"It Never Rains in Southern California" ~ Did Tony! Toni! Tone! lie to us?

I checked the forecast and it looks like RAIN for NBA All-Star weekend in LA...

That's great.  First we deal with snow for the Super Bowl XLV festivities and now we get rain for NBA All-Star in Los Angeles. 

Last year for NBA All-Star we had snow and ice in DALLAS.  Yep, Dallas...  So that leads us to the million dollar question: Why does Dallas weather hate professional sports?!?! 

Anyway, back to LA...  I guess Tony! Toni!  Tone! were wrong when they sang that, "It never rains in Southern California".

I caught up with some of my people who are already in LA, and they said they're not going to let the rain, rain on their party/parade.  I'm still hoping for a weather turnaround as soon as I touch down...

Most people will get into LA on Thursday.  I'm not most people, but I'll see you all soon!

Until then, enjoy the tune. 



****  Please keep forwarding me NBA All-Star event information for possible inclusion in the blog. I do review the materials and press releases sent to me, but regret that I cannot include all of the events in the blog for various reasons. 


THE WIRK

The Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl XLV ~ Now what...

The Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl XLV, with a final score of 31-25.  The game was a good one!  As a spectator I was thrilled to have such a great match-up.  I know I wasn't the only one who was worried that the game was going to be a blowout after Green Bay had a 14-0 lead in the 1st quarter...  ****  I had flashbacks of the boring Pro Bowl and started to panic. 

My Super Bowl prediction was incorrect.  Oh well.  At least I took a shot!

No, I didn't go to the game this year.  I took a look at StubHub.com and a couple of days there prior to Sunday there were seats for just under $3,000.  When I took another look on Sunday morning, the lowest seat price was $4,000.  At those prices, there was no way I was going to go ~ especially since I'm not a fan of either team.  Last year meant more to me, since I am a Indianapolis Colts fan.

Now that football season is over I can focus my attention on basketball, and of course follow the labor talks for both the NFL and NBA.

As far as I'm concerned it'd be no surprise to me if there is a work stoppage (aka "Lockout") for the NBA.  It looks like the NFL may have a better chance of preventing a work stoppage.  Needless to say, I need to get back on track with the negotiations, once I settle. 

Lastly, I still need to gather my thoughts from the Super Bowl festivities ~ decide what stories to share and leave out, etc.  This may take a minute, so appreciate the patience.  I need to download some pics and gather my thoughts...

Congratulations to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers on bringing the Lombardi trophy home.  For the rest of the NFL, there's always next year or is there?!?!


THE WIRK

Super Bowl XLV Prediction: Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Green Bay Packers

Super Bowl XLV Prediction: Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Green Bay Packers.

I believe in signs and I met both Bill Cowher and Jerome Bettis (aka the Bus) this year. 

Incidentally I saw Eddie George at the ESPN the Magazine party last night too...

Kid Rock performed at the ESPN party on Friday night, and Rev Run joined him on stage towards the end of the set.  Shaunie O'Neal  and Keyshawn Johnson were also in the house at the River Ranch in Fort Worth.  Here's a picture of the invitation for those of you that are curious.

Anyway, the Steelers are my pick. 

Time will tell.


THE WIRK

In Dallas for the Super Bowl XLV festivities

Flew to Dallas for the Super Bowl XLV festivities and connected in Atlanta.  Sure enough, Tony Gonzalez and Rick Ross were on my flight.  I only got one of them as I walked towards baggage claim. 

Great dinner at the Dallas Chop House (i.e. Chef Mo Assi hooked it up) last night.

On the way back after dinner the snow was coming down.  We're talking lots of snow, people...  If I didn't know any better, I'd think I landed in Antarctica.

The Green Bay Packers are staying "across the street" at the Omni in Las Colinas and the Pittsburgh Steelers are staying at the Omni in Fort Worth.  Go for it, stalkers...  You're welcome. 

P.S.  You're going to need credentials to get into those hotels, so I'm really not giving you too much to work with anyway :-P


THE WIRK

Mosley v Pacquiao fight tickets for sale ~ MGM Grand Garden Arena, May 7

Where are my fight fans?  I have tickets for the Shane Mosley v Manny Pacquiao fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena for sale.  If you're interested in them, send me an email to thewirk@gmail.com or comment this post with your contact info.  I'll get back to you.

Section 2, Row R, Seat 13 ~ $2000 for the ticket
Section 2, Row M, Seats 5 and 6 ~ $3000 for the pair
Section 219, Row J, Seats 5 and 6 ~ $800 for the pair

Yes, I'll negotiate on price.  I'll also trade for the "right" Super Bowl XLV or NBA All-Star ticket... 

If you've never seen Manny Pacquiao fight and have been wanting to go to Las Vegas, what are you waiting for?!?!


THE WIRK

Vegas with PDX and crew

I'm back.  I just needed to get away, for the weekend and REST.  I'm not sure how much rest I really had, but at least I tried to sleep.

Some quick bullets (i.e. just some highlights) from my trip to Vegas...

Table Games:

• I don't like craps dealers with attitude problems and who have the nerve to assume you're not going to tip as you leave the table.  As I leave the craps table, I will flip you my change (i.e. dollar chips).  Don't have your fellow dealers remind me about your level of service.  That's LAME.
• If the table karma changes or you get a bad vibe, leave.  Don't try to be a hero.  No one will remember if you turned your luck around and left with a +200 profit.  Just go.  Don't chase your money if you're losing.
• I believe in dealer signature at the roulette table. People think it's fake. I think it's true. You believe what you want, I'll believe what I want.

Sportsbook:

• Betting on the Ivy League and Atlantic-10 is profitable...  They're not the popular choices, but they pay since they're usually "consistent".
• I took the Miami Heat to cover over the Oklahoma City Thunder.  Miami had both Dwyane Wade and LeBron James playing.  The Thunder had played overtime (i.e. double overtime in its most recent game) in its last two games.   I was betting Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook would run out of gas.  They did.
• The Duke Blue Devils got crushed by St. John's University.  I got greedy and had the Blue Devils parlayed with my Heat bet, so it was a loser.
• I parlayed the money lines for 6 teams.  I picked the favorites for only $35, since I had extra chips.  It was my first time betting a 6 teamer, and it won!
• I broke my tennis curse, when I picked Novak Djokovic to win the Australian Open.
• I placed my Super Bowl XLV bet.  I'm not telling you who I picked, for now.  I'll give you my prediction later.

I spend a lot of time in sportsbooks and there's something really annoying about the men in there, taking notes and never betting.  I understand some research needs to be done to pick some winners, but seriously ~ man up.  One last thing, if you're sleeping in a sportsbook, you're a loser.  Get a hotel room or go home.

Friends:

The best part of the weekend was getting to hang out with PDX and the rest of my March Madness crew!  Here's one for you.  I met a new member of his crew that had never played the card game "War" before.  Really?  I grew up playing war with my brother and the neighbor kids...  Who hasn't played war?

Weather:

Although it's not yet warm enough to throw on a bikini and hit the pool, it didn't hurt that I woke up to palm trees and sunshine as opposed to snow on the ground and freezing temperatures.

I picked up my tickets for the Shane Mosley v Manny Pacquiao fight today.  The fight is on Saturday, May 7th, in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.  I have extra tickets for sale.  If you're interested in my ticket inventory, get in touch.

The best compliment I received this weekend, "...you bring us luck."  You might think that's lame, but I hear a lot of things, and honestly that was AWESOME.

THE WIRK

Steelers and Packers ~ I told you so!!!

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers have advanced to the Super Bowl.

1.  I told you so.
2.  My dad had to place my bets for me in Vegas, since I left this morning, but who cares...  WE WIN!!!!

I missed most of the Packers game since I was flying, but needless to say I watched as Jets fans had a glimmer of hope.  J-E-T-S = L-O-S-E.  Sorry, New York Jets' fans. You're never going to win with Mark Sanchez as your quarterback.  Don't believe me?  That's fine.  You have the ENTIRE off-season to think about it.

If I know you and you want to go to Dallas and you have deep pockets, hit me up.  I want to go to the Super Bowl XLV (i.e. but NBA All-Star is more important to me)...  However, I'm open to going in on a pair of tickets or checking out a good single, if the price is right...


THE WIRK

Right now, I have a better chance of going to Super Bowl XLV than the Colts

Last year I went to Super Bowl XLIV, and I saw my Indianapolis Colts lose to the New Orleans Saints.  Have you ever been to a Super Bowl?  It's a big football festival with skills challenges, a ride, and plenty of photo opportunities.  Oh, yeah.  There's a football game too.

I watched the most recent Super Bowl and never lost faith that the Colts would pull out a victory.  In the 4th quarter, I had returned to the top of my section, just in time, to see my Colts' Super Bowl dreams get shattered. 

Peyton Manning's pass was intercepted by Tracy Porter. 

Are you a Colts' fan?  Want to relive this nightmare?  Here you go.  I found this video on Youtube.

With the Colts' pitiful (i.e. relatively speaking compared to previous years) record this season, I doubt that I'll see the Colts in the playoffs much less Super Bowl XLV this February.  ****  Well if the Colts are there, they'll be like me (i.e. sitting in the stands at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium). 

For the 2nd week in a row, I've watched Peyton Manning throw 4 interceptions a game.  4 INTERCEPTIONS A GAME?!?!  Are you kidding me?  Now I know he hasn't always had his regular supporting cast (i.e. the Colts' have been plagued with injuries), but COME ON.

It's tough to be a Colts' fan these days.  It doesn't make it any easier to watch the New England Patriots steamroll the New York Jets right now.  I remember when the Colts and the Patriots battled for the AFC Championship in January of 2004.  I was at Gillette Stadium for that game.  I remember when Tom Brady and Peyton Manning were BOTH at the top of their games...

I'm going to continue to root for Manning and his Colts, but for the rest of the season I'm just going to have to appreciate the sport and games for what they are.  I hope the playoffs and Super Bowl produce compelling match-ups.  Even if the Colts are done after the regular season, there is still a lot of football that this girl can cover. 

Let's just hope the stories are interesting...

THE WIRK

Packers crush the Cowboys ~ Things can't be fun in Dallas

I was in Dallas last weekend and I heard the radio guys' reactions to the Cowboys season.  I laughed out loud when I heard one of the men groan when Wade Phillips was at the mic talking.  He wasn't thrilled that Wade was at the mic talking, because obviously it meant that Wade was still the coach of the Dallas Cowboys.

I've heard Jerry Jones say that's he's "standing by his man" and that Philips will remain coach for the rest of the season.  With Romo out with a broken clavicle and Jon Kitna "playing" quarterback, things have got to be unbearable in the locker room, on the field, etc.  I can't fathom what it must feel like to be a part of the Dallas Cowboys organization, when the tean has a record of 1-7.  Further, it just can't be fun to be a Cowboys fan right now.  All my friends who are Cowboys fans are extremely frustrated.  It must be incredibly awkward to be Cowboys fan and know that in a few months that Super Bowl XLV is coming to town, especially since it was almost expected that after last year's performance, that the Cowboys would at least be in contention for a post-season...

I went to the new Cowboys Stadium in January to watch the Cowboys play the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC Wildcard game.  I bought a hat at the game, and have no idea where that hat is now.  Needless to say, I won't be needing it this year so I have more than enough time to look for it.  The Cowboys won the game I attended and went on to play the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis.  Ultimately Brett Favre and the Vikings ended the Cowboys' season.  Incidentally, I was at that game also.  ****  Check my earlier posts from January, if you're curious.

I barely watched the game tonight.  I'm not a Green Bay Packers fan, and I knew that the Dallas Cowboys would lose.  I ran into my friend, Tommy, on my way home from the Washington Capitals game and he said he thought that the Cowboys would cover tonight's spread.  That made me laugh.  I have no idea what the spread was for tonight's game, but I would've spotted the Cowboys 10 points easily and still taken the Packers.  ****  The final score was 45-7, and the Packers won.  Tommy, I told you so!

I'm not saying that I think the Cowboys are quitting for the rest of the season.  I'm not going to pretend that I've been following them enough to care.  I'm just saying that after watching Green Bay play against the Redskins (i.e. even though the Packers lost) and the Vikings (i.e. even though the game went down to the wire), it was obvious to me that the Cowboys would get blown out tonight.

The only thing that really made an impression on me today was Clay Matthews Jr.  I really want him to shave his head.  His stringy hair drives me nuts.  That's my 2 cents.

Here's a picture of me at the new Cowboys Stadium.  If you haven't been there, you're missing out.  GO!!!! 

****  Hmmm, what a difference a week makes!  The irony.  I just checked ESPN.com and it looks like Jerry Jones MIGHT be changing his tune.  It wouldn't be the first time a man changed his mind after a week...  Here's a link to the article, if you want to cut and paste it into a new window:  http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/news/story?id=5779311.  I wonder.  Can you hear me laughing over here?

THE WIRK