October 21, 2004

It Will All Be Said & Done...

By the time you read this, the American League Championship series between the Red Sox and the Yankees will be over. However, I had to mention it since it has been downright amazing. After watching a good chunk of game three, I thought for sure that the Red Sox would call it quits. I mean, that's what usual Red Sox teams do right? Whine about their misfortune and move on. Sox fans should be more like Braves fans and pretend the post season doesn't even exist. The bitter pill goes down much easier that way. 

Anyway, I hope the Red Sox pull it off. It is already being marketed as the greatest comeback in baseball postseason history, so why not go all the way. Plus, they'll win it against the most disliked franchise in all of sports, well behind the Raiders anyway. Every Yankee fan I have ever met liked them because they are winners. Most of them couldn't name the middle relievers, which in my book is the true testament of a baseball fan.

Plus, if the Red Sox win and the Astros finish off the Cardinals, the Sox would have a chance to totally embarrass super Texas hillbilly Roger Clemens. I'm sure that will make Sox fans savor the championship even more.

Speaking of Texas

I got to see Friday Night Lights over the weekend and it is a totally kick ass film. Not as entertaining as say Varsity Blues, which borrowed heavily from the book Friday Night Lights, but a much more honest movie. I've read the book and the movie is exceptionally faithful. If you looking for shit jokes and a lot of teenage girl ass, move on. If you are looking for a quality football movie that isn't preachy (see: Remember the Titans), go see Friday Night Lights.

My favorite scene in the film is when one of the fathers of the football players comes out of the stands and embarrasses his kid in front of the team and coaching staff about his fumbling problems. I can't wait to torment my future children like that.

Speaking of Football

I was hoping to do a running diary of the Broncos/Raiders game this Sunday so you all could really see how much I hate the Raiders, but my local network affiliate opted to run the Cowboys/Steelers game. Way to go guys! The Broncos won 31-3 and embarrassed the Silver and Black so much that they traded Jerry Rice because he's too good to be on the team.

The Pixies Show

Like I mentioned last week, I got to see the Pixies in concert last Wednesday night. The show was being held at the Fox Theater. I've never been there before, but I wish I had. It's a totally sweet venue, with the interior set-up to look like a castle.

The opening band was called the Thrills and I guess they were all right. They're songs were very indie pop, but I guess so are the Pixies. They played a nice smooth set though and I think were just happy to be touring with a well known act.

The Pixies were very impressive and played a large portion of their catalog during the hour and a half set. Frank Black (or Black Francis if you insist) has blown fully past doughy into straight obesity. It works for him though. I did notice that he had to adjust his man-ness several times during the set. Maybe he should have worn shorts, because the auditorium was a little warm. Kim Deal looked very much like a man with lipstick on and was much bigger than anyone else in the band. She looked like she could have been on steroids.

All told, they really kicked some ass and I was very happy about getting to see them. Sonya said it was a religious experience, but I wouldn't go that far. If they are coming your way, get some tickets. Totally worth the price of admission.

Speaking of Bands I'm Seeing

Tonight in Athens I'm going to catch a band called the Genitorturers at the 40 Watt club. The cost is $13 and they seem to have a Cramps/GWAR feel to them. You can check out their website here.
They are playing along side Helltrash and Scurvy. Should be fun. Check out the poster my buddy Mike did for it and tell me you wouldn't go. Maybe I should paint my face white and throw on some eyeliner to help fit in. I'll grab some pics if they let me.

I don't have much else to report. We did go up to Helen over the weekend to realize why we didn't go last October, it cost too much and it's too far to drive. However, we do have a dozen new plastic mugs I can destroy while throwing a poker fit.

And speaking of poker, I won $135 over the weekend. Soon enough, I'll have the bankroll to start playing at the real money tables. Although you all plainly don't like it, here is a little essay about why I love poker. For those of you who care, read on, for the rest of you, this is the end of the transmission. As always, you can email me at jacsv76@hotmail.com or leave a comment at the bottom of the screen.

Why I Love Poker

When I was a kid, I was hopelessly scrawny. Being as such, I found it
difficult to play my favorite sport in the world, football. I would always end up getting injured. I chipped a bone in my hand, turned my ankles countless times, and got bruised to no end every time I tucked a football between my arms and chest. As I gradually got older, the kids around me grew to keep pace with the game. I grew too, but only up, so instead of being the short skinny kid, I was the tall skinny kid. Exactly the type of guy you don't want to be on the football field.

Instead, I spent many hours rehearsing big plays in my head, throwing the ball up into the air, catching it, and breaking away for the big run. It was a great way to pass time away between Sundays, when I could watch the greatest quarterback of the last 25 years do his magic. John Elway was that quarterback, and he became my hero. Never one to quit, he guided the Denver Broncos to win after win and finally two Super Bowl titles, many times as the inferior team. You could tell in his eyes that losing was unacceptable. He wanted to win. He wanted to be the best. That is why I love poker.

In a sense, poker allows me to be Elway. I don't always have the best cards, I don't always play the easiest opponents, and I don't always make the right decisions, but I try my damnedest to win every hand I commit chips to and every tournament I enroll in. Do I lose? You know it. But I win as well. And like Elway, I have won considerably more than I have lost. Even the big losses and bad beats make me better. I see things differently. I make better calls. I gain an edge. Having an edge over your opponent is one of the most important things to have in poker. It's the intangible force that boosts your odds of winning.

Playing poker also brings back that sense of competition, that killer
instinct that some of us lose over the years during the grind of daily life. The joy of beating someone heads-up is always great, especially when you have an unbeatable hand and you get them to commit more and more dead money to the pot. Late in a tournament, I love bouncing someone out, especially because my odds of winning money goes up. Why? Because now less players at the table and I have more chips to work with. Playing poker well and winning feeds that ego that we all have, that desire to be the best and the most feared. Not unlike how players of his era revered Lawrence Taylor and his ability to get the quarterback and take him down for a big play.

Poker is also a game of strategy. The strategy of poker (particularly No Limit Hold'em) is for me the reason I keep coming back win or lose. You can't just go into a game and fire off a bunch of blank rounds and expect to come away a winner. You might get an early advantage by scaring your opponents out a few pots, but the moment someone cracks you, everyone will. At the same time, you can't be timid and only playing the best possible starting hands, you'll get blinded off before you know it. You do have to have a game plan and you do have to be willing to adjust it to fit the situation. You have to be
smart, keep other players guessing, set traps, watch betting strategies, and be weary of the wounded. If football has one definitive trait that translates to poker, it's that even though they are down, the short stacks can still come back, and they can still win. You may be down, but until your last chip is gone, you're never out.

Finally, poker (with much thanks to technology and exposure) can make you wealthy and even a little famous, just like football. Not that I expect to be that successful, but it's nice to know that if I do excel, there's something more than the personal pride of victory at the top. It's a lot more comforting than what I do now for a living. Whether I succeed or fail at my job, my paycheck and status seldom changes.

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