Triple Crown

ARLINGTON, Texas - The most valuable player ballot is a rather plain document, delivered not by fancy envelope but by email. Fill in the blank spaces, return to sender. The ballot is accompanied by a letter. This is how that letter starts: "Dear Voter: There is no clear-cut definition of what Most Valuable means. It is up to the individual voter to decide. " Keep that in mind, as perhaps the most polarizing MVP debate ever reaches its crescendo. The polls close Wednesday, the final day of the regular season.

Miguel Cabrera, who leads the AL in batting average and RBIs and is second in home runs, is trying to become the first person to lead his league in those three categories since Carl Yastrzemski did it with the Boston Red Sox in 1967. Writers from around the Tribune Co. offer their opinions on if Cabarera will do it. Check back throughout the day for more responses and join the conversation with a comment of your own.   Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times Yes. While it appeared uncertain - along with his team's playoff chances - the stars appear to be aligning for the Detroit Tigers slugger who leads the American League in batting average and runs batted in, trailing Texas' Josh Hamilton by one home run Wednesday morning.

Horse trainer Doug O'Neill said Monday that he will abandon his legal fight against the California Horse Racing Board and begin serving a 40-day suspension Aug. 19. "There comes a time in a fight when it is no longer worth it to keep going," O'Neill said. "I want to put this behind me, take a step back, do something positive during the downtime. " The suspension of O'Neill caused ripples nationwide in racing because of the prominence of the 44-year-old thoroughbred handler, and because of its timing.

Recently, the world of sports has gone off the rails. It made a right turn at Indy. It has become a bunch of Seinfeld episodes. It has triggered furrowed brows and disbelieving shrugs. As Yogi Berra would say, "You can observe a lot just by watching. " The sports planet clearly slipped out of orbit a tad at NHL playoff time, but that one could get past the weird test. The Kings got hot, they were as due as a Chicago Cubs fan on life support, and they won the Stanley Cup, spectacularly.

- The skies were overcast here Saturday when they ran the 144th Belmont Stakes. So was the mood. Certainly, there were bright spots. Even at its lowest ebb, horse racing sprinkles those in. There are always winning bets to cash, celebrants gathering for group photos, hopes for the next race. There is always another race, which is pretty much what this year's Belmont was. Another race. Union Rags was Saturday's main bright spot. He won the grueling mile-and-a-half race for a true American hero.

On Saturday, I'll Have Another will try to win the Belmont Stakes to become horse racing's 12th Triple Crown winner and end a 34-year drought, the longest since Sir Barton won the three races of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, in 1919. As Liam Durbin wrote earlier this week in his handicap of the race , other than the fact that there are 12 horses in it, the field sets up well for I'll Have Another. His two biggest challengers will be Dullahan and Union Rags, with many experts picking Union Rags to win the race.

I'll Have Another was added to a short list and a long list Friday by bowing out of the Belmont Stakes because of a leg injury. The Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner is just the third horse to win the first two legs of horse racing's Triple Crown to not race in the third. But he's just the latest of many horses to have tendinitis end their career. After I'll Have Another took a routine gallop over the Elmont, N.Y., track Thursday afternoon, trainer Doug O'Neill noticed a "loss of definition" in the thoroughbred's left leg. After an easy gallop early Friday morning, additional swelling was visible after a cooling-down period.

ELMONT, N.Y. — The Triple Crown of horse racing is a sports heirloom. It is your great-grandmother's wedding ring, passed down the line, still glamorous in its nicks and smudges. The J. Paul Reddam/Doug O'Neill colt I'll Have Another will be running a mile and a half Saturday in the Belmont Stakes for the right to hoist a 34-year-old virgin. That is a silver trophy, designed in loose likeness of its 11 predecessors, but unencumbered by previous ownership. Each of the 11 previous Triple Crown winners got separate trophies for their owners.

ELMONT, N.Y. — If racing had its way, the news of the day here Wednesday would have been which horse drew which post position for Saturday's 144th Belmont Stakes. More specifically, which post was drawn by I'll Have Another, who will try to complete a coveted Triple Crown. Post-position draws at the Belmont don't matter much. The race is a mile and a half, plenty of time to recover from mishaps at the start. For the record, I'll Have Another drew the 11th starting spot in a field of 12. He started 19th in the 20-horse cavalry charge, also known as the Kentucky Derby, and still won. The actual news of the day was related to the news of every other day since I'll Have Another won the Preakness and got the attention of so many clueless people who think a filly is a cheese steak from the city with a crack in its Liberty Bell.

Not to be lost in the amazing story of an amazing horse and jockey is the story of Ivan Puhich. He is 85 and no longer "terrible," although tales of his youth that include fists through car windows and other guys ending up in garbage dumpsters hint that the nickname once fit. Trainer Gary Stute says Puhich is an insufferable San Francisco 49ers fan, who once argued with a friend for five hours after a game about a missed block and didn't...