They finally put Barbaro down today. The outpouring of emotion for this horse kinda puzzled me. I've watched a lot of horse racing in my day and, sad to say, have seen horses break down from time to time. It always comes out of the blue when it happens, but Barbaro is certainly not the first to break down, and not the first to break down in a major race on TV. Ruffian and Go For Wand come to mind. And for a while, it seemed Wayne Lukas was running his stable into the ground as a weekly show. So, I was startled that this horse, at this time, seemed to strike a chord with the public. Maybe the fact Barbaro was not immediately euthanized had something to do with it.

The other mystery is, since when did horse racing have this many fans? The tease has always been the next Triple Crown winner will bring racing back. Then the book "Seabiscuit" (a great read, BTW) came out and that was supposed to be the next catalyst. Ah, then the movie "Seabiscuit" came out, and boy, you were gonna have to show up early to get a parking spot at the track. Well, it hasn't happened. And the sport has been dying such a slow death, it probably never will. I always joke about being called "Sonny" at the track, so I wish that the people who took time to write Barbaro a letter, or sent him an e-mail, go to the track this year. Go and see how much fun it can be or, at the very least, realize there are races besides the Kentucky Derby that are on TV. And, by God, you can wager on them, too.

Meal of Links

Hey, "Ed" the "Love Monkey" gets a new show. It's about stuff at the Smithsonian.

Of course, we Google things to death. Here are some alternative search engines to check out.

I think we "saved the cheerleader", didn't we? So, your next assignment, if you choose to accept it, is to "Find Satoshi".

Exercise Yard

Darren Rovell researches the Super Bowl prop bet that Billy Joel will sing the National Anthem in 1:44. He says, "Take the under".

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9 Down: Welles of "Citizen Kane" (5 letters) Answer: Orson