USBWA News from Kirk Wessler News

The photo was appalling. Shot from the front row of the press section in one college arena, the view of the action on the basketball court was obliterated by students doing what they're supposed to do, jumping up and down as they cheered the home team. Sadly, as a result, the reporters in the front row were unable to do their jobs the way their bosses and readers expect them to.

The photo arrived with a plea for help from the reporter who sent it. I'll not call out the host university here because, frankly, it's not the only offender. And the SID at the school thanked me for the letter of protest from USBWA, acknowledging that his office is "embarrassed" by the situation.

I was covering Game 3 of the World Series when all hell broke loose and ended like no Series game before it. An out at the plate was followed by a wild throw to third, a baserunner sliding, the third baseman falling, the runner stumbling over the third baseman before trying to score, a throw home, another slide, a tag – and an obstruction call that ruled the runner safe with the winning run.

What the heck did we just see?

To help us out – more important, to help the fans understand – Major League Baseball brought three umpires to a postgame news conference. They answered questions and explained in detail what they had observed and the rules that governed the arcane situation on the field.

First, the news. Most, if not all, of the writers' seats at the 2014 Final Four will be back on the floor (although the majority will be in the end zones), and we will have a few more seats in the traditional courtside location than in 2013.

Opinions vary as to whether this represents success or failure in our meetings with the NCAA. Truth is, it's a little of both.

There was success in that the NCAA listened to us and addressed our No. 1 priority, which was to get the writers out of the football press box. Also, the NCAA heeded our suggestion to reinstate a third media row opposite the scorer's table and benches and abandon the four-corners experiment.

There was failure in our attempts to extend the second row back to full length and to get writers out of the hockey press boxes in multipurpose venues the first two weekends of the tournament – at least in the short term.

The Final Four gave us a great championship game to climax a weekend full of drama. And I'm not talking about the electric press conference with a defiant Mark Emmert on the grill.

The NCAA implemented its new seating arrangements during the tournament. Some places – Austin and Dayton are good examples – the new configurations seemed to work out with few or no problems. Some sites, such as Arlington and Auburn Hills, reported aggravation with obstructed sight lines or slow elevators. Others, notably Philadelphia and D.C., were borderline train wrecks, with (take your pick) senseless seat assignments, bad access from auxiliary boxes and more.