Joe Speaker

There was a time when I’d sprain an index finger running to the keyboard after being bad beaten by burros on the virtual felt.

Now, I just shrug my shoulders and talk about it a few days later.

Honestly, there’s nothing really interesting about it. With the middle of the month influx of ad cash, I played a couple tourneys on Friday night. Went out of a cheap 180 on Poker Stars when my AA was cracked by a set-flopping TT near the end of the first hour. Went out of the $12K Guarantee on Full Tilt at Level 8 (with a decent stack) when my AA was cracked by a set-flopping QQ.

This has been a recording.

I am supposed to be 4-1 on those, right? Has there been a shift in probability I don’t know about? Grubby?Â

Anyway, that was the extent of the poker for me this weekend. On Saturday, AJ and I took in a proper football match.

I used to coach high school soccer and my good friend Big Head remains in charge of the program. They had their first CIF playoff match on Saturday afternoon, so AJ and I trekked to the beach to catch the action. The good guys won in convincing fashion, 3-1, with all of their goals coming in the first 15 minutes. The last two of which were beauties and belied the several conversations I’ve had with Big Head about the team’s inability to score. Though they were undefeated league champions (7-0-3), they scored less than a goal-and-a-half a game. As you might expect, their defense is awesome.

We went to a Bar & Grill afterward to celebrate. Bar for us adults; Grill for the kiddies. Big Head has a son and he and AJ have been friends literally since birth (they are 6 weeks apart in age). I had planned to return home, but the celebratory atomosphere soon became overwhelming. A parade of my former players streamed into the bar (which was very cool) and a couple of them insisted on buying shots that had weird names. Repeatedly. The lovely and patient Mrs. Big Head graciously suggested taking the boys home and the very idea of a “sleep-over” made AJ extremely excited. Relieved of the rug rats, the evening took on a decidedly “Just Like the Old Days” cast.

Big Head and I have had some epic drunks together. We didn’t quite approach one of those nights (we got home before midnight), but the conversation and hilarity were equal. Suffice to say I needed two naps on Sunday, neither of which were cracked.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 19th, 2007 at 1:05 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.