Pop Star Preggy?--Bet on it!

As of last week you could bet on who would father Brittney Spears' next child on bodog.com. I was meaning to list the men on the board and their odds, but I can't find them. My guess is that they are adjusting the odds, which implies that one or more of the men on the board must be getting excssive action from the gambling public, if not from Brittney herself.

Within the last week I heard she was seeing some douchebag she met in rehab. I don't remember the guy's name, so I wouldn't know if he was on the board. I guess he is a singer. I want to know:

a.) If he's on the board

b.) If he's allowed conjugal visits in rehab (he's still there for another month or two).

c.) If confirmed abortions count.

What is clear is that the public has absolutely no faith in Brittney's ability to make good decisions for the near future. It wouldn't be going very far out on a limb to say that the public is confident that she will NOT do so.

Doesn't this sound like the definition of white trash? I thought it did, so naturally I did what any red-blooded, American blogger would do--I Wikipedia-ed it. Hmmmmmmmm.

According to Wikipedia, white trash connotates economic, educational, or cultural bankruptcy. Well, two outta three ain't bad.

Man U Maintains Lead as Showdowns Loom

Well, the Red Wings have advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs (unlike last year) but I haven't been paying much attention. Instead I've been following the EPL (Chelsea chasing Man U) the FA Cup (Chelsea vs. ManU--May 19th), and the Champions League (barring upsets by Liverpool or AC Milan, also could come down to the Blues and Red Devils). While I will probably root for AC Milan when they play Man U*, there would be something satisfying about three seperate clashes between the two English giants. On the other hand, if three contests come down to these two teams won't the silverwear seem a little interchangeable? I mean, of course Chelsea would love to win the Champions League, because they never have before. But if they somehow manage to pass Man U in the Premiere League final standings, and they beat them in the FA Cup, so what if they lose in the Champions League? These contests, coming in rapid succession, if indeed they are between the same two teams, seem to run together.

Would a Champions League final over AC Milan be more meaningful for Chelsea than one over Man U? I guess what I'm getting at is that if all the top European teams are English then winning a championship over one of them in the Champions League doesn't seem that much more significant than doing the same thing in the FA Cup Final. Of course, the Champions League is a significantly tougher road. Nobody gets to play Watford there, or Blackburn, or Middlesborough for that matter. Tottenham Hotspur? Maybe someday.

(Middlesborough is quickly becoming my favorite team that I know nothing about, because they always seem to play Man U tough. Ronaldo crying at the end of their draw last weekend was a nice touch too. What? He was just sweating alot? Hmmmm....)

Incidentally, Middlesborough gave Chelsea the opening they needed to draw within striking distance of United, but Newcastle held Chelsea to a 0-0 score the next day. Opportunity lost.
I was getting spoiled by Chelsea's continual winning (albeit almost invariably by the skin of their teeth) and figured they would come through at Newcastle. Apparently Newcastle Away is a tougher fixture than i had realized, as they also drew Man U and beat Liverpool there.

Meanwhile, Chelsea also has Arsenal Away coming up, and the Gunners have lost only once at home all season. I'd probably be happy with a draw there generally speaking, but if the Blues are to catch United they really can't afford this. On the other hand, West Ham did manage to get it done, and recently at that, so what the heck. I suppose it would be best if Arsenal were not playing for a Champions League berth when that game rolls around.

Speaking of West Ham, it would've been nice to watch Chelsea's 4-1 win in at Upton Park. It seems like every time I turn around United reels off another 3 or 4 goal win, while Chelsea continually depend on last minute dramatics, or grind out tense, 1-0 victories. A not-so-close win occasionally makes me like their chances a little more.

As much as Chelsea has been wearing down playing in all competitions, it would seem that the best thing they can do to help themselves against Man U is to stay close and keep the pressure on. According to Sir Alex Ferguson Man U only has twelve healthy players at the moment. While Chelsea have sustained numerous injuries this campaign, they must be faring better than United at the moment. I am sure Sir Alex would love some breathing room for his club right now, so it is up to Chelsea to not give them any breaks.

Speaking of breaks, while I agree with Jose Mourhino's assesment that Liverpool can rest up and prepare only for their Champions League clash with Chelsea, I must congratulate the Reds for going out and winning their last two games. While they may seem to have Wigan outclassed, Middlesborough managed to draw Man U last time out, so I, with my thimblefull of knowledge, take them seriously.

I don't mean to make too big a deal of these wins, but the rate at which games have been getting tanked in the NBA this year has me thirsting for...something.

Anyway after their draw against Manchester City (had to mention that, right?), it was nice to see Liverpool at least making some effort. Don't want them too fresh this Wednesday against Chelsea!

*I don't believe I have ever actually rooted for Manchester United. On the other hand, Italy already won the World Cup, and the press for AC Milan could get REALLY nauseating....On the other hand, if it came down to Milan and Liverpool I suppose the big story would be about the rematch form the 2005 final....As long as we are talking matchups, what about Man U vs. Liverpool? While I want to see Chelsea win, and while fate seems to have made Chelsea and United into big rivals, from what I hear Man U and Liverpool REALLY hate each other. I'm not just talking about the teams here either. I'm talking about armies of Mancs and Scousers decending on Athens and completely laying waste to the place, at least until the local cops start beating the living crap out of them all....that one could get really ugly.

Chelea wins, roQQ Rocked by Result/Walker Hill now Spreads NL Hold-em

In their FA Cup semi-final game, Chelsea came through and beat Blackburn 2-1 a couple of nights ago (Korea time). After I found the game on a scrambled station on which you generally couldn't see much of anything, about 1/2 way through the 1st half, I "watched" the rest of the game with my wife. The audio signal was quite clear, and the announcers spoke English, so this made up for the picture.

I checked my bodog account a few minutes ago and was incensed to discover that I had lost my bet on the Blues, because they had won it in extra time.

Ouch.

If this was the NFL the overtime points would have counted. I assumed they would here as well, since I didn't see any way to bet on a tie. I'm pretty sure I've seen this feature elsewhere, so it made sense to me that it's omission implied that a win was a win, especially since the goal occurred during play, as opposed to in a kick-off after extra-time had expired.

I'm looking at upcoming premiereship games and on these it appears you can bet on a draw. Maybe it was an option and I just didn't see it before.

Meanwhile I've been cranking along of late playing poker on the internet, and I've turned a profit playing live the last few weeks as well, as opposed to not playing live at all, which was the case for me since Fall 2003.

When I got to Korea I checked out the Walker Hill Sheraton Casino (in Seoul), but discovered that they didn't have poker, so I never went back. Last February I heard that they have it now, and its true. On weekends they tend to have a 1-2 NL table, and a 2-5 NL table. At peak hours I have seen 3 1-2 NL tables and a 2-5 NL table, and I have seen 5-10 NL played along side two 1-2 tables and a 2-5. On the other hand, I've been there on a Tuesday night when all they had was one 2-5 NL table. I have also seen 4-8 limit spread once.

At this point I would say that it is only worth going there on the weekends. Last weekend my table was squeaky tight most of the time I was there, but two weeks previously there was alot of loose action, and apparently the Sunday in between some tourist dropped about 3K at the 2-5 table. If the tables are too tough though I intend to retreat to one of the countless internet cafes and get on FullTilt instead. The max buy-in on the 1-2 tables there is 500, which is 2 1/2 times deeper than on most internet sites, so I want some positive expectation when I sit down there.

By the way, The limits I have mentioned are in increments of 1000 won. 1000 won is slightly more than $1. For all intents and purposes if you think of your chips there in terms of dollars you will be close enough.

Other than play poker I don't have much reason to tote around 1,000,000 won (other than to pay off my newborn son's medical bills, which I did yesterday. Little roQQ was born without a pulse and not breathing, but now is doing great! I will now refrain from making the tempting bad-beat/river suckout analogies, tempting as they may be--see Doyle Brunson's SUPER SYSTEM if you don't know what I am talking about). On the other hand, while I am generally limited to withdrawing $500/day from my account via ATMs, from what I can tell this cap can be circumvented by using the ATMs at the casino. Just what you degenerate gamblers need to hear!...

If I get around to it I will further review Walker Hill Casino in the near future.

Breaking the Silence

I tend to have less to say between the Super Bowl and Baseball's Opening Day. This is probably due in part to recent Super Bowl results (I had a rooting interest in the Bears, and I still haven't come to grips with the manner of the Seahawks' wretched loss last year....or I at least have not yet vented in this space), and in part because I am not as interested in hoops or hockey.

Certainly I am not as interested in betting on them.

Meanwhile, I currently have Korean cable, and have been fed a steady stream of English Premiere League games. At the beginning of the EPL season I got a couple of bets down on Tottenham Hotspur, one to win the EPL, and one to finish ahead of everyone other than Chelsea, ManU, Liverpool and Arsenal.

I had an inkling that the EPL was not particularly balanced, simply from reading the odds, and from noting the fact that you can bet on who will finish first other than Chelsea, or who will win other than the aforementioned four clubs (commonly referred to as "The Big Four," and deservedly so--more on this later). I believe you could also bet on who would finish first other than Chelsea and ManU.

At this point I am utterly convinced that taking anyone outside of the Big 4 to win the EPL is strictly a sucker's bet. Man U and Chelsea have far outstripped their rivals this year, and I have little doubt that if they both somehow falter next season, Liverpool or Arsenal will be the benificiaries (sp?). While some other club might manage to break into the top four, or maybe even the top three, they will come no closer to the top than that. Before Chelsea broke through and won the Premiereship in 04-05, and 05-06 they finished 6th, 4th, 4th, and 2nd. Jumps from 5th or 6th to 1st in one season don't seem to happen.

As for my bets on Tottenham, not only did they fail to break into the Big 4, they are currently behind Bolton, Everton and Portsmouth, and are tied with Reading. Now, all these teams are clustered within two wins of one another, so Tottenham are not quite so out of it as you might think, but the season probably still has to be considered a disappointment.

Meanwhile, as of the Champions League final eight, Chelsea, Man U and Liverpool were the three with the shortest odds on bodog.com. While the gamblers on this site certainly have an English bias, the three did not disappoint, and AC Milan rounds out the final four as the three English teams advanced.

Currently the odds to win the Champions League are:

Manchester United 2-1
Chelsea FC 2-1
Liverpool FC 3-1
AC Milan 4-1

At this point I pretty much discount the pro-English bias, as AC Milan are currently sitting in 5th place in the Italian Serie A Table, and Manchester United just dismantled Roma, who are 15 points ahead of AC Milan, by a combined 8-3. On the other hand, Roma managed to win the first game 2-1, so perhaps AC Milan's best chance is to get ahead early, before ManU has a chance to figure them out. Still, I think Man U should be the overall favorite, both because they figure to be a bit stronger than AC milan these days, and because Liverpool always seems to overperform in Europe, and they have pulled out some big wins against the Blues in the past as well.

Additionally, Chelsea is a mere three points behind Man U in the premiereship, and still has to play an FA Cup semifinal tonight against Blackburn (I took Chelsea to win at 1-2 odds) and hopefully an FA Cup final to follow, so they are not permitted to coast through the next couple of weeks, the way Liverpool coach Rafa Benitiez clams the Reds are NOT doing.

Liverpool 0-0 Manchester City--14 April 2007. Liverpool coasting? Naaahhhhh.

Currently I have on the replay of ManU's earlier 4-1 victory over Watford. Knew Chelsea would have to face those guys in the FA cup final, provided they win tonight that is. (And in the Champions League...and in the Premiereship...hopefully.) By the end of this season those guys should REALLY hate each other.

Earlier I was watching Football the way I like it, courtesy of Aston Villa and Middlesbrough, which is to say, with rival gambling websites proudly displayed on the chests of both teams. Middlesbrough are sponsored by 888.com, while Aston Villa are sponsored by 32RED.com. Also among those sponsored by gambling websites are Blackburn Rovers (bet24) and Tottenham Hotspur (Mansion). For my money Tottenham have the sharpest jerseys of the bunch, in part due to the attractive Mansion 'M' logo, but Aston Villa's 32RED logo deserves style points for the heart, club, diamond and spade displayed above the .com. I'm considering the purchase of a couple of these uniforms as part of my protest against the US government's banning of online gambling. We need to get 21st Century civilized like the English.

(It's also a drag to wear the Chelsea colors in Korea and have people think you are wearing some sort of Samsung Mobile shirt, which, I suppose I am. This is the sort of thing that makes me want to get a Newcastle United shirt--but one of the old ones, where they are sponsored by Newcastle Brown Ale, or a Hibernian jersey. Hibs are sponsored by Whyte and MacKay (sp?), a brand of Scotch. Yay Scotch! Previously they were sponsored by Carlsberg Lager, same as Liverpool. Thats right Hibees, stick with the booze. Incedentally, what better place to advertise your booze than on the chest of a Scottish soccer team? Maybe on a German team....for that matter, I wonder if Stolichnaya sponsors any of the Russian teams. Roman Abramovich should get them onto Chelsea's kit. That would be the shit...or bollocks as the case may be.)