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The 2024 Final Four has been set. This weekend we’ll see both the men and the woman of college basketball battle it out to see who gets to raise the National Championship trophy after what has arguably been one of the more exciting lead ups of any tournament in recent memory. Additionally, for the first time in history, two schools will send both its men’s and woman’s squads into the tournament arena with both The North Carolina Wolpack and The UConn Huskies making an appearance to win it all. In short, it’s gonna be absolutely crazy on campus for UConn and NC State!
Bracket wise it’s been over for me for a while. Not exactly a shocker. Actually my bracket found its way to the trash bin during the first weekend but hey I still enjoyed the show. Friends and coworkers were heavily engaged in the tournament this year as I discussed last week. However I think that there is also a definite possibility that some fanatics have been created amongst my co workers as the bracket competition went right down the the elite eight. Looks like we’re all gonna pay money with me leading the way!
As I sit back and prepare for the weekend I look back at the tournament and ponder the many loses and upsets. Many games surprised me, some not too much. I was surprised that Kentucky lost out in the first round for the third year in a row but not too much. It’s obvious a change is needed in Lexington. I wasn’t a bit surprised that The UConn men’s team barreled over every opponent with familiar regularity but was pleasantly impressed with The UConn woman’s team making it into the weekend after literally loosing half their team to season ending injuries. Their success this season (it’s their 24th final four appearance) can not only be attributed to their super star player Paige Bueckers stellar performance but also to one of the greatest living coaches in any sport, Gino Auriemma. With the men’s games being filled in with Alabama, North Carolina State and Purdue it’s gonna be a rocking weekend however the woman’s field includes not only Bueckers but also Caitlin Clarke of Iowa and an entire team of super stars at South Carolina coached by WNBA and Olympic Champion Dawn Staley. It’s gonna be an incredible weekend filled with a lot of fantastic college basketball. I’m already loosing sleep over it and started icing the beers down this morning!!
I did additionally learn some lessons this tournament in the wagering department. You can’t go by algorithms in the NCAA tournament. You can’t go by the living experts in Vegas and beyond in The NCAA Tournament either. I won a little bit of green the first weekend but after that I got smoked in just about every game. Why? Because algorithms and experts can’t predict emotions and if the tournament has anything it has emotion, a lot of emotion. There’s nothing that motivates kids more, that makes them
play harder and with more spirit then playing on national tv for the first time. To young players national exposure is everything and it makes wagering on college basketball extremely difficult. Point spreads become meaningless, over and unders really don’t hold their weight any more and a three team parley is as difficult to predict and win as the Power Ball Lottery.
In the end I suppose the appreciation of the game itself is what’s more important then the wagering, at least when it comes to the tournament. The bracket itself is a competition among friends and co workers that has become both a local and national event that’s not to be missed so for now I can just sit back and enjoy the game because my own bracket is toast!
As we look forward to this weekend’s basketball action I think it’s important to make note of the fact that the world of sports, namely the NFL world, is continuing to barrel towards another season starting in just a few short months. The 2024 NFL draft takes place at the end of April and of course you’ll get predictions and commentary right here on www.sportsbookstuff.com. For me personally I’m looking forward to a offensive heavy first round where several college quarterbacks and receivers are predicted to be drafted early. I’m not going to get into naming names and make guesses as to who goes where but I’ll admit that The Chicago Bears are gonna once again test the waters for a quarterback with their first pick. With The Bears history of picking Mitch Trubinski and Justin Fields I’d say that they need to pick wisely this year. Hopefully a certain Heisman Trophy winner from Southern California can bring it home for them!
Until then, enjoy the weekend’s NCAA championships games and remember that if you wager you should wager wisely! Play on I always say!!
Kev
Kev's Corner Our Staffs Weekly Sports perspective
(click here for more of Kev’s past articles)
Daniel Weinman was crowned winner of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Monday, taking home a record breaking $12.1 million in winnings. Weinman had to outlast the other 10,043 entrants to take home the prize and get his hands on his share of live poker’s largest ever prize pool – a staggering $93,399,900. As well as taking home the prize money, 35-year-old Weinman also got his hands on the WSOP Main Event bracelet. The huge bracelet contains 500 grams of 10-karat yellow gold, as well as 2,352 various precious gemstones.
Daniel Weinman won the World Series of Poker's main event world championship on Monday in Las Vegas, earning $12.1 million along the way. Playing in the tournament for a 16th year, Weinman was tops in a deep pool of 10,043 players vying for $93.39 million. His victory came after just 164 hands at the final table. "I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament," the 35-year-old Atlanta native told reporters afterward. Weinman's final table featured Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who landed in fourth place and took home $3 million, as well as Toby Lewis, who finished seventh and secured $1.42 million. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the main event's entry pool far outpaced the previous record of 8,773 set in 2006. "I've always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction, but to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible," Weinman said. "And to win this main event, it doesn't feel real. I mean, [there's] so much luck in a poker tournament. I thought I played very well." Steven Jones finished second, securing $6.5 million. And Adam Walton settled for third and a $4 million prize.
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