Busy

When I stopped writing this, it was mostly because I got out of the habit. I got out of the habit mostly due to lack of time. I have been feeling the time crunch a bit the last week or so, and can see myself falling out of the habit again. I enjoy writing, but I feel better when I put time into it.

That said, I'm watching Daytona and working on school stuff as I write right now. It's almost 2am. I just got home, and will be headed back up to work in a few hours. I'm headed to Boston Wednesday, and I'm hoping to have everything (or enough) crossed off my list to really relax and not think about work while I'm gone.

As you know, I'm going to hang with my parents for a couple days and then head to the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. I'm also going to see a Celtics home game. So, there should be some blog fodder when I return. Not to mention, next Tuesday is the return of Tyson Chandler (and my boy, Lin) to the AAC.

Have a good week.

All-Star Games

Yeah, I'm like most. Other than baseball, I don't see much point in watching All-Star Games. I didn't watch tonight. Just name the teams, and be done with it.

I like the Saturday Night competitions, and would be glued to the tv for hours if they had the PG skills comp (preferably minus the shot) lengthened and including more players.

The two ball slam by Evans was pretty cool. The ones off the side of the backboard always impress me, also.

I'd love to see all the big names in all the competitions. Maybe have an overall champ after all of them. Or, maybe a 1-on-1 tourney.

February tourney.

Got 4th today in the monthly tourney. Really only one hand to talk about. I played very well overall, I think. Down to 5 people (5 getting paid). I'm chipleader with over 80k of the approximately 260k in play. Folds to me on the button. I have 55. Blinds 2k/4k with a 500 ante. I make it 12k. Call, call. hmmmmm. 38,500 in the pot before we see a flop. Obviously a huge spot. Flop A84. Check, check. I know neither has an Ace or a set. They can't call here. I go all-in. SB tank calls, BB folds quickly. SB has AJ. Wow. He had like 58k left. I just didn't think it through. I think my reasoning was sound overall, but I could have obviously gotten that info for much less. Say I bet 18k. That meant I'm crippled and have to gamble with the other two short stacks. We trade money for awhile, I outlast one, and IGHN in 4th.

Friday

I'm 'bout to do this Friday thing, y'all. Wooooowooooooooooo.

Matrix LAL/DAL

Shawn Marion was amazing tonight, as he is often. AMAZING. I think I'm going to have to record the replay to see if his genius shows up on TV and/or is noticed by the announcers. Kobe's points came off of other defenders. Marion shut him down. One of the coolest things I've seen this year, and it's just too bad the Mavs couldn't win this game that they should have.

#yep

I'm going to blog a bunch about college basketball later today. I'm dvring like 6 games.

I'm committed to a couple poker posts this week.

I'm still percolating on a Mavs post I've been thinking about. I commit to get it done this week.

I'm sure I'll make a Mavs/Lin post Sunday.

btw, listening to this BS report with Klosterman motivates me so much. Klosterman is so smart, and makes me want to analyze things as coherently as he does, both in writing and conversation.

MIT Sloan Sports Conference

The schedule came out today. Pretty exciting stuff.

http://www.sloansportsconference.com/?page_id=447

I'm also spending a couple days with my parents and seeing a Celtics home game for the first time.

Nice.

UNLV/TCU and DEN/DAL and Linsanity

UNLV is about 30 points better than TCU. For much of the game, we were up between 8 and 16 points. Then, with about 9 minutes to go, we stopped playing. At that point, nobody, including TCU was thinking they had a chance. But, once they cut it to 6 they started to believe and the few fans who were there got into it. By the time they forced OT, it was over. Gross. This definitely hurts worse than Wyoming. Probably knocks us down to a 4 seed. Oh, well.

The Nuggets tonight were a different team than the one I saw in December. This seems obvious if you follow basketball.

Seeing Shawn Marion the last three nights has been fun. Playing great D (and rebounding, and scoring) against CP and the Clips and Lawson and the Nugs, and his appearance supporting our Rebs last night. He was incredibly gracious with the fans. The only time he seemed to get annoyed was when one TCU frat dude tried to take a pic with him. First, Shawn's friend got up out of his seat so the dude could sit next to Shawn, then he offered to take the pic. As he's about to, Shawn notices the dude is putting up the frog hand symbol and is like wtf you doin'? Made him put that thing away. Funny.

Tomorrow, no basketball. There's a greater than 0 chance I'll ignore the Mavs/Sixers on Friday. I'm sure Saturday will be full, and then on Sunday the Mavs travel to MSG to take on Linsanity. Summer League can be deceiving (see: Bellinelli), but Lin looked really good a couple years ago out in Vegas. I had heard of him at Harvard and seen him play a couple times, but was surprised in Vegas. He was what you want in a guard - attacking on both ends, always hustlin', making smart decisions and good passes. Not a great shooter, but that's ok. But, I didn't see him getting minutes with the Mavs, so while I was upset, I wasn't surprised when he signed with GSW. I was surprised, however, at his lack of PT. When he was cut and signed with NYK, I was surprised, but happy (I somehow missed the whole HOU pitstop). NYK needed him. But, again he wasn't playing, and I assumed he was a mirage, as people are apt to see in the desert. Needless to say, I'm not surprised by his success. He'll never be DRose or CP, but he's a good spark guard on the right team and this current run is awfully fun.

ps I'm tired of Kate Upton. The dougie video was sexy as hell, but damn, she's fucking everywhere.

LAC/DAL

Heather decided yesterday that she really liked Chris Paul. Ok, cool. I loved Randolph Childress and Rusty Larue, so I'm in.

It just so happens that CP was in town tonight. With him was his new team, the Clips aka Lob City. When the craziness happened over the summer, I was a little bit wary. CP hadn't looked like himself for about 93% of the year last year, and I wondered if he would ever be himself again. He is himself again. He varied between indifference and incredulity tonight, but overall his dislike of the Mavs came out. There was tension in the air, a playoff atmosphere if not playoff quality basketball.

Twenty minutes before the game, the stands were still mostly unoccupied, but by the time the game heated up, so had the capacity crowd.

As much as I'm in on CP, though, I don't think the Clips are as good as their record may indicate at this point. Kenyon Martin helps them quite a bit, and his compadre JR Smith would be an interesting (scary) acquisition. I kinda hope Smith somehow chooses to go to Charlotte or some such. He reps the knuckleheads, but man can he play a little when he's right.

Blake Griffin acted like a bitch for much of the night, and I reveled in him missing his first seven free throws.

I'm a rambling man tonight. It happens.

Tomorrow, my Rebs. Let's run.

Energy

I may have already posted about this, but I feel like the biggest motivation I have for losing this weight is the potential to feel more energy. I hear people who have lost a lot of weight almost always talk about the increase in energy. Sounds good. I'm constantly tired, and I know it affects my health (cyclical), my mental acuity, and my happiness.

That said, I've got a long week set up, and I'm gonna try to get through it without enough sleep. Mavs Monday and Wednesday, UNLV/TCU Tuesday, lots of work, more workouts, etc.

POR/DAL

Just some quick thoughts:

-LO looked interested tonight.

-2nd game in a row Roddy B. dnp. Makes me wonder.

-Dirk is still not completely right, but he looks a ton better.

-I listened to the game while there for the first time. Picked up a little portable FM radio on my way. I'm totally that guy now. But, I like it.

-Skin mentioned during the broadcast that he thought Nate McMillan was one of the best coaches in the league. Harp agreed. I disagree. I don't think he's horrible, but he's not good enough to have a job as a HC in the NBA, let alone be the currently 4th longest tenured guy.

-Marcus Camby and Kurt Thomas on the same team is fun.

-Speaking of really old dudes, Nate McMillan plays a really short bench. This team will have no chance in the playoffs. Kinda like LAL. I am glad our coach gets it. And, I'm glad we're deep.

-Why the fuck does nobody talk about how allergic JKidd is to layups? I don't get it. I swear he twice today had open layups and passed. If I'm Mark Cuban, I'm offering him an extra 20k for each layup he makes in games. If I'm an opposing coach, I'm pounding it into my guys' heads to close AWAY from him when he drives. Cut off passing lanes and let him go to the basket. He doesn't finish. I've seen him finish one time this year, and my mouth literally dropped open.

-I entered the stupid raffle for a championship ring. Now, I can spend the next couple months imagining what I'm going to do with it and where I'm going to wear it. Because, obviously, I'm going to hit the .003% chance I have of winning it.

-Parlayed NYK and PHX money lines today. Won all my other bets today, too. Seven bets total. I felt unlucky last week when I went 0-8 one night, but I feel genius going 7-0. That's a sure sign of lack of preparation. I will work harder.

-I love my wife.

SMC/Gonzaga

I watched part of Syracuse/G'Town and part of Duke/UNC last night. I regret not sticking with Duke/UNC longer, but I had to watch the 5th major sport (The Challenge, which I'm sure I'll post about soon).

Tonight, however, is probably my favorite rivalry in college bball. Saint Mary's and Gonzaga in the WCC. It's late night, it's good crowds, it's good bball, and I like it. In '09, a friend of a friend got me the hookup for the WCC tourney at the Orleans, and it was awesome.

***Spoiler Alert***

Plus, I'm happy because Gonzaga is actually winning tonight, giving SMC their first conference loss of the year. The fact that I actually cheer for one side is another reason I enjoy this rivalry.

Weight Loss

Well, I've got a few bball games on the DVR, but nothing burning my brain to type about, at least enough to do the work necessary for a quality post. I'm looking forward to Daytona, but need to get a clue before I write about NASCAR (btw, this looks like the first year I won't have any fantasy league). All the current football story lines make me roll my eyes. My Red Sox haven't inspired much this offseason. So, I'll go ahead and write about my weight loss, or lack thereof.

In November, I went to the doctor and tipped the scales at 277. That's the heaviest I've been, other than a brief stint in the 280's in 1996, when the weight was considerably more likable. I'm generally healthy, but of course my skinny ass doctor says that won't last if I don't lose weight. And, while this may shock some, I don't really enjoy being a fatty.

So, I downloaded an app called Lose It! and started cutting calories. I found out some cool stuff, like a chicken salad sandwich from 7-11 has more calories than a McRib. I fairly quickly got down beneath 2k cal/day on the majority of days, and 2500 on a pretty big majority. Even my bad days were much better than before, because I was cognizant of what I was doing.

No weight loss.

Ok, let's be realistic. Despite all the thintards belaboring to the contrary, calories are not created equally. It's not simply calories in and calories out. A McRib calorie is not the same as a broccoli calorie. Got it.

Cut out fast food. Cut calories further. Start exercising (duh). Decrease diet soda intake and increase water. Totally cut alcohol and cigarettes.

Clearly, I am in this for the long term. I'm not looking to lose weight and then be unhealthy again. But, this is fucking bullshit. Today, I weighed in at 278 pounds.

I get it, ok. I am not normal. A normal person doesn't want to eat two triple cheeseburgers with a dozen donuts. But, what the fuck? If I've cut/burned an average of just 500 calories a day for the last two months over alternate life old Jim, I should have dropped a minimum of 10 pounds. Unless you're saying that if I had continued in my ways, I would have somehow gained 10 pounds in the last two months.

Ok, I was hoping for some catharsis and renewed sense of dedication, but I've been concentrating on that delicious sounding meal for the last paragraph instead. Fuck it. I'll just keep going.

By the way, I'm going to do the White Rock Marathon on December 2. I'm not going to say that I'm going to run it, because chances are more likely that I won't. But, I'm putting it out there that I am going to enter and finish it somehow.

Super Bowl

All week, I thought about writing up some notes on the game and some prop bets. But, I just don't care enough. I'll be cheering for the Pats. I think the Giants will win. Don't care.

College Basketball

I haven't watched nearly the amount of college basketball this year that I have the last few years. I just have limited time, and am spending more and more of that time on the NBA. I still try to catch as much UNLV as I can (including talking Heather into a Valentine's Day trip to Ft. Worth). I'm guessing I'll watch a little more the next few weeks leading up to March Madness, but the game just isn't as interesting to me as it has been in years past. Hit me up on twitter or here with any good takes/info that I should be aware of in the world of college hoops.

Identity

I remember being in Austin for a weekend when I was a freshman in college. I wasn't drinking or smoking that weekend, and some douchey dude said something that has stuck with me. He mentioned that he had heard the phrase "I quit myself" when referring to not partaking in one's vices, as I was doing. I find this to be true. Heather and I went to a concert tonight, and I didn't have a beer. I didn't have a cigarette. I didn't have a slice of pizza. All three looked good. And, I am pretty sure that I'll have all three again. It's cool to talk about how I'm somehow more than that, but my mental image of myself is someone who drinks, smokes, and eats. Someone who gobbles life. Miller Lite from a can is home.

While I was contemplating this, my twitter timeline blew up with the news of Josh Hamilton's relapse. Not surprised. I think Josh Hamilton has some of the same issues of identity. He sees himself as a drinker and a partier. Because he's famous and has identified himself as an addict, he doesn't have the same leeway to make choices about falling back into his identity. I wish he was allowed to have fun, but he can't. Sometimes, we have to change who we see ourselves to be in order to live the lives we have set up for ourselves.

I won't pretend to know Josh Hamilton's situation. I don't. But, I'm guessing it's a conflict of identity. And, because I understand that from my life, I feel badly for him.

Here's to hoping he figures it out. Cheers.

OKC/DAL

Frustrating game tonight fo sho. Dirk shoots like me, we're already without Kidd, and Lamar and Haywood are out. And, we still almost beat those fuckers. I really like KD, but he's a fucker. And, Westbrook = FUCKER. Perk was one of my faves, but he's a fucker, too. Fuck them.

Guy on the train called them the Thunders. Plural. Awesome.

If everyone knows the more aggressive team usually wins, why would you ever let the other team be more aggressive than you? Fuck. I mean, we were in the bonus with like 5 minutes left in the third, and we kept shooting fadeaways and fucking around. Roddy got to the line, but it was on a foul outside the arc. In five minutes, we didn't fucking drive to the rim once. I know Serge was blocking crazy shots and the refs swallowed their whistles some, but keep fucking going to the hole.

The one good moment was when Carlisle booted the fucking ball. He immediately apologized to the fans. I'm gonna have to watch the replay. Many of us in the building gave him a standing O when he left the court. I fucking love that guy.

Fuck yeah. Later.