Some have said sports is entertainment. Ask an athlete and he or she will likely disagree.

 

But in this crazy world, both had a way of finding each other this week even if the connection is stretched to the point of becoming a Rod Serling script.

 

Bob Barker, meet David Price.

 

Rags to Riches, here is the starting gate.

 

Danica Patrick, may I interest you in a conversation with Dan Wheldon? How about an MTV claymation death match?

 

The week began with the diminutive, five-foot tall Patrick taking a poke at Wheldon after he ruined what she thought was a shot at winning a race.

 

"Cut me off? I'll stomp you like a grape," someone might have heard. Actually it is a figment of my fertile imagination because what would Wheldon have done had she done a racer into a wine trick?

 

My bet would have been on the girl from Illinois over the Brit who takes up residence in St. Petersburg.

 

Florida, not Russia. But after the shove heard 'round the roundy-round, Siberia would he high on Patrick's list of relocation sites for one who wears a target on his back.

 

 

Sometimes you have to question the sanity of one Brian Barnhart, the President & COO of IndyCar.

 

All he did was make the possible combatants kiss and make up, figuratively, not literally, although Wheldon probably wouldn't mind. Danica's chiropractic hubby would have done a pretzel job following the whine, er, wine serving he he took the liberty.

 

Here you have the man upstairs handing you a front page story that could run the entire season and you quash it?

 

What about ratings? What about fannies in the seats? Are you nuts?

 

The ESPN announcers said that Texas Motor Speedway holds 155.000 people and there were about 75,000 there. "A very good crowd," the TV guys said.

 

Are you serious? Half full and it's very good?

 

I bet they could have "crammed" in another 20K or more had Danica made some Manischewitz in Milwaukee, in beer country of all places.

 

You had to love Wheldon's response to the whole thing when he said the feisty little babe would get her just desserts on the track if she tried it again. What? You won't punch her back but you'll put her in the wall?

 

Way to go you manly man. Tens of people standing around to break it up but you will show here by threatening to kill her?

 

Now Patrick may have inspired some gals out there to whoop up on a guy but rarely do they ever get a chance to face the men in competition. That is why the Saturday after Danica's dustup in Wisconsin was so special.

 

In gambling parlance, it was nearly a daily-double.

 

 

In horse racing you can look at your program and see a race for fillies and/or mares. Heaven only knows why they don't put more of them up against the boys. Maybe it has something to do with them being called Studs.

 

Whatever.

 

One millisecond after the Preakness becomes official, the network that owns the right to the Belmont, the third leg of the Thoroughbred Triple Crown, will know whether to pop the Champaign or cry in their beer.

 

If the Kentucky Derby winner doesn't follow-up with a win two weeks later the Belmont basically becomes irrelevant. Just another horse race that no one really cares about, right?

 

Wrong.

 

Add one filly to a few colts and you have people tuning in to racing that might have never done so before. Even my wife jumped out of her chair when Rags to Riches nose hit the finish line.

 

Significant? You bet. How about a century and a pair significant.

 

The only thing this race had was the possibility of the Preakness winner, Curlin, to up his "stud" fee by taking two legs of the crown. 2:28.74 after the gates opened, R2R became more valuable than her racing counterpart.

 

Belmont, by the way, has the longest front stretch of all the triple crown tracks and she simply outran everyone.

 

Chalk up another for the girls.

 

Before the celebrating in the sleepy little town kicked into high gear, 1241 or so miles away another lady was poised to make her mark and in a bit of irony, we come full circle back to ..... Danica Patrick.

 

While many were watching her nemesis Wheldon's vehicle swaying in the wind from one of those open wheel tow trucks as it disappeared off the track, the little lady of the IRL nearly pulled off an upset of her own.

 

And down the stretch she comes ..... finishing a career best third at Texas Motor Speedway. It was not a win although, when you consider she was fighting a horrible understeer, defeat can still translate into victory.

 

Patrick's Andretti-Green Racing teammates finished 2-3-4 but this was Danica's night.

 

 

So we have reached the point in the column where you might be asked what does Bob Barker have to do with women or sports.

 

The 83-year old might have been considered an athlete because of all the years he chased after his Barker's Beauties. You didn't think he stayed so spry by drinking gallons of Geritol, did you?

 

Barker's Beauties were, besides being beautiful, women.

 

OK, so it's a stretch of epic proportions but Barker taped his last show of The Price is Right this past week.

 

The Devil Rays used their first pick in the first ever televised edition of the Major League Baseball's Amateur Draft. His name? David Price.

 

PLINKO!

 

Or is it the last shall be first and all that kind of biblical stuff.

 

Anyway, Price is about to play his own game of The Price is Right with the Devil Rays. When he does put his autograph on his first pro contract he says he will not change him. He isn't very materialistic.

 

So what was Price going to buy first, the media wanted to know.

 

How about a pair of shoes to add to his 50+ collection.

 

When was the last time you saw Bob Barker give away a pair of shoes?

 

Just a pair of shoes?

 

I can see all the Google hits on this one.

 

Imelda Marcos of the Philippines was said to have owned more than three-thousand pairs. Barker's Beauties had to go through at least that many since the now octogenarian first took over TPIR in 1972.

 

After 25-years the gals over at CBS can finally stop running and go from amateur athletes to the models they set out to be. Barker can just be old.

 

David Price will be looking for the type of shoe that more suits his own personal style. He won't be looking for the type Rags to Riches wore, the metal would be a dead giveaway should he try to sneak up on someone.

 

Forget Danica's too. Price would be hard pressed to squeeze his rather large body into one of those capsules with four wheels. Besides, they would not match the Giorgio Armani look.

 

Strange. None of the press asked him if he owned any sneakers. Hmmm.

 

At least we know he owns spikes. They're kind of shoes, aren't they?