Eight Belles and Stars garner your attention

The very first multi-choice option poll at "You Talkin' to Me?" registered a tie for the winner. Among the top stories for the weekend of 5/2-5/4, Eight Belles being euthanized at the Kentucky Derby and the Dallas Stars moving on to the Western Conference finals topped the poll with two votes a piece.

Obama and Hillary duking it out for Indian and North Carolina came in a close third with one vote. I'm sure this story will peak more of your interest in the coming month.

The Eight Belles talk, as predicted by some horse racing pundits, has died down considerably though not completely. There are still discussions about the safety of horse racing, but not so much specificaly about Eight Belles. The Barbaro story of two years ago went on forever for two reasons. One, he won the Derby. And two, he lived for another year enabling fans to continually inquire about his status. As a side note, my family went to Lone Star Park for Mother's Day to bet on the horses. Utter success ensued as my mom took home four bucks profit, I took home $15, and no horse was injured. Although, one horse did buck his rider moments before the race and galloped back to the stables. Officials scratched him. It would have been the horse's maiden race.

It looks like now the lasting story around these parts will be the Dallas Stars. They finished off the San Jose Sharks four games to two with a quadruple overtime, 2-1 victory at the American Airlines Center at 1:24 in the A.M. on Monday. It sent the Stars to final four of the NHL playoffs, where they are currently being hand-fed to the Detroit Red Wings. Mentally and physically exhausted, I can't say as I'm surprised by the Red Wings' 3-0 series lead. This Dallas team has overachieved, and Stars fans will look back on this season as a great success for the next few years. This playoff run could very well spark a mini dynasty for the grizzled Stars. They have young defensemen, a quality coach, a superstar scorer, and a goalie and captain in their primes. Most importantly, the Stars' G.M., Brett Hull, has proven he has the cojones to make bold and intelligent moves toward success in his rookie year.