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.

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.

Disappointing Bowl Season for the ACC

The ACC has once again proven that it is not a power football conference. Eight teams out of the ACC made, or as of tomorrow night, will have made bowl appearances this year. The participates included, Georgia Tech, Virginia, Florida State, Maryland, Wake Forest, Boston College, Clemson and Virginia Tech. All the games have been decided except for the Orange Bowl between Virginia Tech and Kansas. The ACC's has managed to only 2 of the 7 that have been played thus far. Football in the ACC has a long way to go in order to considered in the same conversation as the SEC.

The Seminoles finally get a win at Georgia Tech

Senior Jason Rich made his last shot at Alexander Memorial Coliseum count. This is the first time the Rich has experienced a win at Georgia Tech. His jumper with 4.3 seconds left, propelled the Seminoles to a 66-64 win. Florida State is now 1-0 in ACC conference play and 11-4 overall, Georgia Tech dropped to 0-1 and 6-6 overall.

Florida State and Bobby Bowden's future?

In no way am I trying to downplay the seriousness of the circumstances surrounding the Florida State academic cheating scandal, but couldn't the athletes involved have chosen a subject other than Music History. I do remember my days in college and the music appreciation course that I took, the History of Jazz. I will grant you that it was not the easy course that I was expecting; but if I were going to risk cheating on an exam, the History of Jazz would have been way down on my list.

It is a real shame that the athletes involved do not have more respect for their university, their athletic programs and their coaches. The cheating athletes were not only football players, but the football program is certainly the center of attention. And rightfully so! As many as 23 players face suspensions. It is a shame that Bobby Bowden, in the waning years of his coaching career, has to deal with something like this. He is already dealing with an unexcited fan base due to Florida State's less than impressive record over the past few years. Hopefully this latest incident does not force Coach Bowden to step away from a game and a program that he has given so much to over the years.