These 8 March Madness Apps Are a Slam Dunk

Andy LyonsGetty Images Tyler Ulis #3 of the Kentucky Wildcats goes to the basket as Rashad Madden #00 of the Arkansas Razorbacks defends during the championship game of the SEC basketball tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 15, 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee.

With the tip-off of the NCAAs national mens basketball championship tournament, all eyes and ears are pointed towards the hardwood Thursday, whether youre perched in a corner office or cheering from some nosebleed seats. But wherever you watch the games from, your experience will no doubt be enhanced by a second screen where March Madness apps can do everything from keep track of your bracket to stream live video of the action.

Here are eight great March Madness apps worth loading into your tablet or smartphone:

Bracket The Madness

If youre a fan of the dark horse or the underdog, this is the app youre rooting for this March. A breakaway hit among basketball fans, this app lets people create their own pools which can be shared with Facebook friends or even via text.

And while you mightve missed out on most of this apps magic after the initial tip-off, its also got an easy to read bracket thats updated live (ideal for staying in the loop on hoops as the month goes on) and a fun, beat-the-clock game where you try to pick the winner of all of 2014s tournament games. (Its even hard to pick the winners after the game has ended.)

Bracket The Madness is available for free on the App Store and Google Play.

CBS Sports

Whether you load this onto a tablet or a smartphone, this play-maker can do it all: scoring big with great, succinct analysis of the games (before and after tip-off), or passing you off to the NCAA March Madness Live app (see below) for live, in-game video. Though it overs all major sports, the app excels in its college basketball coverage, with links to breaking news, its blog, and expert picks.

CBS Sports is available for free on the App Store and Google Play.

Fanatic

Wherever life has brought you, its probably far from your alma mater. No bother with Fanatic, you can find fan-friendly watering holes where you can enjoy a game in the company of people who bleed the same sports colors that you do.

Now, truth be told, this app isnt as accurate as Id like it to be. When using its location-based search to find a nearby bar for my team, it didnt give top-billing the one I know to be the home court for my towns displaced fans. So, if youre hoping to find the best spot, Id recommend pairing Fanatic with a Google search for maximum effect. But its good for every major sport, so dont delete this app after they cut down the nets.

Fanatic is available for free on the App Store and Google Play.

Sports Betting

If I were a betting man and I am not Id put my money on this app when it comes to sizing up the individual March Madness match-ups. Sure, there may be more comprehensive odds-making apps out there, but for the casual fan (which includes most people who get swept up in basketball hysteria each March), Sports Betting provides clear information on the money line, point spread, and total points. And by simply tapping on the figures, the app shows you how much youd win if you put down a bet which you would do for entertainment purposes only, of course.

Sports Betting is available for free on the App Store and Google Play.

NCAA March Madness Live

No matter what television station the game is on, its also available to watch live on the NCAAs official app. Free to download, the app requires you to log in with your cable provider information to watch the games. (Dont be fooled by the apps free, temporary preview you will have to log in.)

The best way to get the hardwood action at your office or even on-the-go, the app goes beyond the live game streams, offering a great array of behind-the-scenes videos and historical highlights. And setting it up with notifications is another great way to stay up to speed on the scores, right from the source, while doing other things (like your job).

NCAA March Madness Live is available for free on the App Store and Google Play.

Thuuz

Watching all sixty-seven games is a big commitment, but Thuuz helps make it more manageable by telling you when the action is heating up. Rating games on a scale of 0-100, it tells sports fans of all stripes whether a game is worth watching. But once the first whistle blows, the app adjusts those ratings in real-time, telling, for example, if a low-ranked underdog who was expected to be blown out is in the mix to pull off a fantastic upset. In addition, the app can track your favorite teams and even your fantasy football and baseball players, so you can turn on the TV when theyre having a game for the ages.

Thuuz is available for free on the App Store and Google Play.

TuneIn Radio

Radio may be a shorter-wave technology, but TuneIn takes it worldwide with their streaming of local stations. By dumping a video stream for an audio play-by-play, the app will let you focus on the job at-hand, whether youre a truck driver or a desk jockey. And TuneIn has a lot of live game broadcasts available check out this link for whats airing right now which means even if you cant watch the game, you dont have to miss a minute of the action.

TuneIn Radio is available for free on the App Store and Google Play.

WatchESPN

Okay, so the worldwide leader in sports may not be broadcasting the NCAA games, but you know they are drooling over the highlights, digesting the effects of the surprise outcomes, and breaking down all the daily news. To watch the networks channels (which include everything from the flagship station to the ESPN SEC Network), youll need a cable company log-in. But once you get past that gatekeeper, the only thing keeping you from watching as many basketball highlights as you can handle is your bandwidth. (Speaking of that, you might want to only use this app on Wi-Fi, because it will crush your wireless data budget.)

WatchESPN is available for free on the App Store and Google Play.

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Source: http://time.com/3751428/march-madness-ncaa-basketball-apps/

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Adorable lady is all of us during March Madness

Totes.

Third-seeded Notre Dame narrowly escaped 14-seed Northeastern's upset bid to put March Madness 2015's first game in the books on Thursday, winning 69-65.

The game's pivotal moment came with 1.9 seconds left, when Notre Dame's Zach Auguste stepped to the free-throw line, and the Fighting Irish were up 67-65. His first shot was good, putting the Irish up three. Make the second, and he'd ice the game. Miss it, and Northeastern's upset bid would stay alive.

Before Auguste's second shot, TV cameras caught this lady feeling all of the things in the stands:

Safe to say, she speaks for all of us come tourney time.

March Madness. Very emotions. Such basketball. Much feelings. Wow.

Topics:Entertainment, march madness, Sports

Source: http://mashable.com/2015/03/19/elderly-lady-march-madness/

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Weekend TV: 'Glee' signs off, 'Empire' ends its first season and Julie Andrews ...

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Source: http://www.tulsaworld.com/weekend/tv/weekend-tv-glee-signs-off-empire-ends-its-first-season/article_1472c400-4a3d-5ee0-9a4b-e81993d892e7.html

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'Empire': The 10 Most Shocking Moments From The Finale

The season one finale of Empire was just about as nuts as you could imagine. From arrests t0 hot hookups to catfights, Im narrowing down the top 10 most shocking finale moments. Brace yourselves because spoilers are ahead!

My jaw was practically on the floor for the entire duration ofEmpirestwo-hour season finale on March 18. Cookie (Taraji P. Henson), Lucious (Terrence Howard) and the rest of the Lyon family put me through one crazy rollercoaster of emotions. Cookie andBoo Boo Kittys (Grace Gealey) incredible face-off and that epic arrest were just two of my top 10 favorite finale moments!

Empire Finale Moments The Top 10

Okay, so there wereway more than 10 batsh*t moments from the finale, but weve got to start somewhere! I could write an entire dissertation on Cookie in the finale if Im being completely honest. Lets get down to business.

10. Lucious kicks Cookie out of Empire

After learning about Cookie and Malcolm, a very jealous Lucious took extreme measures to keep Cookie out of Empire. From nixing her security key card to telling her that she was never on the Board of Directors to begin with, Lucious proved he was just as narcissistic and controlling as I thought he was. However, he did the wrong thing by keeping Cookie out of Empire. He should know by now DONT MESS WITH COOKIE!

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9. Hakeem hurls insults at Lucious & drops the mic

Surprisingly, the one who took Luciouss baby bombshell the hardest was Hakeem. During a performance, Hakeem threw major shade at his dad and dropped the mic just like Kanye. Lucious promptly walked up to Hakeem after the rap and punched him in the face!

8. Jamal & Lucious perform a duet

Lucious and Jamals relationship has been tense over the course of the first season, so I really never expected them to sing together this early. The father-son duo finally had an actual conversation that wasnt dominated by Luciouss homophobic slurs, which resulted in an epic duet.

7.Lucious doesnt have ALS

Yep, Lucious is going to live. The Lyon patriarch learned he isnt battling the debilitating motor neuron disease. This must just mean Lucious has bigger karma coming his way.

6.HAKEEM & ANIKA HAVE s*x

I NEVER SAW IT COMING. I know Hakeemloves his cougars, but he banged his dads former fiancee! WHAT?! Camilla is going to be 50 shades of P-I-S-S-E-D.

5. Lucious hands over Empire to Jamal

This scene was literally the craziest thing Id ever seen. Lucious gifted his sons with presents to show he was a new man.Jamal got a gold scepter that symbolized he was the new king of Empire. Boy, Lucious likes to go over the top, huh?

4.Cookie & Anikas catfight

After weeks of waiting, I was gifted with the catfight of my dreams. Cookie threw wine in Anikas face and punched the daylights out of her. There was intense hair-pulling and slaps. It was great. I could watch these two go at it all day.

3.Cookie tries to kill Lucious

Lucious went on a drug-induced rant in his sleep about killing Bunkie, and Cookie heard it all.Cookie knew this would be the only chance for her to kill Lucious, so she grabbed a pillow off of his bed. Unfortunately for her, Lucious grabbed her arm before she could do the deed. Lucious and Cookies love-hate relationship just got amped up another level.

2. Rhonda kills Vernon

Rhonda went to extreme lengths to protect Andre. Andre and Vernon pummeled each other in an intense fight and she accidentally murdered Vernon trying to save Andre! She pleaded with Andre to take this secret to their graves because shes PREGNANT.

1. LUCIOUS IS ARRESTED

Lucious Lyon the man, the myth, the legend found himself in handcuffs right after Empires IPO. He was finally arrested for Bunkies murder, thanks to Vernon. Well likely see Lucious out of jail fairly soon considering Vernon was the star witness for the case and now hes dead. Lucious is going to be out for blood when he gets out, as evident by his final line in the finale, Game time, b**ches.

HollywoodLifers, what did you think of theEmpireseason finale? As crazy as youd hoped? Let me know!

Avery Thompson

Source: http://hollywoodlife.com/2015/03/19/empire-finale-moments-rhonda-murdered-vernon-cookie-anika-fight/

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The rise and fall of Aaron Schock, 'America's fittest congressman'

In a Congresswhere making news for something other than policy canspell political doom, attention repeatedly veeredtoward Rep. Aaron Schock's chiseled torso.

"Illinois Congressman Is Schockingly Hot," TMZ reported in 2009, following the boyish Schock's election to the House of Representatives as a Republican from a district including Peoria.When a poolside photo of a shirtless Schock emerged shortly after his election, TMZ was at it again: "The gentleman with the steel midsection from Illinois has the floor."

But there was not much scandal to goalong with this kind of extracurricular scrutiny--at least not back then--and in fact, Schock welcomed it.

"First, you've got to get their attention," Schock said in 2009, reflecting on the peculiar notice he'd attracted. "Step 1 in getting anyone's vote is getting their attention."

Depending on whose generational strictures you follow, Schock, born in 1981, wasthe first millennial to get elected to Congress, yethiscongressional career has now implodedin truly traditional Washington fashion: because of money.

On Tuesday, followingintensescrutiny over his finances after he remodeled his House office a la Downton Abbey, Schock, 33, announced he would quit Congress at the end of March.

"The constant questions over the last six weeks have proven a great distraction that has made it too difficult for me to serve the people of the 18th District with the high standards that they deserve and which I have set for myself," Schock said in a statement.

Schock, the first member of Congress born in the 1980s, hadalways been more than mere tabloid bait (although he was anointed "America's fittest congressman" in 2011 by Men's Health, which pictured him shirtless on the magazine's cover).

For every electionsince 2008, Schock has crushed Democratic challengers at an increasingly dominant pace,winning his first race with 59% of the vote, and winning his most recent, in November, with 75%.

Shortly after Schockfirst arrived in Congress at the age of 27, Eric Cantor, then the House whip, named Schock a deputy whip, adding, "In only a few short months in Washington, he has already established himself as a leader."

When he steps down, he will abandon his membership in three congressional committees, including the important House Ways and Means Committee.

"It seemed like he was going to be a new, younger face in the political scene, and it was disappointing to see," said Angela Loring, 38, a teacher interviewed outside a Peoria grocery store in his congressional district, of Schock's resignation.

Schock defined himself as that new, younger face with a well-documented lifestyle. He piled up more than 18,000 followers on Instagram, where he posted photos of himself skiing, surfing and at concerts.

He also attracted the skeptical eye of the LGBTmedia,which ginned up anoisy ecosystem of doubt about the bachelor congressman's sexuality with popular stories such as, "The 7 gayest Aaron Schock Instagram posts of 2013." Schock has said he is straight.

His downward spiral began when aWashington Post reporter noticed that Schock had a natty office loaded with antiques and pheasant feathers--a setup inspired by the TV drama "Downton Abbey"-- prompting a minor PR freakout by Schock's staffers.

Youve got a member [of Congress] willing to talk to you about other things, Schock's communications director, Benjamin Cole, said as he tried to persuade the Post not to run the story. Why sour it by rushing to write some gossipy piece?

That piece led other outlets and ethics watchdog groups to scrutinize Schock's spending practices. After the Post piece, the designer who did the Downton makeover, Tracy Annie Brahler, gave back the $35,000 that shed been paid from Schocks congressional expense account for the job, according to USA Today. Schock thenpaid Brahler $40,000 out of his own pocket for the work.

Further investigations raised questions about Schock's financial disclosures and practices, particularly his use of private air charters.

The Associated Press found that Schock had spent at least $40,000 in taxpayer and campaign funds on at least a dozen flights on planes owned by key donors. The AP reported that the flights paid for by taxpayer funds may have violated House expenditure rules.

Then a Politico investigation found that Schock had billed the government and his campaign for reimbursements for 170,000 miles of travel on his personal car, a Chevy Tahoe -- which had only 80,000 miles on the odometer when he sold it in July. The congressman announced his resignation less than 12 hours after he was confronted with the discrepancy.

A spokesman told Politico, In an effort to remove any questions and out of an abundance of caution, Congressman Schock has reimbursed all monies received for official mileage since his election to Congress.

In recent weeks, Schock has not spoken at length about questions surrounding his financial expenditures. In February and March, his office appeared to be issuing the same statement to inquiring reporters: After questions were first raised in the press, Congressman Schock took the proactive step of assembling a team to review the compliance procedures in his official office, campaign and leadership PAC to determine whether they can be improved.

But at a March 6 news conference back in Peoria, before the stormwaves hadsubsumedhim, Schock acknowledged that perhaps his most notable asset--his image--had become a liability.

"I know that when I take a trip, and I post photos online, it can create the misimpression of being out of touch, or an image that is not worthy of my constituents," Schocksaid then. "I have tried to balance being a young congressman and doing things differently and more open with maintaining a level of seriousness on the issues of the day."

Schock added, "I know some days I have failed at this."

The Chicago Tribune contributed to this report.

Follow @MattDPearce for national news

Copyright 2015, Los Angeles Times

Source: http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-aaron-schock-profile-20150318-story.html

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Kraft Mac and Cheese Recall: What To Do If Something You Ate Was Recalled

Photo:Alejandro Moreno de Carlos/Stocksy

Kraft Foods is pulling back 6.5 million boxes of its macaroni and cheese product after it was found that some of those boxes contain small pieces of metal.

This recall comes just days after a recent listeria outbreak linked to Blue Bell Creameries ice cream. This bacteria doesnt merely cause run-of-the-mill food poisoningit has the potential to be deadly. In fact, in this most recent case,it may have contributed to the deaths of three people.

What should you do, then, with the leftover carton of Blue Bell ice cream in the freeze or an empty blue box of mac and cheese in your trash bin?

First off, dont freak out. If you dont believe us, believe Marianne Gravely, a technical information specialist with the USDAs meat and poultry hotline. Gravely and her team field all sorts of questions from panicked consumers on the regular, so she knows a thing or two about calming people down.

Although recalls for various foods are often handled by different agenciesfor instance, the FDA might recall an ice cream product, whereas the USDA generally recallsraw chicken b*****s Gravelys advice is applicable to any of them. Below, she puts our collective minds at ease with a practical guide to navigating a food recall.

Check with your grocer if youre unsure as to whether or not youve eaten a recalled product. Photo: Jill Chen/Stocksy

1. Make sure that what you purchased is exactly the product being recalled.

Check the packaging to make sure you have it, because you may have something thats made by the same company, but isnt the recalled product, Gravely explained. It has to be exactly whats in the recall: the brand name, the product, the establishment number, and it has to be part of the recalled batch. That means if your chicken has a sell-by date of April 21, but recalled batchs is April 22, you have no cause to be alarmed.

2. Figure out why the food is being recalled.

There have been a number of recalls because a food contains a spice mix that may contain peanuts, Gravely said. Because the spice wasnt labeled as containing peanuts, it was recalled. Thats a potentially life-threatening issue for people with peanut allergies, but theres no need to worry if you dont have one.

Other common culprits behind recalls include foreign objects in food, such as chunks of plastic or metal. You should never knowingly eat a product thats been recalled because of this issue, Gravely stressed, but if you accidentally do and dont bite into a hunk of metal? Youre probably OK.

Improper processing is another major reason behind recalls. While this has the potential for disaster, it doesnt always lead to it. A long time ago, there was a canned product and it hadnt been heated to the right temperature, Gravely said. The inspector doing the review found the problem and recalled the product, but we didnt have any reports of illness. The lesson? Dont panic prematurely.

Before you get concerned, make sure that what you ate identically matches the product being recalled. Photo:Alejandro Moreno de Carlos/Stocksy

3. Think: Did you cook the recalled product thoroughly?

This advice admittedly isnt very useful when it comes to ice cream or deli meats, but its critical for things like raw beef or seafood. If you cooked it through, probably you would have killed that bacteria, Gravely explained.

4. Toss it out.

All things considered, if you havent already eaten a recalled product, dont throw it out or return it to the store. Food poisoning isnt a risk you want to take, nor is chomping down on a piece of glass.

If you cooked a product thoroughly, its less likely youll get sickeven if it was recalled. Photo:Maximilian Guy McNair MacEwan/Stocksy

5. Talk to your grocer.

If youre uncertain if youve eaten recalled food, ask the grocery store that sold it to you. You can also consult the official recall document at Foodsafety.gov, which, within a few days, usually details where a product was distributed.

6. If you begin to feel sick, see a doctor.

Food poisoning isnt like a cold, where you kind of start feeling worse and worse you definitely have symptoms [right away], Gravely said. If youre suddenly vomiting or you have diarrhea, you should go to a doctor. Food poisoning symptoms can be severe.

More important intel on food poisoning (and how to avoid it):

The drink that could save you from salmonella and other bugs

In the future, our fridges might text us when food is about to go bad

Do you really have to wash your chicken before cooking it? We investigate

How do you handle a food recall? Tell us below!

Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNHorULLP896wBt1M__sv1u1LxiAwg&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&ei=CCsKVeC2Dajh8gHPqYCYCw&url=https://www.yahoo.com/food/kraft-mac-and-cheese-recall-what-to-do-if-113889857706.html

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St. Patrick's Day 2015: The Leprechauns we all know in pop culture, from Notre ...

Pop culture hasn't treated the Irish folklore fairy known as leprechaun with as much respect as it probably could have over the years.

Given it's a piece of folklore and, thus, a fictional being, I reckon people don't really care how they treat it.

Still, what we usually see is a little old man wearing a green hat, coat and pants and participating in a wee bit of mischief. Oh, and the mythical creature also hides that pot of gold you'll find at the end of the rainbow.

[Crichton leprechaun revisited: Meet the man who discovered the legend]

Yep, that's pretty much all we know, or really care to know, about leprechauns. That and, of course, what Hollywood and sports have shown us throughout the years.

You often see them as mascots for sports organizations (Boston Celtics, Notre Dame) and various products (Lucky Charms), or as villains in films (the "Leprechaun" franchise) or television ("The Simpsons," World Wrestling Entertainment).

Whatever the format, the depictions are usually stereotypical of Irish culture and based on 19th century caricatures.m The actual origin of the leprechaun is said to come from the medieval tale "Adventur of Fergus son of Leti," wherein a character falls alseep on a beach before waking up to find himself being dragged into the sea by three leprechauns.

But the entire leprechaun game completely changed in 2006, thanks to one particular "sighting" in one Alabama neighborhood. A sketch of a supposed Mobile leprechaun went viral as "witnesses" claimed to have seen the mythical creature in the Cricthon neighborhood of Mobile. Local NBC affiliate WPMI-TV would report the news before that video was posted on YouTube on St. Patrick's Day that year, becoming one of the first truly viral videos in YouTube's young history.

Anyway, click through the gallery above of pop culture's most famous leprechaun characters.

Source: http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2015/03/st_patricks_day_2015_leprechau.html

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