(Podcast length - 4:21 mins)

You might care less about March Madness, but it will undoubtedly be the hot topic of conversation over the next few weeks. Here's how you can level the playing field and join the conversation. (Hint: you don't have to know anything about basketball).

Transcript

1. The NCAA tournament had become the second most popular sporting event amongst gamblers in the sportsbooks, office pools or online. (Super Bowl is the most popular). Many companies have turned the tournament into a team-building opportunity with various contests. Take Warren Buffet and his $1M a year for life promise for an employee who picks a perfect bracket in the first round. What are the chances of picking a perfect bracket? 1 in 9.2 quintillions. For perspective, there are 31.6M seconds in a year, so 9.2 quintillion seconds is a quick 292 billion years. YOU CAN BET ON IT

2. Did you know that vasectomies increase during March Madness because it's doctor's orders to be a couch potato, so men might as well heal while watching basketball? Speaking of feeling blue, the color might be the ticket to winning. Since 2002, except for two teams, every winner has had blue as their primary uniform color. LET’S DO THIS

3. The first women's NCAA tournament began in 1982 — 43 years after the men's debut. This is only the second year the women's tournament has been allowed to use "March Madness" in its promotion. Keep an eye out on the team to beat the defending champion South Carolina Gamecocks that finished the season undefeated. An interesting fact to note, while the men play two-20-minute halves, the women play four-10-minute quarters. GAME ON

4. The defending champion Kansas Jayhawks landed a No. 1 seed in the tournament. But the most important win for the Jayhawks is the return of their head coach Bill Self. Self checked into the hospital on March 8 with chest tightness and balance concerns. He underwent a standard heart catheterization and had two stents placed to treat blocked arteries. Self will return in time to pace the sidelines during the NCAA tournament. DOCTOR'S ORDERS?

5. Experts project hourly corporate losses of roughly $1.9B due to workers whose productivity is diverted by March Madness. When choosing your bracket in this single-elimination tournament, remember that the most likely upset is a No. 12 team over a No. 5. A No. 16 team has upset a No. 1 seeded team once in the tournament's history. Where did the bracket come from? It began in a Staten Island bar in 1977 when 88 people joined a prize pool and completed their tournament predictions. The prize pool ballooned to $1.5M and 150,000 people in 2006. The pool was shut down in 2006 after scrutiny from the IRS. CHOOSE WISELY

PS: The sun is setting on Jim Nantz's basketball broadcast career. The famed voice for both The Masters and March Madness is in his last year calling the NCAA tournament.

Notable dates:

Women's March Madness Tournament

The first round is Friday and Saturday, March 17-18
The championship game is on April 2 in Dallas

Men's March Madness Tournament

The first round is Thursday and Friday, March 16-17

o The championship game is on April 3 in Houston.

Sports Curious, presented by Last Night's Game, is here to take the awkwardness out of the conversation and help you join the sports conversation, even if you don't know the first thing about sports. We break down what's happening in sports in an easy-to-understand, fun way without all of the statistics and jargon, so you never have to exit stage left when the chatter at the office, dinner table or networking event switches to sports.

You can always catch us between podcasts at www.lastnightsgame.com or on social media. If you love us, leave us a review wherever you listen to your podcasts. And if you have feedback or questions, you can email Amy at amy@lastnightsgame.com.

5 Things To Know About March Madness

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