My Entire Catalog of Rachel Alexandra Pics

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com, AndyDisco on Twitter

I see you baby, shakin' that ass.

( / ) ( I ) ( \ )








I'm T.R. Slyder, and that's how you Tangueray.

Ummmm, I Think Everyone owes the NFL $10,000....

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com, AndyDisco on Twitter


Brett Favre was just fined $10,000 by the NFL for an "illegal crackback".

Without sharing too much personal information, I, uh..... well, I didn't know having a back crack was illegal I guess.






I'm T.R. Slyder, and that's how you Tangueray.

Thanks for Coming out, Del Mar

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com, AndyDisco on Twitter


Saturday's horse races will feature four Grade 1 Races that tower over the rest- 2 at Saratoga and 2 at Del Mar (with the previously chronicled experimental-gone-wrong surface).

Del Mar's Pacific Classic is one of the jewels of west coast racing and ought to be a doozie. Saratoga's Woodward features Rachel Alexandra (also previously chronicled. A few times) in a historic bid to defeat older males in a Grade 1, and before that race at Saratoga is the 7 Furlong Forego. So what's the other big race at Del Mar? The Pat O'Brien Breeders' Cup Stakes. I'm not joking.

In all fairness to Del Mar and the sport, the race is NOT named after Pat O'Brien of nasal voice, mustache fame, it's named after a co-founder of Del Mar's race track. But, in all fairness to me, I couldn't care less and I carry on as though it were named after the less reputable Pat O'Brien. That being said....

Real classy, Del Mar. Saratoga names their races after Horsemen, Financiers and Statesmen, and you go with Pat O'Brien. When are you gonna re-name the Pacific Classic the Alec Baldwin Rude Vile Little Pig Stakes?










I'm T.R. Slyder, and that's how you Tangueray.

LaGarrette Blount of Oregon and Boise St. Sucker Punch

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com, AndyDisco on Twitter

If this young gentleman doesn't embody the modern sportsman, I don't know who does. I bet he habitually opens doors for acquaintances of both genders, takes his hat off when going indoors, stands up when women leave and/or join his table at restaurants, and tips his hat when women walk by. Good thing the game began with symbolic handshake in order to promote sportsmanship. Although I guess MMA is a sport.




Man. I have seen a LOT of cocks, and that was probably the coldest I've seen. Wait, that didn't come out right...

Update: I just got off the phone with a French-speaking friend of mine. He said that LeGarrette is a French name and means, "The Garrette".

Update #2: The Garrette just got suspended for the season by his team. Thanks for coming out, The Garrette. You can see his 2009 highlight reel above.





I'm T.R. Slyder, and that's how you Tangueray.

Get Up, Stand Up. Don't Give up the Fight!

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com, AndyDisco on Twitter











I'm T.R. Slyder, and that's how you Tangueray.

Using my two Favorite Techniques to Analyze Rachel Alexandra's Chance in the Woodward- Plagiarism and Primates

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com, AndyDisco on Twitter

I was thinking about monkeys again last night. But I also kept thinking about the Steve Haskin article on BloodHorse.com that I linked to in my previous Rachel Alexandra/Woodward post; he made some really good points that concerned me. So I thought I'd break his article down paragraph by paragraph and kinda translate it for my readers that maybe aren't as versed in horse racing jargon as they are other languages- like Monkey Language, for instance.


Here is Haskin's first paragraph:

Rachel Alexandra drew post 3 for Saturday’s $750,000 Woodward Stakes (gr. I). No big deal, you say? By breaking close to the rail, and with a big bruiser in the aptly named Bullsbay drawing directly inside her in post 2 and a speedy Nick Zito-trained stalker, Cool Coal Man, directly outside her in post 4, a scenario is developing where Rachel could find herself in some heavy traffic at different stages of the race.

To monkeyify getting stuck betwixt Bullsbay and Cool Coal Man:



Haskin's next paragraph:

When you see Zito put in two tactical speed horses against a heavy favorite who has the same running style as his horses, you can bet he has an agenda, meaning Da' Tara, breaking from the rail and coming off a bullet :47 flat work on the Oklahoma training track, likely will bust out of the gate to assure Rachel will not get an easy lead in case that strategy was to enter Calvin Borel’s mind. If Rachel takes off the pace, she will have Cool Coal Man, It's a Bird, and Past the Point all in a position to pin her down on the rail behind Da’ Tara, meaning there is a decent chance she could wind up in a neat little box by the time they hit the backstretch.

Watch out for possible bunching, grouping, crowding, boxing, etc.:

crowding....... .....boxing














Haskin's third paragraph:

Sitting back, waiting to see how the race unfolds, will be Asiatic Boy and Macho Again, both tough, battle-tested closers. Now, remember, this is merely a possible scenario based on how the race is shaping up. But it surely is one to be wary of.

Two combatants waiting until others put their cards on the table, then playing their own hands accordingly:



















Haskin's 4th paragraph:

The bottom line, this is not a race or a field to be taken lightly. These older horses are more formidable than people think, at least on any given day. Each has shown they have a big race in them, including Past the Point, who gave Curlin quite a scare at 40-1 in last year’s Woodward. Bullsbay and Cool Coal Man each are coming off a 107 Beyer at Saratoga; It’s a Bird ran a 107 Beyer two races back; Macho Again is coming off a 105 Beyer; and Past the Point ran a 110 Beyer in last year’s Woodward.


Be wary of assassins:



Haskin's 5th paragraph:

Before anyone starts getting depressed over this unsettling scenario, the intention here is not to suggest Rachel is going to get beat, but it is Saratoga and it is a 3-year-old filly against older males, and Borel is going to have a bulls-eye on his back and must constantly be aware of everything going on around him and any plots developing during the running of the race, especially the first half-mile. Just remember how they ganged up on poor Stewart Elliott and Smarty Jones in the Belmont Stakes (gr. I).


Borel's in need of vigilance: It won't be a day at the beach for Calvin Borel, that's for sure. Heck, even if it were a day at the beach, he'd still want to stay vigilant.




But he'd probably want to be even more vigilant than that. Too bad he couldn't have another pair of eyes looking out for Rachel.


(Answer: I'm pretty sure you can't. It'd be tough to do that and stay within the weight requirement. But good thinking!)

Haskin's 6th paragraph:

Of course, we’re dealing with a filly who could prove to be as great as any who ever lived and who most likely will not be fazed in the slightest by any tactics the other riders might employ. But it is something to think about. If Rachel is able to escape any ambushes and booby traps early on and gets a clear run, then it will all be up to her to show what she can do against these big, tough ol’ boys.

Let's not forget that Rachel Alexandra knows how to kick hiney:



And finally, Haskin's final paragraph:


Asiatic Boy, for example, has won or placed in grade I stakes on three continents. If you’re looking for a horse who can’t bear the thought of getting beat by a 3-year-old filly it’s one named Macho. Bullsbay is a bull and he’s a bay and last weighed in at over 1,230 pounds. It’s a Bird possesses the magic name “Bird” that has been soaring all year in major stakes, and his name just happens to be the opening line to the introduction of Superman. Yep, this is a tough bunch.

The competition is strong:



Steve Haskin made some great points and painted a very believable picture of a scenario that a lot of people simply didn't envision. It wouldn't take a freak occurence for Rachel Alexandra to get beat on Saturday. Sometimes in horse racing the field teams up on the big favorite- maybe one horse (like maybe Da' Tara) sprints out faster than he ordinarily would, ostensibly sacrificing his own chances at victory just for the sake of bothering the favorite (Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey relished doing just that when he wasn't aboard the favorite). Then, the very instant after the sprinter is turned away by the favorite, a closer (like maybe Asiatic Boy or Macho Again) might start his run a bit earlier than he'd like, and take on the favorite- almost as though he and the faded sprinter are in a relay race against the favorite. As soon as one horse gets tired, he passes the baton off to the next horse. Now it's his turn to make sure that the favorite stays harried and never gets any chance to catch his (or her) breath. Maybe the big favorite digs in and heroically kicks away from the early closer with his (or her) last ounce of effort, only to be nipped at the wire from the VERY deep closer (like m aybe Asiatic Boy or Macho Again) who came from out of nowhere, and is the benefactor of the group effort.


Really, it's a lot like the last scene of Scarface, with all of those would-be assassins taking their shot at Tony Montana, and all of them getting killed one-by-one, at least at first. And when it appears the tide is starting to turn in favor of the assassins what happens? Tony says, "So you wanna play rough, huh? Ok. Say hello to my li'l Fr'en'!" and #@**POW**@#, that threat is over with a boom and a cloud of smoke. After that, Tony thinks he can let his guard down. That's when The Skull calmly creeps up behind Tony and gets his man without even breaking a sweat. You set 'em up, he'll knock 'em down. Sure, some people lost but the team won.


There is a pretty decent chance that a similar pack-mentality will develop on Saturday- it certainly wouldn't be the first time that has happened to the big favorite in a big race. But there's also a pretty decent chance Rachel Alexandra will win by open lengths and leave us all stupified with mouths agape. I'm not sure which it will be.

Either way, it will be a great....




spectacle.







I'm T.R. Slyder, and that's how you Tangueray.

Good Story

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com, AndyDisco on Twitter


I hope this story gets more publicity. It reminds me of the passengers aboard the plane on 9/11 that was downed in Pennsylvania- a good-natured athlete staring down death, protecting innocents, and just acting heroically. Job well-done Kaleb Eulls.






I'm T.R. Slyder, and that's how you Tangueray.

Rachel Alexandra to Race Against Older Boys in 2 Days. Feel Free to Run Around Screaming While Flailing Your Arms Wildly In Anticipation

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com, AndyDisco on Twitter


As TR Slyder scholars know well, I like horse racing and the filly Rachel Alexandra. As the headline mentions, on Saturday she takes older males for the first time and is installed as the 1-2 favorite on the morning line. I couldn't think of a cohesive and prosaic way to fit all I want to say about this topic and include all the links, so this post will be all over the place. On the off chance you find segues intoxicating, this blog post will be a sobering one. To alleviate the sobriety however, I'll pepper in some amusing pictures that are loosely, or not related to the text in order to help you get through the whole article.

It's a bigger deal than you may think. The top three stories on the reputable BloodHorse.com are all about Rachel (here, here and here). The DailyRacingForm.com has Rachel as their lead story and also as their 7th. For historical perspective of the feat Rachel is shouldering, This article from Brisnet.com is the most informative I have read (for those of us that are less mature and/or unfamilar with horse racing, yet familiar with what a bris is, feel free to snicker at the site being called "Brisnet" and that they have a column called "Handicappers Edge").

It was historic when Rachel beat dudes in the Grade 1 Preakness, and also in the Grade 1 Haskell, but those were against 3-year olds, or boys here own age. This time she is taking on older dudes in a Grade 1 race. "Grade 1" just means that it is THE top tier of racing- as dictated by the race's history and the prize money. 3 year old fillies have beaten older males in Grade 1 races before, but an American filly has accomplished it in only twice since 1987.

Another historical aspect of this race is that with this blog post, Rachel ties Rod Blagojevich for 6th place as the most frequent topics of blog posts on www.whereawesomehappens.blogspot.com, as you can see in the margin.

If Rachel wins on Saturday she will basically guarantee that she wins the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year. A win would also cement a spot for her alongside Ruffian as the best filly race horse in the modern era. The latter is probably meaningless to the casual reader, or even to readers in ball gowns or tuxedos (HELOOOOO), but again, it's a huge deal for horse racing. Much like how discussion of the best basketball of the modern era starts and stops with Michael Jordan, the same is true for fillies and Ruffian. In an era when 0 people follow horse racing, the sport making headlines only from tragedies, and the public never getting to know any horses because their careers are now so short, its nice to see such a positive story, and one that might bring a few fans into the sport. That being said, her race will not air live on national television unless you get either HRTV (Horse Racing TV) or TVG (also a horse racing channel). If you are lucky to get either, the race will air at 5:52 Eastern Time. Well, the race will air at the time regardless of whether you get those channels, but you know what I meant.

I downloaded the Past Performance for Saturday's race, but it's probably illegal to post it, despite this site getting about 60 readers a day. But if you'd like a copy of it, just email me and I'd be happy to email it to you as a personal favor. That's probably legal enough for my low standards.

As far as the race itself, she is the logical favorite in the field of 8. It isn't the strongest field in the history of Grade 1 races, but is solid nonetheless. Notables include 2009 Whitney Stakes winner Bullsbay; Da' Tara- the only horse to finish first in a race which included Big Brown, that happened in the 2008 Belmont Stakes, thus ending Big Brown's bid for the elusive Triple Crown; Macho Again who finished 2nd in both the 2008 Preakness and the 2009 Whitney Handicap and who, like Bullsbay, ran the best race of his life last time out over the Saratoga track; and It's a Bird- the son of Birdstone, who won the 2005 Travers and Belmont Stakes. It's a Bird is also the half-brother to both Mine that Bird (winner of the 2009 KY Derby) and Summer Bird (winner of the 2009 Belmont Stakes and Travers Handicap, but lost to Rachel by 6th lengths in the 2009 Haskell Invitational). And since you're wondering, It's a Bird's owner, Edmund Gann, was also the owner of Rachel Alexandra's father, Medaglia D'Oro.

I guess I digressed from the actual race though. Those are the notable foes for Saturday, and on paper Rachel towers over the field. Her career earnings vs. the next highest opponents are...Oh. I'll be damned. I was getting ready to type that she has way more $ in career earnings then any other horse in the field, then I was gonna check the PP's to see by how much and over whom, but she has actually been out-earned by a horse I did not mention, Asiatic Boy. He's earned $3.7 million to Rachel Alexandra's 2.4. Who knew? In Rachel's defense, it has taken him 4 more races to do so, but both are impressive, nonetheless. Rachel's highest Beyer Speed Figure is 116, the next highest in the field is owned by (another horse I didn't mention in the last paragraph) Past the Point and is 110. Interestingly enough he did it in this race (the Woodward) last year, and he has the same jockey (Edgar Prado) as he did then.

I'm sure I'll preview the race in more depth later on Thursday or at some point on Friday, but I've probably written at least 400 words too many enough about her.













I'm T.R. Slyder Tyler Benchfield, and that's how you Tangueray.

It's the 1 Year Anniversary of Where Awesome Happens

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com, AndyDisco on Twitter


Thanks a lot you guys! Or as we say here in Chicago, "Tanks a lat, you gays"

Officially, we turned a year old on 8/24/09, I just forgot about it. I went back to see if I posted anything that day, I did. I posted a video that contained a Chimpanzee, linked to an article critical of Goldman Sachs, mentioned obesity, and plagiarized the Daily Racing Form. That sounds about right.







I'm T.R. Slyder, and that's how you Tangueray.

The Huffington Post is Desperately trying to WhereAwesomeHappens-ize Their Website

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com, AndyDisco on Twitter

Sure that's a bold claim, but I have proof. Namely, they showed pictures of WAH favorite James Traficant. He got out of prison today!!!

Here is their blurb complete with photo gallery.

Here is where I have him ranked in my countdown of the Top 10 Worst Haircuts of All Time.








I'm T.R. Slyder, and that's how you Tangueray.

You Changed Your Name???

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com, AndyDisco on Twitter


You didn't tell me that you changed your name to "Report". Good for you. http://tinyurl.com/m9ep4h








I'm T.R. Slyder, and that's how you Tangueray.

Another Reason to visit Sports Illustrated's Website Instead of ESPN's

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com, AndyDisco on Twitter


SI.com reports that Erin Andrews is going to go on Oprah to talk about her nakee video.

Oddly, this wasn't mentioned on espn.com.






I'm T.R. Slyder, and that's how you Tangueray.

A Shoutout to Myself

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com, AndyDisco on Twitter

After reading about the California Wildfires I was thinking about that's just something we should assume is always the case- like violence in the middle east or drama with Jon and Kate and Brett Favre.

Please note the third paragraph in my posting from 12/08.








I'm T.R. Slyder, and that's how you Tangueray.

Rod Blagojevich Suffers his Biggest Indignity yet!

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com, AndyDisco on Twitter

I just saw that he has been featured on the website: MenWhoLookLikeOldLesbians.blogspot.com. Now that's just adding insult to injury.

Rock meet bottom. Wait, that is a mixed metaphor. What I mean is, this is rock bottom for Hot Rod (Hot Ronda?).







I'm T.R. Slyder, and that's how you Tangueray.

Little League World Series and Feline Tinkle; A Lesson in Marketing

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com, AndyDisco on Twitter

While watching an advert for Sunday's Little League World Series Championship of Chinese Taipei vs. the United States team from California, I noticed something.

The logo they used (and I couldn't find them anywhere on the web to show here) for Chinese Taipei was a logo that just said, "TPE", ostensibly for Taipei. The logo used for the US team was, "CA", for California, where they're from. The two logos were paired side-by-side, with TPE on the left and CA on the right, more or less like this:


TPE CA

I assumed it was arranged as such since we are hosting Taipei, their logo would appear "first" since most people would read that left-to-right. Then I also thought, "well someone had to be on the left, so there was a 50% chance it would be them even if their positions were selected randomly". That made sense, I thought. But then wondered if the "TPE" were first was because if it were arranged otherwise, it would look more or less like this:

CA TPE

it would sorta spell "cat pee".



What? Someone has gotta ask these questions.










I'm T.R. Slyder, and that's how you Tangueray.

New Punk Band

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com, AndyDisco on Twitter

My new punk named: Showed 'em Scrotum.









I'm T.R. Slyder, and that's how you Tangueray.

Who Came Out of the Travers Looking the Best? Rachel Alexandra.

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com, AndyDisco on Twitter


Were you expecting me to say "Summer Bird"? After Summer Bird's gutsy win in the Belmont and on Sunday's Travers we're finally starting to appreciate what a great horse he is. Any horse that wins those two races is bonafide monster.

A look at Summer Bird's past performances in the Daily Racing Form reveals that in his last race, The Haskell Invitational, Summer Bird earned a 106 Beyer, yet finished second, beaten 6 lengths. Who was it that beat Summer Bird by 6? Rachel Alexandra.

You could now do a 2-Degrees-of-Separation test with Rachel and nearly every three year old male that matters to indicate she has beaten either the horses themselves, or the horses that have beaten those horses. She's unreal.


Hey Zenyatta, come get a taste!







I'm T.R. Slyder, and that's how you Tangueray.

Up Yours, England

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com, AndyDisco on Twitter

I was channel surfing the other day and saw Gordon Ramsey telling the camera man that he needed botox and liposuction. I though he was a chef? Now this? Then I realized that, as much as I enjoy English people, what is it with them sending over all of this sadists?

Simon Cowell, that Weakest Link "Goodbye" Lady, The Supernanny, that dude named Piers, etc. Is that really a fair trade for pawning Madonna off on you guys?

I thought about how annoying and frankly kinky they all are. Then I started being mad at England. Then I heard Noel Gallagher left Oasis, and I got more mad at England for letting this happen. Also, Gordon Brown letting the Lockerbie bomber out of prison in exchange for oil. Classy.

Then I saw this on the Daily Beast: The Hand of God in Lego format, brought to you by Mark Stimson. It was then that I decided to exact my revenge on England by showing the depiction of the most scandalous play in the history of the World Cup, where Diego Maradona punched the ball over the English goalkeeper and into the net for a goal. And by "scandalous" I mean "hilarious".




and in case you forgot the real deal....










I'm T.R. Slyder, and that's how you Tangueray.