21. Flying Private to Queensryche (unedited)

I'm usually sitting up doing something meaningless late Friday night, and when I am, I'm listening to ESPN Radio.

They have call-in contests most overnights and I have managed to win the "ESPN Sports Radio Match Game" a few times. I've lost once or twice as well, and once I was chosen to play as a guest celebrity rather than a contestant, which was a lot of fun. Given I'm a game show geek from way back, and love Match Game, I get a kick out of playing, whether or not I win the fabulous prize. (They always follow up references to winning a fabulous prize with the disclaimer, "prize is not fabulous," and they're right. For a nationwide sports radio network owned by Disney, you'd think they'd give you something valued at $25 or more, rather than something valued at $10 or less. The last time I won, I received a 99-cent ESPN Radio key chain. Seriously.)

Tonight they had a contest where everyone who got through on their toll-free line would get a horse in the Kentucky Derby. You pick a random number and get a random horse. If you don't like the odds of your horse, you get to trade it back. Then you're stuck with whatever you choose second. By the time I got in, there were two horses left, both 50-1 in the morning line. I ended up with Flying Private, which I preferred over the other long shot only because Flying Private is trained by the celebrated D. Wayne Lukas.

You receive a handful of Kentucky Derby gifts if your horse wins, but at 50-1 in a 20-horse field, there's virtually no hope of an upset, so I'm not going to win anything, but wish me luck!

I am a winner, however, thanks to the local "playing what we want" radio station. I have tickets to see Queensryche Saturday night. I've seen 'em in concert a couple of times, and they're a good band from the hair band era, but not the prototypical band of that era. They don't sing about cherry pie or staying up all night. Their songs, and musicianship, are a bit more sophisticated. A couple of buddies, including Doug, are big fans. So Doug and I are going, although the concert starts a bit earlier than I'd prefer, since I have to go to that fundraising dinner with mom. Such is life.