Running a March Madness Pool

Running a March Madness Pool

It's that time of year, where your NCAA Tournament office pool turns everyone that fills out a bracket into a fledgling college basketball expert.

I'm here to give you a "March Madness Pool for Dummies," so to speak. All you need to know about running a March Madness pool - and hopefully succeed in winning it. First off, you will need to print out a bracket for all of your office cohorts to fill out. No doubt, even your boss will want to be part of it - in what other month than March will your boss condone gambling??

OK, send out that e-mail and put copies of those brackets in all of those office mailboxes - getting customers to join your pool is the first crucial step in running a March Madness pool. If you are wondering how much to charge, it really depends on how many people you expect to lure. Most times, it's either $5 or $10, although in this economy, it's really up to you. But make sure you collect the entry fee, if there is one, before the tournament starts, or you will be chasing that money for a month. Some don't charge money and offer a prize. I know of one company that gave its winning employee the day off for winning the office pool. Another sold bracket spots to advertisers and gave each advertiser that got a team into the Final Four a discounted rate. So, really, the prizes are left to your creativity.

That creativity also goes with scoring, although you certainly want to make the point total rise in each round. The standard scoring goes like this (always assigning points to each game winner): one point for Round 1 winners, two for Round 2 winners, four in Round 3 (Sweet 16 winners), six for Elite Eight winners, eight for Final Four winners and 10 for the national champion. Again, this is really up to you, but you want to significantly reward whomever gets the national champ and not just someone who got lucky in picking upsets in the first round or two.
You also won't want to bother with the play-in game, as there's just not enough time to turn around everyone's bracket by that Tuesday game following Selection Sunday.

You will want to e-mail out, or put up in the mailroom, the point totals after every weekend so people know where they stand. And obviously make sure that the contestants keep a copy of their bracket for themselves. You also will want to put out an original e-mail saying what each contestant predicted for the Final Four and national champion. You might be pondering doing all this online as opposed to the old print version, but I guarantee that if you are doing this in a large setting that you will encounter at least a few people who aren't comfortable doing this on the Internet or who will do it wrong and then refuse to pay. I think you will find doing it the old-fashioned way is still pretty fun. But at worst, you could have people fill out the brackets on paper and then input those results into one of those online sites that will tabulate it for you.
As for strategy, I won't pretend to have all the answers despite having won a few pools in my day.

I will say that all four No. 1 seeds have reached the Final Four just once since the field expanded to 64 in 1985 - and that was last year. There has been only one season where zero No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four - in 2006.

There almost always is an upset in one 5-12 game. Thirty-one times since 1985 a No. 12 has upset the No. 5 in the first round. But while there are plenty of upsets, it's still best to pick a No. 1 seed as your national champion. Since 1985, No. 1 seeds have won 14 championships.

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World Baseball Classic

Here is a preview of Round 2 of the World Baseball Classic with updated odds to win the tournament.

Pool 1 in San Diego

Korea (winner Pool A) +800, Japan (runner-up Pool A) +190, Cuba (winner Pool B) +350, Mexico (runner-up Pool B) +2000

This group opens with Japan vs. Cuba Sunday in a rematch of the 2006 WBC final that was won by the Japanese, 10-6. The contrast in styles in this group is enormous. Japan and Korea lived up to their 'pitching and defense' reputations as evidenced by their 1-0 final, won by Korea in Pool A of Round 1. However, Cuba and Mexico combined to slug 23 home runs in the opening round of the Mexico City group that was won by Cuba.
Japan at +190 is the co-favorite with the United States to repeat as WBC champions. They'll have to get through a tough group that includes Cuba, a team that has been as impressive as any in the tournament thus far. The Cuban lineup showed big punch with 29 runs in its three wins and the pitching staff held up nicely. Outfielder Frederich Cepeda (.500, three home runs and six RBI), and Yoemis Cespedes (.538, two home runs and three RBI) were among the tournament's offensive stars in the first round.
Mexico is dismissed at +2000 after a mediocre 2-2 opening round. They pounded 12 home runs to top the tournament in the initial round, but were a wildly inconsistent club as a whole. It's also worth noting the big offensive numbers put up by Cuba and Mexico came in Mexico City's mile-high altitude.
The Koreans and Japanese proved to be pitching-rich once again in the first round. It should provide some interesting matchups with the big offensive numbers put up by the Latin American clubs.
Korea went 3-1 to win Pool A and all three victories were by shutout, including a 1-0 win over Japan to clinch the top seed. Pitcher Jung Keun Bong has given up just five hits over 8.1 shutout innings to pace the Koreans. The Beijing Olympic gold medalist continues to exceed expectations in international competition, but Mexico seems more than capable of taking them out in the opener. That makes their 8-1 odds to win the whole thing seem devoid of value.
Mexico scored 30 runs in their two wins and gave up 33 runs in their two losses. That's a large swing that illustrates their inconsistency. Still, they certainly seem to have the ability and +2000 could provide fair value.

Pool 2 in Miami

Puerto Rico (winner Pool D) +700, Netherlands (runner-up Pool D) +5000, Venezuela (winner Pool C) +700, USA (runner-up Pool C) +190

The Netherlands got here with a pair of unthinkable wins over the Dominican Republic. The Cinderella story figures to end here. Aside from Cuba, Puerto Rico may have been the most impressive team of the opening round. They beat the Netherlands twice and blanked Panama, 7-0, to win pool D. Puerto Rico is deep and versatile. The pitching staff allowed just one run over 27 innings while striking out 28 and walking just eight in the first round. Future Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez seemed to have set the tone in the opener, going 4-for-4 with two home runs for Puerto Rico and they look like the value of the tournament at 7-1.
The U.S. beat Canada and split two games with Venezuela to advance to the second round. They will be without manager Davey Johnson, who left the team for personal reasons, for the opener vs. Puerto Rico. The U.S. middle relief has been a disappointment to this point and will need shoring up if the Americans hope to play up to their short price.
Venezuela proved it can score plenty of runs in the first round, banging out eight home runs and a .347 team batting average, but the starting pitching still seems too suspect to offer any support at 7-1.

NHL Betting: The Week's Biggest Stories

NHL Betting: The Week's Biggest Stories

The NHL trade deadline has passed, and it was a strange one. The trade action was very slow to get started, and though there were eventually almost as many deals as in recent years there weren't nearly as many big names with new addresses. Early-round draft picks were also more valued now than some years, as they didn't move much at all. Several teams got better now or into the future, but four did better than the rest.

Trade Deadline Winners

Calgary Flames - The big winners. They are securely leading their division, but they have been hit with key injuries that have significantly affected their scoring depth - Daymond Langkow, Rene Bourque, and Todd Bertuzzi. They also lacked defensive depth. They were able to address both, and give up nothing particularly meaningful in immediate terms in exchange. The big jewel was Olli Jokinen from Phoenix. The Flames have coveted the European forward for years, and the team has never really had a true offensive center to pair with Jarome Iginla. Jokinen paired with Iginla and Mike Cammaleri, who is having a very good offensive year, and the chemistry was immediate - Jokinen had two goals in his first period. To shore up the defense, they re-acquired Jordan Leopold. Leopold started his career in Calgary, so he will be comfortable in his new surroundings. He's a puck-moving defenseman who can be trusted in his own zone. When he was previously in town he had excellent chemistry with Roby Regehr, and that should be rekindled. These two moves make the team much better, and came at the cost of just one regular contributor - the speedy but inconsistent Matthew Lombardi.

Despite the improvements, Calgary still has a glaring need that they are helpless to fix. Goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff is very good, and it's a good thing - he has every single win for the team. The team seems to take a day off when Kipper is given a break. That won't be a factor in the playoffs unless the Finn gets injured. If that happens then the team's goose is cooked.

Boston Bruins - The Bruins are the class of the East, so they didn't need to do anything major. What they did do, though, just makes them deeper and more competitive. Forward Mark Recchi is in his twilight, but he has been around forever, and he adds a seasoned and respected veteran voice to a relatively young dressing room. Steve Montador isn't a big name, but he's a determined, capable defenseman who doesn't make a lot of mistakes and can be trusted in pressure situations. Both players are good additions.

New York Rangers - The Rangers desperately need to stop the freefall - they started out strong, but now just cling to a playoff spot by one point. The big story of the trade deadline for them was what they were unable to do - shed a big contract that weighs them down like an anchor - like the contracts of Scott Gomez or Chris Drury. They still made some nice moves, though. Nik Antropov is a huge, gritty forward, and that's something the Rangers are desperately lacking. They also picked up Derek Morris. The defenseman wasn't nearly as good in Phoenix as he was in Colorado or Calgary, but he adds power play depth and defensive intensity to the Rangers.

Pittsburgh Penguins - The Pens made their biggest impact before the trade when they traded Ray Whitney for Chris Kunitz. They made a significant deal on deadline day, though, when they picked up winger Bill Guerin. He's 38 and has seen better days, but he's a natural playmaker who may be able to play well with Sidney Crosby. Even if he ends up somewhere else, he's a tough, dependable veteran who will be a positive influence for a young team that has a tough fight ahead of them just to make the playoffs.

Standing Still

Several contenders were notable by their inaction. For the most part, the lack of moves made sense.

Detroit Red Wings - Detroit doesn't have much cap space, but they also don't have many flaws. The only potential need was a goaltender, and it was hard to find a guy who was affordable and was sure to be better than the two guys they have now. He certainly wasn't going to come without a big cost, and this team has been as successful as they are in large part because they stick to the plan and don't splurge on flashy talent unless it fits into their needs. Detroit was the favorite to win it all before the trade deadline, and they still are.

Vancouver Canucks - Vancouver is trying to chase down Calgary. They didn't change anything at the deadline, but they were playing so well at the time that they didn't need to, or want to risk the current chemistry. They really made their big splash before Christmas when they acquired Mats Sundin. You could argue that Vancouver could have been well served making a trade or two because they have more looming unrestricted free agents than they could possibly re-sign, and they could have at least got something in exchange. That's risky, though, especially when a team is a reasonable contender.

New Jersey Devils - A deadline deal can give a legitimate contender a boost. The Devils got their boost a week before the deadline when Martin Brodeur returned to action after a long injury absence. They are happy offensively and solid defensively. The only move they might have made is moving goalie Scott Clemmensen before they lose him as a free agent, but he's a very nice security blanket in case Brodeur suffers another setback. That security is more valuable than whatever they could have gotten for him.

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