The Word of the Day for today is Youth.
For those who criticize poker as not being a sport, you're going to be disappointed that I am starting a blog with a poker note. But since it is covered by both ESPN and Sports Illustrated, and is featured on many sports networks, I'm covering it. Congratulations to 21 year old Joe Cada on winning the 2009 World Series of Poker, becoming the youngest Main Event champion of all time. He came back from having just over 1% of the chips with 7 players remaining to win the whole thing. He did get lucky a couple of times, notably when he had pocket 3s against Jeff Shulman's pocket jacks and hit a 3 on the flop, and when he hit another set with his deuces against Antoine Saout's pocket queens three handed. Watching Darvin Moon playing the final table made me realize that should I ever get the opportunity to drop $10k to play the main event that I have just as good a chance as anyone to win it. Could he have made losing look any easier?
The Pittsburgh Steelers looked impressive on the road Monday night against Denver. They rattled Kyle Orton into having his worst game of the season, forcing three interceptions, while Rashard Mendenhall showed why the Steelers made him their first round pick in 2008.
Brady Quinn has regained the starting quarterback position in Cleveland. Is there any worse job in sports right now than to be the Browns' QB? I can't seem to think of anything short of being the Oakland Raiders general manager. The Browns are making the Raiders look like a professional franchise.
The Patriots and Colts are set to play in their annual AFC Championship Game preview game. This is probably the biggest game for the Colts on their quest to go undefeated. More on this game tomorrow in my NFL preview blog.
I'm going to rail on Time Warner Cable for a minute. How is it that the NFL Network has been around as long as it has, yet you STILL refuse to add it to your basic cable package. It's pathetic the NFL is on their network on Thursdays starting this week, and so many NFL fans are unable to watch the game.
The Hot Stove season is in full swing, as teams are already starting to position themselves for the 2010 season. The Red Sox added Jeremy Hermida as insurance in case they are unable to re-sign Jason Bay, and extended Tim Wakefield for two years. Wakefield's contract is significant, as they have been working together on mutual options for the past four seasons.
The Twins and Brewers made a trade last week that filled needs for each team. The Brewers sent embattled shortstop J.J. Hardy to the Twins for outfielder Carlos Gomez. You'll remember Gomez as the centerpiece of the Johan Santana trade before the 2008 season. Gomez fills a need for the Brewers, as he will be cheaper than Mike Cameron would have been to re-sign, and the Twins had a gaping hole at shortstop. I really like the trade for the Twins if Hardy can go back to his pre-2009 form. The Brewers are going to need to get more offense though to make up for Gomez and his sub-.300 on base percentage, although Gomez is one of the best defenders in the game.
The Power Rankings section of the blog.
NFL Top Five:
1. New Orleans (8-0). Second straight week they've come back from a double digit deficit to win by double digits.
2. Indianapolis (8-0). Peyton Manning along with Drew Brees the top two MVP candidates.
3. Minnesota (7-1). Bye week couldn't have come at a better time. Let's see what Brett Favre has in the tank for the second half of the season.
4. New England (6-2). Two major tests in the next three weeks for the Patriots, first at Indianapolis this week, and two weeks later at New Orleans.
5. Cincinnati (6-2). They are for real. Two impressive wins over the Ravens, and a win over Pittsburgh. One tipped pass away from being 7-1. Big game this week against my #6 team Pittsburgh.
NFL Bottom Five:
28. St. Louis (1-7). Can Steven Jackson get some help, PLEASE?
29. Detroit (1-7). Matthew Stafford going through some growing pains in his rookie season.
30. Tampa Bay (1-7). Great to see Josh Freeman get a win in his first start.
31. Kansas City (1-7). Amazing what a little talent can do to a person, isn't it Matt Cassel?
32. Cleveland (1-7). Ugh, could things get any worse?
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