TED SOBEL SPORTS AUDIO VAULT: Your Inside Access to TOUCHING GREATNESS

It’s been totally rediculous that one of the most beautiful racetracks in the world should be closed for more than half a year (specially in this economy!). So with the traditional Oak Tree meet now long gone in Arcadia, Santa Anita Park has finally announced a new 6-week Autumn meet starting in late September concluding on November 6.

Santa Anita’s Autumn Meet will also provide horsemen with a total of six graded Breeders’ Cup Challenge qualifying races (including the prestigious Lady’s Secret, the Goodwood, the Norfolk, the Oak Leaf, the Yellow Ribbon and the Ancient Title). A win in any of these races automatically qualifies the victor with the opportunity to enter in the Breeders’ Cup race for which he or she is pointing.

Who else to chat with about this than Santa Anita spokesman and longtime friend Mike Willman? So I gave him a call and we discussed not only the new meet but last week’s Kentucky Derby and the chances of winner Animal Kingdom becoming our first triple crown champ in 33 years when Steve Cauthen rode Affirmed for trainer Laz Barrera into the history books. Think about how strange it is that Secretariat broke a 25 year triple crown drought in 1973 followed by back to backers in ’77 and ’78 with Seattle Slew and Affirmed reaching the winner’s circle and not another one since! It’s unfortunate that this year’s 3 year old crop had so many injuries to take away from what could’ve been a stronger 3-race field for history purposes…but folks, that’s horse racing!

Mike Willman with Ted Sobel:

(photos courtesy of Santa Anita and A.P.)

What a strange night here in Las Vegas…but I’m sure that’s hardly an unusual statement! I’m covering the well-hyped Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley WBO Welterweight Championship fight and the undercard turns out to give us the best fight of the night (by far) and then during the Pacquiao post-fight newser, Paris Hilton shows up and sits down at the podium next to Manny’s wife. And of course, I end up asking her questions just like the other weezles in the media who had nothing better to do either. (it’s obvious that my journalistic standards have dropped to new lows that only Wall Street can relate to!) By the way, the heavily favored Pacquiao easily won this fight by a unanimous decision after one good knockdown in the 3rd round.

The main event was mostly watching a jog around the ring for the 12 rounds and the fans who paid their hard earned dollars let the guys know it through their consistent booing during the last several rounds. ‘Dancing with the Stars’ may have 2 more perfect contestants with these 2 guys who’d rather get their faces bashed in (that is when they actually connect with a punch) as Pacquiao picked up a cool 20 million big ones for his hour of work while Mosley got 5 mill. (which equals the added amount of slurred words to his already affected speech from all those years in the ring). I did ask Shane if maybe it’s time to retire and although he wouldn’t commit a definite answer to me, he did tell a colleague of mine a few minutes later that it’s likely time.

It’s the first time I’ve ever been around Pacquiao and he really is as charming as he comes across from afar…which I guess is why he will likely win by a landslide whenever he trades in his boxing gloves to run for the Presidency of the Philipines (and that’s no joke!).

While I was wrapping up in the media room I also ran into Showtime analyst on this fight Al Bernstein, and who better than this longtime boxing commentator to ask his thoughts on this very mediocre match and where he places Pacquiao all-time?

My thought after this very mundane fight was although I attended as a freeloading member of the media, I still want my money back! 🙂
More pictures to follow when I have some time…but here are your post match interviews including Ms. Hilton who told me that she also loves hockey like her boxing matches (I knew there was SOMETHING I liked about her, besides her immense talents (whatever they may be?)…

Manny Pacquiao post-fight newsconference:

Manny Pacquiao with Ted Sobel:

Shane Mosley post-fight newsconference:
[soundcloudurl=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/14882950″%5D

Al Bernstein with Ted Sobel:

Paris Hilton with Ted Sobel et al (I still don’t know why I’m putting this here???:

And a few notes on my scorecard:
One day before the befuddled Lakers try to avoid getting swept into oblivion (or Bolivian according to Mike Tyson), Andre Ethier’s hitting streak hit a brick wall at 30 games in Queens. The Mets handled Ethier for an 0-4 day keeping him forever one game shy of the Dodgers franchise record set by Willie Davis in 1969. And as the late Jim Healy used to say…IS IT TRUE? that the reason Ethier failed to tie the record today was because inside City Field (for a rare appearance) was none other than my old friend Paul Olden (Mr. Yankees P.A. guy), who swore he’d figure out whatever hex it took to keep Andre from ever catching ‘the 3-Dog’ (Olden’s favorite player growing up). Timing is everything folks and Olden’s was perfection while Andre’s simply sucked! What’s my opinion of Olden’s performance? I think it was F’n brilliant!!! 🙂

As for my little bet on Bob Baffert’s Midnight Interlude in the Kentucky Derby? I’m still waiting for him to finish…I guess I’ll have to bill Bob for that one with my ticket torn up somewhere in the Animal Kingdom! 😦

Comments are always appreciated…thanks much!