A suggestion for confused TV viewers wondering where to find the NCAA Tournament telecasts today: start with CBS.

If CBS News preempts the start of the first-round coverage to cover developments in Iraq, today’s and Friday’s afternoon sessions will be shifted to ESPN. The night sessions, if necessary, will move to ESPN2 because ESPN has contractual commitments with the NHL tonight and the NBA Friday. CBS graphics will inform viewers where the NCAA games can be seen.

Saturday and Sunday, if network sports programming is preempted for news coverage, the distribution becomes more complicated. ABC, which is owned by the Walt Disney Co., as is ESPN, has three regional NHL games to televise.

If preempted by ABC News, the hockey games will shift to ESPN. ESPN2 is televising the first rounds of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament Saturday. CBS will need to place games on cable channels TNN or TV Land, which are owned by CBS parent Viacom. CBS will inform viewers where to tune into those games as well.