The Insurance Doctor

Category: basketball

  • 10 Tailgating Tips

    10 Tailgating Tips

    One of the best things about the fall aside from the foliage is football season which means tailgating.  Over the years I’ve seen some crazy things at tailgates such as 6 cars going on fire at the Jet’s opening day game in 2016.  Follow these tips to ensure a safe and fun tailgate.

    1. Time it right: Try to arrive about 3 hours before kickoff to get the perfect spot.  If you are not tailgating postgame, pack up 30 minutes before kickoff.tg-jets

    2. Invest in real estate: Seek out spaces (or send somebody else to go early) by the grass, edge of the parking lot and close to the bathroom.  Fewer neighbors mean fewer issues.

    3. Be a tool: Fill a toolbox with your favorite grilling essentials (utensils, zip lock bags, napkins, bottle opener etc).

    4. Rethink your drink: We suggest multi-colored cups to identify which is yours as drinks can get nasty.  Also use cups with straws to protect from insects.

    5. Reduce, reuse, recycle:  Cardboard drink carriers make good snack holders.  Less is more and makes cleanups easier.

    6. Koozie up:  Always keep between 5-10 koozies in your car for guests.

    7. Freeze it: Putting your water in the freezer the night before equals a giant ice cube which comes in very handy on game day .

    8. Dress in layers:  There can be huge temperature swings this time of year especially 4p games when the sun goes down in the middle of the game.

    9. Keep a duffle bag in your trunk:  keep extra clothes, hats, flashlights, batteries, bungee cords and a fire extinguisher can etc.

    10. Dump coals in specified bins:  Almost all stadiums have specified bins for dumping hot coals.  Leaving smoldering coals is hazardous to you and everybody else!

  • 10 Interesting March Madness NCAA Facts

    10 Interesting March Madness NCAA Facts

    March Madness is upon us!  One of my favorite times of the year.  Check out these fun facts about the men’s NCAA basketball tournament:

    1. Started in 1939: In the first year there were only 8 teams and the Oregon Webfoots defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes.
    2. March Madness Phrase: It was first uttered by Brent Musberger in 1982 during the tournament telecast.
    3. First NCAA bracket pool: In 1977 the first bracket pool was invented at Joey’s Club Forest bar in Staten Island, NY. It was a draft, there were 88 teams and it was $10/team. The pool was up to $1.5m in 2005 and was shut down in 2006 by the IRS due to tax evasion.
    4. NCAA tourney single-game scoring record: Notre Dame shooting guard Austin Carr scored 61 points in an opening-round game vs. Ohio. David Robinson is 2nd all-time scoring 50 points in a game for Navy in 1987.
    5. One coach has won NCAA and NBA titles: This was accomplished by Larry Brown with Kansas in 1988 and the Detroit Pistons in 2004.
    6. UCONN Men and Women: UCONN is the only school that has fielded the men’s and women’s champs in the same year having done it twice in 2004 and 2014.
    7. The most NCAA titles: UCLA has won the most titles with 11. They won 7 in a row under legendary coach John Wooden from 1967-73.  Kentucky is in 2nd place all-time with 8 titles.
    8. 16 seed vs. 1seed: This year the #16 seed UMBC aka the University of Maryland Baltimore County beat #1 seed Virginia Cavaliers for the first time in NCAA tourney history!
    9. The lowest seed to win: The 8th seeded Villanova Wildcats were the lowest seed to ever win the tournament in an epic game beating Georgetown in 1985 when there was no shot clock.
    10. Betting and work loss: Wallethub estimates $1.9b in lost hourly corporate losses due to workers’ productivity being diverted to the NCAA. Other than the Super Bowl, the NCAA tournament is the 2nd most betted sporting event of the year!

  • 8 Reasons this was the Best NBA season ever

    2016 will go down in the history books as one of the best seasons in NBA history. Here are my eight reasons

     

    1. The Golden State Warriors break Michael Jordan’s Bulls sacred single season record going 73-9.insurance, New York, financial services, Queens
    2. LeBron James’ Cavaliers shock the world coming back from a 3-1 deficit and win the title, breaking the city of Cleveland’s 52-year city championship drought.
    3. MVP candidate Kevin “KD” Durrant signs a free agent contract with the powerhouse Warriors.
    4. The NBA salary cap rises a record 34% from $70-94 million due to TV revenues and a collective bargaining agreement that demands it gets spread to players.
    5. The salary cap increase will help small-market teams lure better quality free agents, however the better teams will be able to spend more as well.
    6. LeBron James and KD lead one of the most talented groups of free agents in one off-season all time.
    7. The large-market Knicks and Lakers are positioned going forward to actually be watchable.
    8. Jeremy Lin brings his “Linsanity” to the hapless Brooklyn Nets team. Where will LeBron James sign?

  • 4 Fun March Madness 2016 Questions

    A lot of people are predicting that this will be the most insane NCAA Tourney in a long time because, well, it’s coming immediately following one of the most insane regular seasons the sport has ever seen.

    1. Increased madness? In 2015-16, teams ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press Top 25 were beaten a grand total of 74 times, the highest total in the history of the poll. Top five teams suffered a total of 37 losses, 21 of which came at the hands of unranked teams. No. 1 teams weren’t immune to the madness, either, as five of them fell before the season hit February, something that had not taken place since 1949.m-madness-b-ball
    2. Stephen F. Austin?: While the world continues to focus its mid-major attention on Gonzaga and Wichita State, Stephen F. Austin just continues to whoop on any fool who dares to stand in its way. The Lumberjacks were the only team in college basketball to go 18-0 in conference play this season and will carry the nation’s longest winning streak (20) into the NCAA Tournament.
    3. When Will #1 seeds lose? Since the NCAA tournament was expanded to 64 teams the #1 seeds ate 124-0. #2 seeds during that same 31 year period are 117-7.  The last 2 times it happened was in 2012 when my Lehigh Mountain Hawks, led by C.J. McCollum beat Duke 75-70 and in 2013 Georgetown fell to FGCU aka Florida Gulf Coast U.
    4. Who are the lowest seeds to ever make the final 4? The lowest seed to ever make the final four is #11 and it happened 3 times. LSU did it first in 1986 followed by George Mason in 2006 and VCU did it back in 2011.

    The first week of the NCAA tournament has been known to have the highest work absentee rate as well as the lowest production rate of any non-holiday week of the year!