Sports gambling column: Week 27

Remember those double chance bets I made the last time I wrote this column? Well, it turns out those were a little too good to be true because I found out after the semifinals of March Madness that those bets only applied if either of the teams in the bet won the championship, not just if they advanced to the championship game. I had Texas Tech and Auburn in one bet, and Michigan State and Auburn in the other. I thought I had won money on Texas Tech when they beat Michigan State to get to the championship game, but I had misinterpreted the bet. The worst part is because Texas Tech got to the championship, I would have been guaranteed money if only one of the two ridiculous things in the Auburn-Virginia game didn’t happen. If a double dribble at the end of the game was called correctly on Virginia’s Ty Jerome, or if Kyle Guy didn’t get the benefit of what I thought was a weak foul call that allowed him to hit three free throws with under a second remaining to take a one-point lead over Auburn. I think the double dribble non-call was a little more egregious, but I’m still pissed about the foul call, especially since I would have made a lot more money if Auburn had ended up winning the championship.

Now, I’m trying to make back some of the money I lost during March Madness on betting on something I understand much better: the NBA playoffs. After they beat the Sixers in game one, I decided to place a bet on the Nets to win the series at +175 odds. Even though the Sixers blew out the Nets in game two, the Nets were still able to get the 1-1 split for the first two games in Philadelphia and will be playing at home for the next two games. Nets point guard D’Angelo Russell still hasn’t had a great game so far in the series, and I think he will have at least one in this series which should get the Nets a win by itself. Add that with what should be a wild Brooklyn crowd for games three and four, and I still think the Nets have a decent chance at taking the series. I’ll be watching the series prices in every round of the playoffs, and chances are that’s mostly what I’ll be putting money on for the next month and a half. I’m excited to see how these playoffs turn out, as this is my favorite time of the year to be a sports fan other than the first two rounds of the NFL playoffs.

Money spent to date: $310

Winnings to date: $197.99