Texas Baseball

Well, I'll be covering Texas baseball during the postseason. While I can't root anyone on, it sure would be nice to go to my first College World Series in Omaha.
There will be a press conference tomorrow at Dell Diamond in Round Rock where Texas is hosting a regional.
The No. 2 seed is UC Irvine. Wake Forest is No. 3, and Brown, Texas' first opponent is No. 4.
They've never played Brown or UC Irvine, and Wake twice, in 1949.
It looks like the players have already done some scouting though, and pitcher Austin Wood had this to offer on the competition:

UC Irvine has real good pitching and they play in one of the best leagues in the country, so we know they are a quality team. Wake Forest comes from a solid conference and they have talent all over the field, as well. Brown is a conference champion, you know they can't be taken lightly. They are a good hitting team, so our pitching staff is going to have to come prepared to throw strikes.

Last year, the team couldn't get out of the regional, so the trip to Omaha, which fans have come to expect, didn't happen. This year, the team is determined not to go down so feebly, and their 44-15 record is an improvement that suggests they'll be tougher to beat this time around. Infielder Bradley Suttle thinks the team is in a better position to advance this year than they were a year ago.
"I think the team is more experienced as a whole this year," he said. "We had a lot of young guys playing last year like Kyle (Russell) and myself who benefited from this past year. I think the team is more confident this year. We are playing better now at this point than we were last year."

My Hash Marks

So, you may have notice that espn.com and Matt Mosley have teamed up to create a new NFL blog.
Incidentally, it's called Hashmarks.
It's a good blog, with a great title (though it's very familiar sounding).

Anyway, now that I've started writing, I'll keep writing I suppose.
Let's see...

The NBA conference finals are over after two games, both of them.
I've never liked the NBA, and things aren't improving. I propose games be reduced to five minutes. Each team can have one timeout though so it'll last an hour or so.
People need to lay off LeBron James though. The Cavs are in the conference finals, that's impressive when you remember that they are, well the Cavs. Anyway, the kid's still young.
Give him time.

Go Barry Bonds. (I know, with that statement and my proposed NBA rule change I've alienated 91 percent of my readers, which is odd because I think this post will have about two readers.)
Seriously though, are we hating everybody who ever touched that "stuff" or just the surly ones? Hate him because of his personality if you must, but listen to his peers and take their word for it. What he's done and continues to do is amazing.
Appreciate it while you can. History will have plenty of time to judge it.

Speaking of that "stuff," give Jason Giambi a break too. Greenies used to be commonplace, and the revelation he tested positive for amphetamines is no big deal. Besides, he admitted to using stuff, then when some of that "stuff" is revealed we freak out?
I'm not sure what you expected.
Bottom line is he took some responsibility and he put some blame on the institution. The Yankees and MLB are angry because of the latter action. They hope to somehow solve this problem without taking any heat. Making a player regret opening up about using performance enhancers dramatically sets back the movement to repurify baseball.
I haven't heard or read that anywhere, but it's the case and as long as players can't open up about what went wrong, the shroud of secrecy, mystery and doubt will remain.

The Indy 500 is coming up despite the decline of the sport, this race is still chock full of storylines and potential history.
Three women are in the field and Danica Patrick has a legitimate shot to win it. A win would be huge. Three strong outings would be impressive.
There are two Andrettis trying to be the first from their family in Victory Lane since Mario did it 1967. Mario raced in 24 more without ever winning it again, and Michael's tried his hand at it 15 times. Last year, Marco, now 20 years old was caught on the last lap and edged by Sam Hornish in his rookie effort.
But I don't feel too sorry for the Andrettis. No one from my family has ever won the race in the history of ever. At least they've done it once.

Get excited for Canada.
They might win their first Stanley Cup since the Montreal Canadiens did it in 1993.
This time it's little Ottawa in the mix and all they have to do is knock off a team from sunny California.
Of course, the last two winners came from Tampa Bay, Florida and Raleigh, North Carolina, and the Anaheim Ducks are looking pretty strong. J.S. Giguere is a beast.
Still, let's root for the fellas up north. The NHL needs their champion to be appreciated, and Ottawa would appreciate the Senator's accomplishment far more than Los Angeles.

Let's get something straight.
It's a regrettable shame that the late Josh Hancock's father is suing Justin Tolar, the man whose car stalled on a freeway in St. Louis, allowing a sequence of events that led to the death of Hancock, a Cardinal's pitcher.
Now, is it wrong that he's suing the tow truck driver?
I would guess so, but until we find out if that driver, Jacob Hargrove, followed protocol then I won't say anything for sure.
Is it wrong that the restaurant owner and Cardinals broadcaster Mike Shannon and his daughter Patricia Shannon Van Matre — the manager who apparently tried to convince Hancock to take a taxi — are being sued?
Hell no.
I've worked in the restaurant business, and from what I learned one thing was always understood. If you get a customer drunk and he gets killed driving while still intoxicated, you're getting sued, and you deserve to lose. Drunk customers aren't cut off because management cares. They're cut off because if he drives and dies, they're in big trouble.
They got Hancock drunk. They apparently never cut him off. And they let him drive when they knew he was drunk.
All that should equal a decision in Hancock's favor.

Perrilloux Making Headlines

Remember Ryan Perrilloux?
Texas' prized recruit a couple years ago that caused quite a furor by bolting for LSU?
Well he's back in the news. Too bad it's the middle of the off-season.
After making no contribution to the Tigers during his time there, he's been suspended indefinitely for trying to illegally enter a casino.
Granted, the offense doesn't sound so bad to me.
But the apple sure is.
The Longhorns dodged a bullet here.

Moving on, is anyone else getting tired of Boston whining?
You can't read a sports story about the city — and there seem to be hundreds every month — without coming across the words "suffering," "curse" or some form of the verb 'to deserve'.
While Bill Simmons has made a living from grousing about the bad luck of Boston, he's just one of many whimpering voices.
Now that "The Curse of the Bambino" has been removed from their arsenal with a World Series win, they're griping about losing a lottery.
Even the Boston Globe's venerable Bob Ryan has joined the pitiful chorus.

You want to talk curses? Start here.
Who did what to whom? Was it decided that 16 championships in 30 years was somehow unfair and obscene, and that enough was enough and the Celtics are never going to get another break again and that's that?
Because that's what it looks like. Nothing else can explain how the Celtics continue to suffer the wrath of powerful unseen forces determined to make their lives miserable.

Give me a break. Houston doesn't win, but it also doesn't have the sense of entitlement that leads to rants about sports not being fair when the breaks don't come. It was Houston the BoSox beat to finally win another World Series. The Astros were making their first October appearance, and of course, have yet to win the big one.
Boston, you have Tom Brady and the Patriots. Your beloved Sox are 10.5 ahead of the hated Yankees, and no one else is any closer.
You live the charmed life. Now stop imploring the nation for sympathy.

Commendations and Condemnations

Looking back: commendations, condemnations

By: Ryan Killian

Posted: 5/3/07

As the semester draws to a close, it seems a good idea to hand out what I like to call Killian's Commendations and Condemnations. Ok, I just made that up on the spot, but it will work splendidly.

First, a commendation to Kevin Durant. Bet you didn't see that coming.

Texas has grown to be respectable as a basketball school, but with Durant around you couldn't talk college basketball without bringing up the Longhorns. The 6-foot-9-inch kid wonder averaged a double-double during his too-short stay, and now he's headed toward stardom and riches in the NBA.

Staying in-house, my first condemnation goes to the University of Texas Board of Regents. "Sawing 'em off" may be low, but taking Aggieland Outfitters to court over it was even lower. Rivalries should be bitter and a little dirty.

They shouldn't be fought in a courtroom though.

Texas outfielder Kyle Russell is to be commended for his impressive play this season. He just made the list of finalists for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award.

And with good reason.

The kid's leading the nation in home runs with 24, and his slugging percentage of .884 is tops too. He's already broken Jeff Ontiveros' team record of 20 home runs. Considering that home runs are baseball's sexiest stat, and that the sport's most glamorous element, power, is reflected in slugging percentage, it's safe to compare them with, say, touchdowns in football or average points in basketball. Neither Vince Young or Durant ever led their respective leads in those stats.

Just sayin', it's something to think about.

Billy and Bob get to share a dose of condemnation. Billy Gillespie, formerly of Texas A&M, took his "aw, shucks" approach to Kentucky. Bob Huggins took off for West Virginia, leaving Kansas State, resuscitators of his coaching career, in the lurch. Both coaches had it made in the Big 12. Gillespie commanded a huge contract with the Aggies, while Huggins had the run of Aggieville after almost getting the Wildcats into the NCAA tourney.

Both gave their thanks by saying goodbye, Gillespie via text message.

Conference winners always deserve their fair share of commendations, and Texas has three programs currently in possession of a Big 12 title. The soccer team won theirs last semester, but overlooking them wouldn't be right. After beating Colorado in penalty kicks to take the title, Texas earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, and it took a meeting with that perennial powerhouse Portland to end their season in the third round. When all was said and done, the No. 8 ranking the team was left with marked its highest final ranking in team history.

Men's swimming and diving won their conference championship in February - for the 11th straight time. These guys are good. Their domination was rewarded in early April when, between veteran Garrett Weber-Gale and freshman Ricky Berens, they swept Swimmer of the Year and Newcomer of the Year respectively. They finished in fifth place at the NCAA championships - and were disappointed.

The men's indoor track and field program also got a taste of the title, splitting it with Nebraska. After dominating in the heptathlon, Texas also won the high jump, distance medley, mile run and 800-meter run on their way to 93 points and the tie atop the leader board.

Now the quick hits, the harsh, judgmental stuff first.

Jevan Snead. Sometimes competitors sit the bench. Snead transferred to Ole Miss after he couldn't wrestle away the starting job from Colt McCoy. Women's golf team, you started the season with a 16th-place finish in New Mexico. You ended it with a 10th-place finish in the Big 12 championship. A little improvement, or competitiveness, would have been nice.

To end on a positive note, here's a few more things that caught my eye.

NCAA, good call on separating text messaging and recruiting. WTG. You seven NFL draftees, and you two that signed free-agent deals, you know who you are, congratulations. Lastly, check 2B of next Wednesday's Daily Texan. I'm counting 32 female athletes who pulled off 4.0 GPAs in the last calendar year. That's impressive. I've never done it for a single semester.