Winners and Losers

If you've been living under a rock, paying attention to the NFL Annual Selection Meeting way too much, or just don't care for the past 24 hours, you've missed a huge sigh of relief from many in the sports world. The NCAA decided NOT to expand the Division I Men's Basketball Tournament to an ungodly 96 teams, but rather to 68, and it also signed a 14-year, 11 billion dollar agreement with CBS and Turner Broadcasting to carry it.

There are plenty of winners and losers in this deal, first the winners...

CBS
Back in the early 90's, Black Rock suffered a series of stinging losses and it looked possible that it could do so again starting with this event. But coming off ratings that were the highest in several years, it was able to gain leverage during negotiations that allowed it to continue to remain the primary partner until 2016, when it will begin alternating the Final Fourwith...

Turner
Lauded for it's presentation of NASCAR Sprint Cup races, the NBA and MLB, the TimeWarner division has been able to demonstrate that it produces high quality productions for the sports it carries. Now it gets a very high profile annual event it can effectively promote across many platforms and it helps lift the profile of TruTV, one of the new carriers alongside TNT and TBS, from that of a reoriented CourtTV into a channel of it's own.

Coaches...eh sort of
Much of the push for expansion came from a number of coaches, particularly from the likes of Jim Boeheim, who has always been an advocate of a larger field. The downside is that these coaches will be under even greater pressure to perform to ensure one of the new bids.

Advocates against a 96-team field
Many in the media were dreading a possible expansion to 96, but with the new deal in place, a lot have voiced their approval that it won't happen right away. In fact, if the new format proves successful, you'll might see public sentiment start to shift back to pursuring a 96-team option once again. But it's my belief that won't happen for awhile.

The NIT
Had there been a 96-team field been implemented, this venerable tournament would have gone the way of dodo. As it is, future fields will still be weaker as those that would have been 35-37th on the at-large list will now move up to the "Senior prom". Nonetheless, Madison Square Garden will still be rocking in the days before the Final Four.

ESPN
Why would I put the World Wide Monopolizer in the winners category, well it's for several reasons:
1) The money not spent on locking up the Final Four will now likely be used for pursing an even bigger event(The details of which I will spell out below momentarily);
2) It will still have far more games to air the regular season as well as it's popular Championship Week coverage; and
3) It still has the rights to the Women's Final Four and other NCAA tournaments(not to mention the BCS).

The losers in the aftermath are...
NBC Comcast and News Corporation
The immediate fallout of the new NCAA deal with CBS/Turner means that ESPN now has the cash on hand to make a serious run for future rights to the Olympic Games. Which means these companies(NBC Comcast in particular) will have to put up a lot more money to gain the lucrative U.S. rights.

DirecTV
Say goodbye to MegaMarchMadness as all games will now be available on a national basis for the 1st time. Now DirecTV could still create a mix channel that would show all channels on a single screen, but we'll have to wait and see what the NCAA does with the scheduling.

Advocates for a 96-team field
They believed that it would happen, but with the field now at 68, the dream of a 96-team field will be left to wonder whom screwed who? And why were they screwed?

The jury's still out on...

Those not in the BCS 6
With three additional bids now available, one would hope that those not apart of the BCS 6 would have greater access, but since every year is different, we'll look back next year and judge whether or not it will be a benefit, or will the BCS 6 will still dominate the selections.

OT: Guess the Minnesota Viking schedule

I'm inviting my readers to a challenge. Make out the Minnesota Vikings 2010 schedule, before it's released Tuesday Night.

For the sake of reference, here's the detailed breakdown of whom the Vikings are playing this upcoming season:

Home
Green Bay, Chicago, Detroit, Dallas, New York Giants, Buffalo, Miami, Arizona

Road
Green Bay, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Washington, New England, New York Jets, New Orleans

In case you were wondering, here's my attempt at it(all times Central):

Week 1: @ New Orleans(NBC; 7:30 Thursday 9-9)
Week 2: @ Washington(Fox; Noon)
Week 3: Chicago(Fox; Noon)
Week 4: @ Detroit(Fox; Noon)
Week 5: New York Giants(NBC; 7:20)
Week 6: Green Bay(Fox; 3:15)
Week 7: Miami(CBS; Noon)
Week 8: Bye
Week 9: @ Philadelphia(Fox; 3:15)
Week 10: @ New England(NBC; 7:20)
Week 11: Dallas(Fox; 3:15)*
Week 12: Arizona(Fox; Noon)*
Week 13: @ New York Jets(ESPN MNF; 7:30)
Week 14: @ Green Bay(Fox; Noon)*
Week 15: Buffalo(CBS; 3:15)*
Week 16: @ Chicago(Fox; Noon)*
Week 17: Detroit(Fox; Noon)*

*Subject to flexing

Who's bidding for March Madness in 2014-2016

With anticipation that the NCAA will award early-round hosting duties for 2014-2016 as early as this fall, here are the cities that have thus far made their intentions known(* Indicates that venue is guaranteed a regional the year before it hosts Final Four):

Buffalo at HSBC Arena(Canisius College, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and Niagara University)
Des Moines at Wells Fargo Arena(Drake University)
Houston at Reliant Stadium(Big 12 Conference)*
Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium(Butler University, IUPUI and Horizon League)*
Jacksonville, FL at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena(Jacksonville University)
Milwaukee at Bradley Center(Marquette University)
St. Louis at either Edward Jones Dome or Scottrade Center(Missouri Valley Conference)
San Jose at HP Pavillion(Unknown host school and/or conference)
Wichita at InTrustBank Arena(Wichita State University)

School planning to bid, but unknown location:
University of Minnesota(Metrodome, Target Center, Xcel Energy Center or proposed Minnesota Vikings Stadium)

Not bidding:
Madison, WI at Kohl Center(scheduling conflicts with state high school tournaments)

This list will grow over the next several months, so if you have information as to who will bid, please post it in the comments section.

Bracket Watch - NIT Style

You thought I was done posting brackets? You're wrong! Yes, it's the NIT projection you've all been waiting for.

"Blacksburg" region

1-Virginia Tech vs. 8-QUINNIPIAC
4-Northwestern vs. 5-Saint Louis
2-Seton Hall vs. 7-Marshall
3-William & Mary vs. 6-Charlotte

"Oxford" region

1-Mississippi vs. 8-JACKSON STATE
4-Connecticut vs. 5-Fairfield
2-Arizona State vs. 7-WEBER STATE
3-Uab vs. 6-North Carolina

"Champaign-Urbana" region

1-Illinois vs. 8-JACKSONVILLE
4-KENT STATE vs. 5-Tulsa
2-Rhode Island vs. 7-STONY BROOK
3-Cincinnati vs. 6-Virginia Commonwealth

"Starkville" region
1-Mississippi State vs. 8-TROY
4-Miami(FL) vs. 5-Dayton
2-Memphis vs. 7-COASTAL CAROLINA
3-South Florida vs. 6-Wichita State

Pairings: Blacksburg(1) vs. Oxford(2); Champaign-Urbana(2) vs. Starkville(3)

Last four in the field: North Carolina, VCU, Charlotte, Marshall
First four left out: Texas Tech, Oregon, St. John's, Wright State

Analyzing the finished product

To all those who decried Minnesota's inclusion into the field at 5:17 PM this afternoon, I have only one thing to say to you....SHUT THE HELL UP!!! Thank you. Now on to the real deal.

Top 4 seeds overall
This was exactly as I predicted as Kansas, Kentucky, Duke and Syracuse went as planned to the Midwest, East, South, and West regions (and all sub-regional sites too). The only other team who could have snuck on to the top line was West Virginia, who were hurt by the non-appearance in the Big East semifinals of Villanova and Pittsburgh, the Mountaineers fellow 2nd place BE teams. Syracuse was really hurt by being swept by Louisville, thus falling to the 4th seed. Kentucky's placement in New Orleans was not as easy a no-brainer as it seemed, there was a good chance they would've been sent to Jacksonville(which is actually closer to the Lexington than the Big Easy), but there was no way the Wildcats would go to Milwaukee, not with credible Big Ten and Big East teams available.

The Last In and the First ones blocked out
For the zillionth time, I missed a team in the field. Florida, rather than Virginia Tech, got in the field(with the Gators getting a surprisingly high 10th seed). The Hokies were hurt by UTEP and Utah State losing in their respective conference finals as well as Minnesota's hot finish in the Big Ten tournament(today's 2nd half after the 14 minute mark not withstanding). Both the Miners and Aggies, however, were included in the field as the last at-large teams, both of them were 12th seeds. Of course the Hokies shot their own foot by losing big to Miami(FL) in the ACC tourney. Besides the Hokies, among those on the outside are Mississippi State, Illinois, Seton Hall, Rhode Island, UAB, Mississippi and William & Mary.

Bracket of Death: Midwest
Kansas could face an angry Northern Iowa squad(angry in the sense that they were seeded two seed lines too low), followed by either Maryland or Michigan State. The bottom half is brutal with Ohio State possibly facing either Georgetown or Tennessee in the sweet 16 and the Hoyas and Vols could potentially face each other in round 2.

Bracket of Cake: South
Duke should have an easy time in the 1st 2 rounds, then for it's sweet 16 matchup, it could face either Siena or Utah State as both could upset Purdue and Texas A&M, respectively. Villanova and Baylor have the potential to meet in the sweet 16, or both could lose in the 2nd round.

Personal Stats
Teams correctly picked: 64/65
Missed on: Florida(in), Virginia Tech(out)
Exactas: 30
+/- 1 seed: 51
Biggest misses: 13 teams at +/- 2(Wake Forest was a true 11 but moved because of placement problems)
Biggest Headscratcher: Marquette in West Virginia's half of the bracket in the East.

Coming up, predicting the NIT.