Aside from baseball season, we are currently in the midst of my other favorite sports season of the year — March Madness. I hail from an alma mater pretty well recognized for its basketball program, Syracuse University. My freshman year in college was the year of Carmelo Anthony as he led the Syracuse Orange (then Orangemen) to its first NCAA Championship. Talk about exciting!

I still follow the basketball team fairly closely now, and this was a great season to be a fan. SU finished the season ranked No. 3 in the nation with a 28-3 record. At one point, we were tops in the nation. Our home game against Villanova was the highest-attended college basketball game in history. Yesterday was disheartening. After a double bye in the Big East tournament, we lost to Georgetown yesterday and had a scare when mainstay Arinze Onuaku left the game due to a knee injury. Luckily, it looks rest will do the trick and Onuaku should be back in the game for the NCAA tournament.

So, now I look forward to Selection Sunday. Go Orange!

– Kim Krol, eFlyer editor, circulation and public relations executive

In 2009, GT readers voted the Amazon Kindle Reader the best travel gadget of the year. Coincidentally, I received my very own Kindle for Christmas. The device also happened to be one of the best sellers for the 2009 holiday season. I’d say Amazon is pretty happy with its product, which has spawned numerous other similar products. Barnes & Nobles’ Nook was released right before the holidays, and Sony has The Reader, the most expensive of the bunch.

I am completely happy with my decision to go electronic. I’m a huge reader, so I was a little skeptical at first, but I couldn’t be more pleased with the Kindle. My book habit was getting expensive; in an attempt to save money, I tried going to the local library, but then my late fees were costing me an arm and a leg. It’s hard to put a time restraint on a book. Plus, books were bulky on my travels, and it always seemed like I was just about to finish a book just as I was leaving for a trip, so I ended up lugging two books around. And I hated the lull in between books. I would finish reading one and not have another to start until I had the time to go buy one.

The Kindle was the solution to all my problems. All the books, magazines and newspapers are cheaper on Amazon then buying them in the store. So even though I’m still shelling out money, I’m saving too. I just bought a book that is a bestseller for $4.98. The device is super lightweight and can store up to 1,500 books. I can lug hundreds of books around at once without any back pain. My Kindle works wirelessly around the world, and books download in seconds. I can finish a book and be started on a new one in minutes. And the best part is, I can read a free sample of any book before I buy it. If you are a voracious reader, you should definitely consider purchasing a Kindle.

And I didn’t have to give up on printed books. My grad school professor made sure I had to purchase plenty of them!

Travel tip — Kindles are treated like laptops, so be sure you take them out and put them in a separate bin before going through security.

– Kim Krol, eFlyer editor, circulation and public relations executive

On Wednesday night, five of my friends and I trekked into Philadelphia for Shecky’s Girls’ Night Out. The event, held at the Crystal Tea Room in the Wanamaker Building, is a shopper’s dream. Booths of jewelry, shoes, clothing, accessories and more offer savings of up to 80 percent for attendees. Shecky’s, however, is well known for its goody bags. A $25 ticket guarantees admission, free cocktails (provided by a variety of sponsors) and a goody bag. Our red, reusable goody bags were stuffed to the brim with a variety of beauty products. Some of the notables: Softlips chapstick, Neutrogena make-up, Dial’s newest body washes, hair accessories. I literally could not stop talking about all the freebies.

We had a blast, perusing the wares and sipping on interesting drinks, including Michelob pomegranate-raspberry beer, Midori margaritas and X-Rated Fusion liquor with lemonade. Of course, we also shopped. I came home with two necklaces and a pair of Emilio Pucci sunglasses. It was too hard to resist the great deals. If you love to shop, I highly recommend a visit to Shecky’s Girls’ Night Out. Similar events are held in Dallas, New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco and Atlanta.

And, speaking of shopping . . . Monday is the kick-off of our annual charity auction! It’s important to help today’s youth, which is why we have partnered with the Mentor Foundation this year. As our charity, 100 percent of the proceeds from this year’s auction will benefit the organization, dedicated to keeping children off drugs and promoting general well-being.

What is up for grabs this year? Business-class tickets from American Airlines, SWISS, Lufthansa, British Airways, Asiana, Emirates, OpenSkies and more. Hotel stays all around the world, including Asia and Europe. Vacation packages to London (one of my personal faves) and Orlando. And that is only a sampling! For all the information, visit the website. Bidding begins Monday and ends May 1. Good luck!

– Kimberly Krol, eFlyer editor, circulation and public relations executive

According to a CNN.com poll, 75 percent of those surveyed think overweight passengers should be required to buy an extra airline seat. What do you think? The issue has been thrust to the forefront of the travel industry this week after director Kevin Smith was asked to disembark a Southwest Airlines flight for being too heavy. The airline cited safety concerns and the comfort of other passengers as the reason for the request.

Smith usually purchases two airline seats when flying Southwest. In this particular instance, he was flying standby and there was only one seat available on the flight. He was allowed to board, and as far as I can tell from the accounts I’ve read, he was seated with the armrest down and seatbelt fastened. It was at this moment he asked was to leave the flight. I can only imagine how embarrassing the situation was for all parties involved.

Southwest does have a policy for overweight passengers, requiring them to purchase two seats if they cannot sit in the seat with the armrests down. If the flight is not full, Southwest will reimburse the passenger for the second seat. Policies surrounding this topic differ from airline to airline.

Those opposed to these policies cite discrimination. Those in favor of the policies cite safety concerns and the comfort of other passengers. No matter which side of the debate you are on, there is no denying this is a touchy subject. And is there really a clear-cut answer to this problem? I searched the Internet and read various policies. All of them that I found state the armrest is the deciding factor. There was no weight limit given. Airline seats vary from airline to airline. A passenger might fit comfortably on one flight and not on another. Judging by past experience, they wouldn’t buy two seats. Awkwardness will ensue. There is no simple solution here.

The debate continues. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts.

– Kimberly Krol, eFlyer editor, circulation and public relations executive

Last week I took a four-day, five-night jaunt to Las Vegas. My best friend from college joined me for the girls’ getaway. The last time I had visited Vegas, I was about 10 or 11, and it was one of many stops along a cross-country family road trip. Needless to say, I had yet to experience true “Las Vegas.”

After an uneventful flight, we landed, grabbed our bags and a shuttle and headed over to the Wyndham Grand Desert. McCarran International Airport is literally a hop, skip and a jump from the city center — a convenient feature. We were not staying on the Strip, but we were only a few blocks away. Once we settled into our room, we walked up to the Strip to grab some lunch and wander about. That night we took in our first Vegas show, Australia’s male revue, The Thunder from Down Under. The corny Excalibur show was good for a few laughs.

Having checked the weather, we knew our only day of sun would be Thursday, so we decided to take the morning and relax by the pool. We followed up a morning of sun with lunch and a manicure, then we headed over to the Fremont Street Experience. Fremont Street, the “original” Las Vegas strip, has been reinvented as a sort of street fair experience. The world’s largest TV screen, canopied over the several city blocks of the Experience, plays shows every hour on the hour. Spray paint artists and street musicians, as well as other entertainers, line the streets; and casinos, eateries and more abound. We followed up Fremont Street with dinner on the modern-day Strip.

Friday, we began the day with a visit to the Las Vegas sign and then went in search of bingo. No casinos on the Strip offer the game because, as we were instructed, having a bingo room simply takes up too much room. We decided to play bingo at Palace Station casino. Sadly, we lost — both times. For dinner, we headed over to the Venetian, where we enjoyed Italian at Canaletto. After dinner, we took in La Reve, the Wynn’s Cirque du Soleil show. We chose this show based on the glowing recommendations we received from everyone we asked. Even concierges and staff who were not fans of the Cirque series highly recommended La Reve. It did not disappoint, and I would highly recommend it for any of you in the Vegas area. Our Las Vegas night on the town was capped off by cocktails and dancing at Blush, the Wynn’s boutique nightclub.

Saturday was our last full day in Las Vegas. We started off with a delicious brunch buffet at Paris. Despite the long entrance line, the overwhelming selection of food was well worth the wait. We enjoyed afternoon massages at Mandara Spa at the Paris and then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening exploring the Strip. We wandered around all the major casinos, including Caesar’s Palace; caught the Bellagio’s fountain show; grabbed dinner at Bally’s; checked out the Mirage; admired the lion habitat at the MGM Grand; and played some slots at Planet Hollywood. We wandered a lot and got a good taste of the famed Las Vegas strip.

Thankfully, we were scheduled to fly home Sunday, so we avoided the flight cancellations caused by the big snowstorm that hit the East Coast last weekend. We arrived home on time and ready for the work week — and another snowstorm. There is so much to see and do in Las Vegas; it’s overwhelming, but I think we sampled a bit of what the city is known for — we gambled (a little bit), ate at a buffet, enjoyed shows, relaxed in a spa, explored and much more. Viva Las Vegas!

– Kimberly Krol, eFlyer editor, circulation and public relations executive