The odds of owning a horse who races in the Kentucky Derby are pretty slim. All Derby horses are 3-year-olds, meaning each horse has just one chance in its lifetime to race the Kentucky Derby. According to the Churchill Downs communications department, approximately 26,000 thoroughbreds were foaled in the United States in 2010. Just 1.4 percent (369) of those horses were nominated to the Triple Crown, and only 20 will race on Saturday in the 139th Kentucky Derby.

If those odds don’t scare you off, and you still think it might be fun to attempt to raise a Derby contender, consider the cost.

First, you’ll have to purchase a horse at auction or breed. At an auction, be prepared to spend anywhere from the low six figures to the low seven figures. Fusaichi Pegasus, the 2000 winner of the Kentucky Derby, was the most expensive winner ever purchased at $4 million as a then-yearling.

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Sunday afternoon, 84-year-old Jim Whittaker climbed to the top of the 10½-inch mound at Seattle’s Safeco Field to throw out the ceremonial first pitch in front of 20,000-some fans at the Mariners game. Anyone who has ever been in that position can tell you how daunting it is -- remember Carl Lewis? -- but Whittaker has placed his feet atop far higher peaks.

The highest peak, in fact.

Fifty years ago Wednesday, Whittaker became the first American to reach the 29,029-foot summit of Mount Everest when he and Sherpa Nawang Gombu climbed the final demanding steps up the mountain’s South Col in excruciating conditions.

"We had 50 mph winds, and it was 35 below zero," Whittaker said. “We were out of oxygen, and we were in the death zone. There is one thought that enters your mind when you place that first step on the summit, and that’s how to get down.

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LONGWOOD, Fla. -- Chad Johnson once outran a racehorse -- although he did have a bit of a head start.

No word if he ever raced a greyhound.

Seven members of the Lyman High School Greyhounds football team raced greyhounds of the canine variety at Sanford-Orlando Kennel Club Monday night. The dogs beat the humans 4-3 in the event that also raised about $400 for greyhound adoption.

The back entrance of the school and its football field sit across Dog Track Road from the pari-mutuel facility north of Orlando. Lyman got the athletic moniker from its four-legged neighbors. The track's owners donated uniforms when the school began playing football in the early 1950s and the name stuck. It is believed this was the first time such a race with high school athletes has occurred in Central Florida, despite Lyman's proximity to the track.

The biggest long shot of the night may have been offensive lineman Brock Merritt, who won his race by about five feet. None of the races were officially timed. Merritt covered 60 yards in his dash, while his teammates ran about 90 in theirs. The distance from the starting box to the finish line for the dogs was 110 yards, although some of the dogs got a running start from a greater distance.

The 6-foot-6, 305-pound Merritt said being an underdog -- so to speak -- and a healthy dose of fear were his primary motivations. Merritt, who is an Eagle Scout, was prepared to win despite heading to the track immediately after practice and not having time to eat any human Greyhound chow before the race. "Those dogs were scary. They were pure muscle," he said. "Everyone thought I was going to lose, but I knew I was going to win the whole time. When the rabbit came up behind me, I heard it and got scared. I don't think I've ever run so fast in my life."

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The perks of living in the city where the LA Kings practice. #goodtalk vine.co/v/bxuuilT9XI2

— Jonathan Vigil (@JonathanVigil) April 26, 2013

Lead singer Jonathan Vigil of The Ghost Inside will have to rely on his computer for results of the NHL playoffs, which begin this week.

See, Vigil is a big fan of the Los Angeles Kings. And the hard-core band from Los Angeles is in Asia for the next three weeks.

"I'm obsessed," said Vigil, who helped form the band in 2004. "I'll be able to watch the games from my phone backstage at the shows. I love when kids yell out the score to me during the set. Having the Kings win on days of our shows is awesome."

Vigil didn't start out loving hockey. Like many kids growing up in Southern California, his first love was baseball. But eight years ago, a friend had some extra hockey equipment and asked Vigil to play a recreational game. And he was hooked.
Playbook had a few minutes with Vigil to talk hockey and music.

Was it really love at first sight with you and hockey?

"Yep. I skated that first time and fell in love. It's all I think about. It's so awesome."

And it seems fans and the Kings notice your love.

"I'm not sure who runs the Kings' Twitter feed, but they sent me a message one time talking about our new record. That was pretty awesome to see that. This one time on Twitter at the Philly show, I said I'd kiss the fans if the Kings won. As I got off stage, fans told me the Kings had won! I didn't think people were checking Twitter during a show. I did kiss a few -- on the cheek."

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The company that churns out a million points of data for each NBA game is now looking to go even deeper, mining those numbers for insight into players' fitness and training with an eye toward someday preventing injuries before they happen.

STATS is the provider of the SportVU system, a set of high-speed cameras now installed at 15 NBA arenas that track the movements of all 10 players, the ball, and the referees throughout the game, recording information 25 times per second. As a result, teams can see how far or fast a player runs during a game or uncover specifics. For example, in Game 1 of the playoffs against the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City's Nick Collison had six touches from the elbow and the Thunder scored 1.5 points per possession in those instances.

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