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My hope here is that you never get past the title and you have the impression that I actually won something. That is so far from the truth. I not only lost. I lost badly.
With all of the upsets in the NCAA tournament, I can write this BEFORE the final game is played and tell you, once again, I was embarrassed by my results in the RCN bracket pool (for entertainment purposes only).
The problem is, because I am the Sports Director, everyone expects me to do well and everyone seems to take great pleasure in beating me. There are some (mostly women) who take even greater pleasure in my inability to appear to know anything about college basketball.
Against the RCN employees, I finished 17th out of 48. I know that doesn’t sound so bad, but you have to understand, I was doing quite well up to the quarterfinals and could not keep my mouth. I felt this was a good time to brag. I sent out a blanket email to all the female nemeses (yes, that is the plural of nemesis – I looked it up) who berated me throughout past tournaments to rub in the fact that I was beating them all. And then the quarterfinal games were played. My drop in the standings was a freefall.
I ended up being beaten by Lori, the head of HR (what do they know about sports?); by Alyssa from the studio, who almost treats me with respect (I need to keep her away from the others); by Sandy of the business department, who to her credit, is almost too nice to belittle my ineptness; and Laura who beats me every year and cannot wait to literally rub as much salt into the wound as possible and tends to announce her superiority to anyone who will listen. Thank goodness I am at the studio and do not have to withstand what would be constant ridicule by the entire office staff in our other building.
Speaking of the studio, on the good side, I finished second among the players from the RCN studio. On the really bad side, there were only two players from the studio (remember Alyssa), so second, also, turns out to be dead last.
Maurice won the pool even before the championship game was played. No one came within 20 points of him. He beat me by a whopping 53 points. I do not know Maurice very well, but here’s hoping he has no interest in becoming the RCN Sports Director.
So if you read this far, you now know that, for this particular blog, the title was very misleading and I became part of the FAKE NEWS movement. I won nothing! Usually I would thank you for reading my blog, but for this particular one, thanks for nothing!
ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
- I am anticipating a sleepy day on Tuesday. With the NCAA championship game starting at 9:20pm, it will be a late night for most sports fans. Now, I usually stay up to @11:30pm anyway and arise at 6:25am. I will probably lose about an hour sleep if I want to watch the award ceremony and wait for “One Shining Moment”. Plus, Charles Barkley makes me want to watch the postgame analysis. He just makes me laugh. So, unlike the other half of the country, the rest of us must suck it up on Tuesday morning.
- I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Women’s National Championship game on Sunday between Notre Dame and Baylor. For one thing, the game started at 6:00pm and was over by 8:30pm (see #1 above). For another, the talent level was amazing, and, just like the men, the game came right down to the end. Both coaches were a treat to watch. Good for the women!!
- With gambling now legal, more stories come out, usually from Las Vegas,concerning the big sporting events. It seems in November, a man who did not want to be identified, placed a wager at the Superbet for $1500 for Texas Tech to win the NCAA National Championship. The odds were 200-1. He wanted to place more money on the game, but the site would not take any more, limiting their risk. If Texas Tech wins, he will win $300,000. The Cowboys’ Dez Bryant offered to buy his ticket before the game is played for $125,000. The offer was not accepted.
- Every baseball fan knew the NL East was going to be super competitive and the early results bear that out. The Phillies, the Mets, and the Nationals are all off to a terrific start. The shocker so far is how badly the Red Sox are faring. Remember, it’s a marathon!
- On Sunday, April 14, I will be emceeing a night of recognition for two great Lehigh Valley Morning Call sports’ reporters, Paul Reinhard and Keith Groller. The two have combined for almost 100 years of tireless sports reporting. And, on the same night, RCN’s Scott Barr will be inducted into the Lehigh Valley Wrestling Hall of Fame. I wish I could also be there.
