It's really disappointing to hear that America's interest in watching college basketball has dropped. Unlike professional basketball and football, where highly overpaid athletes and all their criminal drama satisfy our need for scandal, these guys/girls are playing for their team, their school and with their hearts. And oh, yeah, they are academically talented as well, which America really seems to have to no taste for at all. What a shame....even though Carolina raked over Michigan, it was still one of the best sporting events I've ever watched; especially when they received the trophy and humbly stood by their coach in tears. No "in-your-face" antics or wild dancing, just the deep appreciation for the opportunity to be part of such an elite group.

Oh well. The World Figure Skating Championships clocked in at a 2.8 for the ladies free skate, so NCAA basketball fans shouldn't feel too discouraged after taking a look at the numbers for other sports.

If they want a bigger audience why don't they start the game at 8:00 PM Eastern Time instead of approximately 9:30 PM? Although we are in a Recession, for most of us Monday Night is a Work or School Night, therefore many would be viewers are forced to call it quits before the game ends. 2/3 of the nation lives EAST of the Mississippi River, and yet we get shafted during most Championship Games because the Networks insist on having the games end late at night!

The biggest problem with the Monday game was that it was a blowout. The ratings continually drop as the night goes on. Carolina was up over 20 points at half. I know a lot of people who shut off the game.

All excellent comments. The biggest problem was the late tip-off and end. I turned off the game at 11:30 with about a few minutes left - the outcome was no surprise.

It wasn't that long ago (2001) that the championship game was over by 10:00 PM (EST)!!! But the NCAA and CBS, like other TV networks, are stuffing as many commercials and ad dollars into the programming as they can. Note how several of the TV timeouts are for commercials only - they're not charged to either team.

So, the late tip-off hurts. So does the lack of interest from fans whose teams have already been eliminated from the tournament. (Realistically - how many Duke, Wake Forest, Ohio State, UConn, Pitt, and Illinois fans would have watched the game, or cared who won?))

It was apparent early on in the tournament that North Carolina was simply overpowering everyone else, so that hurt TV ratings as well.

The contract between the NCAA and CBS comes up for renewal next year. Either CBS is going to fork over more money, or many of the games will move to ESPN. Conceivably, the entire tournament could go that way - look what happened to TV rights for the Bowl Championship Series.

Don't be surprised to see more major college sports wind up on pay TV. I wonder how the ratings will look then?

The NCAA has become as big a business as the "professional" leagues with the added responsibility to appear tied to academic prowess along with the obvious necessity of athletic accomplishments.

As noted above, it was refreshing to experience North Carolina's champions truly moved and appreciative of the position they had achieved.

Like any other "final" event at the end of a series, too much emphasis is put on it. Expectations far exceed the reality of the "Super Bowl Moment".

It's all about the dollar and how far it can be stretched. Don't get me wrong here, the monies do wind up assisting in the progression of american academia and the ancillaries that employee thousands throughout the season.

Think about it, do you believe all the Romans walked away from the Colliseum happy with the outcome of the lions and the gladiators?

Pagentry is part of the human experience.

Statistics are compiled all too fast today, riddled with inacurracies and subject to "spins" of interpretation.

Perhaps an earlier "Tip-Off time" would be better... who knows?

I do know CBS Sports provided great game coverage and analysis before and after each game.

Forty-one million viewers to one event is no small potatoe in today's multi-media world.

Looking ahead...it will be what it will be. It remains an exciting game to watch when played well and presented equally on television.
Peter Bright

Dtvpete, media timeouts are a part of every college basketball game, tournament or not, for the various TV, radio, or Internet media. They come at the first whistle after 16:00, 12:00, 8:00, and 4:00. They've been around for decades, and you can't blame CBS for those.

They could start the game earlier, true.

Don't forget, the baseball season also started on Monday. Here in Chicago, the Cubs beat everybody in the market Monday night, including the NCAA game.

JoAnn Carpenter, don't fool yourself. I have seen lots of college athletes getting in trouble with the law this season (and not just this season). The only difference is that college players are less popular than their professional counterparts so their run ins with the law are less publicized.

Good post, thanks

Technology is getting more amazing as time passes. I cant wait to see whats being created 10 years down the road. Electronics have been devolping at such a rapid rate. Noone can expect whats coming next.how to patent something Thank you

Good post, thanks

Thank you for a great post

Excellent job.

Thanks for your visiting this www.hello-free.com/freebies online Free WebSite.

I'll gear this review to 2 types of people: current Zune owners who are considering an upgrade, and people trying to decide between a Zune and an iPod. (There are other players worth considering out there, like the Sony Walkman X, but I hope this gives you enough info to make an informed decision of the Zune vs players other than the iPod line as well.)

I hope you have a good day! Very good article, well written and very thought out. I am looking forward to reading more of your posts in the future.

I like this sport. You like it? what you think of it? If you have some time, it may wish to continue your article to share with you the happiness.

Outstanding! Ahmadinejad did us a favor! Each of us frantically delude our own selves into thinking he (and people who applaud him) are fit to get thought of as good real people, he spits in our face to remind us that we all are (for a second time) fooling our-self.

Wow, amazing blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging look easy.

Kudos to you! This is a really good blog here and I love your style of writing. How did you get so good at blogging?

Keep focusing on your blog. I love how we can all express our feelings. This is an extremely nice blog here :)

Hello there,I like examining your weblog, We wished to write just a little comment to aid you as well as wish a great extension. Best wishes for all your own blogging efforts.

Thank God we have a common interest, thank you for sharing, you're a good author. Hope to see more of your articles. Juno sincerewholesale cheap nhl nfl jerseys.

Kudos for the great article. I am glad I have taken the time to learn this.

Kudos for the great article. I am glad I have taken the time to learn this.

I would like to start my own blog one day. This was a really nice blog that you made here. Keep up the success :P

Wow, amazing blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging look easy.

I agree with your thoughts here and I really love your blog! I've bookmarked it so that I can come back & read more in the future.

I would like to start my own blog one day. This was a really nice blog that you made here. Keep up the success :P

High quality info here! Keep up the great work. I love the feelings being expressed.

I agree with your thoughts here and I really love your blog! I've bookmarked it so that I can come back & read more in the future.

Nice blog here! Also your website loads up fast! What host are you using? I wish my website loaded up as fast as yours lol

I keep

I really like the colors here on your blog. did you design this yourself or did you outsource it to a professional?

Thank you for this blog post.Excellent advice.

Buying wholesale Faux Handbag, but not necessarily a breeze, should not be too difficult. There are many out there, wholesalers, retailers can offer a reasonable range of high quality handbags at moderate prices there. The convenience and reliability in the delivery process is the consideration of other, more quality and price in choosing the right suppliers or distributors of big bags to buy. In addition, you select the provider should be able to meet the requirements of demanding customers.

I love the way you write and also the theme on your blog. Did you code this yourself or was it done by a professional? I'm very very impressed.

I love the expression. Everyone needs to express there own opinion and feel free to hear others. Keep it up :)

I would like to start my own blog one day. This was a really nice blog that you made here. Keep up the success :P

Interesting layout on your blog. I really enjoyed reading it and also I will be back to read more in the future.

Wow, amazing blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging look easy.

I agree with your thoughts here and I really love your blog! I've bookmarked it so that I can come back & read more in the future.

Intercultural universal construct setting what music might be, except that it is 'sound through sentence'. Tiffanys rings

Amazing freakin blog here. I almost cried while reading it!

hello I was very impressed with the setup you used with this site. I use wordpress my self so congrats. definatly adding to favorites.

High quality info here! Keep up the great work. I love the feelings being expressed.

I am extremely impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Either way keep up the nice quality writing, it's rare to see a nice blog like this one these days.. :)

Thanks for sharing such useful information.

I would like to start my own blog one day. This was a really nice blog that you made here. Keep up the success :P

Nice blog here! Also your website loads up fast! What host are you using? I wish my website loaded up as fast as yours lol

I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz reply back as I'm looking to create my own blog and would like to know wheere u got this from. thanks

Simply saying thanks won’t just be enough, for the wonderful readability in your documentation. I will instantly grab your rss feed to remain knowledgeable of any updates. Admirable work and far success in your online business endeavors!

I agree with everything you said there, keep up the good writing

I am extremely impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Either way keep up the nice quality writing, it's rare to see a nice blog like this one these days.. :)

Great wordpress blog here.. It's hard to find quality writing like yours these days. I really appreciate people like you! take care and see you soon

This is good info! Where else can if ind out more?? Who runs this joint too? Keep up the good work :)

Way to focus and straight to your point, i love it. Keep up the work people. Dont let anyone stop us bloggers.

Thanks for sharing such useful information.

Zune and iPod: Most people compare the Zune to the Touch, but after seeing how slim and surprisingly small and light it is, I consider it to be a rather unique hybrid that combines qualities of both the Touch and the Nano. It's very colorful and lovely OLED screen is slightly smaller than the touch screen, but the player itself feels quite a bit smaller and lighter. It weighs about 2/3 as much, and is noticeably smaller in width and height, while being just a hair thicker.

I would like to start my own blog one day. This was a really nice blog that you made here. Keep up the success :P

I concur, thanks for posting th is..

Interesting thoughts here. I appreciate you taking the time to share them with us all. It's people like you that make my day :)

WATCH OUT! THOSE ADS ON TOP OF THE SITE LEADS TO MALWARE!! I really like your blog but please do something with it :/

Thanks for that l ist, the l ist will save me a good deal of time.

Love the blog here. Nice colors. I am definitely staying tuned to this one. Hope to see more.

If you want to buy an original is likely that the first-class style, elegance and quality of the course. If you are purchasing a replica Gucci handbag tricked not have it all. Instead, buy a blow, was not benefited nearly as much.

Interesting layout on your blog. I really enjoyed reading it and also I will be back to read more in the future.

Insightful content=D Going to take a decent amount of time to absorb this article..

Many Thanks for this article, It's actually one of the very few articles i've enjoyed enough recently to comment.

Strange this post is totaly unrelated to what I was searching google for, however it used to be listed on the first page. I suppose your doing one thing right if Google likes you sufficient to place you on the first page of a non comparable search.

The shitstorm about who designed the MSN logo manufactured my day, why would any person even want to own up to that horrible turd.

When I check out your RSS feed it puts up a bunch of unformatted html, could be the problem on my conclusion?

I have to say that I agree with all the sentiments about getting AOL as amount 1. The comments posted along side it sum it up properly, that it does nothing to strengthen the model, but only adds confusion.Out of the most effective rebrands inside l ist, I would place SyFy on the top. In the beginning I hated the name, since I thought they did it ??just simply because,??? when the fact is they had to change their title due to being unable to legally use Sci-fi.??? Now rather than coming up using a whole new identify that nobody would know- and maybe shed quite a bit with the by now built in SciFi??? brand- they stuck with all the old title that has a bit of phrase play. I can nonetheless call SyFy Sci-fi when it arrives up, and that makes me satisfied.

Great wordpress blog here.. It's hard to find quality writing like yours these days. I really appreciate people like you! take care and see you soon

Good site. Will require some time to toy with the post.