Triple Crown Update

…and a rant about future pools in horse racing.

While we have a more extensive preview of this season’s Triple Crown in the works, some news from over the weekend just can’t wait.  Algorithms, seen as one of the favorites to win this year’s Kentucky Derby, is to undergo surgery and has been pulled from the Triple Crown trail this season.  He was set to race this past weekend in the Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park, but was a late scratch with what trainer Todd Pletcher said was a popped splint. 

The splint bones are two very slender, splinter-like bones that begin under the horse's knee and travel down the back of the cannon bone.  Splints are enlargements that can occur along the length of a horse's splint bones. These enlargements often referred to as the horse "popping a splint" because the splint bone looks larger on the leg, indicate that the area has been inflamed.

However, X-Rays Tuesday morning showed a fracture in one of these bones that will require surgery.  While Pletcher hopes it will involve minimal time off, he states the horse will definitely not race in this years Triple Crown.

Future Pools: A quick explanation on how the Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool works.  It’s not the future bet you are likely used to, where a line is set by someone in Vegas and does not move, an example being the Yankees odds at 8/1 to win the 2012 World Series.  The Derby future pool is a Para mutual system just like that normally seen at a racetrack, where the odds reflect what has been bet by the public on each horse. Therefore, the first future pool is a reflection of what the public thinks during the time the pool is open, in this case the first pool was open from February 10-12^th. The next is March 2-4^th. The third is March 30^th to April 1^st.  So you may bet a horse at 20-1, but if many more bet on that horse the odds could fall, and you could be stuck with 8-1 odds, and that needs to be taken into account when making your wager. 

I believe there is really only one type of bet that should be made in this system so many months ahead of the race, and that is your long shot wager, the 25-1 and up.  The reason for this is there is just too much uncertainty this far ahead, horses have races left, in which they need to perform well, to even be considered to make the derby itself, let alone win. Algorithms is a perfect example of the risk associated with the future bet.  With multiple races left to the Kentucky Derby, horses can become injured in many ways, and while Algorithms has looked impressive in his 3 unbeaten starts, the 12-1 odds he got in the first future pool just are never strong enough odds for me to partake.  

Why Linsanity is Better Than Tebow Mania

And It Has Nothing To Do With His Race

Tim Tebow has never been an underdog. Dating back to his high school days he has been lauded as the next big thing and even called “The Chosen One” by some. He has won numerous awards at every level he has played at. He even had the act of taking a knee named after him. Let's be honest, we've all “Tebowed” at some point. This last NFL season everyone was talking about Tebow, love him or hate him. There were plenty of people on both sides, and there was no shortage of Tebow updates and news reports. As was pointed out in the previous article it got be ridiculous. He was shoved down our throats by basically every news outlet, not just the sports ones. Now we seem to have a similar situation with the ascension of Jeremy Lin. However, I'm going to point out how these two stories really have nothing in common, and why we should be buying in to the Linsanity.

In his junior year of high school Tebow was named Florida's Player of the Year. I'm not sure if you've heard, but Florida is a pretty good football state. Being name the top player as a junior is no small feat. Then in his senior season he led his team to the state title, earned All-State honors, was named Florida's Mr. Football, was a Parade magazine high school All-American, and repeated as Florida's Player of the Year. Oh and he also played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Every player that is invited to the game goes on to play major college football. I'd say that's one hell of a senior year.

After that Tebow moved on to the University of Florida, obviously a football powerhouse. As a freshman he played a limited but important role in helping the Gators win the BCS Championship. As a sophomore he burst onto the scene and broke records along the way. At season's end he was 1^st team All-SEC, 1^st team All-American, Davey O'brien Award winner (given to the best QB in the nation), Maxwell Award winner (given to the college player of the year) and he also won that Heisman Trophy thing. He put together possibly one of the best seasons ever in college football. In his junior year he put the Gators back on top. He finished 3^rd in Heisman voting, but in the end his Gators were once again BCS Champions. Tebow then surprised many people when he returned to Florida for his senior season. It wasn't his best season, but he still led his team to a Sugar Bowl win and marked his place in the college football record books.

Tebow was then drafted in the 1^st round (25^th overall) by the Denver Broncos. Many people thought this was a reach, but somebody obviously believed in him to take him that high. Anyone who is a 1^st round pick is not supposed to just contribute, they are supposed to be game-changing impact players. This season that it was Tebow became. He helped the Broncos make the playoffs for the first time in six seasons. He's been a winner all of his life and will most likely continue to do so.

Now on to the real reason for this article, Jeremy Lin. This guy's story is simply amazing. Coming out of high school Tebow could have played college football wherever his heart desired. He was a top prospect who could play for anyone. Lin on the other hand had only two scholarship offers, Harvard and Brown. Ivy League schools don't allow athletic scholarships so he had to be able to fit in academically. Having a 4.2 GPA doesn't hurt. He put together a solid basketball career while at Harvard and twice was named All-Ivy League First Team. That's nothing to scoff at, but pales in comparison to any of the accolades and awards that Tebow was constantly winning.

Lin went undrafted out of college, not surprising to probably everyone but him. Kids who graduate from Harvard usually have no problem getting a job and making money. There hasn't been an NBA player from the Ivy League since 2003, and from Harvard since 1954. But Lin was determined to play basketball. He attended mini-camps and summer workouts and impressed a few people. He was only offered a contract from a reported four teams, and he eventually signed with Golden State. He went on to have a very lackluster season and only played in 29 games for the Warriors. The NBA lockout was not kind to Lin. He was not able to work out with the team's coaches and trainers and he knew his contract was not guaranteed for the upcoming season. He was cut on the first day of training camp.

Two days later he was claimed off waivers by the Houston Rockets to help fill an injury spot. Then before the start of the season the Rockets needed to clear cap room so they cut Lin on Christmas Eve.

Then three days after that the New York Knicks claimed Lin off waivers. They picked him up to be their 3^rd string point guard after a string of injuries. He was then sent to the D-League (the NBA's version of the minors) where he promptly put up a triple double. Three days later he was then called back up to the Knicks. New York considered releasing Lin just days before his contract would become guaranteed. Lucky for him they were in a slump and head coach Mike D'Antoni decided to give the kid a chance. He put up 25 points in his first game with New York and hasn't looked back since.

He has now led the Knicks to six straight wins including a 38 point night in a win over the Lakers. Last night he hit the game winning three with less than one second remaining to give the Knicks another win over the Toronto Raptors. The game was in Toronto and the crowd was going crazy. He has now set a record for the most points scored in the first five games as a starter. More than Jordan, more than Shaq, more than Iverson, more than anyone. His jersey is now the top selling jersey in the NBA. He is starting to become almost as popular as Tebow was during his season. Lin is even playing so well that Madison Square Garden stock is now at an all time high. Tickets to Knicks games are going for crazy prices because everyone wants to see him in action. He may not have all of the accolades and praise of Tebow, but it looks like Lin is well on his way. He has taken the nation by storm and it looks like he is here to stay.

It is still too early to tell if Lin is the real deal and if he will be able to take the Knicks anywhere in the playoffs. He is not even the best player on his own team (that argument can be saved for Amare and Carmelo). Lin is the best story in the NBA this year and it is pretty amazing to see all of the obstacles and challenges that he has overcome. Tebow has always been labeled as a winner and the next big thing. Not too many people doubted that Tebow could play football. Lin has been doubted everywhere. Now teams are kicking themselves for letting him go. Linsanity is here to stay so we might as well enjoy the ride.

Being Tebowed To Death

How I went from not minding Tebow, to loving Tebow, to hating Tebow…..in half a season

First of all I need to place a disclaimer before this article; in hopes the millions of Tebow minions don’t try to murder me. I don’t personally hate Tim Tebow, as everyone says he is a genuine guy, good football player (notice how I didn’t say good quarterback), and is just an all around groovy dude.  I get it.  My problem lies in how he is now perceived by the media, and not by his doing, but simply by over exposure and sensationalist ESPN that claims people can’t get enough so they are just giving people what they want. Well…I’ve had enough, case I point; while researching my “Motorsport Preview” article there were TWO, yes TWO, main articles in the NASCAR section of ESPN.com that involved Tim Tebow. Former NFL coach and NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs said something along the lines of “I like the kid” which I guess is worthy of a story (key sarcasm now). In addition, Trevor Bayne (last years Daytona 500 winner) had a story on how he liked Tebow being strong in faith, or something along those lines. ENOUGH ALREADY, here is how it all happened.

Stage 1: When the season started and through the course of the first weeks of the season I brushed away any talk of Tim Tebow as a starter.  Not a lover of Kyle Orton, but not a hater either, I still thought he gave the Broncos the best chance to win.  I thought if the season started to go town the toilet that Timmy would get his shot and there would be some hype, he might even do alright, which would be fun to see. However, the thought of him as a starter was still just too far out of the realm of reality for me to take it seriously.  So like most people, I put up with the occasional ESPN articles and blog posts about his chances of starting, always with the same reaction best described as “meh, whatever”.

Stage 2: Tim Tebow, the starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos….. (This is roughly where Twitter exploded), and I genuinely was intrigued by the idea that he could pull it off AND put up relatively good stats. I was so fascinated and caught into the hype I made him a member of my fantasy team when announced the starter….for better or worse as it wasn’t the greatest of fantasy seasons for yours truly. His winning continued, and really at that point you could understand the hype and constant information about him, “Tebowing” took off and there was another thing everyone was talking about. Somehow an action done by many people prior to the existence of Tebow was essentially trademarked, and it still didn’t bother me. The guy is winning, against all odds, hurray for him….and then it began…

"The Thinker" or Tim Tebow circa 1902?

Stage3: Season’s over numbskulls!  After a team and its players are out of the playoffs they should fall out of the limelight, right? I must have missed the headlines about other quarterbacks that lost, possibly overlooked a huge write up on how T.J Yates is “likely number 2 on the depth chart next season.”  "Well, I think Tim's earned the right to be the starting quarterback going into training camp next year," Elway said.  Annnnnnd Twitter re-explodes, along with my head.  Sportscenter has become 85% Tebow oriented regardless of the sport being covered, and I think to myself, “People really can’t be wanting more of this, not in the offseason.” However, based on the coverage I am apparently wrong.

I am not sure how I should feel anymore; you can’t just tune out the constant Tebow Mania if you want to follow sports. I am not sure if I should hope he gets injured (I would never wish harm on anyone, just saying) because we would still get bombarded, possibly more. “TEBOW TAKES 3 STEPS ON SHATTERED LEG, PROBABLE FOR NEXT WEEK’S GAME” Even if he plays poorly I don’t see it going away, I think we are all just going to have to embrace it…or write irate and ranting blog posts about it. Hey…now that doesn’t sound like a half bad idea.

2012 Motorsport Preview: PART 1

It’s that time of the year. Football season is winding to a close, basketball and hockey are reaching the midpoints of their seasons, and pitchers & catchers report in less than a month. That’s right ladies and gentleman, spring is nearly here and racing season is upon us once again.  In the upcoming weeks we will be providing you with all the information you will need to get caught up with the offseason changes of the major classes of motorsport before the kickoffs of the 2012 seasons. And there is a lot to cover, so lets begin.

Sprint Cup/Nationwide

Testing is underway at Daytona and there are a few main story lines to follow. While no major technical changes have been made for the season as a whole, there are a few changes in place for this year’s Daytona 500.  All the changes address the tandem racing we have seen at larger restrictor plate tracks, in which two cars hook up (with the 2^nd car literally pushing the first) and are quicker than any other combination. The teams adjusted last year to having the drivers communicate by radio to each other and having a single spotter between them, both of which are not allowed this season.  A smaller radiator size should ensure that the following car won’t be able to do so for too long before it needs to step out for fresh air without overheating. In addition, the restrictor plate openings have been increased to increase overall speed in hopes to break the car’s dependency on each other. This has resulted in the fastest speeds we have seen in years, with Kurt Busch posting the fastest lap time so far in testing at 206.058 mph average.

Other things to keep an eye out for (and things we will be addressing in future posts) is Tony Stewart’s chance of the repeat, Jimmy Johnson trying to win another title after not being crowned champion for the first time in what seems like forever, and Danica Patrick running a full Nationwide schedule with a limited Sprint Cup schedule.

Formula 1

Testing of Renault's new R30 Chassis

We are going to hold off on getting too in depth on the Formula 1 scene for now for a couple main reasons.  Testing doesn’t begin until February 7 in Jerez, which means we actually only know what a few team’s cars look like and what type of innovations they are carrying. If you aren’t familiar with F1, each team makes their own car from scratch each season.  Renault is one of the few teams that have shown off their car, but nearly all teams will unveil their 2012 machines leading up to the first test, with the exception of McLaren who state they wont release the new car until the 2^nd test at Barcelona, which seems to have become standard procedure for them. So when we know more we’ll let you know, but it should be another extremely interesting season as Sebastian Vettel goes for his 3^rd world title in a row, and Louis Hamilton tries to not crash into everything but the safety car.

 Izod Indycar Series

   

IRL's new 2012 Car

Without question this is probably the most important year of the series existence.  It is never easy for a series to move past the loss of a driver, but it becomes extraordinarily difficult when it is a situation as public, and graphic, as the loss of Dan Weldon at Las Vegas in last seasons final race.  As they move past the loss of one of their most popular drivers, they must also adapt to the loss of Danica Patrick who has left this season to join NASCAR.  Patrick brought in a broader fan base to Indycar, and it remains to be seen whether those fans will stay with the series, or follow Patrick over to stock car racing.  Finally, the series introduces a brand new car this season, a much safer, and drastically different looking car took the track in pre season tests for the first time on January 23, and the overall response from the drivers has been good. Although it is still unclear how they will be on oval tracks.  The Dallara DW12 cars, named after Dan Weldon who helped the manufacturer test the cars last season, has a body designed to prevent the horrific air born wrecks we have seen in recent years.

It should be a great season across all three series, stay tuned as we go more in depth as we approach the first races of the season.

Where's Peyton?

It is all but decided that the Indianapolis Colts will be releasing Peyton Manning rather than paying his roster bonus of $28 millon. With Peyton off the team, the Colts are expected to select Andrew Luck with the #1 pick in the NFL draft. This leads to possibly one of the biggest free agents in NFL history. Very rarely is an elite QB allowed to test the FA waters unless they are at the end of their career, ala Brett Favre. With that said, Peyton is in a very similar situation to Favre in that he holds the power and will look to join a winning team. My apologies to Dolphins, Browns or Redskins fans who had pipe dreams of #18 wearing their colors. He won't be looking to join a rebuilding team as he only has a few years left and just surgically repaired his neck so he might want a decent offensive line to protect him. I also highly doubt that the Raiders or Seahawks will be on his radar either as they don't seem to be sure which direction they are headed. Here are my front runners and a dark horse for Peyton's right arm:

New York Jets- ESPN keeps floating this idea and I'm sure they would love for nothing more than a little drama in the Big Apple. Jets players have already questioned Mark Sanchez and his work ethic so he doesn't look like a long term solution. What better place for a big time QB like Peyton who loves doing commercials and endorsements than the marketing capital of the US? He would be able to handle the pressure without batting an eye. His Tom Brady rivalry would only increase as they'd be battling twice a year and for the division crown. The Jets are a very solid team already with plenty of weapons and a player's coach (Rex Ryan) at the helm. It seems like a very good fit and one in which Peyton would be able to lay out his list of "demands".

Denver Broncos- Yes, I know Tim Tebow plays in Denver, but I can't see John Elway not at least testing the waters to see if Manning would want to come to the Mile High City. As much as I enjoy Tebow Time, he is not the type of QB that will see prolonged success in the NFL. Elway really wants to find a pro-style QB to lead the Broncos, but can't cause a mutiny in Denver by replacing Tebow. With that said, I do believe that bringing in Peyton Manning would pacify the fans as they would be getting a top 5 QB and a future Hall of Famer who could be sold as a "mentor" to Tebow while making the offense a legitimate threat. Only a Peyton Manning type player would not cause a mass riot in the streets of Denver. Peyton would have plenty of talent around him on offense and would love throwing to a receiver like Demaryius Thomas. The Broncos were basically carried by their defense with Tebow at the helm and Manning would help them evolve into a more complete team.

San Francisco 49ers- Here is the dark horse. Alex Smith has led the resurgence of the 49ers under Jim Harbaugh and being a former #1 pick, he obviously has some talent. He has taken them to the NFC Conference Championship and possibly the Super Bowl depending on this weekend. With that said, would Harbaugh be able to pass up coaching a QB of Manning's caliber? He came to the 49ers from Stanford where he helped to develop Andrew Luck into the best QB prospect since some guy named... Peyton Manning. Harbaugh is a former NFL QB himself and would love to run a top flight passing attack, especially against the weak defenses of the NFC West. The 49ers are a team with a great QB legacy with the likes of Joe Montana and Steve Young. Alex Smith's contract is up after this year so they wouldn't have to deal with releasing or trading him. Peyton would help to get the most out of highly talented, but low output players such as Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis. If the 49ers had a high powered offense to go along with their stifling defense, it would be hard to believe that they wouldn't be a front runner for the Lombardi Trophy for the next couple of years.