There's a reason it's called March Madness. There are two sides of the big coin generated by the NCAA basketball playoffs that begin tonight with the play-in game between two teams that are lucky to be seen in primetime. The winner of this game (Coppin State vs. Mt. St. Mary's) gets their remains scraped off the floor by North Carolina. The loser is fortunate not to face the same fate. You want the final four when this tournament wraps as March turns to April in San Antonio? Here they are: CBS, ESPN, Yahoo! and Fox...
CBS, just online alone at CBSSportsLine.com expects to generate $21 million, up from last year's $10 million and ESPN, Yahoo!, Fox, Direct TV, etc. will gladly bottom-feed. Now for the other side of the coin. According to an estimate by consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, March Madness could cost America's employers $1.7 billion from the 28.3 million to 37.3 million employees who will be checking brackets instead of, well, whatever they're supposed to be doing. $1.7 billion? Holy Christmas!!!
Here are some more eye-popping numbers. The number of people who played Yahoo!'s Tournament Pick 'Em game jumped 66% last year to about 1.5 million users. CBS Sports will intensify the March Madness mania by making all 63 games available on the Web for the first time. Whatever increase the Yahoo! Pool yields this year just went up by one...
10 Timeline Memories:
- 1850] The stage is set: Henry Wells and William Fargo found Wells-Fargo. 158 years later they're still in business: http://youtube.com/watch?v=QBQ7V2IBv60&feature=related ...
- 1909] Can you hear me now?: Einar Dessau of Denmark uses a shortwave transmitter to talk to a government radio post about 6 miles away. It is believed to be the first broadcast by a 'ham' operator...
- 1922] Slammed: Mohandas K. Gandhi is sentenced to prison in India for civil disobedience. Gandhi will serve two years of a six-year sentence...2005] Former Connecticut Governor John G. Rowland is sentenced to a year in prison and four months under house arrest for corruption...
- 1931] Premiered on this date: Schick Inc. markets the first electric razor...1961] The Poppin' Fresh "Pillsbury Dough Boy" is introduced: http://youtube.com/watch?v=icWy4eeTJuU ...1968] Mel Brooks' film "The Producers" premieres, starring Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel. The movie wins an Oscar for "Best Screenplay"...
- 1953] The Braves leave Beantown: Boston loses the Braves as NL President Warren Giles and all the NL team owners approve the team's decision to move to Milwaukee. They eventually wind up in Atlanta where they are now...
- 1959] Aloha: President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Hawaii statehood bill, giving us "Hawaii Five-O": http://youtube.com/watch?v=AepyGm9Me6w ...
- 1986] Happy Together: Buckingham Palace announces the engagement of Prince Andrew to Sarah Ferguson...
- 1990] Reunited and it feels so good: Baseball owners and players agree to a new labor agreement, ending a 32-day pre-season strike...1997] Joni Mitchell reunites with the daughter she gave up for adoption many years earlier. Peaches and Herb kvell: http://youtube.com/watch?v=rS_wik3Rum8 ...
- 1992] Guilty as charged: Leona ("Queen of Mean") Helmsley is sentenced to four years in prison for tax evasion...
- 2005] Pulling the plug: Doctors in Florida, acting on orders of a state judge, remove Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. The brain-damaged Schiavo will die 13 days later...
Music Memories:
- 1963] Number One on this date: "Walk Like A Man" - Four Seasons...1973] "Killing Me Softly With His Song" - Roberta Flack...1983] "Billie Jean" - Michael Jackson: http://youtube.com/watch?v=9U2eFPMg-u8 ...
Commentary:
The 125th Audio Engineering Society Convention has been set for San Francisco's Moscone Center for October 5-8, 2008. Industry professionals are invited to send brief proposals for broadcast-related subjects to the AES at 125th_broadcast@aes.org . Taken from a press release from the Session's Chair, David Bialik. Good luck with your 125th, David...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Queen Latifah (38), Bonnie Blair (44), Vanessa Williams (45), Irene Cara (49): http://youtube.com/watch?v=alZ2EcckQjg, Charlie Pride (70), John Updike (76), John Kander (81) and Peter Graves (82)...
Timeline Countdown: 2 days until the first day of spring, 5 days until Easter Sunday, 7 days until opening day and 32 days until Passover...
