The Weekly Dis

Back at Ohio's Greatest Home Newspaper, I liked to describe the horse racing desk I assembled as being "semi-reliable." It carries over to The Disrespected Horse Racing Desk: For the Kenucky Derby, I made one pick – the 23-1 shot winner, Golden Tempo – and two of the three other Disrespected HRD members had Renegade, who finished second, on their cards. See? Semi-reliable.

The second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, will go off this evening at Laurel Park (as Pimilico Race Course remains under renovation). Post time is 7:01 p.m.

The Disrespected HRD has been sweating over our Racing Forms for days to bring you the best semi-reliable information we can unreasonably muster. The ultimate goal, per usual, is to lose $2.

The Disrespected HRD consists of Bob "The Clanchise" Clancy, former horse racing editor at the Hartford Courant, Don Davis, of the Clintonville Davis dynasty, and Nicole Kraft, professor journalism at the college located near old North High School, longime racing writer and lifelong equestrian.

Let's get to it.

Clanchise

1. Napoleon Solo is the only Grade 1 winner in a rather ordinary field of 14. Turns for home with the lead and might have the class to prevail. Needs to prove he's more than a one-turn horse.
2. The Hell We Did dazzled vs. much weaker at Sunland and ran a very credible second in the Lexington.
3. Taj Mahal is three-for-three at Laurel and should get a cozy trip from the 1 hole. Test for clase and might get overbet because of the husband-wife team.
4. Ocelli could close for a share again. A maiden winning is not out of the question.

Davis Dynasty

Incredibolt ran a sneaky-good race at the Derby. He showed his ability to get the distance and should get a good, clean stalking trip from the 12 post.

Taj Mahal needs to improve to win this race, but he has done nothing wrong so far. Like his chances to move forward for a good local trainer. Second leg of the Triple Crown to another female trainer would be nice.

I'm going to box these two with Corona de Oro.

A Triple Crown tradition

The Disrespected Horse Racing Desk raises a glass to Scott Davis and carries on

The DisrespectedMichael Arace

The Professor

Incredibolt's running style and fitness put him at the top of a competitive field for me. He was a strong sixth in the Derby after battling traffic and closed ground late. He has shown the ability to stalk comfortably before making one sustained run, which benefits at this distance (1 3/16 miles). Trainer Riley Mott learned from the best – his Hall of Fame father, Bill – and has proven he can develop winners who maintain their form. Incredibolt's versatility and ability to avoid the pace battle make him a strong bet.

Taj Mahal has the ultimate home-field advantage, undefeated in his three career starts over the same Laurel surface where the Preakness is run. Trainer Brittany Russell has become one of the most respected conditioners in Marlyand, and his front-running performance in the Federico Tesio Stakes secured his spot in the Preakness field. My biggest concern is whether he can withstand the pace pressure expected against deeper competition. Leaving from the rail, he will need to battle speed horses for early psoition. If he gets to dictate the fractions, Taj Mahal can carry his speed, but a fast first half will make him vulnerable.

Talkin picks up jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., and there are simply few better at getting the most out of a horse. He is one of those closers Taj Mahal will need to watch out for; when Talkin is allowed to settle and make a late run, he can make up the ground he needs to find the winner's circle. Adding Ortiz will signficantly improve his chances of navigating this crowded field.

Arace

Trainer Dallas Stewart has been known to sneak longshots onto the board at Triple Crown races. He's had two second-place finishers at the Preakness. You take a Hall-of-Fame Jockey, John Velazquez, put him in the saddle of a 30-to-1 shot, Corona de Oro, and sit him just off the pace on the outside of a crowded field. And Johnny V finds a way.

Talkin to place and Chip Honcho to show.

Good luck.

Former Columbus coaches: Where are they now? Part 1

As far as I can tell – and I did some scouring – John Tortorella now has the record for the two biggest fines ever levvied against an NHL coach (1. $100,000, 2. $50,000) and he is, by far, the most heavily fined coach in the history of the league. His career fine total is $312,000. As far as I can tell. I might have missed a couple.

Tortorella, who will turn 68 next month, came out of the ESPN studio to coach the Vegas Golden Knights after Bruce Cassidy was fired on March 29, with eight games remaining in the regular season. The Knights are 15-4-1 under Torts, including a pair of 4-2 playoff series victories.

Thursday night, the Knights closed out their second-round series gainst the Anaheim Ducks with a 5-1 victory in Game 6 at Duck Arena. Afterwards, Torts blew off his press conference and closed his locker room. (Two players came out to the podium and another sat for an interview in a side room, but the room was closed.)

Torts knew he was violating league policies concerning media access, policies which get very strict during the playoffs. He'd been warned. The league came down with a hammer – Torts was fined $100,000 and the Knights were stripped of their second-round draft pick. That's some heavy fuel, jack.

Rogers Sportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman said the media blow-off was "a bit of a temper tantrum" – a reaction to the one-game suspension the league levvied on Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb for a late-late-late, and quite dangerous, hit on Ryan Poehling in Game 5.

Tortorella established the big-fine game for coaches in January, 2012, when he ripped the refs after a Winter Classic and was fined $30,000. While there have been GMs who've been fined as much as $50,000, my research says Torts was the first coach to reach that bar when, as Philadelphia Flyers coach in March, 2024, he was ejected from a game and refused to leave the bench. He also got a two-game suspension for his recalcitrance.

During the 2018 playoffs, the Jackets were eliminated in six games in a first-round series against the Washington Capitals, who went on to win the Stanley Cup. Jackets fans may recall Tortorella's terse presser after Game 4 ("We sucked. We sucked. I'm not going to break it down for you.") and his equally terse presser after Game 5. (Alexander Wennberg returned from injury? "He played good." Matt Calvert had two goals? "He played well.") That was the year Torts infamously said that Calvert's play during the regular season "was up and down like a toilet seat."

During the 2020 pandemic playoffs inside the Edmonton bubble, Tortorella was fined $25,000 after the Jackets were eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning. After the decisive Game 5, Torts took two questions from the media and then excused himself from the video conference.

"You know what guys?" he said. "I'm not going to get into all the touchy-feely stuff and the moral victories and all that. You guys be safe."

The thing about that $25,000 fine: It was a conditional fine. What's a conditional fine?

Earlier that season, Tortorella was fined $20,000 for going ballistic on the on-ice refs and the war room in Toronto because, he asserted, they'd screwed up the clock at a critical moment. (He was probably right, but not the point.) He got the $20K for the clock rant and was given the $25K "conditional" fine, with the condition being that he had to remain a good boy for the rest of the season. He made it to the last day.

Let's take a trip down memory lane with the clock rant from Dec. 29, 2019. This is classic, Pacino-quality Torts here:

Tortorella's Vegas Golden Knights open their Western Conference Final series against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.

The Vegas Golden Knights are owned by Bill Foley, who also has a stable of overseas soccer teams under the umbrella of Black Knight Football Club, Tim Bezbatchenko, president. For how much longer?

Former Columbus coaches, where are they now? Part 2

Wilfried Nancy: Former Celtic manager on ‘beautiful experience’ & ‘no brainer’ of sack

Wilfried Nancy describes his 33-day tenure as Celtic manager as a “beautiful experience” but contends it’s a “no brainer” that he didn’t get long enough to change the culture and impose his way of doings things at the club.

BBC SportDavid Currie

This morning, Celtic (79 points) and Hearts (80) square off for the Scottish Premiership title. The game is at Celtic Park in Glasgow. Kickoff is 7:30 a.m. Eastern. The game will be aired on CBS Sports Network and Paramount+.

The last team outside the Old Firm (Glasgow rivals Celtic and Rangers) to win the Scottish title was Aberdeen in 1985.

Let's go, Hearts.

As you recall, Wilfried Nancy left Columbus to take the Celtic job in December. Nancy posted a 2-6 record and was fired after 33 days on the job. This thrilled Rod Stewart.

In the blast furnace of Glasgow, Nancy had to win every game immediately. Of course, he has an idea of how the beautiful game should be played. He began the process of installing his possess-and-attack system – which was good for two trophies and a No. 1 continental ranking in three years with the Columbus Crew – and, like, he didnt win every game immediately.

Nancy resurfaced to talk about it with the Training Camp Guru podcast earlier this week.

From the BBC:

"On refection, when I went there it was not a good moment," Nancy said. "I knew it could be difficult regarding the schedule and injuries, so that's why I put everything into perspective. Obviously I didn't have enough time to do things the way I do things, but I have no bad words about my time.

"It was a beautiful experience. I do my job with passion and I look for players with passion and this club the fans and the city we feel it, it's been amazing for that. Obviously, things could have been better, but life is about moments."

During his wretched spell in charge, his only wins came against bottom-six sides Aberdeen and Livingston. 

Defeats included that League Cup final against St Mirren and Scottish Premiership games with Hearts, Dundee United, Motherwell and Rangers. Celtic also lost at home to Roma in the Europa League during his tenure.

Nancy was sacked in the aftermath of a 3-1 home defeat by Rangers and replaced with the interim manager he had taken over from - (Martin) O'Neill.

Since then, the veteran has taken Celtic to the verge of another Premiership title and a Scottish Cup final. However, Nancy believes he could have been a success had he been given more time.

"That's why they hired me," he said. "I'm not a conservative coach. We had a plan because I also did my due diligence. My idea was not to change everything but step by step to bring something new.

"The support I had from the club and the chairman was huge. We were on the same page but with results, the perspective changes. I have no problem with that. 

"Football is irrational sometimes and it's a no-brainer that I didn't have enough time."

Nancy remains in Columbus. There were rumors he was being considered for the job at Lorient of France's Ligue 1, but that was two weeks ago. A lifetime in this business, as Nancy will tell you. Latest reports are that Lorient is negotiating with Will Still, most recently with Southampton.

Lorient is owned by Black Knight Football Club, Tim Bezbatchenko, president. For how much longer?

The Weekly Dis

News from the Nancyverse, the Bezverse and the dystopian world of Don Garber

The DisrespectedMichael Arace

This week in Discasting

I had a grand time with Cannon Balls and The Crewcible, which can be found at Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other pod platforms, including my YouTube channel. Subscribe everywhere!

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The Disrespected

Michael Arace covers pro sports in flyover country. Welcome to Columbus, the Blue Jackets and the Crew.

The DisrespectedMichael Arace