tied for 2nd. Potential 6th man award, or 10th man- or whatever. And no, that is not the official Arizona Diamondback Yamaka sold exclusively at the team's store. I wouldnt figure Arizona and large Jewish population, but Oy, you learn something new every day!

Suggested Reading...

I love to read. Life is so busy for me- as I'm sure it is for you. Between work, gym, family and friends, and following my sports; I feel like I never have time for anything else. However I have always been a reader since I was little ( I was on a Nancy Drew a day habit) and despite feeling like I never have any time- for a great book I always MAKE TIME.

A recently finished feature read of mine is "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. If you haven't heard about this professor dying from cancer on the news, you can watch some of his lectures on YouTube or download them on itunes. It's all that "achieve your dreams" "living life to the fullest" stuff in a non preachy non self-help book kinda way. It is a quick, inspirational, tear jerker. I reverted back to the old ways of my youth and actually read this in a day.

I suggest this one not only for you, but since mother's day is coming up ( Yes, next Sunday all you horrible children!) it would be a great under $20 gift for mom too. Even better, you could buy it, read it yourself, and then re-gift it up for you mom!

My Old Kentucky Home

Ok, I am not one for the obscure or extreme sports. However, I am a sucker for the tradition, pageantry, and pretty ponies of thoroughbred racing. Since I was five years old my family has celebrated birthdays by taking us to Delaware Park to bet on the horsies - It’s never too early to expose your daughters to smelly, fat, desperate men drinking well before noon, yelling at televisions -looking for “one more” race to help them win back they’re children’s college savings they’ve squandered!

Unlike curling, bowling, or poker- horseracing is an obscure sports that merit’s not only day-long duel network coverage (ESPN, NBC); but the lights, camera, action of Hollywood celebrities and a red carpet. I like to think that our fascination and affection for this sport lies in that the stars of this event are not the over glorified, overpaid athletes of contemporary professional sports- but selfless animals- and majestic ones at that. There will be no endorsement deals or Bentleys for these athletes after the race- although there will still be plenty of “hoes” waiting for them in the stud pastures!! Perhaps I’m being a little to optimistically nostalgic over our featured athletes today. More likely it’s just our love of gambling our life savings away, and or fascination watching the world’s tallest midgets ride such big animals that makes horseracing so exciting!!!.....

Now if there is one thing I love just as much as watching sports- its doing so in the presence of copious amounts of alcohol. One of the highlights of today’s event is that you can drown your losses in a frosty mint julep! Yes, The Kentucky Derby is to Whiskey like Cracker Jacks to Baseball, Beer Bongs to Matt Leinart.

"Each year, almost 120,000 Early Times Mint Juleps are served over the two-day period of the Kentucky Oaks andKentucky Derby. A feat that requires over 10,000 bottles of Early Times Mint Julep Ready-to-Serve Cocktail, 1,000 pounds of freshly harvested mint and 60,000 pounds of ice."


Intoxication has led to many a poor decision in my experience – and I suspect that with so many fat wallets at Churchill Downs today there will many crying of a river. However to me, sport and booze just go together, so I encourage all of you (whether watching the derby in your sweats on your couch, or attending a little derby party!) to get the recipe here (Mint Julep Recipe), and join in on the lushy fun.

I am as passionate about sports as I am about fashion- and who says women can’t have it all? The Derby mixes sophistication and sport with a red carpet and annual hat parade. Yes, if you are within 10 miles of Churchill Downs it is required that you be wearing something on your head big enough to eclipse the sun. Now if you are interested in making one at home- I suggest you find a straw hat, and scotch tape anything you can find (lawn ornaments, any old fruit in your fridge etc). Women will spend up to five hundred dollars for the perfect hat. In all seriousness, The Derby (and horseracing in general) represents that classic rich American blue blood tradition! I will post tomorrow on all the fashions of the day. Staple perennial trends include Jackie O esqu sunglasses, sundresses, and heels. For this year’s event I’d embrace a classic old school 1950’s look, pencil skirts and peep toes.


For those of you wanting to join in the fun, or impress your friends at a derby party with some horse race know how; let me give you a horseracing for dummies crash course and my fave’s for today’s big race. ......

Betting on horses is all about the odds, the larger the odds the less likely the horse is to win, but the more winnings you will pocket if the horse pulls it off. When I bet I usually put one bet on a horse with relatively good odds, not necessarily the front runner (think horses with odds of around 6-1 or 8-1). These change up till the very last minute so place this bet right at the last minute. Other ways of betting include picking horses with great names (or symbolic ones), horses with pretty color silks ( you can look on tv, online or in a racing program for the colors) I call this method the Grammy Theory after my grandmother who sticks strictly to jockey silks. Also, any horses of a particular color or special markings that you like!
These may be typical “girl” way of picking a winner, but it works for women in the NCAA tourney brackets and it works in horseracing as well. Make a pick with your gut or your fashion savvy, like my grandfather did in 1967, when he bet on three horses with the names that included Jean, Lori, and Donna- after his three daughters- he came home with five thousand dollars and my family left for Bermuda the next day!!!

When you bet, it’s not wise to just pick a horse and hand over your money. There are many different types of bets listed below- for which you can put any amount of money on. The smallest single win bet starts at $2

Straight bet or Single or Win bet. This is the simplest and most common bet. You bet on a winner at given odds. You collect only if your chosen horse is the first across the finish line.
Place. A wager for place means you collect if your selected horse finishes either first or second.
Show. The third horse across the finish line. A wager to show means you collect if your selected horse finishes either first, second or third.
Combination Bet. Combinations cover from two to four horses to win in chosen order.
Pick 3. This wager requires the player to pick the winners of three consecutive races. Some race tracks have a rolling pick 3 which is when the player must pick three races in a row and it continues for the next three races.
Pick 6. This wager requires the player to select the winner of six consecutive races prior to the first race of the pick six. Some tracks place the pick six as the first six races, the middle six races, or the last six races. Many tracks have carry over pools for the pick six that can grow to as high as a million dollars.
Perfecta. A bet placed on two horses but they must cross the finish line in exact chosen order.
Trifecta. A bet placed on three horses to cross the finish line in exact chosen order.
Daily Double. Similar to an accumulator you select the winners of the first and second races on that day. You must place your bet before the start of the first race.

Combo bets are my personal favorites- and the best for when you like more than 1 horse in a race. In Today’s “Run for the Roses” I like: Eight Belles (15-1), Cowboy Cal (20-1), and Colonel John (4-1).Remember, the favorite horse only wins 31% of the time, and today’s favorite of the moment Big Brown (3-1) is very inexperienced with only 3 career wins and is starting the race in gate #20- all the way on the outside. As part of tradition and as a parting note, prior to the 6pm race start, Churchill Downs engages in a 7th inning stretch of sorts, only rather than “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” attendees will drunkenly butcher the state song of Kentucky. Go Baby Go!