The Great Dane is awesome....

The last few years have allowed me to discover something I am very passionate about and so eager to learn more and play as much as I can. That thing is Texas Hold'Em Poker. I play mostly online as I am still learning the game and want to polish my game a bit but there is nothing like playing a game with people at the same table. I watch Texas Hold'Em whenever it is on TSN, The Score or Sportsnet and can watch the game for many hours.

Like any other game, you win the game with a combination of luck and skill. My favorite player is by far Gus "The Great Dane" Hansen. The guy is just amazing to watch and is entertaining as hell as well. He loves to engage in banter at the table which is almost as entertaining as watching him play.

The thing I love about watching Gus play is that he is not afraid to stay in hands and bet even if he does not have the best hand. He will try his luck and see if he can make something happen with any hand. It makes the game exciting and very unpredictable.

The other players I love to watch is Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, the drop dead gorgeous Jennifer Tilley, Canadian born Daniel Negreneau, "The Unabomber" Phil Laak and even though he is a "poker brat" Phil Hellmuth. My dream table is having these players all together as you know you will get some great playing and some great banter at the table.

Maybe one day I can participate in a game at the bowling alley, once I get good enough that is, but right now I am content to play online. I will continue to learn by playing as many hands as I can, while playing as as many different variety of hands as well.

My 15 favorite comic characters...

I am a comic book nerd...I admit...the genre has always been something I enjoyed and I remember going to Bridgewater once a month and hitting the Pharmacy to pick up my favorite comic book titles...some thing I have wanted to do but have been very lazy about is listing my favorite comic book characters...both heroes and villains...So with pictures attached here are my favorite characters...




LOKI


The evil step brother of Thor, Loki is perhaps the most manipulative and vile villain to ever grace the pages of a comic book. Loki hates Thor very passionately and a large amount of his schemes are to embarrass Thor. Loki is the source of evil that was responsible for the formation of The Avengers and continues to be a thorn in the side of The God Of Thunder. Referred to as "The God Mischief," Loki does believe in the protection of Asgard and it's people. The issue is that he feels that it has to be by his hand once he is ruler.

SPAWN


I really love Spawn and the original take on the character where he had no idea of who he was and his past is still one of the best story ideas in comics. The character is a combination of Spider-Man and The Batman, but has a hell of a lot more attitude and a nasty mean streak. The character was the first "independant" character to break through the glass ceiling to the popularity of Spider-Man and Superman. A trained assassin who made a deal with the devil to come back and see his wife but was slated to lead Hell's army to the gates of Heaven. Spawn rebels and is at odds both with Heaven and Hell.

THOR


There is not many characters that combine myth and legend like Thor. Jack Kirby and Stan Lee created the character based on Norse Mythology but created a Thor that was different than the traditional God Of Thunder. The character was originally created as Marvel's answer to Superman. Stan Lee said "We wanted someone as powerful but who could more powerful than an alien? Only a god." The character has excelled in the hands of Walt Simonson and J. Michael Straczynsk. Both of these men crafted the best stories in the history of the comic. Thor is at his most popular right now and I am hoping he stays where he should be, at the top of the Marvel Universe.

VENOM


This is a character that is hot or mis with me but when he is on, he is amazing. Venom was originally Eddie Brock and bonded with the symbiote out of his hatred for Spider-Man. The character was Spidey's greatest threat and then eventually became a defender of San Francisco while having a true with Spidey. Mac Gargan who used to be The Scorpion is the man who wears the symbiote and is an even more vicious and twisted individual. This incarnation of Venom eats people on a whim and allows the symbiote to have more control over the mind and body of it's host.

WOLVERINE


I know he is considered over exposed in the Marvel Universe currently but Wolverine will always be one of my favorites. He was the first Canadian character I was introduced to as a kid growing up and also the first "anti-hero" that I saw in comics. Who doesn't like a no nonsense character who has an amazing healing factor, razor sharp claws embedded in his hands, has lived for a long time and who walks the fine line between savior and threat. Wolverine was the one character who was not afraid to push himself and the envelope when he felt he had to. Canada's favorite mutant will always be on this list for me.

THE BATMAN


Why do I like The Batman?? Because he is the god damn Batman!!! The character is legendary and is different than any other character out there. The Batman uses fear, martial arts, gadgets and detective work to get the job done. He relies on word of mouth to spread his legend to the streets to scare crooks out of crime. The Batman is best used when he uses the element of fear as a weapon and "emerges from the shadows" to get his prey. He also adds something different when he has to roll up his sleeves and deduce what is happening from clues he discovers as he searches a crime scene. The Batman may be the greatest mind to have ever existed in comic book history.

DEADPOOL


What can I say about Deadpool? He is the most entertaining character I have ever read in any format. The character is always breaking the fourth wall and has multiple running conversations within his own mind. He is considered to be mostly a joke to the rest of the Marvel Universe but he is a highly skilled and deadly killer. He was in the Weapon X project and has a healing factor like Wolverine that is keeping his cancer at bay and is a master at using dual pistols and dual katannas. He has flip flopped between hero and villain on multiple occasions but he is much more entertaining and effective as a character struggling to be a hero in a world that treats him as a "wannabe".

THE HOBGOBLIN


The rogues gallery of Spider-Man is one the largest and most diverse in the industry but there is one to me who is the most ineresting....The Hobgoblin. He has had many people under his mask and has been considered a Green Goblin knock off but the character is strong enough to stand on his own. He was originally a replacement for The Green Goblin when he was killed, who had found Norman Osbourn's stash of Goblin weapons and gliders. The character originally had an aura about him as no one knew of his identity but the idea petered out when the characters creator left Marvel. The character has disappeared from the mainstream Marvel universe since The Green Goblin has returned but he has showed up in the future universe of "Mayday" Parker (Peter's daughter who has gone on to become Spider-Girl.}


THE JOKER


What more can you say about The Joker, the guy is a certifiable nut job and the most dangerous of Batman's foes. He has no super powers and is completely off his rocker but he is completely unpredictable. He has proven to be an equal to the Caped Crusader and has permanently scarred Batman on many occasions but the two most memorable times were when he beat the second Robin (Jason Todd) so badly with a crowbar and then killed him in an explosion and paralyzing Barbara Gordon with a bullet to the spine. He can be written goofy but I truly feel that the best incarnation of The Joker was Heath Ledger. He was dangerous but chaotic and also very deliberate in the way that he conducted himself. I also liked the idea better that he did not become deformed due to acid but that he chose to wear the make-up.

THE RED HOOD


The mystery of the Red Hood was an interesting idea and turned the world of The Batman completely upside down. The character had the former disguise of The Joker and was doing good things but in very bad ways. He had a serious killer instinct and knew Batman's every move. When they fought, he matched the Batman move for move with no clear victor. It was then discovered that the Red Hood was Jason Todd, who Bruce thought was long dead. Todd returned during Final Crisis and it played havoc with Bruce's mind. Jason Todd went on to take over the identity of Nightwing and then later had his own version of Batman but has gone back to the name and look of The Red Hood. The one thing I love about the character is that he is not written good or bad, he just does what he wants to do. It kinds of cements him into the "wild card" of the DC universe.

AZRAEL


Now speaking of wild cards, we have maybe one of the most misused characters in comic history. I love Azrael and the way he was handled originally. Being brainwashed by a religious sect as their avenging angel since birth, Jean Paul Valley then became Batman when Bruce Wayne was crippled by Bane. The character was completely different than anything else in comics at the time but they tried to make him Batman "lite" when he finally returned to being Azrael. The original costumes is the best and the others that they used were terrible. Jean Paul was more of an aggressive character who went into a trance which was called "the System." This allowed him to do things he was not capable of normally. He was an interesting character in that he was really timid but once he became Azrael and later Batman, he was a vicious fighting machine.

ANGELA


The character was given the task by Heaven to take out Spawn and Angela was not that much different than the one she hunted. To me the best the character was portrayed was in the Angela mini series where she needed to team with her adversary and then ultimately needed Spawn to clear her name. She is one of the most feared and successful angels in Heaven's arsenal. I wish that she would have been used more when the character was alive in the series, as it presented a very unique dynamic that has been lacking for Spawn in the series.

MISTER SINISTER


This character was the first major villain that I encountered in comic books. I had started to read X-Men religiously during their huge mutant cross over event Inferno and Mister Sinister was at the very center of the entire story. He was not as active in the actual fighting in the crossover as he was active in pulling the strings. He is a unique looking character who has be a thorn in the sides of the X-Men.

SPIDER-MAN


What can you really say about good ole Web-Head? He is an iconic character that has remained popular, important and relevant to the Marvel Universe. He was comics "every man" as he had to juggle his real life issues and responsibilities as Peter Parker as well as his responsibilities that comes with having the powers as Spider-Man. The character has recently had major changes with his relationship with Mary Jane but Spider-Man has now returned to the status of "lovable loser" who can not catch a break. He has battled normal street thugs and ran up the totem poll to super powered villain but he always finds a way to win. Spider-Man embodies alot of different traits and it makes him a very unique character.

ROGUE


I do not know if it is the two toned hair, the southern accent or the ability to absorb other people's powers but I love Rogue. She potentially could be the most powerful characters but is also one of the most tragic characters. She can not live a normal life as she can not touch people she cares about and it is such an interesting story device. I think she could be one of the most interesting characters if she is used right but she needs someone to foil her and Gambit is a perfect foil. Rogue is a tough cookie but Gambit always seems to find a way to break down her walls.

Fantasy Sports Leagues...

I love participating in Fantasy Sports Leagues and was truly lucky to be able to join a create ESPN league for both hockey and baseball this year run by Alex Fitzpatrick. Something I wanted to do was just kinda mull over my strategy (or lack there of) for drafting the players that will represent my team. I will look at both my hockey and baseball teams and why I took some of the players I did.

When I entered the hockey league I really had no idea what I was getting into with the draft. Any other fantasy league was not as in depth and to be honest, not as much fun. My strategy for this draft was to nab an all star with my first pick, draft a strong defence and then grab a goaltender who puts up great stats. Here are my original picks and the order that they came in:

Nova Scotia Privateers
8 Jonathan Toews, Chi C
13 Jarome Iginla, Cgy RW
28 Dion Phaneuf, Tor D
33 Jay Bouwmeester, Cgy D
48 Henrik Lundqvist, NYR G
53 Chris Kunitz, Pit LW
68 Shane Doan, Pho RW
73 Mikko Koivu, Min C
88 Shea Weber, Nsh D
93 Ryan Malone, TB LW
108 Ryan Kesler, Van C
113 Ray Whitney, Car LW
128 Ales Hemsky*, Edm RW
133 Ryan Whitney, Edm D
148 Pascal Leclaire, Ott G
153 Kris Letang, Pit D
168 Jordan Staal, Pit C
173 Dustin Brown, LA RW
188 Joe Corvo, Was D
193 Rene Bourque, Cgy LW

I made a few big moves and dealt Iginla, Phaneuf, Bouwmeester, Malone and Leclaire. I replaced them with Corey Perry, Nicklas Lidstrom, Erik Johnson, Matt Moulson and Jonathan Quick. I also reworked much of my second tier players and swapped out a few parts here and there. I finished 5th in my league but was consistently between 2nd to 5th all season long. I selected Toews, Weber and Quick as my keepers next season. As you can see my picks varied and I try to take atleast one "dark horse" player who could make or break the season for you.

For baseball I had a simple strategy but I think I followed it to a "T". I was looking to draft home run power, pitching and speed with my first three picks. I also knew I had to draft my starting pitchers similar t o my defense in hockey, by stock piling quality starters and allowing myself a chance to use them to fill holes that crop up throughout the season. Here is my team:

NOVA SCOTIA BOMBERS
9 Ryan Howard, Phi 1B
16 Roy Halladay, Phi SP
33 Ichiro Suzuki, Sea OF
40 Justin Verlander, Det SP
57 Pablo Sandoval, SF 3B
64 Carlos Lee, Hou OF
81 Trevor Hoffman, Mil RP
88 Stephen Drew, Ari SS
105 Alexei Ramirez, CWS SS
112 Jake Peavy, CWS SP
129 Geovany Soto, ChC C
136 Brad Hawpe, Col OF
153 Roy Oswalt, Hou SP
160 Maicer Izturis, LAA 2B
177 Wade Davis, TB SP
184 Paul Konerko, CWS 1B
201 Leo Nunez, Fla RP
208 Cody Ross, Fla OF
225 Jason Frasor, Tor RP
232 Lastings Milledge, Pit OF
249 Derek Lowe, Atl SP
256 Kevin Kouzmanoff, Oak 3B
273 Brad Penny, StL SP
280 Jhonny Peralta, Cle SS
297 Luke Gregerson, SD RP

I approached this league different than my hockey draft as I was not very active in the league at the start of the season. So I have basically reworked 50% of my roster already. I was able to move Soto, Verlander, Rameriz, Lee, Oswalt and Ross. I feel I upgraded with the additions of Brian McCann, Ronny Cedeno, Jose Guillen, Ben Sheets and Michael Bourn. I wanted to add a starting catcher as I was hoping Soto would start the season hot as he needed to prove himself but he struggled mightly. I also moved Verlander to get my "dark horse" player in Ben Sheets and I am lacking speed, so I thought the addition of Bourn would fill that hole as well.

SO yeah I have a weird way of thinking of who to draft I guess. I don't always draft the best player available but I sometimes I draft the player who could make the best impact.

I Can Be Your Hero Baby.....

I am a super hero and comic book junkie.....yes I admit that. Ever since I was a little boy I loved reading about the exploits of The Mighty Thor, The Batman, The Amazing Spiderman and The X-Men. There is something about the need of good always balancing out evil and sometimes the need of those on both sides of the line to hide their true identity for whatever reason that they felt they had to. Tried as I might I could never find a video game that allowed me to explore my own ideas for hero and villain characters. That is until July 6th 2004. On that day I joined City Of Heroes.

I had first heard about the game in April in a video game magazine and even though the preview was only 3 paragraphs long, it had my attention as it stated that you would be able to create your own hero characters, name them and choose their powers. I knew I needed to play this game. You see I love to write and my favorite part of most video games are the character creation options. This game was boasting to have the best character creation tool out of all the games on the market (and it still does!!!) so I ordered it on eBay in June with a pre paid game card and on July 6th 2004 I entered Paragon City for the first time.

The first character I created a concept I have had for many years and wrote many short stories about and also used as an efed (role play by email) wrestling federation. His full name was Nightmare "The Fallen Angel" but since that was much too long for the name field I thought Nightmare was too evil sounding for a hero. So I used just The Fallen Angel portion of the name. The biography I had written in game has evolved as I flesh out the character more but it has remained intact overall the last few years.


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This is The Fallen Angel. He is a blaster of a mutant origin who uses energy for long range attacks and melee attacks for high damage. His trade mark to me is his hood. It is to him what the red cape is to Superman, the cape and cowl is to The Batman or the shield of Captain America. He also has the power of flight and has multiple costumes and even a alter ego costume. It is hard to believe that this July will be my 6th year of playing this great game. I have only been unsubscribed for a total of 1 month in almost 6 years.

NCSoft has since released a paid expansion called City Of Villains which allows you to bring your most dastardly and evil creations to life. It added alot of different aspects to the existing game and different character archetypes. This July NCSoft is releasing the second paid expansion for the City Of Heroes franchise. Titled City Of Heroes - Going Rogue, it is going to open up an alternate reality to our universe, almost a mirror universe where things are somewhat backwards to the way they are in game right now. It will also give the ability for heroes and villains to switch sides. This is huge as the hero world and villain world are separate and you are contained to your own world.

If it sounds like a game you would want to try, hit me up on my facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=716960399 . My in game chat name is @The Fallen Angel and I play on the Freedom Server. I have equal numbers of heroes and villains and would love to see any new blood into the game.

Justice is calling......do you have the courage to accept the charges?!?!?!?!

The Boys Of Summer Are Set To Returm......

Well it is that time of year that the sun shines a little longer throughout the day, the birds are singing, the cool breeze is blowing and baseball is soon starting. Spring Training has pretty much all but finished up by now and the teams a re gearing up for a long 162 game marathon of a season. I will look at a couple of different things and I may finally do something I have been putting off for a few years.

First thing I want to get out of the way is that I am a die hard Montreal Expos fan. So yeah, I am in kind of a bind eh? I mean the team has moved to Washington DC and been rebranded as the Washington Nationals and I find it very...VERY...hard to root for that team even though they have pretty much kept the Expos color scheme and inability to win consistently.

So being a proud Canadian boy and someone who loves to root for the underdog I have decided to accept the Toronto Blue Jays into my life and claim them as my favorite team. I do not have a favorite player right now though. I do like Ryan Zimmermon from Washington (Ironic eh?) but grew up loving to watch Jeff Bagwell of the Houston Astros and Larry Walker of the Colorado Rockies and of course the Montreal Expos.

Who do I enjoy watching play the most? Whose stats do I check everyday? That is a damn good question. I honestly think that the two players I love to watch right now are Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder. Pujols is a fantastic and professional hitter. He hits alot of homeruns, drives in a lot of runs and hits for a high average that can span from .325to .365. Prince Fielder is likehis dad,a big guy who can hits the ball a serious distance. Fielder may have the best pure power swing in the game. Watch him...the guy does not get cheated at all when he is hacking at the ball.

I am a power hitting fan and yes I love seeing player hit homeruns but I do appreciate the different types of hitters in the game as well. Ichiro Suzuki, Carl Crawford and Todd Helton are high average and low power hitters who can spray the ball from left to right field with ease. They are just as important as the guys who can hit the ball over 400 feet.

So yeah...I guess that the Blue Jays are my favorite team. I guess if I needed to name a second favorite team I like the Houston Astros and I will give Washington a chance to earn my affection. I can't help it. I love my Expos and like it or not they are the closest thing I haveto them.