Here’s hoping that the Kentucky Derby left you with a winning wager and not crying hysterically like that lady from the Afleet Alex team. Seriously, I’m all for good TV reaction shots at sporting events, and they always show a ton from the Derby.  But that lady looked like she was watching her son run from armed goons instead of a horse race.  The Derby wasn’t so kind to the Average Joe.  I did win one small wager on Afleet Alex to show, but I came out in the red overall.  I’ve never been a big bettor on horse racing, mainly because I don’t follow it enough to keep abreast of things.  Hell, I don’t even know what a Beyer speed figure is.  I just read what the experts think and hope they’re right when placing my small Derby wagers.  All of you who had Giacomo to win go ahead and pat yourself on the back.  It may have seemed like a crazy bet, but it paid off bigtime at $102.60.  The superfecta for this race paid $1.7 million for a $2 bet.  Amazing.  Even the jockey cleaned up.  Giacomo’s owner gave jockey Mike Smith a $200 ticket on his horse to win, which paid $10,200. 

Maybe I should learn more about horse racing.  I went to a steeplechase once and had a grand time.  But I spent way more time drinking than I did paying attention to the horses.  And I’ve seen harness races live, but I always seem to get fleeced by people who know the horse owners and the jockeys.  I think I’ll try to get myself studied up before the Preakness.  At least it’s something to do other than think about that Afleet Alex lady.   Let’s see, what else is going on?  The NBA playoffs are in full swing, but I’m finding it hard to care much.  Maybe a Suns-Spurs series would be interesting with the contrast in styles.  More interesting would be the Suns and Heat in the finals.  Miami fans who thought Shaq should win the MVP would be sure to let Steve Nash know about it.  If I’m Nash, I think I stay out of the lane in that potential series.  The Diesel could put Stevie down for the count.

In news from across the pond, the Average Joe would like to send a belated congrats to Chelsea, which wrapped up the English Premier League title last week.  For those of you who don’t follow soccer, you really ought to take a look, if only for the funny stories that come out of it.  The British press is soap-opera tabloid crazy, and they love their soccer.  Chelsea went all Yankees over the last offseason, running up a record payroll in a Steinbrenner move.  Except that the Chelsea owner is a Russian billionaire, prompting jealous opposing fans to refer to the team as “Chelski”.  Oh yeah, his payroll bonanza worked, unlike the Boss’ current fiasco at Yankee Stadium.

Anyway, Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho has been up to all sorts of shenanigans this year.  He has been accused of secret against-the-rules meetings with players from other teams, prompting one opponent to call him “an enemy of football”.  He’s a Jim Mora-style quote machine, too.  I know soccer isn’t at the forefront of most American sports bettors minds, but it can be great fun.  Drinking heavily is pretty much the norm at matches, the low scores mean every chance is crucially important, and the posted total is almost always 2.5 goals, so there are good opportunities on totals plays. I’m off to work on my newfound horse racing hobby.  Good luck at the window.