CBS Sports and ESPN went head-to-head with their
respective NCAA selection shows at 6:30pm ET last night.
CBS' "The Selection Show" showed the number one seeds for
the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at 1:30 into its
broadcast. The East Region bracket was displayed at 2:12,
the South at 6:55, the Midwest at 10:01 and the West at
15:27. ESPN's "Tournament Selection Show" showed the number
one seeds for the men's tourney at 2:32 into the broadcast.
The East Region bracket was shown at 3:40, the South at
8:14, the Midwest at 12:57 and the West at 17:26 (THE
DAILY). In Houston, David Barron calls ESPN's the "best" of
the two selection shows because it offered 90 minutes to
CBS' half-hour and had "tons of attitude." Barron notes
that ESPN "was about 90 seconds behind CBS on the bracket
order but used the time well in the half-hour that the shows
were on head-to-head" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 3/13).
SHOULD THE NCAA EASE UP ON LOBO? In Chicago, Ron
Rapoport notes that ESPN has been forced to drop Rebecca
Lobo from its NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament coverage to
comply with an NCAA ban preventing pro athletes from
commenting on college action. Rapoport notes that Lobo has
"done so much to put women's college basketball on the map,"
and asks, "How dumb is the NCAA?" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 3/13).
