Let's Talk about Not Poker, US Open, My Envy/Hate of Boston, NBA Draft, and more

Since all I've given this blog lately seems to be poker, I have to start contributing my thoughts on some of the great sports things happening lately. After that, maybe I'll even have some thoughts about other things going on in the world.

Since my blog readership is down to approximately 3 friends of mine, my dad who probably feels obligated to read the blog since he felt bad that I only had three readers, and Bubby, it's probably time to talk about sports or something that other people can relate to. It's not that people can't relate to poker that well, but when it's just bad news and not me slaying hundreds of thousands of dollars at the Rio, no one cares.

US OPEN

We all know we witnessed something special in sports this weekend. The best in the world on the world's biggest stage grinding out a 91 hole victory on the longest course in US Open history without an ACL. Now that Tiger is out for the rest of the season, golf becomes essentially meaningless ruining the two majors and Ryder Cup for most American fans. Since the USA hasn't won a Ryder Cup in it's last 3 tries with Tiger, it's probably not going to happen without him. What about the last two majors of the year? No, I will not cheer for Phil "Manboobs" Mickelson. No, Rocco Mediate will probably not accomplish what he did there, and we all can't chant Rocky, Rocky. Actually, I was really cheering for both of the guys as dumb as that sounds to any sports fan. I always cheer for Tiger because I just want him to win 50 majors and blow every record out of the water, so they will never be broken. This time, though, it was different. A 45 year old hardly ever competes at a high level in these majors. Everyone knows this. The window of success for most golfers closes quickly. That's why when Nicklaus won in '86 at the Masters, we still hear about it every single time. Someone that old winning shocks the world into remembering. The PGA Championship doesn't even matter without Tiger. I doubt I will even watch more than the final 9 holes.

Tiger's future, however, is good. From the sounds of it, his knee will come back repaired, his stress fractures will heal, and after rehabbing he'll be fine. Anyone doubting this return is foolish. This guy is the most clutch athlete in the history of sports. When he can't win with his distance, he'll get better and win somewhere else. That's why it's not unrealistic to think that Tiger will win another 10 majors. Athletes get old and age and body parts begin to break down. Last time I checked though, it doesn't put much on the knee to have a great short game and make great putts. I think we all look forward to a safe and healthy return.

I have a couple of predictions though.

Tiger Woods will come out of this surgery with another child. He can't be wound up that much and not intentionally or unintentionally knock up his wife. Unless they get in a fight, expect a boy no later than September 2009.

Tiger Woods wins two majors next year.

NBA Finals

I really didn't want either team to win and was thinking about likely scenarios that would let that happen. By likely, I mean scenarios that would likely cancel the finals for a while.

1. World War III
2. Redcoats invade Boston
3. Some sort of terrorist act.

Since I really don't want any of those 3 to happen besides maybe the redcoats invading Boston, I had to settle on watching a great team win the championship. I despise Boston because they complain about not having their 17th championship because of a 20 year drought. Can your whole city please shut up already? We are sick of hearing you cry and brag and cry and brag. I was thrilled to watch the Patriots lose so we didn't have to listen to you brag and then cry about your 3 championships in a row. Try being from Cleveland! May God have his wrath come down on Boston and curse them without a championship for 100 years! Maybe I'm going over the top a little bit, but I can't stand it. This city complains more than any city about sports. They are bombarded by great teams, fun athletes, and exciting playoffs year in and year out. I hope you are all appreciating it because it makes me want to puke.

That being said, I really like Garnett and have for a long time, so I am glad to see he won. I think it also shows that the Cavs aren't as far as we think. The Celtics had no shot to win in Cleveland the entire series. Cleveland had game 1 in their clutches and game 7 would have been won without the stellar team performance of Boston. The fact of the matter is that their team is full of smart players that know their roles. Cleveland doesn't have that yet. We have a disheveled bench with players like Sasha Pavlovic that probably can't spell Boston. We were struck for 3 years with the bad luck lightning of Larry Hughes that would never understand how to be part of a team like Boston. I have high hopes for the Cavs.


Cleveland Indians

I'm not going to say much, but it's not looking good. The injury bug has hit another Cleveland team, and all I can say is that I hope it takes away all the bad luck from the Brown's squad. Let's get rid of Sabathia for prospects and rebuild again. We aren't going to be able to sign this guy unless he takes below his market value. On top of that, I'm not super convinced about him being the guy in October. I still think there are lots of games to be played and sometimes a young player working to prove himself is stronger than a veteran with a 6 year $40 million contract.


Random Laughs of the Week

Yuri Zhirkov has some bad luck when he last name is announced in English. He's a Russian soccer player. Zhirkov scores!!! If you don't know how to pronounce it, see the pronunciation below.If you aren't a big soccer watcher, but are a sports fan, keep tuning in to the Euro 2008 on ESPN. It's the best soccer in the world aside from a few South American countries. They aren't snoozefests like most soccer matches in the USA.

"Jerrrrrr Koooofffff"


I can't help but drive through Chinatown here in Vegas and get in a car wreck every single time. Do you think if the car was invented in China, we'd be the horrendous drivers?


That is all for now. I'm looking forward to bringing some good news back from the Rio tomorrow when I go play my first 1500 NL full table event.