I'm going to blame my four month absence to the holidays. That season is so trying sometimes.
Let's get caught up in my life:
The wife and I just got back from a week-long Caribbean cruise. It was fun, but I think we're done with Caribbean for a while. The islands all look alike and they peddle the same tourist-y junk at every port of call. I ate too much as usual, but had fun doing it. I hit four of a kind in Caribbean Stud Poker, not once, but twice!!! Paid out about $600 which helped pay for the trip. We almost didn't even get on due to a marriage license snafu, but that got worked out thanks to the in-laws!
We're now in the infant stages of planning a trip to Los Angeles. I've never been and she is from there and wants to go back. I'm, how do you say in California speak???, stoked!
The holidays came and went...I took about and extra week off in December and that, combined with my Cruise in early January has refreshed my batteries for the upcoming year.
As for the sports in my life:
My Capitals are rolling, steam-rolling. They remind me of the UNC men's basketball team from last year. They come at you in waves. Now just like the Tar Heels, the Capitals season will only be remembered by how they do in the post season. It's amazing that in a two year span the regular season has become merely a prelude to the 'real' season. I used to have to sweat out 82 games and home the Capitals would sneak in to the playoffs. I'd scoreboard watch and count points needed to clinch and stress that there was only a handful of games remaining.
Now just over the halfway point in the current season, the Caps have a 21-point lead in their own division (that's like a 10 1/2 game lead in the NBA folks) and are 1st overall in the Eastern Conference. This is the latest the Caps have ever led their own conference during a season. They are in the midst of an 8 game win streak which they haven't done in 21 years! It's a fun ride right now, but fortunately/unfortunately the Playoffs are the only thing that matters. I'm not going to be completely aloof and ignore the brilliance of the Caps during the regular season, but I want a Stanley Cup dammit! When the Tar Heels went 12 years in between NCAA basketball titles, it felt like a lifetime. Well the Caps haven't won a Stanley Cup in my lifetime or anyone else for that matter so they are due (don't tell Cubs fans I said that).
About the current Tar Heel basketball team. This season has been disjointed from the beginning. The team is full of individual talent, but they are in no way a team right now. The parts don't mix together and they lack two important parts that lead teams to success. They don't have consistent point guard play and they are horrible from behind the three point line. It does a team no good to have such strength down low if there is nobody who can pass the ball into the big men in a position to score. Even when they do accomplish this, all five defensive players collapse around the ball and force turnovers because there is no 3 point threat to keep them honest. The reason Tyler Hansbrough, Deon Thompson and Ed Davis were so good last year, was talent obviously, but they could almost guarantee single coverage because all three guards on the floor could burn you from downtown. Ty Lawson worked so hard at improving his shot that he required the point defense to stay home. Wayne Ellington was in range as soon as he stepped on the court and Danny Green had moments of brilliance.
The team is young, talented and error prone. They will have to be more consistent to make the NCAA tournament, but if they can figure it out, nobody will want to play them come March.
The Redskins season ended...that is all.
I haven't played much poker (as least for $$) recently, but I do have a tournament upcoming with a $500 first place prize, so wish me good luck.
