The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

If there's anything that drives me crazy about Sens fans (or maybe it's just the ones in the office I hear from), is that the glass is always half-empty. Ray Emery has been absolutely solid since the Olympic break, and even tied a record for most wins in a calendar month with last night's 4-1 win over the Rangers, even with a depleted lineup. Most fans, however, only remember his 4 game slump back in January. Listen, he's not Hasek, but his job right now isn't to steal games but just provide confidence for his team in front of him, which he has done in spades. Much like the Habs are delusional if they think Cristobal Huet can carry them to the Stanley Cup final, I can't expect Emery to do the same, but if he just plays as well as he's playing now, the Sens have more than a chance each night to win...Weird to see Brian Pothier with the "A" on his jersey last night, but I suppose it's normal to have at least one defenceman have a letter on with Chara, Phillips and Redden all out. He did have his best game of the season though...Senators Overtime is a 30 minute Rogers production that usually plays just before game time. A feature they do is asking each player something about their past or a personal question, such as "What was your first job?" or "What's your favourite food?" The question last broadcast was "What was your first car?" and I was dumbfounded to see the mic in front of Dany Heatley with that question. One word: inappropriate (I forget his answer but he did seem to hesitate slightly before his answer, giving a look that seemed to say, "You have the gall to ask me THAT?")...Back to Hasek: When is this clown going to PLAY? The latest development is that he went on the ice with his equipment on. Woo-hoo! This is the time of year he's supposed to earn his pay. Either he's overtly cautious or because they don't want to scare playoff ticket sales with an announcement he's out for the season, management is hush-hush about it. Just play already, geez, it's been 6 weeks...On the complete other end of the spectrum, Havlat has been skating with the team, dying to return and should do so in 10 days or so. Can't wait...Tyler Arnason played a good game last night despite coming short on the scoresheet, but does this guy know how to bodycheck? Look, it doesn't have to be Chara-quality, but this is a contact sport...Cool idea: The Royal Canadian Mint is issuing a 25 cent coin with the Sens logo in full colour. No so cool: It's only available in a set with the other coins in circulation, none of the other coins differ from what they already are, and it costs $24.95 for a set with a street value of $3.41 ($3.91 if the 50 cent piece is in it)...The same seat by the glass I purchased in 2003 for $180 for game 7 of the Conference final is going for $427 if the Sens make it that far...The Sun thinks that Chara will be offered the maximum $7.8M per year contract by another NHL club. It astounds me that NHL GMs still don't grasp the dangers of commiting 20% of your cap space to one player, but if it does happen I don't see Melnyk keeping him. The only way would be to offer a long term contract that pays less per year, then we'll see how long Chara really wants to stay in Ottawa...Martin Brodeur think the Hart Trophy finalists this season will be Jaromir Jagr, Eric Staal, and our Daniel Alfredsson.

My favourite group has decided to release a new album comprised of covers of the songs that have influence their 25+ years in the music business. SBP will purchase said CD on release date May 23, 2006. If their new stuff leaves a lot to be desired for even a die-hard fan like me, maybe a trip back to their roots is what the doctor ordered. Here is the track listing:

* 10538 Overture - originally recorded by Electric Light Orchestra in 1972
* 20th Century Boy - originally recorded by T.Rex in 1973
* Don't Believe A Word - originally recorded by Thin Lizzy in 1976
* Drive-In Saturday - originally recorded by David Bowie in 1973
* Hanging On The Telephone - originally recorded by The Nerves in 1977, and Blondie in 1978
* He's Gonna Step On You Again - originally recorded by John Kongos in 1971
* Hell Raiser - originally recorded by Sweet in 1973
* Little Bit Of Love - originally recorded by Free in 1972
* No Matter What - originally recorded by Badfinger in 1970
* Rock On - originally recorded by David Essex in 1973
* Stay With Me - originally recorded by Faces in 1971
* Street Life - originally recorded by Roxy Music in 1973
* The Golden Age Of Rock & Roll - originally recorded by Mott the Hoople in 1974
* Waterloo Sunset - originally recorded by The Kinks in 1967

No-limit Texas hold 'em is considered the best poker game out there: "The Cadillac of poker". At any given moment, all of your chips could be in jeopardy and there is a lot more to it than simply catching lucky cards. If you have a good but not great hand, how far are you willing to push it when faced with a big bet? Are you willing to make a stone cold bluff at a huge pot, knowing that if you are called your day is done?

I tried taking up a couple of new poker games: Seven Card Stud (SCS) and Limit hold 'em. I chose SCS because it's a fairly well known poker game and a lot of people know how to play it. I also chose Limit hold 'em as I wanted to compare how the strategy changes when the betting is capped and how often you can enter pots with marginal starting cards.

Both of these games, along with no-limit and I suspect every other type of poker, require you to pick decent starting hands. 2-7 offsuit is a junk starting hand no matter what format you play and no matter if the betting is fixed. Big pairs are a good start, and playing connected and suited cards are worth a gamble, too. The problem in no-limit is that if you decide to limp in with suited connectors, you have to worry about facing a big raise that would force you to throw away your cards. With Limit and SCS, you simply don't have that fear.

Both Limit and SCS also make it cheap to "chase" your hand. For instance, if you need one more card to make a flush, because the betting is capped, it is usually the correct play to call or bet at the pot in hopes of landing it. And if you don't land it, more than likely it was relatively inexpensive for you to see if you catch your flush card. In no-limit, your entire chip stack is at risk. If the bettor before you announces all-in, the odds are usually not right for you to chase your flush card, you will fold and have lost all of your previously bet chips for nothing.

Betting in both SCS and Limit hold em still allows raises. For example, if the betting structure in limit is $10-$20, for the first two rounds of betting it can still be raised to a maximum of $40, while in the last two rounds it can be raised to $80 total (done in $10 and $20 increments). So if you are chasing a flush card, you can check, the next person can bet a max of only $10, and you can call it without raising and see the next card for cheap. Things can get expensive if the pot is multi-way and raises are coming from all sides and you may decide to fold, but for the most part, if you can control the raises, the pot odds say you are almost always right to chase and call it down to the river.

More times than not, these games require that you have a hand to win a pot. In no-limit, this simply isn't the case. You can bluff out at a pot with absolutely nothing and take it. While the betting structure in SCS and Limit goes up substantially in relation to everyone's stack size it's a bit easier to bluff, but earlier in the game you cannot get away with it 95% of the time.

An interesting feature in SCS are the "up cards". The first two cards are dealt to you face down, but the next four cards are dealt face up (The 7th card is also face down). So you can look to see which cards are out there and figure out if the cards you are looking for are "dead", and based on the bets and raises of the opposing players, figure out what hand they are representing and decide if you want to continue. A good memory of what cards have been thrown away is helpful, so if you have a pocket pair of 9s and you see a 9 on a opposing board, hitting your three of a kind isn't so likely, and you can make a better decision if you want to continue with the hand. And a lot of times, too, you will inadvertently make a winning hand when trying to make a different winning hand. For example, if you have 8-9-10-Jack and are trying to catch a 7 or Queen to make a straight, sometimes you might land Jack-Jack and make three of a kind and win with that hand. Luck can really be an ally for you (but of course not always, as your opponents can get just as lucky).

All in all, each game has it's own pros and cons, but playing these games helped me appreciate no-limit a lot more. There truly is more skill involved and it is a lot more difficult. The drama of risking your entire chip stack in one hand is an exciting proposition for both players and the audience that cannot be duplicated with other poker games. By starting with the hardest version of the game, everything else just seems that much easier.

Mmmm...that looks delicious, how did you do it SBP?



Let's just say I had help from a MAGIC box!




NICE!

With my fingers crossed, my PC seems to be ok now. My MSN is up & running, and Norton Antivirus is installed again, however the "auto-protect" feature and the "email scan" functions don't work. This is after uninstalling and re-installing it twice. Better than nothing, I suppose. I also got a new internet browser to use instead of Internet Explorer...Mozilla Firefox. Apparently, it's a much more secure browser to use than IE, so I'm going to start using it from now on.

Anyway, Alex put in five hours easy to help fix this, so Alex, thanks again for your help. Your next beer is on me!

With my PC still in a state of disarray, I wasn't able to do a post yesterday. Alex came over and, using a portable USB port, scanned my computer with an anti-virus program and found just under 200 different types of viruses (from adware, spyware to a dreaded Trojan-type). My computer is not in the best of shape. Most of the stuff was cleaned up but there are a couple that aren't too easy to get rid of.

I have no idea how my computer became so infected, but I suspect when I downloaded Limewire to retrieve a song I heard in Mexico, that's when the problems began. The frustrating thing is I was willing to PAY for the song through the Itunes music store or whatever (I generally don't download copyrighted material, I can afford the 99 cent per song charge), but it wasn't available for purchase. And I also can't believe my Norton Antivirus, with a subscription I renewed just a few months ago, didn't catch this either.

Anyway, hopefully there won't be any more screwups so I can continue giving you my daily dose!

Today, I want to take the time to thank a few people who are helping me out with a few things.

Kim is coming over today to help me bake a cake. I need to bring one in for work, and she' s going to help me do it.

Kelly offered to help look over my condo agreement after not having much luck talking with my property manager about the parking fees I pay.

I called Alex to ask for help with my computer with all those problems I mentioned yesterday. Originally, he said he'd be by on Sunday before our regular poker game, but now offered to come by after work tomorrow.

It's certainly is nice to know people are out there to help SBP get by. All this help is much appreciated!

For absolutely no reason that I can see, my computer decided it's had enough of providing good, reliable service. My MSN doesn't work, IE crashes regularly, real player doesn't work, the search function doesn't work, when I drag my mouse over "favourites" it crashes, and worst is my Norton Antivirus, even after uninstalling and reinstalling, still isn't working. There could be more stuff that I'm not aware of that's on the fritz. I'm surprised I'm still able to do this post.

Another SBP screwjob....

This video is so cheesy and it looks like it has $5.00 production values, but I couldn't help but smile after watching it. These amateur filmmakers obviously will try anything for a laugh and it's so bad it's enough to make it work. I've watched the cartoon enough to have the theme song memorized, and if you have any nostalgia in you for TMNT and three minutes to spare, check it out. It's almost reached 1,000,000 hits:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D9p-wmtIJc&feature=Views&page=3&t=a&f=b

As an aside, the youtube.com website is a pretty neat concept. Anyone can submit a video as short as a few seconds to as long as a couple of hours for the world to view. An excellent way to have an audience appreciate your creative side.

Now that the Sens have reclaimed #1 in the East, it is a spot that will be up to them to hold onto. Judging by their back-to-back games over the weekend against the Sabres and Devils, there's no reason to think they can't hold on to that #1 seed, and maybe even overtake Detroit as #1 in the NHL.

Other thoughts:

- It kills me to say this, but Bryan Smolinski actually had a good game on Saturday! And from what I've read, had an excellent game Sunday. (Again, the last 5 games only one were on free TV). This guy might have found his way playing on a line with Chris Neil and Peter Schaefer.

- I've figured out a way for GM John Muckler to keep both Wade Redden and Zdeno Chara in Ottawa. It's been rumoured these players are looking for $5-$6M a year contracts. But their overall best player, team leader, and most veteran guy, Daniel Alfredsson, signed a long term deal that currently pays him $4.66M a season. Forget what other NHLers make...can Redden and Chara lookie Alfie in the eye and say they deserve more money than he does? I don't think so. Maybe it could be Muckler's ace up his sleeve.

- I barely noticed Tyler Arnason play Saturday night. His impact has been minimal, althought with Fisher out allows for a steady 3rd line centre to plug a hole.

- Putting Chara in front of the net during a powerplay is always a good idea.

- Vaclav Varada, after being a healthy scratch against Boston, seems motivated and has been getting more ice time.

No doubt you have heard about that girl in Quebec who took out a Tim Horton's coffee cup from a garbage can and attempted to rrrrroll up the rim to win, had problems doing it so enlisted a friend to help her, turns out it was the Toyota Rav prize, the friend's family that helped roll it up was offered $5000, that wasn't enough and they want 1/2 the value of the Rav, then another person comes forward with a lawyer who wants to do a DNA test to show the cup is his and neither the girl nor girl's assistant who took it out of the trash can should get the prize.

Greed is wonderful isn't it?

Anyway, here's how it should be settled:

1)Girl who found cup in the trash can: Prize is yours.

2)Girl's assistant: You get zilch. If I ask you to scratch my instant win lottery card because my arm is broken, you have no claim to my prize. None. Because $5000 wasn't enough, now you get nothing and can pay 1/2 the court costs and lawyer's fees.

3)DNA guy: You're the one paying the other 1/2 of the costs of this mess. You toss it, YOU LOSE IT. As the saying goes, "Finder's keepers, loser's weepers."

People suck.

It's been awhile since I've done one.

...from a guy with the last name Patrick. That's about all my lazy a** could come up with today. Cheers!


- The ol' SBP

Than a force f/x Anakin Skywalker single-bladed blue lightsaber?

How about a force f/x DOUBLE-bladed Darth Maul RED lightsaber!

Oh yes, the good people at Master Replicas have come up with a new way to try to take my money. This puppy has two blades, and they also DETACH so it's like having TWO lightsabers! Yeah! (Well, they still charge you twice the price, but that's not the point)

And no, I'm not buying it. Just mentioning it. That's all!

Not only is she so cute, but she's pretty darn funny. Watch this skit from the Saturday Night Live she hosted recently. (I'm praying for a quick return to her longer hair, though). BTW, I love your new jeans Natalie, you're looking fine! :)

http://www.nbc.com/Video/videos/snl_1439_natalieraps.shtml

I'd like to give you an example of a hand that, if played just slightly different, I wouldn't have been able to tell you about the money I won Sunday night, but rather how SBP came up empty-handed.

With six players left, the blinds were high, 50/100, and I had just over 600 chips left. I was the big blind. There was one caller, then the small blind completed her bet. I took a peak at my hole cards and saw 7-8 offsuit. Not a very strong hand, but with the blinds so high, I decided it was time to make a move.

Because the previous two players did not raise pre-flop, I figured they weren't that strong so if I moved in with all my chips, everyone would fold and I could win a decent size pot to survive a little longer. If someone would call, I wouldn't be too much of an underdog unless someone had a high pocket pair, and again, unlikely since no one raised.

The first player folded to my all-in bet, the small-blind contemplated for a few moments but decided to call with a pretty decent hand, A-9 suited in diamonds. She was about a 65-35 favourite, but I was still happy enough to see I had two live cards which is what I figured would happen if I was called. Things got a little tense when the flop paired up my eights but showed two diamonds. Luckily for me, no more diamonds appeared on the turn & river and I made a straight, doubling up and knocking the small blind out of play.

But what if the small-blind didn't simply complete her bet before I pushed all-in?

What if the small blind, who had about the same amount of chips I did, decided to go all-in first? 7-8 offsuit would have been an easy fold, the other player would have folded too, she would have won the pot and still be in contention, while I would have become the short stack at the table.

The difference here is the small blind would've had folding equity. When you push all-in first, you can win one of two ways: The other player(s) fold, you don't show your cards and you take the pot. If a player does call, you still have a chance to win as long as the community cards are nice to you.

By not pushing all-in first, that folding equity was lost. Because I had already committed all my chips with my 7-8 offsuit, the only way she could come out on top was having the best hand after all five cards in the community were drawn. Although she was still a favourite pre-flop, the luck factor ended up being on my side.

When the blinds are high and you're desperate for chips, aggression is the key. Decide if you're all-in or all-out BEFORE that decision is brought to you. Unless you have a premium hand like a high pocket pair, you shouldn't be calling an all-in after you limped, you should have already decided to move all-in with your hand and thus taking advantage of that folding equity. With other short stacks around you, they are just as desperate as you are and you cannot let them take charge of the table and push you around.

The previous example turned out to be the SBP TSN turning point. After doubling up, I started catching strong cards and was able to finish 1st. If that one hand was played out differently, hey, it would have been another SBP screwjob! :)

Things are settling right in Ottawa now. Since coming back from the Olympic break, they’ve bounced back with a 6-1 record and managed to beat one team that was giving them problems, the Atlanta Thrashers…The real test though is coming up for the rest of March. After tomorrow’s game against Tampa, they play the Bruins who smoked them 5-0 last matchup, two games against the surging Buffalo Sabres who are only 2 points behind Ottawa for 1st in the Northeast, two games against Martin Brodeur and the Devils, then games against the Central leading Rangers and Flyers…Nice to see Jason Spezza get his production back. I have a feeling his pulled chest muscle was still bothering him when he came back before the Olympics…Bryan Smolinski still stinks...Finally, Chris Neil got his 13th goal of the season yesterday against the Caps. He's cooled down his point production, but can still clear the path for his linemates Mike Fisher and Peter Schaefer...Patrick Eaves strong efforts continue to pay off as he has been moved to the first line with Spezza and Dany Heatley...I would love to tell you what I think of Tyler Arnason’s play since being acquired by the Sens, but they haven’t showed the last three games on TV so I couldn’t tell you. Another SBP screwjob…Still sick thinking about it: Owner Eugene Melnyk claims the only way he can make any money this season is if the Senators at least make the Conference final. So let me get this straight: You got your salary cap, the Loonie is now at 85 instead of 66 cents on the US dollar, you’ve had 22 consecutive sellouts, you’ve increased the capacity at SBP and you’ve made more cash selling the naming rights for the former Corel Centre. And you’re STILL not making any dough? Bite me…Ray Emery has been solid since the Olympic break, and many a fan are jumping back on the bandwagon. But even with his current strong play, there’s no way he can lead the team to the Stanley Cup if Hasek is out…Zdeno Chara has stated the fact he does not have a new contract in place is a bit of a distraction. Note to Mr. Muckler: Do us all a favour and re-sign both Chara and Wade Redden now. No one expects you to be able to keep both of them with the salary cap in place for next season, but you can lock them up then trade one of them in the off-season. And let them concentrate on the playoffs.

Did Crash really deserve to win Best Picture?

A lot of articles have come up stating that the Academy members made a huge error in picking Crash as their favourite for 2005. While coming across as "progressive" by voting for the film that deals with racism, they can avoid discomfort by voting for the film dealing with individuals with alternative lifestyles. At least that's what some journalists say.

Others, like Roger Ebert, simply say that Crash won because it was the better film.

Some say because Crash was shot in around Los Angeles, as well as dealing with a topic that Los Angeles residents can relate to, the film pretty much catered to the Academy whose membership primarily reside in California.

In any case, it's been some time since people have been so underwhelmed by the winner. Kind of like when Shakespeare in Love beat out Saving Private Ryan. History will show which movie people will remember and talk about most. Movie scholars still discuss Citizen Kane, not How Green Was My Valley.

You have to be a fan of the Simpsons to appreciate this, but to commemorate the start of the 17th season (hard to believe this show has been on for more than 1/2 my life!) the people over in the U.K. shot this live action version of the intro. Click on the link to view...pretty neat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKg22Al4SOE

A fair amount of player movement, but outside of Jose Theodore being sent to Colorado, no blockbuster trade ended up happening.

A lot of my co-workers were quick to criticize John Muckler for not making any big moves today. They point to Carolina showing they mean business by getting Doug Weight before the Olympics, as well as picking up Mark Recchi. For the record, if Ottawa didn't make one single move I would have been ok with it. Ottawa doesn't need an overhaul. They need tweaking, perhaps, but not an overhaul.

Getting back to Carolina, I'd like to point out Doug Weight has been a B-U-S-T BUST since being traded. Just under 10 games played, one lousy assist and a minus 2. And believe me I know because that bum is in two different pools I'm in. Mark Recchi was one of my favourites at one time and while he's not as dominating as he once was, he can still contribute. But the acquisition had more to do with Carolina's loss of Eric Cole, who is wearing a full bodycast and is not expected back for the rest of the season. That was a huge blow for the 'Canes, hence Recchi is there to simply plug a hole.

No doubt, it would have been pretty cool if Ottawa did manage to get Oli Jokinen here in Ottawa, but the asking price was probably too much. Tyler Arnason, whom them traded for a 2nd rounder and Brandon Bochenski, I didn't know much about, but he looks like he can be a solid 2nd line centre, or at least provide another option for the Sens. He was 2nd in team scoring with Chicago, and still managed a +5 rating despite being on an awful team with more goals allowed than scored. And he also provides some insurance if one of the guys falls to injury.

With Havlat returning before the season's out, this will give Ottawa a burst of energy and make it difficult for teams to concentrate solely on the Cash line, a fact a lot of Sens fans seem to forget. Ottawa is still a top contender for the Cup and I am not disappointed by how the trade deadline went today.

Bring on the playoffs.

Only in Canada would the headline of "Ken Klee traded to NJ Devils for prospect" take precedence over this, but the significance of it should be noted. At the inaugural World Baseball Classic, Canada upset the star-studded USA squad by a score of 8-6. There were some heart stopping moments that almost made you think that they would choke under the pressure, including a bobbled flyball that bounced out of the glove of the center fielder that would have been the final out of the game. But, they stuck to their guns and pulled off the HUGE upset. I love it when the States are overwhelming favourites and THEY are the ones that....cough, cough.......CHOKE! even if it's a game more times than not I won't watch. Do you remember when the USA Olympic basketball "dream team" lost to, what country was it, Yugoslavia in the gold medal game? I DO! It's probably unhealthy to be laughing at other people's misfortunes, but hey, those lazy American athletes deserve what's coming to them.

Way to go Canada!

Since getting totally swept into the poker craze, I've taken the time to read a handful of poker books that detail the finer points of playing hold 'em.

And which one is the best?

Without question, Harrington on Hold 'Em is the best one. Not written in a boring or mundane fashion, Harrington takes some real poker hand examples from his successful career (1995 World Champion and back-to-back final tables at the 2003 and 2004 World Series) mixed in with easy to read analysis. As a matter fact, this book is SO good that a frequent not-to-be-named opponent of mine, didn't tell me he OWNED it until I mentioned I read a review for his newly released Volume 2.

"I should get Volume 1 as well!"
"Uh....don't bother"

Pick it up, worth reading if you want to better your game.

Well, out of my 9 Oscar picks posted on the blog, 7 were correct. If I was batting for the Red Sox, I'd be making $25M a season EASY!

Anyway, Crash taking best picture was quite the surprise. Brokeback Mountain was cleaning house at almost all the previous award ceremonies including the Golden Globes, but Crash prevailed. What makes it so surprising is that it came out so early in 2005 (April/May or so), and the Academy is notorious for leaving out films that aren't released in the Fall.

Whether or not you liked Crash, it's a film that gets you thinking and a it's also a good film to debate about with others who have seen it.

Here's who I think will win the Oscar in their respective categories (my guess is in italics). It doesn't necessarily mean what my preference is, just a guess as to who the academy will give their awards to:

Best Picture:

Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night and Good Luck
Munich

Best Actor:

Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line
Davis Strathairn, Good Night and Good Luck

Best Actress:

Judi Dench, Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman, Transamerica
Keira Knightley, Pride & Prejudice
Charlize Theron, North Country
Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line

Best Supporting Actor

George Clooney, Syriana
Matt Dillon, Crash
Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt, A History of Violence

Best Supporting Actress:

Amy Adams, Junebug
Catherine Keener, Capote
Frances McDormand, North Country
Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain

Best Director:

Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Bennett Miller, Capote
Paul Haggis, Crash
George Clooney, Good Night and Good Luck
Steven Speilberg, Munich


I also think Tsotsi will win Best Foreign Film, Crash will win best original screenplay and Munich will take best adapted screenplay.

Let me know if you make any money off this, I have no qualms in taking a cut!

The Spirit 7 Ultimate team had a short but fun history. Playing in a recreational league Friday nights, Jason H. put the team together with the unfortunate name of "Weekend Extreme" in the summer of 2003. Stringing together many losses but not short on fun, the team improved and got better and better as the season progressed, finishing in 2nd place. Jason could no longer captain the team the following year and thus SBP took over for the summers of 2004 and 2005 (and of course, there was the attempt at a fall league, too, where the team did not record one win the entire season! Ah, we were the best looking team though!).

The name Spirit 7 came about because, out of a score of 10, our team scored a 7 for spirit rating, a rating the opposing team assigns after each game is played. It was the lowest in our league (we started off with short fuses), but to remind us we needed to improve in this area, and the fact that the "Weekend Extreme" name HAD to go, the name Sprit 7 was assigned. The following season, we ranked a 9+ in the spirit department.

Because of other commitments, only 1/2 of the team could commit to playing again this season, thus the disbanding of Spirit 7 became official. Fridays was a fun night to get together will all my friends to play and became a favourite day of the week for me. Is this truly the end of Spirit 7? We shall see....

EVENT FACT SHEET


NINE INCH NAILS with special guest Saul Williams


Tonight's NINE INCH NAILS concert at the Scotiabank Place has been cancelled due to illness.

Refunds at point of purchase.



Another SBP screwjob....

The differences between a good and bad poker player are numerous. In the end, a bad player always has a chance to beat a good player, but the odds weigh heavier with the good player for these reasons:

1) They understand proper starting hands: Bad players play any two suited cards. Good players understand there is a 1 in 118 chance of flopping a flush, and a mere 11% chance to flop a draw to a flush. Good players value ranks or high cards, more than their suitedness.

2) They understand position: Being first to act with marginal cards is the worst way to be playing a hand. Trying to steal a pot by bluffing as the first person to act against several players doesn't give you much of a chance. Good players can gauge the strength of their hand by the checks and/or bets before them, and make more informed choices.

3) They understand pot odds: Say the pot has 500 chips in it. The flop gives you a flush draw. The player before you bets another 500 chips. Good players understand the odds of drawing to the flush are 3 to 1, thus this 500 chip bet is not giving them the right odds and they will fold this hand (and as a side note, understand they are playing against a strong player who understands how to freeze out draws).

4) They respect raises: Ace-Queen isn't a bad starting hand. But if they raise, are re-raised then a third player re-raises on top of everyone else, they understand Ace-Queen can't stand that kind of action. They know one of the other players is representing pocket Aces, Kings, or Queens, or Ace-King, and can get away from the hand.

5) They can fold: Bad players like to call down hands and see what their opponents are holding, even though they have a marginal hand like middle pair to call it down with. Good players can assess a players betting patterns, make good decisions as to the strength of their hand, and not be afraid to fold a hand they feel is beaten. As a side note, good players can exploit bad players' tendencies to call down hands and extract lots of chips.

6) They can get good value from their winning hands: Bad players tend to be too eager to get their chips in the pot with a strong hand and scare away their opponents with big bets. Good players can extract a maximum amount of chips through combinations of checks, calls, raises and check-raises.

7) They can determine their opponents' playing style and play accordingly: Good players will respect a bet or raise from a player who hasn't entered a pot in some time more so than a weak player. Good players will recognize loose players who play lots of pots, and give less credit to their hand and play what would normally be a marginal hand more aggresively.

8) They understand how to play with either a big stack or short stack, and how to play if the table is short or full: When you're a short stack, your choices are limited to all-in or folding. When you're a big stack, you can enter more pots and "bully" the other players and essentially gamble more. Weaker players tend not to change their playing methods as their chip stack changes. Likewise, when there are fewer players at the table, good players will give more value to lesser holdings then they would at a full table, while bad players don't understand the concept of "loosening" your starting requirements.

But, the allure of poker is that any player can still get dealt rockets or cowboys and beat you, no matter how you play. And sometimes you can start with the best hand, have the best odds, get the proper read and still get beaten by 2-7 offsuit. And there's nothing you can do about it. In the long run, good players will always win more often than bad players, and hopefully that will ring true when the "fish" sit down at your table!

With the Senators playing their first game since the Olympic break tonight, GM John Muckler has some very important decisions to make. The trade deadline is fast approaching: March 9th. And the worst news came for Sens' fans with the announcement of Dominik Hasek's "adductor" injury, which is just fancy talk for groin. Hasek used a word when asked about the injury that scared the daylights out of me: "Worried." Darn right. There's lots of speculation of whether or not he'll be back, and if he does come back, if he'll be 100%. The Ottawa Sun said he's going to be "rehabbing" for a week. Not "returning" in a week...REHABBING. This isn't good. So, if you're John Muckler, what do you do?

Even if you erase backup Ray Emery's abysmal performance in his last four games, there's absolutely no way he can be counted on to carry the team through the playoffs. He's young, inexperienced, and hasn't tasted the post-season. So if you can't count on Emery, and you're unsure if Hasek will be ready to play and play well, what do you do?

Do you address the teams need for a second line centre and hope for the best between the pipes, or do you forgo the need to strengthen the team up front and get a new goaltender?

Rumour has it Ottawa might deal for Coyote Curtis Joseph. I have no problems with his play this year, but he and Hasek do not get along. If you recall when Cujo was signed to play in Detroit as their new #1 during the 2003-04 season, Hasek came back from retirement and Detroit took him back with open arms. This caused a lot of problems between the two and as far as everyone knows, they don't like each other. If Hasek does return while Cujo has been taking over, then who's your #1? It would be a tense locker room to say the least.

If Florida is willing to deal their #1 centre, Oli Jokinen, maybe their willing to trade their #1 goalie Roberto Luongo. Now, this is a longshot, but when Luongo didn't want to sign his $30 million contract, money wasn't the issue. Competing was. He wanted the Panthers to prove to him they are trying to build a contender as he stated his sick of watch the playoffs on TV every year. Maybe something can be worked out. After all, Hasek is pretty much done once this season is finished and Ottawa has to consider their goaltending situation for next year. Any deal for the above players would likely have Ottawa giving up at least Martin Havlat.

It will be interesting to see what transpires up to the deadline. In the end, if Ottawa has Emery in nets April 21st...this season is over.

Other Sens news: Couldn't help but smile when I read that former NHLer Mats Naslund, my favourite player when I was a kid, paid the highest complement possible after Sweden's gold medal performance.

"To me, Alfredsson has been our best player."

This experience should prove invaluable for Ottawa. A taste of what it takes to go over the top and be champions is just what Alfredsson needs. He's been a great captain for Ottawa, and this will just make him that much better a leader.

- Andrej Meszaros is replacing Anton Volchenkov as Wade Redden's defensive partner starting tonight in Pittsburgh. Not so much because Volechenkov has been playing poorly but rather Meszaros has simply worked his way as a top 4 D for Ottawa. We'll see how he handles it starting tonight.