Santa Anita Derby 2013

We've missed the last two Santa Anita Derbys due to being out of the country. And it was particularly heartbreaking last year when SA Derby winner I'll Have Another went on to win the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, and we missed seeing his majesty in person. We also missed seeing his lead pony, the great Lava Man, who we watched win many a Grade I at Santa Anita over the years.

But, alas, it's a new year, new three-year-olds. Goldencents looked good in his win. Perhaps Doug O'Neill can make it two in a row with this one. Just don't hurt yourself before May 4.

The filly Beholder looked great in the Santa Anita Oaks. I don't know if she's going to the Kentucky Oaks, but I hope she does. I think she has a good shot of winning.

UPDATE: After being a complete spaz throughout the post parade, literally falling over herself and unseating jockey Garrett Gomez, Beholder finished second by half a length in the Kentucky Oaks to long shot Princess of Sylmar.

We also got to see the Budweiser Clydesdales.

The oldest two were in the front at 13 and 15.

Pretty impressive.

London 2012 Olympics Roundup

Here is a summation of personal highlights that will in no way do justice to the greatness that was the 2012 London Olympics.

* David Boudia winning the gold in 10m platform diving. Way to perform under pressure. Most pleasant surprise of the Olympics.

* Usain Bolt emphatically silencing his doubters. For-e-v-e-r.

* U.S.A. Women's Gymnastics. Gabby Douglas putting it all together for the All-Around gold. Ali Raisman handing everyone a beat-down for the floor gold. McKayla Maroney's perfect vault in the team competition. The girls' utter dominance in the team competition. But, damn you, Tim Daggett. I'm blaming you for McKayla's fall during the individual finals because you were all like, she just has to run and jump and kind-of-sort-of land on her feet and the judges will hand her the gold. Over and over and over until she was in the air during her second vault. Tim, what the hell is wrong with you? You use the words "catastrophic" and "disaster" all the time and you are never referring to the weather. I'm convinced poor McKayla didn't make it to her feet because of Tim's over-hyping. That and she was trying to be too perfect, god bless her.

* Misty and Kerry winning their third gold and being so elated you would've thought they'd never won anything before in their lives.

* Claressa Shields bringing a ray of sunshine to the amateur boxing world and snagging a gold medal in the process.

* Meb Keflezighi finishing fourth in the marathon at age 37.

* Serena. Just unreal. Completely dismantling the best players in the world.

* Women's soccer. U.S.A. vs Canada and U.S.A. vs Japan. Two great matches, total nail-biters.

* Nathan Adrian winning a gold he clearly wasn't favored to win. There wasn't even an attempt at a package before his swim.

* I liked Michael Phelps a lot more this time around. He was more personable, I think out of relief that it would all soon be over. And maybe with Ryan Lochte having some of the expectation burden placed on his shoulders helped. But trying to make Lochte the face of swimming was a big mistake. This recent conversation with Hubs sums up my Lochte feelings:

Hubs: Ryan Lochte is on the cover of the Men's Health I bought. He's really airbrushed.

Me: Did they make him look like he has a personality?

* Silver medalist high jumper Brigetta Barrett and her crazy-awesome pre-jump routine.

* Ashton Eaton and Trey Hardee killing it in the decathlon.

* Sanya Richards-Ross, Allyson Felix, and Carmelita Jeter running like the wind. They have such great smiles and positive attitudes. Hope to see them all again in Rio.

Field of Dreams

Last weekend we drove out to Rancho Cucamonga to watch the Single A Quakes play baseball. We try to catch at least one game per season, because it's always so much fun. There's not a bad seat in the house and the most expensive ticket is $12. Hot dogs are only $4. Compared to a major league game, it's a steal.

Of course, this isn't the majors, and there were five errors committed, some terrible base running at crucial points in the game, and a new pitcher practically every inning. But the good far outweighs the bad. The most amusing part being that the Quakes used to be part of the Angels organization, but somewhere in the last year they became affiliated with the Dodgers. So half the crowd is in Dodger blue, and the other half who didn't get the memo are in Angel red. Luckily, there are no beatdowns in the parking lot in the minor league, another plus.

The Quakes mascots are fabulous as well. I thought Barney had turned me off of dinosaur costumes forever, but then I met Tremor and Aftershock who pump up the crowd, mostly dancing and razzing the umpires. They're hilarious and make me feel like a kid again. Those dinos earn their paychecks.

And boy did they earn them last Saturday. The game went 14 innings, 4 1/2 hours. Now, I love me some live sports, but 4 1/2 hours is way too long. And we would've left, but the other great thing about weekend Quakes games is that there's a fireworks show after the game. So we waited around for it. And the Quakes won, beating the best team in the league, the Giants! It's always nice when your team wins. Of all the times we've seen the Quakes, it's definitely been a losing record, so maybe this new Dodger affiliation is for the best.

My top prospect, Ramon Jean. And the manager's last name is Bustabad. How cool is that?

My pick for most likely to have a career in the majors:  Ramon Jean. He's right fielder with a great arm, right on the money, which he showed off twice during the game. He hit the only homerun of the game, made it on base a number of times, and ended up scoring the winning run.

I love minor league ball. These guys are getting paid next to nothing, hoping, praying, working to get their shot at making a living doing what they love. Kind of like me. It's inspiring to watch it play out in a different venue.

Ponies & Weezer

Keeping with the horse theme, a few weeks ago Hubs and I went to Del Mar. Always have wanted to go, never been.

I love Santa Anita. It will always be my favorite racetrack because it's my home track. I love how it's a little grimy, crumbly, and the bathrooms haven't been updated in decades and I always feel like I'm in a church bathroom from my youth. And because of this lack of updating, the admission is dirt cheap and there aren't hoards of people unless it's Derby Day or the Breeder's Cup. Oh, Santa Anita, I miss you. Is it time for the Oak Tree yet?

Hubs took this stunning photo.

But back to Del Mar. Del Mar is a little more put together, and pricier. You have to pay to get in, and pay more if you want to sit down. But the food options are much better, and they have events. Currently, they have a not-too-shabby summer concert series featuring a bunch of solid bands, the two standouts being Jimmy Eat World and Weezer. Both bands are great live, but JEW was playing on a Friday and trying to get from LA to Del Mar after work on a Friday...it's not going to happen.

So we went on a Saturday and it still took freakin' forever to not go very far and we missed two races. But, alas, Del Mar is lovely. There were a bunch of close races. My sentimental favorite Switch (who almost beat Zenyatta at her last race at Hollywood Park and gave me a heart attack) did not win, despite being a heavy favorite. And that was the betting story of the day. We won absolutely no money, which was depressing, because we usually win enough to cover food. Sigh.

But then there was Weezer. As always, they brought it. Highlights were "My Name is Jonas" and their covers of "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People and "Paranoid Android" by Radiohead. I mean, "Paranoid Android"? Awesome. We were inspired to listen to OK Computer on the ride home.

Their show got me thinking. I haven't been a huge Weezer fan since Pinkerton. But they've had A LOT of radio songs since then. It's actually pretty impressive that a band that's been around that long can still keep cranking out hits and remain relevant. Their coolness is transcending decades. And I like knowing I was there at the beginning. And then I was there at Del Mar in 2011.

Are You Ready for Some Football?

Football is coming back! Yeeeeaaaahhhhh!

Okay, confession time. I have not been a lifelong football fan. I played softball growing up. I watched Cubs games everyday. I worshipped Ryne Sandberg and Mark Grace. Walter Payton? The Fridge? Who? The '86 Bears and the Superbowl Shuffle? I was oblivious, no memory whatsoever.

I think a lot of people get into football in college. The huge tailgating parties, the drunken camaraderie. Well, I went to art school. We had an ultimate frisbee team and that was the extent of our sports program. Football was that thing they played in that spaceship they built on top of Soldier Field a few blocks away.

Hubs is from Boston and a big Patriots fan. I only started watching football after meeting him, but I fell in love. With him and with football.

Football makes me happy. It's aggressive, yet athletic, something is always happening. It's my favorite way to waste a Sunday, and the thought of not having that option this year was depressing. But no more worries. The season will now go on. The lockout is over.

And, finally, Go Bears?!

Tennis, Brought To You By Some Bank You've Never Heard Of

So for Christmas, Hubs bought us tickets to go to Palm Springs and see the BNP Paribas Tennis Finals. The tournament is large and attracts all the top-ranked players in the world. Very exciting.

The Women’s Final was first: Number-one-in-the-world-for-way-too-long-now Caroline Wozniacki. Not that I dislike her. She’s lovely, and does well with the media, she’s just not the most exciting player. But consistent she is, so I have to give her props. Her opponent was #14 Marion Bartoli. I’ve seen Marion’s name all the time over the last five years lurking in the top 20, but I’ve never seen her play. She has a two-hand forehand, rare these days, and it was strange to see.

Caroline breezed through the first set, 6-1 and the crowd was not happy. The match seemed like it would be over in a half hour, but then Marion came back and won the second set. The third set started out close, but then Caroline pulled away. Even though she was winning, she still got frustrated at one point and threw down her racket. It felt fake to me, like someone intentionally acting feisty to get the crowd on her side. I hope she was genuinely upset, and not just acting to make her lackluster game more exciting.



"Yea! I win! Am I still boring?"


The strangest part of the match was how some guy, hopefully someone from Caroline's camp, would yell when the crowd was silent, “Come on, cupcake.” At least once per game. Awkward.

And then the Men’s Final. This was the one everyone was excited about. #1 Rafael Nadal vs. Just-surpassed-Roger-Federer-by-beating-him #2 Novak Djokovic. Ah, delightful sigh.

I love Rafa. He’s quick, powerful, top-spinny, has water bottle OCD, and ninety percent of the time wears a completely disgruntled look on his face. And, added bonus, he has the best body on the tour. What’s not to love?



"This is the face of winning."


When Rafa won the first set, I cheered. The crowd was leaning heavily towards Rafa. Lots of red and orange in the crowd waving Spanish flags. But in the second set something happened that I’ve never seen before. Rafa lost his serve.

Tennis players lose their serve all the time and the mental defeat usually ruins their whole game. Sometimes they get it back and all is well. Sometimes they don’t. Maria Sharapova still hasn’t gotten her serve back two years after shoulder surgery, but that’s an extreme case. Rafa has a slower serve (although it’s gotten 10 mph faster in the last year) than many of the players, but the trade-off is that it’s consistent as hell. Well, not in set two. Or set three. And since his serve was off and he was just as baffled as I, there wasn’t as much scurrying behind the baseline and amazing curving shots that seem to defy laws of physics as there usually are. But it was still a good, competitive match and Novak played really well the last two sets.

Nobody pouts better than Novak.

And nobody wins better than Novak.

There were a group of teenage girls sitting not too far from us who knew how to turn every sports chant into a way to say “Novak Djokovic.” Tennis roadies.

But this is really what everyone paid money to see:

When changing his shirt, the number one tennis player in the world gets more cat calls than the Saturday night trannies outside Benitos Tacos on Santa Monica. Slightly degrading, and he deserves better. I remained silent. But made Hubs take photos.

It was a great day, even though Rafa didn't win. It was supposed to rain all day, but not a drop fell from the ominous sky.

And Rafa will get his revenge at the French.

Da Bears

Ouch!  I hurted myself.  Maybe.  Yes?

Well, it's about that time in the football season when once ever four years (if we're lucky) Chicagoans put all our faith in a quarterback that we don't particularly like and pray to Jesus that he can make it through the conference championship game only throwing a couple interceptions and getting sacked less than five times (though I now live in L.A., I will always be a Chicago sports fan).

Four years ago it was Rex Grossman.  And even though his perfectly plucked eyebrows freaked me out a little, I liked the guy.  Was he the greatest quarterback?  Hell no.  But I think that the team (especially the spectacular defense we had that year) and all of Chicago handed him all of their hope and faith and it elevated his game to a place where he was able to make it to the Superbowl.  And that was enough for Chicago.  Well, it was enough for me, at least.  And it was enough for the Bears' owners until Sexy Rexy had an unfortunate follow-up season and his ass got traded.  Ah, so is the life of a Chicago quarterback.

This year, we have Jay I-just-love-getting-sacked Cutler.  I refer to him as Creepy Veneers for obvious reasons.  The most telling tale I've seen about CV was in Green Bay a few weeks back when they were whomping us and there was an injury timeout.  This is a tense time for everyone, a good time to take a few minutes, catch your breath, and chat with teammates.  You know, keep it light.  CV was chatting and laughing with a Packers player, a former teammate on the Broncos.  This is the only time I've seen CV smile and talk to another player, and it wasn't even a current teammate.  I firmly believe this is because everyone on the Bears hates him.  I don't know why they hate him (maybe the scary teeth and the frat-fat jowls?) but they do.

I don't think this year's team wanted CV within ten feet of their hope and faith and they sure as hell didn't give it to him.  You could feel it on the field every week.  And then today, all of a sudden, his knee was hurt.  Even though there was no incident to replay.  CV, I know you don't seem like the brightest crayon in the box, so maybe you didn't know that winning this game meant you would get to play in the Superbowl.  The SUPERBOWL.  That's like going to the World Series in baseball.

I don't wish you injury, Creepy Veneers, but I hope you are actually hurt.  Chicago wants a quarterback they can love.  Right now you are walking (limping) the fine line between dislike and hate.  It looked like you gave up on your team at your home field.  I hope that's not true.

Can we please, please just make Brian Urlacher quarterback next year?  Chicago knows he can do it.