That Barbaro horse died.

So what? You'd think it was, say, a *person*. The New York Times had an article: After 8 Months Filled By Hope, Setback Ends Barbaro’s Battle; Barbaro’s Desperate Fight for Life Gripped a Nation in Anguish; and Veterinarian Says Goodbye to a Patient (whew! good thing there's nothing else important going on in the world!).

Sports Illustrated is particularly bloviating: A Champion Until the End
Barbaro Touched Us With His Grace and Fighting Spirit; before saying Churchill Downs Could Be Burial Site For Barbaro. It goes on and on.

Ummm, remind me again, who cares?

Sportswriters, of course, love to find the Big Picture. And then write it into the ground. And beat us over the head with it. With purplish prose. The Sports Illustrated article contains the following gems:

It lost a champion whose class and bravery -- before and after his injury
-- were inspiring and lent a visceral touch to a sport that is rapidly becoming
disconnected from human emotions.

His passing, upon further review, is immeasurable.

Barbaro won the Kentucky Derby in the manner of an athlete who is evolved
beyond his peers. He cut a massive, striking pose in the Derby paddock before
the race, taller and more muscled than the others in the race.

Calling Tim Layton, calling Tim Layton. We're talking about a horse here.

Maybe sportswriters grew up when people still cares about horse racing. But I think they're congenitally unable to resist the desire to show us how Sports Affects Us All. Blech.

Well, the Sox finally signed J.D. Drew. I still think it's a mistake. Too many years; he's too old and injury prone.

However, my good friend Eric Freeman, who follows baseball far more closely than I do, assures me this is a good deal. He's got a lot more PhD's than I ever will, so I suppose I have to give him some credence. Eric, I hope you're right and I'm wrong.

The Giants also signed Bonds. I think $16 million is too much money, especially for a guy who hit 26 homers last year and can't field. Zito was a great signing, but I still think the Giants will be too old and slow.

Come to think of it, the Giants would have been better spending their money on J.D. Drew instead of Bonds.

The Chronicle just mentioned that Alberto Gonzales doesn't think the Constitution guarantees the right of habeas corpus (i.e. the right to have a court hear you out if the government throws you in jail).

(Note, the Constitution says "The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it." Presumably, if it can be suspended, it must already exist, no?)

Wow.

Remember when he was discussed as a candidate for the Supreme Court? Not something he has to worry about anymore!

I like Bill Richardson. And I like Barack Obama. I think each one of them can win, which is what I want most of all.

Ouch. Great article in the Chronicle about the Niners guys from 1981 and their various injuries.

Reading that, and knowing nothing about his NFL prospects, I sure can't blame Jeff Samardzija for choosing baseball.

Wow. According to an article in the New York Times, different people estimate the cost of the war as between $1,000,000,000,000 and $2,000,000,000,000. (Those are trillions, but it's worth it to write out the zeros).

That's a big heap-a money. What a relief that we don't have any other important needs. Whew!

And obviously this doesn't cover the dead. We've lost 3000 Americans so far and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis are dead as well. We'll be paying for this war for decades.

Well, this is encouraging. (satire!)

We've now hanged three people in Iraq, and one of them has gone correctly.

I do think it's correct to say "we". Granted Iraq has a government, but it depends completely on our support. Without us, it would dissolve. On the Arab street, we get blamed for everything that goes wrong in Iraq. And when we leave, it will dissolve. If anyone thinks Iraq is bad now, just wait until we leave...

Does anyone in the administration notice that we're losing in Iraq?

Maybe I'm not an expert, but I fear we've already lost. We can either admit it now or admit it later, but Iraq is going to dissolve into civil war as soon as we leave.

Beckham is coming Los Angeles. I think it's great for soccer in America. He's not the player he once was, but he's still going to attract attention.

I wonder about that supposed $250 million contract. Surely it's not being paid by the Galaxy. It must include some fat endorsement money, i.e. Adidas (which outfits the Galaxy as well as Real Madrid).