Jockey Joins Latest Rage, Head-Butts His Horse

“Angry jockey does a ‘Zidane’ to his horse,” read the headline in a recent edition of London’s Evening Standard.

The action of Paul O’Neill, who lowered the boom on his ride at the Stratford Racecourse on Sunday, was likened to the infamous head butt by French soccer star Zinedine Zidane in the World Cup final, the Associated Press reported.

City Affair had reportedly been unruly in the prerace parade ring, ultimately throwing O’Neill. The jockey got to his feet and grabbed the reins, pulling the horse to him, before lowering the butt of his helmet into it.

The Horseracing Regulatory Authority decided Monday to hold an inquiry after reviewing TV replays. City Affair went on to finish fourth in the two-mile race. O’Neill, 26, was given a caution by stewards for his use of the whip during the race.

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Trivia time: Angels shortstop Orlando Cabrera stole home this month against the Dodgers. Who was the last Dodger to steal home?

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Color adjustment: On the playing conditions at Royal Liverpool, where Tiger Woods won his second consecutive British Open on Sunday, Jim Armstrong wrote in the Denver Post: “How weird is it watching a major championship being played on a brown golf course? It’s like watching Boise State on that blue carpet.”

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This one’s for you: As the NFL opens training camps this week, comedian Argus Hamilton noted: “They have a new TV deal that will air games virtually all week this fall. Advertisers have come to the conclusion that the more marriages they break up, the more beer they can sell.”

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Heavy reading: The Denver Broncos’ media guide, which was already an NFL-record 704 pages in 2005, has bulked up to 720 pages this year, the Denver Post reported. “On the downside,” responded Dwight Perry in the Seattle Times, “the league is threatening to suspend it for the first four games of the season.”

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Smokin’ hot: “Jim Leyland says that if his team fades in the second half, it won’t be because of youth,” wrote Michael Rosenberg of the Tigers’ manager in the Detroit Free Press. “He’s right. It will be because of secondhand smoke. Leyland is trying to lead the Tigers to the postseason and eliminate the nation’s tobacco problem by smoking all of it. He is doing a wonderful job on both counts.”

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Looking back: On this date in 1930, the Philadelphia Athletics became the only team in major league history to pull off a triple steal twice in one game. Al Simmons, Bing Miller and Dib Williams accomplished the feat in the first inning and Mickey Cochrane, Simmons and Jimmie Foxx did it in the fourth during a 14-1 victory at Cleveland.

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Trivia answer: Darren Dreifort on June 12, 2001, at Dodger Stadium. The pitcher stole home in the second inning of an 8-4 win over Texas when Tom Goodwin was caught in a rundown between first and second base.

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And finally: Duke recently hired John Danowski, father of player Matt, to coach its beleaguered men’s lacrosse team. Wrote Dan Daly in the Washington Times: “If the school really wanted to straighten out the program, though, it would have hired a player’s mother.”