Well, some of the NCAA tournament fun is over for the HDTV crowd. On one hand, all CBS NCAA Tournament games will be in High Definition. On the other hand there will no longer be separate games delivered to the local affiliates for HD and regular TV broadcast as there had been for 2005 and 2006.
Unlike last season, CBS will show every Tournament game in HDTV. The advantage is that every game will be in HDTV. The disadvantage is that stations no longer have the option, as they did last season, to show different games on standard-def and HD channels.
For example, any game assigned to KHOU (Channel 11) will air on both its standard def and its HD channel.
There may, however, be an occasional wrinkle for HD purists. Texas or Texas A&M games will be "constant" games for the Houston market. HD programs, however, will be "flex" games, which means they can be switched to another location at CBS' discretion.
What I take this to mean is that the possibility exists for the HD band broadcast to show a game outside the local game if the local one stinks, or if another game is more exciting.
March Madness on Demand is free again, and CBS has pumped up the bandwidth.
However it will be capped at 300,000 viewers at any one time, so you may have to wait until someone else goes offline. Last year it was capped at 175,000 and I was able to watch the UCLA / Belmont game. (As predicted, the Bruins prevailed.)
The 2007 field looks strong.
As reported, UCLA finished out the PAC-10 champion, but fell down right after that against Washington and California. This got them a #2 seed vs a #1. It would seem that it is all academic as a #2 vs #1 since after the first round nothing is assured. The Bruins still get to ride out the West in California, as has been pointed out in numerous publications. As with last year, many reporters like UCLA to reach the final four. There is no love for the rest of the PAC-10. I foresee a PAC-10 team in the final four, but maybe not UCLA. Washington State and Oregon are both much better than some realize. Neither garnered any comments during the selection show. Stanford probably should not have been invited over Drexel. But the same thing is said every year: Strength of Schedule.
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