THE KENTUCKY DERBY AND THE REST OF THE 10 MOST OVERRATED SPORTING EVENTS

   Flamboyant hats. $16 Mint Juleps. Mudders. And ... cue the yawns.
   Today is the Kentucky Derby and - admit it - the only reason you're tempted to watch is because you're anchored to the couch after ingesting a little too much Cinco in your de Mayo.
   It's horses. Which are not athletes. And who have no idea whether they win, lose or draw, as long as it leads to a post-game meal.
   It's billed as the "most exciting two minutes in sports." What the what? Give me the final act of any NBA Playoff game or, for that matter, the waning moments of a Jags-49ers' half. The first half.
   One of the few sporting events I've never attended is the Kentucky Derby because, well, I just have no desire. Nor do I have any interest in watching NBC's five-hour - I kid you not - pre-game show today. I mean, foreplay is great and all, but ... five hours for two minutes isn't my kind of math.
   Let me know who wins. And I'll guarantee you at this time next year you won't remember either. Fine then, without Googling, who won last year? (No way "Nyquist" was on the tip of your tongue or top of your mind.)
   No, the "Run For The Roses" isn't the most overrated events in sports, but it's undoubtedly on the short list.

   10. Tour de France – Bunch of drug cheaters who’ll never drug cheat as well as Lance Armstrong.

    9. Army-Navy – Pageantry, yes. Quality, must-see football? Nope. Not anymore.

    8. Indianapolis 500 – Once the “Greatest Spectacles in Racing,” it’s long been swallowed up and digested into tiny, irrelevant bile by NASCAR and its Daytona 500.

    7. Kentucky Derby – We waited almost 40 years for a Triple Crown winner and, just like, it fizzled. Quick, which horse won it last year? Right.

    6. Any Heavyweight Boxing Championship Fight – Epic? Really? Fine, then name the current champ. No way you guessed right, because (far as I can tell) there are actually two. One from New Zealand (Joseph Parker) and one from England (Anthony Joshua). Once upon a time there was Liston, Ali, Frazier, Foreman and Tyson. Sigh.

    5. College Basketball Post-Season Conference Tournaments/Any College Football Bowl Game Outside The Final Four – Hailed as March Madness, the hoop tournaments are merely meaningless appetizers. And the habit of draftable players skipping random football bowl games has only just begun.

    4. Winter Olympics – Sold as a global event, but barely one-third of the world’s nations (68 of 196 at Sochi in 2014) participate. And way less than that can relate to events like Ice Dancing, Curling and Biathlon.

    3. NFL Scouting Combine – Things tend to change drastically when they put the pads on.

    2. Opening Day – Baseball hypes this as a national holiday, but it represents exactly 0.61 percent of the six-month, 162-game season.

    1. Heisman Trophy – Exactly 0 of last 17 quarterbacks to win the storied hardware has gone on to win a Super Bowl: Andre Ware. Ty Detmer. Gino Torretta. Charlie Ward. Danny Wuerffel. Chris Weinke. Eric Crouch. Carson Palmer. Jason White. Matt Leinart. Troy Smith. Tim Tebow. Sam Bradford. Cam Newton. Johnny Manziel, Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota. I rest my case.

Yeah, About Floyd Mayweather Showing Up in Rockwall ...

   So how'd Floyd Mayweather's boxing camp go in Rockwall over the weekend?
   It didn't, of course. Canceled.
   File this one in the folder labeled "If It Sounds To Good To Be True ..." Because remember, as I warned you a couple weeks ago, it smelled fishy from the start.
   The hype promised members of Mayweather's camp - and possibly the undefeated boxer himself - would conduct a two-day camp at the Rockwall Elite Boxing Club. Cool idea. But I wasn't buying what the gym was selling. From this here blog on July:

   ... the thought of Money Mayweather conducting a two-day clinic in, of all places, Rockwall, Texas just seems a tad preposterous.

   Sure enough last Wednesday, just two days before the scheduled camp, it was canceled. Because of "scheduling conflicts." The press release promises the camp will be re-scheduled after Mayweather's title fight against Canelo Alvarez on Sept. 14.
   And, yep, there's another hint about "Money" himself attending.
   Again, I think it's a good gym with great intentions. But ... we'll believe it when we see it.

Floyd Mayweather is Coming to ... Rockwall! Wait, Can That Be Right?

   Of course it's not right.
   We know Floyd Mayweather, the undefeated and undisputed king of boxing, is trying to rehab his broken image. He's out of jail on those pesky domestic battery charges, has mended his relationship dad Floyd, Sr. and is showing up at other fights to at least appear to be interested in something other than merely kicking ass and making money.
   That being said, the thought of Money Mayweather conducting a two-day clinic in, of all places, Rockwall, Texas just seems a tad preposterous. And it should. Because, despite the blaring headlines and glitzy promotions being put out by Rockwall Elite Boxing & Sports Performance, Team Mayweather members will be in town for a clinic July 26-27 but the current champ who has a six-fight, $250 million deal with Showtime won't be.
   Which was news to a buddy of mine, who was about to plunk down the $475 for his 11-year-old to attend the camp.
   "That's a bargain to have my son meet and hang out with Floyd Mayweather!" he gloated.
   "Yeah," I reminded, "But does your son know who Floyd Mayweather, Sr. is?"
   "Huh?," he said, dumbfounded until we read the fine print.
   I'm not saying this is blatant false advertising. But a little sleight-of-hand deception? Absolutely.

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   When Rockwall Elite founder/owner Pete Chapa appeared on 105.3 The Fan with Elf & Slater last week he claimed "everybody will be here." And when host Mark Elfenbein jokingly promised he was going to show up at the camp and spar with Mayweather, Chapa didn't correct him.
   And on this boxing message board, Joseph Chapa posted details that certainly seemed to indicate Mayweather himself would attempt the camp:

Team Mayweather( Floyd Sr., Floyd Jr., Uncle Roger and Uncle Jeff) will be in town next month to do an exclusive Boxing camp at our gym, the Rockwall Elite Boxing Club! Don't miss this event! Contact us for details!

   Since I wanted to hear for myself, I called Rockwall Elite this morning and asked if Mayweather Jr. would appear at the camp. I was told "there's a 30-percent chance." Yeah, and there's a 30-percent chance these 80-degree highs will continue all summer.
   The camp - $375 for coaches and $475 for boxers - might be great and all, but if you promote a "Mavericks Basketball Camp!" you'd better produce something more than trainer Casey Smith and Dirk Nowitzki's mentor, Holger Geschwindner.
   When Mayweather fights Canelo Alvarez in what might be the biggest revenue-grossing fight in the history of boxing on Sept. 14 he'll take a 44-0 record into the ring. But he won't have "Rockwall, Texas" on his resume.
   This looks like a nice event and Rockwall Elite appears to be a cool gym. Just getting some members from Team Mayweather is a coup.
   Just be warned, you won't see Money for your money.

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