Kentucky Derby tosses tradition to the wind

The late, great Hunter S. Thompson called the Kentucky Derby "decadent and depraved." Now I guess you can add "disgustingly corporate" to the list.

Now Thompson's hometown horse race will officially be called "the Kentucky Derby, presented by Yum Brands," according to The Washington Times.

Yum Brands are the people who bring us such top-shelf dining experiences as Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC. (I think they're also the marketing geniuses who turned Col. Sanders into a jive-walking cartoon and took the "Kentucky Fried" outta what used to be the world's finest chicken chain. Or maybe that was one of Yum's corporate forefathers -- the company has changed identities more times than an al-Qaida scumbag.)

I know for sure that the only thing that should be yummy about the Kentucky Derby is the mint juleps.

When will the corporate marketing madness end? In Frisco, we've gone from Candlestick Park to something stupid I can' remember right now to Monster Park (which at least sounds kinda cool). And Pac Bell Park is now SBC Park. These sell-out suckers and the corporate bosses are ruining the sound of everything they can get their greedy little hands on.

Enough already! (At least until the advent of Those Darn Accordions, Powered by Anchor Steam.)