ten on tuesday: 10 favorite sports plays ever

1. WKU's Ty Rogers Buzzer Beater in the 2008 NCAA Tourney

2. UK vs. Duke - The Christian Laettner shot heard round the world.
I know some UK fans are going to hate on me for this. But come on, it was an amazing play.

3. Vitor Meria threads the needle - 2008 Indy 500
The first video is the TV broadcast. Second view is from his in-car camera.



4. Tomas Scheckter passes 7 cars in one amazing move at the 2004 Indy 500

5. The 2nd closet finish at Indy - 2006 Sam Hornish, Jr. takes it from Marco Andretti.

6.Mary Lou Retton's gold-medal winning perfect 10.00 vaults at the 1984 Olympics.


7. Greenwood, the high school I graduated from opened in August, 1990. Most of our football players stayed at the high school we split from - Warren Central. So it took some time for our football team to ... well ... score. My senior year - during our second football season - we finally scored our first touchdown during a game against Warren Central. You would have thought we'd won the state championship. GO GATORS!
No video available.

8. The 1973 Kentucky Derby

So, I was in my mother's womb in May, 1973. But this remains my favorite Derby.

9. Calvin Borell takes Street Sense up the rail to win the 2007 Kentucky Derby.

10. This is not only one of my favorite sports memories of all times, but I would actually put this in my Top 3 "Moments I Felt Most Alive". At Lap 172 Danica Patrick, then a rookie, takes the lead to become the first woman to ever lead a lap at the Indy 500. No video or television coverage could ever truly capture what I felt there on my feet in the stands at the 2005 Indianapolis 500. The crowd became one giant, excited nerve.

In this first video you can hear the announcer say, "All is right with the world" and I think that is exactly how we all felt in that moment.

This is a fan's video taken from the stands in Turn 2 - imagine those cheers magnified by 300,000 people multiplied by 12 laps. Amazing.

You can play along! Visit the Ten on Tuesday website.

friday candy

The Candy: My Old Kentucky Home
Why this is sweet: It's Derby weekend. That means it's the time of year when the eyes of the world turn to my home state, The Commonwealth of Kentucky.

When I first met one of my Japanese roommates in college we had a conversation that went something like this...

KANAKO: Where do you come from?

Me: Kentucky

KANAKO: Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Kentucky Fry Chicken

why does the t.v. keep saying my name?

1 cup chocolate chips, 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, 2 tbsp kentucky bourbon

For most of my early years I lived in or around Louisville and enjoyed all of the traditions and events leading up to the first Saturday in May and the Kentucky Derby. There really is a difference in the level of interest and excitement in Louisville from the rest of the Common-wealth when it comes to the Derby. The first May after we had moved to Bowling Green (I was in the 8th grade) I was really surprised by how little coverage the Derby Festival received on the local news. It seemed that many of my new classmates knew nothing of the Great Steamboat Race, the Hot Air Balloon Race (by-the-way, The Belle won this year), the Run for the Rose’, the Pegasus Parade, and various other Festival events. People might watch the Derby. But a fair number had very little knowledge of the traditions that I had grown up almost taking for granted. For me the Derby was more than just the first Saturday in May. However, while living in Nashville for ten years I really felt like something of a novelty when I’d show up with my Benedictine sandwiches and Derby Pies to share. Now that I’m back in Bowling Green I’ve been able to watch Derby Festival coverage on the Louisville affiliate channel we get through our cable. And last night I went grocery shopping to gather a few ingredients to bake a couple Derby Pies. When I arrived in the baking aisle and found that every 16 oz. bag of Kroger brand semi-sweet chocolate chips was gone Bowling Green didn’t seem so far from Louisville after all.

The two Derby Pies I made last night for my Nashville co-workers.

the oaks

I found this photo on on KentuckyDerby.com this morning.

derby, derby, derby, derby pie

This year some of the headlines in the Kentucky newspapers I regularly read have been making me chuckle. They certainly have new meaning seeing that “Derby” is a word I now use repeatedly and daily.

Here are a few favorites:
1. Order of selection for tonight's Derby post-position procedure
2. Leparoux's first Derby mount will be Sedgefield
3. It's perfect time of year for Derby trainers
4. The ultimate Derby style manual
5. Dress for Derby success

A NEW ONE:
Louisville gasoline prices gallop to $3.20 a gallon; Derby gets blame, but experts say no

The other day I noticed a sign at a liquor store that read, “WE HAVE ALL YOUR DERBY SUPPLIES!” I think that’s pretty awesome since they have a drive-thru. “Hi, I’d like a large bag of Iams-Puppy Formula. Some K-9 Advantix, a squeaky toy….and a bottle of merlot. Oh, and throw-in a couple nips of Makers or Beam. I’m baking Derby Pies tonight.”

Queen Elizabeth will be attending the Kentucky Derby this year and it has the city of Louisville all a‘twitter. There are even bets on what color her Derby hat will be and if it will have a feather. I am not making this up.

What Color of hat will the Queen wear at the Kentucky Derby?
Red 7/2
Blue 5/2
Yellow/Gold 9/2
Green 5/1
Purple 3/1
White/Silver 5/1
Pink 8/1
Brown 6/1

Will the Queen's hat be decorated with a feather?
Yes -300
No +200