16 I WEDNESDAY, March 16, 2005
's. Rot ki
liirtois
Nevada
Alabama
---~..~
Boston Colin
Pennsylvania 13
Afmna
Tom Gannam/Associated press
Brian McCrea (left) and Earl Elliott place school names on a six-story, 72-by-48-foot NCAA men's basketball tournament
bracket in St. Louis, the host city for the 2005 Final Four. The world's largest bracket will be updated after each round.
Vegas, fans ready for tourney
By Tim Dahlberg
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
LAS VEGAS Hours before the first
game of the NCAA tournament tips off
tomorrow, every seat will be taken in
the Mandalay Bay sports book and peo
ple will be lining up at the betting win
dows with fistfuls of cash. Those lucky
enough to grab a table won't leave until
the night's final game is over or their
bankroll runs out.
The hotel is all booked up, too, but if a
room did become available it would run
$599 a night. ,
Up and down the glittering Las
Vegas Strip, the story is the same.
Hotels will be packed and so will the
sports books, where many fans will
spend the entire weekend watching and
betting the games.
But betting on the NCAA tournament
is one thing that doesn't stay in Vegas.
In dorm rooms, offices and homes
across the country, people can make a
few clicks of the mouse and bet up to
$lO,OOO or so on their favorite team.
And one out of every 10 Americans
will carefully fill out their brackets,
throw $2O or so in the office or bar pool
Kappa Kappa Gamma Alumnae and
Friends of Peg Riley
Proudly announce
The Annual Peg Riley Loyalty Award
to recognize an outstanding student who has completed four semesters
of undergraduate study, achieved a positive academic record and
demonstrated loyalty to the University.
Further information and applications for this $lOOO award are now available.
Deadline for applications and supporting material is Noon, Wednesday,
March 30, 2005 at the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life (863-8065)
209 HUB-Robeson Center
You've got the skills,
now mold them into a
new career.
You've got the skills we're looking for. You're organized, know
how to take initiative, and work well with people. This is your
chance to take those skills and use them in a new way. When
you join American Express as a financial advisor, you'll get all
the training and support you need to make your transition as
easy as possible. Plus, you'll have control over how you start
your career with us and expand your practice.
If you're ready to see ho y i i -OM bike you, whflO" •
working in an place where your rewards will match your efforts,
visit us at: americanexpress.com/advisorcareers or contact:
Equal Employment Opportunity Employer TTY: 1-800-766-2979
American Express Financial Advisors Inc. Member NASD. American Eipress
Company is separate from American Express Financial Advisors Inc. and is not
a broker-dealer. /'
Q
II - 004 •.. eric • • xpress •• • cial Cozpor • tio • . • ; •11 I. •
Division
Men's B a
2065
Nem
Uicono Round
and hope they can claim bragging
rights and make a little money at the
same time on what happens between
now and April 4.
As much as the NCAA hates it and
hate it, it does the madness this
March extends far beyond the basket
ball court. Millions will reach into their
wallets to back their teams and, for the
first time, some say it's possible more
money will be bet on this year's tourna
ment than the Super Bowl. Though fig
ures are hard to come by because
much of the money is bet privately, one
internet betting site estimated a stag
gering $3.5 billion about the same as
the gross national product of Mozam
bique will be bet on the 63 games
that will crown a college basketball
champion.
"There's a lot of people who will be
betting every single one of these
games," said Stuart Doyle, wagering
director at the Internet gambling site
BetWWTS.com. "People on the East Coast
will set at their dining room table bet
ting from 11 in the morning until 1 the
next morning, then do the same thing
again the next day."
American Express Financial Advisors Inc.
Suite 100, Four Tower Bridge
200 Barr Harbor Drive
West Conshohocken, PA 19428
marie.y.meyers@aexp.com FAX: 610-825-8913
Though this city's sports books are
SPORTS
t •knecii SemiNNals
t:t blirry;,
St. Louis
April 2
the most visual epicenter of NCAA bet
ting, the $BO-90 million that bookmakers
estimate they'll take in on the tourna
ment won't come near what is wagered
with Internet sports books. Though
most of the pools are small and done
mostly for fun and bragging rights, the
NCAA staunchly opposes them just as
it does any other form of betting on col
lege sports.
"The point we're making is, if you're
putting money at risk whether it's a
dollar or $lO,OOO it's a violation," said
Bill Sawn, the NCAA's director of gam
bling activities. "No one thinks a dollar
pool is going to have an impact on the
integrity of a game, but our kids get so
many mixed messages we don't want to
send any more."
Las Vegas sports books will likely
total less than $lOO million, but the first
week of the tournament has grown into
one of the biggest events of the year on
the Strip.
"It's become one of our biggest week
ends of the year," spokesman Gordon
Absher said. -"If a room did become
available it would be $599 a night and
there's a line of people waiting to pay
that."
St. tails
mil 4
Make the most important inves
you can make - An investment
Interview Suit Package
0100% Worsted Wool Suit, 04 Price $365-$385
*Cotton Blend Dress Shirt, 04 Price $55
•Pure Silk Tie 04 Price $35
•FREE Fapert Alterations included.
Special Package Price
$299
1 1 ,7
Downtown State College • 814.237.8900
Logan Valley Mall • Altoona • 814.942.1164
Purve ors of Style
WE 010. -_ . .. PENN STATEti.
Redskins pursuing
ex-PSU DE Brown
Washington has shown interest in signing Courtney Brown,
the No. 1 pick in 2000, who was released by Cleveland.
By Joseph White
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON Joe Gibbs wasted
no time before starting a pursuit of for
mer No. 1 overall draft pick Courtney
Brown.
Within hours after Browns' release
by the Cleveland Browns, the Washing
ton Redskins coach flew to Cleveland
with defensive line coach Greg Blache
and had dinner with Brown and
Brown's wife Monday night, an official
within the league told The Associated
Press on condition of anonymity.
The official said Brown was expect
ed to visit Redskins Park later this
week.
Brown, the first overall choice in the
2000 draft, was cut by Cleveland
because he would not renegotiate his
contract
He would have been due a $2.5 mil
lion roster bonus yesterday.
Browns general manager Phil Sav
age said he still hoped the team could
re-sign the oft-injured defensive end.
But Brown quickly drew interest
from other teams, including the Red
skins.
Washington is in need of a pass
rushing end, having relied heavily on
Williams remembers boos,
will skip next
By Steven Wine
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
MIAMI Four years later, Serena
Williams says the memory of being
jeered at Indian Wells, Calif., remains
vivid, which is why she's skipping the
tournament this week
Instead she's home in Palm Beach
Gardens, working on her fashion busi
ness and preparing to seek her fourth
consecutive Key Biscayne title at the
Nasdaq-100 Open, which begins March
23. Serena and her sister Venus last
played at Indian Wells in 2001. They
were supposed to meet each other in
the semifinal that year, but Venus
pulled out with knee tendonitis,
prompting speculation she ducked the
mat&
The crowd booed the family, includ
ing Serena as she won the final.
"If anyone could be in my shoes, to
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
linebackers and cornerbacks for many
of their larks last season.
Brown was also a . teammate at Penn
State wi th Redskins linebacker LaVar
Arrington, the No. 2 overall pick in
2000.
If Washington acquires Brown, the
team will have the top three picks from
that draft: Brown, Arrington and tackle
Chris Samuels.
But Brown also represents a gamble
because he hasn't played a full season
since his rook ie year. He has missed 33
games with injuries over the past four
seasons, including the final 14 games
last year after tearing a ligament in his
foot. Brown's other injuries have
included a torn knee ligament, a high
ankle sprain, knee cartilage damage
and a ruptured right biceps tendon.
Only as a rookie did he appear in all
16 games, and he has just 17 career
sacks over five seasons.
NYC could host Super Bowl
NFL owners could vote next week
on whether to play the 2010 Super
Bowl in New York at a new stadium
built for the Jets on the West Side of
Manhattan.
The vote would come at the NFL
meetings in Hawaii.
rff•m=l
be 19 years old and have a whole crowd
jeer I can't explain that feeling,"
Williams said yesterday during a WTA
Tour conference call. "I've never felt
like that before in my career, and I
hope never to feel like that again.
"I enjoy going places where people
enjoy seeing me play. That was one
place where apparently a lot of people
didn't want to see me play"
Williams said Indian Wells has a
great field Lindsay Davenport and
Maria Sharapova were among those
winning Monday to reach the quarter
finals and she wishes the tourna
ment well. But she has no plans to
return.
"It would be really hard for me to
walk back on that court and be out
there," she said. "I'm not upset about
it. I'm not bitter about it.
"I'm home. I'm having a relaxing
time. I love it."