I just got around to reading Crist's very good article, and wish he had been able to write it two yrs ago. During the time that it took the NTRA to work out what is essentially a swap of one hr of air time, the genre has become very crowded, with Poker Superstars, Poker at the Plaza, Celebrity Poker, Celebrity Blackjack, Blackjack Superstars, etc, etc. I hope I'm wrong about this, but at this point it might be a little harder to get the viewing audience's attention. On the other hand, they did use the same production guys who put together the show that started the craze, so maybe better production values & ESPN's practice of constantly repeating such shows will create some new fans.

I also just got around to reading a lot of posts, including some on the other board, as for some unexplained reason I'm no longer stopped at the coffee cup with the flame. I'll venture a guess that many people would agree with me that Woids has to be considered an instant classic. Very funny indeed.

As you say, SC, the drf links are usually very good, & I continue to buy the paper for the same reason I used to buy Playboy--for the articles. That said, one of my current bugaboos is that their front page link to an in depth look at the Eclipse winners takes you to a series of pages which, unless I missed it, do not even contain the name of the Eclipse Award winner for Best Handicapper of the year, which he won in a contest the drf co-sponsored. I also noticed that none of national or KY papers included his name on the list of Eclipse winners. And I cannot fathom asking the winner of the contest at 6pm on Sat if he can attend a black tie dinner two days later in another city. They finally get the perfect candidate to represent the sport, & of course he can't attend for that very reason, so the best way to end the telecast, with Jamie accepting his Eclipse, is another lost marketing opportunity.

But all this pales in comparison to the way the WSH operates, as they apparently keep track of things with the kind of chalkboards which used to be prevalent in the wire rooms of old. No tournament updates, ever, so the only info you get is rumor, even though the technology for a close to real time leaderbd, including plays made, has been around for yrs. Want news re the contest? The Orleans' site links you to a radio station which has a 3 hr racing talk show where, at some pt, the contest was presumably mentioned. And, as has been pointed out, the site still does not contain any information on the tournament, although it does provide a lengthy piece detailing how Laura Stich was going to be on hand for their Sun contest signing her book on pedigree handicapping. On Sun on TVG Gary Siebel talked about the contest in some detail, would not say how Frank Lyons did(what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas), & commented that he would have liked to have provided info on the top 10 finishers, if he only knew who they were. Believe it or not, I'm told that this contest was also taped for televison, & that we might see an animated OPM offering some verbal encouragement to that 21-1 winner he tabbed at SA. Unless they hire a magician to do the editing, that will be the highlight of the show.

Last, but certainly not least, catching up on the posts on this Bd was entertaining & informative, as there seems to me to be a bigger, better informed, & more diverse group posting now than at any time before. As I see it, this is the place you need to go for the kind of energy, passion, & exchange of ideas that make this game as much fun as it is... Sometimes.