Is Sam Bradford next in line to carry the NFL?

Filed Under: ACC, Betting, Bradford, CA, CES, Casino, EPT, ESPN, Football, Gambling, Inter, NFL, NFL Betting, NFL Football, NFL Football Betting, NFL Futures, NFL Playoffs, Object, Oddjack, Other, PLO, Peyton Manning, Poker Tips, Rush, Sports, Sports Events, Sports Betting, Television, Tim Tebow, Tom Brady, UNC, Wor, World Events, ability, ads, aforementioned, b, d, daniel, eve, field, football season, information, ing, jpg, press, progress, running, s, season, spa, team, things, work by: admin

seth-edward-oneal.jpgFollowing Sam Bradford’s performance on his pro day, many believe that he is next in line if Tom Brady and Peyton Manning retires, to carry the league.

You see, some things are for already for sure with Sam Bradord, and those are his ability to read the field, his quick release, and his ability to throw with accuracy. Some commented that not one ball was uncatchable during the aforementioned pro day, because the only incomplete pass was a drop by the receiver.

Of course, Bradford’s pro day does not account for whether he can do that with a 270 pound defensive end in his face in the coming 2010 NFL football season. Still, Bradford’s pro-day was so impressive that some commented that it was the best by a quarterback in 10 years.

20b665d3b0adford Is Sam Bradford next in line to carry the NFL?Bradford processes information quickly. He scans the field and is able to work the progression of the play. By working the progression, we mean check out receivers in order to see if they are covered and getting the ball to the open guy. He has the vision to find the next receiver quickly.

He has made good decisions. He has thrown for 4464 yards, with 48 TDs with only 6 interceptions. That gives him a QB rating of 168.3. He is a playmaker and has 5 rushing TDs. He converts an above average number of 3 downs which is critical in the NFL.

He can run but is much more of a pocket passer than most other spread QBs. That will give him an advantage over a Tim Tebow or Chase Daniel. He moves around in the pocket to avoid the rush but still keeps his vision down field. Problem is, he is not nearly as accurate moving as he is when he can set his feet. If he goes to a team like the Lions, he had better work on that because behind the Detroit offensive line he will be running a lot.

He has above average but not great arm strength. Many of his…

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Competitions, Cards, and Crapshoots

Filed Under: *shots in the dark, AAA, Ask, CA, CES, Casino, Casinos, Craps, Events, Final Table, Inter, Las Vegas, Object, Other, PLO, Perspective, Poker, Que, Quest, Rio, Stan, UB, Vera Valmore, WSOP, Wor, YES, ads, b, background, bands, blogs, burn, cards, competition, d, days, dressage, eve, event, express, final, google, ground, horse, ing, jpg, main event, opinion, people, press, prima, rock, s, spa, style, summer, things, time, training, usa, vegas, weekend, work, world, world series of poker, world-series, wsop main event by: admin

Diagram of a dressage arenaHad a fun weekend with Vera Valmore at a horse show. It was a lot of fun to get away and be off the “grid” for a couple of days.

I’ve written before about how Vera competes in dressage, that equestrian sport that involves training a horse to perform various gaits and movements — e.g., walk, trot, canter, passage, piaffe, pirouette, etc. Sometimes dressage gets referred to as “horse ballet” or compared to gymnastics, although the judging (in my opinion), while necessarily subjective, is much more heavily technique-based. (That’s a diagram of a dressage ring, by the way.)

Vera had a couple of nice rides this weekend, although her competitiveness and drive necessarily caused her to think she could have done better. We were at the show with some other riders, one of whom did particularly well in her two rides, netting a couple of high scores and first-place finishes in her classes. After her first ride, our friend came away expressing surprise that she had scored so well.

“It’s such a crapshoot,” she said, although I think she was being mostly humble.

Like I say, the scoring is somewhat subjective — it has to be, to some extent. But I do think that since the scoring is so carefully managed by a detailed score sheet on which judges mark the quality of every prescribed movement in a given ride, it really isn’t as much of a “crapshoot” as is the case in other kinds of competition.

That said, like in poker, there is definitely a “chance” element that can have something to do with how riders end up doing. At this particular event, one of the rings in which riders rode was unfortunately close to a nearby highway. Thus would the passing of a loud truck or some other traffic noise potentially startle the horses, and thus perhaps negatively affect a ride. Even just a stray rock stepped on by the horse during a ride can upset things in a significant way.

We were all talking at the show at one point when someone mentioned poker. I had brought some cards and a chip set, and eventually had fun teaching one of the other husbands there how to play no-limit hold’em. Without knowing what I’ve been up to this summer or over the last few years, the woman who had had the good rides then mentioned how her employer had gone to Las Vegas recently.

“Yeah, he played in this… what was it? World Series or something? World Series of Poker?”

I laughed and nodded. Did he play in the Main Event, I asked? She wasn’t sure. Was it a $10,000 buy-in event? Yes, it was. Indeed, he’d played in the ME, busting on one of the Day Ones.

I told her how I’d been there reporting on the Series, and while I didn’t recognize her employer’s name from the thousands who’d played the ME, I told her how he and I may very well have crossed paths at some point when he was there.

She went on to say how her understanding was that he is a very good player, although his credentials primarily consisted of his being a card counter. “He was even banned from one of the casinos because he was so good,” she said. I didn’t explain how card counting wasn’t so relevant in poker, but assumed that indeed the fellow probably had at least some acumen when it came to poker.

“Small world,” I thought, additionally considering how people from all sorts of backgrounds and locations go to Las Vegas each summer expressly to compete in the WSOP Main Event.

On the way home, I chatted some with the fellow to whom I had taught hold’em this weekend about how the ME worked. He was surprised to learn that only the top 10% of finishers got paid.

“Kind of like buying a lottery ticket, huh?” he asked, and I had to agree that in some respects it was. Though I did go on to explain that while one did probably have to get lucky to get all of the way to the final table and the millions of dollars waiting there, like with dressage, it wasn’t quite right to call it a complete “crapshoot.”

Then again, I guess just about anything — especially any competitive endeavor — could be regarded as a “crapshoot,” depending on one’s perspective.

27238395 2460944774587872883?l=hardboiledpoker.blogspot Competitions, Cards, and Crapshoots

 Competitions, Cards, and Crapshoots

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2010 Stanley Cup Final Schedule

Filed Under: 311, AAA, ACC, CA, CES, Casino, Chicago Blackhawks, Easter, Eastern Conference, Fox, Games, Hockey, Inter, NBC, NHL, National Hockey League, News, Object, Other, PLO, Philadelphia Flyers, Rio, Satellite Radio, Sports, Stan, Stanley Cup Final, TV, UB, UNC, Western Conference, Wor, ads, b, black, blogs, canada, cast, champion, chicago, d, eve, final, game, google, hot, ing, jpg, monday, national, network, new, philadelphia, programming, s, saturday, schedule, season, sirius, style, wednesday, work by: admin

3a027f0871hedule 2010 Stanley Cup Final Schedule
2010 Stanley Cup Final Schedule. The National Hockey League announced today the schedule for the 2010 Stanley Cup Final between the Western Conference champion Chicago Blackhawks and the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Flyers.

The National Hockey League announced today the schedule for the 2010 Stanley Cup Final between the Western Conference champion Chicago Blackhawks and the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Flyers.

Based on their superior regular-season performance, the Blackhawks will host Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, as well as Games 5 and 6, if necessary. Games Three and Four will be in Philadelphia, as well as Game 6, if necessary.

NBC will telecast Games 1 and 2 and, if necessary, Games 5 through 7 of the best-of-seven series in the U.S., while VERSUS will broadcast Games 3 and 4. In Canada, CBC and RDS will provide coverage for the entire series. All games also will be carried on Sirius XM Satellite Radio.

NHL Network, the League’s 24-hour, all-access pass to the most comprehensive hockey coverage, will feature special programming surrounding the Stanley Cup Final. NHL.com will continue to provide extensive digital coverage.

2010 STANLEY CUP FINAL Date

#2

West

vs.

#7

East

Network Saturday, May 29 at Chicago, 8 p.m. NBC, CBC, RDS Monday, May 31 at Chicago, 8 p.m. NBC, CBC, RDS Wednesday, June 2 at Philadelphia, 8 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS Friday, June 4 at Philadelphia, 8 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS *Sunday, June 6 at Chicago, 8 p.m. NBC, CBC, RDS *Wednesday, June 9 at Philadelphia, 8 p.m. NBC, CBC, RDS *Friday, June 11 at Chicago, 8 p.m. NBC, CBC, RDS [Via: www.foxnews.com].

4280354733620604268 7972171811650256901?l=bestgoogle trends.blogspot 2010 Stanley Cup Final Schedule
5277199389106773530 7352142910081541035?l=sportsnewsbrief.blogspot 2010 Stanley Cup Final Schedule

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Handicappers’ Corner - Workforce shows his class

Filed Under: 004 Features, 007 Bloggers, Ask, Betting, CA, Epsom Derby, Fame and glory, Gambling, Handicappers' Corner, Inter, LIPS, Oaks, Object, Other, Sariska, Snow Fairy, Sports Betting, Timeform, Timeform ratings, Wor, Workforce, b, d, epsom, ing, s, sap, saturday, time, winter, work by: admin

Timeform Handicapper David Johnson spent most of the winter hoping we’d see a superstar at Epsom on the first Saturday in June. Workforce might not have been the first name on his lips if asked to predict who it would be if there was one, but he certainly didn’t come away from the Downs disappointed.

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Travel Report: LAPT Lima, Day 2

Filed Under: *high society, AAA, APT, Barrow, Bloggers, CA, CES, Casino, Casinos, Comeback, Events, Final Table, Greg Mueller, IPL, Inter, LAPT, LAPT Lima, Mile, News, Object, Other, Otis, Poker, PokerStars, Que, RSA, Ruling, SEC, Shows, The Goods, The World Series, WSOP, Wor, YES, america, argentina, b, blogging, blogs, burn, champion, championship, chile, city, d, difference, displays, draw, eve, event, final, google, hot, ing, jai, jpg, ka, life, main event, media, missing, money, morning, new, night, november, past, picture, playa conchal, players, poker room, remaining, return, s, season, starting, style, summer, team, things, time, tour, winner, winners, work, world, world series of poker by: admin

Preparing for the LAPT Lima final tableAn especially long one yesterday — about a 16-hour workday, all told. Still a little tired this morning, but ready to get back over to the Atlantic City Casino to see how the story of LAPT Lima continues to unfold.

There were 197 players returning for Day 2 of the $2,700 buy-in Main Event. The plan was to play down to 24. (That picture to the left shows the main feature table starting to be constructed at the far end of the poker room.) After ten one-hour levels there was talk of just stopping things after two more levels (at the end of Level 20), regardless of how many players were left. As it happened, the elimination of Costa Rican player Luis Jaikel in 25th place happened just a few minutes before the end of that level, and so we’ll have the three eight-handed tables as planned when play restarts today.

As the day wore on, I began more and more to notice differences in the way the players interacted and what might be called the “culture” of the LAPT event when compared to, say, the World Series of Poker or U.S.-based tourneys.

As happens at the WSOP, there have been occasional displays of emotion as players react to various situations, most often during the all-ins when a player’s tourney life is on the line. And there have been a couple of dust-ups about rulings and such, but nothing terribly out of the ordinary.

I’ve found it interesting, however, to witness what seems like a lot of genuine human interaction at the tables as well, with much conversation and smiling. You’ll see that at the WSOP, too, now and then, but not with as much frequency as I have here, I don’t think.

For example, another player from Costa Rica, Steven Thompson, is one of the 24 coming back today. He has been kind of a gregarious type, talking and laughing quite a bit. And his tablemates seem often to be following suit. Even a simple blind-vs.-blind hand between Thompson and another player in which one bets the other out of a pot seemed always to elicit a lot of grins and good-natured back-and-forthing.

There was one particularly funny moment yesterday when there were just 51 players remaining. The top 48 spots paid, and so the tension had risen somewhat (and play slowed down a lot). Suddenly I noticed a player at Thompson’s table — Leandro Csome of Argentina — standing up with a piece of paper. He had written the number “48” on the paper, and with a huge grin was holding it up over the “51” on the electronic board indicating players remaining.

Csome let out a cheer, and Thompson immediately joined in the celebration, hugging Csome and drawing huge laughs all around. A very funny moment. Felt bad for Csome when he in fact went out soon after, just missing the cash, but he still had a smile on his face as he left.

 Travel Report:  LAPT Lima, Day 2There were other interesting stories yesterday. American player Martin Mathis started the day with 20,075 chips — just 75 more than the starting stack for the tourney — but survived multiple all-ins early on, then showed a lot of savvy to make it into the money before getting knocked out in 42nd.

There were a couple of other huge comebacks yesterday, too. Probably the most remarkable was that of U.S. player Ben Barrows. Sporting a t-shirt that said “Dazed and Confused,” Barrows started the day with just a little over 18,000, but is still in the sucker, currently in 11th place.

Also — and this is kind of a wild one — the last woman in the event, Pamela Espinosa of Chile, went out in 31st place, and was followed in 30th place by her husband, Mauricio Zeman! Not quite the Mizrachi brothers both making the final table of the $50K Player’s Championship at the WSOP, but remarkable nonetheless.

The big story as we ended the night — told by my blogging partner Brad “Otis” Willis over on the PokerStars blog — is the fact that the two previous winners of this season of the LAPT are first and second in chips heading into Day 3.

Amer Sulaiman, the chip leader, ran especially well during the last hours of play on Day 2, picking up pocket aces at least twice, and seemingly always having the goods when short-stacked players were pushing all in against him. The Canadian Sulaiman won the LAPT Playa Conchal event in Costa Rica last November which kicked off this Season 3 of the LAPT.

And Team PokerStars pro Jose “Nacho” Barbero of Argentina is second in chips. Barbero is an especially tricky player whom I remember covering at last summer’s WSOP when he made a final table in the $1,500 limit hold’em shootout (won by Greg Mueller). Barbero won LAPT Punta del Este in Uruguay this past February.

Both Sulaiman and Barbero had vocal supporters on the rail yesterday, and indeed the scene was pretty raucous at times with a lot of cheering and singing as more than 100 spectators crowded the action.

A news crew shooting a segment in the Atlantic City CasinoIncidentally, there wasn’t too much talk yesterday about the Joran van der Sloot situation. We heard he’d been arrested in Chile, but that was about it.

The only other evidence of the story was the fact that a couple of times during the day there were news crews — not covering the tourney — shooting segments there near and in the poker room. On the left is a picture of one such segment being shot as I walked in early yesterday.

We expect there will be more excitement today as they play down to the final eight. Check in on the PokerStars blog to see the next chapter of the story.

27238395 7747640277942416465?l=hardboiledpoker.blogspot Travel Report:  LAPT Lima, Day 2

 Travel Report:  LAPT Lima, Day 2

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