Wrapping Up College Basketball Picks, Brackets, and more

Some closing thoughts on the “madness” that was:

·        In the end, I made out pretty well with my college basketball picks on the “Ink.” Connecticut came through with their second consecutive Men’s College Basketball Tournament Championship, pushing my ho-hum record for picks of 8-9 to a very nice +$448.62. Grabbing UConn at +500 for $100 to win the Tournament was about the only good move I made in what was a rather quick college hoops season for me – not focusing on it until late January. We’re on to the NBA Playoffs . . . ?

·       My strategy of parlaying high seeds in the tournament on the moneyline for bigger bets with lower than typical rewards for parlays mostly tanked. Auburn and Kentucky going out early cost me – but that’s the risk. Somebody’s getting upset early; avoiding them is the hard part of the bet.

·       Many thanks to my brother and JZ getting involved in the Ink Brackets group. I edged out my brother Jim in the championship game for the win. I promise, I would have mentioned the results if I had lost. My picks were actually pretty bad, and Jim was in the 99 percentiles among brackets on ESPN fairly late in the tournament. But the heavy weighting of the final round saved me. Hope YOU get involved next year! (Follow the “Ink” by e-mail to stay up to date.)

 

·       For the first time in my life, I watched two women’s basketball games in three days. It was a great move putting the Women’s Final Four on Friday and the Championship Game on Sunday. Playing the title game after the men’s tournament wrapped always made it feeling like an afterthought – check the ratings if you don’t like that reality. They were good games – very watchable, fast pace, and, yes, the hype over Caitlin Clark pulled me in. I heard she got a $5 million offer to join Ice Cube’s BIG3 League. I think she should grab it. I can’t imagine she would get that much money in the WNBA or overseas. It would raise the bar for women’s salaries and give her more notoriety.

·       During the Women’s College Basketball Championship Game, actor Samuel L. Jackson tweeted, “It’s okay to talk about the team that’s winning, too!!!” I agree. I hate when sports broadcasts focus on the stars of the sport, the players who get all the attention, over the team game. That’s what he meant, right?