On a memorable Monday, NCAA title game delivered a winner

FROM KEITH GROLLER

There was so much going on Monday that you almost forgot there was a national championship game coming up at night.

You had Tiger Woods' first real press conference at The Masters, you had baseball's Opening Day and of course, lots of analysis on the Donovan McNabb trade.

But those who stayed to the end of the day were treated to a compelling NCAA title game between good and evil, Butler and Duke.

I don't think of the Blue Devils as being evil. Ask Bangor coach Bron Holland what he thinks of Coach K and that Duke team after their kindness and generosity they displayed last fall with the entire Slaters team after one of their players had a "Dream Come True" wish fulfilled with a trip to the campus.

Holland couldn't say enough good things about Coach K and that team.

Coach K and his program are first class, the gold standard, and those who hate them are just jealous.

Dick Vitale said pretty much the same thing in his postgame analysis. He said he doesn't understand why a program that does things the right way attracts so much hatred. Of course, Dickie V's gushing about Duke over the years is one of the reasons for the widespread resentment.

But this was a terrific basketball game if you appreciate defense and it came down to a last-second, desperation shot that flicked off the front of the rim.

Good stuff. Great ending to a great tournament. I will be curious to see what the ratings look like. I bet it was one of the most watched title games in many years because of the underdog vs. despised favorite theme.

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All Philly TV and radio stations went non-stop with the McNabb trade fallout on Monday. Can't remember any trade getting as much coverage as this one. It's like someone died.

I don't know about you, but by 6 o'clock, I had enough of the topic.

Consensus is that this a good deal for both teams, and for McNabb.

I am interested to see the NFL TV schedule and who's going to get these two Eagles-Redskins games, which should do very well in the ratings, especially the game in Philly.

I imagine there are some heated discussions going on between Fox, ESPN and NBC and the NFL.

I can't imagine Fox , as the main carrier for NFC games, would lose both games go to primetime. The NFL seems to cater to NBC, so I wouldn't be shocked if NBC gets one of the two meetings on its Sunday Night package. We'll see.

Look for massive coverage of the McNabb press conference in Washington today, especially since the Phillies are off.

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Lots of speculation as to whether the Eagles attempted to upstage the Phillies by the timing of the McNabb announcement.

I really doubt it.

If publicity is your No. 1 goal, you don't make an announcement like that on Easter Sunday night.

I simply don't buy into a rivalry between the Phillies and Eagles. The Eagles are No.1 in terms of interest, the Phillies are No. 1 in terms of success. Both get their due.

When you talk about teams dying for some attention in Philly, you have to start with the 76ers and Comcast SportsNet is going to put on a mike on rookie Jrue Holiday for Tuesday night's game against Detroit.

Here's the release:

PHILADELPHIA (April 5, 2010) – Comcast SportsNet, Philadelphia’s source for comprehensive local sports coverage, provides Sixers fans with exclusive Sixers coverage from the vantage point of rookie Jrue Holiday during tomorrow’s game against the Detroit Pistons. Holiday will wear a wireless microphone from warmups through the end of the game and his comments will be broadcast throughout the game and on Sixers Postgame Live on Comcast SportsNet.



This is the first time Comcast SportsNet has mic’d up a Sixers player during a regular season game.



Holiday is the youngest player in the NBA and the first born in the decade of the 90’s. He made his first career start at Boston on November 25, 2009 at age 19 years, 5 months and 13 days old. Over the past 28 games, he is averaging 12.1 points on 51.0% shooting from the floor. He has started 45 times this season including the past 35 games.



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And here's some ratings info on the battle between ESPN stations on Sunday between the Yankees-Red Sox and UConn-Baylor women. Note the women's basketball beat the baseball slightly, but only because the game was blacked on ESPN in New York and Boston and the two cities' regional channels benefitted greatly.



Also heard the game was blacked out here in the Lehigh Valley by accident for a few innings on Sunday night and Service Electric customers were outraged until the game made it to the airwaves in the fourth inning.



Here's what Sports Mediawatch sent out:

Though there was one major caveat, Sunday's Baylor/Connecticut Women's Final Four matchup outdrew the latest chapter in the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry.

Connecticut's win over Baylor in the Women's NCAA Tournament drew a 2.6 overnight rating on ESPN Sunday night, up 37% from Stanford/Connecticut last year (1.9).

Meanwhile, the Yankees/Red Sox Opening Night game on ESPN2 drew a 2.4 overnight, up 4% from last year's Phillies/Braves opener (2.3).

Keep in mind that the Yankees/Red Sox game was blacked out in New York and Boston, where regional sports networks YES Network and NESN drew massive local ratings of 10.0 and 19.7, respectively.

Still, Sunday's preliminary results are impressive for women's basketball, a sport often perceived as having little to no fan support.

Elsewhere in the Women's Final Four, Stanford's win over Oklahoma drew a 1.7 overnight rating, down 6% from Louisville/Oklahoma last year (1.8).
Though there was one major caveat, Sunday's Baylor/Connecticut Women's Final Four matchup outdrew the latest chapter in the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry.

Connecticut's win over Baylor in the Women's NCAA Tournament drew a 2.6 overnight rating on ESPN Sunday night, up 37% from Stanford/Connecticut last year (1.9).

Meanwhile, the Yankees/Red Sox Opening Night game on ESPN2 drew a 2.4 overnight, up 4% from last year's Phillies/Braves opener (2.3).

Keep in mind that the Yankees/Red Sox game was blacked out in New York and Boston, where regional sports networks YES Network and NESN drew massive local ratings of 10.0 and 19.7, respectively.

Still, Sunday's preliminary results are impressive for women's basketball, a sport often perceived as having little to no fan support.

Elsewhere in the Women's Final Four, Stanford's win over Oklahoma drew a 1.7 overnight rating, down 6% from Louisville/Oklahoma last year (1.8).

FROM KEITH GROLLER