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Lady
Luck So, some sweetheart showed up at the Preakness Stakes and took the boys to the woodshed. Congratulations, Rachel Alexandra. The race was very entertaining, and this go around, she was better than all the boys. The question most horse experts are asking is if she will race in the tough, long Belmont Stakes in three weeks? The more important question is what horse is jockey Calvin Borel riding? The guy won the Kentucky Derby with 50-1 longshot "Mine That Bird", and now has a Preakness victory with "Rachel Alexandra". I'm telling you, if the jockey rides another horse to a win at the Belmont, maybe we can re-write the Triple Crown record books. It needs to be noted that the last time a horse won the Triple Crown was 1978. Move over "Affirmed", here comes Calvin Borel. It was nice of Michael Phelps, the 14-time gold medal winning Olympic swimmer, to show up in Charlotte for his first dip back in the pool following his 3-month suspension. While he was in town, he happened to win a couple of events and lose in the finals of both the 100-meter freestyle and backstroke. What was more impressive is that Phelps stayed out of the limelight by not frequenting the local strip clubs, nor did he make any stops down to Columbia to see some old buddies at the University of South Carolina. Last week, the NY Post reported of his appetite for the young skanks who hug poles for a living. So, we're glad Phelps could make it through the weekend in the Queen City without causing any problems. Pretty good weekend for Tony Stewart. The new car owner pocketed a nice, tidy million bucks-plus for winning the NASCAR All-Star event at Lowe's Motor Speedway. You got the sense that "Smoke" was on the verge of finding Victory Lane, given his recent success on the track. Stewart picked a great night to win, and he's laughing all the way to the bank. Even his teammate, Ryan Newman, had a strong car that was capable of winning the event. It should be noted that the Stewart-Haas operation is using Rick Hendrick engines, and Newman last week commented that he felt they were distant teammates to the Hendrick Motorsports team. He's probably right. I wonder if Rick Hendrick wants a cut of the million dollar winnings? Speaking of Hendrick, I had him as a guest on our "PrimeTime with the Packman" show last Friday, and I asked him about Dale, Jr. and the rumors surrounding their 88-team. Hendrick was classy in his response and stated that he hoped for good things in the near future from Junior's team. When I asked him about the fact that Dale, Jr. has only one win in the past 109 Cup races, Hendrick took exception and even questioned me on the win total. Sorry, Rick....that's a fact. I'm excited to get back to Raleigh next week for the Hurricanes-Penguins NHL Playoff series. Game 1 begins Monday night at Pittsburgh, and once again the Canes are underdogs. So, what else is new? By defeating the top-seeded Boston Bruins last week, they became only the second team in NHL history to win consecutive Game 7's on the road. In case anybody is counting, Carolina has won their last four playoff series, all in Game 7 match-ups. Earlier in the Canes-Bruins series, heralded Boston sportswriter Bob Ryan commented that he thought the RBC Center was overrated. Obviously, that statement didn't go over too well with the Caniacs. I guess since the series is over, and Boston is sitting on the "Playoff Couch" with their Tom's Snacks, it is apparent that there was only one thing in the series that was overrated. Hey Bob, pass the Crunchy Cheesers. Would somebody please tell the NBA Commissioner that its OK to play a competitive game once in a while during the playoffs? The NBA Playoffs this year have been brutal. Every game feels like a blowout...because it is a blowout. As we finally head into the Eastern and Western Conference Finals, there have been 68 playoff games completed. 45 of them have been double-digit dogs. When nearly two-thirds of your games are determined by double digits, it makes for a busy night with the remote, finding something more entertaining to watch. In fact, there have been more games determined by 20 points or more than games determined by 3 points or less. Boring. I was interested in watching both Game 7 showdowns on Sunday, when Houston played at LA, and Boston hosted Orlando. LA built a 31-point lead in destroying Houston. Click. Orlando beat Boston by 19. Click. I wonder if Bob Ryan claimed that the Magic was overrated, too? Hey Bob, when you get finished with the Crunchy Cheesers, do you mind passing the Tom's Nacho Rings? |
Packman
on Sports Commentary
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