From the Lexington Herald Leader (Link)
The flying Chinese horse statue next to Chase Bank on East Main Street is no longer flying.
Yesterday, the rear leg on which the horse was balanced cracked, causing the statue to tip forward as if it is leaping off the pedestal.
Metal fatigue caused the 3-ton bronze horse to shift. In equine terms, “a stress fracture,” said Brad Connell, of Tuska Studio, a fine art foundry.
We at Allenby For Heisman! have always been fond of Tom Petty. He’s a fellow Southerner. He has that quote about college that’s on every other person’s Facebook page. He inspired a young A4H! to contemplate learning to play the guitar so we could play “Free Fallin’”. And, most important, he’s a bona fide rock ‘n’ roller.
And since a young A4H! sought to emulate his coolness and hipness, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Greatest Hits got A LOT of play on mini-A4H!’s CD player. That disc’s opening track, as twenty-somethings across the country are well aware, is “American Girl,” a song that is not about a University of Florida student’s suicide. That disc’s ninth track is “The Waiting,” a song that definitely is not about Guillermo Barros Schelotto and whether he’ll in fact sign with Major League Soccer side Columbus Crew.
But it could have been. At least until a few hours ago. Since Sunday’s Boca Juniors/River Plate match the Interwebs have been chock full of speculation about GBS’ future. Would he in fact sign with the Crew? Would he come to the US but play for a different club? Would he stay with Boca Juniors? Would he retire?
Thankfully, Columbus Crew General Manager Mark McCullers killed the waiting, confirming in the Columbus Dispatch that GBS is in fact under contract with the Crew:
“We do have him under contract,” McCullers said. “We don’t have his international transfer clearance or a loan agreement from (Boca Juniors), but I have no reason to believe those are not forthcoming.”
Schelotto, 33, must also obtain a work permit, but McCullers said that formality should take no more than a few days. Schelotto is a 10-year veteran and most popular player of Boca, Argentina’s most popular club. He is arguably the Crew’s most significant international signing in the club’s 12-year history.
The article also states that GBS is expected to arrive in Columbus on Monday and could make his Crew debut as soon as Tuesday’s U.S. Open Cup match against the Los Angeles Galaxy. It also notes that GBS was not signed under MLS’ designated player rule, which means the Crew still have room to sign another ‘name’ player.
As we’ve noted, A4H! is thrilled with this signing, and we expect GBS to make a significant impact in Columbus and in MLS. Well done Crew management!
Crew signs Argentine star to 2-year deal [Columbus Dispatch]
Today’s other talking points:
–As Loge Level’s editor noted earlier today, Juan Pablo Angel’s move from Aston Villa to the New York Red Bulls is official. A4H! doesn’t have any analysis about this move, we just want to say that we like Juan Pablo, and we always will.
We were in London for the holidays in 2005/6, and we took in several football matches, one of which was Fulham vs. Aston Villa at Craven Cottage. The match ended in a 3-3 draw. A4H! favorite Brian McBride bagged a brace while Fulham’s other goal came on a questionable penalty. We don’t remember much else, except that the cheap beer Loge Level’s editor drank was terrible, that it was very cold, and that Juan Pablo’s number one fan was in attendance.
Early in the second half, Juan Pablo got off the Villa bench and began warming up. He was trotting up and down the touchline, right in front of us, doing the odd things that footballers do as they’re warming up (you know, swinging their arms in all directions, jerking their legs this way and that). Each time he jogged from the halfway line toward our section, a gentleman sitting a few rows behind us would rise and bellow “JUAN PABLO! JUAN PABLO! JUAN PABLO!” But without fail, Juan Pablo would reach the goal line and jog back toward midfield without aknowledging the cries.
His number one fan, however, was undeterred. The gentleman continued to shout “JUAN PABLO! JUAN PABLO! JUAN PABLO!” each time the striker came our way. Finally, Juan Pablo broke his jog and gazed into our stand to see what the hollering was all about. “COLOMBIA!” screamed the number one fan. Juan Pablo responded with a thumbs up and resumed his jog. The fan, presumably content at alerting Juan Pablo to the fact that the Villa man was not the only Colombian at Craven Cottage that night, took his seat.
And that’s why A4H! likes Juan Pablo.
Red Bulls call on striker Angel [MLSnet.com]
–Today Deadspin featured a piece on the alleged potency of the draft beer sold at the Saddledome, home of the National Hockey League’s Calgary Flames. The brew is said to pack a punch and leave imbibers with a so-called ‘heroin beer hangover.’ A4H! can’t comment on the power of the Northern nectar as we’ve never been to the Saddledome, or Calgary, or even Windsor, for that matter.
But having lived in the Athens of the West for the last eight years, A4H! has had the pleasure of visiting Keeneland Race Course every April and October, and we can say with certainty that a similar phenomenon occurs here in the Bluegrass: Keeneland crack beer.
Ask any twenty-something milling about in Keeneland’s paddock on raceday, and they’ll tell you there’s something special about the draft beer. Get three in you and you’re purchasing the Daily Racing Form and putting money on simulcast races at three different tracks – and you don’t even know what an exacta is, you just came to tailgate and look at the girls. If you’re on number six, half of it’s on your shirt, you’ve lost your phone, and you have no ride home because your girlfriend just left you after she caught you gawking at said girls. And if you drove yourself, you don’t have to worry about a DUI, because you’ll never find your car in your state, anyway.
And let us add that this is in no way a gender-specific phenomenon. Any woman in the paddock with a cup in hand can testify to the magic.
Beer That Makes You SKINNY! [Deadspin.com]
That’s it for now. Onward and upward!
The Philadelphia Inquirer has the story of a trainer who after being head-butted by a horse notices his once lost vision has been restored. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Recently, Karkos was fiercely head-butted by a 4-year-old pacer named My Buddy Chimo while he was getting the horse ready to be jogged by trainer John Gilmour.
The force of the blow sent Karkos backward into the stall wall and left him woozy. He told people he had never been struck with such force - except for that explosion while in the Navy.
Later that day, while rubbing his left eye, Karkos realized he had regained some of his vision in his right eye.