Tuesday, June 10, 2008

At the sports desk: Big Brown blame game

So as perhaps many of you saw this past Saturday, Big Brown not only failed to win horse racing's Triple Crown, he came in last at the Belmont Stakes. And now, the finger-pointing has begun in earnest--the horse's trainer points the finger at the jockey.

Hard to see how that will help anything. Finger-pointing is easy. Fixing the problem is harder.
But you know, from a larger perspective, I was kind of glad that Big Brown didn't win the Crown. Not because I have anything against him--he's by all accounts a fine horse. But the Triple Crown is a huge accomplishment; historically, it's been difficult to win. And it should be--that way, winning it means something. The fact that Big Brown did NOT win it reminds us, again, of just how difficult winning that thing is. And that can be a good thing---

Because when the next horse does win it, it will mean something. To all of us who follow sports.