More Deals from the Oscuro Corner

Monday the 3rd of February will be a big day here at the 86 the Poet blog.  Even bigger if the Seahawks win, but I'll let them settle that on the field.  This site will become dedicated to five things I love: my wife's art, my writing, food, football and cigars.  I will do my best to post every day.  For the first week, I'm doing a lot of content.

One of my regular features will be tipping you off to good cigar deals.  This is how I shop.  I keep an eye on some trusted sites and wait for a great price on cigars I know and trust.  If you're patient, you'll find stuff at 60% off or more.  I'm focussing on oscuro and maduro (dark) cigars from trusted brands I can get for under $3 each.  These deals often sell out fast, so I urge you to strike like a mongoose.  Faster than a cobra, that is.

Here are a few picks for today:

FC Premium Cigar Sampler #13 + 30 Cigar Humidor. $34.21 from Cigars International.

I like everything La Gloria Cubana does.  I know those Wavells are good, although I like the darker ones even better.  I trust Romeo y Julieta to make nice product, so I bet those Bullies won't disappoint.  The value of the deal depends on whether you need the humidor.  It's a bit small for my liking.  Mine's a 100 count.  I have an article on picking the right humidor coming next week.

Bottom line: not counting the humidor, the cigars are $3.42 each plus shipping.  If you or a buddy wants a small humidor, the cigars are a steal.  Up to you.

Dark and Cheap Sampler.  30 for $47.95 from Thompson.

I'll tell you the truth: I've smoked none of these and nothing from these brands.  But search for "Thompson cigar coupon" and you'll get 10% off and free shipping, bringing you down to $1.44 a pop.  You can bet most of these are worth more than that.  The others you can give away late at night to a drunk buddy who'll think they're awesome.  Yeah, this picture's fuzzy, but they all look like my kind of inky stinky.

AVO Domaine Cigarillos. 10 for $18.95 or 100 for $170.30 from Cigars International.

Not always do we have an hour and a half to lounge with a Churchill.  And these days it's too cold to sit outside forever.  It's nice to have some short attention span smokes in your collection.  I've never had a Domaine, but every AVO I've ever smoked was full, smooth and expertly built.  These got a 91 rating and a spot on the Top 50 list.  For under $20, I'll tuck a tin of these in my coat pocket.

The Oakland Raiderettes are Suing the Raiders

After being taken to school by most of the NFL, the Oakland Raiders are being taken to court by their own cheerleaders.

You can disappoint your fans. You can waste your draft picks. You can fire your head coach so he can beat you in the Super Bowl. You can disrespect Al Davis' ghost in any number of ways (although I think he's been dead for centuries) but at least pay your cheerleaders.

So former Oakland Raiderettes are suing the team for unfair employment practices including unpaid salary and unpaid overtime. By contract, the cheerleaders are paid $125 for 10 home games (including preseason) and are not paid until the end of the year. They are not paid for rehearsal or other team events, adding up to less than $5 per hour. California minimum wage was $8 hourly in 2013.

Allegedly the team has not paid them that much.

“I love the Raiders and I love being a Raiderette,” said lead plaintiff Lacy T. “But someone has to stand up for all of the women of the NFL who work so hard for the fans and the teams.”

The women are not paid for makeup, hair styling or travel to photo shoots. They can also be fined for failing to wear the right clothing to workouts or not bringing a yoga mat.

"It's as if the Raiders' owners believe that the laws that protect all workers in California just don't apply to them," their attorney Sharon Vinick told the San Jose Mercury News. "I have never seen an employment contract with so many illegal provisions."

Yet poor pay for NFL cheerleaders is not exclusive to the Raiders. They seem to be paying about the league average. But at least the rest of the league is paying it.

So why would a woman accept below minimum wage to work for a multi-billion dollar organization? Putting “NFL Cheerleader” on your resume is a great career launching point, leading to potential acting, coaching and modeling jobs. Desperate Housewife Teri Hatcher is a former 49er cheerleader. But to pay a cheerleader $1250 a year while paying a practice squad player $6250 a game is unfair. Yes, even an NFL benchwarmer is an elite athlete, but so is an NFL cheerleader. Don't believe me? You try this:

Ever since I dated half the cheerleading squad my freshman year at Dominican College, I've had a soft spot for those hard working ladies.  There were four cheerleaders that year.

Seattle Seahawks and Old Women Mining the 49ers

The old women are coming to the rec room with a plan. One was selected to make the green and blue cake. One brought Skittles to throw when their Marshawn Lynch scored a TD. Others brought the broom and dustpan to sweep up the candy. And the old woman with the Seattle Seahawks Mickey doll damn sure brought it. One brought a six pack of Anchor Steam. The ones in the know just couldn’t tell her it was a very famous San Francisco beer.

The old women assess the three new men who have come to watch the game. None brought food. They don’t want to listen to the game watching rules. One has anger management issues. One was a former college place kicker. His loud knowledge of the game quickly becomes condescending and irritating. The other is hard of hearing. He soon leaves. The old women’s screaming is too much for him. The one man who is always there avoids these new watchers. Maybe he leaves well enough alone. Maybe he feels the old women’s wary shift in attitude. He eats his snacks in the same corner where he always sits, alone.

Read the rest at The Penalty Flag.

Cigar Sale Alert

I own too many cigars.  I see deals all the time but can't justify buying them just because they're cheap.  My humidor can't hold them and I only smoke about two a week these days.  What I can do, however, is tip you off to the sales so they can make you happy.

A year and a half ago I started working at Legends of Fire at the Northern Quest Casino in Airway Heights, Washington.  The six months I worked there taught me a lot.  I still have a passion for carefully grown, aged, selected and hand-rolled tobacco.  But I'm a cheapskate.

I've learned how to hunt the internet for good deals.  Trouble is, it's tricky buying cigars you can't touch or smell.  I'd never pay top dollar for a stick I can't pick out of a humidor myself.  But I know what I like and if I can get some for under $3 each from a brand I recognize, I'll take that bargain.

I'm an oscuro and maduro guy.  That means I like them dark, inky, leathery, earthy and peppery.  Not too spicy but with a hint of black peppercorn to compliment the beefiness.  I have some brands I know well and some I trust to make good stuff.  Other labels I know I don't like or just won't risk good money on.

So it pays to be patient.  If you have some smokes in your box and don't need more tomorrow, you can make a hobby out of looking through sites for cigars you like at good prices.  Easier yet if you get on their mailing list and let them send you info on specials.

I've decided to save you some trouble and routinely post deals as I find them.  I'll be sticking to smokes I'd like to buy.  Maybe I'll grab some myself, but as I said, I find more deals than I can take advantage of.

Here's the birth of The Oscuro Corner.  A section of my blog dedicated to finding great dark, rich cigars at 3 bucks or less a piece.  Today's deals are:

10 La Gloria Cubana Serie N JSB 5.5"x54 plus 10 capacity Herfador for $36.99 from Cigars International.  Absolutely one of my favorite cigars at a favorite size.  If you don't have a travel case, you need one.  This one's big enough to take to the poker game or on vacation or wherever.  Airtight and waterproof.  Bulletproof if they're small bullets.

20 La Reloba Seleccion Robusto Oscuro 5"x50 plus 3 pack bonus for $64 from Thompson Cigar.
Use a coupon code to get 10% off and free shipping: http://www.retailmenot.com/view/thompsoncigar.com?c=5412670
This coupon is always available, making Thompson one of my favorites.  I hate paying for shipping.

More Cowbell Sampler II from Cigars International.  12 cigars for $25.  2 each of 6 different types.  3 of them I've had and like a lot, including the La Gloria Cubana Wavell Maduro.  The other 3 look proper.  Samplers are a great way to find new favorites, especially at this price.  Use this coupon code to get an 8 cigar sampler and a 5 capacity Herfador.  As I said, you need a travel case.

More to come from The Oscuro Corner.  Major rebuild coming to this site the day after the Super Bowl.

49ers' mistakes outweighed the Seahawks' mistakes

The Seattle Seahawks could have easily lost and sent the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl instead. They made enough mistakes to lose. Fortunately, the 49ers' mistakes outweighed the Seahawks' mistakes.

I liked the Seahawks' first offensive play for a moment. I thought it would be important for Russell Wilson to throw it deep early to keep San Francisco's defense from crowding the running game. Seattle started with a play-action roll-out and RW was looking to do just that. Uncharacteristically, he wasn't watching his back or being careful with the ball. Aldon Smith stripped him and recovered.

Read the rest at The Penalty Flag.