Wednesday, March 28, 2012

A Few Thoughts: Online Poker, Wrestlemania 28 Betting and MLB

I haven’t done a blog post in a while so I thought I’d throw together some of the various things on my mind.

The state of online poker is very frustrating. While the UIGEA still hampered the experience, the events of April 15th, 2011 were devastating for players in the United States and it is very depressing. The one-year anniversary of the infamous black Friday is approaching with some optimistic state of affairs in regards to the future of online poker in the US. On a personal level, I miss being able to play on Pokerstars and Full Tilt immensely. Due to optimism, some success on the sites left and the upcoming birth of my son, it took quite a while for the reality of the situation to set in. Now, all US players are left with is a sad state of affairs with Bovada and the Merge Network as relatively the only (extremely meager) offerings in the US.

I personally will not be betting Wrestlemania 28 this year. A lot of the best lines are gone but still, this should in theory be the source of some easy money for those sharp smart marks. Next year, I plan to have money ready and fire as soon as the lines come out. I would like to do a longer write-up on the card sometime but we will have to see.

A few thoughts:

Undertaker was only -475 the first time I checked 5dimes, while still being able to be had at -900, I can’t see them ending the streak.

Also, Big Show + anything I feel is a good bet as he is def. better than 50% to go over on Cody Rhodes.

It’s also hard not to see John Cena going over. It will be interesting to see how this one is booked.

Although with betting wrestling, it has to be noted things can get screwy as I forget the particulars but the outcome of the Lawler/Cole match as WM 27 should serve testament to the dangers of betting a big favorite.

Basically, it seems a lot of the favorites are obviously favorites for a reason but esp. given the opening lines should have been much bigger favorites. Examples are Punk over Jericho, Sheamus over Bryan and the babyface Divas over Eve and Beth.

From insider stuff I have read it seems like Team Johnny will be going over as well but I have skipped thru these segments in my TV viewing so I can’t testament.

Basically, I feel like a ton of value could be extracted for those people who were ready to do so.

To my surprise, The MLB season starts at 6:10 ET this morning from Japan with the Mariners vs. the As. I understand all the critics against this silliness but for me personally I enjoyed in years past arising super early for some meaningful baseball. American fans will still have their opening days so really besides the people that care about the As and Mariners, it isn’t a big deal.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Ring of Honor's Tenth Anniversary Thoughts

Main Event
ROH World Champion Davey Richards & Kyle O'Reilly vs. "Die Hard" Eddie Edwards & Adam Cole

Adam Cole got the miracle pin after a crossbody off the top. This match was really good, not as good as the last two Edwards/Richards singles matches. It went about 40 minutes. Afterwards, Steen cut one of his promos on Davey telling him to convince Jim Cornette to let him have a title shot. He said the main event should have been Steen/Richards.

Jay & Mark Briscoe defend against the Young Bucks

Great match. Dem Boys retained but the Young Bucks impressed as always. I hope the Briscoes have a long reign as tag champs as they are so over and hitting a peak at the moment.

Jay Lethal defends against "The Dominant Male" Tommaso Ciampa w/ The Embassy LTD.

Good match. Went to a time limit draw so Ciampa didn't have to lose his undefeated record and Lethal could keep his belt. Show has been ok so far. 2nd half of the show should be off the charts.
Jimmy Jacobs takes on "Wrestling's Worst Nightmare" Kevin Steen

This was a great match with Jacobs taking a sick F5 to the ribs off the side of a steel chair. Jacobs hit Steen with a steel spike but was remorseful afterwards.


Special Attraction Tag Team Match
The Amazing Red & "Technical Lightning" TJ Perkins vs The House of Truth ("Unbreakable" Michael Elgin & Roderick Strong) w/ Truth Martini

This was a great match with Red and Perkins getting over good with the crowd but doing the job to the House of Truth.

The did an angle where Chikara Grand Champion Eddie Kingston came out and Kevin Steen came out to try and team up with him until he called Chikara a Mickey Mous promotion and it turned into a pull-apart brawl. Eddie was going to piss on the Chikara belt until Chikara guys made the save.
Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team (Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin) vs The All Night Xpress (Rhett Titus & Kenny King)

ANX beat WGTT. Missed this one.
"Notorious 187" Homicide vs "The Prodigy" Mike Bennett w/ Brutal Bob & Maria Kanellis

2nd match of the show. Maria is looking good. Cool spot where Brutal Bob sacrificed himself when Homicide attempted a tope con hilo. Very predicatble finish where Bennett rolled up Homicide and got the win after distraction from Maria and Brutal Bob. Afterwards, they teased Homicide getting his hands on Maria but she escaped. I know Homicide can put on great matches but he has become somewhat bland for me.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey Thoughts! Unreal Fight!


With the tremendous Sarah Kaufman/Alexis Davis #1 encounter earlier in the evening seeing Kaufman becoming the next challenger for the women's bantamweight belt, this match had a hard act to follow. But holy hell, did it ever live up to the hype. Tate came out absolutely swinging and it was a slugfest. Rousey almost finished it early with an armbar but amazingly Rousey escaped. The two went back and forth highlighted by a great judo hip toss/side headlock takeover by Rousey. Rousey finally got her in a nasty armbar and damn near broke Tate's arm, if it actually isn't broken, before Tate tapped. Just brutal stuff here. Amazing performance by Rousey. She has great charisma and should become a tremendous draw if they can keep finding legitimate challengers. A perfect 5-0 record with all wins by armbar and a storied judo background, Rousey is legit. Sarah Kaufman might need to work on her armbar defense or she will be in for trouble. With Gina Carano now a movie star and the Cyborg steroid scandal, a new superstar has emerged in women's MMA.