Best pickup?

Of all the players the Broncos have signed this offseason, one of my favorites is backup QB Chris Simms. I actually campaigned for the Broncos to sign him last year. Say what you want about his skills, which IMO cannot yet be fully evaluated. What no one can question is his toughness. If you don't know the story, here's a BroncoTalk article explaining why. Bottom line, football is all about depth and Simms is a much better backup than Patrick Ramsey.

If you can keep your head

when all about you are losing theirs...

Last night Paul was eliminated from the NBC National Heads Up Poker Classic. Although he played brilliantly in the last match, he needed to catch one of 12 cards on the river to stay alive, and none came. When the final card "bricked," I felt sick to my stomach, which is probably one tenth of the feeling Paul felt. The disappointment hit me in waves: on the way to the cage to get paid, throughout the impromptu business meeting with Paul's newest sponsors, and on the drive back to Paul's amazing Vegas house.

Just as I had allowed myself to feel excited, nervous, and exuberant during the first 24 hours of the tournament, I allowed myself to feel the loss. Since 2008 had been a frustrating year from both a personal and professional standpoint, I'd resolved to do 2009 differently. This year is about authenticity with myself and with the people in my life.



Paul was eliminated in the round of sixteen, which makes this the second tournament cash (of two) in a row. In back to back tournaments, he has been on the doorstep of what I consider big time money. While it is frustrating to have come this close twice in a short succession, I am also extremely proud of his performance and mine. The poker landscape is as tough as it's ever been: There is less room for error, less spots with great equity, less weak players looking to give money away.

These tournies take a lot out of Paul and I but we are both getting better at getting what we need both from and during them. Last night after studying footage and going over the blind structure in preparation for his next opponent, we ran for miles through the Vegas chill and then practiced sun salutations on his patio. The day before, when I'd awoken with a hangover and a migraine, we both went to the spa for massages and a steam bath.

Yes I was disappointed last night but today is a new day and today I take solace and joy in knowing that we are doing a lot of things correctly. We know what the new poker frontier requires. Our new approach has rekindled my competitive fire and made me fall in love again with this job. I'm calm, I'm happy, and I absolutely cannot wait to do it again.

Comment

from the really drunk girl (with so many rockstar fingers!!!!!!!) overhearing my conversation at Connor O'Neil's tonight after class.

"You're a good looking guy, so why are you on Match.com?"

Me: "It's not just for lepers anymore you know."

Feeling Good

That last post was allowed to sit at the top for half a day. No longer.

My middle school coach (the one who wasn't a pretty cool lesbian) used to walk out of his office in the stanky boys locker room and say, "It's a great day to be alive, men!" He had an infectious positive attitude and was the first adult other than my parents that I found to be a positive role model. In his office, he had a picture of him covered in blood and camoflauge, sitting next to a deer that he'd killed with an arrow. He had a huge grin on his face (and later named his son Hunter)

While I don't get my jollies from slaying wildlife, Coach A's daily take no prisoners joie de vivre attitude has always resonated with me. Today, I feel absolutely great.

I measure my quality of life by four things:

1. how work is going
2. how school is going
   
3. how much physical activity I'm getting
4. my ability to attract awesome hot people.

The final category isn't going as well as I'd like at the moment but the other three more than make up for that. I went for a run with Walker on Sunday and felt amazing. I wanted to run for hours. I also cranked up the tunes yesterday and banged out 5o pushups before class. Nothing flexing the mental and the physical muscles at the same time. Workwise, Paul asked me to act as a coach when he's in tournaments. He played extremely well and cashed in the last one, and I know I helped him get there. As for school, I'm 1.5 semesters in and I have no doubts that I belong. Too bad professional student isn't a lucrative career option because I love school and I'm good at it.

On Friday, Paul plays another tournament. I couldn't be more excited. The day after that, I take my econ midterm. Bring it on. Please.

I am lion. Hear me &*^%^&*% roar!!!!

We studied heuristics and biases...

but I'm really just learning about the latter.

I just met with top administrators in the CU Evening MBA program regarding my options if things with my professor cannot be resolved. To back up, I am in a discussion with one of last semester's professors regardng my final exam grade, which was a D-. This caused my overall final grade to drop from an A to an A-. While it may not seem significant in the grand scheme of things, I don't believe my final exam warranted anything less than a B-.

Today the administrator said that if my professor is unwilling to change the grade, my one recourse is to file an official grievance. If I file, the Dean will convene a group of faculty to review my paper. They then vote on whether the grade should be changed or not.

The problem is, and this was made extremely clear today, no panelists will vote against the professor. Here's why:

1. My professor is one of their colleagues.
2. The subject matter is not in their area of expertise.
3. They don't want to tell someone else how to grade their classes.
   
4. Most importantly, if any of their own students file a grievance, my professor may have the chance to reciprocate.

The writing on the wall is clear. If we cannot reach an agreement whenever my professor actually decides to review my test (he requested that it be snail mailed to him in Australia), my "recourse" is extremely unlikely to go my way.

Broncos D looks to... Get Older?

This is not a post about the Jay Cutler debacle although it does indirectly pertain...

In the last week, the Broncos have signed free agents Brian Dawkins (35), Andre Goodman (30), Andra Davis (30), and Renaldo Hill (30). With Champ Bailey (30) opposite Goodman at the other corner, the Broncos will definitely be in contention for the oldest secondary in the league.

I like most of these moves individually but collectively, they are quite puzzling. In an era in which teams constantly try to get younger, the Broncos appear to be doing the opposite. This flies in the face of everything one would expect for a rebuilding year, a year in which the entire defensive scheme will likely shift (to a 3-4). Why would the Broncos go the veteran route now?

Theory 1: Jay Cutler's contract expires in 2 years. Even the Barrel Man knows Cutler is unlikely to resign after last weeks events. Perhaps Head Coach McDaniels wants to try a desperate "win now" approach for the next two years and then rebuild. Problem here? The broncos need a NT and a much better pass rush. Can they really hope to get an entire D line in the draft AND have them compete right away?

Theory 2: It might not be possible to bring in a bunch of rookies, teach them the 3-4 Defense and expect them to win playoff games before free agency and salary contracts decimate the team. Better to bring in veterans, install the defense and help Denver reset the tone around here. THEN rebuild. Call it the "three years to greatness plan." Problem here? By the time the defense puts it together, the offense will be gone. Stokely will retire, Cutler will not re-up, and Eddie Royal will be looking for a new deal. Also, seeing as how over 30% of NFL coaches were fired this offseason, no coach should bank on a 3 year plan.

Theory 3: McDaniels actually sees these guys as relatively long term solutions. The Broncos have taken fliers on aging defenders (Dre Bly, John Lynch) in the past, with varying degrees of success. Lynch certainly had some miles left in the tank but the Bly signing is much more contentious. Problem here? One would expect a new administration to have a new mindset. That said, Patriots Coach Bill Belichick (from whom McDaniels learned the craft) has made a career out of cobbling together veterans who still have something left to give (Adalius Thomas, Teddy Bruschi, etc.)

My best bet is Theory 1. The Broncos aren't rebuilding, they're reloading.

Mad Men meet Madden

I constantly look for people, stories, yes even ads that inspire me. Call me a sucker but this gets me incredibly pumped

My Friday Night

Yes it's a chick flick. Yes you can make fun of me. But the question is...

Is it your Friday night too?

Rollercoaster

After rocking a short stack, climbing as high as 600,000 chips and then bouncing around the poker spectrometer, Paul's LAPC came to an end. He finished in 28th place. I am really proud of him. By the way I'm calling this Paul's "Obama shot."

In the money!

Yesterday was a difficult day for Paul. Admittedly, he didn't play perfect poker. But he scraped and clawed his way into the money. He currently has 90,000 chips. Average is about 180,000 but anything can happen.

We were talking last night and it feels so good to have finally cashed again. We have done things differently throughout this tournament and it feels incredibly good to be rewarded. This couldn't come at a better time as there are more tournaments down the road. This is the plan: Double up. Double up again! Double up again!

Keep your fingers crossed,
Truman

Well above average

I used to be forced to listen to Garison Keiller's tales from Lake Wobegone, where blah blah blah and all the children are above average.

Well Paul is still in the tournament and his 120k stack is well above average. His play has been phenomenal. Yesterday he eliminated a player early on to get his day rolling. Then when Isaac Haxton took his place, Paul began picking on him, whittling him down. Once Haxton got desperate and pushed all-in Paul finished the job. He also snapped off a bluff from Karga Holt and managed to keep the ever dangerous Nick Schulman from doing any damage.

There are 170 people left. The survivors from today will definitely make the money. Stay tuned...

Dinner Break

Paul is in his element. I haven't seen him this focused or this enthusiastic in a long time. I too, am extremely excited. I have none of the usual nervousness that I've had in recent tourneys. That said, I am having a very difficult time studying for upcoming midterms. I have railed Paul for eight hours and I think I picked up a tell on one of the other players at his table. Paul agrees. Right now he's sitting on 37,000 chips, which is considerably above average. My one regret is that we didn't get the MMA bets in for the fight tonight (DON"T TELL ME RESULTS!). I thought about getting the bets in and we even discussed them but in all of the poker preparations, we both forgot. My bad.

I don't know what will happen but I am extremely excited.