Listen, I don’t mean to brag but I’m going to anyway.

I was good last year predicting the Triple Crown – I mean, real good.

I had Paddy O’prado to place in the Kentucky Derby (he finished third) and Super Saver (the winner) listed as one of the horses to “keep your eye on.” In the Preakness, I hit Lookin’ At Lucky for the win and nailed First Dude to finish in the money, which is noteworthy since he was a 20/1 long shot to open. Finally, in the Belmont, I predicted the top three (Drosselmeyer, Fly Down, First Dude) to finish in the money, although not in the correct order.

So basically what I’m saying is that if you don’t take my picks today and wager the deed to your house, your wife and/or your dog, that’s just dumb. LET IT RIDE!!!

I’m kidding – I’m not that arrogant, although I did mange to find some luck last year in my predictions so we’ll see how I fare this year. On second thought, you may want to avoid these three…

Win: Twice The Appeal (+1000)
Like I’m going to pass on taking Calvin Borel at Churchill Downs…when he’ll be coming out of the No. 3 post position. Ha! No way. Twice The Appeal has won three of his last four races, with his latest victory coming at the Sunland Derby on March 27. He does seem a little too good to be true, but I have faith in more Borel magic happening today.

Place: Archacharch (+1200)
Why isn’t this horse receiving more love? He drew the rail on Wednesday and his odds went from +900 to +1200. Granted, the rail hasn’t produced a winner since 1988 (Winning Colors) but it still has the most victories (12) in Kentucky Derby history. It’s a prime spot and for a horse that is coming off a victory at the Arkansas Derby to be listed at +1200, this feels like a nice value. If it weren’t for Calvin Borel’s magic at Churchill Downs, I would probably peg Archarcharch to win.

Show: Dialed In (+500)
Dialed In has been the favorite all week, even though his odds continue to drop. He was listed at +350 on Monday, +300 on Tuesday, and +250 on Wednesday when the post positions were drawn. Now he’s +500, which seems like a great value to me. He won the Florida Derby in his last outing on April 3 and also took first in the Holly Bull earlier this year. The only problem is that he doesn’t have much career experience, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he won the roses on Saturday. He’s a nice-looking horse.

The post positions for the 2011 Kentucky Derby have been drawn and midrange favorite Archarcharch will start at the rail this Saturday at Churchill Downs.

Here is the complete list of post positions: No. 1 ArchArchArch; No. 2 Brilliant Speed; No. 3 Twice the Appeal; No. 4 Stay Thirsty; No. 5 Decisive Moment; No. 6 Comma to the Top; No. 7 Pants on Fire; No. 8 Dialed In; No. 9 Derby Kitten; No. 10 Twinspired; No. 11 Master of Houds; No. 12 Santiva; No. 13 Mucho Macho Man; No. 14 Shackleford; No. 15 Midnight Interlude; No. 16 Animal Kingdom; No. 17 Soldat; No. 18 Uncle Mo; No. 19 Nehro; No. 20 Watch Me Go.

If I’m betting a horse on name alone, I’ve got to go with either Nehro or Stay Thirsty. Nehro just sounds cool and I’m assuming Stay Thirsty is a nod to “The Most Interesting Man in the World,” which is downright spectacular. (And if the name is not meant to pay homage to “The Most Interesting Man in the World,” I don’t want to hear about it. Stay Thirsty, my friends.)

Of course, if history has taught us anything it’s that Nehro won’t walk away with any roses this weekend. The No. 19 post position has never won the Kentucky Derby, which started in 1900. The same goes for the No. 17 post position, so steer clear of Soldat, too.

On the flip side, the rail and the No. 5 post have won the most, collecting 12 wins apiece. The No. 4 position has won 11 times, while the No. 8 and No. 10 positions have each been victorious 10 times. Therefore, for those looking to wager on the favorite, Dialed In, his odds just got better seeing as how he’ll come out of the No. 8 gate.

One horse of note is Twice the Appeal, who will be ridden by jockey Calvin Borel. Borel of course has won the last two Derbys and three of the last four. He rode Super Saver (out of the No. 4 post position) to victory for Todd Pletcher last year.

I’m as causal a horseracing fan as they come, but I did pretty well with my predictions last year. I had Paddy O’prado to place in the Kentucky Derby (he finished third) and Super Saver listed as one of the horses to “keep your eye on.” In the Preakness, I hit Lookin’ At Lucky for the win and nailed First Dude to finish in the money, which is noteworthy since he was a 20/1 long shot to open. Finally, in the Belmont, I predicted the top three (Drosselmeyer, Fly Down, First Dude) to finish in the money, although not in the correct order.

With all the luck I had in 2010, methinks you may want to steer clear of me this year as well.

I know absolutely nothing about horse racing, although I did watch closely as Big Brown’s bid to become the next Triple Crown winner come up short last year, so I firmly believe that I am more than qualified to make predictions on the sport.

The 135th running of the Kentucky Derby is today, with post time set for approximately 6:04 p.m. ET. The biggest news coming out of Churchill Downs is that the favorite, I Want Revenge, was scratched from today’s race because of a foot injury. Ironically, Quality Road, who was the favorite before I Want Revenge, was also scratched for the race last week due to a foot injury himself.

Here are the 2009 Kentucky Derby Odds:

Advice 25/1
Atomic Rain 50/1
Chocolate Candy 8/1
Desert Party 10/1
Dunkirk 4/1
Flying Private 50/1
Friesan Fire 4/1
General Quarters 5/1
Hold Me Back 12/1
Join In The Dance 50/1
Mine That Bird 50/1
Mr Hot Stuff 30/1
Musket Man 25/1
Nowhere To Hide 50/1
Papa Clem 12/1
Pioneerof the Nile 4.5/1
Regal Ransom 15/1
Summer Bird 30/1
West Side Bernie 40/1

Here are my shot in the dark predictions:

Win: Pioneerof the Nile
Pioneerof the Nile has finished first in all three of his 2009 outings, including a victory at the Santa Anita Derby on February 5. He also placed first in his final race of 2008 at the CashCall Futurity in Hollywood Park.

Place: Friesan Fire
I’m a little concerned because Friesan Fire hasn’t raced since March 14, but he’s been on fire (pun definitely intended in the cheesiest way possible) lately, winning all three of his last three races and placing second in his final race of 2008.

Show: Musket Man
Call this my deep sleeper of this year’s Kentucky Derby. M-Squared has placed first in five of his last six outings, including a victory at the Illinois Derby in Hawthorne on February 4. He’s a 25/1 long shot, but I see a lot of potential in this colt’s hindquarters.

Those are my picks. Avoid them at all cost.

The NBA and NHL playoffs are heating up, as the Boston Celtics/Chicago Bulls series could go down as maybe the best first round series ever. The Detroit Red Wings will again battle the Anaheim Ducks, who have defeated them in consecutive playoff series. They defeated the Red Wings in the 2003 Western Conference quarterfinals, it marked the first time since 1952 that a defending Stanley Cup champion was knocked out in the first round of the playoffs.

All times ET…

NBA Playoffs
Fri, 8 PM: Atlanta Hawks @ Miami Heat (ESPN)
Sat, 8 PM: Chicago Bulls @ Boston Celtics (TNT)
Sun, 1 PM: Miami Heat @ Atlanta Hawks* if necessary (ABC)
Sun, 3:30 PM: Dallas Mavericks @ Denver Nuggets (ABC)

NHL Playoffs
Fri, 7 PM: Anaheim Ducks @ Detroit Red Wings (Versus)
Sat, 1PM: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Washington Capitals (NBC)
Sat, 9 PM: Chicago Blackhawks @ Vancouver Canucks (Versus)
Sun, 2 PM: Anaheim Ducks @ Detroit Red Wings (NBC)
Sun, 7:30 PM: Carolina Hurricanes @ Boston Bruins (Versus)

MLB
Sat, 3:40 PM: New York Mets @ Philadelphia Phillies (Fox)
Sun., 1:30 PM: Boston Red Sox @ Tampa Bay Rays (TBS)
Sun., 8 PM: Chicago White Sox @ Texas Rangers (ESPN)

Boxing
Sat, 9 PM: Ricky Hatton vs. Manny Pacquiao for the world junior welterweight title from Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena (HBO PPV)

Horse Racing
Sat, 4 PM: Kentucky Derby from Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY.(NBC)

- With the 2009 Kentucky Derby set to run this Saturday, THE LOVE OF SPORTS puts together a betting system that admittedly, probably won’t work. (But God love ‘em for trying.)

- THE BIG LEAD details the heartless act of the Baltimore Sun, who fired two writers who were in the middle of covering an Orioles’ game from the press box – and by phone, no less.

- SPORTSbyBROOKS.COM details the story of Angelo Hadley, a top football recruit for North Carolina who recently helped his brothers burglarize a 14-year old girl’s home while he had sex with her. Looks like young Angelo is on the Marcus Vick-plan of success.

- AWFUL ANNOUNCING has the lowdown on Jerome Bettis reportedly being out at NBC.

- YARDBARKER shares that Jose Canseco is set to fight in the professional MMA ‘Super Hulk’ tournament…whatever that is.