Dallas Stars disappoint me...again.

So, I didn't make the time to post anything about the Stars vs Blues series. I was busy but I also didn't want to jinx them. Well, I should have known better that they would fuck it up themselves.

Yeah, yeah...everyone is saying, "Thank you for the great season." "Thank you, Stars"

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Screw that! They could've won. They should've won.

Bishop had some great goal tending. However, there were two games that the Stars could have won if it were not for Bishop's lackluster play OR him knocking the puck into his own net even when the puck was going well wide of it.

I'm not blaming everything on Bishop. There were veteran players (Benn?) who didn't seem to have the tenacity or effort level equal to those making less money or in their rookie season.

Yeah, I'm bitter. I could go on and on. I guess we could call it a 'good enough' season. However, it could have and should have been a better season!

Did I mention I'm bitter?

2019 NHL Playoffs: Dallas Stars vs Nashville Predators Game 6

I missed posting and watching game 5 because I had prior personal commitments but the Stars took game 5 with a score of 5 — 3.

It's now time for game 6 of the first round Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators series. I'm still anxious about them teasing me but I will watch the game. How can I not?

GO STARS!
UPDATE: Stars win 2 — 1 in the first overtime period. Stars win the series 4 — 2.

2019 NHL Playoffs: Dallas Stars vs Nashville Predators Game 4

It's game 4 of the first round series between the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators. While I'm a long, long term Stars fan, I sure hope they don't make me wish I stopped watching after game 3. I'm easily frustrated and distracted when they don't hear me 'coaching' them from my couch!

GO STARS!

UPDATE: Stars win 5 — 1. Series tied 2 — 2.

Packers defeat Cowboys on 01/15/2017

Dear Cowboys friends and fans,

I must apologize and take responsibility for causing the Cowboys' loss to the Packers today.

No, it wasn't the seemingly blatant favoritism towards the Packers by the refs: their bad-calls/no-calls, no-calls/bad-calls.

It was me!

Frustrated, I stopped watching at halftime with Cowboys 10 Packers 21.

Sometime later while surfing the web, I saw an update showing the game score tied at 31. So, I turned the game back on with 53 seconds left and well, you know how it ended.

Yeah, I have that kind of power. The Force is strong in my family although I'm the only one who has it.

So anyway, again, it was me and not the officiating.

How much for that sandwich!?

You can barely read the prices but for the filet mignon steak sandwich you see in the photo, it costs $18.00!

Maybe next time when I attend the U.S. Open, I'll treat it like going to Six Flags and have an ice chest with drinks and sandwiches in the car in the parking lot because it did not taste like an $18 sandwich!

I did purchase it and I didn't taste anything special from it other than it tasted like a steak (meat) sandwich. It definitely wasn't worth $18 but there isn't anything cheap to eat at the U.S. Open!

Colleyville Public Library

I sometimes play tennis early on a Saturday morning in Colleyville. I think the park used to be called Bransford but now it looks to be called Colleyville City Park.

I've been to this park many times but have never walked around it. Years ago I brought my kids when they were little because it had a pretty cool playground facility made out of railroad-ties type timber...but not exactly. It was like a giant wooden fort or an on-the-ground tree house. That's been since removed for a "safer" playground.

This one particular Saturday I drove out to play I had arrived fairly early. My friends, for doubles play, weren't going to arrive for at least twenty minutes so I decided to take a walk around the park to stretch my legs from the thirty minute or so drive from my home in North Dallas. It was a pretty cool day compared to the energy-sapping heat/humidity we had been having. I walked about halfway around the park and saw that it actually backed up to the town square. I've driven through that square once years ago because I thought I could cut through it to get to the tennis courts. I was wrong.

Anyhow, this is the first time I noticed the Colleyville Public Library building.

It's not a huge deal for all people but it looked kind of cool to me. I walked in the little archway there to see what it looked like. I peeked into the building through the large glass windows like a little kid. Nothing extraordinary but nostalgic since I've probably not been in a public library in many, many years!

It briefly took me back to the days I'd go to the Euless Public Library as a kid for class field trips or the occasional origami book to check out so I could learn new paper-folding patterns to impress people.

Tennis media shows Federer favoritism, duh!

This showed up on my Facebook page today.

Don't get me wrong. I like Federer. I'm sure almost all who like tennis probably like Roger Federer or his playing skills anyway. He may not be their favorite player but it is hard to deny the accomplishments he's achieved as a professional singles tennis player.

That being said, this news report "leads" off with a bad statement.

When I hear it said that someone led a team to victory, it makes me think of that person as winning, playing awesomely and was just damn near infallible to the point that there was no way they or their team could lose.

However, this was not the case with Federer's "leading." He lost the first Davis Cup singles match for this final in straight sets to Gael Monfils. This would not be leading the victorious charge in my book. Stan Wawrinka on the other hand won his first singles match and was pretty impressive as a team with Federer in the doubles against Gasquet/Benneteau.

So maybe I'm splitting hairs here but I would say that Federer started out the day well by winning the first reverse singles match which just happened to secure the overall win and title for the Swiss Davis Cup team. Again I would not say that Roger lead the Swiss to a Davis Cup title rather that with Roger's win the title was secured and Stan did not have to play to break the tie.

I just get irritated with commentators or reporters overly supporting one player versus another just because one has fourteen grand slam titles while the other merely has one.

I hate playing tennis...no I love it...I hate it...no...

I am playing in a tennis tournament tomorrow morning. For the past couple of years, I have been only playing doubles. I'm not at my singles weight is what I tell people but I actually just get too frustrated and pissed at myself because I don't get the chance to play enough for practice.

The weight really doesn't matter to me but that's just the 'joke' I use. I would like to lose a few twenty pounds just to be a little more light on my feet but I don't know if that will happen anytime soon.

Truth is, I suck at tennis. I've lost that competitive edge that I used to have. It sucks to be the nice guy across the net but I can't help it. I'm damaged goods.

Okay, I really don't suck. I just lack getting enough practice to be more consistent with my awesome shots! Once a week on a Saturday morning is not going to help me hone my shots. Of course, some of the guys I play with play 2-3 times a week and they really aren't any better when I come back after a couple of weeks or more between playing. It's sad for them (in my eyes) but also anger for me because I know I have the potential to be better than I am...if only I had more time to practice and/or persons to practice with.

I used to play singles at least 1-2 times a week with a neighbor friend. It was good practice just to get out and hit the ball. I am always better than him because most of the time when he would win a point, game, set or match, it was because I lost it from stupid shots and errors rather than him kicking my ass.

I lack consistent focus. Winning just stopped becoming the highest priority when I played. I was just glad to get out and hit. To have fun and enjoy the interactions with friends.

But then came leagues and tournaments. It was tough to change my mental game. Many times I didn't and I'd lose. Most of the time I'd take the first set. I then would let up because in my mind I had already won. I would know I could beat the guy so I wouldn't really have to do it because it was already a given. So, I'd lose the second set and usually the third if I didn't pressure myself mentally to pay the fuck attention and win the damn match. Worst is when I'd be up something like 5-1, 5-2, 5-3. I'd have one more game to win and I knew it could be done but I'd become unfocused and then I'd be at 5-5, 6-5 or even worse lose the set 7-5. I'd be mildly upset but, again, I'd be happy to have been able to play and have a fairly decent match even with the brain farts!

I only bring all this up because in my tournament tomorrow I am playing singles. I didn't tell my doubles partner that I also registered for singles. I didn't want him to get stressed out about my possible fatigue from playing possibly two matches before our first doubles match. I play at 8 a.m. and win or lose I play again at 10 or 11 a.m. At 1 p.m. will be our first doubles match.

I'm a little nervous...okay, a lot. I haven't played singles competitively in a long time. I mean there was the times with my neighbor friend but that really wasn't for any prize...just kind of bragging rights until next time. To top things off, I'm going to play this very consistent Asian guy that I've hit with on other days and even played a few doubles matches against with my doubles partner. I saw Asian guy a week or two ago and asked if he was going to play singles in this tournament. He said he probably was as the registration deadline was that Sunday by midnight. I joked with him and said I might play just to see him in the finals. Well, karma really likes to fuck with me so I'll be seeing him in the first match.

Again, he's not technically better than I am. He's just more consistent and he just happened to win this tournament, as well as a few others, in the men's 4.0 singles.

I am trying to prepare mentally now and hopefully that will automatically or at least help translate to me physically tomorrow morning. Our match is at 8 a.m. which means I have to get up at 6:30 a.m. to get ready, maybe get a light breakfast and leave to get to the city it's being hosted in about 25 miles away.

All good times ahead. If I lose, I can chalk it up to experience, I guess. I don't like to waste $25 but I guess it'll help me know where I stand. I'll be happy to be a 6-4, 6-4 loss but would be even happier if I pull off the reverse for the win.

We'll see. At least I know that I get to play in a consolation bracket if I lose and still have my doubles match to play.

I'll let you know how it goes.

French Open flashback

1977 French Open Mixed Doubles Champions —— Mary Carillo & John McEnroe.

If I didn't know better, I would say this is NOT a mixed doubles team.

In the news 05/29/2014

There is a line in the article that says the following,

"...a controversy in which Donald Sterling insulted African-Americans in a secret audio recording..."

Click here for the article while it lasts.

I've tried to stay silent about it but I just can't anymore.

The man was SECRETLY recorded in a PERSONAL conversation with his STUPID ASS girlfriend!

Is what he said wrong? Sure. Is a he a complete and utter dumb ass? Sure. Should he be fined by the NBA and have the Clippers forcefully removed from his ownership because a personal conversation was recorded and made public? I don't fucking think so!

Do I like the guy? No. He looks like an arrogant, douche bag, asshole! But all these people crying for his head are the same stupid mothers that are against people/big business/government intervening in their personal lives.

If Donald Sterling was as big of an asshole as he's made out (and seems) to be and has all the money that he has, I would hope he'd sue the NBA. Not to condone his comments as acceptable but to show that NOBODY can or should allow big business use their secret, behind-closed-doors (essentially), personal interactions be used against them in business.

Now I do know that people should conduct or try to conduct themselves in a certain manner at all times in public as they are almost always an extension of their business (the NBA in this sense). However, as far as I know, this was not in public but on a cell phone in a personal conversation. To me, using this as a way to finally get rid of the racist, bigoted man is a huge misuse of justice.

Dallas Stars lose 1st round playoff matchup

What a disappointment! I guess I shouldn't have expected too much.

I know, I know. I am a fan and should be happy that they got to the playoffs. I should be happy that they are a young team and will have a good chance next year to get into the first round again...and lose again.

I'm just bitter. That's what I am and what I do.

To top it off, the Dallas Mavericks blew it in game four of their series. They got lucky to pull out a win in game three because there were to many individuals. If they would keep playing like a team versus individuals trying to make the dumbest shots and the dumbest attempts, they would have won game four and it'd be 3-1 for the Mavs.

This is why I hate liking sports teams. They piss me off.

Hell, everyone and everything pisses me off.

I may need counseling. :-)

2014 NHL Playoffs

The playoff brackets have been set for the pursuit of Lord Stanley's Cup. I haven't been able to watch a lot of hockey this season. Even a bunch of the Stars games have been missed. Mainly for two reasons: (1) I'm not that into the Stars this season. They've been pretty miserable the past few seasons or so and they just haven't given me a lot of reasons to religiously watch them when there are so many other good entertainment options available on TV and (2) When I moved to my new home, I switched from DirecTV Total Plus to AT&T Uverse U300. U300 does not have the NHL channel for some reason. So, I can only get my hockey games for the Stars and/or the ones that are broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2.

Anyway, the Dallas Stars have made it to the playoffs for the first time since 2008. I'm glad for them. I'll probably...definitely...watch their playoff games. I've followed them since their inception into Dallas back in 1993.

There are a lot of new, young faces on the team. There are a lot of new frustrations I have now when I watch them play. I'm too old to give this much shit about it.

Anyway, here's a screen grab of the playoff bracket in case anyone wants to see it immediately.

 

∞
That's all I got to say about that!
 

Should WTA players make equal prize money as ATP players?

I started typing this about a week ago but was on vacation and didn't have time to complete my thought. It's still pertinent. It's just posted late.

For starters, in case you didn't know:

• WTA = Women's Tennis Association = female professional tennis players
• ATP = Association of Tennis Players = male professional tennis players

There was a recent article (linked while it lasts) on Tennis.com where Gilles Simon, a good-but-with-spotty-success male tennis player says he's against equal prize money for men and women tennis players in tournaments.

Of course, this received a lot of feedback from the women's players calling Simon an idiot, a sexist, and one very good female player said, "Do people go to see his matches or mine?" She's got a valid point but the other comments are just ignorant.

There are many people, especially women, that feel the women's players should get equal pay. I get their plight and I know women's tennis has come a long way with the prize money thanks to the efforts of Billie Jean King and other professional women tennis players. I'm glad women are getting paid what they are due but I don't think they should get equal pay...always.

Let me put it into perspective with a simple example:

A man and a woman start work at a company at the same time, doing the same exact job, having the same exact skills and level of work experience...basically ALL things being equal! The man puts in a 40-hr week and gets paid $1,000. The woman puts in a 30-hr week and gets paid $1,000.

Is this fair?

Now again, all things being equal. If the man and woman both work a 40-hr week and get paid $1,000, then that's equal pay for equal work.

Relate this to tennis and we get the following: men play 3-out-of-5 sets while the women play 2-out-of-3 sets. Should the women get equal pay? I don't think so! That's not equal pay for equal work.

One ignorant comment from a top-ten female player (I forget who) was something to the extent of, "If the men have to play four or five sets, well that's their problem. They should have won three sets in a row." So then it could be said that if females play 3 sets, too bad, they should have won two sets in a row.

For those tournaments that have 2-out-of-3 sets for both the men and women draws, I could see maybe equal pay for equal play. I guess maybe these tournaments' prize money could come down to which gender pulls in the most money but that's up to the promoters and such.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share my 2¢.

See, it's not just Americans...even England has money chasers

So quick back story. David Nalbandian was in the Queen's Club final. He lost his temper after losing his serve. He kicked a barrier around a line judge's chair which I'm sure he thought was much more sturdy than it turned out to be. The barrier gave way and hit the line judge in the shin. The line judge was genuinely injured although it looks from the video to be something as simple as a minor cut and I'm assuming he'll show a bruise later. (I noticed) He was very animated with his reaction which my first thought was "Oh shit, this dude's gonna sue." I don't know if that's what they do in England but that's what he'd do in America. Nalbandian's actions violated an ATP rule and he was disqualified and therefore lost the match. Subsequently, he was fined and then someone filed an assault complaint against him. That someone turned out to be the linesman.

While the links last, you can see the first (maybe the first) story here, a follow-up here and then the most recent one naming the linesman as the whiner complaint filer here).

Now while I don't condone his actions, I don't think Nalbandian is a bad guy. We all let our emotions get the better of us at times. No, that doesn't excuse our actions. I'm just saying that there was a time that something as simple and accidental albeit totally avoidable as this could be moved on from with a simple apology and maybe taking someone out to dinner or such to show there is true remorse and sincerity.

Again, the way the linesman acted up the injury was kind of comical and movie-like. I just knew something more was going to come of it. I don't know what the laws are like in England but in America, the fucked up court system would award this guy a couple of million for his physical AND mental anguish.

Andy Roddick should just hang up his racquet!

Just to back me up, here is an image from an article on Tennis.com.

click image for link to article while it lasts

I think I've typed about his decline before but Andy Roddick should just end his misery now. He's losing to people he probably really shouldn't lose to. Yeah, yeah. He's had some injuries and shit but dude, the body can only take damage and recover so often. It's different if you had a pretty stellar game to begin with but when it was becoming average for years now, you've got nothing to rely on when you aren't 100%.

Look at Federer. He's still a great player but even his game doesn't seem to be able to lift him over those final hurdles. I don't know if it's age, injury, focus, or what but there use to be another gear or two that Federer could tap into and defeat his opponents even in the past few years. I'm not saying Federer needs to retire. I just think he needs to change his game a little...more net play, more attacking side-to-side, something...like Agassi did in the 2nd and better leg of his career. I don't think he's gone like Roddick because he's still taking the sets to scores such as 7-6, 7-5, or 6-4. Those are close sets and come down to one loss of serve.

Anyway, back to Roddick. Roddick had a two-shot game: killer serve and killer forehand. He's lost both. I don't think it's because people have figured the serve out. I see that it's different, maybe ever so slightly, but it is. Same with his forehand. It used to be much flatter and more powerful. He'd drive through that thing versus the more loopy stroke he has now. The loop allows players too much time to get to it now whereas before it was almost always a winner.

Roddick can take away from his career that he was a one-hit wonder: the 2003 U.S. Open. He's made it to some great finals like U.S. Open 2006 and Wimbledon 2009, both against Federer, which are perfect surfaces (fast) for his old serve and forehand.

A new coach in Larry Stefanki is no longer providing the resurgence it did back 2009. Put a fork in him. He's done. Andy should just enjoy retirement, play on the seniors tour, and live off his wife, actress/model Brooklyn Decker. Accept it and live with it. I would enjoy every moment with her too!

Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic in Men's 2012 French Open Final

The Men's finals are set for the 2012 French Open. In fact, it's currently in progress. I haven't had a chance to jump on and ramble about it before now because Saturday was a busy day for me. Anyway, the final is:

Rafael Nadal

— vs. —

Novak Djokovic

What does Nadal have to do to win? What every opponent of Djokovic should do...if they can...make his ass run! Before Djokovic's run of wins, he had a very bad stamina/conditioning issue. My thought is that he still has it obviously not as bad but his skills have improved so much that it's allowed him to do less running and such during his matches. I believe if his opponents would continue to run him back and forth as much as possible and as long as they can (obviously it is difficult but it's just a game plan) he will begin to falter earlier in the match. Again, I know it's difficult but at the skill levels of Nadal, Federer, Murray, Tsonga, Berdych and others it should be an attainable task. Nadal is currently up 6-4, 5-3 with Djokovic due to serve after the rain delay. I missed the first set but in the second, Nadal was making Djokovic work very hard for the points if the got them at all. Nadal was hitting through the ball, side to side with good angles and pace. He got up 2-0 and then for some reason he changed his strokes. He started looping the balls and Djokovic started pouncing on them and making Nadal work harder. Before you know it, it's 2-2, then 3-3. Finally, Nadal woke up and started hitting through the ball again without the loops which lead to a break of Djokovic's serve and a hold of his own to make it 5-3. Djokovic was about to serve before they called for a rain delay.

What does Djokovic have to do to win? He needs to continue the way he was hitting in games 3 and 4 of the second set. Again, I didn't see the first set. Even though Nadal is great on clay and his movement is pretty outstanding, even he can't run forever. I recommend the same side-to-side hitting with good angles and pace. When the moment comes, be at or near the net to get the easy put away volley because Nadal is so far behind the baseline and the good approach shot should put him off the court as well. That's some of what Djokovic did during the 3rd and 4th game of the set. He had some very good, deep approach shots and then followed with some very nice vollies.

Who do I want to win? I'm feeling my favor in the Nadal corner. Partly because I'm sick of hearing all the kiss-ass praise from the commentators. They always pick someone to back and blow so much smoke up their asses to make them seem so great. They elevate them to a level over the opponent of the time which they should not. The opponent obviously deserves to be there as much as any one else because they ARE THERE on the court as well! Now, don't think I don't believe Djokovic is a good, maybe even great, player but he's not the best returner in the game right now. He could share the title with a handful of people. He's not the best mover on the court. He moves better than a year and a half ago because he's worked on his conditioning but Federer still moves well for a 30-yr-old. Murray returns and moves well too. Nadal still has the best overall movement and conditioning no matter what. So why the overpraise of Djokovic over one year when these people have been moving and doing well (Murray somewhat inconsistently but still well)? Also, looking at the run to the finals for both Nadal and Djokovic, Nadal has been the more consistent. He has yet to drop a set while Djokovic had to play back-to-back five-setters before playing a fairly close three-set match with Federer. So, my overall vote is for Nadal especially since they always called him just a clay court player but he showed them by winning all the grand slams at least once and on run for a 7th win at Roland Garros.

Well, play has resumed and the commentators are still praising Djokovic even now that he is down two sets to none and losing 2-0 in the third. I really don't think he will but if Djokovic were to come back from this deficit and win the match, the tournament, the trophy, then there would be no shutting up these idiot bandwaggoner fuckers!

French Open 2012

The Men's Semifinals and the Women's Finals are set for the 2012 French Open.

- vs. -
Novak Djokovic ------------------------------ Roger Federer

- vs. -
Rafael Nadal ------------------------------ David Ferrer

- vs. -
Maria Sharapova ------------------------------ Sara Errani

Lolo Jones aka Lori Jones

Saw an article headline stating the following:

Lolo Jones talks candidly of struggle to 'stay a virgin'

Click here for story while the link lasts.

It got my interests peaked.

I Googled her and I guess this is her official website here. And for the men who like me prefer pictures more than words, I Googled images of her here, of which I've shared one (inset).

It's commendable on her sustaining her virginity.

Dallas White Rock Marathon 2011

I was flicking channels and saw that they were televising the White Rock Marathon. I didn't know it was that big of a deal but I guess the local networks can air whatever they want when it's local. I'm not a runner and I'm not into watching marathons. I just started watching and got interested because there was only a couple of miles left. I figured I could watch the last few minutes—I guess it's like watching the highlights real of baseball or Nascar on ESPN. Anyway, this is what I've taken away from my first and probably last viewing of the White Rock Marathon or any marathon for that matter.

Maybe I don't understand marathons. I was watching the last part of the White Rock Marathon and I had to turn it off when they started interviewing the "winner" but I actually was getting angry during the last mile. The Kenyan ran the full 26 miles. The high schooler ran ONLY the last 2 miles of a relay. The commentators were bragging about how the high schooler was catching up to the Kenyan, passed him, and "won" the marathon. They were amazed the Kenyan faltered at the last few miles. Are you kidding me? 26 miles vs. 2 miles. I don't see the correlation and for the interviewer after the race to say something so stupid to the Kenyan as "When did you feel that the [high schooler] was going to beat you?" Again, WTF? They did say the Kenyan was the full marathon male winner but didn't acknowledge that the Kenyan ran 26 miles on tiring legs whereas the high schooler was fresh for the last 2. They just kept praising him for "winning." Sportsmanship should have come to the high schooler and he should have crossed the finish line with the Kenyan. Again, maybe I don't understand the race but for them to consistently praise this high schooler for "beating" the Kenyan was disgusting. The wife and I both could not watch it anymore.

Rangers LOSE the World Series

I'm not a baseball fan. I don't understand how people consider this sport exciting. Granted, the World Series was pretty good...the parts I've watched anyway...but the game itself and in its entirety blows!

So, this image from ESPN.com will be the lasting memory in DFW-Arlington metropolitan area. Unfortunately, the "Breaking News" part of the image is incorrectly typed. It should say,

Rangers LOSE the World Series!

If I'm not mistaken, the Rangers were up 3-1 in the series and choked it hard. Another failed professional sports team from Dallas. Maybe it'll be like the rest though and after 2-5 runs to playoffs, they'll actually win the damn championship.

NO, I'm not bitter. I don't watch baseball, remember.