Steve Cotler Steve Cotler

Category: Sports

Teaching Contract Bridge to Intelligent Women

— 3:16 pm · One comment

I learned contract bridge at 13 and played through grad school. Then came almost 40 years without a bid. But for the last year or so, I’ve been teaching bridge to a group of women. It has been a particularly satisfying endeavor for two reasons: 1) they are members of AAUW—American Association of University Women—and quite intelligent; and 2) the process enables me to recapture what I once knew and long since sequestered in remote memory recesses.

My weekly practice is to prepare a few hands Continue reading “Teaching Contract Bridge to Intelligent Women” →

Zorb in Slovenia

— 5:42 pm · Comments Off on Zorb in Slovenia

The ZorbIn 2002, my son and I toured Slovenia by car. Rarely featured as a travel destination, Slovenia is a gem: fabulous scenery, interesting and friendly people, inexpensive (comparatively) accommodations…and it has Zorb.

What is Zorbing? Well, the website states: Imagine yourself suspended inside a clear inflatable plastic ball of about 3 meters in diameter. And when you’re securely in the place, the ball is rolled down 150-meter long slope. (No brakes, no steering,  just you and gravity).

I could not imagine myself thus, but Continue reading “Zorb in Slovenia” →

LeBron’s Choice

— 3:44 pm · View all 2 comments

LeBron James, 25, is arguably professional basketball’s biggest star. A member of the Cleveland Cavaliers since jumping straight from high school in 2003, he has led the Cavs to playoff berths for six consecutive seasons. In addition to his basketball salary, he makes many millions each year from endorsements. In December 2007, James was ranked first in the Forbes “Top 20 Earners Under 25” with annual earnings of estimated at $27 million. He is a very wealthy young man with more lucre to come.

His contract with the Cavaliers Continue reading “LeBron’s Choice” →

“Muslim” March Madness

— 4:30 pm · View all 3 comments

Ali FarokhmaneshOmar SamhanWhat is the overlap between the set of all rabid NCAA Basketball Tournament fans and the set of all knee-jerk despisers of anything Islamic? I suspect the intersection is large.

If so, then the first two rounds of March Madness may promote more US-Islamic tolerance than all the State Department visits Hillary Clinton can schedule.

Two young men, Continue reading ““Muslim” March Madness” →

How to Bet on the NCAA Final Four

— 11:19 am · View all 4 comments

You pays your money and you takes your chances, but the House always has an edge.

Did you ever wonder how big that edge is?

Among the simplest edges to compute is Las Vegas roulette.  If your chips are on one of the numbers from 1 to 36, and you win, you get paid 35-1. That means that if you put $1 on each of those 36 numbers, when the ball drops onto one of those numbers, you’ll get your winning bet back plus $35; you’ll break even. Those are fair odds.  But the House, as I said, always has an edge. Las Vegas wheels include two other numbers that also pay 35-1: 0 and 00. So to be sure you’ll win, you’d have to place 38 one-dollar bets, thus giving the House a $2 profit on every $38 you bet (a 5.26% margin).

Coming up this week are the NCAA basketball Final Four games, Continue reading “How to Bet on the NCAA Final Four” →

Steve with students at an author event

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