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- It’s funny that I have to spill so much virtual ink covering the regular season, but then we get to the Conference Championships, and, well, there’s only 2 games to cover so its just kind of like here it is. However, I have decided in my mind that the goal of this site is that it can be a place where somebody can log on for 10 minutes, get caught up on the NFL and the wide wide world of soccer from a non-mainstream point of view, and maybe have a giggle while they are at it.

So that said, we’ve got our Super Bowl Matchup, and for the first time since 1993 I think they said, both of the #1 seeds in the conference playoffs have gone on thru to the Super Bowl.

In the early game, it looked at the beginning as if it would be a continuation of the magical story of how a Jets team that went 1-6 thru one stretch of this season all of a sudden could do no wrong come playoff time, and it was making me want to barf. The Jets got out to a 17-6 lead over the Colts thanks to a long TD pass from Mark Sanchez to Braylon Edwards, in which the rookie corner covering Edwards looked like he was on roller skates, and to a wildcat pass thrown by Brad Smith to Jerricho Cotchery that set up a touchdown.

It looked like the roof was caving in on the Colts, as it has so many times in the postseason, especially when Joseph Addai fumbled the ball away on his own 29 yard line with the Colts already trailing 14-6.

The Jets couldn’t manage anything other than a field goal out of that opportunity though, and when the Colts answered with a 4 play TD drive that consisted of nothing but passes to Austin Collie, I kind of had a feeling that Colts had taken the Jets’ best shot, and were still standing, and that for the rest of the game it would be all Colts. I was right, and I promise you I really thought this at that point in time and am not just saying that.

Manning did exactly what you should do against the Jets defense, which is hit the slot receiver whe! n they b litz (Collie, who had 7 catches for 123 yards), and throw a lot to the end who is not being covered by Darrell Revis (Pierre Garcon, who had 11 catches for 151 yards). Manning threw for 377 yards, 3 TD and no picks against the vaunted Rex Ryan and his giant belly, leading the Colts to a 30-17 win and their second AFC Championship in 4 years.
***

The NFC Championship game wasn’t a perfectly played or even very well played game. I think I counted about 15 fumbles between the two teams. However, it was intense, hard hitting, high scoring, dramatic, and when all was said and done, easily one of the 10 most entertaining football games I have ever seen. I can’t remember the other 9 off the top of my head, but I’m sure I will have to make a feature out of it at some point to keep the content rolling here.

The Saints and Vikings traded touchdowns and turnovers pretty much the whole game. Brett Favre absorbed hit after hit after hit (and of course let you know about it too, limping around like he just had bunyon surgery one minute and twirling around like a ballerina and diving after fumbles the next like the drama queen he is). Adrian Peterson, despite running for over 100 yards and scoring 3 TDs, scuttled a number of Vikings drives with a severe case of the Fumblys, the Vikings had an over 200 yard advantage in total offense over the Saints, and ran 27 more plays than the Saints, and still lost.

How could that happen? Well, 5 turnovers to start. In addition to AP’s numerous fumbles, Brett Favre threw an incomprehensible Rex Grossman like pass very late in the game when the Vikings were driving for what could have been the winning FG. With less than 20 seconds remaining and the Vikings on the New Orleans 38 yard line, Favre rolled to his right, threw across the field to his left, and was picked off by Tracy Porter, who added a Jared Allen TA DAAAA after it for good measure. So a characteristic late in a big game brain fart by Favre. But, I let him off the hook here, beca! use that play was only necessitated because the Vikings got called for 12 men in the huddle on the play before that. This pushed them back 5 yards, out of Ryan Longwell’s field goal range, and necessitating them trying to pick up more yards instead of just positioning the ball for Longwell to attempt a 50 yardish game winning field goal.

So we’ve got the Colts and the Saints. Peyton Manning trying to crush the dreams of the team his father played for most of his career and the team he grew up rooting for. Not a bad storyline. I’ll take it, considering the alternative was two weeks of Brett Favre and Rex Ryan, which would have caused me to set myself on fire.

*****

- Ivory Coast was the favorites in the African Nations Cup, but they are now out in the quarterfinals. They were ousted 3-2 by Algeria yesterday with the deciding goal coming in extra time. The host nation, Angola, is also gone following a 1-0 loss to Ghana. Algeria and Ghana advance to the semifinals. They are both going to be playing in the World Cup this summer, as will Ivory Coast.

- Real Madrid moved back within 5 points of undefeated Barcelona in La Liga after a 2-0 win over Malaga. Cristiano Ronaldo was a madman, scoring two goals and then getting a red card after elbowing a defender in the face.

- Forgot to mention this yesterday somehow, but on Saturday Wayne Rooney, who is having the best season of his career, scored FOUR goals to put Man U on top of the Premiership with a 4-0 win against Hull City. Rooney leads the Premier League with 19 goals, 5 ahead of his closest competition.

- The marquee matchup of the day saw Inter Milan pretty much salt away yet another Scudetto with a 2-0 win over archrivals AC Milan. Inter now has a nine point lead over Milan in Serie A, and they won this match despite playing a man down for most of it after Wesley Sneijder was sent off early in the match. Alberto Diego Milito put Inter up early in the match, scoring in the 10th minute, and Goran ! Pandley hooked in a free kick in the 65th minute to put the game out of reach.

- In case you were wondering, Jay-Z is an Arsenal fan.
http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?slug=goal_rapper_jayz_i&prov=goal&type=lgns

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We are almost there. The last day of the year. How are things stacking up for you, in terms of your win/loss total for 2009? Don’t do anything silly today to try and manipulate it into something you like better.

Me? I might play a little today, but I have a lot of other writing to do, including finishing this here recap. Following Part 1 (Jan.-Apr.) and Part 2 (May-Aug.), here’s the rest of the story:

September

In UIGEA news, a lawsuit brought by the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) that challenged the law’s constitutionality was dismissed. This story was strangely spun by many (in particular, iMEGA) as good news because in rejecting the case the 3rd Circuit District Court made reference to the fact that individual states get to say what is and what is not unlawful internet gambling.

Fact was, this distinction had been noted in the UIGEA all along (i.e., this new case didn’t really change anything on that front), something I pointed out in “iMEGA Suit Claiming Unconstitutionality of UIGEA Dismissed.”

During the first part of September I was occupied with helping cover PokerStars’ World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), and so there were a few posts this month reporting various happenings there. In the last one of those posts, I was inspired to comment on the repeat successes of guys like Daniel “djk123” Kelly, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, and Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko in “PokerStars WCOOP Concludes: It’s a Skill Game, Jo.”

Was watching the U.S. Open in there, too, and in “Matching Up Poker and Tennis” I attempt to draw an analogy that addresses the old luck-vs.-skill debate in poker. “The Poker Hall of Fame: Will Anyone Be Worthy?” notes how the new voting procedure appeared to guarantee that either no one or just one person would get in this year. And “When Winners Lose, and Losers Win” relates the story of that wild hand at EPT Barcelona between Tobias Reinkemeier and Roland de Wolfe in which de Wolfe mucked a winner.

As far as my own play was going, I was running good in August and early September, partly evidenced by “Shovels, Clovers, Valentines, and Squares” in which I tell about flopping a straight flush. Then hit a bad patch, some details of which I shared in “I Get Up, I Get Down.” I also see that I began and ended the month with a couple of posts about stack sizes in PLO: “Topping Off” and “Don’t Want No Short People ’Round Here?”

September also saw the Kahnawake Gaming Commission issue its so-called “final decision” on the UB insider cheating scandal, which I talked some about in “Final Decision on UltimateBet: None of My Business.” And, as you’ll recall, soon after came “The Sebok Surprise” in which the well-liked pro signed on with the beleaguered site.

October

The month began with the conclusion of the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event, in which Barry Shulman enjoyed a couple of fortunate hands against Daniel Negreanu heads up to take it down. Talk about that some in “End of Story: 2009 WSOPE Main Event Concludes.”

Then our attention gradually turned toward Vegas and the upcoming conclusion of the WSOP Main Event. On October 7 I noted there was just “One Month Left to Hype the November Nine.” I think Harrah’s, ESPN, et al. ended up doing okay during those next few weeks to get us all (and others) interested in the sucker come November. Case in point, a week later in “That’s the Way We Do It” I admit how I was starting really to get into the ESPN broadcasts of the Main Event. And near the end of October I was marveling with everyone else at that hand in which Phil Ivey mistakenly mucked his flush, giving Jordan Smith an undeserved pot in “Not Exactly Ivey League.”

These posts from October all have self-explanatory titles, I think: “PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge Debuts,” “The Poker Hall of Fame: Sexton Selected,” and “Kentucky Still Hoping to Be Master of Your Domains.” Well, maybe I should explain that last one. Had to do with the still-ongoing appeal of the appeal, now being considered by Kentucky’s Supreme Court, in that case regarding the commonwealth’s desire to block or seize domains hosting online gambling sites.

Then there are some posts in there with titles that definitely need explainin’. “Playing As If Your Life Depended On It” made references to both Tommy Angelo and The Seventh Seal. “Up, Up, and Away!” concerns our friend “balloon boy” (remember him?). And “Call and Response” does a little theorizin’ about the significance of blogs, Twitter, and how we use this here interweb to relate to each other.

Early in the month I made it to the movies to see a decent comedy called The Invention of Lying. I reviewed that one over on Film Chaw, then wrote about it here, too, in “First, the Invention of Lying; then, the Invention of Poker.” That post caused me to evoke James McManus’ new book (which I was reading at the time), Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker. I’d eventually review it here in “A Good Read: McManus Tells the Story of Poker.” Soon I’d additionally get the chance to review Cowboys Full more formally over on the Betfair site, where I’d also interview McManus.

November

First half of November was all about the WSOP Main Event final table. In “Post-Production is 20/20” I talked some more about Ivey’s mistake versus Jordan Smith, including sharing Barry Greenstein’s thoughts on the matter. Then in “Kopp Busted!” I talked about seeing ESPN’s coverage of another crazy hand, the one in which Billy Kopp lost it all to Darvin Moon with just a dozen players left.

Then we finally got there. In “2009 November Nine Just Hours Away… Time for Special Tactics!” I talked a bit about Phil Hellmuth saying he’d coached Jeff Shulman to employ a “special tactic” to “shock the world.” Then I gave an overview of the nine players at the final table in “2009 WSOP Main Event Final Table: Welcome Back, November Nine.”

Discussed that bizarro Hand No. 90 in which Darvin Moon made the big bluff then folded for next-to-nothing to Steve Begleiter in “Moon Begs the Question… WTF?” Wrote about the heads-up match a bit in “Comeback Kid Cada 2009 WSOP Main Event Champ,” then a few days later offered “Kudos to Cada: WSOP Champ on Letterman.” A final November Nine post, “Looking Back: 2009 WSOP November Nine on ESPN,” includes a list of the 32 (of 364) final table hands that made it into the two-and-a-half hour long ESPN broadcast.

You’ll recall it was just a few days later we learned “Pollack Moves On, WSOP Commish Seat Open.” Harrah’s still hasn’t filled that seat, and toward the end of the month I asked “Does the WSOP Need a Commish?”

Let’s see… the weird-ass juxtaposition of the month award goes to the post “The Sklansky Minute and John Cage’s Indeterminacy.” (See that one for yourself, if yr curious.) And “$1,356,946.50” relates how I happened to have been railing Isidur1 and Patrik Antonius when I saw them play the biggest pot in online poker history.

As the month concluded, we American online poker players were all fretting about the upcoming December 1 deadline for enforcement of the UIGEA. I wrote “The Door is Closing: Hoping for UIGEA Delay,” then the next day (Thanksgiving) got to say “Thankful, I Am” as we’d heard that indeed there’d be a six-month postponement of the deadline.

December

Month began with that House hearing on online gambling, discussed in “Talking Online Poker: House Hearing Today.” Then everybody put the subject on hold. ’Cos, you know, there was shopping to do. Oh, and that health care thing.

Read a couple more poker books near year’s end, both autobiographies. I’d review Doyle Brunson’s The Godfather of Poker over at Betfair, but also wrote a piece here — “Doyle Brunson’s Confessions” — in which I talked about how the book reminded me more than once of St. Augustine’s autobiography. (Not saying Doyle’s a saint, haha!) I also wrote here a “Poker Book Review: Victoria Coren’s For Richer, For Poorer: A Love Affair With Poker” — a funny, even “literary” book I’d think should appeal to any poker player who likes good storytelling.

Opined a bit on Scott Huff and Joe Sebok’s new Fox Sports show in “Poker2Nite Brings Poker to the World.” The post “Speaking of Poker: What You Can and Cannot Say, Part II” is also about their show, revisiting an old topic regarding the conflict between online poker sponsorships and television.

Mid-month saw the “2010 WSOP Schedule Announced,” inspiring a bit of photshopping (see below). In much less significant news, I finally got response to my repeated requests to UltimateBet which I related in “The Rest of the Story (UB Hand Histories).”

Of course, the big poker story in December was the ongoing Isildur1 saga, and I wrote about it a few times here.

“Out of This World: The Isildur1 Saga Continues” discusses Patrik Antonius’s interview with Phil Gordon about the mystery man while also pointing to some other stories then swirling about. In “Loving Life, Defying Death” I talked about railing Isildur1 a bit while also referring back to Doyle Brunson’s book (and the weird, repeated joke of some railbirds prematurely announcing Texas Dolly’s death). “Digging for Gold (Mining Isildur1)” took up the new controversy regarding the CardRunners guys’ collecting info about the sneaky Swede. Then came PokerNews’ interview with Isildur1 in which revealed he planned to pursue a “formal complaint.” I suggested “Grab Your Popcorn (Isildur1 v. Full Tilt).”

So that’s what’s been happenin’ here. No telling at the moment what 2010 will be like for yr humble gumshoe, but I imagine continuing to scribble away here will most definitely be part of the plan.

Big thanks again to everyone for coming around here and for all of the nice feedback. Be sure and make contact again in 2010. Have a safe and happy new year, all!

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