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

For some reason, perhaps because of the back to back trips by airplane I'll be taking, I thought of this story that happened a few years ago.

Ingrid had left for Australia, and planned to go an extended period of time, somewhere between 1 or 2 years. After several months had passed, Ingrid decided she wanted to come back to Canada early, but instead of telling everyone, she wanted to make it a surprise. Ingrid got in touch with me to tell me of her plan and asked me to get everyone together the day she gets back so she can surprise everyone with her early return. No problem, I said, but how do I get everyone together in one place without telling them the reason? So, I lied. Sort of.

I concocted this email that stated something along the lines of, "I want you to be at Jason and Genevieve's place at such-and-such date for a MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT". Boo-ya! This got everyone intrigued. I sent it out about a week before Ingrid's arrival. Unfortunately though, my email was TOO intriguing. Everyone was expecting some sort of earth-shattering announcement. I refused to tell anyone what it was as Ingrid asked me for it to be a surprise, and it resulted in much anticipation of this "major" announcement. Some speculated I was going to tell everyone I proposed to someone, some thought I was going to announce I was a new Dad, others thought I was going to say I won the lottery and was going to share the cash. Yeesh. Not quite...

So Ingrid was draped in a cloth as I walked her inside J & Gen's abode, and I revealed her to all as the surprise. Everyone was happy to see Ingrid, but no doubt the thoughts of lottery winnings made the impact not as great as it should have been.

And that's the end of my story! Oh yeah...I ran into Ingrid at World Exchange during lunch today, maybe that's another reason why I thought of this story.

Anyway, I'm off to Newfoundland tomorrow to see Steve & Janice get married, so once more, another break from the blog. Never been to the Rock, and I look forward to it. It's going to be really nice to see Steve & Janice tie the knot after all the time they've been together. It will be a special occasion for sure!

See you again Tuesday or Wednesday!

Ben, aka, the OL SBP!

I was really hoping it was an accident. But that wasn't the case, and it was much worse than I feared. Chris Benoit killed his wife, then his son, then himself. A star for many, a hero for some, and now he's a murderer. His reputation is forever ruined. His wife, Nancy, also known as the manager Woman while in WCW, was strangled with an electrical cord while her hands & feet were bound. His son, Daniel, was smothered with a bag. And police found him hanging in his weight room, some say waiting as long as a day to commit suicide after he killed his family members.

Already, WWE has apologized for the tribute show and no replays will air of it.

I'm not going to apologize for my words yesterday because I really meant it when I said I'll miss him, and I didn't know the circumstances of his death at the time. Everyone is saying the same thing: This isn't the Chris Benoit we all thought we knew.

Tragic, senseless, so many questions unanswered, but the most pressing, "Why Chris?", will likely never be answered.

My friends link me with the WWE. Most don't watch now, but did at one time, and like to hear updates about their favourite stars from the golden age of wrestling in the 1980s. At lunch today, I was telling my friends how wrestler/manager/valet Sherri Martel, or Sensational Sherri as many know here, passed away at 49 years old. Found dead at her mother's home, early reports indicating no foul play but not due to natural causes. Another former wrestler dead, probably drugs, something I've been desensitized to over the years.

Today though, Chris Benoit, a tough-as-nails Canadian, one of the most talented and respected performers of WWE, who made the right choices and never got caught up in the world of booze or drugs, was found dead along with his wife Nancy and son Daniel. He was supposed to wrestle at last night's Vengeance Pay-per-view but no-showed citing family reasons for his absence. The end result of his family being found dead was the last thing anyone would think would happen to them.

The first thing that came to my mind was his best friend Eddie Guerrero who died from heart failure from the effects of years of drug use that he had managed to get himself off of a few years prior. At Wrestlemania XX they were both crowned champions, they held each others arms up in front of the enthusiastic crowd after their years and years of dedication to the business reaching its pinnacle. And no one would have guessed just three years later they would no longer be with us.

Maybe it's because he's Canadian, but I really took it to heart when I heard of his passing. I remember being annoyed when WWE started announcing him as "residing from Atlanta" and ignoring his hometown of Edmonton to get the American fans to cheer for him more. He was such an entertaining guy to watch, and although many of his wrestling brothers would say he was tough on them, he brought out the best in their performances and was fair, and always gave the fans their money's worth.

Vince McMahon wisely did the right thing and canceled the regular RAW program, instead doing a Chris Benoit tribute show for his fans.

Last night, when Benoit didn't wrestle and was replaced by another, the fans throughout the match chanted "We want Benoit! We want Benoit!" We still do. We will miss you Chris.

Not too many people can find much to talk about the NHL three weeks after the Cup final and a day after the conclusion of a boring draft with no blockbuster deals or moves. But lucky for you, dear reader, I find a way. Let's talk about Wade Redden.

No one wants him. At least the fans in Ottawa. And amidst all the rumours of him being traded to Edmonton, and even GM Bryan Murray admitting he has held talks about their highest-paid player, I bet Wade is wondering if anyone remember he has a no-trade clause in his contract.

I actually didn't know he had that clause until recently. I speculated that, regardless if Ottawa won the Stanley Cup or not, he would likely be moved for cap space reasons. Philips, Volchenkov earned raises for next year. Emery will get a big raise. And you have to consider this is the final year that Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley and Mike Fisher are under contract, and barring a disastrous 2007-08 season, they will all want hefty raises from their current salaries.

If you look at Ottawa's roster, it really doesn't make much sense Redden is the highest paid. He isn't their best player. And I don't think he's even the best defenceman (at least when it comes to the pure defensive side of the game). And while I have been a supporter of Wade Redden and feel he is a solid defenceman, his game hasn't been consistent all year and has struggled. He was awful in the Cup final. When Zdeno Chara left last year, he was supposed to the #1 guy. He isn't.

Despite the no-trade clause, you have to wonder if Wade wants to play for an organization that doesn't want him. It's purely speculative...maybe the Senators brass DO want to keep him. But if they don't, Redden will probably want to go where he's wanted and will get to play.

If Ottawa does trade him, they have a huge hole to fill. He logged anywhere between 20-30 minutes a night, and was key on the powerplay. And for some reason, Ottawa didn't win as much when he was out of the lineup. If they do make a trade, their blue line risks being worse off, so they have to be smart about it before they close a deal.

Not too many NHL GMs have the distinction of getting their walking papers when their team makes the Conference finals and Stanley Cup finals in the course of four seasons. But Melnyk had no choice in letting John Muckler go and promoting Bryan Murray to GM of the Senators before he would get picked up by another club.

One of the advantages of being a fan of a team owned by a billionaire with an ego is that they will not hesitate to make moves if they feel it will give their club a championship. If you look at the Sens' Ontario rivals the Toronto Maple Leafs, they are owned by a teacher's pension fund not terribly fueled by a desire for victory, but rather just a good return on their investment. There's a chance the Leafs may not make the playoffs again if they don't shake their lineup up before the season starts.

John Muckler had one year left on his contract and would have likely retired after next season. I'd argue that most of his trades haven't worked out, and he doesn't seem to know when the time comes to sacrifice the future for a present championship...wouldn't have Gary Roberts been a valuable addition playing against the physical style of the Ducks? Seeing that he had little time remaining on his present contract, Melnyk bought him out to make room for Murray.

I like Bryan Murray. His GM skills are proven, having previously led the Florida Panthers and Anaheim Ducks to the Stanley Cup finals, and many of the players who got their names on the Cup this season as members of Anaheim were drafted by Murray when he was GM. He seems to have a knack for knowing how to fine tune a club to get the desired results: winning. The players respect him, and have flourished under his tutelage. Actually coaching the players will benefit the club when trades/drafting choice have to be made.

Some interesting options are opening up for the coaching position. Randy Cunneyworth, Pat Burns and even Pat Quinn have been rumoured to be candidates for the position. Regardless of who's chosen, I have all the faith in the world Murray will make the right decision.

I'm glad he's the new GM of the Ottawa Senators.

Las Vegas was a good time, and although I'm not the sort to take advantage of the "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" rule, I don't really need to see strippers and get loaded every night to have a good time. This trip will, of course, be remembered mostly for playing in my very first World Series of Poker tournament. After getting back home and reflecting on the experience, it's hard not to be somewhat disappointed in the end result. There are just so many things that have to go right for you to come out ahead with event that revolves around gambling with over 2,300 participants, sure, but you just think to yourself, "Wouldn't it be great if I won?" Especially when I don't know if I will ever get a chance to play in it again. Time will tell, and in the meantime I'll just be thankful for having the opportunity to experience something many just dream of and never fulfill.

Rick took some great pics at the tourney and I thought I'd share them with you. They give a really good feel of what it was like to be there. And as my last night was spent seeing Penn & Teller, I've also posted some shots of me with Penn...and Teller! I'll post some more pics over the weekend:






And here's Penn & Teller posing with yours truly and Dan & Holly!

I'll cut right to the chase. Unfortunately, there was no money finish or championship bracelet to bring back home. After just over four hours of play, I was one of the many sent home packing.

Overall, I was happy the way I played. There were two or three hands looking back, perhaps I should have played differently, but otherwise the result was as good as it could get given the cards that I was dealt.

Starting with 3000 in chips, I managed to bring up my chip count to approx 4600. Nice! I was feeling good. The first hand I played was a raise with A-8 suited in diamonds from the cutoff. The big blind called. I said to myself if the BB checks to me, I don't care what the flop is I'm betting out. He did in fact check, I bet and he folded. Nice! 8s would continue to be nice to me. I won a decent pot after making a set of 8s on the river (and judging by my opposing player's reaction, he appeared annoyed, likely he had rockets or Kings). A four or five person pot had an 8 on the river, a guy bet out and I called, and my Ace-8 holding was good enough to take it. A multi-way pot made me complete my King-8 suited small blind and I flopped two pair and took down the pot (although it was a little scary being it was a board with all spades!).

The atmosphere was great. So many pros...the day I registered I saw Barry Greenstein, Humberto Brenes (ALL IN MY FRIEND!), Evelyn Ng, Hassan Habib, and Bernard Lee although he looked like he was in a rush so I didn't stop him to say hello. The day of the tournament, a $5,000 H.O.R.S.E. event was also taking place and I got pictures of Daniel Negreanu and Greg Raymer. I also saw Men the Master and Erick Lindgren.

My last hand I was severely short on chips. After the two hour break, for the next couple of hours the cards ran dry. I mean, I can't recall a time I've ever played where the cards were so dead. Down to less than 1900 in chips with the blinds 150-300 with a 25 ante, I pushed one from the cutoff with Ace-Five, hoping everyone would fold. I ran into pocket Kings, ugh! The flop brought three clubs and I held the five of clubs for a flush draw, but no Ace or club would come on the next two cards and I was gone. Jim, a gentleman in his 40s/50s from the southern USA, was the one that busted me out. Earlier in the tournament, he shook hands with me and told me he was trying not to look, but he could see one of my hole cards when I checked my cards. He did NOT have to tell me. The feeling is usually if you can't protect your cards properly, too bad. I was embarassed as I never experienced this problem before (I think). I thanked him for telling me. When I busted out, I told him he was the one person that if I was going to lose to, it was him. He had lots of chips and a good chance to finish in the money. I wished him luck.

As disappointing as it was to bust out, it was an experience I'll never forget. I have no idea if I'll ever have a chance to play in the World Series again, but I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. Thanks to everyone who supported me during the time leading up to the big event. Thanks to Holly, Dan and Rick for rooting for me from the rail. Thanks to everyone who had enough faith in me and actually put some money towards that huge buy-in. And I really do hope I'll get another crack at it soon!

I'm leaving tomorrow for Vegas, and the excitement is starting to build. I've been planning this for nearly a year, and after all the anticipation it's finally here. Once I sit down to play I know I'll have to calm my nerves and try not to be overwhelmed by the atmosphere. It should be fun and enjoyable, and if I can feel calm and relaxed, I think I'll do OK.

You may recall a while back I spoke to poker pro Bernard Lee about meeting up with him and having a tutorial session the day before the tournament. Unfortunately, he wrote me back to say he has too many commitments to run a class. I was looking forward to meeting him, but it's not the end of the world.

I'm not sure if I'll get a chance to find a computer to post updates here on my progress but if I can, I definitely will. Otherwise, updates are provided on these sites:

www.worldseriesofpoker.com
www.cardplayer.com
www.pokernews.com

Not sure if they'll list every player's chip counts, but maybe I'll pop up somewhere along the way.

Wish me luck everyone! I'll end this post with this email Mr. Paris sent me:

Have you ever had the feeling of a thousand knives of fire stabbing you at your side? I sure hope you haven't had this privilege. I experienced it about three years ago.

I was just in my bed, reading a book, then it hit me. I had no idea what was wrong, which is what made the experience so frightening. My body was sweating and no matter what I did, the pain just wouldn't go away. It was so bad, I thought I was going to die. My brain started thinking, "What the hell have I done with my life? What am I going to be remembered for? Is this it?" Crazy thoughts at the time for sure, but that's how bad the pain was.

For some reason, I didn't want to "bother" my roommate or "bother" 911 to get to the hospital. Maybe in the back of my mind I thought the pain may go away eventually. It didn't, so I ended up calling my mom to take me to the Ottawa General and told it was kidney stones and I'd be fine. Some pain killers later and it was all good.

So today I went to have my first physical since being a teenager. I guess as I've gotten older and seen enough happen to my friends to not try to take my health for granted, I had to make sure things are ok with me. It was fairly quick and wasn't bad at tall. I'll get my blood test done after Vegas, put my mind at ease, and yeah, I guess that's it.

As a warm up for this Saturday, played a 5000 person tournament over at Alex's and came in 60th. Right now I am playing a 10,000 entrant tournament and I am currently 18th out of 196 players left. Looks like it might be a long night. I'll make a better effort to write something tomorrow.

I played what will likely be my last live poker game before heading to Las Vegas to play in the World Series. Tonight, I was actually on a roll, accumulating lots of chips. But one hand cost me.

Four handed, I raised on the button with King-Jack. This holding is usually a trap hand at a large table, but I decided to play as its value goes up in four-handed situations. I got two callers, which should already sound off alarm bells. The flop is

K-8-2

What I was looking for...top pair with decent kicker. Dan bet strongly into the pot. As I had almost twice the number of chips he had, and I've seen him steal a few pots, I wasn't too concerned with his bet and put him all-in. He did not hesitate to call, showing me King-Queen. Ugh. What I feared would happen. He won the pot and my chips took a big hit.

My inner voice told me just before I entered the pot not to get involved. The reason being I was involved with three of the past four hands and won lots of chips. "Don't push your luck", my inner-monologue tried to warn me, "you can get cut off".

Well I ignored it, thinking with being the chip leader it's my job to bully and steal chips. And it cost me. I couldn't recover after that and lost a few races and couldn't hit any cards. My evening was done.

Aside from that one hand, I felt good about how I played. But tonight sheds a new light on my nearly one-year wait to play for a coveted World Series of Poker bracelet. Every hand is a gamble. Every hand has the potential to cost you all of your chips. Sometimes it isn't your job to see how many pots you can steal or how many trap hands you can outplay your opponent with.

I think every experience, every win and loss over the nearly three years I've played No-Limit has come together. My last live game reminds me not to get too cute. Play solid, don't get too fancy. It's not your job to be the most clever player at the table, just the one with the most chips at the end.

You can't control luck, but you can control the odds you put yourself into when you play. My goal is to play the best poker of my life on Saturday, and if I do so, I think I have a shot of taking home some money.

No bad beats. That's all I ask. And I'll take care of the rest...along with listening to my inner-voice.

Out of all the friends I have, if there's one person I'd put my money to win this contest, it's Johnny. John is trying to outlast a dozen people to win a two-year lease on a Mitsubishi Lancer. The task? Keep your hand touching the car until you're the last person standing. They started at 9am today and will go until there is one person left or noon Sunday, in which case all remaining participants will have their name thrown in a hat and a draw will take place. John was in good spirits when I saw him nearly 10 hours after he started, although his designated spot on the car, low just above the front wheel as opposed to a nice high window spot, is a definite disadvantage. Add to the fact no MP3 players, books, TVs, etc. to help pass the time, and oh boy, it's tough.

Good luck Johnny! If you're still there I'll visit you again tomorrow. And if you'd like to visit John, the contest is being held at St. Laurent Shopping Centre just outside the Jacob store.

Ok, it's a little hard to go to sleep right now. I've taken a deep breath and realized, hey, there's lot of good things to take from the great season the Ottawa Senators have given its fans, and other things to be thankful for. So here they are:

1. Thanks to the players for trying their hearts out and giving the city of Ottawa life I have not seen in some time

2. Thanks to the fans who displayed so much passion that I felt embarrassed not having my Sens jersey on when walking down Sens mile this past Saturday

3. Thanks to my friends who cheered along with me and watched the games and experienced the ups and down together.

4. The core of the team will return next year. There will be some changes, but the Sens will give fans another legitimate chance of going all the way

The Ducks were clearly the better team. I guess one thing that is disappointing about Anaheim winning it is that, well, they're in Anaheim. I personally get sick and tired of reading about how it's good an American team will win the Cup and generate greater interest in hockey, but I don't see any change after 14 years of American teams winning Lord Stanley. Anaheim doesn't care, 29 people will show up for the parade and it will be an afterthought in the sports landscape of California.

I don't want to leave on a negative note, so as the saying goes, we'll get 'em next year! With the experience of losing the prize, hopefully the players will know what it takes to take that one extra step to win it all.

And hopefully the Cup will return home to a city that cares.

I could sit here and rant and rave all night long about how disappointing it is to see my Ottawa Senators come out so flat in game 5 and ultimately lose their chance of winning the Stanley Cup. So many mistakes, so many plays that seemed to plunge a dagger into the heart of every Sens fan out there: when you think they had a chance to get back in it, they would quickly fall back into a hole. When the third period rolled around, there was no stopping the Ducks. Ray Emery couldn't stop a beach ball. Turnovers and more turnovers. No shot production by the forwards. Heck, Antoine Vermette couldn't even muster a shot after being given a penalty shot in the third period. An absolute car wreck of a game.

I'll instead just leave you with this little story. Colin told John that if the Senators win the Stanley Cup, he would pay out of his own pocket to put the name of the player who scored the winning goal on the back of his Sens jersey (currently blank after having Patrick Lalime's name removed). Well, they didn't win the cup, but Chris Phillips did put in the winning goal for the Anaheim Ducks. Does this qualify?

A very sombre mood at the office today. With the Ducks victory over the Ottawa Senators last night, it crushed many spirits of Sens fans everywhere. Down 3-1, with only one team in Stanley Cup final history overcoming this deficit to win the Cup about 60 years ago, it seems like a hopeless cause.

But...not one, but two co-workers told me a story that put a glimmer of hope on the situation. Apparently a soothsayer (a person who claims to speak sooth: specifically one who predicts the future based upon personal, political, spiritual, or religious beliefs rather than scientific facts) from Maniwaki predicted the outcome of the Senators-Ducks series before it started and it has unfolded exactly as she foretold. This person said the Ducks would win the first two games, followed by an Ottawa win, then Anaheim taking game 4. And the rest of the prediction? It had the Senators winning three games in a row to take the Stanley Cup!

Yes, it's come to this...the fate of my Senators is so grim that I have to turn to fortune tellers and gypsies to give me optimism of a different fate for Ottawa. Ah well, such is the life of a sports fanatic. GO SENS GO!

Everything seemed aligned for Ottawa to tie up the series and head to Anaheim with momentum on their side. No Chris Pronger to deal with. An emotional win Saturday night and the hot crowd still rallying behind them for game 4. Dany Heatley FINALLY getting his first goal and point of the series.

But the Sens couldn't do it. They came out guns blazing in period 1, outshooting the Ducks 13-2. But it was pretty much all Ducks after that first 20 minutes. Despite Heatley finally getting a goal to tie it up near the end of the 2nd (goal #2 in 10 games), Anaheim's defense and trapping suffocated the Senators attack. Add to the gaffes by Ottawa's D (and oh boy, Redden is going to be run out of town after this series the way he's playing) and it's a recipe for disaster. It's back to Anaheim, Pronger returning to the lineup, and what seems like a destined game 5 victory for the Ducks.

All is not lost. Recall back in 2003 Ottawa was faced being down three games to one against the New Jersey Devils. They took game 5, then won a tension-filled game 6 in OT with Chris Phillips potting the winner. They fell in game 7 as we all know, but they had still showed they could battle back and still put up a fight. Anaheim is now expected to put Ottawa away, so the pressure is solely on them.

Ottawa has to play a full 60 minutes. How they can turn the switch on and off like they did tonight completely escapes me. But we'll see if they can mount a history-making comeback, starting Wednesday night in game 5.

A deliberate hit to the head, a repeat offender, a player who may not play again in the Stanley Cup Finals. Chris Pronger, you are not playing Monday for game 4.

I'm starting to get more and more sick of Pronger's act. Morons like Pierre Maguire like to use his 6"6 frame as an excuse, but I don't recall even taller players like Zdeno Chara ever getting disciplined by the NHL. This is the seventh time he has been suspended, and although many Sens fans are probably happy their team doesn't have to face one of the best defensemen in the NHL, losing Dean McAmmond for what will hopefully be just a short while is a blow for the Senators. He has played his best hockey in the playoffs, killing penalties and adding five goals in 18 games (including last night's game winner): not too shabby for a fourth liner. He will be missed, and let's cross our fingers for a quick return.

This will not be an automatic win for Ottawa tomorrow night with Pronger out of the lineup. The Ducks managed to beat the Red Wings after Pronger's first suspension for the Holmstrom hit, so their defense are more than capable of stepping up in his absence.

This will hopefully present an opportunity, though, for the Heatley-Spezza-Alfredsson line to generate some offense as they have yet to be a factor in this series. Secondary scoring propelled Ottawa's victory last night, so hopefully they can regain some confidence tomorrow night and put some pucks behind Giguere before Pronger returns for game 5.

After being thoroughly outplayed for the first two games, the Sens were relentless in ensuring they gave their best effort so far in the Stanley Cup final. This is the first time these playoffs were they have faced adversity: I'm not talking about being down 2-0 in a game or having to a kill on 5-on-3. This is the first time they have trailed this year in a playoff series, and if Anaheim won this game this series would have been pretty much over. Despite giving up the first goal and Anaheim regaining their one goal leads, Ottawa dug deep and gave a fantastic effort to take game 3 and keep themselves alive.

Everyone was wondering when Chris Neil would show up. He had an amazing game dishing out hits, getting under the skin of the Ducks and getting that huge game-tying goal to give the Sens a lift. Fisher was great. Vermette was great. And as my buddy Rob called me on the phone to say, Peter Schaefer played his best shift in his NHL career in the first period, which is saying something since he wanted him traded a long time ago. The pizza line had some good puck possession and played their best game of the finals. Ottawa stood up to them physically and did not let themselves get bullied.

The Sens did indeed get some breaks, particularly Alfredsson's goal that was redirected off his skate. It wasn't exactly a kicking motion, but I'm certain Alfie was positioning his skate so the puck would make contact. But hey, not my call.

The only downer to the evening was that awful hit by Chris Pronger on workhorse Dean McAmmond. Despite the idiotic rantings of Don Cherry, that was a dirty play. That elbow he delivered to Dean is very similar to the elbows I got taught when taking up Goshindo back when I was in high school. Pronger did not want to try to hit him with his shoulder, because if he tried, it would have been easy for Dean to walk around him and break in on Giguere all alone. It'll be interesting to see if a suspension is handed out, and you have to think after his one game suspension from hitting Tomas Holmstrom in the series against the Red Wings with that same elbow, the NHL will take a close look at it.

Ottawa is confident and will hopefully head back to Cali with the series all tied-up after Monday.

Other thoughts:

- I took a walk along Elgin Street about an hour before game time, and it was unreal. I've yet to visit Sens Mile during these playoffs, and the amount of people dressed up in red pouring out of the bars was off the charts. I was thinking to myself, "How can the Sens lose with all of this fan support?"

- I had to watch some of the action on NBC, as once again Bob Cole's insistence of screwing up names, forgetting names and throwing the Sens under the bus as often as possible just drove me crazy. The downside was that Pierre Maguire does colour for NBC, so I eventually turned back to CBC once Ottawa got the lead.

A little while ago, I went to see Spiderman 3. I was going to do a review about it, but it was harder than I thought. It wasn't a bad film, there was decent action, special f/x, I liked Tobey Maguire and some of the over-the-top scenes of him trying to act cool & bad. I didn't care for some of the lame f/x of Venom (especially when he talked), there were too many plot points left unexplained for no reason other than to make room for a sequel, and the villains didn't do much for me. It was passable, and not much else. I guess there really wasn't much to write about.

Tonight, I went to see Knocked Up. It was my sister's most anticipated movie to see this summer and she convinced me to go. The movie title is good, but the trailers weren't all that funny so I wasn't expecting all that much. But it turns out it was really fun. The movie wisely avoids trying to get a PG-13 rating and allows the raunchy comedy to be itself. You laugh out loud several times at the vulgarity, but what's also good about Knocked Up is its heart. The story is about a girl who gets pregnant after a one-night stand and decides to get in touch with the unemployed, immature 23 year old Ben Stone to allow him the opportunity to become the full-time father she hopes he can be. The thing that adds to the enjoyment of the film is that you genuinely care for the characters. I don't know...I just didn't care much about the fate of Mary Jane in Spiderman 3. But with the character of Allison Scott, you want the movie to have a happy ending knowing she'll be ok.

I think Knocked Up will be one of those movies that will have good word of mouth going for it that will allows this movie to reach large audiences throughout the summer. Most movies last about 2-3 weeks before they disappear from the multiplexes, but this is one of those surprise finds that actually deliver the goods and leaves viewers happy.

So go see it!