WAR, BASKETBALL STRANGE MIX.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH Media

The images of sports, the terminology of war and how it converged in surreal fashion Thursday morning as the conflict with Iraq conflicted with the start of the NCAA Tournament:

--8:30 a.m.: Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, is asked at a news conference about the change in plans of the first attacks Wednesday night.

``Having intel agencies and armed forces that are flexible are the key to victory, and that's what you saw,'' Myers says.

--8:59 a.m.: Showing video of the morning attack, CBS News anchor Dan Rather says ``there is a living hell on the receiving end of those weapons.'' He then announces the network intends ``to stay on the air for a while'' with its war coverage, and there will soon be an announcement on where to find the ``so-called March Madness.''

--9 a.m.: CBS Sports anchor Greg Gumbel is on long enough - 10 seconds tops - to direct hoop viewers to ESPN but also invites them to ``stay tuned here for coverage of the war on Iraq.''

--9:04 a.m.: CBS News reporter Jim Axelrod, with the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division, is on air with the sound of live artillery fire in the background.

``The U.S. has its game-face on; they're ready to go,'' said Gen. Buck Kernan (Ret.), a military analyst in the studio with Rather, who begins quoting Winston Churchill.

--9:10 a.m.: Summing up the day's games, CBS studio analyst Clark Kellogg remarks: ``Kind of a strange way to start the tournament, isn't it?''

Kevin Harlan introduces the California-North Carolina State game from Oklahoma City, noting it is ``a somber day'' here, so close to the site of the former federal building bombing with a couple of Air Force bases nearby. ``We thank them and our prayers are with them,'' Harlan says.

The ``Bottom Line'' scroll on the ESPN screen informs viewers to turn to ABC News for continuing coverage of the war as Harlan says the game ``is here on CBS.''

--9:21 a.m.: CBS News reporter Lara Logan, on the Iraq/Jordan border, is startled that she's on while someone off camera is fixing her hair. She eventually announces a casualty.

--9:25 a.m.: The Cal-N.C. State game tips off on ESPN. Back on CBS, reporter Scott Pelley, at the Iraq/Kuwait border, says: ``The artillery is being unleashed at this point.'' Another CBS News analyst talks about the Pentagon's ``decapitation strategy'' against the Iraqi leadership.

--9:30 a.m.: As ESPN is in commercial, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer is on all the news channels giving a briefing. A reporter asks about a casualty count. ``In the early hours of the war, I'm not here to give play-by-play coverage of it,'' Fleischer says.

--9:36 a.m.: N.C. State's Scooter Sherill ``launches a 3,'' says Harlan. The Wolfpack was second in the Atlantic Coast Conference in ``3-point hits'' during the season, Harlan notes.

--10:10 a.m. Rather: ``This is a live picture of Baghdad under attack for the second time in 24 hours. This is not tape ... the rocket's red glare, bombs bursting in air ... and some hitting the ground in tremendous force.''

--10:19 a.m.: On ESPN's ``SportsCenter,'' which was bumped to ESPN2, Jeremy Schaap reports from Boston on how security will be ``business as usual'' at the FleetCenter when it hosts first-round tournament games today.

--10:24 a.m.: A look-in at the end of the first half in the Gongaza-Cincinnati game. ``I'm sure (Gonzaga coach) Mark Few is glad to see his team rebound after Cincinnati's assault,'' CBS' Gumbel says.

--10:29 a.m.: Rather: ``Baghdad is burning ... at least parts of it.''

--10:40 a.m.: Rather: ``The nature of war, the savagery of war, it may be time to give serious thought to thank our lucky stars we live in the United States of America.''

--10:41 a.m.: The U.S. Army, a tournament sponsor, runs a commercial promoting March Madness on CBS during game coverage, which continues on ESPN.

--10:45 a.m.: Cal sophomore center Amit Tamir commits a foul against N.C. State. Harlan notes Tamir served three years in the Israeli military. ``I can only imagine where his mind is today,'' Harlan says.

--11:46 a.m.: Rather refers to a quote from Gen. Patton about how the only good offense is a good defense.

--11:47 a.m.: Cal pulls off the 76-74 victory in overtime. ``How many gutsy plays has Richard Midgley made in this ballgame?'' asks game analyst Jay Bilas, an ESPN employee working for CBS but ironically back on ESPN for this game, about the guy who made the game-winning 3- pointer. Seconds later, we see the final moments of Gonzaga's 74-69 victory over Cincinnati.

--11:54 a.m.: CBS News whips around from an interview with Sen. John McCain to reporter Pelley overseas, who says: ``Dan, the battle has been going on all around us.''

--Notes: NBC reports if the Iraq conflict pre-empts its sports programming this weekend, the PGA Tour's Bay Hill Invitational, scheduled to be on the network Saturday (noon to 3 p.m.) and Sunday (11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.), would be shifted to CNBC, available in 84 million homes.

ABC has not said what it will do about its coverage of the Lakers-Spurs game Sunday (10 a.m.). ESPN has taped figure skating in that window but is scheduled to carry first-round games from the NCAA women's basketball tournament starting at 11:30 a.m.

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By Tom Hoffarth