Like the title says the laugh is on me. Today the Kentucky Derby was run. As an avid horsewoman I love to watch the Sport of Kings. Along with placing the occasional bet. I use my knowledge of horses and their riders in making those bets. I usually do pretty well at the races. One of the many things I never do is bet on the long shot. That was until today. My daughter talked me into placing a $200 bet on 80-1 longshot Rich Strike for her. As it was her allowance money that was being used I thought it would teach her a lesson about gambling. Well the lesson was on me today.

Lewis Hamilton, the 7 time world champion racing driver, carried the rainbow colors on his helmet in the Qatar Formula 1 race today in support of the LGBTQ community!

Well done and thanks, Lewis!

Ok. I know that there probably aren't a lot of Pro Wrestling fans here at Top Shelf, but this is, IMHO important.

AS Trans persons, we are always concerned with acceptance in mainstream society. Here's a T-woman who is breaking into the most male dominated profession in the world short of North Korea.

Nyla Rose is a M-F professional wrestler who has broken the gender barrier in a new Federation...A.E.W....All Elite Wrestling, headed by a couple of former WWE "superstars."

So... Neimar Jr shouted "wolves" (died on the field for no apparent reason) one too many times during eights finals game... This time every fall of brasilian footballer was met with concerted "I don't believe you!" by judges...

SÃO CAETANO DO SUL, Brazil — When Tifanny Abreu slammed the volleyball over the net, her frizzy ponytail flying behind her, most spectators at a recent game moaned out loud: another point for the visitors.

But not everyone in the stands was rooting against her.

Even when Ms. Abreu travels with her team to away games, she often has a small, loyal group of fans cheering her on. This game in a satellite city of São Paulo, played more than 200 miles away from her team’s home base, was no exception.

Just an FYI... I will be in the endzone at the #SheBelievesCup matches today in Harrison, NJ.

As a pastime and to help de-stress I have been doing sports photography for a sports blog.

If you are at all interested in Soccer/Futbol England vs USA will be televised on FOX at 5pm eastern.

When the game is over I will try doing a blog of photo highlights.

-HuGs-
-Piper

Well it's been nice knowing everyone, but since the Chicago Cubs have just won the World Series, the world should be ending soon.

Yay!

A long read (pun intended, since it's on longreads.com) but well worth the time. It addition to the story of Stella Walsh it provides introductions to some other early female track & field athletes and some of the interesting history of the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

The Life and Murder of Stella Walsh, Intersex Olympic Champion

Lewis Hamilton wins the Brit Grand Prix for the third year in a row. There's a Brit in the finals at Wimbledon and a Brit in the lead at The Tour De France. Well done and congratulations from the Colonies.

Catherine Linda Michel

Yes it's Hartlepool United fans on their annual fancy dress outing. Last year they were doing their bit for cultural appropriation as Bob Marley, the year before it was Thunderbirds Are Go!

This time the force wasn't with them. Pools lost 5-0.

https://youtu.be/QcD_ZNLRr_g

I probably taught a lot of these guys. Make of that what you will...

Seriously big choices for entertainment today. The Puppy Bowl. The Kitten Bowl. Lingerie Football League. The SuperBowl. whatever shall I do with these kind of options? Good luck to you all, we'll all need it to figure what to watch today!

The Kansas City Royals have won the World Series 4-1. They came back to beat the New York Mets in the 12th inning of game 5, 7-2, after the Mets had a 2-0 lead for 8 innings. Hats off to the New York Mets for playing a hard-fought series. They were a class act.

On a side note, the Chiefs won in London! Good day for KC sports.

Well done, Lizzie, what an achievement. So she gets to wear the rainbow jersey for the next year.

In a small matter at Twickenham, Wales beat England 28-25 in the Rugby World Cup, though both sides accumulated more injuries.

Angharad

Last night was “one of those”. I had an unsettling nightmare that led to me tossing and turning in grim reflection of my life. At my age (67) and given the tumultuous and very public life I’ve had I had plenty to think about. After due consideration I was not surprised that each and every problem I’ve had in my life could be laid at the doorstep of my transgender nature.

Each flaw in my four children sprang from my cross-dressing.

Every set back in my business was due to me being less than 100% male.

Walsall Football Club have reached their first Wembley final in their 127 year history. This would make John Brook (Michelle's father in Michelle's Story) rather happy, since they are his boyhood club. Whether he would want to make the 600 mile round trip to London, is to be seen.

I get more angry every day about this animal. He uses crocodile tears, the loss of his feet as a small child, black ties, wrenching in court and any trick he can to seek sympathy.
He had a gun, not just a weapon of self defense but a weapon of mass destruction, he had a motif since she clearly had argued with him, knowledge of the bedroom/bathroom layout, a bad temper, an arrogance, a jealousy, previous record of anger displays, shooting guns, scaring girlfriends and no witnesses.

So for the last few months been riding my one relatives old road bike in the hopes of getting into better fitness I have been riding about 35 miles or so every other day. The issue is that it is a old bike where the shifters are in shitty spot and there is no way to tell when you are going into a near gear until you get into it. Also my rear break is shot the cable leading to it is snapped. I am currently without work so cannot get it fixed or a new one which would be my goal.

Hello everyone out there, this isn't less blog but more a question. I'm a very active woman and I'm missing doing any kind of sports. I'm in the fifth week since my OP now and I feel getting that itch more and more. I need to do some workout. I can't do the usual stuff I do, since those are sports which would not be advisable to do so soon after that surgery, like cycling, sports climbing, inline skating or diving.
But I also need to do some less strenous sports to get back into shape again and getting my fitness back. I can't just lounge around.

Golf Blogger Geoff Shackelford's idea of a April Fool's joke-

*****

While the expected names have surfaced in rampant speculation over who might be a leading candidate to become the first female member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, bookmakers have quietly moved Olympian Bruce Jenner up their lists.

In those stories that include bullies who play on the school's football team, the usual story line is that the school's administration doesn't care.

Here is more proof that things are changing. A TG California teen was named Homing Coming Queen.

It's finally happened! A Briton has won the men's singles title at Wimbledon. The first since Fred Perry 77 years ago. I'm no fan of lawn tennis, but I had to wipe away a tear because this was sporting history.

To make the moment even sweeter, Andy Murray hails from a lovely little town on the edge of the Scottish highlands called Dunblane, which was blighted by tragedy in 1996 when a gunman opened fire on a group of schoolchildren with horrendous results. Andy's triumph has now ensured that the town will be remembered for a different reason.

Drag Queen Olympics in Amsterdam

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/dec/21/drag-queen...