Flashback Friday: Mine That Bird

The Kentucky Derby is an American tradition.
Maybe more like a holiday. A big holiday. Like Christmas.
On this Flashback Friday we are are going to revisit the 2009 Kentucky Derby and the stunning sequence of events that unfold to lead to one of the most memorable endings ever. Watch as Mine That Bird and Calvin Borel come from dead last in the first turn to take the lead in the final furlong.
Be sure to listen to NBC sports announcer Tom Durkin as even he is shocked by the ending that rocked the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby.

Waterworks Wednesday: Thought It Was Plastic

"It read "Break Glass in Case of Emergency." Amare must have thought 0-2 to the Miami Heat was an emergency."

"It wasn't the Heat, it was just stupidity."

"Season: Extinguished."

These are some of the catchiest snip-its written about Stoudemire's... 'predicament.'
(It is notable that the NY Post's headline was quite lame, reading "Bloody Idiot."...Come on guys. They just lost to the Heat... He punched a fire extinguisher... Couldn't take that anywhere else?)
I digress though from Waterworks Wednesday. As outlandish and brainless of an action punching/slapping/hitting a fire extinguisher installed on a concrete wall really is, I must admit, I kind of have Amare's back on this one.
Witnesses of the incident and Amare himself have stated that, the NY Knicks player did not wind up and punch the glass; rather, it sounds as though he back-handed the casing with a closed fist.
Here is how Stoudemire explained the incident today:
"It wasn't like I has a closed fist and just punched through the glass. It was nothing like that. I just walked by, wanted to make some noise, swung my arm, hit the fire extinguisher door and didn't even realize I was cut at all... Then I saw the cut... Unfortunately after games, when it's very passionate, things happen. You don't expect..to injure yourself, but you've just got to deal with it."
If the sequence of events really went down like this, I sort of feel badly for Amare's poor decision which resulted in some really bad luck. I am impressed with Amare's ownership of his mistake, and I believe his apologies are heartfelt.
On this Waterworks Wednesday I want to applaud Amare for not playing the "cry me a river" card, and offer my condolences to the NY Knicks, who may now, not be able to put out the fire.

Just For Fun

Watching the wonderful pitching match up between Derek Holland and David Price tonight sparked laugh out loud memories of Holland's Harry Caray impressions which he debuted during last year's postseason. Of course, this led to a diligent search of YouTube for more laughable material provided courtesy of Holland. That is when I came across this great segment featured on Dan Le Batard is Highly Questionable. Check it out and laugh out loud (please note, his shirt features the one and only honey badger... how great is that).

Every Rose Has Its Thorn

When Derrick Rose went down, the Bulls cringed, the fans gasped, and the entire NBA nation held their breaths.
Were we witnessing a game changer for the entire NBA postseason? It seemed that way.
All signs pointed to it, but no one wanted to speak the words out loud. That is until a medical professional stated the results of the MRI performed after the game: Torn ACL. Out for the rest of the season.
Rose has already missed 26 games for various other injuries during this shortened season. By habit, we are so quick to assign meaning to the reasons for Rose's injuries.
Do the injuries mean he is weak, as one Nike designer would imply in a tongue-and-cheek tweet? No, I don't think so.
Do they mean we should blame someone for this devastating blow? Should that person be the Bull's head coach, Tom Thibodeau? Absolutely not (and it is so annoying to me that people actually would).
Does this injury, hand in hand with Shumpert's, indicate the harsh reality of a physically demanding sport pinning athletes to an even more demanding and merciless schedule, 66 games in four months? I can't completely buy that either.
I think we just have to accept that sometimes, for no reason at all, things like this happen. We have to understand that you can call all the right plays and still lose. We have to accept superstars are fallible. And we have to accept that Derrick Rose is out for the remainder of this season.