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

Some teams are just gluttons for punishment with their oddball signings and contract deals, but, they like the drama I suppose. Dominik Hasek will be back with the Detroit Red Wings next season after winning a Cup with them in 2002, returning to play 14 games with them in 2004 and causing undue strain on the locker room, and after a stint with the Senators which he flaked out under because of an adductor injury (which takes a few weeks to heal at most but still didn't return after nearly three months).

I'm not sure why Detroit didn't hold onto Manny Legace. Sure, he was average at best in the first round of the playoffs but it was his first year as a #1. He posted good stats in the regular season, and his team in front of him are equal to blame for their early exit. They kept Chris Osgood for backup, who isn't any good. When (not if, when) Hasek gets hurt, they'll be scrambling for help in goal.

With estimates of the NHL having an audience comprising 40% female, come October each NHL team will have a pink jersey for sale. The players themselves won't wear them on the ice, but with the bulkiness of the regular jerseys not making much fashion sense for women to wear (or so the thinking goes), the NHL figures it's missing out on some dollars here.

This isn't really a new thing, the NBA and NFL have done the same for the last two years, but it will be interesting to see if they take off for hockey. They will retail for $40 less than a replica jersey, and I also read there will also be a baby blue colour available.

It would be cool if they donated some of the proceeds to breast cancer research, not only would they sell a lot but also charity would benefit immensely. We'll see how it does.

Well...sort of. I went over with Alex to Rob's place to assist in the builing of his railings for his deck in his backyard. I had to get up at 8am on Saturday. Can you believe it? 8! Let's just say that isn't my usual routine on weekends. I got to shizzle my fizzle with a chisel, use a mitre saw (don't pronounce it "meter") and drill a little here & there. Didn't really know what I was doing and I let Alex and Rob dictate things. So, if I ever own a home with a backyard and need assistance with construction: Rob and Alex, you've been hired!

With Schaefer's four year, $8.4 million dollar deal (only $900,000 more than what Zdeno Chara makes...for one year), GM John Muckler did a great job getting the players signed before the arbitration process, which can get ugly and for the team, might make them end up paying the player more than they can. Schaefer had a career year last season and was one of the few Senators to play every game. He is one of the best along the boards, digging the puck out, I just wish he would shoot a little more.

This is probably it for the Sens in terms of players signing and dealings. They will have to see how the season is going before they make any other moves. Ottawa also usually brings in a rookie and I figure they could use one more forward. As for as team looks, it seems a bit weaker than last year's and I think they could go after another centre, but they are still solid and should compete again for Lord Stanley.

Lines:

Heatley - Spezza - Alfredsson
Schaefer - Fisher - Eaves
?? - Vermette - Neil
McGrattan - Kelly - Schubert

Redden - Meszaros
Philips - Preissing
Corvo - Volchenkov
Allison

Gerber
Emery

With a group of volunteers called The Guardian Angels trying to establish a Toronto chapter and setting their sites on Ottawa for another, a lot of talk has been made about whether or not they should be welcomed, and whether or not their help is even needed. The Toronto mayor and police chief have no interest in bringing the Guardian Angels to their city. Should Ottawa act the same?

The Guardian Angels have been labeled as a vigilante group by some. But, this isn't the case at all. This is a volunteer group led by everyday people, businessmen, husbands, wives, mothers and fathers. They do not carry weapons. They do have first aid and self-defense training, but the main gist of their organization is to be another set of eyes and ears for the police force, having direct contact with them if they see any suspicious activity and to be on the lookout for wanted felons, and also providing a sense of security for those who have to walk home alone late at night.

Toronto's murder rate has skyrocketed recently. Can The Guardian Angels help with this? Maybe, maybe not. But why not give it a try?

Maybe the politicians feel there would be a public perception that crime & safety is so out of control they have to reach out to the Guardian Angels for help. But I think the public would instead appreciate any help they can get, especially those who feel they are in less than safe neighborhoods while police resources seem maxed out. Has there ever been a year where the police have proposed a reduced budget? Has any spokesperson for the police complained they have too many officers?

Ottawa isn't a city plagued by crime in my opinion. This isn't downtown Los Angeles or Detroit. But crime does exist, and any help should be welcomed. The Guardian Angels serve a total of 60 communities, they have been providing their service for over 25 years. They are well-organized and trained. They do not rely on taxpayer assistance; they are funded entirely through donations.

I say we welcome them with open arms.

When playing poker, there's nothing like making a monster hand. What's even better, of course, is getting action on the hand and making money off of it. A lot of times when you flop a set or a straight, there's a good chance no one else made anything and they will simply fold when faced with a bet, making you little money.

If you do get action with your hand, for example, you're holding pocket 7s and a third seven comes on the flop, you more than likely have the best hand, but if an opposing players calls your bets, you should take the time to ask yourself why is your opponent still placing chips in the middle.

Using the same example as above, if the flop comes 7-10-Q and your heads up against one player, you can be fairly certain your set is the best holding. If you bet and get action, the most likely scenario is that the other player is holding A-Q, K-Q, or a looser player might have called with Q-10 and made two pair. They could be holding an overpair (pocket Kings or Aces) or might be on a straight draw or flush draw if there are 2 or 3 of the same suit on board. You should bet the hand aggressively.

If you get down to the river and there's still action, observe the board carefully to see what hands could potentially beat you. If your opponent is a maniac and bets into every pot, of course, you can give them less credit for holding a strong hand. But if you're facing a reasonable opponent who doesn't play trash hands, don't be so quick to call a large bet. Remember, especially in no-limit, you have to think about what could your opponent have that may potentially jeopardize their entire chipstack if they are willing to call you down to the river.

If you are faced with a big bet, fold if you think you are beaten. Good poker players have the courage to fold if they feel they have the second best hand. If you still feel you have the best hand, think about a flat call instead of re-reraising unless you have the absolute nuts. And in poker, it is likely you never have the absolute nuts (examples in the next paragraph). At the same time, you can't always be afraid the nut hand is out to get you, because if you have that fear, playing no-limit is not your game. But there's nothing wrong with not going overboard when betting your chips.

If you flopped a set and there are three of the same suit after all five cards are dealt, there's a potential flush. If there are closely connected cards on the board, you could be facing a straight. And of course, someone could have flopped an even higher set than you. So if you are raised on the river, consider a flat call or maybe even folding.

If you are holding pocket Aces or Kings, you've probably already remembered everytime you lost with them. Having an overpair is excellent, but by no means the holy city. Someone who flops a set or two pair has made your big pocket pair bite the dust.

If you have an ace-high flush and no two cards of equal rank are on the board, you have the best hand. But if the board is paired, you could be facing a full house. If you are re-raised on the river, flat call or fold, don't even think about re-raising since your opponent can also see that there are three of the same suit on board and still isn't afraid to stick more chips in there. The pot is probably already big enough anyway so don't get greedy.

Limit poker is different, because all of your chips are never at risk and you can fearlessly call these bets or even raise in these sitiuations, but no-limit requires a certain degree of playing more conservatively, because any one hand you play can cost you all of your chips.

Be aggressive, but make sure it's not blind aggression, when playing no-limit poker.

With the NHL beginning the arbitration hearings, everything that was accomplished in terms of salary cap and a level playing field seems to have evaporated. Or maybe, the haves and the have-nots in the NHL will be more divided. Sort of like when George W. Bush decides an upper-class tax cut is needed. Yeah, that does wonders for medicare and infrastructure; Conrad Black gets $10,000 off his new helicopter and that's somehow good for the country.

But I digress.

When Daniel Briere was awarded $5 million a year by an arbitrator, you have to think what the heck divides the excellent and the elite athletes in the league. Much like Martin Havlat: Is he a good player? Yes. Is he a superstar? No. So why are they getting paid superstar wages?

Briere is an injury prone player (much like Havlat) who in my opinion really hasn't paid his dues and has only had one solid season, where he played 48 of 84 regular season games. He got a contract that increased his salary over 200%. What exactly does an arbitrator look at when they make a final decision?

Havlat's $6 million deal is worse. He now makes more than either Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley or Jason Spezza. Out of those four, Havlat is easily my last pick. He has the potential to be a superstar, sure, but until then there's no way the Chicago Blackhawks can justify his contract, other than they're desperate for a scorer.

The ripple effect is felt throughout the league, and what happens is you have two levels: guys making the league minimum up to about $2 million, and then guys making between $5 and $8 million. In the long run, teams will be comprised of rookie players top heavy with "star" players making huge contracts, and you'll have cases like Alexander Mogilny being sent to the minors so the team doesn't go over the cap.

I thought this new CBA would help things, and it did in some respects, but it looks like more problems have been created in the process.

Apparently, this is what happens when you add a Mentos to a bottle of Diet Coke. Even CNN picked up on the story and, yup, this is what really does happen when you mix the two together:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-kfLf_RGqk&search=coke%20mentos

With the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event taking place in just five days, there have been some rumblings in the poker community that the winner of the Main Event should no longer be considered the true World Champion of poker. The reasoning is simple: The champion won a No-Limit hold 'em poker event. There are so many variations of poker, like Stud, Omaha and Razz, NL seems to take precedence over all of them.

I read an article by poker pro Daniel Negreanu who complained about the popularity of NL taking precedence over everything else. He noted 9 of the 10 players at last year's final table were amateurs. He says luck more than skill, because of the thousands of entrants that sign-up to play, plays more of a role than it should. As a result, not as many professionals as Negreanu sees fit do well at the Main Event.

A new World Series event, with a huge buy-in of $50,000, was created at the urging of Negreanu. It's called H.O.R.S.E. (for Hold em, Omaha, Razz, Stud and Stud eight or better) which allows participants to switch between the different poker games cited. And with that astronomical buy-in, it also ensures not too many amateurs get to play.

While I have no problems with this H.O.R.S.E. event taking place, I think Daniel Negreanu entirely misses the reason why poker has exploded in popularity. The luck factor allows for everyday joes like me and you to play with these pros, and even have a chance to win while you're at it. It is also true when Negreanu mentions everything revolves around NL hold em, but really it's not the average players fault that's the case. Most online poker sites offer NL and nothing else. When some do offer variations of poker games, most of them take forever to sign up for because most people don't know how to play and thus there aren't as many players available. And all the TV episodes shown by ESPN and other networks are 95% of the time NL hold em. And when his fellow pros write a book about poker, 9 times out of 10 it's on hold em. Is it our fault that's the case?

Negreanu also mentions that $10,000 buy-in for the Main Event championship "isn't what is used to be", implying $10,000 isn't a high enough entry fee to play. Well, for me and EVERYONE ELSE that isn't a millionaire, that's still huge coin. Although since he set a record for a re-buy tournament last year with 27 re-buys @ $1,000 a pop, maybe to him it's not big enough stakes.

My point is although these professional players may have their own standards as to who the best poker player in the world is, they have to be careful not to shut out the everyday players who love playing the game. And while it's true amateurs usually rule the final table at the Main Event, pros are then born from being at that table. The 2005 WSOP winner Joe Hachem has been a consistent winner ever since taking the coveted bracelet. The pros' book deals, endorsements, websites...all that money they have made from these perks have been fueled by our love of poker. So while their may be some downsides to the poker boom, the positives without question outweigh the negatives.

Ever since I played that Pokerstars blogger championship, I've been in a downward spiral. I can't recall the last game I won. Even playing the playmoney sit & go tourneys have come up dry. Well, until today. After losing about 10 or so in a row (a new dubious record for me), I finally managed to finish 3rd in an 18 person tournament, and thus with a payoff slightly more than 3x my chips. So I have two things to say: Hopefully, this is the start of a winning streak and next, thank goodness I don't bet the deed to my house on these things!

I haven't frequented the Ottawa Lynx ballpark in a couple of years, and although I'm not the biggest baseball fan, being there in person makes it so much better. Aside from the great company (thank you Alex & Kerri!) the atmosphere makes it so much more enjoyable than watching on TV. It's cheap ($11 for the best seats in the house taxes in) but unfortunately the fans don't come out in droves like they did back when they first brought Triple A ball to this city. Ottawa has always been finicky about this sort of thing: they like their hockey but lacrosse, football and I'd add baseball to the list doesn't garner nearly as much as interest and fail. It's really too bad.

Anyway, Ottawa won 6-4 over Norfolk. Woo-hoo!

Hulkamania is running wild in your kitchen!





That's right, the Hulkster is shilling like so many before him. Hulk Hogan's Ultimate Grill is offered for a mere 3 payments of $49.99 each (plus $29.95 shipping and handling). Replace five kitchen appliances...and then some! Breakfast, lunch, dinner, it does it all. IT EVEN BAKES COOKIES!

NICE!!!!

Before today, the chances of me going to the theatre to see Clerks II were quite slim. I liked the original, wasn't it's biggest fan or anything, and it wasn't exactly the type of film people were demanding a sequel for. It looked like it would be a bunch of inside jokes only director Kevin Smith's most loyal fanboys would understand, which didn't work for me in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back.

But, then I read an article about Good Morning America's film critic Joel Siegel walking out of the screening for Clerks II. In case you aren't familiar with Joel Siegel's film critiques, he is absolutely horrible and just LOVES to thrown down the puns in his reviews. He pretty much raves about any big Hollywood film and loathes anything remotely edgy. Anyway, he caused a big scene when leaving Clerks II. Apparently he blurted out something along the lines of, "Time to go, first ****ing movie I've walked out of in 30 years!" about 40 minutes into the film.

Kevin Smith heard about it, and he was none too pleased. In fairness to Siegel, Kevin Smith doesn't take criticism of his work too well, but his response on his blog was pretty funny. We'll see if it's funnier than the film itself:

Getting a bad review from Siegel is like a badge of honor. This is the guy who stole his mustachioed-critic shtick from Gene Shalit years ago, and still refuses to give it back. This is a guy who seemingly prides himself on his own nyuk-nyuk wordplay. For 'Pirates 2,' he made us all titter with 'Yo, Ho, Ho and a Bottle of Fun' . . . He made us squeal with delight when he wrote, 'Wheelie Good Time for "Cars." ' I mean, Fozzy [bleeping] Bear laughs at this guy."

"I don't need Joel Siegel to [bleep] my [bleep] the way he apparently [bleeps] M. Night Shyamalan's, gushing over his flick ['The Lady in the Water'] before he's even seen it, but [bleep] man, man - how about a little common [bleeping] courtesy? You never, never disrupt a movie, simply because you don't like it. Cardinal rule of moviegoing: Shut your [bleeping] mouth while the movie's playing.

"I don't come down to your job and slap the taste out of your mouth for coming up with a line like, ' "Shark Tale" Is a Halibut Good Time' - so don't [bleep] with my stuff while it's still screening . . . What are you, a 12-year-old boy cutting loose with your pals at a Friday night screening of 'Scary Movie' 4' while your parents are in a theater down the hall watching 'The Devil Wears Prada'? Leave the diva-like behavior and drama-queen antics to the movie stars, not the movie reviewer, ya' rude-ass [bleep]."

Taking less money so he could play for his hometown Maple Leafs, Mike Peca signed for $2.5M in a one year deal after the Leafs said their goodbyes to Eric Lindros. I was sincerely hoping my Sens would make a pitch for #37, and if his asking price was $2.5M for any team, I don't see the price being the problem. Looks like Peca had his sights set for Toronto and nowhere else, with his family living in nearby Buffalo it probably made sense for him from that point of view.

Peca has a dismal regular season with Edmonton but stood out in the playoffs and played some of his best hockey in recent memory. If I were a Leafs fan though, I wouldn't be planning the Stanley Cup parade route just yet. Their younger kids will need to step up, Sundin will need some linemates, their D needs to provide more than a good powerplay and one of Raycroft, Aubin or Tellqvist needs to be a true #1 goaltender. Having said all that, a respected veteran presence like Mike Peca can't do anything but help. Oh yeah, so long as he can get along with Darcy Tucker.

Not one to head to music festivals where I don't the bands or what music I'm listening to, I bought a one day pass for the last day of Ottawa Bluesfest so I could see Controller Controller. Kim convinced me to see a few more bands since I'd be paying $28 just for a one hour act, so I headed earlier to take in a few other bands. Now, I have the worst memory and couldn't tell you the names of the other musicians I heard because that's how I roll, but they were all very good. The crowd was subdued since it was so frickin' hot outside, but I think the crowd overall enjoyed the shows put on.

Anyway, back to CC.... I read on a website that they're booked to play at the Bell Centre in May 2007. Are they opening for someone? Are they releasing a new album that the producers already think will be huge so they're booking them now? I will have to find out...

A little known fact about Soccer in the country that I live in is that it is hosting the U-20 FIFA World Cup, which is an incredibly big deal, next year during the month of July. Six cities will be hosting the games, including Ottawa, and FIFA started selling tournament passes this past Saturday. As much as I complained about the diving and lack of scoring in the just finished 2006 World Cup, I think it'll be a pretty cool event for Canada to host. Hopefully, the soccer fever that swooped the country will carry on to next year and we'll get a good turnout. The drawings for the teams have yet to be made so if you buy a pass now you won't know what teams you're getting, but still, if you look at the World Junior Hockey Championships those kids put on a clinic and you get your money's worth. I'm going to guess this trend also will include football.

Anyway, an 8 game pass for Ottawa costs $105 or $125. Not a bad deal. We'll see if I get one.

The newly released Spiderman III poster looks pretty sweet, and apparently it looks even better in person. The trailer was released just recently and the hype has been established, if it hasn't already. Here's the link to a Quicktime version and a lesser version on Youtube:


http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/spider-man_3/medium.html


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOsTuRhjYXQ&search=spiderman%203%20trailer

Growing up as a kid, the Superman films were something that I took a liking too. There wasn't one childhood friend I knew who didn't want to be Superman. The famous "S" logo on the front of his costume is one of the most recognized symbols throughout the world. I remember going to a Ponderosa Steakhouse in the early 80s and getting a flying Christopher Reeve to put on my basement wall. The whole premise of the first Superman films was one thing: fun. They couldn't quite carry the ball with the horrible parts 3 and 4, and the franchise ended. However, nearly a couple of decades have since passed, more than enough time to attempt to recapture Superman's fame.

This is a good film, but certainly underwhelming. We've been treated to some good comic-book movies as of late (my personal favourites are probably the Spiderman films). You have a great hero, a great villain, and you want to see them clash. In Superman Returns, you don't get that. Instead of focusing on the rivalary between Superman and villain Lex Luthor, director Bryan Singer opted to concentrate on the complex relationship between Superman and Lois Lane. As a guy who pays admission to see a comic-book movie, I'm not interested in seeing what will happen when a guy revisits his girlfriend after a five year hiatus. It can be a sidestory, definitely, but I want to have an evil Lex Luthor be given more screen time to relish his role, concocting his evil plot that Superman most overcome. It's a simple idea, good vs evil, but it doesn't happen. Instead, we get a Superman who doesn't seem to like being Superman and a Lois Lane who seems pained by the idea of getting to be with the most powerful man in the Universe.

The introduction to Superman when he saves some airline & space shuttle passengers is well done. I wanted more stuff like this, but we're left short changed. There's a cool scene when a would-be bank robber aims a mini-gun that fires 100 rounds a second at the Man of Steel while he fearlessly walks towards him. He runs out of bullets. He tries one more shot. No luck. AND THE SCENE ENDS!!!! This didn't make any sense. Let Superman kick a** and take numbers. But, we do get a shot of Superman spying on Lois Lane for a few minutes while she's at home with her family. Boring.

I don't want to sound too cranky, it did have good things about it. The characters are well done. I liked Brandon Routh as the new Superman. Kevin Spacey is good when he's given screen time. It made me left thinking so much could be done with the franchise, there's tons of potential and it's not like Singer completely fumbled the ball here. He introduces the characters, the city, the tone of Superman Returns real well.

It's like he's setting up a sequel that will be better than original.

What is it with chicks wearing HUGE sunglasses these days?
































Paris Hilton started this trend, now please, someone end it. I want to see a girl's face, I don't want to be looking at a bumble bee. Please, stop!

Completely unexpected, the NHL already released the upcoming schedule for the next season. Ottawa fans wil be treated to visits by the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks and Colorado Avlanche. It's a big deal since the new format allows for only 1 visit every three years from a Western division team, and it's the division that has all the remaining Canadian teams from the West. It's too bad there couldn't be an all-Canadian division, that would be tremendous. The owners though, would complain about the travel costs and all that so it'll never happen.

Without surprise, Ottawa will play in Toronto opening night but what's interesting is that the two teams will play each four times in October, both times in back to back format. A good way to kick off the season; the concept of back to back games is good for the fans and helps build rivalries from what would normally be a not-too-critical regular season game.

Ottawa fans know they'll see Chara back in Ottawa four times this year, but they will not see Martin Havlat play back in his old rink for some time.

Well, the only thing really memorable about taking in Pirates of the Caribbean 2 - Dead Man's Chest was that I left my Jeep top down and it rained for about 10 minues before the movie let out. My vehicle is pretty moist right now, but hey, a Jeep is built for that sort of thing. Still, I don't know what I was thinking, there was a slight chance of showers, and even the word slight should set off alarm bells to put the cover on my damn Jeep. That's the second time it's happened to me.

Anyway, to the movie! It shattered opening weekend box office records of every kind and a lot of people are responding well to it. Me, ah, it was ok I suppose. The original is so much better than this one. Yeah, that's usually the case with sequels, but you can still make it a solid entry at least. The humour and imagination is pretty much lost the 2nd time around. Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow character is very uninteresting for the first half of the movie, and it takes a while to get going as a result. I liked the CGI of Davy Jones, but, I never really imagined him as a squid-like human. Something a bit different anyway.

I also liked the CGI of the Flying Dutchman, and the underwater monster is pretty well done, too. But outside of this there seems to be a lack of tension or emotional interest. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I was left feeling something was missing for a movie that's looking to be the #1 box office draw ever made. Maybe the near 2 1/2 hour running time was the problem. The ending was pretty annoying. Sure, I knew they were shooting another sequel, but I thought it would have been a new story. It isn't, nothing is resolved in part 2, and you need to see part 3 next summer (which everyone will, for sure) to see what happens.

I'd rent it, and leave it at that.

p.s. You might notice the World Series of Poker update link to your left of the screen. Pokerstars asked those who participated in the Blogger Championship to add this link, so I obliged seeing as they were nice enough to have the freerolls for us bloggers. Hey, I'm probably going to click the link myself a few times!

Along with SBP punching doll Bryan Smolinski, the Sens dealt Martin Havlat to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Tom Priessing, Josh Hennesy a prospect and a 2nd round pick in next year's draft. Martin Havlat quickly changed his mind about wanting to pursue the free agent market next year by signing a 3 year, $18 million dollar deal with the 'Hawks.

As a fan, I'm hoping this move is used to sign someone else as a bunch of cap room just became open. With this move, about $5 million of salary cap room was made available. If they don't sign someone else, they could have easily kept Zdeno Chara and not lose him to Boston for nothing. So, we'll see what happens (if anything) in the next few days.

I'm not terribly impressed with Martin Havlat right now. I guess if such a big contract was offered to me, I'd probably sign it, too. But once the season was finished he essentially declared he had no interest in playing for Ottawa anymore. Make no mistake, he could have stayed in Ottawa if he wanted to, and would have made more than the $2.6 million he made last year for the 30 games he played. He can rot in Chicago. They will not make the playoffs again next season if they are pinning their hopes on this 25 year old. The deal he signed is the sort of money you'd figure he'd make later on in his career, but not now. The NHL must loathe this contract, and you have to wonder what the lockout accomplished when an injury prone player with only 5 seasons experience is already making $6 million a year. And as someone else pointed out to me, you'd figure Chicago would learn something after signing big money deals to Khabibulin and Aucoin last year.

Martin Havlat was an exciting player to watch, and he was a potent offensive weapon when he was on. But, no one plays for the same franchise year after year anymore. For that reason, perhaps this trade isn't all that surprising. That's pro sports for you.

The last game of the World Cup reminded me why I don't tune in to soccer as much as the average person. The estimated TV audience for the World Cup final match was projected to be 1 billion. 1 BILLION! That's pretty darn huge. Most people do care what happens in this sport, but I've lost enough interest so that I won't start following the professional leagues, but I'll probably tune in to see what happens in 2010. The hype always gets me early, but as it winds down, the disrespect to the rules and the lack of scoring (the semifinal games had a total 1 goal scored combined in 4 hours of play with OT. Sorry, penalty kicks don't count)will continue to hinder my appreciation for football.

France's biggest soccer hero, Zinedine Zidane, thought it was appropriate to say goodbye to the soccer world by deliberating attempting to injure another player. I have no idea what he was thinking, except to say that he probably wasn't thinking. Not only did he lose the respect of many fans of the game, but he may have cost France the title as he is considered one of the best penalty kickers out there.

The dives continued, on both sides. And how many time did the stretcher come out? You'd think these guys would be embarassed by all the theatrics. But they pride themselves on it.

Cheating is rewarded. Players aren't punished for their diving and embellishing from marginal physical contact. And the only time anyone is thrown out is when a player thinks he's looking at a bullfighter and takes a run at him.

Nice job Italy, I could care less. See you in 2010!

My regular readers may have recalled my "notice" of playing the 2006 poker blogger championship a few weeks ago. I never bothered to update how I fared in said tournament because, quite simply, I did horribly.

There were about 2300 or so entrants and yours truly finished a miserable 1999th place. Oh yeah. Done before an hour was out. And the reason? I was on TILT!

Being on tilt is a poker term used for when things don't quite go your away, and you react in, let's just say, an unreasonable way. You end up doing things you don't normally do. Let's reveal what exactly happened.

There was a player at my table that always seemed to raise my blinds whenever they had the chance. Again and again, they kept on raising. It didn't help that the cards I held were absolute trash and were unplayable. But it seemed that they were raising me just because they could get away with it.

So I "loosened up" my starting requirements and called with hands that I don't normally do. I called with Ace-Five after being raised for the umpteenth time. I paired my aces on the flop. But the raiser just kept on calling my bets. On the river he made a big bet which I called after improving to two pair. Turns out though, he caught runner-runner to make his straight. I had enough!

Next time he raised my blind, I wasn't going to give him ANY cards. I looked down at Ace-Ten. I decided to put him all-in, "sending a message" that I couldn't be pushed around and hoping for a fold. He immediately called with his pocket 8s. He flopped a set and just like that, I was out.

What did I learn? Patience is indeed the key. I wasn't wrong in realzing he wasn't raising with absolute premiums hands like pockets Aces or Kings and it was ok to call with my lesser hands. However, this was a guy who when he bet, was going to play it out. No sense in trying to make him fold when he wasn't going to. He played aggressive and although he played much too loose for my tastes, he was convinced he had the best hand each time he entered the pot, or that he was going to catch the cards to necessary to make his best hand.

In the end, I needed to be patient. Good cards are coming, eventually. And with the blinds very low in relation to my stack, there wasn't a need to make a big move just yet. I had to bide my time a little, but didn't.

The blogger championship will have to wait one more year.

I hate to admit it, but in the words of Kurt Angle, "Oh it's true, it's true". I took some hard-earned money and gave it to Adam Sandler's Click, further justifying his continuing streak of bad comedies.

Don't get me wrong. I like Adam Sandler when he's on. Happy Gilmore was great. And not too many people liked his Punch Drunk Love but I thought it was fantastic. Even a weakness for The Wedding Singer (mainly because of the non-stop 80s references) lingers in SBP. But, like Little Nicky, like Big Daddy, like Anger Management, he whipped up a comedy that just isn't funny. Towards the end of Click, he also tried to get serious and gave us some melodrama. But it was so cheesy and so syrupy sweet, that didn't work either.

Christopher Walken makes an appearance for no other reason that he's Christopher Walken. He's wacky for wackiness sake, just parodying himself and offering a plot device so that the premise of the movie, Sandler getting his hand on a remote control that can control his life in the present and future, as well as visit his past, can take place.

The audience disagreed with me for the most part. They loved the jokes and seemed to laugh quite a bit. But I just couldn't do it. A couple of laughs, maybe, but that's it. For a comedy, that isn't enough.

I pretty much knew what I was getting myself into, and for that I got pretty much got what I deserved. This is a movie I recommend you skip.

Al Gore's global warming documentary is a film every person must see.

Former President (C'mon, he was for about 15 minutes before Fox decided to change its mind. And you know they didn't do a recount properly)Al Gore has been travelling the world to educate the public about his research and fact gathering analysis of the trends of global warming that have been rapidly effecting the earth since the industrial revolution. Regardless of your political idealogy (although some members of the right press have dismissed this film as liberal trash) you simple cannot deny what is going on around you. The temperature is rising. The rainforest is being cut down. The ice caps are melting. And as Gore points out, if we do not change the way we live in the next 50 years or so, the world will encounter a disaster brought on by high temperatures, pollution and flooding that will cost millions and millions of human lives and unimaginable damage to our Mother Earth.

The majority of the film is Gore's presentation he does at various conferences around the world. In straightforward and well-paced fashion, Al Gore effectively presents his facts using video footage, graphs, charts and before & after photos so the audience fully understands the trends that are currently taking place. Myths are debunked where he shows the "unusual" temperature climbs during the middle ages, but clearly shows how the last 30 years have shown increases in temperature and carbon emissions greater than any in human existence.

An Inconvenient Truth is so effective you feel guilty for driving your car to the theatre. You get angry at capitalists attempting to sue local governments for imposing pollution standards on their products. And you shake your head when you discover that U.S. automakers cannot sell their cars to China, not because of a government embargo due to past human rights abuses, but because American cars DO NOT MEET THE ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS OF THE CHINESE.

Documentaries may not be your cup of tea for a theatre visit, but make sure at the very least you pick it up on DVD. This is must see viewing.

It really sucks right now if you're an Edmonton fan. One game away from winning a Stanley Cup, and a lot of their key players are already gone.

Obviously, losing Chris Pronger is a huge blow to the team. Fans were quick to point fingers at his wife for forcing Chris out of playing for a small Canadian city, but whether or not that's true is no one's business but his own. The Oilers were classy enough to grant Pronger his wish, and actually Edmonton made a good trade, acquiring upstart forward Joffrey Lupul, another prospect and a few draft picks including a first rounder. But they still have to fill a void, and with Jaroslav Spacek bolting for the Sabres as well, they'll need to sign another veteran blueliner to solidify their defensive corps.

Not sure why the Leafs signed Pavel Kubina for $5 million a season. This guy has played almost 600 games and his stats reveal a horrible -99. Toronto needs help in their own end, and this guy doesn't solve that problem. They should have pursued Jay McKee from Buffalo, who is terrific killing penalties and is tops in the league in blocked shots. It's possible he already told the Leafs he doesn't want to play for them. Goalie Andrew Raycroft was a huge disappointment in Boston last season but Toronto obviously think a change of scenery will bring him back to his Calder Trophy winnning season; bets are off for that happening.

Vancouver robbed Florida of goalie Roberto Luongo, and unloading Todd Bertuzzi and his contract was a smart move. Some say this will give Bertuzzi the motivation to play again, but in my view not playing hockey for 18 months is motivation enough. I expect Vancouver to be aggressive in retaining Anson Carter, as they will need to find a winger to play with Naslund and they can't afford to lose another veteran forward. Although a lot of people saw it coming, Ed Jovanovski leaving for Phoenix still confuses me. Vancouver needs a bonafide #1 D, they don't seem to have that player now in my view.

So much action over the last few days it's hard to keep track. I've found myself going back to tsn.ca plenty of times to remind myself where certain players sign, but that's what makes you look forward to next season.

p.s. I saw that Tyler Arnason signed with Colorado and Patrick Lalime signed with Chicago. I'll just say good luck with that.

Oh man, I just spent 45 minutes doing a post and it completely disappeared on me. Boo-urns! I'll recap what I wrote in point form:

- Sad to see Chara go. But he wanted a big payday, not to play in Ottawa. Redden offered to take a paycut if Chara would play for the same amount, but he declined. I have no interest in having players not wanting to play for the Senators. It's too bad he couldn't stay, but sometimes that's how it rolls.

- I had no idea who Joe Corvo was when he signed a four year deal. Good numbers but zero playoff experience, which is what Ottawa needs. Ottawa should have tried to sign local boy and three time Stanley Cup champ Aaron Ward but the Rangers picked him up.

- Like the Gerber signing, Hasek had to go. Gerber turned down more money from St Louis to play for the Sens as he sees as a contender, exactly the type of guy you want on your team. Considering there wasn't much else out there, this was a good acquisition.

- Spezza signed for too much ($9M for two years). He deserved a raise, maybe to $3M or so, but $4.5M is too much for someone only 23 years old. He won't take less when this contract is up and Ottawa's salary cap room will suffer for it later on.

- Havlat will be dealt. He, like Chara, wants a big money deal by exploring free agency, which is why he'll only sign a one year deal. Again, there's the door, maybe you can split a cab with Zdeno. He'll need to be replaced though, and this is where a Mike Peca signing would be ideal. Peca wants to play in the Eastern conference, had a good playoff run, is friends with Muckler and played for the 67s in his junior days. Seems like a no brainer to me.

A lot of players need new deals like Neil, Schaefer and Emery but there shouldn't be any problems. Except a couple of new faces signed before it's all done.

Came back today from the cottage Alex & Kerri rented @ Birch Cove. There was a brutal thunderstorm the first night, followed by super windy conditions the next day so it wasn't ideal weather, but we still managed to have a good time. Tried horseshoes for the first time, managed to get a couple of "leaners" so it's all good! Got some poker games in and found some time to canoe and swim a little. Another nice, relaxing weekend.

Again, neat to come back to some much NHL news, my next post I'll give my thoughts on all the trade activity and signings that's happened but you gotta stop and say thanks to Steve Yzerman for giving the NHL fans such a tremendous career any player would be proud of. Hard to believe he has never won the Hart Trophy as MVP, but he's a lock for the Hall of Fame when he's eligible. Stanley Cup rings, world championships, Olympic Gold...there's isn't much he hasn't accomplished. It's too bad injuries have caught up to him because if he was 100% healthy, he'd have a good 2 or 3 years left in him at least.

Thanks Stevie, we're going to miss you.

I'll be kicking off Canada Day by first taking in the England-Portugal match and then heading to Quebec to a cottage Alex & Kerri rented with Kim, Tracy and Marc. What can be more Canadian than that!? Should be a good time. Anyway, Happy Canada Day to you, and I'll resume the blog when I get back on Monday.

Peace!