And so it begins... Interestingly enough our canadian jockey was able to navigate our horse through heavy traffic and still post decent splits on the "trip" from Minneapolis to Chicago. We were sitting up front, and minus the saddle burn we had a great view for the entire ride. After a stop for photographs with our Bismark in victory lane in downtown Chicago, we went home to our beds and an evening with the newest family member, Mitsh. Now that's something we can believe in.

The Trip

The annual meeting of the authors has gotten off to a great success as we begin our journey through the mid-west. Not that it was intended but our trip seems to have paralleled Mr. Obama's trip to Europe. For example, today he visited the wailing wall ... and many reporters indicated that he bowed his head in prayer and stuck a small slip of paper into the cracks in the wall. News sources cannot confirm or deny that it was in fact a betting ticket to his home track of Arlington Park.

.... speaking of which! Our destinations for today are that famed track and then on to Wrigley field and a classic game of Cubs baseball under the lights! What's that you say? They didn't actually install lights into Wrigley until 1988? Well, either way, it'll be a classic.

Campaignin'

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

Lest we never forget ...

I really expected to blog today about the incredible awesomeness that will be Mr. Obama's address to the Democratic National Convention (now coming to you from Mile High Stadium), but instead I am sitting here in subdued silence because of a Newsday article about Army Pfc. Joseph Dwyer. You can find the article here.

Ok, now back to the the less important but more interesting ... Yes he can. Although Left Wing Jumper raises the interesting, yet obvious, question of "what if it rains?" Apparently that's TBD.

All tied up!

Locked up in a tight one, you say? Well, only one man can prevail. Gallup has it as a tie in it's most recent national poll, and it is clear that Mr. Obama has lost the effects of the bounce he received after clinching the nomination. While national polls are certainly fun to watch, they really have no bearing whatsoever on the results of a presidential election. What does matter is states and electoral votes, and according to one electoral vote predictor, Mr. Obama sports a 309-229 lead. It's only the mid-point in June, but we'll take it.

Of course the other big stalemate in the world is that golf contest out in La Jolla . They get to play another 18 today, and I wouldn't bet too heavily on the California boy. We all saw on April 22nd that those Pennsylvanians have more than a little grit in them, and I wouldn't be at all suprised to see the old man pull one out.

And don't forget ... the teams in the NBA finals run it back again tonight. Of Course, if Kobe's Lakers win ... you guessed it ... it's all tied up!

P.S. I forgot to make a quick shout-out to my brother who will take the LSAT for the 5th time today as he again attempts to best my 179. Good Luck bro!

Triumphant Return?

Whether it's him (see photo at left) or her (see photo at right) we are expecting two significant returns to the public arena in the next few days.

For Curlin the return to Churchill is indeed triumphant. He returns to the site of his Kentucky Derby loss, but in actuality he returns to the place where he became a household name. Since finishing 3rd in the Derby, he won the Preakness, finished second in a battle of the sexes , won the JC Gold Cup and capped off his three-year-old campaign with a win in the BC Classic and Horse of the Year honors. On Saturday he faces nine presumably overmatched rivals in the Stephen Foster.

HilForceOne on the other hand returns to the United States Senate with her proverbial tail between her legs having been vanquished by Mr. Obama in their primary "battle of the sexes." All indications are that she will return as the junior Senator from New York with no special or honorary position.

Lastly, Mr. Woods returns to La Jolla after a dominating Buick Inviational in January. He now attempts to play at an elite level following his knee surgery. He "Open"ed with a double-bogey.

This ... is front page!

Please people do not eat the tomatoes. I had a burger last night (two actually) and it was fine without a tomato. No need to die of salmonella poisoning. Always nice to see the New York Post having fun with something like that. Of course they are usually right when it comes to things like that. For example when they "figured out" who Kerry would pick as his Vice-President.Oops.

Since I need to spend most of my day crafting tickets for an unGodly-challenge of a pick-six that starts in Race 4 of tomorrow's Belmont card, I don't have time for a lengthily post today. However, I did want to direct your attention to our electoral vote tracker in the upper right corner of the page. It is being done in a general attempt to avoid this: Lastly a little p.s. to any of my family members who may be living in Chicagoland: Look Both Ways!