The unthinkable has happened. I actually won my own March Madness pool. I had 55 entries this year and I was one of three people to correctly pick all of the Final Four teams. And I was among three OTHER people who correctly picked GA Tech and UConn in the championship game -- so the numbers were in my favor. No scientific or sports expertise involved - my first boyfriend graduated from GA Tech and I work in Stamford, CT. No stats, scores, trends or players were known before March 18.

I know I'm neurotic as hell but it's an icky feeling to win your own pool. And while there's plenty of software available to help you manage the pool, and more advice on how to win or pick strategies or tips on how to pick than you can shake a stick at, there's no advice on what pool managers should do if they win their own pool.

I've been doing this since 1996 -- and I'm usually in the bottom 10, not the top 10. And I can deal with friends and co-workers teasing me about "the scam" I'm running -- but I wonder what those who don't know me as well or are participating for the first time are thinking. It's just bad form, as Captain Hook would say. And why would anyone want to join my pool next year -- that's what I'm really worried about. But running a pool and not participating isn't an option either, so what's a person to do?

After reading Parade magazine on Sunday, I figured it out. I'm donating the winnings to Share Our Strength, an anti-hunger organization. They're sponsoring the Great American Bake Sale and are asking people to donate the proceeds to fight hunger. Since I don't bake, I figured the basketball pool was the next best thing.

PS - that $1.5 billion in lost productivity statistic is nonsense. This article explains how that figure was derived.