Q. Our NCAA office pool has grown in participation every year. Now the winning payoff will top $3,000. Is this March Madness or just gambling madness on our part?
A. In answer to your question, when the exhilaration over sporting events exceeds reasonable financial resources, it is time to step back and examine your circumstances. And perhaps seek help for a burgeoning gambling addiction.
The NCAA tournament and the Super Bowl seem to generate more gambling participation than any other events. I can’t help but think of the sad plight of former Ohio State and Colts quarterback Art Schlichter when the topic of excessive sports gambling and its associated indiscretions arises.
Schlichter continues to serve time for fraud and forgery in a federal prison in Ohio. Only last month he was back in court to face more charges stemming from the 2000 Final Four in Indianapolis.
“What Art told people was, `I can get you Final Four tickets. Give me the money, I’ll get you the tickets.’ He couldn’t get the tickets and he kept the money,” deputy prosecutor Karen Jensen said.
The money collected from 23 different people amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The No. 1 draft choice of the Baltimore Colts in 1982, Schlichter gambled away his $350,000 signing bonus. In 1983 he was suspended for a year by the NFL for gambling. From 1987-94 he was arrested four times on charges of bank fraud, unlawful gambling and writing bad checks.
“I know it’s a disease, and I know I need to work on it,” Schlichter told an Indianapolis television station as he walked out of court last month. “I’m prepared to go to the treatment center and spend however long it takes to get better.”
Schlichter has been in 29 county, state and federal facilities. “Art is the poster child for compulsive gambling addiction. He has gone from being one of the top quarterbacks in the country 20 years ago, starting quarterback for the Colts, to spending the last 10 years in prison,” said Jack Crawford, Schlichter’s attorney.
Q. Ticket prices have gone up for Cubs games throughout Wrigley Field. And now the Cubs are adding new seats behind home plate that are supposed to cost more than $200 each. With the high cost of parking, souvenirs and refreshments, how is the average fan supposed to afford to take his family to the ballpark?
A. Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig points out that the average ticket price in baseball last year was a respectable $18.
“We have really worked hard to keep ticket prices down everywhere,” Selig said. “It is important because we are a family sport. And we are a sport that I hope can set an attendance record this year. That means drawing 70-plus million people. We need to have very affordable ticket prices.”
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Have a question or an idea for Fred Mitchell?
E-mail: fmitchell@tribune.com
