...And Down the Stretch He Comes!

I told you earlier and it has rang true. Bernardini gets my vote for horse of the year and the three-year old champion after Saturday’s romp in the Grade I Travers Stakes. His impressive 7 and ½ length victory has set it up like concrete for me. After setting the time at every fraction, Bernardini pulled away down the stretch with the kick of a closer, much like he has done in the three year old standings. This sets him up for a showdown with Lava Man, the best in the West.

Lava Man’s last win in the Pacific Classic proved he was the best out of the Sunshine State. The fabled match-up, with what will be one for the record books, has the excipients of legend. You have the older, proven horse in Lava Man and the untested, youngster Bernardini wishing to seal his fate as the horse of the year. This is something that I would not want to miss. It almost seems like a modern day Seabiscuit sequel. And I can’t wait.

Tiger did it again. He won the Bridgestone Invitational on the final day after four play-off holes with Stewart Cink. Four tournaments, four wins. On Mike and Mike in the Morning, Greenie and Golic brought up some nice Tiger-stats. Tiger has played in 198 tournaments since turning pro. He has won 52 tournaments since turning pro. The rest of the top five golfers in the world, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Vijay Singh, and Retief Goosen, have 52 total wins. Tiger has won half as much money as those four players combined. Nice.

And speaking of golf, I played yesterday with Dad, David, D. Kyle, Ance and Jimmy Lee over at Southwind in Winchester. Ance was my playing partner and for as much crap as I give Ance about his conversational stylings, it was quite a pleasant round. Sorry Ance. I had to give a dose in one aspect, though. I out-drove him with his own driver. He kept asking me to try it out, so I did. Three hundred and seventy yards later (ask Ance if you don’t believe me), we both concluded two things. One, the drive was the longest drive I had ever hit, and two; the smack was the longest drive we had ever seen in person. The result on the hole was disappointing, I three putted for a bogey. Good times, nonetheless.

On a sadder note, one of my good friends from college was on Comair Flight 5191 when it crashed Sunday morning at Lexington Bluegrass Airport. Erik “Frank” Harris was a great guy and always had a smile on his face. Even if you had just seen him an hour before, he was just as happy to talk to you the next time he would see you. His family and friends will surely, miss him. I would like to ask a favor of you, if you would, to please say a prayer for his loved ones. This one is for you, Frank!

On the lighter side, Happy Birthday, Alex Thomas! I hope you have as great a birthday as the law will allow in Knott County!!!

Hold That Tiger!

Now, that I have effectively brought to surface your inner feelings about Wal-Mart and its business model/ethics/misappropriations, I would like to have your input on your thoughts concerning the enigma that is Tiger Woods.

Eldrick T., as I affectionately call him, has his hands, once again, firmly of the reigns of domination in the world of professional golf. Many discounted the Era of Tiger after his failure to make the cut in the U.S. Open. Many said that now was the time of Phil Mickelson. But, Hefty Lefty (not to confused with Jared Lorenzen) has since proved his masterful craft of choking which leaves Tiger no choice but to accept the number one spot.

Tiger is still cramming the long ball along with a few other newcomers such as J.B. Holmes (U.K. alumni) and Bubba Watson. This is bringing on a whole new evolution to the game in playing style and courses. With all the new golf technology recently introduced (lighter, longer clubs and new ball compositions), players are ripping the covers off the ball just to get closer to the green. Usually with longer drives comes an increase in errant shots. These players are gouging out of the rough to reach the green, hence the name Bomb and Gouge golf. I have always played that way, but not by choice, merely circumstance. That and I roll like Uncle Ance.

"I don't pay for golf just to lay up."

The reaction of the PGA and golf course designers around the world is to increase the total yardage of courses to keep the scoring down and retain more players in contention. Even older, established courses are lengthening their holes to make it tougher on these guys. Is this the proper way to go? What about us amateurs? I wouldn’t have a chance on courses like these. I will confess that I don’t have a habit of playing championship courses, but in the event I ever do get that habit, I would like a chance and not have my aspirations torn to pieces by shotty play. What is the solution?

Enough golf talk, let’s get some updates in on the fun. This past weekend, Beth and I went to Louisville for a weekend with the Pedens. We took in some state fair action. We saw all kinds of neat displays. My particular favorite was the antiques and memorabilia. I saw the largest rabbit I had ever seen in the livestock area. It would make Chloe look like a kitten (and you know how big Chloe is). As for the state fare, I had a corndog, a ribeye sandwich, and a funnel cake. No, I didn’t eat all that at once. We were there from 10:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

After a brief rest at Paige and David’s, we went to Fourth Street Live for dinner. This was a very interesting place, which appeared to cater to the younger and more single crowd. It wasn’t necessarily my cup of tea, mostly because it wasn’t like my garage. We ate at the Red Star Tavern. I think I was the only one who enjoyed the food, but the service was horrid. We were there for close to two hours and I had one Bud Light when I sat down. About ten minutes later, I ordered a gin tonic. Forty-five minutes later, the gin tonic was served and five minutes later the food was served. Nice.

Sunday morning we went to Lynn’s Paradise Café for breakfast. I heard about this place while watching Throwdown with Bobby Flay on the food network. Fortunately, what I saw on TV was still on the menu. I really enjoyed it while the others did not. Figures.

I missed a few bets on Sunday for the Longacres Mile at Emerald Downs and the Pacific Million at Del Mar. No biggie, though. I am ready to nail them this weekend for the King's Bishop and Travers Stakes at Saratoga. The Bernardini express will be coming through! All aboard!!!

Paige and David, we had a great time hanging out with you this weekend and I am looking forward to our Gatlinburg trip. Later on.

P.S. I was intentionally trying to get you to discuss Wal-Mart when I wrote about country music. Just like sheep. Ha!

*No, I didn't get the idea to post about Tiger because the guy on The Sports Huddle did. Mine was out before his. JDA 8-22-06