It starts on Friday! The most exciting Championship tournament in college sports, the NCAA Division 1 Baseball Championship. What this tournament has that the others lack is history, and pride in making it to one specific destination. In Februray, the one goal every team in baseball has is to make it to Omaha. Thankfully, it'll stay that way for another 30 years, but that's another topic for another day. All in all 64 teams are vying for the chance to make it to the College World Series. The top 8 seeds are as follows: Miami, North Carolina, Arizona St., Florida St., Cal St. Fullerton, Rice, LSU, and Georgia. Looking at that list I'm surprised by a couple of things. First off the SEC getting two top 8 national seeds, while the Big 12 got zero. I said last month that college baseball has deep ties to the south, and it shows right there. Also, the SEC got 9 teams into the tourney, despite having 9 of its 12 programs finishing with a conference record of 2 games above .500, or worse. Also, I think the selection committee didn't want to get too ACC happy, as Miami, UNC and FSU probably should have been 1,2,3.
As far as predictions, it's tough to really have a great idea on who'll move onto to the Super Regionals, since the Regionals are double elimination. One thing to keep in mind, is that the 3 and 4 seeds are most likely in the NCAA tourney because they have a dominating pitcher. If their ace is throwing well, it gets pretty tricky for a team to win, when they don't have anyone on base. With that said, you can almost pencil in the top 8 seeds to move on. Since the NCAA started ranking the top 8 seeds, 2007 had the most not make it to the Super Regionals, which was 5. The most before that was 2 teams not making it out of the regionals. The only top 8 seed that I see being in trouble is Georgia. First off, they have the worst record of any of those teams, and they have two very solid teams in their region, Louisville and Georgia Tech. Louisville went to Omaha last year, and GT last went to Omaha in 2006, and should have a nice following to Athens Georgia. Here are my regional winners, paired up into their Super Regional opponents:
Miami vs Arizona
South Carolina vs Louisville
Cal St. Fullerton vs Stanford
Wichita St. vs Florida St.
North Carolina vs East Carolina
Nebraska vs LSU
Rice vs Texas A&M
San Diego vs Arizona St.
Now it gets a bit tricky, but more often then not, it's safe to go with the top 8 seed if they are available. One thing to keep in mind, is there seems to be a member of the CWS every year, that isn't a traditional program (teams with fewer than 2 trips to the CWS). Last year it was Louisville and UC Irvine, 2006 it was Oregon St., 2005 it was Tulane, Nebraska, Baylor, and Oregon St., 2003 it was Southwest Missouri St., etc. In fact since 1990 only 2004 and 1998 have CWS's full of regular members. The best bet for a non-regular member would be Louisville, or San Diego.
Here's how I think the Supers will pan out:
Miami over Arizona
South Carolina over Louisville
Cal St. Fullerton over Stanford
Florida St. over Wichita St.
North Carolina over East Carolina
LSU over Nebraska
Rice over Texas A&M
San Diego over Arizona St.
That sets up the first games of the CWS as follows:
Miami vs South Carolina
Cal St. Fullerton vs Florida St.
North Carolina vs LSU
Rice vs San Diego
My predicted champion is North Carolina. I think their side of the bracket is a bit tougher than Miami's, but in the end UNC will beat Florida St. in the championship series, and the Tar Heels will no longer be the bridesmaid in Omaha.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
MLB Draft!
The MLB Draft is right around the corner. June 5th and 6th are the draft dates. Again, ESPN will be televising the 1st round of the draft as they did last year for the first time ever. The MLB draft is 50 rounds long.
Here is the draft order
First Round 1. Tampa Bay 2. Pittsburgh 3. Kansas City 4. Baltimore 5. San Francisco 6. Florida7. Cincinnati 8. Chicago (A) 9. Washington 10. Houston 11. Texas 12. Oakland 13. St. Louis 14. Minnesota 15. Los Angeles (N) 16. Milwaukee 17. Toronto 18. New York (N)* 19. Chicago (N) 20. Seattle 21. Detroit 22. New York (N) 23. San Diego 24. Philadelphia 25. Colorado 26. Arizona 27. Minnesota* 28. New York (A) 29. Cleveland 30. Boston
The Royals have pick #3. Who I think he should take is Brian Matusz out of San Diego. The reason's being: 1. He's a lefty. 2. He has a good pitchers frame of 6-5 200 lbs. 3. A compact delivery that is easier to maintain. 4. Above average off spead stuff. His FB sits in the low 90's and probably will increase slightly with better conditioning that the pro's have over college. I'm sure a lot of Royals fans want Crow out of Missouri. My grips with him are his size (6-3 but really shorter and 195) and he's throw a lot of innings for MO plus his off spead stuff is just good, not great like Matusz. Some scouts think that Crow would be a top closer, not a front line starter.
Royals farm system seems to be pitching thin compared to position players. I wouldn't be suprised if Dayton Moore takes a lot of arms with this draft. With lower picks you could see them take talented OF's who have signed letters of intent to play with big time schools. Those are hard to get the players to take the money but you can get 1st round potential later in the draft that way.
Here is the draft order
First Round 1. Tampa Bay 2. Pittsburgh 3. Kansas City 4. Baltimore 5. San Francisco 6. Florida7. Cincinnati 8. Chicago (A) 9. Washington 10. Houston 11. Texas 12. Oakland 13. St. Louis 14. Minnesota 15. Los Angeles (N) 16. Milwaukee 17. Toronto 18. New York (N)* 19. Chicago (N) 20. Seattle 21. Detroit 22. New York (N) 23. San Diego 24. Philadelphia 25. Colorado 26. Arizona 27. Minnesota* 28. New York (A) 29. Cleveland 30. Boston
The Royals have pick #3. Who I think he should take is Brian Matusz out of San Diego. The reason's being: 1. He's a lefty. 2. He has a good pitchers frame of 6-5 200 lbs. 3. A compact delivery that is easier to maintain. 4. Above average off spead stuff. His FB sits in the low 90's and probably will increase slightly with better conditioning that the pro's have over college. I'm sure a lot of Royals fans want Crow out of Missouri. My grips with him are his size (6-3 but really shorter and 195) and he's throw a lot of innings for MO plus his off spead stuff is just good, not great like Matusz. Some scouts think that Crow would be a top closer, not a front line starter.
Royals farm system seems to be pitching thin compared to position players. I wouldn't be suprised if Dayton Moore takes a lot of arms with this draft. With lower picks you could see them take talented OF's who have signed letters of intent to play with big time schools. Those are hard to get the players to take the money but you can get 1st round potential later in the draft that way.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
More Soccer!!!
Last month I wrote on the exciting summer that awaits soccer fans, and we are practically on the brink of all the excitement. Tomorrow is perhaps the biggest club team championship in the world as Manchester United and Chelsea meet up in Moscow for the UEFA Champions League title. Winner gets the title as the best club team in Europe, while the loser will have to deal with upset fans who expected more for another off season.
More importantly for American soccer fans are the three upcoming friendly games. First one takes place in a little more than a week, and could possibly be the most anticipated friendly in US soccer history. US will travel to Wembley Stadium and take on England on May 28th. This game could prove to be a stepping stone for the American men, and really give them same real credibility in the world of soccer. England isn't quite the giant they used to be, but taking the English to the wire on their home turf will go a long ways in getting this team ready for WC qualifying. Although this will probably be their easiest of the three opponents, it's probably the most important to get a victory out of, because of the image it'll portray to the fringe soccer fans in this country, and to those in Europe who look down on American soccer.
About a week after that is another huge matchup with Spain on June 4th. This game will probably be the toughest to come away with anything more than a loss. In fact, not to sound defeatist, but my hopes are for the US men to keep it close, and get a goal. To me it doesn't matter if they lose this game, but how competitive they are with Spain. Spain has some of the best soccer players in the world, and could easily be a favorite heading into WC 2010. Plus should the US come away with a victory over England, this game may be forgotten about since it's sandwiched in the middle of the three matches coming up.
The final game takes place on June 8th, and brings Argentina to US soil. This will be the best team of the three US faces, but on the plus side, the US will get them on their turf. A win over England would be huge, but IMO, a win over Argentina would send shock waves through world soccer. Even though these are just friendly's, it'll give the US a chance to show their strength, but also allow their three opponents to show that US soccer isn't quite at the level of sitting at the grownups table. If Argentina was playing Mexico, or even Canada, they would look at the game as just a friendly, that at the end of the day didn't mean a whole lot. However, a loss to a US squad would be looked at as a terrible failure. A good analogy, would be the struggles of the US basketball teams at world events. As American's we believe that there's no way foreign countries could better than us in basketball, and it's embarrassing to see the American teams lose in those competitions. Same thing goes for Argentina in soccer. Losing to the US would be time for panic in their country.
When it's all said and done, my hope is for the US team to go 1-1-1 in their three games. Going 2-1-0, or even 1-0-2, should be seen as tremendous progress for this squad, considering their horrible performance in the 06 WC. However, it all starts with that England game next.
Who to look out for in these games. First and foremost the young guns making waves worldwide, but still haven't found much of an audience (outside of dedicated soccer fans) in the US. People know Freddie Adu's name, but people will be surprised at how far he's come along since he made headlines a few years ago signing with the MLS while barely being a teenager. He's turned into the next Landon Donavan, as the team leader who has great foot skills, tremendous vision, and a killer free kick. Like I said last month Jozy Altidore is on the brink of being the US's first great worldwide soccer star. He's got everything that is needed to cross over and become the face of US soccer. Size, speed, power, quickness, and the only thing he needs to work on is the mental game, but that'll come with age. Maurice Edu is poised to become the George Harrison of the US team. He just may be the best all around player on the US squad, but will always be in the shadows of Adu and Altidore.
Elsewhere the US may have the best crop of forwards in the world, if they all play to their potential. Besides Altidore and Donovan, is Clint Dempsey, Eddie Johnson (both of whom are making heads turn in England) Brian Ching, and Josh Wolff. Any one of these players are capable of finishing when in the box, and for the most part there isn't a big drop off in terms of talent between any of them. Also Altidore, Donovan and Johnson give the US exceptional speed that many European countries can't come even close to matching. (See Poland game from earlier this year).
At the midfield you've got an interesting mix of youth and experience. Youth wise there is Edu and Adu, Michael Bradley, Eddie Gaven and Sacha Kiljestan. While on the experience side you've got Pablo Mastroeni, Eddie Lewis, DeMarcus Beasley who's just back in action after a terrible knee injury. All in all the midfield might be the US's weakness as there isn't enough experience with the youth for them to really take games over, and the veteran's don't have the speed the youth possess to make up for the shortcomings. Plus Beasley would probably have been the best at the midfield position, but with his recent comeback from injury you'd have to assume he isn't where he once was at this point in time.
At the fullback spot, US is going mostly with experience. For as much attention as the attacking parts of their team are getting from the youth movement, the fullback position is staying relatively older through this transition. Carlos Bocanegrea, Steve Cherundolo, and Frankie Hejduk have all been there and done that. I for one am ecstatic about Hejduk being apart of this group. He bring so much excitement and unpredictability to the game that it really puts the clamps down on the opposition. I hope we really see a lot out of him over the next few weeks, because he just might be the missing link. Any coincidence that Hejduk missed the 06 WC, and the struggles the US team had? It's pretty obvious that his services were dearly missed. Also in the back for the US is the first true "Big-man" to play soccer in the United States. You see players the size of Oguchi Onyewu all over world soccer, but up until his arrival on the US scene, the American squad never had a guy that could play at his level. 6'4" tall and is a force in the back. If he stays healthy he'll anchor the back through at least the 2010 WC if not longer. Still the fullback position is way underdeveloped. When you've got lots of young guys, even teenagers running around at the other positions, the fullback spot has their fair show of 30+ year old guys, something needs to be done in the near future. It'll be fine for now, and the early stages of WC qualifying, but if the US is still leaning on them for the 2010 WC, the US is in trouble.
Protection the goal is a nice crop of keepers. Tim Howard is the next guy in line. He's a tremendous keeper, and could really be the guy in the net for the US for nearly a decade. Chris Seitz is young and trying to make a name for himself, while Brad Guzan is a solid keeper, but in the end Howard seems to be the guy for now. Still this is an area where the US can breathe easy, as it seems they've got things under control at goal.
So tune in on May 28th to the US/England match. Should be a very entertaining game, and a very interesting few weeks for the US squad.
More importantly for American soccer fans are the three upcoming friendly games. First one takes place in a little more than a week, and could possibly be the most anticipated friendly in US soccer history. US will travel to Wembley Stadium and take on England on May 28th. This game could prove to be a stepping stone for the American men, and really give them same real credibility in the world of soccer. England isn't quite the giant they used to be, but taking the English to the wire on their home turf will go a long ways in getting this team ready for WC qualifying. Although this will probably be their easiest of the three opponents, it's probably the most important to get a victory out of, because of the image it'll portray to the fringe soccer fans in this country, and to those in Europe who look down on American soccer.
About a week after that is another huge matchup with Spain on June 4th. This game will probably be the toughest to come away with anything more than a loss. In fact, not to sound defeatist, but my hopes are for the US men to keep it close, and get a goal. To me it doesn't matter if they lose this game, but how competitive they are with Spain. Spain has some of the best soccer players in the world, and could easily be a favorite heading into WC 2010. Plus should the US come away with a victory over England, this game may be forgotten about since it's sandwiched in the middle of the three matches coming up.
The final game takes place on June 8th, and brings Argentina to US soil. This will be the best team of the three US faces, but on the plus side, the US will get them on their turf. A win over England would be huge, but IMO, a win over Argentina would send shock waves through world soccer. Even though these are just friendly's, it'll give the US a chance to show their strength, but also allow their three opponents to show that US soccer isn't quite at the level of sitting at the grownups table. If Argentina was playing Mexico, or even Canada, they would look at the game as just a friendly, that at the end of the day didn't mean a whole lot. However, a loss to a US squad would be looked at as a terrible failure. A good analogy, would be the struggles of the US basketball teams at world events. As American's we believe that there's no way foreign countries could better than us in basketball, and it's embarrassing to see the American teams lose in those competitions. Same thing goes for Argentina in soccer. Losing to the US would be time for panic in their country.
When it's all said and done, my hope is for the US team to go 1-1-1 in their three games. Going 2-1-0, or even 1-0-2, should be seen as tremendous progress for this squad, considering their horrible performance in the 06 WC. However, it all starts with that England game next.
Who to look out for in these games. First and foremost the young guns making waves worldwide, but still haven't found much of an audience (outside of dedicated soccer fans) in the US. People know Freddie Adu's name, but people will be surprised at how far he's come along since he made headlines a few years ago signing with the MLS while barely being a teenager. He's turned into the next Landon Donavan, as the team leader who has great foot skills, tremendous vision, and a killer free kick. Like I said last month Jozy Altidore is on the brink of being the US's first great worldwide soccer star. He's got everything that is needed to cross over and become the face of US soccer. Size, speed, power, quickness, and the only thing he needs to work on is the mental game, but that'll come with age. Maurice Edu is poised to become the George Harrison of the US team. He just may be the best all around player on the US squad, but will always be in the shadows of Adu and Altidore.
Elsewhere the US may have the best crop of forwards in the world, if they all play to their potential. Besides Altidore and Donovan, is Clint Dempsey, Eddie Johnson (both of whom are making heads turn in England) Brian Ching, and Josh Wolff. Any one of these players are capable of finishing when in the box, and for the most part there isn't a big drop off in terms of talent between any of them. Also Altidore, Donovan and Johnson give the US exceptional speed that many European countries can't come even close to matching. (See Poland game from earlier this year).
At the midfield you've got an interesting mix of youth and experience. Youth wise there is Edu and Adu, Michael Bradley, Eddie Gaven and Sacha Kiljestan. While on the experience side you've got Pablo Mastroeni, Eddie Lewis, DeMarcus Beasley who's just back in action after a terrible knee injury. All in all the midfield might be the US's weakness as there isn't enough experience with the youth for them to really take games over, and the veteran's don't have the speed the youth possess to make up for the shortcomings. Plus Beasley would probably have been the best at the midfield position, but with his recent comeback from injury you'd have to assume he isn't where he once was at this point in time.
At the fullback spot, US is going mostly with experience. For as much attention as the attacking parts of their team are getting from the youth movement, the fullback position is staying relatively older through this transition. Carlos Bocanegrea, Steve Cherundolo, and Frankie Hejduk have all been there and done that. I for one am ecstatic about Hejduk being apart of this group. He bring so much excitement and unpredictability to the game that it really puts the clamps down on the opposition. I hope we really see a lot out of him over the next few weeks, because he just might be the missing link. Any coincidence that Hejduk missed the 06 WC, and the struggles the US team had? It's pretty obvious that his services were dearly missed. Also in the back for the US is the first true "Big-man" to play soccer in the United States. You see players the size of Oguchi Onyewu all over world soccer, but up until his arrival on the US scene, the American squad never had a guy that could play at his level. 6'4" tall and is a force in the back. If he stays healthy he'll anchor the back through at least the 2010 WC if not longer. Still the fullback position is way underdeveloped. When you've got lots of young guys, even teenagers running around at the other positions, the fullback spot has their fair show of 30+ year old guys, something needs to be done in the near future. It'll be fine for now, and the early stages of WC qualifying, but if the US is still leaning on them for the 2010 WC, the US is in trouble.
Protection the goal is a nice crop of keepers. Tim Howard is the next guy in line. He's a tremendous keeper, and could really be the guy in the net for the US for nearly a decade. Chris Seitz is young and trying to make a name for himself, while Brad Guzan is a solid keeper, but in the end Howard seems to be the guy for now. Still this is an area where the US can breathe easy, as it seems they've got things under control at goal.
So tune in on May 28th to the US/England match. Should be a very entertaining game, and a very interesting few weeks for the US squad.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Relegation for the NHL
This may be the most off the wall idea I've had on this blog, but if you think about it, it'll actually make sense.
First off for the non-soccer fans out there, the Premiership in England just wrapped up their 07-08 season this weekend. What makes the Premiership one of the most popular leagues in the world is how they make it a selective league. If you aren't good enough to play in the league, then you get sent back down to the second division. The bottom three team in the premiership get relegated to the second division, while the top three in the second division get promoted to the Premiership. It greats drama, where normally drama would not be. Take for instance this weekend. There were up to 4 games played Sunday that could have had relegation possiblities. That's 4 games that normally mean nothing, all of a sudden turn into meaning everything. The difference between the second division and Premiership is huge, and results in those bottom teams playing their hearts out to avoid being sent down.
What hockey has right now is an image problem. Too many teams, in too many non-traditional hockey cities who don't get great support. However what hockey does have is perhaps the most sought after championship trophy in North American sports. No matter how far hockey has fallen, people still know the Stanley Cup, and what it means. In fact it's the only sport in North America that names their playoff after their trophy. Right now hockey is back on the cusp of getting into the good graces of sports fans. Ignore what you hear on ESPN, because the Worldwide Leader doesn't make any money on hockey right now, so as far as they are concerned, the sport is dead to them. HD and larger TV's had really helped hockey, and with one drastic change to their sport, could take it to the next level.
My suggestion would be to expand hockey. Stay with me, because it'll all make sense in a few moments. Expand to cities like Kansas City, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Cleveland, New Orleans, Milwaukee (why a team isn't in Wisconsin is puzzling), Quebec, Winnipeg, Harford, and Indianapolis. That'll give you 40 teams overall in the NHL. Obviously that's way too many for a regular league. Once all those markets get their teams off the floor and running, you hold one season with all 40 teams competing against one another. The top 24 teams stay in the NHL and the bottom 16 drop to the second division. Now don't confuse the second division wth the minor leagues, because it isn't. After that initial season, the top 24 play their regular season, and the second divison play their regular season. After the season is completed, you look at the standings, and it's simple. The bottom three in the NHL drop down, while the top three in the second division rise up. Only I suggest a an added twist to this model. Both leagues will still hold a playoff, with the winner of the second division playoff getting a guarenteed spot in the NHL, regardless of where it finished in the season standings. So should the team in the second division that finished tenth in the regular season standings win the second division playoff, they get to move up, resulting in 4 teams moving to the NHL. That means the team finishing fourth from the bottom in the NHL won't be safe either. Also, I would give the NHL Stanley Cup champion a one year waiver on being relegated, mostly to keep recent champions from being sent down, and to give in a little bit to those who may be skeptical on the idea.
This would be a very radical change for American sports. We are not used to the idea of demoting a team that fails on the field, in fact it probably scares a lot of sports fans, because it this idea were to catch on, and take the NHL to new popularity, it could spread to the Big 3. However, imagine the drama and suspense that would be created by a relegation process. This year, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles and Atlanta would be sent down, with St. Louis praying one of the top 3 in the second division wins their playoff. The difference between St. Louis and the last playoff spot this year (Nashville) was just 12 points. That's just 4 victories, or St. Louis winning 2 of the 4 games they lost to Nashville during the regular season. That's all it would take for a team to go from being in the playoffs to being on the brink of being sent down.
This idea would work, if implimented properly, and backed fully by the leaders in the NHL. Not only would it expand the sport into more major markets in the country, and back into some traditional cities, but also make it unique in the sports landscape. It works in other parts of the world, and it would work in North America as well.
First off for the non-soccer fans out there, the Premiership in England just wrapped up their 07-08 season this weekend. What makes the Premiership one of the most popular leagues in the world is how they make it a selective league. If you aren't good enough to play in the league, then you get sent back down to the second division. The bottom three team in the premiership get relegated to the second division, while the top three in the second division get promoted to the Premiership. It greats drama, where normally drama would not be. Take for instance this weekend. There were up to 4 games played Sunday that could have had relegation possiblities. That's 4 games that normally mean nothing, all of a sudden turn into meaning everything. The difference between the second division and Premiership is huge, and results in those bottom teams playing their hearts out to avoid being sent down.
What hockey has right now is an image problem. Too many teams, in too many non-traditional hockey cities who don't get great support. However what hockey does have is perhaps the most sought after championship trophy in North American sports. No matter how far hockey has fallen, people still know the Stanley Cup, and what it means. In fact it's the only sport in North America that names their playoff after their trophy. Right now hockey is back on the cusp of getting into the good graces of sports fans. Ignore what you hear on ESPN, because the Worldwide Leader doesn't make any money on hockey right now, so as far as they are concerned, the sport is dead to them. HD and larger TV's had really helped hockey, and with one drastic change to their sport, could take it to the next level.
My suggestion would be to expand hockey. Stay with me, because it'll all make sense in a few moments. Expand to cities like Kansas City, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Cleveland, New Orleans, Milwaukee (why a team isn't in Wisconsin is puzzling), Quebec, Winnipeg, Harford, and Indianapolis. That'll give you 40 teams overall in the NHL. Obviously that's way too many for a regular league. Once all those markets get their teams off the floor and running, you hold one season with all 40 teams competing against one another. The top 24 teams stay in the NHL and the bottom 16 drop to the second division. Now don't confuse the second division wth the minor leagues, because it isn't. After that initial season, the top 24 play their regular season, and the second divison play their regular season. After the season is completed, you look at the standings, and it's simple. The bottom three in the NHL drop down, while the top three in the second division rise up. Only I suggest a an added twist to this model. Both leagues will still hold a playoff, with the winner of the second division playoff getting a guarenteed spot in the NHL, regardless of where it finished in the season standings. So should the team in the second division that finished tenth in the regular season standings win the second division playoff, they get to move up, resulting in 4 teams moving to the NHL. That means the team finishing fourth from the bottom in the NHL won't be safe either. Also, I would give the NHL Stanley Cup champion a one year waiver on being relegated, mostly to keep recent champions from being sent down, and to give in a little bit to those who may be skeptical on the idea.
This would be a very radical change for American sports. We are not used to the idea of demoting a team that fails on the field, in fact it probably scares a lot of sports fans, because it this idea were to catch on, and take the NHL to new popularity, it could spread to the Big 3. However, imagine the drama and suspense that would be created by a relegation process. This year, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles and Atlanta would be sent down, with St. Louis praying one of the top 3 in the second division wins their playoff. The difference between St. Louis and the last playoff spot this year (Nashville) was just 12 points. That's just 4 victories, or St. Louis winning 2 of the 4 games they lost to Nashville during the regular season. That's all it would take for a team to go from being in the playoffs to being on the brink of being sent down.
This idea would work, if implimented properly, and backed fully by the leaders in the NHL. Not only would it expand the sport into more major markets in the country, and back into some traditional cities, but also make it unique in the sports landscape. It works in other parts of the world, and it would work in North America as well.
Friday, May 9, 2008
We don't need no stinkin' playoff!
Last week the powers that be in division 1 college football decided their sport should be the only one at any level of college football to not crown a legitimate national champion. The division 1 football conferences held a meeting to discuss the future of crowning their national champion, and decided the BCS is still the best way to go about things. So until 2014 division 1 college football fans will have to sit through more BCS "controversy" and the continued crowning of a mythical national champion. It's become a rather sad, petty, and greedy, notion by those in charge of D1 football to continue downplaying the significance of a playoff system. Had this latest meeting gone the way of a playoff, we would have gotten an introductory version of it. Those who can't bring themselves to say the word "playoff" call it a "plus-one" model. The BCS fooled a lot of people by adding a fifth BCS game, making people belive it was apart of the "plus-one" idea. Instead we got another big money cash grab for the major conferences, and put another nail in the D1 playoff coffin. What makes things even harder, is by 2014, playoff supporters have to convince every single D1 conference, and Notre Dame, that a playoff would be better, or else it's still the BCS way. That's right, if one member of this discussion says no, the BCS is still the only option. In essence every single D1 school, but Notre Dame, could be in favor of a playoff system, but since ND would say no, then a playoff system would be scrapped. Do you see how screwed up D1 football is?
Now playoff haters will point to record amounts of interest, and money coming into D1 football, as a sign that the BCS is working. My stance on that is, it's football. It's the new American pasttime. As long as teams are playing for a championship, there will be interest. Just because the BCS happens to be the championship method by force, doesn't mean it's the main purpose for the record breaking numbers. Fans have come to the reality, for the most part, that a playoff will likely never, ever happen in college football, and are moving on. It's a tough pill to swallow for a lot of people, because they look around at every other level of college, and every other sport, and see how a playoff system works just fine. It's amazing to me that those in control of D1 football continue to make their sport the only one that lacks a legitimate championship process. It doesn't matter what sponsor slaps their logo on the front of a trophy, the championship isn't legitmate by the standards of 99.9% of the athletic world.
So fans are left to wonder, how will D1 football continue with the BCS. My guess is by 2014, there will be a sixth BCS bowl added to the mix. More than likely the Cotton Bowl will be added to the BCS, because those in charge of it will not pass up the opportunity to hold a bowl game in a brand new 80,000+ seat stadium in one of the biggest media markets in the country. At the same time, the people in charge of the BCS will not kick out any of the 4 exsisting bowls. So we'll now have 5 regular BCS games, and a BCS title game. If this happens, it'll be the last nail in the playoff coffin. That will be 12 teams playing in bowl games that bring in tens of millions of dollars. What will happen, is it'll give the Big 6 conferences a realistic shot of getting 2 teams in a BCS game every single bowl season. There may be the random year where a non Big 6 team makes it to the BCS, but when it's all said and done, the adding to the sixth BCS game will result in millions more going to the Big 6 confernces. It's not something those in charge of the BCS will admit right now, but there is nothing stopping them from adding a sixth game. However they will stop at six. If they add a seventh, then they'll be forced to take a minimum of 2 non Big 6 conference teams, and let them eat from the big boys table on yearly basis. Won't happen.
My prediction for the future of D1 college football. The BCS will add the Cotton Bowl to their mix by 2010, thus giving all Big 6 Conferences an equal share every year (or close to every year) on the BCS money. Playoff supporters will continue to grow, only to be suppressed by those in charge of the sport, because they will not pass up the opportunity of getting guaranteed millions the BCS offers. And finally, D1 college football will continue to be the only sport to not have a legitimate way of crowning their naitonal championship.
Now playoff haters will point to record amounts of interest, and money coming into D1 football, as a sign that the BCS is working. My stance on that is, it's football. It's the new American pasttime. As long as teams are playing for a championship, there will be interest. Just because the BCS happens to be the championship method by force, doesn't mean it's the main purpose for the record breaking numbers. Fans have come to the reality, for the most part, that a playoff will likely never, ever happen in college football, and are moving on. It's a tough pill to swallow for a lot of people, because they look around at every other level of college, and every other sport, and see how a playoff system works just fine. It's amazing to me that those in control of D1 football continue to make their sport the only one that lacks a legitimate championship process. It doesn't matter what sponsor slaps their logo on the front of a trophy, the championship isn't legitmate by the standards of 99.9% of the athletic world.
So fans are left to wonder, how will D1 football continue with the BCS. My guess is by 2014, there will be a sixth BCS bowl added to the mix. More than likely the Cotton Bowl will be added to the BCS, because those in charge of it will not pass up the opportunity to hold a bowl game in a brand new 80,000+ seat stadium in one of the biggest media markets in the country. At the same time, the people in charge of the BCS will not kick out any of the 4 exsisting bowls. So we'll now have 5 regular BCS games, and a BCS title game. If this happens, it'll be the last nail in the playoff coffin. That will be 12 teams playing in bowl games that bring in tens of millions of dollars. What will happen, is it'll give the Big 6 conferences a realistic shot of getting 2 teams in a BCS game every single bowl season. There may be the random year where a non Big 6 team makes it to the BCS, but when it's all said and done, the adding to the sixth BCS game will result in millions more going to the Big 6 confernces. It's not something those in charge of the BCS will admit right now, but there is nothing stopping them from adding a sixth game. However they will stop at six. If they add a seventh, then they'll be forced to take a minimum of 2 non Big 6 conference teams, and let them eat from the big boys table on yearly basis. Won't happen.
My prediction for the future of D1 college football. The BCS will add the Cotton Bowl to their mix by 2010, thus giving all Big 6 Conferences an equal share every year (or close to every year) on the BCS money. Playoff supporters will continue to grow, only to be suppressed by those in charge of the sport, because they will not pass up the opportunity of getting guaranteed millions the BCS offers. And finally, D1 college football will continue to be the only sport to not have a legitimate way of crowning their naitonal championship.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Metal bats are better!
Now that we are into May, and the hangover from the NCAA tournament is behind us, it's time ot focus our attention on perhaps an even better college tournament, and that's the Baseball NCAA tournament, and the College World Series. For almost 60 years the slogan for college baseball has been "The Road to Omaha", and thankully it looks like for at least the next 25 years, it'll stay that way. For those who don't know, Omaha is in the process of getting a brand new 25,000 seat stadium built. They've already gotten the OK from various city organizations and governing bodies, and this week the NCAA gave its OK to the idea. Hopefully by the time the 2008 CWS gets underway, all I's should be dotted, and all T's crossed to keep the CWS in Omaha for at least another generation.
However, this article is to focus on what teams to look out for as the college baseball regular season winds to a close in the next couple of weeks. We'll begin with the Big 12. Right now the Big 12 stands having as few as one, or as many as three get a to 8 national seed. NU, OSU, and Texas A&M have all seperated themselves from the pack. My guess is, that the winner of the A&M and NU series will get a top 8 national seed, as they will be seen as the conference winner. I don't think there's a scenario that'll give the Big 12 three top 8 seeds, but should the loser of the NU/A&M series, or OSU win the Big 12 tourney, the conference may just get a second national seeded team. Right now, I would say NU gets the national seeded nod, because they get A&M at home. After those top three teams, the Big 12 has been struggling to get a constant middle of the pack squad. Missouri has been in the middle of a losing streak, Texas is under .500 in conference play, and Baylor and Oklahoma will have to pull off a stong finish to the season, and get a win or two in the conference tournament. At the end of the day, the Big 12 gets 6 teams in ( NU, A&M, OSU, Mizzou, Texas, Baylor/OU which ever teams finishes stronger). The conference will get three teams to host regionals, and I think just one national seeded team.
Moving onto the other big baseball conferences, next with the ACC. This conference is completely top heavy with three teams that could be the best in all of college baseball. Florida St, North Carolina, and perhaps the best team in the country, Miami all stand great chances at being a top 8 seed. After those three it gets kind of muddled a bit. North Carolina St. is the best of the rest, and in most other conferences would be considered the favorit, however, there is just one more team above .500 in conference play, and that's Viriginia, whileGeorgia Tech sits at an even conference record. So you're looking at possibly 3 national seeds from the ACC, but just six teams in overall. In my opinion, though, the bottom of the ACC will hurt too much in the committee's eyes, and leave the conference with just two national seeds, FSU and Miami, while North Carolina will host a regional, an NCSU still has a decent shot at hosting a regional as well. I wouldn't be surprised if two, or three teams from this conference get to Omaha.
The SEC. Right now, absolutely zero SEC teams deserve a national seed, but due to college baseball's deep ties to the SEC, the conference champion will get the nod. Right now that would be Georgia, who's got the best record in the conference, but have a horrible regular season mark. They are 15-5 in conference, which is very good this time of year, but they haven't topped the 30 win mark yet. Overall the SEC will probably get two teams to host regionals, Georgia, and perhaps Kentucky if they finish the season strong. Sweeping LSU will help a lot for the Wildcats. Speaking of LSU, the Tigers look to finally break their drought this decade, and are getting back to where the program was a decade ago. They won't host a regional this year, but it's good for college baseball to get it's premier program back in the tournament. Because of the historical ties to college baseball, the SEC will get over half their teams in the tourney. However if this was the Big 10, only 4 would deserve a bid. The teams making it from the SEC will be Georgia, Florida, Vandy, Kentucky, South Carolina, LSU, and Ole Miss. An 8th team could make the tourney, but the middle of the SEC is so average this season it's tough to pick that team out. Georgia should host a regional, as should Vandy, and perhaps Kentucky.
The Pac 10 is in the same position as the SEC. One great team (Arizona St.) and a bunch of average teams. ASU will get a national seed, however the Pac 10 may get just 3 other teams into the NCAA's. Stanford probably gets a bid, as they'll finish second in the conference, followed by two time defending champion OSU. After that the rest of the conference is at or below .500. Still one team will put themselves into the tourney with a strong finish to the season. The Pac 10 gets on national seed, and just one team to host a regional.
For the rest of the conferences, we'll just focus on the top teams. From the WCC, San Diego should get a national seed, and will definately host a regional, Michigan won't get a national seed, despite a solid record, but will get to host a regional, which is pretty big for a school that plays outside that far north. Usually it's Minnesota who takes over the Big 10, mostly because they play indoors, but it seems Michigan has been committed to taking their baseball program to the next step. In the Big South Coastal Carolina deserves a national seed, and I think they get it this year, since the Pac 10 and the SEC are down this year. The Big West this year is a mess, and probably doesn't have a team that deserves to host a regional, but Cal St. Fullerton will probably come out with one. The Colonial has three teams worthy of making noise in the NCAA's with William and Mary, James Madison, and NC Wilmington. My guess is none of the teams will host, because they don't have adequate facilities. In the C-USA, Rice will be a national seed, while Tulane, Southern Miss and East Carolina all will make the tourney. The MAC is all screwed up. Team with the best conference record is 11 games UNDER .500. The Missouri Valley has 4 teams worthy of an NCAA tourney big, but only two will make it. Most likely WSU, and MSU, with an outside chance WSU could host a regional. In the SWAC, Jacksonville St. would probably host a regional, but probably get passed over for a program with better facilities. Still, I wouldn't want to face them in the regional round.
So lets recap the top 8 national seeds the way I have it. NU, ASU, FSU, Miami, San Diego, Coastal Carolina, Rice, ???
That 8th team is still up for grabs, with the slight edge right now to North Carolina. A&M still has a great chacne, and Georgia could sneak in there, if they get on a hot streak and win the SEC tournament. Like I said, a lot baseball left to be played, but things are starting to take shape.
However, this article is to focus on what teams to look out for as the college baseball regular season winds to a close in the next couple of weeks. We'll begin with the Big 12. Right now the Big 12 stands having as few as one, or as many as three get a to 8 national seed. NU, OSU, and Texas A&M have all seperated themselves from the pack. My guess is, that the winner of the A&M and NU series will get a top 8 national seed, as they will be seen as the conference winner. I don't think there's a scenario that'll give the Big 12 three top 8 seeds, but should the loser of the NU/A&M series, or OSU win the Big 12 tourney, the conference may just get a second national seeded team. Right now, I would say NU gets the national seeded nod, because they get A&M at home. After those top three teams, the Big 12 has been struggling to get a constant middle of the pack squad. Missouri has been in the middle of a losing streak, Texas is under .500 in conference play, and Baylor and Oklahoma will have to pull off a stong finish to the season, and get a win or two in the conference tournament. At the end of the day, the Big 12 gets 6 teams in ( NU, A&M, OSU, Mizzou, Texas, Baylor/OU which ever teams finishes stronger). The conference will get three teams to host regionals, and I think just one national seeded team.
Moving onto the other big baseball conferences, next with the ACC. This conference is completely top heavy with three teams that could be the best in all of college baseball. Florida St, North Carolina, and perhaps the best team in the country, Miami all stand great chances at being a top 8 seed. After those three it gets kind of muddled a bit. North Carolina St. is the best of the rest, and in most other conferences would be considered the favorit, however, there is just one more team above .500 in conference play, and that's Viriginia, whileGeorgia Tech sits at an even conference record. So you're looking at possibly 3 national seeds from the ACC, but just six teams in overall. In my opinion, though, the bottom of the ACC will hurt too much in the committee's eyes, and leave the conference with just two national seeds, FSU and Miami, while North Carolina will host a regional, an NCSU still has a decent shot at hosting a regional as well. I wouldn't be surprised if two, or three teams from this conference get to Omaha.
The SEC. Right now, absolutely zero SEC teams deserve a national seed, but due to college baseball's deep ties to the SEC, the conference champion will get the nod. Right now that would be Georgia, who's got the best record in the conference, but have a horrible regular season mark. They are 15-5 in conference, which is very good this time of year, but they haven't topped the 30 win mark yet. Overall the SEC will probably get two teams to host regionals, Georgia, and perhaps Kentucky if they finish the season strong. Sweeping LSU will help a lot for the Wildcats. Speaking of LSU, the Tigers look to finally break their drought this decade, and are getting back to where the program was a decade ago. They won't host a regional this year, but it's good for college baseball to get it's premier program back in the tournament. Because of the historical ties to college baseball, the SEC will get over half their teams in the tourney. However if this was the Big 10, only 4 would deserve a bid. The teams making it from the SEC will be Georgia, Florida, Vandy, Kentucky, South Carolina, LSU, and Ole Miss. An 8th team could make the tourney, but the middle of the SEC is so average this season it's tough to pick that team out. Georgia should host a regional, as should Vandy, and perhaps Kentucky.
The Pac 10 is in the same position as the SEC. One great team (Arizona St.) and a bunch of average teams. ASU will get a national seed, however the Pac 10 may get just 3 other teams into the NCAA's. Stanford probably gets a bid, as they'll finish second in the conference, followed by two time defending champion OSU. After that the rest of the conference is at or below .500. Still one team will put themselves into the tourney with a strong finish to the season. The Pac 10 gets on national seed, and just one team to host a regional.
For the rest of the conferences, we'll just focus on the top teams. From the WCC, San Diego should get a national seed, and will definately host a regional, Michigan won't get a national seed, despite a solid record, but will get to host a regional, which is pretty big for a school that plays outside that far north. Usually it's Minnesota who takes over the Big 10, mostly because they play indoors, but it seems Michigan has been committed to taking their baseball program to the next step. In the Big South Coastal Carolina deserves a national seed, and I think they get it this year, since the Pac 10 and the SEC are down this year. The Big West this year is a mess, and probably doesn't have a team that deserves to host a regional, but Cal St. Fullerton will probably come out with one. The Colonial has three teams worthy of making noise in the NCAA's with William and Mary, James Madison, and NC Wilmington. My guess is none of the teams will host, because they don't have adequate facilities. In the C-USA, Rice will be a national seed, while Tulane, Southern Miss and East Carolina all will make the tourney. The MAC is all screwed up. Team with the best conference record is 11 games UNDER .500. The Missouri Valley has 4 teams worthy of an NCAA tourney big, but only two will make it. Most likely WSU, and MSU, with an outside chance WSU could host a regional. In the SWAC, Jacksonville St. would probably host a regional, but probably get passed over for a program with better facilities. Still, I wouldn't want to face them in the regional round.
So lets recap the top 8 national seeds the way I have it. NU, ASU, FSU, Miami, San Diego, Coastal Carolina, Rice, ???
That 8th team is still up for grabs, with the slight edge right now to North Carolina. A&M still has a great chacne, and Georgia could sneak in there, if they get on a hot streak and win the SEC tournament. Like I said, a lot baseball left to be played, but things are starting to take shape.
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