See you in Sochi

Sunday night, the Olympic flame will go out in Vancouver. Two weeks of speed and gold medals will close out.
Before the world packs up to return home, there's plenty of big events. Men's ice hockey semifinals are Friday, with the United States playing Finland at 3 p.m. and Canada and Slovakia meeting at 9:30 p.m. The losers go to the bronze medal game Saturday, then the gold medal contest is Sunday before the Closing Ceremonies.
The women's figure skating champion will be crowned Thursday, and Saturday there's the Champions Gala to give you one more chance to see the best skaters.
Then if you'd like to see more ice dancing or short-track speed skating, you'll have to wait for the torch to be lit in Sochi, Russia in four years.
For your speed on the track, NASCAR is at Las Vegas Sunday at 3 p.m. on FOX. For those who'd like to keep track of Danica Patrick, the Nationwide race will be Saturday on ESPN at 4 p.m.
CBS begins gearing up for March Madness with three games Saturday and two more Sunday. Georgetown hosting Notre Dame and Kentucky-Tennessee are the choices at noon, followed by North Carolina taking on Wake Forest at 2 p.m. and Kansas-Oklahoma State at 4 p.m.
Sunday, Louisville heads to Connecticut at 2 p.m., then it's a choice of Big Ten contests - either Michigan State-Purdue, Michigan vs. Ohio State or Minnesota at Illinois.
Raycom offers two games Saturday at 4 p.m. - Maryland at Virginia Tech or N.C. State-Miami.
ESPN starts Thursday with Iowa at Northwestern, then Arizona travels to California. On ESPN2, it's Duke hosting Tulsa at 7 p.m., followed by South Carolina visiting Kentucky and Santa Clara-Gonzaga.
Saturday, ESPN's day starts with Michigan-Ohio State at noon and Texas-Texas A&M at 2 p.m.
Mississippi State takes on South Carolina at 6 p.m. before the Big East battle between Villanova and Syracuse with the GameDay crew on site.
ESPN2 offers Mississippi-Alabama at 2 p.m. and Richmond facing Xavier Sunday at 1 p.m.
MASN's Saturday basketball lineup starts with a pair of Big East games - Pittsburgh at St. John's at noon, followed by Cincinnati visiting West Virginia. Then it's Winthrop facing Radford at 4 p.m., UNC-Charlotte at George Washington at 6 p.m. and closing out with CAA action - William & Mary at UNC-Wilmington.
Sunday features Marquette at Seton Hall at noon.
Comcast offers late-night hoops Thursday as Oregon State visits UCLA at 11 p.m. Saturday starts with the ACC battle between Boston College and Georgia Tech at noon, then it's off to the CAA for VCU-Old Dominion at 4 p.m. UMass faces Dayton at 7 p.m.
Sunday features an ACC doubleheader on Comcast-plus - Clemson vs. Florida State at 5:30 p.m., followed by Duke-Virginia. The second half of that game will be seen on Comcast after the Wizards finish playing.
TNT's Thursday NBA starts with Cleveland at Boston, followed by Denver at Golden State.
ESPN has a pair of NBA doubleheaders this weekend. Dallas visits Atlanta at 7 p.m. Friday, followed by Orlando-New Orleans. The Magic reappear on your screen Sunday at 7 - hosting Miami - then the Hornets face the Mavericks.
ABC's Sunday afternoon doubleheader starts with Phoenix-Antonio, then it's Denver at the Lakers.
The Wizards host the Knicks Friday and visit New Jersey Sunday at 6 p.m. on Comcast.
For your women's basketball action, Comcast shows UNC-Wilmington at Drexel at 1 p.m. Sunday. Then the big ACC contest between Duke and North Carolina follows at 3 p.m. ESPN2 offers Florida State-Maryland at 3 p.m. Sunday, then Kansas-Baylor.
The PGA tour is in Phoenix, shuffled off to Golf Network.

Bracket buster time

Each year, teams from small and mid-major conferences hope they will be the Cinderella making a big splash in March Madness.
This weekend, those potential Cinderellas gear up on ESPN Bracket Buster weekend.
ESPN2 shows six games, starting Friday at 7 p.m. with Old Dominion traveling to Northern Iowa. Play starts Saturday at 11 a.m. with Siena at Butler, followed by Louisiana Tech at Northeastern and Nevada vs. Missouri State.
George Mason hosts College of Charleston at 8 p.m., then at midnight it's Wichita State taking on Utah State.
There's 49 games in all under the Bracket Busters banner, covering 14 conferences from coast to coast.
The Winter Olympics have reached their second weekend, with events on NBC, CNBC, MSNBC and USA. Ice Dancing highlights competition Friday and Sunday, while the men crown their ice skating champion Thursday. The ice hockey showdown between the United States and Canada takes place Sunday night. Wonder how much action we'll get to see.
In other college basketball, CBS will show North Carolina at Boston College Saturday at noon. Some areas will get Florida-Mississippi. Sunday, it's either Ohio State visiting Michigan State or Villanova-Pittsburgh.
CW29 will show Georgia Tech at Maryland Saturday at 2 p.m. ACC markets in North Carolina can catch Wake Forest-N.C. State.
ESPN tips off the weekend Thursday with Auburn-Florida at 7 p.m., followed by Wisconsin at Minnesota. On ESPN2, it's a pair of Big East games - Georgetown-Syracuse and Pittsburgh at Marquette - followed by St. Mary's vs. San Diego at 11 p.m.
ESPN has five games Saturday, starting with Seton Hall visiting West Virginia at noon. Texas travels to Texas Tech at 2 p.m., followed by Illinois-Purdue and Kentucky-Vanderbilt. UCLA's contest with Washington caps the day at 9 p.m.
ESPN2 has another game Sunday at 1 p.m., Dayton at Duquesne.
MASN offers Central Connecticut against Mt. St. Mary's on Thursday, then Saturday shows St. John's taking on South Florida at noon. At 4 p.m., it's Connecticut-Rutgers, then at 7 p.m. High Point plays Liberty in Big South action.
Sunday at 2 p.m., Marquette takes on Cincinnati.
Comcast shows a PAC-10 doubleheader Thursday - UCLA faces Washington State at 8:30 p.m., followed by California at Oregon State. Saturday, Comcast starts with an Atlantic-10 doubleheader - Temple plays Big Five rival St. Joseph's at noon, then it's Xavier-UNC Charlotte.
Virginia travels to Clemson at 4 p.m. Sunday, Virginia Tech's trip to Duke is the ACC game of the week at 7:30 p.m. The PAC-10 matchup between Arizona State and Arizona tips at 5:30 p.m.
The Boston Celtics head west this week, and you can catch three games on national TV. They face the Lakers Thursday night on TNT, Portland Friday on ESPN and Denver Sunday afternoon on ABC.
TNT's early game Thursday will be the Nuggets facing Cleveland. On Friday, ESPN has Dallas' visit to Orlando, and Sunday's first game on ABC is the Cavaliers at Magic.
The Wizards face the Nuggets Friday and visit the Raptors Saturday on Comcast.
MASN shows a Big East women's game Saturday - DePaul vs. Marquette at 2 p.m. Comcast goes west Saturday night, showing Washington at USC at 11 p.m. Sunday, Maryland women play Duke at 1 p.m., followed by the big CAA clash between James Madison and Old Dominion.
ESPN2 shows the Big Ten contest between Ohio State and Michigan State Sunday at 3 p.m.
For some speed, FOX shows the NASCAR race from California Sunday at 3 p.m.
MASN offers some tennis Sunday with the Regions Morris Keegan singles championship at 4 p.m.
CBS has the Match Play Championship Saturday and Sunday, starting at 2 p.m. each day.

Spring training on MASN

MASN will broadcast four Orioles and four Nationals games during spring training.
The first contest will be the Red Sox and Orioles on March 7, and the Red Sox-Nationals game in D.C. April 3 closes spring training.
The Yankees are featured twice against the Orioles and twice against the Nationals.

Speed, from sea to shining sea

This weekend in Florida, you've got NASCAR's best racing around the speedway.
And across the continent, the world's best will be racing on snow and ice.
If you like your speed in fast cars on asphalt, Daytona is for you. After Thursday afternoon's Twin 125s, the flag drops on the Super Bowl of racing, the Daytona 500 Sunday at 1 p.m. Boogity, boogity, boogity, let's go racing boys.
The racing excitement includes the Nationwide Series opener Saturday. Danica Patrick joins the good ol' boys on the track.
The Winter Olympics begin Friday with the opening ceremonies on NBC. Since it's in Vancouver, there will be live medal events in the afternoon (2 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday) and in prime-time.
The men's downhill highlights Saturday's action, and Sunday night you'll be seeing lots of the pairs short program.
The NHL takes off two weeks for the Olympics Games. Before the top players head west, the Capitals visit Ottawa Thursday and St. Louis Saturday.
The NBA's best gather at the Cowboys' Stadium for the All-Star game. Friday, ESPN shows the All-Star celebrity game at 7 p.m. The rest of the weekend will be on TNT - Friday's Rookie Challenge, the skills competition Saturday night, and the game Sunday. Before the all-star break, TNT has a Thursday doubleheader - the Magic at Cavaliers at 8 p.m., followed by San Antonio visiting Denver.
On the college hardcourt, CBS will show Maryland going to Duke at 1 p.m. Saturday and Ohio State-Illinois Sunday.
Virginia heads to Virginia Tech Saturday night on CW29. If you don't like watching the local teams, Georgia Tech-Wake Forest will be broadcast also.
ESPN begins its weekend Thursday with Minnesota-Michigan, then Mississippi at Mississippi State. ESPN2 goes with Louisville-St. John's, Washington at California and St. Mary's-Gonzaga.
Friday, ESPN has the hardcourt meeting of the Backyard Brawl - West Virginia at Pittsburgh.
Saturday, ESPN's day starts with Michigan State visiting Penn State at noon. Oklahoma goes to Oklahoma State at 2 p.m., then it's North Carolina-N.C. State and Xavier-Florida. The GameDay crew is at Rupp Arena for Tennessee's game with Kentucky.
ESPN2 starts its tripleheader at 5 p.m. with Texas A&M at Texas Tech, followed by Memphis-Tulsa and St. Mary's playing Portland.
Sunday afternoon, ESPN carries Louisville at Syracuse at 1 p.m.
Comcast offers four games on Saturday, starting with the ACC battle between Miami and Clemson at noon. Richmond visits St. Bonaventure at 2 p.m., followed by CAA action - George Mason at Old Dominion and VCU at James Madison. The Sunday night ACC game matches Florida State and Boston College, then UCLA visits Southern Cal at 10 p.m.
MASN shows an America East contest between UMBC and Hartford Thursday, then shows four games Saturday. The day starts with at noon with Cincinnati taking on Connecticut. Nebraska goes to Texas at 4 p.m., followed by Charleston Southern-High Point and South Florida visiting Marquette at 8:30 p.m.
There's four more games Sunday, starting at noon with DePaul at Seton Hall. Loyola visits Iona at 2 p.m., then two more Big East games - Georgetown at Rutgers, and St. Johns-Notre Dame at 7:30 p.m.
ESPN2 has a women's basketball doubleheader Sunday. At 3 p.m., it's Houston-SMU and Arkansas visiting South Carolina. The nightcap features either Mississippi at Mississippi State or the ACC battle between Miami and N.C. State.
MASN has the women's game between Cincinnati and Syracuse Saturday at 2 p.m. Comcast shows a CAA doubleheader Sunday - Georgia State visiting Delaware and Old Dominion-George Mason.
The PGA is at Pebble Beach for the AT&T National Pro-Am on CBS.

XLIV

Will the Saints go marching in?
Or is the Super Bowl Peyton's place.
We'll find out starting at 6:30 p.m. (or a few minutes later) Sunday, when the Saints and Colts meet at Joe Robbie/Dolphins/Sun Life Stadium on CBS. Both teams have already visited the facility and won this season - first time that has ever happened.
Some more fun facts from our friends at http://www.the506.com/. Impress your friends.
The Saints make their first appearance in the big game, the ninth different NFC team in the last nine years.
The Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVIII were the last team in a dark jersey to win. They and the Panthers played at Houston's Reliant Stadium prior to meeting there in the big game.
All four Super Bowls featuring the Colts have been played in the Miami area.
Colts coach Jim Caldwell took over for Tony Dungy this season. When Dungy left Tampa Bay in 2001, the Jon Gruden-led Bucs won the Super Bowl the following season.
The Colts have already won with a first-year head coach - Super Bowl V after Don Shula left for Miami.
Get your food and snacks ready. And don't watch too much of the pregame shows.
The arrival of the Super Bowl means NASCAR's season isn't far behind. Fox has the Daytona Shootout Saturday at 8 p.m.
The NHL has its super matchup on Sunday at noon. Sidney Crosby and the Penguins visit Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals on NBC.
The Capitals prepare for the matchup with a trip to the Rangers Thursday and a home game against Atlanta Friday on Comcast.
ABC will be in Boston again for NBA action Sunday, with the Celtics hosting Orlando at 2:30 p.m.
TNT's Thursday's doubleheader features the Heat at Cleveland early, then San Antonio taking on Portland. ESPN's shows Chicago at Atlanta at 8 p.m., followed by the Nuggets visiting the Lakers.
The Wizards head to Orlando Friday on Comcast, then host the Hawks Saturday.
On the college hardcourt, CBS has California at UCLA or Wisconsin-Michigan on the air Saturday at 4 p.m.
ACC has a split telecast Thursday at 9 p.m. Parts of the area will see North Carolina at Virginia Tech on NBC29, while Maryland against Florida State will be on a WVIR digital channel.
Saturday, Virginia is scheduled to host Wake Forest at noon. At 4 p.m., Clemson visits Virginia Tech while N.C. State goes to Georgia Tech.
ESPN has a pair of games Thursday - Purdue at Indiana at 7 p.m., then Cincinnati vs. Notre Dame. ESPN2 will have a tripleheader - Georgia Tech visiting Duke, Tennessee-LSU and Portland vs. Gonzaga.
Saturday's action on ESPN starts with Villanova heading to Georgetown at noon. Duke travels to Boston College at 2 p.m., then it's Texas-Oklahoma and South Carolina-Tennessee. The primetime contest matches Michigan State and Illinois.
On ESPN2, the day begins with Xavier-Dayton at noon. Kansas State-Iowa State follows at 2 p.m., then Gonzaga travels east to play Memphis and Southern Illinois goes to Northern Iowa. Wright State visits Butler next, then the day concludes with 10 p.m. with Tulsa at UTEP.
MASN's college basketball weekend begins Thursday with Winthrop at Liberty at 8 p.m. There's plenty of Big East action Saturday, starting with Marquette vs. Providence at noon. Three more conference games follow at 4 p.m. - Rutgers-Louisville, Seton Hall at Pittsburgh and DePaul visiting Connecticut - after the A-10 contest featuring UNC-Charlotte against Fordham.
Comcast has the CAA Saturday at 4 p.m. - Old Dominion taking on VCU - and heads west late for Arizona State's game with Washington. Sunday at 2 p.m., it's North Carolina's visit to Maryland.
Comcast offers women's basketball Sunday with Virginia Tech heading to N.C. State at 4 p.m.
The PGA tour will be on NBC this weekend, with the Northern Trust Open.