Latest local news, weather and high school sports from the Midlands

COLUMBIA -- March madness is officially underway as office pools and brackets become the talk of the water cooler.

In the last few years, fantasy football and basketball, along with checking brackets has moved from the sidelines with only diehard fans involved, to the center court of everyday life.

But with the rise of online viewing, what happens when this pastime bleeds into work time?

We talked to Dr. Mark Nagel, Associate Professor of Sports and Entertainment Management at USC, about strategies to keep employees' minds off the court and on-task.

"In a lot of cases, it's not even a one eye on the game, one on work situation, it's both eyes on the game and no eyes on work," Nagel says.

With games now instantly available online for viewing, anyone who wants to follow the NCAA can, anywhere.

While internet site blocking software has become a common way for managers to deal with this problem, a more recent trend Nagel is seeing is a complete reversal .

"In some cases, on the opposite direction and embrace the NCAA tournament, especially on a Friday, where it turns into sort of a party atmosphere as a morale booster."

In the next few years, gameday Friday might become as normal as casual Friday.

Check out our Five Questions segment from Tuesday where we hit the streets to find out just how much of a distraction brackets can be.

And sign up for your own bracket on MidlandsConnect.com.