Steve, All the games are on your computer at CBS. Man, you are you having a bad stretch here. I watched Northern Iowa on the computer and it was great. This would be perfect for you. You can switch to another game at any time...if you suddenly change your mind.

cbssports.com

Steve, I agree. Rather than watching on a big screen TV, we were forced to watch the end of the Kansas upset on a tiny laptop screen. CBS Sucks.

It's 'Gumbel' - not 'Gumble', my Ivy League Harvard Law School graduate friend...

Alcatross - my mistake! how embarrassing!

Steve you hit the nail on the head and read my mind. NCAA has the opportunity to opt out of the CBS contract after this year. While watching the Washington blowout I was forced to hurl expletives at the tv and take out all my frustration and anger on Brian Gumble...I mean Gumbel.

The important final four this week-end was the American College Cricket Championships in Ft. Lauderdale! Replays still available .

Watching that really inspired me about what sport could look like in the 21st century. As always, I think its about consumers and producers. Steve's ire is piqued, ultimately, by his plight as a consumer.

There were maybe 20 fans at the cricket. About 250 online. But we were able to put together our own tourney and distribute it world wide for next to nothing. Wouldn't that be great for Americans, if people were actively involved in that kind of sport, as producers, rather than consumers? Wouldn't March Madness be awesome as hundreds of small regional tournies, and let the viewer choose what they're interested in?

This mentality that you have to pay someone 10x more because they can do something 1/10 second faster becomes a vicious cycle. Just like politics the money becomes the end, not the means. Everyplace I've ever lived, people that really love a sport are interested in watching less than the zenith of performance, because they love the activity. One can argue that T20 cricket is "cricket for people that don't like cricket". I think that's the error. Sports moguls think more about attracting a new 5% more than satisfying the existing fan base. You end up with something that's overblown and overpolished because it's geared to people that wouldn't otherwise be watching! Call it the Las Vegas effect. "Color commentary" has to be the worst example of blatantly presenting something other than the sport, because you're so sensitive to the reactions of people that don't particularly care to be watching.

I suspect this has more to do with network television contractural obligations than stupidity by CBS Sports. Just like we all out here have to watch the Seahawks @ Raiders on over-the-air CBS despite the fact the Colts are playing the Steelers in Pittsburgh at the same time, there may be similar requirements that certain games MUST be aired in markets within X miles of a team participating in an NCAA tourney game.

After all, the mommies/daddies and fans that have supported/followed their local Podunk U teams for years through thick and thin want to watch their sons/daughters and neighbors' kids play in what for many of them will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity - just participating in the tournament, win or lose, may be the fulfillment of a dream and many years of hard work/sacrifice on the part of both the kids and the parents. Don't they deserve some consideration?

So Steve, now that we're down to just 16 teams, it's less likely you'll be inconvenienced by having to watch a local team participate in a blow-out either way instead of another game you'd prefer to watch. But for that one weekend of the year, think of the mommies/daddies and fans of the local Podunk U teams and spare us these tirades... if you're a huge fan of a particular team or want to watch or even just listen (the radio feeds are also available) to a particular game, tune it in on your computer. My internet connection isn't fast enough to support the video feeds, but I personally listened to 2 or 3 games in their entirety that weren't 'feature' games on broadcast radio/TV out here. And if you're still wondering what you missed, you can go back and watch full replays of each and every game - they're all archived.

I'm a Philadelphia Eagles fan, and since the NFL only shows all the games on satellite I end up monitoring a little statistical display on the NFL site. You can tell who has the ball, who scored, but it's total crap and it hurts your eyes. I saw Northern Iowa was doing pretty well in the first half and I went to the CBS Sports site and got the game. I blew up the picture and it was great. I have highspeed Internet. The moment I sensed we were in a Brave New World was when the local TV switched over to the Northern Iowa game. It was a second or two ahead, but then it went to commercial. The commercials on the computer were different from the commercials on the TV. It was a little unsettling as I contemplated a vast world out there, each receiving different batches of commercials during the breaks. But I got over that and felt great about having a game on with no chance of them switching away. Compare that to the NFL nightmare and these complaints are misguided and petty. I mean just look at this sentence: "Rather than watching on a big screen TV, we were forced to watch the end of the Kansas upset on a tiny laptop screen." That's why they hate us.

It should be DOWN with KGW and the Blazers. The Blazer game Sunday evening ran half an hour into the next scheduled program, The Apprentice. By the time KGW picked up what they called “regular programming already in progress”, or something to that effect, half the show and the assigned task or game shall we call it was over. The winner was being announced in the board room. For everyone who could care less about the Blazers, KGW should have had a delayed broadcast airing of the Apprentice show in its entirety starting at 10:30, and done a delayed news cast at 11:30 instead of 11:00.

Shame on you KGW! How would Blazer fans like it if the entire telecast of the game was only declaring the winner and what is next? KGW can and needs to do a much better job of handling their programming. Their continued approach calls changing the channel and for a boycott of watching what airs on KGW.

Steve, it will be alright. Some have still not forgiven NBC for the Heidi game back in 1968.

Would you want THEM delivering the NCAA March Madness?

Some have still not forgiven NBC for the Heidi game back in 1968.

I still remember that one. I howled with delight...and then dodged lots of flying beer cans!

<h2>Compared to health care the NCAA is just a diversion. There will always be another tournament next year</h2>