My New Year's Resolution

My first thought was to resolve not to further enrage my esteemed colleague Steve Bitker.

Nahhhh. First of all, it's a resolution doomed to failure, and second, I get way too much enjoyment out of being the fly in the ointment.

It probably won't surprise you to learn that many years ago, when I learned the ins and outs of casino gambling, I became a hardcore "don't" bettor at the craps table. For those unfamiliar with the game, the "don't pass" or "don't come" wager is essentially a bet against the shooter (and thus, it seems to win you few friends around the table).

My decision had nothing to do with being anti-social. It had everything to do with cold, hard logic: I learned that once you survive the "come-out" roll (where the shooter wins on a 7 or an 11 and the "don't" gambler loses on those numbers), the odds favor the "don't". You still need Lady Luck on your side, but she's a little less important.

Anyway, back to now, and my New Year's resolution. I'm going to try harder in 2010 to get away from the pack and find those nuggets of logic and truth that seem to get overlooked by the group-think. Bill Belichick's 4th-down decision against the Colts is a classic example: Bill was right; end of discussion.

It'll probably make me about as popular as I was around the craps table way back when.

And it'll probably tick Steve off, too.