After a memorable first weekend of this year's NCAA Tournament, it's time to look ahead to the Sweet 16 and Elite 8.  For the next round, all games will take place on CBS and TBS with 2 windows of coverage on Thursday night and Friday night.  (Goodbye truTV and your crazy "actuality" television!)  Fittingly, CBS's talent (Nantz, Lundquist, etc.) are calling the games on CBS and Turner's talent (Harlan, Albert, etc.) are calling the games on TBS.  Also, fittingly, Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg have been placed in the Midwest - Duke's region.  And if you're looking for Florida Gulf Coast, they'll be playing the last game of the Sweet 16 against Florida a little after 10 ET Friday night.  All games and times and announcers after the jump...

Fox Sports Detroit has fired Red Wings analyst and Hockey Hall of Famer Larry Murphy. Murphy was canned by the network on March 12th, and was reportedly told the reason for his dismissal was due to low ratings for Red Wings broadcasts. Via MLive.com...

As the Miami Heat's winning streak reached 26 last night, the NBA is juggling around its TV schedule to put more Heat games on national TV. After NBA TV added the two previous Miami Heat games to its schedule this weekend, ESPN will air tonight's Miami/Orlando game.

Between ESPN (10), ABC (5), and TNT (10), teams can be on the national stage up to 25 times per season. Each of these networks are on the verge of maxing out as Miami tries to close in on the Laker's 33-game win streak set in 1971-72.  In fact, Wednesday's Heat game against Chicago was Miami's last scheduled national TV appearance on ESPN before the addition of tonight's game.

The NCAA Tournament continues to reach new heights in popularity.  Even though there are questions surrounding the relevancy of regular season college basketball, March Madness is an event that captivates the entire nation for three weekends in the early spring.  The tournament once again saw a ratings increase for CBS & Turner, reaching its highest average rating in 23 years, since the tournament expanded to its current format.  More from Turner Sports...

The 2013 MLB season is just around the corner.  This week as Opening Day draws near we'll break down each network that covers America's pastime including announcers, schedules, and quick facts about the coverage coming your way this season.  First up, ESPN.

Quick Hits

-This will be the 24th season of Major League Baseball on ESPN
-ESPN airs games on Monday, Wednesday (non-exclusive) and Sunday nights (exclusive)
-Baseball Tonight  airs nightly at 10 PM & Midnight and Sundays before and after SNB
-ESPN airs coverage of Opening Day and three major holiday telecasts
-The Home Run Derby airs the night before the All-Star Game at Citi Field July 15th
-John Kruk joins Dan Shulman and Orel Hershiser on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball
-Entire MLB Postseason can be heard on ESPN Radio

Whether or not you like Craig Sager's wardrobe give the man his due. He can do some original features instead of the average run-of-the-mill sideline Q&A with coaches at halftime ("What happened out there?" "How do you feel?" "Why was the offense so bad?"). On Sunday, Craiggers was shown outside of the Sprint Center in Kansas City during NCAA Tournament coverage in a frontloader and actually operating the piece of heavy machinery.

Now how Sager got permission to go inside a frontloader and steer it is the million dollar question. The main thing is that he still wore his loud getup for the feature including blue sneakers. Wearing blue sneakers takes a lot of gumption, but then again that never stopped Sager from wearing loud suits and ties every week during the NBA season.

In addition, Sager's outfit probably violated a few safety codes. It's a good thing he didn't operate the frontloader for long.

[H/T cjzero]

The first weekend of the NCAA Tournament is in the books.  With the parity in college basketball, it shouldn't be a surprise that the stories of the tournament thus far are Florida Gulf Coast and La Salle.  The Rounds of 64 and 32 delivered with dramatic endings, memorable games, feuds between analysts and conferences, and enough screengrabs and GIFs to last a lifetime.  What stood out most from the NCAA Tournament's first weekend and the coverage for March Madness?  Let's dish out some awards!

Best Booth: Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel.  Eagle's been a name on the rise for some time and is in the process of breaking through to that upper echelon of play by play men.  But Spanarkel deserves praise too.  His color commentary won't be made into hashtags anytime soon, but he breaks down the game clearly and concisely, and perhaps most importantly - he has great chemistry with Eagle because the pair have called college and pro games together for years.

Bill Raftery is entertaining, but sometimes his fun-loving pairing with Verne Lundquist goes off the railroad tracks.  MY GOODNESS!!  Marv Albert and Steve Kerr were another contender in this category, but on occasion there were a few slips with players and game situations.  Eagle and Spanarkel were just a bit more consistent, and it's a shame they won't see action on the second weekend.

Best Studio Analyst: Greg Anthony.  While most of the attention has been on Turner's NBA guys (more on them later), Anthony thankfully delivers some sanity and perspective.  And with Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley really only able to talk in generalities and struggling once again with basic knowledge of the teams and players involved, Anthony has to pull even more weight in the main New York studio.

Most Polarizing: Doug Gottlieb.  His volatile performance on Selection Sunday was the talk of the Twitterverse and it was the same story this weekend.  The former ESPNer is the most notable addition to this year's tournament coverage and he's either the best or worst thing that's ever happened to NCAA Tournament coverage depending on who you ask.  Gottlieb does bring more of an edge to CBS's coverage, and maybe that's the buzz CBS was hoping for when they hired him.  Gottlieb's better in the broadcast booth where his blunt analysis is refreshing, than the studio where his style could lead to some interesting moments next weekend.

Michael Schiavello is an Australian MMA announcer who drew one of the most amazing assignments in the history of the spoken word this weekend - a fight between Zac Chavez and Danny Mainus at Resurrection Fighting Alliance 7.  On paper, it doesn't look like anything extraordinary... until you watch and listen to the commentary of the fight.  You can't hear "still riding the back of Mainus" or "Mainus trying to work the clinch" and not break out in giggles like you were in pre-school and heard the word "doody" for the first time.

Somehow, Schiavello made it through the fight without breaking down in a fit of uncontrollable laughter.  That takes some impressive willpower and self-discipline.  I would have been gone after "Mainus getting beaten on."  After the fight was over Schiavello talked about the experience on his Twitter page...

Good Lord! I almost lost it laughing!! Seriously... Mainus is bleeding! #raf7

— Michael Schiavello (@SchiavelloVOICE) March 23, 2013

This is why they encourage you to pronounce Uranus as "yur-e-ness" instead of the way it's actually spelled.

All Times Eastern

College Baseball
North Carolina State at Virginia -- ESPNU, 7 p.m.

College Basketball
Men's
College Basketball Invitational
Quarterfinals
Houston at George Mason -- AXS TV, 7 p.m.
Western Michigan at Wyoming -- AXS TV, 9 p.m.

National Invitation Tournament
Second Round
Robert Morris at Providence -- ESPNews, 7 p.m.
Mercer at BYU -- ESPNews, 9 p.m.
Louisiana Tech at Southern Mississippi -- ESPNU, 10 p.m.

Tournament Countdown: The Experts -- ESPNU, 1 p.m.
Tournament Countdown: Katz Korner -- ESPNU, 4 p.m.

Women's
NCAA Tournament
Second Round

7 p.m.
All Games on ESPN2
UConn vs. Vanderbilt
Creighton vs. Tennessee
Oklahoma vs. UCLA
Michigan State vs. Maryland

9:30 p.m.
All Games on ESPN2
Iowa State vs. Georgia
South Florida vs. Cal
Nebraska vs. Texas A&M
Kansas vs. South Carolina

Cycling
Critérium International -- NBC Sports Network, midnight (delayed)

Golf
PGA Tour
Arnold Palmer Invitational, Orlando, FL
Final Round -- Golf Channel, 10 a.m.

Tavistock Cup, Windermere, FL
Day 1 -- Golf Channel, immediately following Arnold Palmer Invitational

MLB Spring Training
Boston vs. Baltimore -- ESPN, 1 p.m.
Detroit vs. Florida -- MLB Network, 5 p.m. (same day coverage)
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Kansas City -- MLB Network, 9 p.m.

MLB Tonight -- MLB Network, 8 p.m.

NBA
Miami at Orlando -- ESPN, 7 p.m.
Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State -- NBA TV, 10:30 p.m.

NBA GameTime -- NBA TV, 7 p.m.

NFL
NFL Live -- ESPN, 4 p.m.
Path to the Draft -- NFL Network, 6 p.m.
Health of the Game -- NFL Network, 8 p.m.

NHL
Los Angeles at Chicago -- NBC Sports Network, 8 p.m.

NHL Live -- NHL Network, 5 p.m.
NHL Live -- NBC Sports Network, 7 p.m.
NHL on the Fly -- NHL Network, 7 p.m.
NHL Tonight -- NHL Network, 10 p.m.
NHL Live -- NBC Sports Network, 10:30 p.m.
NHL Overtime -- NBC Sports Network, 11:30 p.m.

Soccer
International Friendly
Russia vs. Brazil in London -- beIN Sport, 3:25 p.m.

U-21
England vs. Austria -- Fox Soccer, 3:30 p.m.

Sports Talk
NFL AM -- NFL Network, 6 a.m.
The 'Lights -- NBC Sports Network, 6 a.m.
Morning Drive -- Golf Channel, 7 a.m.
The Dan Patrick Show -- Audience Network (DirecTV)/NBC Sports Network, 9 a.m.
Tim Brando Show -- CBS Sports Network, 9 a.m.
The Box Score -- Audience Network (DirecTV)/NBC Sports Network, noon
SVP & Russillo -- ESPNews, 2:30 p.m.
Outside the Lines -- ESPN2, 3 p.m.
Dan Le Batard is Highly Questionable -- ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.
SportsNation -- ESPN2, 4 p.m.
The Best of the Dan Patrick Show -- NBC Sports Network, 4 p.m.
Pardon the Interruption -- ESPN, 5:30 p.m.
ROME -- CBS Sports Network, 6 p.m.
The Crossover -- NBC Sports Network, 6 p.m.
Lead Off -- CBS Sports Network, midnight
UNITE -- ESPNU, midnight

Tennis
ATP/WTA Tour
Sony Open, Miami, FL
Men's 3rd Round/Women's 4th Round -- Tennis Channel, 11 a.m.

Be honest, you never heard of Florida Gulf Coast University until Friday.  But since then they've become the darlings of the NCAA Tournament.  Not only did they get a win as a 15 seed, they throw down mesmerising dunks (even getting a nickname, Dunk City, in a record period of time), the coach's wife is a supermodel, and the school has its own beach.  With all that, I wouldn't be surprised if they had their own golf course too.  Here, TBS refers to FGCU as Florida "Golf" Coast University in two different spots.  At least they sound the same.  Besides, if it was truly Florida Golf Coast, then they'd really be the most awesome school left in the tourney.