Hello TML, 

I have 100 hundred things I want to write about but I am going to cram it all into one article. (Doesn’t that bother you when someone writes “100” then writes “hundred” after it...No, ok never mind. It annoys me like this Family Guy episode where Stewie says cool whip in a weird way) Ok, way off topic.

First, I want to congratulate TML on their recent success. I know their readership is growing at a decent rate now, despite my recent posts. So good job, keep up the hard work.

Second, I apologize to those of you who used APLE with less than sparkling results in your bracket pools. BP, I am sorry. I hope we are still friends. After having a week to collect my thoughts, I have a number of average to above-average ideas for improving APLE going forward. Not the least of which is never picking Duke or Memphis again. Aghh. Of note, I am taking BP's "Sucky Statistic" comment seriously. Now that I have three years worth of predictions I can start to tell which teams my method overvalues and undervalues. This will help APLE make an adjustment to a team that the numbers say are good, but other less-quantifiable traits say are bad (like Duke's high number of nonathletic white guys). I think BP meant "The Sucky Statistic" as an insult, but when life hands you lemons, you "suck" them... sorry I had to do it.

Third, Gus Johnson is the best sports announcer for ANY sport...hands...down. He needs to be calling the Final Four for CBS instead of Jim Nantz.

Fourth, Tiger Woods is ridiculous. I have had numerous debates with people on whether he could excel at another sport like baseball. IMO, if Tiger played baseball growing up as much as he played golf, he would be DOMINATING baseball right now like no other. I am talking top fantasy pick every year for a decade. He’s at slightly worse than 2-1 right now for the Masters, I would take that all day.

Fifth, I hate the way the NCAA and universities treat college basketball players. The NCAA receives $545 million from CBS annually for the right to show all 63 tournament games. The players see none of it. The winning coach and athletic director from the tournament inevitably will see their contracts renewed with a much higher salary. The players see none of it. The college president receives millions of dollars from the NCAA when his/her school wins the tournament that they can use however they see fit. The players see none of it. Beyond that, if a coach, athletic director, or president sees a better opportunity and/or more money at another school, they can break whatever current contract they are under and move to that new place. If an athlete wants to change schools for ANY reason, they must sit out an entire year. All corporate endorsements and merchandising profits completely bypass the players and generally find their place in the wallets of the ones who already have millions, or to programs at the university that the athletes will never encounter. All of this because the athletes are receiving an “education”. I know the players receive a lot of media attention and other non-monetary benefits. I know SOME of the players will get paid soon when they move on to professional basketball. I know conflict of interests arise when money gets involved. However, I think it’s time to start paying college basketball players for the revenue that they are primarily responsible for bringing in.

Ok that’s it. I know that is not 100 things but like one of my professors say, “There are three kinds of statisticians, those that can count and those that can’t”.