Barbaro makes a belated comeback

What a sign it is that a horse – not just any horse, mind you, but Barbaro, the horse that shattered it’s leg some two, maybe three years ago – has become a symbol of the right to die movement.

That’s right, no longer is there just a right to life movement, but also a right to die movement (I fully expect for there to be a right-to-feel-passive or a right to wear-mauve movement to spring up any day now).

For those of who you may have missed this story, Barbaro – a horse that died over a year ago – is set to be immortalized as a statue. Butt it’s not at the track where he shattered his leg, nor any home of his victories or even his stable.

No, it’s in New York’s Central Park.

And it’s not galloping mightily in the wind, nor in any pose that Red Smith would have dreamed up.

It’s lying in it’s back, legs in the air, belly draped with his saddle cloth (that’s how you can tell it’s Barbaro). This apparently represents how it couldn’t walk after it broke it’s legs and is a fitting tribute to the right-to-die movement.

Okay, so I get the concept. Don’t let animals live in some kind of vegetative state for years, like Terri Shaivo, existing only to make money. But to make it statue of Barbaro?

But when I think of things that should be euthanized, Barbaro is far from the front of the list, behind even Kim Jong Ill, Rev. Fred Phelps and Bob Cole.

Come on, Barbaro’s just a horse. Well, just was a horse, anyway.

But don’t let that get in the way of sculptor Daniel Edwards’ message. He’s the same guy who has sculpted such other modern wonders as Paris Hilton, dead on a autopsy table (complete with removable organs!) and Britney Spears giving birth (comes with a bearskin rug!).

But come on, Barbaro? The same horse that people sent flowers, apples and get-well cards to? How did a horse, inexplicably loved by tens of thousands, become a symbol of the right to die?

"We believe a memorial dedicated to the Right to Die will encourage horse owners to forego their own self-interests and act mercifully on behalf of their suffering horse," said Leo Kesting Gallery co-director, John Leo. "If Barbaro has taught us anything, it is that horses deserve our compassion first."

I still don’t get it. Had Barbaro lived – he was put down, after all, almost making him a martyr, I suppose – he would have gone to stud. You know, just hanging around the farm, occasionally mating with other horses, maybe getting visitors from the city once in a while.

And that’s supposed to be a fate worse then death?

Sounds like the afterlife to me.

50/50 and sinking fast

It keeps getting worse and worse for Barbaro. For the horse that had such a bright future ahead of it - from it decimating the crowd at the Kentucky Derby to having a memorable spot on PTI's "Role Play" - it's came downhill faster then it can run.

It started with him shattering his ankle during the Preakness - which caused so much damage and needed so much repair that he would never race again. In a flash, his career was over... And his life was in jeopardy. Even the most optimistic doctors were saying that his chances of survival were 50/50. It wasn't really a natural tragedy, but we all took hold, anyway. People were sending in flowers, apples and even cards - all for a horse that can't even communicate with people, let alone read.

But still, nobody likes to see a winner go down like Barbaro did in the Preakness. Granted, it wasn't as bad to watch as Joe Theismann snapping his leg or Clint Malarchuk catching a skate to the throat... But it was still a horrid sight to watch. Here was a powerhouse of a horse getting cut down in his prime - all because of a misstep.

And now the news keeps getting worse and worse. Barbaro's leg has healed, yes, but at the expense of his other hind leg - which has developed laminitis, an incurable ailment. His career as anything - a stud horse, a racing horse or just as something that some rich girl would get from her rich dad - is over beyond a doubt. Barbaro's race is almost completely run now. Granted, it's almost impossible to look after an injured horse, especially one as injured as Barbaro has been, without having some aftereffects. It's only a matter of time before he's put down by the same doctors that were working on him not two weeks ago.

But what can you do? The horse is going to suffer from this for the rest of it's life and it surely would not even still be here if it wasn't the famous horse it is. So maybe it's time for Barbaro. Yes, having him put down is a depressing move - but it's the only humane one there really is.

Thoughts on the Derby '06

Another July, another home run derby - and yet again, my picks are spectacularly off base. Since my track record is so impossibly bad - I'm talking like "Lions will win Superbowl XLI" bad - I didn't even bother posting them. Hell, I'm actually almost as embarrassed as I was last year.

That was something else, though - choosing Jason Bay. Jeez, he wasn't even able to get one home run. And my pick this year - er, Troy Glaus - only managed to get one more this time then Jason did this time (and Jason didn't even take part).

Sure, I also liked Ortiz, but even he didn't make it past the second round. And, actually, neither did I. I only know who won thanks to ESPN Radio, which managed to tell me something like 12 times last night, when I was trying to get some sleep.

So, then - why does anybody care about the home run derby?

The biggest home run names (Barry Bonds, Manny Ramirez, Ken Griffey Jr, Albert Pujols) don't take part in it. Watching someone who you barely know hit home runs after the other - and watching them take something like 40 passed balls while they're at it - isn't exciting. The announcers don't even call half of the home runs. It's like watching Batting Practice on the YES network.

I think half of the thrill is that the players are so into it - where else, with maybe the exception of the slam-dunk contest, do you see all the all-stars sitting around, watching (and in a few cases, taping) the contest? It's almost like a showcase of their human side - sure, Ortiz is a powerful guy at the plate, but how often do we see him hanging around, joking with friends? I actually found that watching the players generally be themselves was more of an attraction then the derby itself.

Another is the fans. Remember that guy who caught the NFL game ball after a field goal a few years back? The one who jumped off a ledge to get to it? Now multiply that by 30. And with 20 different people.

Take last night, for example. Whenever a ball - and it was more then a few - was knocked outside the stadium and into the river, crowds of people in boats would all make a wild dash to the ball - which, more often then not, involved groups of people almost fighting in water. And it happened every time, too - it didn't matter who hit the ball, really - as soon as it got in the water, everybody was going after it. And it was funny, in it's own way.

Does the derby need to be improved? Sure - you could have to vote with one person from each position, maybe (and who wouldn't want to see a pitcher in a derby?) or you could work in a pitch count (to cut down on the passed balls). But either way, the home runs themselves aren't the attraction anymore - at least to me.