Weekend with the Parental Units

This turned out to be my first losing week since I began blogging. A -$138 week to be exact. The sad part is that through last weekend, I was actually up a couple hundred dollars thanks to my short term luck at a few $5/10 tables. You know, the tables I said I wouldn't play at. The -$400 Monday session at those same tables was the appropriate negative feedback I needed to get back to reasonable playing levels with renewed discipline. Last night's efforts at the $1/2 saw me win a very decent $92, setting the stage for the upcoming weeks.

In other news, my parents are visiting this weekend, up from their new home base in Naples, Florida. My kids haven't seen them since Christmas last year so it should be a fun time for all. I'm looking forward to watching the DVD of the WORLD CHAMPION New England Patriots 2003 season with my dad. Did I mention that the Patriots are WORLD CHAMPIONS? I hope so, 'cause they are.

I went down to Florida to see them play Miami with my dad last October and saw the thrilling overtime win in which Tom Brady threw an 82-yard touchdown pass to Troy Brown to win the game. The Dolphin fans could only muster "How 'bout them Red Sox?" as the previous Thursday was the day Tim Wakefield gave up Aaron Boone's homerun in the bottom of the 11th inning, capping off the latest in a series of Red Sox post-season implosions. Luckily for the Patriots, the Marlins were in the post season which forced the infield dirt to be kept intact at Pro Player Stadium. Olindo Mare missed two field goals in that game, both of which were attempted from the infield dirt left on the field. Had he made either one, the outcome most likely would have been different.

Speaking of the Red Sox, it will be interesting to see how they manage to screw up this year. Right now, as I type this, they have the best record in baseball yet are playing without two of their key offensive stars - Nomar Garciaparra and Trot Nixon. By the way, Trot Nixon rules. He always hammers Roger Clemens when they face off and is just such a clutch performer it's hard not to like the guy. This year, the Sox have obviously upgraded their pitching tremendously with the addition of both Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke. In fact, the Sox lead the majors in ERA and their bullpen hasn't allowed a run in close to 30 innings. I've been a fan of the Sox since 1976 when I was 8 and can't remember when the Sox had such great pitching. It was always the hitting that got them through. They had years when they'd have a couple of decent pitchers, one of them usually Clemens or Pedro Martinez, but never a year when the whole starting rotation was so deep and the bullpen even deeper.

It's tough for me to feel sorry for the Yankees right now, given their payroll (I know the Sox' payroll isn't far behind). And poor Derek Jeter. He'll break out of his slump, but it's nice to know that someone who basically has everything going for him is human too. I apologize in advance to a known Yankee fan.

Well that's basically it, good luck at the tables this weekend to all who play. Unless of course I'm at your table...