Fresno State ... yawn
posted by LW, Friday, May 29, 2009
I heard both yesterday in brief time spent at Doug Kingsmore Stadium as Clemson, Alabama, Oklahoma State and Tennessee Tech prepared for today's start of the Clemson Regional.
And lo and behold, you see it here in coverage of the Atlanta Regional.
Yes, Georgia Tech is the No. 1 seed in this weekend’s NCAA regional. Yes, the Jackets have a top-five RPI. And yes, the Jackets are playing at home.
But coach Tech Danny Hall only points to Fresno State last year for proof: the regular season doesn’t mean anything.
The 2008 Bulldogs struggled for much of the season, but then won 14 of 18 postseason games and took the College World Series championship over Georgia.
It's a convenient storyline, but one that doesn't take long tire of.
Yawn.
Looks like a great day for baseball in Clemson. Gotta admit it was so darn awkward last season watching the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament unfold without the Tigers taking part.
In The State, three storylines from the regional. Plus a piece on the anomaly that is the Tigers' pitching staff.
Travis Sawchik of the P&C has a nice feature on Ben Paulsen and his father, hitting coach Tom Riginos.
Belated congrats, by the way, to Riginos. He and his wife welcomed their third child into the world Tuesday -- a healthy boy.
In the Greenville News, a piece on catcher John Nester and his important contributions.
Greg Wallace of Anderson takes a look at Trey Delk, who will start tonight against Tennessee Tech.
Steven Bradley of the Seneca paper says the regional will be a big test for Clemson's young team.
Looks like Alabama put on a show in BP yesterday. And Crimson Tide coach Jim Wells was impressed by a Clemson fan's humility.
Bart Wright weighs in on Terrence Oglesby's departure and concludes the Tigers will be better without him.
Coaches always say anybody can be a good defensive player if he or she works hard enough. It's one of those clichés in the profession you never hear people dispute.
People around the basketball program at Clemson always said Oglesby had to work on defense in practice just like everyone else; trouble was, those efforts never seemed to show up in games.
That's why my guess is the basketball program won't take a step backward in losing Oglesby.
Interesting items here from J.P. Giglio. N.C. State is set to open the 2012 season against Tennessee in Atlanta, and North Carolina is close to a 2010 Atlanta opener against LSU, Georgia or Ole Miss.
My money is on Georgia.
Some parents of Virginia baseball players are ticked that they can't afford to follow the Cavaliers to the left coast.
Tony Barnhart doesn't like the AFCA's move to make coaches' ballots private.
Olin Buchanan of Rivals wonders who will succeed Joe Paterno.
If they're smart, they'll go after Jim Grobe.
Dennis Dodd says Steve Spurrier is in it for the long haul at South Carolina.
South Carolina will never be Florida, where Spurrier won 122 games in 12 seasons. But Spurrier can be the biggest thing ever at both schools. Something as small as a division title at South Carolina would leave the biggest footprint in the mediocre program's history.
But maybe it's too hard to recruit to Columbia, at least enough to punch a hole in the SEC East. Remember, he left Florida after the 2001 season. Today's quarterback prospects were 10 years old back then. To them maybe the Ol' Ball Coach is just Ol'.
Or maybe feeling and looking 45 is all he needs. Suddenly, staying a decade at Carolina doesn't sound so odd, especially when Spurrier revealed something else this week: It might be more rewarding for him to turn around South Carolina than anything he has ever accomplished.
"That's the challenge," he said. "That is what intrigues and gets me excited each day is to do it there. I'd rather do it there than do it somewhere that's already won the SEC."
Spoken like a man who can't worry about what people remember.
Great story here on former Wake Forest cornerback Alphonso Smith and a history exam he aced in brilliantly unconventional fashion.
Pat Forde sums up the ugliness surrounding John Calipari's most recent (alleged) missteps.
And Athlon has a preview of No. 8 Virginia Tech.
LW
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How many times, at how many places, across America yesterday do you think Fresno State was invoked in either a question from a reporter or in a scouting report given by a coach who's facing a heavy underdog?
I heard both yesterday in brief time spent at Doug Kingsmore Stadium as Clemson, Alabama, Oklahoma State and Tennessee Tech prepared for today's start of the Clemson Regional.
And lo and behold, you see it here in coverage of the Atlanta Regional.
Yes, Georgia Tech is the No. 1 seed in this weekend’s NCAA regional. Yes, the Jackets have a top-five RPI. And yes, the Jackets are playing at home.
But coach Tech Danny Hall only points to Fresno State last year for proof: the regular season doesn’t mean anything.
The 2008 Bulldogs struggled for much of the season, but then won 14 of 18 postseason games and took the College World Series championship over Georgia.
It's a convenient storyline, but one that doesn't take long tire of.
Yawn.
Looks like a great day for baseball in Clemson. Gotta admit it was so darn awkward last season watching the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament unfold without the Tigers taking part.
In The State, three storylines from the regional. Plus a piece on the anomaly that is the Tigers' pitching staff.
Travis Sawchik of the P&C has a nice feature on Ben Paulsen and his father, hitting coach Tom Riginos.
Belated congrats, by the way, to Riginos. He and his wife welcomed their third child into the world Tuesday -- a healthy boy.
In the Greenville News, a piece on catcher John Nester and his important contributions.
Greg Wallace of Anderson takes a look at Trey Delk, who will start tonight against Tennessee Tech.
Steven Bradley of the Seneca paper says the regional will be a big test for Clemson's young team.
Looks like Alabama put on a show in BP yesterday. And Crimson Tide coach Jim Wells was impressed by a Clemson fan's humility.
Bart Wright weighs in on Terrence Oglesby's departure and concludes the Tigers will be better without him.
Coaches always say anybody can be a good defensive player if he or she works hard enough. It's one of those clichés in the profession you never hear people dispute.
People around the basketball program at Clemson always said Oglesby had to work on defense in practice just like everyone else; trouble was, those efforts never seemed to show up in games.
That's why my guess is the basketball program won't take a step backward in losing Oglesby.
Interesting items here from J.P. Giglio. N.C. State is set to open the 2012 season against Tennessee in Atlanta, and North Carolina is close to a 2010 Atlanta opener against LSU, Georgia or Ole Miss.
My money is on Georgia.
Some parents of Virginia baseball players are ticked that they can't afford to follow the Cavaliers to the left coast.
Tony Barnhart doesn't like the AFCA's move to make coaches' ballots private.
Olin Buchanan of Rivals wonders who will succeed Joe Paterno.
If they're smart, they'll go after Jim Grobe.
Dennis Dodd says Steve Spurrier is in it for the long haul at South Carolina.
South Carolina will never be Florida, where Spurrier won 122 games in 12 seasons. But Spurrier can be the biggest thing ever at both schools. Something as small as a division title at South Carolina would leave the biggest footprint in the mediocre program's history.
But maybe it's too hard to recruit to Columbia, at least enough to punch a hole in the SEC East. Remember, he left Florida after the 2001 season. Today's quarterback prospects were 10 years old back then. To them maybe the Ol' Ball Coach is just Ol'.
Or maybe feeling and looking 45 is all he needs. Suddenly, staying a decade at Carolina doesn't sound so odd, especially when Spurrier revealed something else this week: It might be more rewarding for him to turn around South Carolina than anything he has ever accomplished.
"That's the challenge," he said. "That is what intrigues and gets me excited each day is to do it there. I'd rather do it there than do it somewhere that's already won the SEC."
Spoken like a man who can't worry about what people remember.
Great story here on former Wake Forest cornerback Alphonso Smith and a history exam he aced in brilliantly unconventional fashion.
Pat Forde sums up the ugliness surrounding John Calipari's most recent (alleged) missteps.
And Athlon has a preview of No. 8 Virginia Tech.
LW
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Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
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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 @.