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Entries from May 2009

Racing Suits Need Some Winning Colors

April 29th, 2008 · 1 Comment

Here in 2008, diversity remains a foreign concept in thoroughbred racing. The sport is still mainly a club for good ol’ (white) boys. You need a search warrant to find females or African-Americans in the important decision-making roles of industry organizations or race tracks.
Look at it like this: The campaign for President of the U.S. […]

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Tags: Horse Racing · Sports

Ask Colonel Billy To Name the Names

April 29th, 2008 · 1 Comment

Today we are proud to bring you the first installment of our public-service series, “Ask Colonel Billy.” The purpose is to give you a way to find out everything you ever wanted to know about the Kentucky Derby but were too scared – or stoned, as the case may be – to ask. Today’s topic, […]

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Tags: Horse Racing · Kentucky Derby

Jones’ Girls To Go for Oaks-Derby Double

April 27th, 2008 · No Comments

Don’t get the wrong idea about Larry Jones. He did not catch an incurable case of Kentucky Derby Fever when he finished second last year with Hard Spun. He has plenty of common sense under his trademark cowboy hat. He’s so respectful of convention and history that he gets a sort of crooked grin when […]

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Tags: Horse Racing · Kentucky Derby · Miscellaneous

Big Brown Will Wow in This Town

April 22nd, 2008 · 1 Comment

Given our city’s longtime fascination with all things brown, it was inevitable the day would come when we would have a Kentucky Derby horse named Big Brown. This animal is named for UPS, our city’s leading employer, and will take an unbeaten record – three wins in three starts – into the 133rd Derby on […]

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Tags: Horse Racing · Kentucky Derby

A Masters’ Top 12 List

April 15th, 2008 · 1 Comment

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The final day of the 2008 Masters golf tournament was a simple story: the South African kid didn’t choke and the Tiger didn’t charge. Period. Everything else went pretty much as Bobby Jones and the golfing gods might have planned it.
The Sunday pressure grabbed guys like Steve Flesch and Paul Casey right […]

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Tags: Golf · Sports

It’s All About Tiger, Even at Augusta

April 13th, 2008 · 2 Comments

AUGUSTA, Ga. – It has been the sort of Masters where the weather has been different every day, leading to different playing conditions, and where the leaders, through 54 holes, have played steady, sometimes spectacular golf, that’s worthy of the Hogans and Sneads and Palmers who made this place a holy shrine to the most […]

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Tags: Golf · Sports

Memphis Has Worldwide Wes to Thank

April 7th, 2008 · 4 Comments

SAN ANTONIO – You may be shocked to learn that precocious freshman guard Derrick Rose, didn’t matriculate – is that a great word or what? – at Memphis because he thought John Calipari was a coaching genius, because he loves ribs and Beale Street, or because he really liked the business school.
The truth is, he […]

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Tags: Basketball · Sports

Knight Time in Texas

April 6th, 2008 · 3 Comments

SAN ANTONIO – So here we were, standing in front of the Hyatt, waiting for an ESPN car to pick up my friend, Robert Montgomery Knight, the noted college basketball analyst, and his entourage, which included his wife Karen and yours truly.
The fans materialized immediately, bringing balls and papers to be signed. A couple only […]

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Tags: Basketball · Indiana University

The Rest of the Story on Mr. Wildcat

April 2nd, 2008 · 3 Comments

The obits about Bill Keightley, who died at 81 Monday evening, say that he had been the University of Kentucky’s basketball equipment manager for 47 years. Unfortunately, that’s not quite accurate. In fact, I used to kid “Mr. Wildcat” about padding his resume.

Through the 1961-’62 season, UK’s equipment manager was S.C. “Buster” Brown. I’m not […]

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Tags: Basketball · University of Kentucky