MARCH MADDNESS

PRESIDENT OBAMA PICKED NORTH CAROLINA TO WIN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT:

The NCAA basketball tournament gets under way today . . . and for some reason, the media has gone absolutely dog-nuts over BARACK OBAMA'S March Madness bracket. So who did Obama pick to win the tournament? Obama's Final Four consists of Pittsburgh, Louisville, North Carolina and Memphis. And he has Louisville and North Carolina in the championship game . . . with NORTH CAROLINA coming out on top. (USA Today)

(--You can check out all of Obama's picks here. http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/entry?entryID=2813746 )

Check out a video of Obama filling out his bracket here . . . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDQmaCk7OV4 )

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THE MOST VALUABLE COLLEGE BASKETBALL TEAM IS . . . THE NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS:

The NCAA tournament starts today, and "Forbes" has released its second annual list of the most valuable college basketball teams . . . based on merchandise sales, ticket sales, and TV revenue, among other factors.

Here are the ten most valuable college basketball teams:

#10.) Ohio State University Buckeyes (--Value: $16.1 MILLION)

#9.) University of Maryland Terrapins ($16.7 MILLION)

#8.) Duke University Blue Devils ($16.8 MILLION)

#7.) University of Illinois Fighting Illini ($19.6 MILLION)

#6.) University of Arizona Wildcats ($21 MILLION)

#5.) University of Kansas Jayhawks ($21.7 MILLION)

#4.) Indiana University Hoosiers ($22.3 MILLION)

#3.) University of Louisville Cardinals ($24.1 MILLION)

#2.) University of Kentucky Wildcats ($25.4 MILLION)

#1.) University of North Carolina Tar Heels ($25.9 MILLION)

(--Here's the full list of teams . . .)http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/16/most-valuable-college-basketball-teams-business-sports-final-four_slide.html?thisspeed=25000

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NEARLY ONE IN FIVE WORKERS WILL PARTICIPATE IN A MARCH MADNESS OFFICE POOL:

This is just a reminder for the 18% of you who are participating in March Madness office pools: The NCAA tournament officially kicks off today at 12:20 P.M. Eastern . . . so you'd better have your bracket filled out and handed in by then. (--If 18% seems low to you, then THIS might help explain it. 24% of men say they're taking part in their March Madness office pool . . . but only 11% of women are.) (PR Newswire)