March Madness Brackets Revealed

Lots of people will look at this year's NCAA Tournament brackets and try to find this year's Cinderella. This year's version of VCU, or Butler, or George Mason or Davidson... an anonymous school from a lesser-known conference that gets hot at the right time and rides that streak all the way to the Final Four.

Me? I'm looking for a team that can beat Kentucky. And thus far, I'm not finding one.

Missouri has the speed to run with the Wildcats, but they don't have the defense to stop 'em. Syracuse doesn't rebound well enough. Ohio State can't shoot from the outside. Kansas? Too thin. Duke? Too small. Michigan State? North Carolina?

Nope. Kentucky. This is the year John Calipari finally gets to cut down the nets.

How will it happen? I've broken it all down in my 2012 NCAA Tournament Preview and Picks:

• South Region
• West Region
• East Region
• Midwest Region
• Final Four

View the original article here

March Madness at Work

March 11 is Selection Sunday... which means March 12 will be one of the least-productive days of the year in offices all over the country.

Some companies will fight this, banning tournament discussion on company time or blocking access to sites that host March Madness brackets. But About.com's Human Resources guide, Susan M. Heathfield, suggests a different approach.

Embrace the madness.

Susan interviewed John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., who suggested that employers might consider using March Madness as an annual team building event.

"Companies can use this event as a way to build morale and camaraderie. This could mean putting televisions in the break room, so employees have somewhere to watch the games other than the Internet."

Of course, that advice doesn't apply to every workplace. Strictly speaking, gambling on the NCAA Tournament is illegal in most jurisdictions. If you do decide to sponsor a company March Madness pool, you might want to consider making it a "for bragging rights only" affair.

• Make March Madness a Win in Your Workplace.
• Are NCAA Tournament Pools Legal?

View the original article here

March Madness Television Schedule

Mar 1 2012

The most significant change to the NCAA Tournament this season -- you'll be able to see more of it. The only way to see the games you wanted in their entirety was to purchase a special package from a cable or satellite operator; without it, you were at the mercy of CBS, reduced to hoping they'd break away from the Duke game to show the end of your alma mater's nail-biter.

No more.

Starting this season, NCAA Tournament games will be broadcast by four different networks - CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV - and game times will be staggered to allow viewers to catch more of the action.

Here's a look at how the new schedule will stack up. Actual matchups will be released on March 13.

(All times Eastern)

First Four

The new "first four" games will be broadcast on TruTV on March 15 and 16, with games at 6:30 PM and 9:00 PM both nights.

Second Round

The second round - which is what the NCAA is calling the "Round of 64" these days - is when fans will really start to see the benefit of the new television schedule - all four networks will be running a solid block of games from noon to midnight on March 17 and 18. Start times will break down as follows:

• CBS: 12:00 PM, 2:30 PM, 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM
• TNT: 2:00 PM, 4:30 PM, 7:15 PM and 9:45 PM
• TBS: 1:30 PM, 4:00 PM, 6:45 PM and 9:15 PM
• TruTV: 12:30 PM, 3:00 PM, 7:15 PM and 9:55 PM

TruTV will also broadcast the official tip-off show at 11 AM and 7 PM, and a wrap-up show at 12:30 AM.

Third Round

The preliminary schedule for the first weekend of March Madness features a CBS quadruple-header on Saturday, March 19.

Saturday Games

• CBS: 12:00 PM, 2:30 PM, 5:00 PM and 7:30 PM
• TNT: 6:00 PM, 8:30 PM
• TBS: 7:00 PM, 9:30 PM

Sunday Games

• CBS: 12:00 PM, 2:30 PM, 5:00 PM
• TNT: 6:00 PM, 8:30 PM
• TBS: 7:00 PM, 9:30 PM
• TruTV: 7:30 PM

Regional Semifinals

The Sweet Sixteen shifts to prime time on CBS and TBS on Thursday, March 24 and Friday, March 25. Preliminary schedule for both nights:

• CBS: 7:00 PM, 9:30 PM
• TBS: 7:15 PM, 9:55 PM

Regional Finals

When we reach the Elite Eight, all games return to CBS. The start times for Saturday, March 26 will be 4:20 PM and 6:55 PM. Sunday's starts will be at 2:10 PM and 4:55 PM.

The Final Four and National Championship Game

The schedule for the final weekend of March Madness will be familiar to fans. A Saturday evening doubleheader on CBS - games at 6 PM and 8:30 PM - and the National Championship Game on Monday, April 4, starting at 9 PM.

View the original article here

March Madness Television Schedule

Dec 31 2011

The most significant change to the NCAA Tournament this season -- you'll be able to see more of it. The only way to see the games you wanted in their entirety was to purchase a special package from a cable or satellite operator; without it, you were at the mercy of CBS, reduced to hoping they'd break away from the Duke game to show the end of your alma mater's nail-biter.

No more.

Starting this season, NCAA Tournament games will be broadcast by four different networks - CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV - and game times will be staggered to allow viewers to catch more of the action.

Here's a look at how the new schedule will stack up. Actual matchups will be released on March 13.

(All times Eastern)

First Four

The new "first four" games will be broadcast on TruTV on March 15 and 16, with games at 6:30 PM and 9:00 PM both nights.

Second Round

The second round - which is what the NCAA is calling the "Round of 64" these days - is when fans will really start to see the benefit of the new television schedule - all four networks will be running a solid block of games from noon to midnight on March 17 and 18. Start times will break down as follows:

• CBS: 12:00 PM, 2:30 PM, 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM
• TNT: 2:00 PM, 4:30 PM, 7:15 PM and 9:45 PM
• TBS: 1:30 PM, 4:00 PM, 6:45 PM and 9:15 PM
• TruTV: 12:30 PM, 3:00 PM, 7:15 PM and 9:55 PM

TruTV will also broadcast the official tip-off show at 11 AM and 7 PM, and a wrap-up show at 12:30 AM.

Third Round

The preliminary schedule for the first weekend of March Madness features a CBS quadruple-header on Saturday, March 19.

Saturday Games

• CBS: 12:00 PM, 2:30 PM, 5:00 PM and 7:30 PM
• TNT: 6:00 PM, 8:30 PM
• TBS: 7:00 PM, 9:30 PM

Sunday Games

• CBS: 12:00 PM, 2:30 PM, 5:00 PM
• TNT: 6:00 PM, 8:30 PM
• TBS: 7:00 PM, 9:30 PM
• TruTV: 7:30 PM

Regional Semifinals

The Sweet Sixteen shifts to prime time on CBS and TBS on Thursday, March 24 and Friday, March 25. Preliminary schedule for both nights:

• CBS: 7:00 PM, 9:30 PM
• TBS: 7:15 PM, 9:55 PM

Regional Finals

When we reach the Elite Eight, all games return to CBS. The start times for Saturday, March 26 will be 4:20 PM and 6:55 PM. Sunday's starts will be at 2:10 PM and 4:55 PM.

The Final Four and National Championship Game

The schedule for the final weekend of March Madness will be familiar to fans. A Saturday evening doubleheader on CBS - games at 6 PM and 8:30 PM - and the National Championship Game on Monday, April 4, starting at 9 PM.

View the original article here