Super Bowl Pick

If Forced To Choose: Cardinals +6.5 over Steelers

Best Prop Bets:
Anquan Boldin +1200 MVP
Darnell Dockett +750 first player to record a sack
Anquan Boldin +1/2 over Larry Fitzgerald (receptions, +120)

Final Score Prediction: Steelers 23, Cardinals 20

Lock season record: 3-3
Really like season record: 12-5-1
Also like season record: 40-33-3
If forced to choose season record: 82-79-2
All games season record: 136-121-6

The Dead of Winter

I spent most of the last two Januarys in Melbourne, Australia. I like to think of Melbourne as my third home after Boulder and Vegas and always say I’d like to go down there for the Aussie Millions every year the rest of my life. But this year nobody I knew really wanted to go down there so plans were never made.

Trying to get through January here in Colorado, it’s easy to remember why I went to Melbourne the last couple years. I watch the Australian Open on TV and think about what it’s like to be in that city right now. It’s summer, and it’s sweltering – far hotter this year than it’s ever been while I’ve been there. I watch the tennis, which will likely feature another epic final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, while the wind whistles through the trees and snow blows past my windows.

There hasn’t been a football game in ten days, and after the Super Bowl there won’t be another one that matters for seven months. College basketball season is heating up, but the Colorado Buffaloes aren’t. They might be the worst team in the Big XII. I cheat on the Buffs with the Pitt Panthers, who break my heart every March by never exceeding their tournament expectations. This year the expectations are higher than ever before – they’ve spent a couple weeks atop the polls and are looking to snag a #1 seed for the Dance.

The internet is not affected by the cold. It works just fine in January. I skim more blogs than Julian Silvain, check out Facebook, Bracketology, The National Football Post, and peruse the fares of OkCupid.

Since I read so much online, I hardly ever read books. Most of my book reading takes place in the bathroom, where I very slowly chip away at George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. Martin weaves an epic fantasy about a land preparing for the return of Winter – a season which could last decades.

Oasis and the Killers, two of my favorite bands, both released new albums late in 2008. Both are abysmal – career lowpoints for sure. So I listen to a lot of Travis, a band seemingly tailored for a glum January morning.

The wind and cold eliminate outdoor recreation from consideration, except for broomball – a poor replacement but sporting fodder nonetheless. So I go to the gym and lift – not my favorite pursuit but always satisfying and always indoors. On the warmer days I go for a run or walk in the foothills equipped with gloves, a podcast, and a nine month-old black lab named Daisy.

Comcast has an intriguing assortment of free movies On Demand. I checked a couple classics, The Last of the Mohicans and Hoosiers, off the I’ve never seen before list. Both fell short of expectations. Deep into the coldest night of the month, I dialed up a wild old Charles Bronson flick called Breakheart Pass. Billed as a “western mystery suspense thriller”, Breakheart Pass would have normally been a ludicrous choice but on that frigid night it was just the ticket.

The Office has been slowly deteriorating since Season II, inspiring me to search for a new Best Show On Television. Lost Season III fell a little short of the standard set the first two years. The problem with Arrested Development is that you miss most of the best jokes if you aren’t paying close attention, and people usually watch comedies when they don’t feel like heavy mental lifting.

When I am prepared to watch something that requires brain function, I put on The Wire. This is one show that has lived up to the hype. Every hour-long episode is jam-packed full of plot and character development details so dense I frequently have to rewind and rewatch key scenes. It’s a gigantic canvas, every scene adding another shade of grey to the palette. It’s all about these shades of grey, as The Wire shows you the Baltimore drug dealing scene from every perspective. No one is completely innocent or guilty. Rather, everyone has motivation for every action. There are heroes and villains, but their roles are determined more by circumstance than disposition. Should the crescendo reach the heights hinted at in the first five episodes, The Wire just might become my favorite television show.

Outdoor gaming might be restricted by the snow and cold, but the indoor variety is enhanced. I can never turn down a game of Settlers of Catan, and now we have Puerto Rico as well. But the game I have played the most this January has been no limit hold em. I’m reinvigorated. I get excited to play once again. I considered my options very carefully and came to the conclusion that in 2009, poker is my best bet. GnightMoon is back.

My 100 Favorite Songs: #64

Queen - I Want To Break Free

Freddie Mercury, arguably the greatest male vocalist in rock and roll history, belts out a spectacular sequence from 1:38 to 2:05.

Pregaming

Generally when I prepare for a poker tournament I try to get as fired up as possible. I usually get some exercise and listen to inspiring music. I go in there pumped up trying to copy the mindset I have for a big game or track meet. I wonder if this what other poker players do, and I wonder if it is the best way to prepare. Since poker requires no physical effort, it may not make any sense to get pumped up beforehand.

My 100 Favorite Songs: #65

Audioslave - I Am The Highway

Audioslave was ultimately a rather frustrating band, never quite living up to the hype or the talent and never releasing an album listenable from start to finish. But every once in a while they put it all together and nailed a stunner.

Demented

Last night I dreamed the number of comments for my last blog post had swelled to 18. When I woke up I immediately listened to "Westfall" by Okkervil River.

Diet

Although my overall health is outstanding, I have one huge weakness: diet. I have been fortunate to never have to pay much attention to what I eat. As a result, my diet contains a ton of the bad stuff - fat, sodium, cholesterol, sugar, etc. I also love drinking alcohol, especially beer. I might average fifteen beers a week.

I have been engaged in a long, vicious battle with my beer belly reminiscent of the Ravens/Steelers rivalry this season. I win most of my health battles but this is the hardest hump to get over - or rather, destroy. Taste is always going to be priority #1. I love food, and one of the main reasons I exercise is so I can eat more. I have no interest in eating less but I am prepared to make some slight modifications to my diet if I can do so without sacrificing taste.

Here is all the food I purchased on my last trip to King Soopers:

10 pack tortillas $3.19
1/2 lb Swiss cheese $2.88
.84 lbs roast beef $7.55
Strawberry yogurt $2.69
4 pack drumstick ice cream cones $2.50
Orange juice $3.49
Wheat Thins $2.20
Triscuits $2.20
4 pepperoni pizza Lunchables $7.16
Fuze strawberry guava $1.00
3 Gala apples $1.20
3 Avocados $2.97
1 Grapefruit $1.08
2 Celestial Seasonings herbal zinger tea packs $5.00
3 packs ramen (oriental, shrimp limon, picante beef) $1.00
Blueberries $1.00
Baked Lays $2.99
3 bottles Gatorade $3.00
Boulder Chips Jalapeno Cheddar $1.67
Boulder Chips Salt & Pepper $1.67
Boulder Chips Tomato & Basil $1.67
3 Vitamin water $3.00
Snack pack pudding chocolate mud pie $1.00
Tray Power Bar Triple Threat Caramel Peanut Fusion $15.00
Chocolate flavored whey protein $26.29
Pop tarts smores $1.00
2 cans cashews $6.98
2 albacore tuna $3.58
Reypener VSOP cheese $10.32
Deli chicken salad $2.60
Deli pasta salad $3.48
Deli sundried tomato pasta salad $2.25
Sushi spicy tuna roll $6.29

My 100 Favorite Songs: #66

Alice In Chains - Man In The Box

Best blasted really loud on a hot summer day.

Championship Picks

Also Like:
CARDINALS +3.5 over Eagles

If Forced To Choose:
Ravens +6 over STEELERS

Lock season record: 3-3
Really like season record: 12-5-1
Also like season record: 39-33-3
If forced to choose season record: 82-78-2
All games season record: 135-120-6

The Wide World of Sportsbetting

I have been obsessed with sports my entire life, though the rest of my family could care less. I have never known why or how I got so into sports, but I caught the bug early and it has never relinquished its hold.

In high school physics class some buddies and I used to discuss the NFL games quite a bit. I distinctly remember the day after the Super Bowl immediately switching our discussion to college basketball and a friend asking "Tom, where does it end?" I stared at him blankly and then said "it doesn't."

In recent years I have grown increasingly obsessed with the NFL. It is the behemoth of American sports; nothing else is as entertaining or accessible. I have steadily grown more and more interested in the game, to the point where I was excited to watch games between teams I had no vested interest in, just for the competition.

Entering this season I knew the NFL would be a big part of my fall, but I didn't expect it to take over quite like it has. Leading up to the first week of the season I started to realize this could be bigger for me than any sports season before, for the following reasons:

• I was chomping at the bit waiting for the season to begin whereas for most sports I don't really get too interested until the playoffs are approaching
• Disinterest in poker was creeping into me and I was sort of looking for something to fill the void
• Paul had installed five TVs in his basement along with the Sunday Ticket package
  
• The idea of betting on the games was there in the back of my mind; I had experimented in the past tracking my results against the spread without putting any money down, and I knew Paul and Truman had bet the season before with moderate success

The first weekend of the season, I realized everything was going to take a back seat to the NFL the next four months. I was blown away by how much I cared about everything that was going on in the league. I started writing a weekly post on the NFL only because I was dying to get my thoughts on the game down in writing.

As the season progressed, so did my obsession.

The comparison I keep making is how I got into poker. I played poker because I have always loved games and it is such a fantastic game; I kept playing cause the strategy went so deep and it was so much fun; and then one day I decided maybe I was good enough at it that I could beat people for money, and I was right. It was the same pattern for football; I watched it more and more cause it just kept getting deeper and more fascinating, and then one day decided to try to make some money at it.

We could never be as successful as we have been at sportsbetting without the poker. When you start betting sports, it quickly becomes clear that making money is all about having money. In order to avoid risk of ruin, which is our #1 goal, we don't bet more than 5% of the bankroll on any one game. This lowers the week-to-week variance which makes it harder to quickly pump up (or lose) the bankroll. Therefore, if you want to make a lot of money, you need to have a lot of money. Starting this from scratch would have been exasperating; starting it using the money we have made playing poker makes it possible for us to make good money without risking the house every week.

The poker background also provides the stern gambling mindframe necessary for successful sportsbetting - the ability to handle swings, manage a bankroll, deal with wins and losses from an expected value point of view rather than a results-oriented one, and evaluate the big picture. It has been a comfortable transition, one that other professional poker players have made and can make if they have the passion and bankroll.

I have no plans to bet on anything but the NFL. I have long felt that I can do anything if I am passionate about it, but should do nothing if I don't feel that way. The NFL is the only sport I am truly passionate about, although I sure like March Madness and the NBA playoffs. I also have no interest in being a lifer - sportsbetting just does no good for the world and I feel the need to get something accomplished eventually. In poker, at least you are playing a game; sportsbetting has even less redeeming value.

It's unclear just how profitable this will be, if at all. Many believe the NFL is the hardest sport to beat because the lines are so accurate and there is so much information readily available. While we scoff at those that would believe our work is impossible, the income it does provide is neither consistent nor reliable. I am not counting on the NFL to pay the bills, but I do hope it is something that will supplement my income for the rest of my life.

Forever

I went down to the post office this afternoon to mail my application to be on the 19th season of Survivor. I decided to pick up some stamps while I was there. The clerk asked if I wanted the "Forever" stamps. He informed me they cost the same as the other stamps, but work even when rates go up. They work forever, in 2050 or whenever, when stamps will likely cost much more than they do now. I asked why anyone would buy the regular stamps and he said only for variety and aesthetics. He also said the Forever stamps will go up in price when rates go up again. So I bought a whole bunch of stamps. I figured I might as well just get my stamps squared away for the foreseeable future.

I did not accomplish my primary goals of 2008, but I felt the year wasn't a total wash because I was able to move forward on some things that I plan on being part of my life for many years to come. I have found that the pursuit of long-term activities and relationships is ultimately more rewarding than the chase of quick fixes. In 2009 I aim to segregate these activities even further, cutting out the more wasteful ones and focusing harder on those that have a chance to pay dividends in the future. This will not be an easy task. I did, after all, begin this post with mention of my Survivor application. Traditionally so much of my life has been spent on frivolous endeavors, undertaking more affecting enterprises may prove difficult and ultimately undesirable.

2008 NFL Season Recap

If and when I become a professional writer, this sort of blog will be posted the day after the regular season ends instead of eleven days later. My apologies to the loyal readers, and an even bigger apology to those who got into this blog for the poker and other content and now have no interest. At some point, this blog will once again be filled with quality content unrelated to football – though I can’t promise it will have anything to do with poker.

It has been a long season.

• Four of the top five preseason contenders (New England, Dallas, Indianapolis, Jacksonville) are no longer standing; the only one who is (San Diego) was 4-8 and left for dead.
• Three weeks into the season, I made a 40:1 bet on the Dallas Cowboys to go undefeated.
• The Colts were 3-4 on Halloween.
• After week twelve the Jets were 8-3, had won five straight including an easy win at undefeated Tennessee, were #4 in the power rankings, and would be favored in each of their final five games. They lost four of those five, missed the playoffs, fired their coach, will likely be without a decent quarterback next season, and now face an ugly salary cap situation.
• The Broncos were 8-5, up three games in the division with three to go, and ended up missing the playoffs and firing their coach of fourteen seasons

Some crazy ups and downs in the power rankings:

• Washington was 28th after the first week, 3rd after the fifth week, and 20th after week fifteen.
• Dallas was #1 the first five weeks of the season and didn’t make the playoffs.
• Philadelphia has been as high as #2 and as low as #16.
• Denver rifled up and down the rankings between #5 and #25.
• The Jets got as low as #24 and as high as #4 before ending the season in the 20s.
• Two teams that couldn’t crack the top fourteen with one week left in the regular season (San Diego and Arizona) are two wins from the Super Bowl.

Revisiting a few observations from Week One:

• “Plaxico Burress is going to have a monster season”
• “The Skins looked so bad that it's already almost inconceivable that they could be at all decent anytime soon.”
• “I thought the Seahawks offense would be bad. They are in serious, serious trouble. Losing Nate Burleson for the season might be the death knell. This will likely remain my #1 team to bet against for the next few more weeks before the lines go down to where they're supposed to go.”
• “The Panthers looked very, very good. They deserved to win this game. I was thinking the whole time, what this team really needs is a playmaking receiver. It just so happens they have one of the most explosive in the league. When SS gets back, they may be unstoppable. In my mind, this team is already a contender.”
• “You can just tell with Dante Rosario. This guy is gonna be a monster. Buy stock in Dante Rosario while it's still cheap. We haven't seen a tight end this athletic enter the league since Antonio Gates.”
• “The NFC West could very well be the worst division in NFL (sports?) history. All these teams are horrible. I like my pick of the Cards to win the division at 8-8. I don't really like the Cards much though. I don't think they've improved over last year, though the record may be better.”
• “Dallas is the obvious Juggernaut. There is no reason to believe their offense can be stopped, unless injuries hit.”

Now onto the player awards, starting with one of the most intriguing and competitive MVP races the league has seen (although the final Associated Press numbers did not reflect it):

13. John Abraham, Atlanta
The scariest one-on-one pass rusher in the league on obvious pass downs.

12. Matt Ryan, Atlanta
Ryan’s season had three phases: the start of the season where he got the kid gloves treatment because he was a rookie; the middle section where he caught fire, took control of the team, and was actually playing MVP-caliber football; and the final month where he ran out of gas. A rookie season that exceeded all expectations and shocked a franchise into believing in itself.

11. Roddy White, Atlanta
The secret reason for Matt Ryan’s success, White did more to help his team and quarterback than any other wide receiver this season. His consistent, no strings attached, high level of play was as big a reason for Atlanta’s stunning success as Ryan, Abraham, Michael Turner, or Mike Smith.

10. Ed Reed, Baltimore
Nine picks including two touchdowns and eight in the final six games, but Reed isn’t as good a tackler as he once was.

9. Chad Pennington, Miami
The perfect player for Miami’s situation, but not talented enough to garner serious MVP consideration.

8. Albert Haynesworth, Tennessee
Quite possibly the best football player in the world, but injured too often to get serious consideration for MVP.

7. Kurt Warner, Arizona
Great season in a great system for Warner, but this team wouldn’t have made the playoffs in six of the NFL’s eight divisions, and Warner throws to two of the best wideouts in football.

6. Drew Brees, New Orleans
The closest thing to “unstoppable” on the offensive side of the ball, but only in Domes and/or against bad defenses; incredibly efficient in his good games, but he couldn’t get it done against the better defenses and/or in bad weather.

5. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota
The most terrifying player in the league, but he also terrorized his own fans with nine fumbles.

4. DeMarcus Ware, Dallas
Ware was the force that kept the Cowboys in the playoff hunt through all their troubles on offense and in the locker room, finishing with a league-high 20 sacks. On a team lacking consistency, Ware was the one playmaker that came to play all season. But he disappeared the last two games and couldn’t will the ‘Boys to a playoff berth.

3. Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh
One of the most unique players in the league, Polamalu is an indispensable playmaker who gives Pittsburgh’s defense the highest ceiling in the league. They are able to do so much because of Polamalu’s skills. Pittsburgh can show different looks and call all kinds of defensive plays that other teams cannot, and Polamalu is the biggest reason for that.

2. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis
The reasons why the AP voted Peyton the league’s most valuable player: the Colts had a mediocre defense, an aging Marvin Harrison, and no running game – and still won twelve games including nine in a row; the Colts would have won about five or six games if Peyton had missed the season with injury. By the end of the season, Peyton was playing better at quarterback than anyone else, and singlehandedly led them to a critical playoff-clinching road win over the Jaguars.

The reasons why I can’t vote Peyton #1: He did not start playing consistently well until November; he was unable to guide the Colts to more than three points against the Cleveland Browns in a must-win November 30 game; Drew Brees and Philip Rivers had better numbers across the board working with similar wide receivers; much of Peyton’s success came against poor defenses; I believe Indy’s excellent record in close games was more due to coaching and variance than Manning; and the argument he got them five or six wins they wouldn’t have won with their backup works just as well for Cutler, Warner, Brees, and Rivers.

1. James Harrison, Pittsburgh
In the words of David Hoedeman, diehard Steelers fan:
he's an absolute force
he plays every play about 1.5x faster and harder than anyone other than polomalu
he reads run/pass VERY well
he has far more total tackles than any of the other top sack guys
he's pretty serviceable in pass defense
never seen him overrun an open-field tackle like his boy larry foote does 5 times a game
he's a hard pass rusher that rarely gets burned by draws or screens

LVP:
Tons of good options here – you could go with anyone who played defensive line or safety for Denver, anyone who played defense for Detroit, Brodie Croyle, Ken Dorsey, JaMarcus Russell, or Brad Johnson. Pacman Jones is another obvious choice here, but it is teammate Roy E. Williams (WR) that takes the grand prize. No other player more explicitly made his team worse than Williams.

Head Coach of the Year:
Bill Belichick, New England
A lot of coaches did great work this season – Tom Coughlin keeping the Giant ship on course after some injuries and distractions, Mike Smith and Tony Sparano turning franchises around in the blink of an eye, and Tony Dungy and Jeff Fisher extending excellent tenures with some of their most underrated work. But the best is still the best.

The Patriots lost Tom Brady in game one; lost everyone they had at running back at some point during the season; lost player after player on defense; lost two heartbreakers by a field goal to their biggest rivals; and somehow lost just five games total.

Assistant Coaches of the Year:
Awesome work from both of Baltimore’s coordinators, Rex Ryan on defense and Cam Cameron on offense.

Worst Coach of the Year:
Rod Marinelli, Detroit
Another competitive category, featuring a couple hopeless, overmatched “generals” (Herm Edwards and Romeo Crennel) and some overthinkers who can’t wrap their heads around coaching’s most basic concepts (Andy Reid, Brad Childress, and Eric Mangini). But when a team goes 0-16, that ends all discussion.

Most Underrated Player
LT Ryan Clady, Denver
As a rookie, Clady may already be the best player at the second most important position.

Most Overrated Player
G Alan Faneca, New York Jets
It’s hard for me to judge how well offensive linemen are playing, but others know better.

Most Inconsistent Player:
Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia
I’m personally banking on a poor performance Sunday in the Meadowlands, and scared to death of a good one.

Pony of the Year:
Ed Reed, Baltimore
With all the bets we had on Ravens, Ravens second halves, and Ravens overs, Ed Reed was the gift that kept on giving during the holiday season.

Game of the Year:
Philly/Dallas on MNF in week two was wildly entertaining, and the second Pittsburgh/Baltimore clash was like a pitched battle, but the season's best game was the epic Carolina/New York Giants clash for the #1 seed on Sunday Night Football in week sixteen.

Moon's All-Pro Team:

QB Drew Brees, New Orleans
RB Adrian Peterson, Minnesota
WR Andre Johnson, Houston
WR Roddy White, Atlanta
TE Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City
OT Ryan Clady, Denver
OT Michael Roos, Tennessee
C Kevin Mawae, Tennessee
OG Steve Hutchinson, Minnesota
OG Chris Snee, New York Giants

DE John Abraham, Atlanta
DE Justin Tuck, New York Giants
DT Albert Haynesworth, Tennessee
DT Shaun Rogers, Cleveland
LB James Harrison, Pittsburgh
LB DeMarcus Ware, Dallas
LB Joey Porter, Miami
CB Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland
CB Cortland Finnegan, Tennessee
FS Ed Reed, Baltimore
SS Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh

K Jason Hanson, Detroit
P Mike Scifres, San Diego
KR Josh Cribbs, Cleveland
PR Roscoe Parrish, Buffalo
ST Josh Cribbs, Cleveland

Divisional Picks

Also Like:
TITANS -3 over Ravens

If Forced to Choose:
GIANTS -4 over Eagles
Chargers +6 over STEELERS
Cardinals +10 over PANTHERS

Lock season record: 3-3
Really like season record: 12-5-1
Also like season record: 39-32-3
If forced to choose season record: 81-76-2
All games season record: 134-117-6

2008 POY Pool: Final Standings

MasterJ:

Bill Edler - 0
Scott Clements - 1148
Kevin Saul - 120
Ryan Daut - 0
Travis Rice - 0
Ted Lawson - 1261
Kirk Morrison - 0
David Baker - 1944
Roy Winston - 1246
David Fox - 268
Mike Matusow - 2194
JC Alvarado - 432
Dutch Boyd - 1444
Roland de Wolfe - 792

Total: 10,849

Analysis: Almost half the members of this team were total busts.

Shaniac:

JC Tran - 3067
Alexander Kravchenko - 81
Tom Dwan - 1912
David Singer - 1734
Cory Carroll - 1440
Alex Jacob - 352
Chad Brown - 29
Steve Billirakis - 888
Nick Schulman - 120
Shane Schleger - 0
Alex Bolotin - 1640
Haralabos Voulgaris - 0
Eugene Katchalov - 480
Marco Johnson - 2102

Total: 13,845

Analysis: After the obvious selection of JC Tran in the first round, this team had no consistent producers.

Gambler:

James Van Alstyne - 0
Michael Mizrachi - 3189
Jonathan Little - 2910
David Daneshgar - 1824
Theo Tran - 1776
CK Hua - 0
John Cernuto - 1573
Gus Hansen - 2657
Chris McCormack - 144
Tony Ma - 239
Nick Binger - 1930
David Levi - 681
Alan Myerson - 312
Steve Wong - 236

Total: 17,471

Analysis: Too many duds, especially first-rounder Van Alstyne.

PiMaster:

David Pham - 4822
Danny Wong - 919
Robert Mizrachi - 1319
Scotty Nguyen - 2114
Anna Wroblewski - 609
Jared Hamby - 120
Eugene Todd - 570
Randall Holland - 876
Matt Brady - 3640
Scott Fischman - 720
Kevin Song - 1116
Jimmy Fricke - 1840
Alex Kamberis - 1962
Kido Pham - 760

Total: 21,367

Analysis: This strong team didn't get enough out of its second-tier grinders.

Bag:

Justin Bonomo - 3041
Daniel Negreanu - 2187
Erik Cajelais - 0
Barry Greenstein - 1686
Steve Sung - 3478
Erick Lindgren - 3459
Sorel Mizzi - 1244
Phil Hellmuth - 1590
Lance Allred - 460
Thomas Fuller - 192
Jason Stern - 854
Joe Hachem - 177
Phil Ivey - 2904
Chris Reslock - 846

Total: 22,118

Analysis:
Bag made a lot of good picks, getting excellent value picking up some big names in the later rounds of the draft, but had no real explosion from anyone in his lineup.

Moon:

Gioi Luong - 1733
John Phan - 6704
Joe Sebok - 185
Allen Cunningham - 2416
Darrell Dicken - 1068
Gavin Smith - 2300
Joe Cappello - 1476
Joe Tehan - 752
Chris Bjorin - 1908
Matthew Casterella - 480
James Mackey - 3250
Matt Graham - 1254
Jeff Madsen - 505
John Racener - 1600

Total: 25,631

Analysis: A very strong team but only one player had a career year and thus fell short of Wolf's team in the end.

Wolf:

Nam Le - 3425
John Hoang - 0
Men Nguyen - 3662
Michael Binger - 4416
Hevad Khan - 2616
Humberto Brenes - 0
Nenad Medic - 3210
Max Pescatori - 2492
Francois Safieddine - 285
Bertrand Grospellier - 3110
Tom Schneider - 381
Marcel Luske - 1644
Gavin Griffin - 2855
Annette Obrestad - 0

Total: 28,096

Analysis: Wolf's strategy of picking high risk/high reward players anchored by Nam Le paid off as he got big years from a few of his later selections. Wolf will be playing in a $1500 WSOP event this summer paid for by the rest of us.

My 100 Favorite Songs: #67

Grand Funk Railroad - I'm Your Captain (Closer to Home)

Clocks in at an epic ten minutes but feels like six.

My 100 Favorite Songs: #68

The Cars - My Best Friend's Girl

I remember watching the 2003 WSOP, the summer I first realized, oh my god, it might be possible to play this poker game...for a living! They showed Phil Hellmuth banging his radio alarm clock at noon with this song awakening him - and ever since, I have associated it with waking up at noon and doing what I want to do.

My 100 Favorite Songs: #69

Smoking Popes - Pretty Pathetic

A rare convergence of clever narrative-style lyrics and pop sensibilities; an even rarer convergence of my musical taste and Jeremy Barr's.

Wild Card Picks

Also Like:
Eagles -3 over VIKINGS
Ravens -3.5 over DOLPHINS
Falcons -1 over CARDINALS

If Forced to Choose:
CHARGERS +1 over Colts

Lock season record: 3-3
Really like season record: 12-5-1
Also like season record: 37-31-3
If forced to choose season record: 80-76-2
All games season record: 131-116-6

December Top 15

15. Dollface - Mars Attacks
14. The Dutchess & The Duke - Reservoir Park
13. Nine Inch Nails - Heresy
12. The Replacements - Shiftless When Idle
11. Max Vernon - When Your Body Breaks

10. Alela Diane - White As Diamonds
9. Emmylou Harris - Waltz Across Texas Tonight
8. The Stone Roses - Love Spreads
7. Ween - Baby Bitch
6. Ladytron - Ghosts

5. The Avett Brothers - If It's The Beaches
4. Nine Inch Nails - March of the Pigs
3. Emmylou Harris - May This Be Love
2. Ingrid Michaelson - You and I

Song of the Month: Our Lady Peace - Starseed