With the big tournaments not going quite as planned lately, I've sat back and started multi-tabling the 27-38 dollar sit & gos on Pokerstars. I actually got 5th in the high orbit leaderboard for an extra $200. YAY! In all reality though, I just wanted a new challenge and to free my mind from the pressure associated with always needing to win a tournament. So far, I've done fairly well. I almost got my second Full Tilt HORSE title as well last night coming in 3rd. It made me a $1200 winner on Sunday, which I can't complain about at all. My plan for March is to keep the tournament volume relatively low. I played a ton in January and February, and a change of scenery was definitely needed. With the SCOOP coming up on Pokerstars, I want to be ready to go every day for 2 weeks when April starts. Getting a huge cash in the SCOOP makes the WSOP and some of the April WPT events a lot easier to justify playing.
I just wanted to spit out a few sports observations.
Cleveland Cavs
I don't know how this team is going to beat Boston if Boston gets the one seed and we have to play 4 there. If we get the one seed, I still think it will be an epic series. To me, Boston is the best team in the NBA until someone else proves otherwise. We haven't done that yet. Lebron needs to stop Paul Pierce if we are going to win in June. So far, Lebron has failed to show up against Boston on the road. I still like our chances and think that we are one of the best run organizations in professional sports. Our front office actually gets it. No trades to do anything crazy at the deadline. Lebron is happy even though everyone thinks he is leaving. Let's just break the Cleveland curse and win one and he'll never leave.
Cleveland Indians
When does baseball start? It seems like forever since I rooted for a game, but it's a combination of the idiocy of that league that restrains my excitement I once had as a youth. Steroids, A Roids, no salary cap, corruption, and what else is new.... I still think the tribe has a chance every year.
Cleveland Browns
I already love our front office. I don't love the fact that we are basically in rebuild mode. We have only signed players that will give our team more depth in crucial positions. I loved Kellen Winslow as a player, but since he only played about half of the games, getting rid of him was kind of a wash for me. I don't think he really every fit into the system in Cleveland.
As far as Braylon Edwards is concerned, everyone wants to trade him, but I'm not on that bandwagon. He had an off year last year. I'm expecting him to return to his form next year with the discipline of the new staff and a new QB behind center. Trading him in a fire sale isn't going to get us anywhere. We also have some upside in keeping him because if he sucks, we will get picks for him when someone signs him based on how the NFL rules work. I'm not exactly sure of all the details, but I think the best case scenario is 1st and 3rd rounders in 2010. If he's good, our offense will be explosive again just like it was two years ago. He is that good when he plays at his best. I just hope he keeps his mouth shut and does his playing on the field.
I'm looking forward to the draft. We will take the best player available. It appears Aaron Curry will be gone by number 5. If he's gone, I like Orapko or Andre Smith. Either player builds one of the interior lines.
Shaun Rodgers, please just stay and stop complaining. Every fan in this city loves you.
Showing posts with label Cleveland Cavs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cleveland Cavs. Show all posts
Monday, March 9, 2009
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Random Blurb Blog
Disclaimer--I will be writing about as many topics as I can think of without dedicating more than 2 minutes of my thoughts towards each individual topic. You are certainly allowed to skip topics that don't interest you.
My Poker Career Lately
It's been a lot of close but no cigars lately. I wish I had more exciting things to report about, but it's been a lot of the 7th-25th place column. On another fun note, I looked up my Online Player of the Year Ranking on Cardplayer yesterday and I was at 212th. I'm at kind of a disadvantage in this area because I don't play the 100 rebuy every day, which almost always qualifies for points. Maybe I can make a run and crack the top 100. It might take a big score. I'm basically winding down for the year as all the major online events are over until the Ultimate Bet events in January. I'll be pushing for a PCA seat so I can go to the Bahamas in January.
World Series of Poker Final Table
That was fun to watch, wasn't it? I much prefer as a spectator to watch it without knowing who wins. It's almost impossible to avoid spoilers as I received only one when I clicked through to PokerXFactor and saw who got 4th. I think when you put a final table into 2 hours, it's really tough to do the game any justice, but I understand that not every poker fan wants to watch 25 hours of boring poker footage. It is tough to examine hands though without knowing many of the variables leading up to the hands. That being said, I don't take much stock in some of the plays that we were shown. There were, however, some incredibly bad mistakes made throughout the 2 hour broadcast. It's probably nerves, and I won't bash anyone too much because I can't even begin to imagine what it's like.
Peter Eastgate
I survived an all in against the champ. Peter Eastgate raised on day 3 to about 2.7 big blinds, and I gave him my 19 bb pile with A10. He called and showed the same hand, and we split the pot. I was pulling for this kid the whole time because he impressed me tremendously in the 5 hours I played with him on day 3. He is absolutely fearless. Every player at the table probably was paying extra attention to this guy. That's the kind of player I want to be.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The best team in the NBA is led by King James. 8 games in a row and a team that Lebron calls his best squad since he's been there. Might this be the year that the King finally takes his throne? I think it will be. I've never felt confident in a Cleveland team since James has been here, but this team really has championship potential. We play great defense, have a lot of depth, and good coaching. Give Mike Brown credit for what he has done with this team early on in the year.
Cleveland Browns
In light of the current week, we need less players from Michigan. We need more players from Ohio State. Phil Dawson deserves that game on Monday Night Football. That guy has sure been through a lot in Cleveland and to punch a 56 yarder in for the lead must have felt great. Brady Quinn is hands down the better option for the Cleveland Browns at QB. He came up with the plays that we needed that Anderson has failed to bring all year. He did it last week, and he did it this week. Now if we only had more Buckeyes on defense, we might be something.
OSU vs. MeatChicken
Joke provided courtesy of Mike Z.
"Hey did you hear that Michigan canceled their travel plans to Ohio State this week?"
"No. Why?"
"Because they couldn't get past Toledo"
Zinggggggggggggggggg
Go Bucks! This one won't even be close. My prediction. Ohio State 72-Michigan 3
Books
I applied for a library card a couple of days ago, but haven't gone to the library. I'm finishing up the book Freakonomics. Reading is probably a hobby that I should pick up again. I've been reading real estate books and all, but I want to read some actual good novels. It's been awhile since I've read anything fiction. Leave good suggestions in the comments section please.
Shout out to my Dad
Every time my Dad tells me he has a feel, I seem to knock down a big tournament. Last time he told me and really meant it, I got 2nd in the 50 rebuy, 2nd in the 300 and 3rd in the 163 in a week. While it may be hard to fathom what this feel entails, I have learned to respect and use the momentum of the feel to my advantage. A little superstition never hurt anyone. The over/under for the shout out to my mom is 3.5 years.
Best Movies I've Seen Lately
In no particular order...
1. Michael Clayton
2. The Dark Knight
3. Capote
4. Saving Private Ryan
THE HOUR OF BAUER
Jack "God" Bauer returns to Fox on Sunday. Look out for several airplanes blowing up, people dying, and Jack Bauer generally saving the day. That is to assume he didn't jump off the cliff like a wuss at the end of last season.
That's all I got for now.
My Poker Career Lately
It's been a lot of close but no cigars lately. I wish I had more exciting things to report about, but it's been a lot of the 7th-25th place column. On another fun note, I looked up my Online Player of the Year Ranking on Cardplayer yesterday and I was at 212th. I'm at kind of a disadvantage in this area because I don't play the 100 rebuy every day, which almost always qualifies for points. Maybe I can make a run and crack the top 100. It might take a big score. I'm basically winding down for the year as all the major online events are over until the Ultimate Bet events in January. I'll be pushing for a PCA seat so I can go to the Bahamas in January.
World Series of Poker Final Table
That was fun to watch, wasn't it? I much prefer as a spectator to watch it without knowing who wins. It's almost impossible to avoid spoilers as I received only one when I clicked through to PokerXFactor and saw who got 4th. I think when you put a final table into 2 hours, it's really tough to do the game any justice, but I understand that not every poker fan wants to watch 25 hours of boring poker footage. It is tough to examine hands though without knowing many of the variables leading up to the hands. That being said, I don't take much stock in some of the plays that we were shown. There were, however, some incredibly bad mistakes made throughout the 2 hour broadcast. It's probably nerves, and I won't bash anyone too much because I can't even begin to imagine what it's like.
Peter Eastgate
I survived an all in against the champ. Peter Eastgate raised on day 3 to about 2.7 big blinds, and I gave him my 19 bb pile with A10. He called and showed the same hand, and we split the pot. I was pulling for this kid the whole time because he impressed me tremendously in the 5 hours I played with him on day 3. He is absolutely fearless. Every player at the table probably was paying extra attention to this guy. That's the kind of player I want to be.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The best team in the NBA is led by King James. 8 games in a row and a team that Lebron calls his best squad since he's been there. Might this be the year that the King finally takes his throne? I think it will be. I've never felt confident in a Cleveland team since James has been here, but this team really has championship potential. We play great defense, have a lot of depth, and good coaching. Give Mike Brown credit for what he has done with this team early on in the year.
Cleveland Browns
In light of the current week, we need less players from Michigan. We need more players from Ohio State. Phil Dawson deserves that game on Monday Night Football. That guy has sure been through a lot in Cleveland and to punch a 56 yarder in for the lead must have felt great. Brady Quinn is hands down the better option for the Cleveland Browns at QB. He came up with the plays that we needed that Anderson has failed to bring all year. He did it last week, and he did it this week. Now if we only had more Buckeyes on defense, we might be something.
OSU vs. MeatChicken
Joke provided courtesy of Mike Z.
"Hey did you hear that Michigan canceled their travel plans to Ohio State this week?"
"No. Why?"
"Because they couldn't get past Toledo"
Zinggggggggggggggggg
Go Bucks! This one won't even be close. My prediction. Ohio State 72-Michigan 3
Books
I applied for a library card a couple of days ago, but haven't gone to the library. I'm finishing up the book Freakonomics. Reading is probably a hobby that I should pick up again. I've been reading real estate books and all, but I want to read some actual good novels. It's been awhile since I've read anything fiction. Leave good suggestions in the comments section please.
Shout out to my Dad
Every time my Dad tells me he has a feel, I seem to knock down a big tournament. Last time he told me and really meant it, I got 2nd in the 50 rebuy, 2nd in the 300 and 3rd in the 163 in a week. While it may be hard to fathom what this feel entails, I have learned to respect and use the momentum of the feel to my advantage. A little superstition never hurt anyone. The over/under for the shout out to my mom is 3.5 years.
Best Movies I've Seen Lately
In no particular order...
1. Michael Clayton
2. The Dark Knight
3. Capote
4. Saving Private Ryan
THE HOUR OF BAUER
Jack "God" Bauer returns to Fox on Sunday. Look out for several airplanes blowing up, people dying, and Jack Bauer generally saving the day. That is to assume he didn't jump off the cliff like a wuss at the end of last season.
That's all I got for now.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Blockbuster
Wow. What a time to be flying in the air back to Las Vegas. When I got off the plane and heard the details of the trade, I have to admit that I was thrilled. Two main reasons:
1. We got rid of Larry Hughes, a player who I believed brought out of worst of the Cavaliers.
2. We got Ben Wallace, a playoff, championship tested defender that can rebound.
These two things are enough for me to approve of the trade. When I learned that we lost Donyell Marshall, a fairly large contract for something that can actually shoot in Wally S., I was even more thrilled. The only player I would have liked to see still in Cleveland is Gooden, but we essentially replaced him with Wallace/Smith, significantly improving our big man rotation. Newble was a great role player and I wouldn't be surprised to see him back here in the future, but will I miss him? No, this guy barely played prior to the injuries we had this season. Shannon Brown and Cedric Simmons never played either. Essentially, we just dumped junk for a fresh start. I understand that we did take on a lot of salaries, but we did lose Hughes in that same thing and from what I understand, Wallace's contract matches his. Wally is a big salary jump. What I love is we somehow convinced them to just throw in a second round draft pick. Two notable Cavs second round draft picks are Carlos Boozer and Daniel Gibson.
I believe that anyone that says Hughes had any value to this team is either 1. blind or 2. stupid. This guy threw up wild shots and because he started making a few on them in the last two weeks people suddenly went to his defense. HE MISSED A 3 FOOT JUMPER FOR THE WIN IN THE PLAYOFFS! When the Cavs get healthy with Sasha, Gibson, and Varajao, we will be the deepest team in the East if not the entire NBA. Anyone calling this trade just "a lateral trade" is an ignorant sports columnist that should be fired immediately and never invited back to ESPN. One of my favorite sites dedicated to Larry Hughes says it best
That being said look for the next 10 games to be tough and the Cavs to maybe win 3 of them. Chemistry isn't something easy to come buy and this move is as risky as they get. The X factor that no one realizes though is how much better Lebron makes everyone around him. We had a bunch of bums that looked average or maybe even good because of Lebron. Now that we have some average talent, these players will start looking a whole lot better. On the same note, Ben Wallace probably couldn't be happier going from the confused Bulls to a legitimate championship contender.
Look at it this way. Our team was obviously not good enough to win the championship. We had to do something. This trade does make our team better, but will it be enough? We'll find out in the coming weeks.
I didn't even mention Delonte West, who provides a player at the point guard that we could use.
LOST (spoilers involved)
LOST was a standard episode last night. We needed to know how Kate got off of her charges to let the flash forward plot move forward. On top of that, we see that she has a child, but it's actually Claire's baby further raising questions about what happened. My new long term prediction is that we will see how this all went down with the Oceanic Six this season. Next season will be more of an explanation of the island and the events after the island, while the final season will be the return to the island and the rescue of the people left behind. I don't have much to say, but to sit back and enjoy this show. Predictions are almost never right. I would like to recant my statement to certain friends about how long I could hold a live grenade in my mouth. I believe I could do this for legitimately 4 hours and not 5 days or infinity as I once predicted.
Survivor
This was the best episode of the year. I think the Favorites made a big mistake kicking out Yau-Man and that Ozzy, as always was right. Eliza should have been booted if it wasn't Parvati. You need to strengthen your tribe and win all challenges, so you can go into the merge and pick off people from the other tribe with numbers. I really do like Jon Penner though and hope he weasels his way deep again. He's always entertaining. I don't even know how the Fans are winning. They are so quirky, odd and bad it's funny.
Ty, I tried to do a lot of research about the dunk contest, but it's a tough question and so I just decided to pick the 5 I remembered the most.
5. Dee Brown arm over the face dunk. Extremely creative at the time and probably tough.
4. Spud Webb one bounce dunk. He's 5 foot 7. Give this little man some credit and I just liked his name when I was little.
3. Foul line dunk by all those who tried it. Probably one of the toughest difficulty ever.
2. Vince Carter--anything this guy did that one dunk contest arm in basket, two handed almost free throw jam, behind the backboard, under the leg.
1. Jason Richardson off the backboard under the leg. This is the toughest dunk ever made.
David T. wrote "After reading your recent article on Pocketfives I was left with some questions regarding your hand analysis: Did you chart the hand rankings based on chip stack and place in mtt? While playing short-stacked frequently while deep in mtts, are you more looking to creep up in the $ or move into a position with a stack that would allow you to make more moves? How has your early game changed since your hand analysis and aggressiveness?"
First off, I want to say thanks for a poker related question because I love answering these and keep them coming.
When I charted my hands, I did it just based solely on the hand, but I took notes next to each one so I had a point of reference. I think you can learn more based on chip stack and place, but for this purpose, I just wanted to look at specific hands.
The short stack question is a good one because I often find myself short stacked in tournaments and I don't really mind being there. The key when playing short stack poker is to look for spots where you won't get called. Essentially, when short stacked, it is sometimes better to look for a spot where you won't get called opposed to one where it is absolutely certain. For example, if someone raises in early position and you look at 77, I prefer folding here and looking for a spot where I have fold equity and am the first one to open the pot. So waiting for a 9 10 off suit is something I would almost rather do here because it gives me a chance to pick up chips without getting called. Obviously some hands are so strong that you have to go with them. 99+ or AQ are probably those hands or when you have a pretty solid hand in the blinds and a late position raiser comes in where you are obviously beating his range of hands.
My early game has changed in the following ways. I just try to be more careful with marginal hands and I realize that passing up a marginal situation with some of the hands I charted is not a bad play. Even if I'm maybe 55%, it's not worth it when I am almost guaranteed of finding a better spot later on. I've really reevaluated situations where I'm raised post-flop as well. I think I've been less likely to move my chips in situations where I may be ahead, but I'm only getting called by a hand that's crushing me. This may seem like simple ideas, but places where you have top pair weak kicker and someone raises you early on. I'm more apt to try to read their later street bets than move all my chips in. This may be a loss of aggressiveness in these situations, but I think it has improved my game.
1. We got rid of Larry Hughes, a player who I believed brought out of worst of the Cavaliers.
2. We got Ben Wallace, a playoff, championship tested defender that can rebound.
These two things are enough for me to approve of the trade. When I learned that we lost Donyell Marshall, a fairly large contract for something that can actually shoot in Wally S., I was even more thrilled. The only player I would have liked to see still in Cleveland is Gooden, but we essentially replaced him with Wallace/Smith, significantly improving our big man rotation. Newble was a great role player and I wouldn't be surprised to see him back here in the future, but will I miss him? No, this guy barely played prior to the injuries we had this season. Shannon Brown and Cedric Simmons never played either. Essentially, we just dumped junk for a fresh start. I understand that we did take on a lot of salaries, but we did lose Hughes in that same thing and from what I understand, Wallace's contract matches his. Wally is a big salary jump. What I love is we somehow convinced them to just throw in a second round draft pick. Two notable Cavs second round draft picks are Carlos Boozer and Daniel Gibson.
I believe that anyone that says Hughes had any value to this team is either 1. blind or 2. stupid. This guy threw up wild shots and because he started making a few on them in the last two weeks people suddenly went to his defense. HE MISSED A 3 FOOT JUMPER FOR THE WIN IN THE PLAYOFFS! When the Cavs get healthy with Sasha, Gibson, and Varajao, we will be the deepest team in the East if not the entire NBA. Anyone calling this trade just "a lateral trade" is an ignorant sports columnist that should be fired immediately and never invited back to ESPN. One of my favorite sites dedicated to Larry Hughes says it best
That being said look for the next 10 games to be tough and the Cavs to maybe win 3 of them. Chemistry isn't something easy to come buy and this move is as risky as they get. The X factor that no one realizes though is how much better Lebron makes everyone around him. We had a bunch of bums that looked average or maybe even good because of Lebron. Now that we have some average talent, these players will start looking a whole lot better. On the same note, Ben Wallace probably couldn't be happier going from the confused Bulls to a legitimate championship contender.
Look at it this way. Our team was obviously not good enough to win the championship. We had to do something. This trade does make our team better, but will it be enough? We'll find out in the coming weeks.
I didn't even mention Delonte West, who provides a player at the point guard that we could use.
LOST (spoilers involved)
LOST was a standard episode last night. We needed to know how Kate got off of her charges to let the flash forward plot move forward. On top of that, we see that she has a child, but it's actually Claire's baby further raising questions about what happened. My new long term prediction is that we will see how this all went down with the Oceanic Six this season. Next season will be more of an explanation of the island and the events after the island, while the final season will be the return to the island and the rescue of the people left behind. I don't have much to say, but to sit back and enjoy this show. Predictions are almost never right. I would like to recant my statement to certain friends about how long I could hold a live grenade in my mouth. I believe I could do this for legitimately 4 hours and not 5 days or infinity as I once predicted.
Survivor
This was the best episode of the year. I think the Favorites made a big mistake kicking out Yau-Man and that Ozzy, as always was right. Eliza should have been booted if it wasn't Parvati. You need to strengthen your tribe and win all challenges, so you can go into the merge and pick off people from the other tribe with numbers. I really do like Jon Penner though and hope he weasels his way deep again. He's always entertaining. I don't even know how the Fans are winning. They are so quirky, odd and bad it's funny.
Ty, I tried to do a lot of research about the dunk contest, but it's a tough question and so I just decided to pick the 5 I remembered the most.
5. Dee Brown arm over the face dunk. Extremely creative at the time and probably tough.
4. Spud Webb one bounce dunk. He's 5 foot 7. Give this little man some credit and I just liked his name when I was little.
3. Foul line dunk by all those who tried it. Probably one of the toughest difficulty ever.
2. Vince Carter--anything this guy did that one dunk contest arm in basket, two handed almost free throw jam, behind the backboard, under the leg.
1. Jason Richardson off the backboard under the leg. This is the toughest dunk ever made.
David T. wrote "After reading your recent article on Pocketfives I was left with some questions regarding your hand analysis: Did you chart the hand rankings based on chip stack and place in mtt? While playing short-stacked frequently while deep in mtts, are you more looking to creep up in the $ or move into a position with a stack that would allow you to make more moves? How has your early game changed since your hand analysis and aggressiveness?"
First off, I want to say thanks for a poker related question because I love answering these and keep them coming.
When I charted my hands, I did it just based solely on the hand, but I took notes next to each one so I had a point of reference. I think you can learn more based on chip stack and place, but for this purpose, I just wanted to look at specific hands.
The short stack question is a good one because I often find myself short stacked in tournaments and I don't really mind being there. The key when playing short stack poker is to look for spots where you won't get called. Essentially, when short stacked, it is sometimes better to look for a spot where you won't get called opposed to one where it is absolutely certain. For example, if someone raises in early position and you look at 77, I prefer folding here and looking for a spot where I have fold equity and am the first one to open the pot. So waiting for a 9 10 off suit is something I would almost rather do here because it gives me a chance to pick up chips without getting called. Obviously some hands are so strong that you have to go with them. 99+ or AQ are probably those hands or when you have a pretty solid hand in the blinds and a late position raiser comes in where you are obviously beating his range of hands.
My early game has changed in the following ways. I just try to be more careful with marginal hands and I realize that passing up a marginal situation with some of the hands I charted is not a bad play. Even if I'm maybe 55%, it's not worth it when I am almost guaranteed of finding a better spot later on. I've really reevaluated situations where I'm raised post-flop as well. I think I've been less likely to move my chips in situations where I may be ahead, but I'm only getting called by a hand that's crushing me. This may seem like simple ideas, but places where you have top pair weak kicker and someone raises you early on. I'm more apt to try to read their later street bets than move all my chips in. This may be a loss of aggressiveness in these situations, but I think it has improved my game.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Age of Turbulence and Questions
So I've been able to knock off reading from the book Age of Turbulence by Alan Greenspan. Greenspan, I hope as everyone knows, was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve for a long period of time and involved in many of the underlying economic decisions of this country since even before he was sworn in as Chairman. I can't really go into too much detail about all the parts I love in this book because it's highly economic based, but I do think I got the answer to one question that everyone seems to know the answer to one way or the other, but no one knows why. That question is why was Bill Clinton a good President? Most of the answers to this are along the lines of "he was outstanding and look at the economic boom we had while he was in office" or "he was terrible and used a cigar for something other than smoking." Most people don't have a clue why he was great or why they think he was terrible, but I think I finally found my answer in the way Greenspan recounts their interactions throughout the years. First, Clinton made many promises throughout his campaign that were lofty and would cost a lot of money. When Clinton met with Greenspan on their first meeting, Greenspan recalls one meeting that was highly intellectual. Clinton asked poignant questions and really grasped the advice of the Chairman. The advice was in a nutshell, the government had to curb spending, all his campaign promises would cost a lot of money, but for the long term economic health of the country, the government needed to put the brakes on deficit spending that marked the Reagan years. In the coming years. Clinton understood the big picture, and despite being painted by Republicans as a liberal, the most important first decisions of fiscal conservatism were carried out by him. This action along with the action of the fed paved the wave for the technological change and explosive growth that we came to know in the 90's. Essentially, a President was able to be intelligent, take advice of an adviser closest to the action and make something happen. It's apparent from Greenspan that this was the total opposite of the current Bush Administration. While our budget surplus grew and grew throughout the late 90's and early 2000's, Greenspan continued to support fiscal conservatism with Clinton to a point where early in the Bush Administration the Fed was actually worrying about a government surplus. This paved the way for rhetoric leading to the Bush Tax Cut. While he supported a tax cut, Greenspan was not happy about the way this tax cut took place because the discussion did not focus on the fiscal conservatism that got to this point, but rather took a highly politicized route. Further, the administration was stubborn in their spending that when renewed estimates about the budget came out, spending remained high while tax cuts continued. The work of Clinton and Greenspan over the course of 8 years had been undone by an irresponsible Congress and President.
On another note, the book is extremely readable even if you aren't an economics major or know the slightest thing about economics.
Novels or Questions?
Dave, the legendary party spot host that we addressed in a few blogs asked, "How would your fix the primary process so that states could still receive individual attention from their candidates while making sure that every vote has equal weight in determining a nominee and also do you think that my frustrations will be shared by many and if so, how might this feeling of disenfranchisement affect Republican turnout in the general election?"
First off, calling me a "liberal ass" is extremely ignorant considering I continuously promote a conservative economic policy. Just because I support some more progressive issues out there, does not make me a liberal ass. To address the first question, it is apparent our primary process needs a fix as judged the number of states that illegally moved their primaries to try to be a greater factor in the process. I think the primary process should be selected arbitrarily with 10 states being selected in 5 bi-weekly voting blocks. A random drawing will draw 10 states together before each Presidential primary process two weeks before the first primary. Here are my two main reasons.
1. It will allow each state their own fair allotment of time over 2 weeks. Candidates will have to choose which states they campaign for all the time prior to the "draft." This allows them to pick which states they believe will be important (one's with more delegates obviously), but gives smaller states 2 weeks of time split between 10 states.
2. States can no longer argue since it's luck of the draw and in the next election, they might be the first up. I think it adds some more fun to the process too that can really get people engaged in the political process. If more people are interested in the process, we get a more democratic election.
The fact is that everyone will have a complaint about any process we choose, but I certainly think that having the same states decide every single time is ludicrous. McCain would probably not be in this if it wasn't for his win in little New Hampshire of all places.
To the second part of your question, I think voter turnout will be about the same for Republicans, but if you get two candidates like McCain-Obama that appeal to moderate, different voters, you will get a big turnout from the moderate demographic.
Adam B. asked "Is the Democratic party going to beat themselves before November?" By this, I mean will this heated battle in the primary campaign between Obama and Clinton be too much of a burden on them when they face a very-beatable John McCain / Huckabee (speculation) in November, or will the winner get a much needed boost into the ultimate campaign?
I think the Democratic Party will lag behind if their process goes all the way to convention. It's just a matter of focus and time rather than a war of words. Obama and Clinton have really been more civilized towards each other for both their interests after heated media and debate battles earlier in the process. What will hurt though is McCain having the entire focus of the Republican party, while I can assume many voters on the Democratic side would feel disengaged and exhausted if their candidate lost a long battle for the nomination.
Adam B. also asked when referring to the NIU shooting "Can these kind of things be stopped on one of the most unprotecting and naive places in a city, a college campus? I have been thinking about this all morning, and I still have no answer as to a solution or means of security. Any thoughts?
My thoughts on these things other than imagining what it would take in someone to really do something like this is how have individuals become so disconnected with one another that we can't stop this on a personal level. I think one trade off of becoming so technologically dependent is our necessity for quickness and society when human relationships are nothing resembling the microwave society we expect. These things really can't be stopped and playing them on the news only furthers the problems like many of the terrible things in the world, but as idealistic as this sounds, this kind of thing would rarely happen if people just connected with their family, friends and other humans. How that happens? You know as well as I do.
Adam B. also asked about the C.C. Sabathia contract talks in Cleveland. My opinion on this whole topic is that I trust the Indians. I think Shapiro had his price and C.C. had his and they were worlds apart. C.C. will likely be gone next year. I believe that the Indians and any baseball team should spend money on pitching if anything. The problem with the Indians is that they don't have the fan support and revenue any more to go throwing $100 million contracts around on one player. That being said, if the Indians are a contender, ride C.C. out and let him redeem himself. If they Indians are not a contender, let's rob the shit out of the Yankees. I've seriously learned my lesson from pitchers like Bartolo Colon. Long term consistency is what makes pitchers great and C.C. isn't there yet. I would, however, take a championship with his help and have him be gone next year, then to hurt our chances in 1 year.
That's correct people, 3 questions in one comment on 3 different topics from one Adam B.
Keith J. asked "Do you think that the Cavs have any chance to win an NBA title this season?"
I may shock people with this answer, but I do believe we can win a title. I put the odds at something like 60 to 1, but I think out of 60 times, we should win 1. I think people underestimate Lebron in this league. He single-handedly dismantled Detroit last year. He runs the show and he always shows up in the playoffs. The Cavs have beat Boston twice this year. We have been playing solid despite having 2 of our better players gone for most of the season, and I think Lebron would own Detroit in a seven game series. Against the West, it would just be a matter of match ups against the right team. There are teams in the West that we play great against, and other's that we don't. We can't beat the Suns, Rockets, or Spurs in a seven game series ever ever ever. We would have a shot against the Lakers or Jazz, and I'm not sure about the Mavs. I would probably say we can't beat them if I had to pick. The fact is though that the chances are slim because the team is basically Lebron and his bums. We need to clean out the bums and bring in one star to replace Hughes and a solid point guard to become a consistent contender year in and year out. With our potential in James we should have 5 rings by the end of his career if he stays here.
Mike Z. asked two questions:
1. Where do you think Terrelle Pryor will go to college and why?
Here is what I think he should think about his options.
Oregon--an athletic Vince Young like QB in Dennis Dixon just had tremendous success and a potential national championship before his injury. I like Oregon.
Penn State--I would have a 4 year starting ticket and could bring glory back to a program that hasn't been a force in the Big 10 for a while. I'm closer to home, but I'm choosing this over two better programs at Michigan and OSU
Michigan--I'm heading to play for a coach that just had his actions define what kind of character he is. I'll probably end up on the cover of ESPN not for my play, but for violating NCAA rules. They have lost to OSU 4 straight years, but I could bring back the glory to this team and begin building the program from scratch.
OSU-They have been embarrassed in two straight title games, but have nevertheless been there. A mobile QB with an arm like Troy Smith had great success here along with the Heisman. This team recruits the best OL in the land, so I'll always have protection. Todd Boeckman looks like Charlie Frye compared to me, but the coach may still have me wait a year.
Moral of the story-he's picking Oregon or OSU for the above reasons, but I'm going to side with my heart here and say OSU can have hope for the next 4 years as it tries to avenge itself against the SEC because this QB is going to OSU.
2. Who won the Tiff beer pong tournament? I totally forgot.
To this I say, are you going to brag in 70 years?
Finally, Tyler from the city of Brotherly Love said "I would love to know your opinion on this years dunk contest along with your top 5 dunk contest dunks of all time."
I really enjoyed this year's dunk contest because I thought it was the revenge of Dwight Howard who got completely shafted out of last year's contest. His dunk last year was a sticker on one hand of his face that he put high on the backboard and then dunked. It was extremely creative and still a good dunk, but the judges didn't like it so out in round 1. This year he kept up the creativity and did some great dunks. The volleyball tap off the backboard was his best dunk followed by the behind the basket dunk (if he makes it first try it's the most difficult dunk in history. I also like when a star wins because it makes it more memorable. I hate players that win this and are extremely forgettable. The best dunkers should be in every competition, but there has to be a great balance with the best players. Who would not be thrilled to watch a dunk contest with Lebron, Kobe, Vince Carter, Dwight Howard?
I'll get to the second part of this question after some research.
On another note, the book is extremely readable even if you aren't an economics major or know the slightest thing about economics.
Novels or Questions?
Dave, the legendary party spot host that we addressed in a few blogs asked, "How would your fix the primary process so that states could still receive individual attention from their candidates while making sure that every vote has equal weight in determining a nominee and also do you think that my frustrations will be shared by many and if so, how might this feeling of disenfranchisement affect Republican turnout in the general election?"
First off, calling me a "liberal ass" is extremely ignorant considering I continuously promote a conservative economic policy. Just because I support some more progressive issues out there, does not make me a liberal ass. To address the first question, it is apparent our primary process needs a fix as judged the number of states that illegally moved their primaries to try to be a greater factor in the process. I think the primary process should be selected arbitrarily with 10 states being selected in 5 bi-weekly voting blocks. A random drawing will draw 10 states together before each Presidential primary process two weeks before the first primary. Here are my two main reasons.
1. It will allow each state their own fair allotment of time over 2 weeks. Candidates will have to choose which states they campaign for all the time prior to the "draft." This allows them to pick which states they believe will be important (one's with more delegates obviously), but gives smaller states 2 weeks of time split between 10 states.
2. States can no longer argue since it's luck of the draw and in the next election, they might be the first up. I think it adds some more fun to the process too that can really get people engaged in the political process. If more people are interested in the process, we get a more democratic election.
The fact is that everyone will have a complaint about any process we choose, but I certainly think that having the same states decide every single time is ludicrous. McCain would probably not be in this if it wasn't for his win in little New Hampshire of all places.
To the second part of your question, I think voter turnout will be about the same for Republicans, but if you get two candidates like McCain-Obama that appeal to moderate, different voters, you will get a big turnout from the moderate demographic.
Adam B. asked "Is the Democratic party going to beat themselves before November?" By this, I mean will this heated battle in the primary campaign between Obama and Clinton be too much of a burden on them when they face a very-beatable John McCain / Huckabee (speculation) in November, or will the winner get a much needed boost into the ultimate campaign?
I think the Democratic Party will lag behind if their process goes all the way to convention. It's just a matter of focus and time rather than a war of words. Obama and Clinton have really been more civilized towards each other for both their interests after heated media and debate battles earlier in the process. What will hurt though is McCain having the entire focus of the Republican party, while I can assume many voters on the Democratic side would feel disengaged and exhausted if their candidate lost a long battle for the nomination.
Adam B. also asked when referring to the NIU shooting "Can these kind of things be stopped on one of the most unprotecting and naive places in a city, a college campus? I have been thinking about this all morning, and I still have no answer as to a solution or means of security. Any thoughts?
My thoughts on these things other than imagining what it would take in someone to really do something like this is how have individuals become so disconnected with one another that we can't stop this on a personal level. I think one trade off of becoming so technologically dependent is our necessity for quickness and society when human relationships are nothing resembling the microwave society we expect. These things really can't be stopped and playing them on the news only furthers the problems like many of the terrible things in the world, but as idealistic as this sounds, this kind of thing would rarely happen if people just connected with their family, friends and other humans. How that happens? You know as well as I do.
Adam B. also asked about the C.C. Sabathia contract talks in Cleveland. My opinion on this whole topic is that I trust the Indians. I think Shapiro had his price and C.C. had his and they were worlds apart. C.C. will likely be gone next year. I believe that the Indians and any baseball team should spend money on pitching if anything. The problem with the Indians is that they don't have the fan support and revenue any more to go throwing $100 million contracts around on one player. That being said, if the Indians are a contender, ride C.C. out and let him redeem himself. If they Indians are not a contender, let's rob the shit out of the Yankees. I've seriously learned my lesson from pitchers like Bartolo Colon. Long term consistency is what makes pitchers great and C.C. isn't there yet. I would, however, take a championship with his help and have him be gone next year, then to hurt our chances in 1 year.
That's correct people, 3 questions in one comment on 3 different topics from one Adam B.
Keith J. asked "Do you think that the Cavs have any chance to win an NBA title this season?"
I may shock people with this answer, but I do believe we can win a title. I put the odds at something like 60 to 1, but I think out of 60 times, we should win 1. I think people underestimate Lebron in this league. He single-handedly dismantled Detroit last year. He runs the show and he always shows up in the playoffs. The Cavs have beat Boston twice this year. We have been playing solid despite having 2 of our better players gone for most of the season, and I think Lebron would own Detroit in a seven game series. Against the West, it would just be a matter of match ups against the right team. There are teams in the West that we play great against, and other's that we don't. We can't beat the Suns, Rockets, or Spurs in a seven game series ever ever ever. We would have a shot against the Lakers or Jazz, and I'm not sure about the Mavs. I would probably say we can't beat them if I had to pick. The fact is though that the chances are slim because the team is basically Lebron and his bums. We need to clean out the bums and bring in one star to replace Hughes and a solid point guard to become a consistent contender year in and year out. With our potential in James we should have 5 rings by the end of his career if he stays here.
Mike Z. asked two questions:
1. Where do you think Terrelle Pryor will go to college and why?
Here is what I think he should think about his options.
Oregon--an athletic Vince Young like QB in Dennis Dixon just had tremendous success and a potential national championship before his injury. I like Oregon.
Penn State--I would have a 4 year starting ticket and could bring glory back to a program that hasn't been a force in the Big 10 for a while. I'm closer to home, but I'm choosing this over two better programs at Michigan and OSU
Michigan--I'm heading to play for a coach that just had his actions define what kind of character he is. I'll probably end up on the cover of ESPN not for my play, but for violating NCAA rules. They have lost to OSU 4 straight years, but I could bring back the glory to this team and begin building the program from scratch.
OSU-They have been embarrassed in two straight title games, but have nevertheless been there. A mobile QB with an arm like Troy Smith had great success here along with the Heisman. This team recruits the best OL in the land, so I'll always have protection. Todd Boeckman looks like Charlie Frye compared to me, but the coach may still have me wait a year.
Moral of the story-he's picking Oregon or OSU for the above reasons, but I'm going to side with my heart here and say OSU can have hope for the next 4 years as it tries to avenge itself against the SEC because this QB is going to OSU.
2. Who won the Tiff beer pong tournament? I totally forgot.
To this I say, are you going to brag in 70 years?
Finally, Tyler from the city of Brotherly Love said "I would love to know your opinion on this years dunk contest along with your top 5 dunk contest dunks of all time."
I really enjoyed this year's dunk contest because I thought it was the revenge of Dwight Howard who got completely shafted out of last year's contest. His dunk last year was a sticker on one hand of his face that he put high on the backboard and then dunked. It was extremely creative and still a good dunk, but the judges didn't like it so out in round 1. This year he kept up the creativity and did some great dunks. The volleyball tap off the backboard was his best dunk followed by the behind the basket dunk (if he makes it first try it's the most difficult dunk in history. I also like when a star wins because it makes it more memorable. I hate players that win this and are extremely forgettable. The best dunkers should be in every competition, but there has to be a great balance with the best players. Who would not be thrilled to watch a dunk contest with Lebron, Kobe, Vince Carter, Dwight Howard?
I'll get to the second part of this question after some research.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Super Tuesday
I don't know if this title refers to my upcoming PL Omaha w/ Rebuys win in the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza or the second biggest political event of the year. Great to see that Ohio gets to vote after the candidates will probably already be decided. Our system is super unfair and undemocratic as I've stated in previous blogs.
Tyler from Philly wrote in "I am about to jump aboard McCain and Giuliani. In your opinion what are the chances that Giuliani becomes VP for McCain and how do you feel about it as a whole?"
Tyler, I love the political question and a perfect time to ask this. If I had to assess a percentage, I would give it about a 3% chance. First, McCain needs to come through on Super Tuesday and win the nomination. Assuming that he continues his momentum and gets the nomination, he faces some tough questions. First off, the conservative base of the party has seemed to turned their back on McCain. All of the psycho-conservatives (Ann Coulter, Russ Limbaugh) hate McCain. I even read that Ann Coulter would rather have Hillary than John McCain. I see Guiliani as almost the same type of candidate as McCain. He's a very moderate Republican and at times liberal in his views. McCain was picked as that candidate in this primary which is why Guiliani could never gain steam. I would imagine that McCain will be politically savvy if he wins this and pick someone that appeals more to the Republican conservative side as his running mate. What's that equate to? Sorry Tyler, I just don't see a good chance of it happening. I really do think though that if it were to happen, it would throw this race up in a storm.
I'm pulling for Obama on the Democratic side and it should be very close. I just think he has a stance and vision that all American can buy into and support going forward.
As I said, I will be playing the PL Omaha Rebuy event tomorrow at Venetian. This is my first PL Omaha tournament live, but I've had success in the big ones that I've played online namely in the FTOPS and WCOOP. I still am haunted by a hand in the WCOOP that occurred when I was chip leader. I raised in late position with a hand like AA109 Flop came down K 10 x. I bet after the flop and really felt like a player was ready to make a move. I didn't fall in love with my hand by any means hear, but I simply made a play based on my gut with about 24 players left in this tournament. He pushed the pot and I finished off his all in. He showed J 9 9 x for 5 outs since I had one of his nines. The river fell a 9 and I was devastated and could never recover. I finished 18th I believe out of maybe around 700 players. The event tomorrow should be fun and an experience if nothing else.
Today's event went terrible. I arrived a little too late 11:45 for the 12 start time. I did not anticipate the turnout. I was alternate 43 after they filled probably around 440 seats. I got in late in Level 2 with 5700 of the original 6k stack and blinds up to 50/100. I won a couple small pots, then folded AQ preflop after I raised to 600 w/ blinds at 100/200. Shortly after, I picked up KQ in the cutoff (button was away from table), so I had the best position and I limped in a multiway limped pot. Flop came down K Q 10. It checked to me and I bet 1000 into the 1300 pot. A shortstack that just arrived at the table as an alternate put all his chips in on a check raise. I thought for maybe 12 seconds and just thought my hand was slightly ahead of the hands he could be doing this with. He showed AJ and I was just about crippled. After a shortstack triple up and a failed all in I was sent home. Not a good start to this series of events, but that's a very tough situation early in a tournament.
Jay wrote in response to my top 5 poker players blog "What about Allen Cunningham?"
Jay, I totally overlooked Allen Cunningham. He is at least worth an honorable mention if not to be considered as one of the best. I would probably bump lilholdem954 and put him ahead of him if I had to put him in the top 5. I just think his experience in big events and consistent success speaks for itself. If the guy could have any luck at all, he may be main event champion as he was clearly the best player of the final 4 two years ago when Jamie Gold made a miracle call with KJ against his 10 10 and won a monster race.
I will remind you guys to keep those questions coming about anything because I love responding. Just put your question in the comments and I'd be happy to give my opinion.
Keith writing from BGSU wrote "When you look at the Cavs, do you think there is one specific move that will make them a true contender? I think that no matter what move Ferry makes, he will not put the Cavaliers in place to win it all this season."
Realistically, I believe it would take a miracle worker in order to make this team a contender. This team would be a contender with Carlos Boozer locked into a long term contract, and a solid point guard locked into our team. Now in retrospect, it's almost stupid throwing out what ifs, but hey why not. What if we didn't move Andre Miller for Darius Miles in order to try to make this team exciting for the fans? What if we had competent management that actually paid one of the top ten second rounders of the decade in Carlos Boozer?
PG: Andre Miller
SG: Who cares he is nothing to me
SF: Lebron James
PF: Carlos Boozer
C: Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Bench with key reserves including Andy V., Sasha, Daniel Gibson.
That's a contender in my opinion. Can the Cavs get back to that? I've heard Andre Miller trade rumors, but I don't think he or Jason Kidd is the long term answer to this team. I believe it's tough to not call the Cavs a contender since they did make the NBA finals last year, but I get the essence of your question. How do you beat the West and be one of the consistently top 5 teams in the NBA year in and year out? I think anyway that Ferry moves Larry Hughes and lifts the elephant out of the room is the best move. Will there be a blockbuster deal? No. We have what we have this year and probably next year for that matter. We have nothing to give to get another star in here but that's what we need. Lebron will make any player look loads better than they really are. I want to see what he can do with real talent.
That's all for now and keep those questions coming.
Tyler from Philly wrote in "I am about to jump aboard McCain and Giuliani. In your opinion what are the chances that Giuliani becomes VP for McCain and how do you feel about it as a whole?"
Tyler, I love the political question and a perfect time to ask this. If I had to assess a percentage, I would give it about a 3% chance. First, McCain needs to come through on Super Tuesday and win the nomination. Assuming that he continues his momentum and gets the nomination, he faces some tough questions. First off, the conservative base of the party has seemed to turned their back on McCain. All of the psycho-conservatives (Ann Coulter, Russ Limbaugh) hate McCain. I even read that Ann Coulter would rather have Hillary than John McCain. I see Guiliani as almost the same type of candidate as McCain. He's a very moderate Republican and at times liberal in his views. McCain was picked as that candidate in this primary which is why Guiliani could never gain steam. I would imagine that McCain will be politically savvy if he wins this and pick someone that appeals more to the Republican conservative side as his running mate. What's that equate to? Sorry Tyler, I just don't see a good chance of it happening. I really do think though that if it were to happen, it would throw this race up in a storm.
I'm pulling for Obama on the Democratic side and it should be very close. I just think he has a stance and vision that all American can buy into and support going forward.
As I said, I will be playing the PL Omaha Rebuy event tomorrow at Venetian. This is my first PL Omaha tournament live, but I've had success in the big ones that I've played online namely in the FTOPS and WCOOP. I still am haunted by a hand in the WCOOP that occurred when I was chip leader. I raised in late position with a hand like AA109 Flop came down K 10 x. I bet after the flop and really felt like a player was ready to make a move. I didn't fall in love with my hand by any means hear, but I simply made a play based on my gut with about 24 players left in this tournament. He pushed the pot and I finished off his all in. He showed J 9 9 x for 5 outs since I had one of his nines. The river fell a 9 and I was devastated and could never recover. I finished 18th I believe out of maybe around 700 players. The event tomorrow should be fun and an experience if nothing else.
Today's event went terrible. I arrived a little too late 11:45 for the 12 start time. I did not anticipate the turnout. I was alternate 43 after they filled probably around 440 seats. I got in late in Level 2 with 5700 of the original 6k stack and blinds up to 50/100. I won a couple small pots, then folded AQ preflop after I raised to 600 w/ blinds at 100/200. Shortly after, I picked up KQ in the cutoff (button was away from table), so I had the best position and I limped in a multiway limped pot. Flop came down K Q 10. It checked to me and I bet 1000 into the 1300 pot. A shortstack that just arrived at the table as an alternate put all his chips in on a check raise. I thought for maybe 12 seconds and just thought my hand was slightly ahead of the hands he could be doing this with. He showed AJ and I was just about crippled. After a shortstack triple up and a failed all in I was sent home. Not a good start to this series of events, but that's a very tough situation early in a tournament.
Jay wrote in response to my top 5 poker players blog "What about Allen Cunningham?"
Jay, I totally overlooked Allen Cunningham. He is at least worth an honorable mention if not to be considered as one of the best. I would probably bump lilholdem954 and put him ahead of him if I had to put him in the top 5. I just think his experience in big events and consistent success speaks for itself. If the guy could have any luck at all, he may be main event champion as he was clearly the best player of the final 4 two years ago when Jamie Gold made a miracle call with KJ against his 10 10 and won a monster race.
I will remind you guys to keep those questions coming about anything because I love responding. Just put your question in the comments and I'd be happy to give my opinion.
Keith writing from BGSU wrote "When you look at the Cavs, do you think there is one specific move that will make them a true contender? I think that no matter what move Ferry makes, he will not put the Cavaliers in place to win it all this season."
Realistically, I believe it would take a miracle worker in order to make this team a contender. This team would be a contender with Carlos Boozer locked into a long term contract, and a solid point guard locked into our team. Now in retrospect, it's almost stupid throwing out what ifs, but hey why not. What if we didn't move Andre Miller for Darius Miles in order to try to make this team exciting for the fans? What if we had competent management that actually paid one of the top ten second rounders of the decade in Carlos Boozer?
PG: Andre Miller
SG: Who cares he is nothing to me
SF: Lebron James
PF: Carlos Boozer
C: Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Bench with key reserves including Andy V., Sasha, Daniel Gibson.
That's a contender in my opinion. Can the Cavs get back to that? I've heard Andre Miller trade rumors, but I don't think he or Jason Kidd is the long term answer to this team. I believe it's tough to not call the Cavs a contender since they did make the NBA finals last year, but I get the essence of your question. How do you beat the West and be one of the consistently top 5 teams in the NBA year in and year out? I think anyway that Ferry moves Larry Hughes and lifts the elephant out of the room is the best move. Will there be a blockbuster deal? No. We have what we have this year and probably next year for that matter. We have nothing to give to get another star in here but that's what we need. Lebron will make any player look loads better than they really are. I want to see what he can do with real talent.
That's all for now and keep those questions coming.
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