BOZICH | Monday Muse: Who nailed the Derby? Sanchez beats Church - WDRB 41 Louisville News

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Taking one final stopwatch to Kentucky Derby 142 – and looking ahead to the college football season as well as the Summer of Cubs.

That sounds like a backdrop for the Monday Muse. Let’s see if I can do this in 2:01 1/5.

1. NAILING THE KENTUCKY DERBY

On Friday, I shared the Kentucky Derby 1-2-3 selections of 20 media members and/or celebrities as well as the WDRB Sports staff. (Link.)

Everybody shares selections. Now is the time to check performance.

Of the 20 folks on the media/celebrity list, nine picked Nyquist – Jason Anderson of ESPN 680; Mike Battaglia of NBC Sports; former UK basketball star Rex Chapman; John Clay of the Herald-Leader in Lexington; Larry Collmus of NBC Sports; Seattle Slew jockey Jean Cruguet; Lane Gold of Churchill Downs; trainer Kenny McPeek; and Samford basketball coach Scott Padgett.

Anderson led the way with Nyquist on top and Exaggerator second, the only person to give you the top two.

But the overall best job picking the top three was Clay. He had Nyquist on top, Mohaymen second and Exaggerator fourth. As you know Exaggerator was second and Mohaymen fourth. Anderson’s third-place pick, Creator, finished 13^th.

As for my sidekicks, Eric Crawford, Katie George and John Lewis nailed Nyquist.

I missed the winner, putting him third with Exaggerator on top.

2. MARK SANCHEZ DOES THE DERBY LIKE A COLLEGE KID

Denver quarterback Mark Sanchez hasn’t done much in his NFL career, but if he prepares for his latest opportunity with the Broncos the way he prepared to beat Churchill Downs security Saturday, Denver should win another Super Bowl.

Watch this video at TMZ.com. There’s Sanchez standing inside the security gate at the track, showing off a cane.

But it’s not any cane. It’s a can with a twist-off cap – an upgrade that Sanchez is happy to show off to his pals because that’s where Sanchez had hidden his liquid refreshments for the day. Yep, a cane that doubles as a flask. Do they sell those on Amazon?

Apparently his $4.5 million contract isn’t enough to cover the cost of Mint Juleps on Millionaire’s Row.

3. EARLY LOVE FOR LAMAR JACKSON

College football yearbooks will be overtaking the news racks soon. The good folks at Bleacher Report are not prepared to wait. They have already delivered some rankings – and they have an eye on Lamar Jackson, Louisville’s sophomore quarterback.

They have ranked the game’s top 12 dual-threat quarterback – and Jackson hit the list at No. 8. (The link.)

The top three? First is the front-runner for the 2016 Heisman Trophy DeShaun Watson of Clemson. He is followed by J.T. Barrett of Ohio State and Baker Mayfield of Oklahoma.

Louisville will have to contend with Watson as well as the No. 5 player on the list – Greg Ward Jr. of Houston. Both games will be on the road.

4. MORE PROBLEMS FOR PITINO (RICHARD)

The issues continue to pile up for Richard Pitino at Minnesota. Two months after his third team delivered an 8-23 season that was stained with off-the-court issues and transfers, the Gophers have another major problem.

Center Reggie Lynch, a transfer from Illinois State, has been suspended indefinitely for criminal sexual conduct. Lynch was expected to be Minnesota’s starting center next season. He’s the seventh player that Pitino has disciplined for off-the-court conduct in the last 18 months.

5. SCRATCH ONE MAJOR 2017 HOOPS RECRUIT

Kentucky and Indiana had been listed as top contenders for Michael Porter Jr. a 6-foot-8 forward from Columbia, Mo., who is listed as the second best player in the 2017 class by Rivals.com.

I think you can safely say Porter is off the market.

Washington coach Lorenzo Romar does not have a commitment from Porter – yet. But he does have a commitment from Porter’s father, Michael, to become an assistant coach at Washington as well as a commitment from Porter’s younger brother, Jontay, to become a piece in the Huskies’ 2018 class.

Ball game.

6. HOWARD GARFINKEL – ONE OF A KIND

Before there was the McDonald’s all-American game, Top 150 recruiting lists and the other college basketball hype we love these days, there was Howard Garfinkel, a New York original with basketball percolating in his DNA.

Garfinkel built the legendary Five-Star camps in the Pocono Mountains and became the Go-To guy for coaches everywhere who wanted the inside word on players. How good were they? Which schools were they considering? How can I recruit them?

Garf’s camps were also a launching pad for dozens of top coaching careers – for guys like Rick Pitino and John Calipari. To earn a spot as a counselor at Garf’s camps was to get a better education than you could earn in any program.

Garfinkel was 86 when he died Saturday.

7. TRULY SAD STORY FROM MISSISSIPPI STATE

I can’t remember a sadder story that this one from Starkville, Miss. A student, Andrew Dembowski, 21, died after falling from the Davis Wade Stadium Jumbotron.

According to this story at NBC Sports Talk, Davis and two friends climbed to the top of the scoreboard, reason unknown. Dembowski reportedly slipped off a metal awning, falling to the ground and going into cardiac arrest.

8. LORD STANLEY MY NEW BESTIE

Hockey is not my Number One sport. Basketball and baseball jostle for the top position.

But I do love playoff hockey. And I do think the Stanley Cup has the most personality of any trophy in sports.

That’s why you’ll have to indulge me for a few paragraphs while I tell you I met a new friend Saturday morning at Churchill Downs – The Stanley Cup.

Mike Bolt, the Keeper of the Cup, brought it to the track around 7 a.m., removed it from the case while wearing his white gloves and parked it at Barn 41.

NBC, the television network of the Stanley Cup, wanted a picture with Nyquist, the colt who won the Kentucky Derby about 12 hours later.

I just had to jump in and snap one, too.

9. YEAR OF THE CUBS

Resistance is futile – even for a White Sox fan. It’s the Year of the Cubs.

When Joe Maddon’s team rolled through the Reds, people said wait until they play the Cardinals.

When they won two of three in St. Louis, people said wait until they play the Pirates.

When they won three straight in Pittsburgh, people said wait until they play the Nationals.

When they swept four games against Bryce Harper, I went to the record book.

The Cubs are 24-6. In 1976, the Big Red Machine started 18-12. The 1998 Yankees won 114 games. They started 23-7.

I do remember one team that roared to a better start – the 1984 Tigers, who roared to a 26-4 start.

Jack Morris and Kirk Gibson aren’t walking through that door.

10. POLL RESULTS

No Muse and no poll last week. But two weeks ago, I asked this question:

Who is the best NFL prospect that the University of Louisville has produce in the last three seasons?

Teddy Bridgewater 74.5 percent

DeVante Parker 16.8 percent

Sheldon Rankins 4.4 percent

Calvin Pryor, 4.3 percent.

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