LSU's baseball team is off to a decent start after they swept Centenary this weekend. That, coupled with Texas losing two of three, sent the Tigers to the top of some of the polls. The polls are meaningless at this time of year. Too much can still happen. Overmatched Centenary gave the Tigers some trouble in two of the three games so there is most definitely room for improvement. The polls don't matter until May. I wish they never mattered. If you're still in these popularity contests in late May, there's a decent chance of getting into the NCAA Tournament and the higher up you are, the more likely you'll get to play tournament games at home. There is nothing really fair about NCAA baseball. Southern and western schools have enormous advantages. They're playing and practicing every day right now. Baseball is an every day game. Schools in other parts of the country can't practice or play much during the week due to weather. Boston College and St John's, two northern schools, traveled to New Orleans this past weekend to play games against Tulane and UNO. Those northern schools have to spend a ton of money on travel expenses in order to just get in some weekend games. It's why they don't do well later in the year.
- Whistle Theme - Mark Knopfler & Alan Clark - Local Hero Soundtrack
- A Great Day For Freedom - Pink Floyd - Pulse [Live] [Disc 1]
- Dobhar - Clannad - Anam
- Mary's Kitchen - Old Crow Medicine Show - Tennessee Pusher
- Children Of The Grave - Black Sabbath - We Sold Our Soul For Rock 'N' Roll
About today's QOTD: One could argue anything, I suppose, but anyone arguing that won't be taken seriously here. There are teams in Indianapolis, New Orleans, New England, Pittsburgh, San Diego, and Green Bay who wouldn't dream of trading quarterbacking places with the Eagles. If the Eagles go to camp this season with three starting caliber quarterbacks, their management will have failed spectacularly. Vick or McNabb has to go.
Quote of the Day
It could be argued that no team in the NFL is in a better quarterbacking place than the Philadelphia Eagles.
Vic Carucci, NFL.com
Blog of the day is here.
Quote from said blog: "LSU's 25-8 rout of Centenary Saturday night was the 1,000th victory of Paul Mainieri's career, the last two coming in the season after he guided the Tigers to the 2009 national championship."
McNabb with Kolb waiting as backup is a pretty good situation, but I think you're right about other teams being in a good spot also. I still have a pretty dim view about Vick, but I didn't see much of his play last year.
If Favre doesn't come back I would be open to seeing how McNabb would fit in. I'm not sure about the Eagle's system off the top of my head. I would hope that Vick would be out of the question. I don't think the fan base would support him.
I have a very dim view of Vick but he has some trade value. If I'm the Eagles, I take whatever I can get for him. I'd also take whatever someone offers for McNabb and take my chances with Kolb and a dime-a-dozen veteran backup. What I saw of Kolb last year when he started against the Saints was a quarterback very similar to Aaron Rodgers. He needs experience but he's ready to play now. Another year on the bench won't serve him or the Eagles.
I know Kolb had a couple of big games last year, but I didn't see them and I don't really know enough to offer an opinion on whether he is ready to step in or not.
It looks like Minnesota should be competitive again in the Big Ten this year. I saw they at least got some votes in the polling, but like you said it's really too early. At least they have the Metrodome available this year. :)
Will they play some games in the MetroDome? It makes a lot of sense, particularly against a big local rival if they have one. LSU plays Tulane occasionally at Zephyr Field (AAA minor league facility) and also in the SuperDome on occasion. They're usually big draw cash events.
I think I read that all of their home games will be there this year...27. I'm going to try to catch a few. Looks like no rain delays this year.
You got me thinking about what the attendance was like last year for the Gophers at the Dome. I don't think they make a lot of money. I saw a high of 3200 and a low of just 240 or so. I think part of the problem is that they don't get anywhere near the coverage from the local media that basketball and hockey receive this time of year.
They need a Skip Bertman. When Skip came to coach LSU baseball, he had a broken down facility and an alumni and fan base that only cared about football. He inherited the 4th or 5th best program in Louisiana. He's a superb coach but also a master promoter and storyteller. His teams started winning and the fans started coming out and things just snowballed. Now, they have the best program and the best facility in the NCAA and fan base and alumni that is solidly behind them. They lead the nation in attendance every year and the program makes money. My favorite Skip story: "In one of our first games here, the fans would say, "Hey ref, you stink". I had to explain that they're umpires, not referees, and they do".
John Anderson is a really good coach, but it's an uphill battle for him to get much press. Part of the problem here is that they start the season when people are focused on the hockey and basketball seasons wrapping up and that gets nearly all of the attention along with the Twins opening spring training. The last straw is the lack of promotion. I haven't seen any kind of media ad on Gopher baseball in years. Out of sight, out of mind.
Out of sight, out of mind ... both New Orleans universities have that problem, too. I suspect most big city universities suffer from it. In Baton Rouge, LSU and politics are pretty much all there is.