Favorable draw
posted by LW, Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The No. 2 seed, Alabama, has fizzled of late.
The past weeks haven't been helpful for Alabama. For instance, about 10 days ago, Alabama held realistic hopes of hosting an NCAA regional. Those vanished, however, when the Crimson Tide dropped two of three games at Auburn and then lost to South Carolina and LSU to make a quick two-and-out exit from Regions Park in Hoover.
There's also this:
Alabama will be without third baseman and second-leading home run hitter Jake Smith, who tore ankle ligaments trying to beat a ground ball to first during the SEC tournament opener. Utility player Brandon May takes over at third, with Wes Henderson stepping in at first base, according to Crimson Tide coach Jim Wells.
A lot of folks, including Kendall Rogers of Rivals, think No. 3 seed Oklahoma State shouldn't even be in the tournament.
He said the Cowboys are a "bad and undeserving team," among other things.
In equally comical fashion, Oklahoma State was included in the field of 64. The Cowboys did play a good non-conference schedule and finished that portion of their schedule with a fabulous 22-6 record. However, OSU’s play in non-conference doesn’t diminish the fact they finished Big 12 play with a horrendous 9-16 record and won just two series in conference play.
Rogers also doesn't seem convinced Arizona State, which would be Clemson's Super Regional foe if both teams advance, will emerge from the Tempe regional:
Arizona State has an intriguing regional with Kent State, Oral Roberts and Cal Poly in the field of four. Kent State has the talent to upset Arizona State. Though it’s unlikely the Flashes upset the Sun Devils, it will force the Devils to throw right-handed pitcher Mike Leake in the regional opener. ORU is a good team and Cal Poly could be a dark horse in this regional. The Mustangs didn’t play their best brand of baseball at the end of the season, but have the personnel to surprise some teams.
More on the Tigers from The State, P&C, Independent-Mail and Greenville News.
P&C columnist Gene Sapakoff gives his take on the NCAA field and concludes Elon could be this year's Fresno State.
A little more on the Crimson Tide from The Birmingham News, including Alabama coach Jim Wells' memories from the 1995 Clemson regional.
Not that Wells needed a reminder about a star-studded Tigers team that included future Major Leaguers Billy Koch and Kris Benson, the latter of whom earned the final win.
"They can't be that good (this year)," Wells joked. "But it's deja vu all over again."
Here's an update on Sam Keller's lawsuit against EA Sports and the NCAA for allegedly using players' likeness without sharing the profits.
Here's how this case could get really interesting: It's a class-action lawsuit.
Because it's a class-action suit seeking damages for every football or basketball player on a season-opening roster, there could be an impact in Iowa. Past and current Cyclones and Hawkeyes may one day be among those eligible to receive financial compensation from video game makers, while the Iowa and Iowa State athletic departments might lose thousands of dollars in shared royalties with the NCAA.
"If you go look at the law ... every person in this country has a property right in their likeness," said Robert Carey, an attorney representing Keller.
Rivals guru Mike Huguenin lists his statement games for the 2009 football season, and Clemson's home date with TCU makes the list.
Clemson's reputation took a hit last season, when the Tigers were the preseason ACC favorite but ended up losing six games. Even though TCU is one of the two or three best non-"Big Six" programs in the nation, a loss by Clemson at home in this one would further hurt the Tigers. The reason? "Good" ACC programs shouldn't lose at home to any non-"Big Six" program. TCU, meanwhile, could further burnish its reputation by going into one of the most hostile environments in the ACC and coming out with a win. Indeed, a victory in this one and the Horned Frogs make a strong statement that they'll truly be in the hunt for a BCS bid.
Huguenin ranks Alabama-Virginia Tech No. 2 on the list, saying "you can bet the Hokies will be far better prepared than" Clemson was last season in Atlanta against the Tide.
No. 1: Southern Cal at Ohio State on Sept. 5.
Here's a claim that was begging to be investigated: Bowl games saying they generate tens of millions of dollars for charity on a yearly basis.
A congressman said he plans to investigate testimony from Alamo Bowl executive director Derrick Fox at this month’s Bowl Championship Series subcommittee hearing after learning that Fox might have exaggerated by millions of dollars the amount bowl games donate to local charities.
Fox, while representing all 34 bowl games during his appearance on Capitol Hill on May 1, claimed in his argument against a playoff that “almost all the postseason bowl games are put on by charitable groups” and “local charities receive tens of millions of dollars every year.”
In fact, 10 bowl games are privately owned and one is run by a branch of a local government. The remaining 23 games enjoy tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service, but combined to give just $3.2 million to local charities on $186.3 million in revenue according to their most recent federal tax records and interviews with individual bowl executives.
“That doesn’t seem like something that’s really geared toward giving to charity, does it?” said Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) after being presented with Yahoo! Sports’ findings.
“It’s perjury if it’s knowingly said,” Barton said of the sworn testimony, which he called “misleading.” “It’s also contempt of Congress. You’ve got to give [him] some sort of due process, but ultimately the remedy is to hold [him] in contempt of Congress on the House floor or send it to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution of perjury under oath.”
Yikes. This could get pretty juicy. Kudos to reporters Dan Wetzel and Josh Peter for this fantastic reporting.
And one more offering from Rivals: Tom Dienhart's questions facing ACC football.
LW
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As wronged as Clemson's baseball team felt last season after being excluded from the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers have to consider themselves equally fortunate with this year's draw.
The No. 2 seed, Alabama, has fizzled of late.
The past weeks haven't been helpful for Alabama. For instance, about 10 days ago, Alabama held realistic hopes of hosting an NCAA regional. Those vanished, however, when the Crimson Tide dropped two of three games at Auburn and then lost to South Carolina and LSU to make a quick two-and-out exit from Regions Park in Hoover.
There's also this:
Alabama will be without third baseman and second-leading home run hitter Jake Smith, who tore ankle ligaments trying to beat a ground ball to first during the SEC tournament opener. Utility player Brandon May takes over at third, with Wes Henderson stepping in at first base, according to Crimson Tide coach Jim Wells.
A lot of folks, including Kendall Rogers of Rivals, think No. 3 seed Oklahoma State shouldn't even be in the tournament.
He said the Cowboys are a "bad and undeserving team," among other things.
In equally comical fashion, Oklahoma State was included in the field of 64. The Cowboys did play a good non-conference schedule and finished that portion of their schedule with a fabulous 22-6 record. However, OSU’s play in non-conference doesn’t diminish the fact they finished Big 12 play with a horrendous 9-16 record and won just two series in conference play.
Rogers also doesn't seem convinced Arizona State, which would be Clemson's Super Regional foe if both teams advance, will emerge from the Tempe regional:
Arizona State has an intriguing regional with Kent State, Oral Roberts and Cal Poly in the field of four. Kent State has the talent to upset Arizona State. Though it’s unlikely the Flashes upset the Sun Devils, it will force the Devils to throw right-handed pitcher Mike Leake in the regional opener. ORU is a good team and Cal Poly could be a dark horse in this regional. The Mustangs didn’t play their best brand of baseball at the end of the season, but have the personnel to surprise some teams.
More on the Tigers from The State, P&C, Independent-Mail and Greenville News.
P&C columnist Gene Sapakoff gives his take on the NCAA field and concludes Elon could be this year's Fresno State.
A little more on the Crimson Tide from The Birmingham News, including Alabama coach Jim Wells' memories from the 1995 Clemson regional.
Not that Wells needed a reminder about a star-studded Tigers team that included future Major Leaguers Billy Koch and Kris Benson, the latter of whom earned the final win.
"They can't be that good (this year)," Wells joked. "But it's deja vu all over again."
Here's an update on Sam Keller's lawsuit against EA Sports and the NCAA for allegedly using players' likeness without sharing the profits.
Here's how this case could get really interesting: It's a class-action lawsuit.
Because it's a class-action suit seeking damages for every football or basketball player on a season-opening roster, there could be an impact in Iowa. Past and current Cyclones and Hawkeyes may one day be among those eligible to receive financial compensation from video game makers, while the Iowa and Iowa State athletic departments might lose thousands of dollars in shared royalties with the NCAA.
"If you go look at the law ... every person in this country has a property right in their likeness," said Robert Carey, an attorney representing Keller.
Rivals guru Mike Huguenin lists his statement games for the 2009 football season, and Clemson's home date with TCU makes the list.
Clemson's reputation took a hit last season, when the Tigers were the preseason ACC favorite but ended up losing six games. Even though TCU is one of the two or three best non-"Big Six" programs in the nation, a loss by Clemson at home in this one would further hurt the Tigers. The reason? "Good" ACC programs shouldn't lose at home to any non-"Big Six" program. TCU, meanwhile, could further burnish its reputation by going into one of the most hostile environments in the ACC and coming out with a win. Indeed, a victory in this one and the Horned Frogs make a strong statement that they'll truly be in the hunt for a BCS bid.
Huguenin ranks Alabama-Virginia Tech No. 2 on the list, saying "you can bet the Hokies will be far better prepared than" Clemson was last season in Atlanta against the Tide.
No. 1: Southern Cal at Ohio State on Sept. 5.
Here's a claim that was begging to be investigated: Bowl games saying they generate tens of millions of dollars for charity on a yearly basis.
A congressman said he plans to investigate testimony from Alamo Bowl executive director Derrick Fox at this month’s Bowl Championship Series subcommittee hearing after learning that Fox might have exaggerated by millions of dollars the amount bowl games donate to local charities.
Fox, while representing all 34 bowl games during his appearance on Capitol Hill on May 1, claimed in his argument against a playoff that “almost all the postseason bowl games are put on by charitable groups” and “local charities receive tens of millions of dollars every year.”
In fact, 10 bowl games are privately owned and one is run by a branch of a local government. The remaining 23 games enjoy tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service, but combined to give just $3.2 million to local charities on $186.3 million in revenue according to their most recent federal tax records and interviews with individual bowl executives.
“That doesn’t seem like something that’s really geared toward giving to charity, does it?” said Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) after being presented with Yahoo! Sports’ findings.
“It’s perjury if it’s knowingly said,” Barton said of the sworn testimony, which he called “misleading.” “It’s also contempt of Congress. You’ve got to give [him] some sort of due process, but ultimately the remedy is to hold [him] in contempt of Congress on the House floor or send it to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution of perjury under oath.”
Yikes. This could get pretty juicy. Kudos to reporters Dan Wetzel and Josh Peter for this fantastic reporting.
And one more offering from Rivals: Tom Dienhart's questions facing ACC football.
LW
For questions or comments on this blog entry, please visit The West Zone message board.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
Donnie Patterson. Donnie Patterson is the founder of Patterson Tax Service, located in Easley, S.C. He has been active in tax preparation since 1970, and offers a full range of tax and bookkeeping services.
Larry Williams. Larry has covered the daily beat at Clemson since 2004. Williams, who worked for the Charleston Post & Courier from 2004-08, joined Tigerillustrated.com in November of 2008. He may be reached by email at ldubya08(at)gmail.com. Replace (at) with @.