the inside scoop of this sports nut

T-minus 7

2010-02-09T16:23:00.002-05:00

I can't believe how fast this has creep-ed up on me - but I'm departing in 7 days for Vancouver + Hong Kong + Las Vegas! January has flew by, between looking for jobs during the day, playing various sports in the evening, and weekends somewhere in the middle, it's amazing how fast the calendar turned to February.

I'm not sure if I can say I'm excited yet, simply because there is still so much to do before departure. Still have to buckle down and plan this trip - places to go to, restaurants to try, things and people to see - and on top of that still have to determine what is the best way to handle the luggage situation - what to pack for Vancouver, what to carry onward to Hong Kong after Vancouver and what to have brought back to Toronto. Of course there is still a couple of interviews coming up this week on top of a skills assessment test where preparations will be required.

With that said, I think it also boils down to the fact that this trip has yet to completely sunk in. Not only am I going to Vancouver, I'm going during the freaking Winter Olympics! After that, I'm excited just to visit the family and friends I have in Hong Kong as it has been almost 4 years since I have been there - and I really don't know when the next opportunity will come up where I will have a chance to be able to see them again (especially my grandparents).

Anyways, enough rambling for now - I will TRY to keep this blog relatively updated during my trip (at least the Vancouver portion), but there is no guarantee. I know I won't be able to do much while in HK as I will be staying at my grandparents and AFAIK, they do not have internet access at their house. So that part will probably have to wait until I return to Toronto. I will definitely continue twittering while I'm away, so follow my twitter for more up-to-date updates.

How to fix the overtime system in the NFL

2010-01-26T18:17:00.003-05:00

The current overtime system that the NFL is employing has been a topic that's been up for debate for a long time. With the latest playoff game in which the Minnesota Vikings did not have a chance to touch the football while the Saints made the game winning field goal, I thought of a compromise where teams will still maintain an advantage for winning the coinflip, yet at the same time the team that loses the coinflip might stand a chance.

*I'm going to say that I haven't done adequate research on whether this method might be feasible, and I'm not going to claim I'm the first one that came up with this idea. So if there is someone else that has already came up with this idea, my apologies.

The team that wins the flip will win the game if they score a touchdown. If a FG is made, the opposing team will have 1 possession to tie with a FG, or win immediately should a touchdown is scored. Assuming the team that wins the coinflip does not score on their first possession, all bets are off and first team that scores wins.

The reason I believe the implementation of the FG/TD rule would benefit the game, is that too often teams only need to drive the ball 30-40 yards (or less should they get a good kickoff return), and thus taking away alot of the excitement that comes with overtime. With this rule, this ensures that team must drive the ball all the way down the field, and thus have "earned" the win while still maintaining the advantage of winning the coin-toss under the current system.

Athletes born during the wrong era

2009-11-27T11:14:00.003-05:00

I guess this was one of those random things sports related that I sometimes randomly think about and I am actually blogging about it because I'm not putting it off.

People who become rich/famous (or whatever social status you want to apply here) reaches their status often times do not get to where they are without some sort of (or in some cases, ALOT of) luck along the way. That is not to say or take away any of their hard work to get to where they are along the way, but even with hard work, you got to get lucky, have the right break here or there in order to reach where you are. This don't strictly apply to those who reach the plateau of society, but also applies in different walk of life.

I think the prime example of this would be athletes in their sport. Would Tiger Woods have reached his current height of popularity had he been born 30 years ago when gold was still a sport dominated by Caucasians (or it can be said whether he would even get into golf as a whole)? How many titles would Rafael Nadal have won if he was born a few years later than he was once Roger Federer starts to slowdown as a player?

I don't really know where I'm going with this..just random thoughts that I actually recorded down for once.

End of one season, beginning of the next

2009-10-06T01:07:00.003-04:00

September has come and gone, which leads us into October. And beginning of October also means the end of the regular season for MLB baseball, and the start of the regular season for NHL hockey.

Fantasy baseball wise, the last week of the season really sucked. I went from having 3 out of 4 teams finishing in the top 3 of my leagues (would've had a first, second, and third), to only having a team in second. The other two ended up dropping to fifth and fourth respectively.

I'm not really in the mood to really update...so going to leave it at that for now. Will get to other stuff later on.

Wake me up when September ends

2009-09-01T19:15:00.002-04:00

Holy batman September creeped up this year like a spider hanging from the ceiling. I cannot believe it is already September and the summer is "over". I guess with the Labour Day being on the last day possible, and school starting on the latest day possible, this is bound to happen.

Time to continue to clean up the house!

New Idea

2009-08-31T00:00:00.003-04:00

So I guess this has been an idea that's floating around my head for a little while, and recently talked to a couple of people just to gauge how feasible this may be. The reception of it has been a mixture of warm/hot, but so far have not received a negative feedback, so maybe this could be a project that I may pursue in the future? Although I would definitely like to receive more feedback before even considering pursuing this.

Here is the idea - instead of having a league with strictly one sport, a league is created with a rotation of sports. This is to encourage participants to not only play a sport they might be good at (or play the one sport they have played all their lives), but to encourage participants to broaden out their interest. The goal is to strive to improve at a sport they rarely play, or try out a new sport the participants have yet to experiment playing.

I know the initial concept will run into many problems, which includes (but not limited to) things like disparity between skill levels of the participants, how to go about introducing a sport to those new to it while keeping those who have experience playing interested. Still needs some more thinking.

For the record - I know there is something like this out there (a multi-sport league). I'm just throwing around the idea of possibly starting one up within/for the community that I'm currently involved with - basically just getting it off the ground.

Do you really know someone?

2009-08-26T18:04:00.005-04:00

It's been a funny few days the last little while. While dealing with some relationship issues either between friends, it came to my attention that there were a certain few individuals who claims to know how I feel and what not. It was just one of those random casual conversation over msn, but somehow became a discussion about the perceptions some people have about certain individuals/things.

I'll just be using myself as an example here as I don't feel like it is in my place to comment on others. I've had a couple of individuals come up to me, telling me that certain individuals that are close to me (or at least I hang around alot), have been saying certain things about me to them whether it's directly, or indirectly. Not necessarily gossip, but just general comments regarding my state-of-mind/well-being, essentially just pretending as though they understand me very well. It turns out that most of what this individual has said were merely bull-crap pulled from thin-air. I truly believe that the statements made by this certain individual has no real backing, and is just either assumptions that has been made, or merely this individual's attempt to pretend like he/she understands me. I have no idea what the intention of this individual has to do what he/she is doing, but I can only guess it is either due to the lack of maturity this person possesses, or this individual just needs better things to do with his/her time.

Am I pissed/angry? I don't know, I guess I can't really say I am. If anything, I feel frustrated and annoyed as a result of this, as I feel like it has affected how others interact with me due to this person's assumption of who I am and how I feel.

Edit: One last thought that crossed my mind - I think it's stuff like this, that really discourages accountability, and being open to others in general. As someone whom has never been too comfortable with opening up, it's stuff like this which makes it even harder to have the willingness to openly share about thoughts in general.

2009 Rogers Cup

2009-08-19T17:39:00.003-04:00

Just came back from the first day I've attended, and let's just say I'm pretty disappointed with their camera policy. I guess I have come to expect a wide spectrum of leniency towards the use of "professional grade" camera across various professional sports venue, but it was just disappointing to see that even within a single venue, the staff members whom makes the decisions on whether a camera/lense is allowed into a venue is as un-educated as they are.

What I mean is, I understand the whole situation with tennis being an accessible sport, and Tennis Canada wants to protects the rights of images to players to accredited media by limiting the use of "professional grade" cameras and lenses. At the same time, if you have one "go-to" person at the gate who makes the decision on whether a camera and/or lense is permitted into the venue, is it not advantageous to have someone who is at least semi-knowledgeable? It is not a very valid and convincing argument when the reasoning behind their decision to not let a camera in being "it's too big", "it looks professional grade". At the same time, it is also very frustrating to be turned away at the gate, and then see other attendees with accreditation walking around with a similar, or even more "professional" lense setup.

Ok, back to regularly schedule programming. Attended the matinee session of the Rogers Cup today. It was definitely one of the better sessions I've attended throughout the last few years. There were a few decent matches, and even a couple of upsets along the way. Definitely good to see Maria Sharapova back in Toronto again, and she looked sharp during her match against Sybille Bammer. A couple of upsets occured when Dinara Safina lost in 3 sets to Aravane Rezai to start the day, and Caroline Wozniacki losing to Jie Zheng in straight sets.

Learned a thing or two about shooting in conditions like today, and just adjusting to the sun light and shadow. It was definitely difficult to get good shots with the lack of range (ended up shooting with a 28-135) and lack of mobility. I will post a couple of highlights later on but I think I did ok given the circumstances of the day.

Quick Update

2009-08-14T02:51:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to write something quick as I struggle to sleep.

Last few days have been just days of relaxation, with a bit of self discovery. With the conclusion of exams, I've finally settled into "summer mode" where I've been able to enjoy spontaneous days, and just taking each day as they come. Been able to meet up again with some old friends, and building relationships with new ones. It's been a blessed few days and I'm looking forward to more.

Upcoming 10 days or so, will include alot of sports. Between softball and attending Rogers Cup Tennis at York University (this has now become an annual tradition), I won't really have much room for anything for a little while - not that I'm complaining. Also the free time has allowed me to catch up on some TV shows that I've been itching to watch for quite some time.

As for the self-discovery part, I won't really elaborate on it yet at this point, simply because I'm still trying to grasp what I'm learning, but I feel like it will have a great deal of impact to how I approach various forms of relationships (referring to things like friendships, mentorships, etc). I am not sure if I'm exaggerating right now, but after re-reading what I just wrote, I think I might be making it sound like a bigger deal than it really is...haha =þ

In any case, I will hopefully have some pictures up from various events on this blog shortly.

Long Days Ahead

2009-08-07T01:07:00.003-04:00

Exams are done...yet I don't really feel relieved. I guess being the normally stress-free person that I am, I never felt the stress of final exams. I guess this is where I say "summer officially begins", but it's been summer to me already even during the past 3 months of being in school.

So the next few days are gonna be extremely long days, but not in a bad way. Tomorrow (Friday) will involved a dentist appointment in the morning, and running a couple errands in the afternoon. Heading down to the Jays game with a few friends, one of whom just came back from Vancouver for a couple of weeks. Afterwards, will be heading to a bar/club (?) to send off a teammate of is off to China for a year.

Saturday morning will be spent at a friend's wedding, and evening at his reception. In between, I will probably end up going to watch my church's junior team at one of their games before the reception. Really hoping the forecast is wrong and that the weather will be nice that day.

And depending on when the reception is over, hopefully I will be able to catch the end of UFC 101 before calling it a night.

I guess that's all the updating for now. Got a few things on my mind, nothing majorly important, but I think I just need time to figure things out for myself before really putting them into words. Will definitely be trying to update this thing more often, but I've said that numerous times before and it has never worked out.

End of the Term

2009-07-31T00:55:00.002-04:00

And just like that the school term is over. Honestly, this term really flew by. I think part of that is due to me being back in Toronto by Wednesday night/Thursday morning every week, and part of it was due to my 1 week trip to Vegas. Like I said in my previous post, I'm definitely glad I got to experience 1 term of summer in school and in Waterloo, but I would not do it again.

I guess with this being the end of my 4th year in university, I've been asked on a regular basis, on what my plans are for the future. (I've also been asked alot whether I was going to be going into my last year as well). I guess right now, I am tentatively going to be going back to school on a part time basis. Going to be commuting into Waterloo Tuesday and Thursday, and will be doing 2 (or 3) courses, while working between 4-8 hours part-time at the athletics office, and probably referee a few games at night both days. So that would definitely keep me busy 2 days. I am probably going to be doing a few things with campus rec. intramurals as well in between all that.

Other than that, I'm hoping to spend Monday/Wednesday/Friday hopefully either with another part-time job, volunteering, and just basically something constructive with my life. I'm looking into possibly getting into MMA, probably starting with going to a BJJ gym and training there a few times a week. If not, just going to get a gym membership and get back into better shape as a whole. Going to look into possibly joining up with a sport team or two, and maybe get myself into a small group.

So..that pretty much wraps up my plans for September onwards until probably December, and then 2010 will bring a whole new chapter. Btw...all these plans will probably go into the drain if I manage to find a decent full time job.

You know it's exams time when...

2009-07-28T13:21:00.002-04:00

...I blog so often.

I was going through some of my draft blogs, and realized that I have quite a substantial amount of backlog - these are not necessarily updates or anything, just a random thought during the day and I just somehow turned into a whole essay. I doubt too many of them will ever get posted, as I simply do not have the will to finish it. On top of that, I simply lost the train of thoughts I had while writing that blurb. Furthermore, most of it probably don't make sense anyways, since I simply write them without any type of plan, just more as thoughts/ideas crosses my mind, it becomes written. Maybe one day when I got too much time on my hands I will do, but probably not.

For some actual substance, the school term is slowly wrapping up. This is the first summer term I've done in university, and I'm glad I got to experience what it is like to be in university, and in Waterloo, over the summer term. However, this is definitely not my cup of tea. I will probably expand on this thought later, but for now my stomach is calling out for food. To wrap it up, this is the last week of lectures, with 2 exams coming up next week. After that, it's officially summer time for a week or so...

Past Few Days

2009-07-26T01:37:00.003-04:00

Wow..what a rough few days it's been. I guess it's not really miserable/bad in that sense, but just overall how few days it's been. Most of it consists is just sports related, but also on the other hand I just felt like I had no motivation at all left in me.

I guess it starts/begins with the Blue Jays. Was at the Thursday and Saturday game, and while Thursday's was just plain old boring, Saturday was a case of a collapse in epic portions. Up 9-1 going into the seventh, the somehow managed to blow the 8 run lead and lose the game in extra innings.

Friday was just a day of nothing, where all the plans just basically fell through, and it turned into a day I spent lazy-ing around. I simply had no motivation to go and accomplish anything, and I ended up watching Scott Downs blow the game for the Blue Jays (see a pattern?)

On top of it all, its been a couple of days where it seems like a couple of nerves were touched between a couple of friends, and looks like there will be some patching up that needs to be done.

I think it's just time to bury my head behind my textbooks for the next 10 days or so and just focus on finishing this term off strong (not like that's going to happen..the burying my head part), but knowing me, that ain't going to happen.

Emo-ness on Twitter

2009-07-22T15:55:00.000-04:00

Just had a chat with a friend last night, and wow, my eyes were opened. I guess it all started when she mentioned she noticed various tweets on my Twitter once in awhile, and was in a way worried that I've "turned" emo and was shutting off myself from the world and only communicating my feelings via the means of Twitter*

*Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers who are known as followers. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow open access. Users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, Short Message Service (SMS) or external applications. (taken from wikipedia.org)

In any case, the chat made me realize that 140 characters is simply not enough to thorough communicate my "true" feelings at any point, and that some of it might do more harm than good as it is quite misleading. For example - just yesterday I made a tweet along the lines of "Sometimes I should considering driving with my radio off". In short, I really felt the time I was able to spend with God, talking to Him and just spending the time with Him was valuable. However, she mentioned that she misinterpreted as something more serious. Another one involved went along the lines of "I really need to get my head screwed back on the right way". It was just an innocent tweet that I posted as I made the same mistake towards a problem that I have already made several times - yet it was again misinterpreted.

In any case, thank you again (you know who you are) for that little chat, and also I guess as a reminder/wake-up call on how I have been expressing myself and the needs to be more careful. Time to official wipe that "emo" tag off myself again...jeez, emo is like one of the last words I would associate myself with..blah!

Some Updates

2009-07-13T00:24:00.003-04:00

Long time no blog - nothing really new recently. My weeks since May has been pretty routine. It typically involved being in Waterloo from Sunday afternoon/evening to Thursday morning, and in Toronto from Thursday afternoon until Sunday afternoon.

Monday would be school from 10-1130, work from 1230-430, back to school from 7-10p. Tuesdays would be class 1-4, 7-10, and Wednesday a repeat of Monday without the 7-10p.

Thursdays would start whenever I decide to wake up, go back to TO, and softball. And both Saturday/Sunday would involved church/softball in some way, shape or form.

It's been a pretty fast 2 months (May and June), with the 2 months literally feeling like it flew by. Grinded out a bit playing online poker in June, and managed to luck my way into winning 2 World Series of Poker Main Event seats, and flew down to Vegas to play in that. Trip itself was pretty much similar to my trip last July, with the only exception being that I actually played in the Main Event. The tournament itself went about as bad as it could without anything major. It was a slow and painful grind til I busted out. I ended up being away for a week, and now back in school to grind out the rest of this semester.

As for what's happening after this term, I think I can seriously say I'm lost and confused with "life" for the first time in my 22 years on earth. It felt like a good plan initially about either doing more school from Sept - Dec to complete my CHRP designation, take a couple of trips in early parts of 2010, and settle down and look for a full time gig in April/May of 2010. Having sat down and talked with my parents, I'm not sure how well that plan will fly. Furthermore, I'm not sure whether to go pursue the additional courses through UW, or other institutions closer to home. Part of me wants to remain in UW, as the Athletics Department has been able to (and will be able to continue to) allow me to be employed on a part-time basis while being in school, something I probably will not be able to continue should I go elsewhere. In addition, UW has been my home for 4 years, I'm not sure if I want to simply pick up my bags and go to another school "closer to home".

Another side of me is realizing how much money it's really costing to live away from home, as well as the other benefits of living at home. While I wish I can say I found a spiritual home in Waterloo, I cannot say that being completely honest with myself. While the CCF has been consistently providing me with spiritual support, it has never truly felt like home. I guess the saying of you get what you put into something definitely rings true to my involvement with the UWCCF throughout my 4 years here. Lastly, having finally looked at the course schedule for Fall 2009, the classes offered and their schedule will create a less-than-ideal schedule for me.

Time to really start praying about this...at least it was good to get one thing off my chest.

Stanley Cup Finals Game 7 - Joe Louis Arena

2009-06-14T23:53:00.008-04:00

The game was a blast - the atmosphere was definitely disappointing considering the game itself is a "one-game-take-all" for the championship. Will post a more detailed blog later about the experience, but here are some pictures.

Outside Joe Louis Arena

Pre-Game Warmup

National Anthem

Opening Face-Off

Post Game Hand-Shake

Updates to Come

2009-05-09T01:35:00.000-04:00

Being the smart person that I am, I left my laptop in Toronto during the week that I was without internet in Waterloo. So I was pretty much stuck internet-less most of the week except for some of the time I spent on campus using the computer in the libraries. Now that I'm back in Toronto, I'll post the rest of the report up shortly.

Las Vegas Trip Report

2009-05-01T18:40:00.001-04:00

Saturday April 25, 2009
Departed Toronto shortly after 8am, after picking up the rest of the group for this trip. An uneventful drive later, we arrived at Buffalo airport at about 1130am. Parked, checked-on, and a bit of lunch preceeded boarding of our flight to Las Vegas via Phoenix Arizona. This flight was just one of those flights where you wished something could’ve made time go by faster. Not exactly being able to toss and turn, but my inability to be able to fall asleep caused this cross continent flight feel more like a cross Pacific flight. Part of the reason I believe led to this occurance, was due to the lack of food I had from the morning departure from my house, to boarding of the plane in early afternoon. Fortunatedly, there were no particular incident of crying babies, or big smell human being on the plane, leading to the only annoyance for this 6 hour journey being a group of a group of young lads 2 rows ahead pre-drinking on the flight.
Upon touchdown in Las Vegas, our luggage made it to the carasoul in record time, and we were on our way to our hotels after spending merely minutes waiting for our luggage. The rest of the group were clearly excited with the prospect of exploring Las Vegas for the first time, while my excitement surrounds that of spending time in Vegas with 4 truly great people, and enjoying the tourist-side of Vegas for the first time myself.
Venetian is the site where we would rest our heads for the first evening, and for those whom enjoy eye-candy in the female variety, look no further as you will soon find yourself with a sore neck due to extreme left-to-right movement.
A $20 trick later, we find ourselves sharing a bella suite with a clear view of Palazzo, Tressures Island, as well as the Venetian pool. Due to being on the 18th floor, we were unable to get a clear view the patrons of the pool, but nonetheless, the $20 trick led to another successful upgrade.
A dinner at Grand Lux Cafe later, it was agreed upon that we would call it a night early. But of course, first night in Vegas, there is absolutely zero chance that I would allow the night to pass without having any form of gambling. Having a $50 slots credit as part of my package for staying at the Venetian, of course we share the credit and decide to hit up the slots. 15 minutes later, the $50 credit became $60 cash…we’re now 1-for-1 in slots. After a short walk around the Venetian Canal Shoppes, we call it a night by 11pm Vegas time – 2am Eastern time.

Sunday April 26, 2009
Second day began with more packing and unpacking, as a result of our impending move to MGM Grand for the next 3 nights. Any Vegas trip is incomplete without a visit to the Bellagio buffet, and it’s time to start off with a bang. Our first brunch was of course at the Bellagio champagne brunch. 3 to 4 glasses of champagne each between myself and Erica later, we feel highly satisfied, a stomach that feels similar in size to that of a pregnant woman. Following the brunch, visitations to various casinos and hotels begins.
The trip beings north bound from Bellgaio, hitting up Caesar’s Palace, Mirage, Tressures Island, across the street on to The Wynn and Encore, and finished up back at Palazzo and Venetian. Nothing like starting the trip with seeing one of the best of the best in what Las Vegas has to offer. A short downtime later after checking in to MGM Grand, we find ourselves at the “O” Theatre in Bellagio to watch the Cirque du Soleil show “O”.
The show itself was a spectacular production, and the theatre was a gorgeous sight on it’s own. I would definitely recommend this show to anyone and everyone who is planning a trip to Las Vegas. The ticket price is a tad expensive, but to me it was worth every penny.

NHL Playoff Round 2

2009-05-01T01:33:00.000-04:00

A bit late, but here is the prediction for round 2.

Detroit over Anaheim in 6
Vancouver over Chicago in 5

Boston over Carolina in 5
Pittsburgh over Washington in 6

NHL Playoff Round 1 Prediction

2009-04-15T13:42:00.001-04:00

Nothing really new since my last update a little over a month ago. Work term is wrapping up in a week and a half, at which point I'll be heading to Vegas with a few friends for a few days. Will post pictures/trip report here after the trip.

For now, the NHL/NBA season is heading towards the second season, so I'll just post a few predictions here.

NHL Eastern Conference
Boston over Montreal in 5
Washington over New York in 7
Carolina over New Jersey in 7
Pittsburgh over Philadelphia in 5

NHL Western Conference
San Jose over Anaheim in 6
Detroit over Columbus in 5
Vancouver over St. Louis in 6
Calgary over Chicago in 7

Expensive Old Games

2009-03-09T16:10:00.004-04:00

I was hanging around the vender's alley at the Student Life Centre (SLC) today at the university...and noticed a copy of the old classic Super Smash Brothers for N64 was no longer there. Apparently someone valued that game enough to buy it for a crazy $60! I mean, you have ~~a game~~ a great game, that came out 8 years ago, being sold on the secondary market for the price of a new released game. CRAZY!

Untitled

2009-03-08T22:16:00.001-04:00

I was going to post something, but for some reason, as soon as I opened up blogger, my mind went blank. I think it had something to do with upcoming things but I really don't know, I just remembered when I thought of that particular "thing", I had quite a few things to write. Hopefully it'll come to me soon.

Messed up sleeping schedule

2009-03-06T01:08:00.002-05:00

It's been pretty bad the last few days..where I've just been running on caffeine for better part of the day considering I've only been getting like 3-4 hours of sleep a night at most, and they're not even what I call "good sleep". Normally I'm a guy that can both function with a good night sleep, or barely any sleep at all. I mean I've put in overnight sessions at poker tables before and was perfectly fine for school/work the very next day...yet for some reason I feel crappier when I get little sleep vs. getting no sleep at all.

I've been trying to fix this problem of mine, but seeing how it's 1:15am and I'm still up blogging, I still got ways to go. The outlook isn't even going to be good as the next 2 weeks will be busy as heck.

On a completely unrelated note - the U.S. is releasing their unemployment report tomorrow (or later today I guess)...this could be bad.

Work is starting to pick-up

2009-02-27T00:14:00.002-05:00

Work has been pretty chills for the past month or so, after the rush at the first 2 weeks of January with instructional courses/intramural registration, work has been pretty steady with a few on-going things.

It will start to pick-up again now that intramural is approaching playoff, and a Raptors trip to organize for next Friday (when they play the Miami Heat), and of course March Madness 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament. The other things I've been working will be put on the back-burner for now until the end of March.

Other than work, it has been a pretty steady/uneventful term thus far. Got into a routine that involved work, sleep, WOW, x-box, poker, and sports...and I've settled into the groove now that this term is 2 months old. Nothing really new to report on...still trying to figure out what I'm doing from Sept-Dec at this point, I guess in a couple of months I'll try to land a 4 months contract or something and go from there.

I guess the only thing that's remotely exciting was that I met Shawn Marion the other day. After a typical Raptors game, we headed out Richtree at BCE Place for a post-game meal. As Matt and I were leaving at around 11, we bumped into Shawn Marion walking along alone seemingly just after he went to the bank. In any case, got a picture with him on my Blackberry - not the best quality but it will have to do. Seemed like a nice guy, very quiet and shy though.

That's it for now...I guess I should try to update this more often, but honestly there isn't really stuff to post. Time to use those creative juices.

2009-02-17T01:18:00.001-05:00

Uh Oh

2009-01-29T18:00:00.002-05:00

This is bad news, I've started on Cantonese dramas again...and also the Supreme Trio show for a daily dose of comedy. Combined with WOW and other things, how am I going to get back into school mode in April?

Badminton

2009-01-26T13:08:00.001-05:00

So I picked up a badminton racquet and actually played some badminton for the first time in like months...and my touch is totally off and definitely alot slower on the court. Time to get back at those footwork drills again.

Looking back - 2008, Looking forward - 2009

2009-01-02T04:23:00.002-05:00

Here I am, awake at 430am, not able to fall asleep. So I turn to my blog and make a "review" post for this past year, and also a look forward to whats ahead in 2009. I haven't made any new year's resolution for years, and this year will be no different. I guess I have goals, or things I want to do/places I want to go, but they are not necessarily resolution to me, as I feel these things shouldn't be tied to the replacement of a golf calendar.

2008 continued the tradition of years passed, it was a year where I experienced alot of things, discovered many things, yet still a year that leaves alot to be desired.

First and foremost, PassionDC - there is nothing that occured this year that was as impactful as the 2 days spent in Fairfax. This event got me back on the right track with God, and despite several times in '08 where I've started to slip, I was able to find myself looking back to those days in February as a reminder to myself what I'm striving for. Looking ahead, exactly 364 days from now, I'm hoping to have the opportunity to in Atlanta for Passion2010.

2008 was also a year where I was officially biten by the travel bug. While my trips remained within the comfines of North America, the times spent on the road with great company and things I saw that opened my eyes, I'm excited for what is to come in '09. While I do not really have anything planned yet, LA for a few days in Feb is a distinct possibility, with also a possible return to the WSOP in June/July.

With that said, 2009 is also the year of uncertainty, a year of change, and a year of transition. For the first time, I will be working from Jan - Apr, while going back to school from May - Aug. This is also the year where I supposedly conclude my undergrad, closing another chapter in my life while moving on to a new chapter.

As far as future plans, the foundation have been set, but it is really still up in the air. The plan is now to spend an extra 4 months and complete my minor in December of 2009. Hopefully kicking off my grad trip in Atlanta, and followup with a stay in Australia/New Zealand before returning to Vancouver for the Olympics in February of 2010. Conclusion of the Olympics will signal the beginning of Europe, and upon my return from Europe, begins the next chapter in life - the "real working world". All of these plans are contingent on many things coming together, and we will see what happens.

I really do not know what the future holds, but I'm waiting in expectancy.

Random Study Notes

2008-12-05T14:29:00.002-05:00

Studying for an exam, and I stumble upon a page of my textbook where they used the Chick-fil-A job application form as an example - that made sorta made my day.

Rant about the Hockey Memorabilia Industry

2008-11-24T18:26:00.004-05:00

I've just about had it with a certain company in Toronto whom has been making a huge mark-up on consumers (merely my opinion, not backed by any actual numbers or figures) for a piece of autographed hockey memorabilia. This company has signed many of today's young guns to exclusive contracts, and therefore completely monopolizing the markets for collectors in obtaining autographed collectibles from these certain players. While I have no problem in a company having a desire to obtain are player's exclusivity, I do have a problem when an autograph picture of an unproven rookie is going to cost me more than getting the same sized picture signed from a 6 time Norris trophy winner. I have a problem with paying more for an autograph jersey from the current Calder Trophy recipient compared to the reigning Hart Trophy winner.

Now I am unsure of the exact reasons why said company is charging such a price for their products, nor will I speculate the reasons, but when their other local competitor is charging equal amount for higher caliber players, it brings into question whether it is the contracts they offer to these players to obtain their exclusivity, or whether it is simply greed driving up the prices. At the same time, not only do their competitor offer lower prices, they even offer the collectors a chance to meet the players in person, giving fans a chance to meet their heroes, giving kids a chance to create memories to last a life time.

Unfortunately, with players like Crosby/Malkin/Toews/Kane etc. exclusive to this company, it forces collectors to hand over a healthy sum of money for various valued collectibles. As one, I would like to see changes over time, but given the demand for products from this company, it is extremely unlikely for that to happen - which is unfortunate for collectors like myself whom may never own a piece from these players for the exact reasons listed above.

*the views expressed here are merely by the author and is not associated or affiliated with any of the companies mentioned

Travelling Pet-Peeves

2008-11-18T06:13:00.002-05:00

Now that I'm back from a 10 day "vacation" and having taken 4 separate flights, I have now compiled a list of flying pet-peeves

1. People who pulls on your head rest to get up from the chair
2. People on stretch with completely disregard to their invasion of your space

Something that will now be a must in my travel bag - ear plugs

US Election

2008-11-05T10:23:00.002-05:00

Below is written by a friend of mine, and since it pretty much is how I feel for the most part, I won't even try to write something that might sounded remotely as intelligent as his, and just copy his words

"I'll even go ahead and say that it's a good thing that the next President of the US is half-black. It's not that I wanted him to win simply because of the colour of his skin, but it's a good symbol that a mixed race person was able to win the highest position in government. And given the poor treatment of blacks throughout a large portion of US history, I'm going to go ahead and call it a win.

In all likelihood, by the end of Obama's term(s), he will be considered the most charismatic president in at least a half-century. I actually have mixed feelings about this. To be sure, Obama is great at giving speeches and is very good at making people feel good and happy. But this actually scares me a little. Most of the worst politicians and figures in history have been charismatic individuals. I fear charismatic politicians. When it comes to a position of power, I'd much rather have a guy with just so-so charisma; someone that people like but aren't entranced by. Obama creates this wave of excitement and fervor everywhere he goes. It's probably just me, but I'm genuinely scared when I see massive, massive throngs of people gathering to hail any one man as the messiah and saviour and the great bringer of change and bearer of hope. People have always showed up to political rallies to support and cheer for their candidate, but Obama supporters seemed particularly fervent. And today, when his win was made official, people were so fucking happy. There's this great sense of pride among Americans that they elected Obama. And all of that is scary to me. Because at the end of the day, he's still a politician. He and his ilk are still going to take away liberties, still spend other peoples' money, and still make up laws to benefit some at the expense of others. He will say things he doesn't believe or are grounded in fallacy, and he will say them with a straight face because they are the popular things to say. He will do these things because he is a politician, and that's what politicians do."

-Terrence

Change of Plans

2008-11-05T00:22:00.002-05:00

Life, is like baseball.
Life throws you a fastball, you swing, but you can't catch up to it cuz it was too fast.
Life throws you a curveball, you swing, but you were thought the pitch was going to be straight, but it wasn't.
Life throws you a change-up, you swing, but you were too early cuz you thought it was going to be a fastball.
Life throws you a slider, you swing, but you just couldn't reach it.
Life throws you a knuckleball, you swing, but you didn't think the ball would be out of control due to the wind.
Life throws you a gyroball and an oky-doky, you swing, but you didn't know you were up against Boston's Dice-K and Okajima.

Stolen from a certain person's blog.

Anyways, reason for this blog, is because of something really unexpected, yet not necessarily a bad opportunity came up recently. As a avid sports fanatic, its pretty much a dream for me to one day be working within a professional sports organization. However, it is also a very small industry, and also very hard to get in. My whole plan was to graduate with my Economics degree with Human Resources Management as my specialization, continue on and get a job while completing my Canadian Human Resources Professional designation, and see where it leads me. However, I've been approached with an opportunity to "kick off" my sports management "career" through the Department of Athletics and Recreational Services at the University of Waterloo. No, its not some big deal with Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, but its a start somewhere. This is not a co-op job, but rather just a job placement for a term. Which means - I won't graduate on schedule like I plan to, but this is also a great opportunity for me to get started within the sports management industry, gaining valuable experience for the future.

Nothing is really set in stone yet as I haven't been offered the job, but I am pretty confident that my involvement with the Department of Athletics will have be ranked pretty high as a candidate - I guess we'll wait and see.

On another note - Chicago in 3 days!

NHL Awards

2008-10-30T03:19:00.002-04:00

So I was bored tonight, and needing something to do to procrastinate, I decided to watch clips of NHL Awards again. Part of me was just curious how many seconds of mistake the producer made by getting my famous head into the shot, and the answer was approximately 5 seconds.

Yes...I was THIS bored.

Chicago

2008-10-21T19:12:00.001-04:00

I was sitting at work (I work as a front desk staff for the athletics office) today and saw a post on RFD - half price for flights out of Buffalo. As...2 of you know, I was looking for a short trip to Chicago to visit Carrie, and to watch some sports. Been targetting Nov 8/9 since the Bulls, Blackhawks AND Bears have a home game all within the same weekend. When I was checking this out earlier...the price of $160 USD was tempting already, and now it sonly $80 for both ways! How gross is that! If Carrie is free...I think I am 100% a go.

Leafs Game

2008-10-15T21:25:00.003-04:00

So yeah, finally something to post about. This past Thanksgiving weekend, I ended up going to the Raptors preseason game, as well as the hockey game between the Leafs and the Blues. First time I've ever sat in the lower bowl for a hockey game, and I won't lie, being in the lower bowl makes a huge difference. Definitely doesn't compare to being rinkside, but the perspective of being slightly higher up is does provide a much better line of sight.

[BRAG] First time being in the lower bowl - a puck was deflected right to me
[BEAT] The guy sitting directly in front of me decided to move his shoulder at the last minute and tipped it away from me
[BEAT[ Could've caught a puck, but it ended up deflecting off my thigh and hitting the armrest and bouncing to the next section over
[VARIANCE] Watching the Leafs cough up a 3-0 goal lead, AND sitting through Antropov and Kubina attempting a shootout shot.

Will try to get some pictures up at a later date.

NYC - Part II

2008-09-03T01:22:00.004-04:00

Holy crap, its been like 6 weeks since my last post. I'll blame this inactivity on..summer. With work, and then softball, I hardly get around to really sit down and blog. Not much really happening for awhile between my Vegas trip and now, as it was all pretty routine with work, softball, sleep and so forth, until this past week.

Finishing work on the 22nd, I made my second trip down to New York this summer, this time strictly a "sports pilgrimage". With this being the last year at the historic Yankees Stadium, it was a promise I made to myself that I had to watch a game there at least once before it closes down. With that said, I planned a trip with one of my friends down to New York from Aug 24 to Aug 27. An extended trip report will come later, but this trip was definitely a memorable one.

Here are a few pictures for now...

WATTS!!!

2008-07-18T03:09:00.001-04:00

Congrats to Mike "SirWatts" Watson for taking down the $15K WPT Bellagio Cup for $1.6 million.

Key Hands

Hand #149 - David Benyamine has the button, he raises to 500,000, Watson raises to 1.5 million, Benyamine moves all in, and Watson immediately calls with AK. Benyamine shows QQ, and it's the classic race, with the tournament or a huge chip lead at stake.

The flop comes 1082, and Benyamine retains the lead with his pocket queens.

The turn card is the 5, and Benyamine retains the lead. Watson's large group of friends starts shouting for an ace, and things like, "One time!"

The river card is -- the A!

Watson doubles up with a pair of aces.

Watson's friends cheer and clap on the rail, but he almost looks sheepish as he walks back to the table. Benyamine goes over to look at his stack to see what kind of damage he's gonna take.

AND the winning hand

Hand #154 - Mike Watson has the button, he moves all in, and Benyamine immediately calls all in for 2,985,000 with K9. Watson shows Q9, and he'll need to improve to win the tournament here.

The flop comes AQ6, and Watson pairs his queen to take the lead.

The turn card is the 9, and Benyamine needs a king on the river to stay alive.

The river card is the 7, and Mike Watson wins the pot -- and the tournament -- with two pair, queens and nines.

David Benyamine finishes as the runner-up in second place, earning $840,295.

Mike Watson wins the WPT Bellagio IV, earning $1,673,770, a WPT bracelet, a Bellagio bracelet, and entry into the Season VII WPT World Championship next April here at Bellagio.

Vegas Observations

2008-07-11T21:21:00.003-04:00

Will probably post a more detailed trip report in the near future, but just want to note a few things as I remember them.

Vegas is a city...
...that best examplifies what "money talks" means
...where alcohol is free and a bottle of water costs $3.50

...to be continued

Vegas!

2008-07-04T06:50:00.003-04:00

Just a quick blog here - arrived in Vegas late on July 1, and have been just hanging out and having a few meetup with guys on various forums, checking out places like the forum shop and what not. Probably going to see some July 4 festivities (will figure it out when I wake up) and then the UFC fight on Saturday. Nothing really planned for the few days after that before I come home. Will probably play a poker tournament or two, maybe head out to Grand Canyon/Hoover Dam or something.

Wes

Quick Update

2008-06-27T02:11:00.003-04:00

Nothing really new to update on since the NHL Awards a couple of weeks ago. Still work from Monday to Friday, and pretty much softball on evenings and weekends. A few more days before I leave for Vegas for a week and a half, and half planned my second New York City trip for this summer where I will be able to visit Yankee Stadium before they moved to a new stadium next year.

A couple of interesting conversations lately, and a few things happening/that has happened got me thinking a bit lately.

Still praying to see where God is leading me in terms of the whole visitation/trip to Hong Kong in the fall - whether I will take the term off or go back to do school full time or do school part time. And if I choose the first or third option, how will I break it to my parents. Still not sure where I am headed in terms of career - with "1 year" left in my undergrad, I really don't know what my career will look like after graduation - just leaving it all in God's hands I guess.

Thats it for now...

NHL Awards and After Party at Carlu

2008-06-13T10:54:00.002-04:00

Ok...so this is a "trip report", or it can even be a complete brag post - so if you dislike people boasting, you can stop reading now, otherwise, read on. A word of warning though, this will be a long read.

June 12, 2008 - Elgin Theatre is the location of the NHL Awards Show. Initially I was given a ticket to attend the show as an audience, but seeing where the seat is located, I decided to attend the show as a seat filler. Turned out to be an excellent decision as I literally rubbed shoulders with who's who of hockey. The evening began with the arrival to Elgin Theatre, a crowd was slowly forming around the red carpet anticipating the arrivals of their hockey heroes. As I walk by, I was approached not only once, but twice, with a intrigued by-stander whether or not I was anyone of importance - I assured them I was not worth their time. Upon signing in, an hour passed waiting in foyer of the mezzanine level as there were approximately 100 or so seat fillers that needed to be processed. The evening seemed like the high school prom all over again - everyone very well dressed, guys in suits, girls in dresses, and you have your one or two guys that are under dressed and stuck out like a sore thumb.

6:30 rolls around, and the fire alarm goes off. The crowd was assured that the fire department will be on scene and simply ignore it, although it is very difficult to ignore a constant loud irritating noise, but we try out best with the anticipation of being in an exclusive evening with our hockey heroes. People were divided, with a group whom were given a ticket to seats with obstructed view to depart from the waiting area first. What and how they organized the remaining seat fillers, I have no idea, as I was led down along with 3 others to the theatre to fill the seats of 3 stars whom will be making an entrance with the cup to begin the show. While I made my descend from the mezzanine level to the orchestra level, players/coaches/executives/politicians/tv personalties etc. have filled the lobby of the Elgin Theatre, among the crowd I was able to pick out Zdeno Chara before being ushered into the theatre - not hard to pick out someone that stands 6'9". Anyways, the three seats that needed to be filled were - Pavel Datsyuk's, Dominik Hasek's, and Henrik Zetterberg. Being the gentlemen that I am, I offered the first two seats to the ladies whom filled Pavel's and Dominik's. To my surprise, Henrik's seat was a front row seat - what a reward for me gentlemen gesture! I ended up being seated beside Henrik's girlfriend - Swedish Model and TV host - Emma Andersson, as well as the lady from the Diabetes association whom assigned the seating named Jaynelle. Stumpin' Tom Connors kicked off the show with "The Hockey Game" to a standing ovation, with the Red Wings and the Stanley Cup making its way into the theatre. While I was seated in my seat prior to the beginning of the show, I was like a kid in a candystore. Eyes open-wide and just taking in the scene. The endless number of players walking by, shaking hands with each other, it was hard to keep track of who's where and who's who. My front row seat lasted for about the first half an hour of the show, when Henrik returned and sadly I must give up the seat back to the original holder. In my despair, I was shown a seat that was in an better location - front row, towards the middle, alongside commission Gary Bettman and the Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. I was not seated there for long, as Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe, soon came down to take his seat as he is the recipient of the first NHL Life time Achievement Award.

Following the second commercial break, while I was hanging out at the side, I was instructed to take the seat of either Henrik Zetterberg, or Pavel Datsyuk, if they were to win the Selke Award as the best defensive forward. While secretly cheering for Henrik, I was not disappointed either when Pavel Datsyuk was given the award, thus allowing me to sit in his seat for awhile (as the other nominee - John Madden - was seated on the other side of the theatre, therefore would have had his seat filled by someone stationed on the opposite side for convenience). This was a seat I would return to 2 other times in the evening, the second time after receiving his Lady Byng, and the last when he was pulled away for interviews. As the evening went on and awards were getting handed out, it appeared as I was assigned to be Datysuk's personal seat filler as I was jumping between his seat, and the box seats. Finally, as the event drew towards the end, and the last two awards were given out, I took my third seat assignment - whomever wins the Vezina Award, I will be filling his seat. With Martin Brodeur winning it once again, I promptly took his seat, directly behind Evgeni Malkin, and it was almost opposite of the seat I am now very familiar with, Pavel Datsyuk's. As the camera zooms into the Hart trophy nominees, with Ovechkin winning the Most Valuable Player award which was already a foregone conclusion, it wrapped up a tremendous evening at the Elgin Theatre, but not the last of my adventure. As the cameras went off-air, the theatre became a zoo. Many kids were in attendance, and they were already running around during the commercial breaks for the autograph, and the trend continued after the show. Being around the same area the entire night, I made eye contact with several of the Red Wings and proceeded to have a chat/handshake and a word of congratulations with their head coach Mike Babcock, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Dominic Hasek, as well as a few guys around the area - Jason Blake and Evgeni Malkin. Not quick to leave the theatre, I eventually got my first picture of the night (and only picture) with Jarome Iginla. Also introduced myself to various TV personalties to the likes of Bob McKenzie, Pierre McGuire, Darren Dreger, Gord Miller, Scott Morrison and James Duthie.

Following the Awards ceremony, I managed to get a ticket to the after party at Carlu. As I make my way out of the theatre to get on the shuttle bus, I was approchaed by those waiting outside the theatre for an autograph, again I assure them I am a nobody. Getting on the bus behind me was Guy Carbonneau, and his first words were "Man I'm thirsty! This bus needs some drinks!", and we were off to Carlu for a night of open bar. Fans were already lined up at the entrance seeking a picture/autograph of their favourite players, and again I was asked, and responded with a "I'm not important" and proceeded into the building. Carlu was a gorgeous venue - multiple rooms and the acoustic inside the concert hall was spectacular. The architecture was stunning and the displayes were magnificent. Oh yeah, and theres also all the players/execs etc who were in attendance. The open bar and food was a delight to my stomach, and the room was a delight to the eyes.

All in all, it was an evening to be remembered. Hopefully I will be able to do this again next year.

Brag x2 - this is just going to be a brag list of the celebrities in attendance whom I spoke with over the course of the eveing.

Jason Blake, Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Mike Babcock, Scotty Bowman, Dominik Hasek, Gary Bettman, Bill Daly, Darren Dregr, Bob McKenzie, Pierre McGuire, Scott Morrison, Jarome Iginla, Evgeni Malkin, Martin Brodeur, Craig Simpson, Cassie Campbell

Interesting points of the evening - this is more the various things I noticed/heard while at the awards or at the after party that was funny, awkward, or just worth mentioning in general.

1. Ron MacLean's jokes during the awards. There were a few that had a bit of an awkward moment before some clapping
2. Ron MacLean bringing up the Brian Burke and the Toronto Maple Leafs issue during the awards
3. Ron MacLean's "phone" started ringing with "The Hockey Theme" (aka Hockey Night in Canada theme) as his ringtone
4. The speeches of Pavel Datysuk
5. The figiting of the players' feet on stage behind the podium after receiving their awards

I did manage to take a couple of pictures in the theatre, so I will get that up tonight or something.

NHL Awards Show'd + After Party'd

2008-06-12T23:37:00.002-04:00

WOW! What a night! I'll post a more detailed report later, as I'm a tad tipsy right now due to the open bar from the after party - expect one coming on Friday or something.

Wes

NHL Awards Predictions

2008-06-12T11:32:00.002-04:00

I'm back with another round of predictions - this time for the winners of the various awards. Winner in italic

Hart Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Jarome Iginla, F, Calgary; Evgeni Malkin, F, Pittsburgh; Alexander Ovechkin, F, Washington.

Vezina Trophy (Top Goaltender): Martin Brodeur, New Jersey; Henrik Lundqvist, N.Y. Rangers; Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose.

Norris Trophy (Top Defenseman): Zdeno Chara, Boston; Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit; Dion Phaneuf, Calgary.

Calder Trophy (Top Rookie): Nicklas Backstrom, G, Minnesota; Patrick Kane, F, Chicago; Jonathon Toews, F, Chicago.

Lady Byng Trophy (Most Sportsmanlike): Pavel Datsyuk, F, Detroit; Jason Pominville, F, Buffalo; Martin St. Louis, F, Tampa Bay.

Adams Award (Top Head Coach): Mike Babcock, Detroit; Guy Carbonneau, Montreal; Bruce Boudreau, Washington.

Selke Trophy (Top Defensive Forward): Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit; John Madden, New Jersey; Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit.

Masterton Trophy (Perseverance, Sportsmanship and Dedication to Hockey): Jason Blake, F, Toronto; Chris Chelios, D, Detroit; Fernando Pisani, F, Edmonton.

Pearson Award (Most Outstanding Player): Jarome Iginla, F, Calgary; Evgeni Malkin, F, Pittsburgh; Alexander Ovechkin, F, Washington.

Summer random update

2008-05-24T08:56:00.004-04:00

Long time no post! I think that is the direct result of not having school anymore and with that, the beginning of summer. Not much really has happened since last update, been pretty much just working for the past 6 weeks since school finished. Other than work, it has just been softball along with some other sports in there, and putting in some hours at the virtual felt.

Going to be going to New York City for a weekend next weekend, and aiming to go again probably sometime in July.

Just finalized my flight for Las Vegas yesterday - going to be flying out of Buffalo on July 1st, and returning July 9th. Probably not playing any WSOP events since there is none except for the Main Event while I'm there, but I'm still on my quest to get a seat in the ME. Came very close last night where first gets a seat, but fell short and got third. Not too many weekends left to play and try to win one through Stars, but hopefully I'll be able to get lucky on my first or second try.

Softball season is right around the corner in terms of CCSA, but with my other league it has been under way for a few weeks now. Nothing like being called Team Roger Clemens, and having a picture of a needle as your logo...Loving it!

I was close to tears seeing Manchester United pulling off the double winning the Champions League this past Wednesday and the Premier League a couple of weekends ago. I seriously believed that John Terry would miss that fifth penalty, and he did not disappoint. While not as the dramatic come back against Bayern in 1999, but watching the game in its entirity at a bar with a group of Man Utd. fans is pretty awesome...only wished I would've been able to hit up Main Event Sports Bar where it was the official spot for Man Utd supporters - hopefully there is next year.

This is going to be a great Stanley Cup finals. Two very skilled teams in Detroit and Pittsburgh, the youth of Pittsburgh against the experience of Detroit. This year is the year for Pittsburgh, Marian Hossa won't be returning next year, and probably a couple of the other role players like Gary Roberts...sad to see the cap being the direct result of the possibility of Malkin/Crosby/Fleury breaking up after next year - something has to be done with the cap system.

Thats it for now...probably will try to update a bit more frequently

NHL Round 1 Predictions

2008-04-09T17:01:00.002-04:00

Montreal 4 - 1 Boston
Pittsburgh 4 - 1 Ottawa
Washington 4 - 2 Philadelphia
New Jersey 2 - 4 New York Rangers

Detroit 4 - 1 Nashville
San Jose 4 - 3 Calgary
Minnesota 2 - 4 Colorado
Anaheim 4 - 2 Dallas

There goes the bracelet

2008-04-06T16:06:00.001-04:00

After a month and a half, the bracelet from PassionDC has come off.

NYC

2008-04-02T03:22:00.002-04:00

315am, instead of sleeping, since I didn't sleep last night, or studying for my in-class exam in 15 hours, I'm up looking at the schedule for the Yankees and the Mets in an attempt to schedule a couple of visits down to NYC this summer to check out a few games before they move into new stadiums next year. First weekend and last weekend of August looks to be the dates that work, just waiting to see what kind of job I can land for the summer, and how I can work that schedule around my travel plans.

So much for studying

2008-04-01T08:54:00.003-04:00

The time of massive-pointless-sports-plus-other-related-and-unrelated-blogs has arrived - or otherwise known as its-exam-time-so-i-procrastinate-by-blogging period. Its approximately 9am when I start this blog, and I got back into Waterloo about 30 minutes ago. I got an exam in 7 hours and I have barely started studying for it.

I was listening to the FAN590 this morning for part of the drive, and a thought crossed my mind. With teams like the Leafs out of the playoff, and a few games remaining that is considered meaningless, what should a coach/management do with regards to managing playing time for their players. This issue comes up especially when they play a team that is fighting for a playoff spot, or playing a playoff bound team looking to move up in the standings. The reason this thought crossed my mind this morning, is because the Leafs will be starting Andrew Raycroft in net tonight against the Buffalo Sabres, his first start in 30 games. The Buffalo Sabres are currently mathematically still in the hunt for a playoff spot, despite their chances of actually making the playoff being slim, that is not the point. The Leafs themselves were a victim of a team not playing their best player last year which might've had a direct impact of them missing the playoffs (The New Jersey Devils decided to start their backup goalie instead of Martin Brodeur in the last game of the season which the New York Islanders won and took over the 8th spot from the Leafs). It is a widely used tactics in basketball to rest your key players in the last few games of the year if you have clinched a spot so that you are able to have your best players rested and have time to heal bumps and bruises from the regular season so they may be rested for the second season - also known as the playoffs. Got a bit off topic for a bit, but going back to the original issue - how should a coach manage their players going into the last few games of the season? There are two thoughts - a season is 82 games (or 162 in baseball, 16 in football), and therefore a coach shouldn't manage their team any differently in game 1 of the season or game 82. The second thought is that the ultimate goal of any team is to win the championship, and if by resting players will give them a higher chance of succeeding in achieving the ultimate goal, the coach should do whatever it takes to increase the chance of achieving that goal.

9:05 - that took a bit over 5 minutes. I shall come back to this topic later on. I really should study...

Back to Toronto

2008-03-31T22:45:00.003-04:00

I've officially moved out of my place in Waterloo and now I'm back in Toronto full time. Will be commuting on Tuesday/Wednesday of this week, and that will be the end of my school term in terms of lectures/classes. Long day these next two days though with 2 in class exams, with one being possibly worth 40%. It is also a class that I haven't doing too well in this term, and yet I haven't exactly done much studying. Probably going to be an allnighter tonight, but whatever. Wednesday's won't be as bad as its only worth 25%, so not really going worry too much about it right now. A couple of exams at the end of next week, and another 2 weeks from now, and then summer officially begins. Still trying to figure out what to do about summer employment.

Back to "nerding"

Bad Habits

2008-03-28T03:07:00.002-04:00

Its been pretty bad lately. Not sleeping until 3/4/5am in the morning, and eating like 1.5 meals a day...

I'll be unofficially moving out of the place I've been living at for the past 7 months tomorrow. Time flies, still felt like yesterday when I met these guys for the first time. Don't think any of them will ever read this, but thanks for everything...the past 7 months has been alot of fun. Looking around the room, I'm not sure if I can fit everything in my car tomorrow, might have to come back after Grad Dinner on Sunday to get whatever I leave behind due to space.

Still need a summer job...NYC tripS planning in progress...still praying for HK...contemplating whether or not to apply to be a don...

Priorities

2008-03-27T00:59:00.001-04:00

Very hard decision, but...

CCF Grad Dinner > Wrestlemania + Raptors game + Chris Bosh All-Star Bobblehead..

Intramural Volleyball

2008-03-26T14:30:00.002-04:00

A random note...currently in the semi-finals for advanced vision bracket 1 - if we win the next game we'll be playing the finals on varsity court...something to strive for.

I'm hoping that yesterday's storm was the last one for the winter...am really getting sick of the coldness and winter in general. Time for spring/summer - aka softball, soccer, you name it! Time to bring back that flipflop tan!

Sleepless Night

2008-03-26T04:40:00.001-04:00

Another night where there are so many thoughts running through my head that I just can't seem to fall asleep....don't even know where to begin.

Relationship Building

2008-03-25T23:25:00.004-04:00

Sometimes I wonder why I even bother...its like why I do I even bother wasting time and effort in a losing battle, or at a lost cause. Thinking back, it seems like my fingers are always pointed outwards, should it be time to turn that finger inwards? Am I the problem? Am I going about it the wrong way? I'm not talking about a romantic relationship here, but merely friendships and a relationship between a brother/brother or brother/sister. It feels like there is always a barrier somewhere, some kind of invisible shield. Is it that hard to be able to have and maintain connections? Sometimes it seems like when I try to get closer to Him, I end up getting further away from people. Ever since I came back from Passion, where I've striven to try to get to know Him more intimately, I seem to have messed up more relationships by either saying things that probably are better left unsaid, or I don't say things that I should. Sometimes it feels like I'm wasting time on the wrong relationships...trying to build something out of nothing, something that is non-existent, pursuing something that should not be pursued, and then I turn around and turn away ones I should invest time in building up...I need to get my head checked.

I feel like I hate (well..not hate since hate is such a strong word), but dislike(?) who I am/have become/am becoming?

Some random notes. I really really really do not have any motivation for school. Its been going on since mid-Feb, and to this date, I've probably skipped more classes then the ones I've attended. Granted, I did have 2 weeks where I was sick, and 1 week I skipped for TC, but even the weeks I'm in Waterloo - I just don't feel like going and attending classes. I think this third year in general has been pretty brutal for me academic wise...I'll need to find a way to dig deep and finish off strong, 3 exams next week and 1 is definitely not going to be pretty...

Crazy Week

2008-03-17T14:27:00.002-04:00

Just felt like randomly blogging a note here for some reason...these past few days (or a week and a bit) has been crazy. A sort-of last minute decision to serve at TC...to being in Toronto during school week, into London for Friday night and in Waterloo during the weekend, its been nuts. Finally had a bit of time to rewind on Saturday/Sunday and my body decide to get sick. Ended up sleeping for like 16 hours on Saturday, missing out on the fashion show and all.

Sometimes I just feel like the more things change, the more things stay the same...maybe its just a coincidence, but I really don't know whether I should embrace that, or if I should look at it as an insult to myself by myself...:S

Back to making the playoffs schedule for intramural volleyball, captains meeting is in 2 hours

There goes 4 days

2008-03-16T10:49:00.001-04:00

And...TC is over. It was an eye-opener to say the least. Seeing TC from a different perspective, and more importantly being humbled through serving. I'll probably write up something sometime soon....

Still...

2008-03-09T23:32:00.002-04:00

Still hate trying to think of titles...

Still learning...

Still being changed by His grace and mercy...

Still wondering...pondering...whether or not some things needs to be said...

Still waiting in anticipation of what is to come...

Still losing at Roll Up the Rim to Win..

Winter + PassionHK?

2008-03-08T01:24:00.003-05:00

Again..at a lost for a title..will get back to it.

I'm seriously getting sick of winter. I've never been much of a winter person, but I never really minded winter until the last couple of years. I think it has something to do with not being able to go boarding/skiing, but yeah, I want winter to be over, and summer to come.

A short update I guess on my "renewed" walk. I've had the desire to read God's word alot more lately. I'm not really reading through any particular book or following any particular tracks, I'm more just flipping to various passages, and really seeing what God is trying to say to me through those few passages. Also reading through Louie Giglio's book "I am not but I know I am"...

Another thing that's been on my mind lately, in Passion Hong Kong. Ever since PassionDC, where Sam shared her story, my relatives have been on my mind...ALOT. It think more of it started with Chris Luk said something along the lines of "no money (or monetary value) can represent how you would feel if you know your son/daughter is going to go to hell" (sorry if I butchered this Chris - if you ever read this - but after I heard it thoughts just starting rushing through my mind). I have talked to a few people about this, but its something I've been praying over lately. With almost all my relatives in HK, and only a couple of them being Christian, its really been on my heart to go back and spend some time with them and hopefully have a chance to share the gospel with them. Praying to see if God is calling me to go back for a week or two and just devote it to the relatives (and maybe serve at Passion HK). How awesome would it be to serve the students from the universities in HK and allow them to experience the worship environment/atmosphere that we've experienced here in Canada/US. In the end, its all about God's timing, and like I committed to His will and His timing, I'll go - whenever HE calls me to go.

Still can't think of a title...so I guess I'll just have to go with something plain and simple

Be Still

2008-03-02T20:50:00.000-05:00

"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

Psalm 46:10

Something Random

2008-02-29T11:56:00.000-05:00

Man..I hate coming up with titles for blogs...especially something short like this...

Anyways...so I bumped into a friend at the library yesterday, and I just though "man, I must not have changed very much if some guy I haven't seen since like grade 4 can still recognize me"

That is all

Post Passion...

2008-02-28T00:51:00.002-05:00

My reaction so far to everyone's question to "how's passion" has been "it was awesome, learned...or more like relearned alot of things"...but, what does that really mean? I've been thinking and rethinking what it all meant, how it all came together, and what I can do. I don't think it is something I have fathomed, nor is it something I can really put in writing within one post. My guess is that it can probably be more reflected by the changes over time..hopefully.

Ever since I've entered university, saying my spiritual life is like a roller coaster on rocky tracks is an understatement. I've been trying to hide it, trying to say to myself "it'll improve", but each time, I find myself saying "I'll get to it tomorrow". What it boils down to, I think is the fact that I no longer associate myself with a group where I belonged to that helped me with my spiritual walk. Throughout my days at MGC, and later the reason why I ultimately had to leave, was that I didn't feel I was growing. In my heart I still believed there was a reason God placed me in that church, and it was tough, very tough, to really pray to see where God was leading me to, and whether or not a change was necessary. With that said, I always had an avenue outside of the church itself where I was growing. Whether it was through TC or other things like online sermons/studies, I was striving to build a relationship with Him... But as I entered university, that flame that I had seemed to have been extinguished. I never really regained the passion to study his word (but then again, I never really regularly did "devos"). I slacked off in my prayer life, and when it comes down to it, most of the time, I was a walking hypocrite. Proclaiming to be a Christian, but other than believing that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and has redeemed me from death, I did nothing. I'm not saying faith along is not enough, in contrast, it is stated in the bible that all we need is faith as small as a mustard seen and nothing is impossible. - "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you" (Matt 17:20). Anyways, I was simply a "believer", and not someone who continued to pursue a relationship with Him. Like a snowball rolling down a hill, it just kept growing and gaining momentum.

When it came to PassionDC...when you asked me at the beginning, "why are you going?", I would not have been able to give you an honest answer. Do I know now? Yes and no. I know why I was called to go, but I am yearning to find out more. I want to dig deeper...I am no longer interested in just scratching the surface. At points during Passion, I felt like I caught of a glimpse of heaven. No longer are people worried about what others will feel about the way they're worshiping, but rather it was genuine worship. So often I realized that, even myself, I wonder what people might think about me, that I am no longer genuinely worshiping. Its definitely an atmosphere I can get used to :D. Everyone around was there for one and only one reason, God. There were times in the past, I guess it was more during high school prior to the roller coaster (not to say there wasn't any back then), I've felt alone, I felt like I was the only one. But seeing 3000 other college (or university) students there, it was a great reminder. Not only am I not alone, but I'm part of a bigger army, God's army.

I feel like I'm rambling here...another reason why I should really start journal-ing. It feels like there were lots of time where I've had my thinking time, or mediation time, and then when I get back to it, most of it is gone. I guess it's hard to really gather all your thoughts at times...but yeah...I guess more to come...

2078.1 km, 1 purpose, 1 destination

2008-02-26T01:22:00.001-05:00

To be continued...

A journey renewed

2008-02-25T16:37:00.003-05:00

I see a generation
Rising up to take their place
With selfless faith, with selfless faith
I see a near revival
Stirring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees, we're on our knees

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what break yours
Everything I am for your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity

For greater things
Have yet to come
And greater things
Are still to be done

edited: not my fault the site I c+p from couldn't type! and funny how loey didn't catch it :D

Modernization of Religion?

2008-02-10T11:44:00.000-05:00

Had an interesting conversation with a few friends over dinner last night that got me thinking a bit. As we all know, Christianity, or for the most part, all of the religions, has become more open/accepting over the years. But since I guess I'm most familiar with Christianity, I'll stick to that. There is alot of the "traditional vs. revolutional" discussion, ever since, forever. As secular culture evolves, it seems like the church follows suits. I guess most relevant example would be worship music - there are alot of debates for hymns vs. more modern worship music. While I will not take sides because it is not necessary for this discussion, but with this example, we can see that as the secular culture evolves, the culture at the church also evolves with it. While the "typical" argument would be that the church is simply providing people, mainly teenagers, something relevant and familiar to them, and thus does not discourage the congregation to come as they feel what they are doing is "old-school", but is that a religion evolving, or is that a religion modernizing itself to remain "relevant" to society. Are the true purpose of religion (or have the true purpose, or will it ever be) lost as the culture of the church continues to try to remain "relevant" to the secular society, and the continous attempt to appeal to the youth culture.

Probably sounded alot like a bunch of mumble jumble, but definitely something that got me thinking...

0 for 4 in FTOPS

2008-02-09T00:18:00.001-05:00

Haven't had much success this year yet...good thing I satellited into all of the events instead of buying in directly, would've been costly. Had my best showing tonight in the $216 6 max Limit event. Had Rizen (one of the best tournament players) to my left for like 4 levels so that really hurt, but I was able to get up to 2x the average stack for awhile before my hands decided to stop holding up against loose calling donkeys. Guys were calling 3 bets with hands like A2, Q10 and hitting...oh wells. Busted out right before the 3 hour mark and about 100 short of cashing. Taking the next few days off, and hopefully will get in a couple of events next weekend before the series is over.

And as for sickness, I feel like I'm almost back to full health...so thats definitely a good thing.

FTOPS VII

2008-02-06T23:33:00.000-05:00

FTOPS = Full Tilt Online Poker Series

Basically a series of poker tournaments (20 in total) which spans 2 weeks. And like any other major poker sites, well fine, Poker Stars, Full Tilt Poker decides to give some money away to players to lure them back to play (and it works, because I have already generated $250 in rake for 'em in 3 days). So I just somehow decided to get sick these past few days, so I figred "meh, why not" and decided to dump some extra money in and satellite into a few tournaments.

So far, I've already qualified for 3 events, and hopefully more in the days to come. Just played in their first event, $216 No Limit Hold 'em, had around 5300 entrants and generated a prize pool of over $1 million, and first place getting about $180K. Unfortunately I just couldn't get a grip in this event at all. Probably only won like 2 pots in the entire hour and a half that I was in the tournament for. Raised with hands like 1010/JJ, and each time was called and flop put 2 overcards on board, or limped with small pocket pairs and came out empty each time. Last hand ended with blinds at 50/100, and I pushed all-in with AJo after a min-raise by the player to my immediate right, and one of the blinds just decided to wake up with QQ. Flopped a gut shot but somehow missed my 4 outer. Oh wells...next event it is.

Got a seat in tomorrow night's $535 HORSE event, as well as both the $216 Pot-Limit Hold 'em and $216 Limit Hold'em event on Friday. Won't be able to play any events after Friday with midterms and stuff the week after, but hopefully will satellite into the big $2500 2 day event and also $535 main event next weekend.

On another note, Mike MacDonald, aka "timex" won $933K Euro (around $1.4 million USD) this past week in EPT Dortmund...so sick..He's been running so hot this year its gross..

Giving credit to where credit's due

2008-02-04T02:08:00.000-05:00

The NY Giants defence played a huge game from what I've read and saw. Yes, I was cheering for the Patroits, and I'm not afraid to admit it, but I'm also just a regular sports fan who enjoy a close, nail-biting, and exciting game over a blowout. I'll have to watch the game again as I missed half of it, but I don't regret that decision at all. Eli Manning played a great game, seemed to be very composed and in control, and the pass rushing defence of the Giants were simply too much. In any case, congrats to the Giants for winning Super Bowl 42, the 1972 Dolphins team members will probably get a good night sleep tonight.

As for the band wagon jumpers, please don't even start...you do not become a fan of a team just because they knocked off a huge favourite in the biggest game of the year..

Super Bowl Props Results

2008-02-04T01:46:00.001-05:00

I'm sure I went 0-for with the props...oh wells. Just glad that I took the line early even though it didn't make a difference, but too bad I was such a girl and middled the game...

Super Bowl XLII Props

2008-02-03T02:52:00.001-05:00

Something just for fun

Coinflip: Heads
Winning the coin toss: New England Patroits
Team to receive opening kickoff: New England Patroits
First play from scrimmage: Pass
First scoring play: Touchdown
Highest Scoring Quarter: 2nd
Highest Scoring Half: 1st
First Coaches Challenge: New York Giants
Result of Challenge: Play stands
Total points in the first half: 41
Total points in the game: 75

Argh!

2008-02-02T02:14:00.001-05:00

This sucks! After fixing my sleeping patterns this week, my stupid throat just has to start acting up and itch tonight, and now I can't sleep!

Not being able to sleep, it got me thinking, and thus started a bit of link-stalking. What do people even blog about now-a-days anyways? Is it just a diary? If its a diary, then why does some people not write everything down? I don't know, I'll probably end up going in circles anyways, since I'm not really organizing my thoughts and just writing them down. So if a blog is not a diary by its traditional definition, how would you explain what a blog is to someone who have been on Mars for the past decade? Something/someplace/an avenue in which a person uses to express their thoughts and opinions? But blogs aren't only about thoughts and opinions, some people keep others updated about their life via blogs (like mine to a certain degree). How would you define a "blog"?

Speaking of blogs, is it a fad like Friendster (and potentially Facebook)? Or is it here to stay? I've found many old blogs where the writer neglect the blog, or has neglected the blogs for months, if not a year or more. Sometimes a user goes back to it periodically, or will never go back, or one day just decide to "revive" his/her blog. I know I have done it, and many others have done so. Is "blogging" something that have phases as well?

The Variance

2008-01-29T05:53:00.000-05:00

It feels like crap to run this bad. So I've had some Frequent Player Points (FPP) saved up from Poker Stars for awhile, and I decided to play some of their steps tournament which could turn into an EPT trip. It was running good for awhile as I started maybe 10 step 1s, and have built it up to 3 step 4s, 2 step 3s and 1 step 2s. (To advance from one step to the next, you must finish in the top 2 from a 9 player tournament). And then the doom switch was pushed. I have never, I mean never, ran this bad before. This is not just AK vs. A3 where the guy hits a 3, or top pair against a flush draw because those I can deal with, but these are KK vs. AA, QQ vs. KK, or the odd time when I have KK vs. 99, or AA vs 1010, they manage to hit one of their two cards by the end. It has been sickening. So I have lost all of my tournament tickets, and I will again, be taking some time off (seems like I say that alot). It feels like I have "spurts" where I play alot (compared to others, its like nothing - but in any case), which usually takes place for 2 weeks or so, and then I take "breaks" of anywhere from 2 days to 2 months. I really do not have the desire to grind low limit cash game anymore. It doesn't feel as fun as it used to be, and tournaments/SnGs have such incredibly high variance, so I just play whenever I feel like it. It is still a very fun, and sometime profitable game/hobby, but my motivation to put in the hours and hands is simply not where it was a year ago today.

The World of Judy Yan

2008-01-28T15:36:00.000-05:00

The way to wish people good luck before an exam...

"and when u write an exam u want to have a brain diarrhea..where all the info in ur brain just spills out onto the paper HAHAHAHHAHAHHA"

Or..if you really hate the other person...

"I hope you have a brain constipation"

Aussie Open

2008-01-25T06:21:00.000-05:00

My sleeping pattern is official messed...been up watching tennis til sunrise for the past few days. At least the women's finals is tonight and I really have no interest in the men's finals, so hopefully after this weekend I am going to be able to somehow correct my sleeping schedule back to normal.

But wow, Federer and Nadal losing in straight sets in the semis. Watched both matches almost in the entirity and both Tsonga and Djokovic had the match of the lives (more so for Tsonga). Both players were dominating in their matches and deserves to play in the finals...but its just weird seeing Nadal and Federer losing in straight sets...oh wells, sleep time!

Another Early Morning

2008-01-23T14:47:00.000-05:00

I had one of those nights/mornings again, I was up until 5:45am watching the Aussie Open. It was a great match by Federer and Blake though. But I seriously need to do something about my sleep schedule, I can't continue this nocturnal-ness for the entire term...

Staying up does have its incentives

2008-01-19T05:28:00.000-05:00

One of the benefits that came from not being able to sleep tonight was watching a 5-set thriller between Roger Federer and Janko Tipsarevic. What an exciting 5th set...

So its 4:30am....

2008-01-19T04:26:00.000-05:00

...and I am still wide awake. For some reason my sleeping pattern has made a turn for the worst after I went back to Waterloo. Its not like I've been skipping class, heck, I've been to every single one of my lectures so far (well..I did leave one early), but yet I still have trouble falling asleep at a "normal" time. So now I am home in TO, up at 4:30am, trying to find a way to make myself tired...hopefully reading about personnel selection will do the trick...

Aussie Millions Satellite Review

2007-12-23T00:28:00.001-05:00

NOTE: Poker content blog...could get boring! Comments will be after each hand, and hands are seperated by *****************

*********** # 3 **************
PokerStars Game #14036964711: Tournament #70311069, $500+$30 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2007/12/22 - 22:01:13 (ET)
Table '70311069 10' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 4: billig (3000 in chips)
Seat 5: malone77 (2950 in chips)
Seat 6: gloierm (3070 in chips)
Seat 7: THESHARK222 (2980 in chips)
Seat 8: wesleyw (3000 in chips)
Seat 9: Bake 'n Rake (3000 in chips) is sitting out
THESHARK222: posts small blind 10
wesleyw: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to wesleyw [Ad Qd]
Bake 'n Rake: folds
billig: raises 80 to 100
malone77: folds
gloierm: folds
THESHARK222: folds
wesleyw: calls 80
*** FLOP *** [Jc Qh 8h]
wesleyw: checks
billig: bets 175
wesleyw: raises 375 to 550
billig: folds
wesleyw collected 560 from pot
wesleyw: doesn't show hand

First hand I played, pretty standard against an unknown player.

*********** # 4 **************
PokerStars Game #14036980188: Tournament #70311069, $500+$30 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2007/12/22 - 22:02:04 (ET)
Table '70311069 10' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 4: billig (2725 in chips)
Seat 5: malone77 (2950 in chips)
Seat 6: gloierm (3070 in chips)
Seat 7: THESHARK222 (2970 in chips)
Seat 8: wesleyw (3285 in chips)
Seat 9: Bake 'n Rake (3000 in chips) is sitting out
wesleyw: posts small blind 10
Bake 'n Rake: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to wesleyw [Ks Qc]
billig: folds
malone77: folds
gloierm: raises 40 to 60
THESHARK222: calls 60
wesleyw: calls 50
Bake 'n Rake: folds
*** FLOP *** [9c Kh Ad]
wesleyw: checks
gloierm: checks
THESHARK222: checks
*** TURN *** [9c Kh Ad] [Th]
wesleyw: bets 120
gloierm: folds
THESHARK222: calls 120
*** RIVER *** [9c Kh Ad Th] [9s]
wesleyw: checks
THESHARK222: bets 200
wesleyw: calls 200
*** SHOW DOWN ***
THESHARK222: shows [Kd 9h] (a full house, Nines full of Kings)
wesleyw: mucks hand
THESHARK222 collected 840 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 840 | Rake 0
Board [9c Kh Ad Th 9s]
Seat 4: billig folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: malone77 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: gloierm folded on the Turn
Seat 7: THESHARK222 (button) showed [Kd 9h] and won (840) with a full house, Nines full of Kings
Seat 8: wesleyw (small blind) mucked [Ks Qc]
Seat 9: Bake 'n Rake (big blind) folded before Flop

I think this is the first mistake I made. If I wanted to play, I should've re-raised preflop. No sense of playing a marginal hand out of position. As it turns out I probably lost the minimum here.

*********** # 22 **************
PokerStars Game #14037212047: Tournament #70311069, $500+$30 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2007/12/22 - 22:15:09 (ET)
Table '70311069 10' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: knight1688 (2710 in chips)
Seat 2: Zeppo72 (2300 in chips)
Seat 4: billig (1775 in chips)
Seat 5: malone77 (5020 in chips)
Seat 6: gloierm (4330 in chips)
Seat 7: THESHARK222 (2120 in chips)
Seat 8: wesleyw (2785 in chips)
Seat 9: Bake 'n Rake (2910 in chips) is sitting out
billig: posts small blind 10
malone77: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to wesleyw [5s 5c]
gloierm: folds
THESHARK222: folds
wesleyw: raises 40 to 60
Bake 'n Rake: folds
knight1688: calls 60
Zeppo72: folds
billig: folds
malone77: folds
*** FLOP *** [Ah 5d 4c]
wesleyw: bets 100
knight1688: calls 100
*** TURN *** [Ah 5d 4c] [3h]
wesleyw: bets 200
knight1688: raises 200 to 400
wesleyw: calls 200
*** RIVER *** [Ah 5d 4c 3h] [Qc]
wesleyw: checks
knight1688: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
wesleyw: shows [5s 5c] (three of a kind, Fives)
knight1688: mucks hand
wesleyw collected 1150 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1150 | Rake 0
Board [Ah 5d 4c 3h Qc]
Seat 1: knight1688 mucked [Ts Ac]
Seat 2: Zeppo72 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: billig (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: malone77 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: gloierm folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: THESHARK222 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: wesleyw showed [5s 5c] and won (1150) with three of a kind, Fives
Seat 9: Bake 'n Rake folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Nothing really happens for awhile. I basically just folded up until this hand. So I'm in middle position here and decides to raise with presto (aka 55). Gets a caller from knight1688 who hasn't played a hand this whole tournament. Flopping a set helped alot, especially with the A as well. knight1688 here will have an ace with a pretty good kicker for the most part. A9+ (meaning A9, A10, AJ, AQ, AK) is my guess. My mistake came on the turn. The min-raise by knight threw me off. Based on the way this hand played out so far, I can't imagine him having A2 (or a hand with any 2 in it) or 67. It turns out to be a block raise so he can see the showdown for free. But I should have just shoved over his raise on the turn, and will probably be called half the time, and I'm good almost 99% of the time. A bet on the river probably wouldn't be too bad either if for some reason he was playing AQ or something, but basically I won the minimum this hand.

*********** # 28 **************
PokerStars Game #14037313099: Tournament #70311069, $500+$30 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2007/12/22 - 22:20:55 (ET)
Table '70311069 10' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: knight1688 (2060 in chips)
Seat 2: Zeppo72 (2300 in chips)
Seat 4: billig (1585 in chips)
Seat 5: malone77 (5410 in chips)
Seat 6: gloierm (4590 in chips)
Seat 7: THESHARK222 (1820 in chips)
Seat 8: wesleyw (3305 in chips)
Seat 9: Bake 'n Rake (2880 in chips) is sitting out
knight1688: posts small blind 15
Zeppo72: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to wesleyw [6h 6s]
billig: raises 90 to 120
malone77: folds
gloierm: folds
THESHARK222: folds
wesleyw: calls 120
Bake 'n Rake: folds
knight1688: folds
Zeppo72: folds
*** FLOP *** [3h Tc Jc]
billig: bets 150
wesleyw: raises 250 to 400
billig: calls 250
*** TURN *** [3h Tc Jc] [7h]
billig: checks
wesleyw: checks
*** RIVER *** [3h Tc Jc 7h] [4d]
billig: bets 450
wesleyw: calls 450
*** SHOW DOWN ***
billig: shows [Qs Js] (a pair of Jacks)
wesleyw: mucks hand
billig collected 1985 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1985 | Rake 0
Board [3h Tc Jc 7h 4d]
Seat 1: knight1688 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: Zeppo72 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: billig showed [Qs Js] and won (1985) with a pair of Jacks
Seat 5: malone77 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: gloierm folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: THESHARK222 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: wesleyw mucked [6h 6s]
Seat 9: Bake 'n Rake (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

A few hands later this came up. I should've just foled on the flop without hitting a set, but monkey brain just decided to raise there to see if this player had a hand. After getting called on the flop I should have just gone to check-fold, so I don't know why I called the river bet. Bad play and lost more chips than necessary

*********** # 32 **************
PokerStars Game #14037381293: Tournament #70311069, $500+$30 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2007/12/22 - 22:24:51 (ET)
Table '70311069 10' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: knight1688 (2015 in chips)
Seat 2: Zeppo72 (2255 in chips)
Seat 3: avi23 (3910 in chips)
Seat 4: billig (2740 in chips)
Seat 5: malone77 (4890 in chips)
Seat 6: gloierm (4970 in chips)
Seat 7: THESHARK222 (1865 in chips)
Seat 8: wesleyw (2335 in chips)
Seat 9: Bake 'n Rake (2880 in chips) is sitting out
gloierm: posts small blind 15
THESHARK222: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to wesleyw [6h 6c]
wesleyw: calls 30
Bake 'n Rake: folds
knight1688: calls 30
Zeppo72: folds
avi23: calls 30
billig: raises 130 to 160
malone77: folds
gloierm: folds
THESHARK222: folds
wesleyw: calls 130
knight1688: folds
avi23: folds
*** FLOP *** [Ac Jc 7h]
wesleyw: checks
billig: bets 350
wesleyw: folds
billig collected 425 from pot
billig: doesn't show hand

66 again, against the same guy. Not sure if I like limping in from UTG, and also cold-calling with 2 players to act behind me. Could've easily been squeezed but this time I smartly check-folded without flopping a set.

*********** # 36 **************
PokerStars Game #14037448658: Tournament #70311069, $500+$30 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2007/12/22 - 22:28:46 (ET)
Table '70311069 10' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: knight1688 (1595 in chips)
Seat 2: Zeppo72 (2255 in chips)
Seat 3: avi23 (4315 in chips)
Seat 4: billig (3020 in chips)
Seat 5: malone77 (3670 in chips)
Seat 6: gloierm (6220 in chips)
Seat 7: THESHARK222 (1820 in chips)
Seat 8: wesleyw (2130 in chips)
Seat 9: Bake 'n Rake (2835 in chips) is sitting out
knight1688: posts small blind 15
Zeppo72: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to wesleyw [8c Tc]
avi23: folds
billig: folds
malone77: raises 60 to 90
gloierm: calls 90
THESHARK222: folds
wesleyw: raises 230 to 320
Bake 'n Rake: folds
knight1688: folds
Zeppo72: folds
malone77: calls 230
gloierm: folds
*** FLOP *** [Kh 6c 8d]
malone77: checks
wesleyw: bets 420
malone77: calls 420
*** TURN *** [Kh 6c 8d] [9s]
malone77: checks
wesleyw: checks
*** RIVER *** [Kh 6c 8d 9s] [7c]
malone77: bets 990
wesleyw: raises 400 to 1390 and is all-in
malone77: calls 400
*** SHOW DOWN ***
wesleyw: shows [8c Tc] (a straight, Six to Ten)
malone77: shows [Th 9h] (a straight, Six to Ten)
malone77 collected 2198 from pot
wesleyw collected 2197 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 4395 | Rake 0
Board [Kh 6c 8d 9s 7c]
Seat 1: knight1688 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: Zeppo72 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: avi23 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: billig folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: malone77 showed [Th 9h] and won (2198) with a straight, Six to Ten
Seat 6: gloierm folded before Flop
Seat 7: THESHARK222 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: wesleyw showed [8c Tc] and won (2197) with a straight, Six to Ten
Seat 9: Bake 'n Rake (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

malone77 has been opening about 60% of the hands up to this point. Alot of the times raising behind limpers and in position. I randomly decide to 3-bet him light with 10-8 of clubs, just figured that this would be a hand thats pretty disguised and more importantly I would have position on him. Flop wasn't a bad flop, but his call on the flop did shut me down for the turn card as he could easily be playing some hands that would've hit. The river put a 4 card straight and I was sure that I had the best hand since I don't see him calling the flop bet with a J10 there unless he was floating which would've been really ugly. Just thought it was an interesting hand...

*********** # 51 **************
PokerStars Game #14037647266: Tournament #70311069, $500+$30 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2007/12/22 - 22:39:48 (ET)
Table '70311069 10' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: knight1688 (2285 in chips)
Seat 2: Zeppo72 (2480 in chips)
Seat 3: avi23 (4675 in chips)
Seat 4: billig (2930 in chips)
Seat 5: malone77 (3288 in chips)
Seat 6: gloierm (5950 in chips)
Seat 7: THESHARK222 (1115 in chips)
Seat 8: wesleyw (2347 in chips)
THESHARK222: posts small blind 15
wesleyw: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to wesleyw [6d 6h]
knight1688: folds
Zeppo72: folds
avi23: folds
billig: folds
malone77: raises 60 to 90
gloierm: folds
THESHARK222: folds
wesleyw: calls 60
*** FLOP *** [3c 6s Ts]
wesleyw: checks
malone77: checks
*** TURN *** [3c 6s Ts] [5c]
wesleyw: bets 120
malone77: folds
wesleyw collected 195 from pot
wesleyw: doesn't show hand

I fold some more, and malone77 again raises like he has been for like 50%+ of the hands. I find 66..again, and decides to play for set value. Flops a set and it goes check check, and was hoping he was trapping with an overpair or something but got no action...

*********** # 53 **************
PokerStars Game #14037678492: Tournament #70311069, $500+$30 Hold'em No Limit - Level III (25/50) - 2007/12/22 - 22:41:30 (ET)
Table '70311069 10' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: knight1688 (2085 in chips)
Seat 2: Zeppo72 (2480 in chips)
Seat 3: avi23 (4475 in chips)
Seat 4: billig (2730 in chips)
Seat 5: malone77 (3823 in chips)
Seat 6: gloierm (5950 in chips)
Seat 7: THESHARK222 (1100 in chips)
Seat 8: wesleyw (2427 in chips)
knight1688: posts small blind 25
Zeppo72: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to wesleyw [8h 8s]
avi23: folds
billig: folds
malone77: folds
gloierm: folds
THESHARK222: folds
wesleyw: raises 100 to 150
knight1688: folds
Zeppo72: calls 100
*** FLOP *** [Jh 2d 9h]
Zeppo72: checks
wesleyw: checks
*** TURN *** [Jh 2d 9h] [7d]
Zeppo72: checks
wesleyw: checks
*** RIVER *** [Jh 2d 9h 7d] [2s]
Zeppo72: checks
wesleyw: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Zeppo72: shows [5s 5h] (two pair, Fives and Deuces)
wesleyw: shows [8h 8s] (two pair, Eights and Deuces)
wesleyw collected 325 from pot

Nothing really interesting. In a sense I didn't want to get raised off the best hand, and I did want to show this hand down to show I'm not stealing even though the blinds are still small. Maybe I could've put out a value bet on the turn or the river.

*********** # 64 **************
PokerStars Game #14037786577: Tournament #70311069, $500+$30 Hold'em No Limit - Level III (25/50) - 2007/12/22 - 22:47:35 (ET)
Table '70311069 10' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: knight1688 (2060 in chips)
Seat 2: Zeppo72 (2180 in chips)
Seat 3: avi23 (4400 in chips)
Seat 5: malone77 (3573 in chips)
Seat 6: gloierm (9230 in chips)
Seat 7: THESHARK222 (1125 in chips)
Seat 8: wesleyw (2502 in chips)
malone77: posts small blind 25
gloierm: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to wesleyw [Th Ac]
THESHARK222: calls 50
wesleyw: raises 150 to 200
knight1688: folds
Zeppo72: calls 200
avi23: folds
malone77: folds
gloierm: folds
THESHARK222: folds
*** FLOP *** [As 7c 6s]
MfrigginL is connected
wesleyw: bets 300
Zeppo72: calls 300
*** TURN *** [As 7c 6s] [Js]
wesleyw: checks
Zeppo72: bets 550
wesleyw: calls 550
*** RIVER *** [As 7c 6s Js] [7h]
wesleyw: checks
Zeppo72: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
wesleyw: shows [Th Ac] (two pair, Aces and Sevens)
Zeppo72: shows [Kh Ad] (two pair, Aces and Sevens - King kicker)
Zeppo72 collected 2225 from pot

This was another hand where I lost more chips. Shark has been playing pretty nitty and was shortstacked. In retrospect I probably could've folded to the turn bet, but I was check-folding to any river bet.

*********** # 66 **************
PokerStars Game #14037813885: Tournament #70311069, $500+$30 Hold'em No Limit - Level III (25/50) - 2007/12/22 - 22:49:07 (ET)
Table '70311069 10' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: knight1688 (2210 in chips)
Seat 2: Zeppo72 (3355 in chips)
Seat 3: avi23 (4400 in chips)
Seat 4: MfrigginL (3575 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 5: malone77 (3498 in chips)
Seat 6: gloierm (9130 in chips)
Seat 7: THESHARK222 (1025 in chips)
Seat 8: wesleyw (1452 in chips)
THESHARK222: posts small blind 25
wesleyw: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to wesleyw [Qh Qs]
knight1688: folds
Zeppo72: folds
avi23: raises 200 to 250
MfrigginL: folds
malone77: folds
gloierm: folds
THESHARK222: folds
wesleyw: raises 400 to 650
avi23: raises 3750 to 4400 and is all-in
wesleyw: calls 802 and is all-in
*** FLOP *** [5s 6h 9d]
*** TURN *** [5s 6h 9d] [9c]
*** RIVER *** [5s 6h 9d 9c] [Js]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
wesleyw: shows [Qh Qs] (two pair, Queens and Nines)
avi23: shows [As Kd] (a pair of Nines)
wesleyw collected 2929 from pot

Got short-stacked after the last hand so pretty standard, good to win a race for once thats for sure.

*********** # 71 **************
PokerStars Game #14037892722: Tournament #70311069, $500+$30 Hold'em No Limit - Level III (25/50) - 2007/12/22 - 22:53:26 (ET)
Table '70311069 10' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: knight1688 (1885 in chips)
Seat 2: Zeppo72 (2980 in chips)
Seat 3: avi23 (2848 in chips)
Seat 4: MfrigginL (3525 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 5: malone77 (4668 in chips)
Seat 6: gloierm (8810 in chips)
Seat 7: THESHARK222 (1075 in chips)
Seat 8: wesleyw (2854 in chips)
MfrigginL: posts small blind 25
malone77: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to wesleyw [Qd As]
gloierm: folds
THESHARK222: folds
wesleyw: raises 100 to 150
knight1688: calls 150
Zeppo72: raises 300 to 450
avi23: folds
MfrigginL: folds
malone77: folds
wesleyw: folds
knight1688: folds
Zeppo72 collected 525 from pot
Zeppo72: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***

I was probably squeezed here and probably should've at least called to see a flop, but I don't hate the fold.

*********** # 85 **************
PokerStars Game #14038150657: Tournament #70311069, $500+$30 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2007/12/22 - 23:07:53 (ET)
Table '70311069 10' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: knight1688 (2535 in chips)
Seat 2: Zeppo72 (3480 in chips)
Seat 3: avi23 (2123 in chips)
Seat 4: MfrigginL (3425 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 5: malone77 (4918 in chips)
Seat 6: gloierm (8510 in chips)
Seat 7: THESHARK222 (1125 in chips)
Seat 8: wesleyw (2704 in chips)
Seat 9: RomfordRobot (2450 in chips) is sitting out
RomfordRobot: posts small blind 50
knight1688: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to wesleyw [As 9s]
Zeppo72: folds
avi23: folds
MfrigginL: folds
malone77: raises 200 to 300
gloierm has timed out
gloierm: folds
gloierm is sitting out
THESHARK222: folds
wesleyw: calls 300
RomfordRobot: folds
gloierm has returned
knight1688: folds
*** FLOP *** [3c 9h 2d]
malone77: checks
wesleyw: bets 500
malone77: folds
wesleyw collected 750 from pot
wesleyw: doesn't show hand

Pretty standard bet after malone checked.

*********** # 92 **************
PokerStars Game #14038247071: Tournament #70311069, $500+$30 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2007/12/22 - 23:13:23 (ET)
Table '70311069 10' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: knight1688 (2135 in chips)
Seat 2: Zeppo72 (3330 in chips)
Seat 3: avi23 (1373 in chips)
Seat 4: MfrigginL (3275 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 5: malone77 (4668 in chips)
Seat 6: gloierm (9210 in chips)
Seat 7: THESHARK222 (1075 in chips)
Seat 8: wesleyw (3804 in chips)
Seat 9: RomfordRobot (2400 in chips) is sitting out
THESHARK222: posts small blind 50
wesleyw: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to wesleyw [Th Kh]
RomfordRobot: folds
knight1688: folds
Zeppo72: raises 200 to 300
avi23: calls 300
MfrigginL: folds
malone77: calls 300
gloierm: folds
THESHARK222: folds
wesleyw: calls 200
*** FLOP *** [6c 3h Ah]
wesleyw: checks
Zeppo72: bets 1000
avi23: folds
malone77: folds
wesleyw: raises 2504 to 3504 and is all-in
Zeppo72: folds
wesleyw collected 3250 from pot
wesleyw: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***

Only reason I decided to see a flop with this hand is that I close the action from the BB. Decent flop for me as I do flop a flush draw. Zeppo has been making continuation bets on almost all of his raises, and with a 5/6 bet, it feels like he just wants to bet players out hence I went with the check-raise semi-bluff. Even if called I would have some outs in the hand with the flush draw in this spot.

*********** # 106 **************
PokerStars Game #14038417905: Tournament #70311069, $500+$30 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2007/12/22 - 23:23:20 (ET)
Table '70311069 10' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: knight1688 (1885 in chips)
Seat 2: Zeppo72 (1105 in chips)
Seat 3: avi23 (873 in chips)
Seat 4: Sydney St@r (1510 in chips)
Seat 5: malone77 (5618 in chips)
Seat 6: gloierm (9810 in chips)
Seat 7: THESHARK222 (2250 in chips)
Seat 8: wesleyw (5304 in chips)
Seat 9: RomfordRobot (2100 in chips) is sitting out
avi23: posts small blind 50
Sydney St@r: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to wesleyw [Ah Tc]
malone77: folds
gloierm: folds
THESHARK222: folds
wesleyw: raises 200 to 300
RomfordRobot: folds
knight1688: folds
Zeppo72: folds
avi23: calls 250
Sydney St@r: folds
*** FLOP *** [Jc 5c 8c]
avi23: bets 573 and is all-in
wesleyw: calls 573
*** TURN *** [Jc 5c 8c] [Qd]
*** RIVER *** [Jc 5c 8c Qd] [As]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
avi23: shows [7d 7h] (a pair of Sevens)
wesleyw: shows [Ah Tc] (a pair of Aces)
wesleyw collected 1846 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***

This played felt exactly like a stop and go to me, and getting 2.4 to 1 or so, with any club and an ace being probably good, and maybe even my 10, I was willing to get chips in there to gamble. It worked out in the end but glad that my read is so far so good.

*********** # 110 **************
PokerStars Game #14038459578: Tournament #70311069, $500+$30 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2007/12/22 - 23:25:48 (ET)
Table '70311069 10' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: knight1688 (1785 in chips)
Seat 2: Zeppo72 (1105 in chips)
Seat 3: floes (4550 in chips)
Seat 4: Sydney St@r (1810 in chips)
Seat 5: malone77 (7868 in chips)
Seat 6: gloierm (9660 in chips)
Seat 8: wesleyw (6227 in chips)
Seat 9: RomfordRobot (2000 in chips) is sitting out
RomfordRobot: posts small blind 50
knight1688: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to wesleyw [9s 9c]
Zeppo72: folds
floes: folds
Sydney St@r: folds
malone77: folds
gloierm: raises 200 to 300
wesleyw: raises 800 to 1100
RomfordRobot: folds
knight1688: folds
gloierm: folds
wesleyw collected 750 from pot
wesleyw: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***

gloeirm has been taking advantage of his position on the sitting out player and opening alot when its folded to him, so I took a stand with 99 here preflop.

*********** # 119 **************
PokerStars Game #14038530669: Tournament #70311069, $500+$30 Hold'em No Limit - Level V (75/150) - 2007/12/22 - 23:30:02 (ET)
Table '70311069 11' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: malone77 (10503 in chips)
Seat 2: Electronutz (6025 in chips)
Seat 3: Bake 'n Rake (2115 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 4: wesleyw (6677 in chips)
Seat 5: noam (10170 in chips)
Seat 6: latinogrek (6420 in chips)
Seat 7: Diamond<>T (4200 in chips)
Seat 8: shaka 1234 (4115 in chips)
Seat 9: vouna (3905 in chips)
Diamond<>T: posts small blind 75
shaka 1234: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to wesleyw [As Qs]
vouna: folds
malone77: raises 300 to 450
Electronutz: folds
Bake 'n Rake: folds
wesleyw: calls 450
noam: calls 450
latinogrek: folds
Diamond<>T: folds
shaka 1234: calls 300
*** FLOP *** [Kd 7c 9d]
shaka 1234: checks
malone77: bets 900
wesleyw: folds
noam: folds
shaka 1234: folds
malone77 collected 1875 from pot

Not sure if I like my play here with AQ. Probably marginal both ways calling/folding/re-raising. Check-fold to a flop that missed...I guess its standard with malone's tendency.

*********** # 127 **************
PokerStars Game #14038622286: Tournament #70311069, $500+$30 Hold'em No Limit - Level V (75/150) - 2007/12/22 - 23:35:33 (ET)
Table '70311069 11' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: malone77 (11703 in chips)
Seat 2: Electronutz (5350 in chips)
Seat 3: Bake 'n Rake (1890 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 4: wesleyw (6227 in chips)
Seat 5: noam (14070 in chips)
Seat 6: latinogrek (6270 in chips)
Seat 8: shaka 1234 (2690 in chips)
Seat 9: vouna (5930 in chips)
latinogrek: posts small blind 75
shaka 1234: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to wesleyw [8d As]
vouna: folds
malone77: folds
Electronutz: folds
Bake 'n Rake: folds
wesleyw: raises 300 to 450
noam: folds
latinogrek: calls 375
shaka 1234: folds
*** FLOP *** [6c 7c 4c]
latinogrek: checks
wesleyw: checks
*** TURN *** [6c 7c 4c] [Qs]
latinogrek: checks
wesleyw: checks
*** RIVER *** [6c 7c 4c Qs] [3c]
latinogrek: bets 600
wesleyw: raises 900 to 1500
latinogrek: folds
wesleyw collected 2250 from pot
wesleyw: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***

River bet looked too much like a "you raised but not following through so I will take a stab at this pot" bet. So I decided to represent the Ac which worked.

*********** # 140 **************
PokerStars Game #14038742922: Tournament #70311069, $500+$30 Hold'em No Limit - Level V (75/150) - 2007/12/22 - 23:42:50 (ET)
Table '70311069 11' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: malone77 (12003 in chips)
Seat 2: Electronutz (5800 in chips)
Seat 3: Bake 'n Rake (1515 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 4: wesleyw (4277 in chips)
Seat 5: noam (17370 in chips)
Seat 6: latinogrek (6570 in chips)
Seat 8: shaka 1234 (2240 in chips)
Seat 9: vouna (4355 in chips)
Bake 'n Rake: posts small blind 75
wesleyw: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to wesleyw [Qc Ad]
noam: folds
latinogrek: raises 300 to 450
shaka 1234: folds
vouna: folds
malone77: calls 450
Electronutz: folds
Bake 'n Rake: folds
wesleyw: raises 1350 to 1800
latinogrek: folds
malone77: calls 1350
*** FLOP *** [2h 5c 9h]
wesleyw: bets 2477 and is all-in
malone77: calls 2477
*** TURN *** [2h 5c 9h] [9c]
*** RIVER *** [2h 5c 9h 9c] [8s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
wesleyw: shows [Qc Ad] (a pair of Nines)
malone77: shows [6d 6h] (two pair, Nines and Sixes)
malone77 collected 9079 from pot

The hand that I played horribly. I have been 3-betting malone77 pretty light, and with my stack, the re-raise basically commited me to the pot, so I should've just shoved preflop. I won't analyzed malone's play, but it was probably a light call on his part, but my mistake was only re-raising and not shoving preflop.

So thats that. I was hoping for a Christmas gift to the Aussie Millions, but I guess I now have to wait until the WSOP.

Looking back, I did make a few glaring errors, in which one cost me my tournament life. Not sure if he would've folded to a shove preflop, but I think that would've been the right/better play. This analysis really shows me that there is still alot of holes in my tournament game even though I've been getting into the money on a regular basis lately, but really haven't had any significant scores except for a second place finish in a $33 HORSE tournament a couple of weeks ago. I really felt like I had a good shot winning a seat at this satellite because there wasn't any players I recognized who are MTT experts (multi-table tournament), and from checking a database with records, most players that are playing haven't had any major success from tournaments, so relatively speaking, it was a pretty easy field. Obviously I'm a bit disappointed from not qualifying, but there are many more opportunities in the future.

Annual Tradition

2007-12-19T13:14:00.000-05:00

No, its not going shopping, nor doing anything festive really. For the past 7 or 8 years, I've spent the parts of the Christmas holidays watching the World Junior Hockey Championship. It is one of my favourite hockey tournaments to watch, and it helps that I have some game used memorabilia - but thats another subject altogether. The reason why I like to watch it so much, besides the fact that Canada tends to dominate the tournament, is the quality of hockey offered. The players playing might not have the skills set of NHL players, for some this tournament might even be their last chance to play on national television, but all of the players who participates give 110% every single shift (as much as that is a cliche). These players play because they love the game, they are proud of putting on the maple leaf sweater, and more important they want to showcase their skills to advance to the next level. As much as players in the NHL are more skilled, there are games where it is simply boring to watch. I don't think I've experienced a single boring game yet from the WJHC. It is simply the best tournament there is, maybe besides the Olympics, but that only happens once every 4 years.

While I'm on that topic, here is a funny story from the WJHC courtesy of Gord Miller from TSN.

Thousands of Canadian fans from Manitoba and Saskatchewan drove down for the games, but one night the highway was closed due to a snowstorm, meaning the fans could not return home. Local officials opened the domed football stadium, and nearly 5,000 fans spent the night there.

The officials later reported two things: that the Canadians pitched in and cleaned up the next morning, leaving the stadium in immaculate condition, and that they sold more beer that night than they sold in an entire season of North Dakota football.

I wish I lived in Manchester

2007-11-30T00:59:00.000-05:00

Sir Bobby book signing

Always wanted to get Sir Bobby Charlton's autograph? Well, here's your chance.

United's all-time highest appearance maker will be at the Old Trafford megastore on Friday 30 November to sign copies of his new autobiography, 'Sir Bobby Charlton: My Manchester United Years'.

The legendary Red will be at the megastore between 12:00-13:00 GMT.

You are advised to arrive in good time. As the signing session is limited to one hour, it will be operated on a first come, first serve basis.

Taking the bus

2007-11-28T00:53:00.000-05:00

The last couple of nights, I've gone to bed, with my mind racing at like 100 miles per hour. Its those times where I'm just lying on my bed, and things just running through my mind. Its not anything in particular, but just things, alot of things, running through my head at the same time. And it just feels like I haven't had much down time this term. It is a big convenience to have a car here in Waterloo this term, it saves alot of time from waiting for the bus, and also makes it alot easier to go grocery shopping and what not. However, it also feels like I'm constantly on the go. I no longer have those time to myself, where I spend time with God, talking to him, and I guess in a way it was like prayer. Last year, I had to wait for the bus, and the trip to school from the bus took 15-20 minutes. It was those times when I felt I really was able to spend time alone and really become "deep in tought". I would be listening to my music, and just tune myself out from the world. I've never really been a person that does my daily devos. I feel it is very forced when I try to do it daily. I am more of a person who enjoys listening to sermons, and looking up passages that I come across, etc. I have never been a person who sits in front of a desk and follows a devo track or something. I don't know, I have done it before, but I found myself learning more the way I do it now, versus the past where I have to force myself to do it. But this year, without those times, I find myself constantly on the move, rarely having that "alone" time. I find that there are periods of time where I stop growing spiritually. It feels more like I'm on a standstill, not moving forward. I need to find a way to go back to what I did, at least replicate what I did.

Yes, I know, this post probably didn't make much sense, but its my blog, what can you do about it?! =þ

Random Thoughts

2007-11-21T13:12:00.001-05:00

Sweet! Found another way to procrastinate. Just going to post some random thoughts on random topics...

- 2 words to describe the Leafs this year - mediocrity and inconsistency. After a tremendous effort against the best team in the East on Saturday, they come back and lose an absolute stinker to the Bruins. A team starting your team's former prospect against you was clearly rubbing salt in your wounds, yet the team still manage to blow a 2 - 0 lead. Is it the players? coach? GM?

- Sundin is playing his heart out this year. Hate to say it, but the Leafs have to trade him. I would LOVE to see Sundin win a Stanley Cup, unfortunately it will not be will the Leafs, but it would be great to see him go out the way Ray Bourque did.

- Between Maurice and JFJ, unfortunately it will be Maurice that goes first unless they bot last until the end of the season, and then JFJ will be gone

- It seems the more respected GMs in any league has an easier time making any type of deals...case and point - Brian Burke with now the Anaheim Ducks, and Brian Colangelo with the Raptors

- Moon has been awesome...I was skeptical at first, but he has been growing on me. He reminds me of a more athletic version of JYD.

- Had a chance to meet Anthony Parker, Jose Calderon and Jason Kapono the other day. They were great and funny guys...

- Still deciding whether or not to go Black Friday shopping or not. I was quite excited for awhile, but the excitement kinda died the last few days...it'll either be Grove City or staying home...need to make a decision soon.

- Sad to see the Argos losing on Sunday. The defence did its job, the Bishop just couldn't muster any offence. Would've been nice to have the home team in the Grey Cup. With Glenn out, I don't think Winnipeg can win this game. Their defence will keep it close and their offence will score some points, but I think this is finally the year for Riders to win it again.

Time to wrap this up...time to go write the exam...

Reason Why I Hate School

2007-11-11T02:38:00.000-05:00

#...2000 something?

I cannot attend the Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony, in which probably the best class of inductees in the past 20 years will be inducted, as a result of conflict with classes.

Stupid Runner Runners...

2007-11-08T20:48:00.000-05:00

With midterms/assignments over for 2 weeks, I randomly decided to play some donkeys on Solar Poker. Over the past couple of weeks I ran my free money from them up to $1000. With the lack of game selection, there was only a 0.01/0.02, 0.05/0.10, and 1/2 game going. I decide to go donk around the 1/2 game just because its free money and because I can. That site is always full of short-stack donkeys who never buys in for the max. It was the ugliest run I have had...for a couple of months.

It was running well until I decided to flop 2 pair with 42o and gets it in against nothing but a back-door straight draw with Ace high and he just somehow makes the wheel.

And then I decides to get all my chips in with TPTK against a bluffing station and he decides to make running two pair.

Last straw came with a tilty donk decides to way over-raise my raise and we get everything in the middle with AK vs. A6. Yes..same story. I flop TPTK and he decides to hit running 6s.

Thats why I love online poker so much

The Future of AJ with the BJs

2007-11-07T12:06:00.000-05:00

Here I am, 4 hours before my stats midterm, and I'm going to blog about Mr. AJ Burnett. Rumours has it that JP Ricciardi was on the trading block, a rumour that JP quickly denied. Here is my take. JP should ACTIVELY seek a team, whom would be interested in AJ's services, and in return can offer a couple of young arms, or player(s) that can fill out our holes (catcher, another starter, etc). Here are the reasons why:

1. This year's free agent class is pretty lame to say the least. Guys that would've been FA (Beckett, Buehrle, Zambrano) were all locked up to long term deals by their respective team during the year. With the exception of aging pitchers like Andy Pettitte (who said its either Yankees or retirement), David Wells, Tom Glavine and Kenny Rogers, this year's class of FA starting pitchers lacks depth, or impact player. In that case, teams seeking pitching help will find help via trade. AJ's $12 million per year, is a bargain for any team that picks him up, seeing how a guy like Gil Meche is going to make the same amount as Burnett will, but Burnett will definitely pick up better stats.

2. JP will be smart to deal AJ based on the opt-out clause (same clause A-Rod just exercised) at the end of the upcoming 2008 season. If AJ can put up the numbers he is capable of (16-8 isn't all that unlikely with his stuff - assuming he goes injury free), you can be sure AJ will opt-out so fast that it makes his fastball look slow. With the current market, you can be sure that AJ will definitely get a raise from his current 5 year, $55 million contract.

3. If AJ doesn't perform like he is capable of, and continues on to his .500 ways, starting less than 25 games per year, then the Blue Jays will be stuck with him for 2 more seasons. Do you really want to deal with a guy, who gets the ball every 5 days, earning $12 this season, and not knowing whether or not he can go 5 innings? Even Ted Lilly, who left Toronto, and is earning $10 million a season, put up better numbers than Burnett.

Signing out..

Rock Paper Scisssors Championship

2007-10-09T16:40:00.000-04:00

You know its sad when an all-sports station is showing Rock Paper Scissors Championship...

Yes..they have a championship for Rock Paper Scissors...not only that, during the show, the talk of preparing oneself mentally and physically for the competition....

Check it out for yourself

http://www.usarps.com/news/articles/view/rock-paper-scissors-hits-big-time/14/

A new home

2007-10-06T18:32:00.000-04:00

I was bored the other day...so just went around the house and took some pictures. So here it is...a little intro to the house I call home in Waterloo. Welcome to...476 Laurel Gate

The scene that I encounter daily upon entering the house...shoes...

The living room and kitchen at the level above.

View of the living room from the kitchen.

And the entrance to my liar

My "work station". Fully equipped with a laptop, a 20.1" widescreen monitor, a 19" HDTV, and Xbox 360 Elite..

2007-10-03T00:05:00.001-04:00

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 1868519

Sitting in class

2007-10-01T19:11:00.000-04:00

Here I am sitting in class, listening to the prof discuss a group's mid-life crisis...yeah...enough said. So its been 4 weeks since I've moved back here. I don't know, it feels alot like a vacation in some way. Yeah..I did skip quite a few classes in the first 2 weeks, but I've slowly gotten into a routine of waking up quite early and starting to workout on a regular basis. Sleeping in is, and will always be, a waste of time. Those hour or two I spent sleeping in is now spent on doing something productive...or even if its unproductive, I'm still doing something and gaining a couple of hours a day really addes up at the end of a week/month/year. Having a car with me in school certainly adds ALOT of convenience to my daily life..I guess in the end it just comes down to whether or not I want to make this an enjoyable few months. Still not doing the best in school, but will definitely back to pick it up, or else...I don't even want to think about the consequences. I've never been, and will never be, someone who can just down and study for hours on hand. I'm a very hands on, practical person. Sitting in class, listening to various theories, just doesn't cut it for me. Sometimes I wish exams were case studies instead of questions that surrounds nothing but theory. Don't really have much choice but to grind this last couple of years out.

I should probably get back to paying attention in class...hopefully will get a pictorial tour of where I'm living up sometime soon.

Absolutely rigged

2007-09-22T12:46:00.000-04:00

This link contains the extraordinary accusation that a bunch of players on Absolute poker could see their opponents' hole cards. (Edit: There is an updated thread here ). Accusations such as this, and online poker being 'rigged' are widespread, always untrue, and just used by losing players to justify their results. But this one is true. There is 0% chance that the players in questions don't have the ability to see all the cards at the table.

Basically, there are 3 or 4 accounts who play a beyond awful style of poker, yet never ever call down with a losing hand while at the same time never ever folding to bluffs. This includes making a call of a massive bet with Ten hi no draw on the turn, only to find that, surprise surprise, their opponent has 9 hi! This is imo probably the biggest scandal in online poker history, certainly since Planet Poker's RNG got hacked in 1999.

Some thoughts:

i) If stuff like this gets in the press, it's gonna really scare away fish from playing online poker. Selfishly, Id want it kept hush hush, but I think it's really important to have freedom of information and this chicanery should be exposed.

ii) It's going to be catastrophic for AP to admit this happened, even though the evidence is indisputable. I suspect that the accounts will be closed and AP will try to brush it under the carpet. Right now the only people that know about this are the High Stakes winners, whose business they don't really want that much. Further, they know that if they continue to have great games, people are just gonna make the assumption that the loophole has been closed, and play anyway.

iii) AP should compensate all the players who had their money stolen, whether they still have access to the cheaters' stolen funds or not.

iv) The cheater(s) is a total moron. He basically played 'perfectly' every single hand, NEVER calling down with a loser, NEVER failing to bluff an opponent who was weak, NEVER bluffing an opponent who was strong. Seriously, how dumb do you have to be to do that? This makes me think that we aren't dealing with a sophisticated computer hacker -- someone smart enough to do that (and I bet plenty of real smart folk have tried - and failed), would surely not be so dumb as to play so obviously. I would guess it's an inside job and that someone at AP who has access to the User Account settings is in on the swindle. Of course, AP will never admit this.

v) It's pretty fun to think about how you would play against these guys now. i.e. if you were playing someone who could see your hole cards and played like these thiefs, and you knew this, but they didn't know you knew this, what is optimal strategy? Could you actually be +EV?? Probably not, but it's fun to think about some of the scenarios that could come up. If you were given this omnivision, how would you play and how much money would you make? As these guys only got caught cos they were so goddamn retarded, who are we to guarantee that there aren't other people will similar superpowers, but smarter who have taken the online economy for a bunch of money?

vi) What should AP do? No one is going to trust them to come out with the full truth, seeing as that likely isn't in their best financial interests, and it seems like an inside job. Further, their support/investigations staff are a total and utter joke, people with limited smarts, knowledge of poker etc. They need to open their books up *completely* to an internationally respected auditors. Let them see *all* available evidence, work out who was involved, what the loophole is, how to close it etc. Make their report public. Invest serious time/money in making sure this doesn't happen again. Chances of this happening - 0.1% :(

-courtesy of Dean

Strategy Post - Sort of

2007-09-19T01:47:00.000-04:00

So this is going to be a short strategy post. One hand I played recently that a couple people who was watching me play at the time asked how I could possibly make that play at that time. So I'm just going to go through my thought process and reveal a bit about online tells.

I'm going to go through this hand step-by-step, street-by-street. Names are deleted just for privacy purposes.

PokerStars Game #12141526209: Tournament #6-6, $25+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level V (75/150) - 2007/09/19 - 01:25:43 (ET)
Table '61613026 1' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: Villain (2445 in chips)
Seat 2: Hero - ME (3465 in chips)
Seat 6: - (2825 in chips)
Seat 7: - (3295 in chips)
Seat 9: -(1470 in chips)
Villain: posts small blind 75
ME: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to ME [8h 6h]
-: folds
-: folds
-: folds
Villain: calls 75
Me: checks

So this is a Turbo Sit-and-Go, blinds goes up every 5 minutes. Hero is sitting in decent shape with a M of 17, and villain is not in bad shape sitting with M of 11.

Folded around to the blinds where hero gets a free look with 6-8 of hearts. A hand that I'm probably behind with, but could make a hand with.

*** FLOP *** [Qd 7h Ad]
Villain: checks
Me: bets 250
Villain: calls 250

So hero leads out for 5/6 of the pot. For anyone familiar with PokerStars, the bet amount scroll bar goes up by multiple of the big blind, going up by 1 big blind each time the bar is clicked (unless the scroll bar is actually scrolled). 250 represents a bet that is entered manually (this is important - will explain why later).

Players usually pair their hole cards 1/3 of the time, so hero took a stab at the pot hoping he can pick up some dead money. Villain calls. So he can either be on a flush draw, or he hit the board. If he hit the board, hero is drawing very thin, even if he is on a flush draw, hero is still drawing thin.

*** TURN *** [Qd 7h Ad] [6c]
Villain: checks
Me: checks

Easy check. Hero makes bottom pair, but with villain's call on the flop, bottom pair might not be good.

*** RIVER *** [Qd 7h Ad 6c] [7c]
Villain: bets 650
Me: calls 650

The board pairs, and flush doesn't come, and villain leads for 3/4 of the pot. Notice how the bet is again not a multiple of a big blind? So that means it was manually entered (DING DING DING). Remember my bet on the flop that was manually entered to try to represent something when I really have nothing, I called his bet based on what I tried to use on him. Trying to make the bet seem strong by entering an abnormal number. In poker, strong means weak, weak means strong. Whenever playing live, if someone looks very strong, the chances are they're weak, where as if they look timid and weak, they might be strong. So with that information available to us, I make the call...and the result is

*** SHOW DOWN ***
Villain: shows [5d Td] (a pair of Sevens)
Me: shows [8h 6h] (two pair, Sevens and Sixes)
Me collected 2100 from pot

And I was correct. Now, there are times when I could look foolish calling here and having villain show a hand that beats me, so don't always a hand the same way and evaluate your opponent the same way. This bettering pattern is similar to a tell Phil Gordon alluded to in his "Little Green Book". Whenever someone makes a bet, if he chooses a small number of large denomination chip, he is attempting to not intimidate his opponent since its only a small number of chip (so he is actually strong since he tries to look weak). Versus another opponent which chooses a large number of small denomination chips, that player is attempting to look strong and intimidating by betting with a large number of chips (strong means weak) when in reality he's bluffing.

Now, that was para-phrased, but its the same idea. Keep in mind though, no matter what type of tells you pick up, there is rarely a tell (if there is one at all) that is universal. Use the various information provided to you and process them altogether and make your decision.

APPT Seoul - Wasn't meant to be

2007-09-16T08:56:00.000-04:00

Was actually pretty excited for this satellite, one in ten shot in getting a seat in the APPT tourney in Seoul in a couple of weeks. It seemed like I had a pretty tough table draw seeing how I recognized a couple of names and thats never a good thing. Was totally card-dead early on, combining with the fact that I misplayed a hand, I was down to 1500 from 3000 starting stack by first break. There were at least a couple of donks at the table, but I just couldn't get a hand to play against them. Won two consecutive double-up hands after coming back from break to get back to average stack. Finally picked up a hand vs. one of the donks, when I raised with AK UTG+1 and he literally pushes all in and I insta-call. He shows 77, which isn't all the surprising. Was hoping for a hand like Ax or Kx where I am in better shape, but I wasn't laying the hand down to him in that spot. He flops a set, turn gave me an additional 8 outs for a chop but the river blank and it just wasn't meant to be.

In retrospect, I could've gotten away from the AK but his range was to wide and I was a favorite against most of the hands, and definitely could've had him dominated, I don't think it made sense to fold. If it was from a couple of the other players at the table, then an argument could be made for folding, but against this one player, I think I got it in good.

So I guess my next goal is one of the EPTs as the finale in Australia conflicts with exams...

A Decent Run

2007-09-07T08:41:00.000-04:00

I guess not being able to fall asleep could be a blessing in disguise? Got home from Destiny's at about 2am, but just couldn't seem to be able to fall asleep. So I decided to load up Stars and donk in a few tournaments and satellites. Turned into a pretty profitable evening. Took down a couple of the double shootout satellites into Sunday Million, and also finally winning some races to close out the $27 turbo SnGs. I feel like taking the past couple of months away really cleared my head in some of the decisions I am making. In a way it helped me focused more as it was getting to a point where it was a bit too much of a grind at times. Still hoping to qualify for the APPT in Seoul, Korea, and hopefully try to score a seat in one of the EPT, probably the one thats going to be in Dublin the last weekend of October. Other than that, nothing really special going on in that regards...

Perhaps...

2007-08-28T13:54:00.001-04:00

...it just wasn't the right position
...this is just not for me
...the environment was not suited
...it was over my head
...it was a mistake from the start

...it could've went in a different direction
...more could've be done
...expectations were higher than it should've been

...it was just another lesson
...it was a challenge that needed to be overcome

Another one "down"

2007-08-22T02:05:00.000-04:00

With the season over, and playoffs right around the corner, it feels like a repeat of 03-04. Thrust into a position where a challenge like no other presents itself. The similarities between no returning members, along with a team led by a rookie, and leading a team with youth with great potential, is not too different from gray and off-white. Stepping into a position of great responsibility, a position of great expectation, and more importantly, a position of greatness from the past, the expectation was high. While many assured this challenge would be met with great confidence, reality beg to differ. Many obstacles seemed impossible to climb, many holes seemed tto deep to climb out.

Like they say, a great beginning equates to winning half the battle. But it appeared as the battle was already lost before it even started. Never had so many challenges, obstacles and detours presented itself all at once, not even the experience of taking on all 3 positions on a new team prepared oneself for something like this.

It felt like the same battle all over again. Many times the feeling of inadequacy appeared, while regrets and questions of "what ifs" surfaces left and right after-the-fact. While rest assured the many positives to this project, one is left to wonder if more can be desired. Was it simply the bar of expectation being set too high? Or was it a wrong decision to begin with?

Certainly the blame cannot be placed on one shoulder, but is the responsibility not placed on a mature individual to lead the group? Whether by example, by action, or by words, is it not the responsibility to assist and provide guidance? Why did it feel like the efforts fell onto disabled bodies, words falling into death's ear? Improvements were clear in many aspects, but left much to be desired. Disappointments came as often as controversies in the sporting world.

Is expectation of oneself too high for those he was commanded to guide and assist? Was it simply a case of expectation too high? Stepping back into their shoes, at times, it became clear reason of disappointment was the immaturity of the others. Should immaturity solely be blamed? One could argue it could simply be a case of placing too much responsibility, or having too much expectation, for those who are simply not ready, or unwilling, to accept such.

Would it be simply a case of eating more than you can chew? Was it simply taking on a task too great, assuming responsibilities that one is not yet prepared for?

Food for Thought

2007-08-13T21:58:00.000-04:00

"The nature of poker is for bad play to sometimes be rewarded and good play sometimes be punished. It's what keeps the fish coming back for more and ultimately pads my bankroll."

-Eric "Rizen" Lynch

NHL Awards Prediction

2007-06-14T00:36:00.000-04:00

I hate work!!!! As a result of work, I have to turn down an offer to attend the 2007 NHL Awards Ceremony held at the Elgin Theatre on June 14th.

Onwards with the prediction.

Hart Memorial Trophy - Team MVP

Sidney Crosby - Winner
Martin Brodeur
Roberto Luongo

Sid the kid came back from his rookie season to put up even better numbers to lead his team to the playoffs. Even better is that he did it as a 19 year-old.

Vezina Trophy - Best Goalkeeper

Martin Brodeur
Miikka Kiprusoff
Henrik Lundqvist
Roberto Luongo - Winner

Pretty disgusting that Brodeur will be shut out with awards in a season where he put up career best (and league record) in wins, and led the NHL in shutouts. But Luongo turned the Canucks around single-handedly, and I believe the sports-writers who voted on this award will probably give the award to Luongo based on the fact that Canucks would not have the record they have without Luongo.

Calder Memorial Trophy - Best Rookie

Evgeni Malkin - Winner
Jordan Staal
Paul Stastny

Nothing again Stastny, but like Crosby, just bad timing. Malkin lived up to the pre-season hype much like Crosby did just a year ago. Malkin is pretty much the run-away winner for this award. Jordan Staal was simply amazing doing what he did as a 18 year-old this season, but he is a distant third IMO.

James Norris Memorial Trophy - Best Defenceman

Nicklas Lidstrom - Winner
Scott Niedermayer
Chris Pronger

Probably the hardest award to pick a winner for this year. Nick Lidstrom was simply amazing in leading the Wings to win their division the year after Yzerman and Shanahan left the team. It just seems like every year the same 3-4 players are nominated for this award. With the voting taking place before the playoffs, I think its down to Pronger and Lidstrom. Pronger and Lidstrom had similar stats, but Pronger played 10 or so less games. I am going to lean towards Lidstrom, simply because he inherited the C from Yzerman, and carried it to a division champion. Pronger is going to be a very close second, but the overall voting will be VERY close between all 3 finalists.

Jack Adams Trophy - Best Coach

Lindy Ruff
Michel Therrien - Winner
Alain Vigneault

Like the Vezina, the coach with the best stats will not win this award. Lindy Ruff won this award last year simply because no one expected the Sabres to achieve the level that they did. And this year, Michel Therrien will win the award simply because Pittsburgh over-achieved, or performed beyond expectation. While Therrien will win the trophy, Ruff will be a runner-up despite leading the Sabres to a President Cup winning year.

Lester B. Pearson - Best player as voted by players

Sidney Crosby - Winner
Vincent Lecavalier
Roberto Luongo

Hard to go against Crosby for everything he did this year, both personal stats and team wise. But for some reason I have this gut feeling that it might go to Lacavalier or Luongo.

NBA Finals Prediction

2007-06-07T00:10:00.000-04:00

Spurs in 5. Another playoff MVP for Duncan. Lebron carries his team but falls short.

NBA Conference Finals, Stanley Cup Finals + Random Rants

2007-05-25T01:27:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I'm behind...oh wellz.

Here it goes: Did not expect Ottawa to beat Buffalo, let alone in 5 games. Also did not foresee Gary Bettman putting in 6 off-days between the end of the conference finals and the Stanley Cup finals. Way to let all the excitement from the past series slowly dies. If this was like a Toronto/Calgary, or some sort of bigger matchup, then sure, you can make the argument of letting the excitement build. But its Anaheim for crying out loud! I love their team, but the interest there is no where close to what it would be had it been Calgary, or even Detroit. Be that as it may, prediction.

Anaheim 4 - 3 Ottawa

Both teams have been playing well throughout the playoffs, but Ottawa definitely have been more dominant. You can even argue that Anaheim got lucky to make it this far. I STILL don't think Ray Emery is the real deal, and I think the top 3 defencemen for Anaheim will shutdown the big 3 offencesive threat for Ottawa, with the secondary scorers being the difference in the series. I would say Anaheim in 6, but I think Ottawa has played so well that they will make this an interesting series.

NBA Conference Finals:
I know I'm behind, with Detroit already winning 2-0 in the series, but like I have stated in the past, Detroit is head and shoulders above every other team in the East. Especially a team like the Cavs, where the team's success really depends on one player. To a certain degree, I thought the Nets would put up a better fight against the Cavs, and definitely thought they would be able to contain Lebron, maybe not to a degree which they shut down Bosh, but definitely make him less of an impact in the series.

I have no clue how Detroit let Chicago almost made a series out of that series. Felt like they just let their foot off the pedal and it almost went the distance. I don't see the same mistake from the very experienced Detroit ball-club. Taking Detroit in 5.

The suspensions in the Spurs/Suns series totally became the vocal point of a series that could've been better than any potential NBA Finals. And then you get David Stern sticking his nose in and disrupting the series. With that said, Spurs in 6. No team have been able to find an answer for Tim Duncan so far this playoff, and I don't see any of the Utah defenders being able to either. Utah will win a couple of games by simply out-scoring the Spurs, but experience and excellent coaching will lead the Spurs to the finals.

Other random thoughts:
Is it just me, or does anyone else think Bud Selig is...for a lack of a better word...a moron? He sets up a commission to investigate into the whole steriod issue without success, and suddenly Jason Giambi steps-up and admits to taking "stuff". Bud Selig, could've easily put his foot down, and applaud Giambi for "being-a-man" and admitting what he did, and then turn around and offer anyone and everyone who is willing to come clean to the commission a pardon. One, the commission will actually have something and someone to work with, and two, Bud Selig could potentially be THE guy to clean up baseball from performance enhancing drugs.

But no, Bud Selig wanted to sit back and react based on how the public reacts. He wanted to make sure his decision and statement follows the way the public feel. He takes his time, saying he will have a meeting with Giambi, and nothing more. All that does, and will do, is simply to assure those who have taken "stuff", to not come clean, in order to avoid a meeting with the boss which could potentially lead to another issue. So what happens is that the commission, will simply sit on their butts while they could've easily had more people testify then they can handle, simply based on Bud Selig's stupidity.

With Barry Bonds getting closer and closer to the record, I could careless whether or not he beats Hank Aaron's record or not. Now Bud Selig has another brain-fart moment, and decide to state publicly that he will not be in attendance for if/when Bonds break the record. Now I will admit that I have not been a Bonds fan, and probably will never be, but being the commissioner of a league where one of the most prestigious record is being broken, it simply does not make sense for you to have excuses and not attend. It doesn't matter whether or not his personal opinion of Bonds is regarding the usage of performance enhancing drugs. The fact of the matter is, one of the players, probably one of the best in the history of the league, is about to break one of the most prestigious record in your league. You (and many other people) believe he might be breaking the record "with help", but you have yet to prove that Bonds is guilty, and you should be there, like you would if Albert Pujols breaks Bonds' single season home-run record. Until you are able to prove that Bonds used performance enhancing drugs to break the record, the event should be treated with the respect it deserves.

Ok...now that these issues are off my chest...a couple more

-Man Utd. in HK in August will a full team...=(
-And I need a vacation...

ttow! (yes, its back!)

NHL Playoff Round 3

2007-05-09T17:22:00.000-04:00

Round 2 Predictions (results)
Sabres 4 - 2 Rangers (4 - 2)
Devils 4 - 3 Senators (1 - 4)

Red Wings 3 - 4 Sharks (4 - 2)
Ducks 4 - 2 Canucks (4 - 1)

Certainly didn't think Senators could finish off the Devils in 5. Alfredsson has done his share this year to downplay his performance in previous playoffs. I still don't think Ray Emery is the real deal, and Buffalo is certainly the best in the East IMO.

As far as the West, Canucks, like predicted, did not generate enough offence to push them beyond the first round. I did not expect the Sharks to melt down the way they did after game 3. I think Detroit's age will catch up to them in this series.

Sabres 4 - 2 Senators

Ducks 4 - 2 Red Wings