It's Over. And This Time It's For Good.

Last night something happened that will effect the way I watch sports for the next couple of years. That seems like an overstatement, but let me tell you what happened.

I was at a bar with some people consuming a large number of microbrews and behind the bar there was a TV showing the Uconn/Stanford women's NCAA championship game. I wasn't paying any attention to it, until someone took notice to how low scoring the first half was. At that point, we all watched as UConn missed a shot as the first half clock expired, finishing with an unbelievably low 12 points for the half. The score at that point was 20-12, with Stanford leading.

Without knowing anything about women's NCAA hoops, we all agreed that had to be a record low for points in a half and we wondered what the second half over/under would be. I went on to my mobile sports betting application (which is the worst thing that could have ever happened to me as a better) and saw that the line was 65!!! That is more than double what was scored in the first half! How could that be? It was too easy, right? Even if UConn started playing close to the same form that has lead them to an astonishing 78 wins in a row, surely Stanford would collapse. Well myself and another guy decided to empty my account on that notion and of course in betting, there is no bet that is too easy.

UConn started the second half on a 17-2 run, which was actually a good thing for us. If Stanford stayed cold and was taken out of the game, we'd probably see UConn get into a maintenance mode. Instead, Stanford hit a couple of late threes, got back in the game, and was forced to start fouling late to extend the game. And there we were, with 18 seconds left, needing Stanford to miss a pair of free throws to save our bet. Swish. Swish. The bet was lost, in the end, by 3 points.

So what? I lost a bet. Big deal. Well, its more than that. I realized that no matter how hard I try, I don't have any discipline when it comes to betting. If I have money in my account, I will bet on anything. In fact, I placed a handball bet this year. True story. And I also realized that no matter how much I think I know about sports, the oddsmakers know better. UConn had averaged over 80 points in their previous 4 games, and the over was clearly the better bet.

So my account is empty, and I decided that I will take a hiatus from wagering for, wait for it.......the remainder of 2010 and 2011. I am leaving the door open for a return in 2012, but its not promising. If I cant stay away from the women's NCAA championship game while I'm out at a bar, how can I be trusted during major sports?