The Art of Language in Football Picks
READ MORE: Bloggers, Football Betting, Sedge Court Journal
Leave it to the Sedge Court Journal crew to add some color to their football betting picks for the week—especially from a fella named Vinny the Squirtz:
Whazzup bitches, Vinny coming at you from San Diego with some fresh picks for the week. But before I do that I want to clear up a few things…. 1. Oklahoma sucks fat dick and blew my 4-team parlay last Saturday by not showing up yet again. Hear this Adrian Peterson, whoever thought you could play in the NFL LAST YEAR should be shot. 2. The Michigan State-ND game will be the game of the year, Drew Stanton is a darkhorse canidate for the Heisman. Watch him blow up next week against Michigan..but beware of this week, MSU plays like shit after dominating a top 10 squad.
Hmm. Are we surprised that this man is named Vinny? Or “Squirtz” for that matter? But we love his logic about Michigan State. We are not however certain of Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson’s sexual orientation.
3-1 Overall This Week in College Ball…4-0 This Week? [Sedge Court Journal]
Positively Crap Street: Bloggers Sound Off On Latest McManus Column
READ MORE: Bloggers, James McManus
New York Times poker columnist and overall lucky sumbitch, James McManus, is not making too many fans in the pokerati sect when it comes to his self-aggrandizing poker columns. Yes, everybody who loves the sport enjoys the fact that poker’s popularity is hovering somewhere high above the stratosphere. However, some feel McManus’ column may be the ultimate price of poker’s fame. Mo’ money, mo’ problems, indeed. This treads right on the turf of poker bloggers everywhere. This week’s offending column proves that hand histories don’t give him street cred. McManus may have the paid gig, but most bloggers have been perfecting the art of writing hand histories for a couple years on an everyday basis. After the jump, a couple of poker bloggers roll up their sleeves, clench their fists and give McManus a well-executed verbal black eye exclusively for Oddjack.
We’re not sure how McManus manages to parlay one half-assed book and a lucky final table appearance into gigs like this, but it’s astonishing how bad his stuff has been since they put him on the story. To paraphrase the moderator of the Knowledge Bee from “Billy Madison:”
“Mr. McManus, what you’ve just written is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever read. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having read it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.”
Here is the latest unholy birth James McManus has squeezed out for the New York Times. Giving you a taste of what lay in wait behind the veil of subscription at the Times-dot-com:
Locking horns two hours later, Juanda and Darden moved all their chips in before the flop. Juanda held Q-Q, Darden A-K. With five cards to come in the classic Hold’em race, Juanda was a 57 percent favorite. But an ace on both the flop and the turn made Darden the overwhelming favorite. Only one of the two remaining queens could save Juanda - and that’s what washed up on the river. Suck and re-suck. Instead of being eliminated, Juanda became one of the chip leaders; Darden was out soon after.
Joe Speaker from The Obituarium expresses his frustration with McManus’ boobery below:
James McManus posts hand histories! There doesn’t really seem to be a point to them, unless it was to get “suck” into The Great Gray Lady. Five times, even. He reaches into his fancy bag of Big Shot Writer tricks—fake Latin, sports analogies—to describe Todd Brunson as a fat redneck. He presumably typed the phrase “less adventuresomely barbered” with a straight face and not-so-subtly reminds us of his final table finish. Which, for the record, was not this year. I won a 440 in the 7th grade. Gimme a track and field column.I suppose he’s going for a wrap-up of the entire Series. The excitement! The “panache!” (His word.) Look at these hand histories! It’s like you’re right in the room!I didn’t get that vibe. I got an August baseball game at Tropicana Field vibe.
These aren’t just ordinary hand histories they are tepid and dry hand histories that remind me a lot of text books I had to read in high school. In fact, I think McManus is onto something revolutionary - a sleep aid that is truly non-habit forming.
Previously: Positively Crap Street Part 2: Blogger Flames McManus [Oddjack]
The Tao of Wil Wheaton
READ MORE: Bloggers
Wil Wheaton, the actor, writer, blogger, and budding professional poker player is brilliantly chronicling his experience at the WSOP. Wheaton is a newly minted member of TeamPokerStars and was bankrolled for a seat at the WSOP. Nope, he didn’t do too well, but the guy is showing his writerly knack for observational commentary. Wheaton has so far given us insight into his brief conversation with Greg Raymer, his Paul Phillips stake, and the pain of a demoralizing loss at the WSOP. It’s fair to say that this is probably one of the better losses one could have in their lives and Wheaton’s making the most of it.
Sun shine, Sun Shine On Me [Wil Wheaton]
Previously: Wil Wheaton: What It Feels Like To Be Floating [Oddjack]
Any Excuse To Gamble - This One’s For A Good Cause
READ MORE: Bloggers
It’s not often we take off our Cloak of Cynicism (+2) and Viking Helmet of Sarcastic Flippancy (+1), but just this once we’re extending an honest and sincere invitation to do something good for a good cause - and sharpen your poker skills a little bit along the way.
Poker blogger Charlie Tuttle recently passed away from a long bout with cancer, but not before Barry Greenstein managed to win a WSOP bracelet at this year’s tournament in his honor. This Sunday, PokerStars is hosting a benefit tournament for Charlie’s family’s charity of choice - the cancer clinic at Vanderbilt University. The entry fee is $20, and every penny earned will go directly to the clinic.
Because this is an open World Poker Blogger Tour event, the competition level should be high, giving you a good chance to improve your game in a tournament setting. Rumor has it as well that the tournament may attract a top pro and celebrity or two, thanks to the goodwill efforts of the people at PokerStars.
The tournament goes off Sunday, July 17th, at 6PM EST. Registration can be found on the “Private” tab under “Tourneys” in the PokerStars lobby. Oddjack’s redheaded stepchild BG is registered to play under his Stars screenname “HeyKidsItsBG.” Come on by and knock that snarky so-and-so down a peg or two in the process.
PokerStars
Remembering Charlie Tuttle [2idiots]
Barry wins one for Charlie [LasVegasVegas]
Previously: A Hand for Charlie Tuttle [Oddjack]
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Parkinson’s Meds and Gambling Are No Joke
READ MORE: Bloggers
Yesterday, we posted an AP story documenting one man’s struggle with a gambling addiction allegedly brought on by the Parkinson’s drug Mirapex. Sure, we snickered. We may have even given the standard Oddjack “get the fuck outta here…”. However, according to convivial poker blogger Jeremy from Love and Casino War, this shit’s been going down for a while. According to Jeremy, this latest case will offer more ammunition to a potential class action suit against the company. Check out the comments section below the post from some of the people who’ve experienced this phenomenon.
Drug Causes Compulsive Gambling [Love and Casino War]
Previously: Parkinson’s Drug Causes Gambling Habit? [Oddjack]
Tao of Poker Continues His WSOP Ubiquity
READ MORE: Bloggers
One of the most fascinating stories about the WSOP so far has got to be the fact that it seems one man is completely outreporting everybody else in terms of match-recaps, anecdotal lunacy, and his own personal impressions. Paul McGuire(aka Pauly/Tao of Poker) takes time away from his Las Vegas and Poker Blogging, his Poker Player Newspaper reporting, his own personal blog, to write a story for Fox News about his impressions after the first two weeks of the WSOP. We’re assuming that he either wrote this story in the shower or while he was sleeping because it doesn’t seem humanly possible for a man to churn out as much hardline information as this. Maybe he just types with his feet? Regardless, color us completely impressed.
WSOP: Impressions from the First Two Weeks [Fox News]
Previously: WSOP Update: Pauly’s Lemonade Stand [Oddjack]
The Fruitless Search for Anna Continues
READ MORE: Bloggers
The existence of “Anna”, the hypnotically blonde-haired, 20-something poker vixen, who gallavants from bar, to online poker game, to school, to waitressing at a strip club(seriously…) with her group of other 20-something poker lassies has started to stir up the thundering sweathogs in the blog community. Poker blogging macanudo, Al Can’t Hang, even went as far to issue a challenge to the presumably fake temptress:
To our new friend “Anna,” if that is in fact your real name… If you’ve paid any attention at all in the poker blogging world in the past week, you’ve undoubtedly seen that a few of us - myself included - doubt that there does exist an Arizona-based blonde cutie pie who plays poker with her girls and isn’t blogging to try to shill me over to SluttyPoker.Com at some point. So “Anna,” I issue you this challenge.I want pictures of you and your girlfriends in action. Not like that, unless you want to, but playing poker.Live. In your dorm or sorority house or whatever.In true “Al Can’t Hang” style, I want pictures of you and your girls playing poker and holding up signs that say “Hi” to myself and any of the other poker bloggers you’ve come to read and love.You do this for me Anna, and I’ll put your blog front and center atop my blogroll immediately, and will get your pictures and link out to some of my blogging counterparts. Your hits will go through the roof if you do me this one little favor - if you’re really who you say you are.
There you have it. The passive-aggressive approach is not to be understimated. We wish Al the best in his quest for some girl-on-girl poker photos and hope he does not sprain his wrist if he does he receive them.
Miscellaneous Junk and Link Dumps [Al Can’t Hang]
Previously: Is This The Real Life? [Oddjack]
The Alluring Odor of New York City OTBs
READ MORE: Bloggers
Poker blogging hooligan,Derek, of Poker in the Weeds, gives a brief anecdote about he and his buddy’s trip to a New York Off-Track Betting parlor for last weekend’s Belmont lunacy and reminisces about the new state of the city’s OTBs in the twilight of Mayor Bloomberg’s New York:
There are 2 odds things about OTB these days. You can not smoke there anymore (it’s NYC) and there’s several signs posted that remind the patrons that urinating is not allowed in any stairwells or within public view. Such activity is restricted to the restroom or in your own domicile. Wow … people need to be reminded not to do that? lol. The night before, while leaving one of the card rooms, Bob and I pissed in that building’s stairwell (just out of view of the security cameras too).
Ah, the joys of being ornery with a large bladder.
Drunk, Bloated, and Sweaty…[Poker in the Weeds]
When Poker Bloggers Go Wild
READ MORE: Bloggers
Poker blogging lothario Pokerati stepped away from WSOP coverage and spent yesterday attending a pool party, allegedly for local politicos, at Las Vegas’ tony Green Valley Ranch, where this dedicated blogger put some quality time into taking photos of the event. However, in the middle of all the politics and gambling rigamarole, it appears a Jay-Z video broke out. Thankfully, it seems there are a lot less than 99 problems for the happy, out of shape middle-aged dudes that attended the party. Now, their wives on the other hand…
We Interupt This Pokercast… [Pokerati]
Is This The Real Life…
READ MORE: Bloggers
Or is it just fantasy? Oddjack is a little concerned that the fuss made over the allegedly 21-and-full-of-FUN poker blogger College Poker Girl(or “Anna”, if you’re nasty…) is, well… how shall we say this—A FAKE. We’re a little concerned that Anna is not just a poker blogger’s version of a cyber blow-up doll. As you can tell from the photo pictured, she’s a little too perfect in that not-so-perfect way. Just enough to make you think she’s real, but is actually just masturbatory vapor downloaded from some person’s photo album. If anybody can verify the actual existence of a real live meeting with this “Anna” person it would be much appreciated and Oddjack can collect/distribute his $20 bet he made with the tech guy who helps fix all our fuck-ups.
College Poker Girl Blog [College Girl Poker Blog via Pokerati]
David Williams: The Coolest of the Celebrity Poker Bloggers?
READ MORE: Bloggers
It’s amazing how many professional poker players have taken up blogging as part of their self-promotional campaigns. Some are shamelessly self-aggrandizing(Josh Arieh); or cloying (Daniel Negreanu); or disaffected (Paul Phillips). But then there’s 2004 WSOP runner-up David Williams. Williams essentially sticks to poker and poker only. He even seems to have the most effortlessly cool persona about him with his shades, close-cropped haircut, and overall street demeanor. But, after reading through his bio, we found the wart:
Before poker, David, now 25 years old, was an avid “Magic” player, a game that is only played one-on-one.
I mean, he couldn’t have been a high school baseball player or surfer right?
Welcome To My Blog [David Williams Blog]
Mean Gene Tells CNNSI Their Poker Writer Sucks
READ MORE: Bloggers
Poker blogger, reporter, and rapscallion Mean Gene Bromberg opens up not only a can of blogging whoop-ass on Sports Illustrated writer John Walter’s friendly little poker article, but actually manages to open many other large cans containing items that could potentially harm someone’s buttocks.
The part that really riled me was when Walters talks about a conversation between Daniel Negreanu and an “amateur” named Marco Tranello. Negreanu is described by Walters as “(having) the mannerisms of Ed Norton in Rounders”. Uh, no he doesn’t. Negreanu is at times antic and talkative, but that hardly makes Kid Poker = Worm. Perhaps Walters is trying to establish some cred by showing that, yes, he thinks “Rounders” is, like, the coolest movie of all time. Yeesh.
Mean Gene, smash!
CNN, I’m Available, Really [Mean Gene]
One day, everything will be a wager, from a hand of poker to the likelihood you'll be struck down by a bioterror attack before the next brain backup. One day. For now, there's Oddjack. It's a sneak peek at the future of gambling.
