11-5

Yesterday was a much better day. And, as is often the case in life and in sports, the prior day that had appeared to be so dark, was not as bad as it first appeared.

I'd thought my Thursday wisdom had yielded a 6-9-1 mark. It was actually 7-8-1 with Tennessee providing the push. Yesterday I was just the kind of bettor Las Vegas likes. I was a winner 11 times out of 16. My favorite victory was Cal state Santa Barbara and 17 1/2 in a game that ended with Ohio State winning 68-51

I make the point in the Madness of March that the casino wants you to win because it encourages you to bet, and if you bet long enough you will have to lose. Besides the money made on lodging, food, and beverages is enough to offset most potential winnings.

If I had gone to Las Vegas this year, I would now be 18-13-1. So assuming I bet 10 dollars a game I would be up close to fifty dollars. Fifty dollars is about 1/3 the daily room rates. And besides, today is another day. Spurred by the atypical successes of yesterday, who knows how many bills I would place to support an illusion of wisdom.

Yesterday I watched the last games of the night at a sports bar of sorts in Waltham. Coincidentally next to me was a fellow rooting for Syracuse who hailed from Fredonia New York, the small town where I first began teaching. It was more fun talking with him about Western New York than watching the games.

A nice article about the book appeared in my campus internal newsletter yesterday. Also a better than decent review appeared recently in the Journal of Popular Culture. The URL for the newsletter article appears below.

A true fan will note that the Division 3 basketball finals will be played at 1 oclock today.
http://www.northeastern.edu/news/stories/2010/03/march_madness.html