A day for Donkeys

Hey Peeps and anyone else checking in. A special "Hey" goes out to Hazel Mae if she is checking in.

What a day Monday turned out to be - February 7, 2008 marked Chinese New Year; this year it is the Year of the Rat. February 11, 2008 marked the Day of the Donkey. Yes, yours truly has his first "Poker Donkey" story to report on.

For those of you who check in regularly, you have undoubtedly read my man Tilt's rants about the Poker Donkey; yesterday, due to the generosity of the aforementioned, I entered my first online poker tournament - a $24,000 guaranteed tournament with an entry fee of $24 (paid for with Tilt's big winnings last week - isn't he THE MAN?).

The first hour was a bit of a grind, but I came out ok. Midway through hour two, with blinds representing about 1/10 of the chip stack, and antes being collected, I was on the button with Ace/Nine of spades. There was over $1,000 in chips, so I bet the pot to see if I could steal the antes, blinds and bets - I was called on my bet. The flop came up Jack, Eight, King - with two spades - the donkey pushed in for another $1,000, I was left with no choice but to push all in and was called by the donkey. He turns over Jack/Nine unsuited, I needed one more spade to win a $9,000 pot and be the big stack at the table. You can probably guess why I called him a donkey - no spade on the turn or river and my tournament was over. Still though, 614 out of 1437 isn't bad for, as Tilt put it, "having my poker cherry popped".

The Ottawa SenaTards announced that they traded D Joe Corvo and LW Patrick Eaves to the Carolina Hurricanes for C Cory Stillman and D Mike Commodore. On the surface, it was a very good trade for the Tards, as much as I hate to admit it. However, leave it to the SenaTards "Army" of fans to chime in about how this trade makes them frontrunners to win the Eastern Conference AND possibly the Stanley Cup. Last week, these donkeys were talking about signing Peter Forsberg and trading with Atlanta to get Marian Hossa back as the way to win the Stanley Cup. This week, gone are thoughts of Forsberg/Hossa - as ridiculous as it is - and replaced with Stillman and Commodore. Methinks Tards fans haven't been paying attention to the NHL - the Tards are miles behind the top teams in the Western Conference and picking up a couple of veterans who have been struggling for the last two months is hardly going to make this team a Cup favourite - get real you donkeys.

The Montreal Canadiens found themselves in some trouble outside a Tampa night club - spare part, Ryan O'Byrne, and four liner (read pest) Tom Kostopoulos were arrested on Sunday night/Monday morning. Police allege that O'Byrne stole a woman's purse - he claimed it was his girlfriends - and Kostopoulos was charged with resisting arrest. The excuse was befitting a donkey. You can read more on TSN - or you can look at the picture for yourself (it says a thousand words doesn't it? Ryan and Tom, or rather Harry and Lloyd.



The last entry is about a group of people who demonstrated that they are anything BUT donkeys. If you watch Hazel on NESN or any other sports highlight show Sunday night, you saw the incident where Florida Panthers F Richard Zednik has his throat slashed by the skate of Olli Jokinen - it was a horrifying sight to say the least. However, the medical staff in Buffalo reacted quickly (and very calmly) to save Zednik's life. Clint Malarchuk can relate to how Richard Zednik must be feeling today.


TUESDAY THREE PLAY
The week ended off on an OK note - the balance sheet was in the black. The total for the year is still pretty ugly (-$2,600), so that has to be fixed soon. Tonight's suggestions:

Ottawa over Buffalo - the Tards will be energized with the new additions, and you can bet their fans will be as well. They aren't Cup contenders, but they have enough to get it done tonight - and I'm not just saying that as a member of Leaf Nation that wants to see the Sabres lose. Lay $100 on the Tards - $180.

Boston over Carolina - hate to pick this one too, but the Bruins should have enough to get it done against a Hurricanes team that just traded their second line center. Lay $100 on the Bruins - $115.

The picks might be updated before 6:00 pm - we'll see.

That's it for today gang - thanks for taking the time to check in.

Hazel, here's hoping things are groovy in your world.

I'm Out.