During the summer past, I frequented a couple of casinos from time to time.  At one casino I had really good luck for the most part.  At the other casino, I couldn’t win to save my life.  Oh, there were brief moments where I would start to dent their chip trays, but those were regularly followed by horrible losing streaks. 

After about 6 losing trips in succession to the “bad casino”, I declared at the blackjack table that if I walked away a loser today, I will rip my players card to shreds and never darken the doorway of this den of de-capalization again!  Well, I didn’t say it exactly like that, but the message was clear.  I was making my last stand.  I lost. 

I tipped the dealer the two dollar chips I had left, and proclaimed again that I wouldn’t be back. 

About two weeks later I went to the casino I had won at, and I won.  I won in ridiculous ways.  Drawing 5 card 21’s.  Doubling down, getting dealt a 3 and winning anyway.  My luck was at full boil.  I walked out the door with their money.  A robber without a gun. 

When I got in my car to head home I had a crazy idea. I thought, hey I’m ahead.  I’m feeling lucky.  Maybe I should go back to that saw-dust clip-joint casino where I have lost every time right now while I am hot.  Yes, now is the time.  So despite my public proclamation, just weeks earlier, which was made in a feeble attempt to force myself away from the losing casino for good, I was going back.  But I had a plan.  

I was not going to sit there and let them chip away at my days profit.  I was going to walk in and put $100 on blackjack.  If it lost, I was to walk directly out the door.  If it won I was going to let it ride.  If that won I would put $200 in my pocket and let the other $200 ride.  If I won that I walk out with $500 profit.  And that is exactly what I did.  I walked in to a nearly empty game pit, just one slumped over player who had taken a beating by the way he looked, and the sneers of the pit boss who had been within ear-shot of my proclamation.  A dealer asked “what did that guy say” in a sarcastic tone.  I looked directly at him, gave him a smug smile a nod and a knowing wink.  Because I knew it was my day today.  I could feel it.  It was.  I dropped their jaws.  Loser turned winner. 

It was one of the most awesome moments in my life.  I had a gut instinct.  I had a plan.  The plan worked.  I haven’t been back to that casino since.  Nice and tidy. 

The reality is that I got really really lucky.  But I struck when the iron was hot.  And I listened to that little voice in my head that was trying to push me in the right direction.  I followed my instincts.  If only I could do this in every situation in my life every day.  If only I would have listened to that voice that said “psst, start Mendenhall this week.”   

Yeah, I drafted Mendenhall on both of my WCOFF teams, started in neither.  Julius Jones 5 points were not quite as satisfying as Mendenhall’s 33 would have been. 

But the good news is that Rashard Mendenhall appears to be turning into a football player right before our eyes. That is what my eyeballs and that “little voice” are telling me.  This is the same “little voice” that told me to draft him even though he still looked like a mess at the end of pre-season.  I have to tell you, I was really starting to wonder if I had blown those picks.  But the “little voice” was telling me not to even think about turning him loose. 

Mendenhall was part of my “draft stud receivers and pile up as many bodies at running back as you can” strategy.  And amazingly enough the results have been good despite the fact that my stud receivers haven’t really lived up to their billing.  Over the last few weeks I have seen many of my draft seedlings start to sprout.  Tashard Choice, Jerome Harrison, Mendenhall, Pierre Thomas, Moreno.  While Julius Jones and Cedric Benson have been anchoring my teams at running back to this point, my depth has erupted.  Patience rewarded.  Apparently.  

I have that same feeling I had before I walked into that saw-dust casino.  My teams have been hanging in there pretty well even with holes at running back.  Now that those might have magically filled, it’s ON now! 

But as with everything in life, with every solution comes a problem.  It just struck me.  Now I have to figure out which one of these guys I start every week. 

Oh crap.