Predictions

Still can't shake this flu crap that I've had for 10 days. Ugh. Everytime I think its better, I get slammed with a fever or a terrible cough. Just terrible.

So as I sit here waiting for the end of the day I thought I would throw up my baseball predictions. Now, I reviewed the last couple of years of predictions and I've come up with one main theme. I'm absolutely terrible predicting who is going to be good, but I'm pretty solid with predicting who is going to be bad. So I think that's what I'm going to stick with this year.


Who will suck?
Brewers: I will give someone $20 if they can tell me off the top of their heads who is their starting rotation? Who will pick up the slack with CC and Sheets gone? And its great to see Trevor Hoffman will be closing for them, except that he will be injured to start the season. I like them to suck so bad that I took the under on their win total of 81.5.

Tigers: Really? 81.5 is the over/under in wins? Vegas is predicting an 8 game improvement? Based on what???? Cabrera and Ordonez will be gone by mid year due to some major financial issues that the Tigers have going on right now. They apparently only sold half of the expected season tickets they were expecting and have a $125 million payroll. I'm not making the mistake twice in a row. This under is as easy as going in 4 X with Jack Ten suited in Ultimate Texas Holdem.

Phillies: Lidge can't repeat his performance from last year, there will be a drop in the Burrell-Ibanez production, and there has to be a world series hangover right? And will the Mets collapse again this season? I'm banking against it. Take the under of 88.5

Padres: Worst team in baseball got even worse this year. They lost Trevor Hoffman, Greene, and a couple of low end starters. How will they not lose 100 games this year. If I believe that, then I have to unload on the under for their win total of 71.5. Right? Mark it up.

Oakland: I won't bet on this, but 82.5 wins is the over/under. That's an 8 win improvement over last year. Hmmm. Is that what Giambi, Cabrera, and Holliday brings to the table? Maybe, but what about the starters? Gone is Harden and Blanton and Duke is shelved for a while. They are replaced by Cahill, Anderson, Braden, Eveland, and Gallagher. That's two rookies anchoring our staff. My hopes are high, but in reality it is not looking so good. Anything will be better than last year where we couldn't get anyone past 1st base for 7 innings and then when we did, we always left them stranded at second. Horrendous.


So I do like the Rangers, Mets, Cincy, White Sox, and the Mariners overs.

Sports weekend

What a weekend for sports. As I'm trying to still get over this flu or whatever it is, I spent most of the weekend watching golf, men's and women's basketball, NBA, and even Curling. Some highlights of my viewing action below:

1. Men's Basketball: I was on fire this weekend for gambling. I couldn't do anything wrong. I think I only got two games wrong. I even nailed the MSU money line against Louisville which was very nice. Should be a great Final 4 with a hopeful UConn vs. UNC final.
2. Women's Basketball: What a comeback for the Lady Terps. Thought that all was lost for them.
3. Golf: I am having the worst year for picking golfers as I'm 117 out of 128. Its come down to poor decisions once I've narrowed it down to two golfers. I have consistently picked the wrong guy. For example, I had Sean O'Hair and Oliver Wilson as my last two golfers for the Arnold Palmer tourney this past weekend. I ended up going with Oliver Wilson, which now that I look back might of been the best thing. If I had O'Hair and had to watch him collapse against Tiger I probably would of burnt down my house out of anger. What an amazing Sunday for Tiger.
4. Curling: Watched the ladies semi's matchup of Denmark vs Canada on Sunday after golf. I can watch this all day. Might be my favorite Olympic Sport.
5. NBA: I'm really looking forward to the playoffs this year. The East should be very entertaining with the West taking a back seat this year.

....someone gets hurt

And now part 2 of the Vegas 09 Diary.

Where did we leave off - the cabana? Oh yes. Yes, I love that day. It forces you to go outside, get some fresh air, and step away from the immediacy of the casino. It's kind of like when your mom kicked out outside to pl ay when you were 10 and you have the Atari 2600/Intellivision all ready to go for an 8-hour "Air/Sea Battle" Marathon.

Again, I thoroughly enjoyed the cabana. Watched the games (except for these two "friends" of Wiz that came over -more on them later), had a massage poolside, sat in the hot tub, did my basketball reserach for Sunday - this was the day that finally loosened me up and let me relax.

Two basketball games, however, did not help; LSU did not cover (+13) even when being tied with 4 minutes to go; and the Michigan/Oklahoma under did not cover. The total was 135.5, I had the under, and the score was 73-60 with Michigan having the ball and 15 seconds left. It was apparent that this was it - Michigan was giving up. They launched a 3 - air ball. But the ball bounced off an Oklahoma player and went out of bounds.

12 seconds left. Another 3. Miss. Now the ball is being tipped up and out inside the lane. "Fine", I thought. "Let them have their two. I'm still ok". One tip. Two tips. Three tips. Nothing. 5 seconds left. Another tip. A WHISTLE. The ball goes in - a FOUL - and it counts! Michigan makes the free throw, and I lose on that turn of events.

After the pool, I headed to the Mirage to find Layup, Wiz and Ira in a marathon Ultimate TexasHold Em session. I have no idea if they were trying to prove a point, or wanted to set a record for most time accumulated at one table - but it was clear they were in it for the long haul. Of course, I joined them - and so did Laura.

So the five of us occupied the table from about 6 pm to 10 pm (with Wiz, Layup and Ira being there since about 3). Boy, did we make asses of ourselves. Me and my basketball signals when singalling how much I would bet. All of us accidentally gooching each otehr at least once....I can't believe what I did one time - I leaned over and saw Laura's A-A ; I immediately took her hand, raised it and yelled "Winner! Winner right here!"

Uh oh.

About 1/2 seconds after I did it, Wiz and Layup just glared, and I realized what I had done. She ended up winning - thank goodness - but I can't believe I let myself do that.

We also had an ethical question at the table. There was a hand where I bet double (I think), so $40 was in play. The dealer truned her cards over, and I lost. However, the dealer paid me. She put the chips down, and then moved to Laura.

I grabbed them (hurriedly) and put them in my pile.

Layup admonished me for this - saying I was "cheating" - but if they pay you money, you take it. The don't apologize for their mistakes. Thoughts?

Layup said "You will get punished for this"; I said to him "You're probably right. This next hand I will get A-A, be foreced to be 4 times,and then lose".

I got dealt my cards - and, of course, A-A was under there. I freaked out. (but I ended up winning).

This was also the table for the cooumnity pastrami sandwich, where most others got hungry (I was smart and ordered extra food at the cabana in the late afternoon - who's laughing now, Don?). Ira had this huge pastrami sandwish, and Layup/Wiz started to drool with envy.

"Want a bite?" Layup, Laura and Wiz all took a bite from the pastrami sandwich hich just spent about 30 minutes on teh floor of the casino. Classic.

Once we were done, we were admittedly a bit drunk, and somehow - it was Ira - dared me to jump over the ropes that defined the line to get into the Revolution club. These ropes were about 2 feet high off the ground, and I had to do a standing jump over them. Well, as soon as we started to get serious about this, the Mirage employee comes running over to supposedly shoo us away from the "elite" club.

We told him that we were there for a bet to see if I could jump over the ropes; after that - no problems. He joined in the fun also disblieving that I could do it.

Well, with no warmups, I did it. I raisd my arms before my feet even hit the ground on the other side. I daresay it was my best athletic achievement in the last 5 years - and I won $3 to boot!

After dinner at BLT, we headed back to the Palazzo, where Wiz, Layup and I were called by the $25 craps table. So we decided to jump in. The lasting memory I will have of this session is the roll Wiz had. Wiz and I bet the same style at $25 craps - one pass line, single odds, and just the 6 and 8. Nothing crazy - for God' s sake, it's $25 craps! Well, Layup bets the same aggressive way - come bets all over the place.

Well, Wiz rolls - point of 4. He then proceeds to roll every number multiple times except for 4, 6, 8, or 7 - so Wiz and I are just sitting there not winning or losing money - but then I look over and Derek has 4 come bets out and is raking in the money. Wiz has this "do you believe this shit?" look on his face as Layup was up at least $500 on that roll.

Sunday brough an early wakeup call, as I headed to the Mirage to check lines. It was about 6:30, and I saw a completely open $10 craps table. I desperately needed to do something to break my horrible rolling performance on this trip - and what better way to get in a boatload of reps than at a table all by yourself? I asked if it was open. "Not yet - we're vacuuming the table". Sure enough, a maintenace worker was holding a vacuum and vacuuming the felt.

I came back in 5 minutes. "Ready now?" Yes, they were. I stayed there for about 90 minutes and made $300, mostly all by myself and my rolls alone. Felt great to get off the snide.

Played craps with Wiz again later - and we started to use basketball terminology on our rolls. Wiz was being the coach calling plays ("The Diamnod Press") looking for numbers; I would be the ref calling the end result of the roll. If the point was made, I did the "swoosh" of the basket, countng the bucket and giving the foul. Harmless fun.

Well, we went to the Mirage later that day to play craps (again). (Wow, that's a lot of craps in one day). This is the scene of the hot roll that Layup talked about - this lady (and, in fact, it started withthe guy before her) just hit point after point and point. And we were getting drunker and drunker and drunker. And I was getting mre and more emphatic with my calls.

On the 5th point made - another hard way - I called the block. I slammed my forearms to my waist 2, 3 times. Thought nothing of it. Another point was made. I did it again - maybe even harder. My fists were now pounding into the front of my stomach. This repeated another 3 or 4 times.

Anyway - got back to the room - caught the wild ending of the Missouri game, where I had Missouri -3.5 and they eventually covered after Marquette stepped on the inbounds line with 5 seconds left while trying to pass the ball in, down 2.....I ended up pacing the floor yelling at the players on how to execute their roles so I would win the bet - a personal record high bet, by the way. Well, 3 steps became 5, 5 steps required quickly became 7...and Mike had the quote of the day.

"Boy, they're turning this process into a P&G process, huh?"

I guess that's more of an inside joke.

PLayed blackjack, won with Don, had the asshole dealer at the Palazzo, and then got smoked at blackjack at the end of the day. I went up to my room. For some reason, my waist felt sore.

I took my shirt off - and uncovered the big welt on my left waist.

"How did I get....oh, no way....."

It looked even worse the next morning. The picture in the previous blog post was how it looked on Monday afternoon. It still looks bad - although there's no pain whatsoever. It was fun trying to describe this to Janice.

"What happened to you??"

"Well, I got injured"

"Injured how? At the cabana? Golf?"

"Um, no. This is a craps injury."

"How? Did the dice hit you?"

At least the trip ended on a good note - video poker in the airport has treated me well twice....

It's all fun and games until.....

Well, here we are, writing a wrapup to another unforgettable trip to Vegas...Vegas 09, the diary.

Let me first say that I didn't quite fell myself until about Saturday. I could not get relaxed or loose no matter what I did on Thursday or Friday. (Maybe it was because I did not have a single winning session at a table until Saturday morning). Janice didn't think this was surprising - it takes her about 2 days to destress on a vacation. Well, that certainly was the case here. Two things to change for next year:

- Get more sleep before the trip (and this means no play in game Tue night), and
- For God's sake, don't go into work on Wednesday. I was rushing to get out the door by 2 pm so Mike and I could leave for the airport. Wednesday should be spent at home, checking email for 30 minutes, and then leisurely packing.

(It also should not involve a 20 minute conversation to your father-in-law, giving him your NCAA picks for his wife's office pool - except he doesn't have a bracket and is not a sports fan. Mike almost drove off I-75 3 times in laughter. "Gonzaga....yes....G-O-N....yes, like Gonzo....somewhere in Washington State....no, I didn't know Aunt Rhoda is going to Washington this summer......"

Wednesday night was a quiet night, losing some in Pai Gow poker and a little in craps. Went to bed 250 down.

Thursday was spent with the requisite hour of making picks and then - off into the Pai Gow Tiles pool! What a site to behold... Don and I (later joined by Mike) at the table, with a white male dealer, who is trying to teach us the game and the order of the tiles but is making some minor mistakes himself. The Asian pit boss kept a watchful eye on this game. Thanks to this experience (and Don's coaching), I now feel semi-comfortable on my own at the tiles.

A trip to the Black jack tables ended up with another loss, as Laura and I watch our 3rd baseman split 20's. Can't anyone here play this game? We then took our first (of 19) trips to the Mirage - and I forgot how much I love Ultimate Texas Hold em. We had a terribel dealer, however, in Gary - what an ass. He's criticizing my play of the game because, well, "I've been a dealer 16 years".

So I ask him point blank: "And this game has been around for, what, 3 years?"

He then asks: "What are the rules for splitting pairs in blackjack?"

Me: "Well, let's see, you never split 10's, always split aces and 8's, with 2's you..."

Gary (interrupting) then goes into a 20 second spiel that he has obviously memorized to show off to people.

Me: "OK, what's the optimal strategy for this game?"

Gary: "Well, only bet the max if you have a high pair"

Me: "That's not what Wizard of Odds says"

We didn't have any more chats the rest of the session. And the asshole dealt Wiz a straight flush!

After watching the end of the Maryland game in Wiz's room, Layup texted and said he was going downtown with Dick. I persuaded Mike to join us....and after three different texts with three different locations from Layup, we finally found him in the 4 Queens. Downtown in daylight is not a pretty sight.

We got pulled into this game called "Triple Exposure Blackjack" - which we will go into in a later post, but is fascinating. A loss there at craps (again) set us off to the Sahara, where we were told that the Fire bet existed.

Laura and Jay met us there, and, well, it didn't go so well for the 5 of us. I think Laura was fairly unscathed, I lost $200 and the other 3 - well, the joke is that Layup is now part owner of the Sahara. Some bad losses in sports - including the damn gooch by the black guy behind me in the Palazzo book about a Gonzaga cover - and the night did not end well.

Dinner that night at Del Toro was surprisingly good -loved that wine room we were in. Teh 4 pounds of Lasagna I had was delicious!

Friday - I had to awake and do my "homework" for basketball; nothing is more eerie than sitting in the lobby at 4:30 in the morning, using a calculator, calling your son, and seeing one after another of the young drunks pull in for the night. Yes, I am old.

I've never felt better for a round of golf in Vegas, and while my 79 was not spectacular, it could have been better and I beat Kermit and Don. Woo hoo!

And - yes, I will say it - In N Out Burgers are overrated.

More losses that day in BJ, Craps, and $15 Ultimate (AVOID AVOID AVOID) put me in a crappy mood before dinner; I had Florida State in the late game and a parlay that hinged on the Siena/Ohio St under. Both fell through at the last minute. F you all.

Dinner that night at Morel's was bad. The steak was unimpressive. The sides were good, the appetizer was good too, but the service sucked. Oh well, can't bat 1.000......

After dinner, Kermit, Laura, Amanda and I were determined to find cheap craps; yes, we went into the Casino Royale on a Friday night - and finally stumbled upon Imperial Palace. My God:

extra long craps tables + insufficient lighting + dice with a logo in the middle = you have no idea what was rolled until the dealer (who was half paying attention) called it. And there was a 30% chance you couldn't hear the call.

Just an awful casino. In the 20 minutes we played, he made at least 3 mistakes in paying me out and I think he shorted Kermit out of $5. And- the image of a Freddy Mercury-lookalike having sex with poles on a center stage surrounded by black jack tables is something that is burned in my retinas.

Saturday morning arrived - oh shit! We all love Va Tech! I've got to get that bet in! I run downstairs, get orders from Wiz and Layup on this game - we all love it as well - and finally get the bet in at the last minute because the person in front of me was nice enough to let me go ahead.

I should sue him.

I love the cabana day. Lay out in the sun, drink fruity/chocolately drinks, relax, watch basketball outside - it's great to get away from the casino.

More coming tomorrow......

Discussion #1

I need to get something off my chest that is really bothering me from the trip. What has happened to customer service in the US? It is absolutely amazing, in this economy, the lack of customer service some companies are providing. The latest example is the Palazzo and this piece of shit BJ pit boss.

So the morning games are about to kick off. There are flat screens located in each of the craps and BJ pits. The BJ's TVs were still on ESPN, and I asked the lady pit boss if she could change the channel over to CBS. "I don't know how to. Its not me. Go over to the craps tables and they can do it." Ok, didn't have a problem with this at all. So I walked over to the craps table and asked the pit boss there if he could change the BJ TVs and not just him, but all of the guys behind the table stopped and just looked at me like I was crazy. "What?" asked one of them. I stated that they lady pit boss had me come over here to ask them to change the channel. Well they all shook their heads in disbelief and one of the guys said "No, she can do it. She has the remote as well."

Then I started to get mad. So I walked back and got a little pissed at the lady pit boss who gave me the traditional poor customer service line that I have fired so many people over. "Its not my problem. I don't have control of it." I would expect that from a dealer, but from a pit boss is unacceptable. Fuck you lady. I was so shocked by her behavior that I just got rude with her after she told me for the 5th fucking time it wasn't her job.

Now I'm not trying to be a complete ass and I would of been understanding if at any point she would of offered to call over to the craps table or said that she would take care of it. But nope. Nothing even close. I don't think I've ever heard a pit boss tell any of us when we've asked them where the cocktail waitress has gone "Its not my problem. I don't have any control of it." Nope. They always state that they will find one for us. Sometimes even make that fake phone call to the cocktail waitress pit saying that table 13 needs some drinks. Either way, most pit bosses make an effort. This one did not.

Couple this along with the obvious omission of cocktail waitresses on the north end BJ and Roulette tables and they are no longer a top of the line casino.

This is why you're fat

Might be the greatest website I've seen in a long time. Sad that I think I've might of eaten or dreamed about some of these.

Thanks Ariel for the link.

Ultimate Texas Holdem

I'm sure that Wiz and Eric will be posting day by day accounts of the trip, so I will just post up

some comments and thoughts about the trip.

Palazzo: Boy I really didn't see this coming. What a disappointment. Its obvious how they are handling the poor economy. Cut as many employees as possible. Minimal amount of tables open which jacked up the limits and hardly any drink girls. Great business model but terrible for us.

Ira: Interesting guy. Wiz's friend brought an aggressive style of play to the craps table that I enjoyed. He also brought a weird friend, Peter Paul, who will go down as being one of the creepiest guys I've ever gambled with. The guy was like a horned up 13 year old in a 50 year old man's body. The guy had no clue how to gamble and couldn't retain any info about gambling so you had to explain the same thing over and over. Classic.

Ultimate Texas Holdem: I was thinking that I would play this game for a little bit but Jesus Christ. I played this more than any other game. Wiz and I put in an 8 hour session on Saturday with some major highlights.

• While smoking my first of three cigars, I accidentally burnt an elderly man walking by the table. Wiz thought that I stuck out my cigar and burnt him, while I know that my hand was on the chair and this guy walked into it. Any which way you look at it Grandpa Mosses has a nice little burn mark on his forearm
• After the first hour of playing, I was down nearly $600. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to make the long session, but then I magically hit a straight flush that put me back to even.
• Going into hour number 5, I was getting really hungry and ready to leave. Wiz's friend Ira was playing with us then and had a Pastrami sandwich in a brown bag underneath his chair, which he offered to me to eat. I took a bite and it was amazing. Then everyone else decided to eat off of this massive sandwich in a bag. After all of use finished eating it, the dealer looked at us and just shook her head and sent us off to the bathroom to wash our hands. It was like our mom telling us that before we could have a snack we had to take a bath, and all of us just ran off to the bathroom to do it as quickly as possible.
• The dealers for UTH are one of a kind. It ranged from an arrogant asshole in Glen, to the wonderful afghan princess in Sina.
• Speaking of Sina, the pickup line from scary Peter Paul was classic. He found out that she was from Afghanistan and said, "What part of Afghanistan are you from? I'm only familiar with Kabul." Familiar with Kabul? What the hell do you mean?
• Had to lie to the pit boss that Laura and I were married so that she could play on my card. Then Jay came by and played with us which confused the dealer, when I think someone might of said that Laura and I have a very open relationship.
  

Craps: Didn't play that much, mainly due to the high limits at the Palazzo. Did have two classics runs though:

1. Jay and I on Friday morning found a table at the Venetian that was just opening up. I was already smoking a cigar as we walked up to the table. The guys at the one end of the table asked if I was really going to smoke the cigar while playing craps. I then asked them which college they were from and they told me they were from Purdue. I responded "That's cool, I'll put it out. If you were from Duke, I would of kept on smoking." So Jay and I got our chips and the opening roll was just on its way. The shooter was on the other side of the table, but it was clear that they were friends with the Purdue guys on our side. The shooter goes and rolls for about 30 minutes and I make about $600. Then we all decide to leave the table. The Purdue guys bring down the shooter to us and states "Hey we didn't want to tell you this, but this guy works at Duke." We all had a good laugh, and I felt a little dirty winning money due to Duke.
2. Mirage Sunday- Easily the biggest rollacoaster at a table I've ever experienced. Eric, Lee, Wiz, and I opened up a $5 table. The table started out so cold. No one hit a point for about 30 minutes. It got so bad that I was down $500 and I picked up and left. I went to the bathroom and came back and Wiz, Lee, and Eric were still there, and they just hit a point. So I decided to jump back in and that is when the table went crazy hot. Ira joined the table along with some older chicks. One of the older chicks rolled for a while and hit some great hardways, one in which I had $20 on. Ended up $100 after everything being said and done which was amazing.

Carney Games: Played Triple Exposure BJ and Black Jack Switch. Both games I could do without as it was fun to play for a short period of time, but in the long run I don't like it.

Additional Thoughts:

1. Don and Mike: Didn't really get to gamble with them. Wanted to, but whenever we asked where they were it was always "Oh Don is working out or taking a nap." Now I know that the group got separated a lot due to the UTH and the high table limits at the Palazzo, but I love playing craps with the both of them, and I didn't get to have a single roll. I am very curious on their thoughts on the trip.

2. Twitter: Eric needs to get on this asap. It fits him perfectly.

3. Morells: Terrible. Maybe it was due to the fact that we ate too late. Not worth the money.

4. Cabana: Terrible, but mainly due to the weather being bad.

5. Sharah: What a disaster. Financially and Mentally. Apparently I had a mental breakdown at the craps table that resulted in Eric and I having some issues to sort out the next day.

6. Women's Basketball: Shame on you Vegas for not having lines available. Shame on you and what you have become.

7. Laura and I's blow up at the BJ tables: Laura and I had separate blow ups at the tables where I was being pretty rude to the pit boss because she was being extremely lazy and providing zero customer service, and Laura got crazy over the dealer thinking she wanted to stay when she wanted to hit. I will expand on this a little more in a different post because it requires a more in depth look into the lack of customer service and the accepting behavior by the public of such actions.

Summary: Overall, another solid trip, but had some major holes in it. I think its time to eat dinner earlier even if we will miss games, and its obvious that we will probably stay at the Mirage next year due to the table limits and the games that they offer. Its just too bad that the trip that I lost the least amount of money required me to miss out on two days because of me being very sick. Ugh.

Sorry for the delay

So much to post about, but I got deathly ill on Saturday night in Vegas and still have not recovered. Tried to go into work today, but will be going home in about 30 minutes as I'm close to puking in my office. Getting the flu coupled with the Vegas haze is a terrible combination. Hopefully someone will get a Vegas post up shortly and I should have mine up by tonight.

Goals

Sort of the like the I believe column but a little more detailed.

1. Just like Don, I want to relax a little bit more. I'm going to try to work out every morning if possible and go to the spa for a couple of massages. The only problem is that this is in direct contradiction of my "I love morning gambling" plans.
2. Duel BJ Tables. The more I think about it the more I love this. And this can spread into other games, like craps and such.
3. Study more: This year I got the Blue Ribbon report. I started to do research yesterday, but I have much more to do. I might get in early and just find a nice quiet place to finish reading the 144 pages of in depth coverage of each team.
4. Limit my gambling to the locations of success. Stay out of the casinos that have never treated me well, like the Bellagio and Treasure Island. No reason why I should be giving them my money.
5. Follow the number one rule of sports gambling. If everyone likes one game, go against it.
6. Learn to enjoy Sundays and not think about Monday. All too often I can't enjoy Sunday since I'm thinking about going back to work and the drive home that day. Will most of us staying until Monday this should help.

One Day Left

Jesus, I'm so busy today. So much stuff to wrap up before I go. Below are some of the additional brackets and info on the games this weekend.

Women's Bracket: Such huge value nested in these match ups. Its sad that everyone has something to add when wager on this. Purdue, MD, Santa Barbara, San Diego St, Rutgers, and Xavier. RRD, any info about the lady Cavs?

NIT: Ahhh, the NIT. Allows for additional wagers outside of the NCAA tourney. A lot of gems, but also a lot of opportunity for panic wagers. Nothing like thinking that you are all done for the day and then seeing some NIT wagers still remaining. PANIC PANIC PANIC, MUST GET ANOTHER WAGER IN!!!!!!

CBI: Sucks that they will only have games on the 17th and 18th. So if anyone needs anything, please let me know and I can place a wager. Looks as if I will be out there around 4:00pm.

Etiquette question

For the trip, are we allowed to text anyone at any hour? Say, at 4 am, an empty craps table is there......I will text Mike to sneak out of the room (without Don) and join me. Allowed? Any hours where texting/phoning is not welcome? Or are we all on 7-Eleven time?

I Believe....

1. That I haven't been this excited for a trip ever. Maybe because of the group or a needed escape from work, but I can't even concentrate anymore.
2. That the failure of "Drop, Lock and Pop It" to catch on during last trip will not happen again. I'm going to push for "Like a Lollipop" as this years catch phrase.
3. That the Cabana won't be as much fun as last year. Expectations are set way too high for it to live up to it. The great thing about the Cabana last year was that we didn't know what to expect and it ended up being a great day. Let's hope that the location of this years Cabana can increase the fun from last year.
4. That we all will be shocked on how much Vegas has changed due to the economy. Gambling behaviors will be amazing to watch. Tables will be extremely dead while foot traffic will still look the same.
5. That with the above comment, we will own a craps table for an extended period of time.
6. That with the above comment, we will be split up evenly on two BJ tables and will have a side wager on which table will win more money during a session.
7. That this will result in Eric being forced to bet $25 a hand and then having to double down which will result in him acting like Charles Nelson Rielly.
8. That Credit Card Roulette will make its triumphant return during this trip.
9. That Don will be the loser again on CC Roulette.
10. That I will get in a big argument about my cigar smoking with someone at a BJ table.
11. That I will accidentally ash on a craps table with my cigar.
12. That I will be called an "idiot" by Wiz at least 100 times during the trip.
13. That we will all be called "idiots" by the Ultimate Texas Holdem dealer for going in blind.
14. That I will be drunk before 10:00am everyday.

This morning

Well its good to know that my subconcisous is as excited as I am about going to Vegas. All my dreams now are centered around Vegas. So a couple of thoughts while getting ready this morning.

1. Fall Out Boy- Watching VH1 this morning and heard a song by them that was pretty good. It was about finding happiness in other people's misery. And this got me thinking about one of the major things I have really worked on over the past couple of years on losing out in Vegas. Here are the two things that I have worked on and hopefully all of you can tell a difference.

• Celebrating others success while getting destroyed. When I lose, I used to take it really tough. I would switch into full pussy bitch mode if I lost and someone else won. Oh you just had a great run, Fuck you, I just lost. Its not fair. Eric pointed this out a couple years back and I've tried really hard not to fall into that trap. I've tried to take the same stance in golf. Hey, I know I suck so why am I getting so pissed when I suck. Just enjoy it. And magically I end up golfing better. Same thing goes for gambling. Yeah I lost, but if I dwell on it and become jealous of others that won, I will just go into a huge deep hole, instead of brushing it off and understand that my time will come.
• Losing is not just as good as winning. We all have gotten to a point that we really do accept getting destroyed in Vegas. It's almost like a badge of honor with the group. At dinner, the people that lost the most get the most attention. And most of us get a giddy feeling when someone comes back to the group stating they just got hammered at Craps or BJ. I think this stems from a sense of relief that we weren't part of that destruction. I'm working on not asking question after question about the losing sessions of others.

2. So then in the shower this morning I was trying to compare people going on the trip to the current basketball teams in the tourney. Actually very entertaining, which resulted in me taking a 30 minute shower at 5:15am this morning with me giggling every minute. So onto the comparison. And please don't take offense to the list as this is all in fun.

• Micah= Kentucky: I know he isn't going but still deserves a shout out. Is there an easier comparison? His streak ends just like Kentucky.
• Kermit=Arizona: Should he go or shouldn't he? Everyone was questioning if he should be in, but as you know with teams like AZ, they will surprise everyone and win at least one game. I'm glad Kermit is joining us now, and I will be betting heavily on Arizona.
• Jay=Memphis: Probably doesn't get the respect from the national media for being a strong team or very strong gambler. Should surprise.
• Laura= Missouri: Its been a long time since they have been ranked this high? Can they live up to the pressure of being a 3 seed?
• Wiz= UNC: The big ticket team fits the big gambler. So much hype around this team at the beginning of the year that anything less than a championship would be a failure.
• Lee= Syracuse: Has gone through a lot to get here. Logging lots of minutes might hamper their ability to perform during the tourney and the trip.
• Don= Gonzaga: Surprised people years ago with a great run and has been a mainstay in the tourney ever since. With Don he surprised myself (and others) with his wine and food knowledge and has been a great addition to the trip. Gonzaga will travel anywhere to play anyone just like Don will travel at anytime to any riverboat to gamble. Even if it is during lunch. But is Gonzaga ranked too high? Yeah they traveled to play tough teams, but they lost. Let's see what they can produce this year.
• Mike= Purdue: Why such a low ranking after winning the Big Ten? No respect. Tourney experience and an easy path this weekend should put them in the sweet 16 (yes the gooch. your welcome). Always surprised after the fact that at how solid of a gambler Mike is and a great addition to the group.
• Derek= Duke: The team that people love to hate. Major holes in their game and is ripe for an upset. Plus, I love Duke.
• Eric=Michigan St: Flys under the radar and just wins. They seem like a grinding type of team which really describes Eric's golf and gambling style.

I'm sure I will get blasted on this, but oh well. Have a great morning.

Vegas Planning

It's clear that the NCAA Committee took our Vegas plans into account and put a lot of our teams on the Thursday-Saturday rotiation to avoid golf conflicts.

Here is the first round schedule for the games:

Tbursday

12:20 ET/9:20 PT
8 LSU vs 9 Butler
2 Memphis vs 15 CS-Northridge
8 BYU vs 9 Texas A&M
2:40 ET/11:40 PT
4 Purdue vs 13 Northern Iowa
1 North Carolina vs 16 Radford
7 California vs 10 Maryland
1 Connecticut vs 16 Chattanooga
5:00 ET/2:00 PT
4 Washington vs 13 Mississippi St
7:15 ET/ 4:15 PT
7 Clemson vs 10 Michigan
7 Texas vs 10 Minnesota
3 Villanova vs 14 American
4 Gonzaga vs 13 Akron
9:45 ET / 6:45 PT
2 Oklahoma vs 15 Morgan St
2 Duke vs 15 Binghampton
6 UCLA vs 11 VCU
5 Illinois vs 12 Western Kentucky

So the opening tipoff is Butler- LSU. Not bad at all.
The Maryland-Purdue coflict will be interesting for the group, and a lot of games of interest at 4 pm PT.

Friday

12:20 ET / 9:20 PT (we will miss these games)
3 Syracuse vs 14 Stephen F Austin
8 Oklahoma St vs 9 Tennessee
6 Marquette vs 11 Utah St
3 Kansas vs 14 North Dakota St
2:50 ET/ 11:50 PT
6 Arizona St vs 11 Temple
1 Pittsburgh vs 16 E Tenn St
3 Missouri vs 14 Cornell
6 West Virginia vs 11 Dayton
7:15 ET / 4:15 PT
5 Utah vs 12 Arizona
7 Boston College vs 10 Southern Cal
4 Xavier vs 13 Portland St
1 Louisville vs 16 Play-in
9:45 ET / 6:45 PT
8 Ohio St vs 9 Siena
4 Wake Forest vs 13 Cleveland St
2 Michigan St vs 15 Robert Morris
5 Florida St vs 12 Wisconsin

So my mission is clear - play fast enough so we can get back in time for the Dayton tipoff at noon.

Quick Thoughts

While watching Gumble and an anorexic Greg Anthony announce the brackets, here are my thoughts...

1. God, can they drag this out anymore?
2. I really do like Gumble. Nothing better than hearing his voice break in with an update on a possible upset.
3. Midwest- Great matchup for Sienna. Arizona is in, bad news for the Terps. Terrible matchup for Eric's North Dakota St. Great news for Eric with Dayton getting in at an 11 seed. I guess it wasn't that close for them.
4. West-Memphis will crush Northridge. They are terrible. Terps a 10??!!?!?!?!?! WOW. WOW!!!!! Make sure you ask Eric about Missouri. Very interesting take on them that was in direct contridiction of my thoughts, but I now agree with him. And my boys from Utah St. has a nice matchup. They should be favored. Let's hope it is a busy day at the Cabana on Saturday with both the Boilermakers and Terps still going.
5. East- Upset region. I like Oklahoma St, Wisconsin, Portland St, Lee's team American, and VCU. Pitt should be able to roll through this bracket.
6. South- LSU an 8 vs Butler? Should be a great game. Let's go Zips. Clemson vs Morgan ST in the second round?

So PSU, St. Mary's, Creighton, San Diego St, Va Tech, and New Mexico are out. If you would of swapped them with the ones that made it, I don't think you here many complaints. So many weak teams that the first round should be full up upsets. Hopefully. I will follow this up probably on Tuesday with a more in depth look at the matchups.

Pairings

I'm probably a little late on this, but just found out that Billy Packer will not be a color guy this year. Why is he not doing the games this year? Because he left CBS and will have his own show with Bob Knight breaking down the games. Hmm, nice. I'll be sure to turn into that.

Below are the new teams for this year.

Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg
Dick Enberg/Carter Blackburn/Jay Bilas
Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery
Gus Johnson/Len Elmore
Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner
Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel
Craig Bolerjack/Bob Wenzel
Tim Brando/Mike Gminski

Pre-trip preparations

Well, I became fully loaded for the trip today. It is a special tradition to sign all those travelers checks at the bank - and the suspense involved with them. Will I sign these again on Saturday? When I get back? Or - if things go awful - on Thursday? The bank teller asked as I was signing the travelers checks: "So, where are you and the family going?"

Uh - the family is staying here and going to work and school. Now please give me my money without further chit chat.

I'm so looking forward to this trip. Obviously, a lot of it is the gambling and the group - but a lot is also getting away from any responsibilities for 5 days. Work has been tough, 3 kids is pretty draining, and the winter has taken away from any golf time. It's going to be great to go out there and just have fun.

Been thinking a lot about the size of the bets that I will be doing out there. Let's start with the sports betting. Last year's statstical lesson worked well, I believe. I set aside the amount I could lose for sports bets, did the equation, and came up with teh wager amount. This year - I'm guessing 30-35 "big" sports bets with the same willingness to lose $1500 if things go really bad - like 10-25.

I've tried to think about this and apply to craps and blackjack. I have an advanced craps book which is based on the principle of conservative bettign -you should be very happy with small wins and set small loss limits. He suggests that you:
- pick the amount you will outlay for one roller
- bring 10 times that amount to start
- leave the table when you lose 4 roller's worth ( thus walking away with 60% of your original stake).

The reason why he wants you to do this is the psychological effect of walking away and leaving the casino with something in your pocket. This may apply for a 4-hour trip to Argosy, but for a 5 day trip to Vegas, I don't think this rule should apply for each session. He says it is psychologicall different to go to a table with $200 and lose it all - versus going to a table with $500 and coming back with $300.

He's got a point, but I don't think it's valid here. If you go to a table, outlay $300 , and lose it all - you still should have your Vegas trip bankroll back in your room. You can go get some more.

What would be my starting outlay at craps? Usually, it would be 5 shooter's worth. So - for example:
$5 table: I'd play a $5 pass, $10 odds, $6 6 and 8. That's 15+12 = 27 per shooter, *5 = $135. And that's abot what I take to Belterra/Riverside and the other $5 tables I play. It usually lasts 2 hours or so.
$10: 10 pass, 15 odds, 12 6 and 8: $49 per shooter; $250 outlay. $300 sounds good.
$15: 15 pass, 20 odds, 18 6 and 8: $71 per shooter ----$350-$400 outlay.
$25: 25 pass, 25 odds, 30 6 and 8: $110 per shooter; the one time I played last year I only outlayed $500. I need to go to $600 if we decide to jump in this pool again.

But then I read my blackjack book and found these passages:
"A buy in of 50 bets has a 1% chance of being lost in 300 decisions". I think we can prove that with my formula from last year, with the p of winning being 0.49, and the 1% being 2 standard deviations less than the mean. 300 decisions is roughly 5 hours of playing. (60 decisions per hour)
"A buy-in of 25 bets has a 20% chance of disappearing in 300 decisions".
Hmmmm.....I don't usually follow this rule. $10 table -what do you pull out? I pull out $200 - 20 bets. Not $250.

Then I saw this: "A long term bankroll should be at least 200 times your average bet - a bankroll of 200 bets has less than a 1% chance of disappearing in 2500 decisions".

Wow - I think 2500 decisions is going to cover the Vegas trip. (60 decisions per our in BJ, 40 for Pai Gow, but what for Craps? 80? 100?). 2500 decisions is roughly 40 equivalent hours of BJ - that sounds right for this trip, right?

But do we have bankrolls for 200 times our average - not minimum - bet? Of course not. If a 200x bankroll gives you 1% risk of losing your stake, what about a 100x bankroll? I think we can use the same prinicples and come up with the % risk. I'll work on that in the shower tomorrow, using the glass shower door as the blackboard.....

Something for everyone?

It's possible we could be set up for a classic tournament with the group we have going. Consider the teams that could be in the tournament:

Cleveland St
Akron

Clemson

Purdue

Dayton

Maryland

Butler

Southern Cal

Morgan St

American

Wow - something for everyone on the trip.

We will have none of this next week

I need to get out and practice tomorrow.....so no one sees anything like this Electric Slide performed by yours truly. This classic is from the trip in 2007 with Kermit and Steve. This was on hole #1, and was my first chip of the year. The short game got better as we went along (and the alcohol during the round helped).

I assume Kermit will try to remind me of these great mechanics by singing thse lyrics this week:

Don't wanna lose it

It's electric - Boogie woogie, woogie

But you can't choose it

It's electric - Boogie woogie, woogie

But you know it's there,

Yeah here there everywhere

I've got to move,

Come let me take you on a party ride

And I'll teach you, teach you, teach you

I'll teach you the electric slide

Productivity

I'm trying to decide if I'm more unproductive the 3 days leading up to the Vegas trip or 3 days post? I can't concentrate before the trip since I'm so excited, and I'm so hungover and worn out the following days after.

This time next week I will be......

Drunk at a craps table....hopefully. With less than one week to go, I'm so excited I can't even stand it. I had a nightmare last night that someone stole my ATM card and withdrew all of my Vegas savings and I had to go to Vegas with only $300 for the weekend. I went up to a BJ table and ended up losing all of it in 10 minutes and then I got in my car and went back home. I woke up in such a panic that I logged onto my BOA account just to make sure. Ugh.

So now its to set financial expectations on how this trip will go this year. Eric and I had a great conversation on what is a realistic expectation on how much money you should come home with. With the amount that we gamble, can we realistically expect to come home with more money that we started? How about just breaking even? The chances are very slim as we are going against such huge odds. When you are potentially gambling for 60 hours over a course of 5 days, you probably shouldn't expect to come out ahead. That's just not going to happen unless one gets extremely lucky or just plays massive amounts of poker.

So how does this change my budget? Not too sure if it does at all? Does this change my gameplan? Probably not. It just changes my attitude on that long ride home to the OC when I'm just going over in my head how many stupid things I did during the weekend.

Onto the budget. Eric wants me to take the Obama approach to the budget with "Just spend and worry about where the money will come later." I like it.

Note: The amounts and gameplan will probably change based on the input from the readers and most importantly my brother.


Roulette ($500): Might as well get this one out of the way. And to pull a line from A-Rod, how can I be honest with everyone else if I can't be honest with myself. Enough is enough. I'm done budgeting a low amount realizing that every year Wiz and I lose a ton in about 2 minutes. And I can't seem like the victim anymore. I love doubling up on Black. LOVE IT. Its more exciting than any other gambling moment...watching that bitch ball go into the black slot and then bouncing into red. WOW, so exciting despite losing a ton of money. So I'm probably going to stop playing my usually numbers and hold out when Wiz and I are left alone unsupervised to unload my bankroll here. Why am I such a sucker.

Sportsbook ($300): My strategy worked last year and I will go with it again. Small wagers and limit my exposure in this arena.

Craps ($1500): Subtracted $500 to this years budget which worries me since we had so much fun last year and now we have Jay and Laura in the mix, Kermit teaching his girl how to play, Mike and Don sneaking off to play by themselves, Wiz and I playing $25 tables, and Eric going over to Casino Royale to avenge his loss from last year. Just thinking about it, how many hours out of the trip will we have someone playing craps? I'm setting the over/under will be 75 hours.

BJ ($600): Worked out pretty well. All I need is one really good run and this budget should be fine. I over budgeted in this category last year since I really didn't take into account some big runs that I had. Also, the limits will be lower this year so I don't have to plan on only playing at $25 tables.

Pai Gow ($300): Never had an issue with this low amount, despite playing at $25 tables. And someone has to teach me how to win lots of money at this game. When I do well, I'm only up like $100, while my bad streaks can be damaging.

Ultimate Texas Holdem ($300): The X factor. Really. If we have access to $5 tables, then this will be more than enough, but at a $10 table, this could be gone in minutes. I love this game so much that I might have to re-budget after Thursday.

Wheel of Fortune ($200): Once again, why bother lying to myself. Especially since the Wheel is right outside of the elevators, so I'm sure I will camp out there while I wait for others to come on down.

Video Poker ($100): It seems like this is the biggest drain on my bankroll. Its always amazes me how much I spend on Video Poker. Trying to reconcile the day always is frustrating because I tend to forget about $20 here and $20 there that I dropped into the Video Poker machine at the bar.

OK, so I think this is looking OK since this falls into my budget for the cash I will have on hand. It allows me some wiggle room if things go south as I have a pretty solid reserve amount ready to be activated if I have a really bad run.

I would love any feedback if you guys have any.

Oliver's nightmare?

My mother's alma mater, Cleveland State, stole a bid from someone last night. The Vikings are a good team - recall the victory at Syracuse in December - and will be a tough out. It is clear they stole a bid from someone- so if Maryland has a good tourney run but fails to make teh tournament, they have have the Vikings to blame.

Regardless, if this bracket shows up on Sunday, I'm sure Wiz will be sweating.

Banks

An interesting article about the banks.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123655575807665985.html

Welcome back!

Teams are starting to punch their tickets to the dance - so let's welcome back a couple of old friends:

1) Northern Iowa: a key cog in the Black Friday disaster of 2006. This team has a chance to be a dangerous 13 seed......Kurt Warner will ask God to steer them in the 1st round matchup.

2) Marist: The Lady Red Foxes are back! Don and Mike can once again be treated to see my dance in the shower as Marist rains down 3's on their unsuspecting opponent.

(No word yet on Iowa State - last year's cabana favorite - but they are projected to be a #5 seed in the latest Women's bracketology.)

Head of the Class

Today I traveled to Fairmont Preparatory High School in Anaheim to talk to a bunch of different students about a wonderful career in Finance and Management. For some reason I was really nervous. I'm perfectly fine talking in front of large groups, but 15 high school students scared the shit out of me. I have four 30 minutes sessions with about 15 students talking about my background. While it was fun, I was no way qualified in talking with them.

In my first session I asked the group if they have already decided on a college and they basically all said yes. So I asked which schools. Johns Hopkins, NYU, Harvard, Penn, Columbia, Stanford, and Berkley. Hmmmm. So where are my Long Beach State candidates? Or UC Riversiiiiiiiide? Nope, just a bunch are really smart Asian teenagers majoring in Art History, Engineering, and Math. So why are you needing me again? Oh because my rise in the insurance industry was so exciting? Or is it because you need an example of what not to do during high school and college. I truly felt like Michael Scott.

With one of the sessions I somehow got sidetracked and went on a rant about the trickle down effect on how government involvement hampers the growth of successful companies as it prevents acquisitions and how it applies to Farmers and what is going on with AIG. I got quiet the stare down from the teacher after that.

So in honor of my high school visit, I'll try and transition over to a Top 20 "I remember" blog about Vegas. On 12 days left....

1. I remember how nice I thought the Monte was when we stayed there the year that it opened.
2. I remember having a $100 a day budget.
3. I remember actually driving out to the Hover Dam and doing touristy things.
4. I remember how terrible the "Lazy River" was.
5. I don't remember why we didn't sue to Monte for the glass in the Lazy River.
6. I remember never betting the come and only using single odds in craps since I was strapped for cash.
7. I remember that Billy Nogle was pretty damn funny but pretty damn poor.
8. I remember doubling down on 12....ALL THE TIME.
9. I remember when the Terps were good and going to Vegas was more about watching them than gambling at times.
10. I remember going out to Vegas with non gamblers and how aggravated I was.
11. I remember driving out to Vegas with Sooz and her sister and getting pulled over and spilling a beer in the car as the officer knocked on the window.
12. I remember when I used to do back to back long weekend trips with Eric's friends and then my friends.
13. I remember Jay and I pulling our traditional 24 hours of drinking and gambling at the Monte.
14. I remember when Robbie and I played 24 straight hours of poker and having to be carried away from the table when it was over.
15. I will always remember the side bar at the Monte where we watched two of the more amazing basketball games in my life; Butler county game and the Drew Nicholas game.
16. I remember picking up a Monte BJ dealer, but not being able to close the deal.
17. I remember bumping into Scotty Nguyen in the horseshoe bathroom and feeling cool that I knew who he was before poker got big.
18. I remember midnight runs at the NewYork NewYork.
19. I remember how nervous I used to get walking into a casino. No more though.
20. I remember how bad my hangover is after I return from Vegas.

The Soundtrack of Gambling

Only 13 more days to go. Recently, I wondered if someone made a soundtrack to my casino gambling, what would it contain? What songs - in my mind - do I most relate to casinos? Well, in no particular order, here's my list of 10 songs that would be on my soundtrack.

"Why"- Annie Lennox. I'm sure Layup is on the floor laughing right now. In the late 90s - early 2000s, Layup and I would make a run once a year to the Indiana casinos - and for whatever reason, this is the songs we would put in while driving on I-275 in Indiana.

"Picture" - Kid Rock/Sheryl Crow. You're going to see a theme here - the Monte Carlo seemed to have a track of 6-7 songs that they played every hour in the casino. I believe this song was the #1 hit when we went out in March 2003; hence, it was played 643 timse during that trip and is now seared into my memory.

"Diana" - Paul Anka. Apparently, Paul Anka was at the MGM in 2004 or 2005 when we were there at the Monte for one of Steve's hockey trips; every time we went outside and walked to the MGM, Paul was watching us. The promo for Paul Anka blared endlessly, with the end of the promo being Paul singing the end of "Diana". Ooooohhhhhh, pleeeeeease, staaaaaaayy, by meeeeeee, Diana.......

"Corridos del Caballos" - Los Huracanes del Norte. OK, I don't know if we actaully listened to this exact song, but Kermit, Steve and I were in a phase in 2004-05 of listening and loving Norteno music. Wikipedia describes it Norteno as "a genre of Mexican music. The accordion and the bajo sexto are norteño's most characteristic instruments. This genre of music is extremely popular in both Mexico and the United States, especially among the Mexican community. Though originating from rural areas, norteño is highly popular in urban as well as rural areas. "

We think there are at least 6 separate Norteno FM stations in Las Vegas.

"This Love" - Maroon 5. I think this was the most popular song in March 2006, and therefore was played at the Monte 573 times during the 2006 trip. Again, burned into my head while playing craps at 9:00 in the morning waiting for a drink.

"Bad Day" - Daniel Pewter. If I ever become president, my first act would be to ban this song from being played in any casino. Do we really want to hear this song while suffering through "Black Friday", a day where I went 5-16 on basketball picks, lost a ton at craps, and got beat by Kermit and Don at golf?

"Hey There Delilah" - Plain White T's. When I traveled to Iowa for 8 straight weeks last winter (hey, I didn't keep track - my pregnant wife did), this song would play every hour, on the hour, in the Iowa casino. I still have vivid memories being at a half-empty $5 craps table when this came on at 1 in the morning.

"Touch Me in the Morning" - Diana Ross. I hope Leland is still scarred by this turn of events during last year's trip.

"She Will Be Loved" - Maroon 5. Another song played to death in Vegas casinos between 2004-2007.

"All Summer Long" - Kid Rock. I know, it didn't come out until last summer, after the Vegas trip, but I have a feeling Don will be playing this on his iPhone 16 times on the golf course trying to distract me this March.

14 days till Vegas

Man things are getting crazy at work, and all I can think about is Vegas. I was pumped last week, but now I'm fading. So from here on out we need daily blogs about the future trip. I know Eric wants budget talks now, but those have to wait until we are a little closer. I know Eric wants the "Ten things I don't want to hear" or the "I believe" blogs, but those too have to wait as well. So tonight, lets just study the BJ card.

Thank god we don't have this much pull

Lee, were you apart of this last night? Please make sure you watch the previous prank at Yankee stadium.

Vegas Dinner Plans...

...have just been made!

Can we get some prop bets flowing on this one? Eric vs Layup? Wiz vs Kermit? Jay vs Laura?

The next Duke star?

We have sent this photo to Mike Krzyzewski...he loves the scrappy white point guard, like Freddie here in the photo.

I'll start calling him "Wojo" now. Or maybe floor-slapper.....

Now the rest of the story

Good ole Paul Harvey passed away today. I was just listening to him about two weeks ago and was shocked at how bad he sounded. Well, I guess there was a good reason for that.

Good Day!