The Freedom Bulletin

I am so excited; Jon Lester just threw a no-hitter! This is the second time in two years that the Red Sox have had a no-no. I guess I’m lucky to have two no-hitters and two World Series championships in my (relatively short) lifetime. Anyway, this is just a quick post to say good job Lester!!! And go Sox

Not too surprisingly, the favorite Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby. The most surprising and horrible thing, however, was the tragic death of Eight Belles, the only filly in the race. She broke both front ankles and had to be put down on the spot.

This reminds me of when Barbaro broke his leg in the Preakness two years ago. It seems that things like this have been happening a lot lately, and I read that thoroughbred racing has about 1.5 casualties per 1000 starts (1), which is the most casualties per competition of any major sport. I love horse racing and would never want it to be outlawed, but I think it needs to be made safer.

Many tracks have started using synthetic surfaces, which are less likely to cause injuries. Additionally, according to Wikipedia, thoroughbreds have been bred to be more and more muscular so that they are faster, but their bones haven’t caught up (2). Racehorses’ muscular bodies, combined with the speeds at which they run, can be too much for their skeletons to safely handle. I don’t know much about horse breeding, but I wonder if it would be possible to breed for stronger bones so that the horses aren’t as fragile.

Anyways, I offer my condolences to everyone who worked with Eight Belles. She was a great horse who ran a great race, and I’m sure she’ll be missed!

Sources:
1. Washington Post article
2. Wikipedia article

Awesome news for Red Sox fans: Curt Schilling will be back for another year!! See the Boston Herald for the full details. This makes me so happy, because he’s my favorite player!

I went to the Red Sox rolling rally yesterday! I was standing along Tremont St., near Boston Common, and I was in the second row of people. I arrived slightly after 11, and the parade didn’t reach us until about 12:50. I didn’t really mind the wait, though; there was plenty of excitement going on. Everyone was yelling, chanting, and throwing toilet paper from one side of the street to the other! There were a lot of cops, including a swat team, and I saw two people get arrested. The crowd started cheering whenever any vehicle went by, which was quite amusing. Whenever a police car or a cop on a bicycle went by, they would get covered in toilet paper, because it was all over the ground and was blowing around in the wind!

Hooray! The Red Sox have won the World Series!! Congratulations to everyone on the team.

Hmm, I wonder when the Duck Tours parade is going to be…

Tom Tancredo just made a bet to Mitt Romney: If the Rockies win the World Series Mitt has to drop out of the presidential race, and if the Red Sox win Tom will drop out! Needless to say, Romney declined Tancredo’s offer.

See the full story at Fox News, and go Sox!!!