The Truth about Lottery Odds convinced us to change the way we play.

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Billiards, or commonly referred to as pool, is an indoor sport that has gained fanatics all over the world. As the trend of more and more home owners deciding to purchase a pool table and add it to their own home’s entertainment corner or room shows, pool fans are drunk, extremely aggressive-looking fellows that are always ready to fight and have no sense of manners, or in any case, odor, is an image one can mainly attribute to movie scenes and real decadence-looking bars. But, as pool table fans are indeed increasing in numbers, the idea that these people probably have not been portrayed accurately generates a new interest in pool games and generates a chain reaction.

However, pool fans are not a recent phenomenon. Since this game’s conception, thousands of individuals have experienced its thrills and were able to compete against each other during friendly or professional games. Some of the most famous pool fans are people known from history, politics, arts and science. Individuals like Mark Twain, George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte, Marie Antoinette, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Fred Astaire, Humphrey Bogart, and Paul Newman, have embraced the game of pool and have contributed to its fame traveling around the globe over the centuries.

Abraham Lincoln, one of the first real American celebrities and an immensely important person in American history, owned a pool table and was admittedly a great pool gamer and fan. If one might think that critical issues of the American national interest, like slavery, the Civil War, and international relations, were probably discussed over a billiard game, perhaps is not far from the truth. As a billiard table has been brought in the White House and existed there for several administrations, many of the recent US Presidents have had the opportunity to play a couple of games with prestigious opponents, like Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, King Hussein, or Margaret Thatcher. Isn’t it chilling for one to imagine that the world’s fate might have been “played” over a billiards game?

In recent times, pool tables are produced in different sizes and for vastly different budgets. Much more affordable than their predecessors, pool tables now attract the attention of “simple” folks who wish to spend some quality time playing a great game. Thus, even if you are not yet an owner but would like to become one, there is no better time to attain your goal than today. Visit your local games department store, research over the Internet, participate at an auction or get to your neighbor’s house sale. Perhaps a new talent is hidden under your sleeve. Isn’t time for you to discover it?

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Admit it, the first thing you did when the 2004-05 NBA schedule came out last week was check to see when Shaq and the Miami Heat would visit Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. It probably didn’t take long to find that game, though, as we all know the NBA marketing machine would slate it for big time ratings on X-Mas day. Kobe and Shaq won’t be the only hyped-up, intriguing match-up of the season, though, that’s for sure. With such an active off-season, the 2004-05 season is sure to be loaded with must-see games. Here are some of the games I’m looking forward to…

November 2, 2004 - Opening night always brings some interesting games, but, with this year’s season opening on the first Tuesday of November in an election year, I’m sure a lot of viewers are going to be watching something else. That’s too bad because they’ll be missing a solid lineup of 3 games to start the season. The new-look Rockets, headlined by Yao Ming (now in his third season) and last year’s scoring champ and newest Houston arrival, Tracy McGrady, will head to Detroit to take on Rip Hamilton, Ben Wallace, and the defending champion Pistons, who will be receiving their rings. We’ll also get to see the Kings with-or-without Peja Stojakovic take on the Nash-less Mavs. And, Kobe and the new-look Lakers host Denver.

November 4, 2004 - Francisco Elson apologized for making some derogatory comments about Kevin Garnett during the playoffs, but it’s safe to say KG’s probably got payback coming in the form of a huge game as his Wolves face off agains the Nuggets. Also, it’s worth noting the Charlotte Bobcats tip off their franchise history against the Washington Wizards.

November 16, 2004 - Just halfway into the first month of the season and Steve Nash will head back to his old stomping grounds to take on the Dallas Mavericks. The good money says Mavs owner Mark Cuban and Nash won’t be bickering by then, and Nash should be well-received. Nash might wonder why he didn’t get a better offer from Cuban, though, when he sees his former owner giving a million bucks away to a complete stranger sometime this fall on The Benefactor.

December 14, 2004 - Knicks at Nets before the New Year looks pretty innocent on paper, but chances are Tim Thomas doesn’t feel the same way. Thomas is still bitter over a flagrant foul by New Jersey’s Jason Collins in last year’s playoffs and has vowed revenge. Thomas never got a chance to deliver his payback in the playoffs and who knows if he’ll cool down by the time this December meeting rolls around.

January 20, 2005 - Tracy McGrady heads back to Orlando to face his old team. If you’re playing fantasy basketball and you can update your roster daily, I’d think about adding T-Mac right about this time of year. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if he drops 40 or even 50+ against his former team. We’ll also get a look at how Francis, Mobley, Dwight Howard and the young Magic are progressing.

February 13, 2005 - Kenyon Martin will lead the Nuggets against New Jersey. No bad blood, here, but it’s always interesting to see a guy like K-Mart return to his old city. You’ve got to wonder if Jason Kidd will be still a New Jersey Net when this one rolls around.

March 15, 2005 - It’s too bad we have to wait until the middle of March to see Carlos Boozer return to Cleveland, but better late than never, right? The city of Cleveland isn’t going to forget. If Boozer were to wait five years before stepping foot in Gund Arena again, I’m willing to bet he’d get booed. It’s going to be pretty ugly up there. Now, why isn’t this game scheduled to be on national TV? To add to the interest factor, Lebron might be positioning the Cavs for a late-season playoff push.

April 20, 2005 - It’s impossible to know exactly what the playoff situation is going to be late in the year, but Spurs at Wolves on the last day of the season sure does look interesting.

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I do enjoy my sports. Many days I just don’t have enough time to watch sports so I turn on ESPN News for a half or so and get caught up. Most of the ESPN News Casters do a great job of reporting the daily sports happenings. Actually they all do a great job, One Sportscaster does have this little quirk that does bother me.

I watch ESPN News in the United States a country who’s official language is English. All of the sports casters on ESPN News Broadcast in English. I am somewhat embarrassed to say that even though my wife of over 10 years was born in a third world country and speaks English as her 2nd language that I still only speak English.

One of the ESPN Newscasters seems to feel a need to toss in a few Spanish phrases over the course of the 1/2 hour show. While it doesn’t typically detract from the show or even the news I receive, I shouldn’t be required to consult an English Spanish dictionary to understand a NewsCast that is suppose to be broadcast in English Only. ESPN does have a Spanish language version, I am betting that if someone on the Spanish version of ESPN spoke English that ESPN would put a quick end to it.

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Any team that has won 3 out of the last 4 Super Bowls belongs to be number 1 in any NFL preview. Plus when you have Tom Brady on your team who is a proven winner, you are number 1. This is a team-oriented team. They play as a team and not as a bunch of individuals like other teams. Many teams have more talent but nobody has been able to stop the Pats. The addition of Dillon last year made this team that much better. The major question now is how are they going to replace Bruschi? The heart and soul of the defense is still recovering from his stroke and will not play this season. Knowing the Pats though, they will find a way and should challenge for the title again this year.

2. Indianapolis Colts:

If the Pats didn’t exist, the Colts would be the best team in the AFC if not the NFL. They have such a high powered offense very few defenses can stop them. Manning picked defenses apart like he was playing against high school kids last year. Plus, James found his old game and become a huge part of the offense again. Their major weakness is their defense. If they had a defense like the Steelers, Pats or Ravens, no team could even come close to challenging this team. If they even had the Dolphins defense, they would have been a Super Bowl team. Unfortunately, they have the Colts defense. For this team to take the next step, their defense needs to step up. If the defense is able to step up, they will challenge for the Super Bowl. As for their offense, the only question is what will Manning do next? Many other NFL previews may have the Colts taking over the number 1 spot on this list. They have to prove it to me by beating the Pats. If they prove it and at least make it to the Super Bowl, I’ll consider them my number 1 next year on my NFL preview page.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers:

What a season Big Ben had last year. Going 14-1 as a rookie was an incredible feat, one for the ages. But of course it wasn’t all him because he had a stellar running game behind him as well as a defense that stopped just about anything in their way. They beat both Super Bowl teams during the regular season but when it came to the playoffs, the proven winner Brady topped the then undefeated rookie. Defense should be strong again this year. The stellar running game is back as well. The question this year is can Big Ben get the Steelers to the promise land or will he have the sophomore slump?

4. Baltimore Ravens:

This is my sleeper team this year. Many NFL previews may not even have them making the playoffs but not me. Jamal Lewis will have a clean mind this year after serving his jail time this summer. He should have no distractions on his mind during the season this year. If Boller breaks through, this will become a solid passing team with the addition of Mason and the first round pick in Clayton to go along with Heap. If Boller passes well, Lewis should push the 1,500 yard mark if not more. And if their defense could get any stronger, it did with the addition of Rolle to compliment McAlister on the other side. Then throw in the top SS in the league in Reed and you have a secondary nobody wants to throw against. Oh, and don’t forget that one guy Ray Lewis… he isn’t too bad either. They have the defense and if the offense shows up this year, they will challenge the Steelers for the AFC North crown.

5. Kansas City Chiefs:

The 5th spot in this conference could go to just about anybody. The Chiefs, Chargers, Broncos, Raiders, Jets, Jags, Bengals even the Texans could take this spot. You could go through several different NFL previews and any one of these teams would be considered the 5th best in the AFC. I chose the Chiefs in my NFL preview for the reason is they can put up points galore on anybody. They may be able to score more points than the Colts. The only problem with the Chiefs is they may be able to score more points than the Colts but their defense is even worse than the Colts. If the defense steps up just a notch, this team could make some noise. They have a quarterback who can throw for over 4,000 yards, they have the best TE in the game and a running back that smells the endzone like no other. If Holmes comes back strong from his injury, this team could be trouble. They are in the hardest division in the AFC where even a 9-7 record could get you a fourth place finish. Defense steps up and the offense produces, they will finish first with ease.

NFL Previews: Teams To Watch For

San Diego Chargers:

Was last year a fluke?

New York Jets:

Pennington stays injury free, this team could be trouble.

Cincinnati Bengals:

Young team with lots of talent. Maybe next year.

Jacksonville Jaguars:

Can they win the close games like they did last year? If so, they will be tough. If not, they could finish 3rd or worse in the division.

Oakland Raiders:

With the addition of Moss, this should be a high flying offense. If overlooked, this team will make teams pay.

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