I am so pissed! I just read a Christian article on the evils of gambling. Whether or not you choose to believe that Gambling is evil is up to you… but you can’t be swayed by the foolish arguments in the article I just read. I’m not going to tell you where to find the article because I don’t want trouble, but mostly because I don’t want them to benefit from my large group of readers! I AM however, going to quote extensively from the rubbish that the writer (R. Mohler) professes (and probably fully believes).

First, he states that 1/3 of the nation’s money is spent on Gambling. If you read my posts, you know that he’s dead wrong! Truth is; 100% of all the World’s money is spent on gambling! Whether you put it under your mattress (a real gamble) or put it into savings (a real gamble) or spend it (a real gamble) it’s spent on gambling. It’s a gamble when you buy a stock, bond or commodity (but he probably thinks THAT’S alright!) It’s a gamble when you buy insurance… you know what… it’s a gamble when you pick out one head of cauliflower over the others… or when you buy cauliflower at all. More than just spending your money  goes through the process of gambling… do you not think that picking your spouse was a gamble? Yes, Christians and non-Christians… EVERY single decision you make is a gamble.

He then goes on to enlighten us with this gem: “The basic impulse behind gambling is greed-a basic sin that is the father of many other evils.” Greed – isn’t that the reason we all go to work everyday????? Isn’t that the reason we “gamble” on those aforementioned, socially acceptable stocks????? If you hear someone say that money makes the world go ’round… you’re listening to a greedy person.

pass the plate again reverend….

Then he says; “The burning desire for earthly riches leads to frustration and spiritual death.” or to happiness, a full life, a realization of one’s dreams. Try THAT without “earthly riches”!

After taking us through many scriptures reinforcing his argument, he states a common mistake made by millions…

“The worldview of the gambler assumes a world of indeterminate and random chance, for which the chief virtue is luck.” As a real “bettor” knows, luck has very little to do with success or failure in gambling. Poker for instance, might make its appearance in the Olympics. IF it were a game of luck, there wouldn’t be thousands of books written on how to win at Poker, nor millions of websites extolling the systems and strategies that make one player a winner over another. More than one judge has ruled that it’s a game of skill!

This isn’t a coin toss Reverend… this is a Skill Game. Otherwise, you wouldn’t see the same faces on the final tables of tournaments. You wouldn’t know the “Odds” of one hand as opposed to another… and so forth.

It’s not the roll of the dice that makes a winner or loser – it’s how the players bet their money. A Seven is a big loser… or a big winner…depending on how you bet… no luck there! Does a successful card player know when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em… yep… he’s not considering luck at all!

Here’s a great piece of nonsense: “gambling is a direct attack on the work ethic presented in Scripture. One of the constant threads through the Old and New Testaments is the dignity of honorable work, and the proper reward for labor and industriousness” Are you kidding? Thousands of hours are spent learning this craft. Certainly more than one spends on his major in a college or university. S/he must spend an equal amount of time on “unproductive” (he’s going to use that word in a minute) electives. Now THAT’S a gamble!

You can’t win any money at the track without studying the horses, the trainers, the jockeys and a myriad of other variables. What’s so undignified about learning cards through courses at MIT or Harvard? He actually then went on call gamblers “lazy, slothful, unproductive and undeserving of financial rewards”.  Then he states “offering the hope of riches without labor)” Holy Crap! I must take a break ’cause I’m pissed off!!!!!!!

k – I’m back (but still pissed off)

Gee, thanks to gamblers, there are millions of jobs in the US. Thousands of hours are spent studying the various forms of casino gambling, testing and tweaking the procedures, and perfecting their craft. If he wants to pick on the lazy, he must look elsewhere (and Lord knows there are plenty of places to look).

“Gambling corrupts the culture, polluting everything it touches. Recent scandals in college basketball are proof positive that gambling is not a problem limited to casinos and horse tracks.” He’s right there isn’t he… scandal is in Congress, in the Senate, in the Banks, the Oil companies, car manufactures, wall street, and politicians running for President of the United States, and on and on and on…<p>

Hey Reverend… are you running a Bingo Game?

Fund Raisers? …gambling, gambling, gambling!

“The Church had better not bet on this problem just going away.” Bet? the Church can Bet?

There are other activities that he could better spend his time on: Drugs, Alcohol, Cigarettes, etc (but counting on a wide readership (which is what this greedy reverend wants)…that would be gambling.

Oops! I did it again! (apologies to Britney)

The Preakness Stakes is over. My picks:

1) Animal Kingdom

2) Mucho Macho Man

3) Dialed In

4) Shackleford

Hmmmmm. Not so good – huh?

Shackleford and his rider teamed up for a brilliant race. He went to the front as expected. He put up an incredible first quarter time (very smart) then – slowed down for the next two calls (and that was the Brilliant part) to make it a more comfortable pace – and of course, held on for the win. I must admit that I didn’t like his chances, and then when I saw how he was acting up during the post parade I was convinced that I was right in writing him off.

My  pick to win: Animal Kingdom broke out of the gate poorly, and was farther back than he was in the Kentucky Derby and that coupled with a tough final turn and a wall of horses throwing dirt in his face, came up just short of overtaking Shackleford for the win. If it had been a sixteenth longer (or more like the Belmont Stakes coming up in 3 weeks) he would have won easily. Watch him do it at Belmont.

My pick for second place was Mucho Macho Man and admittedly that was a bet from my heart and not my head. He did well to finish 6th.

My pick for third was Dialed In, and he finished a respectful 4th. He’s always a bridesmaid, never a bride!

… now, on to the Belmont Stakes… Maybe I can do better there. And as of right now, IF he runs, my pick will be once again: Animal Kingdom.

Stay tuned…

My Squidoo lenses were “locked” today. That means taken down, unpublished, hidden away, destroyed, obliterated, bombed, and killed. Know why? Because they were about the Horse races; Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and one about Las Vegas (and how to save money on your next visit).

Those lenses were labeled by the Squidoo Brainiacs as Gambling.

These were simple lenses of information – that’s all – information. But the Squidoo Fools called the lenses: “Gambling”

Gambling!

How often must I say this? How often must I cry in the dark? What does it take to get through to some people? What must my message be to convince the powers-at-be that:

EVERYTHING WE DO IS A GAMBLE. You’ve seen my writings in the past about Stocks, and Bonds, and Insurance, and what we buy at the Grocery store, and which Mate we choose…. on and on and on and on and on and…

Until ALL lenses are removed (show me one that isn’t about Gambling) then the removal of mine is highly, HIGHLY discriminatory!!!! Perhaps, even illegal.

I look forward to the day when this “Gambling phobia” is challenged in court and made illegal!!!!

I read last week that one elementary school has decided that their student can’t have Easter Eggs… they must only have: “Spring Spheres”. oh brother!

So, if that kind of nonsense gets it’s day in court, then mine must too!

I maintain that one can’t decide on any thing over any other thing without that act being a “gamble”.

What say you?…

Oh, and one more thing: Squidoo? Grow up!

Yes, Surprise was the word of the day yesterday as the Titanic of horse racing, the 1-9 favorite Uncle Mo lost to two (not just one, but two – Toby’s Corner and Arthur’s Tale)  rivals in the Wood Memorial.

BTW: As you know, I had picked Uncle Mo to win that race (as did everyone else it seems – after all, he went off at 1-9) so that was a loss. What I didn’t have time to tell most of you was this. When Uncle Mo showed those odds (1-9) I jumped off him! At those odds, no horse is bettable because you risk your money for a very small return… it’s just not smart! So, the play in this case was to bet EVERY OTHER HORSE to win… and hope for an upset. Because, the closest odds to the favorite was an amazing 17-1 (late betting pushed him down to 8-1 – may have been his connections who always bet at the very last moment)… the other horses were well into the high 20′s, the 30′s, and beyond. So, place one unit on each of the other horses to win, and 2 units on the favorite-of-the-rest (8-1).

Playing $10 units, your bet would have been $90, and your return was nearly $200.

At the start of that race, Uncle Mo was also the favorite to win the Kentucky Derby. Less than two minutes later… dog meat! Well, that’s a little harsh, he’s still a good horse in a so-so crop of 3 year olds. That’s horse racing! As we know, anything can and does happen. Unless it’s discovered that Uncle Mo was injured (and Bob Baffert said he tore a quarter at the gate) Uncle Mo had no excuses as the times were very, very slow.

Here, see for yourself:

So, where does that leave us in the hunt for a winner on May 7th at Churchill Downs? It doesn’t appear at this moment that we’re going to have a Triple Crown Winner… again! (1978 was the last)

Ok, Uncle Mo’s an also ran, Dialed In barely beat a 68-1 long shot, Premier Pegasus is out with an injury, Jaycito too… Where’s Beetlebomb when you need him?

All of this makes next week’s race at my favorite race track in all of North America very much in the spotlight.

If The Factor wins the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn next week, he will undoubtedly be the favorite in the Kentucky Derby as well.

The race to enter The Kentucky Derby tightens up considerably today through two very important prep races; the Santa Anita Derby, and the Wood Memorial.

Here’s how I see them:

Santa Anita Derby – Today’s SADerby is going to be hottly contested based upon of all things: the horses! Duh! You say… but consider the facts that great careful breeding, high prices, famous connections, perfect training and deep pocket owners can all do their parts and still not make the grade… in this case: The Grade I, Million Dollar SAD!

Today, in the last chance for Left-Coast horses to qualify for the Kentucky Derby (and subsequently the Triple Crown) we’ll see only nine horses enter the starting gate.

On Thursday, the runaway favorite to win (8-5) Premier Pegasus was scratched due to a hairline fractured cannon bone. The horse will have to wait this out to heal.

Then, yesterday, Bob Baffert announced that his top contender Jaycito would also sit this one out due to a bruised foot… also not career ending, but he’ll need to rest it awhile. He might enter the Grade III, Lexington Stakes to get into the qualifying money for the Kentucky Derby.

So, that leaves nine: nine horses that would have finished up the track are now battling for the win. Current favorite: Silver Medallion (a triple crown name – right?) will have some trouble with two other stake’s winners in Anthony’s Cross and front-running Comma To The Top. Bob Baffert is hopeful that his long-shot; Midnight Interlude (another sexy name) will give him the win he needs for a trip to Kentucky.

With all these hiccups, who can handicap this one?

I will try:

Anthony’s Cross and Silver Medallion have both been absent since Feb 12th… question? SM has never run on the dirt… question?

Midnight Interlude is a big, unproven horse that may not be able to handle the distance nor his own weight… question?

Comma To The Top finished fourth in the San Felipe after a front end dual that sank his rivals to dead last in the race. Despite that, or because of it, I’m picking Comma To The Top to upset in the Santa Anita Derby. He’ll still go to the front, but may be handled a bit to conserve his energy. That’s the promise his trainer Peter Miller delivered Thursday.

===================

Wood Memorial – This one is not so contentious. The clear and overwhelming favorite (1-5); Uncle Mo (also the current favorite to win the Kentucky Derby) will break out of the starting gate against nine opponents in the premier race at New York’s Aqueduct Race Track.

The 2010 Champion 2 Year Old Colt is a galloping sensation. His stride beats anything we’ve seen this year and perhaps preceding years going back to the late 70′s. He’s 4 for 4 and looks to stretch out his perfect record today.

The second choice Toby’s Corner will get blinkers for the first time. The other “contenders” are admittedly trying to get into the exacta and/or the trifecta bowing to the superior horse.

Secretly, the trainers all say; IF… if the horse (Uncle Mo) stumbles or has a bad day…

So, barring that, my pick for the Wood: Uncle Mo… Duh!

Allow me to rant! I want to join those who are disappointed at the least, and furious at most that Pia Toscano was eliminated from American Idol last night.

For me, the show is dead. I won’t be watching it anymore. I will find out who won of course in a few more weeks, but I won’t be watching it anymore.

It’s very important to note that one can Google “Pia” and she’s first and foremost out of millions of pages. The US has fallen in love! Not only is she the most beautiful girl on the show (sorry Lauren and what’s her name [Hailey]), but IMO the most talented too!

It’s apparent to me that American Idol is for little girls (and me). Look at the top eight… six guys and two girls. Are you kidding me? Would a balanced vote give us those 8? I think not! I think that only little girls watch the show… and I KNOW only little girls Vote! Otherwise, we wouldn’t have a 3 to 1 ratio, and we wouldn’t have several of those guys if the real vote were for talent! I propose that from now on, American Idol give heavier weight to a guy’s vote…. at least two to one! That’ll teach those little girls!

If that doesn’t happen, we may never see another girl American Idol! so sad….

Pia got over 30,000 twitter followers today after her elimination. That’s more than last year’s winner (again – what’s his name???) has after a year of fame or obscurity. Good for you Pia!

I predict we’ve seen the last girl American Idol. By the way – I think the Idols who have gone on to acquire the greatest careers are girls. Carrie Underwood is by far the most famous, Kelly Clarkson is not far behind. Quick, name two famous Male Idols… ummmm, ummmmm, ummmmmmmmm. Nope, can’t do it! See, I can be just as sexist as those little girls… it’s just that they outnumber me!

I really have no right to complain about Pia getting the boot… after all, I didn’t vote. I’m not a little girl! (My sincerest apology to Pia!)

See a pattern here?

Anyway, I’m sure Pia has a great future, and a great career ahead of her… do you think any of those guys do???? not hardly!

If you Google “vegas line on american idol” what do you get? check it out… the number six page is:
American Idol Top 11 Power Rankings – Is Pia Toscano The One To Beat?

My taste stands! If Vegas picked her, and I picked her… I feel vindicated in this rant!

She will succeed – and I can’t wait!

Here are the current Odds (and note the favorites are all guys!  Vegas is no dummy!)

* Currently listed as the favorite

Stay Tuned (to me, NOT to American Idol)

I’m thoroughly disgusted.

Disgusted with ESPN’s “Sports Center”!

Why?

Because they just wouldn’t shutup about Auburn.

Ok – Auburn came back from behind. HoHum!

They ended up winning 28 – 27. They won by ONE POINT! One point my friends – what the hell’s all the praising about?

On the other hand – they HAD to say SOMETHING about the Number One Team – Oregon. Not that they wanted to… it was like “Oh Yeah – there was another game tonight – number one ORYGONE – (couldn’t even pronounce it correctly) – beat their opponent (again – yawn) by 19 points. And quietly (even ashamedly) admit that Oregon came from behind too – but don’t make a big deal of it!

By the end of the night – during their wrap-up… I was so sick of their praises of Auburn (Number TWO – still) that I decided to time their coverage…

The score?     
Auburn game = 6 minutes and 05 seconds of hyperbole.
Oregon game = 3 minutes and 10 seconds (and they sounded ashamed to include it).

And of course the great win by Nevada over the pretender; “Boise State” also made
it big on the clock (more time).

So, I’m happy about the games (even the Auburn game) but really angry about the reporting….

I think the #1 team; Oregon Ducks (the only one to hold on to the ranking for a full month now) scratched and clawed its way to the top – and then is under reported. Why? Maybe it’s because they are so good that a win is boring!

Oh Well! – Go Ducks!

The Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…

Like father, like son.

On one hand, I feel sorry for Cam Newton (QB – Auburn). Not for what he’s done, but because he’s doing just what his low-life father has taught him to do.

Let’s tackle the recruiting allegations first. It is alleged that the father (Cecil Newton) actively pursued money in exchange for a national letter of intent for his son Cam. That means that the father wanted to be paid for an agreement to play football on behalf of his son.

The facts are all over the news and the internet, so let me just voice my opinion here. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Too many people have told the same story here and Cam’s only official answer was a no-answer to “something that occurred not 3 months ago, not 6 months ago….” . The key there is “Something That Occurred”… what more do we need? He said it: “something that occurred”!

You want more? OK…

Where was Cam Newton during this “alleged” extortion? … this “alleged” requesting for bribes? He was at Blinn Junior College in Brenham, Texas! What the hell is that? If he is so good as a football player, what’s he doing at “Blinn”??????

I’ll tell you what he was doing there… he was HIDING! Yes: Hiding! He was caught cheating at Florida in Gainesville – not once, but THREE times…

Further, he was caught with a stolen laptop at Florida.

He was scheduled to be expelled for these FACTS… so he skipped…

He left Florida and HID at Blinn.

That’s when his father began shopping his son to the bigger universities. Mississippi State was close to signing Cam when his father said “It will take more than a scholarship” to sign his son…

Mississippi State refused to pay a student to play football… Cam is reported to tell the MS recruiter (tearfully) that he changed his mind because his father made the decision to go to Auburn… “Because the Money was Too Good”.

My question is to the Heisman Trophy voters…

What the hell do you need? The Heisman Trophy requires among other things INTEGRITY!

There is NO integrity in Cecil Newton – and none in his son Cam!

He was caught cheating, he ran, he extorted money from Auburn, he signed for the money….

What the Hell do you need?

Do NOT vote for Cam Newton – he deserves what his father hath wrought! Cam happily spent the money, now let him reap the rewards.

Don’t give him the trophy only to have it taken back (like Reggie Bush) years later.

Vote for a good man as well as a good football player…

Vote for LaMichael James or Kellen Moore…

…but NOT for the Low-Life’s son: Cam Newton, because,

… the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Well, well, well, I’m a genius! I got through to the BCS computers… after 3 weeks of getting it wrong – they finally got it RIGHT!

Oregon is #1 -

Number 1 in the human polls…

And now; Oregon is Number one in the BCS too!

My sincerest Congratulations to the Oregon Ducks! This is the first time in their history they’ve been Number One and the first time they’ve opened 8 – 0 since 1933.

Coach Chip Kelly is so level headed – he seems to pay NO attention at ALL to this. I’ve been impressed with his interviews. He’s said that this means nothing, and he’s simply preparing for the next challenge.

With or without his acknowledgment, the next challenge is to remain No 1.

In the past four weeks, All four of the #1 ranked BCS colleges has been knocked off the perch. Three lost by defeats, and now Auburn lost due to the fact that they shouldn’t have been there in the first place. (see yesterdays post – below)

Oregon WILL break the curse on Saturday at 3:30 (ET) when they defeat the unranked Washington Huskies (3-5). Coach Kelly is not one to overlook an opponent, and he won’t take the Huskies for granted this week. As I write this, the Ducks are hard at work preparing for them.

Best of luck to you Oregon – and we’ll see you in the BCS Bowl!

The BCS is either wrong or stubborn! You tell me…

Oregon is #1 in BOTH (human) polls.
Oregon beat its opponent this week by a larger margin than did Auburn.
Oregon scores more points (and much sooner) than any other team.
Is ranked FIRST in many stats.
Oregon has a legitimate Heisman candidate.
Oregon has allowed fewer points in the second half than ANY other team.
(These facts just keep coming)

Yet Oregon is #2 to Auburn???????

… and ever worse: #3 Boise State (.8846) is closer to #2 Oregon (.9060) in points than Oregon is to #1 Auburn (.9371) in points…..  What are they thinking?

Look at this: The Harris Poll (which is SUPPOSED to be figured into the BCS formula) shows the points thusly:
#1 Auburn (2611)
#2 Oregon (2818)
#3 Boise State (2668)

Yet Oregon is #2 to Auburn???????

Now look at the USA Today Poll:

#1 Auburn (.9153)
#2 Oregon (.9919)
#3 Boise State (.9376)

In fact, they show Auburn as BARELY ahead of #4 TCU (.8868)

Yet Oregon is #2 to Auburn???????

BCS is either wrong or stubborn! You tell me…

Someone PLEASE explain to me just what criteria is fed into the BCS computers that keeps Oregon from #1. I know, I know, the three guys who input data into the computers refuse to reveal that information. I’m telling them to stop, look at reality, and reconfigure their input data (and/or formula).

BCS is either wrong or stubborn! You tell me…