What Caught My Eye Today

Queen Elizabeth - President Bush welcomed Queen Elizabeth II to the White House on Monday as thousands of invited guests crowded the South Lawn for a glimpse of the British monarch. In his remarks, Bush said the United States and Britain, allies in Iraq and Afghanistan, were standing together in the war against terrorism. The queen noted that it was her fifth visit to the United States. "It is a moment to take stock of our present friendship, rightly taking pleasure from its strengths while never taking these for granted," she said. In honor of the queen, Bush agreed to host the first white-tie dinner of his presidency, with entertainment by violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman. It will be the Bushes' fifth state dinner in six years, but the first in white tie. The White House said the president was happy to return hospitality to the queen, who hosted the Bushes at a white-tie state banquet in November 2003 during an official visit to Britain. I just hope dude can figure out which fork to use with each course.

France - French president-elect Nicolas Sarkozy defeated Socialist Segolene Royal by 53 percent to 47 percent with about 85 percent voter turnout Sunday. The win gave Sarkozy a strong mandate for his vision of France's future: He wants to free up labor markets, calls France's 35-hour work week absurd and plans tougher measures on crime and immigration. Speaak for yourself, buddy. I would kill for a 35 hour work week.

Box Office - "Spider-Man 3" has sold an estimated $375 million worth of tickets worldwide, since opening internationally on May 1. That is the highest opening since "Stars Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" opened to $254 million in 2005. In North America, the film earned $148 million since launching on Friday, smashing the opening-weekend of $135.6 million set last July by "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." The film also set a single-day record with Friday sales of $59.3 million, beating the $55.8 million record also held by the "Pirates" sequel. "Spider-Man 3" cost $258 million to produce, with sources estimating that prints and advertising adding about $125 million to the bill. In a related story, critics have offered less than stellar reviews. I'm sure the producers are losing a lot of sleep over that. If I had to choose between the money or a pretty golden statue, call me shallow or whatever, but I'm going with the cash.

Sports - Lots of action this past weekend. Here's a rundown...

NASCAR - Jeff Gordon won his fifth pole of the season and came in fourth in this week's race at Richmond. Teammates Jimmy Johnson and Kyle Bush came in first and second respectively. With this win, Hendrick Motor Sports as won all 4 Car of Tommorrow races and 7 of the 10 Nextel Cup races. These boys are good.

Golf - Tiger Woods won the Wachovia Championship this weekend. For those of you keeping track, that's 3 wins out of 6 tournaments that Woods has played in this year. He now has 57 career wins and is atop the FedEx Cup standings for the first time. My favorite stat is the World Rankings. That Tiger is #1 is not surprising. It's the 11.9 point lead he has over the #2 player, Jim Furyk, that blows my mind.

Baseball - Roger Clemens is a Yankee, again. Dude signed a $25 million dollar 1 year contract even though he probably won't be ready to start until June. This guy is going to average almost $2 million per start. Nice work if you can get it, huh?

Horse Racing - Street Smart came from 19th place to win the Kentucky Derby by 2 and a half lengths. Street Sense will be in Baltimore on May 19 for the second leg of the Triple Crown. Six times in the last 10 years the Derby winner has gone on to win the Preakness, setting up a Triple try. I'm going to go out on a limb and say we're going to continue the Triple Crown drought again this year.

Boxing - In what was advertised as the 'The Match to Save Boxing', Floyd Mayweather won a split decision over Oscar De La Hoya for the WBC Superwelterweight championship. Mayweather then promptly announced his retirement. Yeah sure. That'll hold up until contract negotiations are hammered out for another eight-figure payday.

NBA - The Conference Semifinals are now set. Here are the matchups along with my predictions for the winners:

Eastern Conference:
(5) Chicago Bulls vs. (1) Detroit Pistons - Pistons in 6
(6) New Jersey Nets vs. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers - Cavs in 6

Western Conference:
(3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (2) Phoenix Suns - Spurs in 7
(8) Golden State Warriors vs. (4) Utah Jazz - Warriors in 6