Surprises on the way to the CWS

 Samford beat S.Miss. Rider beat CCU. 

Oklahoma schools having a tough time: Oral Roberts beat OK ST. E. Carolina beat OK.

 Troy beat BC.

 Penn beat Auburn. Penn's bullpen combined for 5.2 innings while allowing just one earned run in a 6-3 win that lasted 11 innings.

It's double elimination.  One of these two teams gets eliminated today. WV(Big 12), who lost to Indiana, faces Ball St (MAC), who lost to Kentucky.

June 3 Game time

Miguel Santos: 3 HR, 9 RBI in DBap's rout and elimination of Oklahoma State . 

 Auburn is done via  a 7-2 loss to USM. OK crushed Army to stay alive.

In more elimination games WV beat Ball St., UNC beat Wright St, ULL beat Maine, Cal-St-Fullerton beat San Jose St, and how about Santa Clara over Zona.

In a non -elimination game MD lost to Wake Forest 21-6. It still irks me losing to a Tobacco Road team. ACC memories don't go away.

June 4 2023

Oral Roberts beat DBAP to move on. USM has to beat Penn. CCU has to beat Duke . 

George Mason, near the Pentagon, finished off my Terps, then turned around and lost to Wake Forest.

June 6, 2023

I wonder if we'll see Larry Bird at the Indiana St/TCU series.

I have friends near Hattiesburg so I'll keep an eye on the farewell tour of longtime USM coach Scott Berry. USM/Tenn. 

Matt Hogan has 17HR, 65RBI for ORU who faces Oregon.

June 8, 2023

Indiana St @ TCU: Sycamores lost home field due to a Special Olympics event. Sears leads ISU with 19HR.

ORU @ Oregon: Ducks will need these guys healthy. Center fielder Colby Shade (wrist) and starting pitchers Jace Stoffal (finger) and Isaac Ayon (right arm)

Tenn @ S.Miss: Lot of focus on Tanner Hall, USM pitcher.

June 10, 2023

Hogan homered for ORU early, and they jumped out to a 8-0 lead, but the Ducks crept back for a 9-8 win. TCU beat Indiana St 4-1.

June 11, 2023

S.Miss is up 4-0 in suspended game1 with the Vols. 

Yep, nice two run single by Quinn kept ORU alive. 

TCU chopped down the Sycamores 6-4 to move onward. ISU out-hit TCU 10-6.

June 12, 2023

Vols rocked Tanner Hall(USM) in GM 2 to even that series.

ORU is the lowest seed to reach the MCWS since Stony Brook in 2012. ORU sure can hit the ball. They 'll face TCU in the battle of Christians.

Well, we're down to just ORU as far non power conference teams. Vols blanked USM 5-0 yesterday to head to Omaha. SEC(3) ,ACC(2), Big12, Pac12, and Summit each with one in the CWS. 

Tide steals Terps head coach Vaughn.

June 15, 2023

ORU, UVA, Wake, LSU are my picks. I'm rooting for ORU but am aware that its pitching is suspect. ACC has been a solid baseball conference for a long time.

June 16, 2023

Got in from work in time to catch Denton, ORU's closer, make folks nervous in the bottom of the ninth, but he held on to a 6-5 win over TCU. Brothers hit a three run homer for ORU  in a four run top of the ninth.

June 18, 2023

ORU faces FLA today and  will need plenty of offense to beat the Gators.

TCU /VA: Loser is eliminated.

June 19, 2023

TCU eliminated UVA. FLA scored five runs on five hits in a 5-4 win over ORU. Three of the five Gators' hit were home runs. 

Hogan hit an inside the park homer for the Golden Eagles.

June 20, 2023

Vols roared back to eliminate Stanford. Wake edged LSU and faces Tenn today in an elimination game.

ORU plays TCU in an elimination game today.

June 21, 2023

Bye, bye ORU. TCU never looked back in a 6-1 win yesterday. LSU eliminated Tenn and faces FLA next. LSU plays Wake. I'll root for TCU now to win it all.

off-season: Memphis(AAC) and Akron(MAC) are searching for new head coaches, and so is Cincy who's moving to the Big 12.

June 30, 2023

A few of the non-P5 guys on the Team USA roster who will play in a pair of five-game series with Chinese Taipei and Japan from June 30-July 12 at various sites across the Carolinas. 

Matt Ager; RHP; Pleasanton, Calif.; UC Santa Barbara

 Trey Yesavage; RHP; Boyertown, Pa.; East Carolina

July 6, 2023

Plenty of P5 guys and few High school kids showing up in mock drafts, but I found one non-P5 kid getting props. 18. Brewers: Jacob Wilson, SS, Grand Canyon(WAC). His dad Jack played for the Pirates in the MLB. 

MLB draft: July 9-11

July 10, 2023

In rd1 Wilson went to the A's at 6. Nolan Schanuel, 1B, FAU went to the Angels at 11. He batted .444.

 Morehead State(OVC) first baseman Jackson Feltner was picked 235th by the DBacks, and Patrick Copen(Marshall) was selected by the  Dodgers with 220th pick(round7) 

July 11, 2023

Ok, too many players taken in the baseball draft to breakdown by conference. Sunbelt had its fair share. Also, a nod to ORU, the 2023 Cinderella, who had three kids drafted: Outfielder Jonah Cox, was drafted 166th overall by the Athletics. Star closer Cade Denton went just six picks later at 172nd overall to the Rockies. Left-handed pitcher Jacob Widener went 259th overall to the Royals.

July 12, 2023

Orioles watched the non p5

- -

4 118 BAL Levi Wells 21 P Texas State $563,600 - -

5 154 BAL Jake Cunningham 21 OF North Carolina-Charlotte $396,700 - -

6 181 BAL Jacob Cravey 21 P Samford University $312,300 - -

7 211 BAL Teddy Sharkey 21 P Coastal Carolina $244,400 - -

8 241 BAL Braxton Bragg 22 P Dallas Baptist $197,800 - -

9 271 BAL Zach Fruit 23 P Troy University $177,100 - -

10 301 BAL Matthew Etzel 21 OF Southern Mississippi $167,000 - -

11 331 BAL Nestor German 21 P Seattle $125,000 - -

SEC Six Big12 Four in hoops challenge 012922 and onward

 How has Bama lost a game? Impressive win over Baylor. The Iron Bowl (ALA/AUB) is a big deal in hoops, too

Sooners' coach Moser may ask the nuns of Loyola-Chicago to pray for him.

You never know which LSU, Miss St, and OK St squads will show up.

TX HC Beard wins the "Barnes bowl", and his former team Texas Tech hasn't missed a beat since he left.

Calipari is back and Huggy(WV) is fading, despite giving Musselman's Razorbacks a battle.

More Self-analysis for the Jayhawks.

Since the B12 has four less teams than the SEC, Vandy beat Georgia were left out of yesterday events b

The Buzz has faded @ TAMU who lost to South Carolina.  I shook my head when the Ags hired Buzz Williams away from VTech a few years ago.

Feb 1, 2022

After Saturday games I thought Baylor would crush West Virginia, but Huggy's guys lost the lead after Taz Sherman(29 points) left the game due to a concussion.  BAY 81 WV 77.

Damion Baugh(20 PTS, 8 REB, 1 AST) helped TCU pull away from the Sooners late. TCU 72  OK 63. Two teams headed in different directions.

Feb 2, 2022

"Iron Bowl" hoops started with some poor shooting and the refs swallowing their whistles for both sides, but Auburn played some D and pulled away late in the first half. AUB 100 Bama 81

Elsewhere in the SEC: Tennessee bounced back with a win over TAMU, and Ol Miss beat slumping LSU. Miss St got a much needed win, beating the Gamecocks 78-64.

In Big 12 action Texas Tech shaved the Beard in Austin. TT 77 TX 64, while Kansas bounced back well from the loss to Kentucky by beating Iowa St 70-61 despite a solid night for Izaiah Brockington(ISU - G  24 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST)

Feb 3, 2022

He!! of an effort from Scotty Pippen Jr.(VAN - G  33 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AS), but UK hung on . UK 77 VAN 70.

Nijel Pack (KSU - G 22 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST) was a key factor in the Wildcats win over OK St in this bubble matchup. K St 71 OK St 68

Feb 6, 2022

What a difference a week makes? Bama lost to UK and Baylor lost by a ton to Kansas. Auburn barely beat cellar dweller GA. LSU lost to Vandy again. Is Stackhouse's crew going to make a run?

Feb 8, 2022

 I couldn't keep my eyes open for the second half of TX win over Kansas. Nice move by Beard early in the game to feed the big men down low. Timmy Allen TEX - F

24 PTS, 9 REB, 1 AST 

Feb 9, 2022

Arkansas won its 9th straight game, a huge OT win over Auburn last night.

Feb 10, 2022

Gibson scores 30 as Oklahoma(14-10, 4-7 CONF) upsets No. 9 Texas Tech 70-55. I'm sure Sooners' fans are still wondering about hiring Porter Moser from Loyola of Chicago as they remain on the bubble.

Feb 16, 2022

Vols are on a nice roll in February. Big upset of Kentucky last night. 

Ol Miss crumble continues with L to South Carolina.

Beard shaved off a two-point OT win in a Red River battle. TX 80 OK 78

Feb 23, 2022

Scotty's kid nearly rolled the Tide last night. Pippen Jr. VANDY 26 PTS 2 REB 6 AST. Ark beat FLA.  Moser continues to struggle at OK.  TT 66 OK 42

Feb 28, 2022

After what I saw yesterday in B10 action, the conference may be fifth among the power 5 conferences. I loved Ayala leading the Terps to a 75-60 win over the Buckeyes and was laughing at Nebraska killing PennSt a few days after Nebraska(8-21, 2-16) said they were keeping Coach Holberg. Every season the B10 gets more than their share of Dance tickets.

Illinois beat Michigan and Indiana beat Minnesota.

March 2, 2022

Two in a row for Nebraska. NEB 78 Ohio St 70. Plus, Wisky beat Purdue in B10 action.  In the B12 TCU knocked off Kansas.

March 3, 2022

Terps win again. This time it was Minnesota. I suspect Danny Manning wants the interim term removed. Manning's replacement at Wake Forest, Steve Forbes, has the Deacons in gear for the ACCT. They crushed NC St last night.

March 6, 2022

Another wild Saturday. SEC : LSU  beats Bama. Tenn  cools off Arkansas. TAMU beat Miss St and may have crept onto the bubble. That's what I get for criticizing Buzzcut.

Big 12:  OK St edged TT. Huggy's guys climb out of the cellar and beat Jamie Dixon's TCU squad. It takes me back to the Big East WVA/Pitt matchups when Dixon was the Pitt HC.

ACC: UNC spoils Coach K's day. It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. BTW, it's difficult for me to root for any Tobacco Road team.

March 7, 2022

I noticed that Nebraska won again which hurt  Wisky. Funny how that vote of confidence for Hoiberg has sparked the Huskers.

March 10, 2022

Wake Forest loss to BC in the ACCT probably nixes its Dance chances. Deacons needed to win at least one game. Is Huggy going to stir the Big 12 pot. WV beat KST. Cuse  beat FSU by 39. Is Boeheim  going to be crying for another ticket? I suspect losing his son Buddy for one game for the punch will hurt him today against Duke.

March 13, 2022

Vols/Ags in the SECT final. Then VA Tech jumped off the bubble beating Duke in the ACCT. This will reverberate through the Dance committee this afternoon.

Plus, I hope they don't do their annual normal and selecting too many Big 10 teams.

March 21, 2022

Three ACC teams, Miami, UNC, and Duke, in the Sweet 16. Laranaga still has some magic left  from from 2006 when he took GW (Colonial, at the time) to to the F4.

March 25, 2022

''40 Minutes of Hell,'' returned for Arkansas in the win over the Zags . I have them in the F4. I had Texas Tech in the F4 but they lost to Duke. Also have Nova in the F4. The damn Auburn pick to win it all haunts me.

March 27,2022

Duke moves on to P4. I'm on the anybody but Duke train which may mean rooting for UNC. Tobacco road choices are so difficult for a life-long Terps' fan.

April 3, 2022

 LSU has no scholarship player remaining from its 2021/22 team.

Aug 12, 2022

St Peters upsets still haunts. I love a Cats-fight . Stoops/Calipari

# 4straightpostseasonwins.  UK's football program winning the Citrus Bowl in 2018, Belk Bowl in 2019, Gator Bowl in 2020 and Citrus Bowl again in 2021. What is also highlights is how UK's basketball program hasn't won a postseason game since 2019, most recently losing to Saint Peter's in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament after going 9-16 in the 2020-21 season and missing the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

O5 OOC play in week 4

N. Starkel (63-123, 937 YDS, 6 TD, 4 INT) takes his San Jose St(MWC)  team  to play Western Michigan(MWC) led by K. Eleby (58-93, 702 YDS, 5 TD). In a battle of productive QBs WMU , who upset Pitt last Saturday , will survive 31-30.

In a battle of two former SWC teams , SMU(AAC) will give TCU(Big12) a tough matchup but fall 28-24. 

Tanner Mordecai SMU(81-111, 1023 YDS, 16 TD)has been productive and one of his TD passes was a final second Hail Mary TD pass in a win over La Tech last Saturday.

Tulane(AAC) has scored some points in losses to Oklahoma and Ol Miss while UAB(CUSA) scored one TD in a loss to Georgia, but the Blazers will keep this a low scoring game and prevail 19-16.

Just heard: Tennessee paid an additional $100,000 to not play Army in 2022.  Army  was supposed to get $1.4 million for the game but was paid a $500,000 buyout to cancel the agreement. Akron(MAC) will replace them and be paid $1 million.  Army hasn't filled the schedule slot yet. Vols' folks claim Fulmer got the ball rolling on this. It's a chicken-sh^t move.

Sept 26, 2021

One for three for this weekend. UAB 28 Tulane 21 Starting qbs, Hopkins (UAB) , Pratt (TUL) each threw three TDs

Another game with 3 TDs QBs: Mordecai lead SMU over TCU and Dugan by a score of 42-34. Also, Bentley rushed for 153 yards and TD for the Mustangs in the Dallas area "bowl"

Starkel and the Spartans laid an egg in a 23-3 loss to WMU

In a day filled with upsets and near upsets, how about  Bowling Green(MAC) defeating Minnesota(b10) 14-10