Nothing worth having ...

I'm sure everyone else's parents joined mine in repeating ridiculous cliches that nobody ever paid attention to like, "wear clean underwear so if you're ever in a car accident ... " and "Nothing worth having comes easy" and "wear a condom." You know...pointless crap like that.

But as I get older, not only do I find myself checking my daughter's underwear for skidmarks, but I wholeheartedly believe that you will be made to suffer for everything in your life that is worth having.

As some of you know, and even fewer of you care, I started my own business in June. Money has been trickling in, but only a fraction of my previous income. This has led to an inordinate amount of strife and sacrifice within my family. After I donked off the last few dollars in my Full Tilt account, one of the sacrifices I had to make was poker (and indirectly this blog once I found out that nobody cares about what I have to say outside of my poker disasters).

I always knew I enjoyed the game, but I never realized what a place in my life it had taken until I could no longer piss away $125 a month in "entertainment" entry fees on Full Tilt. I had been a voracious reader of poker books, infrequent poster on message boards, avid podcast listener...all in an attempt to improve my lot in my game of choice. But once the money dried up and I could no longer ply my trade (hobby), I lost interest in those learning tools as well. Like a former athlete who cannot watch the game he/she once loved. Okay, maybe a really bad athlete who gave up sports to be an athletic trainer in high school...that's more in line with my poker skills.

All of that sob story out in the open, I recently closed a deal that will allow the family both to eat outside of soup kitchens and allow me to dive back into the Full Tilt landscape. Thankfully, just in time for BBTwo.


So good news everyone...dead money coming out!

The more things change...

Blue Jackets get blown out...Ohio State is number 1 in the country...and a promising fantasy football season goes in the toilet.

I drafted Thomas Jones. I dropped Thomas Jones. This morning.

The lesson as always...I'm an idiot.

Change in direction...

I have been writing this blog for others...for poker players and poker bloggers in the hopes that I'd be allowed into their (degenerate) inner circle. And yet, when you don't have any money to play poker, it's a little difficult to write about it. I was trying to write it for the horse racing industry to highlight the good in racing and try to attract more fans. Lately, with every major announcement involving drugs, cheating, online sites precluding many of us from watching certain races out of pure greed...how can I, in good conscience, try to bring ANYONE in as a fan. My recommendations will be the same as they have always been. Everyone needs to attend the Kentucky Derby, the fall races at Keeneland and the Little Brown Jug. And everyone needs to watch the Breeder's Cup and the Saratoga/Meadowlands double card on Hambletonian elimination day.

All of that said, I'm sure my readers will shrink from two to zero, but I am just going to start writing this for myself. Without any thought to anyone who may (or may not) be reading this. Therefore much of this may bore you. Some of it may confuse you. Hopefully some of it will enrage you. But the bottom line is it will "cleanse" me.

First thought...first departure from the old format...some dolt on ESPN wrote this about MY hockey team...the Columbus Blue Jackets.

"Pascal Leclaire, G, Blue Jackets: Let me be clear here; his perceived value has gone up. That's all. He's still Pascal Leclaire and I wouldn't touch him with a borrowed 10-foot pole. Back-to-back shuthouts doesn't change the fact that Leclaire had a .897 save percentage last season and that the Blue Jackets are, and I can't stress this enough, a terrible, terrible team. There are very few wins to be had here, and a whole lot of damage to be done to your save percentage and goals-against average. Don't do it."

Now...I agree to a certain extent. The Blue Jackets are (most likely) not going to be playing any meaningful games after the first of the year. They're (most likely) not making the playoffs. But anyone who knows anything about competition, not even about hockey, knows that this year the Blue Jackets are competing. Even teams with sub-par talent who compete cannot be "terrible, terrible."

So with all due respect for ripping off The Colbert Report ... a wag of the finger to you, Mr. Pete Decker. May you always be relegated to playing fourth fiddle to the "Talentless" Mr. Roto (who wouldn't have a legitimate, unique thought if all of the other fantasy writers died in a tragic cold cut buffet collapse at the yearly Vegas convention).