Triple Crown Mania

Like the Swallows returning to Capistrano (whatever that means), every Spring we get our taste of a potential Triple Crown Winner. I remember my first Triple Crown, 1977, Seattle Slew...he made it look so easy. Then the next year, one of the best rivalries in sports unfolded in front of my eyes (how I didn't know)...Affirmed v. Alydar. In Horse Racing Circles this is Red Sox/Yankees. And ever since its been nearly 30 years of close calls (sort of like being a Viking fan). No matter, it's still exciting stuff.

I don't know why, but these three races just get my blood going. Is it the fact that no horse can win the Triple Crown? Is it those cheesy special interest stories leading up to the race? Or is it because its the most low maintainence sport of them all (no regional bias, no research, no year-round banter, 1 hour of special interest story and 90 seconds of racing..that's it)? Or, is early May a dead time for Sports? The pageantry? Whatever?! Come Saturday my whole family will be peeled to the set.

Here are some fun lists to prime your pump:

Great Horses:

1. Smarty Jones (2004) - Almost cried when Birdstone blew by him at the Belmont...this horse was it.
2. Charismatic (1999) - Broke his leg in the Belmont still finished third to Lemon Drop Kid...that's Phil Richard toughness.
3. Easy Goer (1989) - beat Sunday Silence to snatch TC...one of the best finishes in any sport ever.
4. Alydar (1978) - lost three times to Affirmed. Alydar is like Barry Bonds: lots of stats and great blood lines, but not much hardware.
5. Afleet Alex (2005) - A starting gate slip cost this Colt immortality...two easy wins in Preakness and Belmont.

Great Horses I cheered against:

1. Point Given*
2. War Emblem*
3. Silver Charm*
4. Real Quite*
*denotes Bob Baffert trained horse

Favorite Triple Crown Anthem:

Maryland, My Maryland (Preakness)

Best Drink:

1. Black Eyed Susan (Preakness)
2. Mint Julip (Derby)
3. Belmont Breeze (Gross)

Favorite Saying:

And down the stretch the come! (Dave Johnson Style)

Here's his call from the 1999 Derby:

Charismatic is coming on strongly... DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME! Cat Thief digging in at the rail. Worldly Manner with Jerry Bailey. Charismatic, trained by Lukas, on the outside, now Lukas running 1-2. Charismatic on the outside takes command! Cat Thief... in the middle of the track, Menifee is flying, BUT IT'S CHARISMATIC HOLDING ON TO WIN IT BY A HEAD!

Are you pumped yet for Saturday? If not, you're probably not reading this far anyway.

Here's my pick for Saturday:

Curlin (won the Wood Memorial...winner of this prep race has won the most Derbies)

5 Teams I Cheer For that most don't

Do any of you guys have friends that have favorite teams from other cities and its like North Carolina Basketball or the LA Dodgers? I'm not naming names (Jay Ettinger), but these guys always have an answer for every sporting situation. Go Yankees! What? Yeah, my Mom's from New York. Or go USC! What? Yeah, my cousin went there. But my all-time favorite are the Duke basketball and Notre Dame football guys...they're the worst. Next time you run into one ask them how their other team's are doing like say Lacrosse or Football at Duke...and when they back peddle (oh, I just like their such and such team), that's when you got 'em. A real sports fan should choose his teams with a little more salt.

Below is my list of teams no one cheers for (literally).

Criteria: Must have very little following, must perform better than perceived.

1. Florida Marlins. Have you ever seen more than 10,000 fans at one of their home games? Have you ever not seen them compete? Have you ever seen Dontrell Willis (a pitcher) leg out a triple? This is the Red Headed Step Child marries the Little Engine That Could of all sports teams. There are plenty of Red Headed Step Children teams (see Devil Rays, Arizona Cardinals) and plenty of Little Engines (see Packers, Twins, or Edmonton Oilers). But no team combines them both as well as the Marlins.

2. Golden Gopher Football. With Glen Mason at the helm, he gave everyone in the state the green light to hate them and more or less root against them. The stadium should be cause for removal from the Big 10. They are a very close second. Despite having terrible recruiting and no fan support the Gophs always found a way to compete. New coach, new stadium will probably eliminate the fan support part of the equation. Based on the criteria, they probably will slip down this chart, since its my alma mater, I'm okay with that.

3. Wake Forest Anything. Fan following outside of its 300 alums (and a few nappie headed groupies) is brutal...so they have that part down. The outperforming is unbelievable. In hoops they are like the 6th choice for recruits behind UNC, Duke, NCST, UNC Charlotte and Elon but they still find their way into the tournament almost every year. But more amazing has to be football. Last year they won the ACC...yes the ACC, the future football super power (see future blogs on the ACC) that has Miami, Florida State, Clemson, BC, Virginia Tech, and Georgia Tech (all perennial T25s) in its conference plus Virginia, NCST, and Maryland (no cup of Tea). Go Deacs.

4. NY Jets. Decent following by NFL standards but by all means the second team in NYC. This team gets no respect...ever. They consistently outperform better teams no matter the coach, QB, lack of skill positions. Plus J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets has gotta be one of the best chants in pro sports.

5. San Antonio Spurs. Okay they have a huge fan following in San Antonio (bad choice). But nationwide no one cares if they win...period. This team is a Tony Parker/Eva Longoria breakup away from moving up a notch. They're boring, they win NBA titles, and they don't get in trouble. Maybe the other teams should consider their formula. That is if winning mattered at all in this league (sorry Mune for the bad NBA karma).

Minnesota's Top 20

The following is a list of my top 20 golf courses in the fair state of MN. Courses are selected on three criteria (beauty, difficulty, and tradition):

1. Interlachen (No Brainer)
2. Hazeltine (No Brainer)
3. Minneapolis (No Nonsense, has it all...except a Driving Range)
4. Spring Hill (Has everything except Tradition...Bobby Jones never played there)
5. White Bear Yacht (Nothing missing except I hate side hill lies)
6. Northland (Can you tell I like Donald Ross?)
7. Minikahda (Home Course bias...would rank higher if not for the recent remodel)
8. Wilderness (Never played it, a very good source ranks it #1 overall)
9. Woodhill (steeped in tradition and beauty, played there several times, never get over how cool this place is)
10. The Classic (#11 is the hardest green in the state to hit)
11. Windsong Farm (everything but tradition, very fair, very cool)
12. Deacon's Lodge (bulldoze #10 and this thing moves into the top 10)
13. Somerby (Never played it, a good source says top 10)
14. Somerset (Has all 3, lacks difficulty)
15. Rochester CC (Can you say hallways?)
16. Dacotah Ridge (Never played it, good source says top 20)
17. Olympic Hills (top 3 difficulty, only 3 vacation holes)
18. The Legends (Beautiful, tough, great golf experience)
19. Oak Ridge (Its been a long time...I'd run through hell in a gasoline jacket to play there...that's a Pete Rose line)
20. Wayzata (#9 and #18 are the two toughest finishing holes I've ever seen)

Others receiving votes:
TPC, Edinborough USA, Willingers, Golden Valley, & Giant's Ridge