It sounds like about 1,250 started day 1A of the 38th WSOP main event. That's a huge number, but even if they end up getting more entries on the other days, the field should fall from close to 9,000 in 2006 to no more than 5,500 or 6,000 in 2007.

Perhaps this is the year that they should raised the main event buy-in to $25,000 (or more). The changes in online gambling made it relative predictable that the numbers of entrants would decrease, so why not bite the bullet and raise the buy-in as well?

Sure, this year's prize pool would suffer (but only relative to the past 2 or 3 years), but the long run health and prestige of the WSOP would be secured. (You can't claim the 50k HORSE event is the grand-daddy of them all when you still have a main event.)

80 games into the season, the Mariners are 10 games over .500.

Yet they have exactly the same number of runs allowed as they do runs scored -- 400.

The Braves, Phillies, and Diamondbacks have both been outscored by their opponents but have records over .500.

Meanwhile the Yankees appear be the only team to have outscored their opponents despite a losing record. Look for them to have a big second half and make a run at the wild card.

I inadvertently deleted a post a little while ago. Fortunately, through the magic of Google, I was able to find a cached copy of it. Hadn't ever thought of Google as a backup engine before...

Anyway, here's the post:

The whole poker world on tilt

I really enjoyed this Jesse May blog entry:

    Is there anybody out there that is under the illusion that some of the best poker in the world is being played in the Rio this year? I mean, there's a story about Barry Greenstein playing two tournaments at once, sprinting back and forth between tables between hands like some kind of bearded clown balancing a seal on his nose. Barry Greenstein? Ace on the river, spotlight on me, and prop bets galore Barry Greenstein? The man who only a few years ago was on top of a lamppost demanding that he be recognized as the professionals' professional? Running around the room like a clown? Dare I say it, on tilt?

It suffers from a tad bit of "rosy retrospection", but I think it is required reading for every poker player and WSOP staffer.

The 51st event of the 38th annual World Series of Poker began yesterday. The big one -- the $10k World Championship -- begins next Friday. It will dish out the 55th bracelet of this year's WSOP.

To get an idea of how many bracelets that is, it took 9 years until the WSOP gave out its 55th bracelet overall. Now they banging out 55 per year. It took them another 5 years to put out 55 more.

Gotta' love progress, eh?

p.s.: I'll bet the total rake on any single event during this year's WSOP exceeds the entire rake collected at Binion's Horseshoe for at least the WSOP's first 15 years.

So strange.

And it comes just as I was beginning to like him -- his little outburst at the umpire after Mariners fans showed the love to Ken Griffey, Jr. showed me that he actually did have some heart in there after all.

Hopefully McLaren does well.