Keep Up To Date With Our Feeds

Oh, You Mean THAT Orel Hershiser!


2008-01-22 16:43:49
By: Gene Bromberg

NBC has released the names of the 64 players who will compete in the 2008 National Heads-Up Poker Championship. Phil Hellmuth, who won the 2005 Heads-Up Championship, received an invite. As did Annie Duke. Indeed the list is packed with just about every big name in poker, or at least every big name in poker who chose to pay the $20,000 entry fee. And sprinkled throughout the field are a few celebrities who are familiar faces in the poker world. Don Cheadle, Jason Alexander, Brad Garrett, Orel Hershiser...

Orel Hershiser?

Yes, the former Los Angeles Dodger pitcher and current ESPN baseball analyst was among those selected to compete for one of the most prestigious titles in poker. Can't say I'm sure why Hershiser was picked, as I don't recall him playing in any other big events, though I was able to find some evidence that he's indeed a poker player. According to his Wikipedia entry Hershiser competed in the 2007 World Series of Blackjack--maybe he plays Blackjack at UB, anyone know his screen name? Anyone?

Nothing personal against Hershiser, of course, who was the MVP of the 1988 World Series (of Baseball). His selection does seem a bit odd as he works for ESPN, which is owned by Disney and is therefore a competitor of NBC's. You'd think that once the brackets are announced the player who draws Hershiser will let go a sigh of relief, thankful that he escaped a first-round matchup against, oh, Phil Hellmuth. Then again, squaring off against a guy who pitched 59 consecutive scoreless innings might not be a walk in the park. The man knows how to compete. How well he plays heads-up poker, that we'll have to wait and see.


Permalink: http://www.ultimatebet.com/poker-blog-post/Oh-You-Mean-THAT-Orel-Hershiser/2429