Go You Mountaineers!

Despite Emperor Senator Frist's crackdown on online wagering, it can still be done if you do your homework.

So it gives me great pleasure to brag announce that my prop bet on West Virginia to win the men's NIT paid off nicely. Handicapping sports doesn't take nearly as much time as properly playing poker.

And, as my Final Four bracket is still intact with all four of my picks playing this weekend, I fully expect to be pulling down a Sony PS3 from a contest at a local TV station soon.

How much are those things going for on Ebay now?

Spin this, TJ Maxx

One benefit of not posting much is that posts stay on the front page for a while.

A couple of posts down, you can read TJX, parent company of TJ Maxx and Marshall's, downplaying a computer breach involving the theft of credit card numbers. "Substantially less than millions", a phrase I found nauseatingly funny at the time.

Now the number is estimated at 46 MILLION credit card numbers stolen. As a start.

Imagine my surprise.

Starring Forest Whitaker, Directed by Clint Eastwood

Now that Forest has won an Oscar for Best Actor, and Clint continues his roll as a director, it's time for these two to team up, right?

Been done.

Bird, a forgotten classic, really should be seen now.

It's a biopic of jazz great Charlie Parker, with Whitaker in the starring role.

Depressing as hell, but a damn good movie that I always thought deserved more attention than it got.

Check it out right away.

My Extensive Super Bowl XLI Writeup

Stupid Bears.

...and by 'screwed', we mean you're fucked

There was a security breach of a computer or two over at TJX company, who owns TJMaxx and Marshall's, among some other stores.

If you shop there, your credit card info might be in the hands of 'black hats' now.

The breach happened sometime in May, but wasn't discovered until December.

But, hey. Don't despair. According to the spin applied by TJX, all is probably well.

"(company spinmeister Debra) McConnell did not provide details on the scope of the breach but reiterated the company's earlier statement that credit and debit card information belonging to "a limited number" of individuals had been stolen from the compromised system. "And by 'limited' we mean substantially less than millions," she said.

I feel better already.

Bowl heartburn

I only feel partly bad that the Razorbacks lost the Citrus, Capital One, What's in Your Wallet Bowl. I didn't expect them to win, with such drama suffusing through the program. Book exposes, prima donna frosh, lunatic mommies... it doesn't bode well for a team's focus. Oh well. Better luck next year, Mitch.

I did feel good that I gave my father-in-law a winning pick. Georgia Tech beat the spread against West Virginia in... some other bowl.

I think, though, that he parlayed that with a bet on Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Crap.

Ah, well. A few more college games to go, then it's NFL playoff time.

Tags: sports