Every March, college basketball fans look forward to watching the unveiling of the NCAA Tournament bracket. They want to see who is in the tournament, where their favorite teams are going and who is left out.
Sunday's selection show on CBS was a disaster on several fronts. A show that once was 30 minutes before being expanded to one hour in 2002 was expanded to two hours. In addition, the complete bracket was leaked on the internet early in the show and analyst Charles Barkley had trouble using the touch screen when trying to show which he wanted to advance in each region.
The show registered a 3.7 overnight rating, its lowest in two decades, and drew criticism on different fronts.
• Bleacher Report's Matt Fitzgerald said, "It appears unlikely CBS will stick with the two-hour format in light of the bracket's leaking out in the first year of the lengthened program. Given the negative feedback and the key information's release before CBS was able to announced it, the risk figures to be high for something similar to happen next year if no changes are made to the selection show. Enough backlash already arises from the decisions made by the [NCAA] selection committee. When CBS delayed in breaking the news and stretched out the broadcast to give its media personalities more time to break down the action, fans grew impatient, or so the low ratings suggest. A return to a one-hour show wold limit the danger of a leaked broadcast and would be a savvy move by CBS to give March Madness enthusiasts what they want."
• Shannon Ryan of the Chicago Tribune wrote, "The selection show asked viewers to sit through tedious chatter. It was like being a child on Christmas, looking at loads of wrapped gifts under the tree and being told you can only open one present per hour. And for college basketball fans, this day is a treasured holiday.
"If the NCAA and CBS want to maintain one of the best traditions in sports, they need to return the show to the delightful half-hour segment it once was, filled with rapid images of players from hopeful Cinderella teams exuberantly rejoicing at their schools' names being called. Or do an hour long show, max."
Leaked bracket
If one did not want to sit through all two hours of Sunday's NCAA Tournament selection show on CBS, fans could turn to social media to get the bracket after it was leaked.
By 5:20 p.m., a filled bracket had been shared on Twitter. At first, it was viewed with skepticism. But once it was discovered to be correct, coaches moved on with scouting reports and fans began filling out their office-pool brackets.
Naturally, there were many responses on Twitter.
• From Dan Wolken of USA Today: "Bracket leak guy is the hero America needed."
• From Luke Winn of Sports Illustrated: "Teams yet to be announced seem to be accepting the bracket leak as legit, per a few texts. Already studying their leaked opponents."
The bracket post and Twitter account that sent it out disappeared later Sunday evening. But by that point, the basketball genie was out of the bottle.
Sports quiz
What was the first year CBS televised the NCAA Tournament?
Answer
1982
Sports on 03/15/2016