Game 6 Recap

We actually looked really good this week. We had a couple players back and that gave us some options on the field. We jumped out to an early lead and held it until the sixth inning. Mental mistakes cost us some runs again and we gave up a huge inning. We definitely played well enough to beat this team. Our bats were alive again which is a good sign but we still had too many strikeouts. We put a lot of pressure on their defense early and capitalized on their mistakes. We had a great opportunity to put the game away with the bases loaded and only one out but we couldn't manage to put the ball in play. I think even though we lost we showed that we can hang with these other teams and if we stop giving up that one big inning we will win these games. Here are my stats for this week:

1 -3/ 1 Run/ 2 Reach on Error/ 3 RBI/ 1 SAC Fly

My batting average took a small hit and is now at an even .400 but I am very happy with my day. I was very productive with three RBIs and took advantage of their errors. My one attempt to steal on a 3-1 count was thwarted when the batter took the pitch for ball four.

As for my side bet with Mike....I came up an additional 3.5 points. Mike hit a double which earned him a few points but strikeouts really hurt him. I think his double was the spark he needed to get him going. Once he starts hitting our sidebets will really start getting interesting and maybe we can expand it to include defense. Until then I will rest comfortably with my 8.5 point lead (he paid up for five of his points last week).

Game 5 Recap

Well, our game against the Sox didn't go as planned. As a matter of fact we got demolished. Our record is now 0-5. I am not too worried yet because I still think once we get all of our players back from injuries we will be a very competitive team. We are getting a couple back this week so maybe we will be able to actually start the game with more than only nine players. The one good thing that came out of this game was the side bets I had with Michael. We got plus or minus points for certain offensive stats and at the end of the game I was up 6 points and a free lunch. Add that to the previous 5.5 points I already had from other prop bets and I am up 11.5 points and a lunch. I'm sure he will catch up soon enough but I like to gloat while I can. Here are my stats for Game 5:

1-3/1 hit /1 Reach on error

My season batting average is now down to .418. Time to pick up the pace. My goal this week will be to raise my average, have at least one stolen base, earn more points from Mike, and get another lunch out of him. Wish me luck.

MV Legends Game 5

This week we play the SoCal Sox at 9:00 at Sunnymead Park. We still have quite a few guys on the DL but those of us that are healthy plan to come out and give the Sox a run for thier money. I have never seen a team so plagued with injuries as this one is. It seems like we lose at least one player per game. Fortunately it's not too late into the season to turn things around. I fully expect this to be a very competitive team once we get healthy. Let's hope we get healthy soon.

I Made it to the Big Leagues!

My brother created a player to my likeness on his Xbox game. I guess this is as close as I am going to get to the big leagues.

ThinWhitey Poker Tourney

This past Saturday I decided to host a little no-limit hold 'em tournament. I hadn't hosted one since my poker league had ended so I thought that it was time. I decided to try and round up the guys from the league. Since my poker table seats eight comfortably I didn't want to invite too many people. I ended up with six confirmations. Mike would have been there but he already had plans (how's that fake tan working out). I had decided that since there were only six of us we would only pay to second place. Jeff wanted to put a twist on things so in addition to the buy-in everyone had to bring a predetermined number of lotto tickets. These would serve as a bounty. If you knocked someone out of the tourney you got to keep the lotto tickets that they brought. This way even if you didn't make it to the money you still had a chance of walking away with something. This also meant that the first person to get knocked out is the only person to definitely go home empty handed. I mean shame on them for going out first, right? So, here is how everyone finished.

1. - Rick
2. - Fernando
3. - Jeff
4. - Steve
5. - Gene
6. - Me

As you can see I didn't do as well as I had planned. To my defense this was a very loose table so all of my attempts to steal the blinds were thwarted and I never had any decent cards to play. It was just one of those nights. I was pretty happy with the way I played with what I was given though and at least I made it past the first break. I was impressed with Jeff who went out on the bubble and only had a minor meltdown. I congratulate Rick and Fernando on their wins. Fernando had never even played hold 'em before. If you are playing against him and there is a six or a flush draw on the board you might as well fold. I have never seen anyone dealt so many flushes. The good news is I think we found a new addition to the league in him. People keep asking when I am going to start the league up again so I think I had better start getting it ready.

You gotta love my lucky shirt & big hair

Taking 5th place is serious business

Steve counting the chips

Jeff minutes before the mini meltdown

Fernando's first hold 'em experience (notice the Legends hat)

Rick goes all in during heads up play

Rick shows the bullets & takes down the pot

Fernando begs Steve for another flush

Fernando moves all in

Rick ponders a call

Our tournament champion

DX can't wait to play in his first tourney

The Russell Meltdown

Across the street from my work is a golf course with a driving range. Every now and then Jeff will come out and we will hit some balls on my lunch break. It never fails that half way (if that) into our buckets we start challenging each other to hit certain targets. One of our favorites is a huge cypress tree that is 100 to 150 yards out. What makes these wagers interesting is the fact that neither of us are very good with the clubs. Therefore, it does not matter if it hits the tree on a bounce or off of the boundary fence. So far I have hit the tree the most but today I couldn’t control my slice. No matter what I did I would miss within inches as it curled away from my target. Jeff on the other hand managed to nail one shot dead center. Once we finished our bucket we moved over to the putting green where I quickly went from being one down to three up (even with Jeff heckling me as I tried to putt). One thing you have to understand is I don’t do these challenges for the money. The enjoyment I get is watching Jeff go on tilt and fling his putter across the green. We even have a name for this outburst. We call it the Russell Meltdown although this term usually applies when Jeff is flinging his poker chips at Mike after losing a big pot.

MV Legends Baseball

Game 4

vs. San Jacinto Orioles

When: 10:00am

Location: The Oaks @ Soboba

Go to http://www.mvlegends.com/ for directions.

MV Legends Stats

Here are my stats for 4/6/08.

0 for 3/1 run/1 hpb/1 K

.455 Season Avg.

MV Legends Stats

Here are my stats for 3/30/08.

3 for 5/2 runs/1 stolen base/1 K

.625 Season Avg.

Clippers Box Suite

I was very fortunate recently to have been offered tickets for a box suite to a Clippers game. This wonderful offer cam from my buddy Matt who unfortunately could not attend. At first I was hesitant, going to the game meant driving to downtown LA to see the Clippers play the Grizzlies. I had a feeling it was going to be the most exciting game of the season and on top of that when it comes to basketball I only follow the Lakers. After pondering my decision for all of two seconds I accepted. I mean we are talking about free tickets to a box suite. How often am I going to get that chance. Since it was kind of last minute I asked my nephew Bradley to go with me. The game turned out to be more exciting than I had expected and the seats were amazing. We stayed for almost all of the game but decided to leave early to beat the traffic. Just across town the Dodgers were playing their game at the coliseum in front of a crowd of over 100,000. So, in my opinion if you ever get offered box suite tickets to a game I recommend going even if you don’t like the team.

Clippers vs. Grizzlies

Nothing but net

Me in our suite

Bradley in our suite

Our Suite

More of our suite

Hanging out in front of Staples Center

After the game

MV Legends Stats

Here are my stats for 3/16/08.
2 for 3/1 run/1walk/1 stolen base

.667 Season Avg.

MV Legends Baseball

Your local Moreno Valley Legends baseball team played it's first game on Sunday 3/16. It was a very good game with three different lead changes but in the end the Legends fell to the Norco Dodgers by a score of 6-14. There were a lot of bright spots during the game and also things to work on and learn from. It was also a good learning experience for Fernando and myself as first time coaches. On a sad note, one of our players went down with a sprained ankle on a play in center field. Hopefully he will be ready to go for our next game which is Sunday, March 30th. Feel free to come out and root us on. If you get there early enough I can even get you an autograph from one of your favorite players. For full stats and schedule visit http://www.mvlegends.com/.

Trains & Red Bull

I love Red Bull and I drink it quite often. Today though, I learned a valuable lesson. You see normally I drink it because I love the taste. I have tried various other similar products and the one that comes closest in taste is Von Dutch. I can hear a lot of you saying "Monster is better" or "Rockstar is the best". Well let me tell you, you are wrong. Anyway, I am getting off the subject. I drink it for the taste not for any effects it may have on me. I haven't felt that in a long time (drinking 3 cans right before everyone goes to sleep on a family camping trip is not highly recommended). Until this morning, that is. This morning I woke up at the crack of dawn, drank an extra large can of Red Bull and headed to the train. Now…apparently when I mix my super tired, half-conscious, sleep deprived body with an extra large Red Bull, bad things happen. My senses become highly sensitive and I get very jittery. And now I am on a train surrounded by cranky people with morning breath or too much cologne/perfume. I feel like I should be at the gym benching 300 lbs. or running in a marathon or at least speed-walking around the mall like the old people do on the weekdays (which is a whole other discussion). I probably look like I just smoked some crack and coming from the (951) that isn't a far stretch. Fortunately, I am not sitting by the emergency exit or I would probably hop out and run to work. So, what is the moral of the story you ask? I don't know, like I said I am hopped up on Red Bull and stuck on this train. I guess the moral would be if you are going to use an extremely volatile substance like Red Bull be sure to have an outlet for that energy and not corner yourself in a small space such as a train with nothing but a pen and paper. This is a lesson I had to learn the hard way. Don't make the same mistakes I did.

My Early Knock Out

For me there is nothing more embarrassing at a poker table than an early knockout. What is an early knockout you ask? I'm glad you asked. Let me give you an example.

One Friday evening I had an itch. Not the kind that requires a medical cream but the kind of itch that could only be soothed by a poker room. So I grabbed my life savings of $40 and headed out the door to Morongo. From my house Morongo takes about 25-30 minutes. That doesn't seem too bad but when you go on a Friday night you are looking at another 25 minutes of circling around the parking structure looking for a parking space. Then when you find one there is the walk. I am the type of person that doesn't like riding in a crowded elevator so I hike down the 3600 or so flights of stairs to the bottom. Hey maybe this is why some poker players claim they are athletes (once again this is a whole other discussion which I am currently writing about). Even though by now it is around 1:00 in the morning the poker room is completely packed with people. I tell myself (for not the first or last time) how stupid I am to come here on a Friday night. I push my way to the front and put my name on the list. I have to wait about 45 minutes before my name is called. I sit down at the table and bust out my $40 which, as I already know, is the minimum buy-in. I have so much confidence in my game that $40 is all I need. Finally I am ready to play! On my first hand I get dealt pocket Kings and I can hardly contain my excitement when my opponent raises. I decide to take it slow and just call him. The flop comes and now I have 3 of a kind and at that moment the best hand possible. Yippee! So it goes down like this. He bets, I raise, and then he calls me all in to which I immediately call. Long story short he beats me with a flush on the river and other than another 25 minute drive home my night is at an end. That my friends is an early knock out. I guess I could have just said in the beginning that an early knock out is losing everything on your first hand but then we wouldn't have gotten to spend this time together and where is the fun in that?

Now that you know about my early knock out your next question is probably "was it worth it?". Well, lets recap: 30 minute drive + 20 minutes for parking/3600 (or so) flights of stairs + 45 minute wait for a table + 30 minute (angry) drive home = 2 hours and 5 minutes. All that for one $40 hand of poker….yes it was worth it.