Bergdahl's Health Improving at Hospital; California Chrome Denied Triple Crown, Owner Attacks Race Rules as "Not Fair"
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: All righty, we just hit 7:00.</s>VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Just hit it.</s>PAUL: Right then and there. I'm Christi Paul. I hope you're on time this morning.</s>BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Four out West, this is NEW DAY SUNDAY. New this morning, we've got the dramatic new details about Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl's capture by the Taliban.</s>PAUL: Yes, how he's doing at a military hospital in Germany might be surprising to some people to hear how well he's doing. Today's "New York Times" is reporting that the Bergdahl has said the Taliban punished him when he tried to escape and they did so by locking him in a shark cage for weeks, possibly months, in the dark.</s>BLACKWELL: Now, let's talk about the recovery. "The Times" says Bergdahl is healthier than expected after five years in captivity. He's walking, talking with doctors, and has begun wearing his military uniform again, first time in five years, but he does not want to be called sergeant.</s>PAUL: Let's go to CNN's Karl Penhaul who is in Landstuhl, Germany, where Bergdahl has been treated, of course. So, what have you learned about his condition, Karl, about his condition?</s>KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christi and Victor, as you suggest a lot of the new stuff that we're learning about is coming from "The New York Times," and that unnamed source that they're quoting from the Defense Department in Washington, because here on the ground in Landstuhl, medical doctors are still very much playing by the rules, they're observing patient confidentiality, and really not saying a lot beyond the fact that they're saying that Bergdahl is stable, his condition is improving, and he is conversing with the medics around him. But as you say, from that "New York Times" article some dramatic details, they suggest really the worst physical illness that he might be suffering from right now is some skin problems and some gum problems, because of the kind of nutrition he's had and because of his exposure to the elements over the last few years. And then on the psychological front -- well, of course, that account of him having been held in a metal cage at times for weeks at a time in total darkness. That kind of stuff really has got to be playing on his mind right now. And that is what the psychologists are trying to do, over the days that he is here in Landstuhl, they're trying to get him to come out of himself and to tell his story for the first time to this team of specialists around him, so that they can see what they can do to help him reintegrate back into both the military and back into his family. But in terms of the physical side, yes, I mean, he's a guy who is 5'9" tall and according to that "New York Times" article, he weighs about 160 pounds. So, really no signs that he's underweight or emaciated in any shape or form, Christi and Victor.</s>BLACKWELL: Part of the justification the White House has used for not speaking with Congress 30 days before taking someone from Guantanamo Bay was that this was urgent, that he had severe health concerns, but what we're hearing is that these are minor concerns overall physically. Does that jeopardize their storyline?</s>PENHAUL: Well, really, you know, because of the political firestorm that this handover, this prisoner swap has generated, you do have to question as well some of the motives of the sources quoted in that story, what kind of agenda are they working, are they trying to play into the political controversy going on in the United States right now? I mean, we've heard President Obama, of course, saying, hey, I'm not going to apologize for anybody for getting Bergdahl back. He's been there for five years. Don't forget that. Whatever were the events that led up to his capture, he had been held by the Taliban for five years, and that has to take a toll on anybody both physically and mentally, even if right now the first signs are that he's got no life- threatening illness.</s>PAUL: All right. Good to know. Karl Penhaul, thank you.</s>BLACKWELL: So, 6:55 Eastern yesterday, I was right in front of my television.</s>PAUL: I was, too.</s>BLACKWELL: Watching, hoping, waiting at this historic moment, maybe, for California Chrome to become the first Triple Crown winner in 36 years, but last night, didn't belong to Chrome.</s>PAUL: At the line, Tonalist, ridden Joel Rosario, was able to pass Commissioner to win by a head. It was so exciting.</s>BLACKWELL: Yes, it was, it was.</s>PAUL: Neither of the top two had run in the Triple Crown's first two races, the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness and the third place finisher did not run the Preakness either. So looking sluggish, California Chrome tied for fourth.</s>BLACKWELL: And there's also this injury we need to talk about to California Chrome's front right hoof, may have cost him glory. But in a heated rant, one of the colt's owners, Steve Coburn blamed rules that allowed horses to compete in the Triple Crown's final challenge even if, as we heard, they skip the two lead-up races.</s>PAUL: Senior correspondent Richard Roth was at Belmont Park. All right. So, Richard, let's talk about Steve Coburn's gripe and is it valid?</s>RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, many people will tell you it's not valid. It's Coburn being a sore loser. I mean, he was not a happy man, even before this race. I had talked to him with other reporters a few days earlier and he was upset at the rules and all the commitments as an owner, he had to fill out paperwork. He said, I think he needed a visitor's visa to come to the Belmont, even -- maybe the pressure was getting to him. But right after the race he unleashed a torrent attack on the horses and owners who had the, quote, "courage", in effect, to beat California Chrome by resting their horses from the other earlier elite races.</s>STEVE COBURN, CO-OWNER, CALIFORNIA CHROME: It's not fair to these horses that have been in the game since day one. I look at it this way. If you can't make enough points to get into the Kentucky Derby, you can't run in the other two races. It's all or nothing. It's all or nothing, because this is not fair to these horses that have been running their guts out for these people and for the people that believe in them to have somebody come up like this, this is the coward's way out.</s>ROTH: I mean, the rules he refers to are the fact that a couple of years ago, they changed the system so that horses had to win points to enter the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the Triple Crown, and that eliminated some horses. But for decades, owners have rested their horses and so-called new shooters have entered at the Belmont. This Secretariat overcame this, Seattle Slew, Affirmed, three winners of the Triple Crown in the mid '70s. So, I don't think Coburn is going to get much support. But, yes, it's going to be 37 years at least since we've had a Triple Crown winner, horse racing's most elite prize -- Christi, Victor.</s>BLACKWELL: All right. We've got to wait until next season. Senior correspondent Richard Roth, thank you so much.</s>PAUL: Thanks, Richard. Now, Steve Coburn, he's 61 years old, he said that because of the rules, he's never going to see another Triple Crown winner in his lifetime.</s>BLACKWELL: Let's talk about that. Gene Menez, horse racing writer for "Sports on Earth". Gene, good to have you with us. Has the sports world seen the last Triple Crown winner, I mean, 36 years ago, Affirmed? Is that it?</s>GENE MENEZ, SPORTS ON EARTH: My guess is that no, the sports world has not seen the last Triple Crown winner. We'll get one of these eventually. It has been 36 years but we've had 13 horses win the derby and the Preakness and some of them have come so heartbreakingly short by a nose or a length, length and a half. So, one of these days I think we will get it done. It's unfortunate Steve Coburn had to make his comments after the race yesterday, but my guess is we'll eventually see a Triple Crown winner.</s>PAUL: OK. But what do you think about what Coburn said? In your opinion, is what he said valid? Does it really make a difference if these horses do not run those other two races?</s>MENEZ: It does make a difference but I don't think his point is valid. Non-sports fan may agree with him, but this is how sports work. It happens in every sport, in basketball, in football. You could you even make the case that in the derby, California Chrome had four weeks rest where seven of his competitors had only three weeks rest. In his first race in the six-race winning streak, he won the King Glorious, he had seven weeks rest going into that race and the second place horse Life is a Joy only had four. So, none of those other foes ever complained about California Chrome taking a coward's way out and I don't think that Steve Coburn really has a valid point here.</s>BLACKWELL: But there are some who argue it's more about the second and third races, the Preakness and the Belmont, you need a speed horse that can win that short, quick race at Pimlico and then you need a distance horse that can win at Belmont. How unlikely is it to find a horse that can do both?</s>MENEZ: Well, it's really unlikely, obviously. We've had only 11 Triple Crown winners in history. We've only had three in the last 66 years and obviously not one since 1978. You know, California Chrome, and there have been many who have had a chance to do this, but it's the difficulty of this Triple Crown campaign that makes it great. That's why these horses, we consider them the greatest of all- time, they are able to achieve this. They were able to win a derby where you might have to beat 19 others. You've had to be both fast and versatile and then also have the stamina to pass the test of the champion at the Belmont. So that's the reason why this is such an elusive title to win.</s>PAUL: Gene Menez of "Sports on Earth", so grateful for your insight. Thank you for being with us.</s>MENEZ: Thank you.</s>BLACKWELL: Thank you, Gene. A truck driver has been charged in connection with the chain reaction wreck that killed one man and left comedian Tracy Morgan critically injured. And now the driver's very famous employer is making a statement about it, talking about it.</s>PAUL: Plus, Shelly Sterling, the estranged wife of Donald Sterling, may remain close to the Clippers organization after all, even if she does sell the team.