[The Poet]

Well, I got news news, and good news, and bad news.

The NCAA has announced it is expanding its field of 65 for next year's tournament - to 68 whole teams. I can only assume at this point that this means there will now be 4 "play-in" games instead of just one, which makes more sense anyway. So that's the news.

They also announced that this expansion is part of a new TV contract with old-guard CBS and new kid Turner, and that this will mean each and every game will be available for viewing live, on either CBS, TBS, TNT, or truTV. Everything through the second round will be shown on one of those - which is either good or bad news, depending upon several points. If you don't have cable or satellite, you won't be able to see some games at all. And perhaps the game you ARE watching is one of those 102-44 snoozers, and you can't watch that buzzer-beater elsewhere. After the second round, CBS and Turner will split regional semis, with CBS retaining the regional finals, the Final Four, and the Championship game - through 2015. Beginning in 2016, the regional finals will be split between CBS and Turner, and the FF and C games will alternate between the two. This means you will either have to pay for it, or miss it altogether. And that, my friends, is just wrong. CBSSports.com will provide live streaming video of the games, but Turner "secured rights for any player it develops" . . . whatever the fark that's supposed to mean.

And what's the bottom line? Regardless of how you feel about the above, the bottom line is $10.8 billion over the next 14 years.