The Eye & The Storm 

SEC Moves Games After Tornado Hits Dome

Office printers and fax machines around the country are getting ready for their busiest week of the year, as the brackets for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament are released. CBS sees a slight viewer decrease for its annual selection show, likely due in part to a lack of real controversy over which teams got in the Big Dance. Meanwhile, Georgia’s unlikely run to the tourney caps a wild weekend for the SEC. The conference could be on the hook for around $2.5M in ticket refunds from moving its tournament after a tornado damages the Georgia Dome. The SEC allows only families, select VIPs and a few hundred fans per school into Georgia Tech’s home court, giving it the “feeling of a high school state championship.” The full extent of damage to the Georgia Dome is unknown, but officials say it is far less than to the World Congress Center next door. In other news, several companies are gearing up their hoops-centric marketing plans for launch this week.

Great Ball Of China
MLB deems first foray into China a success despite security issues.

Quit Playing Games?
Escalating image concerns may cause some Beijing Olympic sponsors to scale back activation.

Dot The I's, Cross The Model T's
Sonics' ownership, Oklahoma City agree on letter of intent which will serve as framing of Ford Center lease deal.

History Repeating
SI Thursday to launch the Vault, an online archive with complete history of SI content.

Online Skating
Yahoo strikes deal with GrindTV.com to create Web-based action sports channel.

Shamrock Shake
Lawn Tennis Association and InBev UK end 30-year partnership, Stella Artois' naming rights to Queen's Club tourney.

Kick The Can
MLS Red Bulls launch ad campaign in N.Y., the energy drink's first marketing effort since acquiring the club in '06.

Self Check-Out
Safeway ending sponsorship of Phoenix LPGA event following '08 tournament.