Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Just Horsing Around ... And Other Oddities

Is it just me, or does it seem kind of odd that I'll Have Another scratched from the Belmont Stakes with a chance to win the Triple Crown?


Trainer Doug O'Neill [http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-06-09/sports/bal-scrutiny-on-doug-oneill-proves-horse-racing-needs-reform-20120609_1_horse-doug-o-neill-triple-crown] has a long history of doping suspensions and fines in California and something tells me the racing industry would rather not have a Triple Crown winner for a 35th straight year than have one under a prospective cloud of drugging.


So, horse comes up hurt. Scratches. Goes out to stud. No wonder racetracks want slut - uh, slot machines to offset competition from riverboat casinos in many states. They're saying They Want Another way to make money in an industry with an image along the lines and level of - oh, boxing.


***

Been hearing a lot of scuttlebutt that Penn State should get the death penalty or at least strong sanctions from the NCAA in the wake of the Sandusky scandal.

Problem is, did Penn State violate NCAA regulations over the term of the long history of this scandal?

Probably not, but don't tell that to victims Nos. 1-8. Or is that 10?

***

Is this for real? The NFL is pushing back starting times of late games on Sunday afternoons by 15 minutes because of all those Tim Tebow-led comebacks that otherwise were missed in some markets because networks were contractually obligated to cut away from the early games?

Next thing you know, Tebow will finish ahead of - oh, say, Jay Cutler [http://www.chicitysports.com/2012/05/03/jay-cutler-flips-off-paparazzi-middle-finger-looks-extra-healthy/] - in voting by players for players with the most impact in 2011. No, wait...

***

This just in: Michael Jordan's son Marcus arrested in Omaha, Neb., on charges of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct after a scuffle with a woman at a hotel.

I won't repeat the cliches here verbatim, but... Apples/trees. Leopards/spots.

***

Is there any question how much the Chicago Bulls' Derrick Rose [http://www.inquisitr.com/235299/derrick-rose-undergoes-knee-surgery/] won't be playing after the Bulls drafted Kentucky point guard Marquis Teague.

He's pretty good. Apparently, he'll need to be.

***

Out of the thousands and thousands of hours of coverage of Olympic events that will be available, perhaps the ones you don't want to miss are from Mark McLusky at www.wired.com/olympics2012, where he'll be breaking down athlete performance like you've never seen it broken down before.

Never. Thank you, WIRED. That's an up-close-and-personal-coverage angle I can live with.

***

Howard Schlossberg is editor of the Journal of Sports Media[http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/product/Journal-of-Sports-Media,673232.aspx]. He's an associate professor of journalism at Columbia College Chicago [https://www.facebook.com/pages/CCC-Journalism-Columbia-College-Chicago/115604591875424], where creativity and learning are embraced hand-in-hand. And he still writes sports for the Daily Herald [http://www.dailyherald.com/] in Chicago's northwest suburbs.

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