Best F/X

An antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA seeks a potential payday for athletes who have been merchandised. The case over the use of players' likenesses in video games and memorabilia may change the essence of the NCAA. What if college players were no longer seen as amateurs?

The Connecticut Huskies basketball team beat No. 6 Notre Dame on Monday in the semifinals of NCAA's Big East tournament. UConn surpassed its own mark set from Nov. 9, 2001, to March 11, 2003.

The 65-team NCAA men's basketball tournament field won't be officially announced until this coming Sunday, but the first five invitations to the Big Dance were sent out over the weekend as conference tournament play began.

On last weeks' show, we made some jokes about figure skating ... and figure skating outfits. And, boy, did we hear about it. We'd like to make amends, so we've invited U.S. figure skater Johnny Weir to explain the black-and-pink corset number he wore during his Olympics short program.

Canadians are still basking in the glow of the Winter Olympics. But in Russia, which will host the next winter games, the mood is grim. Russian athletes performed like the Chicago Cubs in Vancouver, and the accusations are flying like shots into Ryan Miller's knee pads. Host Scott Simon talks to Tom Goldman about the week's sports news.

Boxing champ Floyd Mayweather is the son of a boxer, and a student of what he himself calls his "brutal sport." Mayweather is 33, and says he's determined to get out of the fight game without suffering brain damage. He says he can do this because he's not surrounded by a retinue of investors, flunkies and hangers-on who want him to keep him in the ring to make them rich.

At 12:01 a.m. Friday, the National Football League's salary cap expired. Teams no longer have a ceiling for how much they spend on players, potentially giving large market teams an advantage. Sportswriter Stefan Fatsis discusses what this means for the NFL.

Fans seem to expect more from athletes than from actors. If you need proof, just compare the fallout from Tiger Woods' transgressions with that of, say, Charlie Sheen. Frank Deford says that sports fans admire athletes in a different way.

The Winter Olympics will next be held in the resort town of Sochi, Russia. Travel agent Slava Shirokov says he is already getting travel inquiries. He talks about sochi's attractions and what visitors can expect when they arrive in the "Russian Riviera."

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is not pleased with his country's medal tally at the Winter Olympics. Medvedev said the members of the Russian Olympic committee should resign, and if the officials don't want to step down, he said, "We shall help them."