RECORD: 18-8 (some confusion about this lately; that’s the right record)

Above all else, sports are diversions. They act as escapes from the trials and tribulations of everyday life, and as things we can turn to for entertainment, competition, and something to talk about that doesn’t have world-changing implications (except Rocky Balboa ending the Cold War in “Rocky IV,” of course, but I digress).

You know where this is going. Kobe Bryant was one of several people who passed away in a helicopter crash Sunday near Los Angeles. Among the other fatalities was his 13-year-old daughter, and seeing videos of those two at games pop up on Twitter was gut-wrenching.

Kobe Bryant was 41 years old. His daughter was barely a teenager. There was a lot of life left to be lived by those on that helicopter, and it’s horrible that this happened and took it all away. Regardless of your personal feelings about Kobe (there are plenty, and lots of them are valid), Sunday’s tragedy, above all, acts as a reminder that life is short.

Go hug someone. Tell them you love them. Don’t take stuff personally (I know that’s something I can do better), and make sure you’re focused on the things that truly matter. In that vein, I’ll finish this up by posting a video my friend Matt Dinerman took following Sunday’s last race at Golden Gate Fields. He’s an excellent announcer, but an even better human being, and he nailed this.

Our special @GGFracing sign off today.

Tell loved ones that you love them…and mean it! pic.twitter.com/9p45RRPKIi

— Matt Dinerman (@3coltshandicap) January 27, 2020

SUNDAY’S RESULTS: After a day off due to the hysteria of the Pegasus World Cup, I swept two plays posted on Twitter. Creighton and Ohio State both won by double-digits as single-digit favorites.

MONDAY’S PLAY: The Iowa Hawkeyes are just 2-8 in their last 10 meetings with the Wisconsin Badgers, but Monday’s game hits me differently. Iowa has won four in a row and has seemed to find itself after an early-season injury to Jordan Bohannon threatened to derail the program’s season. Wisconsin, meanwhile, is on the road, where they’re 3-6 on the year, and I don’t think their offense can keep up. The homestanding Hawkeyes are favored by 5.5 points, and I’m taking them to cover that spread.