Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Pocket Pair 6/12/12

Fear not Capitals fans, it can be done.  For the first time in franchise history the Los Angeles Kings won the Stanley Cup.  Founded in 1967 by ex-Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke, the Kings had actually had worse playoff success than the Capitals until this season.  Both Washington and Los Angeles had been to one Stanley Cup Final in their history before this season with the Kings going in 1993 and the Capitals being there in 1998.  With a couple bold moves this off season and in season, namely acquiring two ex-Flyers Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, the Kings had the perfect mix of offense and defense to go along with all world goal tending by Jonathan Quick.

It's difficult to feel bad for Philadelphia as they chose to trade away their Captain (Richards) and fellow young star (Carter) to make room for what they thought was a goaltender, Ilya Bryzgalov, who would lead them back to the Finals.  There are plenty, too many actually, Capitals fans who think that trading away their Captain, Alex Ovechkin would make sense.  Hopefully they can see how it worked out for Philadelphia and rethink their stance on the issue.  While Ovechkin may never be the dynamic force he was in his first couple season, he still has all worldly talent that cannot be duplicated.

The shift from free roaming, pure offense that the Capitals were famous for to the bunker down, don't make a mistake defensive hockey they tried this season can only help Ovechkin become a better two way player.  Whatever coaching direction the Capitals decide to go with this year, it must fit with the skill set of Ovechkin.  He needs to be able to lead them on offense, but still be held responsible on the defensive side.  Alex Ovechkin will have to respect the coach that is brought in and be willing to do whatever it takes to bring Lord Stanley to Washington.

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In case you didn't realize, and if you're not a poker player you probably haven't, the World Series of Poker is in full swing in Las Vegas right now.  This year there are 61 events culminating in the Main Event which to poker players is the most coveted bracelet in all the world.  It has also become the most difficult bracelet to win because even though the Main Event is 40+ years old, the entry fee of $10,000 has not changed.  No longer do only the wealthiest and best players play, but anyone who can scrape together the funds or have won a smaller, cheaper qualifying event can play.  Through 2003 the most players who had entered the Main Event tournament was 839, but when a true amateur, Chris Moneymaker, defeated a grizzled poker pro, Sam Farha, the poker boom began.

The next year 2,500 entrants tried their luck (and skill) at taking home the gold bracelet.  2005 saw that number jump to 5,600 and then it peaked in 2006 at at stunning 8,700 entrants.  Due to online gaming restrictions in the United States, fewer websites were allowed to send winners of online tournaments to Vegas and thus the number dropped in 2007 to a scant 6,300.  The last four years participation has held steady between 6,500 and 7,300 and that is even after the corruption scandals and eventual shutdown of a couple of the most popular online gaming sites for poker fans.

Already this season history has been made as poker legend, Phil Hellmuth won his record 12th gold bracelet in the 7 card Razz event.  Razz is basically a poker game where you actually try to win with the worst poker hand.  It will be interesting to see how quickly Hellmuth can order new jackets and hats that signify his new record of 12 victories because his current logo revolves around the 11 he had.  Always a shameless self promoter, you have to respect Hellmuth for his skill level at the poker table, but fans of poker are somewhat ashamed of his boorish behavior towards his fellow competitors.  When he controls his emotions, Phil Hellmuth is one of the best to play the game.

The Main Event begins on July 7th, so save your pennies kids and get out there and win.  Last years winner, Pius Heinz won $8.7 million.  I sure could use that kind of money.

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