The pencil hits the paper. Michigan over Tennessee. North Carolina over Washington. Arizona over Duke. Penn. State over Temple. Scratch, erase marks colonize the page. Temple over Penn. State, Duke over Arizona.

That is the sound of millions of Americans filling out their brackets for the men’s basketball National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships. Otherwise known as the Big Dance or March Madness, this college sports tournament is a national phenomenon. The men’s basketball NCAA Championship has taken the country by storm.

March Madness is a sports fan’s ultimate dream, which features competitive basketball games that begin March 15 and end with the title game on April 4. The tournament is called March Madness because of the amount of games played in March and the fact that any team in the expanded field of 68 teams can win the championship.

In 2010, fifth seeded Butler beat top teams Michigan State, Syracuse, and Kansas State to reach the national title game. Upsets are common in the tournament as only one number one seed made it to the final four last year and most of the number two and three seeds were eliminated by the sweet 16.

The tournament is also making waves for the future of television. Turner Broadcasting System and CBS combined to broadcast the tournament this year. The megadeal cost $10.8 billion dollars that will last until 2024, according to CNN.

According to ABC News, the networks will give 96 percent of their profits back to the NCAA over the course of the partnership. They’re estimating that this will come out to $740 million dollars, which accounts for the money spent on the championship and the series.

This translates into games airing on four major television networks; CBS, TBS, TNT, and Tru TV. Last year, the national championship game attained 16 million viewers, who witnessed Duke defeat Butler, 61-59.This was a 70 percent increase over the 2009 final matchup between North Carolina and Michigan State, according to NCAA.org.

Now, watching the madness unfold on TV is not enough. The amount of live streaming video and audio consumed via March Madness On Demand for the 2010 tournament surpassed 2009’s total by 36 percent.

More than 11.7 million hours of live streaming video and audio were accessed by the end of the 2010 men’s final four, according to NCAA.org.

This year, the first full day of March Madness that spanned over the four major networks averaged 7.4 million viewers. That is 16 percent higher from last year, and more viewers are expected to tune in as the tournament progresses, according to ABC News.

Now it is time for picks. The 2011 tournament field is crazier than ever. The final four is wide open in my opinion. My final four are Syracuse, Duke, Kansas, and Wisconsin.

The two teams that will arrive at the championship game are Duke and Kansas. The Final Verdict: Kansas defeats Duke 77-75 in a close one at the buzzer.