• I took some time to walk around downtown San Antonio yesterday to get myself acclimated to my home for the next five days. It doesn't take Doogie Howser to figure out that people are buzzing about the Final Four - the restaurants are filling up, local stores are catching the eyes of tourists and hotels are already at capacity. In Tuesday's San Antonio Express-News, Melissa Monroe reveals that the city's 12,000 hotel rooms are booked for tonight, tomorrow and Sunday. We always hear about the financial boon the Final Four brings to host cities, but seeing the commotion is a different story.

• We may be in the midst of basketball's premier events, but we're also sniffing the sweet aromas of baseball. A deal has been reached to build a new baseball stadium in Omaha, a huge step toward ensuring the College World Series remains in Nebraska. The project is scheduled to cost $140 million.

• James Johnson, a standout wide receiver at Georgia Tech, has left the team before his senior season. Johnson says he has lost his passion for football: "I didn't think it was fair for me to continue to go out and play when I didn't have the passion my friends and teammates had," Johnson said. "It would be almost like stealing Georgia Tech's money." Johnson won't be on scholarship next fall and plans on paying his own way to finish his management degree at Tech. Even if you didn't like a sport, would you play it because it took care of the cost of your education?

• Did you know that the WNBA is expanding? The league is adding a 13th team - the Atlanta Dream. Many of the student-athletes in Tampa this weekend are dreaming of an opportunity to continue their careers in the professional ranks, but even for the elite, the opportunities to play at the next level are few and far between. Keep that in mind while you're watching the games during the next few days.

• One year after falling to Florida in the national championship game, Ohio State finished its season with a victory, beating Massachusetts last night to win the NIT championship. The Buckeyes became just the third team to lose an NCAA title game one year and win the NIT the following season.