Rippee Writes: Tuesday Scoop
Tiger on the loose, hero in golf, a doping horse and a baseball reschedule
Happy Tuesday to all. We'll have a Grill Corner podcast with LB’s Greg out tomorrow, so send your grilling/smoking/cooking questions here if you’d like some guidance or advice. A lighter newsletter today, but still a decent bit to get into.
Let’s go.
Cancel Culture spares no one, not even horses
I am no horse racing savant. I offer that title to LB’s Greg, but I couldn’t help but laugh about this story surfacing in horse racing this week with the Preakness coming up this weekend. Kentucky Derby Champion Medina Spirit has apparently failed a drug test. The horse is owned by industry titan Bob Baffert. Most of you probably know him as the white-haired gentleman that looks exactly like how you’d figure someone that owns a ton of horses would look. Baffert has apparently had a couple of previous run-ins with the rules over the years and is slowly losing the benefit of the doubt. But that hasn’t deterred him from going on the offensive to defend his horse’s honor.
The best defense is a great offense, they say, and why not try to chalk this up to a hot-button issue in society? Why couldn’t this horse fit the description of a victim of cancel culture? Whatever your feelings are about the phrase, its legitimacy, and your opinion on it, you have to admit this is an objectively hilarious excuse to try to shirk the heat coming your way after several previous violations. This horse is now canceled, but yet is somehow allowed to run in the Preakness. Shameful. The horse better make himself a Twitter, write a crappily-worded apology in the notes app on his iphone, take a screenshot and post it right now to feel the wrath of the internet. Why is Baffert having to go in front of the camera and take the heat for this? Medina Spirit is nowhere to be found, and, to my knowledge, has not given one single interview to explain himself. The horse is the one that juiced, not Baffert. Should the horse go before congress to testify that he (and Rafael Palmero) never took steroids, ever, period? Or should the horse show up and say he is not here to talk about the past?
If Baffert going on the offensive was not entertaining enough for you, the reason for the failed test might be even better. No, Baffert and Medina Spirit did not go the typical athlete route of saying they sought treatment for an injury from a medical professional who provided them with medicine that was on the banned substances list, unbeknownst to them. They went WAY outside the box here and went with the classic ‘someone drinking cough syrup took a leak on the hay Medina Spirit is supposed to eat and that is the reason for the failed test’ excuse. Textbook. Right there behind the dog eating the homework. The horse ate pee hay.
What a time to be alive. Thoughts and prayers for Medina Spirit and the mental scarring that surely accompanies eating pee hay. I hope he makes a full recovery. Baffert shoudn’t leave his horse out to dry on this one. It’s only right if he eats pee hay in front of a camera in a display of solidarity.
The 16 oz prime strip for $10 deal is still rolling but you can now get a second one for $15 bucks if you want more than one. Also, you get $2 off any fish in the freezer. Thanks for subscribing and enjoy. Go by LBs. They’re the best
A hero in golf
Pretty neat story in college golf yesterday. Paradise Valley Community College golfer Amy Bockerstette became the first person with down syndrome to compete in a college championship event. She teed it up at Ormond Beach’s Plantation Bay in Florida.
You may remember Bockerstette from a few years ago at the Waste Management Open when she told Gary Woodland “I got this,” before proceeding to get up-and-down out of a greenside bunker on the famous 16th hole during a practice round she was playing with the former US Open Champion. Pretty neat stuff here and one brave kid.
Great story on Julia Johnson
My friend Chase Parham wrote a great feature on Ole Miss’ Julia Johnson, her decorated career, how she got to Ole Miss and more. Check it out here.
Johnson is teeing it up at her home course this week as the Rebels begin their postseason run at the Baton Rouge Regional. Yesterday’s first round was washed out by rain.
SkyBox’s results speak louder than any convincing I can do. Go see these guys now with the NBA playoffs, golf and baseball heating up. Check out their Twitter for free plays and then go do yourself a favor and buy a package. Right now, if you buy the four-week NASCAR package and it doesn’t profit, you get your money back. How can you beat that? Go see them and ensure you’re making money.
Ole Miss’ midweek game moved
Inclimate weather moved Ole Miss’ midweek game from Tuesday to Wednesday at 4 P.M. against Arkansas-Little Rock. A bombshell news nugget as this was clearly the biggest storyline surrounding the team this week.
Ole Miss also had a trio of players named as finalists for the Ferris Trophy: Gunnar Hoglund, Doug Nikhazy and Kevin Graham. The winner will be named on May 24.
Interesting read:
I found this story from Bob Nightengale interesting. It details the final hours of Albert Pujols’ time as a Los Angeles Angels. It shows you how different things are behind the scenes sometimes compared to how it looks on the field.
Tiger on the loose
There is apparently a wild tiger on the loose in Houston, after escaping captivity inside a house in a suburban neighborhood. It was later discovered, in a complete shock to all, that the person illegally housing the tiger was not a straight shooter. The man is currently out on bond for a murder charge and is now back in jail for housing this beast cat and letting it get loose to terrorize the surrounding community.
There is still apparently no sign of the tiger. If you live in Texas, keep your head on a swivel. It’s dangerous out there. I read this news yesterday, while texting my girlfriend to make sure she wasn’t low on gas due to a potential shortage because a Russian ‘Darkside’ group hacked into a major pipeline — all of this coming two days after a ten-story tall Chinese rocket plummeted toward earth with no one having any real idea where it would land. We put a man on the moon in the 1960s but cannot give a ballpark estimate of where a rocket the size of a small skyscraper will land. How does that work? I feel like we should have gotten more than a “be on the lookout for this thing.” What a wild time 2021 is.
On the Horizon:
Grill Corner with Greg, send in your questions
Mailbag Friday and a Vandy series preview
Newsletters covering hard-hitting news like this one did, plus a Magnolia State golf update and more.
Thanks for reading. Send to your friends and tell them to join the fun. Have a great Tuesday.