MonkeyBusinessBlog

Big D Is Just Seeing Red

2010-03-21T09:27:24-04:00

Well that was a disappointing Saturday going 1-2 and all. It makes us angry. As a matter of fact, we are seeing RED. As in BIG RED. As in, CORNELL BIG RED. Sure they are only getting 4.5 points versus the "beast" of the Big 10 (is that saying much?), Wisconsin. But CORNELL is a very dangerous team, that doesn't seem to be playing or acting like an underdog. Take CORNELL +4.5 versus Wiscy!

Big D Says "So Close. So Close but Yet So Far"

2010-03-20T09:22:39-04:00

Editor's Note--Well that was a tough way to go 1-2 last night Big Dick. A couple of bounces and you would've gone 3-0. But there's plenty of tournament to go. Let's get back up on the gambling horse and ride into the sunset. Preferably, with a wallet that we can't close--R.B.

Yes, Richie, a bitter pill last night. Both SIENA and HOUSTON in the very midst of covering the spread only to be thwarted at the very end. GONZAGA was an easy winner. We don't look favorably on 1-2 days. Today we have 3 more college specials.

ST.MARY'S is one of those teams that no one has really heard of until they see them in March. Well it's March. Villanova looked great until about 3 weeks ago and then something happened. Big Dick is here to tell you that ST.MARY'S is a better team than Robert Morris and 'Nova could've easily lost that game to Robert Morris. We get 4.5 points for our troubles. Take ST.MARYS.

OHIO is +8.5 versus Tennessee. Let me repeat that. OHIO is +8.5 versus Tennessee. Um thats no respect. TAKE OHIO.

Finally, in the NIT, let's ride the hot NC STATE train at Uab. Getting 5 points.

So stay tuned tomorrow on this same bat channel around the same bat time for Sunday's selections! But for today: ST.MARYS+4.5 vs Villanova, OHIO+8.5 vs Tennessee, and NC STATE+5 @ Uab. Good luck and god bless!

No Ho's in Atlantic City.....Really?

2010-03-19T12:26:41-04:00

It looks like the MGM/Mirage company is being forced to sell their 50% stake in the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, NJ. Apparently, the NJ Gaming Commission is aghast (aghast I say!) that the MGM/Mirage is doing business with reported organized crime figure Stanley Ho. See, MGM owns 50% of a hotel/casino in the Chinese island of Macau with the Ho family owning the other half. Not sure what this has to do with Atlantic City but I gather they have a big law against people being in organized crime and owning casinos. I did not make that up.

So the MGM/Mirage was given a choice by New Jersey. Either sell their stake in the Macau Casino or sell their stake in Atlantic City. Now I haven't been to their place in Macau, but I couldve bet you which one they were gonna choose to sellin about 3 seconds. Atlantic City, for the most part, is a dump. Now the Borgata is a nice spot, thats true, but my conspiracy theory hat just went on. What if the MGM/Mirage saw that Atlantic City is/was a dump, will be for awhile, and it might not be so great to own the "best house on the block" in a cesspool neighborhood? But if they sold their 50% stake in the Borgata in today's market, they might take a big loss. They can now go to their shareholders and say, "Yeah we took this big hit but it was the REGULATORS fault, for not wanting any Ho's in Atlantic City. Sorry." Maybe they even spark a shareholders revolt against New Jersey.

Call me crazy, but last I checked the MGM/Mirage has some pretty solid operations in Las Vegas (Bellagio, Mirage, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, etc). If you were worried a lot about the economy in Atlantic City, which people are, wouldn't you want to keep guys like MGM around who know how to make things work? Now the one good place they have there, the Borgata, is going to be sold to some other party? I smell a rat. Isn't this going to cost more jobs when the new entity that buys it, takes on debt, and has to "cut costs"?

Where are my Ho's?!? Well the Ho family is denying any organized crime affiliation. Sounds like there is gonna be a big, bad dice roll in this situation.

Now enjoy the hoops games.

Big D Asks Who the Expert is NOW?!?!

2010-03-19T10:09:12-04:00

Editors Note-- That was about the craziest day 1 in NCAA basketball tourney history yesterday. We saw a lot of interesting things. One that stands out particularly is that anyone who is referred to as James, Jim, or Jimmy will now be called "Jimmer", by Big D. I'm even thinking of changing my daughter and dog's name to Jimmer. Or calling everyone Jimmer. Today will probably be no different. We are ALL over this now Big D! Bring IT!--R.B.

So much for the bracketologists, biodegredabologists, and scientologists, saying there would be no upsets, eh? In our first game, in case you weren't seeing things right, the OHIO BOBCATS were GETTING 13.5 points, not LAYING 13.5 points last night. But even if they were LAYING 13.5, they still covered! Big Dick asks this question, "Is a game really a shocking upset, when one team is up by double digits virtually the whole game?" Um, we think not. Can't wait till Saturday's OHIO game!

In the nightcap, some of you actually won, some of you pushed, and some of you lost. We will count it as a loss with SAN DIEGO STATE but that is up for large debate. It is also up for a question, "When a player is diving for a ball on the ground, has the ball in his right hand while lying on his stomach on the ground, and other players are standing around him, can that player be called for a foul?" If you are in the SAN DIEGO STATE vs tennessee game, it can. Lets call it 1-1 and leave it at that. But today, we won't leave it at that.

The "experts" are now saying there is "pressure" for the first time on a 13 seed. That seed being SIENA. Since they won their first games, the last 2 years in the tourney, they are "expected" to win. Oh yeah? Well how come the bookmaker has them a 4 point dog to a team that hasn't covered a spread since their version of Larry Bird went out for the season, over 3 weeks ago? I'm of course referring to Purdue, who when last seen, lost by 30 points to Minnesota in the Big 10 tourney. Now the biggest expert of them all (not on TV.....for now), Big D, asks you, "Would you be shocked and incredulous if SIENA bashed Purdue like OHIO bashed Georgetown yesterday?" No, you would not. TAKE!

Quick! We know OHIO is the hottest team in the tourney, but who has the worst record versus the spread in the Big Dance? Time's up! It's Florida State. For some reason, they are favored versus GONZAGA. Sure GONZAGA got beat pretty good by St. Mary's in their conference final, but how did St. Mary's do yesterday versus a very formidable Richmond team? They won. GONZAGA, and their fine coaching staff, will make amends. Take!

Finally, congrats to TOM PENDERS who has now taken his 4th team to the NCAA tourney with loosey, goosey, HOUSTON. They don't play a lot of "D" but they score. Maryland doesn't play much "D" either, but they score. We smell a highly entertaining, racing up and down the court, kinda game for the nightcap. Oh the line? maryland -9. Really? This HOUSTON COUGAR bunch is HOT. TAKE!

We smell a 3-0 day today. At 2:30pm eastern, SIENA+4 vs purdue, at 7pm eastern, GONZ+1.5 vs fla st., and at 9:30pm eastern, HOU+9 vs maryland. Good luck, god bless, and check back tomorrow a.m. on www.monkeybusinessblog.com for more locks!

If We're Going to Have an "SEC", Let's at Least Use the Right One!

2010-03-19T08:50:23-04:00

How much lower can the Securities Exchange Commission ("SEC") go? Beats the crap out of me. Here's the latest Alarm Was Raised on Lehman's Accounting.

Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Reserve officials were warned by a leading Wall Street rival that Lehman Brothers was incorrectly calculating a key measure of its financial health months before its collapse in 2008, people familiar with the matter say.

Former Merrill Lynch officials said they contacted regulators about the way Lehman measured its liquidity position for competitive reasons. The Merrill officials said they were coming under pressure from their trading partners and investors, who feared that Merrill was less �liquid than Lehman.

To this stunning revelation, the window licker/paste eaters at the Securities Exchange Commission had this to say;

The SEC declined to comment beyond saying that the senior people at the unit that oversaw Lehman had left the regulator.

Whatever. I give up. We here at Monkey Business propose, if we are going to have an SEC how about we replace the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with an SEC that actually gives us year round entertainment and would probably provide the same level of securities regulation as the current SEC....and maybe even better! Ladies and gentlemen....the NEW SEC for America;

Media Alert!

2010-03-18T15:29:52-04:00

Ahhhh its Thursday and while you might be watching intently on the March Madness that is the NCAA basketball tournament, there is a bit of a lull in the action around 5pm eastern. So tune into the always informative and funny Pete Dominick show on your Sirius and XM radio dial. Pete will feature me and Eric on the 5pm eastern hour. We will chat all things monkey business. So that's 5pm Eastern today. Sirius Channel 110 or XM Channel 130. Then you can go back to watching your baskets. Enjoy.

Let's Get the Priorities Straight

2010-03-18T11:46:32-04:00

Editor's Note--Sure we can talk about the guys at Blackstone, who are Republicans, who are hosting a fund raising dinner tonight for Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Party (there are names for people like the Blackstone guys AND Nancy Pelosi but this is a family oriented blog), or we could talk about how Uncle Bernie Madoff got a good beatdown in prison, or chat about stocks continuing to go up for the longest winning streak in over 15 years, or we could even talk about Jim Cramer's thestreet.com being investigated by the SEC, but why would we waste time on all of that today, when March Madness is here?!?! Who will be your Cinderella team? Fill out your bracket sheet yet? Hurry up. You have about half an hour! We know who is driving Cinderella's carriage though. It's Big Dick of course! He will lay his predictions down for us today thru Sunday, and hopefully, throughout this grand spectacle known as the "NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament" . Take it away Big Dick!

Thank you Richie and we are all quite excited here for the "Big Dance". Lets get right to it!

Everybody talks about the Big East and the other "power" conferences to do the bulk of the damage this year. Saw a lot of the so called "experts" say there will be very few upsets this year. Oh yeah? How about the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament last week when 3 of the 4 "big dogs" went bye-bye in the 1st round? How about that?

The action will be furious all day today but we have set our sights on tonight. Quick! Who is the hottest team in college hoops right now?!? Time's up! The OHIO BOBCATS! Yep from that little conference known as the MAC (for long time readers, a Big D favorite!). They take on the big bad Georgetown Hoyas tonight at around 7pm eastern. Big D knows the Hoyas have a good team, but this Monroe kid aint no Pat Ewing. The line? 13.5. Don't you think the score might be in the 60s in this game? 13.5 is a gift for the, 12-1 last 13 versus the spread, hottest spread team in the land. Go OHIO U!

In the nightcap, another good reputation team, the Tennessee Vols lay a mere 2.5 points. What? These are the SEC Tennessee Volunteers? Yes they are. Every sucker in the world will bet them. This SAN DIEGO STATE AZTEC team has been no joke this whole year. To win the conference tourney versus Unlv (also in the Big Dance) AT Unlv is no small feat. This is precisely what SAN DIEGO STATE did last week. A gritty defensive squad with a rising star named BILLY WHITE, this is an "old school" selection if Big D ever saw one. Don't be alarmed by the small line, just TAKE!

So welcome to the tournament, enjoy the all day champagne and lobster, and stay tuned again of course tomorrow.......Tonight OHIO+13.5 vs G'town and SAN DIEGO ST+2.5 vs Tennessee. Good luck and god bless.

Reminder: Madness Tomorrow

2010-03-17T16:28:12-04:00

Wall Street trading will drop quite a bit tomorrow and Friday afternoon as we get the 1st round of the NCAA tournament starting up at around 12:15pm eastern on both days. I used to love those reports that would come out around this time of year that would show the drag in job productivity whenever the NCAA tournament happened. I haven't seen a report like that this year though. Maybe its because there are no jobs to even have a productivity.

Anyway, the grandest prognosticator of them all, Big Dick, from Big Dick's Picks, will grace us with a guest blog tomorrow, Friday, and throughout the weekend for your sports investing pleasure. After all, stocks are just going to the moon everyday from now until eternity, so that part of your portfolio is fine (for those of you new to the blog, you might guess I'm saying that a bit sarcastically). All kidding aside, another strong day in the stock markets as inflation looks like its dormant. It will rear its ugly head at some point, but I guess for now we just enjoy the ride up, up, up.

Hope you parade revelers brought your sunscreen! Wasn't it less than 2 weeks ago that we got pelted with like 250 inches of snow in the northeast? Not today. Im going out in my car now with the windows down, the radio up, and the shades on. I'm not gonna go anywhere though because its like a parking lot on every street in Manhattan due to all the street closings. But I will bob my head to the music and fist pump with the car in park. This is how I do it. Enjoy.