Making family, basketball history
Several stories exist in my family involving the epic failure on my part to produce entertainment from something that otherwise sounded like fun.
The Climb
The hiker leaned on his walking stick, sweat dripping from each eyebrow, off his nose like an old barn faucet, “You’re about a third of the way there.”
Huffing, verging on puffing, I stammered out, “Great.” It was part spit, part response as I grabbed a rock with my right hand and lifted through a worn ledge of desert. The sun rose to my left. A dog flitted past. Two hikers passed me, smiling, on their way down, a woman corrected my route, “This way,” as I wandered off course and wished for those eight strides back. On I walked, trekked, staggered, over rocks, past cactus, scree sliding beneath my light running shoes.
One for my Brother
In the old news department. My brother won the Eclipse Award.
As Jay Hovdey wrote in the Daily Racing Form…
A dime’s worth of research reveals that full brothers have never won Eclipse Awards. There have been full sisters (the turf champs Banks Hill and Intercontinental) and grandmother-granddaughters (Personal Ensign and Storm Flag Flying).
Then came the Clancy brothers, Joe and Sean, both by Joe Clancy Sr. out of Ruth Clancy and raised to know which end did what from the day they could stand and nurse.
Sean Clancy, a former professional steeplechase rider with limbs miraculously intact, won an Eclipse Award for his 2009 story about the legacy of Hall of Famer trainer Sidney Watters. Now Joe, the tall one, gets his own horse for the trophy case, having been honored for his 2014 story about the Preakness Stakes victory of California Chrome. If racing fans still read, it’s because people like the Clancy brothers continue to write. Nice going, Joe.
Things are looking up
Today’s to do list: Things to think about after coming in from round 2 of shoveling this morning in Saratoga Springs. You’ve got to think positive on a day like today, when you can’t feel your fingers and the only thought through your head is “Moving back to Saratoga was a good idea because …”
Window Watchers
Today is one of those days that I miss working in the traditional office setting.
Hello The Fly
I was preaching. Just hours into the first day of the 2014 Cheltenham Festival, my hands were waving, my voice quavering, my blue elephant tie flying.
“You’ve seen the changing of the guard. In four minutes, the reigning champion becomes the former champion. Just like that. The public changing of the guard, the coldest cut. He’ll never be back. He might not ever win another race. That’s it. The crowd salutes him their champion in the winner’s enclosure, say goodbye to the champ. Goodbye The Fly.”
Passing around a cup full of thanks
A player has a chance to think about those who matter most in his life, who’ve helped him most to get where he is – his parents, his wife, his coaches, one coach, his friends, one friend – and for that day to share the Cup with them. To thank them.
Kentucky Royalty
Nothing like a trip to Kentucky. Seven and a half hours down, eight hours back (drank too much coffee), now home for a few days. Lexington, Kentucky, it’s been called the horse capital of the world. Who could argue after the trip I just made – Medaglia d’Oro, Animal Kingdom, Hard Spun, Street Sense, Elusive Quality (et al) on parade, Blind Luck on the auction block and Wise Dan in a field. Nothing like it.
Popularity contest
Writing about something someone else is writing about and writing about the Eclipse Award ballots and/or the process of selecting Horse of the Year are two things that will rarely be seen under this byline.
Where’s the innovation?
The latest and greatest thing in the world of sports played out just outside Dallas when Ohio State and Oregon played for the national college football championship.
