It's not a sport, even though it's on ESPN. Anything you can play better while drunk isn't a sport. But it is still awesome. Speaking of drunk, this is one of my favorite players, Scotty Nguyen, in action...
Scotty actually has a tournament named after him. The Scotty Nguyen Challenge, which is going to be in Tulsa from October 30th to November 10th.
That's another reason I love poker so much. You can play it anywhere. I started playing hold em in college, little $5 and $10 games in the dorms. Right now I could go to Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun (they just reopened their poker room), or up to the dog track in Rockingham and play a game against a large number of fish. Or I could find some home game to bust up. And of course, I can play online.
Despite what the US government wants you to think, it is very legal for you to play poker online. Some online poker sites don't accept US players these days, but many more still do. Here's a list of US Poker Rooms. So check it out. Which do you think is a safer investment these days? The stock market or online poker?
Boston sports blog featuring Patriots propaganda, and opinions on the Red Sox, Bruins, and Celtics.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
HOW THE RED SOX CAN WIN THIS THING
When you look at the 2008 ALCS, it is still very winnable for the Sox. They simply have to play the complete opposite of how they've played in Games 1 thru 4. Here are the keys to any Sox success in the next 3 games:
Matsuzaka - Beckett - Lester
That's not a bad trio to have in 3 must win games. If the Sox are to win the ALCS, it will be because of these three. They MUST have good starts, and go deep into games. Anything less than 7 innings is bad. And 6 or less is godawful. The Sox bullpen can't handle so much exposure. If the Sox don't get three good, deep starts from these guys, Tampa wins.
Ortiz - Drew - Varitek
The three biggest drags on the offense, apart from Jacoby Ellsbury, who has a ready replacement in Coco Crisp. Ortiz is 1 for 14 (.071), Drew 2 for 13 (.154), and Varitek 0 for 10. These three are guilty of breaking up more rallies than the Ohio National Guard. In their 37 combined ABs, they've struck out 12 times.
Ortiz and Drew are key cogs in the middle of the lineup. It's hard to see how well Pedroia (.467), Bay (.400), and Youkilis (.386) are hitting because Ortiz and Drew are killing their innings.
.156 vs. .361
Those are the averages each team has put up with runners in scoring position this series. I don't need to tell you which number belongs to which team. The Sox are 5 for 32 with RISP, the Rays are 13 for 36. This trend must immediately change for the Sox to win Game 5, let alone the series. Sox hitters MUST come through with runners on. But more importantly, Sox pitching MUST bear down when Tampa gets baserunners.
Papelbon
If it's a close game in the 8th, Papelbon has to be brought in. No Okajima, no Masterson, and certainly no Delcarmen. 4, 5, 6, even 7 out Saves might be required. It's time to use up whatever's left in Papelbon's tank.
Sources:
ESPN.com
Baseball-Reference.com
Matsuzaka - Beckett - Lester
That's not a bad trio to have in 3 must win games. If the Sox are to win the ALCS, it will be because of these three. They MUST have good starts, and go deep into games. Anything less than 7 innings is bad. And 6 or less is godawful. The Sox bullpen can't handle so much exposure. If the Sox don't get three good, deep starts from these guys, Tampa wins.
Ortiz - Drew - Varitek
The three biggest drags on the offense, apart from Jacoby Ellsbury, who has a ready replacement in Coco Crisp. Ortiz is 1 for 14 (.071), Drew 2 for 13 (.154), and Varitek 0 for 10. These three are guilty of breaking up more rallies than the Ohio National Guard. In their 37 combined ABs, they've struck out 12 times.
Ortiz and Drew are key cogs in the middle of the lineup. It's hard to see how well Pedroia (.467), Bay (.400), and Youkilis (.386) are hitting because Ortiz and Drew are killing their innings.
.156 vs. .361
Those are the averages each team has put up with runners in scoring position this series. I don't need to tell you which number belongs to which team. The Sox are 5 for 32 with RISP, the Rays are 13 for 36. This trend must immediately change for the Sox to win Game 5, let alone the series. Sox hitters MUST come through with runners on. But more importantly, Sox pitching MUST bear down when Tampa gets baserunners.
Papelbon
If it's a close game in the 8th, Papelbon has to be brought in. No Okajima, no Masterson, and certainly no Delcarmen. 4, 5, 6, even 7 out Saves might be required. It's time to use up whatever's left in Papelbon's tank.
Sources:
ESPN.com
Baseball-Reference.com
BRUINS STEAL A POINT IN MONTREAL
Despite the usual assistance of the officials, the Montreal Canadiens needed overtime to beat the Boston Bruins. Les Habitantes celebrated as they would a sale at Abercrombie, but the fact that the B's were down 3-0 on the road and salvaged a point speaks volume to the character and guts of the 2008-09 Bruins squad.
Two of Montreal's three 1st period scores were gifts, wrapped up for the Canadiens 100th birthday celebration. A phantom cross-checking call gave the Habs a power play, and they quickly capitalized on the fortunate opportunity.
Their second goal came after Alex Tanguay blatantly cross-checked Mark Stuart in the low slot, opening a lane for Saku Koivu to wrist a shot past Tim Thomas.
But even though the Bruins found themselves behind 3-0 in Montreal, they kept their poise. Krejci put the B's on the board in the 2nd, Savard had a nice Power Play goal in the 3rd, and Carey Price got cocky late in the game, allowing Savard to tie it up.
The Bruins sent a message to the Canadiens last night. "We're not the pushovers that we were last year." And I'll send a message to all the fruity fans of that diving, womanly Quebecois team: Foutre Les Habitantes! Your reign of soccer on ice has come to an end.
Sources:
ESPN.com
BostonBruins.com
Photo Credit:
AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz
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