As Feria de San Isidro comes to end, and the best of the Corridas have past, we can review some really good performances. “Mejor Faena” for sure was El Juli. “Mejor Lance”, definitely Morante de la Puebla. “Novillero de la Feria”, Pepe Moral and “Matador de la Feria” is El Juli. We’ll see what the last remaining Corridas have in store. Normally these awards are given at the end of the Feria, but what happened in yesterday’s Corrida prompted an early designation. So, instead of just naming one “Best of”, I threw in the rest of the awards. Javier Valverde was opening his faena on the third toro when the toro caught him and gave him one of the highest tossing I’ve seen in awhile. Valverde, lay on the sand for a moment and after being helped up and recovering from the landing, continued his performance. Valverde did excellent considering the fall. He dominated the toro and if it weren’t for failing with the sword, he would have cut an ear. It was a very courageous display and the crowd reacted positively to his recovery. It was quite a performance.

Two Buck Chuck bursted onto the shelves of Trader Joe’s and gave birth to a new generation of wine drinkers. By providing an affordable somewhat good wine for $1.99, Charles Shaw Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon created a niche market which exploded. Before I ever tasted Two Buck Chuck, I had heard the buzz about the good taste of the affordable California wine. I finally tried it, and was not impressed. I did however find the value in the wine which is made from grapes grown from various northern California vineyards. The makers of Two Buck Chuck, Bronco Wine Company eventually were forced to remove the “Napa” from their lable because the grape sources were not exclusively from Napa Valley. So, through five very polemic years Two Buck Chuck has stayed the course and continues to be a top selling wine in California. I’m over it though. I’d rather spend my dollars on the different wines Trader Joe’s offers and of course on my beloved Licorice Altoids. Read more about Two Buck Chuck and its creator Frank Franzia.

An inspired Enrique Ponce turned in quite a performance over the weekend in Nimes, France. I happened to catch the video on Corrida.tv and couldn’t help reflect on how this season has seen some very nice faenas. Ponce thoroughly understood this great Toro from the Spanish ganaderia García Jiménez. The faena en redondo was captivating and had the patrons of the Roman Plaza de Toros on the edge of their seats. The controversial Javier Conde also faced a wonderful Toro and turned in a sloppy yet exciting faena true to his odd style. Fotos Mundotoro

I will never ever agree with the motive of the Iraq War. I do not like George W. Bush. I do not believe for a moment the reason he placed American lives in danger was a matter of defending our shores, but rather an effort by the Bush Administration solely to seize and control the oil fields of Iraq. I do however have the greatest respect for the Americans who are serving in the Armed Forces and are following their hearts to Iraq to do battle. On this Memorial Day 2007, it is however with the deepest sense of humility and gratitude I salute the life and sacrifice of Sgt. James R. Tijerina. J.R. died in Iraq on February 7th when his helicopter was shot down while on a mission to retrieve some much needed blood from a hot spot he and his Squadron had just pick up a wounded US Marine. J.R.’s died doing what he loved best. As a boy he dreamed of serving his country and flying helicopters. His mother recalls the drawings of helicopters he hung over his bed. J.R. had just a couple of weeks left in his deployment to Iraq and was looking forward to joining his new bride in Hawaii, his next assignment. J.R. was my wifes cousin. J.R. was 25 years old. With all respect to the Americans who are in Iraq fighting this war, I say take care and hopefully you’ll come home soon.

Man killed in wine vat named. Christchurch police have released the name of the man who was found dead in a wine vat over the weekend. Samuel Wykes was found in a wine vat converted into a giant hot tub on Saturday morning after a late night winery party at the Pegasus Bay Winery in North Cantebury, New Zealand. The 25-year-old is believed to have fallen asleep. His death will be referred to the coroner.

Growing up as an aspiring bullfighter, I used to spend hours and hours studying everything that had to do with bullfighting. I knew all the Matadors bios, I knew all the Ganaderias brand designs and ranch colors. I knew all the different patterens to all the different Trajes de Luces. Of the latter, I knew the differences between a Traje made by Fermin or La Maestra Nati. I knew which matadors tended to pick which colors or their preference to particular designs. As an adult I have developed many other intrest which I find myself enthusiastically search any detail I can learn and apply. Widgets, Roses and Wine are some of my more recent vices. To say I have a liking towards wine would be an understatement. My friends know of my obsession with wine, and on occasion I offer my knowledge in assistance. I’ve visited from La Rioja, Ribera del Duero to Sonoma, Napa, Paso Robles and Valle de Guadalupe, some of the most important wine regions. So, I’m pretty much a wine snob in training and enjoy learning more and more about wine everyday. Well, the other day two of my obsessions merged while I was checking out some photos from the latest Corrida from Madrid. It seems I never noticed a particular pattern of a familiar Traje de Luces incorporated a Vinifera design. I have seen this pattern for years. I remember as a youth, Eloy Cavazos used it on a couple of his trajes. I have seen the more contemporary Juan Jose Padilla use it as well. Eduardo Gallo (no relation to Ernest or Julio) appeared last Saturday May 26th in Las Ventas with what has to be the coolest looking Traje de Luces I’ve seen this year. Purple is such a cool color when used in Traje de Luces, and the incorporation of the grapes is so cool. I always wondered what those Pac Man looking things were. They’re grape leaves. Duuh. I bet you the grapes are Palomino. Fotos BurladeroDos y Las-Ventas.

They’re back. The new line up of Managers in Premiereship for next year are parodied in the following sound bite from Today FM from Ireland. Jose Maurinho, Roy Keene and Rafa Benitez are dead on. Martin Yol and Arsen Wenger are just as funny. Enjoy.

It had to happen. El Juli finally has exited Las Ventas via “la Puerta Grande”. It had eluded him as a Matador de Toros, but yesterday with an excellent Toro from Victoriano del Rio, El Juli turn in an inspired performance which confirms his status as a Figura on the Spanish scene. Many have argued Juli had drifted from the top and appeared to be uninterested in the past couple of temporadas. Last year when El Juli appeared in Tijuana some claimed he phoned in his performance. Truth being Juli was frustrated with size of the torito and conduct of the Juez. This temporada, Juli seems to be on a mission and it all came together yesterday. Juli pulled off some amazing naturales and a phenominal cambia de manos de frente. Juli dropped this toro with a great sword, cut an ear with strong petition for a second, which was not granted. He did manage to take a second vuelta. To sum it up with a phrase which was used by C.C. on Mundo Taurino and which best discribes El Juli’s current form, “Un Chingon de Figura.” Check out Juli’s performance below accompanied by Ottmar Liebert. Foto de Las-Ventas.com

Last years Italian Football Bribery and Corruption Scandel doused the celebration of Italy winning the World Cup in Germany. Juventus was relegated to the Serie B and started the season with negative points for being the biggest offender. Other teams who were involved were not relegated, but were docked points for the 2006-07 Season. The point penalties were later resinded. One of the biggest offenders in the scandel were A.C. Milan. They avoided relegation, although many claimed they were just as guilty as Juventus. There were cries for A.C. Milan to be kicked out of the Champions League. They were not, so wouldn’t you know they made it to the Final. Today’s Champions League Final was anticlimactic to the more entertaining Semi and Quarterfinals. Liverpool, one of three English Semifinalists could not buy a goal today. Maybe they should have asked A.C. Milan how to buy results. Liverpool lost the last opportunity to deny the Champions League Title to a team who should not have been there in the first place. Billed as revenge for the thrilling loss to Liverpool two years ago in Istanbul, it was a uneventful game until Filipi Inzagi scored two goals to send Liverpool back to Anfield empty handed. BTW, last week Juventus won the Serie B Championship, therefore they will play in the Serie A next year. Tutto ha ritornato al normale.

Video of yesterday’s rain drenched Corrida in Madrid.

Not even King Juan Carlos could not stop the rain drops from falling on the heads of the French contingent of Juan Bautista and Sebastian Castella with the Español Ambel Posada. It was the first time in history two French Matadors have performed in Las Ventas on the same card. The rain has mainly been falling on Madrid’s Feria de San Isidro for the last four days, but today the rain took no mercy in soaking even the King of Spain. Wind and rain are bullfighters biggest enemies but Castella continued his “Toreo in the Zone” sitio and turned in a very good performance with a very difficult toro. Castella was tossed and trampled but rose to continue his dominance. He cut an ear to match the more senior Bautista who had the pleasure of fighting during the heaviest part of the downpour. Both French Matadors continued their camino to being named two of the Feria’s best Matadors. Fotos de Mundotoro y BurladeroDos

Over the years cinematic views of struggling maletillas and novilleros have always included scenes of these toreros sneaking passes from toros under the moonlight. Usually they sneak onto a ganaderia, jump into an encloser or corral, separate a toro or novillo and get off as many passes as they can before inevitably being chased off by the caretaker or the Ganadero himself. Both Blood and Sand with Tyrone Power and Jamon Jamon with Javier Bardem had key scenes with thier characters “hacian la Luna”, fighting by moonlight. In 1990, José Manuel Yepes Palazón was an employee of the finca ‘Charco Lentisco’, outside of Cieza, Albacete, España. The Ganadero, Manuel Costa Abellán, Yepes and another employee chased three novilleros, Lorenzo Franco “El Loren”, Andrés Panduro y Juan Carlos Rumbo out of a corral and onto a dirt road intersection. Yepes and the unidentified third person confronted the fleeing toreros when Yepes shot into the night. Shouts of “¿No me matéis, que soy ‘El Loren’!” were heard before the three toreros were shot to death. Yepes was sentenced to 81 years in prison for what came to be known as “El Crimen de los Novilleros”. Last Sunday, Yepes was released from prison after only serving 16 years. The families tried to prevent Yepes’ release, but were unsuccessful. Listen to a review of the murders as well as reaction to the release of Yepes from the Cadena Cope and read more about the crime here.

Fresh from Tijuana, Sebastian Castella made his way to the Feria de San Isidro in Plaza de Toros Las Ventas in Madrid. Triumphant afternoons have eluded Castella in Madrid. After being named the Top Matador from the 2006 Season in España, Castella finally delivered in a big way on Friday May 18th 2007. Castella was masterful with the muleta and showed temple and sitio unmatched by any Torero so far this season. When in Tijuana, Castella showed the method to his superior toreo is his fearless ability to bring the animal close, stand his ground and fight with the “pansa” of the muleta. The toros from the Valdefresno ranch were exceptional and aggressive in Las Ventas. Miguel Angel Perera was not as fortunate as Castella. He recieved a goring on his right calf while attempting Gaoneras. I offer the review video from the Las Ventas website of Castella, accompanied by Montse Cortes. Enjoy Castella, he is at the top of his craft.

I’m working out the kinks of DBB 2.0. I have finally figured out the comment form and fixed the issues. I encourage you to leave comments, critic or just plain banter. Also, please check the sidebar now and then. I have added links to taurine webcasts and videos. I hope you speak French.

Maybe it’s the star power. Maybe it’s World Soccer Daily’s tendency to be Chelsea Radio. Or, maybe it’s my hatred toward the devil worshipping Manchester United side. I’ve taken a liking to Chelsea Football Club. I will always hoot for Newcastle United, but as a second team, Chelsea are my boys. This season was a disaster for Newcastle, and its gonna be a couple of years until they are going to make any kind of challenge. Chelsea on the other hand at one point this year after having kept pace behind ManU all year, were at one point in position to make a run for the Quadruple. They made it to the Semifinals of the Champions League, threatened to win the EPL, won the Carling Cup and met ManU in this mornings FA Cup Final in The New Wembley’s Innaugraul Final. Well, the tired and beaten Blue’s lost to Liverpool in the Champion’s League and the fuckers from Manchester won the Premiere League after Chelsea failed to capitalize on the Devil’s late season tie to Middlesbrough. Having won an entertaining Carling Cup Final against Arsenal, Chelsea managed to salvage their season by beating ManU 1-0 on Didier Drogba’s overtime toe poker to win the FA Cup. It was a slow paced game which ManU thought they won on a slider by old man Ryan Giggs, but he slid into Chelsea keeper Petr Cech and pushed the ball and Cech over the line. You can’t do that. Chelsea answered with Drogba’s goal in the 116th minute. It was not exciting, but the win enabled the Blues to salvage 2 out of 4 titles, and more importantly limit ManU to one.

Received this in a email tonight from my Political insider, hopefully future contributor to DBB…

While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75-year-old Texas rancher, whose hand was caught in a gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to former Texas Governor, George W. Bush and his elevation to the White House. The old Texan said, “Well, ya know, Bush is a post turtle.” Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a “post turtle” was. The old rancher said, “When you’re driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that’s a post turtle.” The old man saw a puzzled look on the doctor’s face so he continued to explain: “You know he didn’t get there by himself, you know he doesn’t belong there, he doesn’t know what to do while he’s up there, and you just want to help the poor dumbass get down.”

Enviado por email del Club Torres Online: El mes de mayo es el mes estrella de las dietas. Comenzamos a ver las orejas al lobo del verano y quien más y quien menos empieza a preocuparse por sus problemas con el bañador. Así que nosotros aportaremos nuestro granito de arena y os daremos la buena noticia de la dieta de este año. Seguid leyendo. Casi todos sabemos que el vino procede de la fermentación del zumo de la uva, pero lo que seguro mucha gente desconoce es su composición: el componente principal es el agua (aproximadamente 85%), seguida del alcohol etanol (entre un 11 y un 14%) y de otros elementos como ácidos (por ejemplo tartárico y málico), polifenoles, proteínas o vitaminas (no olvidéis que proviene de la fruta así que tiene por ejemplo Vitamina C y B2). Fijaos que nadie ha hablado de grasa. Pero esto, desgraciadamente, tampoco quiere decir que no engorde… Ya nos dicen los médicos que lo único que no engorda es ¡lo que dejamos en el plato! El vino no es una bebida baja en calorías, definitivamente no es un alimento “light”, pero en una dieta saludable se puede incluir una o dos copas de vino. De hecho es uno de los alimentos básicos de nuestra famosa Dieta Mediterránea. Incluso la Sociedad Española de Nutrición Comunitaria incluye el vino como alimento recomendable dentro de una dieta sana. La principal fuente de calorías del vino proviene de su graduación alcohólica, es decir, del alcohol etanol. Caloría arriba, caloría abajo, podemos calcular que una copa de vino contendría entre 80 y 100 calorías (sumadle alguna más si se trata de un vino dulce). El problema viene cuando no quemamos estas calorías. Y ante esto la mejor receta es evitar el sedentarismo y hacer algo de deporte.

Was this past Sunday’s events in Plaza Mexico the first time in history a Matador Confirms an Alternativa and gives a Confirmation in the same Corrida? El Gleason gave Leonardo Rivera his Confirmation and promptly recieved a goring with the second toro. Rivera then gave Confirmation to Miguel Ortas “Miguelete” on I believe the third animal. BTW, I believe Gleason’s toro was as offended by Gleason’s Traje de Luces as I was. Fotos de BurladerDos

There’s nothing like leaders of the free world leading by example, but when one sticks his foot in his mouth and is calous about it, the true colors of a politician surface. BTW, Tinto Pesquera Great Choice :^)

The ex Prime Minister said he did not like being told how much wine he could drink or how fast he could drive.
Spain’s previous Partido Popular Prime Minister, José María Aznar, has got himself into hot water, (or should that be wine?) over comments he made on Thursday after he was presented with a medal by the Wine Academy in Valladolid. Aznar told those gathered at the event that he was fed up with the DGT traffico advertising campaigns intended to lower the number of fatalities on Spanish roads. ‘I don’t like that they tell me that I can’t go at such a speed’, he said, ‘or that I can’t eat hamburgers or I can’t drink wine. Let me decide for myself – that’s what my freedom means’. The ex Prime Minister continued ‘The glasses of wine I drink, let me drink them quietly, I don’t put anybody at risk’. The DGT traffico head, Pere Navarro, said Aznar had been ‘irresponsible’, and that the matter was not one for jokes. All that was needed now, he said, was for Aznar to say it was perfectly fine to drive at 150 km/hour. “I don’t like that they tell me that I can’t go at such a speed” The association of traffic accident victims, ‘Stop Accidents’ described Aznar’s words as ‘An apology for terror on the roads’ while the Socialists described them as ‘offensive to the victims and Spanish Society which is trying to reduce the number of deaths on the roads’. On Friday a statement from the FEAS foundation which Aznar presides said that ‘at no time did he want to belittle the risk of mixing alcohol and driving, and that he was firmly convinced of the need to be firm on the issue as shown by the measures he adopted while in Government’. typicallyspanish.com

Today was to be Alejandro Talavante’s presentation in Madrid’s Feria de San Isidro in the Las Ventas bullring. Instead, Talavante checked himself out of a hospital in Valladolid, España all patched up from the goring he recieved last Saturday. Curro Diaz (silencio y ovacion) replaced Talavante in todays Corrida with Morante de la Puebla (pitos en ambos), El Capea (pitos y silencio) and uninspired bulls from Cuvillo. This was to be Talavante’s return to Madrid after having turned Las Ventas on its heels with his outstanding performance last month on his Confirmacion de Alternativa. Talavante was given eight to ten days to recover before considering a return on his conquest of Spanish rings this temporada. Foto EFE.