It's all a blur

It's all a blur... no really.  Ever since the announcement from JR that he was moving to Austin,TX at the end of this month, it's like life's been kicked into overdrive for me.  In addition to planning on a drive with him to Austin to haul his worldly possessions, his going away party which was this past Friday night, I've also found myself in the role of event planner for the Fraternal Order of Eagles.  This was one of the many roles previously filled by JR that it just seemed logical that I'd fill.  I have no regrets... BUT I would just say that he is owed a tremendous thanks for all the level of effort that he put forward to this, getting it off the ground in the first place with the original Pop Evil/Spider Rockets concert which he put together what seems like ages ago!  It was a helluva trail he blazed so long ago, these will be some big shoes to fill but as I've continued to tell Big Ric of Results Radio and 103.1 The Bear, I will give my absolute best to make it all come together.  Let's just all hope that my best is good enough!  : )  If Big Ric tells me to do something... I'm doing it, without question or hesitation.  So, if somewhere along the way I fail to explain my actions or get too demanding of those around me, let me apologize in advance... but know that I'm just trying to make these events as great as they've been so far, and just keep the ride going for as long as we can.  Maybe even leave our new fan base BEGGING FOR MORE!!!

On the immediate radar for the continuing concert season, on July 30th, we have RED coming to play.  This is on its way to be yet ANOTHER sold out event!!!  JR will still be around for this one, but I'm shadowing him so closely at this point that if he stops too quickly I'm going to run into him!  Beyond RED looming on the horizon is Bearfest Resurrection on August 28th.  This is an ENORMOUS production!  I don't think anyone can even fathom it, including all of us who are working to make it happen.  There are 5,000 tickets printed for this outdoor concert!  Big Ric has put together a lineup of national talent that is amazing.  The fact that these bands are coming to Parkersburg, WV is mind-boggling!  This is not a large town, but this is really happening people!  Our current lineup includes headliner Saving Abel!!!  Then, the others on the Main Stage include: Cavo, NonPoint, Bobaflex, Taddy Porter, American Bang, Black Sunshine, and Atom Smash.  On the 2nd Stage, which will alternate during transitions: Noise Auction, State Your Cause, Zeroking, Jinx'd, and In Another Life. I'm looking at every square inch of available space to get people parked, fed, and sufficiently hydrated!!!  Anyone ever given thought to exactly how much beer that many rock fans can put away in a 12+ hour event day!!!  I have...

Virtually on the heels of this we are currently in negotiations for a mid-September concert (back inside the club this time, thank goodness.)  I'm not at liberty to announce anything about that lest Big Ric, "...gut me like a fish!"  (did i get that quote right?) There are also some glimmers out on the distant wasteland of the future that may bring some fantastic opportunities our way.  These are indeed exciting times!  I was always happy to be a part of it... just seems that my levels of intensity have been taken up a few notches!  My adrenaline levels have GOT to be off the chart!  I must confide, I hope I'm found worthy in the end (whenever that is.)  I'm honored to be here... and honestly, I wouldn't change a damn thing about the situation, despite the fact that it's all a FRIGGIN' BLUR!!!

Regards,

cheer_dad

WSOP 2009 Event #2 is underway

This is the 40th Annual NLHE (4-day) event which has a $40,000 buyin, as a sort of celebration of the WSOP's 40th year. According to initial player counts by the folks over at http://www.pokernews.com/wsop/2009/event-2/day1/ "change100" and "Shamus" there are 184 players registered to play; however they clearly note that players can join in through the first two blinds rounds! I'm not sure I can imagine sitting down at a $40,000 buyin event, much less showing up late for the thing! The reporters have made mention of a "Table of Death" which most of the time would be the table you want to avoid, but with so many pro's and heavy hitters in the room for this event, they remark that nearly every table is fraught with disaster! I really can't do this justice by commenting further. Reading through the list of names on the chip counts tab reads like a Who's Who of Poker!

That's really all I have time for, as it's time for me to head for the house and get ready for tonight's Keith Urban concert. See ya!

Regards,

cheer_dad

WSOP 2009 Event #1, and a concert

A grueling 13-hour day of poker kicked off Event #1 of the World Series of Poker. As "FerricRamsium" puts it the Casino Employees NLHE Event is a "sea of relative unknowns." My buddy JR takes issue with that, saying that we degenerate gamblers would likely recognize various dealers and casino employees from our trips to Sin City. A total of 866 players ponied up the $500 entry to play in Event #1, and at the end of the day, only 81 remain. All of those remaining are in the money. We'll have to stay tuned to see who walks off with the $83,778 first prize and the coveted WSOP bracelet. Action resumes today.

Also slated for today is the 40th Annual NLHE (Event #2) which has a whopping $40,000 buyin! The event was added to the mix as a celebration of this the 40th anniversary of the WSOP. The field will obviously be limited to the heavy hitters and perhaps a few wannabes. It's going to be a long 7 weeks or so folks while the series plays itself out. I for one will be glued to the live-reporting, blogs, and forums. Do I have a problem? Like last year, I'll continue to provide some blurbs on the action, from what I gather out there, and write it up here on the blog. I know a number of you are "proxy challenged" and you may not be able to follow along. Fear not, your ole buddy cheer_dad's got your back.

In other news, we're going to a concert tonight in Charleston, WV. Big Red, Laura, Uncle June, and I are all headed down this evening to see Keith Urban and the Zac Brown Band. We've seen Keith before in concert with Kenny Chesney and he puts on a really good show. Red just couldn't pass up the tickets, when she found floor seats yesterday. Way to plan ahead. So sad is the fact that because of work the next day, we won't be able to drive on down to Cross Lanes to play a little live poker afterwards. Sad indeed! But it's gonna be a lively road trip as usual when this group gets together. I'll try to get pictorial evidence. See ya!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Be the grizzly...

The Nickelback concert was great last night! And you just couldn't beat the company... And we were REALLY close to the beer area, and I never waited more than like a minute or so in a line for anything. The Nationwide Arena also offered up a pleasant facility, very spacious, and high ceilinged. Remarkably my ears aren't ringing today, like they do after most concerts that I've attended, and this was due to the setup of the arena. Yeah, it was loud, but it just seemed that the high pitch sounds weren't nearly as piercing as I've experienced in other concert halls like Charleston's Civic Center for example.

I'll be adding a lot more of the songs that I heard last night to the old iPod in short order. Not only did Nickelback sound great but so did the boys from Seether and Saving Abel. There were definitely a lot of tracks that will be great for my afternoon runs on the treadmill. Gotta keep the heart pumping!

I did have to take Cole to school this morning, so I groggily dragged myself out of bed and got him there, and then came home and went right back to bed! Remember I took the whole day off, knowing exactly how I'd be feeling. X ) hiccup...

I played some poker on Bodog for about an hour or so, and made a little over $18. Which in all honesty feels like a million bucks since I took some real kicks to the head at the tables. A lot of really crazy hands went down in that short time at the tables. Take for example that preflop I got it all-in with pocket Kings, when a villain raised my initial bet. He called and he was holding the Cowboys too! AND I almost LOST the friggin' hand, when the flop came out with 3 diamonds, and guess who was NOT holding the Diamond King?!? Whew... avoided that one.

Then, came this pleasant hand, which threatened to send me down the uber-trail of tilt! I call a small raise preflop from late position with pocket 7s. I flop my set with AQ7 on the board! The turn is another Ace, and now I've got the sneaky boat. I bet out hard, get raised, and I shove and get called. The pot is now $42, and this on a .10/.25 nlhe table! Come to poppa! He flips over AK... So, he's got 7 outs! Unfortunately, one of them got there, when the river brought him a King to the rescue. Ouchie... gut wrenching! I briefly consider taking up Solitaire as my new hobby... But I've still got 20 minutes before it's time to pick up Cole from school, and I've still got the 3 other tables I'm playing at. One of which I've nearly doubled up on my initial $25 buy-in. So, I ake the deep cleansing breath and press on, and stick to the same game plan, brutal beats be damned. Hell, some of the guys were at all my tables and had seen what just happened and figured I was babbling nonsense to myself by now and was easy pickin's! Think again kids!

With 2 minutes to go, and I'm already planning to cut my losses and log off, but I find from middle position a pair of 9s, just as I'm ready to go and opt for just "one-more-hand." Go ahead and shudder, you know you've been there too! It gets raised preflop... and three of us decide to come along for the ride. The flop comes AQ9! Sweet! There's a bet in front of me, but I pop it up with a pot bet, and then another reraise back to me, and I decide if it's the day that my flopped sets are just gonna get pounded, then so friggin' be it. If you're gonna be a bear, be the damned grizzly! Here we go! We gots us a $41 hand here... The money's all in the middle, nothing to do now but watch. Another Queen on the turn, oh shit, here it comes, I can feel it!!! River is... the case 9! My opponent's cards show AK suited, which are no match for my QUADS! I sit back, feeling the need for a cigarette, even though I haven't done that in many years now. Wow what a ride this game is! A lot of ups and downs and a mixture of emotion was rolled up into this little hour long session. All that to show only an $18 profit, but trust me I'll take it.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Hey, hey i wanna be a rockstar!

Heading out tonight for a concert. Nickelback with special guest Seether and Saving Abel. Immediately after work Big Red, She-Wolfe, Uncle June, and yours truly will be making the drive to Columbus, OH for the concert. http://www.nationwidearena.com/schedule/event_info.php?id=1050
Later on, we'll be joined by the Yanoks too! I sense alcohol in my future... Definitely taking tomorrow off, at least a chunk of it.

Check out the official sites for each of the bands here:
http://www.nickelback.com/
http://www.seether.com/
http://www.savingabel.com/main.aspx

I love me some concert goin'!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Kenny Chesney concert weekend.

Like I said more than a couple days ago, the weekend was sizing itself up to be very busy, and a whole lotta fun. It did not disappoint! The collection of misfits pictured there to the left crammed themselves into a few vehicles and departed Parkersburg, West by-god Virginia and headed for Cleveland, Ohio for a stadium concert. The billing included Kenny Chesney (who my wife will eventually leave me for) Leanne Rhimes, Sammy Hagar, Gary Allan, and Keith Urban. The concert and the company were phenomenal! Take a look at some of the additional debauchery which took place.





Keith Urban pictured here on the bigscreen put on a great show, and my wife has added him to the list of replacements should the Mrs. Chesney thing not work out for her...





A crew indeed! At this point in the concert, clothing had not yet become optional.





Kenny lights up the night. I cease to exist to Big Red! : )




Who am I kidding, here's the happy couple, looking a little bleary eyed but having a ball with several thousand of our closest friends.

We spent the night at a hotel before crawling out of bed the next morning and heading home. It should also be noted that Frank and Chris both came along, but neither attended the concert itself and opted to hang in the parking lot tailgating their asses off for the duration. Chris recalls from the count of beer can tabs that he downed 29 beers, not counting the ones we had on the restaurant and various other libations throughout the day. I must say that when the concert let out and we headed back to the vehicle we found hot dogs and bratwurst waiting on the grill. Nothing has ever tasted so good.

I can definitely say we'll do this again, this was a great time. I'll add also that it blew the trip to Pittsburgh for last year's concert all to hell! Cleveland was easier to get in and out of. No 3-hour sit in traffic this time around. Hope everyone else had as good a time as we did. See you all back at work real soon.




When asked if he was having a good time, JR responded as such... oh and who knew he was SUCH a Cleveland Browns Fan!




Big Red and Nikki help exemplify the catch-phrase for the night, abbreviated as L.L...

I'll leave it at that!

Regards,

cheer_dad

A long weekend approaches

Last night was Whitney's school variety show (which was quite good!) Tonight Cole has baseball vs one the Vienna teams down at the Tri-C Fields. Tomorrow night baseball again vs one of the Belpre Teams, this one being held AT Belpre's fields. I don't particularly like playing there, but I'll get over it. Tonight, after the game, I'll be heading to the Eagles for Drawing Night. I think I'll be joined by JR and Chris. I may also have the mother-in-law, wife, and some visiting members of the family, in from Baltimore. Nothing like a little alcohol and slot machines to bring a clan together. : ) I'll be taking a few hours off from work tomorrow to get the lawn tended to before the weekend gets here. Why, you ask? A group of us... primarily NDPT'ers are heading to Cleveland, OH first thing Saturday morning. Big Red has got a group all fired up to head off to another Kenny Chesney stadium concert. Yeah, just us and several thousand total strangers. Drinkin', singin', partyin', just your basic redneck free-for-all. I'll do my best to make you all proud. I think I may even have a shot at winning the battle against the accursed Jack Daniels this time. I'm planning a sneak attack... and I've enlisted a few allies to help fight the good fight. Incidentally, we WILL be staying the night... at a hotel in walking (stumbling) distance of the stadium. For those among you who might question the drunk driving aspect of the adventure. I can't say anything as for my chances of avoiding public intoxication. Probably aren't good for all involved. So, as you can see folks, I've got a busy time coming my way. If my words appear to be a little slurred for the next several days in the blog, you'll understand. I'm thankful that Monday is Memorial Day, and that I have the following day off from work as well. I have a feeling I'm going to be needing the rest.

Don't forget folks... the WSOP 2008 begins in 8 DAYS. Are ya ready for some Pokah?!?!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Good weekend...

It's been a good weekend. On Friday we got some MUCH NEEDED RAIN, here in the Mid-Ohio-Valley. Although now my grass will grow! This did impact Whitney's softball game...and it had to be rescheduled for Sunday, which is today. But since the evening was freed up, Big Red and I were able to head over to the Yanok's for the card game! I took first in BOTH tournaments! A total cash out for the night of $280. And I took the lead in the year end game, which means I'll have the biggest chip stack. SWEET!!! I would have blogged about it but we left the next morning for Pittsburgh and the concert! 7 of us piled into the Durango and headed off. Lots of beer, lots of music, lots of fun! I'll try to get the pictures from JR to post to the blog and the website so that you can all see the place. Heinz Field is really nice.

Nice place to visit...I wouldn't want to live there though. Too congested for my taste.

I'm trying to knock out the last 20-ish raked hands on Poker Rewards, so I can get my $100 bonus, SOON! But I don't feel so bad now since I did well at Yanok's. Maybe it's a trend, that'll move forward into Saturday's tournament here at the house. We'll see!

Enough for now, maybe later.

Regards,

cheer_dad

First things first, but not in order of importance, just trying to catch up on a long hiatus from posting to the old blog. Let's go clear back to Friday May 4th, as a good starting point. The boys of One Community FCU baseball had their 3rd game of the season. What a NAIL BITER!!! Early on, it wasn't looking good, I'll be honest with you folks. But somehow they kicked the tires and lit the fires late in the final innings of the game, and got things going. In a come from behind victory, in that final inning we went to work, and closed a 4-run-deficit. I don't know how it all happened, but they got fired up and the bats started rattling! To top it off, Drew caught a fly ball late in the game, so the whole team was treated to ice-cream afterwards, as promised. Big Red and I were both hoarse after that game.

Then, we went home, and I quickly cleaned up, and had friends over for an impromptu tournament. 14 people came for the game. Big Red finished in 3rd place and got paid! She made our buy-ins back. Julie took the 2nd spot...and yours truly finished in the top spot. For a $10 buy-in I cashed for $70. Great!

Then the next day...we had the Rowdy Frynds concert! 38 Special, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Hank Williams Jr. WOW, what a show! Hank shocked me...I had heard he put on a show, when he was sober : ), but I had no idea. The man is a true entertainer. And is also quite talented. Not only acoustic and electric guitars, but the piano, and fiddle as well. It also looked like he had lost A LOT of weight too. Anyway I really enjoyed the whole concert. Big Red and Frank and Julie did as well. I think my ears are still ringing, but then again, they've been doing that for a while now.

On to Sunday...laundrylaundrylaundry... : )

I thought I'd log some "raked hands" on Poker Rewards. I took some brutal beats, and got VERY FRUSTRATED, and just friggin' beaten down. I dropped in the neighborhood of $80, screwing the win over from two days previous. WTF!!! I got busted on pocket Kings, by a guy who hit a set of 10's. Then later at another table with pocket Aces getting it all-in preflop, against a guy who kept reraising me. I had him dead to rights, with his pocket Kings. The board paired 9's...and then rivered him one of his two outs. Yep, you could just see it coming, another friggin' King. So those two hands, effectively stole $40 from the stack. Another $10 in BlackJack, before I had the sense to walk away. Then bumped up from .10/.20 NL to .25/.50 NL in hopes of hitting a big score to get back in the swing of things. But a wave of cold cards, was the only thing I was seeing. And OBVIOUSLY, waiting for the BIG HANDS was just getting me screwed anyway. So, anyway, I'm back in the hole again, and I was so happy the last game at the house, and this just beat me down again. It is incredibly frustrating and demoralizing to be running this cold.

Now on to other things. I have a problem...or better stated...we're having a problem, and it's all my fault. And I'm going to have to take whatever steps are necessary to fix the problem. And I do mean whatever it takes, I'll have to do. I won't state it further here, but I haven't given it the attention it deserves. I'm not even sure I know what needs to be done at all, but if I value it at all...and I do...I've got to really work at it. Not all things broken can be fixed, but none without trying. Remember that, I live it. Time to stop writing and start doing!

Regards,

cheer_dad