What can Big Brown do for you?

(photo from KentuckyDerby.com)

Join the Kentucky Derby fray, apparently. Big Brown, undefeated in three starts, delivered a convincing victory in Saturday's Florida Derby to place himself squarely in contention for the Kentucky Derby May 3.

Big Brown is favored by 3 of the 5 British bookmakers giving odds on the Derby. Ladbrokes, Paddy Power, and BlueSquare have Big Brown as the current favorite, while Bet365 and Victor Chandler list Big Brown and Pyro as joint favorites.

All right, that's it! I'm moving to Germany!

Since Volkswagen does not appear to be bringing the new Scirocco (above) to the USA (no thanks to the unpleasant exchange rate between the dollar and the Euro), I shall be compelled to move to Germany. (illustration from auto-motor-und-sport.de)

SATURDAY! SATURDAY! SATURDAY! and SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY!

(actually, not until September 13-14)

Dennis has informed me that The 24 Hours of LeMons (NOT the 24 Hours of Le Mans) is coming to Toledo Speedway this year. The premise is this - buy a car for no more than $500 (not including the cost of safety equipment) and race it in a 24-hour race. Hilarity ensues.

More information for the curious here:

http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/events/toledo/

Komets Win! Komets Win!

A good time was had by all in Fort Wayne Saturday night, when the Komets defeated the Flint Generals 6-2. We had a great dinner at the Granite City brewery beforehand.

Sadly, the people-watching experience was less, um, interesting than at the late, lamented Toledo Sports Arena (maybe this is due to the higher ticket prices in Fort Wayne). The Komets game seemed to have a more family-friendly atmosphere than in Toledo. There were, however, a few scofflaws who took up two parking spaces in the HANDICAPPED lot with their cars. Those idiots were seen being berated by the mascot during the game.

Liebe Ingolstadt: Einmal in Schwarz, bitte

Coming in 2009 from Audi: the new A5 Sportback. I would move to Germany to buy this car.
(photo from AutoBild.de)

Will wonders never cease?

My favorite German beer, Flensburger, is now on Facebook, of all places....

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2205175229

Time to get a hockey fix....

Since the Toledo Walleye are on hiatus, I have to go to Fort Wayne, home of the Komets of the International Hockey League, to get a minor-league hockey fix.

Apparently, my visit will be an auspicious occasion - a possible league record for most consecutive home victories....From komets.com:


Komets game recap
Komets dismiss Generals 5-3, home win streak reaches 21 Fort Wayne can tie IHL record Saturday Fort Wayne, IN 3/19/08 --- The Komets won their franchise record 21st consecutive home game Wednesday night at the Memorial Coliseum 5-3 over Flint, moving within one win of tying the IHL record of 22 straight home wins set by the Muskegon Mohawks during the 1965-66 season.

Botkins revisited....

Two of the mighty Botkins Trojans' opponents from this past season are in the state tournament this weekend. Anna lost in the Division III semifinal to Ottawa-Glandorf, and New Knoxville will be playing today for the Division IV state championship after defeating Wayne Trace in the semifinal.

Into the bottomless pit.....

Under coercion from friends and associates, I have entered the dens of iniquity known as "MySpace" and "Facebook". I'd link to the pages, but there isn't much there at the moment.

Did you know that somewhere in Latvia 24 years ago, a family gave birth to not one, not two, but thirty-six identical daughters? Believe it or not, all of them have seen my "MySpace" page, and they all want to come to America to marry me.

My Limited Photoshop skillz

I've been able to get in a tiny bit of practice on PhotoShop.

Only Two Months Till the Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is less than two months away.

Some more websites so you can bone up on Derby coverage:

http://www.drf.com/tc/kentuckyderby/2008/134.html

From the Daily Racing Form

http://tcm.bloodhorse.com/index.asp

Triple Crown Mania from Blood-Horse Magazine.