YOU KNOW WHAT 7:22 MEANS?

SO I'M PUTTING ICE IN MY GLASS JUST NOW AND GUESS WHAT TIME IT IS?
NO REALLY I BET THE TITLE MEANS NOTHING TO YOU AND ALL YOU WANT TO KNOW IS WHAT TIME I WAS PUTTING ICE INTO MY GLASS... LEMME TELL YA... ITS A WINNING HAND.

NOW ITS 7:27P AND THE MOMENT HAS PASSED BUT I HAVE TO REWIND MY DAY A BIT FOR YA ALLLLL THE WAY BACK TO 12:00:01AM TODAY, 2/7/12. AND YET JUST NOW IT HIT ME THAT 7:27 IS AN EVEN BETTER HAND, BUT I KEEP MY POKER FACE SO YOU CAN'T READ MY, CAN'T READ MY...

I AM ASLEEP JUST FINE LAST NIGHT WITH THE RIGHT COMBO OF MUSCLE RELAXERS, LUNESTA, AND BENADRYL...  MY ALARM GOES OFF AT MIDNIGHT. IT BEEPS ONCE BUT BOTHERS ME ENOUGH TO AT LEAST GET UP AND DRAIN MY BLADDER. I QUICKLY FELL BACK ASLEEP.

WHEN I WOKE UP THIS MORNING FROM A MEOW ABOUT 2 MINUTES BEFORE THE 5:55 ALARM GOES OFF (HOW DOES HE KNOW?) I CHECKED MY IPOD. IT WAS A REMINDER TO CHECK MY CALENDAR AND IT WAS THEN THAT I REALIZED TODAY WAS FEBRUARY 7TH, THE 5TH ANNIVERSARY OF MY UNCLE JOE MURPHY'S DEATH. A ROUGH ONE TO THINK ABOUT, AS WE ALL LOVED JOE. AND HE WAS TAKEN FROM US A LITTLE TOO SOON. DIABETES HAS CLAIMED HIM AND PATRICE O'NEAL LATE LAST YEAR, SO MY THOUGHTS OF LOW BLOOD SUGAR PISSES ME OFF.

I SHOT AN EMAIL OF REMBRANCE TO RERE, KIWI, AND SEAN AND THEY RESPONDED WITH GREAT THANKS AND SWEETNESS. I RECALLED THAT 2-7 ISN'T THE FUNNEST HAND IN POKER, IN FACT ITS THE WORST, BUT SOMETIMES EVEN THE 2-7 IS GOOD ENOUGH TO BEAT ACES...

WHEN I RETURNED HOME FROM WORK, I TURNED ON THE TV. FLIPPIN THRU THE GUIDE, I SAW E:60 WAS ON ESPN. LIKING RACHEL NICHOLS, I HIT THE RECORD BUTTON NOT KNOWING WHAT WAS ON AT ALL, AND IN FACT IT WAS A BEST OF EPISODE SO I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT... I WENT OUT TO GRAB SOME PEPSI TO FULFILL A RITE AID COUPON DEAL AND ENDED UP GETTING THEM FOR FREE. I GOT HOME AND HIT PLAY... I GET SOME ICE IN MY GLASS, IT'S 7:22.

I HIT PLAY.

THEY ARE SHOWING HIGHLIGHTS OF DAN MARINO AND MONTANA, FLASHES OF 3 FINGERS WITH SUPER BOWL RINGS ON THE FINGERS. KYLE BRADY, TONY DORSETT, RICKY WATTERS... GREGG MACE IS ANNOUNCING... JON RITCHIE, JIM KELLY, KERRY COLLINS, BIG BEN... TICKETS TO HERSHEY FLASH ON THE SCREEN...

THATS RIGHT

ITS THE PROFILE OF THE BIG 33 FROM E:60... WHY IS THIS SIGNIFICANT ON A DAY LIKE TODAY WHEN ALL WE REMEMBER IS LOSING A DAD, UNCLE, BROTHER, AND FRIEND? ESPN MUST HAVE KNOWN OUR FAMILY WAS IN A FUNK.

JOE AND RERE'S DAUGHTER, MAGDALENA, WAS PART OF THEIR BUDDY PROGRAM WHEN THIS ORIGINALLY AIRED AND THEY NOT JUST SHOWED HER ON THE BACKGROUND, THEY SHOWED HER FACE AND FOCUSED ON HER SITTING ACROSS FROM THE OHIO QB... MILK MUSTACHE AND PIG TAILS AND THAT BEAUTIFUL SMILE THAT IS ALL HER OWN. "LINA" AS WE CALL HER, WAS IN HER GLORY IF EVEN FOR A SPLIT SECOND, BUT IT WAS AS IF ESPN WANTED ME TO REMEMBER JOE WITH HAPPY THOUGHTS RATHER THAN MISSING HIM.


HERE, TAKE A GANDER... SHE'S AT 3:32: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTw-ELqlQc8

WHY IS 7:22 AND 7:27 SIGNIFICANT?

BECAUSE WHEN GETTING THAT ON THE FLOP OF A TEXAS HOLD'EM HAND OF POKER TURNS A ROUGH HAND OF 2-7 INTO AN AWESOME HAND OF A FULL HOUSE, BEATING A PAIR OF BULLETS (ACES) ANY DAY OF THE WEEK.

I LOVE YA JOE AND WILL MISS YOU UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, HOPEFULLY AT THE TAIL END OF MY LIFETIME. AND AT THAT TIME I HOPE I AM HOLDING A BAD HAND, 'CAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT THE FLOP WILL BRING.

III

PS... QUICK EDIT AT 9:45PM... AS IF THINGS COULDN'T BE A REMINDER BEYOND MY IPOD ALARM, JEOPARDY TODAY (I LET THE DVR BUILD SO I DONT HAVE TO WATCH COMMERCIALS...) ASKS THIS FOR ITS FINAL:

CAT: MEDICAL DISCOVERIES
ANSWER: NICOLAS PAULESCU ISOLATED A SUBSTANCE HE CALLED PANCREIN, NOW KNOWN AS THIS... (HINT... ITS USED BY DIABETICS)

I KID YOU NOT.