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

Thanks Nirm & Patrick for sending this to me! Nice to know Chuck Liddell is sending his best wishes before he comes to Montreal for his next UFC fight...unfortunately I decided to pass on going to save for Vegas. Saving money...pfff...it's for chumps isn't it?!

Pierre Auguste Renoir
George Harrison
Anton Volchenkov
Sally Jesse Raphael
Sean Astin
Ric Flair
Neil Jordan
Carrot Top
Julian T
Kylie P

And not to mention myself, SBP! I took the day off, ate a sub, watched blu-rays, played video games...nice!

Best Picture - Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actor - Sean Penn for Milk (Want Rourke to win, but I think Penn has the momentum)

Best Acress - Kate Winslett for The Reader (she's due)

Best Supporting Actor - Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight

Best Supporting Actress - Penelope Cruz for Vicky Christina Barcelona

Best Director - Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Screenplay - Milk

Best Adapted Screenplay - Frost/Nixon

The salary cap era is not an era that encourages player movement. Trades have to involve contracts virtually dollar for dollar, and teams are paranoid about losing their prized players and sign them to ridiculous, high-price multi-year contracts.

But if you have some cap space, and a team to tango with who does not have any delusions of a potential post-season who are looking to rebuild, you can ship off a journeyman centre and 1st round draft pick, and pick up some immediate front-line help in Mike Comrie and a young d-man in Chris Campoli. Some Sens fans are upset that a first round pick is given up in a deep draft, and improving the team now is a mistake when they want the team to take a knee for the rest of the season to land #1 prospect John Tavares.

After Ottawa lost a crucial 4-point game to the Habs this afternoon, it appears their brief winning streak might have just been smoke and mirrors. Still, you have to look at the big picture. A pick that might be #30 in the first round if the Sharks win the Cup is pretty much a crapshoot. Campoli has been well-regarded as a puck-moving d-man and indeed got two assists in his Sens debut, the sort of player Murray has been looking for. Comrie liked his time hear in Ottawa and is a perfect 2nd liner, a good skilled guy who can score. Resigning him will depend if he takes a cut from his inflated $4 million salary.

Overall, I think it's a good deal for the Sens, a mix of immediate and future help. I think the post-season is a bit of a pipe dream now, but at least we're seeing the team, both in the front office and on the ice, making an effort to give the fans something to believe in.

There has been more than one occasion where I have been questioned on the intelligence to put $1,500US towards a poker tournament, where the odds of coming out on top are slim to none.

There is a slight competitive spirit in me, although I've been unfortunate to have the athletic skills equalling, well, a recreational just-for-fun athlete. That's really how it is for most of us. On top of that, the current employment I have is not exactly life-altering. Again, that's what way it is for the majority of plebs in Western life. That is not to say I'm not grateful for where I am and what has been given to me. I'm lucky to have good friends & family, a roof over my head with a nice TV and not have to worry about too many things. Most of the world doesn't have this luxury; most have to scrape by just to make it to the next day. It's easy to take for granted what we have, but I try my best not to.

The only real outlet I have to go "beyond" where I am, to do something that millions of card players dream about, is to go to the World Series of Poker and win a bracelet. Poker is special that way. We can't be the starting QB in the Superbowl. We can't be the lead-off pitcher for game 7 of the World Series. But the World Series of Poker offers the opportunity, if you have a little money, to try to win your own Stanley Cup.

I'm a bit of a dreamer, with some competitiveness inside me. The WSOP gives me a chance to see if I can do anything with it. So once again this year, I'll try my luck, hope for the best, and see what fate has in store for me.

Nothing can ever be straight forward. When you think all the issues that are laid out to examine and scrutinize, another dilemma presents itself.

So now the Eugene Melnyk camp in their bid to bring soccer to Ottawa, has shown a new blueprint for their stadium. Not only are adjoining soccer fields and a new parking lot included, but new office buildings, commercial space and even residential units (that would be sweet to live in that district!) are a part of the mix. Kanata doesn't really have a "town centre", so this proposal would definitely fit the bill.

The Jeff Hunt group wanting the CFL back has put forward the thought that the Ottawa 67s, the forgotten junior hockey team in this debate, will be put at risk if Frank Clair isn't revamped. I actually agree with that sentiment: If Frank Clair doesn't get the go-ahead, it's getting a wrecking ball to develop more condos, plain and simple. Would they leave the Civic Centre alone? Probably not...there's prime real estate there.

There's nothing stopping the 67s from playing elsewhere, or even building a new arena somewhere else. But the latter won't likely happen if money is already tied up for the MLS proposal. And I'm not so sure families would be as willing to make a trek to the west end to see the 67s play at Scotiabank place, if Hunt's pride would allow for that.

The saga continues...

John thought it was appropriate to forward me this video produced by the website The Onion; sorry for the profanity that now infects my blog, but it was too funny not to share with you! Runs about 2 mins 20 secs.

With all of the talk in the city about football and soccer, we're forgetting about the proverbial red-headed stepchild of sports in Ottawa, the Ottawa Rapids; sorry, Rapidz. Obviously since the zip.ca people have bailed on the team, a new name is being sought for the upcoming season. And one of the five choices for fans to vote on is one of the names I suggested! Here are the choices:

Ottawa Colonels (YES!)
Ottawa Jax
Ottawa Raftsmen
Ottawa Trappers
Ottawa Voyageurs

Send your vote by February 17th to ottawacanam@hotmail.com!

I continue to read up on the latest news regarding the proposals to bring the CFL and MLS to the city of Ottawa. Even if you are not a fan of sports, this decision will affect your life in one way or another for the rest of the life if you live in this city. Aside from what sort of concerts and festivals each new or renovated venue could attract, this will also decide on whether the downtown core will get its much needed revitalization, or whether the suburbs will be the destination for citizens to go to.

Mayor Larry O'Brien threw a red herring in the debate by suggesting the area near Lebreton Flats would be an ideal location for a sports stadium. I agree...but that's not going to happen. Each party have their own interests at stake and none involve such a plan, and definitely would not be visited when deadlines are soon coming to pass.

The new twist in the whole debate is that the CFL group has suggested it could showcase both football AND soccer in a renovated Frank Clair stadium. This is an argument that oozes nothing but common sense: There are only nine home dates in the CFL calendar barring playoffs. That leaves a lot of days open for the MLS,which only has fifteen home dates: hardly the 41 games the Senators accommodate. But there isn't a chance to share and get along when millions of dollars are at stake.

Melnyk has already decreed football is dead and wants no part of a downtown stadium. He has his own interests, and that is to increase the value of Scotiabank Place and the Ottawa Senators by having a world-class soccer stadium built right beside it. Some advantages include using his existing Senators resources and staff to work for both clubs and achieve savings that way.

The CFL commissioner issued an open letter to Ottawa residents listing why the CFL is far from dead, some reasons including they had over 3.6 million viewers for the Grey Cup, and weekly Saturday night CFL games garner 400,000 viewers each game, second only to Hockey Night in Canada. He blames past ownership for the failures of the previous Renegades & Rough Riders, but assures that the Jeff Hunt group will provide the stability an Ottawa team would so desperately need.

MLS commissioner Don Garber has stated a team couldn't share a stadium with a football team, which is interesting since the Vancouver bid involves sharing B.C. Place with the CFL B.C. Lions. Does Garber have some sort of self-interest in making sure Melnyk gets his own only-soccer stadium in Kanata?

We should get some answers soon.

And oh yeah...Happy Valentine's Day! :-)

The very, hopefully, last online date that transpired a couple of years ago once again started out well, but then ended in, well, disaster is probably too strong a word. But when you get the feeling, "yup, this one is over", it doesn't shoot much confidence in you.

It was a typical dinner date. This person lived downtown so I met up at her place first and we walked to a restaurant near by. As the conversation progressed, she asked about my condo and where I lived. Never being one to gloat, I talked about how "cozy" it is and I pretty much just have room for myself. I threw in I can't really host anything that doesn't involve TV as my place is simply too small for a lot of guests.

"Could you have people over for dinner or something?"
"Not really. I don't have a dining room table."
"YOU DON'T HAVE A DINING ROOM TABLE?"
"Uh, no."
"WHERE DO YOU EAT?"

Yikes. Well, this is the part where I talk about my convenient, foldable dinner trays! And it's also here that my love of Subway sandwiches come out. I tried to laugh it off a lot, but she was having none of it. She couldn't let go of the fact that I didn't have room for a big table to eat off of and kept questioning me about it for what seemed like an eternity. "But seriously, you don't own a dining room table?"

On a positive note, she did score a free meal out of it.

Eugene Melnyk will forever be linked as a man from Ottawa, despite stepping foot in this community for only about six years in his lifetime.

Ironically enough, when the word spread the Ottawa Renegades were about to fold one more time a few years back, a lot of people were hoping the white knight to save the CFL franchise would be Melnyk himself. After purchasing the Ottawa Senators and saving them from being moved or filing for bankruptcy, he helped stabilize the Senators team during a time when the dollar was trading at about 65 cents and the term "small market" was introduced in the NHL vocabulary. Whether or not it was just shedding all the previous debt, the rebound of the Canadian dollar or waiting it out until the owner-friendly new CBA came to pass, the point is Ottawa sports fans hold Melnyk in high regard for keeping the NHL in this city. The guy knew how to make money, and seem to have an unlimited supply of it. What's the cost of two years of Dany Heatley's contract to Melnyk to keep the Renegades going?

He quickly quashed any rumours, while flattered, that he would step in to save the CFL franchise.

Melnyk boldly went on the record that he's "betting $50 million", the cost of a new Major League Soccer franchise, that the sport that will be around Ottawa in 25 years will be soccer, not football. There is no chance that a new football team could share a facility with the soccer team, field logistics and competition between the two ownership groups being the two problems. And on top of this, the city has already stated they can't afford both ventures as both of these proposals requires financial aid from government.

The city probably doesn't have an answer either on which could fare better; it's a real crapshoot guessing which one of these sports could survive. Or if both could. Most would probably say nothing outside of hockey has a chance to succeed.

I thought that the competition for an MLS franchise would be too much for Ottawa to be considered, no matter how good the presentation Melnyk's group to the MLS would be, thus football would be back by default. But their commissioner, Don Garber, has all but guaranteed a franchise for Ottawa so long as a stadium is built.

As I've stated recently, I'm for whatever gets downtown rejuvenated. I want to see Frank Clair Stadium modernized and the Jeff Hunt-led group, who turned around the Ottawa 67s, definitely has legs. The CFL have already given them a conditional franchise if they can get a newly renovated stadium approved by the city.

The city will likely just choose whatever is cheapest, and whomever can provide the best assurances we don't have another Ottawa Lynx on our hands. Whatever is decided, I hope we don't see another team fail. It will be a tough task to get sports fans here excited for another sports team, sick of being burned far too long by previous empty promises. But if anyone has a shot of making is work, it's Eugene Melnyk and Jeff Hunt. And I for one will support and give a chance to the ownership group that gets to bring their product to Ottawa, and hopefully many will follow suit.

A few years ago, after recovering from one more breakup, I decided to test my luck on a dating website. It was very frustrating...mainly because after I'd exchange a couple of emails and thought there was interest, a request for an actual meeting would always fall on deaf years. I couldn't figure out if it was lousy email skills or I just took too much time to ask.

I tried a different approach. After just sending out one email to a particular profile, the next message I immediately asked if she would like to go for lunch. I got a yes. Perfect! Hey, I hardly knew this person, but it was a definite change of pace from all the no replies earlier.

So we met at a place I forget, and for an hour the "interview" took place. That's all it is really, just a Q & A to figure out if we'd go out again. The date was going well, and I thought to myself it would be worth a second date. That is, until the end.

"Thanks for lunch, I have to go the Royal Ottawa now."
"The Royal Ottawa?" (It's a mental institution!)
"Yeah. I have to visit my husband."
"HUSBAND!?"
"Oh it's okay. We're separated."

No thanks. I never called her again. And I quit online dating for about another three years.

A clear distinction between a seasoned poker player and an inexperienced one, is the ability of a good player to evaluate their hand as not being strong enough and be able to fold when faced with a bet. It is skill that is too underrated amongst beginners, as most feel they can win with any two cards and do not take into consideration things such as who raised, how much was the raise and is my starting hand even strong enough to continue?

Let's pretend you are playing at a full table with 10 people (not uncommon at most major tournaments). If a player who acts first enters the pot with a raise, they mean business. They have put in a raise with 9 players yet to act. The possibility of a bluff exists, but no player would try it unless the table has been unusually tight. If the last player to act looks down at a hand like Queen-Jack suited, too often a beginner is tempted to play the hand. After all, two face cards, same suit...so many possibilites to make a monster hand.

But too often the faces a raise with a dominated hand like Ace-Queen, Queens, Jacks or even worse, Kings or Aces. They might flop top pair, but lose a ton of chips because they were up against a large pocket pair and were too stubborn or ignorant to lay down the marginal Queen-Jack. They also might flop to a flush draw, call bets on the flop and turn but miss their flush card and lose chips that way.

If you have any interest in playing poker, you have to learn how to fold your cards and recognize the right time to play the marginal hands and when to let them go. The biggest mistake a beginner makes when they learn the game is they play too many hands and give up too many chips chasing hands that will end up making them lose. Teach yourself to recognize that folding, with patience, will pay off big dividends in the long run.

- The Cory Clouston era in Sensland has begun, and while nothing has changed win-wise so far, the last two contests against the young L.A. Kings and the big tamale in the east Boston Bruins, I saw something that has been missing for quite some time now: effort. They probably deserved to win last night, and should have earned at least one point vs the Kings had it not been for that late penalty. If they can keep this up, even if they lose, at least the fans can rally behind a team that tries and they have something to build from for next year.

- How embarrassing: Georges St Pierre beats B.J. Penn handily in four rounds, and the Penn camp claim St Pierre’s trainer “greased” his back for a competitive advantage. Maybe it was accidental, as the GSP camp claims, or maybe it wasn’t, but bottom line is a UFC official got the trainer to wipe down his back with a towel before entering round three, and even after that Penn still couldn’t get any offence in. A rematch is apparently planned for the summer, and I’ll just say after witnessing the last fight, Penn should ensure his medical insurance has been paid in full.

- Looks like Ottawa will have to decide between one of two sports: A new soccer franchise to be built beside Scotiabank Place, or a revamped CFL franchise with a freshly renovated Frank Clair stadium. It’s too expensive for the city to have both, so if it was up to me, I’d vote for Frank Clair. It is apparently going to include a new pedestrian mall, hotel, and world-class aquarium. Downtown needs revamping, and both sports in this city are probably equally risky. But I’ll take Jeff Hunt, who turned the 67s around, to be the man to get public interest in football on the rise again. Although Melnyk’s plans for his new stadium look pretty nice, too.

A passively played game of poker is one where luck predominates the outcome. If everyone is flat calling the big blind, no one folds, and everyone showers the pot with minimal bets or just checks it down to the river card, the element of skill is lacking. The person with the most chips is likely not the best player, just the one with Lady Luck on his or her side that night.

When you raise a hand with your two cards, the element of skill enters the game. All of a sudden, you are forcing the other players to make a decision about their hand and whether or not to continue. When you raise, you are either value betting a strong hand like pocket aces, or attempting a bluff with your rags.

If your raise is called, you then have to evaluate the strength of your hand based on the three cards on the flop, or decide if you are able to continue your bluff if you were trying to take a pot away with trash. If you have aces and there are three low cards on the board, you can decide to bet out to try to get paid off or check to see if you can trap. If there are flush or straight possibilities, you have to decide if you're up against a player who likes to play those types of drawing hands and determine a course of action with another bet or check.

If you were trying to bluff, a flop with all low cards might be a good opportunity to steal. If there are three high cards or a board with the same suit, you may decide it's unlikely you can try to take away the pot, or you can represent a strong hand and force the actual best hand to fold with a strong bet or raise. This is a lot easier than it sounds, as you also have to look at the type of opponent you're up against. Is the player capable of folding a strong hand? Are you up against a calling station? Does your opponent play loose or tight? You have to assimilate this information fairly quickly and try to come up with the best strategy.

The skill in poker comes in several forms, and the act of raising brings that skill out in full force. The next skill I'll talk about is the art of the fold, which will be discussed in my next poker-related blog.

The big shakeup for the Ottawa Senators amounted to another coach firing. Craig Hartsburg is out, and Cory Clouston is in. Cory who? Yes, I didn't know much about him either. He's the AHL Binghamton Senators coach and apparently has done a decent job there, and had success in the junior ranks over in the WHL for a number of years. That's all fine and dandy, but I have no idea why the Senators are going in this direction when they have already tried two other coaches with little or no NHL experience and they have not worked out. Pat Quinn is looking for a job last time I checked and like him or not, commands and gets respect amongst his NHL peers. Clouston might turn out to be okay, but Ottawa needs someone with a proven track record right now, not someone the players can run roughshod over.

I firmly believe Jason Spezza's days are numbered. Heatley has a no-trade clause, Daniel Alfredsson will retire a Senator, Mike Fisher also has a no-trade stipulation in his contract. Spezza has a no-trade clause but I believe it does not kick in until next season. So, the time to move him is now.

The team cannot be turned around on a quick fix. I like what I see in goaltender Brian Elliott so far, despite being lit up yesterday (the team in front of him wasn't doing him any favours though) but he may or may not work out. One half of the defensive corps: Brian Lee, Alexandre Picard, Brendan Bell, are all playing like young, inexperienced players as that's exactly what they are. They may pan out in a couple of seasons or so, but it's nothing but potential now.

Secondary scoring has been non-existent and the pizza line, when they decide to play, can still be effective. In sum, this team has turned into the Tampa Bay Lightning: a one line team that is so discouraged by their losing they can't be bothered to try anymore. They have no reason to think their fortunes will change and bringing in an AHL coach isn't going to solve anything.

It's a big mess right now, and as I sit here and criticize, I really do not know what you can do to change things for the better. But, I have to remember this team has made the playoffs 13 seasons in a row. It's not unexpected for a team to struggle from time to time and maybe this is the time patience will be needed before they can contend again. So with that thought, I'll end with another:

Sens 4 Life.

I think it may be time to throw out the cliche that the Superbowl delivers a boring game with a one-sided result. The last few contests, including tonight's, have been very close, with both teams having a chance to win. And even though I personally don't have much of an emotional investment in either the Arizona Cardinals or the Pittsburgh Steelers, I wanted Stan to see his Steelers take the championship, but at the same time my affinity for a player named Ben Patrick suiting up for the Cardinals...if he could just muster a touchdown without costing Pittsburgh the game, that would be good enough for me.

Sure enough, that's exactly what happened! Ben Patrick scored! Woo-hoo! Now my name will forever be linked to a play...that wasn't enough...for the Cardinals to come out on top.

Perfect!