Sunday, November 3, 2019

Sports this 'n' that

These are dark times for horse racing, specifically in wildfire-ravaged Southern California.

Santa Anita hosted the Breeders Cup this weekend, and, during the running of the Breeders Cup Classic, Mongolian Groom suffered a leg injury, and had to be put down on the track after the race.

In all, 37 horses have died at Santa Anita, dating back to December 2018, and track officials are still at a loss to figure out how.
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Evan Holyfield, son of 80's boxing icon Evander Holyfield, made his debut Saturday night, and scored a 1st round TKO in just 16 seconds.

Shades of Mike Tyson? Maybe, but there are online critics who believe that the referee's decision to stop the fight without a standing 8 count to the opponent suggests a fix was in. There's no way of proving that, really, but I recall no one complaining about Tyson making quick work of his opponents early in his career, usually in the 1st or 2nd rounds.
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To update something we wrote about on Friday, it appears the Mets will hold a press conference sometime this week to announce the hiring of former star outfielder Carlos Beltran as their new manager, the first Latino manager in team history. Rumors have former manager Terry Collins possibly returning as Beltran's bench coach, as the two were good friends for a number of years, despite the fact that Beltran was traded halfway through Collins' 1st year as manager in 2011.
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President Trump decided to make his primary residence in Palm Beach, Florida, instead of New York. The thin skinned Trump has fallen into severe disfavor with the Big Apple's residents, and evidence of this came when he attended a UFC card in New York Saturday night. Trump was booed, just as he was at the World Series in Washington last weekend. There's also a legal battle over Trump's New York tax returns, which the President has steadfastly, perhaps stubbornly, refused to turn over to the IRS, contrary to other political candidates.

The boos in Washington and New York tell that the average citizen is tired of the relentless rhetoric coming from the White House. I'd imagine it's a matter of time before Trump also wears out his welcome in Florida, too. The only way that changes, friends, is if Trump changes the way he conducts himself.

2 comments:

magicdog said...

Believe it or not, I found evidence that the boos were amped up a bit. In fact, Trump was welcomed largely with cheers. I work as an editor so I know the audio balance was tampered with to make it seem like his boos were intense. Fake Media strikes again!

As for Santa Anita, word has it the track surface is too hard - not enough cushioning to keep the horse's leg from snapping when it hits. Although for the past few decades, the horses themselves have been bred with thinner legs (due to some inbreeding and being sired by winning horses that are retired to stud the minute they get injured or start to show issues). American racers are build more for speed rather than endurance so breakdowns tend to be more common and the bloodlines show it. If it were up to me, I'd take a break from racing and put some thicker legs back into the breeding stock - either from some European racers, or via an outside breed like Fresians or Lippizans or Andalusians until the US Thoroughbred gets stronger.

hobbyfan said...

Well, Trump has turned his back on NY. It has been verified he got more of a mixed reception at UFC, and is attending today's LSU-Alabama game. They'll love him in the deep south, where he won a ton of votes three years ago.