Things Have Gone Downhill Ever Since

Trainer Bob Baffert, who has three horses in today’s 132nd Kentucky Derby, is a skier and a fan of skiing. His favorite skier is Bode Miller -- so much so that when his son was born 16 months ago, Baffert named him Bode.

Then Miller won no medals in five races at this year’s Winter Olympics.

While with his son in Louisville this week, Baffert told reporters, “People keep asking me if it’s too late to change his name to Apolo.”

Trivia time: How many times has a Kentucky Derby winner led wire to wire?

A hot scoop: Jerry Clark, executive director of the Southern California Sports Broadcasters, remembers attending the 1965 Derby and calling his friend in the press box, Bob Seizer, from a pay phone in the grandstands.

Seizer, who was there as the writer for Tom Harmon’s TV show, asked Clark why he was calling.

“I’ve got a scoop,” Clark told Seizer. “The press box is on fire.”

The flames were extinguished minutes before the Derby, won that year by Lucky Debonair with Bill Shoemaker aboard.

Many sides to this story: Kobe Bryant referred to the takedown tactics used by the Phoenix Suns’ Raja Bell as “something that belongs in the octagon,” a reference to the cage used in Ultimate Fighting.

Randy Hill of Foxsports.com said Bryant should concentrate more on the triangle.

Speed kills: TNT’s Charles Barkley had this analysis of today’s Game 7: “This is very simple. The Lakers cannot play at the Suns’ pace and win the game.”

Nothing stopped them: On today’s “NBA Access With Ahmad Rashad” program on Channel 7 today at 3 p.m., the Clippers’ Elton Brand gives viewers a tour of the Dunbar Heights housing project in Peekskill, N.Y., where he grew up.

Brand comes across snow-covered basketball courts and says, “The kids must be using the indoor courts, because we would have shoveled this off regardless of the weather.”

Time will tell: Experts have compared the Houston Texans’ passing over Reggie Bush to draft defensive end Mario Williams to the Portland Trail Blazers’ passing over Michael Jordan to draft Sam Bowie in 1984.

Said NFL Network’s Mike Mayock: “I do think Reggie Bush is Michael Jordan, which would put Charley Casserly [the Texans’ general manager] in the role of Stu Inman [former Trail Blazer general manager].”

Looking back: On this day in 1978, Affirmed, ridden by Steve Cauthen, held off Alydar’s late charge for a 1 1/2 -length victory in the Kentucky Derby. Affirmed went on to win the Triple Crown, and no horse has won it since.

Trivia answer: 22. The most recent was War Emblem in 2002.

And finally: Of Matt Leinart’s dropping in the draft, reader Bill Littlejohn says, “One thing is for sure in the wake of the draft. The most expensive classes last school year were not law classes at Harvard -- they were ballroom dancing classes at USC.”

Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.