CBS still has ample room for NCAA Tournament highlights
Well, let's put to rest the idea of doubling the NCAA Tournament to 128 teams, shall we?
Not only has no 16th seed ever beaten a No. 1 in the tourney, nobody beat a No. 1 seed at all this year. And not only did the four top seeds make it to San Antonio -- pleasing CBS studio analyst Craig Kellogg, who went against the conventional wisdom and in favor of the favorites to pick all to make the Final Four -- but of the 60 tourney games played so far, more than half, 34, have been decided by a dozen points or more.
Kansas' razor-thin regional final win over Cinderella Davidson to the contrary, that trend held true for each of the four semifinalists, who won their four games by an average of 15-20 points.
That has translated into ratings that are bordering on record lows for CBS. But in a media conference call this week, the network's big kahunas said they hoped the power and prestige of this year's Final Four -- including three of the most storied colleges in the sport's history, as well as Memphis and Chicago's Derrick Rose -- would reverse that ratings trend.
"As much as we like Cinderellas and as much as they provide drama," said Sean McManus, president of CBS News and Sports, "from a pure ratings standpoint you're probably better off with the four unquestioned best teams in the country with the kind of basketball traditions that they have."
"You want to see the best teams with the best players and the best coaches bang it out for the heavyweight title of the world," added the ever-unapologetic color analyst Billy Packer.
That's their story and they're sticking with it when Packer and Jim Nantz do Memphis-UCLA at 5 p.m. Saturday on WBBM Channel 2, followed by North Carolina-Kansas. The championship game is set for 8 p.m. Monday.
As ever, CBS' steadfast coverage will concentrate on the action -- and hope that the tourney has saved the best for last.
"We've never been a network that does stuff for the sake of doing stuff," director Bob Fishman said. "My mantra in covering basketball is 'Keep it simple, stupid.' "
They'll have 15 or 16 cameras on site, but he'll stick the majority of the time with the basic shot from center court. Fishman said they could kick out the jams and do basketball with 30 cameras and Fox Super Bowl-style excess, "but why would you?"
My guess is CBS will be rewarded with its patience. These are four good teams and true heavyweights ready to duke it out.
Packer lauded Memphis and North Carolina for the "fresh legs" they've retained and how they're "explosive physically," but he also compared Kansas to North Carolina in their depth and the way either could bring a potential Final Four MVP off the bench, in that they have "guys who can come off the bench and star."
While expressing admiration for UCLA's tough, intense and very un-Wooden-esque defense, he pooh-poohed talk of a new UCLA dynasty with their third straight Final Four appearance, saying, "I don't think you can consider yourself a dynasty if you haven't won a championship."
Packer said this might be the best set of four coaches to ever appear in the Final Four but that he expected the players, not the coaching, to determine the outcome.
"But I will say this," he added. "The guy (coach) who wins the championship probably will do something in the course of the two games that will be pivotal."
Wow, that's insight worthy of picking the top seeds to advance to the Final Four.
What I know is this: At this point, leading into Final Four weekend, CBS is still probably looking for about four minutes of highlights to fill out the full running time of "One Shining Moment."
In the air
Remotely interesting: The White Sox' A.J. Pierzynski and the Cubs' Ryan Dempster will be the rotating baseball guests on "Final Word" this season starting at 10 p.m. Sunday on WFLD Channel 32. The Sox launch Fox's "Game of the Week" in Detroit at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on Channel 32.
The Blackhawks, also in Detroit, are picked up by NBC's national NHL coverage at 11:30 p.m. Saturday on WMAQ Channel 5.
End of the dial: WSCR 670-AM and WMVP 1000-AM flip-flopped in monthly Arbitrends this week, with the Score posting a 1.7 share of the overall audience 12 and older and WMVP a 1.6 share. The Score also led in men 18 and older, 3.3-3.0.
Former Cub Doug Glanville has joined George Castle's syndicated "Diamond Gems" as a regular panelist and commentator. It airs Saturday at 1 p.m. on DeKalb's WLBK 1360-AM and at 3 p.m. on WIMS 1420-AM out of Michigan City, Ind., then Sunday at 5 p.m. on Joliet's WJOL 1340-AM.
-- Ted Cox