Post-Thanksgiving wrap-up

Well....the holiday season is full steam ahead. Only 27 shopping days until Christmas for anyone that needs a reality check.

The Steelers season officially ended yesterday with the 30-0 thrashing they took from Baltimore. Big Ben was sacked 9 times during the game, and I heard reports that one of them knocked him out of the game briefly with a bruised chest. All I can say is that I'm glad I wasn't able to watch the game while in Toledo yesterday, as that would have pushed me over the edge of what turned out to be a bittersweet end to the holiday weekend.

So what happened to the Steelers....Esentially the same team that won the SB last season, now can't even score against Baltimore. Two things they need to address during the off-season (IMHO)....

(1) Offensive line - they need to replenish an aging O-line with some fresh studs ASAP. Parker's running has been inconsistent, and Ben can't get sacked 9 times in a game.
(2) Turnovers - this season has shown how much of a fime line there is between winning and loosing in the NFL and how much of an impact turnovers have on the game. Ben has thrown a ton of picks this season, many of which are coming under pressure or on tipped passes from the receivers. The pressure issue should be addressed by the O-line in the off-season. I think this is just one of those seasons that is the karmic payback for last season. Everything bounced our way last year, and is now bouncing against us this year.

At least we'll end up with a high set of draft picks...I figure we'll end up 6-10 or so for the season, which should get us in the top 10 or so in the league.

Poker news - I had qualified for the poker.com 50k freeroll that was heald yesterday, so I had the laptop all set and ready to go after the birthday party festivities had ended yesterday for Alan. I would like to say the poker gods smiled on me and I made it to the money....but of the 1900 players in the event, I went out at 1814 after about 5 hands when my AA was cracked by QQ turning a set. I was in EP and made a raise of 80 (blinds still 10-20)...fold around to the BB that goes all in for 2000+. I had to call the all-in with AA and was ready to double up after he missed the flop only to see him hit the 2-outer on the turn for his set...no A on the river and IGHN. Can't complain, as I had all my money in as a huge favorite and the cards let me down. Not like I was outplayed or made a bad call.

Quick question....does anyone know where Netteller is legally located? I'm tired of their overcharges on deposts, but owe them a small amount of cash from a deposit i made a couple of months ago and they never withdrew from my bank account. Now I'm getting letters to settle up and I'm half tempted to just ignore and let them close my account. Any chance that they can screw up my credit rating here in the states?

Anyway...time for more online shopping from work on cyber Monday....ttfn.