March 2009 Archive
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I was crushed today when I awoke to find news that Alysheba, my favorite horse as a youngster, had died. Alysheba is not a name that many laymen would know, but he was a one of the most talented horses of the modern era. Alysheba won the 1987 Kentucky Derby and Preakness before falling to his rival, Bet Twice, in the Belmont. He was sired by the great Alydar, who would place close second in all three Triple Crown races to the last winner, Affirmed.
 It is easy for me to have liked Alysheba. The jockey silks were great (white diamonds on a brilliant blue field), he was easy to see on the track being a bay horse instead of the usual sorrel or chestnut, and he was fun to root for. He had a habit of being subject to uncanny bad luck and then rallying to win. He may have been a Triple Crown winner if not for the New york ban on horses being injected with Lasix ( a diuretic in people used on horsed to prevent their lungs from bleeding during racing, its not a real issue anymore and allowed in almost every country with organized horse racing). His come-from-behind win in the Kentucky Derby still stands out in my mind as one of the greatest performances in horse racing history short of Big Red's Belmont domination. Coming out of the gate, Alyusheba was bumped ahrd by his lifelong rival, Bet Twice. Alysheba was hit so hard he actually went to  his knees and nearly lost Chris McCarron. The next few moments exhibited what was perhaps the finest part of the horse, his fluidity as an athlete. Alysheba would rise and accerlerate, overtaking other horses easily and switching leads in a wonderfully smooth fashion. Despite being knocked around, he glided back to the front to outduel the leaders and win. It is a great thing to get knocked down in the first and come back and win in the 12th.
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Hey, just to let everybody know, I haven't stopped blogging. I have just hit a snag. One of the things I wanted to do when and if I went back to school was take Latin. A dead language? Yes. Had...
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I wonder what it was like for Kyle Taber during the Dark Ages of Indiana basketball. The guy who stayed. I was really surprised tonight to find the Hoosiers in the game with Michigan State. If you had told...
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I don't know if you can take the sentiment flying around here these last few days, but I must explain myself. Perhaps some of you were wondering why I didn't comment on the release of Marvin Harrison, my favorite player...
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