Wow, where as the year gone already? First we have almost no winter and then we follow that up with weather the last week or so that seems more like late June or even early July… And some time in the last four months I have obviously blinked and Derby weekend is upon on us. Granted, I have not done my usual following of intensely watching all the horses in contention since the racing season really started back up for the horses on track to the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby this year, but I still have a few good picks and suggestions for two days if you are into wagering or even if you just want a horse to shout for as they are coming down the stretch.
Something a little bit different for today and the blog. Due to my wonderful job (at least most of the time) I am going to be attending the University of Kentucky basketball game this evening. Yes, I did just attend a game, way up in the stands, last week versus my old college, Transylvania. Yes, I have attended a little over a handful of games over the the years, going back to around 1989 for my first. Yes, the experience tonight will blow those out of the water. I will be seated down on the floor in one of the end-zones.
Did anyone see the game between what should probably be the national championship for college football on Saturday? In case you were not paying attention LSU played Alabama in a SEC match-up that just so happened to include the number one and number two ranked teams in the land. If you happened to catch the game, you would not have been disappointed. It was a low scoring defensive brawl that ended regular time with a tied score and in the end a win by LSU in overtime.
Early this evening I went to see something that had not happened in just over a hundred years. Crosstown potential rivals Transylvania University, of which I am an alum, met the steeped in tradition University of Kentucky on the basketball court. Obviously I went to support Transy, but still I have always enjoyed Wildcat basketball. And clearly, as one might expect in this match-up, I fully expected Transy to be short on the size front, outgunned speed and ability, and just generally at a much lower level of competition – hence the nature of the exhibition game.
Such a totally foreign place to be for me, but as I have noted a long time ago I can live with out football, could give not an iota of care for pro basketball (college is a different story), but baseball – take away what has historically been America’s sport and a little part of me would die. Oddly enough this season has been one of the more exciting to have come around in several years and that is without the Reds in the picture since really before the All Star break. Sure, they had a chance after the break, but when you are taking at best one of three against teams you should sweep it is hard to make up a great then ten game gap. But that right there is just what one team did that made things so exciting for the season end and they are now heading to the World Series.
