Odelay!

Best. YouTube. Ever.

2009-01-08T10:00:00.001-08:00

If I askew who should be president, would you say me?

2008-08-27T07:58:00.001-07:00

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Pokerlympics

2008-08-14T08:30:00.000-07:00

Shouldn't Poker be an Olympic sport? Well if it were, here's my all-world final-table to decide the medals. The only restriction I placed was that no country could have more than three players, and it would simply be a three-table sit-and-go.

Americas
1. Phil Ivey (USA)
2. Doyle Brunson (USA)
3. Phil Hellmuth (USA)
4. Daniel Negreanu (Canada)
5. Evelyn Ng (Canada)
6. Nenad Medic (Canada)
7. Humberto Brenes (Costa Rica)

Europe
8. Gus Hansen (Denmark)
9. Kirill Gerasimov (Russia)
10. Alex Kravchenko (Russia)
11. David "Devilfish" Ulliot (England)
12. Annette Obrestad (Norway)
13. Marcel Luske (Netherlands)
14. Andy Black (Ireland)

Asia
15. Johnny Chan (China)
16. Scott Nguyen (Vietnam)
17. Men "The Master" Nguyen (Vietnam)
18. Jon "Razor" Phan (Vietnam)
19. Jerry Yang (Laos)
20. John Juanda (Indonesia)

Middle East
21. Hasan Habib (Pakistan)
22. Sammy Farha (Lebanon)
23. Freddy Deeb (Lebanon)
24. Eli Elezra (Israel)
25. Antonio Esfandiari (Iran)
26. Amir Vehedi (Iran)

Australia
27. Joe Hachem

WSOP Challenge III: Final Table

2008-07-14T09:18:00.000-07:00

Nick Wins, 6-4!

Brants Final Table:

Dennis Phillips: $11,910,000
Craig Marquis: $11,460,000
Ivan Demidov: $4,965,000
Ylon Schwartz: $3,655,000

Nicks Final Table:

Dennis Phillips: $11,910,000
Craig Marquis: $11,460,000
David Rheem: $8,280,000
Ivan Demidov: $4,965,000
Scott Montgomery: $4,320,000
Ylon Schwartz: $3,655,000

WSOP Challenge II: Nick Crushes

2008-07-11T11:13:00.000-07:00

Here are the results from round 2, which isn't officially completed yet (thank you, Brandon Cantu - top 27!!!!)

Brant's Team:

Jeremiah Smith -146
Dag Martin Mikkelsen - 281
Matt Matros - 78
Victor Ramdin - 64
Mark Vos -80
Hoyt Corkins - 162
Jon Friedberg - 148
Evelyn Ng - 238
Thayer Rasmussen - 321
Allen Cunningham - 117
Gus Hansen - 160
Jeff Madsen - 112
Hevad Khan - 240
Hasan Habib - 338
Chip Jett - 161*
Thomas Keller - 61
Johnny Chan - 329
Kido Pham - 41
Jean-Robert Bellande - 442
Jason Lester - 367

POINT TOTAL: 3886

Nick's Picks

Jeremy Joseph - 57
Alan Jaffray - 293
Alex Kostritsyn - 84
Shawn Sheikhan - 105
Brandon Cantu ?????
Lonnie Heimowitz - 83
Helge Pedersen - 170 - 666**
Phil Hellmuth - 45
Victor Ramdin - 64
Mark Vos - 80
Hoyt Corkins - 162
Mike Matusow - 30
Allen Cunningham - 117
Gus Hansen - 160
Jeff Madsen - 112
Hevad Khan - 240
Hasan Habib - 338
Kirill Gerasimov - 439
Jon "PearlJammer" Turner - 225
Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy - 386

POINT TOTAL: 3686 (Would have been 3190 if I counted Helge Pederson)

* Chip Jett cashed in this event under his real name, Charles. He actually has two entries in the WSOP player database.

** So, um, yeah. Turned out Helge was a dude, not a woman, so I inadvertently failed to have a woman on my team. Sadly, I would have picked Tiffany Michelle as my second choice, who is now 3rd in chips! Instead of Helge's finish, I gave myself 666 points for the final money slot.

WSOP Challenge III coming right up!!!!

WSOP Challenge II: BEST FINISH

2008-07-11T08:18:00.000-07:00

WSOP Challenge II:

1. Pick 20 of the Remaining 474 players
2. You get points for what spot they are eliminated in (i.e. 100th place=100 points)
3. Fewest Points Wins

RULES

1. At least one pick has to have under $100,000
2. At least one pick has to be between $200,000-$100,000
3. At least one pick has to be between $300,000-$200,000
4. You can only pick THREE of the Top 20 players on the board.
5. At least one pick has to be a woman
6. At least one pick has to be a world champion (i.e. Hellmuth or Chan)
7: PICK YOUR PONY: You may select one person that I will not be allowed to pick. Since you (Brant) won last year (and we tied in round I), you can pick first, I already have my name in mind for mine. I'll tell you if you are to pick him for your 20, to make another selection.

The complete list is here: http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/tourney/tournament-chip-counts.asp?tid=4948&grid=411

Please email me your picks (naskew@northwestchristian.edu) And include their current chip count behind their name in parentheses. i.e. Gus Hansen (355,000)

You have Until 1:00 to pick.

WSOP Challenge I: Split Pot

2008-07-11T08:17:00.000-07:00

We both had seven picked correctly to make the money! Off to round II....

WSOP Challenge I: Make The Money

2008-07-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

The fight to go from 3,663 down to 666 is on.

Nick has 10 left, combined total of $1,454,700
Brant has 11 left, combined total of $1,380,800

Three players are listed as Unknown. This is because A) I never read of them busting and B) They do not show up on the chip count list heading into day 3.

NICK'S PLAYERS

1. Brandon Adams - MONEY!
2. Robert Mizrachi - MONEY!
3. Erick Lindgren - Out at 9:17 pm, Day 2A
4. Hal Lubarsky - Out at 10:38 pm, Day 2A
5. Hasan Habib - MONEY!
6. Erik Seidel - MADE DAY 3 -101,200
7. Patrick Antonius -Out at 12:30 pm, Day 3
8. Vanessa Rousso - MONEY!
9. Alex Kravchenko - Out on Day 3
10. Kathy Liebert - Out at 9:44 pm, Day 2A
11. Greg FTB Mueller - Out at 3:20 pm, Day 2A
12. Paul Wasicka - Out at 4:34 pm, Day 2A
13. Scotty Nguyen - Out at 3:03 pm, Day 2A
14. Barry Greenstein - Out at 9:50 pm, Day 2A
15. Gus Hansen - Money!
16. Sully Erna - Out at 12:18 pm, Day 2B
17. Nicolay Evdakov - UNKNOWN
18. Phil Hellmuth Jr. - MONEY
19. David Singer - Out 12:07 am, Day 2B
20. Alexander Kostritsyn - MONEY!!

BRANT'S PLAYERS

Brandon Adams - MONEY!
Kido Pham - MONEY!
Erick Lindgren - Out at 9:17 pm, Day 2A
Chau Giang - MONEY!
Nick Shulman - Out at 10:23 pm, Day 2A
Hasan Habib - MONEY!
Patrick Antonius - Out at 12:30 pm, Day 3
Erik Seidel - MADE DAY 3 - 101,200
Haralabos Voulgaris - Out at 12:50 am, Day 2A
John Hennigan - Out at 10:56 pm, Day 2A
Mark Vos - MONEY!
Thor Hansen - MONEY!
Carlos Mortensen - Out at 8:56 pm, Day 2B
Amir Vahedi - UNKNOWN
Nath Pizzolatto - Out on Day 3
Antonio Esfandiari -UNKNOWN
Johnny Chan -MONEY!
Jennifer Harman - Out at 12:59 pm, Day 3
Paul Wasicka - Out at 4:34 pm, Day 2A
Scotty Nguyen - Out at 3:03 pm, Day 2A

WSOP Pool Part One

2008-07-07T10:36:00.001-07:00

Rough Day one at the WSOP. The list of eliminated stars is huge, most notably Brunson, Ivey, Negreanu, Cloutier, Harrington, Tom Dwan, JC Tran. Here's part one of the WSOP Challenge.

WSOP Challenge I: MAKING THE MONEY

Pick 20 people still in the tournament .You get one point for each of those ten that make the money. No rules. Any twenty will work. The list currently (11:30 am Monday) only has the day 1D players, so I would hold off on making your list until the complete list of 3,663 is available.

I will add the list of anyone who wants to compete. Just put your 20 in a reply to this post. I'll keep it as updated as I can throughout the week. You have to have your list turned into me by noon on Tuesday for you to "Qualify" for the non-existent prize.

Worst Main Event Winner Ever

2008-07-02T09:21:00.000-07:00

Going into this, I thought it would be easy, and I thought I knew my answer. After I did some research I realized just how wrong I was! When you look at the Main Event winners of the pre-internet era, they were mostly all studs. They were all established successful players before they won the main event. Doyle, Johnny Chan, Johnny Moss, Puggy Pearson, Stu Ungar. Some, won out of nowhere as up-and-coming pros and then they remained respectable players: Jesus, Scotty Nguyen, Carlos Mortensen. You really have to look into the new internet age when the field sizes jumped from 600 to 800 to 2k, 6k, 8k..huge fields where luck plays the biggest factor.

This all started with Chris Moneymaker of course, who could be in this arguement. He created the poker boom and never did anything after that. BUT, he did. He has had four in-the-money finishes in the WSOP earning $32,000 in those events. He also had a second-place finish in a World Poker Tour event. But Chris wasn't the first name I thought of.

In 2006, in the biggest field in WSOP history (8,773), Jamie Gold ran through the field, had the chip lead from day 3 and knocked out seven of the eight people at the final table. He did it all while being a complete a-hole, breaking tournament rules around every bend. It's easy to look at his as a total Luck Sack, who wouldn't amount to anything in poker. Well, guess what? He has cashed just as many times as Moneymaker, three coming in 2007. He's not great, but he's legit.

Well, shoot. The obvious answer then has to be devout christian Jerry Yang, who won last year right? I just can't say that he's the worst ever, when he hasn't had a chance to prove himself yet. He has chosen to play only one preliminary event so far in 2008. If he disappears again for another year, then he'll probably take the crown, but not yet.

Then you have to look at the other internet era winners: Joe Hachem and Greg Raymer. Only problem is, they were fledgling pros coming into their main event wins and both had already cashed PRIOR to winning the big one. They have a combined 23 cashes between them and have reached other final tables. They are good players. Nowhere near the list.

So the winner, after all of the assumptions of the internet age, is someone who played before the internet age. The original amatuer fluke winner: Robert Varkonyi. Varkonyi famously won the 2002 Main Event, besting a field of 631 players. A newcomer to the game (an investment banker by trade), Varkonyi was considered dead money and Phil Hellmuth, who was a commentator for the final table, famously agreed to shave his head should this punk amatuer knock out all of the pros. Needless to say, Hellmuth stayed true to his word, with Varkonyi even doing some of the shaving himself after his victory.

Since the Main Event win? Mr. Varkonyi has famously been considered to be the worst winner, never cashing at the WSOP again until last years main event when he took 177th place. He has cashed in just six poker tournaments on record. Outside of the two WSOP cashes, he has made just $35,000 playing tournament poker. He considers himself to be a professional poker player. Really? Making an average of $14,000 per year? Ouch.

My Fantasy Home Game

2008-07-02T08:21:00.000-07:00

Today's List will stay in the poker family, but I'll save Worst Main Event Winner Ever for tommorow, the start of the the Main Event. Today's premise: If you are hosting a home-game single-table sit-and-go, who are the eight players that you would want to have there to play with? And then, who are the 8 people that you would rather shoot yourself than have to play with? And THEN - who are the 8 celebrity poker players you would want to play with?

EIGHT PLAYERS IN MY FANTASY HOME-GAME

1. Daniel Negreanu - My favorite player. I just want to play against him and get freaked out when he can read exactly what I have every time.
2. Doyle Brunson - He's a legend. No-brainer choice
3. Phil "Unabomber" Laak, and
4. Jennifer Tilly - They would be very entertaining!
5. Scotty Nguyen - He would also be entertaining, and he's freaking amazing.
6. Chris "Jesus" Ferguson - Another one of my favorites. If I got to pick anyone to be my poker coach, he might get a slight edge over Negreanu.
7. Johnny Chan - Thanks to Rounders, really one of the first poker celebrities (other than Amarillo Slim). How could I not have him there?
8. Paul Hutchins - I gotta have one of my poker buddies there to share the experience with, right?

EIGHT PLAYERS YOU COULDN'T PAY ME TO SIT DOWN WITH (in order)

1. Phil Hellmuth
2. Humberto Brenes
3. Hevad "Rain" Kahn
4. Mike Matusow
5. Jamie Gold - But more on him tommorow...
6. Jean-Robert Bellande - Despite my love of Survivor...
7. Devilfish Ulliot - The european version of Hellmuth.
8. Phil Ivey - Simply because I would lose all my money before I knew what hit me.

EIGHT CELEBRITIES I WOULD LOVE TO PLAY WITH (no particular order)

1. Jennifer Tilly
2. Gabe Kaplan
3. Norm MacDonald
4. Don Cheadle
5. Shannon Elizabeth
6. Sam Simon (producer of the Simpsons)
7. Hank Azaria
8. James Woods

Classic SNL Bit of the Day: More Cowbell!

2008-07-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

will ferrell - blue oyster cult cowbellfunny videosFunnyOrDie.com

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Best Poker Player Without a WSOP Bracelet

2008-07-01T08:22:00.000-07:00

I haven't done a post in a long freaking time. I'm thinking this could be a good time to start doing my lists again, hopefully generating some discussion. Today's list:

BEST POKER PLAYERS WHO HAVEN'T WON A WSOP BRACELET:

Coming into the 2008 World Series of Poker, if you were to ask this question, there would be a resoundingly unanimous answer: Erick Lindgren. Well he finally won a braclet this year and had a few other final tables to go with it, so he is no longer the answer to the question. I would have crowned JC Tran, but then he had to go and get himself Jewelry last night, winning the $1500 NL-Hold 'em event. But what about these people (in no particular order):

Justin "ZeeJustin" Bonomo - He's young but he is one of the cream of the crop of the new generation of poker players, coming up with thousands of tournaments played online.

Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi - Might be able to take his name off of the list soon. He's at the final table today of the $10,000 PL Omaha World Championship.

Gavin Smith - He's come close: He had a 2nd place finish last year in PL Hold'em. He'd be on the list, but he wouldn't be at the top. He hasn't cashed ONCE this year, after three last year and four the year before that.

Phil Gordon - He might be the most well known name on the list, but not for his playing: He is a better commentator and author than a player. I think he's smart, but he hasn't been able to put it into play for himself as much as you would think. He also hasn't cashed this year, but has five final-table showings on the resume. He was 4th in the Main Event in 2001 (the event was won by Carlos Mortenson, besting a final table that also included Dewey Tomko, Hellmuth and Matisow).

Danny Wong - Another young dude who has cashed twice this year (including a 4th-place finish in a NL Hold 'em event) and five times overall. He is currently ranked #6 in the world (according to Bluff Magazine). You probably haven't heard of him yet, but I'm guessing you will in the near future.

There are plenty of other names you haven't heard of that could be on the top of this list: Anthony Cousineau (34 WSOP cashes with no braclet), Michael Binger (Leading the Bluff Magazine Player of the Year race, 13 cashes and over $4 million in WSOP winnings), Alexander Kostritsyn (five cashes this year, his first in the WSOP, with four of those coming in $10k buy-in events, showing that he can play with the best players).

Two more names that stick out are Andrew Bloch and Andrew Black. Black has 12 cashes and two final tables, including a 5th place finish at the 2005 Main Event (won by Joe Hachem).

Andrew Bloch, in my book, is The Best Player in the World Without a Bracelet. Bloch has cashed 17 times earning close to $2 million. He is an MIT graduate who was a member and team manager of the famous MIT blackjack team recently featured in the movie 21. In the last three years, he has cashed 12 times, reaching six final tables. Add to that three previous final tables, in addition to a win in a WSOP circuit event.

And, oh yeah, he finished 2nd in the first ever $50,000 buy in H.O.R.S.E. World Championship, grinding out an infamous all-night heads-up battle with the ledgendary Chip Reese. He also finished second this year in the $10k Pot-Limit Hold 'em event.

Stay tuned for my next list: Worst Main Event Winner Ever!

Two Worlds Collide

2008-05-20T09:05:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the final performances for Idol. Of course, I love David Cook, and want him to be the winner, I just don't want to see his career completely tied down by the Clive Davis machine. Just think where Daughtry would be if he was forced into that winners contract?

Well David Cook lost the coin flip for tonight, and has to go first, putting David Archuleta in the "pimp spot" for the finale. Why is this significant? In the first six season of idol, the winner has always been the second/last person to sing, except for the year Ruben won, in what was the closest vote in show history.

BUT - Mr. Cook has one very significant thing going for him. For the first time EVER - A contestant is singing a song written by Paul Hewson and David Evans. Yup. U2. on Idol. It's about freaking time. He's singing I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. It was his own song choice, too.

They each get to sing three songs, one they pick, one that Clive picks and one from the top-ten finalists in the song writing competition. Bravo to Cook for picking a good song, and one that he hasn't sung before. Archuleta? Yeah, he's singing Imagine again. Not a dumb move, since that is the ONLY song that I liked from him this season.

Castro Cast Off

2008-05-08T08:19:00.001-07:00

For the record, I would have perfectly predicted the bottom two and the loser from last night's American Idol, of course 99% of the audience and my two year old could have as well. Fairwell to Castro.

Next week should be interesting. Obviously, I want to see David Cooke and Syesha in the final, because I'm not an Archuleta fan, but.....do i really?

I could realistically see myself actually caring about music put out by Cooke in the future and as was the case with Daughtry, I don't really want to see him win it. A third place finish would be fine. That said, Syesha might have had some strong weeks (and I'm quite frankly suprised that she made it to the top-three (although I'm glad), but she wouldn't have a shot against Archuleta in the final. Whatever. Archuleta is the prototype idol, just primed and ready to have the AI machine destroy his career and his voice, like they have to Jordin Sparks.

Here's to my favorite losing next week!

Drunk or Just Stupid?

2008-04-30T09:58:00.000-07:00

Let's start with Paula Abdul, shall we? There are various takes on the deeper meaning of what she did on Tuesday night when she critiqued Jason's second song before he ever sang his second song. You can read those HERE (caution foul language) or HERE. I personally think that she was reading notes that she wrote during dress rehearsals and because she's slightly insane, forgot to only talk about the first performance. The messed with the format last night, so you can't blame her ENTIRELY. Blame Jim Beam.

On with the show. With apologies to my mom, last night was pretty weak. Neil Diamond wasn't as good as, say, Andrew Lloyd Webber last week in actually giving valuable critique, other than giving Brookie some obvious advice to personalize her second song. Even my favorite, David Cook, was just ok last night. I thought the concept of his second song was great, doing a power ballad and showing off his voice, but the song it self...well it kinda sucked...

Speaking of SUCKED....David Archuleta completely destroyed two good songs. He butchered Sweet Caroline, which I think should have been done by David Cook, and then he gave the most bizarre performance with America. The music in the background sounded like someone pushed a demo button on one of those old Casio Keyboards. It was just really stinking bad last night.

I gotta give some props and some pans to Brooke. The train wreck that was her take on I'm a Believer was followed up by a perfect song, and a difficult one, that is totally in her wheel house and might just have saved her (but probably not). I'm a Believer was wretched. Even Donkey sang it better in Shrek 2. But then the second song, back to her Singer/Songwriter vibe (or the Lilith Fair shiz, as I call it). I was VERY impressed with the second song it was amazing.

Syesha was very solid last night. Same deal with her: she's a very competent singer, and has shown some personality the last few weeks. She's better suited for Broadway than American Idoly things, though, and I'm sure that's where she'll end up. She was the top vote getter last night, beating both David's.

Jason Castro was horrible. Surry. I think it's time for him to go. Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to happen. Here are my rankings, followed by my predictions:

1. David Cook
2. Brooke White
3. Syesha Mercado
4. Jason Castro
5. Sanjaya
6. David Archuleta. Yeah, he's that bad.

Bottom two tonight: Castro and Brooke White. Brooke will be going home. Dial Idol (which had Carly going home last week) has Brooke in last but it's close. When you account for text messaging (and all the kiddies who text are more likely to be voting for the hippie), Jason will separate the gap and send Brooke home.

2008-04-29T13:41:00.001-07:00

2008-04-28T12:21:00.001-07:00

Monday's Random Thoughts

2008-04-28T08:42:00.000-07:00

I didn't predict last week, but I would have said Brooke was going home. I was pleasantly suprised to see that Dial Idol was nails again, as they said Carly was the lowest vote getter and, indeed, she was. One would think that this seals the deal for a David v. David finale, but I just have a bad feeling that the Daughtry curse is going to hit the rocker before the finale. It'll be interesting to see how it all pans out. It will also be interesting to see who makes the top three. It'll probably be the two davids, and then either Brooke, Syesha or Jason will hit the top three. Without knowing anything about song selection for Neil Diamond week, I'm guessing Jason will be safe and in the top 4. I'll also make an early prediction that Syesha will be going home. My top-5 order you ask? 1. David Cook, 2. Brooke White, 3. Syesha, 4. Jason Castro, 5. David Archuleta.
Why do bad things happen to good people? I just found out that our golf team's vans got broken into this weekend and one of our golfers lost all of her school stuff (books, etc.) right before finals, and also lost her ID, making it difficult for her to get back on a plane tommorow... brutal.
Wildfire returns to the airwaves tonight for a stretch run. This is probably the show that I would call worst TV show I ever loved. Once you get invested in characters, you forgive a ton of sins as far as storytelling and plots go. The worst part is, they've previewed the heck out of the series finale, and we already know what is going to happen. But I'll still watch.
It's finally my "Summer" as far as work goes! We had our last home games yesterday. Just some remaining golf and track events, but no more home games until August!
I start two new small group bible studies this week, and I've very excited. On Tuesday we are starting up a group at work. It's just three of us right now, but it'll be good. Then on Wednesday mornings I'll be in a group at church called "Husbands Anonymous", led by our senior pastor. This should be really good. I know a couple of the guys in the group pretty well.

For the Record

2008-04-18T13:32:00.003-07:00

I would have been way off on my predictions for Mariah Crappy Night. I had Syesha, Brooke and Carly in the bottom three. I didn't even have Kristy Lee Cook in the bottom three, and she went home. As my wife says, I need to stop relying so heavily on the Dial Idol results, since they don't take into account text messaging, and that is how all the 12 year olds are voting. They are usually pretty accurate, but this week they had KLC in the "safe" zone, so this was a big shock to me. Anywoo, here are my top six heading into Andrew Lloyd Webber night.

1. David Cook
2. Brooke White
3. Carly Smithson
4. Jason Castro
5. Syesha Mercado
6. David Archuleta

My PREDICTION for the finale: David Archuleta and Carly Smithson. David Cook should be there, but you just know that ala Daughtry, something screwy will happen!

That wasn't very nice

2008-04-11T10:07:00.000-07:00

Seacrest: "Last week during Idol Gives Back, we didn't kick off the lowest vote-getter. Tonight, Michael.....you're going home."

Brutal.

I got the right bottom three at least!

Are you a product of the 80's?

2008-04-10T11:30:00.000-07:00

I've included only my favorites from this email that's going around:

1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word SIKE.

2. You can sing the rap to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and can do the
Carlton

3. You know that 'WOAH' comes from Joey on Blossom

7. You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at
school. - TOTALLY!!!!!!

9. You played the game 'MASH'(Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House)

18. You still get the urge to say 'NOT' after every sentence.

23. You remember 'I've fallen and I can't get up'

26. You remember boom boxes and walking around with one on your shoulder
like you were all that.

27. You remember watching both Gremlins movies.

28. You thought Doogie Howser/Samantha Micelli was hot.

30. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool...and don't even
flinch when people refer to them as 'NKOTB'

31. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on 'Saved By
The Bell,' The ORIGINAL class.

37. You remember 'Where's the Beef?'

Top Eight

2008-04-09T10:48:00.000-07:00

The performances were very weak and very boring this week, and so will be my post! Not much change in my rankings, although slightly more than last week (when nothing changed)

1. David Cook - Yes he's pompous. Yes He's Indulgent. Yes he's cocky. He's a rock star for goodness sake!!!!
2. Brooke White
3. Carly Smithson
4. Michael Johns
5. Jason Castro
6. David Archuleta
7. Syesha Mercado
8. Kristy Lee Cook

Bottom Three this week: Syesha, Carly, Michael Johns

Going Home: Syesha

An homage to Doogie

2008-04-02T11:17:00.000-07:00

Predictions

2008-04-02T10:38:00.000-07:00

Bottom Three: Ramiele, Jason Castro, Carly Smithson

Going Home: Ramiele.

So far I'm 2-for-3 since the finals began.

Dolly Parton Night

2008-04-02T10:30:00.001-07:00

Man, this would have been so much better as a straight country night instead of the Dolly Parton songbook. I wanted to see Archuleta do God Bless the Broken Road. Anyway....

1. David Cook
2. Brooke White
3. Syesha Mercado - I thought her version of I Will Always Love You was very good. I was shocked when she got a lukewarm reception from the judges. It was no Whitney, but it was still great.
4. Michael Johns - Another strong week. I'm really starting to like this dude.
5. Carly - She was WAAAAAY better than Simon gave her credit for. She is the best singer in the group. Whole package? Verdict is still out.
6. David Archuleta - He was pretty good last night, I have to admit. I still just don't know. I do keep him above....
7. Jason Castro - ....because as fun and easy going as Jason Castro is, he's turning in the same performance every week and it's getting rather boring. Not someone who can win this thing.
8. Kristy Lee Cook - So I was just informed that her brother played football at Oregon, so one of my friends that used to hate her now feels bad about that, because she's friends with the brother! What a small world Oregotucky is, heh? If anyone should have shone last night, it was her, and yet I wasn't that impressed with the performance.
9. Ramiele Malubay - zzzzzzz....

Baseball Season!

2008-03-31T12:47:00.001-07:00

The baseball season starts today and, hopefully, the Angels start their march to proving my pre-season predictions wrong:

AL EAST
1. Boston Red Sox- Ortiz and Manny are tough to get around.
2. New York Yankees (Wild Card) - Outside of Jason Giambi, the entire starting lineup could hit over .300.
3. Toronto Blue Jays
4. Tampa Bay Rays
5. Baltimore Orioles

AL CENTRAL
1. Cleveland Indians - Best Bullpen in the majors
2. Detroit Tigers
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Kansas City Royals
5. Minnesota Twins

AL WEST
1. Seattle Mariners - Erik Bedard was a huge acquisition.
2. ANAHEIM Angels - I think the stacked Outfield/DH provides a little too much drama: Gary Matthews is a bit of a diva, it might be a problem. The hitting might have more power than a year ago, but the pitching is going to suffer with the loss of Escobar (forever perhaps) and Lackey (for another month and 1/2 at least). It'll be too big a hole to climb out of.
3. Oakland A's
4. Texas Rangers

NL EAST
1. New York Mets - Johan will be just fine in the NL. And if Pedro and Orlando Hernandez get/stay healthy, this is a scary playoff team.
2. Atlanta Braves
3. Philadelphia Phillies
4. Washington Nationals
5. Florida Marlins

NL CENTRAL
1. Chicago Cubs - I present closer Kerry Wood. This team has very strong pitching and top-to-bottom, a lineup that can compete with any team in the NL.
2. Milwaukee Brewers
3. Cincinnati Reds
4. St. Louis Cardinals
5. Houston Astros
6. Pittsburgh Pirates

NL WEST
1. Arizona Diamondbacks - Brandon Webb and Danny Haren might be the best 1-2 punch in baseball. Big question is whether Randy Johnson is servicable, or if he hurts his team.
2. Colorado Rockies (Wild Card) - Last year was not a fluke. Former Irvine resident Garrett Atkins (Uni HS) and Matt Holiday lead the charge
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
4. San Diego Padres
5. San Francisco Aints

AL DIVISION SERIES
Cleveland over New York
Boston over Seattle

ALCS
Cleveland over Boston

NL DIVISION SERIES
Chicago over Colorado
New York over Arizona

NLCS
Chicago over New York

WORLD SERIES
Cleveland over Chicago - Either way a LOOOOONG streak is broken.

Top Ten: Prediction

2008-03-26T10:26:00.001-07:00

Bottom Three: Syesha, Chikezie, Ramiele

Going Home: Chikezie

The Touring Ten: 50/50

2008-03-25T22:02:00.000-07:00

Wow, look! I'm able to blog AI on the night of the show, thanks to our new computer!!! Anyway, the top-ten week (songs from the year they were born) was pretty hit and miss. Lots of HITS and a few big MISSES. Here are my updated rankings:

1. David Cook - I read before the show that he was doing Billie Jean, and doing the Chris Cornell version of it. The 12-16 year old girls that were over watching the show tonight didn't like the version. I think the version itself is pretty good, although the original is one of the better Michael Jackson songs. It was, however, the PERFECT song for David Cook. I still want this guy to win, but I'm pretty comfortable with a few others winning as well, like...
...2. Brooke White - I completely agreed with Randy and Simon, who said that she should have stayed with just the voice and piano through all of the stalker anthem "Every Breath You Take." She was amazing!
3. Syesha Mercado - Although the performance was pretty bland, and not my taste, this girl can BLOW. She's got a killer voice, and this type of pop ballad is right in her wheel house. I don't think it was as good as her original audition, but really good nonetheless.
4. Michael Johns - I'm sure this is a one-week high, coming off this performance, but for once I have an opinion on this guy. His We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions performance was PERFECT for him. Simply amazing. I really have gotten to like him as we've seen more of the packaged clips week-to-week.
5. Carly - She's got the pipes, but does she have the personality to cruise towards the end? I don't think last week will be the last time we see her in the bottom three. She isn't connecting with the audience, me included.
6. Chikeze - Even after a blah performance, I'm moving him up a notch, simply because I like him. He's fun and he does have a pretty sweet voice.
7. David Archuleta - Nothing against him, it's just not my bag. Yes, he can sing a take out menu and sound amazing, but i'm growing more indifferent about him as we go along.
8. Jason Castro - Still like him, too. Maybe this is one of the strongest groups of finalists as they have been touting all along, even though I thought it was just hyperbole.
9. Kristy Lee Cook - What the heck? Okay, I may be WAY unpatriotic, but this song is just pure cheese. It might have been great and impacting and meaning full in 198whatever when it was written, but there are much better patriotic country songs out there from the last few years that make it pale in comparison.
10. Ramiele Malubay - zzzzzzz

Predictions Tommorow!

Whoops!

2008-03-19T22:33:00.000-07:00

Score a negative 1 for Vote for the Worst as Amanda Overmyer went home. I went 2-for-3 on my bottom three prediction, so that ain't bad.

I'm now 1-for-2 on elimination predictions.

Eleventh Not-Quite-Heaven

2008-03-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

Week two of the Lennon/McCartney song book was a little rough. At least, worse than last week. Some of my faves had a tough go of it, but fortunately, some of the bottom tier did bad enough to keep themselves at the bottom. Thus, here are my rankings, followed by my predictions for tonight:

1. David Cook - Proved once again that he is the one guy out of this group that I might pay to listen to or see. It'll be interesting to see how he rocks out the non-rock themed weeks.
2. Brooke White - Okay, I'll admit that last night was rough, but after Let it Be last week, she had nowhere to go but down. The one thing that bugged me was SHE WOULDN'T SHUT UP! She interupted EVERY judge at least twice and I'm suprised that Simon didn't call her on it, because he hates that. Hopefully she didn't lose to much favor with America, because i want her around a long time.
3. Syesha - What a voice. She needs to stick to songs that show off the pipes and not the peppy dance and glitter performances.
4. Carly Smithson - This girl ROCKS. She's real, she's got an amazing voice, and she would have a great chance to win this whole thing....
5. David Archuleta - ...if it weren't for this guy. He was the top vote getter again (according to DialIdol) and that isn't going to change. The girlies love him. Same reason Castro will stick around awhile.
6. Amanda - Her performance was a mess, but she did what she does best. She's going to really start to lose out on the "rock vote" to David Cook, and not even Vote for the Worst will be able to save her.
7. Jacuzzi - This guy is so much fun to watch. A friend at work just compared his goofiness to Taylor Hicks. Only difference: This guy has a stronger voice!
8. Jason Castro - He's the male Brooke White. When you take the instruments out of his hands, he doesn't no what to do with himself. I'm not saying that's a bad thing (I would much rather see an actual musician win this thing). I just want to see him strap on the six-string and leave it there.
9. Michael Johns - I really liked his performance and he's slowly moving out of "no opinion" zone and into "mildly enjoyable".
10. Ramiele - Time to go. Seriously.
11. Kristy Lee Cook - Didn't do enough to save herself. She's got a pretty good country voice and i thought did a great job last night. But a lot of America will avoid her because she should have gone home a week ago.

Predictions for the Bottom Three: Kristy Lee Cook, Ramiele Malubay, Amanda Overmyer
Going Home: Kristy Lee Cook

The Askew's Back On-Line

2008-03-17T16:27:00.000-07:00

Team Askew got a new computer this weekend, and the family blog is finally updated again!

CHECK IT OUT!!!!

Prediction

2008-03-12T11:32:00.000-07:00

The bottom three will be: Syesha, David Hernandez, Ramiele Malubay.

Going Home: David Hernandez

UPDATE: 1-for-1 baby, Gay Male Strippers apparently don't sit well with most of America. And I'll take 2-for-3 of my bottom three. I just thought that Kristy Lee Cook's fan base (she's got a bunch of fansites out there) would carry her. Nothing could carry her after that dismal performance.

Top 12 Perform

2008-03-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

Here are the latest rankings now that (sniff) Asia'h went home, and the 12 have performed. They've changed a lot since last week.

1. David Cook - This is the guy that I want to see win. It's all about actual musical talent this year, and he's got it.
2. Brooke White - My wife must be rubbing off on me. I really dig this girl, and loved the version of Let it Be last night.
3. David Archuleta - This guy WILL win American Idol. He's just not quite there for me. He's too.....silly.
4. Syesha - She rocks, but she's not going to be around very long. And she was bland last night.
5. Amanda Overmyer - I'm trying not to like her, I really am. Problem is, I love Janis, so her voice doesn't bug me at all. I thought last night was a complete success.
6. Carly Hennessy - She was a superstar last night. I think she'll be around for a long time.
7. Jacuzzi - I thought I would end up moving him up after his crazy good performance, but there are just too many great performers above him.
8. Jason Castro - I really like him. Or Her. I can't figure it out. He's got a chick's eyes and it's hard to watch him perform. But he's good.
9. Michael Johns - How far into this competition are we, and I still have NO opinion about this guy. He was good last night and picked a perfect song. that much I remember.
10. Ramiele Malubay - Ugh. She was just bad last night. She won't be around long.
11. Kristy Lee Cook - The only thing saving her from #12 is that she's from Oregon. I thought the concept of doing a country version was a good one, but to go hyper-kinetic bluegrass was wrong. There were opportunities, even in a bluegrass style, to slow that song down a bit for the chorus or bridge, make it sound okay, but nope. It was a mess.
12. David Hernandez - He creeps me out, and he was horrid last night.

Semi-Finals End, Top-12 Ranks

2008-03-06T08:56:00.000-08:00

Well, I went 1-for-4 on my predictions last week after a perfect first week of the semifinals. I now present to you, my top-12 rankings, accounting for my predicted bootees for tonight: Luke Minardo, Gay Stripper (er...David Hernandez), Kady Malloy and Syesha Mercado (which sucks because I love her).

1. David Archuleta
2. Asia'h Epperson
2.5 (Insert Syesha here, if she survives tonight)
3. David Cook
4. Amanda Overmyer
5. Brooke White
6. Carly Hennessy
7. Jacuzzi
8. Jason Castro
9. Ramiele Malubay
10. Michael Johns
11. Kristy Lee Cook
99. Miss America - Danny Noriega

Week Two Predictions

2008-02-28T08:22:00.000-08:00

I don't have time to do my full ranks (and I missed half of the women's performances last night), but here are my predictions for who is getting the boot:

MEN: Danny Noriega, Luke Minardo
WOMEN: Alaina Whitaker, Kady Malloy

If I'm wrong, then Chikeze will take a spot as will Syesha.

Wanna Roll in My Mercedes?

2008-02-22T13:34:00.000-08:00

Call Joel McHale. THIS is the kick-a$$ clip of the week!

4-for-4

2008-02-22T08:31:00.000-08:00

Yup. Got all four correct from last night's results show! Vote-for-the-Worst is now 1-for-2, saving Danny Ortega but losing Amy.

Results Show Predictions

2008-02-21T08:54:00.001-08:00

Who's going home tonight?

Guys: Colton Berry and Garrett Haley
Ladies: Amy Davis, Joanna B.

American Idol Top 24

2008-02-21T08:35:00.000-08:00

Another season underway, another season of my rankings. I plan to focus on the positive this year and keep my rude/snide/offensive comments as minimal as I can. There is one participant in particular this season that will test my niceness abilities, and that is Danny Ortega, who VFTW has already pegged for a long run on the show. From here on out, he will be referred to as Miss America, and that will be that.

First, here are my rankings on the 12 guys. The dudes are SO WEAK this season. I wish we could cut 10 of them now. In parentheses next to the names are the top-12 overall rankings for the six guys and six girls that I think should be in the top-12.

1. Michael Johns (5)
2. David Cook (7)
3. Robbie Carrico (8) - Whether he's a poser or not, I like his voice
4. Jason Yaegermiester (10)
5. Jason Castro (11) - who looks like Hallie Eisenburg, remember the little curly haired girl from the Pepsi commercials?
6. David Hernandez (12)
7. Luke Menard - I truly have zero opinion on this dude.
8. David Enchilada - He's fun and all, but I don't like him.
9. Garrett Haley - Leif will probably be going home this week, along with...
10. Colton Berry - This kid should NOT be in the top 24. Kyle (the politician) would have brought a lot more excitement to the show. That's another post, another time.
11. Jacuzzi (Chikeze) - Among a group of sub-standard singers, he really seemed to be out of his league, which means he must be REALLY bad.
12. Danny Noriega/Miss America.

Now for the women:

1. Asia'h Epperson (1)
2. Amanda Oversomething (2)
3. Syesha Mercado (3)
4. Carly Smithson (4) - Say what you will about the controversy, she's there and she's talented.
5. Kady Malloy (6)
6. Ramiele Malubay (9)
7. Alexandria Lushington - Had never heard of her before this week. Sad, because she can blow, but doesn't have a shot at the top-12.
8. Alaina Whitaker*
9. Joanna B.*
10. Brooke White
11. Kristy Lee Cook
12. Amy Davis

* Just look at how low some pretty strong singers are for the women. Once again, it's just sad that six of the guys have to be in the top 12.

LIST: What I'm watching

2008-01-31T16:44:00.000-08:00

So yeah, the strike hasn't killed TV for me as I thought it would. Here's the list of what I am watching these days:

Sundays: Simpsons, Shark
Mondays: Wildfire (ABC Family), October Road, Notes from the Underbelly, New Adventures of Old Christine, Deal or No Deal)
Tuesdays: American Idol
Wednesdays: American Idol, Deal or No Deal
Thursdays: LOST, Fifth Grader, and I'll give Eli Stone a try tonight
Fridays: Ghost Whisperer, Numb3rs, THE SOUP!

Lost, Weight Lost, Snow Lost

2008-01-31T16:37:00.000-08:00

Since today is the 31st, and in keeping with my tradition of posting once a month, I thought I would post. A few random thoughts:

1. The Body Mass Index is lame. According the the official government thingamabob, I am obese. Well, fine. I started my diet when I hit 260 lbs, and I'm currently down to 225. My own personal goal is to dip under 200, and then see what happens from there. Well, guess what? at 200, I'll still be considered Obese. I have to get down to 170 to be considered "normal".

2. Appointment TV resumes tonight. Today is the first day of February sweeps, and what better way to kick it off (and kick the reality TV duldrums) than with the season premiere of LOST!!!!! It's hard to swallow only getting 8 episodes (half a season) due to the strike, but I'm so flipping excited to see where the story goes now.

3. Did you know that we got six inches of snow on Sunday night here in Eugene? It's pretty much history, except for two small piles in our backyard that had been a snowman and a mini-hill for sledding.

Poker World Loses a Legend

2007-12-04T13:10:00.000-08:00

This morning Chip Reese was found dead in his sleep at 56. Scary. Chip, for those of you who don't know, was considered by many to be the best all-around poker player in the world. He won only three WSOP braclets as he was mainly a cash game player and a frequent member of the Big Game at Bellagio.

Reese cemented his place in poker history in 2006 when he won the inaugural $50,000 Horse event at the World Series for his third, and final, bracelet.

UPDATE: Reese passed away in his sleep in a hospital. he had been admitted the night before with Pneumonia-like symptoms.

Stop Asking Biff the Question!

2007-12-03T14:23:00.000-08:00

Go Ducks

2007-11-14T08:32:00.000-08:00

I'm not dead

2007-10-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

I just noticed that I hadn't posted in nearly 2 months. Welcome to fall. I'm still alive. I'm sure I'll post again soon....maybe....

New Hallowed Record?

2007-08-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

In light of a total schmuck laying claim to the all-time HR record, Kevin Hench of Fox Sports has just posted his top ten candidates for the new most hallowed record in all of sports. I thought I would chime in with my list of the top-ten most hallowed records in all of sports:

1. 2,632 - Cal Ripken. There are few numbers in sports that you can say just the number and any average sports fan knows exactly what you are talking about. This is the one record that will NEVER be broken. Even #2 has a chance of going down.

2. 56 - Joe DiMaggio. Nobody has really ever come within 20 games of the hitting streak record, but I believe that somehow, this one is acheivable. It's a long shot, but it could happen. And it will be a major day when it does.

3. 59 - Orel Hershiser. I am not a Dodger fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I love Hershiser. This is a dominant record that I just don't see being broken. It could go down to a closer at some point, but not to a starter.

4. 11 - Phil Hellmuth. Of course this is high on my list. Even though THIS record is also held by a shmuck, it's unique in that two guys are on the edge of catching him and it could happen at any world series event. Hellmuth will probably have 20 bracelets before he dies and will continue to break his own record as he'll be around to play poker a LOT longer than Doyle, and Chan just doesn't play a ton of events any more.

5. 33/28 - Ladanian Tomlinson. Gotta love a Charger holding the single-season touchdown and rushing touchdown records. Especially when he had TWO passing TDs last season!

6. 1080 and the Double Backflip - Nobody and Travis Pastrana. I have turned into an X-games fan. I love watching the pipe events (bike and board) and the MotoX events. Someday someone else will be crazy enough to do a suicidal double-back flip (although Pastrana has said he will never do it again), and eventually people will be doing it with all the other MotoX tricks thrown in. The 1080 is the new holy grail for skateboarding, and has been for eight years. Shaun White will get it down eventually and he'll probably get it done on his snowboard at some point, too.

7. 38,387 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Who is the best basketball player of all-time? Michael Jordan. Even he didn't come within 6,000 points of Kareems all-time scoring mark in the NBA, despite averaging 6 points more per game. Of course, he retired young, but that record still belongs to Kareem regardless. The closest active players (Shaq and Reggie Miller) are at the end of their careers and are still 13,000 points away. Allan Iverson is the next person with any chance to get close. He's played in about half as many games as Kareem and already has 20,824. He averages 27.9 points per game, which is third all-time behind Jordan and Wilt (30.1 each). What about Kobe? He's played in 1/2 a seasons worth of games more than Iverson, but has averaged just 24.6 points per game. Of course, over the last two seasons he's averaged 33.5 ppg and is only getting more dominant. Chances are, he'll pass Iverson in the next two seasons and be on pace to break the record before he's finished.

8. 660/714/755 - Mays/Ruth/Aaron. The day that Alex Rodriguez passes the Hammer, I'll be ready to call him the all-time home run king. He'll also pass Bonds eventually and that'll be icing on the cake.

9. 11- John Wooden. I also have no passion for UCLA, but I have mad love for Wooden. His ten championships as a coach and one as a player will probably never be matched. He was the greatest college basketball coach of all-time and had four undefeated seasons in that time.

10. Undefeated Seasons (College Basketball and NFL). In the NCAA, only 12 teams have gone undefeated since 1939 and the last time it happened was Indiana in 1976 - 31 years ago. Only two teams since have entered the NCAA tournament undefeated and neither of them survived to win the championship. Even more impressively, the 1972 Dolphins are the only team in the history of the NFL to finish with a perfect record. Although the Akron Pros (8-0-1 in 1920) the Canton Bulldogs (21-0-3 between '22 and '23) and the 1929 Green Bay Packers (12-0-1) all had undefeated seasons, none were perfect. The Chicago Bears twice went undefeated through the regular season ('34 and '42), but neither team won it all.

Those Aren't Pecans on your Sticky Bun...

2007-08-06T08:05:00.000-07:00

1500 Health Code Violations at Angels Stadium since 2005. My question is this: How could they keep doing Food-Service related business for the past two years?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?

http://www.ocregister.com/news/stadium-food-vermin-1797567-violations-health

More on Yang

2007-07-18T09:13:00.001-07:00

This guy is already one of my favorite poker players!

From Gary Wise's Blog at ESPN.com:

Poker is a lonely game. We come to the table, one player vs. an army and fend off the attacks of all comers. People may offer their services as single-serving friends as commonalities are discovered, but even they're eyeing your stack, and what's more, you know they are.

Today's final table would consist of nine lonely men if not for Jerry Yang's faith. "Am I playing for a higher purpose? Absolutely."

The father of six, with charity and missionary credits on his resume, is a Methodist of the most devout kind; a man who put his life, faith and belief in God, trusting the higher power will know better what to do with such things.

"If I win, I still won't be a full-time poker player," Yang told me on a break after notching his third elimination of the day, his Js-8s outlasting Lee Childs' K-J. "I'll donate 10 percent of my winnings to charity and accept the title with honor, but there are more important things than poker."

What could possibly be more important than poker? Family. His six kids are here cheering dad on. Charity. He'll be making donations to Ronald McDonald House, Make A Wish and other similar institutions. Missionary work. He plans on taking advantage of the WSOP bounty by using his time to help others. It's a noble idea from what seems like a noble man who could make for a most noble champion.

Of course, Yang's devotion is going to inspire some interesting debate about God's place in poker. In an industry built on mathematical logic, prayer has mostly been held off save for those desperate souls seeking help on hitting a two-outer or to those looking to blame the greater power that causes that two-outer to fell them. Jerry Yang, then, could be ushering in an entirely new era. It sure looks like he is thus far.

There are people who will criticize Yang. It's the nature of jealousy that we find reasons to hate those who have the things we want to have. Seasoned players will denounce Yang, refuting his spiritualism as silly. After all, these are people who have dedicated their lives to a pursuit of logic, deflecting the all-too-human longings for a belief that luck can be affected to constantly do the mathematically correct thing. They would tell you that there's no room in poker for spirituality.

Yang may now be showing us there's room for both poker and prayer in one life. He's Moneymaker with a PhD and a bible, an everyman who can't believe he's here and who has faith in his understanding as to why he is. Were we predicting Jerry Yang would be our champion a year ago? A month ago? A day ago? No, but that's the beauty of the game. Any two cards, any one man or woman, can win.

WSOP Champ: Jerry Yang

2007-07-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

Text from PokerNews.com:

Well, that's all folks. The crowds have come and gone, the cards have fallen, and a Champion was crowned. Jerry Yang will make a fantastic poker ambassador. His dominance of the final table was reminiscent of Jamie Gold's performance last year, however his victory speech was a polar opposite. Jerry is a naturally humble guy, with a firm faith and a deep respect of his fellow man. He pledged to donate 10% of his winnings to charity, and said that he wanted to give something back to the community. He was very appreciative, and thanked Jeffrey Pollack and his staff for all their hard work throughout the Series. He thanked his wife, who he said worked very hard, but "does not have to work anymore!", and said he was going to ensure his six children received the best education.After all the cameras and bright lights subsided, we caught a glimpse of a real guy, with a solid foundation who loves his family - a true Champion.

I am MUCH happier than I was last year after the main event, because it seems as though a genuine class act, and perhaps a Christian, has won the main event. Watching his exit interview showed that this guy has his head on straight, and as it says above, will be a great ambassador of the next year!

The Final Table, My Two Picks

2007-07-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

C'mon Brant - Pick two horses for Tuesday's final table.

I'll take Lee Watkinson and Jon Kalmar (I'll leave you the hottest player at that table- Kravchenko, who has five cashes and one bracelet this year.

Here are the chip counts for the final table:

1. Philip Hilm - 22,070,000
2. Tuan Lam - 21,315,000
3. Jon Kalmar - 20,320,000
4. Raymond Rahme - 16,320,000
5. Lee Childs - 13,240,000
6. Lee Watkinson - 9,925,000
7. Hevad "Rain" Khan - 9,205,000
8. Jerry Yang - 8,450,000
9. Alex Kravchenko - 6,570,000

Final Update: My Ten

2007-07-13T16:52:00.000-07:00

I didn't do so bad, if I do say so myself

1. Scotty Nguyen - 11th
2. Kenny Tran - 16th
3. Bill Elder - 23rd
4. Gus Hansen - 61st
5. Humberto Brenes - 83rd
6. Dario Minieri - 96th
7. Chad Brown - 97th
8. Robert Varkoni - 177th
9. Sorel Mizzi - 208th
10. Carlos Mortensen - 217th

And others....

2007-07-13T13:26:00.000-07:00

I'm also rooting for these notables still in the field:

1. Spiderman himself, Tobey Maguire
2. Sim Simon, one of the executive producers of the Simpsons
3. Mimi Tran (it would be cool for a woman to make the final table)
4. Hal Lubarsky - A blind man who, through the help of an assistant whispering his cards and the actions around the table into his ear, has survived more than 95% of the field.

Another notable is Godsmack lead singer Sully Erna, who has cashed in the Main Event for the second straight year. Pretty impressive.

Update: Sam Simon, Tobey Maguire and Mimi Tran have all been eliminated (1:30 PST)

The Final Push

2007-07-13T13:21:00.000-07:00

Here are my ten ponies for the end of the WSOP:

1. Dario Minieri
2. Gus Hansen
3. Bill Elder
4. Humberto Brenes
5. Sorel Mizzi
6. Chad Brown
7. Robert Varkoni
8. Scott Nguyen
9. Carlos Mortensen
10. Kenny Tran

I took three former world champs, is that wrong?

Day Two complete

2007-07-12T11:22:00.001-07:00

After six days of poker, Day Two is complete in the WSOP Main Event. Daniel Negreanu went out towards the end of day 2B, leaving me with just Paul Wasicka making it to day three. Brant has lost all five of his guys, so I guess I win!

UPDATE: Oops. I missed Paul Wasicka's bust out hand. So it's a split pot for Brant and I.

I propose that we re-draw at the end of Day Three, each picking ten players? Who's in?

Day 1D Update

2007-07-10T00:14:00.002-07:00

And I couldn't be happier...

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 21:37:33
2006 WSOP World Champion Jamie Gold Eliminated

Later, Luck Sack!

Main Event Update

2007-07-08T13:18:00.000-07:00

Day 1B - Jeff Lisandro Eliminated

Day 1C - Phil Ivey Eliminated

Nick: 4 Left
Brant: 4 Left

Fantasy Main Event

2007-07-06T13:11:00.000-07:00

Here are my five:

1. Daniel
2. Greg Raymer
3. Freddy Deeb
4. Paul Wasicka
5. Jeffrey Lisandro

The Main Event

2007-07-06T11:51:00.000-07:00

The WSOP main event starts today. Lots of questions waiting to be answered:

How many people will be in the field? Some predict another record (upwards of 10,000 entrants). Some predict that with the online poker laws killing online satellites, the numbers will plummet (Full Tilt Poker alone send more than 1000 players to the tournament last year).

Who will Win? Will it be a professional? It hasn't been for five years. Will it be a good amateur who goes onto have a productive poker career (like Joe Hachem and Greg Raymer) or will it be a fluke player, who goes on to have a joke of a poker career (like Chris Moneymaker and Jamie Gold)?

Will my wife get down to the Rio and get any pictures of any recognizable poker players?!?!?

Will ANY of my favorite players cash?

Just who ARE my favorite players? I've thought about that one lately. I'll post my top-20 sometime during the 14-day long Main Event.

2007-07-05T10:13:00.000-07:00

Texas Dolly Goes for #11

2007-07-03T14:28:00.000-07:00

The final table of the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship began at 2:30 today. Doyle Brunson, arguably THE greatest player in the history of poker, and the true father of the modern poker boom, starts the day fifth in chips, looking for his 11th World Series of Poker Braclet, which will tie him with Phil Hellmuth for the most all-time.

Doyle is the author of Super-System and Super-System II, the former of which was featured in Rounders as one of the stashes of cash for Matt Damon. Needless to say, Doyle is among the top of my favorite poker players. I love watching him play more than anyone else, because of how amazingly and creatively he plays. There is a reason he was able to win TWO world championships with a 10-2 off-suit, the hand which is known as the Doyle Brunson.

Good Luck Dolly!

I'm a donkey

2007-07-01T00:16:00.001-07:00

Call it rust, call it I'm dead money. Call it the luck-sack at my table...I didn't play very well tonight. Sure, I started out just fine. I had flopped a straight on the first hand and turned a full house on the second hand, quickly doubling up my original 3000 chips. Then I spent the next hour pissing away my chips. There was one player at the table (the type of player i hate to play with), a calling station that beat me in big pots twice with hands she had no business being in to begin with (out of position with 5-6 off-suit to hit a straight on the river, that was my favorite). I survived to the first break with just 1000 chips, with blinds at 100/200. The very first hand, i had my favorite hand, as mentioned previously, mullets (pocket 7s). I went all-in under the gun and had no callers, winning the blinds. I lost the blinds back in my blind, and survived to the end of the round with my same 1000.

With 2 minutes before the end of the round and two hands away from what would be 400 in the big blind, I knew I had to go all-in in the next three hands. I look down and see just one of my cards, an Ace. I go All in. Lady Luck-Sack calls me with pocket tens, I flip and see a jack, so my AJ vs. 10-10 is a race. I get a jack on flop, so I figure I'm doubling up, except the flop comes J-8-7, giving her a straight draw. The nine came on the river to give her the straight and bust me out of the tourney.

No matter what happened, it was nice to get out for some daddy time (although it was only for 1 1/2 hours), and actually play brick-and-mortar poker. Maybe I'll get a little cash for my birthday, so I can play again.

Money where my mouth is

2007-06-26T09:12:00.000-07:00

One of my father's day presents was a little cash to go play in a tournament at one of the local poker halls. There are two big ones in town (not to mention all of the bars and restaurants that have tournaments all the time). At some point I'm sure I'll become a club member at Full House Poker in downtown, but on Saturday, I'm going to play in a tournament at Royal Flush Poker (really creative names, I know), which is in a different part of Eugene.

The last tournament I played was when we were in SoCal for the kids birthdays and my father-in-law hosted a tournament for about 14 of us. I took second. I haven't played a casino/card house tournament since i took 17th at Pechanga, and that was long before I even moved up to Oregon.

Needless to say, I'm excited. I walked in and checked out the beginning of the tournament last Saturday, and there seemed to be about 50 or so people. At a $35 buy-in, the prize pool will probably only be around $1700, so first place will probably pay around 700. It would be pretty sweet to make the final table and be in the money again.

I posted the Mullets, because they have turned into my lucky hand. At Pechanga, I went all-in and was called by pocket aces. My pocket sevens held up when i hit a straight on the river, knocking out a very pissed off guy who had his aces cracked.

I also had a monster hand at a home tournament, I held the walking sticks and saw a flop with two other players. The flop came out 7-7H-QH. I slowplayed my quads, trying to keep the other two guys in, hoping they might both have a heart-draw. After the turn and river both brought hearts, I made a comment saying "one of us has the Ace of Hearts, one of us has the King, and one of us is full of crap". Both other players went all in, I called, and sure enough, I was right. One had the Ace of Hearts, one had the king, and I knocked out both flushes with my quads. It was beautiful.

Missing the GSAC

2007-06-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

Just saw one video on Youtube of the APU at Biola game last year that APU won with 5 second to go. They brought out a fake Eagle to pump up the crowd then he ripped off a red shirt to reveal a Cougar 'Blackout' shirt underneath. BRUTAL, but funny. I can't believe how much I miss the rivalry. I also miss Ken Ammann and Concordia Basketball a bit. Finally found this clip, too:

2007-06-18T13:50:00.001-07:00

Best.Song.Ever.

2007-06-14T11:40:00.000-07:00

A while back I did a list of my favorite songs of all time. Of course, a ton of U2 songs were on there, along with Jeff Buckley's version of Hallelujah, Comfortably Numb, I Walk the Line, Sympathy for the Devil, Garth's "The River", and a handful of Beatles songs.

I'm not sure where exactly I had Imagine on the list, probably somewhere close to the top, but under U2's "One". Well, as of today, I'm making it #1 on my list (sorry, Mr. Hewson). I've always loved the song. Now I have a strange reason to bump it to #1. Imagine has stood the test of time, and is such a damn beautiful song, that I believe it is impossible to cover poorly. I have not heard a bad version of it. On Tuesday the Instant Karma Darfur benefit CD was released, and it included three versions of the song: Jack Johnson, Me'Shell NGodechello, and...Avril Lavigne. Now, I kinda like Avril (guilty pleasure), but she doesn't have a stellar voice. Her cover of Imagine......AMAZING.

So that got me thinking: Are there any bad covers of Imagine out there? A search on Itunes found me some possibilities: A Perfect Circle, Dolly Parton, Ruben Studdard, Rick Springfield.....Antonio Banderas. Every single version sounded good, even Banderas (no, no, no...too sexy!!!).

Find me another song that can be covered by ANYONE in any style and still sound incredible.

Update

2007-06-14T08:21:00.000-07:00

Negreanu finished third in the shootout. The 5K No-Limit Hold 'em event started yesterday and after the first day, Jennifer Tilly is fourth in chips. I just don't get it. She is a braclet winner (the 2005 Ladies event), but every time I've seen her play, she comes off like a bigger donkey than me! And her "teacher" is Phil "The Unabomber" Laak, who I think is one of the most overrated players in poker.

Then again, I read both of their columns in Bluff Magazine every month, and they are both rather intelligent about the game. But then again, so is Phil Gordon, one of the greatest Poker minds out there, who NEVER produces on the felt. He has ZERO braclets, but has taught me more about poker than any other pro (probably because I haven't read Supersystem yet).

The countdown is on: six days until the best new event of the year: The World Championship Heads-Up No-Limit Hold 'em!

Negreanu: Final Table

2007-06-13T14:30:00.000-07:00

My favorite professional, Daniel Negreanu is at the final table tonight of the two-day No-Limit Hold 'em Shootout. This event is unique in that there are three "Rounds" of sit-and-go shootout tournaments. If you win your table in the first round (90 of the 900 entrants) then you are automatically in the money, and you move onto the semifinals (9 tables, ten people on each). Negreanu is one of the nine guys to win in that round, and will play the final table tonight, going for his third braclet. He's got a formidable foe in Erick "E-Dog" Lindgren, who also has some braclets to his credit.

I love the shootout, because you have to play heads up twice before you even get to the final table, and it's the most similar thing to the home games I'm used to playing.

Eleventh Heaven

2007-06-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Odelay is official turning into PokerBlog for the summer. I live vicariously through the participants in the World Series of Poker, following everything intently on the internets, just wishing that I was able to go there and play.

Phil Hellmuth Jr. has just won his record-breaking 11th World Series of Poker braclet (the big prize, in addition to a huge mound of cash, that you get for winning one of the 50-odd events in the World Series of Poker). With #11 he breaks the tie that he had with other legends Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson.

Hellmuth takes a ton of heat as the "poker brat" as he has been villified in this day and age of 24-7 televised poker. He truly is an arrogant prick, and he has the biggest ego in poker. But here's the thing: Everytime he says that he is the "greatest no-limit holdem player in the world", He's RIGHT. All 11 of his braclets have come in the event. He was the youngest main event champion of all-time (Beating Johnny Chan in 1989 to keep Chan from getting his third straight title), and he now holds records for most braclets and most cashes at the World Series. He is unbelievably good.

I still don't like him a whole lot, but my hat is off today to Phil Hellmuth for winning #11. Now lets just hope Doyle Brunson can win another one!

If you're missing Lost already...

2007-06-11T10:27:00.001-07:00

Sawyer S.O.B. Ever notice that Sawyer from Lost is the expert at delivering a certain line?

July 10th, 2007 - - Could It Come any sooner!?!?

2007-05-24T08:34:00.000-07:00

And a bonus link
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1Sq3D039JCY

Angels 19, Dodgers 4

2007-05-21T08:20:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend, huh!?!?!?

Ok, One More

2007-05-16T09:33:00.001-07:00

Best. Idol Moment. Ever.

The Last Idol Post

2007-05-07T14:06:00.000-07:00

This season has been just boring enough that I am official just as sick of writing about American Idol as you are of reading what I have to say about it. Thus, this will most likely be my last post on the subject until after the finale. A few things floating around in my brain:

Bottom line is: All four of these singers could win this thing, even Lakisha if she shines like she used to over the next few weeks

I think that Jordan should and will win but, of course, you never know.

Blake put together an epic performance last week. I now have him ranked just slightly above Melinda for my #2 spot, simply because I want to see him in the final. A Melinda v. Jordan finale would be rather repetitive and boring. Blake would give it some diversity and some vigor.

Melinda doesn't need to win. She's the Daughtry of this year in that way. Of course, all four of 'em will have careers regardless.

Final Four: The time when upsets become the norm: LaToya London, Chris Daughtry, Tamyra Gray, Anthony Federo...ok, maybe not that one. So will someone shocking go home this week? I ask "What would be shocking"? Jordan would shock everyone, but honestly, it's all so close that nothing would suprise me.

Why the heck are they doing "Boogie" night for the top-four? I almost don't even want to watch. Are they that desparate that they have to invite a Gibb?!?!

Top Six and a New #1

2007-04-25T08:40:00.000-07:00

#1 Jordin Sparks - Another phenomenal performance and I finally move her up to #1. It's fun to see how much she has blossomed this year. I have had her in my top-four all season, but it's time to face reality: No matter how technically brilliant Melinda is, she is a niche performer with little cross-over appeal (More on that below). Jordin is the perfect American Idol and is by far the most marketable performer. Oh, and she was freaking incredible last night.

#2 Melinda Doolittle - Not to take anything away from Mindy-do. She is the most polished, technically sound, talented performer at this stage in the competition that Idol has probably ever seen. But is she a good American Idol? Here's how I look at it: Who are the most successful of the past American Idols? I would say Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. Who are the least commercially successful? Ruben and Fantasia. Why? Cross-Market appeal. Both Ruben and Fantasia are limited Genre performers. They just aren't going to have a big hit that will rise to #1 on the R&B, Gospel AND Pop charts. Kelly and Carrie can have the same song on the pop charts, the rock charts (Kelly) the Gospel and Country Charts (Carrie) at the same time. It's all about that cross-over marketability. Doolittle, I believe, will fall into that later category, where she is HUGE on the R&B chart, or the gospel chart, but struggles to maintain pop success. A long justification for bumping her to #2, but it was needed, especially after she sang such a big powerful God-Lovin' Faith Hill song last night, that I totally loved.

#3 Blake Lewis - The only one with any true upset potential (because Lakisha has been fading so fast) left in the competition. I respect the guy for going with one of my all-time favoritist songs (Lennon's Imagine), but there is just something a little wierd and a little off when he just sits and sings a straight slow ballad and actually just sings. I can't even put my finger on it, it's just....wierd. I dunno. We haven't had any beatboxing in a while, either. At first I was afraid (i was petrified) that he would over-kill it, now I think he's been underutilizing an entertaining aspect of his performance repertoire.

#4 Lakisha - Did she really cover past American Idol winners two weeks in a row? Obviously, the single baby-mama is an inspiration to her, but really? A Fantasia song on a night like Idol-Gives-Back? Really?

#5 Chris Richardson - I will shoot myself in the head before I put him higher than the four above, but the dude had a GREAT performance last night. Great song for the night, great performance. Great voice. I have nothing to criticize about the performance.

#6 Phil Stacey - Dude butchered a GREAT Garth Brooks song. I thought he would do a solid country ballad a little justice, but, NOPE. It was wretched. Time for the Weekly World News' Bat-Boy to take a hike!

Idol Top Seven

2007-04-18T09:21:00.000-07:00

1. Melinda Doolittle
2. Jordin Sparks - She just keeps getting better and better. Melinda is more polished, but this kid SHOULD be the next American Idol.
3. LaKisha - My girl has been weak the last few weeks. Mind you "Lakisha Weak" is a billion times better than "Chris Richardson Strong"...
4. Blake Lewis - I wanted him to bust out something more upbeat on Country night, that he could lay down some beatbox to, so I was disappointed. Instead, he sang a song that really needs a redneck twine to sound good.
5. Sanjaya Malakar - I was hoping for one of the sillier Shania Twain songs from him (Man, I feel like a woman?). Another creepy/entertaining performance.
6. Phil Stacey - Nothing entertaining about it. I'm just not a fan. I'm extremely indifferent about him. He adds NOTHING to the show.
7. Chris Richardson - Every week I talk about wanting to kick him in the balls, or punch him in the face. I've run out of places that I want to physically hurt Mr. K-Fed/Timberlake.

Idle Top-8

2007-04-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

So for all of the zero people that still read my blog, I'm changing up my idol ranking tonight. There are three categories: The Good, The Bad and the Sanjaya. There are just four performers that I remotely care for, three that I really don't like and then, well, Mr. Vote for the Worst.

Like I've said before, at this point I just want him to stick around for the entertainment value of it all, seeing him try to tackle all of the genres. I watch T.V. to be entertained and I can't get angry about the results of American Idol. Honestly.

So first for the Good:

1. Melinda Doolittle - I was finally able to come to a decision and rank my front-runner after last night. Not that Melinda was all that super (read boring and dated), it had more to do with LaKisha making a really bad song selection and just facing that Melinda is flat better.

2. LaKisha

3. Jordin Sparks - I think she has the best "pop" hope to actually be a bankable start out of this competition, at least of the womens. Melinda and LaKisha, like Ruben Studdard before them, are very niche - old school soul performers when it comes down to it.

4. Blake Lewis - I still like this guy. Do I think he's a great singer? No, but he's darn perfect to be the American Idol regardless. And he had the only performance last night that has stuck in my head at all!

The Sanjina has to rank #5 by default. That is how far I want to see him get into the competition. Of course, I care so little this season about who really wins it, that, if he gets this far, even I might start voting for him. I would be pretty darn funny to see him get to the finals!

And now the BAD, and at this point, I just want to lump them all together: The Whore, the Wannabe and the Freaky Bald Dude. Hailey might have covered herself up a little bit better this week, but she compensated by throwing on the street walker eyeshadow and lipstick. Way to go! (SIDE NOTE: Thank you Simon for saying what everyone else is thinking: You're voice can't compete, so keep taking off your clothes every week to get the vote) I am back to wanting to kick Chris Richardson in the balls, especially after he destroyed a good Carlos Santana/Rob Thomas song. and Powder err...Phil Stacey, he just adds zero entertainment value to the show. He's lame.

For your viewing pleasure

2007-04-10T10:19:00.000-07:00

Idol Nine

2007-04-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

1. DoKisha LaMelinda - I just can't pick a front runner still. My head says MindyDo, but my heart is still with Kiki. They were both nails last night as always. Dial-Idol, which was finally accurate again last week (the text-messagers didn't vote for Chris Sligh either), says that one of our lovely ladies takes a hit this week, so we'll see...

3. Gina Glocksen - She had such a great performance that I just can't move her down. I want to see her do well in the show. I could lose Jordin and not be sad, I could lose Blake and not care, but if Gina leaves, that blows.

4. Jordin - Last night she finally had a performance where I never though of her as the 17-year old baby. She held her own with the older contestants. Imagine how this girl is going to be in eleven years when she's the same age that Melinda is now?!?

5. Blake Lewis - Great all-around performance. Not the perfect vocal, but it was still alot of fun.

6. Chris Richardson - Only moves "Up" out of default because i had to move the next guy down. Timberfed had a decent performance. I'm not hating the guy as much anymore, he's a nice enough kid, I am just completely lukewarm about him.

7. Phil Stacey - I'm over Phil.

8. Sanjina - You read that right. I moved him up a spot. He isn't going anywhere for a while, so it's nice to at least be entertained by him every week, and I definitely was entertained last night. His vocal, insidentally, was the best that he has shown YET in the semifinals and finals. Still mediocre, but not terrible like usual.

9. The Whore - Hailey Scarnato just really needs to dissappear and this week, finally, I think it might happen.

This is cooler than R2D2 Mailboxes!

2007-04-03T09:49:00.001-07:00

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/32140

Opening Day

2007-04-03T09:05:00.000-07:00

Angels win, Dodgers lost. What could be better? Oh, and Gary Matthews Jr. is staying off of my "Spit list" for now. How refreshing was it to see a center fielder who ACTUALLY KNOWS HOW TO MAKE PLAYS ON THE BALL!?!?!? It's so nice to have Friggin banished back to leftfield again!

In other Angels news: Percy official retired as an Angel yesterday.

This got me thinking about how they haven't put anyone in the Angels Hall of Fame in a while, or retired any numbers. I think the next no-brainer for BOTH is #31 - Chuck Finley. I'm suprised it hasn't happened yet. C'mon Arte, get 'er dun! Percival, I think, should be in the Angels HOF, but not have the number retired. We'll see....eventually.

AI6: Top-Ten

2007-03-28T08:13:00.000-07:00

1. Mindy-Kisha Doolittle - A Pair of Donna Summer songs - The Top two stay the same this week. I just can't pick a favorite anymore between the two of them. I feel more attached to LaKisha, but Melinda is just a little better performer/singer.

3. Gina Glocksen - I'll Stand By You - If she keeps making these perfect song choices, she's going to stick around for a while. Heaping piles of praise from the judges won't hurt either. I am liking her more and more. Hopefully she'll stay consistent.

4. Jordin - Hey Baby - Her performance was an absolute mess. This has been my problem with her that I've said over and over - Because she's so far behind Mindy and Kiki, she HAS to pick the perfect song every week. This wasn't it.

5. Chris Sligh - He REALLY took a hit this week. He picked the right song, but couldn't nail it. Looking so unprofessional at this stage is not a good thing. I love the guy, but he's not going to be around very long with stuff like this.

6. Blake Lewis - The Cure's Love Song - I'm still not sure what I think about his performance last night. He has a great voice and it was cool to see him strip away the gimmick and just sing a ballady song for once. It was a restrained performance and you could see that/feel that. You could tell that he was uncomfortable holding back like that.

7. Phil Stacey - Every Breath You Take - I'm suprised the judges didn't rip him for unoriginality. He once again showed what a great voice he has and this was a very strong night for him.

8. Timberfed - Don't Speak - I still want to punch him in the face. I hated his Boy-Band version of a No Doubt song. It just felt wrong.

9. Haley Scarnato - True Colors - With Sanjina getting all of the VFTW help, I can't believe that THIS CHICK hasn't been booted yet. Am I the only one who is sick of her whoring it up to cover up the fact that she can't sing?!?!? She is the poor man's Katherine McPhee. All Style, no substance.

10. Sanjina - It's just comical at this point. Gwen Stefani ripped on him in her video clip, Simon virtually said "I give up, America likes you for some strange reason". And Ryan ALMOST alluded to the vote-for-the-worst help. He said something along the lines of "To vote for Sanjaya, for a number of reasons, dial......" It was a subliminal slip, if you ask me. And to be quite honest - Although he is absolutely TERRIBLE, he sure is fun to watch every week and as long as it's mediocre people going home and not great people, I don't care if he sticks around anymore. You don't want to watch, but you can't look away!!

AI6: Round One - The Whale Heard 'round the World

2007-03-14T07:45:00.000-07:00

1. Kiki (God Bless the Child) - LaKisha can do no wrong. One of the few times that I have thought to myself "Must. Own. Single. NOW!" I LOVE her.

1B. Melinda Doolittle (Home from The Wiz) - Melinda truly proved that #1 - She is one of only two people with a legitimate shot at winning this season, and #2 - She can sing the frickin' phone book! This was perhaps the worst song choice, and the worst Melinda performance yet, but it was still better than 90% of the stuff we've seen this entire season.

3. Jordin Sparks (If We Hold on Together) - The song was a little cheesy, but Jordin showed tonight that she has a VOICE that can compete with the big two. The question is can she compete all-around (personality, stage presence, etc.)?

4. Chris Sligh (Endless Love) - Even before Randy made the comparison, I said to myself "Chris turned this into a Coldplay song". While I commend the effort, and I absolutely love this guy as a person and as a performer, the problem is that Endless Love is NOT a Coldplay song, and the arrangement turned into a complete mess! That misstep might just cost him, too. Dial Idol has him in the bottom three. You can go find the other bottom three on your own, I don’t want to ruin any surprises (since they have been perfectly accurate so far this season).

5. Gina Glocksen (Love Child) – Not my favorite performance by any means, but I still like her. It was a weird performance.

6. Stephanie Edwards (Love Hangover) – I liked it a lot better than the judges did. She did pretty darn good, but she is so overshadowed by the other three women that are in her same style, that she will probably be going home sooner than she should.

7. Blake Lewis (You Keep Me Hanging On) – What the heck happened to Blake?!?!?! He wanted to make it a contemporary song. The problem was, he “modernized” it right up to 1984. Way to go. It’s feast or famine when you make a song your own and try and put it into your own style. Blake’s remix was clearly famine this week.

8. Brandon Rogers (You Can’t Hurry Love) – I figured out what’s wrong with Brandon. He’s a great a cappella singer. Ever since the Semis, when he’s played with music, he’s been terrible. I REALLY wanted to like him, But I just don’t.

9. Phil Stacey (I’m Gunna Make You Love Me) – No you’re not. I guess he’s still a decent singer; he was just way too Michael Bolton-y for me.

10. Haley Scarnato (Missing You) – But we won’t be missing YOU. The good news: She was (barely) better than Mr. Malakar. The Bad news: He’s got a lot of Vote For the Worst steam, thanks to the Howard Stern radio show.

11. Timberfed (The Boss) – If I was on the cruise ship that this guy was singing on, well, I’d be spending a lot of time in the casino. I don’t hate him as much as I did Elliott Yamin, but it’s close.
12. Sangina (Ain’t No Mountain) – How funny was it to hear Simon Cowell call Diana Ross a Whale?!?! Honestly! When he said, “If you hear a giant Wail in Beverly Hills”, I think 100% of American heard something different!!!! What else is there to say. He was bad. We all know he sucks. Now he has to throw in a different crappy hairstyle to his mop every week? Who cares! We always joke about Paula slipping her room key to the male competitors that she pines for. Maybe Sanjina was hoping to get a room key slipped to him from Seacrest.

American Idol - Top 12

2007-03-09T11:04:00.000-08:00

I know you've all been holding your breath to see my first rankings of the season for American Idol (at least Crystal has). There isn't a shadow of a doubt that a woman will win this season. I believe the producers helped stack the deck on that side because the WANT a female winner, and let a more watered down group of guys into the semifinals. That being said, my rankings truly reflect how feast or famine it is with the dudes this season.

1. Lakisha Jones - Is she better than Mandisa? I think she is, and Mandisa was my favorite last season until she got the early boot. I love her story, her personality and her freaking amazing voice.

1.5. Melinda Doolittle - She was a solid 2nd until she threw the 90-yard touchdown pass this week. An unbelievable performance with attitude, personality and a dominant voice. I think it's so funny how she kinda "turns off" her stage persona the second she sees Ryan and the judges and turns back into the shy, cute backup singer. But as Simon said, she's a Tiger!

3. Chris Sligh - I don't know how long his voice is going to keep him in the competition. That's the bad news. The good news is. He has THE BEST personality of any finalist in six seasons. He's hilarious and fun and DOES have a pretty good voice. And I really want him to stick around long enough to make David Hasselhoff cry!

4. Gina Glocksen - It's Nikki McKibben with a better voice, better personality and a smarter sense of what she needs to do in this competition. She rocked the house last week and I hope she gets to stick around for a while. I want her in Abba week and in Gwen Stefani week, for sure.

5. Blake Lewis - The only other guy I like besides Chris, and he's probably a better overall performer than Sligh. I was really worried about him overkilling the beatbox thing, but so far he has used it well. I'm afraid for him in coming weeks, because he is such a niche performer.

6. Stephanie Edwards - The beginning of the second tier. She has the goods, but she has struggled for the past few weeks. I really WANT her to be good.

7. Jordin Sparks - Jordin should have waited three years before trying out for Idol, and she could have had a better chance to win the whole thing. I just don't see her being able to make the right song choices every week. And I don't see her being able to outlast the other singers in her "genre group", to put it nicely.

8. Brandon Rogers - Like Stephanie, he's a lot better than he has performed. I want to see him do well, too.

9. Haley Scarnato - Another person who I WANT to like. I don't know if she has the goods to keep sliding through, but I want to see her grow as a singer every week.

10. Phil Stacey - He had been my third-highest guy for a while, but there is just something about him that is starting to rub me the wrong way. This is one person who could end up jumping quite a bit on my list.

11. Chris Richardson, hereforeto be known as TimberFed - I suppose he's a good singer, and he's got the ladies. I HATE HIM. He's Justin Timberlake without actual talent. He's Kevin Federline without a bald ex-wife. He's the poser saggy-pants white guy-who doesn't know he's white. He's Jamie Kennedy's B-Rad in Malibu's Most Wanted. I hate him.

12. Sanjaya Malakar - Can someone PLEASE explain to me what the hell he is still doing here. WHY do people like him. HOW on earth is he still getting the tween vote? The only reason I'm not more upset about it is because really, in the 6 guy/6 girl format, who would have been a better male choice? Sundance (I have another not-so-PG nickname for him)? Jared Hand-over-the-face Cotter? None of them are worthy of the top-12, and that's more of the problem. I would love to see Sabrina Sloan (Guadalupe Streisand) get another crack. I'd like to see Alaina get another shot. They would have been better choices for the top-12, but I digress.

Top-Ten Songs Named After Women

2007-02-07T10:10:00.000-08:00

Sorry, Paul Hutchins, but you got your list totally wrong:

I Agree with:

Eleanor Rigby -- The Beatles
Ana Ng -- They Might Be Giants
Maggie Mae -- Rod Stewart
Billie Jean -- Michael Jackson
Layla -- Eric Clapton
Anna Begins -- Counting Crows

But you left Out:
Be My Yoko Ono -- Barenaked Ladies
Ms. Jackson - Outcast
Mrs. Robinson - Simon & Garfunkel
Visions of Johanna - Bob Dylan
To Ramona - Bob Dylan
Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll - Bob Dylan
Maggie's Farm - Bob Dylan
Amanda - Boston
See Emily Play - Pink Floyd
Gloria - U2 (I think I cheated here)
Grace - U2 (and here, too)

I'm sure there's a ton more that I'm just not thinking of!

You Get What You Give

2007-01-31T17:08:00.000-08:00

I haven't written in a while, and I don't really have anything important to say, but I saw this picture of Dave Evans and thought it was worth posting about. It's from a Time Magazine article from last year when they were at Abbey Road with Green Day. Most of the article is about Music Rising and all, but the final question was "what two contemporary songs would you most want your name attached to. He says Wonderwall by Oasis (obvious choice) and You Get What You Give by the New Radicals.

That one suprises me, although I think if U2 had written that song (minus the celebrity disses at the end), it would probably be one of their biggest hits of all time.

And it's funny to me, because there was this guy at Biola, who dated a friend of Melissa, who ...shall we say was not all that interested in the truth. He claimed to have hung out with the Mark Tremonti from Creed (even scored me an "autograph") and he also said that he helped to write the New Radicals album, but couldn't have his name listed because of some songwriters union thing. Nice.

It's a Lie!

2007-01-10T11:44:00.000-08:00

I miss my family, but I don't miss the OC!

Orange County

You're rich, pretty, and living a charmed life. (Or you seriously wish you were.)

From Disneyland to Laguna Beach, you're all about living the California dream life.

Just make sure to marry rich - so you don't have to work for it!

Where Does Your Inner Californian Belong?

2007-01-04T14:45:00.000-08:00

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2007-01-03-the-OC-canceled_x.htm?csp=34

I almost got sad, but then I remembered that I haven't watched the show since Marissa started kissing girls.

Brokeback Doogie

2006-11-27T09:26:00.000-08:00

So I'm committing to writing some actual "Web journal" type content this week, since it's been a long freaking time. Today's topic: The un-closeting of Neil Patrick Harris. The big question floating around about all of this is "Were you suprised?". Me? Actually, I was and I wasn't. Afterall, the guy have been a broadway actor forever. But it's still hard to picture Barney, his beloved gigelo character on How I Met Your Mother (Mondays at 8:00pm, CBS), taking it up the tailpipe.

And then George from Grey's Anatomy came out the same week. That one was strange because I wouldn't expect it. Here's to hoping that they don't go and change their characters in anyway on their shows. That would be stoopid.

2006-11-07T13:12:00.000-08:00

2006-10-31T15:02:00.000-08:00

Friday Random Ten

2006-10-19T17:48:00.000-07:00

1. Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me - Pearl Jam from Vitalogy
2. Helter Skelter - U2 from Rattle and Hum
3. Silent All These Years - Tori Anus from Star Lounge Collection 1996
4. Miami - Will Smith from Big Willie Style
5. Lovesong - Mars Hill from The Scenic Route
6. Little Man Big Man - Toad the Wet Sprocket from Coil
7. Idiot Box - Aquabats from The Fury of the Aquabats
8. Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan from Bootleg Series Volume 4
9. Grand Illusion - Styx from Return to Paradise
10. Stand Inside Your Love - Smashing Pumpkins from Rotten Apples

T.R.T.

2006-10-12T17:14:00.000-07:00

Hey remember when we all used to do a Friday Random Ten? Yeah, it's been a while. Here's one for this week, a day early.

1. Emily's Love Song - Skypark from Am I Pretty?
2. Disappear - Hoobastank from The Reason
3. Thirty Three - Smashing Pumpkins from VH1 Storytellers Bootleg
4. Rag Doll - Aerosmith from Big Ones
5. I Wanna Hold Your Hand - The Beatles from Anthology
6. Shut Your Mouth - Garbage from Beautiful Garbage
7. We Dance Alone - Beck from The Information
8. Losing My Religion - R.E.M. from SNL 25 Years of Performances
9. Run Around - Van Hagar from The Best of Both Worlds
10. Ground Beneath Her Feet - U2 from Live at Irving Plaza

Even Fatter Than the Real Thing

2006-10-05T10:15:00.000-07:00

Taking his title as the world's biggest rock star a little too literally, the U2 frontman proudly showed off his ever-growing food baby that he's stored in his midsection while vacationing in Croatia. The 46-year-old rocker was with his wife of 24 years enjoying the Adriatic sun when onlookers spotted a beached Bono relaxing by the shore. No rescue efforts were made to return Bono back into the ocean.

Happy Lost Day!

2006-10-04T13:57:00.000-07:00

Season Three starts tonight at 9:00!!!!!!

List of the Day: Favorite Lost characters

1. Kate (was there ever any doubt)
2. Hurley
3. Charlie
4. Locke
5. Sawyer
6. Jin & Sun
7. Jack
8. Desmond
9. Mr. Eko
10. Alvar Hanso

Farewell, Fish!

2006-09-27T15:09:00.000-07:00

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2604570

One of the best players and best character guys in the history of the Anahiem Angels is going to retire on Thursday. Tim was such a great player and I've grown up watching him since he won AL Rookie of the Year when I was 15. He will go down as my second favorite Angel ever. #1 on my list was the other player I grew up watching. He stays #1 because I have a more romantic take on things from when I was even younger. I was 9 when he was a rookie and he hit back-to-back home runs when I was there for my 10th birthday the following year. That kind of memory can't be beat. My favorite Halos of all time (in my lifetime, that is):

1. Wally Joyner
2. Tim Salmon
3. Chuck Finley
4. The Wonderdog Rex Hudler
5. Dick Schofield
6. Gary Discarcina
7. Mark Langston
8. Troy Percival
9. Troy Glaus
10. Darin Erstad
11. Kirk McCaskill
12. Jim Edmonds
13. Adam Kennedy
14. Bob Boone
15. Vladomir Guerrero
Honorable Mention: Mike James' Sideburns, Jack Howell, Mike Witt

Dishonorable mention for my least favorite Angel's - Mo Vaughn, Cecil Fielder, Tony Phillips, Brad "Roids" Fulmer and of course..... Mr. Clean - Garrett "Friggin" Anderson.

He's Still a Genius (in France)

2006-09-22T11:43:00.000-07:00

Weird Al's new album is coming out next Tuesday. I know I'm a nerd, but he's still REALLY good at what he does. He did a spot on rendition of You're Beautiful, that won't be on the album:

http://media.thechrispirilloshow.com/mp3/yourepitiful.mp3

And the newest video is for "White and Nerdy" An amazing Chamelionarre parody:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=1194164636&n=2

He will also have a Green Day parody: "Canadian Idiot" and parodies of Usher, Taylor Hicks and R.Kelly (Trapped in the Drive Through), which is sure to be funny.

Life with Coaxial

2006-09-13T16:19:00.000-07:00

First off: I'm going to my Bosses house to watch the finale of Rock Star: SUPERNOVA tonight. I really don't know who is going to win. Last year we knew for a few weeks. This year Dilana was the shoo-in, but Toby has made a serious case for himself and I don't think Magni is out of it. As far as who I WANT to win: EVS!!!!!! I'd be happy with any of the four.

The good news is that I did get cable in time for September and the new season of television. The bad news: I have more than one conflict in need of resolution, having only one tv and one tivo. The following is my nightly breakdown of what I'll be watching this fall, or at least, what my Tivo will be watching. When I start my early mornings at Target, I'll be in bed at 9:00 (except Wednesdays for LOST, of course), so I'll have alot of TV catch up to do on the weekends.

Sunday (while watching Sunday Night Football during commercials)
8:00 - The Amazing Race (I'll have to catch Makeover: Home Edition and the Simpsons in reruns).
9:00 - ESPN
10:00 - Without a Trace

Monday (whilst watching Monday Night Football during commercials)
8:00 - 1st half of 7th Heaven
8:30 - How I Met Your Mother
9:00 - The Bachelor: Rome or Heroes. If one sucks than it'll be the other. If Heroes rocks, then I'll be watching that.
10:00 - What about Brian (although I might be watching Studio 60 if it blows my mind).

Tuesday (my go-to-bed-early night)
8:00 - Gilmore Girls
9:00 - ESPN
10:00 - ESPN

Wednesday
8:00 - 20 Good Years
8:30 - 30 Rock
9:00 - LOST, baby!!!!!!!
10:00 - coinflip: The Nine or Kidnapped, which ever pilot I like better

Thursday
8:00 pm - Survivor
9:00 pm - Grey Anatomy
10:00 pm - Shark

Friday
8:00 pm - The Ghost Whisperer
9:00 pm - Close to Home
10:00 pm - Numbers

TOP FIVE MOST ANTICIPATED RETURNS:
1. LOST
2. Gilmore Girls
3. Grey's Anatomy
4. Amazing Race
5. Survivor

TOP FIVE MOST ANTICIPATED PILOTS:
1. 30 Rock
2. Heroes
3. Studio 60
4. The Nine
5. Shark

5-0

2006-09-12T09:33:00.000-07:00

Being a temporary "bachelor", I took part in five fantasy football drafts this year. I had a pretty good start this weekend as all of my teams won. I have the Bankers Bunch, which you can link to from the right hand column. I've been in this league with a bunch of Biola grads for eight years. I've never won and I've only come close twice, but it's the best league I've ever seen. I got criticized big time for one of my early picks this year, but so far so good. I beat Josh! Then there is the Cramer league, which I've been in for eleven years, since my junior year in high school. I also have a four-man league with the Hutch Bros. and Mark, which we draft through email every year.

This year I added two more leagues, since I'm solo up here and didn't have any reason NOT to. I am in a league with people from work and a league with people from church.

A New (old) Look

2006-09-02T08:03:00.000-07:00

+ =

A SECOND JOB!

Yup, I just got hired at Target to work the Flow/Truck Unload shift, 4am-9am!