Category > The Call To The Post
It's time for the premiere 3-year-old race of the summer, yet once again, the best 3-year-old in the country is not entered to run in it. This leaves us looking for the second or maybe third best 3-year-old in the land, but you won't have to look far if you were watching the Grade I Haskell Invitational on August 1st. While Lucky was finally able to shake his bad fortune and prove once and for all his status on the …
| Though it has earned the nickname of the Graveyard of Champions, horses don't come to Saratoga to lose. The very best horses across the nation travel here to compete in the biggest collection of America's most historic races. Saratoga celebrates its past more than any other track; patrons cannot help but be exposed to the history walking into the mouth of the grandstand—a canopy of banners hang from the ceiling with the names of all the annual major stakes races: …
When I tell people I've been to the Kentucky Derby, even those with the most casual interest in horse racing light up and divulge their desire to see the spectacle that is the first Saturday in May in Louisville, Kentucky. The very next thing that comes out of their mouth is always along the lines of, "Don't you have to be grandfathered into tickets?" While Churchill Downs has answered that question by selling a limited number of grandstand seats to …
It's a veritable clash of the Titans at the grand old Spa this Saturday, when the two best male routers on dirt go head-to-head in the Grade I $750,000 Whitney Invitational Handicap. When it comes to the numbers, the two giants are equally matched with 7 wins in 10 starts; but as for which between them carries Thor's Hammer, it's no question that Quality Road towers over Blame as the heavyweight titleholder. Big, bad Blame is most recently coming off …
The Triple Crown hangover is about to end. Ever since the Belmont Stakes ended, the 3-year-old males who toughed any portion of those three weeks virtually had their heads stuck in the sand. Only the filly that ran in the Kentucky Derby, Devil May Care, has come back to win two races since that grueling race, and has quickly stamped herself as one of the best 3-year-olds in the country. Now it's time for the second half of the year, …
It's a cause for celebration anytime the reigning Horse of the Year, Rachel Alexandra, runs, even if it's in a glorified workout. So though the competition in this Saturday's Lady's Secret may be the weakest she's faced since she donned the nickname "Alexandra the Great," the fact we get to see her strut her stuff is still special. I mean, it's Rachel. C'mon. Six contenders have lined up to face Rachel at Monmouth Park this Saturday, and there is nary …
It isn't everyday that our beloved state is invaded by Grade I-winning horses. Though Illinois racing has a past that boasts such legends as Secretariat, John Henry, Citation, Swaps, and so on, nowadays, a cut back in stakes purses has made our two most prestigious Thoroughbred tracks, Arlington Park and Hawthorne Race Course, a little on the gaunt side when it comes to procuring top-class stakes action. This weekend, three graded stakes races have made up Million Preview Day at …
The last time I was at Hollywood Park, I was standing on a plastic bucket behind the inside rail and watching my horse, at 8-1, streak to his break-out victory. For whatever reason, Rail Trip was being overlooked thanks to the presence of filly Life is Sweet, who ended up finishing some 9 lengths behind the gutsy gelding in his first Grade I victory. Since then, Rail Trip has had a few triumphs and setbacks; while a foot bruise sidelined …
The anticipation hung over Churchill Downs in the same way the balmy afternoon heat clung to my skin and made it hard to breathe. We had all come to see one thing, and within two minutes, the question that lingered over all our lips would be answered. As I looked up at the JumboTron and saw Rachel Alexandra take the lead in the middle of the final turn with no urging by Calvin Borel, that familiar feeling came back—that mixed …
If you've been a regular reader of this column, you may remember several months ago how I touted a maiden winner at Aqueduct by the name of Afleet Express. Now, I'm not a follower of maiden winners, but there was something about that colt and his effortless win against the odds that made me leap onto his bandwagon after only his first time out. And though the Express train never made it to the Triple Crown races, and in fact, …
Most Recent Sports Comments
Jamie, you gave me goosebumps talking about the race with Rachel Alexandra and Life at Ten, wish I could be there!! Go Rachel!!!!!
Hope for the best, expect the worst. 81-126-2 FIRE RON GUENTHER
Beat Missouri and there is validity here, but until this team wins a game it should not, it is all speculation.
Gret pix, Jamie!
I think any conversation about the limits of the human body are innately limiting. As a non-yoga guy, seeing a skilled yoga person twist his or her body in unthinkable ways challenges my ideas of what the body can and cannot do. Heck, seeing George Clooney double over and…
But couldn’t you receive the same benefits (balance, muscle strength, etc.) from doing yoga barfeoot? From everything I’ve read, the Vibram Five Fingers seem to limit the distance you are able to run, and I am not convinced that is such a good tradeoff. Heck, Pheidippides…
The thing people don’t realize about barefoot running/ five fingers before they try it is that they have been completely isolated from their environment by their shoes. For example saying that hard surfaces like concrete are a recent invention., In the summer trails with a lot of…
Rob, Zola asks you to read further: “I no longer run barefoot,“ she said. “As I got older I had injuries to my hamstring. I found that wearing shoes gives me more support and protection from injuries.“ http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/aug/10/southafrica.past1
Many people, including myself, run barefoot on concrete, asphalt, grass, and dirt. No problems. You actually end up with LESS impact than if you were shod in crazy cushioned/supportive shoes. Your body adapts and you land with less force. Think short, quick strides with bent knees. I…
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Illinois has simply had no luck at all in these Mizzou games. None. I think maybe we’re do for a couple of bounces to go our way. If we get one or two (or sever or eight) breaks, I think it’s a win.
Jason, Savoy could easily join the CPL tax district, which is probably closer to most Savoy residents than the Tolono library is. But my impression is that Savoy residents as a whole don’t want to pay the cost of the CPL (Tolono’s library taxes are cheaper), even…
Sorry, but I am lagging behind on updates to the map. Also, some construction projects were delayed from their original start date. On a more positive note, I am putting together a map of haunted houses in Central Illinois. I have a few plotted already, and I…
I’ve never gotten the privilege of all the services CPL cardholders get. I just want to be able to go out of my way to drive to the CPL to check out books, pay fines, maybe buy some coffee, and enjoy the library. None of those activities…
These days, there is more to using a library than checking out books. At one time, paying into the Lincoln Trails system probably would cover the expenses incurred by other libraries in the system. Now, with Internet, videos, coffee shops, wireless Internet hubs, etc., I suspect the…
(speaking as a Savoy resident) By paying taxes to support a member of the LTLS, we are paying our “fair share” to use any LTLS library—Tolono, Champaign, Urbana, etc. This is how library systems work. The 6% of CPL’s circulation represented by Tolono users is NOT significant…
I read Timbo’s argument. I think the key word is “speculating.“
I would be interested to hear more about the “word on the street”—how are individual hauling companies fulfilling their promise to recycle?
Timbo makes a smart, sound argument. Reread it.
I joined on 09-09-09 after living here over a year, and having to listen to my dad tell me how his best friend is, like, #27 or something crazy like that, and how said friend never lived further than 50 feet from the Illini Inn while going…
And, I might add, no one is being prevented from using the Champaign library. They are just being asked to pay their fair share if they are going to use it as their primary library.
The equation is pretty simple here. If you want social services, then pay the taxes required to run those social services. These things only work if everyone puts in their fair share. As a heavy user of the Champaign Library, I say bravo to this new policy.
Curtis Orchard is always good for an hour or three, especially if you have rugrats.
What is the increased marginal cost of serving a resident of Savoy or Mahomet? I suspect negligible. What is the increased revenue to be realized by this new policy? I suspect very little. Aside from these financial aspects, what are the most probable results from this new…
Looks like you are also all members of the killer sideburns club.
Thanks for the article, Ben. I was not familiar with this band until now and even though I won’t be able to attend the show on Friday they are now on my radar. A *good* jam band is hard to find, and these folks appear to fill…
Nice article, love the Dead quote in the beginning. If they can get down here to Central FL I’ll definitely be heading out to the show. Some of my friends have finally stopped wincing when I say “jam band.“ I’ve now tried my best at more descriptive…
@Annie: Yeah, my bad. That was the best part! Drinking + memory exercises = fun @Rob: According to Ask the English Teacher, “My dictionary says ‘drunk’ is an archaic past tense of ‘drink.‘“ We’re all about the new grammar around here.
Katie, have the residents of Savoy and Tolono thought about having their taxes raised a little to help their public library expand? That’s a possibility for them. And then everybody wins.
good call on that Herring recording, Josh. Love that version of Exit Music….here’s a clip of the Cinco de Mayo show (from about six months prior). As I recall, this Shakedown went on for roughly a half hour, while getting into the Trampled Underfoot jam in the…
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Illinois has simply had no luck at all in these Mizzou games. None. I think maybe we’re do for a couple of bounces to go our way. If we get one or two (or sever or eight) breaks, I think it’s a win.