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Fallen Beauty
Posted by pblackwell | 02/04/07
This is a horse, the voice inside the head keeps screaming. Why are we making such a big deal of this?
Yes, they are beautiful creatures, especially in full stride tearing around an oval track. But they are also flesh and blood and, as such, go through the natural cycles of birth, life and death.
So the news on the morning of Jan. 29 that Barbaro was euthanized should have brought nothing more than momentary pause. A sad story, indeed, but a common one in the exciting yet cruel world of thoroughbreds.
Thank God it isn’t that simple.
If you date back to 1875, and that takes a lot of dating, 132 different equines have, at the age of three, crossed the finish line ahead of the field in the Kentucky Derby, bathed in glory and roses and toasted with mint juleps...
Classy champs
Posted by pblackwell | 02/11/07
Those hale and hardy Hoosiers stood outside in downtown Indianapolis for hours, on a February evening where the thermometer had not climbed into double digits.
It wasn’t like folks in Indiana were new to championships. Every May since 1911, they’ve seen a fortunate race-car driver swig milk in Victory Lane. Every March, high-school basketball takes over, evoking a spirit immortalized in film.
Five times, the red-clad boys from Bloomington have won NCAA basketball titles. Notre Dame, for crying out loud.
Yet you had to go back to 1973, to the days of the ABA Pacers, to see the last time a pro sports team in Indiana won it all.
Needless to say, the Super Bowl is a tad bit bigger...
Two tours now
Posted by pblackwell | 02/19/07
Jack Vickers started the International in August 1986. His expressed intention was to draw elite players from around the world to his gorgeous Castle Pines course high in the Colorado Rockies and offer a unique format (Modified Stableford system) that rewarded aggressive play with points and kept things suspenseful to the end.
In most ways, Vickers succeeded. The International quickly became a favorite stop for Tour players, who got first-class treatment, not to mention first-class milkshakes. The list of champions – including guys like Norman, Love, Mickelson and Singh – reflected that respect shown for the event.
Now, the International is no more...
And the youth shall lead
Posted by pblackwell | 02/25/07
Picture, if you may, Selection Sunday. In between all the CBS odes to the “corporate champions”, they might even tell you which 65 basketball teams will dance, NCAA-style.
When they do get to the good stuff, do not be surprised if the committee, who swears they don’t manipulate the brackets to create potentially sexy match-ups, finds a way to put outfits from Ohio State and Texas close together.
Sure, a committee is, at least in theory, objective, though mid-major programs will never believe that thanks to the dearth of at-large bids for deserving little guys at the expense of big-conference mediocrity.
They also like sexy match-ups, though...
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Random ThoughtsYou can listen to Phil Blackwell, Eagle Newspapers' sports editor, at 10 a.m. every Saturday on WHEN, AM620
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