Hoops, Chips, & Broken Ice

Good morning everyone.  Well, it's 3:30 in the morning, and I've got nothing better to do...  ;)  I've found a B movie on cable (more like a D - film), and I figured that I'm once again overdue for a blog post.  Let's start with hoops, since that's what the title says.  If you know me at all, I'm a little bit of a sports guy and a Spurs fan.  Have you heard of the Spurs?  My team has only won five championships since 1999, but never gets any credit or respect.  The Warriors finished with the best record in the league this season, and the Spurs finished six games behind them.  The Rockets finished six games behind the Spurs with 55 wins.  After the Rockets, the Celtics had 53 wins, and a group of four teams (Clippers, Jazz, Raptors, and Cavaliers) finished with 51 wins each.  If you watch mainstream media, you would NEVER guess the Cavaliers were here in the pecking order.  We're not even going to talk about how the Cavaliers play the weaker Eastern Conference schedule...  Anyway, the Spurs find themselves in the Western Conference Finals once again.  Ho, hum...  One of my friends and former student-athletes stepped up for us Spurs fans in Game 1 of the series versus the Rockets, as some of her friends and family were among those who absorbed the blow of Houston's best punch of the series, before the Spurs rebounded to STUN the Rockets without Kawhi Leonard or Tony Parker, ending the series in Houston.

Did I mention that Bianca and her crew were recognized on the court, appeared on the Jumbotron, or that she went to a Tom Petty concert the next day?  Punk...  :)

Chips...  As May passes by here in the desert, the World Series of Poker is rapidly approaching.  I'm looking forward to the WSOP for several reasons, the top one being that there will be no shortage of players and games in town for a seven-week period.  The WSOP announced a major change for this summer's Main Event, as there will no longer be a "November Nine."  Long story short, when the series finishes in July, we will have a Main Event champion.  Also, more of the Main Event will be "live" (30-minute delay) broadcast this time around.  Not only have I been neglecting my blog-writing, but I haven't played much poker in the past month either.  I know that the games will be good in two weeks, and I'm really looking forward to the fresh faces arriving in town.  In all honesty, I can also watch the professionals play at the Rio and enjoy railing the action as much as playing myself.  I'm also protecting my bankroll to some extent, in case I hit a run of cold cards, because I'm going to be more than ready for the wagering that the new football season will bring.  I was hired for my new job just before last season kicked off, and in the interest of keeping that job and doing my best, I hadn't studied up on my football near as much as I plan on this time around.  In unrelated news, Phil Steele's College Football Preview issue will hit the newsstands on June 27th...  :)

Broken ice...  The NHL playoffs are also going on right now, and with four teams remaining, there seem to be a wide spectrum of Finals possibilities.  If Pittsburgh plays Anaheim for the Stanley Cup, we'll have a matchup of the defending champion Penguins against the large t.v. market Ducks (Los Angeles/California).  However, we could get a Cup battle matching Ottawa verus Nashville, a possibility which I think must have the executives at NBC cringing...  How many U.S. viewers tune in to watch that final?

As I watch the NHL Playoffs, on more than one occasion, I've been watching a scoreless game, and then when the initial goal is scored, the announcer has talked about the "ice being broken..."  I find this ironic, since hockey is played..., on ice.  I'm not going anywhere with this, but I just wanted to point that out.  :)

I had another visitor come to town recently as my friend Annie was kind enough to treat me to lunch at the Bellagio's poolside cafe.  It seems that a lot of my friends are finding the Bellagio, doesn't it?  :)  An obscure fact about me is that I have yet to visit a hotel/casino's pool in Las Vegas.  This is especially sad considering that I can utilize some of these pools for free with my work I.D.  Anyway, the Bellagio has several different pools, and Annie and myself could see different parts of them as we dined by a window.  Thanks again to Annie and all of my friends who take a minute out of their vacations to say hi when they visit the desert.

Now it looks like it's time to tell my little story about Anishika...  :)  Anishika, another former student-athlete and friend of mine relayed a story on Facebook recently.  When you're old like me (100 years old), you think that you've heard everything, but trust me, you've NEVER heard anything.  While on this tangent, someone was climbing the Eiffel Tower in front of the Paris Hotel & Casino a few days ago, but I digress...  Back to Anishika.  Once upon a time, a guy had been chatting with Anishika at her job.  The guy and his wife had recently filed for divorce, and the converation had been normal for the most part.  THEN, the guy says this:  "I think I'm gonna stop dating extremely beautiful women and start dating more regular types of women, kinda like you..."  *crickets*  Oh, the CHARMER...  :)  For a moment, pay no mind to the fact that Anishika is attractive ("beautiful," "hot," and "gorgeous" are some of the other adjectives that can be found in the comments section to her little story), but WHO is out there saying things like this?!  I guess it gives me thing to write about though...  :)

I'm going to sign off for now, but hopefully I'll do another post before winter comes...  :)  Have a good one and I'll see you soon!