the rabbits of the night

...was just about the only thing pulling me out of some serious Preakness-induced depression this past weekend. I know the whole Barbaro story is getting tons of press, all of it really sentimental, but that whole scene just kicked my ass. I'm a rookie to the Triple Crown races, this being only the third year I've watched them. Already though, I'm just completely under the spell of the whole thing. It was one thing to watch Smarty Jones get within one race of the crown, and just get beat. It bummed me out, but hey, I'm a Red Sox fan, so I can take it. But watching Barbaro pull up early, with his leg dangling in all sorts of unnatural directions just turned my stomach, and basically broke my heart as well. I know some of my friends think the whole racing thing is strange...but that saying, about the Kentucky Derby being the most exciting two minutes in sports? Not wrong. For me, this really is the new "there's always next year". In the scheme of things, I didn't really wait that long to see the Sox win the World Series. I'm just hoping I don't have to wait so long to see a Triple Crown winner. Oh, and here comes the part where I act like a broken hearted little kid holding up a sign on TV: Get well Barbaro.

And since I named this post after him, again: Josh Beckett? Knocking in the tying run on Saturday, then scoring the go-ahead run, then hitting a very convincing home run? Fuck yes. He also throws the ball OK too.