Week 13 - 2004
(Today is going to ramble a bit. I have a few areas to cover, so if you just want the picks, skip
down about 2400 words…)
I am a member of the digital revolution. In every possible way. Consider this: fifteen years ago, you would not be doing what you are doing right now. My “articles” would only be available if I typed them on my typewriter, photocopied them, and mailed them to each of you on a weekly basis.
When I first started college, way back in the day of 1999, tech stocks were booming, Prince was ridiculously famous again (if only for about a week in December), and a new software program was just making it’s way onto college campuses around the nation. My first day of college life, I was introduced to a life-changing piece of technology combined with probably the most defining piece of software since Microsoft came up with Windows; a high-speed internet connection, and Napster 1.0.
That first day, I probably downloaded 200 songs. I considered myself to be on the cutting edge of music and technology – surely only a select few people in the world had ever heard of “downloading music”.
Then came Metallica, Eminem, and a host of other artists who spoke out against file sharing and suddenly everyone was in on the secret. Napster was shut down and those of us with nothing better to do were forced to look for other downloading alternatives like BearShare, iMesh, Audiogalaxy and Kazaa.
Since Day One, I have probably downloaded (and subsequently deleted) over 35,000 songs. I spent three weeks last winter ripping every single CD I own into a digital format so that I would have a backup in case I ever lost or sold the disc. I hadn’t spent a single cent on a CD for myself in almost six years.
Until yesterday.
Being a member of the digital revolution has its advantages. The biggest of which (at least as it pertains to music) is the ability to scout new music without paying $15-$20 for a CD that may or may not be as good as the radio single that gets played 500 times a day. I have always liked to think that I have decent taste in music, varied as it may be. I also like to believe that I do not let the radio choose my music for me. Normally I will download a track or two from a new album before deciding whether or not I like it. More often than not, I don’t. But sometimes, an album gets so much press that it’s hard to miss. Not only that, but when an album gets reviews that are off the charts, sometimes you have to take the risk and just drop the $15. Besides, if it’s not that good, I can always rip it to my hard drive and sell the disc online…
So where am I going with all of this? Well, the album I bought last night was well worth my $15, and probably worth yours as well. It’s “How to dismantle an atomic bomb”, by U2. Probably one of the better albums I’ve listened to in a few years. Worth your time and money. It’s already taken up residence in my car CD player, and has permanent status in the “Albums” section of my hard drive.
Because everyone else seems to be doing it, I will quickly give a “list” of my favorite five albums, so you can accurately gauge where my “review” is coming from, before going into the actual topics of today’s post. Don’t laugh; I’m serious with this. And although I like this new U2 a lot, it hasn’t cracked my top five, yet.
5) Hootie & The Blowfish – “Cracked Rear View”
Yep. I know, I’m a wuss. Hey, this album defined my early teenage years, for better or worse. And as much as I know that Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden were probably more up my alley from 1993-1996, I can still pop this album in today and sing every song from memory. Hopefully I don’t slip a few notches down your respect ladder for this, but then, you’d actually have to respect me in the first place, right?
4) Jimmy Eat World – “Bleed American”
For those of you that don’t know, this was the original title of the album that is now known as Jimmy Eat World – “Jimmy Eat World”. The album debuted in late August of 2001, but after 9/11 the band pulled existing copies and renamed the disc. Either way, it’s still damned good.
3) Metallica – “Black”
Yes, I know that the album is actually Metallica – Untitled, but everyone knows it as “Black”, so that’s how I’ll refer to it. This is probably the album that vaulted the band to the coveted “Rock Gods” status, although their reputation has taken a big hit in the last five years.
2) Linkin Park – “Hybrid Theory”
Talk about a big debut. Amazingly, this album actually dropped in early 1999, but was still spawning singles into 2002. This is probably the best overall album that I’ve listened to in the last 5-8 years - not a bad song on it.
1) Dave Matthews Band – “Under The Table And Dreaming”
Yeah, I’m still a sucker for DMB. Been my favorite band since early ’93, when I first heard them on a friend’s live bootleg cassette (remember cassettes? Hell, for that matter, remember vinyl?). I’ve more or less worn out the grooves on this CD - luckily I’ve got it backed up on the hard drive, so I can re-burn as necessary.
So that’s it. There are certainly others that I would like to include, but I’m only doing five. In my CD player right now is, obviously, U2. And it’ll stay there for a while.
Onto today’s first topic – football (gee, who knew?)! But perhaps not what you were expecting – “Backyard” football.
Day after Thanksgiving backyard football is, to me, the purest form of the game – twenty guys running as hard as they can at each other with no regard for their own safety. Each one of them trying to work off the pain induced from hours of gorging on turkey and stuffing, only to return home after the game to gorge on turkey and stuffing. It’s a tradition as American as Thanksgiving itself, though I don’t think it’s been around as long.
Every year since 1998 or ’99 (I forget which), about twenty of my local friends and I get together at a local college field and play a game of full-contact, no pads football (you know, a “real man’s” game). It’s a bruising few hours, with relatively big hits and stunningly few injuries. Last year was the first real injury – a badly broken ankle. Everyone always leaves the field with the usual sprains and strains, but only one broken bone in six years for a game like this is a pretty decent ratio.
Anyway, this year we all decided to take it a little easy, in light of last year’s unfortunate results. We still played our full-contact style, but the hits were a little lighter, and people were more apt to simply fall down when being tackled rather than try for the extra five yards or so.
I play four positions on the offense, and two on defense. I’m usually either the quarterback or runningback, taking a break to play a blocking tight end or offensive lineman when I need a breather. On defense, I’m a lineman and occasionally a linebacker.
Now, I don’t play QB or RB because I’m exceptionally fast or gifted. I’m just too hard to tackle, so if I scramble around, it takes a few guys to really bring me to the ground. And, if I do say so myself, I have a strong, accurate arm and an uncanny knack for getting the ball out of my hands and to a receiver if I’m about to be sacked. I don’t often throw picks, but when I do, they’re bad. I have a penchant for fumbling, only because I palm the ball and hold it about a foot away from my body. These are all reasons why I never played football when I was younger.
This year I split time at QB and OL, as there was a guy on our team who actually did play quarterback in his early years. Judging from his performance though, I can’t imagine he played for a very good team.
Cut a long story short – we lost the game (77-56; always count by 7’s in the backyard game, and there’s no such thing as a field goal). I didn’t exactly have my usual stellar performance, but I did have 2 TD’s (one running, one receiving), and recorded a sack on defense. And the best part of the day – no major injuries. I would go into the game itself a little more deeply, but I just realized I’m running long and most of you would not know the participants anyway, so the stories and jokes would make no sense at all.
So now that I’ve recapped my Day after Thanksgiving festivities (there will be NO shopping for me…), let’s get into topic two. Cards. Specifically, poker.
I recently decided to “invest” $50 of real money in online poker. I always thought I would refrain from this, since I know where it can lead. I like to think I have enough will power to walk away if I’m losing, and certainly to make sure I don’t over-extend myself by making more deposits. And I know that when my mother reads this, I’m going to get an earful. Oh well.
Anyway, I was playing in a tournament on PartyPoker last night (Feel free to sign up using me as a referral – dlw29x. Surprisingly, someone already had BigD29x, though I think it might be an old account of mine that I forgot about). The tournament was a one-table, ten players, $10 buy-in. Party Poker (I’ll just call them PP from now on) pays out the top three finishers in a one-table tourney.
Late in the tournament, in last place chip wise and in the big blind (150-300), I got dealt Qh-Kd. Not an awful hand, considering that there were only four players left. But remember, only the top three get paid.
There was a raise to 600 and an all-in of a little over 800 from the small blind. I immediately assumed I was up against at least one pair in the hole, but something told me to stick around for the cheaper price. I called the all-in, so did the other guy. Glad I did.
The flop came up 9-10-J rainbow, giving me the nut straight. This is why I like online poker, because I can yell, cheer, and jump around without giving anything away to the other players, though my dogs are not real happy with me afterwards. Anyway, I checked to slow-play the hand, knowing the only way I was losing was if someone made a better straight later in the hand or a full house if the board paired. The other player left in the hand checked back at me. The all-in obviously just sat there.
The turn was a jack, which scared the hell out of me. The only things I didn’t want to see were a King or any board pair, because all of them could yield a hand that would beat me. I checked, and the other guy bet 600 at me. Now I was worried.
Did he hit a set off the flop? Was he holding a flush draw? He didn’t bet the flop – maybe he was holding Q-K also. Well, I gotta find out somehow…
I raised all-in. I had him covered by about 50 chips, and he called without hesitating.
He had been playing 7-8 suited. He hit the straight on the flop too, just not as good as mine. The small blind had KK, so he was toast without a Jack, Queen or King on the river.
He didn’t get it. I added a lot of chips and knocked two players out, moving into the money. I eventually won the table, earning $50 for my trouble.
I’m starting to get the hang of this online poker thing. This could be a good way to kill an hour or two some nights.
I played another one-table tourney, and only had one interesting hand the whole time (I won this table too).
Remember back two columns ago when I related the story of my Foxwoods poker tournament? I had a hand (J-6 suited – Big Blind) that I think I played perfectly. This was the hand involving the short little Asian man and his broken English “Sonofabitch”. Yeah, that one. Well, it basically happened again last night.
I had been folding all night long, down to less than the cost of the upcoming big blind when I finally got a hand (QQ) and quadrupled-up. That let me survive for a little longer, though I was still stuck in fifth place at the table.
I got Q-9 unsuited in the big blind (200-400) a few cycles later and got to see a free flop. It hit me nicely: Qc-9c-Ad. It couldn’t have worked any better; I hit two pair, and there were four other players still in the hand, so there was a good shot that at least one of them was playing an Ace high hand. Plus, I was short stacked, so an all-in would look like a steal.
I checked. So did everyone to the button. He bet 400. I only had about 900 more, so I came over the top all-in. I got two callers to put 3800 in the main pot.
The turn was a Queen. Wow. Full house, and I’m already all-in. I’m going to win unless someone has A-Q or A-A. The river was a blank – a five I think. The other guys continued to check around. When it was all said and done, one of them was chasing a flush, the other had Q-K. He was pretty pissed.
I ended up beating that same guy heads up to win the table in the end. This hand helped me out; every time I check-raised him he backed off. I bluffed three pots with nothing better than an eight-high.
So in my first night on PartyPoker I turned my $50 deposit into about $130. Not a bad start. Not a new career, but certainly something to have fun with.
Onto football. Damn, everything is just gambling, gambling and more gambling today. I’m just gearing up for my next trip to Foxwoods – this Saturday if you’d care to join…
13-3 last week to move to 103-68-5, 35 games over .500 for the year. I got quite a compliment this week from a friend of mine at the football game. He told me that I had made him some money with my picks, and that he now chose to use only my picks to make his decisions. He no longer even checks the ESPN “guru” picks, since I’m about 12 games ahead of any of them this year. Maybe I should do this for a living.
I also won my office pool last week (14-2), putting me right back into the race for the overall title. It had been a long, cold 5-week stretch since my last weekly win. I’ve now won 4 of 12 weeks outright. Still can’t seem to take over first overall though…
Lines from ESPN.com’s Daily Line December 1, 10:15AM
JETS (NL) over Texans: I doubt this will stay at no line for very long. I’m pretty sure that ESPN is holding their line until the decision on Chad Pennington is made. I think I would do the same. I expect this to probably finish off somewhere around Jets (-4) with Pennington, or Texans (-3) without him. Either way, take New York.
RAVENS (-7) over Bengals: Everyone who took the over in the Cleveland/Cincy game last week, raise your hands… Still waiting… I mean, I knew that their defenses were bad, but 106 points? Don’t expect much of that this week, although the Bungles might make Kyle Boller look like Peyton Manning, if only for a week.
Patriots (-7.5) over BROWNS: Usually I would take the Browns here – home team, big underdog, fresh off a head coach firing. But then I look at how the Patriots have handled St. Louis, Kansas City and Baltimore – three pre-season playoff picks by just about everyone – and I think “Nope. Not happening.” Just for your own reference, this is one of those games where my Rule #2 goes out the window.
Cardinals (+6) over LIONS: What the hell did Josh McCown do to Denny Green? He was supposed to be the Cards’ QB of the future – did he sleep with Green’s wife or something? Geez, he’s been benched for perennial back-up Shaun King and now rookie John Navarre? Ugh. Well, at least the Lions have no useable QB either.
COLTS (-10.5) over Titans: If you had any idea how it pains me to put that pick up there… I’m astounded by what Peyton Manning’s been doing this year. Just remember – Steve McNair has made a career of stepping up in big situations and putting the team on his back. If Tennessee gets down early here, it could be a fun shootout to watch.
Vikings (-7) over BEARS: Ha, I originally mistyped that line at (-76). And I still would have taken Minnesota. I had no idea the Bears offense was that inept. I mean, if Jeff George is the answer, then you’ve got one hell of a tough question.
Bills (-3) over DOLPHINS: Suddenly a 9-7 season for the Bills doesn’t seem out of the question. At 5-6 now, they play Miami, Cleveland, Cincy, San Fran and Pittsburgh. I only see one game there that they should lose, and if Pitt is already cemented into the #1 or #2 AFC spot, they might rest their players. Imagine if, after all of this, I had the AFC East right all along?
Falcons (+2) over BUCS: Somehow, every 4-7 team in the NFC (Like TB) is still alive in the playoff hunt. This might be the year that multiple teams under .500 make the post-season. Hooray for parity!
RAMS (-10.5) over 49ers: Now playing for nothing more than the #1 pick in April, San Fran should seriously give a thought to just playing the young guys and evaluating what they’ve got to work with. Wait, that’s what they’ve been doing all year? This is what they’ve got to work with? Ouch…
Panthers (+1) over SAINTS: And once again, I fear that the schizophrenic Saints will burn me. This is going to be a blow out, one way or the other. Something just tells me that this is the week Carolina begins their playoff push. They might have started late, but I think they’ve got it in them.
RAIDERS (NL) over Chiefs: Again, a line on hold for an injury situation (Holmes). I figure it will end up at about (-3), favorite depending on Priest’s status. Doesn’t matter – I’m convinced that the Chiefs defense can’t stop anyone. And with the way Jerry Porter came alive on Sunday night – well that was awful fun to watch. Of course, he was shipped off my fantasy team a month ago…
CHARGERS (-3) over Broncos: I can’t believe that this game could easily decide the AFC West. The Chargers look pretty damned good right now, and the Broncos are coming off a tough loss. To me, this one is a toss-up; either San Diego wins big or Denver wins small.
REDSKINS (-2) over Giants: If Eli thought the Eagles hit hard, well…
Packers (+6) over EAGLES: Speaking of the Iggles… This is going to be quite a game. If Ahman Green is healthy, this line is going to drop considerably. No team is hotter than Green Bay right now, except maybe Pittsburgh. Brett Favre is as consistently good as he’s been for the last ten years. Too bad he can’t play defense. On the flipside, the Eagles are dominating, but can’t stop the run. This should be a shootout.
JAGUARS (+3) over Steelers: This is the week it ends. I know, I’ve said that for like five straight weeks now, but seriously. This is the week that Big Ben, the Bus, and the rest come up against a defense that they can’t handle AND an offense that can actually move the ball. Washington only had half of the package – Jacksonville, on a good day, can bring the whole thing.
Cowboys (+7) over SEAHAWKS: This is the perfect case for TV networks being able to change which games they own during the season. I would think that any of the last four games listed here would be better suited for Monday Night – even Washington/New York would have 2 of the top 10 media markets involved. As it stands, the game should be over by the middle of the third quarter, right about the time Matt Hasselbeck throws his fourth pick…
Recap: JETS / RAVENS / Patriots / Cardinals / COLTS / Vikings / Bills / Falcons / RAMS / Panthers / RAIDERS / CHARGERS / REDSKINS / Packers / Cowboys
Next week – tales from the casino trip. Unless I lose. Or unless something bigger happens. Or unless I just don’t feel like it. Whatever.
posted by Big D @ 10:58 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home