COURTESY CBS.SPORTSLINE.COM Even the Psychic Friends Network hasn't helped Yalies with their tournament pools.

Tournament pools offer bragging rights, millions

Who would have guessed that top-ranked Stanford would be knocked out of the NCAA men's college tournament in the second round? According to Sandbox.com, sponsor of one of this year's largest pools, not too many people. In fact, as of Wed, Mar. 22, of the more than 300,000 entries from all over the country, only 1,469 still had all of the possible Final Four teams left. And after just three days of play, no contestant still had any shot at the whopping $10,000,000 offered for correctly picking the winner of all 63 games.

"I was really surprised by some of the results as early as the first round," Ben Reiter, BK '01, said. Reiter is involved in the Yale division of the Sandbox.com competition, a division with over 200 entries. After two rounds of play, Reiter is in second, having correctly picked the outcome of 37 of the first 48 games. Among Reiter's riskier picks was the bet that Louisiana State University (LSU) would make it to the Final Four, despite the pundits' favor of top-seeded Arizona: LSU advanced further than expected, but even with the top two seeds bounced fron LSU's bracket, the Tigers lost to Wisconsin, 61-48. "I really liked LSU," Reiter said. "Sending them to the Final Four could have been a really great pick for me."

Reiter is just one of many Yale students, faculty, and staff involved in a flood of tournament pools. A number of Yale students are entered in the annual ESPN.com pool, including members of the Yale Quiz Bowl Team, who compete with other Quiz Bowlers from across the country in a private league. Jim Goloboy, ES '00, who entered the Sweet 16 in fourth place in that division, was guardedly optimistic after what he called "a very surprising second round full of upsets." Augustine Kim, SM '02, used CNNSI.com to create his own small pool for himself and several friends. Kim has been hurt by betting on "sentimental favorites. I picked Temple and St. John's in the finals." Both were upset in the second round.

And while no Yalies have any shot at anything near a $10,000,000 jackpot, students involved in these and other pools could be taking home significant prizes. A first place finish in the Yale division of the Sandbox.com competition would net Reiter a $1,000 entertainment package. A first place finish in the ESPN.com pool is worth a $4,800 "sports vacation of a lifetime." That's not to mention the countless smaller pools around campus and the country. Experts predict that over $2 billion worth of bets are exchanged over the tournament each year.

Tournament play resumes this weekend with the Final Four scheduled for Sat., Apr. 1, and the championship game set to take place on Mon., Apr. 3. With Stanford out of the picture, projected winners vary from LSU to Michigan State. "Duke is my winner," Reiter said. "I'll be rooting for them."

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