Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

You may have missed this peach of a Post yesterday in Cambridge Alex's excellent "Diary of a TattoBoy".

".....Can't sleep so I'm messing about on sporcle trying to name all the countries in each continent. As you do.

Got all 47 of Europe, all 14 of Australasia, all 48 of Asia, all 12 of south America, 21/23 of north America and 52/53 of Africa- guess which one I missed out? Zimbabwe! tilt! Also forgot dominica and dominican republic in NA bit annoying, if I get one, I get the other so close to getting the perfect score!

193/196 is pretty good going IMO,....."

What? WHAT? Is he real?

That is incredible! And we know he would not tell porkies, even if he has blotted his copybook with that damn tatto thing.

I tried the "Europe" version yesterday, whilst idling away the hours on the M1, & I struggled to exceed 40 European countries, & even some of them, I later found, were wrong. "New Russia" & the old "Czech Republic" have messed up geography as I knew it.

Without cheating, can you get anywhere near Alex's score, or even within 20% of it? Go on, give it a try.

And worldwide, 193 out of 196"? He described that score as "not bad". rofl.

PS - Please, no pedantic "there are 195/7/8 or whatever countries", it matters not. I'm just astonished at his recollection.

Clearly, State schools are better than I thought.

I dread to think what my score would be out of 196, Africa would beat me completely, as would North America. (North America consists of 23 nations, jeez!).

Click to see full-size image.

[Royal Flush]

[nirvana]

lol, couldn't resist doing the sporcle thing as well and I got something like a 80% strike rate on americas, africa and europe.

Actually thought that was pretty good, didnt try asia as I didn't want to embarrass myself completely

GOnna practice though until I can hit the genius level. Race you to 193 so we can hold our heads high

[tikay]

I'll get me coat

Only bit I disagreed with was I've read Lin is on $762k this year, tho he only gets 80% of it as it's a shorted year because of the lockout, so $610k. Next year he's likely to stay with the Knicks and be bumped up to around $5million a year, which sounds loads, but is actually limited because he's young (players who've been in the league longer are allowed to be paid more under the salary cap).

In comparison, the two star players New York signed last year, Amare Stoudamire and Carmelo Anthony (the guys who were out when Lin got thrown into the team and who he is now getting used to playing alongside since their return) are paid around $100 over five years and $65million over three years.

As you can see from Boba's reply tho, the fact nearly 60 players are drafted into the league every year means if you are not on the list, there's basically no chance you're any good and while u might sneak into the league as a reserve or something, it's extremely rare, almost unheard of, for someone to be overlooked by all the extensive coaching and scouting set-ups and suddenly turn out to be really good.

All NBA teams are looking to make the top eight in their conference (East or West) to go into the playoffs, where the team with the best record plays the team with the eighth best in each conference and so on, til u get the best in the West v best in the East in the NBA Finals.

If the playoffs started today, New York would be seventh in the East and face the Chicago Bulls, who are second. Knicks v Bulls is a marquee match-up and would be the pick of the first round. They have lots of history and rivalry, back from the days when Michael Jordan played for the Bulls. Incidentally, Luol Deng, who is Team GB's star by an absolute mile looking ahead to the Olympics, is a regular starter for the Bulls and just made the All-Star game for the first time last week.

Have bottled posting any more best on your tips for Tikay thread (even tho I said to reverse the bets before the off for a tiny loss because of last minute team news) but I think I must be 80% on the season which is pretty good. Might stick my nose in again....

A top Basketball player can earn $100 million over 5 years? What?

All TV money, presumably? The Arenas are generally not very big, so ticket revenue can't even get close to sustaining those numbers.

The "Tikay Tips" thread? Get stuck in, Jeff, we need more "specialist" stuff on it, we have a bad day yesterday! That thread has been so much fun, proper old-fashioned blonde style, no rucks, just good fun stuff.  I thought it might generate 10 or 20 Posts per week, but in 4 weeks, it has run to 69 pages (that is over 1,000 Posts) & 13,000 views. Incredible. The best thing is we don't need or do "sorry" if a Tip goes bad. We have not made a fortune, far from it, but a lot of fun at almost nil cost.

[RED-DOG]

Is Turkey in Europe? 

[tikay]

lol, couldn't resist doing the sporcle thing as well and I got something like a 80% strike rate on americas, africa and europe.

Actually thought that was pretty good, didnt try asia as I didn't want to embarrass myself completely

GOnna practice though until I can hit the genius level. Race you to 193 so we can hold our heads high

I'm afraid you would beat me by a mile. I mean, really, it is an incredible feat - I will be very surprised if anyone can get within 20% of Alex's score. Even our resident brainboxes & pedants like Tighty, Andrew, Claw, gatters, etc.

I'll have a wager with you though. (I know there wil be no cheating). I bet "ManuelsMum" gets within 5% of Alex's number, & MereGeek within 10%.

[tikay]

Is Turkey in Europe? 

I cheated a bit, in trying to get above 40, I even got Australia as in Europe. Well we own it, so it seemed OK.

[tikay]

Hi Tikay!

Sorry yoof corry business has been slow. Any of the yoof's have anything that needs corresponding, Ive seen there has been pictures of Planes lately, which will please the younger readers, not saying that ducks aren't cool but for the mass market of >26yr olds I reckon Planes are preferable over ducks. Perhaps this is an inditement of the state of the country that us yoof's are unable to appriciate a good duck any more, maybe it's a sign of the changing times, either way this diary will continue to provide something for everyone and remain a breeding ground of mutual respect throughout the generations.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

How are things with S*y Poker and life in general, hope it's all going very well!lilDave.

Thanks Yoof Corry, & I'm glad you had a better day out there yesterday.

Things with S*y Poker are going unbelievably well, thank you. Just been through yesterday's numbers, they are still at "Christmas" Levels, & we are into March now. We have crushed the traffic & uniques records for the last 5 weeks straight, too. I thnk we are about to overtake Laddies, though of course they are not the size they used to be. PKR is the disaster story of the last 6 months, no idea why, they were growing rapidly rearly last year, but they have fallen off a cliff since. But to get it in perspective, if all Online sites were added together, they would not, collectively, be anywhere near 'Stars traffic. They truly are different gravy.

PS - You like my duck, swan, & aircraft photos, then?

[tikay]

Cast your minds back 6 or 7 years to to when Rob Yong was recruiting his Team for DTD, & Simon was announced as the TD etc. There were sort of polite silences, "what, Simon Trumper, are you sure?".

It turned out to be an incredibly inspirational selection, truly, nobody could have done that job better. If you think back, not all the selections were right, but most of them, & the key ones, were. Never try to second-guess Rob Yong.

Could you elaborate on this pls teeks?

On what, specifically, Mr Cos, Sir?

The original reaction to Simon's appointment, do you mean?

OK, turn it upside down, look at it another way, a less contentious way. Could, or did, anyone believe he would be even one tenth as good as he is at running that place?

When it opened, I nicked him "Mother Hen", & it still applies today. And no, his appointment was not met with, shall we say, great enthusiasm, by the Great British poker public.

It irks me that a few of the hardcases are so disrespectful to his poker abilities, too. OK, he's Old Skool, & thus useless....but even now, in his increasingly rare Live Events, he still keeps cashing, his hit rate is extraordinary. I'd back him in every single Live Tourney he played, even now. In fact I do, when opportunity arises, & my ROI on him is very satisfactory. OK, he's not Middy, Cody, or whatever, but he generally optimises his situations. He'll do for me.

[AndrewT]

I'm afraid you would beat me by a mile. I mean, really, it is an incredible feat - I will be very surprised if anyone can get within 20% of Alex's score. Even our resident brainboxes & pedants like Tighty, Andrew, Claw, gatters, etc.

In unrelated news I have just decided that on the day I become Prime Minister, the first thing I will do is declare war on Albania and Kosovo.

[tikay]

I'm afraid you would beat me by a mile. I mean, really, it is an incredible feat - I will be very surprised if anyone can get within 20% of Alex's score. Even our resident brainboxes & pedants like Tighty, Andrew, Claw, gatters, etc.

In unrelated news I have just decided that on the day I become Prime Minister, the first thing I will do is declare war on Albania and Kosovo.

Bugger - I missed both of them!

[nirvana]

I'm afraid you would beat me by a mile. I mean, really, it is an incredible feat - I will be very surprised if anyone can get within 20% of Alex's score. Even our resident brainboxes & pedants like Tighty, Andrew, Claw, gatters, etc.

In unrelated news I have just decided that on the day I become Prime Minister, the first thing I will do is declare war on Albania and Kosovo.

lol

[tikay]

A huge breaking story in US Sports today

This from the LA times

New Orleans Saints players and an assistant coach set up a bounty program that paid players to injure opponents, the NFL said Friday.

A lengthy investigation by the league's security department determined that between 22 and 27 defensive players, as well as at least one assistant coach, participated in the program from 2009-11, in violation of NFL rules.

The players regularly contributed cash to a pool and received improper payments of two kinds from the pool based on their play in the previous week's game. Not only were payments made for interceptions and fumble recoveries, but also for "cart-offs" and "knockouts" of offensive players.

According to the league, the additional investigation established the following facts:

"1.  During the 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons, the players and other participants involved used their own money to fund a 'Pay for Performance' program. Players earned cash awards for plays such as interceptions or fumble recoveries. They also earned 'bounty' payments for 'cart-offs' and 'knockouts.' All such payments violate league rules for non-contract bonuses.

"2.  Players were willing and enthusiastic participants in the program, contributing regularly and at times pledging large amounts. Between 22 and 27 defensive players contributed funds to the pool over the course of three NFL seasons. In some cases, the amounts pledged were both significant and directed against a specific opposing player.

"3. The bounty program was administered by defensive coordinator Gregg Williams [now with the St. Louis Rams] with the knowledge of other defensive coaches. Funds were contributed on occasion by Williams.

"4.  Saints owner Tom Benson gave immediate and full cooperation to the investigators. The evidence conclusively established that Mr. Benson was not aware of the bounty program. When informed earlier this year of the new information, Mr. Benson advised league staff that he had directed his general manager, Mickey Loomis, to ensure that any bounty program be discontinued immediately. The evidence showed that Mr. Loomis did not carry out Mr. Benson’s directions. Similarly, when the initial allegations were discussed with Mr. Loomis in 2010, he denied any knowledge of a bounty program and pledged that he would ensure that no such program was in place. There is no evidence that Mr. Loomis took any effective action to stop these practices.

"5.  Although head coach Sean Payton was not a direct participant in the funding or administration of the program, he was aware of the allegations, did not make any detailed inquiry or otherwise seek to learn the facts, and failed to stop the bounty program. He never instructed his assistant coaches or players that a bounty program was improper and could not continue.

"6. There is no question that a bounty program violates long-standing league rules.  Payments of this type – even for legitimate plays such as interceptions or fumble recoveries – are forbidden because they are inconsistent with the collective bargaining agreement and well-accepted rules relating to NFL player contracts. "

The league's discipline could include fines, suspensions, and forfeiture of draft choices.

Seems an odd thing to get uppity about, Rich? Why would it be deemed improper?

It may work against the Team doing it, in that they try to win the extra cash instead of following Team Orders, but how & why would it be deemed illegal, what exactly is improper about it?

I must be missing something, put me right, please.

[tikay]

I'm saddened to say that I've resorted to coming over here to draw attention to both you and your readers that I'm adding culture and intrigue to my poker and life blog over in 'an ape and a notebook'!

See you later today bigman, I understand you'll be at DTD for the £500...?

Make sure you come & say Hi today, please!

I think I know you, vaguely, from Luton. The regulars speak fondly of you there.

Keep that Diary going, too, glad to see you using some initiative to "work it".

[tikay]

I still need to reply to a couple of questions, (Bobby/Peter Roche included) but I'm out of time, & so will do so later.

Off to DTD now, to burn some money.

Going to hook up with Tom & see if he can explain diggie & opty zoom to me - good luck him  - then play the £500.

I went a bit heavy with the staking on this, but it was by design, & I'm happy with my selections, now I just need variance to be in a good mood.

I had a little bit of James Atkins in it - 2% - but he ended up 4th in the overnights, so we have one sweat through to Sunday already.

My remaining action is, I think, as follows.,.....

Sharky - 20%

Skippy - 20%

Junior - 20%

Tom - 10%. (I sold on the other 15% I had, trying to get out of it....)

JK - 25%

ZeroFive - 20%

Add to that my own Entry fee - £560 (PLEASE don't let me be tempted to take a second  bullet!) & I have a few bob riding on it.

I expect we'll do our dough big time, but I might just get a few sweats through to tomorrow, &  I only need one to cop a decent score & we are home & hosed.

I am very bullish on that group.

Click to see full-size image.