Apps to enhance your March Madness experience
With the official CBS Sports app, fans can watch all the NCAA Tournament games televised by the network on a mobile device. Credit: CBS Interactive
It’s Selection Sunday, the day the 68 teams that will play in this year’s NCAA Tournament are announced. Locally, only St. John’s is hopeful of a bid, but these apps can help you watch all the games and boost your enjoyment as the tournament heads to its conclusion in Minneapolis on April 8.
NCAA March Madness Live
(iOS, Android; free)
As has been the case for the past several years, NCAA March Madness Live is the main mobile hub to watch all 67 games in the tourney. There are a few rules: To stream games televised by TBS, TNT and truTV, you will need to enter your cable or satellite TV login credentials. No login is required to watch the CBS games, including the Final Four and Championship game.
ESPN Tournament Challenge
(iOS, Android; free)
Another March Madness mainstay, ESPN Tournament Challenge returns with new prizes for those who are best at picking the winners of each game. You can create as many as 25 different brackets and get alerts as the teams you select move on or go home. The grand prize this year for the best bracket is a trip to Hawaii.
CBS Sports App
(iOS, Android; free)
CBS is again the free-TV home of the NCAA Tournament, and its official app lets you watch all the games televised by the network on your mobile device. In addition to the live games, the app features a host of exclusive content, including behind-the-scenes coverage, videos, stats and player breakdowns.
ACC 3 Point Challenge
(iOS, Android; free)
This game from the Atlantic Coast Conference and New York Life is focused on one thing: shooting the basketball from three-point range. You pick one of the 15 ACC teams and begin reigning threes as the clock ticks down. But scoring big boosts more than your ego: Each point you score for the ACC team you represent will be added to a leader board, and New York Life will contribute to the Boys & Girls Club based on the score.
Searching for symptoms
If you find yourself asking Google about medical conditions more than usual, be on alert. A new University of Pennsylvania Medical School study found that health-related internet searches doubled during the week before a patient visited a hospital emergency department. Researchers said patients typically searched for symptoms they were experiencing or “potential illnesses they believed they might have,” along with information about hospital locations.
— PETER KING
Revenue stream
The U.S. music industry continued its recent surge last year, with retail revenue hitting $9.8 billion, up 12 percent from 2017. Music-industry trade group RIAA says streaming music led the charge and now accounts for 75 percent of all revenue. Vinyl records logged revenue of $419 million, the highest amount in 31 years. But revenue from downloaded tracks fell for the sixth straight year to $1.04 billion.
— PETER KING
FCC targets offshore robocalls
The Federal Communications Commission is expanding its war against unwanted robocalls by proposing rules that cover fraudsters located overseas. The proposed rules could mean a measure of relief from the barrage of unwanted messages on cellphones. Most of the FCC’s efforts to combat unwanted robocalls have focused on domestic violators. But calls from offshore spammers have become a growing problem.
— THE WASHINGTON POST
Person on fire outside Trump trial ... Teacher pay ... LI job growth leads nation ... Islanders surprise fans
Person on fire outside Trump trial ... Teacher pay ... LI job growth leads nation ... Islanders surprise fans
