America's Pastime -- college edition

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.