Media Notes

Obama Unveils His NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket

President Obama today unveiled his NCAA men's basketball tournament bracket on ESPN's "SportsCenter," with Louisville, Memphis, North Carolina and Pittsburgh picked to make the Final Four. ESPN's Andy Katz, who interviewed Obama for the segment, recalled an interview he conducted last fall with Obama where “at the end of the interview, I looked at then-Senator Obama and said, ‘There’s one campaign promise you’re going to have to keep. If you win, in March I’m coming to the White House to fill out the bracket.’ My producer said, ‘Wait, wait, did you just invite yourself to the White House?’” Katz: “To their credit, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and the president remembered when I sent in the request” ("GMA," ABC, 3/18).

SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL: THE HOCKEY NEWS’ David Neal writes the NHL should “junk the Saturday and Sunday afternoon games, at least during the playoffs and "go prime time, especially on Saturday.” U.S. networks “give up on Saturday nights,” and the NHL could “offer something brand new and unpredictable -- live sports -- to the markets that matter to sponsors.” The move also “would build some goodwill with Canadians who feel the big nasty U.S. has jacked with ‘Hockey Night in Canada’s’ traditions” (THE HOCKEY NEWS, 3/16 issue).

NOTES: The CBC has inked a three-year deal with the Royal Canadian Golf Association to televise the LPGA CN Canadian Women’s Open through ’11. The first two rounds will be aired live on the CBC’s digital channel, Bold, with the final rounds on the flagship station (CBC)....Fox Sports Prime Ticket will broadcast 100 Dodgers games in HD this season, a 33% increase from last year (LATIMES.com, 3/17)….AT&T U-verse subs will now have access to College Basketball from Yahoo Sports, an interactive app featuring March Madness content, including brackets, game summaries and video highlights (CABLEFAX DAILY, 3/18).