Exceptional Incompetence

I apologize for having not blogged in a little over three weeks. Though I've been slightly under the weather lately, the actual reason is simply that I try to avoid posting if the content is going to be thoroughly negative. Regardless, it seemed like it was about time, so prepare for some ranting below.

First, poker. I've run as poorly in September as I have in over a year at minimum, perhaps stretching all the way back to February 2009. It just gets really old fast to be getting the money in with top set and losing to backdoor quads/gutters. Not to mention being bluffing with zero equity whenever I shove preflop. I'll save the rest of this rant for the monthly review, which won't be pretty.

What the title of this post is about are the two labour disputes currently destroying professional sport in North America. One of my more recent posts talked about the (at the time upcoming, now in full swing) NHL lockout, so I don't really have much more to add to that.

The situation in the NFL may not be costing them football games or revenue, but it is quickly turning the league into a joke. If you read this blog religiously, you may recall that I have in the past wished for NHL officials to perform with the same degree of competence as their NFL counterparts. I'm not aware of what demands the union of NFL officials have made, or who fans should be upset at over the current state of things. What I am sure of, is that the replacement officials currently being used are utterly incompetent to a degree I never would have thought was possible. That overwhelming degree of suck was on display tonight in the Pats/Ravens matchup - and I know what you're thinking, this isn't me being sour over a Patriots loss, as there were brutal blown calls both ways. I'm trying really hard not to blame the replacement officials themselves, as they're probably embarrassed as hell. After seeing this gong show go on for three weeks now though, something has to be done - because this isn't the NFL the fans deserve.

I'm currently working my way through Gungnir for the PSP. It does a lot of things well, and provides a stiff challenge. Unfortunately, a few design choices make the game very frustrating at times. It really does shock me how often you'll find design features in a commercial game that nobody could possibly find fun, even in concept. Still, I'd say the good marginally outweighs the bad, though I will likely avoid the other games in the series.

TUESDAY EDIT:
Well, if you saw the end of Monday Night Football (I felt like a real idiot for turning off the TV after Seattle turned the ball over on downs with 2:00 to go), the replacement officials embarrassed themselves even further. I wonder how bad it can get... I'm sure eventually it'll go from a combination of sad and disgraceful to downright funny.

Also, I was actually almost finished with Gungnir and just unaware of it because it was much shorter than I anticipated. I figured I was at the very common point in a lot of RPGs where a pseudo-fake-potential-ending turns out to be a plot twist and you then deal with all the foreshadowing that had been building up. It turns out instead the game just ended, roll credits. I imagine they're making a sequel because they built up a lot of plot which they simply left utterly unfinished. Rather disappointing.