But Humberto … he should know better. He used to be beloved until he annoyed the fuck out of everyone. Too bad he’s actually a pretty good player.

If the game is taken up by more people as a result of the coverage well that can’t be a bad thing and for every Humberto there’s likely to be a thousand Herberts.

And so does a good ol fashioned ass beating.

Don’t know if it’s true or not, but I heard a story once about a young pro – whose initials are Scott Fischman – who carried on to the point of annoyance when he busted someone out of a tournament. T.J. Cloutier pulled him aside and said something to the effect of, “You do NOT act like that when you’ve just ended someone’s tournament life.”

I think the concern is that this kind of behavior will initiate a hundredth monkey effect – that other young players will pick up on that kind of behavior and imitate it, until it has spread and become the norm.

Maybe the pros can help. If members of the poker community, especially the pros, unite in their universal contempt of such antics – and possibly take it upon themselves to do what T.J. did to Fischman — maybe the word will get around that such behavior is NOT cool. A social freeze-out sometimes works wonders.

How pissed is Tom going to be when RaiNKhaN gets a sponsorship deal with Red Bull?

First, let me say that I’m not a professional writer like some of you’s. Therefore, maybe I did not convey my point real well.

Here’s what I meant to say. Assholes suck. People who hyper-celebrate when someone just got knocked out of the most important event of the year are assholes. I hate to see assholes get all of the attention, because I hate assholes.

Uncle Ray, thanks for the dead horse beating idea at a featured table. It should have made my list the first time.

Randy, I guess using my arm to emulate a swinging elephant trunk was a little too much exuberance for beating you out of a free meal. Maybe just a quiet little booyah would have been more appropriate.

Thanks everybody for your comments, and BJ, I love your energy, you are the man.

Booyah oo oo aa aa. I’m eating a banana now.

I know there is a built-in sponsor, the entry fee, so maybe you don’t need new viewers. But public perception will be that the norm is to be obnoxious, not courteous and good a sportsman like you normally experience.

If you don’t need new viewers and new players that play the game in a sportsmanlike way, then you’re right. But if it is going to grow, new blood is always necessary. And if the only new blood has the perception that being obnoxious is the only way to fame and fortune in the world of poker, then it will ultimately pervade other events…and final tables…and I don’t think that’s the direction you want the game to go.

And that takes us full circle, I think, because Tom’s original point before all the comments were made seemed to be that he was getting sick of the idiocy that is becoming more and more common.

Okay, I’m done. I’ve probably said too much. I’m sorry I’m beating a dead horse (which someone may do at next year’s main event).

But maybe he shoulda gotten a 10-yard penalty for excessive end-zone celebration.

While I pretty much agree with BJ, we shouldn’t forget how extreme some of the celebrations really were. Not to be a safety asshole, but when RaiNKhaN climbed the feature table scaffolding and began to shake like Donkey Kong (which I don’t think has been shown on TV yet) that put the whole integrity of the tournament at stake. I mean I am sure that set-up hadn’t been tested to withstand that sort of activity. Can you imagine had something big and heavy come crashing down onto a table full of chips and people?

Sure, there is poker going on, and if you can block out the stupidity, you can see some interesting hands and the progression of the event. But it’s difficult when they put the goofballs at the feature table and continually focus on them.

I’ll agree that most players in poker are professional and conduct themselves with class, but it does seem to be the trend for young, American players (some of them) to act without any regard for other players or for the tradition of the game.

WPT events are huge, but there are no costumes or other idiocy on day ones. The prelim WSOP events do not have these problems either. It is part of the carnival atmosphere of the Main Event, and I can accept that (even if I don’t enjoy it).

But to say that the antics of Hevad Khan and Humberto Brenes are indicative of the state of poker is highly misleading. With fields this large, there are always going to be a few exceptions, but the overall poker sportsmanship that I see week in and week out on the WPT is mostly professional.

The antics are just annoying and absolutely appear to anyone with sense as camera posturing. At one point while watching this year’s main event, I even wondered out loud to my son, “I wonder if they (ESPN or someone else) are telling this guy to keep up that junk for tv ratings?”.

Speaking of questionable sportsmanship, I’d like to point out that I may have been the only person at the 2007 WSOP who bought Tom Schneider a meal (and did so AFTER he had POY locked up). I say “questionable sportsmanship” because I was forced to do so after losing a rigged game of “1 to 1,000″ proposed by Dan. I’m not sure the ESPN cameras caught Dan and Tom’s reactions to winning, but they were bush-league I can assure you.

The WPT only shows the final table so most of the idiocy has already been dispensed with.

And Jen, you are totally correct. It seems that too many people either forgot or never learned that to be a good sport you need to not be a sore loser AND not be an obnoxious winner.

But how do we teach our kids that when we glorify the antics of guys like TO, Randy Moss, (hell, half of the wide receivers in the NFL), many MLB pitchers (see Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs), many MLB batters admiring their home runs (see Aramis Ramirez of the Cubs)and any other “look at me” athlete? Don’t even get me started on basketball players!!

It is now in our YouTube culture to make a spectacle of yourself. It’s sad, really sad.

Play like a bot/Don’t Speak English/Be able to read your name on back of belt + Be an asshat on national television = Pokerstars noticing you.

So how did Daniel get there? Oh yeah…his was as easy as FCP getting bought by Pokerstars. Glad he did not have to stoop as low as being an asshat on tv.

I am glad Tom has come out and stated his opinion on this. Tired of hearing the other pros state things like “Oh that is just how he expresses himself since his English is not that great.”

I don’t know a lick of Spanish but I can assure you if I were in an event way down south I would not be “taunting” my opponent with a donkey figurine and yelling “Don-Key! Don-Key! HeeeHaw! How do you say Don-Key in English?! Edwardo!”

Ed