Maddux Sports Blog

It’s Saturday night and you should be out doing something more interesting than reading what I have to say, but I will hit three quick topics that caught my eye today:

1. A somewhat dull Triple Crown trail just got a whole lot more interesting. It looked like we were living in a one freak world - Big Brown. A second one emerged today. Casino Drive had only run once in his life before today, and it was in Japan. He won by a mile, though. More significantly, he has captured the attention of racing fans because he has shipped over here specifically for the Belmont, and because he is (at least) a half brother to Jazil and Rags to Riches (the last two Belmont winners). To tune up for that race which is a month off, the horse ran in the Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont against a reasonably decent crowd. It was a massacre. I could describe it further, but you had better see this one for yourself:

Click here to see the video

One last interesting note. Kent Desormeaux rides Big Brown. He also rode Casino Drive in this race. This will perhaps be the first time in history that a top jockey wins a race that impressively and steps off the horse for its next race.

2. The streak came to an end. Detroit beat Orlando by a point in Florida to become the first road team in the second round to win and only the second one to cover. Cleveland started a new streak in the second game, and they did it with an exclamation point - they covered the two point spread by 22 points.

3. I know you can’t bet on high school girl’s track and field (not legally anyway, and if you are doing it illegally then you might have a problem), but this story is too amazing not to mention. Rochelle High School won the girl’s 1A Texas state team championship. So what? Bonnie Richardson was the only girl to qualify for the meet from the school. She won two events, was second in two others, and added a third in another. That earned her more points that the second place school. The best part? She’s only a junior. I know who I am betting on next year. I doubt there will be much value in her, though.

1. The most ridiculous thing I have read in a long time - SI.com has an article in which Kobe Bryant tells the world that he has no desire the Lakers. What a moron. Sure, he’s the best player in basketball and all, but did he seriously need to say this. We got to spend months listen to him whine and call Mitch Kupchak an idiot and demand a trade and deny it and everything else that made him so ridiculous, but now that he is winning all is forgiven, he is happier than he has ever been, and Kupchak has gone from a F to an A-Plus in his book. It’s not a wonder that people are getting sick of athletes. I’d still bet on his team winning at least two playoff series. I just won’t be thrilled for him when he does.
2. I’m sure he’s not that concerned about it, but I owe LeBron James an apology. I was pretty frank about my dislike of his team’s chances against the Wizards. I thought that Washington was rising while Cleveland was sputtering, and that James wasn’t man enough on his own to carry his team on to the next round. It’s too early to say for sure, but it seems pretty clear that I’m a moron. At least on this front. Maybe more.  James took over the game, his teammates elevated their games, and the Cavs cruised to the easiest possible 30 point win. James was just one board away from a triple double. The change by the Cavs is sudden and clear - they had covered just three times in their last 12 games, but they have covered easily in both playoff games - tonight they only had a 28.5 cushion over the spread. I can take some consolation at least in the fact that I’m not the only one that wasn’t buying in - after Cleveland won the first game by seven as four point favorites they were reduced to 1.5 point favorites in the second game.
3. The Red Sox are as under the radar as they can be (which obviously isn’t very under the radar), so they are running away from their division, and the league at this point, with less fanfare than I might have expected. After all, the Yankees are still the team in the news every day. Make no mistake, though, Boston is running away. They have won nine of 10, they’ve beat the Yankees three of five times, and they have been nicely profitable both at home and on the road. The scary thing for everyone who isn’t Boston is that this thing is reasonably sustainable. Kevin Youkilis is overachieving at the plate, but not as badly as David Ortiz is underachieving, so there is still a net gain to be had there. Dustin Pedroia is advancing nicely, Jacoby Ellsbury looks comfortably on his way to being a star, and Sean Casey has found new life. THe pitching is fine and isn’t pitching out of it’s mind, so it can mostly keep it up, too. In other words, the Yankees and everyone else had better start working to catch up to Boston, because they aren’t likely to fall back to the group.