Red Sox vs. Pedro

Pedro Martinez faces the Boston Red Sox tonight, and that just seems wrong. He's going to receive a HUGE ovation from the fans, just like he did last night when he wasn't even playing. And some casual observers might wonder why Pedro gets the love and Johnny Damon gets the boos, and there are so many reasons why that I don't even want to get into it. It's just going to be really strange--but fun--to watch.

Poker & Golf...two losing stories

Poker Stars is hosting a tournament solely for bloggers so I figured the least I could do is keep a running account and post it in my blog.

3:00 PM: Tourney is starting as I watch Phil Mickelson try to win the U.S. Open. Good stuff. 2247 players registered in the tourney, starting with $2000 in chips.

3:05: Five minutes in and 27 players have been eliminated. I’m at $2080, won a pot with Q-J.

3:10: 2172 remaining. At $2050, won a small bluff with bottom pair, then got caught trying to steal blinds. Mickelson just hit a drive over 300 yards into a bunker…on purpose. He’s one stroke back on hole #6.

3:16: 2095 remaining, $1860…not one good hand yet. Mickelson made par, still one back.

3:23: 2025 left, $1860…still no good starting hands. Stealing when I can to try to keep pace.

3:25: Bogey for Phil on a par 3, not good. Meanwhile, just saw my first ridiculous play in the tourney (not involved): guy goes all in with 8-7 off suit on an 8 high flop with two clubs, is called by A-Q of diamonds. Ace on turn.

3:33: 1914 left, $1855…I have limped with crappy pocket pairs a few times but can’t make a set. Trying to be patient but also see some cheap flops.

3:37: 1861 left, $1930…first real hand of the day, pocket kings in middle position, I raise to 3X the big blind and get no action. Annoying. Meanwhile, during an NBC sports update, Bob Costas has just described the fourth game of the World Cup that ended in a scoreless tie. “Best sporting event in the world,” my ass.

3:40: 1826 left, stack is $3020. Big slick made top pair (kings) on a dangerous all diamond flop. It all went in on the turn (had him covered) and his flush draw didn’t get there. Next hand I blew way too many chips overplaying 9-10 suited trying to steal. Mickelson one back through 8.

3:36: 1742 left, stack $3320 after a couple of nice steals. Three way tie for the lead for Phil, Ogilvy, and Monty all at 3 over. Course seems brutal today.

3:54: 1624, $3120. Phil just bogeyed 9. Par is starting to look great.

4:02: 1497 left, $2720 in chips…five minute break. No good cards since kings, but hanging around. Dropped several hundred with a steal attempt on A-7. Will get more aggressive after break as blinds get bigger—won’t hesitate to get into a coin flip for all my chips if I can in a freeroll with such a big field.

4:07: The golf announcers just described somebody’s shot as a “scalded duck.” I have absolutely no idea what that possibly means but it can’t be good.

4:13: 1381, $3020. Pocket aces, no action. Table is surprisingly tight for a freeroll because we have a few players sitting out.

4:15: moved to a new table, only 2 players there have more chips than me. Good sign.

4:18: Lefty takes the outright lead with a birdie putt on 11…birdie/eagle opportunity coming on 12.

4:22: 1182 remaining, $4295 after a set of queens. Took it down with a raise on the flop.

4:25: pocket queens again, this time ran into pocket aces. Down to $1800 and change.

4:27: Out in 1005th place. AK suited in late position, I raise, get re-raised and it all goes in…against pocket jacks. No help and that’s it. Pretty annoying to get two of the best hands I’ve seen all day and lose both to get knocked out, but that’s poker.

6:11: Well that 18th hole sure sucked. Nice day all around, I guess.

Funny poll

ESPN.com runs many different polls on their main page, and lately they have started bringing up a color-coded map of the U.S. to reveal how each state voted. Tonight, their question is who deserves the AL Cy Young award and frankly, I find the color-map comical in its clarity this time: New York and New Jersey picked Mike Mussina, all six states in New England picked Jonathan Papelbon (even with Schilling on the ballot), and the rest of the nation picked Contreras. Of course, leave it to the New Englanders to get it right.

ESPN.com

The Break-Up

We went to see The Break-Up on Friday night and really enjoyed it. I thought it looked like a movie that I would like, but then I started to worry because it got so many bad reviews...and now I wonder what those critics were expecting. It's Vince Vaughn doing his typical Vince Vaughn type of humor, so I guess if you don't like that, you probably won't like the flick. I do, and I liked it a lot.

Nice series for the Sox, taking two out of three in Detroit this weekend. I have no idea if the Tigers are for real or not, but they somehow have the best record in baseball right now. Sully must be psyched. Now on to the Bronx for four huge games with the Yanks. It feels like we've played them about once a week all season.

Sopranos season finale tonight. There have been some weird episodes but overall I have really enjoyed the current season. The whole "Johnnycakes" plotline was pretty out there, but they wrapped it up well. I'm very curious to see how they leave things tonight. Apparently HBO is saying that this isn't technically a season finale, but that this season continues with the final eight episodes in January. Whatever. To me, that just sounds like a license to have no closure whatsoever tonight, and that's fine.

I had an MRI on my knee this week to see how it is doing, because it's been really sore lately. Doc says that the ACL is healing nicely but that I have some issues with the cartilage underneath the kneecap. And if that sounds uncomfortable, well...it is. He prescribed an anti-inflammatory and wants me to go back for some additional physical therapy. Wheeeeee! What fun...