Leaving Their Footprint 

Ratings For UNC's Win Down 7% From '08

CBS is feeling the impact of a blowout win by North Carolina during Monday’s NCAA championship, as the network earns a 11.9/19 overnight rating for the Tar Heels' second national title in five years, down 7% from the thrilling Kansas-Memphis matchup in '08. For the NCAA, the game at Ford Field delivered the “big” image it wanted conveyed, as the championship-game record crowd of 72,922 filled the stadium and made for impressive visuals. Most of the early returns are that Detroit also came through with an effective and well-organized event, as this year's Final Four draws the "highest attendance ever at the ancillary events" put on by the NCAA. Meanwhile, Myles Brand tells the N.Y. TIMES that his fight with stage four pancreatic cancer is "not painful, just tiring." Brand also refused to speculate on any possible successor, saying, "I think one question would be is it going to be a university president. I don’t know the answer to that.”

That's The Bottom Line
In part two of our MLB preview, execs discuss challenges pertaining to ticketing, marketing and sponsorships.

Back In A Flash?
Did several "high-profile glitches" lead MLB.com to drop Microsoft's Silverlight player?

Live & Lerner
After years of on-field disappointment and front-office unhappiness, Nationals taking steps to improve the organization.

The King Of Beers
A-B tops all sports ad spenders again in '08 with more than $277M, up 27.1%.

How Tweet It Is 
Augusta National hops aboard the Twitter train for this week's Masters; Suns incorporate Octagon's Twackle on their Web site.

Sand Castle?
AVP's Leonard Armato expresses interest in building permanent facility at Long Beach.

Good Credit
UEFA scores another big renewal for Champions League, tying up MasterCard through '13.

Trying To Get Some Sun
Paul Beeston reportedly courting Suns President Rick Welts to run the Blue Jays.