140th Kentucky Derby - And they're off!! The Millionaires Romp

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 We are coming up on the first weekend in May and that means it is time for the Greatest two Minutes in Sports, the Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky.

This year is the 140th Kentucky Derby, which means it started about 9 years after the end of the Civil War and when President Lincoln was assassinated in 1865.

This first leg of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred racing brought to you from the home of thoroughbreds, the Bluegrass region of Lexington and Paris Kentucky, is simply the greatest horse race in the world.

If you have not been to the Derby you may not know that it is a celebration that lasts a week and every aspect of Southern hospitality, wealth and opulence you ever read or saw from Gone with the Wind to Secretariat is alive and well and preserved for all time in Bluegrass country.

One horse is going to leave the Derby a millionaire with a shot at the triple crown, a feat that may rank as the hardest in sports history to achieve.  If a horse wins the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness in Maryland and Belmont in New York they win the triple crown.

But with each progressive race longer than the last and all three within the grueling time period of about 6 weeks it is one of the rarest feats in sports.  In the past 139 years 3,889 horses have competed in the races, 274 races were won, but only 11 horses won all three and just 50 won two of the three.

In fact the last time any horse won the triple crown was in 1978, 36 years ago, before Reagan was president.

The following are the top 30 of 38 qualifiers for the 2014 Kentucky Derby.  As we get closer to race day the field will be reduced to the starters.  Note how much money these three year olds have already won leading into the triple crown million dollar purses. 

  
• California Chrome
Steve and Carolyn Coburn & Perry and Denise Martin 
Rank 1
Earnings 782250
Pts 150

• Vicar's In Trouble
Ken and Sarah Ramsey
Rank 2
Earnings 760000
Pts 120

• Dance With Fate
S. Alesia, Bran Jam Stable & Ciaglia Racing, LLC
Rank 3
Earnings 600000
Pts 108

• Wicked Strong Centennial Farms
Rank 4
Earnings 640000
Pts 102

• Samraat
My Meadowview Farm
Rank 5
Earnings 650000
Pts 100

• Danza Eclipse
Thoroughbred Partners
Rank 6
Earnings 620000
Pts 100

• Constitution
WinStar Farm LLC and Twin Creeks Racing
Rank 7
Earnings 600000
Pts 100

• Hoppertunity
Karl Watson, Mike Pegram & Paul Weitman
Rank 8
Earnings 576000
Pts 95

• Intense Holiday
Starlight Racing
Rank 9
Earnings 527500
Pts 93

• Wildcat
Red Honors Stable Corp.
Rank 10
Earnings 665000
Pts 90

• We Miss Artie
Ken and Sarah Ramsey
Rank 11
Earnings 544000
Pts 60

Ride On Curlin
Daniel J. Dougherty
Rank 12
Earnings 354387
Pts 55

• Chitu
Tanma Corporation
Rank 13
Earnings 440000
Pts 54

• Tapiture
Winchell Thoroughbreds
Rank 14
Earnings 470738
Pts 52

• Midnight Hawk
Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings, Inc. (John Sikura), Mike Kitchen, Mike Pegram, Mike Tice & Joel Quenneville
Rank 15
Earnings 320000
Pts 52

• Ring Weekend
St. Elias Stable & West Point Thoroughbreds
Rank 16
Earnings 260000
Pts 50

• General A Rod
J. Armando Rodriguez
Rank 17
Earnings 240000
Pts 40

• Medal Count
Spendthrift Farm
Rank 18
Earnings 226500
Pts 40

• Candy Boy
C R K Stable LLC
Rank 19
Earnings 380000
Pts 30

• Cairo Prince
Godolphin Racing, LLC, Terrance Murray, Paul Braverman, Harvey A. Clarke & W. Craig Robertson III
Rank 20
Earnings 520000
Pts 24

• Uncle Sigh
Wounded Warrior Stables & Anthony C. Robertson
Rank 21
Earnings 180000
Pts 24

• Vinceremos
WinStar Farm LLC and Twin Creeks Racing
Rank 22
Earnings 191666
Pts 20

• Harry's Holiday
Skychai Racing LLC, Terry Raymond & Jana Wagner
Rank 23
Earnings 152622
Pts 20

• Commanding Curve
West Point Thoroughbreds
Rank 24
Earnings 104000
Pts 20

• Pablo Del Monte
Susan Magnier, Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor & Wesley Ward
Rank 25
Earnings 102000
Pts 20

• Bayern 
Kaleem Shah
Rank 26
Earnings 100000
Pts 20

• Social Inclusion
Rontos Racing Stable Corp. (Ron Sanchez)
Rank 27
Earnings 100000
Pts 20

• Big Bazinga
Derby Dreamers Racing Stable
Rank 28
Earnings 92149
Pts 14

• Coastline
John C. Oxley
Rank 29
Earnings 131346
Pts 13

• Strong Mandate
Robert C. Baker & William L. Mack
Rank 30
Earnings 479166
Pts 11

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What a pleasant surprise

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Scene from Coltons Point

Every now and then we need to stop absorbing all that swirls around us and sit back and enjoy something fun.  The following is a video of an actual Irish wedding in which no one including the bride and groom knew the priest was going to break out in song.

Ironically Father Ray Kelly chose one of my favorites the Leonard Cohen song Hallelujah and wrote new lyrics where appropriate for the couple.

Enjoy.

When I first saw this there were under 2 million hits and by the time I posted it within 24 hours there were almost 12 million hits.

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Obama again for Women's Rights while AG Holder whines

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Okay, so the American public is really stupid like the White House seems to think.  Like we don't remember the very first bill Obama signed into law when he was elected and the Democrats could do anything they wanted because they controlled the House and Senate.

On January 29, 2009 Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 to much fanfare, and the Obama White House declared:

"President Obama actively supported the bill.  President Obama has long championed this bill and Lilly Ledbetter's cause, and by signing it into law, he will insure that women like Ms. Ledbetter and other victims of pay discrimination can effectively challenge unequal pay."

That was only five years ago.  Today Obama has launched yet another partisan war against that most heinous of villains, those dastardly Republicans in Congress who stand in the way of the Democrats' Equal Pay Fairness Act of 2014.

Wait, isn't that the same problem he already solved with the much heralded Lilly Ledbetter Act back when he began?  Didn't he and his Democrat mouthpieces say THAT act of Congress would solve the fair pay problem?

Here we go again..

What Obama, the Democrats and the Main Street media failed to tell the public was his original solution was a joke in terms of helping women but a great payback by Obama for the millions of dollars of campaign contributions he got from the powerful Trial Lawyers Association and trial lawyers.

Every analysis done of his "signature" Lilly act by good guys (Democrats and Main Street media) and bad guys (Republicans and the business community) say his act was nothing more than a trial lawyer payout and did more to assist lawyers in collecting more fees than to promote equal pay for women in the workplace.

Women seem to be a tool of political expediency for this Administration to be used and confused by mixed signals, empty promises and demagoguery of the most sinuous nature.  Perhaps that is a reason Hillary Clinton seems to be putting more and more distance between herself and her former boss Obama.  And former President Bill Clinton is making more and more obvious references to the failures of the Obama Administration to accomplish anything.

So Obama has three public spokeswomen, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, former House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senator Barbara Mikulski, all part of the partisan Washington establishment with years of game playing experience and all part of the wonderful solution to women's pay equality they passed five years ago.

If they screwed it up last time and simply paid off the trial lawyers what in the world gives us confidence they will get it right this time?  Besides, they had their chance when they absolutely controlled Congress with Pelosi and Harry Reid in charge, do we really want to go back to that kind of leadership again.  Where is Hillary?

Attorney General Eric Holder

Now we come to the AG whining about the hidden agenda of racism that is causing him as the chief law enforcement officer in America and Obama as the first Black president to be victims to some nefarious secret plot.  In fact, the "attorney general", he said, talking in the third person as if he wasn't even in the room, is subject to the worst harassment by congress in history and it was even worse for Obama as our first minority president.

This came up because Holder was called to congress to deliver documents on the Obama Fast and Furious operations where guns confiscated by the government were sold to drug dealers from Mexico and used to kill American federal agents.  He again refused to turn over all the documents requested in the congressional investigation.

Then he gives a speech and attacks the way he was treated by congress.  When one of the top government officials has absolutely no sense of history and turns to race baiting to keep the media attention off his own failure to turn over documents to congress then something is very wrong with this Administration.

I could rattle off a list of former attorney generals who were persecuted by congress and it made no difference whether they were Black, Hispanic, White, Democrat or Republican.  The AG is the front man for the president and he better be capable of taking criticism for the boss and for the cover ups that take place.

As for the president being a target of racism, even the most beloved president in our history and the one who took the courageous action to fight a civil war in order to free the slaves, an act that made it possible for Obama to one day be president, Abraham Lincoln from Obama's own state of Illinois, was the victim of far more sinister and shameful racist attacks and eventually paid his life for his convictions.  Ironically Lincoln was accused of being part Negro by the rabid racists of that day.

Come on Eric, don't put yourself and the president above everyone who ever held the offices if you can't take the heat.  Just get out.

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Politics takes a Breather as March Madness ends Partisanship

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Sometimes it takes a little bit of Americana to silence the partisan politics in our nation's capitol and we can thank the stars that for a couple of weeks every year politicians shut up and listen and watch.  No better example of March Madness and how it brings Americans together can be found than the photo of former Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush in Texas enjoying the men's national championship game between UConn and Kentucky.
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UConn Huskies and Storrs, CT now basketball Mecca of the Universe with 13 national titles

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A little village in northeast Connecticut called Storrs with barely 10,000 population has slowly and surely become the basketball capital of America dominating the NCAA men's and women's programs for all of the 21st century.  Located in that quiet little village is mighty UConn, the University of Connecticut with 30,000 students, three times the population of the entire village.

So move over Kentucky, UCLA, Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, Tennessee and all the other basketball powerhouses for the past century there are new kids on the block and unlike their huge predecessors, UConn does not just dominate men's or women's basketball, they dominate both.

The UConn women set the standard under the guidance of Geno Auriemmce, the Italian born coach who last night passed the legendary Pat Summit of Tennessee by winning his 9th NCAA national championship at UConn, leaving him just one behind the dean of all college coaches, John Wooden of UCLA whose 1960's and '70's UCLA men's teams won 10 national titles.

This year marked the 10th anniversary since UConn won both the men's and women's championships the same year, 2004, becoming the first college in history to earn that honor and this year, 2014, the Huskies did it again.

In fact since Geno Auriemmce won his first championship in 1995, in the 21st century he has won 8 more while the men won their 1st in 1999 and have won 3 more in the 21st century.  The total the two programs have now won is 13 making it the college with the most NCAA basketball champions in history.

Before the double win this year UConn was tied with UCLA for most with 11 titles while Kentucky (men) and Tennessee (women) each have 8.  UConn now stands alone in the history of the NCAA national championship with 13 titles.  Not bad for a school that has won all of them in the past 20 years.

In woman's basketball the sometimes brash and sometimes lovable Geno is now on a pedestal by himself and not since Frank Sinatra has an Italian American captured the heart and soul of the 5 million Italian immigrants to America he represents, and just remember, Geno was born in Italy.

What has he done?  He is on the verge of becoming the coach with the most NCAA championships in history.  He has the l0ngest winning streak, 90, in history.  Then there are five perfect seasons.

Thanks to him UConn has won more basketball championships than any other college in history.  And he even brings his mother to basketball games.

What better example for the future women leaders of America than Geno's motto of "La famiglia è per sempre".

Then there is Kevin Ollie in just his second year as head coach taking over a program on suspension that could not even go to the tournament last year and leading them to the Promised Land the first chance he had as head coach.  His story could also be the stuff of legends.

Wake up America, the new basketball mecca is here and it goes by the unlikely name Storrs.

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A Tale of Two Cities - March Madness comes to an end!

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Arlington, Texas & Nashville bring down the lights on NCAA Tourneys

There is no way the rest of the world could ever understand the American love of basketball and the frenzy of March madness.  This year has seemed to stimulate a revival of interest in the passion in both the men's and women's national championships, an increase in game attendance and higher TV ratings.

So many fascinating plots swirl around the contenders it would take a couple of television network series to even begin to scratch the surface.

Tonight the Kentucky Wildcats take on the U Conn Huskies in the men's championship, two of the most familiar names in men's basketball meeting in the most unlikely of places, the national championship.  Just last year neither team was even invited to the NCAA tourney.

They play in the A T&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and there will be an astounding 80,000 frenetic fans at the game joining the millions on television as the season long drama  reaches it's climax.

Tomorrow night the Notre Dame Fighting Irish square off against, you guessed it, the U Conn Huskies for the women's championship.  What is it with the U Conn name popping up?  Not far from the northern Texas men's site the women are in Nashville, Tennessee at the Music City Center Bridgestone Arena where 20,000 people will be in attendance. 

Now these two teams who used to share the same conference are now in different conferences and like a Hollywood blockbuster, U Conn has won 39 games and lost none while Notre Dame has won 38 games and lost none.  Between the two they have won 77 games and lost ZERO this season.

The Men

Coaches:

Kentucky - John Calipari

U Conn - Kevin Ollie

In the last 18 years these two teams have won 6 national championships and have been to the final four so many times I forgot.  Kentucky has won more games than any other team in college basketball history.

Now for the plots, sub-plots and just plain bizarre facts.

Neither team was invited to the NCAA playoffs last year.

Kentucky won in 2012.

U Conn won in 2011.

Kentucky began the year ranked number 1 in the nation and ended the year not even ranked in the top 25 by the AP.

U Conn began the year unranked and finished ranked number 18.

Kentucky was seeded 8 meaning it was considered one of the top 32 teams in nation.

U Conn was seeded 7 meaning it was considered one of the top 28 teams in the nation.

The U Conn men won national championships in 1999, 2004 and 2011.

Kentucky won national championships in 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998, 2012, a total of 8 and second only to UCLA (11).

[UCLA won ten titles the 11 years between 1964 and 1975, and again in 1995.]

U Conn has one of the most successful basketball programs (men and women) in the nation since 1995.

Kentucky has the most successful men's basketball program in history.

Most wins, 2138 in history.

Highest winning percentage in history.

Most NCAA tournament appearances (53) in history.

Most NCAA tournament wins (117) in history.

Second in national titles (8) to UCLA (11).

Kentucky also won NIT tournament in 1946 and 1976 making it the only school to win multiple NCAA and NIT championships.

UK has a record 39 Sweet 16 appearances.

UK has a record 34 Elite 8 appearances.

UK has a record post season NCAA appearances (61).

UK has played in 16 Final Fours (3rd place).

UK has played in 11 Championships, 2nd to UCLA.

Kentucky is starting five freshmen, only the second team in history since the 1992 Michigan Fab Five, but they lost the finals.

Ten years ago, 2004, U Conn became the first school in history to win the men's and women's titles the same year.

U Conn had teams in both finals four different times, with both winning just once.

This year the 8 and 7 seeds are the highest total (15) in modern history.

Kevin Ollie of U Conn is in his 2nd year as head coach following legendary coach Jim Calhoun.

John Calipari is a legend himself having taken 3 different teams to the NCAA Final Four, and UK alone to three Final Fours.

Calipari has won 20 games 20 times and 30 games 8 times in his career.

The Women

Coaches:

U Conn - Gene Auriemmce

Notre Dame - Muffet McGraw

U Conn and Notre Dame were ranked number 1 and 2 all season.

U Conn 39-0 and Notre Dame 38-0 are first unbeaten teams to meet in national championship.

U Conn going for 9th national championship, most in history.

U Conn is the defending national champion.

U Conn and Notre Dame were in last years' Final Four.

U Conn had the longest winning streak in college basketball, 90 games.

U Conn has won 8 national championships and been in 15 Final Fours.

Gene Auriemmce is tied with Pat Summit of Tennessee for most women's championships, 8 and is just two behind John Wooden of UCLA (10) for most in men's and women's basketball.

This is the 5th time U Conn, under Gene Aurimmce, could finish unbeaten and he lost 1 once three years.

McGraw has led Notre Dame to 6 Final Four appearances.

Notre Dame has won 1 national championship in 2001.

Under McGraw Notre Dame has been in 7 of the past 12 Sweet 16s.

Also under McGraw Notre has been in 16 NCAA tournaments including 14 straight.

So you get the drift.  For the next day and a half politics and world affairs will take a back seat to March Madness as we come to the conclusion of a simply spectacular season in both men's and women's basketball.

The legends are coaching, the amazing pedigrees of the various programs are blue blood through and through, and no matter what happens history will be made, dreams will be fulfilled, and other dreams will be shattered.

Can the kiddie corp of Kentucky prevail over U Conn?  Which giant will be left standing in the woman's final?  Can Kentucky's Aaron Harrison nail an impossible 3 pointer and win his fourth straight tournament game in the last seconds?

Hang on folks and don't miss either one of the cliff hanger stories for you will be reading about them in the history books from now on.

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Doug McDermott NCAA player of the year

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Doug McDermott, the basketball machine from the Creighton Bluejays swept all the top national awards for player of the year.  During they past season he averaged 26.7 points, tops in the nation, and 7 rebounds while leading Creighton to a 27-8 record and NCAA tournament invitation.

With 3,150 points and 1,088 rebounds McDermott is one of only three men in history with over 3,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career.  He also is one of only three in NCAA history to be named All American three years.

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