Here is Dwindy1’s top five games of 2008’s inaugural weekend of the season. These are the teams that step out in style and deserve a lot of credit for putting it on the line at this time:
(17) Virginia Tech @ East Carolina
I'm thinking that when Virginia Tech scheduled Conference USA’s East Carolina to start their 2008 football campaign they must have been taking for granted that the Pirates were going to be the same old also-rans. Coach Skip Holtz (yes, the son of the former college and pro football coach and current commentator on the four letter network, Lou Holtz) has been quietly assembling a respectable program. It is not a stretch of the imagination that this team could give the preseason 17th ranked Hokies a good tight game on the Pirates home field. Frank Beamer's Hokie team lucked out in last season's opener at home against this team with a little home cooked officiating (12 penalties on the Pirates to 4 on the Hokies in a 17-7 game that was 10-7 at the end of the third quarter). Should be a good contest with a possible surprise winner especially if East Carolina returns the favor…
(3) University of Southern California @ Virginia
Once again the men of Troy venture out on the road to commence a new season and once again they face another potentially formidable opponent in the Cavaliers. Number 3 ranked USC seems to have everything to lose and little to gain in this game while the exact opposite can be said about the Virginians. The Cavaliers haven’t done much against top 5 teams in the past and Coach Al Groh has been pounding this into his charges throughout their preseason training. With many questions to be answered on the Trojan offensive squad, this should be an interesting contest to watch…
(18) Tennessee @ UCLA
A coming out party for the revitalized Bruins under alumnus Rick Neuheisel. The Bruin faithful have placed their team’s fate in the hands of a coach who has seen his share of disappointments and while I don’t expect the 2008 version of the Bruins and their fortunes to turn to gold quickly, I believe they have made the right choice with Neuheisel and they will have their moments this season. As fortune would have it, the Bruins drew the number 18 ranked Tennessee Volunteers right out of the box and while the game will be played in Pasadena’s Rose Bowl, I don’t expect the Bruins to do more than hold their own in this game. Will Tennessee be able to start their season off with a big road win and then be able to maintain an initial head of steam as they proceed into the SEC wars…
(20) Illinois @ (6) Missouri
You’ve gotta love college football. A traditional rivalry has grown out of this early season match-up and now with each participant fielding very respectable if not great teams, the game has taken on even more importance. Both the Illini and the Tigers appeared in top bowl games last season and may once again be on course to do the same this year. Coach Ron Zook did an excellent job last season with the Illini and the Illinois fans are looking for similar results this year even though they lost several stars from last year’s team. Zook appears to be up to the challenge. The Big Ten could certainly use more competition among their ranks. Missouri’s coach Gary Pinkel has his team poised to make a run at the National Championship under the direction of quarterback and Heisman Trophy hopeful, Chase Daniels. With the game being played in St. Louis’ Edward R. Jones Dome before a national audience, a convincing win by either team should set them up as a frontrunner the rest of the way.
GAME OF THE WEEK!
(24) Alabama @ (9) Clemson
This season should mark the beginning of Alabama’s return to respectability, and what a way to kick-off the season. Tommy Bowden’s ninth ranked Tigers have had the mantra of a “Big Time” college football program laid on them ever since he arrived on the scene and yet the Clemson team has never quite matched the hype. Both the Crimson Tide and the Tigers have something to prove. Nick Saban was able to work his magic in the recruiting battles this past spring resulting in one of the very best recruitment years among the major football schools and while it may be too early to see the Tide roll, expectations are high in Bama… The whole season for these two teams may well ride on the outcome of the first game of the year. Who will prevail and possibly set themselves up for a run at the National Championship? Who will leave their fans wondering?
HONORABLE MENTION…
Washington @ (21) Oregon
Will Washington’s Sophomore starting quarterback, Jake Locker continue to make strides in the PAC-10? Will Oregon’s search for a new QB and premier RB be successful? Find out in this PAC-10 league match-up and rivalry game in the first week of the season… Who scheduled this anyway?
(23) Wake Forest @ Baylor
I always like to see a ranked team venture out on the road, even if it’s against a perennial also ran like the Baylor Bears. Baylor has a new coach this year, Art Briles, and a new attitude with 15 returning starters. Can the Bears begin to put things together against one of the better teams in the ACC?
GAMES OF SHAME
Division I-A Georgia Southern @ (1) Georgia
Division I-A Youngstown State @ (2) Ohio State
Division I-A Chattanooga @ (4) Oklahoma
Division I-A Appalachian State @ (7) LSU
Division I-A Villanova @ (8) West Virginia
Division I-A Eastern Washington @ (12) Texas Tech
Division I-A Northern Iowa @ (16) Brigham Young
Division I-A Tennessee-Martin @ (19) University of South Florida
Division I-A Coastal Carolina @ (22) Penn State
Every year I harp about the “Big Time” programs that continue to schedule second division schools to play in their always sold out “Big Time” stadiums… If I had my way, and that’ll never happen, I would require these “Big Time” programs to at least play the second division schools on the road. I think that would effectively put an end to this practice.
The premier match-up among these shame games is the Appalachian State / LSU game in which the two reigning National Champions face off in Baton Rouge… Last year the team from Boone, North Carolina set the tone for one of the most improbable college football seasons ever by taking down the University of Michigan Wolverines in the “Big House” on national television. That was quite a show and led to almost weekly upsets as the 2007 season progressed. Do you think that is going to happen again this year in the Bayou Bengals' "Death Valley"? Any coach worth his salt would have his team ready to play in this game and I, for one, believe LSU’s Les Miles is worth his salt. Appalachian State is in for a very long day…
As for the other shame games, let me illustrate the type of competition these Division I teams are actually playing… How many of you can honestly match up the following schools with their nicknames?
Appalachian State
Chattanooga
Coastal Carolina
Eastern Washington
Georgia Southern
Northern Iowa
Tennessee-Martin
Villanova
Youngstown State
There are two teams of Eagles, the Mocs, the Mountaineers, the Chanticleers, the Penguins, the Panthers, the Skyhawks, and the Wildcats…
Oh, my picks on the best match-ups and the Honorable Mention games? (I'll throw in the shame games too)
Ahem…
East Carolina (out on a limb here, but not the first time…)
USC in a squeaker…
The Volunteers make up for last year’s road loss to the Cal Bears by disassembling the UCLA Bruins… (Kudos to the Vols for playing out west again BTW)
The Missouri Tigers have too much for the game Illini…
In the game of the week, Clemson wins at home in a nail biter…
In the Honorable Mention games, I look for the Huskies to squeeze by the unsettled and hurting Ducks, even though the game is in Eugene, and the Demon Deacons should pull out a win down in Waco…
As for the Shame Games, the Division I teams, all playing cupcakes at home, should, without fail, prevail and establish their rightful(?) claims for top ranking in the nation (Great system these folks have devised!)…
Last night Aaron Rodgers played quarterback as the Green Bay Packers' starter for the first time in his career. He completed 9 of 15 passes for 117 yards, threw a 30 yard touchdown pass and had another pass picked off. When the game had ended, the Packers had lost their first preseason game of the year to the Cincinnati Bengals. Less than 24 hours later I hear he is now being referred to as A-Rod! What was the name of the Packers' last quarterback? Did he have a nickname?
Now that the former starting quarterback's trials and tribulations with the Green Bay Packers are over, and with his good name forever tarnished in Green Bay, it strikes me that this whole process has acted to remove a fair amount of pressure from the heir apparent, one Mr. "A-Rod".
Packer fans should be much more likely to withhold judgement on Rodgers when things go poorly. The consensus after last night's outing from the Packer fans seems to be "Give him a chance". If the former quarterback had actually retired a Packer legend, or, worse yet, had accepted a position in the Packer front office (something I'd heard talked about as a possible option), Packer fan would have been very quick to draw the inevitable comparisons that Aaron Rodgers would consistently lose. As it stands today, "A-Rod" will be looked upon as a breath of fresh air as he attempts to lead a very good football team back to football supremacy.
The Tampa Bay Rays didn't get sucked into the high cost, low return July MLB trading frenzy and I'm here to say that it is absolutely the best thing that could have happened. Why? Well first and foremost by not trading for Jason Bay or Ken Griffey Jr. or whoever else had been bantied about prior to yesterday's dreaded trade deadline, the Rays held onto their promising young ball players (that all happen to be under contract into the foreseeable future) and they have set the stage for calling up players rather than introducing outsiders to the team.
Let's face it, the Rays are a young team that has been on an expedition to a place in the major leagues where they have never been before. Now, with two months left to go before the end of the 2008 season, the Rays find themselves, for the first time in their history, in first place. Heck, they only need three more wins to equal their highest win total ever! This has occurred while not one of the Rays' hitting stars has enjoyed what most would call a great year. Run production has been pedestrian at best. So all the so-called experts began pointing to the fact that the team's hitters are predominately strong on the left side of the plate. Alright, the Rays could use a power hitting right hander. In addition, they have used a committee to play in right field all season. Yes, the right field position has been used to adjust the righty-lefty hitter-pitcher balance by Joe Maddon this season. So all the so-called experts begin pointing to that fact and spout off that the Rays need an everyday player in right. The Rays' middle relief pitchers have been hot and cold all season and sometimes they seem to be just cold. So all the so-called experts begin pointing to the fact that the team could use more consistency in that portion of their pitching staff. Here again, the Rays would do well to improve their middle refief. And the team's woes continue to be pointed out by the so-called experts. It goes on and on...
Please, let me reiterate. Now, with two months left to go before the end of the 2008 season, the Rays find themselves, for the first time in their history, in first place.
How can this be with a team that has so many glaring problems? Folks, it's called team chemistry. This is a rare commodity in team sports. It normally can only be found on the teams that annually compete for championships. Ask any of the Rays' players if they feel the team has a good chemistry and every one of them will tell you it does. This is the acid test. The players and nobody else have got to feel that way... The people that live and work in Major League Baseball can see this. They realize that something special is going on with this team and in my opinion they will do everything they can to put a stop to it.
If the Rays' management had taken that very inticing bait and made an expensive trade (expensive in terms of losing one or more of their good young prospects), the team's chemistry would have been the first thing to change. Why would they want to do that?
Next, the so-called experts have begun pointing at the Rays' management, saying they have jeopradized the team's chances to make the playoffs by not making a trade. I call this BS and I'll tell you why. If the reason given above isn't enough to stay the course, then you need to take a look at the talent waiting in the minor league wings that most likely will be called up in the next week or two. First, the team's 2007 number one overall draft pick, the left handed fireballer out of Vanderbilt University, David Price will be pushing his 98 MPH fastball at opposing hitters. Where better to begin this future starter's MLB career than in the middle relief role on a first place team? Next, the Rays' one time star outfielder Rocco Baldelli, who has been playing ball once again in the minor leagues as he recovers from a rare mitochondrial abnormality that effected his endurance, is said to be ready for the most important call up of his life. The 26 year old right hand hitting Baldelli, who finished second to Hideki Matsui for Rookie of the Year honors in 2003, was noted for his power with the bat and speed in both the outfield and on the basepaths. He had been favorably compared to the Yankee Clipper, Joe Dimaggio before a string of injuries continually sidelined him. Baldelli currently appears to be ready to step back into the Rays' lineup playing his natural centerfield position, thus moving B.J. Upton into right. Rocco's last extensive playing time was in 2006 when he hit .302 with 16 homers and 57 RBI in just 364 at bats. He also scored 57 runs and stole 10 bases in that time span. The mitochondrial abnormality had affected his muscles and is now said to have been the primary reason for his many injuries during his playing time in the bigs. It is now cautiously hoped that Rocco, during the final year on his contract, will be able to resume his very promising career and put up numbers similar to those Tampa fans became familiar with early on. If Rocco can make the comeback and help the Rays in their first pennant drive, what a story that will be!
Finally, for all the Red Sox and Yankee fans out there that have consistently pooh-poohed the Rays' chances at winning the AL East, just exactly what has been done during the MLB trading period that has put your team in an improved position to overtake the Rays? The Yankees needed pitching help. Well? The Red Sox shipped off the best clutch hitter in the major leagues, the guy that protected David Ortiz in their batting order for a .260 hitter, and why did they do this? Manny Ramirez was destroying their team chemistry. Kind of important isn't it...
There are still a lot of games to be played, but I've got to believe that with their pitching, defense, the potential for one or more of their young hitters to get hot, and finally with their team chemistry intact, the young Rays' are now the bonafide favorites to win the AL East.
The conclusion of the 2008 NCAA Division I baseball season took place June 25th in Omaha Nebraska. One of the most unlikely teams to ever win the championship came together and completed a run that will be talked about for years to come.
Fresno State University Bulldogs Win!!!
Bulldog Fans Celebrate in Fresno Pub Steve Detwiler is wired on right...
There were references during each broadcast of the games the Fresno State University Bulldogs played during the NCAA Regionals, Super-Regionals, and finally during the College World Series itself that tried to describe how low the Fresno State seeding into the tournament actually was. Fresno was compared to a thirteenth seed in terms of the NCAA National Championship Basketball Tournament regional of 16 teams, and then as the team continued to progress from one regional to another, they were finally said to be the lowest seeded team to ever reach the College World Series. The Bulldogs had a preseason ranking in the nation’s top 25, but a shaky start left this team scrambling the rest of the season to win their Western Athletic Conference championship. Winning the WAC championship was the only way the Bulldogs could make it into postseason play, where this unlikely championship run began 35 days and 18 games ago. They had to go undefeated in the WAC Championship Tournament, and they pulled it off. The newly crowned WAC champions sported a record of 37 wins and 27 losses (16-16 in non-conference games) as postseason regional play began. They found themselves as the fourth seed in the Long Beach Regional.
Georgia's Powerhitting Shortstop, Gordon Beckham
Fresno State's winning pitcher Justin Wilson
Fresno's College World Series Outstanding Player Tommy Mendonca receiving award
The team played and won 6 elimination games, including two against the eventual runner-up Georgia Bulldogs, as they ended by hoisting the NCAA National Championship Trophy.
I hope this helps to put what the Fresno State Bulldogs’ baseball team accomplished into perspective.
* * * * *
So what exactly is the beauty of all this? Well I’m here to tell you… This, my friends, is the beauty of a tournament. Just as we’ve seen the moniker of “Cinderella” laid on this FSU Bulldog team that would not quit, and just as we’ve seen that name applied to many different teams year after year in the NCAA National Basketball Tournament, this is the stuff of a playoff. The championship being won on the field of play in an equitably seeded tournament is the essence of sports. All of the major sports’ champions in the NCAA as well as in the various major professional team sports are determined on the field of play in a tournament format with one exception. Why must we, as sports fans in America, be submitted to the antiquated bowl system in Division I college football?
There is an elitist element in college football that has, over the years, wedged itself into place by waving bushels of dollars in front of the universities involved in supposedly amateur athletics. The National Collegiate Athletic Association spends thousands of hours and I suppose millions of dollars each year to insure the amateur nature of collegiate athletics, but they have allowed the bowl system to usurp their authority when it comes to Division I football. I also believe this system is supported by the “major” and “traditional” Division I football “powerhouses”. I liken this to nothing short of pure greed on their part as they continually attempt to corner the market on high school recruits while jealously excluding the so-called “minor conference” schools as they attempt to assemble competitive football teams. The bowl system, their elitist backers, and the elitist “powerhouse” teams in Division I have formed an alliance designed to be unfair and inequitable. The fact that the Bowl Championship Series has worked to exclude 51 schools in five Division I conferences and three schools not affiliated with a conference from eligibility in the national championship process is all you need to know. How in the world did we get here???
There won’t be any Cinderellas in Division I football this year or at anytime in the future so long as the current BcS system continues to line the pockets of the “major” schools and conferences in Division I…
Congratulations to the National Champion Fresno State Bulldogs baseball team. You have done something I hope to someday see in NCAA Division I football. Your team is a true champion as it won the right to be called champion on the field, not because some pollster thought they should be in the championship game. The Fresno State Bulldogs have given hope to all the schools around our country as any can point to what they did and say “Why not us?”
If a BcS type system had been used in NCAA Division I baseball, the Bulldogs, also now known as the “Wonderdogs”, wouldn’t have even been in the game and all of the sports fans around the country would have missed out on a truly wondrous occurrence.
Since the beginning of the modern sports era, and with the exception of 2007-08, there have been 1,641 NCAA Division I National Champions. Today there are 36 such championships awarded each academic year. Since the NCAA National Basketball Tournament when I noticed the UCLA Bruin’s men’s team uniforms were slightly different from normal, I decided to take a look at who has won all of these NCAA Division I National Championships. This then led me to break the country into regions and finally to look at it in terms of the Division I conferences.
Single season UCLA phenom, Kevin Love... Notice the "C".
The thing that caught my eye about the Bruin’s uniforms was that the “C” in UCLA instead of being blue like the other three letters, was gold. After a little research I found that the gold C represented one hundred NCAA National Championships. UCLA is the first school to get that many titles and they were happy to use this avenue to gain national recognition.
So what did I find? Well 168 schools share those 1,641 national championships. I thought about posting them all with their titles but reason got the best of me. If you know the universities in your home state, you should be able to figure out which schools have won championships over the past 107 years. If you need specific information, ask in the comments and it will be provided. Here is a breakdown by geographical region and state…
Boston Col. Men's Hockey, Syracuse Men's Lacrosse, Brown Women's Rowing Crew
NORTHEAST Schools Titles
Connecticut 2 38
Delaware 1 2
Maine 1 2
Maryland 3 35
Massachusetts 5 20
New Hampshire 2 5
New Jersey 3 24
New York 10 54 3.29%
Pennsylvania 7 65 3.96%
Rhode Island 3 7
Vermont 1 5
Washington DC 3 3
41 24.40% 260 15.84%
North Carolina Field Hockey, Wake Forest Soccer, Georgia Women's Gymnastics
SOUTHEAST Schools Titles
Alabama 2 28
Florida 4 38
Georgia 3 35
Kentucky 5 15
Mississippi 1 1
North Carolina 4 50
South Carolina 3 6
Tennessee 3 20
Virginia 5 31
West Virginia 3 18 .
33 19.64% 242 14.75%
Ohio State Buckeye's Fencing Team Celebrates
MIDWEST Schools Titles
Illinois 6 33
Indiana 4 51
Iowa 5 42
Michigan 8 83
Minnesota 2 24
Montana 2 3
Nebraska 1 20
North Dakota 1 7
Ohio 4 35
South Dakota 0 0
Wisconsin 2 26
Wyoming 1 3
36 21.43% 327 19.93%
LSU Tigers National Championship Football Team
University of Denver Pioneers National Champion Ski Team
Kansas Jayhawks National Championship Basketball Team
SOUTHWEST Schools Titles
Arkansas 1 42
Colorado 3 49
Kansas 2 11
Louisiana 4 48
Missouri 2 12
New Mexico 1 1
Oklahoma 3 75 4.57%
Texas 11 99 6.03%
27 16.07% 337 20.54%
Stanford Women's Cross Country National Champion
University of Alaska-Fairbanks National Championship Rifle Team
WEST Schools Titles
Alaska 1 9
Arizona 2 34
California 15 364 22.18%
Hawaii 1 3
Idaho 3 7
Nevada 1 2
Oregon 3 18
Utah 2 30
Washington 3 8
31 18.45% 475 28.95%
Totals 168 1,641
* * * * *
Regional Comparison:
Schools %Total Titles % Total
WEST 31 18.45 475 28.95
SOUTHWEST 27 16.07 337 20.54
MID WEST 36 21.43 327 19.93
NORTHEAST 41 24.40 260 15.84
SOUTHEAST 33 19.64 242 14.75
* * * * *
Conference Comparison:
Schools %Total Titles % Total
Pacific 10 10 5.95% 374 22.79%
Big Ten 11 6.55 245 14.93
Big 12 12 7.14 191 11.64
Southeast 12 7.14 185 11.27
Atlantic Coast 12 7.14 114 6.95
Conference USA 12 6.55 48 2.93
Big East 8 4.76 47 2.86
Mountain West 9 5.36 41 2.5
WAC 9 5.36 17 1.04
MAC 13 7.74 7 .43
Sun Belt 8 4.76 4 .24
Independents 4 2.38 36 2.19
120 71.43% 1,309 79.77%
* * * * *
Finally, the 2007-08 academic year is winding down… With Baseball and Outdoor Track and Field yet to determine their champions, here are the schools that have won titles this year:
Five titles have been won by affiliate members of Division I and three titles remain unclaimed…
Arizona State University National Championship Softball Team
* * * * *
Are there any conclusions to be drawn from all of this?
Well… The obvious one has to be that the western region has dominated Division I NCAA athletics since 1900. By state, California is dominant, while the Pacific 10, the premier conference of the west, is also the most dominant.
UCLA National Championship Women's Tennis Team
Men's Golf National Championship
UCLA's National Champion Women's Water Polo Team
Here are the top twenty National Championship schools in NCAA Division I (including the 2007-08 results):
School Titles % of Total
1. UCLA 103 6.14%
2. Stanford 96 5.72
3. USC 95 5.66
4. Oklahoma St. 48 2.86
5. Louisiana St. 45 2.68
6. Texas 43 2.56
7. Arkansas 42 2.50
8. Michigan 41 2.44
9. Penn State 38 2.27
10. No. Carolina 33 1.97
11. California 30 1.79
12. Ohio State 29 1.73
13. Georgia 27 1.61
13. Yale 27 1.61
15. Oklahoma 26 1.55
15. Denver 26 1.55
17. Notre Dame 25 1.49
17. Wisconsin 25 1.49
19. Indiana 23 1.37
19. Iowa 23 1.37
* * * * *
I’ve heard comments about the weather in California that makes the athletes from this area better… If that’s the case, then why isn’t the Southeast region one of the strongest in the country? Another reason I’ve heard is that the sports being played are more favorable to warm weather. Sports like swimming and water polo. I have to say that these types of sports are more than offset by ice hockey and skiing. Then there are the sports almost exclusively played at the Division I level in other parts of the country. These include lacrosse and fencing…
Taking all of this into consideration, can you think of any other reasons why the far west produces the most NCAA Division I National Championships?
the left handed fireballer out of Vanderbilt University, David Price will be pushing his 98 MPH fastball at opposing hitters. Where better to begin this future starter's MLB career than in the middle relief role on a first place team? Next, the Rays' one time star outfielder Rocco Baldelli, who has been playing ball once again in the minor leagues as 
he recovers from a rare mitochondrial abnormality that effected his endurance, is said to be ready for the most important call up of his life. The 26 year old right hand hitting Baldelli, who finished second to Hideki Matsui for Rookie of the Year honors in 2003, was noted for his power with the bat and speed in both the outfield and on the basepaths. He had been favorably compared to the Yankee Clipper, Joe Dimaggio before a string of injuries continually sidelined him. Baldelli currently appears to be ready to step back into the Rays' lineup playing his natural centerfield position, thus moving B.J. Upton into right. Rocco's last extensive playing time was in 2006 when he hit .302 with 16 homers and 57 RBI in just 364 at bats. He also scored 57 runs and stole 10 bases in that time span. The mitochondrial abnormality had affected his muscles and is now said to have been the primary reason for his many injuries during his playing time in the bigs. It is now cautiously hoped that Rocco, during the final year on his contract, will be able to resume his very promising career and put up numbers similar to those Tampa fans became familiar with early on. If Rocco can make the comeback and help the Rays in their first pennant drive, what a story that will be!
