Anything popular winds up on the Internet eventually. Here's fresh evidence: CBS Sports and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) will stream this year’s Division I men’s basketball championship games (better known as. March Madness) online for free. They’ll still air on TV as usual, but now games that aren't shown locally to boost ticket sales will be available via the web.

In another sign of changing times, CBS recruited Facebook to host a March Madness Brackets application so the social network's users can predict winners and losers. Located at www.facebook.com/brackets, the new feature also lets members compare their picks with those of friends. More than 2.6 million Facebook users joined at least one bracket group in a similar feature run by the site last year, when the University of Florida Gators won the 65-team tournament.

Excitement is generated partly by rooting for local or home state teams, or schools attended by friends or family members. Interest also flows from the live-action drama of surprise outcomes – "Cinderella stories" with triumphant underdogs or long-shot victories at the final buzzer. With 33 games, it happens most years.

What are 'brackets'? The NCAA pairs teams against each other in the tournament's opening rounds based on their records this season and other factors. Those pairings, displayed on a chart printed and posted by newspapers , are known as brackets. This year's will be announced March 16.

Other tournament jargon: In addition to March Madness, the three-week tournament is called the Big Dance. Survivors of the first two rounds are known as the Sweet Sixteen. Those games' winners become the Elite Eight, setting the stage for two pre-championship games featuring the Final Four.

Schedule: The 70th annual tournament begins March 18 and winds up with the Final Four games April 5 and April 7 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.