You Can Still Have Packer Guide You

March Madness officially kicks off today with the start of the NCAA basketball tournament. It's the greatest event (or series of events) in all of sports. From the first tip-off to when "One Shining Moment" will play three weeks from now--I love it! The first of today's 16 first-round games tips off at 12:20 p.m. on CBS. Employers please take note: You're not going to get much productivity out of your male (and some female) employees today and tomorrow. I remember in 2003, at my first job after college, bringing a portable TV to work and putting it in the conference room so I could check on the games throughout the day. Now, just a few years later, we can watch every game live online. My, how things have changed.

Something else that's changed, but not in a good way, is that we won't be hearing Billy Packer giving his colorful commentary during broadcasts. CBS let him go last year. He'd covered every NCAA Men's Division I basketball championship, including the Final Four, since 1974. It's going to feel a little less familiar this year without Packer. But all's not lost.

Sixty-nine-year-old Packer, who lives here in Charlotte with his wife (and he's the father of WFNZ's Mark Packer a.k.a. The Packman), has a new weekly television show, Survive And Advance, that's running Sunday nights on Fox Sports Net (FSN) through April 5. It kicked off last Sunday with his co-star Bob Knight. You can also see the two college basketball legends share tournament insight on SurviveAndAdvance.net, along with special guests.