The NCAA's baseball tourney kicked off this weekend as the 64 postseason teams began play in 16 regionals.
While my alma mater, Louisiana Tech, faded at the end of the year and didn't make the postseason, there are still plenty of times to Ruston.
In Tuscaloosa, Ala., two Ruston High alums are battling -- as Brandon Belcher's Alabama team has the No. 1 seed and Daniel Best's Southern Miss Golden Eagles were seeded third.
On Friday, Belcher, a leftfielder, went 1-for-5 in the Crimson Tide's 13-1 win over Jacksonville. Best, meanwhile, watched from the bench, as the nation's premier closer couldn't get into the game in Southern Miss' 10-8 loss to Conference USA rival Troy.
Today was better for Best, though, as Southern Miss stayed alive, beating Jacksonville 6-2. Best, a lanky 6-4 sidearmer, threw 1.2 innings to get his 13th save of the year -- tying him atop Southern Miss' single-season record books. The Golden Eagles will now play Troy again after Alabama won 4-3. Belcher, hitting out of the 8th spot, went 0-for-4.
On Sunday, Southern Miss and Troy face off at 1:30 p.m. The winner will face Alabama Sunday night, needing to knock off the Crimson Tide twice to advance to a super regional. Should Alabama lose Sunday night, the rematch would be at 1 p.m. Monday.
Tuscaloosa isn't the only regional with a Ruston tie. In Oxford, Miss., Best and Belcher's high school teammate, Stoney Stone, is a reliever for Ole Miss.
Ole Miss won its first game Friday over Bethune Cookman, 3-2, and then advanced to the championship with a 9-7 win over South Alabama. Stoney, a senior, has yet to pitch in the regional.
Bouncing around the rest of the regionals --
In Athens, Ga., Florida State appears ready to beat host Georgia, as they did 6-4 Saturday, and head back to the super regional. Going to the CWS seems like a rite of passage every year for the Seminoles.
In Austin, Texas, the Longhorns were stunned by Stanford, 12-8. National player of the year Drew Stubbs, another player with Ruston ties (although way down the line) has to pick his team up to get them to the super regional.
Like high scores, head to Chapel Hill, N.C. Winthrop 14, UNC-Wilmington 2. UNC 15, Maine 7. UNC-Wilmington 21, Maine 19. UNC 14, Winthrop 4.
At Clemson, Elon beat Mississippi State Friday. Maybe LSU does have a complaint. What happened to State, once the best team in country? Tech happened, that's what. Once the Bulldogs made that magical comeback, MissStake hasn't been the same. They came back to beat UNC-Asheville 5-4 on Saturday but now faces Elon again for the chance to face top-seeded Clemson.
Arkansas lost. At home. To Oral Roberts. Man, what has happened to the SEC?
It keeps getting worse. Kentucky, a No. 1 seed, lost at home to Ball State. Wow. Same regional. Notre Dame loses to College of Charleston. So much for the Irish's complaints about poor seeding. Kentucky came back to beat Notre Dame. Peace out Irish. Meanwhile, College of Charleston (who?) is rolling, 11-0 over Ball State.
In Lincoln, Neb., host and No. 6 team in the country, Nebraska, is 2-and-out -- losing 4-1 to Manhattan and 5-1 to San Francisco. Boy, those are two powerhouses there.
Out in Malibu, there was some good baseball. Two 3-2 games, No. 1 seed Pepperdine over Missouri and No. 2 UCLA over UC-Irvine. On Saturday, Missouri beat Irvine, 5-4, and Pepperdine beat UCLA 6-0.
Like many people out there, I don't follow college baseball too closely during the season, but I love the tournament!
Quick Hits
Das win the game! Dirk "the German Werewolf" Nowitzki scored 24 points to lead Dallas to a Game 6, and most importantly 4-2 series, win over former running mate and league MVP Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns. Nash had 19 and 9, while Boris Diaw, who came out of nowhere to become a star, had 30 and 11. Imagine how good this team could have been if Amare would have been healthy. One word: LETHAL!
Instead, it's Dallas getting over the hump. Can't say I'm happy. Nowitzki is good. Just doesn't excite me. Would much rather watch the uptempo Suns. They are what Dallas used to be. Guess Nash still can't get over the hump, though, despite the MVPs. Like Flash, aka Dwyane Wade. Hope the Heat win. Would much rather be watching Phoenix vs. Cleveland. Oh well. NBA playoffs. Catch the excitement!
Bonds watch: Appears 73* is safe. Pujols heads to DL with oblique strain. Meanwhile, Barry goes 2-for-3 with 2 1B, 2 BB, an RBI and a run in 6-4 win over Mets. Then, shockingly, he sits out the second game of the doubleheader, a 3-2 Giants loss.
It's over!!! I'm calling it -- my Braves are done. A doubleheader sweep to the D-backs drops Atlanta to 28-28, 6 games behind the Mets. Atlanta cannot continue to play .500 and keep its impressive streak of pennants alive. The MLB season is long, very long, but Bobby Cox has to do something to kickstart his team, especially his pitching staff.
Eric Musselman?!?! C'mon, Maloofs, you can do better than that.
Can't wait for the big b_hoss blog preview on Monday? The U.S. is rarin' to go. Follow the World Cup here.
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Friday, June 02, 2006
It's not all about me
OK, for the past couple of weeks or so, I feel like all I've been talking about is me, me, me. Sometimes I get so busy that I forget to slow down and talk about other people besides myself. So that's what the majority of this post will be about -- you guys, the people who make up my life.
For the next, oh, 16 years or so this time of the year will be about one thing -- nephews. I've got three of them, and they all have birthdays in May or June. Connor, my brother's son, saw that milestone known as his first birthday last month. This past weekend was his birthday party, which because of the move and the new schedule, I was unable to attend. I did want to send out a belated shoutout to my boy, though. Caleb, my eldest brother-in-law's son, turned 2 years old yesterday, while Thomas, my other brother-in-law's son, will be 2 on June 30. Happy birthday to all!
There's also another celebration occasion in the McCormick household this weekend. In case you've forgotten -- June 4, that would be Sunday, is my anniversary. It's hard to believe it's been a year already, and at the same time that year has flown by so fast. So much has changed since we both said "I Do" in Pineville on that blazing hot summer day last year. I never would have guessed that one year later I'd be living in my own home across the river and working at The Town Talk. It's funny how life throws curveballs at you.
Another reason to celebrate: today was a big day for my boy, Grant Terry, who signed to play college baseball at Northeast Texas Community College. Terry will join two of his former Ruston High teammates, Cole Bishop and Turner Brasher, at NTCC. Just for the record, both Terry and Brasher are looking up at me in the standings of our fantasy baseball league.
For those of you who don't know my story with Grant, who I know simply as GT, here it is. I saw the kid around a lot during his first two years at Ruston High. He just, like me at his age, went to a lot of sporting events. Since I covered sports for The Leader, we talked about sports, naturally. Gradually, our conversations turned into friendship. And I'm proud today to call Grant a friend.
I'm very proud of him. Here's a kid who didn't play varsity baseball until his senior year. He could have easily quit, much like I did when I was his age. But he stuck with it. Due to his work ethic, he took an athletically limited body and improved himself to become a college athlete. Hopefully with continued work, he'll be wearing a Bulldog baseball uniform in two seasons. Congrats, kid.
My stepbrother, Wayne West, is getting married in a week. Less than a week now. Read more about it here.
Things are going well around the house. It's still a mess, just not quite as big of one as it was yesterday. I mowed my yard for the first time this morning. Not too much work. I've also edged about half the front yard, the rest I will finish Saturday morning. Now that was a lot of work. I can tell it hasn't been edged in quite some time. But when it's all said and done, the yard will look very good. And I will be able to keep up with it, so it won't require quite as much work next time.
Good news, since we're in that kind of mood tonight. Elizabeth got a job! She'll start working Monday at Sabine State Bank here in Alexandria. She will be able to build upon her experience at Community Trust Bank in Ruston.
Quick hits
Peace out Pistons. You got demolished by Miami.
Jon Papelbon is now 20-for-20 on save opportunities, extending his rookie record. The kid is simply lights-out right now with a 0.32 ERA.
Very interesting story on Adam Morrison by ESPN.com's Andy Katz. Katz, by the way, has always been one of my idols. He, along with John Feinstein and Mitch Albom, is perhaps my favorite sportswriter.
Speaking of the NBA Draft, things aren't looking very good for Louisiana Tech's Paul Millsap, who has fallen out of the first round in this latest mock draft.
Does anyone actually think Lance, or any athlete, is clean today?
Who is this Ryan Howard cat? Hit his 19th bomb Friday night.
Bonds Watch: No news due to rain. Next up: doubleheader on Saturday. Here's a bold prediction: Bonds will sit out the second game.
What's up with Frank Thomas? Guy is hitting .230 with 36 hits. 13 of them are dingers.
Can the D-League survive? It would certainly help the NBA to have a bonafide developmental league.
I'm planning a big blog on the World Cup, which starts next week. Most likely, I'll post it on Monday. Just a heads up, my first byline and column will appear next week. Both are on the World Cup.
For the next, oh, 16 years or so this time of the year will be about one thing -- nephews. I've got three of them, and they all have birthdays in May or June. Connor, my brother's son, saw that milestone known as his first birthday last month. This past weekend was his birthday party, which because of the move and the new schedule, I was unable to attend. I did want to send out a belated shoutout to my boy, though. Caleb, my eldest brother-in-law's son, turned 2 years old yesterday, while Thomas, my other brother-in-law's son, will be 2 on June 30. Happy birthday to all!
There's also another celebration occasion in the McCormick household this weekend. In case you've forgotten -- June 4, that would be Sunday, is my anniversary. It's hard to believe it's been a year already, and at the same time that year has flown by so fast. So much has changed since we both said "I Do" in Pineville on that blazing hot summer day last year. I never would have guessed that one year later I'd be living in my own home across the river and working at The Town Talk. It's funny how life throws curveballs at you.
Another reason to celebrate: today was a big day for my boy, Grant Terry, who signed to play college baseball at Northeast Texas Community College. Terry will join two of his former Ruston High teammates, Cole Bishop and Turner Brasher, at NTCC. Just for the record, both Terry and Brasher are looking up at me in the standings of our fantasy baseball league.
For those of you who don't know my story with Grant, who I know simply as GT, here it is. I saw the kid around a lot during his first two years at Ruston High. He just, like me at his age, went to a lot of sporting events. Since I covered sports for The Leader, we talked about sports, naturally. Gradually, our conversations turned into friendship. And I'm proud today to call Grant a friend.
I'm very proud of him. Here's a kid who didn't play varsity baseball until his senior year. He could have easily quit, much like I did when I was his age. But he stuck with it. Due to his work ethic, he took an athletically limited body and improved himself to become a college athlete. Hopefully with continued work, he'll be wearing a Bulldog baseball uniform in two seasons. Congrats, kid.
My stepbrother, Wayne West, is getting married in a week. Less than a week now. Read more about it here.
Things are going well around the house. It's still a mess, just not quite as big of one as it was yesterday. I mowed my yard for the first time this morning. Not too much work. I've also edged about half the front yard, the rest I will finish Saturday morning. Now that was a lot of work. I can tell it hasn't been edged in quite some time. But when it's all said and done, the yard will look very good. And I will be able to keep up with it, so it won't require quite as much work next time.
Good news, since we're in that kind of mood tonight. Elizabeth got a job! She'll start working Monday at Sabine State Bank here in Alexandria. She will be able to build upon her experience at Community Trust Bank in Ruston.
Quick hits
Peace out Pistons. You got demolished by Miami.
Jon Papelbon is now 20-for-20 on save opportunities, extending his rookie record. The kid is simply lights-out right now with a 0.32 ERA.
Very interesting story on Adam Morrison by ESPN.com's Andy Katz. Katz, by the way, has always been one of my idols. He, along with John Feinstein and Mitch Albom, is perhaps my favorite sportswriter.
Speaking of the NBA Draft, things aren't looking very good for Louisiana Tech's Paul Millsap, who has fallen out of the first round in this latest mock draft.
Does anyone actually think Lance, or any athlete, is clean today?
Who is this Ryan Howard cat? Hit his 19th bomb Friday night.
Bonds Watch: No news due to rain. Next up: doubleheader on Saturday. Here's a bold prediction: Bonds will sit out the second game.
What's up with Frank Thomas? Guy is hitting .230 with 36 hits. 13 of them are dingers.
Can the D-League survive? It would certainly help the NBA to have a bonafide developmental league.
I'm planning a big blog on the World Cup, which starts next week. Most likely, I'll post it on Monday. Just a heads up, my first byline and column will appear next week. Both are on the World Cup.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
All sports ... all the time
Let's dive right into the sports talk ...
Yeah right!
I know everyone out there wants an update on what's going on down here in Alexandria. Well, we're in the house. Tonight is our first night, and let me tell you, for all the trouble I've gone through already with this place, it's very rewarding to know the bed I sleep in tonight is in my very own home!
Boxes are everywhere. It's still a big, fat mess. But Elizabeth and I are home. We've got telephone service, cable and the Internet. So, as the Taco Bell commercial says, I'm good to go. We've the bed made up -- with our new sheets and comforter. I'm just very excited to be home -- and although Ruston has been home to me, this is MY home.
I've almost completed my first project. Without getting too nasty or descriptive, I had to take down all the air vents from the ceiling and clean them. After being soaked in Chlorox and water to kill the mold (after being soaked in water and Simple Green, then scrubbed by yours truly, I was told about the quicker, much more effective cleaning manner), the air vents were spraypainted white to make them look (almost) as good as new.
Well, I guess that was my third project. The first project was painting. The living room and dining room are (for the most part) done. The living room is done -- walls and trim on the bottom. We still have future plans to do some more around the windows, but I don't know when we'll get to that. The dining room -- the one we glazed -- actually turned out fantastic! It's a very pretty room. Elizabeth and her mom did a great job in there. We still need to paint the trim in that room, but we bought that paint tonight. Further plans are to repaint one of the bedrooms (which right now is set up as a nursery -- very pretty, but not us) and then to pain the den/computer room (TECH BLUE, BABY!) The second project was fixing the cabinet above the refrigerator -- which used to be the cabinet that was in the way of our refrigerator going where it needed to. Mr. Raymond and I took care of that project, and he also helped out a great deal over the Memorial Day holiday. Honestly, he was a life-saver. I'm trying my hand at this handyman stuff, and Mr. Raymond has showed me a great deal of tricks already.
Well, there's so much more that needs to be around here. Thankfully, we can relax and breathe a little, knowing we have plenty of time to get all of those chores done. One thing that has surprised me is just how truly big this house is -- 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, kitchen, living room, den and dining room. And besides the kitchen, which isn't small by any means, all of the rooms are BIG. Very big. I didn't realize how big until we got all our stuff in here. Our apartment was small and cozy. Our house is nice and big. I'm looking forward to filling it up ... in time.
Yeah right!
I know everyone out there wants an update on what's going on down here in Alexandria. Well, we're in the house. Tonight is our first night, and let me tell you, for all the trouble I've gone through already with this place, it's very rewarding to know the bed I sleep in tonight is in my very own home!
Boxes are everywhere. It's still a big, fat mess. But Elizabeth and I are home. We've got telephone service, cable and the Internet. So, as the Taco Bell commercial says, I'm good to go. We've the bed made up -- with our new sheets and comforter. I'm just very excited to be home -- and although Ruston has been home to me, this is MY home.
I've almost completed my first project. Without getting too nasty or descriptive, I had to take down all the air vents from the ceiling and clean them. After being soaked in Chlorox and water to kill the mold (after being soaked in water and Simple Green, then scrubbed by yours truly, I was told about the quicker, much more effective cleaning manner), the air vents were spraypainted white to make them look (almost) as good as new.
Well, I guess that was my third project. The first project was painting. The living room and dining room are (for the most part) done. The living room is done -- walls and trim on the bottom. We still have future plans to do some more around the windows, but I don't know when we'll get to that. The dining room -- the one we glazed -- actually turned out fantastic! It's a very pretty room. Elizabeth and her mom did a great job in there. We still need to paint the trim in that room, but we bought that paint tonight. Further plans are to repaint one of the bedrooms (which right now is set up as a nursery -- very pretty, but not us) and then to pain the den/computer room (TECH BLUE, BABY!) The second project was fixing the cabinet above the refrigerator -- which used to be the cabinet that was in the way of our refrigerator going where it needed to. Mr. Raymond and I took care of that project, and he also helped out a great deal over the Memorial Day holiday. Honestly, he was a life-saver. I'm trying my hand at this handyman stuff, and Mr. Raymond has showed me a great deal of tricks already.
Well, there's so much more that needs to be around here. Thankfully, we can relax and breathe a little, knowing we have plenty of time to get all of those chores done. One thing that has surprised me is just how truly big this house is -- 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, kitchen, living room, den and dining room. And besides the kitchen, which isn't small by any means, all of the rooms are BIG. Very big. I didn't realize how big until we got all our stuff in here. Our apartment was small and cozy. Our house is nice and big. I'm looking forward to filling it up ... in time.
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