Updated 03/19/2009 02:06 PM
The Internet Catches March Madness Fever
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Specialty websites are helping keep better track of college basketball's "March Madness" than ever before. NY1's Technology reporter Adam Balkin filed the following report. There's no reason to sacrifice quality March Madness time for a little thing like your job. With today's technology, people can keep track of their college basketball brackets wherever they happen to be.
For starters, people can view any game live at the National College Athletic Association's website.
"Last year, they showed every game online but you had to sign up for a free account and then they have a limited number of 'seats' for each game, so you had to wait in line to even see it," says Dan Ackerman of CNET.com. "This year, it's much simpler: you go online and launch the player."
For iPhone or iPod touch users, there's even an application this year that lets users listen to game broadcasts in WiFi hot spots, courtesy of the 3G network.
As far as those pools go, if in the past you've had some trust issues with your tournament administrator, online sites now offer much more transparency.
"You don't have a guy with a pencil and big sheet of paper collecting money. You can use Yahoo, Facebook, a bunch of other pool-tracking software," says Ackerman. "And everyone can just log in and make their picks, and it's all honest, all above board and no question of who won, who picked what, or anything like that."
Many websites also offer up advice on who to pick. Some are free, while others charge small fees, but each site has its own special method, including statistical calculations, fancy computer modeling, or simple past performance.
Those who would rather see the entire tournament played out can check out Electronic Arts Sports's NCAA Basketball Title and run a simulation to determine the winner.
EA runs an official simulation itself and this year picks Louisville to win. Last year, it accurately predicted three of the teams that made it to the Final Four.