We have finished the first set of games in Omaha and the biggest surprise is that there should be no surprise at this time of year.
Here is where we are going into the second round:
Oregon State plays Louisville this afternoon with the winner going home.
The winner stays on to play the loser of the Indiana vs Mississippi State game this evening on Wednesday.
Tomorrow we will have North Carolina playing LSU with that loser going home.
The winner stays on to play the loser of NC State and UCLA on Thursday.
Louisville will be the first team to pack their bags after they lose today.
North Carolina will be next after they lose to LSU tomorrow.
Mississippi State will hold off the Hoosiers this evening and UCLA will find some way to defeat NC State tomorrow.
I’ll be back in a few days to talk more about this topsy-turvy College World Series of 2013.
Stay tuned on ESPN or ESPN2.
I am just about over the depression that set in last sunday afternoon when Vandy lost to Louisville.
As a fan of the college game I am putting in my 2 cents worth as the annual classic gets ready to kick off in Omaha this weekend.
Here is my impression of what to expect:
North Carolina, NC State, UCLA and LSU are in one bracket.
Louisville, Indiana, Mississippi St. and Oregon State are in the other bracket.
North Carolina seems to be a team of destiny, but UCLA has solid pitching and I think they will surprise everyone and win that pool, even over LSU.
Indiana is the darling of the other bracket, but Louisville is playing well and Mississippi State is a gritty bunch.
I see UCLA and Mississippi State in the finals with the Bruins winning it all.
What do you think?
I’ll try to post daily going over the Heroes and Zeroes of the previous day in the current field of 64. After today, if all games are played, we will lose 1/4 of the field through their second loss in the losers bracket. Here are my thoughts after day 1:
Heroes
Austin Peay
The Governors are for real and the Hoosiers better be prepared. The Govs didn’t lose in May and will not lose in June until they get to the super regional next week.
Troy
The Trojans are a solid ballclub and Bama was not ready for them on Friday.
The Huskies helped raise the prestige of the Big East with their win on Friday
Sam Houston
Great win over a highly regarded UL Lafayette team-they broke up the proposed “Cajun Bowl” game slated with LSU
Bryant
Defeated a good, but not great, Arkansas team. Only Arky run came on a walk with bases loaded.
Zeroes
Virginia Tech
Hokies choked on their hosting opportunity
SEC road teams
Bama, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Ole Miss and Florida all lost games on Friday. Not a stellar performance.
Indiana
Even though they won, they did so on a late home run. Reality will set in today versus APSU.
Clemson
Had been playing well, but may be tired of playing in the Gamecocks’ territory
Enough bashing for today.
Tip of the hat to ESPN for their stellar coverage of the games. Their new coverage system, Bases Loaded, allowed baseball junkies like yours truly to see action at EVERY ballpark. Congrats to ESPN.
Games start at noon EST today, so enjoy the view.
Welcome to the Road to Omaha-2013.
I have chosen to rebrand the Southern Sports View blog to more fully represent my interest in college sports and especially college baseball.
Stay tuned for more up to date information about the Road to Omaha and the College Baseball National Championship.
Nashville has been fortunate to host the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament on a number of occasions and fans from across the southeast generally enjoy coming to the Music City. The Nashville Sports Council and the Nashville CVB play a very large role in this event and it is done well, just like everything they do.
2013 presents a unique situation for this group as we approach the 2013 tournament. With the new 14 team bracket the bottom four teams play on Wednesday and the top four teams play on Friday with the middle teams playing on Thursday against the winners on Wednesday.
Here is the nightmare: Kentucky and the fans of the Big Blue dictate the size of the crowds at any SEC basketball event. If Kentucky wins, people attend.
Kentucky is a little under the level of their 2012 level and they have proven vulnerable thus far, especially on the road.
Kentucky is in the top four right now, so they are schedule to play on Friday.
If they lose on Friday, the weekend will be dead in Music City and the lost revenues will be large.
Here is the “perfect storm” analogy, the worst case scenario.
Let’s say that they Wildcats lose 2 or more of their final four games against Mississippi State, Arkansas, Georgia and Florida. The possibility is not that hard to fathom.
If Kentucky ends up playing on Thursday first and loses then, the 2013 SEC Tournament will be an utter disaster from a financial view.
For those of you who have never attended a tournament, this may not make any sense.
For those like me who have seen the tournament in many cities, this is reality and the last thing the SEC office and Nashville leaders want to see is a Kentucky loss anytime soon.
We will see how this plays out.
I will say this, John Calipari is starting to resemble George Clooney more and more every day.
Many a Golden Domer has wished for this moment for years. They have seen their program struggle over two decades and have prayed and hoped for a return to significance in the college football world. Many now think that day has come.
As a former Domer, and I might add that I was a caustic one, the upcoming game between the Irish and Alabama will be a rude awakening for most Irish fans, but not for any fan of Bama or the Southeastern Conference. While Notre Dame has certainly advanced through their schedule this year without a loss, they have had many a close scrape and the level of competition they have faced really pales in comparison to their foes from the Eastern half of Alabama.
I’ll certainly write more about this in the coming weeks, but we will start the discussion this way:
Alabama will defeat Notre Dame by two touchdowns or more when they play in Miami in January-Period.
Have a great day.
This one will be short and to the point. For those who follow SEC baseball you will certainly remember that in 2011 the Florida Gators certainly had the number of the Vanderbilt Commodores. This ranged from winning the season series here at Hawkins Field through the Championship Game in Hoover last May and then through 2 games in Omaha.
This continued into 2012 as the young and rebuilding Dores ventured to Gainesville early in the conference schedule and lost three straight to the Gators.
Here is where the justice part comes in.
During the Florida-Vandy games in Nashville in 2011 Florida closer Austin Maddox 
hit a home run (he is a complete player) and while rounding the bases he gave a pretty smug look, maybe even a leer, into the Vandy dugout. I thought the team would come unglued, even coach Tim Corbin and it took a moment or two to calm things down.
Fast forward to yesterday’s game in Hoover where the Dores entered the 9th inning down 4-3 and proceeded to run rampant on the Gators and guess who the closer was that the Dores “ran over”?
You would be 100% correct if you guessed Austin Maddox.
I suspect Maddox has matured from that little spat of 2011 and I am not sure that many others remember this, but I do and I know many others who do.
Who says there are no Baseball Gods……
I’ll be in Hoover today to watch the Dores play the Bulldogs of Mississippi State.
You might remember that I predicted this final on Tuesday of last week. You can click here to read the post and see my picks.
Just goes to show you that even I can get one right occasionally.
I will walk you through my bracket, but here is how I see the SEC Baseball Tournament playing out next week:
I first thought that LSU and Vandy would play in the finals next Sunday, but I think Mississippi State is on a roll and they just may beat the Tigers.
Kentucky will have an early exit and Florida will lose early before being knocked out by South Carolina.
USC typically plays poorly in Hoover, and this year may be a slight improvement.
Ole Miss will continue their misery and Auburn will get an early win and then head home.
Georgia will be, well they will be Georgia.
You may feel free to disagree and I hope you will share your comments with me.
If you would like to submit your thoughts for the championship you can fill out your own bracket by clicking here and submitting the results.
Hope to see many of you in Hoover. I hope to see myself there next Sunday to watch the Dores play.
First, let me say it has been way too long since my last post. Work keeps getting in the way.
As we head into the final curve of the regular season in SEC baseball let’s take a look at “who’s hot and who’s not” as we head into Hoover and the SEC baseball tournament next week:
Stone cold
Tennessee and Alabama will watch from the sidelines as they didn’t make the field. Both teams had challenging seasons, but I suspect we will see the same leadership at each school as we head into the next season.
Chilly
Georgia and Auburn have not ended the season on high notes and Ole Miss is also on life support as they try to salvage a game today in Nashville. The Mildcats of Kentucky are also creeping along after learning that winning 22 in a row over sub-par competition doesn’t do much when you get into the conference season.
Warm
Florida, LSU and South Carolina are always doing well and they are ending the season on high notes. Arkansas is also doing OK, but they are not the stalwart we all through they would be earlier in the season.
Hot
Mississippi State and Vanderbilt are playing their best baseball at the right time. The kiddie corps at Vandy is coming of age (razors have been issued) and they will be a force in the tournament in Hoover.
I so look forward to the tourney next week and hope to see you there when Vandy plays LSU in the finals next Sunday.
Until then, enjoy your baseball.
