Twenty-five years ago, if you wanted to watch the tournament, your choices were a lot like the shorts: painfully small. You could: A) Buy a ticket; B) Watch it on your TV; C) Watch it on someone else’s TV. Today, you’ve got more options. And, thankfully, more shorts. (Some things weren’t meant to be seen in HD.) ANYWHOO, your TV is still a major player when it comes to following the action, but it’s not the only player. So let’s meet the starting line-up…

TV is still very much the go-to technology for tourney watchers. If you’re new to the dance, here’s a look at your HDTV viewing options: First, there’s CBS. They’ve owned the broadcast rights to the tournament for a couple decades and they’ve got this thing down to a science. However, during the first week of the tournament, there’s simply too much science for your local CBS affiliate to handle. CBS College Sports Network steps in, broadcasting a couple additional, out-of-market games (and tons of post game coverage).

But if you want to get all the games in HD, it’s DIRECTV to the rescue. For 69 bucks, you can watch up to four games at the same time. (And you can follow your brackets right on your TV!) One thing to remember is that if a game is being broadcast by your CBS affiliate, it’ll be blacked out. But isn’t that why picture-in-picture was invented?

Watching the tournament on your crystal-clear HDTV is a no-brainer, but what about when you’re away from your big screen? Say… at work? Of course, we would NEVER watch the tournament on the job. NEVER EVER. However, we do know a guy (just an acquaintance) who did it once (by accident) and here’s what he told us: you can watch every game (except for the play-in game), live on your computer for FREE. No blackouts!

It’s called NCAA® March Madness on Demand® and it just might be the best invention in the history of civilization! (Or, at least that’s what this guy told us.) You can watch the action in standard or in high-quality on a video player so good, it won an Emmy®! (Seriously. A video player won an Emmy®. It was the video player’s time.) The site, which is powered by CBSSports.com, also features the infamous “Boss Button.” Last year, this little job-saver got clicked 2.77 million times. It’s got a new look for 2010, so be sure to check it out … on your lunch break, of course.

The NCCA® March Madness on Demand® high-quality player runs on Microsoft Silverlight.

But what if the unthinkable happens – a 16-seed is about to knock off a 1-seed and you’re nowhere close to a TV or a computer!?! Don’t panic. A 16-seed has never beaten a 1-seed, so you’re probably just having a dream. Plus, even if you’re not dreaming, you can watch this Upset of the Century on your mobile device.

For the second year, you can get an app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. There’s a free version, which features scores and highlights, but if you want live streaming of the games, you need to upgrade to the premium version. The good news? This year it works over the 3G network. (EDGE and WiFi too!) The bad news? This year it costs a little more … $9.99. (But that’s only like 16 cents a game.) Both versions of the app have interactive brackets and all sorts of social networking connectivity.

The tourney isn’t only on the iPhone, however. CBS Mobile offers live action via FLO TV. Got AT&T Mobile TV? Then all the games are yours for the watching. The service is $9.99 a month, and it’s got a heck of a lot more than just basketball games on it, so if you were waiting for an excuse to try it, now’s the time. AT&T Mobile TV is only available on select phones, so here’s a link for more info.

Okay, let’s call a T.O. and see how our team is shaping up. HDTV? That’s our Center. Mobile devices are small so they’ve got to be our Guards… Computer? We’ll put you at Power Forward for some reason. Now, all we need is a Small Forward… but it would be great if this player was versatile… you know, multiple positions, the ability to see the whole court and make instant connections, like Allen Iverson but without all the emotional baggage and made of plastic and metal… hmmm… SLINGBOX!

Slingbox beams whatever you’ve got on your TV at home to your laptop or mobile phone. It works on the Mac, on PCs, on iPhones, on your Blackberry and more… like we said, versatile.

So there’s your line-up. Feel free to shuffle players in and out as needed. Of course true tourney junkies will be using multiple technologies at the same time. Just imagine, it’s Thursday afternoon, you’re “working from home, ” you’ve got one game on the TV, another on your iPhone, and a third on your OTHER phone. (It’s an LG VU with AT&T Mobile TV.) You’re streaming a fourth game on your laptop, when suddenly, your supervisor calls. You hit the Boss Button, not because you need to but because the idea of pushing it over and over while he rambles on about “synergy” makes you giggle. What could be better than that?

Well, how about the last three games of the tournament in 3D? Done. LG is teaming up with CBS Sports and the NCAA® to broadcast the semifinal and championship games live to up to 100 Cinedigm Digital Cinemas nationwide. The biggest game of the year, on a gigantic theater screen, in 3D? Grab your glasses and get in the game, big fella, because I think we just found our sixth man.