shagztoriches

WSOP

The final table was probably the most dramatic television event of the year. It made Survivor look like Cop Rock. I have to hand it to Mike Matusow, you can say what you want about his table demeanor and his personal issues, he was the only player at that table who wanted that bracelet more than the money. The guy played his ass off, and got sucked out after making a tremendous read after the flop. You may not like him, but you sure as hell have to respect him. Scott Lazer had two of the biggest meltdowns in televised poker history, pushing with K-(junk) and Q-10 os, going in both times way behind and predictably busting out . Going on tilt because you would have turned quads after making the correct pre-flop fold is weak. He got what he deserved. And Joe Hachem, he was short stacked the whole way but came back to become your world champion. I know what I saw was basically a highlight show, but what I did see of Joe did not really impress me. He was a tight, aggressive player who caught some cards at the right time and got lucky when he didn't. You didn't really see him make a tremendous read or a really huge laydown. He may have, but it was either not shown or I missed it while getting busted out of a Pokerstars sittie. At any rate, I guess it's good for poker because you will now get even more new players in online and brick and mortar card rooms. But, as I have alluded to before, when the fish(the maniacal "it worked because I saw it on TV assholes, not the loose passive assholes) substantially outnumber the sharks, it's like stepping into a fucking minefield. Maybe I'll play Madden for a while, at least there I can go online and get pummeled and not go broke!

FOOTBALL THOUGHTS AND PICKS

Let me start off by saying I am physically ill over what transpired last Monday night. How do you give up a 2 touchdown lead with 4 minutes left to go in the game? I'll be honest with you, I haven't taken a loss this hard since we lost to Carolina two years ago. Would you like an idea of what I am going through? Like it or not, you are going to understand right now. You must all suffer as I have. So, as your penance, here is a soccer article, in French. Enjoy!

Mondial de foot: l'Allemagne attend son plateau de prestigejeu 17 nov, 18h18

PARIS (AFP) - Le Brésil de Ronaldinho, la France de Zidane, l'Argentine de Crespo, l'Angleterre de Beckham, les Pays-Bas de Van Nistelrooy: la 18e édition de la Coupe du monde de football débutera dans un peu plus de six mois en Allemagne (9 juin-9 juillet) avec un vrai plateau de prestige.
Tous les anciens vainqueurs du Mondial seront présents, sauf l'Uruguay, et à l'exception du Camerounais Samuel Eto'o, de l'Irlandais Roy Keane, du Turc Hakan Sukur et du Roumain Adrian Mutu, tous les plus grands joueurs de la planète foot fouleront les pelouses allemandes, sauf blessure ou suspension.
D'ici au match d'ouverture, le 9 juin à Munich, rendez-vous est pris le 9 décembre à Leipzig (Allemagne) pour le tirage au sort de la phase finale.
. Néophytes: Togo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Angola pour l'Afrique, Trinité-et-Tobago pour la Concacaf et Ukraine pour l'Europe disputeront la première Coupe du monde de leur histoire. A l'inverse, les grands -ou réputés tels- ont répondu présent, surtout en Europe, alors que les Pays-Bas étaient absents en 2002, le Portugal en 1998, la France et l'Angleterre en 1994.
. Afrique: les géants à terre. Cameroun, Nigeria, Maroc, Afrique du sud, Sénégal... Les géants africains sont tous passés à la trappe, sauf la Tunisie, laissant place à des pays émergents sur le continent noir, Togo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana et Angola, présents pour la première fois à une Coupe du monde. Dans un tournoi où l'expérience est primordiale, l'Afrique risque d'avoir du mal à maintenir un représentant jusqu'en quart de finale.
. Europe: la Turquie tombe de haut. Du podium du Mondial asiatique en 2002 (3e) à l'élimination pure et simple en 2006, la chute est rude pour la Turquie, déjà non qualifiée pour l'Euro-2004. Une page se tourne peu-être pour le football turc, dans la foulée d'un Hakan Sukur qui a annoncé sa retraite. La Grèce, pourtant championne d'Europe en 2004, a imité son "ennemi" turc.

Tobago pour le Mondial-2006 face à Bahreïn, le 16 novembre 2005 à Manama
agrandir la photo
. Amsud: L'Uruguay sera le seul des sept pays déjà sacrés champions du monde à ne pas être présent en Allemagne. Les six autres pays déjà vainqueurs de la Coupe du monde, Brésil (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002), Italie (1934, 1938, 1982), Allemagne (1954, 1974, 1990), Argentine (1978, 1986), Angleterre (1966) et France (1998) seront eux présents à la 18e Coupe du monde.
. Brésil favori: à six mois du début de la compétition, le Brésil fait figure de grand favori. En plus de son compartiment offensif à faire peur, avec Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Adriano, Kaka, Robinho et consorts, la Seleçao présente, chose inhabituelle, une arrière garde de qualité: Roque Junior, Lucio et Juan sont de niveau mondial en charnière centrale. A droite, le poste de Cafu, vieillissant mais toujours performant, est doublé par Cicinho. Et à gauche, Roberto Carlos est toujours vert.
. Calendrier: le tirage au sort de la phase finale du Mondial aura lieu le 9 décembre à Leipzig (Allemagne), six mois avant le début de la compétition. Les modalités de ce tirage et notamment les pays têtes de série seront connus seulement trois jours avant, le 6 décembre. Les internationaux seront officiellement à disposition de leur sélection à partir du 21 mai alors que le 25 mai est la date limite d'enregistrement des listes de 23 joueurs par pays. La compétition débutera le 9 juin à Munich. Les équipes seront tenues d'arriver en Allemagne au moins cinq jours avant leur premier match.
Résultats des barrages retour des qualifications à la Coupe du monde de football 2006, mercredi:
. Zone Europe:
retour
aller
Turquie - (+) Suisse
4-2
0-2
Slovaquie - (+) Espagne
1-1
1-5
(+) République tchèque - Norvège
1-0
1-0
. Zones Océanie et Amsud:
(+) Australie - Uruguay
1-0
0-1
Australie qualifiée aux tirs au but (4-2)
. Zones Asie et Concacaf:
Bahreïn - (+) Trinité-et-Tobago
0-1
1-1
NDLR: les équipes précédées du signe (+) sont qualifiées pour la phase finale en Allemagne.
La liste des 32 participants au Mondial-2006
Europe (14): Allemagne (pays organisateur), Ukraine, Pays-Bas, Pologne, Angleterre, Croatie, Italie, Portugal, Suède, Serbie-Monténégro, France, Espagne, République tchèque, Suisse
Amérique du Sud (4): Argentine, Brésil, Equateur, Paraguay
Asie (4): Japon, Iran, Corée du Sud, Arabie saoudite
Océanie (1): Australie
Concacaf (4): Etats-Unis, Mexique, Costa Rica, Trinité-et-Tobago

FOOTBALL PICKS (CONTINUED)
If you actually enjoyed that, or even understood it, get the fuck out of here. This blog is not for you. Now that your souls have been cleansed, lets take a look at some games I think are worth watching..

(9) Ohio State at (17) Michigan
Ohio State can clinch a share of the Big Ten title with a win over their biggest rivals at the big house. You know, I honestly don't get it. Why the Big Ten does not have a tie breaker is beyond me. And Michigan, these assholes are like the terminator. They get their heads bashed in for the better part of a year, and they are still in position for a share of the Big Ten title and the BCS bid. Every year this seems to happen. Does Lloyd Carr have pictures of the Big Ten president getting a paw job from his neighbor's dog? In all seriousness, Michigan has improved greatly over the past weeks, and are looking to write a perfect ending to their season. But OSU arguably has the best defense in the nation, a future all american quarterback in Troy Smith, and a potent running attack. In a game like this, with 2 teams so evenly matched, it comes down to coaching. I would give the nod to Jim Tressel, and the Buckeyes steal one at the big house, 17-14.

(5) Penn State at Michigan State
You know why the sky is blue and white? C'mon, you know why. Anyway, Penn State will lock up it's first Big Ten title since 1994, and the first BCS bid when they beat the lowly Spartans 34-14. Stand up and be proud fellow Penn Staters, we can now walk down the street with dignity. We are...PENN STATE!!!

Indianapolis at Cincinati
The Colts go into Cincy as the only undefeated team in the NFL, as they take on the Bengals, the suprise team of the NFL. The "in" pick has been the Bengals, and I admit, this is a winnable game for those of you wearing orange and black. While the Colts have what seems to be a dominating defense, there are holes in the secondary that Palmer, Johnson, and Houshmin....Houshmen....Houshman.., ah fuck it, his last name is like a sound someone would make when they sneeze, while their head is stuck up their own ass. They will find holes in that secondary and will score some points. The problem is, Manning and Harrison have found each other. They are clicking, and Edgerrin James is running himself into a huge payday. A high scoring game, but I think the Colts score more, 41-37.

Philadelphia at New York Football Giants
*Sigh* I was looking at a picture today that I had taken with my Uncle. It was taken in Jacksonville, right outside the bar where we were going to watch the game. The Stadium was right in the background, perfect weather, surrounded by family and freinds, and a great (beer) buzz. So much anticipation, so much hope, only to have it ripped from us along with our hearts, ripped right out of our chests. We have been put through a whirlwind the last few months with a selfish wide receiver, an injured quarterback, and questionable play calling from a coach who thinks he is smarter than everyone else. I want that feeling back again. I need that feeling back again. Giants 27-17. *Sigh*

And now some rants:

Baseball yesterday voted in favor of tougher disciplinary actions against players that test positive for steriods. Who gives a shit? The active players who have been the cover boys for this steroid controversy all have one thing in common other than trying to find another man to stick a needle in their ass. That is, THEY HAVEN'T WON A FUCKING THING!! Barry Bonds is a selfish prick who cares more about his numbers than his teammates or winning games. If he wants to break the Babe Ruth's record, thats great. If he wants to break Hank Aaron's record, even better. You know why I feel this way? Because those worthless stats have been immortalized by a bunch of hard-ons smoking a stogey and banging on a typewriter 12 hours a day, who have morphed into these yuppie pricks you hear screaming over each other on ESPN. Last time I checked, you don't play sports to break records, you play sports to to win games. These records have been glorified and have been put ahead of winning championships. Most of these records were set in an era where the talent level was no where near what it is today. Hitting 62 home runs in today's game without the juice is impossible. Hitting 756 career homeruns without the juice is impossible. But after the '94 strike, players felt the pressure and knew baseball needed these records to be broken to survive. This whole situation has evolved out of greed. Bonds, Sosa and Palmiero were right in the middle of it then, just like they are now.

The NCAA has passed a rule banning schools with Native American names from displaying their logo during bowl, playoff, or tournament games starting in 2006. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Native Americans. They seem like a fun bunch of people, I would love to go out drinking with them. But Native Americans have been celebrated figures as part of our culture since the inception of this country, both by fictional stories and in our history classroom. Sports teams have taken on the Native American themes because of the qualities they represent, not to ridicule them. My biggest problem is, what will people target next? Will homosexuals demand the Green Bay Packers change their name? Will the New Jersey Devils get hate mail from church groups, or will the LA Angels get letters from Satan worshippers? Will our Scandinavian residents rise together and change the Vikings logo? (But I actually could see why!) I'm not sure how Syracuse got the name Orangemen, but that has to piss somebody off. All I'm saying is, lets stop this nonsense now before it goes to far.

That's it for this week. Remember folks, don't go through life drunk, fat and stupid.