Full Court Press

Oh now a horse broke it's ankle--how will I sleep tonight?

You're right, it's amazing that animals pushed to their limits for the pleasure of the uber-rich is a real tragedy.

The only thing silly about the Cubs/Sox game is how bad the Cubs are.

I'm not sad Bonds broke the Babe's record. Bonds will never be given credit for being as prolific a HR hitter as Babe or Hank, and rightfully so.

The record may say otherwise, but the court of public opinion knows better.

It's obvious Barrett is frustrated with the way the Cubs are playing and took it out on Pierzynski. Barrett was blocking the plate with the ball arriving at the same time as A.J., and A.J. did what a player should do and barrel into the catcher. Watching the play several times on the replay reveals that A.J. was trying to sidestep Barrett as he was going for his helmet. He did not stare down Barrett. Barrett went after A.J. and sucker punched him. This type of behavior would have landed Barrett in jail outside of the sportsworld. Barrett should seek anger management counseling as soon as possible. Perhaps Barrett was trying to get out of playing the rest of the game, as the Cubs were getting their butts kicked once again by the Sox.

What a sad day for sports. The Cubs are pathetic as usual, so I guess that's not really sad, it's just normal.

Barry Bonds... well, I would be upset about that, but I realize that balloon head will have an astrix next to his name eventually. Besides that, it's all about Mr. Pujols. The man is a freak of nature.

The most truly sad story is that of Barbaro. That's just a raw tragedy to see that happen to such a splendid horse such as him.

I was so sure that Barbaro was going to win the triple crown that it wasn't even as exciting as it generally is. This is just another tough reminder of how difficult that feat truly is as well as the brutality of the sport.

Here's hoping that he makes it out ok.

When your own coach says that's baseball, you have no reason to just jump someone like that. The Cubs are a dirty team that are upset that they are still a bad team regardless of how much Derek Lee or Greg Maddux put them on their shoulders. As far as Bonds goes I respect the man for the fact he has been one of the best for a LONG time, I wonder how Mr. Sosa has escaped being under the same light with his all of the sudden blown up home run numbers and sudden exit after this steriod deal. There are so many other players beside Bonds that need to be put on front street.

Is it just me, or does anyone else find Michael Barrett odd? Can't put my finger on it but obviously some kind of split personality. If I hear one more writer compare what AJ did to Tori Hunter, THERE IS NO COMPARISON. Hunter took out the Sox catcher who was in front, and not blocking home, who didn't have the ball and was in NO position to brace himself. There should be a requirement that if you're going to write about baseball, you must have played at least 1 year playing the sport.

As a Cubs fan, I feel Michael came off as a thin- skinned cheap shot artist who isn't smart enough to pick his spots. This is the same moron that followed Roy Oswalt down the first base line and bitched at Dave Roberts for stealing 3rd in a close game. Michael lied in the post game press conference calling the play great, after he complained to AJ and Dusty about not having the ball when the collision took place. I like Michael just like the next Cubs fan, but he came off as thin skinned cheap shot artist who wasn't smart enough to put a coherent story together that made any bit of sense.

It's sad ok...there's no worse sight in horse racing than seeing a horse pull up lame. I said an extra prayer that at least he can survive the surgery and live a decent life.
As for "tyson" Barrett, he should be fined and made to play EVERY game for the Cublettes. Once the season is over he should do community service delievering the Tribune to the homeless in Chicago, on lower wacker drive.
Dusty should be proud of his fighters, cause he sure can't be proud of his so called baseball players. Barrett should thank the heavens AJ walked away, he's the BIGGER man.

Really now, when was the last time you heard of a guy from the Northside attack a guy from the Southside, and get away with it? My how times have changed!What turns out to be more of a mugging than a play at the plate, is viewed by many columnists and radio sports commentators as a provocation by A.J. There must be something in the Cubby KoolAid these days, and guys like Marriotti must be getting theirs interveiniously. They can turn this all around to make it look like an innocent Cub was wronged, but they'll never reverse the Cubbie Curse they so affectionately call their own.

As a former Cubs fan who has since jumped on the Sox bandwagen during last year's playoff run, the despicible incident confirms my decision. Even assuming Barrett's explanation as to what prompted him to attack A.J. - protecting the "Cubs dugout" (as if A.J. was about to go on an unsolicited rampage in front of 39K+ people against 12-15 coaches and benchplayers) - that Barrett first grabbed A.J. and undisputedly yelled "I didn't have the ball b*tch" before pummeling him suggests the motive for his conduct and, more importantly, he was in full command of his senses and the attack was premeditated.

Michael Barrett was embarrassed on a good baseball play, he overreacted. Period. So what that he is "highly religious". He lost his temper. This proves no matter HOW the Cubs lose, (7-0, and as sore losers),in Chicago, they are still LOVABLE losers.

As a lifetime Cub fan, nothing really surprises me about how low the Cubs will go. But at least when Ernie Banks was playing, they had some class, even while losing.
Bonds is a disgrace and so is the media pandering (ESPN in particular). Ignore the cheater!
And I still remember the gallant Ruffian going down in that match race way back.
Very sad to see a champ go down and I hope he survives.
Earl

Whats amazing to me, is after AJ was slugged in the face, he took 3 steps back
then walked away, just like a
BITCH would do!!! What kind of man walks away after getting hit in the face?

That was one heck of a collision. Surely no one can say for sure what exactly they would do after that. I cant say I wouldnt have done the same. Whether it is wrong or right. It is an emotional game. And tempers can flare. And they do it in hockey every night and nobody cares. I dont understand that.

Another thing, one thing I can't stand is a front running, fair wheather fan such as those that now say they are Sox fans. Now there are a few diehards Sox fans for life like my grandfather was, but I am sick of these guys that were Cub fans in 2003 and now are Sox fans. Now I guess someone could be a fan of both teams , but there are those that jump from one to the other depending on who is better at the time. Obviosly these are casually fans, same ones that were Bulls fans when Jordan played, and Bears fans in the 80's.

it was AJ's fault for running over a catcher who was standing in the baseline. It was also AJ's fault for getting his chin in the way of Barrett's cheap shot punch.

Cubs/Sox thing yesterday? Sad sure, sad for the hot dogging of AJ, sad for the response from Michael..Sadder? Barbaro going down. I was at an OTB yesterday where 99% of the people there wagered large amounts on Barbaro--the crowds response when he went down said it all..they winced and growned and than I saw actual tears in some, not from losing money, but in watching a magnificant athlete go down and now out. I'm sure later on it hit them as it did me, that "hey I lost money on that horse", but at that moment money wasnt part of the sport--genuine sadness was.

TO THE GREAT HORSE BARBARO I SAY THANK YOU FOR SHOWING US A TRUE CHAMPION YOUR COURAGE & SRIRIT WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED PEOPLE WHO DELIGHT IN THIS TRAGEDY I HAVE NO ANSWER FOR A TRUE IDIOT WITH NO HEART OR COMPASION MUST WORK FOR THE GOVERnMENT

Bonds? What can you say? He is not a nice guy and that is why he is getting such a hard time in the press. As for Barbaro, it's just sad. What else can you say?

No doubt, Michael Barrett felt no desire to leave the game; at that point, the score had just become 1-0. How was that being badly beaten, ignoramous? I have no doubt, given Punkzinski's reputatioin, there were a fair number of players out there that thought "I'd like to do that!" The throw was high, he should've gone low. He didn't bowl over Barrett because he had to; he did it because he wanted to. I've seen plays like that before, and that tactic is better left to thugs in back alleys, not professional sports. Pete Rose ended Ray Fosse's carreer, decking him in an All-star game. I had respact for the Sox before... they've lost it. Try to tell me you'd been fine with Barrett barreling into home the same way. As Major Potter would say, "Donkey donuts!" So, quit soaking your Bugle Boys over it.

After reading Jay Mariotti's column today I am truly convinced that that he surfers from some sort of mental disease. There's no one who likes to rip this citys teams its players, coaches, and owners more than "Jay Mariotti".

People like the first poster, who don't follow racing and don't care about animals, can not see the tragedy that those of us watching on Saturday saw. If he had seen Barbaro bust through the closed starting gate before the race began, he would recognize the difference between being pushed and pushing yourself. I was surprised that I cried, but, at that point, I assumed he would not be allowed to leave the track alive. I'm frankly beginning to wonder if I'll ever see another Triple Crown winner in my lifetime, and Barbaro looked like the real deal. Sadly, he may have been a bit *too* competitive, and it perhaps did him in.

SOX = WORLD SERIES
CUBS = SORE LOSERS

It amazes me how invested fans are in this rivalry. I am a fan of neither team. But I must say that I have the utmost admiration of the way the sox's organization is run from top down. CLASSY! There is no way that anyone who knowas the rules of baseball would ever make this about A.J. regardless of the repurtation that may precede him. The punch was classless, but his attempt to embellish what truly happened reduced his credibility as a "good guy". I aint buying it.Always been plain and simply a chicago fan, but I just became a sox fan after this fiasco. The tribune company, the cubs, and their fans cannot be this clueless and immoral. There is no justification for what my two young sons witnessed. GO SOX!

So Ron artest takes a guy out that throws POP AND POPCORN at him? he's a thug? Barret cold cocks a guy playing within the rules of baseball in front of millions and he was simplyy provoked by an agitating A.J.? Oh please! This guy has some anger mangement issues and is in need of the same level of therapeutic interventions/psyche evaluations as Ron. Cub fans stop defending this guy.

What Michael Barrett did was wrong. Period, end of story. But for us to believe that AJ's move towards him was completely innocent would be for us to believe that Mark Prior and Kerry Wood are going to save the Cubs this season. AJ's reputation speaks for itself. If a dog bites you once, you're going to have a reaction when he later begins sniffing your hand. And just to clarify Roman, when you say "beating them isn't even that big a deal for South Siders," you are still referring to the players right? To White Sox fans, this is their World Series. They can't even celebrate a World Series and be happy. They feel the need to come up with t-shirts depicting obscene championship ring wearing finger gestures and slogans directed towards Cub fans. They're obsessed with this Chicago based Napolean syndrome of being the second team in the city. We were so wrapped up in our team in 2003, I almost wish we would have taken the time out to insult the White Sox fans...but alas, we're better than that. Hopefully Michael Barrett shows that he is too.

The last poster brings up that tired old yarn about Sox fans supposedly riddled by an inferiority complex. Seems ot me like the Cub fans are the ones doing all they can to demonize a team and an organization that did nothing but win through planning, smart baseball, hard work, clutch play, and guts - things the Cubs organization doesn't even do a good job of faking. Cubs fans vent anger and frustration at winners, whether in their division or across town, then give a pass to the ownership and management which has made their team constant losers and their ballpark a big bar full of drunk morons.

This "collision" between Sox And Cubs seems to be something to pump this rivalry thing up to another level,trust me the national media attention has never been higher.Yes it looks like Aj went out of his way to crash into Barrett and yes Barrett went out of his way to smash his fist into aj mouth ,but I say whats the big deal?fights happen all the time in sporting events .The punishment has been doled out time to move on to bigger and better things.A black eye on baseball?NO just on AJ's eye,that game sox may have won but they did lose the fight....