Breeder' Cup Seven World Series Games in One Day.

Yes, the question has been asked and answered once or twice before.

Q- Best day in Sports?

A- Breeders' Cup.

It's seven World Series games in one day. Yes, it's seven Super Bowl horse races all packed into one day (two days, now that they ruined it by expanding the format).

I will add a column from ESPN.com to preview the races, but first I'll highlight this great piece by Rick Reilly who called a race at Santa Anita and found out for himself just how difficult it is to keep "track" of those nags on the "track."

Reilly's best line comes early in the race when he identifies a horse trailing the field and makes a pretty harsh reference to a former actress. I won't spoil it for you. Listen in by clicking the button midway down on the page I am linking HERE.

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Here's some info on the Breeders' Cup to be televised by ESPN (today at 3:45pm) and ABC (Saturday at 1:45pm est) from beautiful Santa Anita (Oak Tree) in Arcadia, California.

By Jay Privman

ARCADIA, Calif. - The Breeders' Cup was designed to showcase the sport's best runners and decide year-end championships, and even in its current 14-race format, it has been a great success over its 26-year run. Yet as good as this year's event is, and it is quite good, the sport's ultimate title might not be on the line, even with such accomplished horses as Summer Bird and the unbeaten, popular mare Zenyatta meeting on Saturday at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meeting in the premier event, the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic.

Rachel Alexandra has been considered the leader for Horse of the Year, based on a series of impressive victories that included the Kentucky Oaks and, against males, in the Preakness, Haskell, and Woodward stakes. She, however, is not here, her 2009 campaign having ended in September, with majority owner Jess Jackson saying he did not want to run her on Santa Anita's synthetic Pro-Ride surface, where his Curlin was fourth in last year's Classic.

There are those, though, who believe the Breeders' Cup should be supported regardless, that it should be as advertised, the venue to decide championships.

"This is what the Breeders' Cup is all about, so we feel it's our responsibility to participate," said Zenyatta's trainer, John Shirreffs.

"This is supposed to be the championship races," said Tim Ice, who trains Summer Bird. "Whoever wins should get top honors. My opinion is that each sport has its championship game, and you should compete in them for championships. This is the stage where Horse of the Year should be decided."

Both Zenyatta and Summer Bird certainly have the credentials. Zenyatta, owned by Jerry and Ann Moss, has won all 13 of her starts, including four this year. The Classic will be her first try against males. Summer Bird has put together victories in the Belmont, Travers, and Jockey Club Gold Cup. If either adds the Classic, it makes for a compelling resume.

Regardless, a horse with a worthy campaign will be slighted. Especially if the vote comes down to Zenyatta vs. Rachel Alexandra, because they never met, yet both will have stepped out of the box to beat males.

"If Zenyatta wins it, I wish they could give Horse of the Year to both owners," said trainer Bob Baffert. "We need more of that in racing."

"It'll be like the year Ted Williams hit .406 and Joe Dimaggio had his 56-game hitting streak and was the MVP," said Rick Mettee, the North American-based assistant to Godolphin Racing trainer Saeed bin Suroor, who has Girolamo and Regal Ransom in the Classic.

"We'd like it to be on dirt, but it is the championships," Mettee added. "You can't win the AFC Championship game and then pass the Super Bowl because you don't like where it's played."

Zenyatta is certainly the star attraction in the Classic, which highlights Day 2 of the 26th Breeders' Cup. She is unquestionably the best older filly or mare in the country. Now, the stakes get raised.

"For Zenyatta at this point in her career, the Classic is obviously a big challenge," Shirreffs said. "But to not do it, when she's doing particularly well, would be just as big a mistake. Mr. Moss is not thinking Horse of the Year as much as wanting to see Zenyatta compete at the highest level."

The fans are expected to be in her corner. Jon White of Santa Anita has installed her as the morning-line favorite.

"Zenyatta brings so much excitement to the race," said Baffert, who will try to beat her with Richard's Kid.

Zenyatta will put on a show before the race. She is quite the ham in the paddock, stretching and prancing, throwing her legs out like a Rockette. But first, she admires the scene.

"When she walks to the paddock, she stands there like some Roman god," said her jockey, Mike Smith.

Zenyatta regularly trains at Hollywood Park. She came to Santa Anita on Wednesday afternoon, and had a routine gallop on Thursday morning. She will be racing 1 1/4 miles for the first time.

"She's never failed to catch her target," said her exercise rider, Steve Willard.

Even those who rarely have seen Zenyatta accord her great respect. Christophe Clement, who is sending out Gio Ponti in the Classic, wishes Zenyatta would have run Friday in the Ladies' Classic, which she won last year.

"We're all trying to make a living around here," Clement said, joking.

Rip Van Winkle, the European standout expected to vie for favoritism with Zenyatta, galloped on Thursday morning. Even though he has been battling foot problems, he was not wearing any corrective shoeing on Thursday morning.

The Classic is the ninth race on a 10-race card that begins at 10:05 a.m. Pacific with the Damascus Stakes. Eight Breeders' Cup races follow, beginning with the Juvenile Turf at 10:45. The Sprint begins an all-Breeders' Cup pick six that has a mandatory payout. The Classic, the last BC race of the day, has a scheduled post time of 3:45 p.m. The Oak Tree Derby follows the Classic and completes the card.

All the Breeders' Cup races will be televised live, first from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Pacific on ABC, then from 12:30 until 4 on ESPN.

The weather has been delightful all week and is forecast to remain so through Saturday, with predictions calling for a high temperature of 75 degrees, partly cloudy skies, and no chance of rain.

Misc Items from the Past Few Days ...

This in from the Election Night Returns...

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Tuesday's election transformed Ohio from an anti-gambling state to one that will welcome four major casinos, including a glitzy new one in the Flats, just across from Quicken Loans Arena.

Issue 3, the constitutional amendment for casinos in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo, coasted to victory Tuesday night with 53 percent of the vote, thanks in large part to voters in Northeast and Southwest Ohio.

With Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert pledging that construction of the $600 million Cleveland casino would begin no later than the second half of next year, city supporters are looking forward to thousands of new jobs and more tourism from this new form of entertainment.

"We're going to deliver something very special," said Gilbert, who declared victory shortly before midnight at a party in the Cavs' practice court on the fourth floor of the Q, a couple of hours after the Cavs' win over Washington.

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President Barack Obama's Facebook Page, according to SLATE:

http://www.slate.com/id/2234008/

***

The Phoenix Business Journal profiled Suns CEO and former NBA Properties Prez Rick Welts. In the sports world front office category of talent, it doesn't get any better than Rick Welts:

Rick Welts is bracing for a challenging 2009 season, both on and off the court.

The Phoenix Suns play 17 of their first 22 games away from their home court at US Airways Center, and Welts knows how important that tough stretch will be for the franchise — and its bottom line.

The Suns, notorious burners out of the gate, will have to do it again this year, not only to ensure a playoff run, but to make the season financially stable.

“Anyone who says the economy isn’t what they’re focusing on is on a different planet,” said Welts, who was named team CEO in April, taking over the position from Managing Partner Robert Sarver. Prior to his promotion, Welts was president and chief operating officer of the franchise. He remains president.

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Wow, the next thing you know, they'll no longer use wood and will make graphite sticks. Whoops been there and done that, eh?

See this from our friends at the NYT:

New Skate-Sharpening Method Takes Hockey by Storm

By JEFF Z. KLEIN

The technological history of hockey is littered with elaborate ideas that did not pan out, like the Fox network’s glowing puck, the heated skate blade and Cooperalls.

But since last November, a simple innovation that costs next to nothing has become popular among N.H.L. professionals and weekend warriors alike: a skate-sharpening method called the flat-bottom V.

“It’s been great for me,” said Jack Johnson, a defenseman for the Los Angeles Kings and a candidate for the United States Olympic team. “It’s sharper, but at the same time, you can get just as much glide as with the old sharpening, so you get the best of both worlds.”

BlackStone Sports, the Ontario manufacturer of skate maintenance equipment that developed the flat-bottom V method, says players on about 20 of the N.H.L.’s 30 teams have switched from the traditional sharpening method in use for decades. The list of notables includes Zach Parise of the Devils, Joe Thornton and Rob Blake of the San Jose Sharks, Jason Arnott of the Nashville Predators, Milan Michalek of the Ottawa Senators and Doug Weight of the Islanders.

“It started with Cory Stillman in Florida,” said Steve Wilson, who founded Blackstone with his father, Murray, and developed the flat-bottom V cut with him and with company engineers.

“I was down there last year with a prototype to show the Panthers’ equipment manager, and Cory said, ‘Hey, I want to try it.’ He went out, loved it, and demanded that I leave the prototype there.”

Word spread through the Panthers’ dressing room, Wilson said, and other teams picked up on it.

“You know how hockey players are,” Wilson said. “They talk to each other.”

Proponents of the new method say this combination provides a sharper bite on turns and a freer glide in straight-ahead skating.

Conventional skate sharpening uses a grinding stone that creates a concave arc in the bottom of the blade.

The flat-bottom V uses specially made spinners to carve out tiny fangs along the skate blade’s ridges that bite into the ice for turns. The flat bottom between the fangs, similar to the flat cut of a speedskater’s blade, puts more of the blade’s surface in contact with the ice and is supposed to increase speed.

“Having the angles instead of the arc was quite intriguing,” said Wilson, who is awaiting the results of a University of Ottawa kinesiology study on the effects of the flat-bottom V. Depending on the angle at which the fangs are cut, he said, “when a player stops, he doesn’t have that ‘chattering’ effect.”

The dimensions involved are minuscule. A flat-bottom V cut of 90/75 means the width of the flat bottom between the “fangs” is 90 thousandths of an inch, and the height of the fangs is 75 ten-millionths of an inch.

Tiny, yet some players swear by it.

“My turns feel good, and I don’t feel slow coming out of them, so I’ve got no complaints,” Johnson said.

The Devils’ David Clarkson said: “I feel like I have more of a stride, that I glide a lot better when I push. So far I like the way I feel.”

Clarkson’s teammate Paul Martin started using the cut at the end of the preseason.

“It’s a little more efficient, so you glide better — you’re not working quite as hard,” Martin said before he sustained a fractured arm that will sideline him for up to six weeks.

Beyond the different feel, the flat-bottom V costs next to nothing in a sport where one player’s equipment can easily exceed $1,500.

“It cost me $10 to get my skates sharpened this way instead of the usual $5,” said Mike McBride, a 53-year-old recreation-league player in Detroit. “I had it done about two months ago, and I noticed a little difference right away. It didn’t make me go faster, but it provided me with more stability; it made me firmer on the ice.”

Internet message boards for rec-league players have been alight over the cut for several months.

The last innovation in hockey skates came about five years ago and involved heated blades, which were meant to create a thin layer of water between blade and ice to add speed. But it never caught on, because of its expense and the cumbersome battery pack players had to carry.

There, in the dustbin of hockey history, it joined Cooperalls (long pants of early-1980s vintage to replace the customary shorts and socks, and worn briefly by the Philadelphia Flyers and the Hartford Whalers) and the glowing puck (a visual aid on Fox telecasts of the mid-’90s meant to make it easier for American viewers to follow the action).

The flat-bottom V seems more likely to have a longer shelf life.

“I’ve got four sons,” Wilson said. “I know how much it costs to outfit a player. The nice thing about this is that it costs pretty much the same as regular skate sharpening. It’s definitely not like buying a pair of $800 skates or a $300 stick.”

McBride, who said he never played organized hockey as a youth and considers himself “no better than the average weekend player,” recalled that he heard about the flat-bottom V from someone at his office whose 12-year-old boy was playing at the pee-wee level.

“His son was raving about it, as were the other kids on the team, so I decided to try it,” McBride said. “I’m going to stick with it.”

What a Moron...

Countdown with Keith Olbermann featured this item during the Monday night "Oddball" session... and the name of the MSNBC feature fit the article's writer -- Mr. X -- perfectly:

Why the US Congress Should Revoke ESPN's License to Broadcast

I have just about had it with ESPN.

On one hand, I can imagine that ESPN employs respectable people, yet the big picture of ESPN is that ESPN is nothing more than propaganda that only serves to divide people in many ways, including racial lines.

ESPN is nothing more than yellow journalism and not in a harmless or entertaining way.

On one hand, you'll get hacks that laugh at distraught fans (see, College GameDay); on the other hand you'll get more hacks that washed out from some school yet somehow insinuate themselves into places that they don't belong (see, cast of Around The Horn ).

Ooh, but we should feel badly about ourselves because we aren't puppets that, "get to" be on the flickering idiot box, believing that the job is inherently a higher plane of intelligence.

It seems fitting that the former host of SportsCenter would be Keith Olbermann, whom is one of the most divisive names in the mainstream media. Olbermann even called ESPN a "Godforsaken place," and later backed down from his criticism and shouldered the blame in an article called, "Mea Culpa."

I wonder how many pellets they had to feed to Olbermann for him to cave. But don't get me wrong, Bill O'Reilly has been just as bad, but Olbermann relates to ESPN.

ESPN has stooped to a new low. One of the few shows on ESPN that may have had a scintilla of integrity, Outside the Lines, has now engaged in a hit piece against Raiders coach Tom Cable, in which his ex-wife and former girlfriend accuse Cable of repeated abuse.

This hit piece by ESPN is transparent. The sports media has already allowed for Randy Hanson to defame Coach Cable with bunk accusations of assault.

Now, with egg on their face, because you know, they aren't journalists, columnists, or even sufficient critics, they have decided that it would be prudent to report this junk about Cable after ESPN refused to report the civil charges of rape against Ben Roethlisberger.

For years, ESPN refused to investigate the problem of steroids in baseball, only to allow their job to be dumped on the US Congress.

ESPN refused to investigate Spygate. ESPN refused to investigate the veracity of accusations against Pacman Jones and thus allowed Commissioner Goodell to in effect end the career of the troubled player for unsubstantiated accusations against him.

And yet, ESPN will report this nonsense that was never reported to law enforcement or any other agency.

Why? Because the one incident against Cable was 20 years ago. Cable admittedly slapped his wife on the face in anger, because he learned that she had been adulterous. Cable openly regrets what happened and has stated that he has regretted ever since.

Yet, ESPN in their malice has decided that they need to cover their rears after giving a forum to Randy Hanson and picking on that story like vultures.

ESPN has shown over the course of the years to engage in malicious attacks against the Raiders organization, including Bill Plaschke of Around the Horn and Jay Mariotti of the same show.

In August, the Pittsburgh native, Mariotti would even refer to the legendary organization as a "God-awful franchise," and that Cable should be suspended and that Al Davis should "vanish."

While Plaschke openly used his time on ATH to call for the suspension of Cable even after the Napa County DA announced that there would be no charges against Cable for assault, and that Hanson had broken his jaw after falling backwards in his chair, because he had his feet on the table.

Even Tony Kornheiser of Pardon the Interruption asserted that the witnesses "may have" been intimidated, which is a ridiculous assertion and effectively questions the integrity of the Napa County DA.

Had the Napa County DA believed that intimidation was occurring, the DA surely would have investigated.

Kornheiser has also admitted to his "East Coast bias" when talking about how much he loves the match-up between the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies.

ESPN doesn't have a FCC license as its a cable network... and

God Help Us All...

This story from the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Tim Donaghy's tumultuous journey through the federal prison system, which he says included a beatdown from an inmate who claimed to have New York mob connections, finally is coming to an end.

The Havertown-bred former NBA referee is scheduled to be released (Wednesday) from the Hernando County (Fla.) Jail, where he's finishing a 13-month prison term for his part in a gambling scandal that triggered an avalanche of negative publicity for the league.

Donaghy, 42, pleaded guilty in 2007 to federal wire-fraud and gambling charges. He admitted to accepting cash payoffs from two childhood buddies from Cardinal O'Hara High in exchange for betting tips that were based on his inside knowledge of the game.

"I've dealt with a lot of felons and I think he is sincerely repentant and contrite,'' said Pat Berdan, of Executive Prison Consultants, a firm that has been assisting Donaghy in prison.

"I see no intent, not even a hint of it, of revenge or retaliation or attempting to put the NBA in their place or anything like that,'' Berdan said. "He is quite remorseful about the whole thing.''

The Villanova grad served the bulk of his sentence at a minimum-security prison camp in Pensacola, Fla., where he suffered a knee injury when, he said, a man who claimed to have mob ties assaulted him.

Donaghy was transferred to a halfway house in June, but was sent to a county prison in August for a federal rule violation. His attorney, John Lauro, said Donaghy believed that he had permission to go to a health club to work on his knee, but federal authorities said it was an unauthorized trip and locked him up.

Lauro said the last few months have been tough on the ex-ref, who still needs knee surgery.

"County prison is the last place in the prison system that anybody would want to be," he said.

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TL Comment: I just can't even believe this guy is doing testimonials for Executive Prison Consultants. You just can't make this stuff up? An admitted liar and felon being your go-to guy as a spokesperson? Someone who hasn't proven - for one second - that he is remorseful or looking to make a positive impact in life. Christ? Volunteer for some local charity or join the Marines. Do something.

By the way - this is ACTUALLY on the Executive Prison Consultants online site:

"Executive Prison Consultants did more for me than I ever thought possible. They helped me get things done that attorneys told me were not realistic. Thanks to EPC, I left prison months before my originally scheduled release date. The professionals at EPC get results!"

-- Tim D (convicted liar and felon)

Look Back: One Year -- Where is the Drive and the Determination?

A year after the most important election in our lifetime, the spirit and the drive that was the backbone of a new, young, impactful candidate has been reversed and undermined by the political opponents defeated a year ago tonight.

I ask why?

Why have we allowed the enthusiasm and the desire for change to be sucked right out of our daily lives?

Why have we cowered underneath the pressures put forth by the people who bring you Fox News?

Why aren't we out there making the changes happen instead of backing down to the very people who stand by their actions to sabotage something as basic and decent as providing health care to our fellow citizens, many of whom can not afford a doctor or simple check-up?

I ask? What happened America?

You were out there a year ago. Now, you sit on your ass and complain or - worse yet - you listen to the Republican political sabotage machine that has taken this country into the worst economic period of our times and now have the gall, the audacity, to try to revise history and blame others.

Get out there and vote today. And, nearly as important - get out there and work. Take a minute and decide what you are going to do to help move this country forward. Don't stand still and settle for what was yesterday, what was troubling, what was setting us back. Don't settle for so-called leaders who put barriers in front of change and then question why hasn't change come quickly.

I am doing that by backing Michael Flaherty of Boston for mayor. I am not settling for the past 16 years of ancient and back room political influences. I want Boston to be a better place for me and my family. I want some progress.

It's Election Day 2009 and Election Day is the most important day of the year. It is not just your right to vote, it is your obligation.

Tommy Sheppard...Nothing but the Best

Here's to T-Shep with a story courtesy of Eddie Sefko at the Dallas Morning News. Sefko "broke" this baby quite quickly... must've had a source at the NBA or in the District:

The NBA has an award for everything and one of them that fans don't hear much about but means plenty within the fraternity of people involved with the NBA is the Splaver/McHugh "Tribute to Excellence'' Award.

Every year, it goes to a person who is or has been a member of the NBA public-relations family.

This year, the pickers could not have done better, awarding it to Tommy Sheppard, the Washington Wizards' VP of Basketball Administration who oversaw all internal and external player relations with the Denver Nuggets before joining the Wizards.

Sheppard has been in the NBA 16 seasons and is universally considered one fo the best communicators and organizers in the league, not to mention one of the best dudes.

He's scouted, dealt with agents, mastered the salary cap, evaluated college and high-school talent and pretty much done it all as Wizard president Ernie Grunfeld's right-hand man.

Among other winners of the award are: Former NBA VP of international communications Terry Lyons (2008), former Seattle PR director and current Phoenix Suns' president and CEO Rick Welts (2006) and former Mavericks' PR Director Kevin Sullivan in 2004. He went on to be White House Communications Director under President George W. Bush.

--Eddie Sefko

Message from Sam Yoon on Michael Flaherty

Be sure to get out and vote today. It is your right, yes, but it is really your obligation.