Just to get in another health message to you ...
I am feeling a bit better than earlier in the week, actually drove my car--the first time in a week--and did some errands, but I am still not myself, and probably won't be for a while.
My stamina and my energy are low, but yesterday, I also did more than two hours of work on top of everything, so I guess I have earned the right to be a bit worn down.
And Happy Passover to those who follow this great holiday.
It is a holiday where we can all be kings--or queens--as we participate in the holiday feast, and recite the Four Questions about "why this night is different from other nights."
Onto other things ...
As you probably know--whether you want to or not--March Madness is in full swing, and college basketball is revving up its season finale, where it will crown its champion.
I detest college athletics at this point in my life, because they are not amateur anymore, sort of a real minor leagues for primarily football and basketball.
On top of the scholarships the players get, they are being paid, their likenesses are worth money, and the coverage by the media is as if these kids are playing major league sports, which they are not.
And then you have the incessant betting that surrounds these sports and these college-age (18-22) athletes, and it is very unnerving.
And again, the media just goes with this, with even members of the media themselves making and breaking their own brackets, and proudly proclaiming so on the air and in the other media.
This is just plain wrong, but heck, we had a President who got into this while he was in office--President Obama--so if he can do it, anyone can.
The problem with that is that it has gotten to the point that we are truly opening ourselves up to a lot of future problems when kids, themselves, are getting into the betting game, and one story that came out this past week has bothered me to no end--
Probably no one else was bothered, but I was, for sure.
I am sure you heard about this story, because it was broadcast ad nauseum across TV and in the newspapers, but to me, something isn't right here.
The media gave great coverage to this kid who, not knowing what he was doing, chose the exact winners through the earliest rounds of the women's basketball tournament, beating incredible odds.
The media laughed about it, made this kid into some kind of hero, and also, in passing, mentioned that he was an eighth grader, just 14 years of age.
Like I said, that part of the story was mentioned in passing.
A 14 year old betting, making up a bracket?
How did the media find out about this?
Obviously, he created his bracket on one of those now legal betting services, and it probably came out from there, because it was so unusual.
But again, the kid is 14 years old.
He isn't even in high school yet.
Don't these gambling services prohibit minors from participating in their betting business?
Yet the media reported on this to put smiles on our faces, again, since it was so unusual.
Heck, the Associated Press and the NCAA reported on it, so the kid just didn't scratch this out on a piece of scrap paper--
He had to do it somewhere "official" and "legal" where it could be seen.
But doesn't this actually send out the wrong message?
Why is a middle school kid betting to begin with?
What service did he use to circumvent all the rules and be able to make his bracket?
Even if it wasn't on a service, why is a kid not even in high school making up a betting bracket at all?
Are his parents are so proud of him, since they are raising a bettor, rather than a scholar, in their midst?
The kid's bracket has since been broken, but he did something that even experienced bettors four and five times his age don't do.
But aren't we encouraging betting by minors by celebrating this kid's good fortune?
It just rubbed me the wrong way.
If you see all of those commercials on TV for legal betting, you have to squint to see it, but they all have disclaimers at the bottom of the screen about the dangers of betting.
If we applaud this kid, aren't we opening up a real Pandora's Box of underage kids betting, and becoming habitual bettors, which is a gambling addiction?
If I was reporting on this story, I would ask the kid and his parents the questions I asked earlier about his participation in an area that he really shouldn't be involved with.
But in our society today, we think that betting on the NCAA tournament is a big nothing, a fun thing to do, something that connects us with college athletics, an area that most people don't really care about unless it involves their own money.
Rather than applaud this kid, we should ask ourselves whether this kid really deserves our applause--
Or does he actually deserves our pity for what he is getting into at 14 years of age.
Maybe I am old fashioned, but if I was this kid's parent, I don't think I would be too happy that he was spending his spare time making brackets like this.
Probably the only good thing about this is that he has had his 15 minutes of fame, and maybe he can move onto something more constructive for a middle schooler to be doing to bide his time.
Betting should not be in his personal lexicon of things to be doing as he eases into high school.
But the media loves all this, thinks it is great, so what do I know?
I know what is right, and what is wrong, and this is just so wrong that it defies my understanding of why the media jumped on this like they did.
But then again, I know exactly why they did, and quite honestly, in 2026, it really doesn't surprise me one bet ... err ... bit.
