Betting and Gambling on the Super Bowl

I will not be watching the Super Bowl alone this afternoon. How about you? A you a Football Fan?  Are you betting on line? I am not surprised if you are.

Betting on line is legal in 30 states, but not yet in California. Anyway, I am still watching the game in spite of the fact that two of my favorite teams ( SFO and KC) lost their divisional championship play offs to the Rams( LA) and Bengals ( Cincinnati) respectively. We have resided in KC for 5 years and more than 3 decades in Northern California, if you are curious for the reasons why I love the Chiefs and the 49 Niners.  

This year super bowl is historic in many ways. 

 Super Bowl LVI between the Cincinnati Bengals (+4)

is set to make history, as it will be the lowest-seeded Super Bowl matchup in the game’s 56-year history.

Both the Bengals and Rams entered the postseason as their conference’s No. 4 seed. Cincinnati finished the regular season 10-7 and as NFC North Champions, while LA finished 12-5 as NFC West champions.

Super Bowl LVI will be the first Super Bowl ever without at least one No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 seed. Per Yahoo Sports, it surpasses 2011’s Super Bowl XLV between the Green Bay Packers, who were the No. 6 seed in the NFC and Pittsburgh Steelers, who were the No. 2 seed in the AFC as the highest-seeded Super Bowl in history.

 https://www.legalsportsreport.com/sports-betting/super-bowl/ 

 Here's the history of the Super Bowl (Wikipedia):

 The Super Bowl's origins lie in the creation of the American Football League (AFL) in 1960. Started by a group of businessmen who wanted their own pro football franchises but were frustrated by the NFL's unwillingness to expand, the AFL forged ahead as an alternative league playing a more wide-open brand of football.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl 

Speaking of Football, here's an excerpt from my article on my Hate and Love of Football.

" Having been born and raised in the Philippines until I was 23 years old, the game called American Football was not in my vocabulary when I was a teenager. It was only in 1960 when I attended graduate school at the University of Illinois that I learned what the game is all about. To me it is a very complicated game, compared to basketball or baseball the sports that I am familiar with. However, it was not after I finished my graduate studies, that I learned to enjoy this game. At first it was the college football, followed by the professional football( NFL) and later on the high school football games that I followed. I started following high school games when my youngest son started to play in the Pee Wee league (Grades 7 to 8) and then later on the Junior Varsity team( Grades 9 to 10).

After the kids went to college, my wife and I lost interest in both the high school and college games. The only exception was the annual rivalry between the UC Berkeley Team( The Bears) versus Standford, known as the Big Game. This was because our youngest daughter was a cheer leader for UC Berkeley. It was only in the 1980 to 1990 when we move to the San Francisco Bay Area that my wife and I became avid fans of the SF 49's team. The names Joe Montana and Steve Young are names of SF quarterbacks that will always linger in our memories.

Joe Montana was the SF quarterback that made me love the game of American Football. Montana started his NFL career in 1979 with San Francisco, where he played for the next 14 seasons. Traded before the 1993 season, he spent his final two years in the league with Kansas City. While a member of the 49ers, Montana started in four Super Bowl games and won all of them. Montana was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000, his first year of eligibility".

For the whole article read:

https://planningtovisitthephilippines.blogspot.com/2019/02/our-love-and-hate-of-american-football.html

 

Power of the Dog and Nightmare Alley-Two of My Favorite Movies

Two of my favorite movies that I have just enjoyed received several Oscar nominations the other day. Power of the Dog receive the most nomination(12) and Nightmare Alley had 4 nominations. Power of the Dog is streaming on Netflix and Nightmare Alley on Hulu.  I highly recommend these two movies if you have not viewed them. https://www.google.com/search?channel=fs&client=ubuntu&q=oscar+nominations+2022

From Wikipedia: The Power of the Dog is a 2021 Western psychological drama film written and directed by Jane Campion. It is based on Thomas Savage's 1967 novel of the same name. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and Kodi Smit-McPhee. Shot mostly across rural Otago, New Zealand, the film is an international co-production between New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. The Power of the Dog covers themes such as love, grief, resentment, jealousy, and human sexuality.

The Power of the Dog had its world premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2021, where Campion won the Silver Lion for Best Direction. The film had a limited theatrical release in November 2021, and was released to stream worldwide on Netflix on December 1, 2021. The Power of the Dog received universal acclaim from critics, who praised Campion's direction and screenplay, cinematography, score, and performances of the four leads. It was highly regarded as one of the best films of 2021 by multiple top-ten lists.

It has received many accolades including a leading 12 nominations at the 94th Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and was named one of the best films of 2021 by the American Film Institute. It also received seven nominations at the 79th Golden Globe Awards, winning Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for Smit-McPhee and Best Director for Campion, and 10 nominations at the 27th Critics' Choice Awards, including Best Picture. 

 

In 1940s New York, down-on-his-luck Stanton Carlisle endears himself to a clairvoyant and her mentalist husband at a traveling carnival. Using newly acquired knowledge, Carlisle crafts a golden ticket to success by swindling the elite and wealthy. Hoping for a big score, he soon hatches a scheme to con a dangerous tycoon with help from a mysterious psychiatrist who might be his most formidable opponent yet.https://www.unilad.co.uk/celebrity/bradley-cooper-says-filming-full-frontal-nude-scenes-for-six-hours-was-pretty-heavy

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-10411737/Bradley-Cooper-says-filming-frontal-nude-scenes-Nightmare-Alley-intense.html 

 

https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/mexican-directors-film-nightmare-alley-earns-4-oscar-nominations/ 

My Prediction: Power of the Dog will win the Best Picture Oscar for 2022.

 

Figure Skating in the Winter Olympics

 

Last night Nathan Chen gold medal performance in Beijing inspired me to search for the history of Figure Skating. I enjoyed very much Chen's performance ( see video), but I was more moved by Jason Brown emotional free skate ( 6th place finish) to the music of Schindler's List.    https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/sports/beijing-winter-olympics/watch-nathan-chens-gold-medal-winning-free-skate/2754676/

 

Jason Brown-Figure Skating is a Lonely Sport

For complete details on the history of Figure Skating visit the following site:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_skating 

For movies about Figure Skating read:

https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/photo-gallery/47090633/image/47090644/I-Tonya

 

Other TV Trivia Game Shows Similar to Jeopardy

I have enjoyed Jeopardy since 1984 with Alex Trebek( RIP) as host. Just recently I have followed the Chase hosting by Ken Jennings also on ABC. I was curious what other TV shows are available similar to Jeopardy. 

In the link below are 10 TV shows available for Streaming on Hulu, Netflix and other streaming sites. One on the list that I have enjoyed are the shows How to Become a Millionaire and Jeopardy-the Greatest of All-Time. 

"When it comes to game shows, only a few have the prestigious legacy of NBC's Jeopardy. Started back in 1964, it's likely more well-known thanks to its revival, which premiered in 1984 with Alex Trebek as the host. The brainy series, which fields a series of historical, literary, and pop culture references to its contestants and requires them to answer in the form of a question, is both smart and accessible, intellectual and broadly-appealing. It's hard to find too many games shows with that crossover appeal. But Jeopardy has done it, and it gained a massive audience thanks to that celebrated mixture".

Here are some game shows you can watch and/or stream if you love Jeopardy.

Jeopardy: The Greatest Of All-Time (Hulu)

If you're a Jeopardy super-fan, then you'll definitely want to check out Jeopardy: The Greatest Of All-Time. In this spin-off game show, which is also hosted by Alex Trebek, three of the long-winning Jeopardy contestants — Ken Jennings, James Holzhauer, and Brad Rutter — compete against one another with a top prize of a million dollars, as well as the claim that they're the GOAT (Great of All-Time) of Jeopardy. The show ran for four episodes back in January of this year, which means that it's a pretty quick binge if you want to check it out. All four episodes, which aired on primetime on ABC, can be found on Hulu. Check it out to find out for yourself who is truly the greatest Jeopardy player of all-time — though there's a chance you already know the answer to that one.

Stream It On Hulu.

Source:  https://www.cinemablend.com/television/2496345/game-shows-to-watch-or-stream-if-you-love-jeopardy

Not listed in the above link is the ABC show-The Chase as follows:

https://abc.com/shows/the-chase

 

The End of Amy Schneider 40-Day Winning Streak on Jeopardy

I have been a fan of the TV Show, Jeopardy on ABC for a number of years. However last year and this year 40 day winning streak of Amy Schneider has really attracted my attention. Her winning streak has captivated the nation and the more than 11 million fans of Jeopardy. Her 40-day winning streak ended last Jan 26th last month.

 Amy is an engineering manager from Oakland, California. She made history as the first woman to win $1 million on the game show and the first transgender contestant to qualify for the Tournament of Champions.

In case you have not heard of Amy Schneider here's a write up of her biography and jeopardy achievements from Wikipedia. 

Amy Schneider is an American engineering manager and game show contestant. She held a 40-game winning streak on the game show Jeopardy! from November 2021 to January 2022, the second-longest win streak behind only Ken Jennings (74 games), who hosted the show as she competed. She is the most successful woman to ever compete on the show, both in terms of her streak and $1.3 million in winnings.

Schneider is known for her skill in the Final Jeopardy! round, having responded incorrectly only eleven times in her run. She lives in Oakland, California. Across all American game shows, she is the eleventh highest-earning contestant of all time.

Schneider is a trans woman. Throughout her run on Jeopardy!, she expressed admiration for past champions Ken Jennings, James Holzhauer, Matt Amodio, and Julia Collins. On a January 2022 episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Schneider said that she hoped Jennings would assume the permanent hosting position of the program, citing his comforting and empathetic presence.

Jeopardy! streak

Schneider's first victory occurred on the November 17, 2021 episode, dethroning five-day champion Andrew He. In the following 14 games, she only missed one Final Jeopardy! question. She missed a second in her 16th win. In total, Schneider has won over $1 million on Jeopardy!, the fifth-most winnings of any contestant on the show in all play. Schneider is the first openly transgender contestant to qualify for the Tournament of Champions. Her winning streak came one year after the first openly transgender contestant, Kate Freeman, competed and won on the show.  Schneider, who viewed Freeman's victory and several other trans contestants' losing appearances on the show as inspiration, has described the significance of having a trans identity: "The fact is, I don't actually think about being trans all that often, and so when appearing on national television, I wanted to represent that part of my identity accurately: as important, but also relatively minor." After passing Matt Amodio's 38-game winning streak in the episode aired on January 24, 2022, Schneider took second place for the most consecutive wins in Jeopardy! history, at 39, only behind Ken Jennings' 74 consecutive wins.

Schneider was defeated in her 41st episode, aired on January 26, 2022, finishing in second place to Rhone Talsma, a librarian from Chicago, Illinois. Schneider's winnings totaled over $1,300,000, ranking her fourth in most money won in regular-season play behind Jennings, James Holzhauer, and Amodio.

For details read this link:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2022/01/27/jeopardy-winner-amy-schneider-loses-rhone-talsma/9227733002/

 

Home is Not a Place, But in the Heart-Chateau Du Mer Video

 

Our Second Home in the Philippines-Chateau Du Mer- Boac, Marinduque

The homily in last Sunday's TV Mass( Heart of the Nation.org) was about Home, Love and Fear. The priest said that the opposite of love is not hate, but fear. The sermon reminded me of my favorite quote : Home is not a Place, but in the Heart. 

In this article, I like to list some of my favorite quotes about HOME.  https://www.shutterfly.com/ideas/quotes-about-home/

• “Home is where our story begins…”
• “Home is the starting place of love, hope and dreams.”
• “The magic thing about home is that it feels good to leave, and it feels even better to come back.”
• “Home is where love resides, memories are created, friends always belong, and laughter never ends.”
• “A house is made of bricks and beams. A home is made of hopes and dreams.”
• “Home is not a place…it’s a feeling.”
• “With you, I am home.”
• “What I love most about my home is who I share it with.”
• “There is nothing more important than a good, safe, secure home.”
• “Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to.”
• “There’s no place like home.”
• “Where we love is home- home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.”
• “In this home… We do second chances. We do real. We do mistakes. We do I’m sorrys. We do loud really well. We do hugs. We do together best of all.”
• “May your home always be too small to hold all of your friends.”
• “The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.”
• “You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.”
• “Bless out house as we come and go. Bless our home as the children grow. Bless our families as they gather in. Bless our home with love and friends.”
• “Home is a shelter from storms-all sorts of storms.”-William J. Bennett
• “Home is where one starts from.” –T.S. Eliot
•  
• Speaking of Home as a Place, here's an old article about the places where had a Home during our Residence here in the US.
•   https://livinginmarinduquephilippines.blogspot.com/2019/07/our-twelve-moves-in-forty-two-years-in.html