Random thoughts

Well, it's been more than a month now since the end of the NCAA tournament. After two weeks of incredible excitement, the ending was definitely a let-down. Hats off to the Connecticut Huskies for winning it all and going on an incredible roll of winning 11 straight tournament games (5 games in 5 days in the Big East tournament and then 6 wins in the NCAA tournament). They deserved the trophy, they earned it fair and square, but still.....The Arizona Wildcats should have beaten them. After destroying Duke, the only ones who could beat the Wildcats were themselves, and that's exactly what happened. Oh well, shit happens, it was still an amazing season which far surpassed anyone's expectations. Nothing will ever take away the epic wins over Texas and especially Duke and Derrick Williams will go down as one of the all-time great Wildcats in school history. Sean Miller is one of the best college coaches in the nation, and he should receive the Coach of the Year award, but he won't. Still, the future is in his more-than-able hands, and I look forward to next season.

Which is great, because right now, I feel like a man without a sport. I've been a baseball fan my entire life, a Met fan the entire time, with the Arizona Diamondbacks being my second team for the last 15 or so years. I find myself, however, completely uninterested in baseball these days. Whether it's the mediocrity of the Mets and D'backs, the endless steroid scandal leading to things like the disgraceful and pitiful retirement of Manny Ramirez, or the complete dislike I have for teams like the Yankees and Phillies, the conclusion is inescapable. Last year, the San Francisco Giants beat the Texas Rangers in what had to be one of the most unlikely World Series of the past 20 years, and yet, I just didn't care. Not one iota. Can it possibly be true that my lifelong love of the "national pastime" is ending? I think of all the enjoyment and happiness baseball has given me over the years, culminating in the magical years of 1969 and 1986 for the Mets and 2001 for the Diamondbacks, and it saddens me to think that I just no longer care. What am I supposed to do with my limited free time, spend it with my family? Are you kidding me, or what?

I suppose I could get more interested in politics, but I'm as ambivalent about that as I am about baseball. I admit to being disappointed with Obama, I took him at his word about being about change, and other than his Supreme Court nominees (admittedly a pretty important issue in my mind), I haven't seen a whole lot of change. The economy still sucks, although it does seem to be getting a letter better, at least here in Arizona. The mood of the nation is angry and discordant, and the ridiculous amount of time devoted to such non-issues as whether or not he was born in the U.S. is pretty sickening. There is no way I will ever be convinced that racism is not behind the whole thing. And, of course, the Democratic party, which has become completely ineffective, has done nothing to support their President. I'm seriously considering leaving the party and becoming a total independent. Not that I would ever consider joining the Conservative wackos of the Republican party or Tea Party, but the current leadership of the Democrats disgusts me. In retrospect, Bill Clinton looks better and better.

I can't even get any satisfaction from my poker playing. For two years now, I have owned my own business and for the last six months, I have worked probably an average of 60-70 hours a week. It's taken a toll on my poker playing time. I haven't had time to play anywhere near as much poker as I had wanted to, and despite what I may have written on this blog after my performance at the Grand Poker Series last summer, I will not be going to the WSOP again or playing in the Grand Poker Series this year. In fact, I hardly play at all these days, and when I do, the bad beats are horrific. Last Saturday, after working for nine and a half hours in my office, I went to a local casino to play in a tournament. I lost a big chunk of my stack when my pocket jacks were beaten by A-J when the dude spiked an ace on the turn. Then, a couple of hands later, I went all in against this same dude. This time, he had pocket jacks and I had pocket queens. That's a winner, right? Not when another jack comes out on the board, which is what happened, and yours truly got knocked out with his tail between his legs. Brutal.

What can I say? It all comes under the title of that little thing called life. Yeah, sports may suck right now and my poker playing has come under a massive unlucky streak. Sure, I work way too hard and I suffer from serious burn-out. And yes, I am disgusted with the political situation in our country. But I have a loving, beautiful wife, a terrific home, and I am my own boss (sort of). We can even afford to take a second honeymoon in a couple of months. I may have bitched and moaned throughout this entire blog post, but I'm a lucky man and life is good. Have a great summer, everybody.