Well that was a heck of a Selection Show, huh? Arizona, Wisconsin and Dayton are in....Creighton, Penn State and Virginia Tech, are out. There are always cases to be made for every team that heads to the N.I.T., but the simple fact that Arizona has gotten in, back-to-back years, is a crime. Anyway, we can sit here and argue things all day long, but I say let's skip that and focus on the games at hand.

The fans who won this year's "Annual Gus Johnson Lottery" are as follows: Boston College, USC, Michigan State, Robert Morris, West Virginia, Dayton, Kansas and North Dakota State (GO BISON!)

Greensboro- Jim Nantz, Clark Kellog
Philadelphia- Dick Enberg, Carter Blackburn, Jay Bilas
Kansas City- Tim Brando, Mike Gminski
Portland- Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner
Dayton- Verne Lundquist, Bill Raftery
Miami- Ian Eagle, Jim Sparnarkel
Minneapolis- Gus Johnson, Len Elmore
Boise- Craig Bolerjack, Dan Wenzel

ROUND ONE

Thursday, March 19th:

LSU vs. Butler (Greensboro, 12:20pm)- Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg
Memphis vs. Cal. St. Northridge (Kansas City, 12:25pm)- Tim Brando/Mike Gminski
BYU vs. Texas A&M (Philadelphia, 12:30pm)- Dick Enberg or Carter Blackburn/Jay Bilas
Purdue vs. Northern Iowa (Portland, 2:30pm)- Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner
North Carolina vs. Radford (Greensboro, 2:50pm)- Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg
California vs. Maryland (Kansas City, 2:55pm)- Tim Brando/Mike Gminski
Connecticut vs. Chattanooga (Philadelphia, 3pm)- Dick Enberg or Carter Blackburn/Jay Bilas
Washington vs. Mississippi St. (Portland 5pm)- Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner
Texas vs. Minnesota (Greensboro, 7:10pm)- Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg
Clemson vs. Michigan (Kansas City, 7:10pm)- Tim Brando/Mike Gminski
Villanova vs. American (Philadelphia, 7:20pm)- Dick Enberg or Carter Blackburn/Jay Bilas
Gonzaga vs. Akron (Portland, 7:25pm)- Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner
Duke vs. Binghamton (Greensboro, 9:40pm)- Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg
Oklahoma vs. Morgan State (Kansas City, 9:40pm)- Tim Brando/Mike Gminski
UCLA vs. VCU (Philadelphia, 9:50pm)- Dick Enberg or Carter Blackburn/Jay Bilas
Illinois vs. Western Kentucky (Portland, 9:55pm)- Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner

Friday, March 20th

Syracuse vs. Stephen F. Austin (Miami, 12:15pm)- Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel
Oklahoma St. vs. Tennessee (Dayton, 12:25pm)- Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery
Kansas vs. North Dakota State (Minneapolis, 12:30pm)- Gus Johnson/Len Elmore
Marquette vs. Utah State (Boise, 12:30pm)- Craig Bolerjack/Bob Wenzel
Arizona State vs. Temple (Miami, 2:45pm)- Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel
Pittsburgh vs. E. Tennessee St. (Dayton, 2:55pm)- Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery
West Virginia vs. Dayton (Minneapolis, 3pm)- Gus Johnson/Len Elmore
Missouri vs. Cornell (Boise, 3pm)- Craig Bolerjack/Bob Wenzel
Utah vs. Arizona (Miami, 7:10pm)- Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel
Louisville vs. Alabama St./Morehead St. (Dayton, 7:10pm)- Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery
Boston College vs. USC (Minneapolis, 7:20pm)- Gus Johnson/Len Elmore
Xavier vs. Portland State (Boise, 7:25pm)- Craig Bolerjack/Bob Wenzel
Wake Forest vs. Cleveland State (Miami, 9:40pm)- Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel
Ohio State vs. Siena (Dayton, 9:40pm)- Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery
Michigan State vs. Robert Morris (Minneapolis, 9:50pm)- Gus Johnson/Len Elmore
Florida State vs. Wisconsin (Boise, 9:55)- Craig Bolerjack/Bob Wenzel

ROUND TWO

Saturday, March 21st

Villanova/American vs. UCLA/VCU (Philadelphia, 1:05pm)- Dick Enberg/Jay Bilas
Memphis/Cal St. Northridge vs. California/Maryland (Kansas City, 3:20pm)- Tim Brando/Mike Gminski
Connecticut/Chattanooga vs. BYU/Texas A&M (Philadelphia, 3:35pm)- Dick Enberg/Jay Bilas
Purdue/N. Iowa vs. Washington/Mississippi State (Portland, 5:40pm)- Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner
North Carolina/Radford vs. LSU/Butler (Greensboro, 5:45pm)- Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg
Oklahoma/Morgan State vs. Clemson/Michigan (Kansas City, 5:50pm)- Tim Brando/Mike Gminski Gonzaga/Akron vs. Illinois/Western Kentucky (Portland, 8pm)- Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner Duke/Binghamton vs. Texas/Minnesota (Greensboro, 8:05pm)- Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg

Sunday, March 22nd

Syracuse/Stephen F. Austin vs. Arizona State/Temple (Miami, 12:10pm)- Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel
Florida State/Wisconsin vs. Xavier/Portland State (Boise, 2:20pm)- Craig Bolerjack/Bob Wenzel
Kansas/N. Dakota State vs. West Virginia/Dayton (Minneapolis, 2:30pm)- Gus Johnson/Len Elmore
Wake Forest/Cleveland State vs. Utah/Arizona (Miami, 2:40pm)- Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel
Oklahoma State/Tennessee vs. Pittsburgh/E. Tennessee State (Dayton, 2:50pm)- Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery
Missouri/Cornell vs. Marquette/Utah State (Boise, 4:50pm)- Craig Bolerjack/Bob Wenzel
Michigan State/Robert Morris vs. Boston College/USC (Minneapolis, 5pm)- Gus Johnson/Len Elmore
Ohio State/Siena vs. Louisville/Alabama State or Morehead State (Dayton, 5:10pm)- Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery

Saw this last night on the Jimmy Fallon Show, and had to share. Fallon, and his announcer, decided to replay some of the highlights from the 6 OT 'Cuse-UConn game, and do a little play-by-play of the action....

Actually, I take that back....maybe he should stick to his night job. Speaking of that game, I wonder if McDonough, Raftery or Bilas, ever had to pee during that game. That must have been hell.

This is just about the most random way to end a completely random week. Here is Chris Bosh subbing for meteorologist Dave Devall of CTV Toronto evening news. I will be attempting to step away from the site for a few days, but I'll likely see you Sunday night for some selection show highlights....

The NBA released it's first Playoff commercial for this year, and just like with everything else they put together, it's perfect. Here's your first look....

Man, watching that dunk in slow motion is pretty intense. It's almost like Lebron had "no regard for human life"!

New NBA Ad Campaign (Alana G)

Sorry for the delay in posting (another travel day), and I wasn't going to put anything up, but this is too good to not post. The MMOD player has been added to the CBS March Madness site, and naturally the first thing I wanted to check out was how ridiculous the excel spreadsheet is when you click on the "boss button". To my dismay, CBS not only made every item on the sheet basketball related, but they now have advertising on the thing. Here's a screenshot (click for larger)....


Umm, CBS....doesn't that completely defeat the purpose of the button to begin with? Oh well. It's not like last year's "fruit inspired" one was that much better. Other than that, the player looks amazing. You can click through old games and the quality is beyond amazing. Good stuff, CBS.

MMOD Video (CBS)

The ACC once again has a completely random musical sponsor for this year's tournament. Last year it was Lil Mama, who graced the Raycom airwaves, and this year they've stepped up their game. American Idol winner, David Cooke, is your official ACC Tournament sponsor, and he would like to tell you about the song "Heroes" that you'll be hearing Ad nauseam, if you live in ACC Country....

It's no Jonas Brothers for the LLWS, but David Cooke is still an impressive pull for Raycom. I give the song until 7pm tonight, before it becomes completely and utterly annoying.

(FYI- If MD loses to NC State tonight, you can expect a day off from me tomorrow as I will be drinking myself into a coma tonight.)

The ACC Tournament Has One Of The Oddest Sponsors Ever (Awful Announcing)

Even though Terrell Owens has moved to a much smaller market in Buffalo, VH1 still plans to debut the controversial wide receiver's reality show this Summer. Via the Democrat and Chronicle....

VH1 acknowledged Tuesday that the company is in production with T.O. for a reality show that profiles his life off the field. Brett Henne, VH1's senior vice president of communications and Public Affairs, said he also learned of Owens' move to Buffalo through the media, but that "we're sure the show will tape sometime in Buffalo."

Currently referred to as "The Terrell Owens Project," the show is slated for an August primetime premiere on the cable channel.

VH1 President Tom Calderone, a Buffalo State graduate, said the show was green-lit for production two to three months ago and was just beginning to film in Dallas. Now, he said production crews are regrouping to determine how Buffalo and this latest storyline will fit into the show.

While the original project may be slightly changed, a January press release from VH1 said the show will shadow T.O. and two of his best friends who also serve as his female publicists.

I actually take back the word "controversial", I used when describing Owens above. See the thing about controversial people and reality shows, is that people are actually interested in their daily lives. I can't for the life of me, think of a reason to watch a T.O.-based reality show. So I would like to change "controversial" to "annoying" please. Thank you.

Update: In case you were wondering where T.O. is this week....he's sporting a bright yellow sweatshirt at the ACC Tournament!


Bills' Terrell Owens to star in reality show on VH1 (Democrat and Chronicle)

The two were walking on thin ice for a few months, but today the NFL and Westwood One agreed to keep their relationship going. The new two-year agreement will have Westwood One covering 57 games next year, which also includes both Championship games, the Pro Bowl and the Super Bowl. Here's the WWO press release....

Westwood One and the National Football League (NFL) announced today a new two-year agreement for Westwood One to continue as the exclusive network radio partner of the NFL.

Westwood One has been an NFL network radio partner for more than four decades and the exclusive network radio partner since 1987.

Westwood One will continue to broadcast all national regular season and postseason NFL games, including the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, Monday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, the NFL Playoffs, the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl. In addition, Westwood One’s NFL broadcasts will now be streamed online as part of Field Pass on NFL.com.

As the exclusive radio partner of the NFL, the Westwood One 2009 NFL broadcast schedule features 57 national games, including: the Hall of Fame game, Opening Kickoff game, 17 Monday Night games, including one doubleheader, 16 Sunday Night games, eight Thursday and Saturday Night games (including Thanksgiving Night), Thanksgiving Day doubleheader, 12 Postseason games, including the NFL Playoffs, the AFC and NFC Championship Games, the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl and Super Bowl XLIV in South Florida. Westwood One also delivers specialty programs, including: The NFL Today, NFL Preview, NFL Insider, NFL Sunday, and NFL Fantasy Football Forecast.

Good for both sides in working something out, and while the money hasn't been released, Sports Business Daily is reporting that the deal is near the $30 million mark and is all guaranteed money. Something ESPN Radio and Sporting News Radio couldn't provide.

Don't Turn The Dial (Sports Business Daily - $)