I’m pulling for OU. If only UT and A&M could both lose tomorrow. Yesterday was a perfect baseball day for me. ND looks impressive.
@anotherparent posted:Well, the CWS is underway. Who is the favorite?
Thanks for bringing this up. For many years, this was always a hot topic this time of the year on the HSBBW. It didn't matter if your son was a player in Omaha or not. Board was jumping!
Florida had a very young team. 1 transfer, 1 grad . They struggled but got better as they matured.
They played OU 3 times, won 1 game and lost home regional. A&M 2x, split, and Arkansas 4 times, won 3.
If I were to root for an SEC team, it would be Ole Miss. But having a former ACC baseball player, I am going with the Knoxville Super Regional Champs and ACC Coach of the Year!
Go Irish!
I will be rooting for the SEC teams. Ole Miss would likely be the one I’ll root for the hardest
WHAT a beatdown of Stanford.
It's an easy choice for me...
..after the Ivy league team was eliminated.
Younger son just started a graduate program there (got his ND undergrad degree in May). And tomorrow I'll be accompanying a group of high school students (via train) for a 5 day retreat at ND.
@anotherparent posted:WHAT a beatdown of Stanford.
Correct me if I am wrong, did I hear the announcers refer to Stanford probably being the best team in Omaha?
There is no need to declare my allegiance. Pretty sure everyone knows. But what everyone may not know is how intense the ill will is between Texas A&M and Texas. Having been a part of that rivalry I can tell you that I have never seen anything like it. It’s been over 10 years since both schools were in the same conference and the two teams have never met before in the CWS. The game will be white hot and must see TV even if you have no dog in the hunt. A&M has had a phenomenal year but this team isn’t built to win a double elimination 8 team tournament. They are too thin on the mound. And every infielder is a defensive liability. But they pound the baseball and there is no quit in them. They are fun to watch. What Jim Schlossnagle has done in one year is absolutely amazing. He understands how to build a brand as well as he does the on the field stuff. The excitement is back in Aggie baseball and I expect them to be even better next year.
I’ve recorded then tuned in starting with the seventh inning each game to see where it stood. Texas A&M scoring four in the seventh held me into that game. Otherwise, I haven’t watched an inning.
Stanford should have thrown the lefty. It’s a tough decision but it was the right one. Arkansas is so much worse vs LHP’s and Matthews had dominated us earlier in the year. I’ll give DVH a ton of credit. Right now it’s one starter and all hands on deck out of the pen. The #2 starter is probably the new closer. The new #2 starter wasnt even pitching two months ago. The closer might pitch in the middle innings. The #3 starter may not pitch again. It’s all about who is pitching well right now
Arkansas and Ole Miss are both playing their best baseball of the year. Either team is capable of winning it all. Personally I like what Ole Miss has on the mound. And you gotta have great pitching to win the CWS. The gauntlet that is the SEC really prepares teams for post season play. SEC is unique in that you never face a weak opponent. Never. It’s so far and away the best conference top to bottom. Four teams from the SEC West making it to Omaha tells you all you need to know - and Tennessee was better than all four. Except for one weekend. But to quote former Texas Ranger manager Ron Washington, “that’s how baseball go”
Baseball is so unique and why I love it. It's not where you begin but how you end. Every team's goal should be to play their best baseball in May. Example from last year, Mississippi State.
I have stated that quite often over the years here on HSBBW. Ole Miss didn't even have a 500 winning percentage within their division. Were one and done in their conference championship, almost missed it, not overloaded with grad transfers yet here they are. I learned this year that in the SEC a coach can never rely on how many wins he has but how he has prepared their team for the post season. That more than likely is the goal for most programs but not every program has the resources to achieve that goal.
In 2024 Oklahoma and Texas join the SEC. Of course it's all designed to benefit football so it should be interesting.
As a baseball fan I just love Notre Dame's story. Jarrett more than likely will be leaving so those boys will be playing their hearts out. They certainly have more to lose than a game.
The past two weekends may be the first time in history America was rooting for Notre Dame to win
@PABaseball posted:The past two weekends may be the first time in history America was rooting for Notre Dame to win
Last week some sportswriter wrote this may be the first time in sports fan history the entire country rallied behind Notre Dame due to their opponent’s arrogance. I was neutral. Notre Dame sports has a lifetime of arrogance. I’m back to “just crush them.”
Obviously Stanford has a very good team. They did not play up to their seed and it was a bit disappointing given all the talent. Given all they could handle in regionals by a very good Tx St team and were very fortunate UConn ran out of arms. Some very questionable decision making when it came to their bullpen, especially in Auburn game.
Six left, I expect Oklahoma to beat up on a very depleted staff in the winner of ND/A&M and would hope they'd meet up with Ole Miss on the other end for an all underdog final.
Ole Miss may have been the last team to make it in, they look great. Would be wild in OU wins both baseball and softball.
The difference at this point between Ole Miss and Oklahoma vs all the rest is that they have legit closers.
Probably will be the reason why they might meet up in final game.
JMO
Stanford out, the curse of being called "the best team"?
I was rooting for ND up to this point, but now that their opponents are all out I see Oklahoma taking the whole thing. They are just playing some phenomenal baseball right now and their pitching staff is rock solid.
@anotherparent posted:Stanford out, the curse of being called "the best team"?
LoL. I think it was the curse of having to play 2 SEC teams.
Texas fired pitching coach Sean Allen who was the hitting coach before that. Doing some reading this morning that the pitching program was a hot mess. Whose fault is that?
Ole Miss one win away from championship game.
@TPM posted:Texas fired pitching coach Sean Allen who was the hitting coach before that. Doing some reading this morning that the pitching program was a hot mess. Whose fault is that?
Ole Miss one win away from championship game.
The SEC arrogance gets offensive and real old real fast. In the last ten years …
When Oregon State won the CWS they beat Arkansas in the finals and Mississippi State twice along the way.
When UCLA won they beat Mississippi State in the finals and LSU along the way.
When Arizona won they beat South Carolina in the finals.
Stanford went 9-5 against ranked teams this year. Heading into the CWS they had easily beaten Arkansas.
So, Stanford losing to two SEC teams is just losing to two good teams they faced. Regardless of conference teams that get to the CWS are either top ranked teams or next tier teams that are hot. The way it plays out two very good teams have to go 0-2.
Unfortunately for Stanford the CWS is the wrong time for the bats to go cold for a couple of games. They’re still loaded with pro prospects. It’s why they were ranked #2 and CWS favorite. Isn’t #1 from the SEC is missing? Stuff happens!
I don't think there is any less arrogance in the PAC-12 or the ACC for that matter. Coming from a mid-major conference and having played non-conference games against teams in the SEC, PAC-12, and ACC there is plenty of arrogance to go around.
@baseballmom01 posted:I don't think there is any less arrogance in the PAC-12 or the ACC for that matter. Coming from a mid-major conference and having played non-conference games against teams in the SEC, PAC-12, and ACC there is plenty of arrogance to go around.
My reference is specifically about this board over the past ten years.
I think you'd find that kind of SEC attitude everywhere that there are SEC fans, not just on this board. In fact, we are lucky to have people representing every level and conference here, even if they don't always agree. 
SEC fans are not arrogant. It's just that their baseball programs and football programs overall are miles ahead of any other conference 
@High Change Ups Go A Long Way posted:SEC fans are not arrogant. It's just that their baseball programs and football programs overall are miles ahead of any other conference
100% agree!
Fans are ridiculous everywhere that is why they are called fanatics. Pay attention to the players. There isn't one team that made it to the CWS that didn't think they could win it all. That is confidence. It just so happens that the SEC has 3 teams still in it as of today. Results matter, and it proves how incredibly talented and deep the SEC is in 2022. Nothing more...nothing less. Tip of the cap to them as they've earned it.
BTW..Oklahoma and Texas may be SEC members very, very soon. So factor that in too.
PS...Some of these recent games have not been close. You can see their killer instinct that comes with playing in a deep competitive conference helps in the post-season.
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My comment was a follow up to anotherparent's post about Stanford losing.
IMO, Stanford had an easier road regional/super to get to Omaha. I don't follow west coast baseball so this recent post season was the first time all year that I watched and it wasn't impressive, to me. I am not particularly interested in past history.
Unfortunetly wins and RPI gets you a top seed but who you play prepares you for the post season and yes at this point SEC teams beating up on each other proves the point.
That is not arrogance but the truth. It wasnt meant to offend anyone.
@High Change Ups Go A Long Way posted:SEC fans are not arrogant. It's just that their baseball programs and football programs overall are miles ahead of any other conference
This ^^^^^! These are just facts. Some may not like it, and I’m not sure that it’s good for college sports in general. But it’s true nonetheless.
West coast college baseball has a proud history. Many great players have come from those programs. But it’s not what it used to be. Not near as many elite level programs as in the past.
FWIW the SEC has had a school in the finals of the CWS 14 of the past 15 years. That includes this year.
@adbono posted:FWIW the SEC has had a school in the finals of the CWS 14 of the past 15 years. That includes this year.
Exactly. Pure facts
Besides watching my son’s D3 team, the only other college Baseball I watch all year is the SEC. Why? In part it’s because my life is extremely busy and I only have so much time to watch Baseball, but also because plain and simple I find SEC Baseball to be the most entertaining.
And I’ll take SEC Baseball any day over MLB 3 true outcome boredom
Dear College World Series,
Will you please mix in a close game or two? 10 games so far with the closest being 4 runs and average spread nearly 7
@adbono posted:This ^^^^^! These are just facts. Some may not like it, and I’m not sure that it’s good for college sports in general. But it’s true nonetheless.
West coast college baseball has a proud history. Many great players have come from those programs. But it’s not what it used to be. Not near as many elite level programs as in the past.
FWIW the SEC has had a school in the finals of the CWS 14 of the past 15 years. That includes this year.
It just means more.
There's no competition between the south and the rest of the country. They care more and will spend a higher % of their discretionary time and income on college sports than I do. It's a market like any other.
It's worth noting that, of PG's top 10 California recruits in the '22 class, 7 are committed to non-west coast schools. 2x to Texas, 2x to Duke, 2x to LSU and one to TCU.
I know a couple of these kids. Money (NIL), facilities and exposure seem to be the factors. Smaller contributing factor is political and cultural comfort zone (i.e., conservative parents wanting their kids in a red to reddish state).
@OskiSD posted:There's no competition between the south and the rest of the country. They care more and will spend a higher % of their discretionary time and income on college sports than I do. It's a market like any other.
It's worth noting that, of PG's top 10 California recruits in the '22 class, 7 are committed to non-west coast schools. 2x to Texas, 2x to Duke, 2x to LSU and one to TCU.
I know a couple of these kids. Money (NIL), facilities and exposure seem to be the factors. Smaller contributing factor is political and cultural comfort zone (i.e., conservative parents wanting their kids in a red to reddish state).
Again, more facts. 10 years ago elite HS players from California leaving the state was a rarity. Now it isn’t. Besides the factors that you mentioned, which are all valid, there is also a considerable difference in fan base support. SEC games regularly draw 5000+ fans per game. When UCLA plays USC I bet 5000 people don’t even know the game is being played. And I’m talking about two of the most storied programs in college baseball history. Not only does it mean more in the SEC, in the Pac12 it seems to hardly mean anything at all. I watched USC play UCLA a couple years ago and nobody was in the stands. You could hear the conversations that Little Leaguers were having in the stands on the TV broadcast. I just don’t understand the lack of interest.
@adbono posted:Again, more facts. 10 years ago elite HS players from California leaving the state was a rarity. Now it isn’t. Besides the factors that you mentioned, which are all valid, there is also a considerable difference in fan base support. SEC games regularly draw 5000+ fans per game. When UCLA plays USC I bet 5000 people don’t even know the game is being played. And I’m talking about two of the most storied programs in college baseball history. Not only does it mean more in the SEC, in the Pac12 it seems to hardly mean anything at all. I watched USC play UCLA a couple years ago and nobody was in the stands. You could hear the conversations that Little Leaguers were having in the stands on the TV broadcast. I just don’t understand the lack of interest.
I should have mentioned the fan support, which is another big factor. Oregon State draws but that's about it.
@adbono posted:Again, more facts. 10 years ago elite HS players from California leaving the state was a rarity. Now it isn’t. Besides the factors that you mentioned, which are all valid, there is also a considerable difference in fan base support. SEC games regularly draw 5000+ fans per game. When UCLA plays USC I bet 5000 people don’t even know the game is being played. And I’m talking about two of the most storied programs in college baseball history. Not only does it mean more in the SEC, in the Pac12 it seems to hardly mean anything at all. I watched USC play UCLA a couple years ago and nobody was in the stands. You could hear the conversations that Little Leaguers were having in the stands on the TV broadcast. I just don’t understand the lack of interest.
There’s a lot of competition for the entertainment dollar. When college baseball starts just in major league pro sports alone there are two NBA and two NHL teams playing. In April add in two MLB teams plus how far the other four go in the playoffs. Pro Beach Volleyball draws more than college baseball.
Well, it's not an all-SEC final.
Check the background on the SEC Baseball Marketing staff. The College students receive credit for their Sports Marketing ability. They are future Minor League and College Summer ball Marketing Directors.
There are many avenues in baseball to "move forward". Maybe they will create the "Zip Code" games.
Bob
ESPN and most other media outlets feed and have always fed the SEC hype.