So Conflicted

I am a life long Philadelphia Eagles fan. It's been 30 years since I attended my first game at the Vet, a win vs. the Jets at a time when the Eagles weren't beating anyone. I can't put into words how I feel about the fact that we were the only NFC East team excluded from the playoffs. And what's worse? A prime time game between the Giants and Cowboys to determine who goes to the conference championship. What am I to do? Watch the game in objective disdain of both teams? I think not. Hope T.O. hits a seam and blows out both knees on a crossing pattern? Tempting, but that's so 10 years ago. I finally decided to back the team from up the turnpike, but only because they have the better chance of being humiliated on the frozen tundra next week. It is for that reason only that I even cared. Well, that and I don't think I could ever root for the cowboys under any circumstances. GO PACK GO!

On the AFC side of the equation, did the Patriots really need the help? Did the Colts and Bolts really need to beat the holy hell out of each other? Do the Patriots really need to get to play perhaps the worst team in the AFC playoffs? Who now have a dinged up Rivers and L.T.? I mean, come on. So it really looks like we're headed full steam toward a rematch of Super Bowl XXXI, the Desmond Howard show. Can you believe Favre was already almost 20,000 yards into his career even then, 11 years ago? Anyone remember Drew Bledsoe? Well, the Pack won by 2 TD's then, and I think that result will probably be reversed this year. Randy Moss with a ring. Damn, I was hoping Gary Anderson's choke would have been the closest Moss would get, but here we are.

From a poker perspective, I played a live Riverchasers freeroll Saturday night, mainly to be able to watch the Pats/Jags. Wow was I card dead. Only PP the entire night was 99, AK once, and AQ once. It's really hard to overcome an active table where 2/3 of all hands are going to showdown at the river when you just can't get a hand to show down. Made it to the final 2 tables but couldn't get A9o to hold up against the 2 chip leaders' garbage (oesd after the turn that didn't fill) and IGH 13th.

Sunday, for the hell of it, I fired up one of Full Tilt's poker after dark qualifier freerolls. I've played these pushfests probably 15 or 20 times (180, 360 or 640 players), have final tabled 3 or 4 times, and busted in the final 2 tables 2 or 3 times more. Finally, I got over the hump. Key hand was mostly a frustration play on my part, but it worked out. I have 77 UTG and limp, since only about 1/2 the pots were getting raised at this point. There might have been a limper or two, or not, but the button raises about 10x BB which, to me, screamed steal. SB shorty calls for less and the BB chip leader calls. I shove for 4x the original raise and get called by AJo (raiser) and A7o (BB). SB has 55 and I avoid the 3 jacks and 2 aces to just about triple up.

At this point, there is still a lot of play left as most of the M's are still healthy. I catch some folks overplaying marginal holdings or flat out buffing a few times and steadily grow my stack until I take over the chip lead with about 7 remaining. Now that I have some chips, I can afford to loosen up a bit now and call with some medium strength draws or call a weakish flop bet to take the pot away on the turn. The last 2 key hands were 3 handed. In the first, I actually managed to pick up KK in the BB. Previous chip leader (very loose) completes from the SB after the button folds. I massively overbet the pot with a 12x preflop raise and he calls. Flop is Q high and he pushes in and I call. He shows the mighty top pair nothing kicker and I have a 9:1 chip lead heads up. Only the second or third hand in, I pick up KTs on the button and raise 4x BB. Player calls for 1/3 of his stack and we see a flop of 965 with two of my suit. He insta-shoves and I figure I have more than enough outs to justify a call, and do so. His 87o flopped a straight, but I pick up a 3rd and then a 4th club on the turn and river (only needed 1). Round 2 is tonight around 10:00 PM EST where the top 9 get a seat in the After Dark finals.