Re: [Celtics' Stuff Bret and Bart Maverick

[JB <jbmetzea@yahoo.com>]

on 10/30/01 6:27 AM, j.hironaka at j.hironaka@unesco.org wrote:

At 19:30 29/10/01 -0500, JB wrote:
>an excited Antoine, arms flailing, reminded me of that climactic scene
>with a disheveled, drunk, "Fast Eddie;" slouched over the table, totally
>spent, after losing  his big early lead, while a clean and
>composed;  "Fats" counted his winnings.  "You're a loser Eddie, you'll
>always be a loser!" was Fats' parting shot.
>The next impression, was how good for the game and these young men was it,
>that their idol was taking them through these scenes, where $500,000 to
>$800,000 could be won or lost in a single night.  How long will it be
>before one of the young men, loses his money and his soul, over a
>blackjack table and starts shaving points?
       *********
Shaving points. I realize these are just your gut impressions (and
entertaining too), but cheating in games is a big stretch and a pretty
unfair characterization based on the evidence.  I don't think he's a
dishevelved drunk, loser or a potential cheat (I'm not saying you do
either).  He wasn't reported to be drinking (and he claims he doesn't). He
wasn't acting agitated at losing money.

Are we not making a big deal about Antoine whooping it up having fun
hanging out all night with a national icon from his hometown as though they
were best friends? How many of us would have acted any differently at that
age given the chance to hang out all night with someone we regard as the
god of our favorite profession or hobby? Would you hang out all night at
the casino with Ernest Hemingway or Frank Sinatra?

This is a more plausible scenario than the worst case Antoine is a
drunk-loser-on-the-slippery-slope-to-a-gambling-addiction scenario. Walker
provokes even my own worst nightmares sometimes through his excitability,
but Boston's had some loose canon athletes and he's been a choirboy by
comparison.

He's not shaving points (yet!!), but, just in case, put me down for the
Celtics by +7 points tonight. ;-)

Joe
        ************
    Whoa, Joe, I can see where you are coming from, but you did
misinterpret, or I miss- communicated.
   The reference to Walker as the "punk" getting too excited with the ups
and downs of the game, was to wonder, if he has that killer instinct that
Jordan has. Whether he would ever be the superstar that leads his team to
the title and icily makes the key steal and the winning bucket. "Fast Eddie
learned the lesson, I hope that Walker does also. He does seem to be a good
kid with his heart in the right place, only that he wears his emotion on his
sleeve and that might not be the prescription for the next banner in Boston.
   In no way was I implying that he was a drunk, or would be prone to
shaving points. 
   My imagination did lead me to wonder whether some player in the league
would try to emulate Jordan's persona though and I do think it's just a
matter of time. These casinos know how to milk the cows and no fortune is
safe.

                 

                 JB

                   

                   
Unchain My Heart!