When life hands you lemons...

The hard times are always trying on a person's soul. They test your resolve, your spirit, your fortitude. It would be out of character for me to say that I'm good at dealing with tragedy. Who is? I've recently been caught off guard, and I'm trying my damnedest to keep my head above water. I'm not sure how this will all end up. And without going into detail, just be thinking about the Rettster for the next few months as I deal and heal.

Woodie, Woodster, Woodrow

So there's this guy I know. We'll call him Wood. He's a good 'ole southerner with a penchant for mayo and bacon sandwiches, typically grilled to perfection on a George Foreman. He's in my fantasy football league, and due to some luck, some injuries, and the inability of the NFL to recognize that the 17th week of the season gets fantasy teams into the playoffs (thanks Tony Dungy for playing Jim Sorgi for 3 entire quarters), he was able to squeak out a league championship a couple years ago.
Now most of the guys in our league are not what you call "humble," but that said, most of them joke and can be joked with. Wood, on the other hand, can dish it out with the best of them (he's right up there with D. Trump talking about Rosie's fat ass), but when his character is defamed (is that a word?), he gets righteous. Pure and simple. The kid is wacky. Has been since I've know him. Fun to be around, impossible to argue with. You will never win. He will stoop to any level, particularly levels that involve mothers, sisters, weight (he has recently abandoned his mayo/bacon diet and slimmed down), music, athleticism (funny, considering his severe lack of athletic ability due to "ACL surgery" and evident from one view of his awful golf swing) and just about anything else.
Anyway, not trying to slam the kid, just had to write something to get the comments rolling in. Meanwhile, check out the picture (he's the doof in the blue shirt).

Josh Hamilton > Roy Hobbs

They call him "The Dream" - well he lived up to that moniker last night. The single most incredible performance I've ever seen in baseball. I've been a fan of the game for 25 years, and I can't remember seeing anything like it. In case you missed it, the All Star Home Run Derby was last night. Josh Hamilton hit last in the first round, needing 7 home runs to make it through to the second round. In an incredible display of talent, strength and gumption, Josh hit 28 home runs in the first round, the most ever in one round of the derby. He put his stamp on the post-steroids era of baseball.
Josh being from Raleigh is just icing on the cake. The buzz around town about him so far this season is amazing. He is in the conversation for MVP, the triple crown, and is currently leading the majors in RBI with 95. So instead of talking about the coming college football season, or the latest NASCAR results, people out on the town are actually talking baseball. Baseball! Girls even! He's had a lasting impact in just one half-season, and it's a tribute to him.
His story continues to get better every day. And I can't wait to see what happens next. Congratulations, Josh, you just might have a movie made of your life, and Roy Hobbs won't be able to hold a candle to you.

Fantasy Football update

I'm keeping Peyton Manning, Marshawn Lynch (pictured, but which one is he?) and Larry Fitzgerald. To the other potential keepers on my team (Lendale White, Edgerrin James, Vincent Jackson and Matt Hasselbeck), may you have long and illustrious careers. You hurt me more than you helped me you losers.

One guy in our league is keeping Tony Romo, Adrian Peterson and Terrell Owens. I'm thinking he's the man to beat at this point.

iPhonin' it up

I've had my 8 GB iPhone for about a month now, and yes, the new one coming out at $199.99 is a bit annoying, but I don't see the need to trade mine in. I'm getting access to the Apps Store, and a free upgrade to the 2.0 software. So really, I'm not getting the 3g and the GPS. I think I can do without those features for a while. It's not that often that I find myself in a non-wireless area. Work, home, hotels, airports, most nice rental houses on vacation have it too. So no biggie. I'll be interested to see all the cool apps that come out. I'll pass along a review of my favorites in the next few days.

Interesting Observations from the Felt, Volume 1

Sunday, July 6th, 12am. Fayetteville Street Tavern, Raleigh, NC.

I'm in the final five of a 12 person tournament. I'm chip leader by a little bit, with the other big stack directly to my left. He's the only player I'm really concerned about, even though a WSOP vet is directly to my right.

So, one hand caused my night to end prematurely. The player to my left, I'll call him "Big Donkey" or "BD" for short, has been his typical calling station self all night long. Blinds are 500/1000, I'm big blind with J/10 off and he opens with a 3x BB raise. Next player pushes with about 5k, everyone after folds, I call, BD of course calls. Flop comes J 8 9 rainbow. I'm feeling good, and check it one time. He checks as well. Turn is a J. I bet 5k. He pushes all in. He has been using position power all night, and that's part of his game. It wasn't this time. I call. He has K/J. I missed a boat and the straight on the river, and he took 90% of my chips.

I'm not accusing him of playing this hand poorly. He's built his rep around playing bad hands, and it happened to work for him this time. Blind checks, blind calls, reckless calls, etc. I enjoy playing against him because it adds an element of the unknown, even more so than with most other players. It seems like I can read him most hands, but this one had me completely lost. I couldn't give him credit for a J, much less a J with a better kicker. I put him on a pocket pair of some sort, which he's been known to overvalue, and I just got hosed. No other way to describe it. I could say it was bad luck, but I know I'll be more cautious next time. Rematch is tonight, 7:30pm. I'll let you know what happens.

Poker > Sleep

Playing poker is more vital to my survival as a human than sleep. Apparently. I've played in 7 tournaments since last Monday, and I have two more tonight. Average finish? 3rd. One win and two seconds. I'm crazy. I replay hands in my head all the time.

On occasion, I'm going to describe interesting observations from the felt in a column I'll call "Interesting Observations from the Felt, Volume X". Original, I know. First one to follow this post.