NBA Draft Freshman Laiden

What does Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley, O.J. Mayo, Kevin Love, Eric Gordon, Jerryd Bayless, Anthony Randolph, JJ Hickson, Kosta Koufos and Donte' Green have in common? Instead of heading back to class this fall for their sophomore year, they will be getting an education of a different kind. They will be beginning their careers in the National Basketball Association.

After watching the majority of the NBA Draft last night, I was amazed to see the number of players selected with only one year of college experience. The NBA has always drafted on potential, but some of these guys looked as if they were still in high school. I certainly do not blame the players for leaving school. If given the opportunity, I certainly would. No one has the benefit of a crystal ball, who knows what the next college season will bring. Will the player have a bad year, dropping next years draft status; or will the player blow out a knee or hurt an ankle, potentially ruining any chance of professional career.

The NBA's high school + 1 year, in my opinion, has done nothing but harm the college game. These players should be allowed to enter the NBA draft coming out of high school. They are old enough to vote and old enough to serve in the military, they should be old enough to make millions of dollars playing a game that they love. The NBA should emulate Major League Baseball, giving players the option of declaring for the draft after high school or after completing his third year in college.

The NBA marketed the high school + 1 year as a help to the college game. It would stop players from jumping straight from high school to the NBA. But what it did in effect, was give the NBA scouts the ability to watch these players, for an extra year, against tougher competition and in a different social setting. My guess is that most of the 10 freshman drafted last night would have declared for the NBA draft last year, given the opportunity. The NBA really needs to revisit the high school + 1 rule.

Fresno State Bulldogs win the 2008 College World Series

Congratulations to the Fresno State University Bulldogs for winning this years College World Series. Fresno State was the 49th seeded team entering the tournament. This is the first NCAA Championship, in any sport, for Fresno State. The Bulldogs had to win the WAC Championship just to make the field of 64. Outstanding accomplishment! It can definitely be said that Fresno State was one of the last teams anyone would have expected to win the 2008 College World Series.

Fresno State Takes Control

Fresno State took control of their bracket last night, beating the North Carolina Tarheels 5-3. Fresno State will now await the winner of the rematch between North Carolina and LSU. Stanford and Miami are on the slate for 7pm EST today.

Back to College

Those college basketball player that decided the test the waters of the NBA draft, and had yet to hire an agent, where forced to make a decision by 5pm yesterday. The North Carolina Tarheels received some good news at 4:43pm in an email. The email stated that Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green would return to the Tarheel program next year. This will surely make the North Carolina Tarheels the prohibitive favorite to win the National Title next year.

The Tarheel program was not the only one that would receive good news on Monday. Chase Budinger will return to Arizona next year. Budinger averaged 17.1 points per game during the 2007-08 season. Coach Lute Olsen will return to the bench this year and he is no doubt excited that Budinger will be returning this coming season.

Jeremy Pargo will return to Gonzaga for his senior season. Pargo was the West Coast Conference player of the year. He averaged 12.1 points per game and 6.0 assists.

Miami and Florida State Face Off Today

At least one team from the ACC will be leaving Omaha after today's game. The top see Miami Hurricanes will face the Florida State Seminoles at 2pm EST today. Miami got the better of the Seminoles this past April, taking their series two games to one. In Miami's two wins, they scored 22 runs to Florida State's 14. In their loss, they gave up nine runs while scoring only five.

Miami was the top, overall seed coming into the tournament, having won the ACC tournament and having a current record of 53-9. Miami suffered an upset, losing to Georgia 7-4 in their first CWS tournament game, giving up 4 runs in the 9th inning.

Florida State's current record is 54-13. They were shellacked by Stanford 16-5, also loosing the game in the ninth inning. They gave up 11 runs in the top of the last inning.

Regardless of how they got here, neither of these teams are ready to go home. This promises to be a great baseball game.

In other College World Series action, Fresno State beat Rice 17-5, scoring 11 runs in the forth inning. North Carolina beat LSU 8-4. This game did not end without controversy. There was a questionable out in the eighth inning, where it appeared that the LSU base runner beat out a throw to first base. The heated exchange with the first base umpire and LSU coach Paul Mainieri did not reverse the call. North Carolina will face Fresno State and LSU will line-up against Rice. These two games will be played tomorrow, June 17th.


UPDATE:

Miami will advance, beating FSU 7-5. Miami will now play the Stanford Cardinals. Stanford lost to Georgia 4-3. Georgia will wait the winner of Miami and Stanford, who plays tomorrow (6/18) at 7pm EST. In the second bracket, North Carolina and Fresno State face off in the winners game. The other game will feature Rice and LSU. This game will be played at 2pm EST today.

Mississippi State's Former Skipper Unhappy

Ron Polk is the outgoing Head Baseball Coach for Mississippi State University and he is NOT HAPPY with his replacement. Polk is Mississippi State's winningest coach and the winningest coach in the SEC in all sports. He has just completed his 28th and final season with Mississippi State. During the past 28 years he has led the Bulldogs to a 1116-557-2 record and a record of 1350-669-2 over his entire career. With the hiring of former Kentucky baseball coach John Cohen, Polk has said that he will remove his name from the stadium, remove the banners that display his name and number and have the Mississippi State program removed from his will.

This is certainly not the way to create a smooth transition for the players that you have left behind, regardless of whether your hand-picked successor was passed over for the job.

The Bracket is Set for the 2008 College World Series

Sixty-four teams began the journey to Omaha. Only eight teams have survived to make the trip. The bracket for the 2008 College World Series has been set. The bracket is broken down into two smaller brackets. The four teams that make up bracket 1 are top ranked Miami, Florida State, Stanford and Georgia. Bracket 2 is made up of North Carolina, Rice, LSU and Fresno State. The games in Bracket 1 will begin play on Saturday and Bracket 2 will begin on Sunday. The double elimination format will continue, with the winners of Brackets 1 and 2 will play a best of three series beginning June 23rd.

Super Regionals Begin Today

The 2008 NCAA Super Regionals begin today. There are four games on the schedule, with a full slate of games beginning tomorrow. The first match up features North Carolina State vs. Georgia. This series is being played in Athens, GA. The second game has Wichita State taking on Florida State. The two night games feature Arizona at Miami and Stanford at Cal State Fullerton.

See Day 1 scouting reports here.

MLB Draft Today

Ahead of tomorrow's start of the College Super Regionals, Major League Baseball will hold its first year player's draft later today. Baseball, unlike the other major sports, still have the option of drafting straight out of high school. The MLB's draft doesn't receive the hype or fanfare of the NFL draft or the NBA draft, but it is important nonetheless.

Possible top 10 picks, courtesy of Foxsports.

College Baseball Legend Steps Aside

The Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball coaching legend, Larry Hays, stepped aside this past Monday. He will remain a fixture with the program for the next four years, continuing to develop the program and to oversee the renovation of Dan Law Field. Coach Hays ranks fourth in NCAA wins with 1509. His head coaching career spans 38 years, 22 of which were heading up the Red Raiders program. His successor is current associate head coach Dan Spencer.

Congratulations to Coach Hays on a stellar career.

Read more about Coach Hays here.

Congratulations to Mount Olive College

Mount Olive College won its first national championship in school history this past weekend, winning the 2008 NCAA Division II baseball championship. Congratulations to Mount Olive College.

NCAA Super Regionals Begin Friday

Friday marks the start of the NCAA Super Regionals. There have been very little surprises in this years tournament, with maybe the exception of Fresno State. Fresno State was a 4 seed in an initial bracket that included Long Beach State as the 1 seed. The top four overall seeds are still in the tournament.

View game information and bracket.