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 Some
came running. One almost drove onto the sidewalk honking his horn.
"Stop-don't close-I know it's 5 p.m., but I need my Blue Ribbon
College Basketball Yearbook-that Tournament Edition!" one man
yelled as I was locking our front door. Another was so out of breath
and virtually exhausted from his run from a bus stop. I had to get
them copies.
How can one
70-page, 8x11-sized paperbound generate so much excitement? It's
$20-but price is no matter. It's the key to unlocking the "secrets"
of the Big Dance-who's likely to cover or pull an upset or get to
the Final Four of the focused time of the year for college hoops
bettors.
Amazing the
job editor Chris Dortch and crew did in so little time. The field
was announced Sunday afternoon, the book was compiled and printed
Sunday and Monday, we got books Tuesday afternoon, and customers
not unlike Harry Potter fans, were salivating over their copies
hours later at Gambler's Book Shop.
There was concern.
"Did you order enough? Don't run out. Can I pay ahead of time? Can
my friend buy five copies for me?" Baby-faced 21-year-olds and 70-year-old
grannies reached for copies.
Okay-let's get
to what they're all looking for-and quick. This is a book that is
similar to snow-beautiful to look a, but good only for a few days
because the information must be used to find an edge almost immediately.
It's a book that must be in the hands of most bettors within 72
hours. Talk about some requests for Overnight Fed Ex-and money is
not a factor!
Duke for obvious
reasons got first listing in the book. A major section analyzes
how it got to be where it is in bracketing, ranking. Starters are
listed, then key reserves, followed by team statistics. They're
hitting 49 percent of their field goal attempts, 40 percent of their
three-point attempts, averaging 92 points a game, allowing 71 points
a game.
How does the
backcourt and frontcourt stack up? The book outlines what factors
kick in when Duke wins and what it will take to beat the Blue Devils.
The book points out Duke has a "short bench," and that great offensive
rebounding will be a factor in upsetting them.
A final section
looks at Duke's Last Five Years, their records, their results, when
they were number one seed.
There are no
pointspreads in this book-nothing mentioning betting or wagering.
But the book contains clues and easy-to-apply
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