Texas Close Em

This is real, but what they did was a joke. Unfortunately most gambling laws state you can have a home poker tournament as long as the house does not get a cut. This cut would have gone to charity, but a cut is a cut.

Update on life

I haven't been here since the crossroads so here's what has been going on.

1. My first game back that I haven't decided I needed more rest, was a crossroad match. It went fine, but physically I could have been better.

2. I had a second stab at it the night before thanksgiving. It was the Dublin High School Alumni vs. the High School team of today. It went well and I covered the field well according to my AR. I felt pretty good.

3. I had the fun run, survived the physical part, but it was freaking cold. I took the written and for the first time since I began refereeing, I failed. I missed it by 3, and I needed an 85. A brain fart, but some of these questions were brain teasers.

4. I had my poker tournament to end the season. Table of champions. The tournament overall went well. I didn't cash out, but it was all good there. I did have to ban someone from participating in future tournaments. He spent the evening offending some of the guests, directly and indirectly and was being a pain in the ass. I pulled him aside when he busted out. If you have a choice, it's easier to throw someone out after they bust out then while they are still in. I told him, "Look, I have rules laid out for a reason. You will abide by these rules, you will not dis me in my own home, and more importantly, you will not dis the other players. If you can't handle that, then don't play." He responded, "Then I won't play."
I left him in the cold, he came back, didn't say much and even helped me put chips away. I was still pissed at him. Then one of my players told me attempted to pull his blinds back in. Apparently I missed this. Well it was the last straw and I decided he was not going to be invited to anymore tournaments.

5. Retook the test. Got a 98. The two I got wrong were trick questions.

6. I have been working from home since Thanksgiving week. It's a nice commute.

Now that's justice

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=ap-uswomenscoach&prov=ap&type=lgns

My take: Sunil obviously doesn't want to point the deciding factor of the release but since this is Ryan's only loss, I think we all can guess why the move was made. Hoefully if this keeps Solo on the team, the girls will finally tell her she had every right to be angry. If they don't then they don't deserve to be in soccer.

Back on the pitch, but too soon

I got clearance from my doctor last week, reluctantly. He told me to start slow. I figured an U12 boys class 3 match was slow enough for me not to put a lot of effort in keeping up, but fast enough so I would not die of boredom.

At the opening whistle there was a hard foul by Union City, which was met with a hard whistle from me followed by, "I don't want to see anymore of that!" For the most part I believe that and a couple other foul calls after the fact let the players know I was on top of this game. Didn't hear a c'mon ref once which is a silent complement by itself. Union city beat Dublin 7-1, but I had fun.

However a few things surrounded the game which was, in my opinion, unpleasant. So let's bring out the list:

The Dublin league and the counties surrounding it are extraordinarily protective of their fields after rain. It's been getting worse as the years go by. You have to call the rain out schedule 2 days out. I did out of instinct. The game before us got the message and played at the Dublin Sports Ground. My game, the teams did not get the message so I had to gather my crew get over to Emerald Glen. This caused the game to be late and the irony of it was the coaches of Dublin took my class last summer and heard my lecture of being on time. 30 minutes prior to the match.

1. I was about the start the game and the league president shows up and tells me to move the game to the other field. I told her the "problem" she stated is not a big deal and we're going to play. I also told her that to expect people to call the rainout number 2 days after it rains is unrealistic. So I'm sure she is seething, but the 8 by 10 mud hole wasn't an issue.
2. My physical fitness has deteriorated from being off 5-6 months and need to build it back up. Not ready for amateurs yet. Foot was sore, but it wasn't my Achilles so to speak, but the parts surrounding my ankle. Still for the Achilles sake, I'm playing it cautiously.

Another US player sells Solo out

You may want to read the article first:

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=ap-uswomen-chalupny&prov=ap&type=lgns

My take: Chalupny's response to the goalkeeper fallout should have been, "No comment!" They get "mad" because Solo threw Ryan under the bus. What the hell is Solo's teammates doing to her? First Wombach and now Chalupny. I liked these two as players, but I have no respect for either one of them. What? You're not getting your good press because you didn't win the cup so now you need press time at the expense of others. "I hope she's learned a lesson." What a hypocrite.

edited to add: Yes, the method of Solo's expression of anger was wrong. However an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. She still has every right to be pissed for the decision and so do the rest of the US.

Another one for Solo

http://onmilwaukee.com/sports/articles/czaban101007.html?12943

For the record, I am siding with Solo, even though she let her emotions get the best of her infront of the TV cam. She still has every right to be pissed. Wombach and her, "I am working towords forgiving her." Well I'm working towards forgiving the US team for a shitty performance up to the 3rd place match where I saw a different team out there. At least Scurry warmed up by then.

Did Abby Wambach sell Solo out? You decide

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071008/SPORTS/710080307

Happy Birthday Gabriel

Yesterday was Gabriel's birthday. We just had a small gathering and cake. Immediate family and grand parents. It was a nice get together. Gabriel always reminds me to enjoy every day as if it were our last. This was due to spending one month in NICU where 95% of the medical professional predicted he wouldn't make it out alive.

Hope Solo is really gone Solo in the 3rd place match

Well the US, even though we didn't win the cup, managed to keep the record of not placing below 3rd. Reminds me of my hme poker games, except that record was broken this spring. They played some good ball. I wished they played like that during the other games but as someone pointed out, it's a bit unfair to compare them to team 1999.

However the controversy seems to be surrounding Hope Solo being replaced by Brianna Scurry. Then it surrounded Solo's outbursts to the media. Then it surrounded Solo's suspension from the team for the 3rd place match.

Now I believe the outburst was directed at Greg Ryan and Greg Ryan only. Scurry unfortunately got caught in the crossfire or should I say friendly fire. I believe Solo has respect for Scurry, but just failed to show it when giving the outburst. I feel Scurry may be able to read between the lines and realize she wasn't the one being attacked. I believe those two will reconsile.
Coach Ryan however is another story. It amazing he can have an impressive record and then one game screws everything up. I agree with Solo that you cannot live in the past. I just don't fully agree with the method of speaking out.

Dispite Solo's outburst I have come to admire her this year as this is the first year I got to know of her. And I understand where it came from and if I were in her shoes (does she wear a size 10?) I might have reacted the same way. Yes she had a bad game against Korea, but it was wet out there and people screw up. She has more then atoned for that one. 3 shut outs and you reward her by benching her for the Semi Finals. Crap I must say. Maybe she figured she had nothing more to lose by speaking out. Anyone ever thought of that one. Wynalda did it in 1998 when Sampson put him in the midfield vs. forward and kicked Harks off the team.

World Cup Final Recap..Beauty doesn't score goals.

I have to say the better team won and I was pleased to say it was not Brazil. Why? Don't get me wrong, they play a beautiful game....when they want to. Meaning when they are not going down too easily and trying to draw a foul. And even worse yet, trying to draw out cards like they successfully did against the USA.
Germany's touches on the ball were not spectactular in comparison to Brazil, but Germany's touches counted with two goals. Beauty doesn't score goals.

The refereeing? I have to say I was surprised that Seitz was not in the middle, but then again, I'm not. There seems to be a stigmatism against the USA when it comes to World Cup finals. Esse Barharmist didn't get it in 1998. And that was after the incredible display of courage of calling a PK while most of the world booed him...until a swedish camera picked up the foul. Not 2002's Brian Hall where players who had his game stated they had very little problems with his refereeing. Not 2003 where Seitz or Hunt could have done the final. I won't go into 2006.

This austrailian referee was okay, but my only problem was she didn't use her cards enough because in the second half, things got agressive on both sides. Danilla should have gotten a red card (second caution) for that bad tackle. Verbally talking to the players only goes so far.

Still it was an entertaining game to watch and Germany did deserve it. Oh for those who ask, I wouldn't have called that PK a DOGSO because there was another German player who may have been able to contest for the ball. When it's not "Obvious" then it's not a red. I'll give the referee Kudos for that one.

The Day After

So I have plenty of time to think about the game yesterday. The one thing I have to say is that USA losing and playing like crap doesn't take away the fact that Brazil did great. The scored the first two goals with 11 players on the field.







The USA team was flat from the time I saw their exhibition game against Japan at Spartan Stadium. They were flat on the opening game against Korea, but for the Korean coach to say they can take the USA on is bogus. They got both their goals with a man(woman) down. I would like to see a rematch with a full squad 90 minute game.







They were better against Sweden. Could have played better against Nigeria, but the one thing I noticed was, there was a lack of a midfield. A lot of long balls.







Quarter final I thought they got their grove back and Hope Solo regained my confidence shortly after the Korea match. For the first time I thought they stood a chance of winning the cup.







However, you have to look at the catalyst of things. When Ryan decided to change the keepers out, the team was demoralized. Solo was understandably furious. Even Scurry had doubts of this change. Her teammates were questioning the decision. Former US players and coaches questioned the change. The only one who seemed to be confident in the change was Coach Ryan himself. I will take the bet that either Ryan will step down or USSF will fire him. I like to follow the philosophy that you never change a winning team. Ryan should have had that same philosophy. But like I said, there is enough blame to go around.







Osbourne headed the ball into her own goal. It could have been Solo or Scurry and it would not change the fact we had an own goal. Of course this probably demoralizes the cold keeper Scurry while Solo watches in horror.









Then Marta scores a goal which I felt Scurry could have reached if she was warmed up enough. Problem is she hasn't played much while Solo was Juiced with 3 shutouts in a row. Again, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

















Then if they were not demoralized enough, Shannon Boxx gets the second yellow card. A bogus card because Christiane' took Boxx down and even celebrated when the 2nd card took place. To her credit though in the 2nd half she did perform an excellent display in footwork.

So would USA won without all these controversies? Maybe, but they still would have had a major fight in their hands because as even Lilly quoted, "They were the better team."

USA loses against Brazil

What happened you might ask. Well first let's look at the 24 hours prior. I'm watching the Germany vs. Norway and it turns out Ryan makes a decision to replace Hope Solo with Brianna Scurry. This didn't fly will with the keepers, the announcers, the teams, and the fans. Except for Ryan, I don't know who favors the change.

So we're stuck with this decision and to make matters worse, Osbourn heads the ball in her own goal. I would like to believe that Scurry called her off. It could have been Solo in the goal and I think it wouldn't have change this.

Then we had another goal scored against us. Then if that was not enough demoralizing, lose Boxx to a bogus call. I would really like to know how this Swedish gal, keeps getting the assignments when she blows them one after the other.

Then they start changing the defense and not the offense.

I guess you can say there is enough blame to go around.

Quarter Final Review

You're going to get a condensed version as I have watched all the games, but have not had time to jot my thoughts yet.

USA vs. England

It seemed as though USA was going to keep repeating the flatness while playing England. However, when Abby Wombach scored a goal it seemed to wake everyone in the USA and they had an explosive second half.

Germany vs. Korea

I'm not surprised by the outcome of this match. Korea was lucky tying the USA when Wombach was out getting stitched up.

Brazil and Austrailia

This was the best game of the weekend. Brazil scores, Autrialia answers. May have been a missed PK call for Austrailia but the angle was bad, I would have needed to see it from a different POV, namely the referee's. (If correctly postioned). Still Brazil won, will be playing the USA, but Austrialia was fun to watch.

Norway vs. China

Kind of good news going into the Semi finals as there isn't a stigma of playing the host nation. However the goal Norway got was a weenie goal. I challenge you all to take a look at the replay of the match. Norway midfielder passes the ball up to her forward. If you listen you will hear a whistle sound just as Norway was about to receive the ball. You will notice the chinese defender slowing down as if she thought an offside call was made. Then you will notice the Norway attacker take the ball to goal and the chinese defender realizing just a second too late that was not the referee's whistle.
I suspect it was a chinese fan that blew the whistle (and a good whistle as well). I think he was hoping to stop the attack, but it backfired and stopped the defense.

Looking forward to the Semi Finals in a couple of days.

USA still flat as they tie Korea

You would think they would stay on guard as they enter the first game on asian soil, against an asian team. Wrong. They were flat. The management on the sidelines did a lousy job getting either Wombach back on the field or subbing. Wombach socred the first goal. Then gets a head injury which there is blood so she has to leave per FIFA law.
It takes well over 5 minutes to get her bandanged up and as a result they played a player down and Korea capitized on that not once, but twice. Luckly we tied it in the end, but like USA women, we take it as a loss.

The silver lining is the other two teams in the group of death also tied so it's almost a level playing field.

Japan ties England to a standstill...

...and quite frankly were the better team. Now I really had no interest in either team, but Kari Seitz and Jennifer Bennett were the officials for the match so I wanted to see how well they did. Jennifer really didn't have much work to do, holding up that sub billboard.

Kari had to make what John Kennedy used to call, "the moment of truth call." It came at the final minute of stoppage time. It happened so quick that even the replay didn't do it justice, unless you are a referee and know what to look for. What was found was the England defender held #9 of Japan as she was going up for the ball. However from the angle we were looking at it could very well look like two players going up for the ball. Where's the foul? Well if you took a close look at the play you will see the English player never really attempted to play the ball but did what she set out to do; keep the Japanese player from playing the ball. In slow motion you really could see it. Again, you need to know what to look for in a hold because not all holds are obvious. If what I say is not convincing, then look at this photo for a more obvious look.



And just bare in mind...Kari didn't have the luxury of a replay. Great call Kari and great guts in making that crucial call. Yes Crucial call. Because not only England committed a foul, but then choose to do a misconduct by encroaching the ball during the free kick in a desperation Kari would call the game. However it backfired on England because this occurred after Kari blew the whistle for restart, then had to caution the player. However, it doesn't say she has to blow the whistle twice and the keeper let her guard down as Japan took their final shot to score the tying goal.

My daughter's team won their first game

We pulled a San Jose Clash. New team, new name, new season, and new beginning. As the Wildcats we managed to pull in our first game what we failed to do last year. Make our plays count. Make our passes count. Make our shots count and even make sure we had the goals.

The first half was a pretty hard fought battle and nobody scored the first half. We almost got scored on the first half when our first goalkeeper merely watched the ball coast on the line before she picked it up. However since we were cycling between keeper I took the first girl that expressed interest in keeping and I told her, "You see what she's doing, just waiting for the ball to come to her?"
She said, "Yeah."
I said, "Don't do it. That ball enters the box, it's yours for the taking." I was sorry I could only keep her there for one quarter because she in my opinion was the best keeper in that game. Another player who I put in the goal earlier played a close second as she was a bit weak on getting to the ball, but once she got it, she knew what to do with it. As a matter of fact she got an assist from it.
My two forwards really worked well together. Making connecting passes which resulted in a couple goals. One of my players followed up too.
It was a pretty close game, but I like to say we dominated the second half.

USA is going to have their hands full

They are in the group of death like their male counterparts last year and what really sucks? Check out the video of last year's asian cup semi finals

Spoke too soon.

I went home last night and did the "funky" exercise that is the most painful for my groin muscle. The other night I had a couple of beers in me so it might have dulled the pain. I didn't feel pain (I usually do) but I did have enough discomfort to know I'm not totally out of the woods. I am confident my groin strain will heal quicker then my achillies.

Marlena got to experience coach Kamal. Did a good job, but I walked into the tail end of the conversation where I heard Kamal say with a big group, it is not easy to teach a group. There were some signals crossed. Marlena seems to be having a good start this season. Damn if I didn't teach her how to sheild well. She's one of the best sheilders on my team. She's also gotten agressive which is fine. I'll give her a lot of rope on that before I tame her (don't want her to hurt anyone). Even one girl who could probably beat her in strength, is given a run for the money.

One Pain down, one pain to go.

Last night I was laying in bed, watching TV with the wife. I decided since I was already in position to do an excercise fpr the groin muscle that if it stopped hurting, I could run. Well I did the exercise and it didn't hurt at all. Of course I had 2 1/2 beers in me so I'm going to try again when I get home and make sure I'm not hurting. So if this is the case, it is one pain down and one pain to go. My Achillies.

Now in my last post I was told it could take up to a year to heal. However, the physical therapist says I'm doing well, better then most. She won't say when I will heal, but I can tell it can be sooner then later. Basically doing some strength training on it.

I'm supposed to see the Sports medic in October. I'm going to see if it can be sooner. If so I can save my Grade 5 badge before I am forced into Emeritus.

In other aspects of soccer, I just completed my Grade 8 class in Dublin. I had zero failures which surpasses not one, but two instructors in the previous class. Best part is I did it all by myself. I do have to give a make up test for one who could not attend the test, so hopefully she keeps my record intact.

Mentored some new and not so new referees on the field. I have to say, I was overall impressed. I gave a lot of feedback to see if I can make them improve. Some felt better the second half and some weren't receptive.

Had my poker torunament last weekend. I took 3rd, but it's all good because my Cousin after his 3rd try, took first. He sucked me out on a straight. Still, we almost have our Table of Champions complete. Only two spots available.

Update on Refereeing and health

I saw a sports medicine specialist yesterday. Let me tell you, it took a good chunk of my afternoon, most of it was waiting and constant calls to my wife for a status report because the entire family had a busy evening ahead of us.

So for a 2;30 appointment it was almost 3pm that I finally saw someone. Not a good first impression, but at least he got better. Allowed me to take my time explaining the series of events that led to where I am now. I was informed that the achillies tendonitus may take up to a year to heal. My groin strain doesn't seem so bad in the grand scheme of things. However, it may seal the window of time that it would take to get my 5, however if certain people are true to their word, it may be a minor bump and I would have to wear the badge of shame for a short while.

Funny how that works. Last night I was introduced to a Dublin Grade 8 class. He introduced my credentials and one of the cool parts is I am the highest ranking referee in the city of Dublin. It was bittersweet as I know I am in danger of losing that rank and being forced into either retirement (Emeritus or Grade 8).

The class...very sharp group. Covered a lot of material in a short time span. Need to be prepared to do a thorough review. On the upside, I can show two DVD's for good time fillers. Looks like I was correct to get that material in my hands soon.

USA WNT vs. Japan...USA wins, but flat

I went to spartan stadium for the first time since the SJ Earthquakes got relocated to Houston. Spartan Stadium was a shadow of it's old self as I noticed during the National Antham that they took the bill board on the south end down. In my warped view this was just an insult to injury. In my humble opinion if the field was good enough for the WNT then it was good enough for the selfish MLS.

So we watched the game and noticed a lot of passes that seemed to have little or no direction in the first half. The USA played flat compared to the WNT in 1999.

You're probably asking why am I not comparing them to the 2003 WNT. It's because I know what went wrong there. They were demoralized by the demise of the WUSA just weeks before the WWC began. They played well, but lost their psychological edge. This year, you have a few of the old guard and a lot of newbies. Some name I recongized from the WPSL rosters I have reffed in the last 4 years.

Japan was fast, just like the Japanese team I ran line for last year. But they had a few key players. I noticed #11 of Japan and Shannon Boxx going at it a few times. Either referee Jennifer Bennet saw something and had a word with them or they just backed off on their own.

Speaking of Ms. Bennet, this was the first time I have seen her referee since she moved to California. Overall, she did a fine job, but I was a bit astonished to see she lost some basic mechanics like noticing a substitution. Wheelor had her flag up and Kari Seitz had her billboard up, but she was looking at the opposite end (Jr. AR's direction). The Jr. AR didn't mirror the substitution and I assume they were not using beeper flags. I wonder if the assessors saw that. Yes it got chippy in the end. I kind of chuckled when I holding foul in the penalty area was not called, but seconds later a handling the ball was immediately called. Either case justice was done, but the law book says, "Punish the most severe." Could be she was not in the correct "angle of view" that Bob Evans stressed over in his instructional DVD.

I'm still proud of our referee crew, being from the only country that is not allowing one referee to officiate the world cup, but two. And with my injuries, I should be able to catch most of the cup.

As for my injuries, I may recover September/October. Hopefully in time to get an assessment. They are not going to medical waiver me regardless of my medical situation. It will cost a Sam Adams or a Belhaven to get the sordid details out of me, but I promise you, it's worth every ounce of beer.

Found an old link on the web regarding MLS refereeing

http://soccer-ref.quietfire.com/BobEvansPaper.html

What do you get...

...when you have a coaching instructor and referee instructor sitting on a park bench together? Insight. I attended a coaching clinic. The first time I have ever done so. I have coached teams before but I have never been trained as a coach. Kamel was the instructor.

When I first met Kamal, I was refereeing his JV team. He introduced himself to me and asked for my name. I gave it to him while shaking his hand. He asked me to write it in his book. I did, thinking what is the harm. Then he asked me for his number and that was when my alarm went off. I politely said, "I'm sorry, I make it a policy not to give out my number to coaches."

So over the next few years we would cross paths over and over. I saw what he does for the Dublin league and grew a lot of respect for him. Not many coaches get that from me from a referee standpoint.

So yesterday I attended his clinic and really got to see the other side. I tell you I learned so much that I wish I had done this sooner. I wasted 2 years with my daughter as a result of my inaction.

So at the end of the class, Kamel and I were chatting and found out he was interested in getting his Grade 8 license back. He got his in 1999, but hasn't re-registered. Therefore, he had to take the entire course. I hope if he does, I'm blessed to have him as my student. I sure was blessed to be his yesterday.

3 months gone and her memory is still strong...

...as if it happened yesterday. More on Carly

Bashed like Beckham

Well I said it before and now it's unfolding here. Beckham has been nothing but disappointing to the long awaiting fans. The Galaxy suffered a 3-0 loss against a mexican team and is now being called a pub team (ouch!)
Beckham is nursing an ankle injury and Lalas looks like a clown in a suit for not being able to use the multi million dollar investment.

Outraged at Iraq

I came home from a relatively good day. First thing my wife brings to my attention is a news report she heard about an Iraqi orphanage for special needs children was neglected by the caretakers. 24 boys, only one of them could talk. I was sick, disgusted, and mad as hell. I wanted 5 minutes with the care takers so I can kick their teeth in.

All I could do is pick up my son with special needs and hold him tight. I kept picturing him helpless like those kids. No, it's not easy dealing with special needs, but I can't imagine life without him either.

Wife gets the shock of her life.

I've been dreaming of this day for years. Now it's a reality. You see I have always wanted to throw my wife a surprise party. I missed the opportunity when she turned 30 and 35 didn't seem right. So I had to do the 40.

I got her friend involved and her mother involved. Her friend set the stage for a "girls night out." I kind of felt bad because she was really stoked to go out.

Things sort of hit a snag on the way. I wanted to do it on her actual birthday. Problem was her mom was going out of town. So we agreed to do it a week earlier. Figured it would throw her off. So we figured out the food, number of guest and what not, but how to get her over to her parents house without raising suspician? That was the challenge.

Well as it turned out, days after I picked the week before, it turns out we get an invite for another party. I really had to keep it in check. But there was the girls night out and there was our way out of the party, but even the day before we were stumbling on how to get her to her folks.

Saturday morning, I sat straight up and concocted an idea. I said out loud, "I'm not going to the party."
She said, "You're what?"
"I'm not going. I just don't feel socialable."
Boy was she mad as she said, "We talked about this."
"I won't go and you can't make me. I'll watch Gabriel, but I'm not going."
We didn't talk to each other for an hour. She finally said, "I'm mad at you." I expected that.
I told her, "We'll talk about it tonight, it will all make sense then." I thought I gave away too much, but apparently not.
She finally left, came back, left again. I got her cake (Big costco hit) and any other food I needed to get for mom.
When I got there, people we're asking me, "Well if you're here, how are you going to get Paula down."
I said, "I'm going to call her about 5:15pm and say, 'I'm at your dad's fixing another computer SNAFU. Drop the kids off, I have your clothes and YOUR MAKE UP here.'" They loved the idea, especially the women. I kind of got the impression it is Taboo to mess with a woman's make up.
So she shows up and I decided to meet her at the van. I didn't give her time to think. I grabbed Gabriel and said we had to walk through the back.
She wanted to go through the garage and I said how I got chewed out for being in there so the back it was.
"So what is the computer problem," She asked.
"Just your usual, he doesn't maintain anything kind," I replied as I pulled back the slides for Paula to hear, "SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!!"
I say it was a job well done.

16 year old collapsed and died playing soccer

This is 6 weeks after Carly had her heart attack and she was only 15. Really beginning to wonder if we're pushing our kids too much. Here is the article:

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/10/BAGEOQD0PS4.DTL

Laptop VS. Desktop

Personally I prefer the laptop because of the freedom of mobility. I can pretty much do almost anything anywhere. However I do suggest having a desktop. Just look at it as home base for your computing. Good article.

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/29230/laptop-vs-desktop-which-is-right-for-you

A great final hand...

There was 3 of us left in an 18 player tournament. Here's how it went down.

PokerStars Game #10343672524: Tournament #52405693, $1.00+$0.20 Hold'em No Limit - Level IX (300/600) - 2007/06/09 - 01:28:17 (ET)Table '52405693 2' 9-max Seat #8 is the buttonSeat 5: 03grizzly (8040 in chips)
Seat 6: GPennRef (12905 in chips)
Seat 8: creatoo (6055 in chips)
03grizzly: posts the ante 50
GPennRef: posts the ante 50
creatoo: posts the ante 5
03grizzly: posts small blind 300
GPennRef: posts big blind 600*** HOLE CARDS ***Dealt to GPennRef [Ad Ah]
creatoo: calls 600
03grizzly: calls 300
GPennRef: raises 1200 to 1800
creatoo: raises 1200 to 3000
03grizzly: calls 2400
GPennRef: raises 1200 to 4200
creatoo: raises 1200 to 5400
03grizzly: calls 2400
GPennRef: raises 1200 to 6600
creatoo: calls 605 and is all-in
03grizzly: calls 1200*** FLOP *** [9c Qs 4h]
03grizzly: bets 1390 and is all-in
GPennRef: calls 1390*** TURN *** [9c Qs 4h] [8d]*** RIVER *** [9c Qs 4h 8d] [7s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***03grizzly: shows [Td 9s] (a pair of Nines)
GPennRef: shows [Ad Ah] (a pair of Aces)GPennRef collected 3970 from side pot
creatoo: shows [Js Ac] (high card Ace)
GPennRef collected 18165 from main pot*** SUMMARY ***Total pot 22135 Main pot 18165. Side pot 3970. Rake 0 Board [9c Qs 4h 8d 7s]
Seat 5: 03grizzly (small blind) showed [Td 9s] and lost with a pair of Nines
Seat 6: GPennRef (big blind) showed [Ad Ah] and won (22135) with a pair of Aces
Seat 8: creatoo (button) showed [Js Ac] and lost with high card Ace

And that was a great way to finish a tourney

No soccer, just poker..

Been a while since I have been on. Basically have had nothing to report. Won some poker games here, lost some there. All in all, just refining my poker game.

The company I work for had me helping with the organizing of the poker game. Unfortunately things happened during game day. I had two good hands and got sucked out by crappy hands despite playing them right.

Still injured. Starting therapy in a couple of days. Hoping I can get back on the saddle by July. I didn't realize that I did referee my 10 games to fulfill my amateur requirement. I just need the maintanence.

Injuries are killing my opportunities

I pulled my groin muscle and my achillies and have been resting for 3 weeks now and I don't seem to be healing any faster. It sucks getting older. I had to recind my vacation request for Alaska and I get the call that it is urgent I go, but for all the good money the spend to get us up there to referee 3-4 games a day, I know I would not give them their money's worth, so I had to respectfully decline. Also missed an opportunity to referee in Tennessee. It was funny since my goal is to try to referee in many states as possible that Tennesee came up. I'm not done with the west coast yet.

I'm hoping by mid june I am back on the saddle.

Marlena takes 1st in her debut performance

The night before the match, my daughter Marlena was nervious. She was afraid that she would fall down in front of several people who came to watch her perform. My wife and I explained that many pro skaters fall and they just get right back up and perform. We saw several skaters perform before Marlena was up and we saw some fall and get right back up.



Then it was Marlena's turn. Yes she was nervious but her competition seemed to be even more nervious so she was in good company. But when she hit the ice for her turn, the only thing that went wrong was the announcer butchering her last name. She did everything good, maybe not perfect in the judges eyes (Honestly just think they look for more then just mistakes but how fluid your moves are). Even came down to the finish on the last pic on the ice which was perfect.
I was there for the final practice and her only problem was the backward switzals. I let her know it was the only thing she was sturggling with. My only suggestion was to be more fluid on the backward and not be mechanical. Looks like

she took it to heart because even those were good. Everyone enjoyed her finish.

Happy Birthday to me.

Back to work...

Very good games on Sunday

After a day of refereeing 5 games on Saturday, in the Comstock Shootout, I was pretty beat. For that I was less enthused about signing up for more games then the championship match I had scheduled on Sunday. As it turned out, I got an extra game earlier.

The morning after I decided to sleep in. My buddy I traveled with wanted to sleep in. I slinked in around 10am and decided to do a 10:40 match. It was told to me that these two teams don't like each other. I was hoping it wasn't going to be like the previous day. 5 minutes in the match a called a penalty kick for a mistimed tackle. They were deverting away from the goal so no red for a DOGSO. After that call, it was physical, but they knew I wasn't screwing around so game control wasn't an issue.

Second game was two Idaho teams. It was funny because they are both in the same league and they came all this way to NV just to play each other in the U16 finals. No big controversy.

My center in the U19 girls final was fun. It was the North Lake Tahoe team vs. the South Lake Tahoe team. It was a hard fought match, but I called minimal fouls just to let them know I was still there. The S. Lake tahoe team was subbing more then my liking so I added two minutes and made that decision before the regulation ended. Before the regulation time ended, one goal scored by the losing team to narrow it to 2-1. I know my ARs were nervious when I indicated there would be two minutes left in the match. No goal resulted. But it was a good end to a weekend away from home.

A near perfect game surrounded by crap.

I'm sitting in my hotel room writing this after refereeing 5 games. I'm getting too old for this. I''m over at the Comstock Shootout, which is a tournament in Carson City NV. I have been doing this tournament for a number of years (except for one year I missed) and usually what is more enjoyable is the friendships I maintain and the new friends I make.

Game number 1. Los Vegas vs. South Shore.
Los Vegas pretty much took charge of the game with possession of the ball. They scored one early goal. They were the more physical team, but both teams had their fair share of fouls. For the most part, it was a good game. Then here's where it hit the fan. I called a passback, because it was played by a defender and the keeper had time to decide to pick up the ball. I called it and the keeper was pissed. I should have booked her for dissent, but I let it go. Nothing came as a result. But I notice LV was kicking the ball a little far out then normal. There were also some injuries so with a 1-0 differential, I added time. Two minutes to be exact. Well in the final minute of regulation, South Shore scored the equalizer. This apparently pissed off LV. Then in the final minute of extra time, the scored again. Coach and keeper wanted to "ask me a question". Truth is they wanted a pissing match where I said, "This conversation is over."

I found out I had LV again and demanded to be removed, moved to another game, whatnot. After 2 hours of debating they moved me to another center in an U19. I had South Shore. I really don't like to see the same teams but this was the lesser of two evils. And it also was a near perfect match. I only called two fouls and one offside. The only problem is RSU, the losing team's coach, wanted stoppage for chasing the ball, but with a 4-0 match, I wasn't going to go there. Especially since I knew they lost their first match and are most likely out of contention of playoffs. But since the coach mildly complained about that, well I'll take that imperfection as there is no such thing as a perfect game.
My last game I was an AR. Coaches on both sides were jackasses. Apparently according to Tim S., my travel buddy, the spectators were just as bad. Didn't know the first thing of offside.

Well I'm headed to the Fandango for a buffet and hopefully to get in a Texas Hold Em game.

Poker night tomorrow

And I am barely holding a table together. Some people are wonder if I am doing something funny with the cards. Can't say I blame them. Just take a look at my site for the results and you will see I have cashed out of my home game every time.

I promise you I have not rigged the deck in any way, shape, or form. I always start with a brand new deck in hopes of keeping the integrity of the game. As a matter of fact I invite someone else to bring a deck of cards. Anything to preserve the integrity of the game. I may just experiement tomorrow.

Problem is I don't know how not to play. Meaning on my last game, I was experimenting with a few things and I had a calling station who beat me with a 3-4 offsuit. When I saw that hand, I tightened up my play and wound up winning.

In a home poker forum when people evaluated my blinds structure, their only problem was in the big tourneys I use the $1.00 unneccessarly. Since I have built up my chips, I can take the ones out of the big games. I also noted I didn't use the minimum blind rule. Nobody, except for 1 member in passing said anything and I was ready to get hammered for it.

The one thing they did mention was that perhaps I out class most of the players. I play on average 2 games a night online. I read up on the game. A lot of these guys are not that obsessive.

As poor of a turnout that may happen, I kind of hope I don't blow everyone out of the water.

In Memory of A Fallen Star

When I first met Carly my wife and I were in our first year of dating. She was 4 and my first impression of her was, "Here is a kid that is going to grow up and be somebody." She spoke very intelligently for a 4 year old. I knew this was contributed by the fact both her parents were educators.

Unfortunately for everyone that knew her, I was half right. She never finished growing up, but she was definitely somebody special for the short time she was here.

Deja Vu

Before I go into that one, you may want to read the previous post. Woke up Sunday morning and could barely walk, my calf hurt like a mother f---er. Some Icy Hot, Motrin and just walking it off made it feel better. Jesse and I decided to ride up together despite the fact I had a double header and Jesse was scheduled for one game.

We arrived at the polo fields and had this overwhelming need to hit the head. As I was just going, a certain National Referee called me over in the manner of "Here boy!" His first mistake. I was scheduled to AR for him on my second game. He wanted me to take his center. There were a few reasons I wouldn't do this for him. One, I'm injured and by all rights I shouldn't even do lines that day. Two, one team I issued a red which is still fresh in their mind. I told him I barely had enough for my AR spots and my calf was sore, and my groin muscle was nagging. He said he had a nagging, not excruciating pain. He had a pro match he wanted to save himself for. He tried, but I bottom lined it for him. I made it clear I was not taking any centers. He asked me if I was handicapped. His second mistake. I just replied, "Look who's talking." It's not the first time he pulled this crap. Last year he was scheduled to be in Alaska and he missed his flight which caused an uproar in the car rental department, not to mention money spent down the drain. There are also rumors he does crap like show up to MLS matches in less then 30 minutes. Needless to say, I don't respect him. Great referee, but not who I would call a respectable referee.

So Jesse decided to do back to back centers. I felt bad for Jesse. The first game was Sons of Italy and SF Celtic. Turned out to be a good game, and Jesse had the teams well under control despite the complaints from the Italy coach.

The second game, I'm not going to name teams, but call them Red and Black. This is the same Red team I had a month ago in the middle. Jesse kept things pretty much under control for doing back to back games. Late in the first half Jesse pulls his first yellow. Unfortunately I couldn't tell if it was #10 Red or #6 Black. A minute passed and Jesse shows #10 the yellow then the red card. I guess it was # 10. I couple minutes passed and then I thought wait a minute! That's the same guy I sent off a month ago. The deja vu was in my match he got a yellow, and then got his second yellow in the next minute, just like Jesse's. Apparently it was still fresh in their minds because the other AR mentioned one of the teams asked Jesse, "Did you guys talk about us prior to the team?" as they realized I was the one who sent #10 off earlier.
Second half, Red got a goal despite playing with 10 players and the Black team was demoralized. Red scored another goal and Black was basically "dead man walking". According to Jesse I was adequate enough for him, but he said he noticed I was limping the second half of the second game.
Even though the WCYWS policy makes the referee who issued a red buy the beer, I broke the rules and insisted on treating.

Limped my way through a CPSA match

I'll get to the meaning of the title in a moment but I would like to start at the beginning. Saturday night I had a center on a CPSA match. That alone gets me nervous. Now add the fact these are the top two teams where I have a history with one of them (not the best kind), who can be very volatile and add the fact that I have one AR I can't completely trust, well let's just say my wife told me, "Honey, I love you but I wouldn't want to be ya."

So the game was at Shorty Garcia (I nickname it Shorty McShort Short). My 2nd time there but the first time I actual got to referee the match. Very nice field, but to me, it seemed rather small in length. It was easy to keep up with play and trust me that was another challenge. You see I am currently nursing a calf injury. 600mg of Motrin 4 hours prior to the game and then just before the game and I was doing fine.

My plan prior to the game. Show up an hour prior (I never understand the referees who show up less then 30 minutes). Pray that the "kid" scheduled to be AR2 shows up before AR1. Then use every legit excuse in the book to put AR2 to AR1 and AR1 to AR2. Why you ask? Because I had a heads up from the big man who assigns my games that he was confrontational in a previous game and to keep an eye on him (though I wonder what he was doing assigned to this match to begin with). Shows up with stripped socks after I took a leap of faith when the 30 minute mark hit to put on logos. I asked him if he had logos, he said no and "What is the big fucking deal?"

I explained to him we have to look alike. So I take off my logos to put on stripes. Then he starts swearing regarding my switch. Nothing makes him happy.

Well as it turns out AR1 shows up slightly less then 30 minutes prior. Dammit to hell! AR2 shows up just when we were about to check in the teams. He informs me he was in a car accident and is shook up and didn't want AR1. I had two evils and decided against my best judgement to leave things as it was. AR1 decides to be proactive and check in the other team and I sent AR2 to make sure AR1 stays out of trouble.

So I hit the opening whistle and Red seemed to be in rare form as the fouls happened. Green was playing good ball, but was getting hacked quite a bit. Then the cards come out flying. Their captain told me to "be fair". I got annoyed with that comment and I looked him right in the eye and said, "You calling me a cheat? No, really, are you calling me a cheat?" He didn't want anything more to do with me at that point. The fouls were 75% Red and 25% Green as a rough estimate. I was able to keep up with play until they decided long ball was cool play. Fortunately it didn't happen all the time, but the field was short enough that it was a punt, to the forward who tries to score.

So how was AR1? He didn't bury me completely but he started to make a spectacle of himself. He called me over because defense was giving him a hard time and was swearing at him, but didn't give me specific numbers. He kept repeating like an insulted drunk and finally I said, "I got it." twice. I went to the Green and said, "Please don't swear at my AR1."
One Green defender said, "We weren't"
I said, "I'm not saying you did, I'm not saying you didn't, just don't do it."
He smiled and said, "Fair enough."

At half time the assistant coach came up and demanded I deal with the spectators. Now it could be the stress of the importance of this game, in combo with a rogue AR1, and the pain in my calf nagging a bit, I didn't take to kind to his way of asking. I called him on his rudeness and I said, it's a fair request, but ask me, don't demand me. Him being the ass said, let me remind you we pay you guys. My response to that was, "Let's go earn our money then." My friend Jesse told me it would have been a great opportunity to ask for a raise.

So I went to the Red coach first and asked him to move his spectators to the other side. He took this as a good time to tell me what I am missing and how much I suck. I said, "Fine but my request still stands and I will not start the half until you comply." I went to the Green head coach and made the same request. Now mind you the green coach called me an idiot when I may have missed a foul (he may have been right about the missed foul to be honest with you and myself). He told me who is staff was and asked if he can keep his daughter with him. I said no problem as I'm a dad and would be reluctant as well. I said help me out and I'll ignore the idiot remark. He rolled his head like he realized he was caught and shook my hand and said, "Fair enough."

Unfortunately they were slow on the compliance so I looked at a few shivering players on either side and said, "Hmmmmmmm." I went to one of the players and said, "Feels like hell froze over, huh?"
He said, "Yeah, can we get this game started?"
I said sure, "As soon as your spectators move to the other side." Players couldn't help me any faster then that.

The second half was much like the first, but Green managed to earn 3 bookings to almost catch up with Red. Red still thought I was unfair. By all rights I could have sent a couple of them home for all the dissent they gave me (at least 3 had a card already). But I managed to finish and nobody was sent home prematurely.

Raising a special needs child

I read this article and it hit me as if I wrote it myself.

For the record....Gabriel is doing fine. Best way to describe it is, his therapists set goals and he meets them far sooner then expected.

Viewing Perspectives.

Saturday night I spent time with a friend. He was disappointed, no upset about the performance from his son at State Cup. So I stood there patiently listening to him telling how upset he was that he spent all this money on his boy, only realizing now he may not have the drive to continue the sport.

After my games on Sunday I spent time with my fellow referees. One of them I learned teaches a coaching clinic. One of the thing he sees is there are plenty of coaches that took the course 10-15 years ago, but never come back for a refreasher. Sounds like several referees I know. Another ref works in the CYSA office and said something profound: The city leagues are giving so much attention and money to the division one program and the players who play for the city, are not even from the city. Having my daughter in Division 4, that really doesn't sit well.

I read a blog where the parents were really getting into the "spirit" of things in a State Cup match. I have a feeling it was not only for winning, but about the investment the parents made in winning things like State Cup and regionals. Or how so much money goes to the technical directors whom the player sees not nearly enough. But to the TD's defense, there's only one of him.

To the parents who invest that much money in the player, need to know this: You can shell out thousands of dollars, have the best trainers, coaches, and what not. However, when it comes down to it, there are two teams, and one winner. Which means there is one loser who invested a lot of money just to lose. That's alot of pressure to put on your kid.

Broke the Red Card Streak

And it was about time. I was getting sick of those send off reports. Mind you there were a couple of yellows and it took most of my personality to keep one of them in the match. That and it took took even more skill to keep one player from doing something stupid as it turned out he got off of a red card suspension....because of me. Their captian decided to inform me he would write a letter regarding my performance. Hope he spells my name right. I hate it when the screw up the spelling. Anyway he confronted me after the game regarding the caution. He thought it was for dissent. It was for delay of game, but I also told him his constant bitching didn't help his case.
Doing my next game I was AR. The white captain complained about an offside I called. And I informed him he was there the whole frigging (yes exact words) time. He told me to watch my language. Frigging? Dude! If he was overly sensitive on that one, then to stay away from me after the game. He hasn't heard anything yet.
Ended the day with a beer, pizza (been eating too much of that), and a winning game of poker.

Another one bites the dust..

..make that two. I was refereeing a Major Division match. I'm just going to call them red and green. I anticipated a problem between these two teams but for 40 minutes things seem to be going well. Then at the 41st minute I had a green play after he knew he lost the challenge, tackle a red player from behind, chopping a player from behind (both legs in the air chopping the back of the opponents legs). So I sent him off with the red card. Unfortunately that is where hell broke loose. At half time the green captain came to me and told me how unfair that call was.

Then in the second half, despite the Penalty Kick for the green, which was blown with a great save by the red keeper, the green captain still didn't know when to quit. When he brought up the red card situation, I informed him, he was not to continue about that. He then shouts, "Hey guys, we can't talk to the referee about fairness." At that time, I let him know he well deserved this yellow (without going into the 3 P's of dissent which by then he reached all three).

I thought by then things were calming down, I tightened the calls a bit. Then a red was fouled. My AR had the best view. Flagged it, I whistled it. I went to the AR to ask what he saw. He said, "green fouled, but then #10 on the red retaliated with an elbow. I would give him a caution." I cautioned him a minute earlier for kicking the ball away after being called offside. I gave him his second caution (it could have been a straight red). In 20/20 hindsight, I should have given green his caution for grabbing a jersey. I was just told my AR initially he held the red. Had I known it was a jersey pull at the time, I would have given him a yellow and some justice would have been done.

The Post game wasn't so much fun as he wanted to confront me. After saying "What a fucking horrible call." I replied with, "Can I quote you on that on my send off report so you can get a few more Sundays off?"

When you are friends with the enemy...

...you tend to look in a diffrent perspective, even when you don't agree. Still confused with the title? I'm just mulling over how to make more sense of it. Again I leave names and some details out just because I don't want anyone figuring out who it is.

I was seeing a friend that I hadn't seen since november and we were catching up. His son played on a high school team last winter. I asked how that went? He said he did fine. Then he asked me if I reffed high school. I said "No, I took the high school season off to fully recover from my injuries."

Now here's where a good conversation went bad. He said, "The referees out there sucked. They were terrible." Now I am used to hearing that from one degree to another so usually it doesn't phase me anymore. Then he had to go and say, "I enjoy harrasssing the referee because they suck so much!" My first thought was WTF? This guy actually got off on giving the referees a hard time. Unfortunately I was a captive audience literally so I had to endure this. So I finally said what many referees have said before, "Well then....You should sign up as a referee and then you can show them how it's done." I never seen anyone shut up so fast.

The rest of the conversation was pretty stutter-stepped and well after watching a game and trying some of my indoor photography out I decided my camera sucks on action shots in a gym. Out of 100 shots, I managed to get 4 decent (and I say that too loosely) shots. We were able to talk about how well the team we were watching spank the other team.

Everyone has a natural tendency of wanted to be liked by many people as possible. As a referee, you tend to make that tough, because what you do, if you have any friendships on the sidelines, you tend to put those aside and do your job, no matter how wrong you may seem in the eyes of your friends. I usually, for the close friends, tend not to do their games for I like to still be invited to things. I certainly will not so any relative's games, with the one exception I made with the blessing of the assignor, to referee my nephew's game, well two of them, one on each team. It's still talked about around the family get togethers.

Problem is as a former player, a coach, and a referee, the lines tend to get blurred from time to time. I do have a reputation of being tough, but fair most of the time, so usually the coaches I get are more than supportive of my calls, even when they disagree.

Getting back to the harrassing referees. Last year when I finished the high school season I was having a conversation with a friend of mine (a referee of course) and he was telling me he was done doing high school. He just got his grade 5 as well and his response was he was tired of dealing with the parents on the sidelines. Can't says I blame him. An ex-National referee that same year did the NCS semi-final and was subjected to an angry mob. Now he no longer wants any part of high school soccer. Still think it's okay to harrass the referee for the fun of it? Still think it's part of the game?

And Justice for all.

You may have remembered my post regarding "Referee with sailors mouth". Well turns out the coach who accused the referee got a 2 match suspension for his part.

My thoughts? My use of harsh language is reserved for those cases where I would feel I would get through to a guy vs. carding him. Of course you won't hear it from me in a youth match because....well it's youth.

However, if you have to use harsh language, then you would be hyppocritical for carding someone for nearly the same thing. Something to think about. I hope the big wigs in the MLS have read the article.

It was a happy St. Patties

Saturday was fun as my daughter was in the Dublin Parade for her school. I have really grown to like getting involved in my kids activities. Before it was just going through the motions for her sake because I didn't have that support growing up, but these days I tend to make it interesting enough to not count the minutes that it's over. Perhaps it could be my daughter takes great pride that both her parents are involved. Of course anything I do, my wife does 10 times better...well most of the time. I make a great weenie.
After the parade, we hit the fair and I had my fair share of Guinness. Marlena got to go on the bundgy ride which was cool to watch. My friend's daughter made the most of her time on it and did even some forward flips.

Sunday the family decided to go back, but I was sunned out due to Saturday and then refereeing on Sunday. I ran line both my games where it was a miracle I didn't get lynched.


Game 1: The center I ran line with showed up less then 30 minutes prior to the game. I was tempted to take the center from him, but I was not mentally prepared to run the middle. Prior to the game we were checking the teams in and the center was demanding they tuck their shirts in and jewelry. Mind you I have no problem with what he wanted, but I had a problem with the way he demanded. It was like, "Let's piss off two Latin teams before we kick off." I'm just going to call them Red vs. Blue. So we're about to kick off, he decides to do the pre-game. He wants to talk about throw ins. WTF? I had to look at my game card to make sure we were doing Major Division and not U12 girls. Then he wanted to change me from AR2 to AR1. I said no because I had an AR1 assignment next game. That was translated to: No I am not going to stand close to the benches of two teams you pissed off before kick off. When that torture was over I went to my line. It took 3 minutes to get them pissed at the center. That was one foul per minute. The comment was, 'You do a great job checking our jewelry and making sure our shirts are tucked in but you can't call worth Sh--!" Basically was having trouble controlling the game. Surprising that hardly anyone tried anything in front of me. Could it be my rep is growing in this league. I have been noticing.

Game #2 I thought I was going to work with my buddy Norm. I was disappointed where he was replaced by another guy where I would rather have a root canal. As usual he was unorganized. Late checking teams in. I checked Black in and ran into their captain who remembered me. Asked me if I was doing the center. I said, nope, I'm a line. He was disappointed. He was complaining that the good referees are getting lines while the centers are not good. I took this as a complement for 1 of 2 things. One, it's the 3rd straight week I have received such a complement. Two, the guy who paid me the complement was a guy I sent off last year for head butting another player, ironically from the team they were playing in this game.

As the game went on here's where it "jumped the shark" (hi honey). I saw a push from behind. I flagged it. It was 2 feet in front of me. I pointed one way. The center pointed another way. He was 25 yards away. He accused the "fouled" player of diving. He added more insult to the player by saying, "You're lucky I don't give you a yellow card." My thoughts: If he dove and "fooled" me, but was caught by the center, I think it warrants a yellow card. What sucked was at half time, I wasn't even going to talk about it. He came to me and said, "I saw that he was pushed but he embellished the fall." I'm thinking hmmm....he was pushed. Isn't pushing a foul? I just responded by saying if you felt he was diving, he sure fooled me and he should have gotten a card for it. I walked away disgusted. The other AR who befriended me first thing since he was new, said my call was correct.
Well second half it wasn't too bad until the center called a PK. I can't say it was a good call or bad call. According to AR2 it was a good call. Before the PK the White was beating the Black 3-1. Black took the PK and made it 3-2. Then the forward and GK were fighting over getting the ball out of the net. If it were me I would have been the first one to the ball to prevent anything.
So while the center was now taking care of that, I had to deal with the White coach who said, "Why you give Penalty?" I told him to get back to his side and that I didn't even want to have a conversation with him. He said, after slumping like a kid who grabbed his toys and went him, "Neither do I!"
Was still bitching even after they won.

My favorite scene in the movie Rounders

Sunday's game

Had a good AR assignment at Boxer Stadium this weekend. Two good San Francisco teams played each other to a 2-2 tie. The center, Mauricio was good as he always is. Every time I work with him, it's always a pleasure. Could be we're both Italians too. :-) While on weekend #2 of a 4 month layoff Maurico had better comments on my line then I did for myself. I still felt like I was shaking the rust off. He said I was flying up and down the line. I know my knowledge kept me a float. I felt good in the end. Game was in control for most occasion as I did watch Mauricio's back on at least 3 occasions. One was cautioning a player for leaving the field. Only my 2nd one in my long career.

I was comfortable as I knew players on both sides. One of the players who used to play for the A league Seals, was wondering when I was going to get a center at Boxer. I told him it was hinted I would get an assignment this season. He was hoping it would be sooner then later. I thought that was a nice complement. On the other team, I recognized a player who was a strong youth referee up a Sacramento. Took him a while to remember me because I had less facial hair the last time he saw me. It wasn't until I reminded him of a center he did for an U17 boys game where a fight broke out and he got physical with the players when separating him. I gave him a pep talk on how that could have went against him, but was entertaining to watch (yes I can be a sadist).

The third and final thing that made it interesting, the other AR is from Southern California. He has done Amateurs there and told me he would be doing 3 games a Sunday, whereas up here people are happy to get one AR assignment. My lesson for those who are complaining about the AR assignments. If you are bored with the AR assignments you are getting, then you are not challenged enough in the AR level and should do whatever it take to get to a level where you feel challenged, unless you're a National doing MLS, and then well...there's little hope for you.

Dealing with Dissent

I read a nice blog regarding dealing with dissent. It's NISOA, so just so we're clear: In USSF/FIFA you do not show the coach a card. Here is the article.

GP is back on the pitch...

...and I haven't missed a beat since I was gone. Okay that is not entirely true but as far as game management and control, I gave myself an A. For covering the field, I gave myself a C. Obviously I need to get back in the full swing of things but I was off for 4 months which is the longest I have taken off from soccer.

The game was a Major Division and I knew both teams pretty well since I have done both since they were in First Division. I took control of the match early, calling the hard and getting unfair advantage. I had great assistants, Brian S. and Craig S. which bailed me out a few times. Unfortunately I had to pull my first caution in the 41st minute for a tactical foul. Any closer to the goal and it would have warranted a send off, but in my opinion, he wasn't close enough to the goal. Had that been the case, I would have sent him off. Red had no problem when I explained my logic for just a yellow.

In the second half Red and Blue decided to play a little more physical but clean for the most part and when I had to step in, it was accepted by most. Then by the 72nd minute I whistled a guy for taking a player down with both hands. While debating on cautioning him, he took the ball and spiked it away (just think of your typical kicking the ball away in frustration). I told him, his last action made my card issued an easy decision.

Just when I thought that was all the cards i was going to get at the 86th minute, my ball spiking friend decided that if he loses a challenge when he fights for the ball, he's going to kick the player. I didn't see it, but I heard the very familliar thud. My AR, Brian saw it and was giving me the high sign to caution. It was an easy red. Craig saw it and asked me why I just didn't do a straight red. I spent the next 10 seconds pondering, but found it was just easier to give the yellow, then red. He was gone none the less and both sides accepted that.

In the end, I felt good, but I know I left room for improvement. According to my wife, I got out of there in record time dispite having to write a send off report.

In other news, Gabriel is doing fine. In the past week I could have sworn he did is first word. I was helping him up the stairs and by the time I got him to the top he said, "Heeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyy!!" Then he started crying. I wonder where he got that from (hi honey).

Marlena in the last week has made me proud. Her homework was done in record time and I think she for the first time discovered that if she does her homework for the week early, she can enjoy the weekend better. She also had Destination Imagination. She's been at this since almost the beginning of school. I have to confess, in the middle of it, I hated it. I hated the time it was taking, not for us parents to take her and back, but how much it was taking from her schoolwork. However watching her perform with the skit, I couldn't have been more proud. I was also told by the DI advisor for her group that Marlena went from an "easy going with the crowd" person to insisting to everyone a way something should be done. She didn't win the crowd over, but she stood her ground and that I told her is the makings of a good referee. Never the less I was proud to hear that story about her. It was a good saturday.

Vista sucks

Message to anyone considering upgrading to Vista. Don't... Wait until at least a year for them to get rid of bugs and for your peripheral manufacturers to update the drivers. You'll be glad you waited. If you decide not to wait because you are one of those dudes that has to have the latest and greatest of everything, you heard it here first

Busy Saturday, spent sunday recovering.

My Saturday started with a trip to San Bruno to attend a soccer clinic for Referees. I got to listen to Chris Strickland speak and he provided very good insight on how much more involve an Assistant Referee can get to help control the game. It was good because I can reflect back to the days where I would at times, withdraw from supporting the referee when I could get a lot of flack and no protection from the center. And there were times I would get involved and hope the center had my back.

Moral of the story: Centers take care of your ARs and your ARs will take care of you. Especially when they make a call to save your butt.

Then we had Abe Rameriz give us a testing tool on what to do with a certain play. Call a foul, yellow card, red card, no card, no foul. I did okay. There were quite a few disagreements.

After the clinic I went home and prepped for the poker party. Had 13 players. Took first which has me 4/5 games where I have won. The good about that? My bankroll has increased. Bad news is people may not ever want to come back because I tend to win most of my games (the one I did lose, I took 2nd place). At first it was just my friend Rudy complaining. Then another, and then another.
Most people stayed for the loser table and when it was announced that I won I kind of heard groans. Kind of made me wish I broke even or even busted out. There were many times I thought I was going to bust out, though I was confident I was going to the final table. It went down to a final table of 7 and two guys, who are both friends, were on life support.
As it went down to 5, things got interesting. I thought I was dead when I went all in with pocket 6's and ran into pocket Q's But I had more chips. But I got him back when i went for a 3 way all in with doug and Marty. I caught a straight and sent him packing. Then Mark and I did a dance for a while, but then I managed to over come him, and then Marty. Then Jeff, who has been the silent sleeper decides to go heads up with me. He picked the wrong time to say all in because I had pocket kings with a king that hit the flop. Needless to say he was down to change and he decided to concede.

Another good night of poker.

So I was playing last night and had 18 players. I'm starting to get out of my poker slump I was in the last couple of month. Did the cards change? No, but the way I play, I'm back in my own game.

The opening hand was disappointing for me. You see I was on the button and I had pocket 7's. I was debating on doing the all-in or do the raise dance. Well one raised, then the other went all in. When the cards were turned up, the All-in guy had pocket 5's. That pissed me off, then I saw the pocket 9's and I started to feel better knowing I wouldn't have gone in with the best hand. Then the flop came out. A 7 hit the board and I was pissed because I would have had a set. Neither one hit theirs.

Instead of getting mad I just played my game. With a little luck, some good cards, and a lot of patience paid off. When we were down to the money, the chip leader was bullying. I noticed he was going all in far too much. I was SB at the time and decided to call with a K-6. No raise before the flop. A Q-6-3 showed up. Everyone checked. Another 3 showed up. I bet. I was called by the chip lead. Then a 5 showed. I bet. He went all in. I debated it thinking he's been going all-in far too many time. I smelled a bluff and I called. He had a 7-2. He was pissed. Couldn't believe I called that, but I knew he was bluffing so I called..

After a few more rounds it was just him and me. The final hand was I had pocket 8's. I was going to slow play, but he called All-in. I called. He showed pocket 5's. I thought I was going to win the hand but the 5 came out at the turn. That's poker and nothing no matter how good of a starting hand is for sure. I was happy with 2nd.

Never a dull moment in poker

During the US port law drought, I have had to use other means to play. I have discovered Poker Academy through a post at homepokertourney.com. For the most part it has great reviews, but I wasn't willing to spend 120 bucks for it. I did discover they had a standard version which I decided to download a couple weeks back. I'm glad I did.
I did try the Pro version and after dabbling with the two, it turns out I wasn't going to miss the Pro features. So for 19.95 I downloaded and paid for the standard. It has nice bots which has different charactoristics. I have made my homegame simulations based on my games.
If that wasn't enough, they have PA online where you get to play for play money. Now on the surface that would seem boring if you have played with play money, but later graduated for real money accounts. This one is different though. Let me count the ways.

1. You are playing with like minded players who are trying to improve their game. Yes you have your guys who are stupid enough to go all-in with 7-2 unsuited, but they are far few.
2. In the poker sites like PokerStars, Pokerroom, or PartyPoker, you automatically get 1000 of play money. You can refill as much as you want, although PokerStars has improved on this. PA has it that you have to earn PAX (PA money). You can't sit in a ring game or sit n go on the fly? You have to start with the freerolls and earn your PAX that way. Once you earn some, you can play the other games.
3. Just because you can earn money in Freerolls, doesn't mean you can stay in freerolls. That's right folks, they have a cap on your PAX. Once you earn 50 PAX or more, you are kicked out of the freerolls until your balance goes below 50. Are you beginning to understand why I am having so much fun?

Now again it doesn't mean you have WTF moments? Take last night for instance. I was playing in a freeroll (getting close to the 50PAX cap). Out of 21 players I placed 2nd. When it was down to 4 of us, we were a bit looser with our all ins. I did go all in on a low pocket pair. Was called with an A-5. He caught his ace on the flop and I was chasing my card. Still had money to do damage. I went all in and I had an AQ while he had pocket 5's. All I had to do was catch an Ace or Queen. I didn't. Now I was 200 left. Blinds were so high that I was forced all in on a 10-5 unsuited. Caught my 10 with a KK on the board. Managed to triple my winnings. On my next hand I had a Q-8 but I didn't want to go in so I folded. Then the next hand was one for the books. I had the button with 200 and change (they had antes in this game). The 3 other players decided to go ALL-in. Seeing the possibility of at least placing 3rd instead of 4th, I decided to fold. Well the man with the monster chip lead won that hand and I took second with 200 and change.

A Referee with a sailor's mouth

That may be a bit of an exaggeration or is it? In the USA I have been "raised" to believe that the Laws of the Game should be used as a guideline and not as black and white. I was also shown the way the book is flexible and we should be flexible with the book. That works to a point.

There is a story where a referee is being investigated for swearing at his players. Apparently the short story is he told the players to f-off after the game. Now I personally don't condone that action should it be true. However, I have been on plenty of game where the swearing has been at my direction for me to be lient with that player (perhaps a yellow vs a red).

I will be following this story for I am interested in the outcome. If the referee is reprimended for swearing (in morality sense he should be if guilty), then it's going to open a can of worms to the players all over the world. If a player told me to f-off (I'm thinking like I'm doing the amatuers, not youth), I may think twice about being lient and just send him off. I know in youth I have the mind set that if I don't take it from my own kid, I will not take it from someone elses.
I have been guilty as a referee of flirting with swear bomb. Now I haven't said anything like f-off to the player, but I have been guilty of saying, "Knock this sh-t off!" or "This bullsh-t needs to stop." Strong? Yes. Would you hear that from me in a high school match where language is watched closesly among players? No. In a youth game? U19's perhaps once in a great while.
Only once I have been called on it and looking back they were right because they never said it to me first, therefore, what right would I have to say it back.
If the outcome of this hearing makes the referee tighten his language skills, then perhaps, it will force us to tighten the language skills of the players.

Being sick blows chunks

I spent the entire weekend in bed watching monk reruns. Missed the instructor clinic which I feel bad about. If this means I don't teach this year then my wife will enjoy the time off. I recall a certain instuctor who was not at the clinic, but teach none the less.

Poker cheating methods.

Have I mentioned how much I can't stand poker cheats.

Did I take too much of a break?

As you viewers have probably noticed I have not been on the pitch since early November. One would think I miss it. It could be that I have been on call during my absence I have trouble stepping on the field knowing someone could be trying to get a hold of me. Partially why I took the entire high school season off. The other reason was to make sure my legs healed up so I was 100% when I stepped on the field.

By the beginning of march I'll probably be turning in my easy money pager as someone else wants to jump on the money train. So I can referee pretty much without a conscience.

Why am I not celebrating? I sure was celebrating when I got my 5, but it was like since I came back from the absense almost a decade ago, I pushed to upgrade every other year and then of course the higher the grade, the more tough it was. The Grade 5 was my greatest accomplishment for the simple fact I had fun on the way and never gave up. Now I have the year coming up and I said I was going to guage the next couple of years to see what my level of assignments was before I decided if I was going to go for my National badge or just reside as a grade 5 until I couldn't do it anymore and go emeritus. Emeritus, that is a scary thought. There is only one younger then me that went Emeritus and there are several in their 40's and 50's that are still holding on to that State badge. Some grade 5's.

Hmmm perhaps I should have done more research

I'm referring to Direct TV. The nice part is we have our DVR and it works like a charm. What I didn't realize was they use phone lines, but it's not to clear what for except when they want to contact us or PPV. The guy shows up, pretty much leaves messes everywhere he goes, but then again we are shifting things around for Paula's new sewing center (which is coming out quite nicely). Things seem to come together 5 hours later and then I notice on my modem, the lights are not in proper sequence indicating a problem. Turns out I have new phone lines that are unflitered. Pretty much resolved the issue.
Now I'm called this morning that our downstars TV wigged out. I'm hoping this isn't a making of a comcast commercial.

In other news, I went to my local comic shop a day early (I was thinking yesterday was already wednsday). The guy that had to leave was there and asked me "So are you here to lose again?" I smiled, Jim had his laugh about me showing up a day earlier. Then I mentioned I would not be there the next couple of weekends. He said, "Oh we have had games postponed for months." sigh

If there was one reminder, this should be it. Always have a set of rules when you host a tournament. I have my house rules, and if there isn't something covered by my house rules, and we can't come to the good of the game (wow you think I was talking soccer), then we have Robert's Rules of Poker to fall back on.
Works for me.

Comcast...You're Fired!!!!

We decided after much debate to switch to Direct TV. As it turns out, we're not really saving a whole chunk of change but we are getting some features we didn't get with Comcast. We are getting two DVRs installed where we can record shows on the fly. No more stacks of video tapes. Our book shelves in our room will look like bookshelves. We can record two shows at the same time while watching one show we previously recorded. Is that cool or what? It also means my wife will not be night after night setting VCRs. One thing we will miss is In demand that comcast did have. Now we didn't do the premium channels but we did get some good movies. However we will get Starz for free for one year.

In other news I haven't talked about my family much as to what has been going on. Paula is going to get her sewing room. She has big plans. Marlena has been improving on her Ice Skating. She is having fun in the process which is the most important thing. I mean if it's not fun, why do it. That was the pep talk I gave her when I told her how long it took me to get my 5. Basically 5-6 years. She has levels she needs to go through. Sometimes she breezes through them and sometimes she needs to repeat. Repeating a session on the ice seems to be the norm though which I think takes a little pressure off of Marlena and just opened it for me to just ask, "Hey, are you having a good time?" She said yes. That was all I had to say on the subject.
Gabriel's head is in the 70th percentile. I can see the dumbfounded faces asking, "Is that good?" Yes it's good. He contineus to go the right direction. His new thing is to yank his glasses and throw them across the room. We call that attitude!

I have clinics coming up next month. There is one on Feb 3-4th. One is for the instructors/assessors and now assigners. The other is for the rest of the referee world. If it's like last year, it will be the same stuff. As least they got this one right. Have the instructor clinc first and the rest last. I only have to show up for one. Which is good because I really didn't want to give my entire weekend up. We have the SFSFL clinic the same day as my poker night. Still it's a better deal.

Jaded in poker

I was playing a 5 dollar buy-in. There was 4 of us left and I was on the short stack. One of the guys who was really low had to leave. He pulled his all in for the last hurrah. I had a good starting hand and I decided to call. Unfortunately I got another caller. One the flop I was in the lead and then I drowned on the river card.

Not the reason I was jaded. I was still in the game, but this dude now tripled up. Then he took out someone who beat me in a previous all-in. Now he quadrupled. Now he really had to leave. If you read your general poker rules, anyone who has to leave can do so, and his stack will be blinded out. The suspended the game until "another time"

Hmmm just when was the other time supposed to happen? Next week? Hmmm I'm busy. No really I am. The following weekend? No, I am also busy.

See why I am jaded?

When I see the host wednsday for my dose in comics, I will inform him to blind me out. Perhaps he will get a clue.

Helping a host at a poker tourney

I found this site www.homepokertourney.com and while it's not really a place to play good poker advice (well there is some), it's an excellent resource for organizing a home poker game.

I've been organizing poker games at my home for 2 years and every time I do, I learn a lesson in some shape for form like I have said in a previous post. I did find an interesting post which talks about helping the host.

Some key things to remember when hosting a tournament:

1. In many cases you may know more about poker then the one who doesn't. If you don't know as much, you're going to have a tough time hosting.
2. Make sure you have enough chips. I can't stress this enough. My very first poker game was a ring game and I had 300 chips between 7 players. Needless to say I treaded water with a 5 dollar buy-in with a 5 dollar re-buy. In my next game I had more chips now totaling 800, but pay particular attention to the weight of the chips. 11.5g gives the feel of a real casino. I had 8g chips. They were playable, but a couple of people noticed. It wasn't until last year I upgraded my chips. Now I have 850 chips that are 11g which is good for a 16 player tournament. I haven't felt the need to go beyond this. I still use the 8g chips for my side ring game on tournaments.
3. Have food for the players to snack on. You can either designate a list where people can pick off and bring something or do it yourself. I usually have things for my guests. I will stock beer, but I always say BYOB so they don't expect it. This is going to bring me to number 4.
4. Do not expect your guests to chip in. Meaning, take a buck or two from guests. This can be construed to making a profit for playing in a "home casino" which can be illegal, definitely in California. People offer to drop money, especially when they won. I don't expect this and usually turn them down like an Uncle who took third did. Basically he doubled his buy in and wanted to give me the profit. I didn't feel comfortable with it because he was giving me his winnings. I was going to get my money back and then some (I took first, but even if I took second, I would have made money)
5. Finally you should be hosting because of the love of the game.

However if you do get invited to a game, people tend to leave the house once they are eliminated (which hosting a side ring game would keep them around). What would be nice to help the host would be to help pick up beer bottle which are laid out around the house. I swear I was picking up beer bottles for two weeks, I would stumble on to odd places like land mines after my last game. You can also help out with changing out smaller chips with big one as the blinds go up. You can player permanent dealer. Just little things to make the game go smooth.

Beckham signs with LA Galaxy

Since the MLS has lifted the salery cap, things have gotten interesting. The most interesting thing that has happened is Beckham signing up. As on article it was calling instead of Bend it like Beckham it was called spending it like Beckham.

One of my concerns is MLS is following the old cliche', those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. NASL went into a spending spree and not many years later, went bankrupt. It pretty much caused us not to have quality soccer for nearly a decade.

Of course financial discipline is not the only thing MLS needs to do to get their act together. They need to be more accordance to FIFA. They tried their marketing BS like the shootout and letting star players get away with murder.

It's true. It seems that when a referee for example goes national and has MLS opportunities they need to conform to MLS, not USSF, but MLS or forget about refereeing that league. I seen two cases of this first hand.
I won't name names, but the first time I was on the AR spot and noticed a few players that were playing out of control. A few cards I felt should have been given and the goalkeeper for one team, I swear he was on something like PCP because he was complaining but not making a lot of sense. When I asked why he let so much go, he said, "He needed to cater to the fans who want to see action." I had my opinion on that statment but since I was new in the division I was AR in, I bit my tongue.
Years later I was on the line for another National Referee. Another one who didn't clamp down on dissent and let things go, including potential cards. I was not a vetren now and didn't hold my tongue too much. When he said he should have giving that one player a second yellow for the reckless challenge I said "It should have came sooner" as the guy was heckling me most of the game. He also let a goalkeeper come out to challenge me after I saved the referee's butt in a PK call and later finding out almost cautioned the wrong man. I didn't get that card until after he was scored on he said something in spanish in regards to my mother.

Back to the MLS, the question lies to: Are we signing up a quality player or are we getting a used farrari which has some problems that will haunt him and the MLS? He's had a fair share of injuries over the year. His performance in the world cup was sub-par with just a free kick.

If this doesn't work out we'll never see the San Jose Earthquakes again. Why? Becuase the MLS will be bankrupt.