Because of the white-hot celebrity power I've enjoyed since becoming a little-read midweek guest columnist on Philadelphia's finest sporting pages, I got to go to Vegas for the Pacquiao-Cotto fight. And when in Vegas, I did as those in Vegas do, which is to eat buffet meals and lay down some legal bets on human competition.

Because I am as sagacious about prizefighting as I am about professional football, I heard somebody say "Pacquiao's going to knock Cotto out in the ninth," and I went for it. 12-1 odds.

It would have been a tremendous experience to be at that particular fight, even if I hadn't been clutching such a valuable betting slip from start to finish. Manny Pacquiao, who won his first title as a 112-pound flyweight, put on a clinic in brutality at 145 pounds, exhibiting a straight left hand that made innately cowardly people like me shudder in the safety of my seat far away.

But as the fight progressed and Pacquiao expressed his dominance, the overwhelming impression I got was that Miguel Cotto is a man of supernatural courage.

How could a bet spoil this?

Ding! The eighth round begins! "C'mon, Cotto, you bum! Stand in there! One more round, [expletive deleted]!" Forget his courage, his warrior spirit, the heroic stand he was taking against his own demise. There were 120 bucks to be made by me! And he survived.

Ding! The ninth round begins! "Get him, Pacquiao! Once in your life, you bum! Do it now! Go down, Cotto! You've had enough! What's the point?"

I felt ashamed. I felt such regret to have lost perspective in the name of a few dollars more. And that was the problem with actually gambling instead of just appreciating what I saw.

Of course, I was in Vegas, so I hitched a lift back to my hotel, found a low-limit card table, and chased my shame away by playing several unprofitable but pleasurable hours of blackjack.

Which I think means I got the first line of this piece wrong. Gambling is totally awesome! In moderation, of course.

So let's do it!

Tomorrow

Dolphins (+3) at Panthers

Note to the NFL Network: Putting Jake Delhomme - no matter how he looked last week - on your hard-to-get network on Thursday nights is not going to create a groundswell of angry demand for your product. On the other hand, I love me some Wildcat offense!

Dolphins 25, Panthers 21. I'm in love, and I don't care who knows it!

Browns at Lions (-31/2)

I feel so sad.

Lions 9, Browns 5. The stands will be littered with scouts from the UFL.