During it's first few years of existence, my interest level in the CBI has been about a zero. All along, I assumed the majority of people shared my interest level and the CBI was nothing but a distant afterthought. Sure, fans of teams involved would pay attention, but that's about it, right? Wrong.
As it turns out, there are apparently thousands of people searching the Internet for the latest CBI news. For proof, look no further than the keyword searches leading people to CougCenter. Following Craig's post on WSU's inclusion in the CBI, CougCenter's keyword search activity went from normal to all CBI, all the time. Of all the search results leading users to CougCenter during the last three days, 10 of the top 14 are CBI related including eight of the top nine.
CBI searches are so popular, they bumped the people searching for "hot cougars" all the way down to the 14th spot. The CBI is officially more popular than pornography. It's only a matter of time before spammers begin to exploit this new phenomenon. Instead of Twitter spam being girls "who want to webcam" they will now be guys "who want to talk about their CBI brackets."
CBI popularity wasn't just a CougCenter thing either. Check out today's Google trends. Move over Tiger Woods and Muhammad Ali, you've got nothing on the CBI. It's only a matter of time before ESPN begins a daily "CBIsanity" segment.
Men's Basketball
WSU to Hit the Road to Face San Francisco in CBI First Round - The Washington State University Official Athletic Site
"We're excited about the opportunity to continue our season by participating in the CBI," WSU Head Coach Ken Bonesaid. "It provides us a chance to keep playing and end our season on a positive note."
Cougars play USF on Tuesday in first CBI appearance - Spokesman.com - March 11, 2012
PULLMAN – The season isn’t over yet for the Washington State men’s basketball team. The Cougars were selected Sunday to make their first appearance in the College Basketball Invitational, and will play a first-round game at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the University of San Francisco. The game can be seen on HDNet (Comcast channel 707 in the Spokane area).
Cougs will travel to San Francisco for CBI game - SportsLink - Spokesman.com - March 11, 2012
FROM PULLMAN — The Washington State men's basketball team will continue its season with a first-round game in the College Basketball Invitational on Tuesday at San Francisco. We've posted a short story below.
Cougar men to face San Francisco in CBI Opener | Sports - KXLY.com
PRINCETON, N.J. - The Washington State University men’s basketball team (15-16) has been selected as one of 16 teams to participate in the 2012 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) presented by Zebra Pen, and will travel to San Francisco, Calif. to take on the University of San Francisco (20-13), Tuesday, March 13. Tip is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on HDNet.
Football
Leaf wants best for his pal Peyton | Great Falls Tribune | greatfallstribune.com
Leaf also talked about the pressures facing Luck and Griffin. He said that if he had the chance to offer any advice, it would be to accept input from everyone who offers it.
Ryan Leaf Talks Football & Redemption | News, Sports, Weather for Great Falls, Helena, and all of Montana | Local Top Stories
Former football star and Great Falls native Ryan Leaf stopped by the Barnes and Noble book store today to sign his autobiography.
Pac-12 leaders eye switch from BCS to playoff system
LOS ANGELES - Leaders of the Pac-12 Conference agreed in principle Saturday to try to end college football's Bowl Championship Series, proposing its replacement with a playoff system that would allow only conference winners to play for college football's national title.
Baseball
Cougars Come From Behind to Beat UNLV - The Washington State University Official Athletic Site
LAS VEGAS - Washington State scored five times over the final-three innings to rally past UNLV 9-8 in nonconference baseball, Sunday.