Is Dutrow Crown worthy?

May 16, 2008

There haven't been too many Preakness favorites on the track quite like Big Brown. And there haven't been too many Preakness trainers around the barns quite like Rick Dutrow.

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  The pre-race buzz all seems to surround the aptly named Big Brown. The hype has infected everyone, even Churchill Downs' oddsmaker, Mike Battaglia, who essentially admitted that despite the horse's lousy post position, the confidence and bluster from his camp boosted the morning-line odds.

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  April 23, 2008

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  April 14, 2008

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• The late show

  March 26, 2008

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  March 23, 2008

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  March 22, 2008

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  March 21, 2008

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• Belmont Blues

  March 20, 2008

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  March 19, 2008

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  March 18, 2008

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  February 27, 2008

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  February 22, 2008

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• Loss to Va. Tech tough to stomach

  February 21, 2008

  It was a night of comebacks. From the unwelcomed to the improbable. Those that turned your stomach and those that made you turn your head.

• Rebound: Little guys return to contention

  February 17, 2008

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• Loyola athlete charting course for Paralympics

  February 8, 2008

  There's just something about the water in Baltimore. Maybe you knew that already, but it's worth repeating. The water here, it enables you to do almost anything. Michael Phelps sprang from these waters. Katie Hoff, too. But the swimming story I hope we'll all be able to appreciate this summer is Philip Scholz's quest to represent the United States in the Paralympics.

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• Calculated risk

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  Not when the veteran quarterback or hotshot running back was acquired.

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  January 2, 2008

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  January 1, 2008

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• Clemens belongs next to Bonds in hall of shame

  December 16, 2007

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• On scant evidence, Roberts tangled in controversy

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  September 26, 2007

  Out of a small boombox, James Brown is preaching about shaking your moneymaker, getting up and staying on the scene, while the Giant's size 18 feet bounce in steady rhythm on the mat. Way, way up above, the boxer's meaty hands, each the size of a catcher's mitt, punch holes in the humid air.

• Ex-players making gains on benefits

  September 21, 2007

  Earlier this week, Brent Boyd walked into Room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building, noticed the sharp wood paneling and the three low-hanging chandeliers. The first thing he thought was, "This is the most opulent room I've been in." The second was, "What the hell am I doing in here?"

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  September 11, 2007

  For all of the complaining we heard about the number of preseason games, it sure would've been nice if someone made certain the Ravens knew that the regular season has started now, that the games count, that it's time to stop talking about potential and start realizing it.

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  August 3, 2007

  Under his skull-tight swim cap, you can't really tell much about Michael Phelps' training. But under his Detroit Tigers ball cap, you can see his hair sprouting out like a well-watered houseplant. It's a subtle thing, but it tells us where Phelps is in his preparation for the Beijing Olympics.

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  July 29, 2007

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• Maese: Hall of sons, fathers, too

  July 27, 2007

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• Maese: Once more, Ripken offers Orioles fans reason to rejoice

  July 25, 2007

  If you're able to ignore the baseball standings, it was about the best night you could imagine at the ballpark. Giant numbers were hanging on the warehouse again. Rabid fans filled the seats at Oriole Park again. The Orioles won a game again. And for a beleaguered and frustrated fan base, for three hours, there was something worth cheering again.

• Maese: With speech, Ripken fields tough chance

  July 20, 2007

  It's not that Cal Ripken Jr. is at all ungrateful, but you've got to understand, over the past few months, virtually everyone he encounters goes through the same two-step greeting.

• Va. Tech fans, teams heal as one

  April 20, 2007

  To many, the face of the school is easy to recognize. You could dress it up however you'd like - a ballcap, a headset, a smile or a scowl - and Frank Beamer is still going to be the one man much of the country associates with Virginia Tech. To many of us, Beamer isn't simply from Blacksburg, Va. - he is Blacksburg, Va.

• Ripken a reminder of O's past success, current problems

  April 10, 2007

  More than five years have passed, and the face of the organization still hasn't changed. Not for a single day. It was there again yesterday for the home opener, in fact. We saw him lob a soft toss to Miguel Tejada - the ceremonial first pitch. And just as they always had before, the fans went crazy.

• Sport still not making a splash

  April 6, 2007

  As Tiger Woods embarked on winning a fifth green jacket at this year's Masters, he took a moment to reflect on another athlete, someone nearly 10,000 miles away whose athletic uniform wouldn't come close to satisfying the dress code at Augusta National.

• Coaching life, not play, is at heart of 'Big Game'

  February 4, 2007

  There are images I won't soon forget:

• Barbaro runs to legendary status

  January 30, 2007

  Commentary

• Swimming feels ripples of Phelps' dominance

  December 10, 2006

  As he does just about every Sunday, Michael Phelps will wake up this morning and slip on his Ravens jersey. A replica of Ed Reed's No. 20 bookends Phelps' trim frame. Then he'll hit the streets of Ann Arbor, Mich., searching for a television that's broadcasting today's game from Kansas City.

• B. Robinson: Don't give McGwire Hall pass

  December 3, 2006

  Brooks Robinson is expecting a record crowd to converge on Cooperstown, N.Y., in July to watch Cal Ripken Jr. join the game's immortals in the Hall of Fame.

• The unknown Unitas

  October 20, 2006

  Tomorrow marks 50 years since anyone was given even a glimpse of what was in store.

• Ripken would be perfect prescription to revive O's

  September 8, 2006

  Pennant fever returns to Camden Yards tonight, once again unpacking its bags and filling the cramped quarters of the visiting clubhouse. The New York Yankees' September series against the Orioles has turned into an annual celebration of the Haves and the Haven't-A-Clues. In the visitors' dugout tonight, they'll be talking about next month, and over on the first base side, talk is already geared toward next year.

• No skating around it: I can't match Meissner

  September 3, 2006

  Kimmie Meissner just might be the strongest human being on the face of the planet.

• Ultimate Fighting's popularity may put boxing down for count

  August 26, 2006

  I sat ringside for my first boxing match when I was 14 years old. There might have been 100 people in the room, but somehow those droplets of blood chose to fly from the fighter's nose and land on my white shirt. I was infected. Whatever it was about the supposed sweet science, it got me.

• Ian Hendricks builds on a baseball legacy

  June 23, 2006

  When we last saw Ian Hendricks, he'd just thrown out the ceremonial first pitch at Camden Yards, the one that opened the Orioles' season. Rick Dempsey gave him a hug and the crowd stood in appreciation of Ian's father, Elrod Hendricks, the Orioles' longtime coach who died in December.

• Minus star, fans will tune out Belmont

  June 10, 2006

  Time for horse racing's biggest afterthought.

• Hopes, dreams just disappear in a single misstep

  May 21, 2006

  Before the tears flooded Pimlico and before the screams raced around the dirt track. Before the mighty champion pulled up in pain and before the ambulance pulled away from the barn. Before we even understood what exactly could be at stake in the Preakness Stakes, there was Michael Matz, and he was all smiles.

• Terps aren't too young to savor the moment

  April 5, 2006

  Heroes in a half-shell.

• Meissner rings up useful experience

  February 24, 2006

  As Sasha Cohen stood on a podium and felt 20 ounces of silver pulling at her neck, David Raith was talking about the future. Raith is the executive director of U.S. Figure Skating. You bet he's excited about Cohen's finish, but his hope comes from scanning further down the leader board.

• As Meissner glows, Cohen's a no-show

  February 23, 2006

  Her medal hopes ahead of her, the Skating Surprise pulled her luggage behind her.

• NFL neglect of Mackey belongs in hall of shame

  December 27, 2005

  Just the other day, John had to be picked up early from the day care center. He had found some candy, and then he went roaming through cabinets looking for some more. At some point, others saw what John had and then they wanted some candy, too. Only John didn't want to share.