So it’s that time of year again… & the NCAA Tournament (code name: March Madness) has begun.  Sweet! 

This is a time of great productivity loss for many employers.  In fact, it is estimated that nearly $1.2 Billion was lost by U.S. companies during last year’s games, due to employees’ fascination with the tournament.  Many employees call in sick on various March Madness days. 

Others still will keep up with the games online.  You can even watch 2008 NCAA Tournament games on your computer… streaming live.  I tried it out myself just now, catching part of the second half of the Xavier game, and it’s pretty slick.  I had to “wait in line” about 30 seconds before I got admitted into the “screening room”, and then had to watch a soft-drink commercial before the game came on… but then I was treated to some really great quality live-streaming video of the game. 

Try it out.  But be careful.  As USAToday notes, there are many employers who are hip to your jive… and they might be blocking your web access to the games entirely (the wonderful WebSense Internet filtering service we offer does a fantastic job of slapping offending employees on the wrist).  There are ways around this, of course… if you feel that strongly about watching the action.  You could set up a television in your office somewhere and sneak a peek between doing chunks of work (I’m looking at you, my fellow Keystone employees).  But you run a pretty obvious risk of being caught if you do that. 

You can always go to Yahoo Sports and follow the game action with their fabulous Game Channel system.  It won’t be live streaming video… but at least you’ll know who’s dunking on whom. 

This past year, I watched a couple of games on the NFL Network’s website when I didn’t have access to an actual cable-equipped television.  You can watch some PGA tournaments on live streaming video as well.  It is the golden age of sports fandom, folks.  Don’t have an HD TV?  No sports bar near you?  No problem.  Just log online and watch it live… for free.  Fantastic. 

Between these giant leaps for fan-kind and the rapid growth of sites that feature high-quality video of TV Shows and Movies online for free (such as Hulu or Fancast or Joost)… I almost don’t need a television anymore.  Which is kind of a bummer, since I dropped several hundred dollars on it only 6 months ago.  Oh well.  TV as we know it isn’t going anywhere just yet.  So for now, I just have more options. 

But soon, everything I want or need to watch will be online–probably for free, supported with ads–and I’ll need a 72-hour battery life on my laptop.  

Go grab some popcorn or a hot dog, sit back (maybe even in your office cubicle) and enjoy the games… but keep a wary eye out for the bosses!