Ace High_Pino at PokerOwnage was at it again over the weekend with his almost first out of the gates news breaking story regarding ePassporte and follow-ups.

ePassporte, a global processor of online finances, ceases being a deposit option at online poker rooms in the US. The company used to allow instant transfers of money from checking accounts, credit and debit cards but they are following in NETeller's place in "closing its doors" to the US.

For more in-depth detail, please see the following links at PokerOwnage:

ePassporte Shutting Down to U.S. Online Poker Players?

Poker Rumor Confirmed: ePassporte Is Shutting Down To U.S. Poker Players.

Michael J. Garcia: Online Poker Player Enemy #1 - Again.

Poker Echecks are quickly picking up the pieces and getting the word out there about their services. Not all are utilizing PokerEchecks, but two prominent online poker rooms do, FullTiltPoker.com and PokerStars.com.

The cool thing about Poker Echecks is they don't charge any type of fees to their depositors. Also, as soon as you deposit your funds they are immediately available for you to play. ePassporte however, charged both deposit and withdrawal fees and on average it took around 2 days for you to play.

Sport Tidbits:

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) is the primary culprit in the closing of ePassporte and others like them. It was signed into US Law via the Safe Port Act on October 13, 2006 by President George W. Bush. The UIGEA was basically slipped into the port security act without really being read.

The UIGEA states that US based financial institutions are not allowed to transfer monies from online casinos to US players. The Act itself doesn't make prevent US Players from online gambling, it just makes it more challenging due to extremely limited options to deposit and transfer funds.

Alyssa Milano has her own line of MLB sportswear apparel - who knew? (Well, I didn't until just a few minutes ago!).

I was browsing the online MLB store and I came across Milano's line of MLB fashion sportswear. Wow, was I impressed. Milano has numerous styles to choose from ranging from sporty to glamour! This hot chick certainly found a really cool niche to get herself into in the world of fashion.

The fashion line has been available since Spring, 2007. I'm still in shock, every year my Mom and I support my sons and their baseball teams by trying to wear something that represents their team. Most sporting good stores as you know selling sportswear memorabilia have such boring styles of t-shirts and tees, most of which are unflattering to a chick's silhouette.

Pardon this old news if you will, but perhaps there are some hot chicks out there like myself who have been clueless about Milano's adorable sports team apparel line for women!!

I chose to show two of Milano's sportswear apparel representing my favorite So Cal team (not to mention the name of two of my boys' Little League teams) the LA Angels!

I'm sure all you guys out there will appreciate her line as well - I know my boyfriend sure can't wait to see me rockin' one of her cool outfits with some sexy stilettos to pair up with! (Yes - even at Little League games or Major League games - I'm sporting the stilettos!)

Sport Tidbits:

Alyssa Milano's fashion sportswear line is called TouchTM. The sports clothing line has also extended into a brand of jewelry which launched at the end of Summer, 2007. Very Cool!

It looks like we'll be seeing the Vert Event after all at the 2008 X Games which my kids, who are avid skaters, are definitely happy to hear!

ESPN has made the decision to keep the competition for one last year and then it will be phased out for the 2009 X Games.

ESPN has been held many discussions with both the X Games Skateboard competitors and BMX competitors who compete in vert and these riders were very vocal in their desire to compete one last time in this competition.

For many, it will be sad that the Vert skateboarding event is on its way out the door. Its two-fold, one being there hasn't been much of an interest in watching Vert on ESPN the last four years and in terms of big name sponsorships, that has been bad news. As with anything, the "dollar" is behind the demise of the Vert. The second being the geographical challenge; vert ramps exist in So Cal.

According to X Games General Manager, Chris Stiepock, "It's time. It's been time. ESPN's always a little slow on the uptake. It's no secret that the vert field has stayed the same for the last decade. It's no secret that there aren't any vert ramps for kids to ride outside Southern California. If you want a vert career, you have to move there."

The new discipline ESPN is suggesting to replace Vert in the 2009 X Games would be a SuperPark course, that basically encompasses a skatepark like feel. Athletes have already voiced their wishes for a halfpipe competition instead. ESPN states they will include athletes in their decisions and are openly willing to listen to their considerations. Bottom-line, ESPN prides themselves on their commitment to the X Games athletes.

Sport Tidbits:

There are many different styles of skateboarding which lends to different types of skateboard competitions. These include Vert, Street and Freestyle. The events are judged on a point system on a skater's overall routines and tricks. Style, speed, difficulty, variety, continuity and control are the categories athletes receive points in.

Vert Events have been around longer than Street Events. Spectators love watching these events because Vert is extreme and risky.

Some top name Professional Skateboarders whose names you probably recognize who ride Vert include celebrities, Shaun White (hometown Carlsbad, California), Bob Burnquist, (hometown, Sao Paulo, Brazil) Pierre -Luc Gagnon (hometown, Carlsbad, California), Andy MacDonald (hometown, San Diego, California) and Bucky Lasek, hometown, Baltimore, Maryland.

Miss California Pageant a sport? Heck yeah -have you seen the competition these glamour chicks have to go through? Also, these chicks are very fit and nowadays are very athletic. And think about this, in sports, people are judged on their athletic ability and the fitness of their body. It takes a bit of athletic ability to walk the pageant runway in stilettos! Beauty Pageants can also be compared to sports because competitors are viewed by their representative state or country with a sense pride.

Okay, on with the story…………

Today, Christina Silva, the "almost" 2008 Miss California filed a lawsuit against the Miss California Pageant for a monstrous error when she was "accidentally" crowned Miss California during last November's pageant.

Four days after being crowned Miss California, she was notified that due to human error, she was not the winner after all. Rumor has it that the director of the pageant was more interested in having the all American girl look in the winner and because she is Ecuadoran and Mexican, she didn't fit the bill. The crown was then handed over to Raquel Beezley who has the majority of Caucasian decent and a quarter Filipino.

The lawsuit is seeking retribution for "public humiliation, mental anguish and distress, lost opportunities, lost prizes and lost monies." $500,000 in damages is being sought by Silva who feels her civil rights have been violated. State Pageant Director, Keith Lewis stated, ", "We support Christina in her quest to seek the truth," he said earlier. "At the end of the road, she won't find an ounce of discrimination, preferential treatment or impropriety. What she will find is simple human error."

Lewis has stated, "We support Christina in her quest to seek the truth," he said earlier. "At the end of the road, she won't find an ounce of discrimination, preferential treatment or impropriety. What she will find is simple human error."

Friday night, 2008 Miss California Raquel Beezley will be competing for the covenant title of Miss USA in a live show from the town of glitz and glamour of Las Vegas.

Good Luck Raquel! ("For it's root, root, root for the home team")

Bill Buckner receives a four minute ovation from the sold out Fenway Park fans at the Boston Red Sox home game opener.

Rewind to 1986, the year the Boston Red Sox had the chance to break "The Curse of The Bambino". A dribbler was hit to first base and Bill Buckner missed the ball and ended up costing the Red Sox the World Series. The City of Boston was ruthless and Buckner became in a sense a hated man. The media ripped him to shreds, and Buckner even began receiving death threats.

Buckner basically went into hiding from all of the abuse he received for what many viewed as his fault for that losing day. He left the Boston in 1987 to play for the LA Angels. Buckner then went on to play for the Kansas City Royals in 1988. The first baseman came back to play for the Red Sox in 1990, but he was still so damaged emotionally, he could really never get his mental game back and his last game was May 30th, 1990. He moved his family across the country to an Idaho ranch and became a real estate investor and name his first housing subdivision, Fenway Park.

Today at the Red Sox home game opener and Bill Buckner was invited to throw out the first pitch. In an emotional interview with the media shown on ESPN tonight, Buckner said, "I really had to forgive not the fans of Boston per se, but I would have to say, in my heart, I had to forgive the media for what they put me and my family through. So I've done that. I'm over that. And I'm just happy that I just try to think of the positive. The happy things."

The story really tugged at this SoCalSportsChick's heart strings because missing a ball like that could've happened to any Major League ballplayer. Buckner could have had a long standing career in Major League baseball and it is just so very sad that his future as a ballplayer was cut short due to spiteful people and the way the public often treats celebrities or sports players when they make a mistake.

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Tonight's game also had The Red Sox receiving their 2007 World Series rings which was their second world series rings in just four years. They went on to play their first home game at Fenway Park against the Detroit Tigers. Victory prevailed as the Red Sox beat the Tigers 5 to 0!

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Sport Tidbits:

"Curse of The Bambino"

In 1918, the Red Sox won their 5th World Series title. Babe Ruth led the way to success. In 1920, the Red Sox traded Ruth to the New York Yankees, who by the way had never won the title. The Yankees went on to win 26 World Titles and are now a world-renowned team of any sport.

It would be an astonishing 86 years later that the Boston Red Sox would win a World Series Title against the Saint Louis Cardinals and so the "The Curse of The Bambino" was lifted. To this day, many fans believe the Lunar Eclipse that hung over the ballpark that winning night attributed to the win and several other fans believe it was Babe Ruth hovering from the heavens and releasing the Red Sox of the curse.

Could the MLB Trade rumors be true that that LA Angels might trade relief pitcher, Francisco Rodriguez?

Back in February, Rodriguez was not offered his requested 12.5 Million dollar salary but rather only was offered $10 Million to continue to playing for the Los Angeles Angels. The negotiations had the closer seeking a long-term contract for the first time with the Angels. Previous years had Rodriguez only signing one year contracts even though he was offered longer ones.

Perhaps the offer may have been a lot stronger for the 26 year old from Venezuela had he pitched a better 2007 season in which he didn't fare to well.

It's well known that Rodriguez is entertaining thoughts of becoming a free agent after the 2008 season. MLB rumors are abound whether or not other teams will be interested in signing him if they know he is going to be shopping himself around. The answer to that would be yes because after all Major Leaue Baseball is big business. The interested teams are going to be thinking about what they are going to do to outbid another team, how much they are going to offer him and bottom-line â€" is he worth it.

Sport Tidbits:

Last night's game against the Cleveland Indians, found Francisco Rodriguez with weak legs and it affected his fastball. He told the Los Angeles Times, "I might need to give it a couple of days." He's suffering from soreness in both of his ankles from one injury back in August when he landed on a hole on the pitcher's mound and another injury from of all things, a minor fall in the dugout.

Gotta watch out for those dugout steps! See my previous post, Random Injury Places Navarro Out of Baseball Commission.

Rumor has it that two photos are in the hands of IRS agent Jeff Novitzy tying Roger Clemens to the 1998 Jose Canseco's party that Clemens is alleged to have attended.

It is unknown at this point is whether or not the photographs of these baseball players are date and time stamped. Special Agent Novitzy is interested in speaking with Canseco regarding the photos. It is reported that an eleven-year old boy had separate pics taken of himself with the two Major League Baseball players at different times during the party.