And then there were four.

After four days of intense competition, blown calls, and a whole lot of victory, the Sweet 16 has officially been narrowed down to the NCAA Final Four. Representing four of the power conferences in college hoops, one storied program will add another title to their impressive array of hardware. But the question is...

When do they play?

On Saturday, March 31st, tourney favorite Kentucky will be taking on inter-state rival Louisville in the first match-up, scheduled to tip off a 6:09 on CBS. After losing four of six games heading into the Big East Tournament, Louisville's reeled off eight wins in a row, including five wins over ranked opponents. It's Coach Rick Pitino's 7th Final Four appearance and second in his 11 seasons at Louisville. Kentucky may have lost in the SEC final, but the team has only two losses on the year and looks nearly unbeatable when firing on all cylinders. Can this year be the year Coach John Calipari gets over the hump?

At 8:49, the Ohio State Buckeyes take on the Kansas Jayhawks, a duel of number two seeds that convincingly put away the number one seeds in their respective region. The Buckeyes are led by sophomore Jared Sullinger, a highly touted big man that's helped keep the team in the top 10 all season long. The 'hawks, meanwhile, last won a title in the 2007-08 season; ironically, Coach Bill Self defeated Coach Calipari's Memphis Tigers in the title game that year. Could a rematch between the two decorated coaches be in the cards?

The 2012 NCAA title game will be held Monday, April 2nd at 9:00 on CBS.

How's your bracket holding up? Which team are you rooting for? Have you enjoyed this year's NCAA tourney?

2012 NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four Schedule
6:09 PM - CBS - (1) Kentucky Wildcats v. (4) Louisville Cardinals
8:49 PM - CBS - (2) Ohio State Buckeyes v. (2) Kansas Jayhawks

2012 NCAA Men's Basketball Title Game
9:00 PM - CBS - TBD

2012 NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four Schedule

What an opening couple of rounds at this year's NCAA tournament, right?

You had two 15 seeds taking out a 2 seed, all four Division I teams from Ohio made it to the Sweet Sixteen, and there are several key rematches either on tap or inches from being secured in the Elite Eight. It's a great time to be a sports fan, but those times are on hold until Thursday and Friday, when the regional semifinals kick off.

Thursday finds number one seed Syracuse, which almost got taken out in the round of 64 by 16 seed UNC Asheville, taking on Bo Ryan and the Wisconsin Badgers in the first game at 7:15. At 7:47, Louisville will battle another underwhelming number one seed in Michigan State, itself receiving a scare from the Saint Louis Billikens. Following the Syracuse/Wisconsin game, at 9:45, is the Brawl for Bragging Rights, as Cincinnati will square up with the Buckeyes of Ohio State. Rounding out the Thursday coverage is Florida vs. Marquette, a match-up of two teams that have had comfortable wins for their first two rounds. The Gator/Golden Eagle contest begins at 10:17.

Friday has no shortage of solid-looking games, beginning with high-powered Baylor taking on Xavier, one of the three double-digit seeds remaining, at 7:15. Another low seed, number 13 Ohio, gets a major national spotlight at 7:47 when they clash with number one seed (and heavily favored) North Carolina. 9:45 finds a rematch between the University of Kentucky and Indiana University, after the Hoosiers handed the 'cats one of only two losses they've suffered this season. Finally, the Kansas Jayhawks will try to fly past the Wolfpack of NC State in a 10:17 match-up.

You can check out a full list of days, times, channels, and teams involved below.

Is your team still in the tournament? How have you enjoyed the 2012 NCAA Tournament? Most importantly, how is your bracket holding up?

2012 NCAA Men's Tournament Sweet Sixteen TV Schedule

Depending on which article you are reading, UFC prez Dana White has varying thoughts about last nights show-down between free UFC/MMA fighting and Pay-Per-View Boxing in the form of Pacquiao Vs Marquez.  In some soundbites, White is non-confrontational, even suggesting that the UFC even could potentially help sales of the Pacquiao Vs Marquez fight, whose faithfuls paid up to $65 to watch the rematch.  In other quotes, White, as he is known to do, is loudly ringing the death bell of PPV boxing."Once the pay-per-view model came out, boxing stopped putting big fights on free TV, and I think it damaged the sport, so our goal is to bring big free fights back to television."

The rivalry between the sports of Boxing and MMA is nothing new, and the debates are more complex than you might think.   For instance, the question of whether an MMA fighter is superior to a Boxer seems to have been answered, with boxers often getting out-grappled by the mufti-disciplinary MMA fighters - yet, the question lingers as to how an MMA fighter would fair taken out of their element and forced to study the 'sweet science' that is the beating heart of fights like Pacquiao vs Marquez.  (And yes, pure hearts of both brands, I'm aware matches have taken place, but none that featured certifiable masters of either branch.)

Both sports are more about the exhibition than the science, and one area where Boxing continues to dominate MMA is in the marketing of its superstars.  Sixty-five bucks to watch Pacuiao vs Marquez in sparkling HD might seem steep, but there is little question about who you are paying to see.  UFC has many superstars within its own insular world, but none carry the name recognition of Pacquiao, Mayweather, Tyson, Ali, or Rocky Balboa.

Comparing TV ratings to Pay-Per-View revenue is practically as convoluted a matter as comparing these spots to one another.  On one side, free TV you have the almost circumlocutory descent into ratings shares, age groups, etc., and on the other a seemingly bottom line of PPV buys, ticket sales, corporate sponsorship, and merchandising minus actual event staging costs. Early estimates have the UFC bringing in 4.6 million viewers to what is expected to be around 1.5-1.6 million buys for the Pacquiao vs Marquez pay per view.  (Incidentally, College Football got around 7 million viewers during the same time slot, but that's a different article.)

While UFC had more net viewers last night, the heavyweight title match between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos lasted barely over a minute and ended with a brutally definitive win for Dos Santos. Pacquiao vs Marquez lasted for 12 rounds with a decision in Pacquiao's favor that will probably fuel heated debate for years to come.  While we could probably spend thousands of more words debating the 'entertainment value' of either of these events, let alone the sports, it would seem kind of obvious which group of fans got their 'money' worth - even if one was free.

Pacquiao vs Marquez vs UFC - Who Won?