Alright then...

CWS Finals - Game 1
South Carolina 7 UCLA 1

These things happen when you fail to properly consider what your team mascot should be.

CWS Day Eight - IF game x2

It was an incredibly oppressive hot day made worse by what seemed like a thousand mound visits and batter delays In the end UCLA took out TCU, ending the Horned Frogs magical season. Bruin starter Trevor Bauer was once again very impressive, with 8 strong innings. If he gets a win in the championship series, he has a great chance to be the tournament MVP.

TCU's Bryan Holaday connected on this pitch for his second HR of the day, but...

UCLA Trevor Bauer was too much.

In the much cooler night cap, South Carolina completed their march through the losers bracket on Saturday night, beating Clemson again, this time 4-3. The Gamecocks also came through the Omaha losers bracket and beat Clemson twice in 2002. After having lost to Ohio State in football for the last decade or so, I feel for the fans of the Tigers.

Christian Walker HR

Double play attempt

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

CWS wallpapers

I have missed a couple of Wallpaper Wednesdays. Here are a couple of cool wallpapers while I have been in Omaha.

CWS Day Seven - Arms Race

It was a day dominated by pitching. TCU and South Carolina both avoided elimination forcing the "if necessary" game in both brackets. Another double-headed on Saturday.


TCU's freshman phenom Matt Purke improved his record to 16-0 on the season.

USC's Michael Roth, who normally comes out of the bullpen pitched a complete game gem against Clemson.

Smile

Yes she can.

CWS Day Six - Gamecocks win

Another day, another very exciting baseball game. This is a perfect example on why I love this event. Last night we got to watch one of the most exciting games ever... and tonight we get an extra inning walk off win. South Carolina was one strike away from elimination before Jackie Bradley Jr. drove in a run to tie the game in the bottom of the 12th inning. A few minutes later he scores the winning run and chaos resumes once again.

OU's leadoff hitter Ellison tried to steal to open the game, and was out by a mile.

It was a very close game. This guy was called out.

It looked like Oklahoma was going to win the game after Ogle's 12th inning HR.

But USC scored two in the bottom of the 12th.

Gamecocks continue on to play Clemson tomorrow night.

CWS Day Five - Fear the Frog

Awesome college baseball game last night in Omaha. Florida State jumped out to a 7-2 lead and it looked as if they would eliminate the TCU Horned Frogs. However, TCU came storming back with eight runs in the eighth inning, highlighted by a dramatic grand slam by 1B Matt Curry. The Seminoles go home.

Florida State scored early and often

Because the game looked like a blow out, I decided to attempt to shoot some sunset pictures.

Thank goodness my son stayed focused on the game and captured this great series of the Matt Curry grand slam reaction. The kid has talent.

CWS Day Four - Adios Arizona State

Thanks to the state of South Carolina, Top seeded Arizona State did not really enjoy themselves in Omaha this year. Many expected them to mash their way thru the bracket, instead the Sun Devils join the "Two and Bar-B-Que" crowd with the Florida Gators. Final score South Carolina 11 Arizona State 4.

USC starter Sam Dyson

USC's Jackie Bradley Jr. is going to be a rich man next year after he is drafted in the first round.

Arizona State = Two & Bar-B-Que

The night game between Clemson and Oklahoma was suspended in the 6th inning because of a huge rain/thunder/lightning storm, or as I like to call it, night time in Nebraska. Clemson is leading 6-1. The game will re-start at 3:30PM CST.

Clemson's RF is also their starting QB, Kyle Parker.

Check out the sweet mullet on Garrett Buechele.

OU 1B Cameron Seitzer.

CWS Day three - Let's play 3

Thanks to the rain yesterday, for the first time since 1980, there was a triple header in the College World Series. If you love baseball like I do, it was a great day. I am pretty tired right now, but looking forward to two more games tomorrow.

Erin Andrews wore her rain boots this morning.

#1 ranked Arizona State scored here, but they lost to Clemson

Florida State bounced back and eliminated Florida

UCLA starting pitcher Gerritt Cole looked like a future all star in the win over TCU.

CWS Day Two

9 hours from when it was supposed to start, the Oklahoma - South Carolina game finally ends. 6 hours of rain delays and countless looks at the weather radar. You have to really love baseball to put up with a day like this. We are going to have three games tomorrow, starting at 10AM local time.

OU's Chris Ellison scores the 1st run of the game.

USC's shortstop Bobby Haney could not tag out this OU base thief.

CWS Day Two - Rain rain go away

We are in the middle of a 4 hour rain delay. Nothing to do but play around with photoshop. I just saw Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops in the press box.

CWS Day 1

2 blow out games today. Both TCU and UCLA each won their first College World Series games ever. Florida and Florida State both looked pretty ragged. One of them is going home on Monday.

TCU freshman pitcher Matt Purke.

TCU tried to score two runs on a suicide squeeze play. The second runner was out.

UCLA starter Trevor Bauer.

Incredible catch by Florida center fielder Matt den Dekker. It was ESPN SportsCenter's #1 play of the day.

Erin Andrews was bored with the UCLA blow out and was tweeting from the dugout.

College World Series 2010

I am going to be in Omaha for the next 12 days taking picture at the College World Series. Unless we can coax T9 to put down the margarita and reach for her keyboard -- my posts are going to be limited to college baseball until we get into July. I will try to send tweets and share a couple of unique images at the end of each day. Look for me on ESPN, I will be the incredibly good looking photographer with the Michigan hat on.

2010 is the last year of Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium, the CWS moves next year to new digs in downtown Omaha. I took this image during Fresno State's improbable run to the championship in 2008.

Wallpaper Wedneday: Desmond Hall of Fame

Other signs not in the news

Big House Makeover

Here is an awesome picture from inside a Michigan Stadium luxury box taken yesterday by former Michigan kicker Phillip Brabbs. Phil was kind enough to post this on his blog: Multiple Myeloma for dummies. If you have never visited this site, do yourself a favor today, and check it out.

Come home Ronald Johnson!

Lost in the "he is qualified but not admitted" chaos of this week was the much more important news about the USC football sanctions. The Trojan football program has finally been held accountable for their transgressions during the Reggie Bush era. Yes, I know it only took 6 years, but a decision and punishment have been handed down. In a nut shell, USC is not allowed to play in a bowl game for 2 years, they will lose a total of 30 scholarships, 14 wins from that time period are vacated from the record books, AND most importantly the current juniors and seniors on the team are eligible to transfer to any other school without penalty. None of the Trojan upper class men will be required to get a waiver from USC or sit out a year after transferring. It is the college football equivalent of a fantasy draft - and we need to get in on the action.

There are plenty of players on this list that could immediately help the 2010 Michigan Wolverines. Off the top of my head, snagging one or two of their defensive backs or linebackers would be a dream scenario. However, emotionally, the most important player on the list for me is Ronald Johnson.

You all remember Ronald Johnson... right? He was a highly recruited defensive back/wide receiver from Muskegon High School. He was on almost every High School All American list. Everyone around here prayed he would choose the winged helmet and be the next great cornerback for Michigan. But, instead he chose Pete Carroll and the USC song girls. It was just one of many straws that led to broken back situation we are faced with today.

At USC, RoJo has been a solid contributor an a team filled with All Americans. He has been used primarily as a WR and kick returner. He has caught 74 passes, for 315 yards, and 12 touchdown passes. His most memorable performance was during the 2009 Rose Bowl when he delivered 2 touchdowns against an overmatched Penn State bunch. There is no doubt in my mind he would become an immediate impact player for us today.

In case you are reading this Ronald:
Please come home and play for the Wolverines! We want you. We need you. I am sure we can convince Terrance Robinson to give up his #8 for you. Heck, if is important to you, I'll even talk to Braylon Edwards about approving you for the #1. What ever it takes. We just want you back home where you belong. Also, feel free to bring along some of your new California friends. There is plenty of room for you all in the Big House.

Fight on and Go Blue.

World Cup !!!!!

"Keep your mind on the things you want and off the things you don't want."

--Hannah Whitall Smith

Hello to our newly adopted siblings

It looks like at some point today, the Nebraska Cornhuskers are going to make it official and announce they will in fact be joining the increasingly poorly named Big Ten Conference. T9 suggested we put together a "Know your new Little Brother" post to mark this historic expansion event. As always, she has a great idea, but in the spirit of time management, I will wait for when we play them to roll out the full "Cornhusker KYF". In the meantime, I will share a couple of fun little facts.

A Parthenon for the Plains: The University of Nebraska was founded 1869. The new campus was laid out on four Lincoln city blocks. Its first building, University Hall, was an impressive structure to young people visiting the capital city. One student, born and reared in a sod house, likened it to the Parthenon.

Attempts to impose a more civilized appearance on the campus landscape often were turned back by the harsh conditions of the prairie. Hundreds of trees were planted, only to perish, and the first flower beds were cut down numerous times by marauding hordes of locusts.

If all this comes to fruition, and the Huskers actually do join our ranks, the good people of Nebraska will eventually get to experience the marauding hordes of Buckeye fans -- and long for the good old days when they only thing they had to battle was the locusts.

The Huskies are coming: 88

Hold the Rope

HT to MGoBlog poster BlueinDC for pointing out this pretty cool official White House image of President Obama walking out of the Michigan Stadium locker room, presumably headed to give his Commencement address.

Regardless of your politics, it is pretty cool to have the sitting President of the United States come to your school. The image makes an interesting wallpaper also.

Strong

A friend of mine sent me this the other day. Absent anything else to post today, I thought I would share. Semper Fi.


* There is no truth to the rumor Justin Boren enlisted in the Army during the off-season.