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Washington Vs. Stanford (1/29/2005)
The moons aligned last
night and the Gambling Gods came out in full effect. It was
a rainy Sunday afternoon and I decided to take a shot and throw
around some benjamins. Somehow, I was able to get up $170 at the
2 pm games. I even shut down and stayed away the rest of the
afternoon, thinking I would have a little satchel for the upcoming
Super Bowl the next weekend. At about 8:30pm, the wife-to-be was
up on the computer working diligently on our wedding plans. I was
flipping around the TV and there it was, WASH vs STANFORD, the
Sunday Night Bail-Out Game, the last game on the slate for the
week.... but I was relaxed, calm, I didn't need to bail this
week! I knew a good friend of mine had a wager on Wash -2. I
watched the last 10 minutes of the first half and had never seen
such sloppy basketball in my life. I started making the 2nd half
over/under in my head.... 71 1/2... if its 73 1/2, I have to rail
this game. End of the 1st half 33-28, 61 points. I ran up to the
computer, kicked the wife off for a few minutes, and as the line
punched up, there it was, 78 1/2 points. Now, the 2nd half is
always a higher scoring half but this was a 5 point differential
from my 73 point "rail" line. I had to go for it, I was up 172.50
in my account and put in $157 bet to lose $172.70, this was a
"money-maker"!!!
That is when the Gambling Gods started to chuckle up above. This
guy is getting cute and putting in a $157 bet, we'll show him.
Here we go, 2nd half action, 80 points, 20 minutes, 4 points per
minute. The Gods made me sweat it early, right on track at the 5
minute mark and again at the 10 minute mark, this could be tight
as each team pushed the ball up the floor. Then the game got
tight.... nice, I'm way ahead at the five minute mark, please no
OT and this is a gimmie, a true moneymaker. One minute and change
to, all tied, and then the foul came. Bang he missed the second
shot, YESSS, we have a one point differential, I LOVE IT!!
Stanford, down 1 with 5.9 seconds to go, inbounding at half
court. 60 points scored in the 2nd half, WELL BELOW my 78 1/2
line, 1 point game, this is a marker and a nice 3 bandy satchel
now for the Bowl. Stanford in bounds, runs a play, turnover,
FOUL with 2.1 seconds. SWEET, game over.... wait a minute, my
buddy has Wash -2, yeah, I'm routing for my buddy, make the 2
shots, I got plenty of room for the under. The announcer says
"Wash is not in the bonus, it is not a shooting foul". Oh man,
now I'm getting juiced for my buddy, foul before the time runs out
so he can win too. FOUL, no time off the clock, SWEET!!! BANG,
makes the first shot!!! 2-point game, push at a minimum for my
buddy. That is when the announcers start chirping "conventional
wisdom says to miss the 2nd shot because there just isn't enough
time, BUT I THINK HE SHOULD MAKE IT"... I think he should make it
too, let's go!!! 3 time-outs later, BANG, he makes it.
UNBELIEVABLE, this is going to be a sweet win for my buddy!
Time-out.
Now for those of you who gamble, you know the jinx factor that
your wife/fiance/girlfriend brings to the table. This
instance was no different. I started to cringe when I heard
her walking down the stairs with 2.1 second to go and everything
on the line. All I could think was "please go into the
kitchen, please." No such luck, she was in the room, she had
know idea who I had or what the spread was.
2.1 seconds, here we go.... in bound all the way to half court,
pass to the 3-point arc, about to shoot.... FOUL. What????
You're kidding me??? NO WAY!! THIS IS A JOKE!!! My fiance says,
"boy was that a stupid foul." Now, early on in my
relationship, a comment like that might of put me over the top and
a fight immediately would have broken out. But I have
learned now (9 years later) it is better to bite my lip and just
let the game play out. Still has to make 3 foul shots in a
row? Bang 1, Bang 2, TIME OUT.... c'mon, ice this guy... BANG,
we're all tied up as the ball barely gets over the front rim, I
mean it was slow motion like when a dealer has 16 and the 5 just
seems to drop down for 21 as slow as can be.
And there you have it, I didn't have to watch the OT to know they
would score more than 15 points and that Wash had no chance of
covering for my friend after that turn of events. I'm even for
the week, no big deal, but it is the principle, I can't go on like
this! I know this won't be my last entry into the worst turns in
my gambling career, but it will at least make me stay on the
sidelines for a while.
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