Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Why Do You Smell Like Gasoline?
It's been six months since it happened (and five months since I actually typed words for a post instead of just throwing up a youtube clip), but I think it is finally time to describe the most interesting travel experience of my life. My family was going out to West Point, NY to have a funeral for my uncle, and then we were to travel down to Washington, DC for a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery (and yes, I do realize that Arlington in actually in Virginia). It was a very interesting trip all the way around, but the opening leg from my house to West Point proved to be the most interesting.
Anyway, the family had had a lot of success by traveling with Amtrak, so instead of flying and renting a car, we decided to take the train from South Bend, IN (which is about 45 minutes from my house) out to New York City, and then we were to take New York's version of the Metro from New York to a city near West Point. Then we would take a cab from the train station to our hotel.
The first sign that the trip wasn't going to go well should have come when we left our house on time. The train was scheduled to leave at 12:30am, and we were on our way by 11pm. That should have been the first sign because my family is notoriously late. We normally wouldn't be on time even if the fate of the world depended on us showing up on time, so this was indeed a rare occurrence.
Right away, we should have had an idea that something was going to go wrong, but we didn't. We were driving to train station just going about our business, when we got pulled over (I was driving and that was the first time I have ever been pulled over) just as the van was getting onto the highway. I hadn't been speeding or driving like a maniac, so I was certainly surprised. When he came to the door, we found out the cop had pulled us over because our muffler had been loud. Yes, police officers in small towns in Southwest Michigan have nothing better to do than pull you over for a loud muffler.
We made it to the train station without any other incident. All we had to do was wait for the train to show up. As convenient as Amtrak trains are, they hardly ever run exactly on time. We were used to that, so when the train didn't show up at 12:30, we weren't concerned. We called in an eventually figured out that the train would show up around 2am or so. So at 1:30, we headed over to the station to wait for the train (in case it had made up some time on the way over).
While we were waiting for the train, a car drove up and instead of just going over the tracks (like most normal cars do), this car turns right and starts driving down the tracks. So everyone who's waiting for the train goes to get the attention of the station manager, and someone else calls 911 because a train is coming soon and there is a car stuck on the tracks. Meanwhile, the guys get out of the car (both are more than a little intoxicated) and start yelling at us to stop the train. It was very entertaining, especially when one of the guys yelled, "We're gonna get f----- killed."
Eventually, the police show up, and the train comes in soon after. With enough warning, the train stopped well short of the stopped car. We were all able to get on (finally), but the train didn't go anywhere until after 3am, which made it more than 2.5 hours late. Most of the rest of the train trip was uneventful, although I was rudely woken up in Erie, PA by the border patrol. They kept asking me what my country of origin was. It took two or three times for me to figure out what they were asking. I answered and they went on their way down the car, of course neglecting to wake up my sister.
When were a couple of hours away from NYC, we started talking with one of the conductors, and he said that we didn't have to go all the way into New York, instead we could get off somewhere (it was in Poughkeepsie, I think) and catch the metro there. So we did, and saved ourselves a couple of hours, which we soon gave right back.
When we got to the city where we needed to be to get to West Point, my mom called for a cab. There were two companies she had numbers for. She left a message at the first one, and unfortunately for us, the second company answered. As soon as the cab showed up, we should have known we were in trouble. It was a mini-van, with the front quarter panel missing. The driver said we couldn't put our luggage in the trunk because she there wasn't room (I looked, and she had what I can only hope were spare parts stowed back there). So we're holding onto our luggage, and the next thing she does is ask us if we know how to get to our hotel. (Isn't that kind of the reason most people hire a cab, so you can get to a place that you don't know how to get to?) We said that we didn't, so she turned to her GPS system, which was a man in the passenger seat with the Nextel Walkie-Talkie function of his phone.
I won't mention the trip in detail, but we almost ran out of gas twice, went about 40 miles in the wrong direction and twice came so near the hotel that if the cab had continued going in the same direction, we would have made it there much sooner. As it was, it took 2 hours for a cab ride that when were headed back to the train station to leave, with a different cab company of course, it was a 10-minute trip. The best part of the whole trip, was when we finally go to our hotel, we walked in and the lady behind the desk asked, "Excuse me, but why do you smell like gasoline?" After traveling for almost 24 straight hours, all we could do was laugh.
The moral of this whole story is that my family should never leave on time for a trip again. Ever.
Anyway, the family had had a lot of success by traveling with Amtrak, so instead of flying and renting a car, we decided to take the train from South Bend, IN (which is about 45 minutes from my house) out to New York City, and then we were to take New York's version of the Metro from New York to a city near West Point. Then we would take a cab from the train station to our hotel.
The first sign that the trip wasn't going to go well should have come when we left our house on time. The train was scheduled to leave at 12:30am, and we were on our way by 11pm. That should have been the first sign because my family is notoriously late. We normally wouldn't be on time even if the fate of the world depended on us showing up on time, so this was indeed a rare occurrence.
Right away, we should have had an idea that something was going to go wrong, but we didn't. We were driving to train station just going about our business, when we got pulled over (I was driving and that was the first time I have ever been pulled over) just as the van was getting onto the highway. I hadn't been speeding or driving like a maniac, so I was certainly surprised. When he came to the door, we found out the cop had pulled us over because our muffler had been loud. Yes, police officers in small towns in Southwest Michigan have nothing better to do than pull you over for a loud muffler.
We made it to the train station without any other incident. All we had to do was wait for the train to show up. As convenient as Amtrak trains are, they hardly ever run exactly on time. We were used to that, so when the train didn't show up at 12:30, we weren't concerned. We called in an eventually figured out that the train would show up around 2am or so. So at 1:30, we headed over to the station to wait for the train (in case it had made up some time on the way over).
While we were waiting for the train, a car drove up and instead of just going over the tracks (like most normal cars do), this car turns right and starts driving down the tracks. So everyone who's waiting for the train goes to get the attention of the station manager, and someone else calls 911 because a train is coming soon and there is a car stuck on the tracks. Meanwhile, the guys get out of the car (both are more than a little intoxicated) and start yelling at us to stop the train. It was very entertaining, especially when one of the guys yelled, "We're gonna get f----- killed."
Eventually, the police show up, and the train comes in soon after. With enough warning, the train stopped well short of the stopped car. We were all able to get on (finally), but the train didn't go anywhere until after 3am, which made it more than 2.5 hours late. Most of the rest of the train trip was uneventful, although I was rudely woken up in Erie, PA by the border patrol. They kept asking me what my country of origin was. It took two or three times for me to figure out what they were asking. I answered and they went on their way down the car, of course neglecting to wake up my sister.
When were a couple of hours away from NYC, we started talking with one of the conductors, and he said that we didn't have to go all the way into New York, instead we could get off somewhere (it was in Poughkeepsie, I think) and catch the metro there. So we did, and saved ourselves a couple of hours, which we soon gave right back.
When we got to the city where we needed to be to get to West Point, my mom called for a cab. There were two companies she had numbers for. She left a message at the first one, and unfortunately for us, the second company answered. As soon as the cab showed up, we should have known we were in trouble. It was a mini-van, with the front quarter panel missing. The driver said we couldn't put our luggage in the trunk because she there wasn't room (I looked, and she had what I can only hope were spare parts stowed back there). So we're holding onto our luggage, and the next thing she does is ask us if we know how to get to our hotel. (Isn't that kind of the reason most people hire a cab, so you can get to a place that you don't know how to get to?) We said that we didn't, so she turned to her GPS system, which was a man in the passenger seat with the Nextel Walkie-Talkie function of his phone.
I won't mention the trip in detail, but we almost ran out of gas twice, went about 40 miles in the wrong direction and twice came so near the hotel that if the cab had continued going in the same direction, we would have made it there much sooner. As it was, it took 2 hours for a cab ride that when were headed back to the train station to leave, with a different cab company of course, it was a 10-minute trip. The best part of the whole trip, was when we finally go to our hotel, we walked in and the lady behind the desk asked, "Excuse me, but why do you smell like gasoline?" After traveling for almost 24 straight hours, all we could do was laugh.
The moral of this whole story is that my family should never leave on time for a trip again. Ever.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
I'm Back (Sorta)
My apologies for the lack of posting recently. In the last five weeks, I have traveled more than 8000 miles by plane, bus and car, attended a funeral and a remembrance service for my uncle, visited West Point and Washington DC for the first time, attended eight baseball games and one softball game, experienced the cab ride from hell, witnessed one of the most (if not the most) improbable National Champion in NCAA history, seen both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans up close and personal, attended three weddings (including two in the same day) and given a speech as best man. Needless to say, I have a lot to blog about and may finally have some time to do so.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
My Top Ten College World Series Games: Prologue
As you’ve probably realized by now, I am a big fan of college baseball. I was fortunate enough to spend the early part of my life in Omaha, Nebraska, which has been home of the Men’s NCAA College World Series since 1950, and I was even more fortunate to have two parents who are baseball fans. With that combination, the College World Series became a yearly event for me. I remember in the late 1980’s, when my parents would pull me out of school a few minutes early, and we would grab sandwiches from Little King and head down to Rosenblatt Stadium for a double-header. I attended every CWS from 1983-1991, and I have seen at least one game at every series since 1995. I have seen at least 100 CWS games in person, although that number could be closer to 125.
With that in mind, and with the series set to get underway in a few weeks, I thought I would look back and present a list of my top ten College World Series games. This list is made up entirely of games I witnessed in person, so you will not find the Arizona State-Nebraska classic from 2005, which I contend is one of the best games I have ever seen (any sport, in person or on television). You will also not find the 13-inning affair between North Carolina and Cal State Fullerton from 2006 or LSU‘s dramatic walk-off, come-from-behind win over Stanford in the 2000 championship game. It is not because I do not deem these games worthy of making the list, but it is because I watched them on tv. (Perhaps if this goes well, later on I will put together a list of my all-time top CWS games, regardless of whether I watched from Rosenblatt or on television).
What you will find, are names such as Warren Morris, Carl Jernigan, Chris Kolkhorst and Brian Stavisky. None of these gentlemen have had a tremendous amount of success in the majors, but they all stepped onto the national stage in Omaha. You will also find names that are more familiar, such as Khalil Greene, Andrew Miller and Pat Burrell. After I selected the ten games for this list, I went about putting them in some sort of order. I based my decisions based on the quality of the game, the importance of the game, and the drama of the ending, as well as an assorted number of other factors (whether the team I was rooting for won had very little bearing). Beyond the top three, on which there is no debating (in my mind) of the order, the final seven are very interchangeable.
Here are a couple of games that just missed making the list:
Alabama 6, Rice 5 (1999): Rice's Damon Thames hit two home runs in the game, the second of which was a three-run blast that tied the game at 5-5 in the eighth inning. The Tide won the game an inning later on a single by Sam Bozanich.
Clemson 11, Nebraska 10 (2002): Jeff Baker's single in the bottom of the ninth lifted the Tigers to the win. Nebraska jumped out to a 7-2 lead after four innings, but Clemson took a 10-8 lead in the seventh on a three-run homer by Khalil Greene. The Cornhuskers tied the game with two runs in the eighth, which set the stage for Baker's heroics. Greene had 5 RBI, while Jed Morris drove in four for Nebraska.
Texas 2, Rice 1 (2002): The Longhorns had a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth, when Eric Arnold hit a solo home run to get the Owls within one. Later in the inning, Rice had runners on first and second with two outs, when Texas third baseman Omar Quintanilla bobbled a ground ball. Vincent Sinisi tried to score on the error, but Quintanilla recovered to make a good throw and nail Sinisi at home to preserve the lead and the win.
Baylor 8, Tulane 7 (2005): The Bears trailed 7-0 after six innings, but scored all their runs in the final three innings to rally for the win. Baylor scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth, with the tying and winning runs scoring on a throwing error by Tulane second baseman Joe Holland. Holland was trying to turn a game-ending double-play, but his throw to first was wide and allowed both runs to score.
You Can Go Home Again
I have to respectfully disagree with the great author Thomas Wolfe, who claimed that you can’t go home again. For 36 hours during the first weekend of May (sorry this is so late), I was able to return to my days at Valpo, hanging out with Anna and the Boys. The “Boys” consisted of myself, Steve Moss, James Chang (my roommate for four years--what a saint) and Baron Brendel, and the role of Anna was played by none other than Anna Bickel (rhymes with pickle). We had known each other for varying lengths of time (Steve, James and I had been friends since move-in day freshman year), but for our final two years of college, we were always together. The most impressive thing about us hanging out together (or least impressive depending on your point of view) was that we managed to do a lot without ever doing very much. We spent a vast majority of our time together watching movies or just sitting around and talking because no one was decisive enough to come up with something better to do.
After graduation, we all went our separate ways and spread out across the Midwest. Anna and Baron got married (not to each other, that would have been a little strange), and Baron moved to Lafayette, Indiana with his wife Abby, while Anna and her husband Shawn lived first in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and have since moved to Saint Louis. James works for an engineering company just outside Chicago, and Steve returned to his hometown of Highland, Indiana, while I am splitting my time between Saint Joseph and Ann Arbor. Before last weekend, all five of us had been together twice since graduation. Once was at Baron and Abby’s wedding, while the other was at homecoming in October 2005. We had made various attempts to get everyone together since then, but life (work, school, et cetera) always managed to get in the way. In March, Anna decided that 2.5 years was long enough without a complete powwow, and she began the process of making sure everyone cleared their schedules to make some time to get together. After a consensus about a time was reached, we settled on Baron and Abby’s house in Lafayette (it’s still weird for me to think that some friends of mine own a house, but I digress), as it was a central location between Chicago/Northwest Indiana/The Joe and Saint Louis.
When we all finally arrived at Baron’s on Saturday, we had a fair amount of catching up to do. Since the last time we were all together: Anna was married, moved to Saint Louis and began doing more work teaching; Steve earned a much-deserved promotion at his bank and had purchased a new truck; James traveled across the country for his company and nearly took a job at the Baltimore branch; Baron bought a house and a new car, and he also began doing some radio work, in addition to his efforts at Lafayette’s CBS affiliate WLFI; and I had completed 18 months at the Herald-Palladium and had decided to go back to school. I think most of us had heard about the changes in each other’s lives since late 2005, but it was good to hear everything again and even to pick up on some of the details that had been missed the first time.
After the reminiscing, we resorted to doing what we did best…nothing. I won’t bore you with all the details (and if you’ve read this far, I commend you), but Baron grilled out, we spent a lot of time talking, and then we bowled, played cards and video games. In 24 hours (although it seemed much shorter than that, Anna and Shawn had to get back on the road to get to Saint Louis. Farewells were exchanged and promises were made to keep in touch. We even said we might try to get down to Saint Louis, and Anna promised to see if she could bribe us with baseball tickets. Everyone came away feeling that it had been far too long since we had been together, and we even began the initial phases of planning our next adventure. The shortness of the gathering was both a curse and a blessing. We discovered (although we already knew) that we could spend a week (or more) together and things would not get awkward. There’s always the possibility that when spouses are added, things could get strange, but that never happened. Perhaps next time, it will feel like “Anna and Abby and the Boys.” The brevity turned out to be a blessing because it reinforced the idea that we need to get together more. It is certainly not easy to arrange the schedules of seven people so that they all can get together, but I am certain that the next time one of the e-mails about getting together goes out, we will work a little harder to make sure we can get together.
You would have to ask everyone else if they agree (although I have a suspicion they will), but I certainly felt like we were back at Valpo for the weekend. Yes, the local had changed, and we were all a little older and the group now numbered seven instead of five, but the people were still the same. Anna and James still bickered, Baron was still the Big Fat Guy (although slimmer than the last time I had seen him), Steve was exactly the same, and I would like to think that I am the same guy I was three years ago. As long as the people don’t change, every get together will feel like going back to that familiar place where we first met. And in those times, we can go home again.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Eight for Omaha: May 1 Edition
To give you a better idea of what the eight-team field in Omaha might look like, I will again use Rivals.com's NCAA Baseball Tournament projections as a guide for determining the field of eight. To get the complete list of Rivals' projections, click here.
Coral Gables Regional vs. Myrtle Beach Regional
Projected match-up: Miami (FL) vs. Missouri
Projected winner: Miami (FL)
Why the Canes will win: Miami continues to look like the team to beat in the 2008 season. A week after taking two of three on the road at No. 2 Florida State, the Canes (36-5, 20-2 ACC) swept a Virginia team, who earlier this season was considered a sleeper to reach the College World Series. Miami wins with a balanced offense (five players hit .360 or better and eight players have at least 27 RBI) and solid pitching. Chris Hernandez has become one of the top Friday starters in the ACC (if not the country) with a 7-0 mark, a 2.77 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 65 innings. This formula has lifted Miami to the top of the ACC standings, and I see no reason why it wouldn't get Jim Morris' squad to Omaha.
Why Missouri could win: Aaron Crow. Despite the fact that the Tigers have lost six of their last seven games, Missouri still has one of the top five pitchers in the country in Crow. Crow boasts a 9-0 mark with a 2.80 ERA and 84 strikeouts (compared to 20 walks) in 70.2 innings. In addition to Crow, Ian Berger and Kyle Gibson (Missouri's other two super-regional starters) both boast ERA's under 4.00. Miami has struggled (slightly) against really good pitching, and Missouri certainly has plenty of that. The first game pairing of Hernandez and Crow would be well worth the price of admission.
Tallahassee Regional vs. Columbia Regional
Projected match-up: Florida State vs. South Carolina
Projected winner: Florida State
Why the Seminoles will win: The Seminoles (37-7, 19-5 ACC) have lost back-to-back ACC series (to No. 1 Miami and No. 3 North Carolina), but FSU's body of work still suggests that Mike Martin's club should make it back to Omaha for the first time since 2000. FSU wins with offense. All nine Seminole starters have a batting average of at least .300, and FSU has outscored its opponents 408-203. Buster Posey (whom I have raved about in previous posts) continues to lead the way and make a strong case for player of the year honors. Posey (.470/.573/.848) has 13 home runs and 52 RBI. James Guinn is right behind with 12 home runs and 51 RBI. The Seminoles have a remarkable ability to get on base, with a team on-base percentage of .454. FSU has drawn 291 walks, while the pitching staff has allowed 170 free passes.
Why South Carolina could win: Justin Smoak and James Darnell. Smoak (.395/.512/.802), who is challenging Posey for player of the year, and Darnell (13 home runs and 58 RBI) have carried the USC offense. Smoak has 18 home runs (good enough for second in Division I) and 51 RBI. As these two go, so goes the South Carolina offense. The Gamecocks will be tested coming out of the SEC, but USC is just 9-8 on the road, and they more than likely will have to win a super-regional on the road.
Cary Regional vs. Lincoln Regional
Projected match-up: North Carolina vs. Nebraska
Projected winner: North Carolina
Why the Tar Heels will win: UNC enters this weekend having won 13 of their past 14 contests, including taking two of three from Florida State. Mike Fox's Tar Heels (38-8, 18-5 ACC) are an impressive 13-2 on the road, and even though they will serve as hosts for both the regional and super-regional rounds, the ability to win games on the road will serve them well throughout the tournament. Kyle Seager (.387/.460/.641) is the straw that stirs the drink of the UNC offense with eight home runs and 63 RBI. Tim Fedroff and Dustin Ackley, who are hitting .395 and .387 respectively, provide additional run support. The Tar Heels have 181 extra-base hits on the year, and only 44 of those are home runs. UNC can win without the home run, which is good because those cannot be counted on in the postseason.
Why Nebraska could win: The Cornhuskers have a couple of big road series wins, having taken two of three at Texas and at Baylor. Nebraska (33-8-1, 15-5-1 Big 12) has two stud pitchers (much like Missouri) in Johnny Dorn (5-, 2.60 ERA, 73 K) and Thad Weber (8-2, 3.75 ERA, 58 K). These two could give UNC (or anyone) fits.
Tempe Regional vs. Fullerton Regional
Projected match-up: UC Irvine vs. Cal State Fullerton
Projected winner: Cal State Fullerton
Why the Titans will win: Cal State Fullerton, winners of eight of its last 10 games, is playing as well as any team in the country right now. Dave Serrano's club struggled early on, but have now righted the ship. Cal State Fullerton (27-15, 11-4 Big West) doesn't have any numbers that suggest this team is one of the top in the country, as the Titans his just .303 as a team, have a team ERA of 4.31 and have clubbed eight fewer home runs than their opponents, but the Titans have experience. CSUF will be looking to make its third-straight trip to the CWS. Players like Josh Fellhauer and Jeff Kaplan know what it takes to get to Omaha. Also, the Titans won two of three games against UCI earlier this year, so that gives them the edge over the Anteaters. That series was on the road, and this series would probably take place at Fullerton.
Why UC Irvine could win: Pitching. Scott Gorgen (8-2, 2.07 ERA, 82 K), Bryce Stowell (5-2, 2.39 ERA, 62 K) and Daniel Bibona (6-1, 3.49 ERA, 58 K) comprise one of the best weekend rotations in college baseball. These three are capable of getting two wins from any team in the nation. Gorgen was shelled in the earlier match-up, and I suspect he would dearly like a chance at redemption.
Houston Regional vs. Tuscon Regional
Projected match-up: Rice vs. Wichita State
Projected winner: Rice
Why the Owls will win: Rice (34-11, 15-3 C-USA) is peaking at the right time. Wayne Graham's Owls have won 14 of their last 15 games. Much like Cal State Fullerton, Rice doesn't have a team offensive statistic that is particularly impressive, although the Owls do have six players with at least 30 RBI, but the Owls know how to win. The Owls are looking to make their third-straight CWS. Rice also has a pitching staff that has a team ERA of 3.83, and has recorded more than a strikeout per inning (415 K in 406.1 innings). Defense and experience should be enough for this club.
Why Wichita State could win: Just like UCI, the Shockers have pitching. Wichita state boasts a team ERA of 3.49, with Anthony Capra (7-0, 1.85 ERA, 60 K) leading the way and Rob Musgrave (6-1, 2.69 ERA, 63 K) and Aaron Shafer (7-2, 2.96 ERA, 65 K) not far behind. These three would give any team fits.
College Station Regional vs. Stanford Regional
Projected match-up: Texas A&M vs. Long Beach State
Projected winner: Texas A&M
Why the Aggies will win: Texas A&M (38-8, 18-3 Big 12) has not lost back-to-back games in six weeks. The Aggies hit well with runners in scoring position, as four players have 40 or more RBI, led by Darby Brown's 51). Dan Carter is batting .413 with 50 driven in, and Luke Anders has 11 home runs and 40 RBI. Travis Starling is one of the premiere closers in the college game, with eight saves, a 2.30 ERA and 33 strikeouts and 10 walks in 31.1 innings. Texas A&M has a team ERA of 3.67.
Why Long Beach State could win: After struggling in the early part of Big West play, the Dirtbags have righted the ship with back-to-back conference sweeps. LBSU has an impressive collection of wins, having taken series from Rice, Wichita State, USC and UCLA. This team will be tested come tournament-time.
Stillwater Regional vs. Corvallis Regional
Projected match-up: Oklahoma State vs. Oregon State
Projected winner: Oklahoma State
Why the Cowboys will win: Oklahoma State is playing as well as any team in the Big 12 right now, having gone 14-3 in April. The Cowboys (32-11, 14-7 Big 12) have tremendous balance on offense, as nine players have at least 19 RBI. Jordy Mercer is one of three Cowboys with at least 40 RBI. Mercer leads the team with 45 runs driven in. Mercer also has seven saves and a 3.38 ERA as OSU's closer. Andrew Oliver leads the starters with a 4-2 mark and a 2.19 ERA. He has 67 strikeouts in 70 innings of work. OSU has a team ERA of 3.79 and a team batting average of .323, and an on-base percentage of .403.
Why Oregon State could win: If any team knows what it takes to have post-season success, it is the two-time defending national champions. The Beavers are just 20-16 overall and 8-7 in the Pac-10, but back-to-back series wins over Arizona and Arizona State have given Pat casey's club the confidence it needs to make another run at a national title. Mike Stutes and Jorge Reyes, who pitched the team to the national championship last year, have struggled so far this year. Stutes is 2-5 with a 5.49 ERA, while Reyes is 3-2 with a 6.60 ERA. They were lights out in last year's run, and they will have to be awesome for the Beavers to get back to Omaha for the fourth-straight year.
Athens Regional vs. Raleigh Regional
Projected match-up: Georgia vs. East Carolina
Projected winner: Georgia
Why the Bulldogs will win: Before dropping two of three to Florida last weekend, the Bulldogs had not lost a three-game series since dropping two of three to Oregon State in the first weekend of March. Georgia (29-14, 15-5 SEC) hits just .297 as a team, but Gordon Beckham leads the way. Beckham (.427/.538/.883) has an NCAA-best 20 home runs and has driven in 48. Joshua Fields is the top closer in the country. He has a 0.00 ERA and has recorded 12 saves. Fields has 42 strikeouts and 11 walks in 22.1 innings. If he comes in with a lead, the game is over.
Why East Carolina could win: Aside from Beckham, Georgia's offensive statistics aren't overly impressive, and ECU has two fine starters in Justin Bristow (6-2, 2.74 ERA) and Seth Maness (7-0, 2.84 ERA). If those two can be strong and limit Beckham's effectiveness, the Pirates could pull the upset.
Here are the CWS match-ups from this projection: Bracket A--Miami (FL) vs. Georgia and Cal State Fullerton vs. Rice; Bracket B--Florida State vs. Oklahoma State and North Carolina vs. Texas A&M.
Image from cwsomaha.com
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Eight for Omaha: April 25 Edition
I'm going to try doing something a little bit different this time, as I take a look at which eight teams might end up playing in the 2008 College World Series, which begins seven weeks from Saturday. Kendall Rogers, the college baseball editor of Rivals.com, was kind enough to project his entire field of 64, which can be seen here. From those, I will project the winners of each regional and super regional, to give you what the field of 64 would look like if the tournament started today.Coral Gables Regional vs. Myrtle Beach Regional
Projected match-up: Miami (Florida) vs. Missouri
Projected winner: Miami
Why Miami will win: The Canes just keep on rolling. By taking two of three at then-No. 2 Florida State, Jim Morris' club established themselves as the top team in the country. Miami (33-5, 17-2 ACC) has won six of their last eight and and are 9-3 against teams currently ranked in the top 30.
Why Miami could lose: Aaron Crow could come out and shut down UM's offense. Crow is one of the top pitchers in the country and will be taken in the top ten of the June draft. A win in the opener for Missouri would set the Tigers up very nicely to pull the upset, but even then it is difficult to win a series at Mark Light Field, where the Canes have not lost a series all year.
Tallahassee Regional vs. Stillwater Regional
Projected match-up: Florida State vs. Oral Roberts (as much as it pains me to say that)
Projected winner: Florida State
Why Florida State will win: Despite dropping two of three at home to Miami last weekend (although FSU was rallying game three when it was ended due to a travel curfew after seven innings), the Noles (34-5, 18-3 ACC) remain one of the best clubs in the nation. Buster Posey (.483/.586/.864 with 11 home runs and 46 RBI) might very well win player of the year honors. He carries Florida State's offense, and as he goes, so go the Noles.
Why Florida State could lose: FSU is the worst fielding team in the ACC, with a fielding percentage of .955. FSU has given up 31 unearned runs so far this year, and errors were a large part of the reason why Miami took two out of three. The Noles also have a tendency to fall behind early in games and then rally later one. While this has proven effective so far, the teams in the regional and super regional round will not be as likely to relinquish the lead. Oral Roberts has wins over Arkansas, Baylor and Pepperdine this year, and the Golden Eagles will not be an easy out.
Cary Regional vs. Lincoln Regional
Projected match-up: North Carolina vs. Nebraska
Projected winner: North Carolina
Why North Carolina will win: The Tar Heels have won 11 straight games and are playing their best baseball at the right time of the year. We will know a lot more about both the Tar Heels (36-7, 16-4 ACC) and Florida State after the three-game series in Chapel Hill this weekend. Kyle Seager, who would probably win ACC player of the year if not for Buster Posey) has driven in 60 runs already this season, and he is one of five UNC starters with at least 30 RBI. The Heels score runs in bunches, and they will be tough for even Nebraska's staff to stop.
Why North Carolina could lose: The Tar Heels will not be playing at home, although they would still be the host, as renovations are taking place on their stadium. They have won the last two super regionals in their home ballpark, and they might not come out with the same emotion that they would have at home. Other than that, the Tar Heels look like a pretty sure thing.
Tempe Regional vs. College Station Regional
Projected match-up: UC Irvine vs. Texas A&M
Projected winner: Texas A&M
Why Texas A&M will win: Very quietly, the Aggies (35-7, 16-3 Big 12) have put together a stellar season. Everyone is seemingly talking about Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma State, but Texas A&M gets very little love from the national media. That will change if the Aggies win this weekend's series against Missouri (edit: Texas A&M won game one 9-8). Texas A&M has won five in a row and 18 of their last 19. The Aggies have three players (Darby Brown, Dane Carter and Jose Duran) who have at least 40 RBI, with Brown's 48 leading the way. Texas A&M makes good use of the long-ball, as they have 48 home runs as a team. The Aggies have a team ERA of 3.60, so the pitchers are solid, if not spectacular.
Why Texas A&M could lose: Texas A&M suffers from the same malady that plagues Florida State: errors. The Aggies have committed 52 errors and have allowed 42 unearned runs. All errors are important, but they are amplified on the national stage. Also, UC Irvine's Scott Gorgen is one of the top pitchers in the game, and if he could give the Anteaters a win in game one, that could set the stage for UC Irvine to win a super-regional on the road for the second consecutive year.
Columbia Regional vs. Raleigh Regional
Projected match-up: South Carolina vs. East Carolina
Projected winner: South Carolina
Why South Carolina will win: Ray Tanner's club is much more seasoned than when these two clubs met to open the year (East Carolina took two of three in late February). The Gamecocks have won 11 of their past 13 to move into the top half of the SEC. South Carolina (31-12, 11-8 SEC) gets its offensive production from four big bats: Reese Havens, Justin Smoak, James Darnell and Phil Disher. Each has at least 12 home runs (USC has 78 dingers as a team) and 42 RBI. Smoak is hitting .390, slugging .799 with 17 home runs and 49 RBI. Despite their proficiency with the long ball, South Carolina also can get on base in other ways, as the team on-base percentage is .399.
Why South Carolina could lose: The Gamecocks don't boast any really impressive series wins, although they did take two of three from both Kentucky and Mississippi, and the series loss to ECU was in Columbia. The Pirates know what it takes to win two of three in Columbia and could do it again.
Athens Regional vs. Corvallis Regional
Projected match-up: Georgia vs. Pepperdine
Projected winner: Geogria
Why Georgia will win: The Bulldogs are playing their best ball right now, as they have not lost since April 9 to Georgia Tech. Much like Texas A&M, the Bulldogs have allowed the pundits to talk about other teams and just quietly keep winning. Georgia boasts sweeps over South Carolina and LSU in the last three weeks, the Bulldogs (29-12, 15-3 SEC) are 27-8 since starting out 2-4. Gordon Beckham (.437/.548/.904) leads the offense with 20 home runs and 48 RBI. The Bulldogs get good starting pitching from Trevor Holder and Stephen Dodson (the two are a combined 11-4), but the star is the closer, Joshua Fields. Fields has 12 saves in 21 appearances and has yet to allow and earned run. He has 42 strikeouts and 11 walks in 22.1 innings. If Georgia has a lead after 8 with Fields on the mound, the game is over.
Why Georgia could lose: When the offense doesn't score, Georgia struggles. The Bulldogs are 4-9 when they score four or fewer runs. Pepperdine has a strong enough pitching staff that it could hold the Bulldogs under the magic number of four runs.
Stanford Regional vs. Fullerton Regional
Projected match-up: Long Beach State vs. Cal State Fullerton
Projected winner: Cal State Fullerton
Why Cal State Fullerton will win: The Titans are another team who are playing their best at the right time of the year. Since starting out 9-8, CSUF (25-14, 10-3 Big West) has gone 16-6. The Titans have taken two of three from UC Irvine, swept UCLA (2-game series) and split a two-game series with Arizona State, so the Dave Serrano's club will be tournament-tested. The Titans win with a lot of timely hitting and solid pitching. Having made the College World Series a year ago, the Titans know what it will take to get back to Omaha.
Why Cal State Fullerton could lose: Long Beach State had one of the most impressive resumes early on, winning a series against Rice and sweeping Wichita State, Southern Cal and UCLA. The Dirtbags have struggled in Big West play, but if they can get to the super-regional round, they will be tough for their conference rival to handle (note: these two teams play a 3-game series to end the regular season [May 23-25], so that series will show a lot about both of these teams).
Houston Regional vs. Tuscon Regional
Projected match-up: Rice vs. Arizona
Projected winner: Rice
Why Rice will win: The Owls have unfinished business in Omaha. In each of the past two seasons, Rice won its first two games at the College World Series only to lose the next two before reaching the championship series. Unlike past years, the Owls have a much greater offensive balance. There is not one offensive star, but Rice (32-11, 13-3 Conference USA) has six players who are hitting .330 or higher. Ryan Berry and Matt Langwell, who are a combined 9-3, lead the pitching staff.
Why Rice could lose: Much like Memphis in basketball, questions abound about whether Conference USA provides Rice with enough tests. This year is the first time in three years where Rice has lost more than one C-USA game. The Owls played tough competition early in the season, but they haven't played a lot of tough teams lately, although they did sweep East Carolina last weekend. This lack of competition could cost the Owls come tournament time.
There's the weekly (I hope) look at who would make it to Omaha. The CWS match-ups would be: Miami-Rice and South Carolina-Texas A&M in bracket one and Florida State-Cal State Fullerton and North Carolina-Georgia in bracket two.
Image from cwsomaha.com
Tempe Regional vs. College Station Regional
Projected match-up: UC Irvine vs. Texas A&M
Projected winner: Texas A&M
Why Texas A&M will win: Very quietly, the Aggies (35-7, 16-3 Big 12) have put together a stellar season. Everyone is seemingly talking about Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma State, but Texas A&M gets very little love from the national media. That will change if the Aggies win this weekend's series against Missouri (edit: Texas A&M won game one 9-8). Texas A&M has won five in a row and 18 of their last 19. The Aggies have three players (Darby Brown, Dane Carter and Jose Duran) who have at least 40 RBI, with Brown's 48 leading the way. Texas A&M makes good use of the long-ball, as they have 48 home runs as a team. The Aggies have a team ERA of 3.60, so the pitchers are solid, if not spectacular.
Why Texas A&M could lose: Texas A&M suffers from the same malady that plagues Florida State: errors. The Aggies have committed 52 errors and have allowed 42 unearned runs. All errors are important, but they are amplified on the national stage. Also, UC Irvine's Scott Gorgen is one of the top pitchers in the game, and if he could give the Anteaters a win in game one, that could set the stage for UC Irvine to win a super-regional on the road for the second consecutive year.
Columbia Regional vs. Raleigh Regional
Projected match-up: South Carolina vs. East Carolina
Projected winner: South Carolina
Why South Carolina will win: Ray Tanner's club is much more seasoned than when these two clubs met to open the year (East Carolina took two of three in late February). The Gamecocks have won 11 of their past 13 to move into the top half of the SEC. South Carolina (31-12, 11-8 SEC) gets its offensive production from four big bats: Reese Havens, Justin Smoak, James Darnell and Phil Disher. Each has at least 12 home runs (USC has 78 dingers as a team) and 42 RBI. Smoak is hitting .390, slugging .799 with 17 home runs and 49 RBI. Despite their proficiency with the long ball, South Carolina also can get on base in other ways, as the team on-base percentage is .399.
Why South Carolina could lose: The Gamecocks don't boast any really impressive series wins, although they did take two of three from both Kentucky and Mississippi, and the series loss to ECU was in Columbia. The Pirates know what it takes to win two of three in Columbia and could do it again.
Athens Regional vs. Corvallis Regional
Projected match-up: Georgia vs. Pepperdine
Projected winner: Geogria
Why Georgia will win: The Bulldogs are playing their best ball right now, as they have not lost since April 9 to Georgia Tech. Much like Texas A&M, the Bulldogs have allowed the pundits to talk about other teams and just quietly keep winning. Georgia boasts sweeps over South Carolina and LSU in the last three weeks, the Bulldogs (29-12, 15-3 SEC) are 27-8 since starting out 2-4. Gordon Beckham (.437/.548/.904) leads the offense with 20 home runs and 48 RBI. The Bulldogs get good starting pitching from Trevor Holder and Stephen Dodson (the two are a combined 11-4), but the star is the closer, Joshua Fields. Fields has 12 saves in 21 appearances and has yet to allow and earned run. He has 42 strikeouts and 11 walks in 22.1 innings. If Georgia has a lead after 8 with Fields on the mound, the game is over.
Why Georgia could lose: When the offense doesn't score, Georgia struggles. The Bulldogs are 4-9 when they score four or fewer runs. Pepperdine has a strong enough pitching staff that it could hold the Bulldogs under the magic number of four runs.
Stanford Regional vs. Fullerton Regional
Projected match-up: Long Beach State vs. Cal State Fullerton
Projected winner: Cal State Fullerton
Why Cal State Fullerton will win: The Titans are another team who are playing their best at the right time of the year. Since starting out 9-8, CSUF (25-14, 10-3 Big West) has gone 16-6. The Titans have taken two of three from UC Irvine, swept UCLA (2-game series) and split a two-game series with Arizona State, so the Dave Serrano's club will be tournament-tested. The Titans win with a lot of timely hitting and solid pitching. Having made the College World Series a year ago, the Titans know what it will take to get back to Omaha.
Why Cal State Fullerton could lose: Long Beach State had one of the most impressive resumes early on, winning a series against Rice and sweeping Wichita State, Southern Cal and UCLA. The Dirtbags have struggled in Big West play, but if they can get to the super-regional round, they will be tough for their conference rival to handle (note: these two teams play a 3-game series to end the regular season [May 23-25], so that series will show a lot about both of these teams).
Houston Regional vs. Tuscon Regional
Projected match-up: Rice vs. Arizona
Projected winner: Rice
Why Rice will win: The Owls have unfinished business in Omaha. In each of the past two seasons, Rice won its first two games at the College World Series only to lose the next two before reaching the championship series. Unlike past years, the Owls have a much greater offensive balance. There is not one offensive star, but Rice (32-11, 13-3 Conference USA) has six players who are hitting .330 or higher. Ryan Berry and Matt Langwell, who are a combined 9-3, lead the pitching staff.
Why Rice could lose: Much like Memphis in basketball, questions abound about whether Conference USA provides Rice with enough tests. This year is the first time in three years where Rice has lost more than one C-USA game. The Owls played tough competition early in the season, but they haven't played a lot of tough teams lately, although they did sweep East Carolina last weekend. This lack of competition could cost the Owls come tournament time.
There's the weekly (I hope) look at who would make it to Omaha. The CWS match-ups would be: Miami-Rice and South Carolina-Texas A&M in bracket one and Florida State-Cal State Fullerton and North Carolina-Georgia in bracket two.
Image from cwsomaha.com
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
One Down, Two to Go
At 3:00 this afternoon, my first year of graduate school came to an end. It was a great year. I really enjoyed being back in a collegiate environment. There were many differences (some good and some bad) between life on a campus of 30,000 and what things were like at Valpo with 3500 students.
But right now, I would like to focus on my teaching experiences. The program I am in will give me a Masters in Latin with Michigan High School teaching certification, and the goal is to prepare us to be teachers. This involved starting out teaching a Latin 101 class in my first semester. I was given a lot of suggestions about how to run an effective class, and after a week's worth of seminars, I was turned loose on a class of unsuspecting undergraduates. I didn't doubt my ability to teach Latin, I took four years in high school and four years in college, so I have a pretty strong grasp of the language, but I certainly was nervous about standing in front of and lecturing to a group of strangers. Despite the nervousness I felt, I appreciated this aspect of the program because I knew that it would give me a pretty good idea of whether teaching was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I thought teaching would be good, but I wouldn't have any idea until I had some actual experience.
As it turned out, teaching was so much more than I ever expected. There were many days where I dreaded going to the classes where I had to do learning (although in fairness I did learn a lot of interesting things over the course of the year), but I always looked forward to teaching. I taught two different sections of Latin 101, and the dynamics of each class were very different, but both classes were a joy to be around. Both classes had their cast of characters, but there wasn't a single person I didn't look forward to seeing each and every day. And the best part of all this? They even learned a little bit of Latin. I certainly am glad to have four months for summer vacation because this year has been draining, but I certainly will miss not teaching for the next four months. In that respect, anyway, September can't get here soon enough.
But right now, I would like to focus on my teaching experiences. The program I am in will give me a Masters in Latin with Michigan High School teaching certification, and the goal is to prepare us to be teachers. This involved starting out teaching a Latin 101 class in my first semester. I was given a lot of suggestions about how to run an effective class, and after a week's worth of seminars, I was turned loose on a class of unsuspecting undergraduates. I didn't doubt my ability to teach Latin, I took four years in high school and four years in college, so I have a pretty strong grasp of the language, but I certainly was nervous about standing in front of and lecturing to a group of strangers. Despite the nervousness I felt, I appreciated this aspect of the program because I knew that it would give me a pretty good idea of whether teaching was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I thought teaching would be good, but I wouldn't have any idea until I had some actual experience.
As it turned out, teaching was so much more than I ever expected. There were many days where I dreaded going to the classes where I had to do learning (although in fairness I did learn a lot of interesting things over the course of the year), but I always looked forward to teaching. I taught two different sections of Latin 101, and the dynamics of each class were very different, but both classes were a joy to be around. Both classes had their cast of characters, but there wasn't a single person I didn't look forward to seeing each and every day. And the best part of all this? They even learned a little bit of Latin. I certainly am glad to have four months for summer vacation because this year has been draining, but I certainly will miss not teaching for the next four months. In that respect, anyway, September can't get here soon enough.
Friday, April 18, 2008
22 Reasons Why Baseball is Best
Okay, so I realize opening day more than three weeks ago, but I am finally getting around to celebrating the start of our national pastime. With that being said, I present to you the following 22 (although there certainly could be many more) reasons why baseball is the best game in the land.
1. The movies. "People will come, Ray. People will most definitely come." These words come from Terrance Mann (played by James Earl Jones) in the 1989 movie, Field of Dreams. (You can see the whole clip here.) In addition to Field of Dreams, baseball has been the subject of many other movies. Eight Men Out, The Pride of the Yankees, The Rookie, Major League, Bull Durham, Little Big League and *61 are just a few of the great baseball movies. As a whole, baseball movies are by far the best sports movies.
2. The announcers, both local and national. Baseball has produced the finest group of announcers of any sport. Ernie Harwell, Jack Buck, Jon Miller, Pat Hughes, John Rooney, Marty Brenneman ("and this one belongs to the Reds"), Curt Gowdy, Vin Scully, Bob Costas and Bob Uecker are just a few of the ones worth mentioning here. This could (and probably will at some point) merit a post of its own.
3. The Seventh Inning Stretch. It might seem a little on the corny side, but baseball is the only game that has its own song that gets played at every stadium during every game. As corny as it may be, I think that's pretty neat.
4. Keeping score. Paul Dickson, the author of The Joy of Keeping Score, put it best, when he said, "The world is divided into two kinds of baseball fans: those who keep score at the ballgame... and those who have never made the leap." Baseball has a unique version of keeping score (although there are many variations), and it is a fantastic way to get involved in the game. I'm pretty fanatical about scoring, and I even managed to convert my sister. All I really need in a member of the opposite sex is someone who knows how to score. The rest of the details can be worked out later.
5. Oakley sunglasses. I will be perfectly honest, a large part of the reason why I wanted to start buying Oakleys is because a lot of the baseball players were wearing them. Special mention goes out to Nate Robertson and Francisco Rodriguez who wear Oakleys but with regular lenses.
6. Flip-down sunglasses. Where else are flip-downs cool? Only on the baseball diamond. In fact, I bet you would think someone walking down street wearing flip-downs was an idiot, but it is perfectly acceptable (and downright encouraged) for the left fielder to wear them.
7. The team nicknames. The Dodgers (for trolley dodgers in Brooklyn), the Lugnuts, the Loons, the Padres (much better than Friars), the Brewers and many others are unique to baseball. The best team names are in baseball.
8. The individual nicknames. The Babe, the Splendid Splinter, the Say Hey Kid, Iron Man, Hammerin' Hank, Joltin' Joe, the Georgia Peach, Oil Can, Catfish and so many others I don't have time to name. What's the best football nickname you can think of...that's what I thought.
9. The minor oddities. The White Sox wear black socks. The foul pole is in fair territory. The on-deck circle. The fact that home plate is not shaped like a plate. The weighted donuts and the rosin bag.
10. The statistics. Baseball is awash in stats. Batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, on-base plus slugging (OPS), hits, runs, home runs, RBI, pitches per plate appearance, value over replacement player (VORP), strikeouts, strikeouts per nine innings, walks, walks per nine innings, ERA, WHIP, fielding percentage, and a few dozen others that you can check out here.
11. The consistency. There are 212 stitches in every baseball. It is always 90 feet between bases, and it is always 60'6" from the mound to home plate.
12. The differences. The short porch in right field at Fenway, as well as the Green Monster. The ivy at Wrigley. Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. The train tracks and the hill in center field at the Juice Box (Minute Maid Park). Bernie's slide at Miller Park. The cavernous dimensions in Oakland. The fountains at Kaufman Stadium. The palm trees at Dodger Stadium and the swimming pool at Chase Field.
13. The rivalries. Cubs-Cardinals, Yankees-Red Sox, Dodgers-Giants, Cubs-White Sox, Mets-Yankees. These are among the fiercest rivalries in sports.
14. The specialization. Lefty specialists, righty specialists, the designated hitter, defensive replacement, pinch runners, set-up men, closers and switch hitters. Max Weber would be very proud.
15. The way a wins, losses and saves are determined for pitchers. In what other sports are their requirements for who gets designated with the win? Did the pitcher go five innings? Did he leave with the lead? Was he still the pitcher when his team took the lead? Don't even get me started on the save rules.
16. Other scoring issues. What constitutes an earned run? Was that a hit or an error. Why does a fly ball that scores a runner from 3rd count as a sacrifice, but a fly ball that advances a runner from 2nd to 3rd does not?
17. The lack of time constraints. The Padres and Rockies played for more than six hours last week. Regular season games in other sports rarely last longer than three hours. A nine inning game can last as long as four hours, or can be done in an hour and 45 minutes (especially if Mark Buehrle is pitching).
18. Wall-to-wall games. On a really good day, and this usually happens at least once a week, baseball can be watched (or listened to, thanks XM) from noon in the Eastern Time Zone until 1 am. The only other sport that can come close to matching that is college football.
19. The smells. There is nothing better than walking into a stadium and taking a whiff of freshly mowed grass. Add cotton candy, pine tar, hot dogs, beer and chalk to all that, and it does not get any better.
20. Ken Burns likes baseball. Renowned documentary maker Ken Burns, an Ann Arbor Pioneer graduate, makes documentaries about topics that mean the most to the American people: Jazz, the Civil War, Chicago and World War II. He also made one about baseball, and if he loves baseball, so should you.
21. George Will. We could not be farther apart politically, but he likes baseball, so he must be a decent human being. If you have not read it, I strongly suggest reading Men at Work. It is a fantastic book.
22. The simplicity. To quote Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh from Bull Durham, "This is a very simple game, you hit the ball, you catch the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains."
1. The movies. "People will come, Ray. People will most definitely come." These words come from Terrance Mann (played by James Earl Jones) in the 1989 movie, Field of Dreams. (You can see the whole clip here.) In addition to Field of Dreams, baseball has been the subject of many other movies. Eight Men Out, The Pride of the Yankees, The Rookie, Major League, Bull Durham, Little Big League and *61 are just a few of the great baseball movies. As a whole, baseball movies are by far the best sports movies.
2. The announcers, both local and national. Baseball has produced the finest group of announcers of any sport. Ernie Harwell, Jack Buck, Jon Miller, Pat Hughes, John Rooney, Marty Brenneman ("and this one belongs to the Reds"), Curt Gowdy, Vin Scully, Bob Costas and Bob Uecker are just a few of the ones worth mentioning here. This could (and probably will at some point) merit a post of its own.
3. The Seventh Inning Stretch. It might seem a little on the corny side, but baseball is the only game that has its own song that gets played at every stadium during every game. As corny as it may be, I think that's pretty neat.
4. Keeping score. Paul Dickson, the author of The Joy of Keeping Score, put it best, when he said, "The world is divided into two kinds of baseball fans: those who keep score at the ballgame... and those who have never made the leap." Baseball has a unique version of keeping score (although there are many variations), and it is a fantastic way to get involved in the game. I'm pretty fanatical about scoring, and I even managed to convert my sister. All I really need in a member of the opposite sex is someone who knows how to score. The rest of the details can be worked out later.
5. Oakley sunglasses. I will be perfectly honest, a large part of the reason why I wanted to start buying Oakleys is because a lot of the baseball players were wearing them. Special mention goes out to Nate Robertson and Francisco Rodriguez who wear Oakleys but with regular lenses.
6. Flip-down sunglasses. Where else are flip-downs cool? Only on the baseball diamond. In fact, I bet you would think someone walking down street wearing flip-downs was an idiot, but it is perfectly acceptable (and downright encouraged) for the left fielder to wear them.
7. The team nicknames. The Dodgers (for trolley dodgers in Brooklyn), the Lugnuts, the Loons, the Padres (much better than Friars), the Brewers and many others are unique to baseball. The best team names are in baseball.
8. The individual nicknames. The Babe, the Splendid Splinter, the Say Hey Kid, Iron Man, Hammerin' Hank, Joltin' Joe, the Georgia Peach, Oil Can, Catfish and so many others I don't have time to name. What's the best football nickname you can think of...that's what I thought.
9. The minor oddities. The White Sox wear black socks. The foul pole is in fair territory. The on-deck circle. The fact that home plate is not shaped like a plate. The weighted donuts and the rosin bag.
10. The statistics. Baseball is awash in stats. Batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, on-base plus slugging (OPS), hits, runs, home runs, RBI, pitches per plate appearance, value over replacement player (VORP), strikeouts, strikeouts per nine innings, walks, walks per nine innings, ERA, WHIP, fielding percentage, and a few dozen others that you can check out here.
11. The consistency. There are 212 stitches in every baseball. It is always 90 feet between bases, and it is always 60'6" from the mound to home plate.
12. The differences. The short porch in right field at Fenway, as well as the Green Monster. The ivy at Wrigley. Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. The train tracks and the hill in center field at the Juice Box (Minute Maid Park). Bernie's slide at Miller Park. The cavernous dimensions in Oakland. The fountains at Kaufman Stadium. The palm trees at Dodger Stadium and the swimming pool at Chase Field.
13. The rivalries. Cubs-Cardinals, Yankees-Red Sox, Dodgers-Giants, Cubs-White Sox, Mets-Yankees. These are among the fiercest rivalries in sports.
14. The specialization. Lefty specialists, righty specialists, the designated hitter, defensive replacement, pinch runners, set-up men, closers and switch hitters. Max Weber would be very proud.
15. The way a wins, losses and saves are determined for pitchers. In what other sports are their requirements for who gets designated with the win? Did the pitcher go five innings? Did he leave with the lead? Was he still the pitcher when his team took the lead? Don't even get me started on the save rules.
16. Other scoring issues. What constitutes an earned run? Was that a hit or an error. Why does a fly ball that scores a runner from 3rd count as a sacrifice, but a fly ball that advances a runner from 2nd to 3rd does not?
17. The lack of time constraints. The Padres and Rockies played for more than six hours last week. Regular season games in other sports rarely last longer than three hours. A nine inning game can last as long as four hours, or can be done in an hour and 45 minutes (especially if Mark Buehrle is pitching).
18. Wall-to-wall games. On a really good day, and this usually happens at least once a week, baseball can be watched (or listened to, thanks XM) from noon in the Eastern Time Zone until 1 am. The only other sport that can come close to matching that is college football.
19. The smells. There is nothing better than walking into a stadium and taking a whiff of freshly mowed grass. Add cotton candy, pine tar, hot dogs, beer and chalk to all that, and it does not get any better.
20. Ken Burns likes baseball. Renowned documentary maker Ken Burns, an Ann Arbor Pioneer graduate, makes documentaries about topics that mean the most to the American people: Jazz, the Civil War, Chicago and World War II. He also made one about baseball, and if he loves baseball, so should you.
21. George Will. We could not be farther apart politically, but he likes baseball, so he must be a decent human being. If you have not read it, I strongly suggest reading Men at Work. It is a fantastic book.
22. The simplicity. To quote Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh from Bull Durham, "This is a very simple game, you hit the ball, you catch the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains."
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Stay Calm, All is Well
At the time of this writing, the Detroit Tigers had a record of 1-7, good enough for dead-last in Major League Baseball. While the specifics pertain to the Tigers, a team I like to think I know a fair amount about, the notion of it being a long season pertains to all 30 teams.
Six months is a long time. No matter what Colin Cowherd says, and his infinite wisdom will be addressed in a post at a later date), the baseball season is a marathon. It is not a sprint. How a team performs in the first 10 days of the season is absolutely not a barometer for the how the season is going to go. For some teams, you are able to get a pretty good idea of what kind of year the team is going to have, but that is not always the case. I'm sure I wouldn't feel the need to write this if the Tigers had started out 4-4 instead of 1-7, but some very smart baseball people in this area are already starting to hit the panic button. The national media, many of whom picked the Tigers to be the American League's representative in the World Series after the trade for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, have already started to think it is Doomsday in Detroit. They've spouted statistics like "no team that ever started out a season 0-5 has gone to the World Series." Certainly this stat might have some merit, but it is much more arbitrary than "no NFL team to start 0-3 has ever made the playoffs." In baseball, eight games is 5 percent of the season, while in the NFL, 3 three games is 19 percent of the schedule. The Tigers will have 154 chances to turn things around, while the if the Lions started 0-3, I would start thinking about who they would draft the following April.
It's not that the Tigers haven't had problems that should be causes for concern. Through the first five games, Detroit hitters were 5-for-38 with runners in scoring position. The top of the lineup (Polanco, Sheffield, Ordonez and Cabrera) haven't produced yet. At this point, I have to assume (as do fans of all teams that have players who have struggled out of the gate) that these four will eventually perform close to what they've done in previous seasons. It would be unrealistic to expect Magglio to hit .364 again this season (or Polanco to hit .343), but it is safe to expect them to both eventually be right around .300 by the end of the season. If that happens, I think the wins will begin to come in bunches. The bullpen has struggled, but that was a question mark coming into the season, and will continue to be a question until Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya return.
There are certainly reasons to be concerned about the way the Tigers have started the year, but the season isn't even 5 percent done yet. I won't start making judgments about this team yet. If they're 5-24 at the end of April, then I will start to panic.
It's not that the Tigers haven't had problems that should be causes for concern. Through the first five games, Detroit hitters were 5-for-38 with runners in scoring position. The top of the lineup (Polanco, Sheffield, Ordonez and Cabrera) haven't produced yet. At this point, I have to assume (as do fans of all teams that have players who have struggled out of the gate) that these four will eventually perform close to what they've done in previous seasons. It would be unrealistic to expect Magglio to hit .364 again this season (or Polanco to hit .343), but it is safe to expect them to both eventually be right around .300 by the end of the season. If that happens, I think the wins will begin to come in bunches. The bullpen has struggled, but that was a question mark coming into the season, and will continue to be a question until Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya return.
There are certainly reasons to be concerned about the way the Tigers have started the year, but the season isn't even 5 percent done yet. I won't start making judgments about this team yet. If they're 5-24 at the end of April, then I will start to panic.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Rock, Chalk, Championship
My apologies for the pun in the title, but I kind of enjoyed Jim Nantz's call at the end of the game. Until last night, Stephen Curry and Davidson's magical run as well as a lack of close games were the stories of this year's NCAA tournament. That all changed with Kansas' phenomenal 75-68 overtime win over Memphis in the national championship game, which was easily one of the three most exciting title games in my lifetime. Before the finale the tournament had been rather unspectacular, with 42 of the 62 tournament games being decided by 10 points or more. But now, all anyone who watched last night's will remember about the 2008 tournament is the finale.
People will want to make a big deal about Memphis' struggles from the free-throw line (and I suppose a 1-5 effort by Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose in the final 75 seconds is kind of important) as well as the review of Rose's bank-in three-pointer, which was later ruled a two after review (give the officials credit for getting the call right), but all the credit has to be given to Kansas. Down 60-51 with 2:12 to go, Bill Self's Jayhawks could have folded the tent and given up. Instead, Kansas made all the plays down the stretch and took advantage of some key Memphis mistakes to force overtime. Sharron Collins was clutch with his steal and subsequent three-pointer, as was Darrell Arthur with a big basket with a minute to go. And of course, you know about Mario Chalmers' three-pointer to tie the game. That shot will be remembered for as long as the NCAA tournament is played. He will never have to buy a beverage (alcoholic or otherwise) in Lawrence, Kansas again.
Throwing out all the heroic individual efforts on both sides (Derrick Rose will be taken in the top three of the NBA Draft if he chooses to leave school), Kansas simply played better. Memphis only scored 4 fast break points, and none of those came in the final 25 minutes. Kansas made Memphis play at a pace that was better-suited to the Jayhawks, and KU got much better contributions from its bench players. John Calipari used his bench sparingly, and his players ran out of gas in overtime.
Give credit to both teams for playing an instant classic. Douglas-Roberts and Rose deserve credit for almost willing the Tigers to the title, but Self and his players deserve most of the credit. They never gave up and are deserving champions of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
People will want to make a big deal about Memphis' struggles from the free-throw line (and I suppose a 1-5 effort by Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose in the final 75 seconds is kind of important) as well as the review of Rose's bank-in three-pointer, which was later ruled a two after review (give the officials credit for getting the call right), but all the credit has to be given to Kansas. Down 60-51 with 2:12 to go, Bill Self's Jayhawks could have folded the tent and given up. Instead, Kansas made all the plays down the stretch and took advantage of some key Memphis mistakes to force overtime. Sharron Collins was clutch with his steal and subsequent three-pointer, as was Darrell Arthur with a big basket with a minute to go. And of course, you know about Mario Chalmers' three-pointer to tie the game. That shot will be remembered for as long as the NCAA tournament is played. He will never have to buy a beverage (alcoholic or otherwise) in Lawrence, Kansas again.
Throwing out all the heroic individual efforts on both sides (Derrick Rose will be taken in the top three of the NBA Draft if he chooses to leave school), Kansas simply played better. Memphis only scored 4 fast break points, and none of those came in the final 25 minutes. Kansas made Memphis play at a pace that was better-suited to the Jayhawks, and KU got much better contributions from its bench players. John Calipari used his bench sparingly, and his players ran out of gas in overtime.
Give credit to both teams for playing an instant classic. Douglas-Roberts and Rose deserve credit for almost willing the Tigers to the title, but Self and his players deserve most of the credit. They never gave up and are deserving champions of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Eight for Omaha: April 5 Edition
The college baseball season is nearly half over, and it is time to start looking at which eight teams will be playing in the College World Series in Omaha. These are the eight teams that I think would make it to Omaha, if the NCAA tournament were to start tomorrow, along with why they should find themselves in Omaha. For the sake of not having to determine which team is most likely or least likely to make it, teams are listed in alphabetical order. Please note: the records listed are as of the end of play on April 5.
Arizona State (28-2 overall, 4-1 Pac-10): The Sun Devils, who are the No.1 team in all four polls, started out 20-0 and have blitzed everyone they've played (save for losses to Northern Colorado and Stanford). ASU boasts one of the top offenses in the country, as they have scored at least 10 runs 15 times already this season. The Sun Devils have a .332 team batting average, a .454 on-base percentage and a slugging percentage of .557. Ike Davis and Brett Wallace are as good as there are in the college game. Davis (.410/.478/.829) has 11 home runs and has driven in 47 runs, while Wallace (.394/.525/.734) has 9 home runs and 37 RBI. Jason Kipnis (.333/.468/.685) adds 8 home runs and 36 RBI. The pitching staff is solid if not spectacular. Mike Leake leads the way with a 6-0 mark, a 3.38 ERA and a 49/4 strikeout to walk ratio. The Pac-10 will leave ASU well-tested and ready for post-season play. The only thing that could keep the Sun Devils from Omaha is the selection committee. Beyond the national seeds (who can't face each other until Omaha), the committee tends to put the West coast teams together in the regional and super-regional rounds. ASU could very well have to beat Long Beach or Oregon State to reach the CWS.
Florida State (26-3 overall, 12-1 ACC): Mike Martin's Seminoles are the class of the ACC, along with their South Florida counterparts Miami. FSU is hitting .355 as a team and has outscored opponents 302-135. Buster Posey (.448/.549/.819) paces the offense with 9 home runs and 37 RBI, and he serves as the closer for good measure. Tony Delmonico (who transferred from Tennessee after his father was fired last July) (.381/.490/.619) adds 36 RBI and 7 stolen bases. Matt Fairel (7-0, 1.72 ERA, 42 K) has been virtually un-hittable at the top of the rotation. The Seminoles sport a team ERA of 3.79, and opponents are hitting .243. FSU did not make it out of the regional round last year as a national seed, and the pressure will be high not only to get back to Omaha (where they have not been since 2000), but also to win the program's first national championship.
Long Beach State (18-10 overall, 1-1 Big West): The Dirtbags (which has to be the coolest nickname in college sports) have lost seven of their last eight after starting 17-3, but thanks to some good series wins (Rice and Wichita State) to start the year, LBSU will be primed to make a run in May and June. Long Beach wins with pitching and defense. They have only scored 156 runs is 28 games, but the pitchers have only yielded 112. LBSU has a team ERA of 3.00 and Andrew Liebel leads the way (3-1, 1.93 ERA, 53 K, .222 batting average against). The Dirtbags know how to win the close games, but some more offense will be needed to get to Rosenblatt.
Miami (Florida) (25-2 overall, 11-1 ACC): The Hurricanes sit atop the ACC with in-state rival FSU. The Canes hit a ton of home runs (44) and steal a lot of bases (57). Jemile Weeks (Rickie's little brother) has a .402 average with 7 home runs and 35 RBI. Weeks also has converted 9 of 10 stolen base attempts. Blake Tekotte has a .523 on-base percentage and is 14-17 on steals. Chris Hernandez (49 K in 46 innings) leads the pitching staff with a 4-0 record and a 2.54 ERA. Miami's opponents are hitting just .223 off the Canes' staff, and Miami has a team ERA of 3.62. The Hurricanes, who have played 13 games without star Dennis Raben, are primed for a deep run (and perhaps their first national title since 2001).
Arizona State (28-2 overall, 4-1 Pac-10): The Sun Devils, who are the No.1 team in all four polls, started out 20-0 and have blitzed everyone they've played (save for losses to Northern Colorado and Stanford). ASU boasts one of the top offenses in the country, as they have scored at least 10 runs 15 times already this season. The Sun Devils have a .332 team batting average, a .454 on-base percentage and a slugging percentage of .557. Ike Davis and Brett Wallace are as good as there are in the college game. Davis (.410/.478/.829) has 11 home runs and has driven in 47 runs, while Wallace (.394/.525/.734) has 9 home runs and 37 RBI. Jason Kipnis (.333/.468/.685) adds 8 home runs and 36 RBI. The pitching staff is solid if not spectacular. Mike Leake leads the way with a 6-0 mark, a 3.38 ERA and a 49/4 strikeout to walk ratio. The Pac-10 will leave ASU well-tested and ready for post-season play. The only thing that could keep the Sun Devils from Omaha is the selection committee. Beyond the national seeds (who can't face each other until Omaha), the committee tends to put the West coast teams together in the regional and super-regional rounds. ASU could very well have to beat Long Beach or Oregon State to reach the CWS.
Florida State (26-3 overall, 12-1 ACC): Mike Martin's Seminoles are the class of the ACC, along with their South Florida counterparts Miami. FSU is hitting .355 as a team and has outscored opponents 302-135. Buster Posey (.448/.549/.819) paces the offense with 9 home runs and 37 RBI, and he serves as the closer for good measure. Tony Delmonico (who transferred from Tennessee after his father was fired last July) (.381/.490/.619) adds 36 RBI and 7 stolen bases. Matt Fairel (7-0, 1.72 ERA, 42 K) has been virtually un-hittable at the top of the rotation. The Seminoles sport a team ERA of 3.79, and opponents are hitting .243. FSU did not make it out of the regional round last year as a national seed, and the pressure will be high not only to get back to Omaha (where they have not been since 2000), but also to win the program's first national championship.
Long Beach State (18-10 overall, 1-1 Big West): The Dirtbags (which has to be the coolest nickname in college sports) have lost seven of their last eight after starting 17-3, but thanks to some good series wins (Rice and Wichita State) to start the year, LBSU will be primed to make a run in May and June. Long Beach wins with pitching and defense. They have only scored 156 runs is 28 games, but the pitchers have only yielded 112. LBSU has a team ERA of 3.00 and Andrew Liebel leads the way (3-1, 1.93 ERA, 53 K, .222 batting average against). The Dirtbags know how to win the close games, but some more offense will be needed to get to Rosenblatt.
Miami (Florida) (25-2 overall, 11-1 ACC): The Hurricanes sit atop the ACC with in-state rival FSU. The Canes hit a ton of home runs (44) and steal a lot of bases (57). Jemile Weeks (Rickie's little brother) has a .402 average with 7 home runs and 35 RBI. Weeks also has converted 9 of 10 stolen base attempts. Blake Tekotte has a .523 on-base percentage and is 14-17 on steals. Chris Hernandez (49 K in 46 innings) leads the pitching staff with a 4-0 record and a 2.54 ERA. Miami's opponents are hitting just .223 off the Canes' staff, and Miami has a team ERA of 3.62. The Hurricanes, who have played 13 games without star Dennis Raben, are primed for a deep run (and perhaps their first national title since 2001).
Missouri (22-8 overall, 5-4 Big 12): The Tigers are the Big 12's only entrant in this edition of the Eight for Omaha. Aaron Crow is much better than you are. Crow, who is bidding to be the first pitcher taken in the 2008 MLB draft, is one of the top pitchers in the college game. He boasts a 7-0 record (in 7 starts) with 3 complete games. Crow has 64 strikeouts in 52 innings and he boasts and ERA of 0.67. Ian Berger has been almost as good, with a 3-1 record and a 0.81 ERA in 7 starts. These two have had to be good, because Mizzouri's offense is nothing special. Aaron Senne leads the way with a .360 average and 37 RBI. Senne and Jacob Priday each have belted 6 home runs. For the Tigers, who have lost five of their last seven, to get to Omaha, Crow and Berger will have to continue to be outstanding. Of this edition's eight, Mizzou is the most likely to fall short.
North Carolina (25-6 overall, 10-4 ACC): The Atlantic Coast Conference's third entrant is the team that has finished as runner-up at the College World Series in the last two years. Mike Fox has a team that can once again reach Rosenblatt, and this edition has a good balance of offense and pitching. UNC has a .325 team batting average, and Tim Fedroff leads the way. Fedroff (.409/.477/.667) has a team-high seven home runs. Kyle Seager (.405/.456/.643) has a team-high 40 RBI. Dustin Ackley, last season's Freshman of the Year, is not having as strong a season as last year, but he has 13 stolen bases. UNC has a team ERA of 2.25, with Alex White leading the way. White is 5-2 as a starter with a 1.93 ERA and 43 strikeouts. North Carolina has six relievers with at least 10 appearances and an ERA below 2.25, which is nearly unheard of in college baseball.
South Carolina (20-10 overall, 6-6 SEC): The Gamecocks, the SEC representative, squeeze in over Vanderbilt because of the injury to Pedro Alvarez. However, after being swept at Georgia, USC's hold on this spot is tenuous. The Gamecocks feature a roster with a lot of home run-hitters. Reese Havens and James Darnell each have hit 10, and South Carolina has 49 total home runs. Darnell leads the way with 41 RBI, while Havens has 38. The Gamecocks sport a team batting average of .307. Nick Godwin (2-2, 2.88 ERA, 34 K, .184 opponent's BA) leads a solid, but not spectcular pitching staff. At 3.76, South Carolina has the second-highest team ERA of all the teams on this list. The offense will have to be good for the rest of the year.
UC Irvine (20-5 overall, 3-3 Big West): The Anteaters (easily one of the best nicknames in college baseball) have won in the same way that Missouri has. UCI has a fantastic pitching staff and specializes in opportunistic hitting. Scott Gorgen is making a serious run (actually, he's probably the favorite at this juncture) at national player of the year. Gorgen (5-2, 1.92 ERA, 58 K, .147 opponent's BA) has been masterful all season. Bryce Stowell (4-1, 1.96 ERA) is better than most Saturday starters in the country. The Eaters boast a 2.48 team ERA, and opponents are hitting just .241. UCI has scored just 162 runs this season, but the pitching staff has given up only 86. Ollie Linton (.343, 24 of 28 on stolen base attempts) gets things going at the top of the line-up, and Jeff Cusick (.420/.510/.568) moves Linton around the bases. UCI has 64 stolen bases this year, so they take advantage when runners get on base.
UC Irvine (20-5 overall, 3-3 Big West): The Anteaters (easily one of the best nicknames in college baseball) have won in the same way that Missouri has. UCI has a fantastic pitching staff and specializes in opportunistic hitting. Scott Gorgen is making a serious run (actually, he's probably the favorite at this juncture) at national player of the year. Gorgen (5-2, 1.92 ERA, 58 K, .147 opponent's BA) has been masterful all season. Bryce Stowell (4-1, 1.96 ERA) is better than most Saturday starters in the country. The Eaters boast a 2.48 team ERA, and opponents are hitting just .241. UCI has scored just 162 runs this season, but the pitching staff has given up only 86. Ollie Linton (.343, 24 of 28 on stolen base attempts) gets things going at the top of the line-up, and Jeff Cusick (.420/.510/.568) moves Linton around the bases. UCI has 64 stolen bases this year, so they take advantage when runners get on base.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Most Wonderful Time of the Year Part II
Initially, I had intended to provide my thoughts after each block of games. As you can tell, that didn't happen. What follows are some highlights of the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.
Belmont Deserved Better: What a fantastic game. The Bruins (who were playing their third straight NCAA tournament) went toe-to-toe with the Dukies for 40 minutes. If not for the parting of the sea defense against Gerald Henderson and a bad inbounds pass, Belmont might have become just the fifth 15-seed to win a first round game. (A side note: Special thanks to West Virginia for finishing off Coach K's squad in the second round).
Stephen Curry Drinks Your Milkshakes: Curry, who is just the second player in the history of the NCAA tournament to score at least 30 points in his first three NCAA tournament games. Curry had 30 a year ago in a near-upset of Maryland, and followed that up with 40 on Friday against Gonzaga (30 in the second half) and 30 (25 in the second half) against Georgetown on Sunday. Curry, just a sophomore, was the most impressive player of the first two rounds and has many folks wondering if Davidson is this year's George Mason. Can he carry the Wildcats past Wisconsin? Absolutely, but Kansas (should the teams meet in the regional final) will be a much stiffer test.
Upset City: The people at the St. Pete Times Forum sure got their money's worth. For the first time in the history of the tournament, all four lower-seeded teams at one site won their games. Western Kentucky beat Drake 101-99 in an overtime contest that will go down as the game of the tournament. San Diego survived foul trouble to upset Connecticut, while Siena blew out Vanderbilt and Villanova held of Clemson. All told, two 12-seeds and two 13-seeds advanced to the second round in the same building on the same day. That, folks, is why the NCAA tournament is the best sporting event of the year.
Stephen Curry Drinks Your Milkshakes: Curry, who is just the second player in the history of the NCAA tournament to score at least 30 points in his first three NCAA tournament games. Curry had 30 a year ago in a near-upset of Maryland, and followed that up with 40 on Friday against Gonzaga (30 in the second half) and 30 (25 in the second half) against Georgetown on Sunday. Curry, just a sophomore, was the most impressive player of the first two rounds and has many folks wondering if Davidson is this year's George Mason. Can he carry the Wildcats past Wisconsin? Absolutely, but Kansas (should the teams meet in the regional final) will be a much stiffer test.
Upset City: The people at the St. Pete Times Forum sure got their money's worth. For the first time in the history of the tournament, all four lower-seeded teams at one site won their games. Western Kentucky beat Drake 101-99 in an overtime contest that will go down as the game of the tournament. San Diego survived foul trouble to upset Connecticut, while Siena blew out Vanderbilt and Villanova held of Clemson. All told, two 12-seeds and two 13-seeds advanced to the second round in the same building on the same day. That, folks, is why the NCAA tournament is the best sporting event of the year.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year Part I
Without questions, at this time of the year "bracket" is the greatest seven-letter word in the English language. Here are some quick thoughts on Thursday's first set of games:
-All is Right with the Universe: Pitt beat Oral Roberts 82-63. In all honesty, nothing else matters. The 2008 NCAA Tournament can already be considered a success, and Jamie Dixon (Pitt's coach) has my ever-loving gratitude (however much that's worth).
-Josh Duncan and Derrick Brown Saved my Bacon: Speaking of guys who have my ever-loving gratitude, these two gentlemen inspired Xavier(one of my Final Four picks) to go on a 22-6 run in the second half to rally and beat Georgia. The Muskateers outscored the Bulldogs 47-26 in the second half. I have lost Final Four teams on the first day of play before (South Carolina in 1997 and Syracuse in 2005), so I appreciate Xavier's second half efforts to keep all four of my teams alive.
-Joe Crawford's Better is Better than Your Better: In what could very well be the best individual performance of the first round, Kentucky's Joe Crawford carried his team, scoring 35 points. Unfortunately for Crawford, the rest of his teammates managed just 31 points in the 74-66 lost to Marquette.
-If Only the First Half Didn't Count: Kent State had a first half to forget, tallying only 10 points in the first 20 minutes of their 71-58 loss to UNLV. The good news for the Golden Flashes is that they won the second half 48-40. UNLV's Wink Adams will be around for at least one more game, and who doesn't love a guy named Wink.
-No Christmas in March: Michigan State held Temple's top scorer, Dionte Christmas, to just three points in the Spartans' 72-61 win. MSU looked very much like the team that upset Texas in December and much less like the team that lost to Penn State in February.
-All is Right with the Universe: Pitt beat Oral Roberts 82-63. In all honesty, nothing else matters. The 2008 NCAA Tournament can already be considered a success, and Jamie Dixon (Pitt's coach) has my ever-loving gratitude (however much that's worth).
-Josh Duncan and Derrick Brown Saved my Bacon: Speaking of guys who have my ever-loving gratitude, these two gentlemen inspired Xavier(one of my Final Four picks) to go on a 22-6 run in the second half to rally and beat Georgia. The Muskateers outscored the Bulldogs 47-26 in the second half. I have lost Final Four teams on the first day of play before (South Carolina in 1997 and Syracuse in 2005), so I appreciate Xavier's second half efforts to keep all four of my teams alive.
-Joe Crawford's Better is Better than Your Better: In what could very well be the best individual performance of the first round, Kentucky's Joe Crawford carried his team, scoring 35 points. Unfortunately for Crawford, the rest of his teammates managed just 31 points in the 74-66 lost to Marquette.
-If Only the First Half Didn't Count: Kent State had a first half to forget, tallying only 10 points in the first 20 minutes of their 71-58 loss to UNLV. The good news for the Golden Flashes is that they won the second half 48-40. UNLV's Wink Adams will be around for at least one more game, and who doesn't love a guy named Wink.
-No Christmas in March: Michigan State held Temple's top scorer, Dionte Christmas, to just three points in the Spartans' 72-61 win. MSU looked very much like the team that upset Texas in December and much less like the team that lost to Penn State in February.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Some Bracket Thoughts
As everyone with a pulse ponders over the men's NCAA Tournament bracket and tries to figure out which 12-seed will pull the upset this year or whether a Running Rebel (UNLV) would beat a Golden Flash (Kent State) in a fight, here are some random thoughts on the field of 65:
-I don't have nearly as many issues with the last few teams in as some of the talking heads do. As previously mentioned, I would liked to have seen VCU and Illinois State in over teams like Oregon and Villanova, but overall I'm pretty happy with the field. Arizona State and Virginia Tech have no gripes. All they needed to do, was win more games. Arizona State has good wins over Xavier and Stanford, but they also split series with Cal and Washington. Sweep those two teams (who finished 8th and 9th in the Pac-10 respectively), and there's no question they'd be in the field of 65. The same goes for Virginia Tech. The Hokies have one win over another team that made the NCAA Tournament. Either beat more of the middle of the road teams, or beat the UCLA's and North Carolina's. Now shut up and enjoy the NIT.
-Butler and Drake both got screwed. Not only was Butler under-seeded (they should have been now lower than a top-5 seed like last season), but they also have to play South Alabama in Birmingham. That's rough. Drake, while seeded higher than Butler, probably should be a seed or two higher as well. There just wasn't as much love for the mid-major teams as has been shown in the previous few tournaments.
-The best first round game is USC vs. Kansas State. The committee needs to be commended for this one. OJ Mayo against Michael Beasley. Everyone is looking forward to watching these two sensational freshmen match-up against each other. Mayo's supporting cast is a little better, but Beasley is the better player.
-Some double-digit seeds with the chance to pull an upset or two: No. 11 Kansas State (vs. USC), No. 12 George Mason (vs. Notre Dame--the Irish are very average away from South Bend), No. 11 Saint Joseph's (vs. Oklahoma--Phil Martelli is a fantastic coach), No. 11 Baylor (vs. Purdue--Scott Drew could very well be coach of the year, and the Boilers youth is starting to show), No. 10 Saint Mary's (vs. Miami--St. Patrick's Day is today, so why wouldn't freshman guard Paddy Mills have success this week?), No. 10 Davidson (vs. Gonzaga--The Wildcats have the nation's longest winning streak at 22 in a row).
-North Carolina is the No. 1-seed most likely to reach the Final Four. It must be nice for Roy Williams knowing his club won't have to leave North Carolina before the Final Four. Games in Raleigh and Charlotte pave the way for the Heels to make it to San Antonio.
-Memphis is the No. 1-seed most likely to miss the Final Four. I love watching the Tigers play, but the committee didn't do them any favors. If the seeds hold form, they will play Texas in Houston for a trip to the Final Four. The stands will be 90% Texas fans, and that might be too much for the Tigers to overcome.
-Early Final Four projections (that are sure to be wrong or change five times in the next three days): North Carolina, Kansas, Texas and Xavier
-One not-so-fearless prediction: Pittsburgh will beat Oral Roberts by 40
-I don't have nearly as many issues with the last few teams in as some of the talking heads do. As previously mentioned, I would liked to have seen VCU and Illinois State in over teams like Oregon and Villanova, but overall I'm pretty happy with the field. Arizona State and Virginia Tech have no gripes. All they needed to do, was win more games. Arizona State has good wins over Xavier and Stanford, but they also split series with Cal and Washington. Sweep those two teams (who finished 8th and 9th in the Pac-10 respectively), and there's no question they'd be in the field of 65. The same goes for Virginia Tech. The Hokies have one win over another team that made the NCAA Tournament. Either beat more of the middle of the road teams, or beat the UCLA's and North Carolina's. Now shut up and enjoy the NIT.
-Butler and Drake both got screwed. Not only was Butler under-seeded (they should have been now lower than a top-5 seed like last season), but they also have to play South Alabama in Birmingham. That's rough. Drake, while seeded higher than Butler, probably should be a seed or two higher as well. There just wasn't as much love for the mid-major teams as has been shown in the previous few tournaments.
-The best first round game is USC vs. Kansas State. The committee needs to be commended for this one. OJ Mayo against Michael Beasley. Everyone is looking forward to watching these two sensational freshmen match-up against each other. Mayo's supporting cast is a little better, but Beasley is the better player.
-Some double-digit seeds with the chance to pull an upset or two: No. 11 Kansas State (vs. USC), No. 12 George Mason (vs. Notre Dame--the Irish are very average away from South Bend), No. 11 Saint Joseph's (vs. Oklahoma--Phil Martelli is a fantastic coach), No. 11 Baylor (vs. Purdue--Scott Drew could very well be coach of the year, and the Boilers youth is starting to show), No. 10 Saint Mary's (vs. Miami--St. Patrick's Day is today, so why wouldn't freshman guard Paddy Mills have success this week?), No. 10 Davidson (vs. Gonzaga--The Wildcats have the nation's longest winning streak at 22 in a row).
-North Carolina is the No. 1-seed most likely to reach the Final Four. It must be nice for Roy Williams knowing his club won't have to leave North Carolina before the Final Four. Games in Raleigh and Charlotte pave the way for the Heels to make it to San Antonio.
-Memphis is the No. 1-seed most likely to miss the Final Four. I love watching the Tigers play, but the committee didn't do them any favors. If the seeds hold form, they will play Texas in Houston for a trip to the Final Four. The stands will be 90% Texas fans, and that might be too much for the Tigers to overcome.
-Early Final Four projections (that are sure to be wrong or change five times in the next three days): North Carolina, Kansas, Texas and Xavier
-One not-so-fearless prediction: Pittsburgh will beat Oral Roberts by 40
Friday, March 14, 2008
Bursting Bubbles
I have to preface this by saying that did my undergraduate schooling at a mid-major (Valpo), so I'm certainly a little biased. I was watching FSN's coverage of the Pac-10 Quarterfinals last night, and the announcers were lamenting the fact that the West Coast Conference would probably get three teams (San Diego, Gonzaga and Saint' Mary's) in the NCAA tournament, while Pac-10 teams like Oregon and Arizona State might be left on the outside looking in. They argued that the Pac-10 was a much tougher conference than the WCC (a point I'm not going to argue), and it was a shame that the WCC was going to get three teams because one team unexpectedly the conference tournament on its home floor, while Pac-10 teams that went .500 in conference play would be NIT-bound. This is what I say to them: Tell your Oregons (who lost to Saint Mary's and Oakland in the regular season by the way) and your Arizona State's (who's biggest non-conference win outside of Xavier was Nebraska) to beat someone. The Pac-10 plays a true round-robin schedule. ASU beat rival Arizona twice (good wins), but also lost to Washington and Cal. They don't play an unbalanced schedule like the SEC does, so ASU and Oregon both had plenty of opportunities to win one or two more games and could not get it done. Tough luck. I guarantee (and this is where the bias comes in) that teams like VCU (regular season champs in the CAA) and Illinois State (second in the Missouri Valley) have a much better chance of pulling an upset than a couple of .500 teams from the Pac-10 do. It would be a tremendous shame (especially given the recent success of Gonzaga, Butler and George Mason to name a few) if VCU, Illinois State and Saint Mary's were left out of the Dance in favor of teams like Arizona State, Oregon and Villanova. Here's hoping the selection committee wises up.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Hey There
Welcome. Just as I was seemingly the last person on the planet to get an iPod, I'm also the last one to join the ranks of the blogosphere. I'm going to apologize in advance because most of the postings here will be about sports, fantasy and otherwise, but I will try and cover more than just that. If you're lucky (or unlucky depending on how you want to look at it), I might even update what's going on in my life. Thanks for stopping by, but mostly stay classy.
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