Get Ready 2011, Here We Come

Helen and I have been busy over the past few days, so I'll try to give you an overview of our activities.

Thursday was a big day for us. We went to the Thomas and Mack arena to see CMU take on the Runnin' Rebels of UNLV. I bet $25 on CMU +22.5, but that was wasted money as the Rebels embarassed the Chips, 73-47. It was worse than the final score indicated. Here are some lowlights by CMU.

Right from the opening minutes, CMU could not cope with the aggressive pressing defense of UNLV. They committed turnover after turnover - twice being unable to inbound the ball within 5 seconds and twice stepping on the sideline after being swarmed by the Rebels.

After 12 minutes of play, CMU had 6 points - only 2 baskets and 2 free throws. Fortunately, UNLV had a cold first half and led only by 12 at halftime. So I had real hope when the Chips cut the lead to 4 pts early in the second half, but then the roof fell in and UNLV rolled to the 26-point win.

We had a lot of fun, though. We had seats in the handicapped section, a special area at one end of the court. Unable to see the scoreboard, we had TVs right in front of us. Of course, UNLV has to add a little zest to their pregame show. What other team darkens the arena, then shoots off fireworks from the backboards during the pregame lineup announcements? Another great touch is the UNLV dance team - four members do standing backflips in unison for every basket the Rebels make!!

It was a really fun night and Helen enjoyed it very much.

Friday I played a little blackjack, losing $22 at the Suncoast. But I offset that by winning a 3-team football parlay with Florida State, Notre Dame and Central Florida - all underdogs - winning outright. It paid $140.

Dinner was a Papa John's pizza - a large with everything for only $10.

Today I was up early and made us a breakfast of fried potatoes and scrambled eggs with sauteed onions & mushrooms. Lunch was turkey sandwiches as we watched football. I lost all my fb bets when MSU and U-M got crushed. That killed my 3 teaser/parlay bets and left me with a year-opening loss of $60.

With December in the books, I totalled up my gaming numbers. For the month, I won $2,422 in 19 winning days and lost $518 in 9 losing days. That gave me a profit of $1,904 over the 19 winning days - $100 a day.

Today Helen is taking down the Luther Tree and doing laundry. I'll be making dinner later, either salads or lasagna (thank you Stouffers). And tomorrow our adventure will continue...