If there is one man who is happy about getting an opportunity to broadcast a Final Four this year, it's Bill Raftery.
"When you don't expect something and it happens, I think 'fortunate' is the word," Raftery told The New York Times. "You hang around long enough, someone says, 'Let's give that donkey a shot.' "
Raftery, 73, has worked for CBS for 32 years but has never been a color analyst for a tournament game for CBS beyond the regional finals because Billy Packer held the post for 27 years until his retirement in 2008.
Raftery wasn't upset about not calling a Final Four. Clark Kellogg took over for Packer, then Greg Anthony succeeded him.
Anthony was arrested in January on a charge of soliciting a prostitute in Washington, so CBS decided to put Raftery alongside play-by-play broadcaster Jim Nantz for the remainder of the season. Grant Hill is also on the CBS No. 1 team this season.
Verne Lundquist, Raftery's longtime partner on CBS, said Raftery hasn't talked about being passed over during the years.
"He never talked about it," Lundquist said. "Not that he didn't want to do it. He'd be less than human if he didn't. But he never said, 'I've enjoyed working with you, pal, but I aspire to a larger stage.' "
CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus told the Times he had considered moving Raftery up in the past but didn't want to separate him from Lundquist, 74.
"Keeping them together was more important than moving Bill up," McManus said.
Lundquist and Raftery worked together for 15 years, and Lundquist recalled the effect his partner had on fans.
"To walk into a semi-full arena an hour before the game and some guy yells, 'Onions!' and another guy, from the balcony, yells, 'With a kiss!' is a really pleasurable experience," Lundquist said.
Don't expect that to change with Raftery as part of the network's top team.
"Nobody's called to tell me to change anything," he said.
Fight for food
If Manny Pacquiao beats Floyd Mayweather on May 2 in Las Vegas, a California restaurant has offered to give him free food at any time.
Gerry's Grill, a restaurant in Artesia, Calif., that offers authentic Filipino cuisine, said Tuesday they'll "keep him rolling in Chicken Adobo until the day he dies."
There is a catch.
The deal only applies to Manny, not to the family and friends he usually brings in to the restaurant, and the boxer can't get free take-out.
She's had it
Ashley Judd is a University of Kentucky basketball fan, and she's never been afraid to express her opinions on her beloved Wildcats in person and on social media.
The actress tweeted a photo of her kissing ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale, whom she said she has adored for 10 years.
"At thrilling UK games, I've been known to kiss strangers!" she said.
Something she said she's had enough of are the vulgar comments expressed toward her Sunday following Kentucky's SEC Tournament championship victory against Arkansas. Judd told NBC News on Tuesday that she plans to press charges against Twitter users who have directed such comments toward her.
"The amount of gender violence that I experience is absolutely extraordinary," Judd said. "And a significant part of my day today will be spent filing police reports at home about gender violence directed at me on social media.
"When I express a stout opinion during March Madness ... [and] threatened with sexual violence. Not OK."
Judd isn't the first public figure to go after Twitter users. Earlier this year, former major-league pitcher Curt Schilling exposed the identities of several people who harassed his daughter on social media.
SPORTS QUIZ
When was the last time the state of Arkansas hosted games in the NCAA Men's Tournament?
ANSWER
In 2008 at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock
Sports on 03/18/2015