the buzz log

Pay up. March Madness becomes April debts for thousands of office workers who placed their faith in UNC and UCLA. Then again, the spread might not be that high: In the days leading to the Final Four playoffs, the Memphis Tigers became the most searched NCAA team.

In other weekend Buzz news, a quiet celebrity wedding stirred up a sentimental storm, while a legend passed, but not quietly, as readers paid homage to the man who played Moses.

Charlton Heston is Legend
"Soylent Green is people." Charlton Heston emoted fiercely on the big screen, whether dispensing commandments, riding death chariots, rebelling against master apes, or roaring memorable lines like the one from the 1973 sci-fi downer. His passing Saturday night unleashed a torrent of obituaries and searches. The media eulogies have dwelled on his conservative politics, while outlets like Entertainment Weekly have paid homage to an astounding 100-plus film repertoire. Hestonian cinematic proclamations rivaled those of Marlon Brando's, which Wire magazine acknowledged, including arguably his most famous: "Get your stinking hands off me, you d*** dirty ape."

Final Four, Finally Two
Sports searches were all about March Madness and bracketology. Obsession paid off, as history played out on the courts. All four teams boasted a number-one seed pedigree. The closest to an underdog may have been Memphis Tigers, but its crushing offense dispensed with the little Bruins boys at UCLA. The match-ups still managed a "shocker" element when the Tar Heels chipped away at Kansas' early massive lead, but the Jayhawks stomped over any idea of a comeback for UNC. Kansas faces the mighty Memphis, which has emerged to become the top-searched team. UCLA can at least take solace: Their cheerleaders don't just have the most popular pom poms of the Final Four, but they got more searches than "north carolina tar heels." Sis boom bah.

Dangerously in Love... and Married?
For months, young female fans have looked for the announcement when Jay-Z and Beyonce would finally get hitched. As rumors intensified this week, so did Search hysteria over "beyonce wedding," "beyonce and jay z getting married," "beyonce and jay z got married," "beyonce and jay z marriage license," and "beyonce wedding dress." That day was apparently Friday on April 4 (a numerological obsession, according to Usmagazine.com), at a small ceremony in the rapper's apartment... thereby thwarting the wedding industrial complex and their blown-out affairs.

Other news spiking in the Buzz this weekend...
—The world did not rest, with reports on the fiercest fighting in Iraq since a cease-fire and Tibetan protests from China to India to San Francisco. The shock of a suicide bombing at a Sri Lankan marathon, however, resonated among Buzz readers: The attack killed 12, including the country's prime minister.

—Buzz readers continued to follow up on investigation following the March raid of blood farm, in which 17 people were kept captive and bled so that their blood could be sold to medical clinics.

—Grassroots have turned to the Web to help returning war vets. A San Francisco Chronicle story alerted Buzz readers to a number of nonprofits to help Iraqi soldiers suffering combat stress, including a Monday online forum.

—Actress Bette Davis died 9 years ago, but people came in droves to celebrate her 100th birthday. She is still a man's woman, and the men who made up 7 out of 10 of her searches helped boost her Search profile up more than 10,000%. Most sought-after roles online? "All About Eve" and "Jezebel."