Check back here for my latest updates. When I find out where I'll be, what I have to do, and when, I'll post it here ASAP. The itinerary for the near future:
Currently at home in Rockaway indefinitely. So come visit me.
OK, first real post on the new blog. I'll start with a short explanation.
For those of you who were avid readers of my previous blog on BlogSpot, there are several reasons I didn't continue writing in it. First, and most importantly, our internet at 3713 Reservoir didn't allow for sending large amounts of information at once. Like e-mail attachments. Or long blog posts. So basically, there was no way for me to get my thoughts online. Second, it was becoming time consuming, and as much as I'd like to put my entire trip to Acapulco in print, it would have just taken way too long for my linking. And lastly, I was getting bored with it. I think now that especially us G'towners have split up and gone our separate ways, maybe more of you will be inclined to read what I'm writing and keep up with my life. At least I hope so...
I'll keep this post about my trip out to Ocean County and Las Vegas short and sweet. Eric and I flew into California last Wednesday and spent the following 4 days out in Las Vegas with Bert, where we proceeded to all get bad-beated out of the World Series of Poker (I'll withhold stories for now). I finished 8th in a smaller $40 rebuy tournament at the Sahara, but it wasn't enough to keep me out of the red for the weekend. Oh well. The fun, relaxation (and the cigarette girl at the Palms) made the trip still worthwhile.
After returning to California on Monday, we had dinner with Geoff and Vivian at some Mexican joint, where I got this dish called "machacas con carnitas." The English translation may very well have been "rat poison," because after visiting Theresa for a hot sec and going back to Bert's, I got disturbingly ill from food poisoning. I'll spare you the details, but it was not a pretty sight (I'm actually still feeling the effects now, 4 days later).
Quick recap: good
to see the family, poker celebrities, and get away from it all for just
a week. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...
Last night as I got home, I thought about how weird it was to have so many of us in the same place again. We've all been split up for so long, being away at our respective schools, but we've always had the knowledge we'd come back home in the summer and nothing would have changed.
We can't feel that way anymore.
Which makes last night pretty special. Although we were missing a few usual suspects, it was just the guys who have been there since the beginning. Playing poker. Watching TV. Cracking jokes that only we could understand or appreciate. And who knows how many more times that will happen? Pretty soon, some of us will start working full-time. Some of us will go back to school. And the time spent in between will become shorter and shorter.
Well, enough of wasting that very time writing here. It's time to play some hoops down at Peterson. It's time for another half-reunion.
I think the older you get, the harder it gets to become surprised by anything. You become conditioned to respond to the unexpected. But I don't think there was any way I could have been prepared for yesterday.
The first surprise was not a good one. I didn't find out that Bob's graduation party was not being held at his house until roughly a little over 12 hours before it happened. That would have sucked; showing up at his empty house trying to figure out where everyone was.
The rest tended to fall on the good side of surprises. Doug came home for the weekend on short notice and chilled with us while we balled at Peterson. Paul did the same, and came with us to Bob's graduation party. Might not mean a lot to most who read this, but anytime you can catch up in person with guys you've known for 15+ years and haven't seen in about 6 months, it's nice when they can take a break from the New England grind and come back home. Throw in an expected and scheduled visit from Bo, and this weekend almost put together the RTC back in completed form. Now, if Mitch wasn't enjoying sunny Florida so much... :)
On a random sidenote, since I want to keep this chronological, the loaded meatballs served at Bob's graduation party were money. Wasn't expecting meatballs to be loaded with cheese, but I'm all for it after last night.
Next, it was on to Kim's for her graduation party. I had never been to her house, so that in itself was another surprise. As I have said a billion times at Georgetown, I love hanging out with friends, but I think I prefer going to parties where I don't know anybody. That was the case at Kim's, but only kind of...
Kim's parents were just flat out awesome. Her mom's a nurse who can certainly understand the hospital grind I experienced last summer, and her dad's a lifelong Knick fan who loves to talk basketball. Sounds like somebody else I know... In any case, both of them treated me as if I had been coming to their house for years. Hard to do, but they pulled it off and I'm very grateful.
But the biggest surprises of the night came when I started running into people from WAY back in my past. I talked with Jess, who I haven't seen since the Copeland days, and caught up with her. Also ran into Kris, who I haven't seen since high school. Probably the biggest shocker was running into Lisa, who used to live up the street from me at my old house on Daniel St. We're talking one of the first people I have a memory of, a girl I went to kindergarten with, and someone who I hadn't seen in roughly 11 years. It's always nice when someone starts a conversation with you by saying, "So, what have you been up to since the 5th grade?" What do you even say to that? How do you summarize half your life in 30 seconds or less?
It's not easy, trust me.
I'm sure most of you have all seen the recent ESPN commercial where a Cardinals blanket was being passed on through time from a youth who became a father to his children, where the saying went, "Without sports, what would we hold on to?" Now, I definitely don't believe athletes should be making the money that they do today, or that they play for the love of the game as much as they did decades ago. But, sports definitely parallels life in many ways. It touches us when we witness greatness. Or disappointment. We identify ourselves with the teams we root for, and the players who play for those teams.
Much like Bill Holden.
Holden
is an lifelong Cubs fan who became enlightened by a movie he received
as a Christmas gift, entitled "This Old Cub." In order to keep
this short, it basically inspired him to walk 2100 miles from Arizona
to Wrigley Field in Chicago in an attempt to raise money for juvenile
diabetes, the same disease which has claimed both legs of former Cubs
superstar Ron Santo. His quest began in mid January; and he is
currently some 250 miles from Chicago with a little over 3 weeks before
he is scheduled to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at Wrigley on
July 1st.
How great would it be to do something completely selfless for the greater good of others like this? Here's a guy who doesn't have much himself, invested 32 years of his life teaching, and now has the courage to walk thousands of miles despite having no cartilage in his knees for a cause he believes in. A true hero, in my book.
If you'd like to donate to Holden's cause, visit www.thisoldcub.com.
I'm not much for supporting too many causes; in fact, I think a
bunch of them are a load of crap who just funnel money into somebody's
pockets. But this one is legit, and I wouldn't exactly be against
donating to it myself. Maybe a shameless plug here will make a
small difference.
It sucks when your worst fear is confirmed.
A lot.
As most people who know me well know, I don't normally pat myself on the back. But I do have to say I came up big when I sifted through my bank statement for the past month and came across a big error. An uncashed check.
An uncashed check that was supposed to be for my graduate school application fee.
I don't know why I've had this bad feeling that Georgetown would lose my application for the past few weeks or so, but deep down inside, I just felt like something was wrong.
And it was.
I called their office yesterday afternoon, and asked for the status of my application. After being put on hold for about 5 minutes or so, I was told by the secretary that "my application was not in the room that she was currently in, but that it could be in a different room." She also promised to call me back in a few minutes and let me know.
3 hours later, I called the office again, wondering what the hell was going on. The response, "We don't have any indication here that you ever applied."
Hold the fuck up.
Now I know for a fact I sent in an application. Multiple people saw me put it together to send in. But that's besides the point. They lost my application, and I would have never known, except I was fortunate enough to look over my bank statement and find the error.
So here's the rest of that conversation.
K: So you don't have my application?
G: That's correct.
K: I don't know how this could have happened. I literally sent it across the street. I used to be an undergraduate at Georgetown, and I lived on Reservoir Road. In fact, I would have walked it over to your office in person if it didn't explicitly say not to on your website.
G: I don't know what to tell you. We don't
have it. Did you receive a receipt from us saying we got your
application?
K: No, I didn't think Georgetown was sending out receipts, because my roommate who has already applied and received his acceptance never got a receipt either, so I was under the assumption I wasn't going to be receiving one either.
G: Hmmm. Interesting.
K: Yes, very. So what do I do now?
G: Well, the only thing I can tell you is that I'll call the director first thing tomorrow morning and we'll get back to you.
K: OK. Please do. Thank you.
It's
a waiting game now. Keep your fingers crossed for me, because if
this doesn't work out, there's going to be serious problems.
Since I don't have any news to bring you about my plight concerning grad school, and you probably don't want to hear about more about my slow recovery from food poisoning or getting my ass kicked by the guys at Rummy 500, I'll do a short review/survey that my lovable cousins Bert and Linda have decided to do. Maybe you'll get a kick out of this. And maybe you won't. But it's my Tabulas, goddamnit, and I'll do what I want with it.
So, without further ado.
The Number of Books I Own
I have a lot of books like AP Subject Books, SAT prep books, MCAT prep books, etc. Probably about 20 of them, total. But if I had to narrow it down to just real books, I'd say maybe about 20-30. A lot of books I read as a youth growing up are included in this group. I've only went out and purchased a few books. I'm more of a borrow-and-return-after-I'm-done kind of guy. So I'd say in total, I own about 50-60 books.
Last Book Bought
"Hold 'Em Poker For Advanced Players," by David Sklansky. This was the book that was supposed to help me dominate at $10-20 to $40-80 limit hold 'em after I won the $1500 WSOP event I played in two weeks ago and had about approximately $700K to play around with. That wasn't the case, obviously, but it's still regarded as one of the finest books about poker theory available on the market, which makes it a must-read for any poker player worth his salt. I'm intent on finishing it some time this summer.
Last Book Read
College really killed my desire or ability to read for pleasure, so I'm not exactly certain which book was the last one I've read. But if I had to take an educated guess, I would say it was Michael Crichton's "Sphere." One of my favorite authors, and although I liked it less than Jurassic Park or Timeline, it was still a solid book. Recommended reading.
Currently Reading
"Havana," by Stephen Hunter. This guy is without a doubt my favorite writer. He writes crime fiction like no one before him. Two things I love about Hunter's books: 1) he makes many references to areas in Washington DC, most of which I'm familiar with since I went to school for four years there, and 2) he likes to use the same 3 or 4 protagonists for all his books, which gives his novels a series-like feel to it. You don't necessarily need to have read them all in order to get what is going on with each individual book, but if you have read his earlier works, it makes his later works much more enjoyable when you've caught slight little details that weave the books together. If you like fast-paced action packed books that spark a little intellectualism as well, pick up any of his books and go enjoy yourself.
Five Books That Mean A Lot To Me
"The Outsiders," by S.E. Hinton. Besides being one of the best adolescent fictions ever written, this book was just plain badass. The us-against-the-world mentality really had you rooting for the ultimate underdog greasers, and I could really identify with them after 4 years at Delbarton and 4 years at Georgetown. Every time I've re-read this book, I feel like I'm back in 7th grade again, sitting in Mrs. Petouvis's 5th period Lit class, the only class I truly ever enjoyed being in during my academic career, and taught by the only teacher I've ever completely trusted and cared about me as a person in addition to as a student.
"The Things They Carried," by Tim O'Brien. One of the two best books I read in high school. This is one man's recollections of his time spent fighting in the Vietnam War. It's made to read like a fiction, but it is completely true, if that makes any sense. There aren't too many books that I've read in any English class where I felt encumbered by having to read the book as an assignment. This is one of them. There also aren't too many books you can "feel," as opposed to simply "read." Again, this is one of them.
"A Prayer for Owen Meany," by John Irving. The other of the two best books I read in high school. This was an extremely strange book to read for many reasons. The book probably didn't flow as well as many other critically acclaimed novels, and the plot lines were a little hard to follow at times. But goddamn, did this book make you feel emotions. You couldn't help but feel a little bit of everything by the time you finishing reading it; sadness, happiness, disappointment, excitement, etc. You went the whole nine yards when you read this book, and for some reason, you feel like you were better for it after finishing it. I guess the word I'd use to describe the book would be "enlightening."
"Timeline," by Michael Crichton. Still my favorite Crichton novel. I've always been a history guy more so than a literature guy, and this book kind of had a little bit of both. Contains one of the best endings in a book that I have ever read. Just simply perfect. One of those endings where you feel that it would have been wrong to end it any other way, but an ending that you probably didn't see coming until about 30-40 pages left in the book. And time travel is super cool, dude.
"The Second Saladin," by Stephen Hunter. I think this is probably my favorite Stephen Hunter book, and I've read at least 7 or 8 of them. You already know my thoughts on Hunter, and this is the first of his books that I ever read. Just completely mesmerized me. It's got it all. Cold War background with the evil Soviets looking to bring impending doom onto the world. Dramatic love triangle. Kick-ass action and enough emotion and thoughtfulness to hit you hard when appropriate. Might be my favorite book of all time.
(Honorable mention) "The Rainmaker," by John Grisham. I must admit, I saw the movie before I read the book. And I thought the movie was pretty good. But the book blows the movie straight out of the water. As is the case with "The Outsiders," I'm always a big fan of books which celebrate the victory of underdogs against heavily favored opposition. And this is no different. A couple of Grisham's other novels were relatively weak. But this still remains his defining work, in my opinion.
Here's a mishmash of topics currently concentrated within the mind of one K-Dubs. In no particular order...
I definitely threw up again a few times yesterday, prompting the question, "Just what the hell is wrong with me these days?" A call to the doctor suggests that I have a gastrointestinal virus. Beautiful.
It seems like the coordinator/secretary over at Georgetown's Masters in Physiology program is trying to confuse me. I still don't have a straight answer from her as to whether or not they have my application or not, and I'm not sure whether or not it's because they really don't have it, or if she's just too lazy to go and look for it. Not cool. Anyways, hopefully I'll get some sort of answer before the end of the week. Otherwise, job hunting season will start, and the next year or so will be spent raking in rather than dishing out.
Basketball is all the rage these days. We've been balling a good amount the last week or so, trying to get back into pre-college form. I'm amazed at how much of my strength was sapped from that mysterious bug I caught out in Caifornia; first the food poisoning, and then following that, who knows? But I finally don't feel like crap, which is a good thing. But I certainly don't feel as strong as I should be. It will take time.
Speaking of basketball, the Pistons really clocked the Spurs last night. But does anyone care? The problem with The League is that there are no more identifiable superstars. Sure, everyone knows who LeBron and Kobe are. But for some reason, we the public don't relate to these players like we did with players of the past, like Jordan, Barkley, Isiah, etc. If you want my opinion, it's because it's entirely obvious 99.9999% of the players today don't play purely for the love of the game. Too much money is involved, and too many distractions take away from the game itself. Sure, MJ and the others got their paydays too, but you never saw them flaunting their cash on MTV's "Cribs" or something.
Which is why college basketball is
better than the NBA. You still have hotshots all over the country
hot-dogging it and showing more flash than substance in order to get
the big checks, but the vast majority of teams still play together as
teams. The camraderie and tradition is much better. I'll
save the banter about Georgetown hoops for another day.
The laundry machine at home is significantly smaller than the one we
had at RDP. And it's really starting to piss me off. At
least the light bulb in the laundry room doesn't blow out every week
like it did at Reservoir. Glass is half full, glass is half
full...
They are really beating to death these Fantastic Four promos. I admit I'm a little intrigued, but I don't think for one second it's going to beat the hype. Jessica Alba is hot and all, but she still hasn't proven she has any acting ability worth speaking of. One movie I still want to see in theaters but haven't: Star Wars Episode III. I've heard mixed things; two of the most common responses were "It was just as bad as the first two," and "It was OK, but not great." Problem is, most people have already seen it, and I doubt most are willing to go see it a second time. Does anyone want to go with me?
Ray brought up a good point the other day. The United States of America is probably the only country on Earth where one man can spend a night in jail for an open container in public, and another man can be avoid any time in prison for molesting small boys. How the hell is that fair?
Two poker-related things that caught my attention. One, Robert Williamson was on ESPN SportsNation Online Chat recently. For those that don't know who he is, he's a professional poker player. He's also the guy I sat next to at the World Series of Poker 2 weeks ago. A little ironic how small the world can be sometimes, no? Second, I saw a small feature done on another poker pro, Mike Matusow, better known as "The Mouth" for his constant jabbering at the table. I found it interesting that only a few years ago, after making millions, he lost it all, and for a time lacked the confidence to make it back. His belief is that you need to have a positive vibe about yourself and to have the confidence to win, otherwise you're pretty much always going to be screwed. I never thought I'd find guidance and wisdom from Mike the Mouth, but it gives hope to a oft-beaten down card player such as myself, who has run into hard luck as of late.
Heat waves suck. Supposedly, ours will break today. But the last week or so, with a week long stretch of 90+ degree days with unbearable humidity, I mean for chrissakes, DC was never even that bad. I guess being spoiled for a few days out in California will also make it seem just that much worse.
I got the new CD by Acceptance, entitled "Phantoms." I know, most people probably have never heard of the band, but those are the bands I seek out and listen to. I love listening to something new, fresh, and what most other people AREN'T listening to. I discovered the band actually on my trip to Purdue this past January, when I was watching one of their music videos on Fuse. Solid, solid band. If I had to describe their sound, think Jimmy Eat World, but slightly harder and with an edge. And their lyrics aren't religiously driven either, despite what their name might suggest. Anyways, I definitely suggest you give it a shot and listen to them.
Hilltoppers, let me know how you are and what you're up to. I haven't heard from a lot of you since commencement.
Except that yesterday really was.
I could sense from the beginning that my "lost" application to Georgetown's Masters in Physiology program was due to some sort of sloppy office mishap. And after receiving a phone call confirming that they indeed have had my application in their office the whole time, I finally was able to breathe a sigh of relief. All that stress and worrying just because of someone else's incompetence. Crazy, I know.
And for once, I finally kept all my meals down. I am being aided by some medication for nausea, but it's great to finally be able to eat some solid food. I've lost a ridiculous 15 pounds since I've come home from school. In 2 weeks. I couldn't even diet that well if I tried. Not that I need to, of course, but it's still pretty unbelievable I could lose that much weight that fast. People didn't notice when I've put on 40 the past 4 years. I don't think you'd notice me losing 15 now. I just somehow don't show my weight, I guess.
Like the music conniesseur I am, I picked up a new CD again yesterday. Fall Out Boy's newest, "From Under the Cork Tree." Simply fantastic. So many good songs on the album, and I'm sure it's only going to get better once I've listened to it a few more times. Once I get my new iPod set up, I'm going to be kicking to some fresh tunes wherever I go. Can't wait for that.
I also ended my long losing streak at Mario Party 6 against the guys. Eric almost screwed me over by not washing the last window in the final mini-game, which cost me the mini-game bonus star. But I still eeked out the victory, by 4 coins over Alex. Victory was finally mine.
So yeah, for once, I'm feeling good!
I was wishing Huoi a happy birthday yesterday when we got to discussing birthdays in general. She was disappointed that myself, Brian, Jaisun, etc. weren't still around in DC to celebrate with her. And come to think of it, it does feel weird that we're not down there. We've been a part of the area and the culture so long down there that it's caused me to have a sense of detatchment now that I'm gone.
But I digress. We somehow started talking about what we've done on our birthdays. And that's when I pulled out my best personal birthday story ever:
The Yankees had just experienced a crushing Game 7 loss to the Diamondbacks in the World Series, and I was literally the only Yankee fan sitting in the New South Lounge amongst 15-20 Yankee haters. The World Series was delayed into November that year because of 9/11, and I remember being real down. After returning to my room, a few minutes passed before a bunch of my friends walked into my room to "console me." With ties. Before I could put two and two together, I was tied up, blindfolded, and dragged out of the dorm and stuffed into the back of a car.
Keep in mind, at this point I still don't have a good idea of what the DC area is like. I have NO idea where we are going. We drive for what seemed like 20-30 minutes, and the entire time my friends are threatening they're going to throw me off the side of a bridge or something. Beautiful.
When the car finally stops, we're at a Wendy's drive-thru. And my friends start singing Happy Birthday, and ask me what I want.
Now is that a present or what? They knew that I love my Wendy's, and kidnapped me and brought me all the way out to one just for my birthday.
It's still the best birthday present I've ever gotten. In context, I was homesick and really wary of Georgetown and the decision I had made to go there. That night, I learned that I'd have a few people in my corner for awhile along the journey.
Again, thanks guys. That was awesome. I'll never forget it.
First off, Happy Father's Day to all those that it applies to. As much as we sometimes quarrel or resent them sometimes, we all should still remember that our dads are there for us, and want nothing but the best for us. Thanks, Dad.
Yesterday, we were at Eric's house for his graduation party. As has been the case so far with all the graduation parties I've been to in the past week, the food was just ridiculous. Eric's father made his reknowned antipasta platter, which was just sick. There were ribs prepared by Eric's dad that just fell off the bone. And of course, homemade sangria.
It was pretty low-key the entire day, and that's just what I needed. Not too much senseless craziness, just a lot of chilling, good eats, and brew. I'll have some pictures up soon from the event, taken with my new digital camera. A lot of them aren't that great, since I'm not the bonafide picture taker that some of you others who are more experienced are. But I'll still get them up ASAP as soon as I figure out how.
Alex, Ray, and I decided to get Eric a Nok-Hockey board for him as a graduation present. The decision to get it was based on information provided to us by Kim, assuring us he did NOT already have one. But lo and behold, when we presented him a piece of paper that showed him what would be shipped to him in 7-10 business days, he went over to his parent's bed and pulled a Nok-Hockey board out from under it. Argh...
So who wants to play a Nok-Hockey tournament?
Again, Happy Father's Day!
I've watched a ton of basketball games in my life at just about every level you can possibly watch. I've seen them live and on TV. And I've seen a lot of clutch performances by the greats, as well as role players.
But if I had to pick one guy to take a 3
pointer with an important game on the line and time winding down,
there's no question who'd I take. Steve Kerr might be more
accurate. And Reggie might have taken more of them. But
this one isn't even close.
I'd take Big Shot Bob.
Robert Horry has hit more clutch threes in big game pressure situations than anyone in the history of basketball, with the exception of Reggie Miller. But you'd expect that from the most prolific three point shooter ever to play the game and a certain Hall of Fame lock. But from a role player who's come off the bench for virtually his entire career?
I remember it was only recently (maybe a year or two ago) that one sportswriter wrote an article that called for the Hall of Fame selection committee to start looking at Horry seriously as a Hall of Fame candidate. His major argument was comparing Horry to James Worthy, another solid player who may not have had great regular season statistics to justify a HOF selection, but was as clutch as they came during the postseason. After Horry's shot last night, which gave the Spurs a commanding 3-2 lead over the Pistons and pretty much won them the series, I think it's safe to say he's had far more clutch moments in the postseason than Worthy. But is he Hall-worthy? Here's a comparison.
Worthy (12 year career): 17.6 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.12 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 32.4 MPG, 3 rings
Horry (12 years career): 7.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.13 SPG, 0.9 BPG, 26.0 MPG, 5 rings
Worthy raised his playoff scoring average to over 21 points a game during the postseason, earning him the nickname "Big Game James." As a result, he was also named one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1996, earned 7 All-Star appearances, 2 All-NBA third team selections, and a Finals MVP Award.
Horry has made a much less significant impact on the league in terms of accolades, earning no such awards. But many of his playoff statistics increase over his regular season statistics (10.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.32 SPG), and also without the benefit of a 5 minute per game increase in playing time in the playoffs that Worthy received.
So two things really stick out when you do a comparison on these two. First, as much as Worthy is credited for "raising his game" during the postseason, it is much more obvious that Horry has eclipsed him in terms of improving his performance during the playoffs, both statistics wise and importance of clutch shots. Second, it is fairly evident that Horry should not be considered for the Hall of Fame. While he has been arguably one of the top five role players of all time, his statistics, if projected over 40 minutes of playing time a night, still would not merit Hall status.
The conclusion: Horry should not be in the Hall just for his big shots in the postseason, but he should definitely be considered the best role player in the history of the NBA who best elevated his game from the regular season during the postseason. I think you'd be hard pressed to find another one better than Big Shot Bob.
EDIT: Here's what Bill Simmons thinks.
I'll be frank. I don't play much golf. I'm very bad at it. I'm interested in the sport, and I do watch the final rounds of major tournaments on TV when I have the chance, but playing golf on a regular basis is another thing. So when the guys asked me to come out with them to Pitch and Putt yesterday afternoon, I was a little hesitant. Plus, I didn't even have enough money in my wallet to pay for it (life sucks when you're unemployed, to a certain point). But, I got out there anyways.
For those who don't know what Pitch and Putt is, basically it's a 18 hole golf course that's shortened. Every hole is a part-3, and you only need a pitching wedge and a putter to play. Basically, it's a nice way to go work on your short game, play 18 holes of competitive golf (that's not mini-golf) with friends, and not invest a lot of money or time into an afternoon.
To avoid patting myself on the back too much, let's just say I had a good day. My first birdie ever, and a surprise second place finish meant I'll have something to brag about for the next few days. I haven't held a club in at least a year, so it's hard to explain how I was able to shoot roughly ten shots better than my previous best. But it happened. And I'm happy.
I noticed a few changes at the course we played at.
First, there wasn't geese crap all over the course like there usually
is. In fact, I didn't see a single bird out on the course all
day, which leads me to believe either they were all scared away or
killed. Either way, good riddance. Second, the golf course
no longer leaves clubs out by the shed near the first hole for
beginners to use. Apparently, people have been jacking them and
they've lost a lot of money on them. Naturally, I was shocked
when they didn't have any clubs down by the shed (I don't own golf
clubs of my own), and when I walked back to the booth, I was informed
I'd have to offer my car keys as collateral in order to borrow clubs to
use. When I explained that I wasn't the one who drove, the kid
working the desk handed me two clubs and pleaded with me to bring them
back. I may suck at golf, but I'm not a thief. No problems
there.
So who knows. Maybe I'll play a real round of golf soon too. Why let all this natural talent go to waste? Haha. Just kidding.
I know I've wrote a lot about basketball recently, but this is big news, so I feel like I've got to address it.
The NBA came to an agreement yesterday with the players' union that will help the league avoid a work-stoppage and hurt the sport's presence in North America much like hockey. A critical step, considering the growth of several other sports in the USA which may have taken the NBA completely off the map if given the chance for more exposure.
Among the most important things I agree with: Shortening the max contract length from 7 to 6 years, decreasing max contract annual increases, and shortening rookie contracts. The first two things will allow teams to better avoid being saddled with bad huge contracts (ahem, Allan Houston I'm looking in your direction) that completely destroys a franchise's chance to compete for the better part of a decade. Shortening the rookie contracts from a maximum of 3 years to 2 years will do several things: 1) it won't offer nearly as much of an incentive for college players to leave early, because they won't be guaranteed as much money. While some may disagree and say, "What's the difference between getting 2 years worth of millions and 3 years worth of millions to a kid?", I say it might convince players to stay an extra year and try to improve their draft status and their games, because while you might be guaranteed a job in the NBA for awhile, the time you have now to prove that you belong in the NBA is shortened by a year. Second, this will also reduce the number of stiffs who are under contract but are obviously not good enough for the NBA. Hopefully, this will increase the level of play throughout the league, as those roster spots can then be used for players who deserve them.
One problem I had with the new collective bargaining agreement was the age restriction of 19 years old. There are several reasons for this. First, I think it's unconstitutional to disallow someone to make a living simply because of how old they are. Second, making the age restriction 19 years old will do nothing to increase the number of kids who play in college. Most top talents will probably spend the year working out on their own rather than go to school and be forced to attend classes they have no interest in attending in the first place, and who knows what kind of trouble they'll get themselves into while they're just working out without any kind of supervision or income? If they were going to try to make an age restriction solely for the sake of forcing kids to go to school, they should have adopted a policy similar to the NFL's, that is, that kids are ineligible to be drafted until three years after they've entered college. Third, one year isn't going to do anything; if anything, it will further shift the balance of power towards those programs that can recruit those top talents who should be in the NBA already, because there are only so many of them out there. The bottom and middle tiered programs will no longer be able to compete on a consistent basis. Case in point: although I'm in no way touting Georgetown as an elite college basketball program just yet, word is that one top 5 recruit for '06-'07, Vernon Macklin, was seriously thinking about jumping to the NBA from high school for the 2007 NBA draft. As a result of the new age limit, Macklin will now have to either sit out a year, or play college ball for a year. His top two choices are Georgetown and Wake Forest, with Georgetown supposedly having a slight edge. I'm sure other Big East and ACC schools will not like the idea of having to deal with a player of Macklin's talents for a year simply because David Stern disallowed Macklin to enter the league out of high school. While I'm happy Macklin might be "forced" to come to Georgetown for a year, I'm still not in favor of disallowing him the ability to make a living. What if he got hurt playing in college and as a result, could not play in the NBA? He'd lose out on millions of dollars, and to deny him an opportunity to make money just because of age is simply wrong.
My overall take, though, is that the NBA did well in getting a deal done before a strike happened. After seeing what's happened to hockey (i.e. pure and simple irrelevance), I don't believe another major sports league would have been able to survive a work stoppage, at least not for a few years. The new collective bargaining agreement assures that basketball will remain one of the top three American sports in terms of popularity, and as a big fan of the sport itself, I'm very happy about this.
Now, about that Allan Houston contract...
I'm going to make my long-awaited return to the tennis courts later today, and it should be interesting. I haven't played seriously in about two years, and it's safe to say I'm probably not going to be in spring 2001 form when I get out to Delbarton today. It'll be good to play though, and see the old high school again. It'll be especially good to see people I haven't seen in a long time; people who have played a big part in my life and shaped who I am today.
Yesterday, we watched the entire first season of Entourage on DVD. Solid show, and far exceeded my expectations. For those who haven't watched the show and don't know anything about it, it's basically about four friends, one of which has just become a famous actor, and their rise from the streets of Queens to the luxurious and glamarous lifestyle of LA. Aside from the fact that there were more cameos than I've ever seen in any other show before (Jessica Alba, Gary Busey, Val Kilmer, Scarlett Johansson, David Faustino, Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Foster, etc.), the show was extremely well written. Very witty and entertaining. Plus, each episode is only a half hour long, and with the first season only having eight episodes, we were able to cruise through the entire season in a single afternoon. I highly recommend watching it if you get a chance. I hear season 2 is currently airing on HBO. Too bad none of us get it.
I woke up this morning sore as hell. For some reason, I can play 2-3 games of pickup basketball and not feel a damn thing the next morning. But one two hour session of tennis has my entire body hurting. So which sport ends up giving you the better workout? I don't think there's any debate there.
So I stepped back onto the Delbarton campus for the first time in 2 years yesterday, and I've got to admit, the place looks great. As beautiful as the Georgetown campus looks, I have to say that Delbarton makes GU look like absolute dogshit. I'm completely serious. If you're a Hoya and you don't believe me, next time you come out to visit, I'll show you.
The best part definitely was finally walking back down to the tennis courts. So many memories. Life-defining moments. The site of some of my greatest triumphs and most devastating setbacks. It's a part of me for the rest of my life, whether I like it or not. Two green banners were put up near the entrance to the courts; one to mark every class which has won the Morris County title, and one to mark every class which has won the NJ State title. Just seeing that "2001" up there on the state title banner brought back so many memories. All the pain and effort it took to get there was totally worth it.
Delbarton
alumni tennis nights are one of the great aspects about our
program. By NJSIAA rules, you're not allowed to have coaching
year round, as it might provide an unfair advantage. But, there's
nothing in the books that say that old players who've already graduated
can't hit with the current players. So that's what we do,
hit around with the younger guys and get to know them, while catching
up with our former teammates. It's very informal, and a great
time. That all being said, you know you're getting old when you
don't recognize a single person on the current team when you get to the
courts. Aside from running into a grown up Ryan Donovan (who I've
known since he was in 7th grade), every face was unfamiliar. How
fast the time flies by.
So what's on tap for this weekend, you might ask? Tomorrow might be one of those days. Possible guest appearances by super sweet Nate Dogg from Purdue and The Angry Korean. Time and location? Still yet to be determined. Debauchery? Guaranteed.
Now if I could only get a certain e-mail and get myself down to Maryland next week already. Then, things would be perfect.
Here's a funny story. Back in early June, Eric, Bert and I were out in Vegas at the Aladdin sitting at a blackjack table, when a kid with a Purdue hat sat down next to us. I asked the kid if he went to Purdue, and he replied that he had just graduated. I asked him if he knew Ray Gobran, and he said the name didn't ring a bell. I then asked him if he knew Boomer, and the kid instantly perked up. "Of course, I know Boomer!!!" I asked him the same about Couch, and again, the kid knew who he was. Same with Nate. But he didn't know Ray. So the kid knew all of Ray's roommates, but not Ray. Doesn't speak well for Ray, but with three completely polar opposite characters like Nate, Boomer, and Couch, how could you forget them?
Anyways, on to the real story. Nate apparently works for United Airlines now, so he got some sick discount (free) to fly across the country from San Francisco to come and hang out with us for the weekend. So we took him on a tour of New Jersey yesterday.
First, we went to AC. Traffic on the way down there sucked; it took about 3 and a half hours instead of the normal 2 and change. In addition, Ray's music mixes SUCKED. I mean, who the hell puts Jamiroquai on a Rock mix? Classical music on the same CD as Tupac? Completely out of control.
First, we gambled at the Tropicana, because it was tough to find a seat at a $10 blackjack table anywhere else that we went to. Our first dealer was a guy named Jesus. Probably not a smart idea to try to take money from the Son of Man, but we tried... and failed miserably. Not long after, Jesus had all of my money, and I had to get up. However, Manish and Arnel quickly restored my stacks, and instead of being down 200, I was fortunate to walk away only down 60.
Next, we headed over to Caesar's, where
we met up with Kevin. On the way over, we passed the Atlantic
City Convention Center, where the Arturo Gatti vs. Floyd Mayweather
fight was supposed to take place later that night. We could have
gotten in, but decided against paying the scalpers $300 a ticket.
Also passed Robot Man (some guy completely spray painted in silver and
pretending to be a robot) and Winnie the Pooh on the boardwalk.
I'll show you guys the pictures later.
After playing at Bally's, Ray and I finished off the visit with a $25 blackjack table at Caesar's. Nate pointed out to me that the dealer looked like Christopher Reeves. SHE uncannily did. Pretty freaky. After dominating that table, we both left with our fortunes reversed for the better.
After getting back to North Jersey, we decided to join up with Alex and Anne and hang out at the Somerset Hills Hotel, where we met up with Brian and his friends from Ireland at the Tap Room, the bar within the SHH. Pretty crazy night: to summarize, there were 6 wedding parties, which made it interesting when half the crowd was dressed down and half the crowd was spiffed out. The live band was okay, and they played a bunch of covers (including Sweet Caroline, which brought back some Neon Cactus memories). Credit for a lot of the drinks for the night have to be given to Brian. He came up super clutch. So yeh, in short, not a bad time at all.
After ripping on my Underoath/The Used CDs, Ray suggested we listen to KTU on the way back. Turned out to be a clutch idea; KTU's Saturday Night Dance Mix was being spun by none other than the world's greatest DJ. DJ Tiesto. What a way to cap off a fun Saturday.
Hope you enjoyed New Jersey, Nate. Best place ever. Don't knock it until you've tried it.
Exhausted after an eventful Saturday, I got absolutely nothing done yesterday. Aside from trying to reformat my computer to Windows XP, installing a new hard drive on my computer, and backing up my entire old hard drive, it was pretty much the laziest Sunday ever. I fell asleep around 8pm, and didn't wake up until early this morning. That'll get my sleep pattern back to normal in a hurry.
I just finished filing a dispute form for my Georgetown Credit Union account. How GUASFCU decides to handle it will very well determine whether or not I stay with them if I'm back down in DC in August, or if I take my business over to Chevy Chase. Although I was extremely disappointed with them in getting things done over e-mail, their reps over the phone were extremely courteous and helpful. We'll see how helpful they are (i.e. rescinding all those unwarranted fines I've been assessed).
My right eye hurts. This isn't normal. It hurt yesterday, and so I didn't wear contacts the whole day. Ditto for today. Hopefully it'll get better as the day goes by.
For those who are wondering: yes I'm still waiting...
I'm definitely not in the greatest mood right now, even though the last few days have been really great. But just a lot of aggravation and stress the last few hours, and I have to blow some steam off:
1) What the hell is wrong with GU's admissions office? First they lose my application, then they said they found it, and now my application fee check STILL isn't cashed? And now, other people I know who have applied are finding their applications are being lost too! The program begins in a month, and we still have no word back from them. This is just beyond absurd right now.
2) The computer was such a bitch the past few days. First, it wouldn't recognize my new hard drive, and then, it would only recognize it as a 35 GB hard drive, when in fact it's 120 GB. Then, Windows XP had so many problems installing, it took an entire day. Props to my dad for helping me out with it, but god, what a waste of time.
3) I entered a Mini-Step 1 tournament on Party Poker this morning; my first sit and go tournament online in a long time. And now I remember why I can't win. First off, to explain, the Step 1 tournament is a 10 person tournament, with 2nd-5th clinching at least another try at Step 1 for free, and the winner moving on to Step 2. I've got a 3:1 chip lead head to head, and after eliminating 7 of the players of the table myself, am cruising on to victory. I get AThh, and double the blinds. My opponent calls. Flop is J 3 2 rainbow, and I push my opponent all in. Without hesitation, he calls with 97o, and turns a 7 to double up and even the match. Later on, after I've built a small lead (5000 to 3000), I'm dealt 89hh, and the blinds are unraised. Flop comes J T Q, so I've flopped the straight. He bets 800, and I raise to 2000. He calls. Turn's a K, and he goes all in for his remaining chips, which wasn't much, and I'm forced to call. He was playing A4, and caught the gut-shot. Knocks me down to 2000. Finally, I'm almost able to pull even (down 3500-4500), when I'm dealt K2. I double the blinds to 600, and he calls. Flop is 5T5. I bet another 1000, and he calls. Turn's a K. I go all in, and he calls with K7. Not bad, I figure. At least I'll chop. Wrong, the poker gods smite me again. River T, and the 7 plays as a kicker. I had forgotten why I wasn't successful online. These are the reasons why.
Now I have to figure out how to get to the post office without a car. I could try to walk up and down Mt. Pleasant on foot, but that just wouldn't be all that pleasant.
I figure a list and respective blurbs is the best way to go about this.
1) Best Pick of the Draft: Gerald Green, Celtics. I might be putting my foot in my mouth a few years from now about this one, but from the limited games I saw on TV of his high school all-star games, Green has the athleticism to be the next Kobe or Mcgrady. At pick #18, you really can't go wrong, and with Indiana taking the only other no-brainer before them at #17 in Danny Granger, the Celtics got a steal.
2) Worst Pick of the Draft: Charlie Villanueva, Raptors. This one has everyone talking... asking how some general managers still have jobs. Rob Babcock in the last 12 months has drafted Rafael Araujo and Charlie Villanueva (both underachieving PFs) with top-10 picks when he already had Chris Bosh, traded away Vince Carter for nothing, and let Donyell Marshall walk out the door. Look up the word "inept" in the dictionary and you'll find a picture of Babcock. I wouldn't profess to be qualified or anything for the job, but I seriously bet I could do better. Seriously...
3) Most surprised to see fall so far: Ryan Gomes, Celtics. This guy was a few Providence wins away from becoming Big East Player of the Year, and I would have thought he'd be at least in the top 35. He goes #50 to the Celtics, who probably had the best draft out of all teams yesterday. Gomes might not be a superstar, but he won't play himself out of the league. The guy cares.
4) Most surprised to see rise so high: Raymond Felton, Bobcats. Aside from the Villanueva debacle, I don't believe that Felton should have gone at 5. Although the Bobcats need help everyone except at PF, and I can't really fault them for taking a PG, Felton is not a top-5 talent. He's small, doesn't shoot particularly well, and just like everyone else on UNC's title team last year, can't play defense. Sure, he's quick and can distribute, but for a top-5 pick, you expect better.
5) Funniest moment of the draft: When Jerry West was interviewed about selecting Hakim Warrick, he said, "This young man had a great career at Princeton, and we are excited." Princeton? Don't you have to be able to read to go there? Princeton is most certainly not the same thing as SUcks. I think Jerry's been out in the sun too long. HONORABLE MENTION: When Jay Bilas slammed the Rashad McCants picks, saying, "If I had a nickel every time Mccants went out and guarded somebody, I'd have... a nickel."
6) Knicks' picks: I felt Channing Frye was the Knicks' only move they could make at #8, with the possible exception of trying to hit a home run with Gerald Green. David Lee at 30 is not a pick I like all that much, although he did test out at #1 in the PF category in the Chicago camp in terms of athleticism. I do like the trade that gives us Quentin Richardson and Nate Robinson for Kurt Thomas and Dijon Thompson. Robinson will allow Marbury to cut his minutes by a bit to keep him fresher towards the end of the season, and for the first time in a long time, the Knicks have a legit on the ball defender on the perimeter. Overall grade? B.
7) Nets' picks: They blew an unbelievable chance to take Hakim Warrick at #15, instead choosing to take Antoine Wright, another 2/3 guy. They already have Jefferson and Carter, so where is Wright going to play? Their most glaring weakness is at the 4, and they still had Granger and Warrick left on the board. I believe Warrick would have been the better fit for them, as he probably would work well with Jason Kidd pushing the ball in transition. The Nets took some random Euro at #43 who will probably never see the court. Overall grade? C+
8) Final predictions: The two best players that will come out of this draft? Marvin Williams and Gerald Green. The two biggest busts? Raymond Felton and Charlie Villanueva. Two guys from the second round that will stick and make an impact? Ronny Turiaf and Ryan Gomes. Biggest losers of the draft? All the guys from the SEC who went undrafted, like Azibuke, Walsh, Roberson, etc. The SEC had a chance to really become a legit conference again had they all stayed. Now, it will really fall behind a rapidly recovering Pac-10, always strong ACC, and new and improved Big East.
For another perspective, check out "A Diary With Upside," by the Sports Guy.
