In hindsight

Was out most of the night playing poker, so I woke up in time to watch the Patriots thump the Eagles.  Here are a few things that I know, wish I knew, or wish I did in hindsight.

1.  Won $150 playing poker.  Wish I left hours earlier when I was up close to $300.  I'm usually good at that, but thought I could make more.  Ended up giving some of it back.

2.  The easiest bet on the board this weekend was Virginia Tech -4.5 at Virginia.  I even helped talk a rich guy from overseas into making a very big bet on the game.  Final score was 38-0.  I did not bet the game, or even include it in my weekly picks.  Dumb.

3.  I've been saying UNLV is good.  Never thought they'd beat #1 North Carolina.  On the other hand, I've lost the ability to argue or surprise people by saying they're a good team because now everybody knows.

4.  Maybe I should have gone to the game.  Oh well.

5.  The NBA Lockout appears to be ending, with games beginning on Christmas.  The Celtics will play the Knicks.  I haven't missed the NBA (and wouldn't if the whole season were cancelled).  I've always been a Celtics fan, but notice I don't write a lot about basketball.  The teams and games boost the economies and many in the community, so for that reason, I'm glad there will be NBA basketball.

6.  Common opinion is that the reduced schedule helps an older team like the Celtics.  We all know the "Big 4", but who else makes up the roster?  FYI - this isn't what it's going to be.

7.  The game I debated the most was Chicago +5 at Oakland.  Ended up being a push.  Wonder what the line will be for the Colts at Patriots next week.  -18 or so?

8.  Bob Costas did a halftime commentary on touchdown celebrations.  To paraphrase (pretty closely), "hey knuckleheads, is it too much to ask that you confine your stupidity to situations that don't end up directly hurting your team" (roll Steve Johnson and DeShaun Jackson highlights).  In my mind, it needs to go one of two ways.  Teams need to tell their players to stop getting 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalties when they know they're going to be penalized.  The other solution - allow touchdown celebrations that are not direct taunting an opponent.

9.  I've not shaved in about a month, so I have a little bit of a beard going.  It doesn't look horrible.  I have only trimmed it a little, so that it looks fine.  But I'm not used to it being as long.  In hindsight, maybe I should have shaved.

10.  This isn't hindsight, more a thought.  I wonder if Peyton Manning should play football again.  I am very much not a Colts fan, but that doesn't matter to my opinion.  If he could sustain another significant neck injury, or risk diminishing the quality of his life after football, I'd like to see him retire as one of the best ever and not take that chance.  My guess is that he and his family understand the situation.  I don't know details, but I'm not hearing anything yet that convinces me that he can or should come back.

11.  In hindsight, why am I watching the Steelers - Chiefs game?  This is horrible (changes channel).  I don't like the Cleveland Show (changes channel again).  An ESPN documentary on Herschel Walker (puts remote control down).

12.  I generally don't think twice about holding the door open for somebody when I have the chance.  In hindsight, holding the door open for a prostitute in the middle of the night only led to an unwelcome solicitation.

Random Sports Thoughts

Here are a few random thoughts from the weekend.

1.  The Patriots played good enough to win against Dallas.  A few too many turnovers kept the game close, but they came through in the end.

2.  I'm beginning to wonder if Chad Ochocinco will ever play a significant part of the offense, or if he'll just spend one insignificant season in New England.

3.  People will try to place a slogan on the Texas Rangers vs. St. Louis Cardinals World Series.  I'm going with, "the Arkansas is in the way series".

4.  I pick Texas to win.

5.  Did not do baseball picks for this post-season.  I would have picked Philadelphia over Texas.

6.  What a horrible crash that killed Indy Car driver Dan Wheldon yesterday at the Las Vegas Speedway.  I may have gone to the race, had it not conflicted with the Patriots game on tv.  I got an email about complementary tickets the other day.  MGM property guests were offered free tickets with reservations.

7.  Las Vegas made a big deal about the Indy Car race beforehand, with tie-in's to the casinos and events around town.  Now I think they wish it would all go away.  I read that drivers felt uncomfortable with the speeds on that track.  I'll admit that I don't know much about auto racing.  I just figure that because of the nature of the sport, these horrific accidents are going to continue to occur.

8.   Went to the UNLV Men's Basketball scrimmage last night.  They look like a good basketball team, and I look forward to seeing some games this season.  They should expect to get to the tournament and maybe win a game or two.

9.  Next season's team may be even better, given a year of experience under new coach, Dave Rice.  Plus, the player I was most impressed by, USC transfer Bryce Jones, is sitting out this season.  Now I wonder if they could ever land top high school recruit, and local standout, Shabazz Muhammad.

10.  The first BCS standings have been released.  I'm not going to argue with the top 5: LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Boise State.  I'm sure I'll eventually have something to complain about.

11.  Regarding the NBA lockout - they can take the rest of the decade off for all I care.  I only feel bad for team employees and peripheral businesses who depend on the NBA for their income / livelihood.

12.  The Patriots have a bye next week, meaning I need to find something to do Sunday.