I should be happy with a split leaving Tampa (ok, sorry, St. Pete). But, instead, I’m worried. Beckett ain’t right. Lowell is not on the roster. Schilling is a distant memory. It’s going to be awesome if we pull this off, but even if we get by Tampa (which I AM optimistic about), both NL teams scare me 100x more than the Rockies did last year.
Game 3 on Monday is paramount, obviously. Lester should be Lester.
Ok, I wanted to get a few more picks this week, so I may have forced a couple. It’s later than usual. We’ll see. I’ve been concentrating on the Red Sox, fantasy football, and getting ready for basketball (and applying for about a gazillion jobs).
Anyways, the picks:
Mich. St. -1 @ NW
Auburn -16.5 v. Ark.
Miss. St. +2.5 v. Vandy
UGa. -13 v. Tenn.
BG -1 @ Akron
Penn. St. -6 @ Wisc.
LSU +6.5 @ UF
SDS +10.5 v. AFA
I also like Tech, UNC, and OU, but am staying away from those games.
NO -7 v. OAK
BAL +4 @ IND
NYJ -8.5 v. CIN
CHI -3 @ ATL
This week’s Poker After Dark’s theme is the Mayfair Club. For those of you that don’t know, the Mayfair is supposedly the club that “Rounders” was based on. It was an underground club that had many great chess and backgammon players, and became a poker hotspot and a breeding ground of great poker and poker players. Erik Seidel, Howard Lederer, Dan Harrington, Jason Lester, Paul Magriel, Jay Heimowitz, Mickey Appelman, Steve Zolotow, and others were regulars there.
Watching the shows reminds me of watching old football clips fifteen years ago. If you haven’t heard my delusional ramblings before, I believe I was “meant” to play football. The fact that I didn’t get to the NFL is proof that there was a cosmic slip-up. 
Anyways, I used to think it was somehow attributable to being born too late. Even ten years earlier, I would have been considered a fairly big player instead of being undersized. When I look back now, however, I blame myself more than the conditions around me. I know that I didn’t give it 100%, and quit too early. So, when watching this week’s PAD, the thought occurs to me that I was born too late for poker, too. And then, I immediately think of all the things I’m NOT doing to make it as a poker player.
Ok, going to go get better now.
I hadn’t played Othello since I was a kid, and not much then. There was a time when my brother got “into” the game, so I played with him. But, he was three years older and “into” it, so he beat me. Even then, I was a competitive dude, so I just decided it was a dumb game and didn’t play.
Anyways, as I looked for something to do tonight, I stumbled upon an unopened Othello box that had made the move from Dallas with our other games, so I opened it and we played a couple times.
I won both, and not surprisingly, I like the game better now. 
We were much better in the second game than the first, but I think we still have a long way to go. Now, I’ll probably study the game a little bit and then talk Heather into playing some more. Unfortunately, she’s a competitive chica, so she’ll probably think it’s a dumb game soon.
Anyways, I should probably spend all the spare time I have studying or playing poker anyways, right?
Only three picks this weekend, and none in the NFL.
Penn State - 13.5 @ Purdue
UNM -11.5 v. Wyoming
Fresno State - 21 v. Hawaii