MORE STUFF ... ON HORSE RACING, HOCKEY, FOOTBALL ....
For some reason, NBC was reluctant to tell viewers about the jockeys during Saturday’s Kentucky Derby coverage from Churchill Downs. Who knows … maybe the network received complaints that panelist, former jock and hall of famer JERRY BAILEY was giving too much credit to the riders as opposed to those who prepared those being ridden? For sure, they couldn’t say enough about trainer CHAD BROWN, or so it seemed … In the run up to the 150th Run for the Roses, IRAD ORTIZ JR was on fire, with four winners including three in a row through Race 7 … of 12 in all … You would think NBC’s talking heads (and there were lots of them) would concentrate on Ortiz Jr., winner of the Eclipse (best jockey) Award five of the last six years, but there were too many times when the casual viewer didn’t know who the winning jockey was until interviewed at the end … For example, GRAHAM MOTION-trained Trickari, a 47-1 long, LONG shot led the field in a turf race. Was Ortiz up? For those of us making phantom bets (the only guaranteed way to keep from losing money), it was a question that went unanswered until DONNA BROTHERS rode up and stuck her microphone in the face of winning jock … UMBERTO RISPOLI … Speaking of wagering … if there was ever any doubt even the most astute of thoroughbred know-it-alls are capable of looking silly, did you notice NBC’s two experts had a rather … shall we say, rough day? EDDIE OLCZYK stayed south of the Mendoza Line while MATT BERNIER was more than $1,500 to the good, at one point, only to crash to $249.40 in the red with only the Derby to go. (Olczyk was minus $189.) … Good news or bad? NBC announced a new deal to continue carrying the Derby through 2032 … All the Peacock can hope for are other races are as competitive and even come down to the wire like 18/1 Mystik Dan’s victory Saturday by a very, VERY small nose over 9/2 Sierra Leone (trained by – you’ve got it – C.Brown) … Had not the runner-up traded bumps – giving as well as taking – with show horse Forever Young … oh, well … As for phantom betting … we stayed with Ortiz Jr., aboard 28-1 Domestic Product (13th) -- $150 win-place-show – as well as dropping a $50 show bet on Fierceness. For the day, we cashed tickets totaling $708.58 … for a loss of $141.42 … all imaginary, of course. Thank goodness!
Add Derby coverage … and speaking of “expert”
analysis …
3/1 favorite Fierceness, which came in 15th, was
favored by (among others) Bailey, Brothers, Bernier
and MIKE TIRICO. Sierra Leone got the pre-race
nod from RANDY MOSS and REBECCA LOWE
(“… because yesterday I was lining up for
a coffee, and who was behind me but the owners of
Sierra Leone … if that’s not a sign, I don’t know what is …”). Olczyk
went with Catching Freedom (4th) … Nobody from NBC’s
crack crew envisioned Mystick Dan which got only a
perfunctory notice in pre-race coverage … because the
trainer was KENNY McPEEK whose Thorpedo Anna
claimed Friday’s Kentucky Oaks at Churchill …
giving him a pair of Gr. I victories in 24 hours ... Raise
your hand if you were familiar with jockey BRIAN
HERNANDEZ JR, who was a pure delight talking to
Brothers afterwards … Or, if you recall
McPeak-trained War Dancer won the 2013 Virginia Derby at
Colonial Downs.
----- It appears the only way ZAC JONES will play for the
New York Rangers is for someone to be injured. Of the 31
games the defenseman from Richmond native (Glen Allen) has
suited up this season, 10 were while ADAM FOX was
sidelined in November … and 13 when JACOB TROUBA and
RYAN LINDGREN then ERIK GUSTAFSSON were out in
March. That the NFL-leading Rangers went 17-5-1 – 21-9-1
with Jones in uniform overall -- apparently didn’t matter to
coach PETER LAVIOLETTE … Since a then-season-best
five game winning streak ended with a 5-2 loss at home (April
1) to Pittsburgh, it has been back to watching and waiting for
Jones ... He’s missed eight straight including a 4-0 sweep of
Washington in the first round of the playoffs. He last got in a
game April 7, earning raves from NY fans in a 5-2 romp over
Montreal … “No question Jones is better than Gustafsson.” …
“His game does not look like an accident waiting to happen.
Gus, on the other hand, is accident prone.” … One observer,
however, recommended caution. “Pump the brakes a little on
Jones here. [While] he looked spectacular last game … it was
against Montreal who [sic] sucks. I’d count on seeing Jones in
the playoffs due to injuries. He’ll be in the starting third pair
next season.” … Meanwhile, the 5-11, 185 pounder’s agent has
been told, if he’s so inclined, to find a trade partner for Jones …
Make them an offer but it better be pretty good or forget it. No
deal … Having disposed of the Capitals April 28, the Rangers
resume their quest for Lord Stanley’s Cup Sunday (May 5) with
the first of a best-of-seven second round against the Carolina
Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden … Fox is questionable.
He missed several workouts this weeks but, naturally, no one
will say why. Fox was back at practice Saturday alongside
Lindgren, his regular partner on the blueline.
----- Best Name of the Day: JIM BOB COOTER, NFL Colts’
OC, who says exciting … but injury-prone … QB ANTHONY
RICHARDSON won’t be asked (told?) to stop running around
so much. “He’s got extreme athletic talent. You don’t want to
restrict that,” Jim Bob said … He was born James Robert …
and no seems to know when he became known as im Bob .. and
not James or Jimmy, Robert or Bobby … or why … He has
changed coaching jobs 10 times in 17 years since appearing in
three games in three seasons (2003-05) at the University of
Tennessee. A QB, he was named to the All-SEC … Academic
team … In 2006, he was arrested for driving under the
influence but charges were dropped … as they were in 2009
after Cooter climbed through a window and into a woman’s bed
… Guess what he was charged with that time. WRONG! …
Would you believe aggravated burglary? Source: Wikipedia.
----- Question of the Week: Why … in the heck … did NFL
Miami draft MALIK WASHINGTON, who set several records
for catching footballs in his only season at U.Va.? The Dolphins
already had TYREEK HILLand JAYLEN WADDLE … and
Friday signed ODELL BECKHAM JR … one year, $8.5
million.
----- Yes, the DARVIN HAM fired as Lakers’ coach is the
same D. Ham who shattered the glass backboard with a monster
dunk at the Richmond Coliseum … for Texas Tech in a 1996
NCAA regional victory over North Carolina.
----- Bye, bye, baby … CBS dropped BOOMER ESIASON
and PHIL SIMMS from “The NFL Today.” They will be
replaced by JJ WATTand MATT RYAN, former Falcons’ QB
who teamed with TIKI BARBER (U. Va.) and ANDREW
CATALON on game coverage in 2023. … The NHL Network
canned MICHAEL IRVIN in what reportedly is the start of a
monster personnel cutdown to save money … Here’s an idea:
Dump commissioner ROGER GOODEL and his outright
crazy annual pay of $70 million. You’ve got it: MILLION …
Simms spent 26 years at CBS where he teamed with JIM
NANTZ on the No. 1 NFL broadcast crew. Esiason, who
played QB at the University of Maryland for BOBBY ROSS,
worked games with AL MICHAELSat the outset of his 22
years with CBS. “I was more than happy to step down,”
Esiason, 63, was quoted as saying. “My time here has come.”…
Well, not exactly. He also signed a new long-term contract with
CBS to continue his morning radio show also seen on cable …
Ross, native Richmonder who played QB at VMI (Class of
1959) and later coached the San Diego Chargers in their only
Super Bowl (Jan. 29, 1995; 49ers 49-26), liked Esiason.
Michaels did not … “I told Boomer, to play quarterback for me
… if asked by the media, he had to take responsibility when a
play didn’t work … even if it wasn’t his fault,” Ross said. “Sure
enough, we had a bad exchange … lost the ball, and it cost us
the game in what would have been a major upset. Asked what
happened, Boomer said it was his fault … and, it wasn’t.” … It
was no secret that Michaels and Esiason was not a marriage
made in heaven. I wrote that Michaels did not get along with
partners other than Esiason, too … according to a source at
CBS … and Michaels called to say it wasn’t true … “There’s
only one I didn’t get along with,” he said … meaning the
Boomer.
Until next time ...
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