The Insurance Doctor

Tag: sports

  • 5 Observations from the 2018 US Tennis Open

    Fans flocked to see this year’s US Tennis Open.  In fact, the all-time attendance record was set with over 800,000 people going through the Billy Jean King stadium turnstiles!  Having gone every year since the 1980’s when my brother and I were ball boy kids, I have the following observations:

    1. The ITF (International Tennis Federation): needs to tighten up how they communicate and enforce their codes of conduct. It’s a disgrace that I feel the need to list this as #1 this year!
    2. Roger Federer is not the same player: One of my favorites didn’t look the same in his loss to John Millman.
    3. Flushing Meadows need a new A/C: There was no airflow and it had a huge effect on the tournament.  Refer to #2 above and YouTube the match. Several quality players had to retire due to the heat.
    1. The food is as good as ever: They get about 20% turnover on the food vendors and it makes me proud to be from Queens where you see so much diverse and delicious ethnic specialties ?
    2. Men and women should not be paid the same: Unless the men are playing best of 3 sets or the women switch to a best of 5 format, I don’t think the prize money should be the same. As an avid tennis fan, I’m open to your thoughts on all of these topics!
  • 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?