ir mistakes. Theyre more interested in playing poker than talking.It makes sense, of course, but it also makes me nostalgic for a time where the stakes didnt make players go into their shells.

RIO DE JANEIRO -- For a few hours Thursday evening, Argentina seemed to have annexed an acre of blue turf on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro.Attracted by the prospect of seeing the mens field hockey team win a first Olympic field hockey gold medal, hundreds of Argentines flocked to Deodoro Park and turned it into a raucous downtown Buenos Aires-like scene.Vastly outnumbering fans of Belgium, another first-time finalist, in a nearly packed stadium, Argentinas supporters tirelessly sang and chanted from long before the matchs start -- giving Leones (Lions) the home advantage.Leones rewarded their fans with a 4-2 victory in a gripping final.Really, I cant believe it. I felt more excited when we got to the semifinals, Argentina captain Pedro Ibarra said. We are finished and we are happy, but I dont think we realize we are (Olympic champions).The disbelief was understandable. Los Leones have always been the sideshow to the acclaimed womens side, Las Leonas, who medaled at the previous four Olympics. But the Leonas never won Olympic gold.Carlos Retegui, a defender for 17 years on so-so mens teams, coached the women to the London silver, then regained the mens job in 2013. The Leones found almost immediate success, including a first World Cup medal.But in Rio, the team had a modest pool round, needing to beat unheralded Ireland 3-2 in the last minutes to confirm a spot in the quarterfinals, where it beat Spain 2-1 on a late penalty stroke.In the semifinals, however, they routed defending two-time champion Germany 5-2. But two key players broke bones, striker Matias Paredes (right foot) and playmaker Matias Rey (left hand), 400-plus caps of experience sidelined for the final.Argentina got its goals early then dug in for defense.Belgium scored just three minutes in; Arthur van Dorens pass up the middle was expertly deflected in by Tanguy Cosyns. Argentine fans were silent only briefly.At its first penalty corner, Gonzalo Peillat, who scored a hat trick against Germany, faked and fed Ibarra, whose shot ricocheted in off two Belgians. Ignacio Ortiz blasted in his first goal of the competition, and by halftime it was 3-1 as Peillat had another short corner score, going low left for his tournament-leading 11th goal.Argentina didnt earn another corner. After Ortizs goal, right on the end of the first quarter, it didnt have another shot on goal for almost three quarters until the waning seconds.The Leones stacked their defense, and dared Belgium to score.The Belgians got only one, seconds from the end of the third quarter, through defender Gauthier Boccard. That brought the tension back, but Belgium was frustrated by Argentine goalie Juan Vivaldi, the deep defense, and mistakes on its own short corners.Belgium pulled its goalie with three minutes left, and it backfired. Argentinas Agustin Mazzilli intercepted a cross-field pass in enemy territory, left behind two defenders and walked the goal in with 16 seconds left, and sat on the backboard enjoying the view of teammates embracing, the Argentine fans going wild, and the Belgians collapsing to the turf.This gold medal is important, its going to help mens hockey a lot in Argentina, Mazzilli said. The girls have been really, really good for a long time. We need to improve the mens level so we will have more players at home.Belgiums silver was its first medal since it won bronze in its debut on home turf at the 1920 Antwerp Games.Germany came away with the bronze after beating the Netherlands 4-3 in a shootout. Goalkeeper Nicolas Jacobi starred, forcing Billy Bakker to shoot too late and stripping Sander de Wijn to secure Germanys 10th mens medal, second only to Indias 11.Two-time gold medalist and captain Moritz Furste, grateful to Jacobi for not having to go in the shootout, retired.The womens final is on Friday, matching defending two-time champion the Netherlands and Britain. Discount Air Max Shoes Wholesale . The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday that the veteran forward will return to the teams line-up on Saturday night when the Habs visit the Nashville Predators. Air Max Discount . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. http://www.cheapairmaxdiscount.com/ . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. Discount Air Max Shoes Wholesale China . Walcott is available for Saturdays home match against Southampton as Arsenal looks to extend its two-point lead at the top of the Premier League. The Gunners are currently the second highest scorers in the league but Wenger insists Walcott will add something extra to his team. Discount Air Max Shoes . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. LAS VEGAS -- Im selfish. Ill admit it.When it comes to watching sports on television or in person, its all about me. I want to be entertained. I want heroes and villains. I want to have someone to cheer, and someone to boo. I want to laugh. I want to curse. And every now and again I want to see a moment thrilling enough to force me to get up out of my seat.Poker used to provide that for me. It was the foundation for some of my favorite reality shows a decade ago. Not only would I watch the World Series of Poker every year, but I would watch the World Poker Tour on The Travel Channel, Celebrity Poker Showdown on Bravo, High Stakes Poker on GSN, Poker Dome Challenge on FSN, Poker After Dark on NBC and Im sure a handful of other now-defunct shows.I didnt necessarily watch because of the poker; I already got my fix of bad beats at the hands of my little brother, who like millions of others briefly wanted to become a professional poker player after watching Chris Moneymaker win the 2003 World Series of Poker. I watched because of the characters I had become connected to while watching all these shows. I developed this bond because they all talked at the table and revealed a human side of themselves I either liked (Antonio Esfandiari), disliked (Phil Hellmuth) or was simply apathetic to (Joe Hachem).It was similar to my love of pro wrestling. When it comes to the art of the squared circle, Im not a purist who watches for five-star matches replete with every move from an arm bar to a wheelbarrow. I love the guys who can get on the microphone and rile up the crowd.Like many others, I started to lose interest in poker as a televised sport before it was hit with its Black Friday in 2011. The shows became stale, there was never an influx of new young stars to mix things up and there were only so many times I could hear the same jokes from the same players and commentators.But I was told the World Series of Poker main event final table was the one time where poker once again felt like it did a decade ago. For three days in the fall it was once again a spectator sport, drawing big crowds for a nationally televised event worth millions of dollars for the nine players at the table.After attending this years November Nine, I came away yearning for the characters that made me fall in love with the game as I tried to stay awake until the final hand.No tickets were needed to watch the final table, but there were times when it felt like a library card might be needed. For the better part of Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, the quietest place in Las Vegas was the Penn & Teller Theater, which has been the home of the November Nine since 2008.The characters, drama and banter (ranging from collegial to contentious), which made poker such a fun sport to watch a decade ago, were completely absent inside an eerily quiet 1,475-seat theater where ushers roamed the aisles like teachers through a classroom to make sure no one was on their cell phones.The only voice that could be heard from the stage during each hand was that of Jack Effel, the vice president and tournament director for the WSOP who doubles as the play-by-play announcer for the in-house audience. The players had their own cheering sections inside the theater, which made up much of the live crowd that diminished with each day as players were eliminated.Michael Ruane, 28, had the most boisterous section, with many of his friends dressed as pro wrestlers from the 1990s. Las Vegas resident Qui Nguyen, 39, had a ton of local support as they chanted, Who win? Qui Nguyen! each time he collected chips. And those cheering for Kenny Hallaert, 34, mixed in some European soccer chants. But people watching a crowd filled with friends and family is only interesting to a certain point.I knew I wouldnt have any real connection to the November Nine coming into the final table, but the truth is I had no real connection to them after watching them play for a dozen hours either.dddddddddddd Its inherently hard to connect to people that dont say anything, or show any emotion.The oldest and most recognizable player at the final table, and the chip leader when play began, was 50-year old Cliff JohnnyBax Josephy, who had previously won two WSOP bracelets. While normally engaging, Josephy was mostly silent for the first two days and even went against the grain by wearing glasses and a hat on the final day, which he never does and previously said he was against.Theres more tension at the final table, Josephy said. Everyone is tense. Theyre playing for money that many people havent seen in their lives. Its understandable that people dont talk but everyone is friendly. Everyone likes each other. This is a group of guys that really like each other. Everyone is nice.Effel echoed those sentiments after the second day of play as the chips for the final three players, Josephy, Gordon Vayo and Nguyen, the eventual winner, were put away.When youre playing for $8 million youre paying attention to every little thing that you do, Effel said. Youre hoping somebody else makes a mistake so you can capitalize on their mistakes. Theyre more interested in playing poker than talking.It makes sense, of course, but it also makes me nostalgic for a time where the stakes didnt make players go into their shells. The walkway leading into the Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio in Las Vegas is lined with oversized photographs of past WSOP main event champions. I didnt recognize the past eight champions, all in their 20s, who looked more like fraternity pledges than poker champions. But I stopped when I got to Jamie Golds photo. Ten years ago Gold, who was a talent agent turned television producer, won the 2006 WSOP main event and $12 million, still a record, while outlasting a field of 8,773 entrants -- also a record. It was the high water mark of a game that would soon see a significant dip in interest and participation.Gold was an antagonist and a polarizing figure during his improbable run a decade ago, and one of my favorite players to watch. He talked big while bluffing with nothing, sweet-talked players into reluctantly folding better hands by telling them he would show them his hand and even flashed one of his cards to Michael Binger at the final table, causing Binger to lay down the winning hand. The reasons his antics were frowned upon by purists were the same reasons I enjoyed watching him play.You need to have players talking to have heroes and villains, Gold told me over the phone after the first day of the final table. Once you take away the character side of it, youre killing the entertainment value and the reason why advertisers, sponsors and viewers would want to watch. I wasnt that special, but I had an opportunity to create a character by speaking. Viewers want to watch personalities and have a storyline and an arc play out on television. For the most part, poker on television has become this mundane, mind-numbing endeavor.Even worse than the television viewing experience, however, is the live viewing experience. At least viewers at home are able to see the players hands while listening to the entertaining trio of Lon McEachern, Norman Chad and Esfandiari in the broadcast booth. But not even the personalities of the announcers can make up for the disconnect between the viewers and the players at the table.Until that connection can once again be made, my poker needs will continue to be met away from my television -- relegated instead to losing money to my little brother. Cheap Authentic Jerseys Discount NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys Cheap NFL Autographed Jerseys China Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Store China Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Throwback Jerseys Cheap Stitched Jerseys China NFL Hoodies Cheap Authentic Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China Camo China NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China ' ' '