It’s a busy weekend for college basketball as the Conference Tournaments lead to Selection Sunday. The major conferences are all in action this weekend and they will give fans plenty of action to watch. And by 7 p.m. Sunday, fans will debate which team deserved to get in and which team did not. It’s all makes for good TV. You have a choice whether to watch CBS for the first picks or ESPN just to see Dick Vitale scream, but an added treat is having Bob Knight on the Alleged Worldwide Leader. Also, the newly branded CBS College Sports Network, (no longer CSTV as of Sunday) will have its own Selection Show right after CBS finishes its program. And if you’re not a college basketball fan, there are other sports to watch. You just have to know where to look.
So let’s get to the media links and we start off as usual with Michael Hiestand of USA Today. He talks with ESPN’s Master of Bracketology Joe Lunardi about the art of picking a bracket. If you want to know what’s on this weekend and where, USA Today has your viewing guide.
I have your College Basketball Viewing Picks for today, right here!
Now to your links from across from the country.
East and Mid-Atlantic
Nancy Marrapese-Burrell of the Boston Globe also talks with ESPN’s Joe Lunardi as she previews ESPN’s Selection show on Sunday night.
Congratulations to David Scott of Boston Sports Media Watch. He’ll be writing a new book with Memphis head coach John Calipari.
From the New York Times, Richard Sandomir talks about the developing story in which a UConn recruit got a private tour of ESPN last year in violation of NCAA rules (really).
In a related story, John Altavilla of the Hartford Courant has UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma questioning ESPN’s motives in reporting the recruiting violation story.
Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News, usually angry, actually talks some sense into baseball purists, up in arms over Billy Crystal getting an at bat in Thursday’s Yankees exhibition game.
The New York Post’s Justin Terranova talks with CBS Sports analyst Clark Kellogg and ESPN’s (and Emmy nominee) Jay Bilas about bubble teams waiting for their chance to get into the NCAA Tournament. And Terranova has five questions for YES analyst Ken Singleton.
Newsday’s Neil Best says the NCAA Tournament doesn’t need big market teams unlike other sports to be a ratings hit. And Best expands on a short blurb in his column about Bob Knight’s debut at ESPN this week.
Laura Nachman has a short list of Sports Emmy Awards nominations. The nominations came out yesterday.
The Baltimore Sun’s Ray Frager says there will be plenty of opportunities to goof off at work next week with the NCAA Tournament available online.
The DC/Baltimore Examiner’s Jim Williams talks to Jerry Palm of CBS Sports about predicting the Field of 65 for this year’s NCAA Tournament.
West
Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret (UT) Morning News says an early afternoon slot for BYU in the Mountain West Tournament on Thursday not only hurt fans and TV ratings, but the tournament itself.
Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune talks with the producer of ESPN’s Black Magic documentary which premieres Sunday night. Alan Drooz of the Union-Tribune says the documentary is worth watching. Here are the ratings from last weekend in San Diego.
From the North County Times, John Maffei says Padres TV announcers Matt Vasgerian and Mark Grant will be calling their team’s games from Communist China against the Dodgers this weekend off a monitor in San Diego.
In the Ventura County Star, Jim Carlisle writes that PAC 10 fans will see if East Coast bias comes into play on Selection Sunday.
Christine Daniels of the Los Angeles Times has her weekly Sound and Vision column and she writes about the NCAA Tournament being one of the most anticipated events on the sports viewing calendar.
Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News talks with Screamin’ Gus Johnson of CBS Sports who’s back working through the regional finals of the NCAA Tournament. Last year, he only worked the first two rounds. In his Farther Off the Wall blog, Hoffarth has some clips of Johnson’s calls from previous tournaments (my personal favorite is from last year when Gus yelled, “And we’re going to overtiiiiimme! This is March Madness! CBS Sports! HA! HA!”). And Tom has his usual Friday expansive media news and notes.
South
From The State in South Carolina, Doug Nye says March Madness on CBS is always magical.
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes about the influence of bloggers in the wake of Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban banning them from the locker room. Bob Costas of NBC/HBO also weighs in and I now have more reason to hate the man. Who made him President of All Sports?
Dave Darling from the Orlando Sentinel has high praise for ESPN’s Black Magic documentary.
Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman calls Black Magic “remarkable”. In his weekly notebook, Bracht says the ratings for the high school basketball championships were lower this year. And the Big 12 Tournament, both men’s and women’s are among his viewing picks.
Midwest
Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune has comments from CBS’ Billy Packer about the Kelvin Sampson situation in Indiana.
Jeffrey Flanagan of the Kansas City Star says this year’s Big 12 Tournament is the last broadcasting gig for Fred White.
In the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bob Wolfley writes that Bob Knight was actually subdued in his ESPN debut. Did everyone expect him to throw a chair at Digger Phelps?
From the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin, Paul Christian looks forward to Selection Sunday on CBS.
Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star Tribune says Twins fans will be able to watch 65 games in HD on FSN North.
Canada
Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star says CBC says goodbye this weekend to a 62 year association with the Canadian Men’s Curling Championship.
David Shoalts of the Toronto Globe and Mail recaps an interview between NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment President Richard Peddle on XM Satellite Radio.
Blogs
CNBC’s Darren Rovell asks whose endorsement would you follow? The athlete or his trainer? Darren is also in Day Five of his Minor League Baseball Logo Contest.
Awful Announcing doesn’t like the idea of ESPN Radio’s Mike Greenberg getting a second chance to host an ABC game show.
Joe Favorito’s Sports Marketing and Public Relations blog talks about the Harlem Globetrotters going green for St. Patrick’s Day.
That’s it for now.
