SPORTS From the Bleachers

COLUMN BY KURT MARGGRAF IN CHICAGO

This past Saturday, the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby took place and Mage, a 15-1 long shot from Venezuela, roared past Two Phil’s from Chicago, to capture the victory.

The race was the culmination of a tumultuous week at Churchill Downs In Louisville. During Derby week, seven horses died, including two that had to be euthanized prior to the race. The attendance set a record, as did the amount of money wagered.

Personally, I had a busy Saturday afternoon and thought that I missed the race, so I turned on the television about 5:45 to find out which horse had won and discovered that the race didn’t begin until 6:57. When I was a kid in college, three buddies and I hitch hiked from Carbondale Illinois to Louisville and attended the race. We were in the infield with about 100 thousand other young people and had the time of our young lives. Who knows, maybe I will be able to get back one day. For any of you that have the slightest inclination to attend, I urge you to do so.

The Cubs brought up rookie Matt Mervis this week, to the delight of Cub fans everywhere. I keep hearing people say that no other teams fans follow their minor league players like Cub fans, and I’m inclined to believe it. Mervis rewarded Cub fans in his first game with an RBI single and the fans at the game rewarded Mervis with a standing ovation.

The Cubs have a bunch of rookies who are on the verge of being ready for the big leagues and while the present looks good, the future is beginning to look wonderful.

We just touched on the present and the future, so let’s take a little stroll down memory lane. This week was the anniversary of a couple of iconic events in Chicago sports history. Twenty five years ago, Kerry Wood threw one of the best pitched games in baseball history. Wood struck out twenty Astros and a legend was born in Wrigley Field. Wood was a 20-year-old rookie and the Astros were in first place, but that day it was no contest. I was in sales at the time and the game was so captivating I couldn’t leave my car to make my sales call.

The other event was Michael Jordan coming into his own for the Bulls. I’ll never forget Michael cutting across the court and jumping as Craig Ehlo shadowed him. Ehlo started to come down but Jordan miraculously hung in the air and made “the shot” to lift the Bulls to a playoff win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The shot was just the beginning of the many miraculous things that Jordan performed on and off the court.

Will Rogers said, “Everything is changing. People are taking their comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke.”

Be kind. Talk to you next week. Peace, love, and happiness.

The New Buffalo High School baseball team moved to 7-4 on the season by sweeping a doubleheader at home against Eau Claire Friday, May 5.

The Bison defeated the Beavers 15-5 and 7-6.

In the first game, the Beavers scored three first inning runs off Bison starting pitcher Vaugh Nickkel but New Buffalo came back with six runs in the bottom of the inning.

Braden Huffer with the bases