View Finder: OAK @ PHI, DAL @ SF (partial), NE @ PIT (end)
Oh... oh, that's not good. We dressed the other kicker, right? No? What? The Raiders should really just add yellow to their uniforms to match the oceans of flags they draw. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever. It's not like it's this coach because it's been happening for years. It defies logic. Westbrook is just cutting through these guys like a knife. Shouldn't they just start going for two every time? And just when I think to myself how shaky Janikowski is, he misses another easy one. That's all Moss has done all day, really. I have a bad feeling about this. They pretty much have to get to, like, the one-yard line, right? IT'S GOOD!! "I felt like I got shot."
Didn't Carson and Chad do this last week? And how about the move he put on Vasher? I don't think I've ever seen anyone faked in half before. Though his celebrations were substandard; I mean, Riverdancing? And those were some weak-ass push-ups. Welcome to the big leagues, Kyle. 6-0 is extremely possible right now. You heard me.
Down goes Pennington! Down goes Leftwich! Down goes Fiedler... and here comes Pennington again? Oh, this is ugly. Touchdo... no? Oh, they got it right, he was juggling it. I think Smith was out of bounds on the overtime score but it wouldn't have mattered at that point.
This Week's Game That Shouldn't Have Been This Close: Titans-Rams.
I don't know if the Bucs are actually this good, but like I said late last year, they've still got some players and it's not like Gruden forgot how to coach. Someone on ESPN (I don't remember who) made a point that no one else has: Where the hell is Ahman Green?
Who told you the Cardinals would be lucky to win seven games? I know, I know... I gave them too much credit.
This'll be fun. Why is it that the Colts always go to New England and the Patriots always come here? I call shenanigans. OK, the Patriots never get beaten deep like that. Something's amiss. They're dropping like flies. I love/hate how CBS only shows one highlight each from the Fox games. Wow. So much for the Steelers' new running game. Hey, a Corey Dillon sighting! There's a reason Chad Scott was available. 1:12? That's entirely too much time. See?
That might be Bledsoe's longest run ever. That can't be good for team morale. What I heard sparked that was that Cortez was complaining about the snap being bad and Allen got in his face. You know who's good is Tony Parrish. Didn't we see this last week? And didn't we also see this two weeks ago? Oh, fuck the Cowboys. This should never have happened. I know the Niners aren't any good, but you can't blow it like that.
They're actually booing Eli. I'm impressed. It seems wrong to have that good a drive and only get three out of it. Hey, this No. 21? We oughta try putting the ball in his hands. And now this game's getting out of hand... the Giants can't stop him. I must say Eli's showing me a lot by leading them back here. He's gonna be good, I think. LDT's gonna throw! OH! Oh. That may have just sealed it for the Bolts the way it went down. Now it's getting out of hand again. Can I take back what I said about the Giants' defense last week?
I don't know, Rock. What exactly should I be smelling? Have the Broncos run the ball yet? Ah, there we go. This "let's bring in the entire Browns defensive line from last year, including the coach" shouldn't be working as well as it is. It shouldn't be working at all. Priest and Larry have been absolutely stifled. Rod Smith wasn't drafted? I feel like I should have known that. Maybe I did and just forgot. Wow, how about that new Chiefs defense.
FANTASY REPORT: Wanna know what it's like to be on both sides of a one-man show?
aPa SmackDown (1-2, L2): The Colts receivers' drought continues. And with LDT on Weeba's side and Pennington going down, you can guess the result from there. I now need a quarterback in the worst way and I need one now. On the other hand, I ridiculed the entire league for letting me grab Vanderjagt two rounds after I took Akers. Now I couldn't be happier that happened.
JackSux (3-0, W3): Chris had a big lead before Sunday night when I had LDT and two other guys. Tomlinson racked up 33.85 to put us over the top, accounting for one-third of my points. I do need a new backup for Green, but this situation isn't nearly as dire.
And now, the debut of...
RANKINGS
TOP 3:
1. Indianapolis - Though you would have expected the offense to house the Browns
2. New England - It doesn't get any easier
3. Cincinnati - So not a typo
BOTTOM 3:
30. Houston - Regressing badly
31. Green Bay - If this isn't the end, you can sure see it from here
32. Arizona - Revising that prediction down to four
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Friday, September 23, 2005
WPT Borgata - Final Day
With the day off and nothing better to do (and, frankly, because I'm something of a poker-watching junkie), I bounced over to Atlantic City to see some World Poker Tour action.
The Borgata, you should know, isn't on the Atlantic City boardwalk. It's down in the Marina district just before the bridge that takes you into Brigantine. You walk in and it looks like every other casino in A.C., but it doesn't feel like every other casino in A.C.
The regular poker room is downstairs in the basement, but the new one when they finish the expansion next year will be more than two times the size of the original. The first day of the main event started down there, then moved up to the ballroom on the second floor for the final two days. Finding it was an adventure in itself -- I think I did two laps around the casino floor before spotting the escalators with the big WPT electronic banner above them.
I got upstairs to the ballroom and they were giving out numbered poker chips to get seats in the main theater at the final table. There was all sorts of WPT swag for sale, and I played a little bit of the new WPT video game from 2K Sports. The state Gambling Commission wasn't allowing them to run a live feed in the outer room, so they were putting it on delay.
Last year's winner, Daniel Negreanu, didn't make it past the first day this time around. Unlike, well, everyone else, the WPT plays all the way down to six players before going full-on with the cameras. Here were the final six with chip counts:
Seat 1: Robert "Action Bob" Hwang (Clark, NJ) $1,795,000 - Won the $1500 NLHE tourney in this event
Seat 2: David Singer (Mamoreck, NY) $3,200,000 - 9th place in the 2003 WSOP
Seat 3: Al Ardebili (Jersey City, NJ) $1,425,000 - 2 WSOP cashes in 2005
Seat 4: Kathy Liebert (Las Vegas, NV) $1,045,000 - Won WSOP bracelet in 2004; 2 WPT final tables
Seat 5: John D'Agostino (Egg Harbor, NJ) $2,295,000 - 6th place, 2004 U.S. Poker Championship; runner-up to Phil Ivey at Turning Stone in 2004 (the tourney Fox Sports Net showed live)
Seat 6: Ricardo Festejo (Margate, NJ) $540,000 - I... don't have anything.
(chip counts cribbed from pokerwire.com; other info courtesy The Hendon Mob Poker Database (it's amazing what you can find on the Net by accident)
They almost ended up with only five after the last hand on Wednesday night, but John, who was in position to knock two players out, lost the hand and only one man was eliminated.
The staging area took up more space than the USPC at the Taj Mahal did, but I think the actual table area was smaller. It was inside almost like a tent with weird and disorienting lighting everywhere. I was sitting in front of this one swinging mini-spotlight that kept crossing my field of vision and got annoying after a while.
I was surprised to see the commentary desk set up with Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten actually in it. They mostly just sit there and I'm not even sure if they were actually talking about the game or if they were just pretending to talk. They might have been rehashing their round of golf from the afternoon and no one would be the wiser. Most of their stuff is added in post-production anyway. Remembering the length of the session at the USPC last year, and knowing this year's WSOP final table took about 14 hours, I started feeling kind of bad for Mike and Vince. At least we can get up and leave.
The new hostess, Courtney Friel? Hot. I'll even go as far as to say UPGRADE. Some would disagree. Some did. But they're not here.
Something else to look for in the next season: they've added two black dome-like objects in the middle of the table that are actually cameras, to get close-in shots of the players' faces and reactions.
MAD SPOILERS AHEAD, DOG
Want a real writeup? Especially considering I showed up late? Click here. Otherwise...
7:25 p.m. - The first player I saw go all-in was Kathy. The entire audience jumped to its feet, which eliminated everybody's ability to see the floor monitors, so nobody could actually see the cards. John called, drawing an "Ooooooh!" from the crowd. Kathy had AQ against John's J-J, but flopped an ace to double up.
John raised a few hands later, and Robert went all in. John called. Both players turned up 9-9. They split the pot.
7:45 - Vince is already resorting to props. This could be a while.
7:55 - The blinds increase to $60k/$120k with $15,000 antes. Ricardo has made some big moves from the short stack and is over 2 million in chips now.
Al went all-in with A-J of clubs. Ricardo called with... A-J of diamonds. They ended up splitting the pot.
They took a TV break at 8:05. Kathy had some family and friends here and tried to get one of them to go down to the poker room's cafe and get her a sandwich. She seemed to be the most relaxed player at the table, chatting with her people between hands and showing her cards when she went in unchallenged.
8:20 - Al, with under a million chips, went all in with pocket 3s. David called and turned over J-9. Al hit a set on the flop and David paired his 9. The turn was a 10, giving David a straight draw, but the river was the fourth 3 and Al made quads. David went out in sixth place a few hands later when he couldn't improve from A-8 against Robert's 6s. The next three all-ins went uncalled.
8:55 - Kathy hurt John again when she went all-in with A8, flopped an ace, and turned two pair to beat his K-Q.
9:05 - Robert was taken down on two consecutive hands. First, Ricardo went all in with 5-5 on a board with 8s-4c-4s. Robert called with QJs but got no help. Then John raised all in with 10's and Bob called with 10-9. Flop was 9-8-J/8/4 and Robert was out in fifth.
Ricardo had nearly $5 million in chips at that point. Everyone else had around $2 million. Blinds moved to $100K/$200K with $20,000 antes.
9:19 - We may not have that long a night after all. John was eliminated in fourth when his flopped pair of queens got outkicked.
Another big hand came a few minutes later when Al's Q-Q held up against Ricardo's A-J after a 10 hit the flop and the turn brought a king. Kathy had deliberated over her cards in this hand for some time before folding what she later said was A-J.
9:35 - Kathy went out in third place (the highest finish ever for a woman in a WPT event, Sexton said afterwards) when AL paired the 10 in his Q-Ts on the flop and also picked up a flush draw to beat her A-7.
They took another break before going to heads-up where they "colored up" (restacked) the chips and got ready for the money presentation. They didn't reposition the players at opposite ends of the table or anything, which was a mild surprise. Sexton was out mingling with the commoners. We were suprised to find out that Al actually had a narrow chip lead at this point, since Ricardo was over $7 million when he busted John.
For the presentation, they had four "Borgata Babes" come dancing in and waving the (fake) money in the players' faces and tossing it around before a golf cart drove in with the pile o' bills. We were joking in the audience beforehand that they might not actually get to do it because it was conceivable that Ricardo could knock out both Kathy and Al on the same hand, that's how big his stack was. Would've been a shame, too... they had to have been practicing for, I'm sure, at least half an hour.
It's Mike Sexton's birthday! Happy birthday, Mike!
The first hand of heads-up, Ricardo took the chip lead back when he reraised all-in pre-flop after Al raised to 600,000.
10:11 p.m. - Whoa. I'm still stunned by what happened here. The board was 2-7-K with two spades and Al checked. Ricardo bet $1 million. Al moved all-in, and Ricardo thought about it for several minutes and called with A-2. Al turned over 2-3 (the guy next to me was convinced he'd checked a king) and found himself dominated.
Until a 3 came on the turn. Truly, it was the magic number. There was a major debate going on in my section of the audience as to whether it was a great read or a terrible call on Ricardo's part. I doubt they made a deal only because they wouldn't have had time... I don't even remember Ricardo leaving the table area during the color-up break.
The river was no help and Al took a huge lead. He'd win it all two hands later with Ace high and get nearly $1.5 million and a seat at the WPT Championship. Both Al and Ricardo won $300 satellites to get into the event, and when you consider Ricardo was basically two cards away from winning, that's damn impressive.
Everyone toasted afterwards with Budweiser Select, which comes in oversized bottles. Then they took some pictures of Al with the money and the bracelet and the commentators and his wife.
I'll tell you, at the beginning it looked like we were gonna be in for a long night. But the blinds jumping at the intervals that they did seemed to force the action a bit, and it was over in about five hours.
The Borgata, you should know, isn't on the Atlantic City boardwalk. It's down in the Marina district just before the bridge that takes you into Brigantine. You walk in and it looks like every other casino in A.C., but it doesn't feel like every other casino in A.C.
The regular poker room is downstairs in the basement, but the new one when they finish the expansion next year will be more than two times the size of the original. The first day of the main event started down there, then moved up to the ballroom on the second floor for the final two days. Finding it was an adventure in itself -- I think I did two laps around the casino floor before spotting the escalators with the big WPT electronic banner above them.
I got upstairs to the ballroom and they were giving out numbered poker chips to get seats in the main theater at the final table. There was all sorts of WPT swag for sale, and I played a little bit of the new WPT video game from 2K Sports. The state Gambling Commission wasn't allowing them to run a live feed in the outer room, so they were putting it on delay.
Last year's winner, Daniel Negreanu, didn't make it past the first day this time around. Unlike, well, everyone else, the WPT plays all the way down to six players before going full-on with the cameras. Here were the final six with chip counts:
Seat 1: Robert "Action Bob" Hwang (Clark, NJ) $1,795,000 - Won the $1500 NLHE tourney in this event
Seat 2: David Singer (Mamoreck, NY) $3,200,000 - 9th place in the 2003 WSOP
Seat 3: Al Ardebili (Jersey City, NJ) $1,425,000 - 2 WSOP cashes in 2005
Seat 4: Kathy Liebert (Las Vegas, NV) $1,045,000 - Won WSOP bracelet in 2004; 2 WPT final tables
Seat 5: John D'Agostino (Egg Harbor, NJ) $2,295,000 - 6th place, 2004 U.S. Poker Championship; runner-up to Phil Ivey at Turning Stone in 2004 (the tourney Fox Sports Net showed live)
Seat 6: Ricardo Festejo (Margate, NJ) $540,000 - I... don't have anything.
(chip counts cribbed from pokerwire.com; other info courtesy The Hendon Mob Poker Database (it's amazing what you can find on the Net by accident)
They almost ended up with only five after the last hand on Wednesday night, but John, who was in position to knock two players out, lost the hand and only one man was eliminated.
The staging area took up more space than the USPC at the Taj Mahal did, but I think the actual table area was smaller. It was inside almost like a tent with weird and disorienting lighting everywhere. I was sitting in front of this one swinging mini-spotlight that kept crossing my field of vision and got annoying after a while.
I was surprised to see the commentary desk set up with Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten actually in it. They mostly just sit there and I'm not even sure if they were actually talking about the game or if they were just pretending to talk. They might have been rehashing their round of golf from the afternoon and no one would be the wiser. Most of their stuff is added in post-production anyway. Remembering the length of the session at the USPC last year, and knowing this year's WSOP final table took about 14 hours, I started feeling kind of bad for Mike and Vince. At least we can get up and leave.
The new hostess, Courtney Friel? Hot. I'll even go as far as to say UPGRADE. Some would disagree. Some did. But they're not here.
Something else to look for in the next season: they've added two black dome-like objects in the middle of the table that are actually cameras, to get close-in shots of the players' faces and reactions.
MAD SPOILERS AHEAD, DOG
Want a real writeup? Especially considering I showed up late? Click here. Otherwise...
7:25 p.m. - The first player I saw go all-in was Kathy. The entire audience jumped to its feet, which eliminated everybody's ability to see the floor monitors, so nobody could actually see the cards. John called, drawing an "Ooooooh!" from the crowd. Kathy had AQ against John's J-J, but flopped an ace to double up.
John raised a few hands later, and Robert went all in. John called. Both players turned up 9-9. They split the pot.
7:45 - Vince is already resorting to props. This could be a while.
7:55 - The blinds increase to $60k/$120k with $15,000 antes. Ricardo has made some big moves from the short stack and is over 2 million in chips now.
Al went all-in with A-J of clubs. Ricardo called with... A-J of diamonds. They ended up splitting the pot.
They took a TV break at 8:05. Kathy had some family and friends here and tried to get one of them to go down to the poker room's cafe and get her a sandwich. She seemed to be the most relaxed player at the table, chatting with her people between hands and showing her cards when she went in unchallenged.
8:20 - Al, with under a million chips, went all in with pocket 3s. David called and turned over J-9. Al hit a set on the flop and David paired his 9. The turn was a 10, giving David a straight draw, but the river was the fourth 3 and Al made quads. David went out in sixth place a few hands later when he couldn't improve from A-8 against Robert's 6s. The next three all-ins went uncalled.
8:55 - Kathy hurt John again when she went all-in with A8, flopped an ace, and turned two pair to beat his K-Q.
9:05 - Robert was taken down on two consecutive hands. First, Ricardo went all in with 5-5 on a board with 8s-4c-4s. Robert called with QJs but got no help. Then John raised all in with 10's and Bob called with 10-9. Flop was 9-8-J/8/4 and Robert was out in fifth.
Ricardo had nearly $5 million in chips at that point. Everyone else had around $2 million. Blinds moved to $100K/$200K with $20,000 antes.
9:19 - We may not have that long a night after all. John was eliminated in fourth when his flopped pair of queens got outkicked.
Another big hand came a few minutes later when Al's Q-Q held up against Ricardo's A-J after a 10 hit the flop and the turn brought a king. Kathy had deliberated over her cards in this hand for some time before folding what she later said was A-J.
9:35 - Kathy went out in third place (the highest finish ever for a woman in a WPT event, Sexton said afterwards) when AL paired the 10 in his Q-Ts on the flop and also picked up a flush draw to beat her A-7.
They took another break before going to heads-up where they "colored up" (restacked) the chips and got ready for the money presentation. They didn't reposition the players at opposite ends of the table or anything, which was a mild surprise. Sexton was out mingling with the commoners. We were suprised to find out that Al actually had a narrow chip lead at this point, since Ricardo was over $7 million when he busted John.
For the presentation, they had four "Borgata Babes" come dancing in and waving the (fake) money in the players' faces and tossing it around before a golf cart drove in with the pile o' bills. We were joking in the audience beforehand that they might not actually get to do it because it was conceivable that Ricardo could knock out both Kathy and Al on the same hand, that's how big his stack was. Would've been a shame, too... they had to have been practicing for, I'm sure, at least half an hour.
It's Mike Sexton's birthday! Happy birthday, Mike!
The first hand of heads-up, Ricardo took the chip lead back when he reraised all-in pre-flop after Al raised to 600,000.
10:11 p.m. - Whoa. I'm still stunned by what happened here. The board was 2-7-K with two spades and Al checked. Ricardo bet $1 million. Al moved all-in, and Ricardo thought about it for several minutes and called with A-2. Al turned over 2-3 (the guy next to me was convinced he'd checked a king) and found himself dominated.
Until a 3 came on the turn. Truly, it was the magic number. There was a major debate going on in my section of the audience as to whether it was a great read or a terrible call on Ricardo's part. I doubt they made a deal only because they wouldn't have had time... I don't even remember Ricardo leaving the table area during the color-up break.
The river was no help and Al took a huge lead. He'd win it all two hands later with Ace high and get nearly $1.5 million and a seat at the WPT Championship. Both Al and Ricardo won $300 satellites to get into the event, and when you consider Ricardo was basically two cards away from winning, that's damn impressive.
Everyone toasted afterwards with Budweiser Select, which comes in oversized bottles. Then they took some pictures of Al with the money and the bracelet and the commentators and his wife.
I'll tell you, at the beginning it looked like we were gonna be in for a long night. But the blinds jumping at the intervals that they did seemed to force the action a bit, and it was over in about five hours.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Sit 'n' Win
So about three weeks ago, I get into a sit-and-go tournament at Party Poker, wheere I've been playing with actual money for about six weeks or so by now. It's a Limit Texas Hold 'Em game, which is easily my best game right now for real or play money... I always seem to do well in these things, particularly SNG's, which you can run through in an hour and make a small pile of change in if you do well. I think what I like about limit poker is that it's harder for me to get suckered in for a lot of money, since you can only bet so much. I actually find I'm more willing to fold in a limit game than pot-limit or No Limit.
The lineup:
15/30 Tourney Texas Hold'em Game Table (Limit) (Tournament 15405575) - Sat Sep 03 02:37:15 EDT 2005
Table Table 11871 (Real Money) -- Seat 3 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: IceHousePRB (800)
Seat 2: justfootin (800)
Seat 3: greatkinkade (800)
Seat 4: soupbutler (800)
Seat 5: TheIXIMan (800)
Seat 6: hoaha888 (800)
Seat 7: cunha14258 (800)
Seat 8: IH8JJ (800)
Seat 9: eagle405 (800) <------ You know who I am, damn it
Seat 10: Kendellfalls (800)
We'll jump to the second hand. I'm in middle position and get dealt AcAh. cunha14258 raises, IH8JJ re-raises, I cap it. Kendellfalls calls. It's folded around to hoaha888 who calls. Everybody else remaining calls.
Flop comes Qh5s3c. Checked to me, I bet. Kendellfalls raises. IH8JJ reraises after everybody in between calls, I call, and everybody else calls. Turn is Kh. hoaha checks, cunha raises, IH8JJ re-raises, and I call because I don't think anyone's got KK. Kendellfalls folds, the others call. River is 2h. Two checks, IH8JJ bets. Everyone calls. I turn over my aces. hoaha888 has pocket jacks. cunha14258 has KsTc. And IH8JJ rolls... QcQd. Ouch.
So, as usual, I'm behind. I fear the day I actually get off to a decent start in one of these, as I won't know what to do with myself.
Six hands later, I get KJc in the small blind. hoaha calls, cunha raises, IH8JJ folds. I call the 20, Kendell re-raises, kinkade calls, hoaha calls, cunha caps it, and my confidence is shaken and I fold. Flop comes QT7d and I'm feeling a lot better about my decision -- until the hand ends. The board was Qd Td 7d 9c 8c, and Kendell's jacks gave him a queen-high straight... which my king-high straight would've beaten had I stayed in. But cunha had AK and was betting and raising throughout the hand, so I likely would've been forced out at some point.
cunah was out first when he put in his last 65 chips with nada.
I laid down the best hand again when I raised from UTG+1 with JT and saw a re-raise and three callers behind me. The winning hand was pocket 8s with a 10 on the board.
Players started dropping like flies. We went from nine to six players in one level. With the blinds at 15 and 30, I woke up to pocket jacks in the big blind. IceHouse calls, and it's folded around to IH8JJ in the small blind, who calls. I raise and both call. Flop comes Ah2d7s. IH8JJ checks, I bet, IceHouse calls, IH8JJ folds. Turn is 5h. I bet and win my first pot (150) when IceHouse folds.
The blinds go up to 25 and 50 and I'm the short stack with T465. I get AdKc in the big blind and call a raise from the SB after everyone else folds. Flop comes AsTdTc. IH8J bets, I raise, he folds, I win.
Blinds are now 50 and 100. IceHouse gets all-in on the river and actually wins when her pocket 8s beat IH8JJ's KQ. This is notable because it's the first all-in hand that doesn't lead to an elimination.
On the next hand, I raise from the button with As5d and only T340 left. and IceHouse calls from the big blind. Flop comes T4Q, all spades. We both check. Turn is Ks, giving me the nut flush. IceHouse checks, I bet my last T140 and she folds.
The following hand, I get KTs and come in with a raise. kinkade calls. Flop comes AsTd6h and with top pair, top kicker, I decide I'm going. kinkade bets, I raise, he calls. Turn is Ah, giving me two pair. kinkade bets, I call my last T190. He turns over Js Qh. The river is the Ace of clubs, putting three aces on the board and giving me a full house.
This next hand was nuts. Blinds are 75/150. IXIMan only has T155 left, and he raises all-in. I fold, Kendell raises, IceHouse folds, and kinkade calls. Flop comes 7s9d8s. kinkade checks, Kendell bets, kinkade calls. Turn is 3d. kinkade checks, Kendell bets, kinkade calls. River is Td, and both players check. Here's what happened: Kendell [8h Ad] flopped top pair and was a 52% favorite at that point. IXIMan [3c 3s] turned trips and became 90% to win, with Kendell drawing dead, but kinkade made his four(?)-outer on the river with the 10 for a queen-high straight [Qc Js]. IXIMan was out, and Kendell took a big hit and was left with only T705. Worst bad beat of the tourney. (Odds calculated courtesy of twodimes.net)
Four players left. I took the chip lead on the next hand, and two hands later I dropped The Hammer from the small blind and won when I bet a three-club flop.
With the blinds at 100/200, IceHouse and kinkade fold, and I wake up to 55 in the small blind. Kendell's the big blind and already has 200 of his 480 chips in the middle, and a pocket pair heads-up against the short stack is a Good Thing, so I raise and he goes all-in with K7s. The flop brings three diamonds and I bust him with fives and twos.
Three players left. We're all guaranteed cash, and I'm the chip leader with T4135. I get Kd9h on the button and raise. IceHouse reraises and kinkade folds. Flop comes QsAc2d. IceHouse bets, I call. Turn is a Kh, giving me top pair. IceHouse bets, I raise, and she reraises herself all in. I call and she turns over JsJd.
Uh-oh.
River's a 10 and she makes her straight to win a T3460 pot.
Disaster strikes soon after. Blinds are 150/300, and I'm dealt 3hJs in the small blind. kinkade calls, I call (probably a mistake; even three-handed, that's a crappy hand) and IceHouse checks. Flop is TcKd3s. Everyone checks. Turn is Jd giving me two pair. I bet, IceHouse folds, kinkade raises, and I call (mistake #2). River is 6h, I bet to put kinkade all in, and he calls and turns over QdAh for a made straight.
That cripples me -- I'm down to T870. On the next hand, I get TQd on the button and raise. IceHouse folds, kinkade calls. Flop comes Jh, Tc, 8s. kinkade bets, and with middle pair and an inside straight draw, I have to go. I raise my last 570 and he calls and rolls... 7hKc? The low end of the straight draw. Turn is a blank, but the river is the Jack of diamonds, giving me the winning two pair. Interestingly, on the next hand, I get QcKs in the big blind and I raise kinkade on the small blind and he folds. At that point, I realized that I'd been playing tight, possibly too much so, even when it was five and four-handed, forcing the table to respect my pre-flop raises at this point. I went on to pick up a few pots with post-flop bets in position, building my stack back up to T3690 before... this hand.
I get 2cQd on the button and raise. IceHouse folds, and kinkade has exactly 300 left and calls, turning over Tc Js. And my hand holds up. A river Ace gives me Ace-Queen high and knocks kinkade out.
I take the chip lead back with that win (4440-3560), but I give it back two hands later when my Broadway draw doesn't get there and I fold on the river. I get some of it back when I reraise with KdQh and flop a set of Queens. I then lose T1600 when I get check-raised out of a hand on the turn when an Ace came and we had both checked the flop. I dropped the Hammer again postflop with two kings on the board. I then stole three of the next four hands to get back to almost 3000 in chips.
Then came... the deciding hand. Blinds are 250/500. I'm dealt KsJc in the big blind and strangely just check after IceHouse calls, almost as if I know what's coming. And what's coming is 7sJhKh. I bet, IceHouse calls. Turn is 9c. I bet, IceHouse raises, putting me all-in, and I can't call fast enough. She flips over K2c and I've got her dominated. Another seven comes on the river and I surge into the lead.
Two hands later, it ends. I see TcKh in the big blind. IceHouse raises, I call, and the flop is 7c6hKd, giving me top pair. I bet, she raises, and I know I've got her, so I re-raise, forcing her to bet her last 520. I call the extra 20 and see her flip over... 4dTs? Ouch. The turn is the seven of spades and that's it. The river is a six and I'm $25 richer. Go me.
The lineup:
15/30 Tourney Texas Hold'em Game Table (Limit) (Tournament 15405575) - Sat Sep 03 02:37:15 EDT 2005
Table Table 11871 (Real Money) -- Seat 3 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: IceHousePRB (800)
Seat 2: justfootin (800)
Seat 3: greatkinkade (800)
Seat 4: soupbutler (800)
Seat 5: TheIXIMan (800)
Seat 6: hoaha888 (800)
Seat 7: cunha14258 (800)
Seat 8: IH8JJ (800)
Seat 9: eagle405 (800) <------ You know who I am, damn it
Seat 10: Kendellfalls (800)
We'll jump to the second hand. I'm in middle position and get dealt AcAh. cunha14258 raises, IH8JJ re-raises, I cap it. Kendellfalls calls. It's folded around to hoaha888 who calls. Everybody else remaining calls.
Flop comes Qh5s3c. Checked to me, I bet. Kendellfalls raises. IH8JJ reraises after everybody in between calls, I call, and everybody else calls. Turn is Kh. hoaha checks, cunha raises, IH8JJ re-raises, and I call because I don't think anyone's got KK. Kendellfalls folds, the others call. River is 2h. Two checks, IH8JJ bets. Everyone calls. I turn over my aces. hoaha888 has pocket jacks. cunha14258 has KsTc. And IH8JJ rolls... QcQd. Ouch.
So, as usual, I'm behind. I fear the day I actually get off to a decent start in one of these, as I won't know what to do with myself.
Six hands later, I get KJc in the small blind. hoaha calls, cunha raises, IH8JJ folds. I call the 20, Kendell re-raises, kinkade calls, hoaha calls, cunha caps it, and my confidence is shaken and I fold. Flop comes QT7d and I'm feeling a lot better about my decision -- until the hand ends. The board was Qd Td 7d 9c 8c, and Kendell's jacks gave him a queen-high straight... which my king-high straight would've beaten had I stayed in. But cunha had AK and was betting and raising throughout the hand, so I likely would've been forced out at some point.
cunah was out first when he put in his last 65 chips with nada.
I laid down the best hand again when I raised from UTG+1 with JT and saw a re-raise and three callers behind me. The winning hand was pocket 8s with a 10 on the board.
Players started dropping like flies. We went from nine to six players in one level. With the blinds at 15 and 30, I woke up to pocket jacks in the big blind. IceHouse calls, and it's folded around to IH8JJ in the small blind, who calls. I raise and both call. Flop comes Ah2d7s. IH8JJ checks, I bet, IceHouse calls, IH8JJ folds. Turn is 5h. I bet and win my first pot (150) when IceHouse folds.
The blinds go up to 25 and 50 and I'm the short stack with T465. I get AdKc in the big blind and call a raise from the SB after everyone else folds. Flop comes AsTdTc. IH8J bets, I raise, he folds, I win.
Blinds are now 50 and 100. IceHouse gets all-in on the river and actually wins when her pocket 8s beat IH8JJ's KQ. This is notable because it's the first all-in hand that doesn't lead to an elimination.
On the next hand, I raise from the button with As5d and only T340 left. and IceHouse calls from the big blind. Flop comes T4Q, all spades. We both check. Turn is Ks, giving me the nut flush. IceHouse checks, I bet my last T140 and she folds.
The following hand, I get KTs and come in with a raise. kinkade calls. Flop comes AsTd6h and with top pair, top kicker, I decide I'm going. kinkade bets, I raise, he calls. Turn is Ah, giving me two pair. kinkade bets, I call my last T190. He turns over Js Qh. The river is the Ace of clubs, putting three aces on the board and giving me a full house.
This next hand was nuts. Blinds are 75/150. IXIMan only has T155 left, and he raises all-in. I fold, Kendell raises, IceHouse folds, and kinkade calls. Flop comes 7s9d8s. kinkade checks, Kendell bets, kinkade calls. Turn is 3d. kinkade checks, Kendell bets, kinkade calls. River is Td, and both players check. Here's what happened: Kendell [8h Ad] flopped top pair and was a 52% favorite at that point. IXIMan [3c 3s] turned trips and became 90% to win, with Kendell drawing dead, but kinkade made his four(?)-outer on the river with the 10 for a queen-high straight [Qc Js]. IXIMan was out, and Kendell took a big hit and was left with only T705. Worst bad beat of the tourney. (Odds calculated courtesy of twodimes.net)
Four players left. I took the chip lead on the next hand, and two hands later I dropped The Hammer from the small blind and won when I bet a three-club flop.
With the blinds at 100/200, IceHouse and kinkade fold, and I wake up to 55 in the small blind. Kendell's the big blind and already has 200 of his 480 chips in the middle, and a pocket pair heads-up against the short stack is a Good Thing, so I raise and he goes all-in with K7s. The flop brings three diamonds and I bust him with fives and twos.
Three players left. We're all guaranteed cash, and I'm the chip leader with T4135. I get Kd9h on the button and raise. IceHouse reraises and kinkade folds. Flop comes QsAc2d. IceHouse bets, I call. Turn is a Kh, giving me top pair. IceHouse bets, I raise, and she reraises herself all in. I call and she turns over JsJd.
Uh-oh.
River's a 10 and she makes her straight to win a T3460 pot.
Disaster strikes soon after. Blinds are 150/300, and I'm dealt 3hJs in the small blind. kinkade calls, I call (probably a mistake; even three-handed, that's a crappy hand) and IceHouse checks. Flop is TcKd3s. Everyone checks. Turn is Jd giving me two pair. I bet, IceHouse folds, kinkade raises, and I call (mistake #2). River is 6h, I bet to put kinkade all in, and he calls and turns over QdAh for a made straight.
That cripples me -- I'm down to T870. On the next hand, I get TQd on the button and raise. IceHouse folds, kinkade calls. Flop comes Jh, Tc, 8s. kinkade bets, and with middle pair and an inside straight draw, I have to go. I raise my last 570 and he calls and rolls... 7hKc? The low end of the straight draw. Turn is a blank, but the river is the Jack of diamonds, giving me the winning two pair. Interestingly, on the next hand, I get QcKs in the big blind and I raise kinkade on the small blind and he folds. At that point, I realized that I'd been playing tight, possibly too much so, even when it was five and four-handed, forcing the table to respect my pre-flop raises at this point. I went on to pick up a few pots with post-flop bets in position, building my stack back up to T3690 before... this hand.
I get 2cQd on the button and raise. IceHouse folds, and kinkade has exactly 300 left and calls, turning over Tc Js. And my hand holds up. A river Ace gives me Ace-Queen high and knocks kinkade out.
I take the chip lead back with that win (4440-3560), but I give it back two hands later when my Broadway draw doesn't get there and I fold on the river. I get some of it back when I reraise with KdQh and flop a set of Queens. I then lose T1600 when I get check-raised out of a hand on the turn when an Ace came and we had both checked the flop. I dropped the Hammer again postflop with two kings on the board. I then stole three of the next four hands to get back to almost 3000 in chips.
Then came... the deciding hand. Blinds are 250/500. I'm dealt KsJc in the big blind and strangely just check after IceHouse calls, almost as if I know what's coming. And what's coming is 7sJhKh. I bet, IceHouse calls. Turn is 9c. I bet, IceHouse raises, putting me all-in, and I can't call fast enough. She flips over K2c and I've got her dominated. Another seven comes on the river and I surge into the lead.
Two hands later, it ends. I see TcKh in the big blind. IceHouse raises, I call, and the flop is 7c6hKd, giving me top pair. I bet, she raises, and I know I've got her, so I re-raise, forcing her to bet her last 520. I call the extra 20 and see her flip over... 4dTs? Ouch. The turn is the seven of spades and that's it. The river is a six and I'm $25 richer. Go me.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
By The Pigskin Of Our Teeth, Week 2: A Night At The Opera
(And yes, our theme for this season will be Classic Album Titles And Variations Thereof.)
View Finder: SF @ PHI, MIA @ NYJ
Apparently Chad's new gimmick is killing them with kindness. And you gotta like that he works fast. Daunte looks all kinds of lost here. It's like he's reverting to a previous incarnation of himself. The Bengals are just making it look easy. I'm sure the team chemistry is fine, Butch... they're just playing like utter crap.
Why is Derek Smith running his mouth? Don't make T.O. angry. You won't like him when he's angry. See? Oh my. Oh dear Lord. Remember the Green Bay game last year? This is worse. It's almost as if Donovan plays better when he's hurt -- remember a few years ago when he broke his ankle and went like 20 for 25? Simoneau kicking the extra point got the biggest cheer of all. I imagine fathers in the Bay Area are telling their young sons, "You know, it wasn't always like this." Now Koy Detmer's lighting them up? Are you shitting me? Hey, a Mike McMahon sighting. Is that The Original Alex Smith? And is it wise to bring him in against a defense that might physically kill him if the opportunity presents itself?
Hey, what do you know; Anthony Wright blows, too. That offensive line is not what it was and neither is Jamal. They should be running over the Titans here. Over/under on when Len Pasquarelli's first "Will somebody PLEASE sign Jeff George?" column appears: Five days.
The Jags played the Colts tough last year... let's see what happens. Didn't we go through this last week? This may be the worst game Peyton's ever had since he stopped throwing four interceptions every week. Ran Carthon? Maurice's SON? Holy crap, I'm old. (Although is there really a better name for an ex-running back to give his kid?) If the Colts, who are currently what the Ravens used to be, turn back into the Colts, that's a bad thing for the rest of the league. You have to at least consider throwing a flag there at the end, right?
No mention of Vrabel's fakeout after the interception return? And why didn't Belichick challenge the Davis touchdown? That wasn't even close.
Thirty-eight points? The Bears? You're kidding me, right?
This Week It Sucks To Be: 1. Kurt Warner; 2. (tie) Joey Harrington/Daunte Culpepper; 4. A Ravens offensive lineman; 5. J.P. Losman (for running out the back of the end zone)
When Trent Dilfer's lighting you up, you've got problems. Why aren't the Packers running the ball? Yeah, good coverage there. That may actually be one more win than I thought they'd get all year.
Line Of The Week: "I think I'm third all-time on his sack list." -Dilfer, on Reggie White
Is that a Ron Dayne sighting? And if Marty hasn't tried to burn that place to the ground by now...
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what makes them the Arizona Cardinals.
This Week's Game That Shouldn't Have Been This Close: Dolphins-Jets. When the baseball team goes on to double your score, there's a problem. Nice to see them finally get around to electroshocking Pennington before the game ended.
What are the odds of both teams having starting wide receivers that wear No. 18? Seriously. Woodson just picked that guy's pocket clean. Nice catch, juke and run by Randy there. You know, that may be the first time Moss got called for pushing off when he actually didn't.
The Giants haven't let Deuce do anything tonight... they might turn out to be the team that ends up being better than everybody expects. And Haslett really needs to stop whining... the real "competitive disadvantage" is him as the head coach.
Patrick Ramsey's been screwed so many times he should just go ahead and change his last name to Phillips. Was that the same play? The same guys got owned regardless. This should never have happened. On the one hand, who doesn't love seeing the Cowboys choke? On the other hand, the Redskins won.
FANTASY REPORT
aPa SmackDown!: We looked it up -- last week's total was the lowest the Seagulls have ever had in a win (there was a trouncing last year at the hands of Johnny, I believe, where we only scored 38 points) This week, a tough loss to Doom, 55.90-53.48. Harrison and Wayne combined didn't score four points. Weeba is next.
JackSux: The game between Jen and I was a lot closer after Sunday night... I actually glanced at the score briefly and thought I was losing, but I wasn't. Tiki's big game on Monday night gave me some breathing room. Gates is next.
View Finder: SF @ PHI, MIA @ NYJ
Apparently Chad's new gimmick is killing them with kindness. And you gotta like that he works fast. Daunte looks all kinds of lost here. It's like he's reverting to a previous incarnation of himself. The Bengals are just making it look easy. I'm sure the team chemistry is fine, Butch... they're just playing like utter crap.
Why is Derek Smith running his mouth? Don't make T.O. angry. You won't like him when he's angry. See? Oh my. Oh dear Lord. Remember the Green Bay game last year? This is worse. It's almost as if Donovan plays better when he's hurt -- remember a few years ago when he broke his ankle and went like 20 for 25? Simoneau kicking the extra point got the biggest cheer of all. I imagine fathers in the Bay Area are telling their young sons, "You know, it wasn't always like this." Now Koy Detmer's lighting them up? Are you shitting me? Hey, a Mike McMahon sighting. Is that The Original Alex Smith? And is it wise to bring him in against a defense that might physically kill him if the opportunity presents itself?
Hey, what do you know; Anthony Wright blows, too. That offensive line is not what it was and neither is Jamal. They should be running over the Titans here. Over/under on when Len Pasquarelli's first "Will somebody PLEASE sign Jeff George?" column appears: Five days.
The Jags played the Colts tough last year... let's see what happens. Didn't we go through this last week? This may be the worst game Peyton's ever had since he stopped throwing four interceptions every week. Ran Carthon? Maurice's SON? Holy crap, I'm old. (Although is there really a better name for an ex-running back to give his kid?) If the Colts, who are currently what the Ravens used to be, turn back into the Colts, that's a bad thing for the rest of the league. You have to at least consider throwing a flag there at the end, right?
No mention of Vrabel's fakeout after the interception return? And why didn't Belichick challenge the Davis touchdown? That wasn't even close.
Thirty-eight points? The Bears? You're kidding me, right?
This Week It Sucks To Be: 1. Kurt Warner; 2. (tie) Joey Harrington/Daunte Culpepper; 4. A Ravens offensive lineman; 5. J.P. Losman (for running out the back of the end zone)
When Trent Dilfer's lighting you up, you've got problems. Why aren't the Packers running the ball? Yeah, good coverage there. That may actually be one more win than I thought they'd get all year.
Line Of The Week: "I think I'm third all-time on his sack list." -Dilfer, on Reggie White
Is that a Ron Dayne sighting? And if Marty hasn't tried to burn that place to the ground by now...
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what makes them the Arizona Cardinals.
This Week's Game That Shouldn't Have Been This Close: Dolphins-Jets. When the baseball team goes on to double your score, there's a problem. Nice to see them finally get around to electroshocking Pennington before the game ended.
What are the odds of both teams having starting wide receivers that wear No. 18? Seriously. Woodson just picked that guy's pocket clean. Nice catch, juke and run by Randy there. You know, that may be the first time Moss got called for pushing off when he actually didn't.
The Giants haven't let Deuce do anything tonight... they might turn out to be the team that ends up being better than everybody expects. And Haslett really needs to stop whining... the real "competitive disadvantage" is him as the head coach.
Patrick Ramsey's been screwed so many times he should just go ahead and change his last name to Phillips. Was that the same play? The same guys got owned regardless. This should never have happened. On the one hand, who doesn't love seeing the Cowboys choke? On the other hand, the Redskins won.
FANTASY REPORT
aPa SmackDown!: We looked it up -- last week's total was the lowest the Seagulls have ever had in a win (there was a trouncing last year at the hands of Johnny, I believe, where we only scored 38 points) This week, a tough loss to Doom, 55.90-53.48. Harrison and Wayne combined didn't score four points. Weeba is next.
JackSux: The game between Jen and I was a lot closer after Sunday night... I actually glanced at the score briefly and thought I was losing, but I wasn't. Tiki's big game on Monday night gave me some breathing room. Gates is next.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
By The Pigskin Of Our Teeth, Week 1: Stop Making Sense
What the... oh my God. The Patriots... DIDN'T SCORE FIRST. THE CENTER CANNOT HOLD. Where's Corey Dillon? See, this is what Good Kerry's capable of. And lookit Moss making moves. Oh, there's Corey Dillon. How is Oakland still in this game? I get the feeling this is what every Raider game's going to look like -- the offense keeps them in it, but the defense slows down at the end and gives it up.
Was that John Carney's penance for missing that extra point two years ago?
Gus Frerotte? You're kidding me, right? All right, let's see what nutty thing happens in this year's Dolphins opener. They won? Yeah, that qualifies. I think Jason Taylor might have collapsed before anyone caught him.
So when does the Bucs' "Drive A Cadillac" promotion start? There's another Alex Smith? And this one's actually playing? Sweet. You know, if the Vikings are going to miss Matt Birk that much every week, this could get problematic in a hurry. At least their defense scored a touchdown. Wait, what?
How 'bout that new Chiefs defense? No, I'm serious. Seven fumbles, three sacks and a pick + Priest and Larry Johnson running all over the place + Arrowhead being a notoriously tough place to play = what happened here.
The Giants' defense isn't all that great, and the Cardinals' vaunted offense couldn't run the ball on them. 1.5 yards per carry? Another few weeks of this and I may revise my prediction of seven wins down to five.
Much as I hate to ever give Keyshawn props, that was some nice footwork on that one big catch. Did Dallas do nothing but blitz on that final drive by the Chargers? And why didn't LDT touch the ball at all? I honestly forgot Antonio Gates wasn't active this week due to the contract thing.
The 49ers? You're kidding me, right? And I'm still convinced that Fox is using a guy from the local affiliate and one of their online columnists to broadcast 49ers games this year. What's sad is that Arnaz Battle may be the best quarterback on the team at the moment. This game proves Butch's belief that there are no good choices when picking an NFC West winner. This is what happens when you have an actual coach on the sideline. That blood-curdling scream you hear? Two words: Suicide. Pools.
Joey's Dan's nephew? I thought they were like second cousins or something. Boy, the Packers look... sickly. Learn from Javon Walker, kids: Don't hold out. Mariucci broke out "Norris Division" in his postgame interview. Swank.
Theismann mentioned kind of off-handedly that Jamal looked like he was 30 pounds lighter. It showed. The Ravens can't keep this offense bottled up all night, can they? There's just too many guys to worry about. You know it's bad when third-stringers are catching touchdowns. WTF Stover. You get the feeling that if the Colts can get to 14, this baby's over? "Kyle Boller or Anthony Wright?" reminds me of the scene in Under Siege 2 when Morris Chestnut's character is about to get shot and the guy asks "You want to see it coming, or would you rather turn around?" I don't know if this is the beginning of a trend -- it was only the Ravens' offense, after all -- but if it is...
Oh, what the hell is this?? And no, Trotter for Mathis is not an even trade. This has thrown the Eagles off badly. Mike Labinjo? I didn't even know he was on the team. This isn't starting well. You're seeing already the difference Trotter makes in the run defense -- you'll remember, last year after he rejoined the starting lineup, the Eagles' rushing yards allowed per game dropped by about 25. Did Vick need to jump? We all knew he was going in. It's almost not a season opener unless Donovan fumbles. Does ANYONE want the ball? It's amazing that they're still in this game. Has Akers ever missed twice in a game before? Nice job by the camera guys to find Reid running over to the official to call that last time out. OK, that wasn't so good. But they're not going to panic. I shouldn't either.
Overriding Theme: It didn't seem like anyobody was really "on" this week. Curious.
FANTASY REPORT:
aPa SmackDown!: We'll have to go back and check, but the 41.54 points in my win over Ted's Toronto Cardinals (31.93) may be a Seagulls record for lowest score in a victory, if not overall. Marvin was the only player to break 10 points. On either team.
JackSux: Watching the Sunday night game, I was worried that I'd forgotten to replace Matt Stover with Jeff Wilkins. Forunately, I hadn't, and Wilkins' 15 points (as opposed to Stover's measly one) helped me in a big way as I beat Midway Madness, 76.76-51.81. Next up are Jen's Ice Cold Bruschis.
Was that John Carney's penance for missing that extra point two years ago?
Gus Frerotte? You're kidding me, right? All right, let's see what nutty thing happens in this year's Dolphins opener. They won? Yeah, that qualifies. I think Jason Taylor might have collapsed before anyone caught him.
So when does the Bucs' "Drive A Cadillac" promotion start? There's another Alex Smith? And this one's actually playing? Sweet. You know, if the Vikings are going to miss Matt Birk that much every week, this could get problematic in a hurry. At least their defense scored a touchdown. Wait, what?
How 'bout that new Chiefs defense? No, I'm serious. Seven fumbles, three sacks and a pick + Priest and Larry Johnson running all over the place + Arrowhead being a notoriously tough place to play = what happened here.
The Giants' defense isn't all that great, and the Cardinals' vaunted offense couldn't run the ball on them. 1.5 yards per carry? Another few weeks of this and I may revise my prediction of seven wins down to five.
Much as I hate to ever give Keyshawn props, that was some nice footwork on that one big catch. Did Dallas do nothing but blitz on that final drive by the Chargers? And why didn't LDT touch the ball at all? I honestly forgot Antonio Gates wasn't active this week due to the contract thing.
The 49ers? You're kidding me, right? And I'm still convinced that Fox is using a guy from the local affiliate and one of their online columnists to broadcast 49ers games this year. What's sad is that Arnaz Battle may be the best quarterback on the team at the moment. This game proves Butch's belief that there are no good choices when picking an NFC West winner. This is what happens when you have an actual coach on the sideline. That blood-curdling scream you hear? Two words: Suicide. Pools.
Joey's Dan's nephew? I thought they were like second cousins or something. Boy, the Packers look... sickly. Learn from Javon Walker, kids: Don't hold out. Mariucci broke out "Norris Division" in his postgame interview. Swank.
Theismann mentioned kind of off-handedly that Jamal looked like he was 30 pounds lighter. It showed. The Ravens can't keep this offense bottled up all night, can they? There's just too many guys to worry about. You know it's bad when third-stringers are catching touchdowns. WTF Stover. You get the feeling that if the Colts can get to 14, this baby's over? "Kyle Boller or Anthony Wright?" reminds me of the scene in Under Siege 2 when Morris Chestnut's character is about to get shot and the guy asks "You want to see it coming, or would you rather turn around?" I don't know if this is the beginning of a trend -- it was only the Ravens' offense, after all -- but if it is...
Oh, what the hell is this?? And no, Trotter for Mathis is not an even trade. This has thrown the Eagles off badly. Mike Labinjo? I didn't even know he was on the team. This isn't starting well. You're seeing already the difference Trotter makes in the run defense -- you'll remember, last year after he rejoined the starting lineup, the Eagles' rushing yards allowed per game dropped by about 25. Did Vick need to jump? We all knew he was going in. It's almost not a season opener unless Donovan fumbles. Does ANYONE want the ball? It's amazing that they're still in this game. Has Akers ever missed twice in a game before? Nice job by the camera guys to find Reid running over to the official to call that last time out. OK, that wasn't so good. But they're not going to panic. I shouldn't either.
Overriding Theme: It didn't seem like anyobody was really "on" this week. Curious.
FANTASY REPORT:
aPa SmackDown!: We'll have to go back and check, but the 41.54 points in my win over Ted's Toronto Cardinals (31.93) may be a Seagulls record for lowest score in a victory, if not overall. Marvin was the only player to break 10 points. On either team.
JackSux: Watching the Sunday night game, I was worried that I'd forgotten to replace Matt Stover with Jeff Wilkins. Forunately, I hadn't, and Wilkins' 15 points (as opposed to Stover's measly one) helped me in a big way as I beat Midway Madness, 76.76-51.81. Next up are Jen's Ice Cold Bruschis.
Thursday, September 8, 2005
By The Pigskin Of Our Teeth: New Reader's Guide and Fearful Forecast '05
There's a chance some of you may be new here, or at least new to BTPOOT. So you're probably wondering what all this is about.
I started doing these weekly roundups over at the Stratusfaction board back in 2001, and they've evolved considerably since then. Here's what you can expect:
- I'm an Eagles fan, first and foremost. They're gonna get the most ink 'cause I see them the most. That's just the way it is.
- I don't do pregame shows.
- I'll generally hit the games in order from early to late. The games I see and the important games of the day will have the most said about them most of the time.
- I tend to not do intros, and will usually jump right into a big blurb to start off. Though I will mention someone early so you'll know which game I'm referring to.
- Subcategories: "This Week's Game That Shouldn't Have Been This Close" and "This Week It Sucks To Be..." will be back in full force. These are self-explanatory. "Really, Who Gives A Rat's Ass?" is used when there's a game that just doesn't deserve a mention.
- Nicknames: Ben Roethlisberger is just "Ben" 'cause I'm not typing that out any more times than I have to. "Chad" is Cincinnati's Chad Johnson, while Chad Pennington gets "Pennington." LaDanian Tomlinson is "LDT" because "LT" is taken.
- If I've got a question and you've got an answer, feel free to chime in.
- Linemen running with the football never gets old.
- Rankings: I only do top three and bottom three. Why? Parity. I don't think I'll be starting them until Week 3 this year, though.
Now to the nitty and the gritty.
NFC EAST
(1) Philadelphia - Forget the T.O. issues, the Simon situation and everything else. No one will score on them. They're still the best team in the division and it's not even close. Anyone who believes otherwise is either brain damaged or Merrill Hoge.
Dallas - I'm not sure, y'know? On one hand, they'll play D, Jones is a stud, and even the static Drew Bledsoe is an upgrade over the rogues' gallery they had behind center last year, but I don't think they can keep Bledsoe upright, and other than TE Jason Witten, their receiving corps is nothing special. Watch Week 11 vs. Detroit; the winner likely gets the last playoff spot.
N.Y. Giants - It's Eli's show now. Plaxico gives him a big target, but he's still got some lumps to take. And the defense isn't all that great.
Washington - This wouldn't be happening if Joe Gibbs was still alive. They've got a starting QB they don't believe in, a running back they don't know how to use and they lost their two best defensive players. You tell me.
NFC NORTH
(2) Minnesota - The force of nature that is Randy Moss, good and bad, is gone. They've got new ownership. Most importantly, they spent a lot of money to upgrade their defense. This team (and specifically head coach Mike Tice) is officially out of excuses.
(6) Detroit - Two years ago I told you Kelly Holcomb would flop in Cleveland. Last year I said the Redskins were making a mistake going with Mark Brunell over Patrick Ramsey. This year I'm telling you that Joey Harrington will be just fine. And if he is, I'm not sure there are six NFC teams better than the Lions.
Green Bay - Brett Favre will immediately regret this decision. His offensive line's been picked apart, Ahman Green still has costly fumbles, and that defense isn't stopping a high school team.
Chicago - There's just not a whole lot to get excited about, although Kyle Orton is probably a better quarterback than Rex Grossman would've been anyway.
NFC SOUTH
(3) Atlanta - I know, I know, history's not on their side. The Falcons have never had back-to-back winning seasons. Ever. But with an improving defense, a healthy Michael Vick, and lessons learned from last year, expect that trend to end. Plus, they know how to beat...
(5) Carolina - The Panthers rebounded from a 1-7 start and losing arguably their four best players to make a late charge at a playoff spot. Julius Peppers may not be human.
Saints - It seems wrong to refer to them as "New Orleans", and the combination of Katrina and long-standing issues over the Superdome likely means they're never going back. If this team had a coach and some brains, it'd be dangerous.
Tampa Bay - The Bucs have regressed badly since their Super Bowl triumph, so going young was a good move. But, really... Brian Griese?
NFC WEST
(4) St. Louis - Winning this division will be hard because nobody really stands out. The Rams seem best equipped - you could argue Marc Bulger has more weapons than Kurt Warner had - but Mike Martz is still their coach and therefore still able to screw everything up.
Seattle - The Seahawks solved their road woes last year, but also lost to the Rams three times. Can they catch the ball? Is their defense any good? Whichever of these two teams doesn't win the division will a) not make the playoffs, and b) be looking for a new coach.
Arizona - The Cardinals have gotten a lot of hype from people who clearly haven't looked at their schedule. The front of their defense has potential, but I think they waited a year too late to grab Warner. They'll be lucky to go 7-9.
San Francisco - No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith is riding the pine for now. If Kevan Barlow isn't motivated, there's no one on offense that concerns you. Julian Peterson will lead the defense that will probably make sure this isn't the league's worst team this season.
AFC EAST
(2) New England - They've lost both coordinators and arguably their two best defensive players. But oh yeah, they still have Tom Brady. Quite frankly... all right, I'll stop. But you see my point.
(5) N.Y. Jets - Chad Pennington's shoulder is fine, and he has Lavernaeus Coles back and a real offensive coordinator. Ty Law gives the defense a lift, but they're still not quite on the Pats' level.
Buffalo - The Bills are hoping Willis McGahee is the Jerome Bettis to J.P. Losman's Ben Roethlisberger, as that's probably the best way this will work.
Miami - Hey, Ricky Williams is back... in Week 6 after that drug suspension deal. And they could easily be 0-4 by then. Really, we're just starting the Matt Leinart watch at this point.
AFC SOUTH
(1) Indianapolis - Is Peyton Manning going to throw 49 touchdown passes again? No. But that won't slow this offense down, and Corey Simon and rookie Marlin Jackson make this defense better. Really, it's all about Nov. 7 at New England. They finally win there, and they probably won't have to go back.
Jacksonville - Their defense, particularly the front and the back, is a strength. QB Byron Leftwich is in a new system that plays to his strengths. But theh AFC is so strong that it might not be enough.
Houston - See above, sort of. QB David Carr is the AFC's Harrington - a guy who needs to take a big step forward. If they're still around late in the year, they've got a cake schedule at the end of the season.
Tennessee - Cap problems forced the Titans to finally gut the team, further wounding an already shaky defense. Still, Steve McNair can make life miserable for some teams just by himself.
AFC NORTH
(4) Pittsburgh - Ben won't go 13-0 again. The Steelers won't go 15-1 again. And they'll miss Plaxico more than they think. But the defense and the running game are too good, and you gotta think Ben's got confidence that he can go out and win games if he has to.
(6) Baltimore - Bringing in WR Derrick Mason may actually be the biggest free-agent signing of the offseason if Kyle Boller can get the ball to him. In an almost unprecedented set of circumstances, Jamal Lewis just got out of the clink (What does prison do to a man?) And of course, the Ravens still have one of the baddest defenses in the league.
Cincinnati - Carson & Co. will score points, but more importantly, this team believes in itself more than a Bengals team has in a long time. If they can actually get off to a decent start this year and figure out how to stop the run, they might have the best chance of sneaking into the playoffs.
Cleveland - Romeo Crennel, what a fine mess you've gotten yourself into. Years of terrible drafts and equally bad free-agent signings have left the Browns as the worst team in the league. This will take a long time to fix.
AFC WEST
(3) San Diego - I think this Tomlinson kid's got a future in this league. Drew Brees has breakout star TE Antonio Gates and WR Keenan McCardell for a full season, so the offense shouldn't drop off. The Bolts' defense, the best of a mediocre lot in this division, should give them the edge.
Kansas City - The window's closing on the Chiefs - Trent Green and Priest Holmes are older than people realize. So they spent big bucks to upgrade a horrid defense. But I don't like their wideouts, and God help them if anything happens to Green.
Denver - Somebody's gonna rush for 1,200 yards or so. That's a given. But can a revamped D-line full of guys who flopped in Cleveland give the defense any kind of push? And Mike Shanahan still hasn't won anything since Elway retired.
Oakland - Somehow "Oakland Raider Randy Moss" just sounds right. If I'm remembering my trends correctly, Kerry Collins should have a good year this year. But there's very little to like on the defensive side of the ball.
WILD CARD:
Atlanta over Detroit; Carolina over St. Louis
Baltimore over San Diego; Pittsburgh over N.Y. Jets
DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS:
Philadelphia over Atlanta; Minnesota over Carolina
Indianapolis over Baltimore; New England over Pittsburgh
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS:
Philadelphia over Minnesota
Indianapolis over New England
SUPER BOWL EXTRA LARGE:
Philadelphia over Indianapolis
I started doing these weekly roundups over at the Stratusfaction board back in 2001, and they've evolved considerably since then. Here's what you can expect:
- I'm an Eagles fan, first and foremost. They're gonna get the most ink 'cause I see them the most. That's just the way it is.
- I don't do pregame shows.
- I'll generally hit the games in order from early to late. The games I see and the important games of the day will have the most said about them most of the time.
- I tend to not do intros, and will usually jump right into a big blurb to start off. Though I will mention someone early so you'll know which game I'm referring to.
- Subcategories: "This Week's Game That Shouldn't Have Been This Close" and "This Week It Sucks To Be..." will be back in full force. These are self-explanatory. "Really, Who Gives A Rat's Ass?" is used when there's a game that just doesn't deserve a mention.
- Nicknames: Ben Roethlisberger is just "Ben" 'cause I'm not typing that out any more times than I have to. "Chad" is Cincinnati's Chad Johnson, while Chad Pennington gets "Pennington." LaDanian Tomlinson is "LDT" because "LT" is taken.
- If I've got a question and you've got an answer, feel free to chime in.
- Linemen running with the football never gets old.
- Rankings: I only do top three and bottom three. Why? Parity. I don't think I'll be starting them until Week 3 this year, though.
Now to the nitty and the gritty.
NFC EAST
(1) Philadelphia - Forget the T.O. issues, the Simon situation and everything else. No one will score on them. They're still the best team in the division and it's not even close. Anyone who believes otherwise is either brain damaged or Merrill Hoge.
Dallas - I'm not sure, y'know? On one hand, they'll play D, Jones is a stud, and even the static Drew Bledsoe is an upgrade over the rogues' gallery they had behind center last year, but I don't think they can keep Bledsoe upright, and other than TE Jason Witten, their receiving corps is nothing special. Watch Week 11 vs. Detroit; the winner likely gets the last playoff spot.
N.Y. Giants - It's Eli's show now. Plaxico gives him a big target, but he's still got some lumps to take. And the defense isn't all that great.
Washington - This wouldn't be happening if Joe Gibbs was still alive. They've got a starting QB they don't believe in, a running back they don't know how to use and they lost their two best defensive players. You tell me.
NFC NORTH
(2) Minnesota - The force of nature that is Randy Moss, good and bad, is gone. They've got new ownership. Most importantly, they spent a lot of money to upgrade their defense. This team (and specifically head coach Mike Tice) is officially out of excuses.
(6) Detroit - Two years ago I told you Kelly Holcomb would flop in Cleveland. Last year I said the Redskins were making a mistake going with Mark Brunell over Patrick Ramsey. This year I'm telling you that Joey Harrington will be just fine. And if he is, I'm not sure there are six NFC teams better than the Lions.
Green Bay - Brett Favre will immediately regret this decision. His offensive line's been picked apart, Ahman Green still has costly fumbles, and that defense isn't stopping a high school team.
Chicago - There's just not a whole lot to get excited about, although Kyle Orton is probably a better quarterback than Rex Grossman would've been anyway.
NFC SOUTH
(3) Atlanta - I know, I know, history's not on their side. The Falcons have never had back-to-back winning seasons. Ever. But with an improving defense, a healthy Michael Vick, and lessons learned from last year, expect that trend to end. Plus, they know how to beat...
(5) Carolina - The Panthers rebounded from a 1-7 start and losing arguably their four best players to make a late charge at a playoff spot. Julius Peppers may not be human.
Saints - It seems wrong to refer to them as "New Orleans", and the combination of Katrina and long-standing issues over the Superdome likely means they're never going back. If this team had a coach and some brains, it'd be dangerous.
Tampa Bay - The Bucs have regressed badly since their Super Bowl triumph, so going young was a good move. But, really... Brian Griese?
NFC WEST
(4) St. Louis - Winning this division will be hard because nobody really stands out. The Rams seem best equipped - you could argue Marc Bulger has more weapons than Kurt Warner had - but Mike Martz is still their coach and therefore still able to screw everything up.
Seattle - The Seahawks solved their road woes last year, but also lost to the Rams three times. Can they catch the ball? Is their defense any good? Whichever of these two teams doesn't win the division will a) not make the playoffs, and b) be looking for a new coach.
Arizona - The Cardinals have gotten a lot of hype from people who clearly haven't looked at their schedule. The front of their defense has potential, but I think they waited a year too late to grab Warner. They'll be lucky to go 7-9.
San Francisco - No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith is riding the pine for now. If Kevan Barlow isn't motivated, there's no one on offense that concerns you. Julian Peterson will lead the defense that will probably make sure this isn't the league's worst team this season.
AFC EAST
(2) New England - They've lost both coordinators and arguably their two best defensive players. But oh yeah, they still have Tom Brady. Quite frankly... all right, I'll stop. But you see my point.
(5) N.Y. Jets - Chad Pennington's shoulder is fine, and he has Lavernaeus Coles back and a real offensive coordinator. Ty Law gives the defense a lift, but they're still not quite on the Pats' level.
Buffalo - The Bills are hoping Willis McGahee is the Jerome Bettis to J.P. Losman's Ben Roethlisberger, as that's probably the best way this will work.
Miami - Hey, Ricky Williams is back... in Week 6 after that drug suspension deal. And they could easily be 0-4 by then. Really, we're just starting the Matt Leinart watch at this point.
AFC SOUTH
(1) Indianapolis - Is Peyton Manning going to throw 49 touchdown passes again? No. But that won't slow this offense down, and Corey Simon and rookie Marlin Jackson make this defense better. Really, it's all about Nov. 7 at New England. They finally win there, and they probably won't have to go back.
Jacksonville - Their defense, particularly the front and the back, is a strength. QB Byron Leftwich is in a new system that plays to his strengths. But theh AFC is so strong that it might not be enough.
Houston - See above, sort of. QB David Carr is the AFC's Harrington - a guy who needs to take a big step forward. If they're still around late in the year, they've got a cake schedule at the end of the season.
Tennessee - Cap problems forced the Titans to finally gut the team, further wounding an already shaky defense. Still, Steve McNair can make life miserable for some teams just by himself.
AFC NORTH
(4) Pittsburgh - Ben won't go 13-0 again. The Steelers won't go 15-1 again. And they'll miss Plaxico more than they think. But the defense and the running game are too good, and you gotta think Ben's got confidence that he can go out and win games if he has to.
(6) Baltimore - Bringing in WR Derrick Mason may actually be the biggest free-agent signing of the offseason if Kyle Boller can get the ball to him. In an almost unprecedented set of circumstances, Jamal Lewis just got out of the clink (What does prison do to a man?) And of course, the Ravens still have one of the baddest defenses in the league.
Cincinnati - Carson & Co. will score points, but more importantly, this team believes in itself more than a Bengals team has in a long time. If they can actually get off to a decent start this year and figure out how to stop the run, they might have the best chance of sneaking into the playoffs.
Cleveland - Romeo Crennel, what a fine mess you've gotten yourself into. Years of terrible drafts and equally bad free-agent signings have left the Browns as the worst team in the league. This will take a long time to fix.
AFC WEST
(3) San Diego - I think this Tomlinson kid's got a future in this league. Drew Brees has breakout star TE Antonio Gates and WR Keenan McCardell for a full season, so the offense shouldn't drop off. The Bolts' defense, the best of a mediocre lot in this division, should give them the edge.
Kansas City - The window's closing on the Chiefs - Trent Green and Priest Holmes are older than people realize. So they spent big bucks to upgrade a horrid defense. But I don't like their wideouts, and God help them if anything happens to Green.
Denver - Somebody's gonna rush for 1,200 yards or so. That's a given. But can a revamped D-line full of guys who flopped in Cleveland give the defense any kind of push? And Mike Shanahan still hasn't won anything since Elway retired.
Oakland - Somehow "Oakland Raider Randy Moss" just sounds right. If I'm remembering my trends correctly, Kerry Collins should have a good year this year. But there's very little to like on the defensive side of the ball.
WILD CARD:
Atlanta over Detroit; Carolina over St. Louis
Baltimore over San Diego; Pittsburgh over N.Y. Jets
DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS:
Philadelphia over Atlanta; Minnesota over Carolina
Indianapolis over Baltimore; New England over Pittsburgh
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS:
Philadelphia over Minnesota
Indianapolis over New England
SUPER BOWL EXTRA LARGE:
Philadelphia over Indianapolis
Tuesday, September 6, 2005
The Beginning Of A Week Of Necessary Diversions
In my line of work, it's easy to get overloaded with news. It's on TV, it's on the wire, it's being talked about in meetings and around the water cooler. You can't get away from it.
Katrina's shorted me out, which is why I haven't talked about it. It's not that I don't care; I'm just as concerned and angry as everyone else, and even a little bit awestruck at nature's unfettered raw power. But anything else I could say about it would, honestly, be redundant, and has been said much better by others. So I'm not going to. Well, other than that Tim Russert spending the first half-hour of Meet The Press coming up with different ways to ask the Homeland Security chief: "No, really. What the FUCK?!" may be the greatest thing I ever see on the news.
So I'll leave you all with a list Jen compiled of charities you can donate to, and for the online poker players out there, here are some charity tournaments you can play in.
For now I'm going to stick to what I do best: the little things. The random thoughts, the mini-adventures, the world of sports and the state of my business. So if you want a break from the madness (and really, who doesn't), swing on by.
And I'll start by ripping off Cubs.
I went to a baseball game yesterday. Before work, of course.
Atlantic League Baseball: Where retreads and last-chancers go to get Triple-A contracts.
NWK at ATC
The Sandcastle is on Albany Avenue, on the left just as you enter Atlantic City proper. It sits in front of the old Bader Field airstrip and looks out over Great Thorofare and the Intracoastal Waterway onto the city skyline. From my seat on the first base side, I could see across into the marina district, where Harrah's, Trump Marina and the Borgata are. If you turn your head you can see the rest of the skyline, and I can imagine it's a spectacular view at night with all of the casinos lit up.
This outing was initially hatched by some of the guys on the news copy desk, who all subsequently bailed out. Jabronis. The reason behind it was this was the first of three "Dollar Days": parking, lower level admission, hot dogs, sodas, and beer were all one George each. But with the others out, it ended up just being me and Charles. Thankfully, the weather was what I consider perfect: not too hot with a nice breeze; the kind of weather you can wear just about anything in.
It's been my experience that minor league baseball is more about the atmosphere than the game. Independent ball? Even more so. The catchphrase we like to use around the office is "Affordable Family Entertainment." I got there in the third inning and saw a speed ice cream-eating contest (Me: "He's the next Kobayashi."); a fight with the giant-sized boxing gloves between two random people, in this case a married couple, of all things (Charles: "They're promoting domestic violence."); and a round of "YMCA" ("If you want to do it, I won't tell anybody." "That's quite all right.")
Of course, I saw all of this while waiting in line to get eats. Three lines, about 10-12 people deep in each one, on the opposite end of the concourse from where I was sitting. I got two dogs and a soda for $3, and stopped there when I asked about the fries and was told that they were $3 by themselves. You get what you pay for, folks. The soda was... lukewarm? And I don't think I've ever seen so much beer spilled in my life.
The visiting Newark Bears broke the game open with a four-run fifth while I was in line. The defense let the Surf down. Their baserunning let them down even more. Two caught stealing, one picked off, a bunt attempt down five with two outs in the eighth, and the game ended on a play at the plate. There's something you don't - and quite frankly, shouldn't - see every day.
Also:
- Dollar dogs don't draw. The announced attendance was around 2100. They maybe got a quarter of that, closer to 400-500. Though there were enough people that it took a little bit of time to get out of the parking lot afterwards. (But if it were a fireworks night? Forget it. I'd still be trying to get out of there.)
- If I'd been a ballplayer, I think I'd have "Sabotage" as my music.
- Relatively, a lot of jailbait walking around. And you know the majority of it is jailbait because the girls old enough to go to college are gone by now.
- The Surf are hosting a "Cigar Dinner" in a couple weeks, which I'm trying like hell to reconcile with the Affordable Family Entertainment.
FINAL:
NWK 6, ATC 3
OTHER RELEVANT SCORE:
CAM 19, NSH 13 (By this time of year in independent leagues, any pitcher worth a damn has been signed by an affiliated club. Scores like this aren't all that uncommon an occurrence.)
Should Nashua win the second-half title in the North, the fourth playoff team is determined by overall record. Of the non-playoff teams, AC has the best record, with Long Island second.
Katrina's shorted me out, which is why I haven't talked about it. It's not that I don't care; I'm just as concerned and angry as everyone else, and even a little bit awestruck at nature's unfettered raw power. But anything else I could say about it would, honestly, be redundant, and has been said much better by others. So I'm not going to. Well, other than that Tim Russert spending the first half-hour of Meet The Press coming up with different ways to ask the Homeland Security chief: "No, really. What the FUCK?!" may be the greatest thing I ever see on the news.
So I'll leave you all with a list Jen compiled of charities you can donate to, and for the online poker players out there, here are some charity tournaments you can play in.
For now I'm going to stick to what I do best: the little things. The random thoughts, the mini-adventures, the world of sports and the state of my business. So if you want a break from the madness (and really, who doesn't), swing on by.
And I'll start by ripping off Cubs.
I went to a baseball game yesterday. Before work, of course.
Atlantic League Baseball: Where retreads and last-chancers go to get Triple-A contracts.
NWK at ATC
The Sandcastle is on Albany Avenue, on the left just as you enter Atlantic City proper. It sits in front of the old Bader Field airstrip and looks out over Great Thorofare and the Intracoastal Waterway onto the city skyline. From my seat on the first base side, I could see across into the marina district, where Harrah's, Trump Marina and the Borgata are. If you turn your head you can see the rest of the skyline, and I can imagine it's a spectacular view at night with all of the casinos lit up.
This outing was initially hatched by some of the guys on the news copy desk, who all subsequently bailed out. Jabronis. The reason behind it was this was the first of three "Dollar Days": parking, lower level admission, hot dogs, sodas, and beer were all one George each. But with the others out, it ended up just being me and Charles. Thankfully, the weather was what I consider perfect: not too hot with a nice breeze; the kind of weather you can wear just about anything in.
It's been my experience that minor league baseball is more about the atmosphere than the game. Independent ball? Even more so. The catchphrase we like to use around the office is "Affordable Family Entertainment." I got there in the third inning and saw a speed ice cream-eating contest (Me: "He's the next Kobayashi."); a fight with the giant-sized boxing gloves between two random people, in this case a married couple, of all things (Charles: "They're promoting domestic violence."); and a round of "YMCA" ("If you want to do it, I won't tell anybody." "That's quite all right.")
Of course, I saw all of this while waiting in line to get eats. Three lines, about 10-12 people deep in each one, on the opposite end of the concourse from where I was sitting. I got two dogs and a soda for $3, and stopped there when I asked about the fries and was told that they were $3 by themselves. You get what you pay for, folks. The soda was... lukewarm? And I don't think I've ever seen so much beer spilled in my life.
The visiting Newark Bears broke the game open with a four-run fifth while I was in line. The defense let the Surf down. Their baserunning let them down even more. Two caught stealing, one picked off, a bunt attempt down five with two outs in the eighth, and the game ended on a play at the plate. There's something you don't - and quite frankly, shouldn't - see every day.
Also:
- Dollar dogs don't draw. The announced attendance was around 2100. They maybe got a quarter of that, closer to 400-500. Though there were enough people that it took a little bit of time to get out of the parking lot afterwards. (But if it were a fireworks night? Forget it. I'd still be trying to get out of there.)
- If I'd been a ballplayer, I think I'd have "Sabotage" as my music.
- Relatively, a lot of jailbait walking around. And you know the majority of it is jailbait because the girls old enough to go to college are gone by now.
- The Surf are hosting a "Cigar Dinner" in a couple weeks, which I'm trying like hell to reconcile with the Affordable Family Entertainment.
FINAL:
NWK 6, ATC 3
OTHER RELEVANT SCORE:
CAM 19, NSH 13 (By this time of year in independent leagues, any pitcher worth a damn has been signed by an affiliated club. Scores like this aren't all that uncommon an occurrence.)
STANDINGS
NORTH DIVISION
W L PCT GB STREAK
Long Island 28 24 .539 -- L 1
*Nashua 25 26 .490 2.5 L 1
Newark 19 32 .373 8.5 W 1
Bridgeport 14 38 .269 14.0 L 1
SOUTH DIVISION
W L PCT GB STREAK
Camden 35 17 .673 -- W 1
Atlantic City 33 19 .635 2.0 L 1
*Somerset 27 25 .510 8.0 W 1
Lancaster 26 26 .500 9.0 W 1
*-won first half
Should Nashua win the second-half title in the North, the fourth playoff team is determined by overall record. Of the non-playoff teams, AC has the best record, with Long Island second.
Saturday, September 3, 2005
Why I Hate Notre Dame Football
Click the title.
"It's a cool thing when you really are better than anyone else. It is not a cool thing when you just think you are.
Today, Notre Dame is just another football program that will ransom anything -- its coach, what's left of its reputation -- to get a piece of BCS lottery money.
Oh, Notre Dame remains legendary... but only in its own mind."
And that's without mentioning the most insufferable fans in all of sports. (Yes, even more so than Cowboys and Yankees fans.)
"It's a cool thing when you really are better than anyone else. It is not a cool thing when you just think you are.
Today, Notre Dame is just another football program that will ransom anything -- its coach, what's left of its reputation -- to get a piece of BCS lottery money.
Oh, Notre Dame remains legendary... but only in its own mind."
And that's without mentioning the most insufferable fans in all of sports. (Yes, even more so than Cowboys and Yankees fans.)
Friday, September 2, 2005
Hey, Here's A Question...
...what exactly IS a "hollaback girl"?
...has anyone ever been dealt three of a kind to open a hand of seven-card stud? (The answer to this is probably "No.)
...why would you charge 26 cents more for gas than the station diagonally across the intersection?
...has anyone ever been dealt three of a kind to open a hand of seven-card stud? (The answer to this is probably "No.)
...why would you charge 26 cents more for gas than the station diagonally across the intersection?
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