CBS will be "changing the NCAA Selection Show from last year's broadcast on TBS," according to The Athletic's Richard Deitsch. Next Sunday, there will be "no rolling out all the teams in alphabetical order," and they will "return to unveiling the teams in brackets when you first see them on the screen" (TWITTER.com, 3/10). YAHOO SPORTS' Blake Schuster noted the change "likely had to do with last year's show falling to an all-time ratings low." Fans should "expect some type [of] strategy to stretch the show out for at least an hour." However, there is "no denying the right, and most dramatic, way to unveil the field of 68 is line by line" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 3/10).
ON CALL: ESPN's "Bracketologist" Joe Lunardi, on his week leading into Selection Sunday, said he left home Wednesday and "basically said 'goodbye' to everyone including my family, colleagues and boss." Lunardi: "I'm just on demand to the basketball universe" (RICHMOND.com, 3/8).
END OF AN ERA: In Raleigh, Luke DeCock notes after almost four decades of coverage, Raycom Sports will "go off the air after the ACC Championship game on Sunday." For decades, Raycom "controlled all of the ACC's television rights, selling games to ESPN and CBS." Raycom was "so important to the ACC that when the conference sold control to ESPN" in '10, the ACC "insisted Raycom be cut into the deal." Raycom "retained the rights to broadcast the tournament, alongside ESPN." But the net is "taking over completely now, both the mothership and the ACC Network when it launches in August." Raycom at its height in the '80s was a "massive sports distributor, controlling the rights to the ACC, SEC, Big 8 and other conferences, syndicating those games over local stations." But the ACC was "always the flagship property" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 3/11).
ESPN INSIDER: In Hartford, Alex Putterman noted the first episode of a new ESPN documentary series on former UConn coach Jim Calhoun, "The Calhoun Project," aired at 9:00am ET yesterday as part of ESPN's "E:60" series. The episode is the "first in a four-part series chronicling Calhoun's first season at St. Joseph that will run each Sunday through March 31." The series "features narration from Ray Allen and talking-head appearances from Kemba Walker, Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Boeheim." Series co-Producer John Minton said, "People will experience the net result like they always have, but people will also experience the making of and the journey of how Coach Calhoun gets his team to the end" (HARTFORD COURANT, 3/9).
