The "I Miss Sassy" Sports Thread

[Diomedes]

I figured when I got home from work I'd read about how they were exposed and played with.  Color me patriotic.

[Rome]

I have an on-going love-hate relationship with U.S. Soccer because for the most part it's almost entirely putrid.  But I have to say that royal upsets like this seem to be coming more regularly than the usual once-a-decade frequency they used to occur.

It's always going to be a niche sport in this country, and I doubt the U.S. will ever become a true power simply because almost all of the elite athletes play other sports, but like rjs said, it's nice to watch them when hugely unexpected upsets happen.

[Diomedes]

So Spain pulled out a win for third place in the Confederations Cup.  Let's see what the U.S. can do.  I probably won't be able to see the game.  I think we're going to Rocky Mountain National park today or some such shtein.

[ice grillin you]

pretty impressive chick...



Rachel breaks records in Mother Goose
By David Grening

Adam Coglianese/NYRA
Rachel Alexandra toyed with her two opponents in the Grade 1 Mother Goose on Saturday at Belmont, winning by 19 1/4 lengths under Calvin Borel.

ELMONT, N.Y. - As trainer Steve Asmussen walked into the Belmont Park saddling area, several yards behind his filly Rachel Alexandra, a young boy shouted to him, "Mr. Asmussen, 30 lengths."

With a raised eyebrow, Asmussen, who kept on walking, said to no one in particular, "I'll take three-quarters."

Well, it wasn't 30 lengths, but it could have been.

In her first start since beating the boys in the Preakness, Rachel Alexandra rolled to a devastatingly easy 19 1/4-length victory in Saturday's Grade 1, $300,000 Mother Goose before a crowd of 13,352 on a gorgeous summer day in New York. Malibu Prayer, the pacesetter, finished second, 12 1/4 lengths ahead of Flashing. Don't Forget Gil and Hopeful Image both were scratched Saturday morning due to elevated temperatures.

Rachel Alexandra's time of 1:46.33 established a stakes record, beating the time of 1:46.58 set by Lakeway in 1994. Her margin of victory was also a record, eclipsing the 13 1/2-length win by Ruffian in 1975. Saturday was the 53rd Mother Goose.

"She's something special - she's one for the ages," owner Jess Jackson said. "She's a champion. I just hope we have enough horses entering the races that we fill them. It's more exciting when you have more competition."

There obviously are no 3-year-old fillies who can provide Rachel Alexandra any competition. Two starts back, she won the Kentucky Oaks by 20 1/4 lengths. In between, she beat males in the Preakness. Perhaps the only frontier is the 5-year-old mare Zenyatta, who remained undefeated by winning the Grade 1 Vanity Handicap about 15 minutes after Rachel Alexandra won.

"That'd be delightful, the two best fillies in a decade or so," Jackson said about a potential meeting.

Calvin Borel let Rachel Alexandra settle into third position while Malibu Prayer set the pace under John Velazquez, with Flashing stalking her through fractions of 22.57 seconds, 44.66, and 1:08.86 for six furlongs. Leaving the three-furlong pole, Borel nudged his filly a little bit and she split horses outside the quarter pole and exploded to the lead. Borel basically turned into a statue for the final sixteenth, as Rachel Alexandra cruised home to her seventh straight win as the 1-20 favorite, returning $2.10.

"She's not normal," Borel said. "She's unbelievable."

Asmussen said he did not give Borel any instructions about how to ride the filly.

"My conversation with Calvin was 'You know her, get her in a comfortable stride, do what's best for her regardless of what anybody else does,' " Asmussen said. "Calvin discusses her all the time, he loves to talk about her, just her rhythm, her stride, and that's what he was very emphatic about. Obviously, he found it, and it is quite impressive."


heres the youtube


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TJTnJSrSBc

[QB Eagles]

3 horse field... might as well be a time trial. Less than one second off the track record set by Secretariat.

[ice grillin you]

the small field almost makes it more impressive in that nothing was pushing her

[Rome]

The unthinkable is happening right now.  The U.S. is beating mighty Brazil 2-0 thirty five minutes into the Final.

[ice grillin you]

The unthinkable is happening right now.  The U.S. is beating mighty Brazil 2-0 thirty five minutes into the Final.

i believe youre looking for the 'sports no one cares about' thread

[Geowhizzer]

The unthinkable is happening right now.  The U.S. is beating mighty Brazil 2-0 thirty five minutes into the Final.

I switched over for a moment.  Why does it sounds like they set the field mics next to a gigantic swarm of hornets?

[Rome]

Half-time, the U.S. still leads 2-0.

[BigEd76]

and loses 3-2

[Rome]

Folded like a cheap suit.

[rjs246]

The positive thing is that they absolutely dominated the first half. Not just on the score sheet but controlled the pace of everything that happened.

The negative is that they played like the US in the second half.

[Sgt PSN]

actually, the positive is that soccer is the most boring sport on the planet and i didn't waste so much of a second of my precious time watching it. 

the negative is that i did waste about 30 seconds reading about it. 

[ice grillin you]

actually, the positive is that soccer is the most boring sport on the planet and i didn't waste so much of a second of my precious time watching it. 

the negative is that i did waste about 30 seconds reading about it. 

but soccer is the most popular sport in the world

clearly you just dont understand it