Unca Darrell

JULY 30 / Paging Sylvester Carmouche

HEAVY SMOG in Beijing should be seen as an Olympics-sized opportunity, not a problem.

JUNE 7 / Who does Jesus like in the Belmont Stakes?

Today’s the Belmont Stakes, the third jewel (as the cliche goes) in the Triple Crown of horse racing.

For my Christian friends who know not of such things, the Triple Crown is the pinnacle of racing for three-year-old thoroughbreds. The other two races are the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, both in May. 

To add to the excitement, one horse in today’s race has a legitimate chance of winning all three races of the Triple Crown. His name—Big Brown—sends more thrills up the legs of UPS corporate executives and horseplayers than Senator Obama's does for MNBC’s exciteable Chris Matthews.

UPDATE: Big Brown came in last. There's a lesson there.

The last Triple Crown winner, by the way, was Affirmed, thirty years ago. Unca Darrell and Lady Di once visited Affirmed and his pal Alydar in their stables at Calumet Farm near Lexington, Kentucky. But that’s a story for another day.

I found Jesus ten years ago. Before that, I often found myself reading The Daily Racing Form and working out elaborate theories about how to predict the winners of thoroughbred races. I rarely went to the races, but that was because I knew that my elaborate theories would not do the one thing they were intended to do, which was produce positive cash flow. Nevertheless, as handicappers go, I was (and still am) not bad.

Which raises the question: If circus performers can juggle knives and ride unicycles at the same time, why cannot I exercise both my Christian faith and my handicapping skills to answer a question that doubtless would, were they to ponder it, trouble both theologians and horseplayers?

Namely: Who does Jesus like in the Belmont?

Rice parties like it's 2003

Behind the pitching of reliever Cole St. Clair, the Rice Owls beat St. John's 11-2 in the winners' bracket of the Houston regional NCAA playoff. You can hear Sunday night's game against the winner of the losers' bracket---Texas or St. John's---locally on KTRU-FM, 91.7, or nationally on the station's Web site.

UPDATE: Rice beat Texas 7-4, naturally, and will play Texas A&M in the Houston Super Regional this weekend. Winner goes to the College World Series.

Would L'Osservatore Romano misidentify . . .

. . . the Pope? Would the New York Times misidentify Senator Obama? Would the Houston Chronicle misidentify the greatest football coach in Houston history?

Here is a recent correction in our local paper of record: "The photo on Page E3 Thursday incorrectly identified former Houston Oilers coach Bum Phillips . . . ." ("Corrections," Houston Chronicle, May 30, 2008, Page A2.)

I would have put a link so you could see for yourself, but the Chronicle's search engine was remarkably reticent about returning an item for the search terms "corrections and 'Bum Phillips'" and variants. You can see it here.

The Chronicle really does not understand the culture of its readers. Too many Chronicle reporters and editors are strangers in a strange land.