Watercooler Chat: Pit Stops rule the weekend

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! It’s officially summer time and you know what that means, yes, you can officially wear white and linen. It also means that we can now focus on the greatest summer pastime; bashing on which baseball teams stink. In the case of all of us that live in New York, it is clearly the Yankees. The front page of almost every paper in town talks of the disastrous season the cash rich Yankees are having.

On another note, Memorial Day weekend provides great watercooler chat for Motorsports fans. Thanks to cleverly calculated pit stops, Dario Franchitti (the husband of Ashley Judd) and Casey Mears won their respected races on Sunday.

At the Indianapolis 500, one of the most famous races in the world, Dario Franchitti was in first when the race was called due to a torrential downpour. A few of the other top drivers had pulled into pit row for a quick tire change, fuel stop, while Franchitti’s team decided to continue on. That decision won the race for them. Of course, who knows what would have happened if the rain hadn’t forced the officials to stop the race 34 laps shy, but that’s all part of the strategy of racing (it truly isn’t just a bunch of cars turning left around a track).

Casey Mears, racing in the Nextel Cup Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte also owes his victory to his team’s pit stop strategy. As the rest of the frontrunners were stopping for fuel toward the end of the 600 mile race, Mears’ team decided to go for it and see if they could squeeze out enough gas to finish. Miraculously they calculated correctly, and Mears cruised to victory. In case you were wondering if this really was a close call, all you needed to do was watch his victory lap. His car sputtered out of gas halfway around the track….talk about cutting it close!

Watercooler Chat: Curlin disrupts the Triple Crown and Portland wins the NBA Lottery

Horse Racing

Saturdays’ Preakness (the second leg of the Triple Crown), did not disappoint as races go, but certainly put a damper on the Triple Crown hype we all love so much after the Kentucky Derby. Curlin won the Preakness in a “photo finish” over the Derby winner, Street Sense. It was about as exciting a race as you could hope for when Curlin just edged out Street Sense for the win. The next race is the Belmont Stakes which takes place June 9th. There won’t be a Triple Crown contender but the Belmont (the longest track in the Triple Crown series) is always an exciting race to watch.

NBA

The NBA held their lottery Tuesday night to see which teams will have the first picks in the NBA draft. The Portland Trail Blazers lucked out by getting the number one pick. They will now have the opportunity to pick either one of the two best players in college, Greg Oden or Kevin Durant. What makes this year’s lottery so controversial is that for the first time the teams with the three worst records at the end of the season did not get the three top spots in the draft. There was also talk that some teams did not try their hardest to win games at the end of the season in hopes that they would increase their chances of getting one of the top two picks. Because of this, the commissioner of the league, David Stern said he would look into whether or not the lottery system is the best for the league.

NHL

The Stanley Cup finals are finally here. Don’t know about you, but this series seems to have been going on forever. The Anaheim Ducks will host the Ottawa Senators starting on Monday the 28th. If you remember, the Anaheim Ducks used to be called (and I’m still tempted to call them) the “Mighty Ducks”. But as I just recently learned, the Samueli’s bought the Ducks from Walt Disney Co. in 2005 and dropped the “Mighty” from the name.

Watercooler Chat: Basketball playoffs getting good, Golf goofs and Football news

Basketball
Well, now things are finally starting to get interesting in the NBA playoffs. The Chicago Bulls are showing signs of a revival and avoided a sweep yesterday against the Detroit Pistons. At this point, whether they pull it out or now, they will, at least, avoid going down in history as having been swept in a playoff series. The Pistons now lead the series 3-1.

Utah Jazz outscored the Golden State Warriors 40-23 in the fourth quarter over the weekend and now have a 3-1 lead in the series.

Golf
Phil Mickelson won The Players Championship this weekend. The most exciting part of the tournament (and the most frustrating to me) was Sean O’Hair quadruple bogeyed the 17th hole. He was in 2nd place before the hole and then instead of playing it safe and coming in second place in the tourney, he goes all out and quadruple bogeys the hole. Ok, so give him kudos for his competitiveness in wanting to pull out the win, but please going from 2nd place finish to his eventual 11th place finish cost him 750,000 dollars. Ouch!
This story reminded me of the final scene in the movie Tin Cup (which I hated specifically because of this scene when Kevin Costner kept missing his final shot due to “pride”).

NFL
The big news is that Brett Favre has reportedly asked for a trade from the Packers when his team failed to trade for wide receiver Randy Moss. Moss ended up going to the New England Patriots reportedly because he thought they had a better chance of winning a championship.

Ricky Williams tested positive for marijuana…again… and is now suspended from playing. Apparently, Williams has many lives because even though he’s suspended now, he can ask the commissioner of the League, Roger Goodell, for reinstatement in September. Williams is currently a Miami Dolphin but even (and that’s a big EVEN) if Goodell reinstates him, should the Dolphins take a chance on this guy?

How to celebrate the Kentucky Derby in Style!

Whether or not you’re a horse racing fan, an equine lover, or couldn’t tell the difference between a thoroughbred and a donkey, you’ll find it difficult to escape the lure and pageantry of the Kentucky Derby. The beautiful bright colored clothes and hats of the fans, the vibrant racing colors at the track, the celebratory drinks, and of course the anticipation of 3 year old horse winning one of the most celebrated sporting events in the world will make any observer a fan of the what’s commonly called “the sport of Kings”.

If you’ve watched the Kentucky Derby on TV or been to the track itself, you’ll understand what I’m saying, but if by chance you’ve glossed over this spectacular race, here is a guide to help you enjoy the unique Derby experience by throwing the party of the year.

What to wear

Unlike most sporting events where the dress is casual and sporty and a team jersey with your favorite player written on the back will usually suffice, dressing for the Derby or going to a Derby party will allow you to display your creative juices. Go all out! Dress in bright, vibrant colors and do not pass up this opportunity to buy or borrow a fabulous hat. If you want to be even more creative, make a hat yourself. I’m not much of an artist, so I can’t tell you exactly how to do it, but some of the most spectacular hats are homemade. Anything that you can do to turn heads is a must. You can’t imagine all the crazy, creative things people will put on their heads. The Derby is all about standing out. Whether it’s bright colors, sleek, refined clothes and hats or the most outrageous styles you’ve ever seen, it’s all about having fun and showing your enthusiasm.

Décor

Keep in mind that it’s spring so always think of vibrant spring colors. For a little extra something, drape the walls with swatches of silk cloth that look like racing silks.

The winner of the Kentucky Derby receives a beautiful and lavish Garland of Roses which he will hoist above his head like an Olympic athlete displaying his gold medal. The garland of roses have become a symbol of the Derby, so use them freely in decorating by sprinkling them around the party or placing a garland of roses shaped like a horseshoe as a centerpiece on your table. To finish off your Derby theme, buy some inexpensive plastic horses and jockey figurines and place them in every room.

Food
Derby food should be typical Kentucky Fare such as fresh asparagus, corn pudding, beef tenderloin, country ham on biscuits, and fresh strawberries dipped in chocolate. As for drinks, mint juleps are a must. It can be an acquired taste (way too strong for me), but no Derby party is complete without it. And besides, it’s a great conversation piece, “hey, have you tried the mint julep yet?” “Yeah, it’s disgusting.” “No way, I could drink 10 of these, although then I wouldn’t know the difference between the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Fried Chicken.” Ok, you see what I mean.

Recipe for Mint julep

2 Cups Sugar
2 cups water
Springs of fresh mint
Kentucky bourbon
Silver julep cups

Make simple syrup by boiling sugar and water together for five minutes. Cool and place in a covered container with six or eight sprigs of fresh mint, then refrigerate overnight. Make one julep at a time by filling a julep cup with crushed ice, adding one tablespoon mint syrup and two ounces of Kentucky bourbon. Stir rapidly with a spoon to frost the outside of the cup. Garnish with a sprig of mint. (Courtesy of Woodford Reserve Bourbon)

Fun Fact
According to Churchill Downs (the hallowed track where the Derby is raced) over 80,000 mint juleps are served over Derby weekend.

May 01, 2007 at 05:37pm