High School season is here! Coaches polls and State Finals predictions...

To say in a lot less words, I've missed high school football and obviously I'm not the only one out there! As I blog throughout the 2011 football season, you'll quickly see that I have a "northern Indiana bias," unlike our media that resides here in the greater Indianapolis area. Most of the media tends to favor more teams that are pretty much south of Kokomo. Call it what you will, but it's a straight-up bias against the northern part of this state. There are way too many teams from the northern half of Indiana that are almost ignored until they start making some noise midway through the regular season. Below is a look at the IFCA (Coaches poll) for all 5 classes here in the great football state of Indiana. Under each class' top 20 is my predicted State Finals representatives.

Indiana Football Coaches Association pre-season poll (2010 record)

Class 1A

1. Lafayette Central Catholic (15-0; 2010 1A State Champions)

2. Sheridan (8-3)

3. Pioneer (10-2)

4. Linton-Stockton (9-3)

5. Indianapolis Scecina (5-6)

6. Adams Central (7-3)

7. Indianapolis Lutheran (7-4)

8. Perry Central (9-4)

9. Southern Wells (8-3)

10. Milan (8-5)

11.Rockville (8-4)

12. Hagerstown (12-1)

13. West Central (6-4)

14. North Daviess (8-3)

15. Culver (8-4)

16. South Central (Union Mills) (10-3)

17. Clinton Prairie (10-2)

18. North White (7-4)

19. Winamac (7-3)

20. West Washington (9-3)

1A State Championship prediction: Lafayette Central Catholic (north) and Rockville (south)

Class 2A

1. Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (14-1; 2010 2A State Champions)

2. Andrean (9-4)

3. North Putnam (14-1; 2010 2A State Runners-Up)

4. Evansville Mater Dei (12-2)

5. Rensselaer Central (13-1)

6. Speedway (11-2)

7. Bremen (9-4)

8. Lewis Cass (7-4)

9. Heritage Christian (7-3)

10. Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter (9-2)

11. Tipton (8-5)

12. Guerin Catholic (8-6)

13. Northwestern (8-4)

14. Monrovia (6-5)

15. Southridge (7-5)

16. Fairfield (7-4)

17. Fountain Central (13-2; 2010 1A State Runners-Up)

18. North Posey (6-5)

19. Wheeler (11-1)

20. North Judson (3-7)

2A State Championship prediction: Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (north) and Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter (south)

Class 3A

1. Indianapolis Bishop Chatard (11-4; 2010 3A State Champions)

2. West Lafayette (10-3)

3. Hamilton Heights (12-1)

4. South Bend St. Joe's (9-6; 2010 3A State Runners-Up)

5. Heritage Hills (8-3)

6. Jimtown (9-3)

7. Evansville Memorial (7-5)

8. Eastbrook (11-1)

9. Brebeuf Jesuit (7-3)

10. Corydon Central (8-2)

11. Indian Creek (12-2)

12. Western (9-3)

13. John Glenn (9-3)

14. Tri-West (4-6)

15. Brownstown Central (11-2)

16. Mishawaka Marina (6-4)

17. Evansville Bosse (5-8)

18. Southmont (8-3)

19. Yorktown (3-8)

20. North Montgomery (7-3)

3A State Championship prediction: Eastbrook (north) and Indianapolis Bishop Chatard (south)

Class 4A

1. Indianapolis Cathedral (11-3; 2010 4A State Champions)

2. Columbus East (9-2)

3. Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (13-1; 2010 4A State Runners-Up)

4. Evansville Reitz (13-1)

5. Concord (12-1)

6. Hammond Morton (12-2)

7. Mishawaka (12-1)

8. Delta (10-2)

9. Indianapolis Roncalli (5-7)

10. East Central (11-2)

11. New Palestine (9-2)

12. Lowell (6-4)

13. Jasper (9-1)

14. South Bend Washington (7-4)

15. New Haven (9-4)

16. Evansville Central (9-3)

17. South Bend Clay (8-4)

18. Plainfield (7-3)

19. Shelbyville (4-7)

20. Columbia City (10-2)

4A State Championship prediction: Concord (north) and Columbus East (south)

Class 5A

1. Warren Central (8-2)

2. Fishers (14-1; 2010 5A State Champions)

3. Carmel (9-2)

4. Valparaiso (13-1)

5. Ben Davis (6-4)

6. Hamilton Southeastern (10-2)

7. Center Grove (7-3)

8. Lawrence Central (13-2; 2010 5A State Runners-Up)

9. Penn (7-5)

10. Avon (9-4)

11. Merrillville (8-3)

12. Fort Wayne Snider (9-3)

13. Pike (9-3)

14. Chesterton (6-4)

15. Crown Point (8-4)

16. Columbus North (7-4)

17. Homestead (10-2)

18. Zionsville (7-3)

19. Lake Central (2-8)

20. Whiteland (9-3)

5A State Championship prediction: Penn (north) and Warren Central (south)

College Football: I'm so glad it's just around the corner!!!

With the many different things that happened over the off-season, I couldn't be more excited that college football is within sight!

The whole Jim Tressel situation that led to his eventual resignation as head coach at Ohio State, seemed to be what made the most headlines recently, along with Terrell Pryor's unique exit from Ohio State, seemed to keep college football fans even more excited for this upcoming 2011 NCAA football season.

Alabama will reload at QB this year with Greg McElroy's departure, sophomore A.J. McCarron will take over the reigns in Tuscaloosa. McCarron backed up McElroy the past two years, so his experience in Nick Saban's system should be key for the Crimson Tide.

Some say that Oklahoma's Bob Stoops is possibly on the "hot seat" in Norman. I beg to differ with that, simply because of Stoops' track record. In his 12 years at OU, Stoops is 129-31 with one National Championship (2000) and 7 Big XII titles. He's not going anywhere.

Georgia's Mark Richt is another that I really don't think has much to worry about, despite a 6-7 record in 2010 and 7-9 in SEC play the past two years. Richt is 96-34 overall in his 10 seasons in Athens. They can't be too picky with his performance based on the top quality conference that the SEC is.

Butch Davis was fired at North Carolina a couple of weeks ago after going just 28-23 in four years.

Rick Neuheisel is for sure on the edge of being fired at UCLA for a 15-22 mark in three years. After he was 33-14 at Colorado and 33-16 at Washington in his previous coaching adventures prior to landing in LA, Neuheisel needs to push for 8 or 9 wins this year and that might be a tough task.

Ron Zook might be somewhat safe at Illinois after a 7-6 record last year, including a Texas Bowl thumping of Baylor, 38-14.

Texas A&M's Mike Sherman might be in the same boat as Zook. Sherman is only 19-19 in 3 years leading the Aggies. Last year's 9-4 record might have salvaged his job, even though he lost the Cotton Bowl to LSU, 41-24.

Dennis Erickson started his time in Tempe in 2007 just how the Sun Devil faithful was hoping, with a 10-3 record, share of the Pac-10 title and Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors. Since then, erickson has gone 15-24. He'll keep his job because he's been around and Arizona State will give him more of a chance than most would an older coach in this era.

From the looks of how the pre-season polls are rating teams with almost a month before the first kick, 2011 will definetely prove to be another highlight-packed season in the college ranks.

My preseason Top 25:
1.   Oklahoma
2.   Oregon
3.   Alabama
4.   Virginia Tech
5.   Notre Dame
6.   Florida State
7.   LSU
8.   Boise State
9.   Ohio State
10. Nebraska
11. Stanford
12. Texas A&M
13. Oklahoma State
14. Georgia
15. West Virginia
16. Arkansas
17. TCU
18. Florida
19. Michigan State
20. South Carolina
21. Michigan
22. Wisconsin
23. Miami (FL)
24. Texas
25. USC
Outside my Top 25 and looking in...
Missouri, Penn State, Auburn, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, North Carolina, Illinois, Northwestern, South Florida, Arizona, Arizona State, Mississippi State, Iowa.

There are a lot of talented players to watch this Fall as college football takes the stage. These players are not ranked in any particular order. Below are my Top 15 Quarterbacks, Running Backs and Wide Receivers...

Quarterbacks:
Andrew Luck/jr/Stanford
Kellen Moore/sr/Boise State
Landry Jones/jr/Oklahoma
Case Keenum/sr/Houston
Dayne Crist/sr/Notre Dame
Darron Thomas/jr/Oregon
Brandon Weeden/jr/Oklahoma State
Taylor Martinez/so/Nebraska
Jordan Jefferson/sr/LSU
Garrett Gilbert/jr/Texas
Denard Robinson/jr/Michigan
Jacory Harris/sr/Miami (FL)
Stephen Garcia/sr/South Carolina
Aaron Murray/so/Georgia
John Brantley/sr/Florida

Running Backs:
LaMichael James/jr/Oregon
Marcus Lattimore/so/South Carolina
Trent Richardson/jr/Alabama
Daniel Herron/sr/Ohio State
Ray Graham/jr/Pittsburgh
Silas Redd/so/Penn State
James White/so/Wisconsin
Edwin Baker/jr/Michigan State
Knile Davis/jr/Arkansas
Jeff Demps/sr/Florida
Tauren Poole/sr/Tennessee
Michael Dyer/so/Auburn
Vick Ballard/sr/Mississippi State
Cierre Wood/so/Notre Dame

Wide Receivers:
Michael Floyd/sr/Notre Dame
Ryan Broyles/sr/Oklahoma
Justin Blackmon/jr/Oklahoma State
Alshon Jeffery/jr/South Carolina
Demarlo Belcher/sr/Indiana
Juron Criner/sr/Arizona
Jeff Fuller/sr/Texas A&M
Mike Shanahan/jr/Pittsburgh
DeVier Posey/sr/Ohio State
Derek Moye/sr/Penn State
Roy Roundtree/jr/Michigan
Lance Lewis/sr/East Carolina
Patrick Edwards/sr/Houston
Jordan White/sr/Western Michigan
Conner Vernon/jr/Duke

Tight Ends (Top 8):
Tyler Eifert/jr/Notre Dame
Michael Egnew/sr/Missouri
Orson Charles/jr/Georgia
James Hanna/sr/Oklahoma
Drake Dunsmore/sr/Northwestern
Jordan Reed/so/Florida
Coby Fleenor/sr/Stanford
Jacob Pederson/so/Wisconsin

The Heisman trophy is going to be an interesting race all season long. I would probably guess that the list of 10 that are the front-running candidates are:
LaMichael James/RB/Oregon
Andrew Luck/QB/Stanford
Kellen Moore/QB/Boise State
Landry Jones/QB/Oklahoma
Trent Richardson/RB/Alabama
Michael Floyd/WR/Notre Dame
Justin Blackmon/WR/Oklahoma State
Ryan Broyles/WR/Oklahoma
Marcus Lattimore/RB/South Carolina
Case Keenum/QB/Houston

Look for more on the 2011 college football season as August progresses. Also, soon I'll be making my predictions and giving an Indiana High School football outlook before the regular season begins on August 19th.

As the MLB All-Star break approaches...

As the month of July is upon us now, we're pretty much right around the "halfway" point in the 2011 MLB season. At this point, it's more than likely that the last place losers of each division are already determined, for the most part. Injuries unfortunately happen and teams play better than others in different parts of the year. These and many other factors are what make baseball the interesting game that it is for all of us to watch from late March through October.

AL East...
Baltimore looks to keep its spot at the bottom of the AL East. Toronto will keep itself afloat for the most part with the big bats of Jose Bautista and Adam Lind, but with their lack of quality arms on the mound, the Blue Jays will be the mainstay in 4th place for the rest of 2011. Tampa Bay will get no further than their current 3rd place spot. James Shields is good in their rotation, but he doesn't have enough behind him in the rotation to make a push for the AL Wild Card. As per every year, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will fight to the end for the AL East crown. The Yankees currently have a 2.5 game lead, but I honestly look for the Red Sox to have a better second half and overtake them for the division. Regardless, whichever doesn't win the division will represent the AL as the Wild Card.

AL Central...
Kansas City took a big nose dive to the cellar of the AL Central after starting the season confidently in first place. Minnesota's having a difficult time being in 4th place after being atop the division in recent years. The Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox are within 3.5 games of each other and it will only get to be a tighter AL Central race from here on out.

AL West...
Oakland will more than likely stay in 4th place in the AL West. They are one of many teams that lack good starting pitching and good run-producing hitters in their lineup. Seattle will probably stay right where they are, just above Oakland for 3rd place. Texas and the LA Angels will be neck-and-neck until one edges the other and stays ahead. I expect that Texas will win this division and try to get back to the World Series for the 2nd straight year.

NL East...
The Florida Marlins are the current doormat of the NL East, but they're not the worst team in the National League or the rest of Major League Baseball. The did have one of the worst months by any team, ever. The Marlins started out the month of June at 1-19. With the re-hiring of former skipper in 80 year-old Jack McKeon, Florida ended June on a much better note with a 4-4 record, but still going 5-23 in June.

The New York Mets are starting to play better baseball, but they're missing the bats of David Wright (on DL til after the All-Star break) and Ike Davis, along with pitching ace Johan Santana. The Washington Nationals are surprising everyone in baseball by winning more games and they're doing it by growing as a club. With first-time all-stars in Relief Pitcher Tyler Clippard and 1B Michael Morse leading the way, it makes things a lot easier for Closer Drew Storen (Brownsburg, IN), who has a 5-2 record with 20 saves in 40 appearances. Atlanta will probably make a push, but Philadelphia is just much too strong with their bats and arms to take the NL East title again.

NL Central...
Houston has etched its role in the 2011 season. They're currently 29-55 and sitting in a not-so-comfortable place below the Chicago Cubs in the basement of the NL Central. The Chicago Cubs are struggling again and this might possibly be 103 years straight without a World Series title. Looks like that'll be the case, because Cubs management is much too afraid to spend big money in the middle of the season. Cincinnati is probably not going to repeat as NL Central champs, unless they make a hug surge in the second half. Pittsburgh hasn't played this well since they're winning ways back in the late 80's and early 90's. Who knows if they'll be able to keep it up the whole year, but it's a much improved Pirate team for sure. Milwaukee and St. Louis share the division lead at 45-39. Milwaukee has the edge all over at this time of the year. With Pujols out for another month and pitching being the question mark, look for St. Louis to slide backwards in the second half.

NL West...
As expected, the defending World Champion San Francisco Giants are leading the NL West, but only by 3 games over Arizona. The Diamondbacks are playing well and it should be pretty interesting down the stretch. Don't count out the Colorado Rockies for a second half run of their own. They're only 6.5 games out with a week and a half until the All-Star break. San Diego was predicted to have a better year than they're having. I'm not sure what's worse, they're pitching inconsistencies or sub-par pitching. The LA Dodgers were also supposed to be a lot better than they currently are as well, but you can't expect a few bats and a couple arms to get the job done all the time.

Stay tuned toward the middle of August for more on these tight AL and NL division races.

Standings as of July 3, 2011

AL East                          Record        GB
New York Yankees          50-31          ----
Boston Red Sox                48-24          2.5
Tampa Bay Rays               46-37          5.0
Toronto Blue Jays              40-44        11.5
Baltimore Orioles               35-45        14.5

AL Central
Cleveland Indians               44-37         ----
Detroit Tigers                     44-40         1.5
Chicago White Sox            42-42         3.5
Minnesota Twins                35-46         9.0
Kansas City Royals            33-50       12.0

AL West
Texas Rangers                    44-40        ----
Los Angeles Angels            43-41        1.0
Seattle Mariners                 40-43        3.5
Oakland Athletics               37-47        7.0

NL East
Philadelphia Phillies             53-31        ----
Atlanta Braves                    49-35        4.0
Washington Nationals         42-42      11.0
New York Mets                 41-42      11.5
Florida Marlins                   37-46      15.5

NL Central
Milwaukee Brewers            45-39       ----
St. Louis Cardinals              45-39       ----
Pittsburgh Pirates                42-41        2.5
Cincinnati Reds                   42-42        3.0
Chicago Cubs                     34-50      11.0
Houston Astros                   29-55      16.0
    
NL West
San Francisco Giants           48-36       ----
Arizona Diamondbacks        45-39       3.0
Colorado Rockies                41-42       6.5
San Diego Padres                 38-46     10.0
Los Angeles Dodgers           37-47      11.0

NCAA Regionals: Many upsets over the weekend, but that's why it's the NCAA Tournament!

Sports enthusiasts could probably come up with a nickname for the NCAA Baseball tournament that is comparable to that of that NCAA men's basketball tournament's March Madness, but it may or may not catch on like the interest that college basketball has. I have no idea exactly what I would call it, but I honestly think that there needs to be some sort of moniker that screams to the die-hard college baseball fans out there.

The excitement of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament keeps getting more and more exciting every year. There is more and more coverage televised nationally. Depending on where games are being played throughout the country, games range from starting around Noon or 1pm to some games starting at 11pm, since they're on the West coast. Great games are occuring all across the country. The format is somewhat similar to the NCAA men's basketball tournament. There are 64 teams. The opening weekend are the Regionals, which pit four schools at one site, in a double-elimination format. The four teams at each site are seeded 1-4. The #'s 2 and 3 seeds play Game 1 and seeds 1 and 4 play Game 2. After that, it becomes a double-elimination format until  the Regional Champion is crowned on Sunday or possibly Monday at the latest. Champions of Regionals move on the following weekend in a two-team Super Regional.

There are eight schools that are the Top 8 National seeds:
1-Virginia, 2-Florida, 3-North Carolina, 4-South Carolina, 5-Florida State, 6-Vanderbilt, 7-Texas, 8-Rice

The remaining 8 hosts schools:
#12 Georgia Tech, #14 Clemson, #7 Texas A&M, #15 Oregon State, #11 TCU, #8 Cal State Fullerton, #17 UCLA and #10 Arizona State

Atlanta Regional - GEORGIA TECH
(3) Mississippi State 3, (2) Southern Mississippi 0
(4) Austin Peay 2, (1) Georgia Tech 1
(1) Georgia Tech 6, (2) Southern Mississippi 2 (Southern Mississippi eliminated: 39-19)
(3) Mississippi State 8, (4) Austin Peay 3
(1) Georgia Tech 12, (4) Austin Peay 2 (Austin Peay eliminated: 34-24)
(3) Mississippi State 7, (1) Georgia Tech 3 (Georgia Tech eliminated: 42-21)
Atlanta Regional Champion: (3) Mississippi State (37-23)

Austin Regional - TEXAS
(3) Kent State 4, (2) Texas State 2
(1) Texas 5, (4) Princeton 3
(2) Texas State 3, (4) Princeton 1 (Princeton eliminated: 23-24)
(3) Kent State 7, (1) Texas 5
(1) Texas 4, (2) Texas State 3 (Texas State eliminated: 41-23)
(1) Texas 9, (3) Kent State 3
(1) Texas 5, (3) Kent State 0 (Kent State eliminated: 45-16)
Austin Regional Champion: (1) Texas (47-16)

Chapel Hill Regional - NORTH CAROLINA
(3) James Madison 11, (2) FIU 7
(1) North Carolina 4, (4) Maine 0
(4) Maine 4, (2) FIU 1 (FIU eliminated: 40-20-1)
(1) North Carolina 14, (3) James Madison 0
(3) James Madison 5, (4) Maine 2 (Maine eliminated: 33-24)
(1) North Carolina 9, (3) James Madison 3 (James Madison eliminated: 42-19)
Chapel Hill Regional Champ: (1) North Carolina (48-14)

Charlottesville Regional - VIRGINIA
(1) Virginia 6, (4) Navy 0

(3) St. John's 2, (2) East Carolina 0

(2) East Carolina 6, (4) Navy 1 (Navy eliminated: 33-25-1)

(1) Virginia 10, (3) St. John's 2

(2) East Carolina 6, (3) St. John's 4 (St. John's eliminated: 36-22)

(1) Virginia 13, (2) East Carolina 1 (East Carolina eliminated: 41-21)

Charlottesville Regional Champion: (1) Virginia (52-9)

Clemson Regional - CLEMSON
(3) Coastal Carolina 13, (2) Connecticut 1

(1) Clemson 11, (4) Sacred Heart 1

(2) Connecticut 13, (4) Sacred Heart 3 (Sacred Heart eliminated: 34-23)

(1) Clemson 12, (3) Coastal Carolina 7

(2) Connecticut 12, (3) Coastal Carolina 6 (Coastal Carolilna eliminated: 42-20)

(2) Connecticut 7, (1) Clemson 6

(2) Connecticut 14, (1) Clemson 1 (Clemson eliminated: 43-20)

Clemson Regional Champion: (2) Connecticut (45-18-1)

College Station Regional - TEXAS A&M
(3) Seton Hall 4, (2) Arizona 0
(1) Texas A&M 11, (4) Wright State 0
(2) Arizona 13, (4) Wright State 0 (Wright State eliminated: 36-19)
(1) Texas A&M 6, (3) Seton Hall 3
(2) Arizona 6, (3) Seton Hall 0 (Seton Hall eliminated: 34-25)
(2) Arizona 7, (1) Texas A&M 4
(1) Texas A&M 3, (2) Arizona 0 (Arizona eliminated: 39-19)
College Station Regional Champion: (1) Texas A&M (45-19)

Columbia Regional - SOUTH CAROLINA
(2) Stetson 8, (3) North Carolina State 7
(1) South Carolina 2, (4) Georgia Southern 1
(3) North Carolina State 5, (4) Georgia Southern 2 (Georgia Southern eliminated: 36-26)
(1) South Carolina 11, (2) Stetson 5
(2) Stetson 5, (3) North Carolina State 3 (North Carolina State eliminated: 35-27)
(1) South Carolina 8, (2) Stetson 2 (Stetson eliminated: 43-20)
Columbia Regional Champion: (1) South Carolina (48-14)

Corvallis Regional - OREGON STATE
(2) Creighton 2, (3) Georgia 1
(1) Oregon State 7, (4) Arkansas-Little Rock 4
(3) Georgia 7, (4) Arkansas-Little Rock 3 (Arkansas-Little Rock elimintated: 24-34)
(1) Oregon State 5, (2) Creighton 1
(3) Georgia 5, (2) Creighton 4 (Creighton eliminated: 45-17)
(1) Oregon State 6, (3) Georgia 4 (Georgia eliminated: 33-32)
Corvallis Regional Champion: (1) Oregon State (41-17)

Fort Worth Regional - TEXAS CHRISTIAN
(3) Dallas Baptist 3, (2) Oklahoma 2
(1) TCU 10, (4) Oral Roberts 2
(4) Oral Roberts 7, (2) Oklahoma 0 (Oklahoma eliminated: 41-19)
(3) Dallas Baptist 3, (1) TCU 2
(4) Oral Roberts 8, (1) TCU 4 (TCU eliminated: 43-19)
(4) Oral Roberts 7, (3) Dallas Baptist 2
(3) Dallas Baptist 11, (4) Oral Roberts 9 (Oral Roberts eliminated: 39-22)
Fort Worth Regional Champion: (3) Dallas Baptist (42-18)

Fullterton Regional - CAL ST. FULLERTON
(2) Stanford 10, (3) Kansas State 3
(1) Cal St. Fullerton 10, (4) Illinois 4
(4) Illinois 5, (3) Kansas State 3 (Kansas State eliminated: 36-25)
(2) Stanford 1, (1) Cal St. Fullerton 0
(4) Illinois 7, (1) Cal St. Fullerton 5 (Cal St. Fullerton eliminated: 41-17)
(2) Stanford 14, (4) Illinois 2 (Illinois eliminated: 30-27)
Fullerton Regional Champion: (2) Stanford (35-20)

Gainesville Regional - FLORIDA
(2) Miami (FL) 7, (3) Jacksonville 2
(1) Florida 17, (4) Manhatten 3
(3) Jacksonville 5, (4) Manhatten 4 (Manhatten eliminated: 34-19)
(1) Florida 5, (2) Miami (FL) 4
(2) Miami (FL) 6, (3) Jacksonville 3 (Jacksonville eliminated: 37-24)
(1) Florida 11, (2) Miami (FL) 4 (Miami FL eliminated: 38-23)
Gainesville Regional Champion: (1) Florida (48-16)

Houston Regional - RICE
(2) Baylor 6, (3) California 4
(1) Rice 14, (4) Alcorn State 2
(3) California 10, (4) Alcorn State 6 (Alcorn State eliminated: 27-30)
(2) Baylor 3, (1) Rice 2
(3) California 6, (1) Rice 3 (Rice eliminated: 42-21)
(3) California 8, (2) Baylor 0
(3) California 9, (2) Baylor 8 (Baylor eliminated: 31-28)
Houston Regional Champion: (3) California (35-21)

Los Angeles Regional - UCLA
(3) UC-Irvine 12, (2) Fresno State 6
(4) San Francisco 3, (1) UCLA 0
(1) UCLA 3, (2) Fresno State 1 (Fresno State eliminated: 40-16)
(3) UC-Irvine 4, (4) San Francisco 3
(1) UCLA 4, (4) San Francisco 1 (San Francisco eliminated: 32-25)
(3) UC-Irvine 4, (1) UCLA 3 (UCLA eliminated: 35-24)
Los Angeles Regional Champion: (3) UC-Irvine (42-16)

Nashville Regional - VANDERBILT
(3) Troy 9, (2) Oklahoma State 2
(1) Vanderbilt 10, (4) Belmont 0
(4) Belmont 3, (2) Oklahoma State 0 (Oklahoma State eliminated: 35-25)
(1) Vanderbilt 10, (3) Troy 2
(4) Belmont 5, (3) Troy 2 (Troy eliminated: 43-19)
(1) Vanderbilt 6, (4) Belmont 1 (Belmont eliminated: 38-26)
Nashville Regional Champion: (1) Vanderbilt (50-10)

Tallahassee Regional - FLORIDA STATE
(3) Alabama 5, (2) Central Florida 3
(1) Florida State 6, (4) Bethune-Cookman 5
(2) Central Florida 16, (4) Bethune-Cookman 5 (Bethune-Cookman eliminated: 36-25)
(1) Florida State 9, (3) Alabama 5
(3) Alabama 12, (2) Central Florida 5 (Central Florida eliminated: 39-22)
(1) Florida State 11, (3) Alabama 1 (Alabama eliminated: 35-27)
Tallahassee Regional Champion: (1) Florida State

Tempe Regional - ARIZONA STATE
(3) Charlotte 3, (2) Arkansas 2
(1) Arizona State 4, (4) New Mexico 2
(2) Arkansas 3, (4) New Mexico 0 (New Mexico eliminated: 20-41)
(1) Arizona State 16, (3) Charlotte 1
(2) Arkansas 11, (3) Charlotte 3 (Charlotte eliminated: 43-15)
(1) Arizona State 13, (2) Arkansas 4 (Arkansas eliminated: 40-22)
Tempe Regional Champion: (1) Arizona State (42-17)

 

NCAA Regionals, by the Numbers...

I picked 11 of the 16 Regional Champions correctly, which I honestly think is pretty tough, considering that there are four teams in each Regional. It's also no guarantee that the #1 seed in each Regional will be he champion.

 

Number one seeds knocked out of the Regional: UCLA, TCU, Rice, Clemson, Georgia Tech and Cal St. Fullerton. TCU, Cal St. Fullerton and Rice were all three knocked out before the Regional Championship game.

 

Another stat that is not-so-surprising is that 41 of the 64 teams in the NCAA Regional field are from "warm weather states." They play baseball all year, I would hope that they would be well-represented!

 

Florida has 8: Florida International, Jacksonville, Miami (FL), Florida, Florida State, Central Florida, Stetson and Bethune-Cookman.

 

Texas has 6: Texas, Texas State, Texas A&M, TCU, Rice, Baylor and Dallas Baptist.

 

California is represented by 7 schools: California, Cal St. Fullerton, Stanford, UCLA, San Francisco, Fresno State and UC-Irvine.

 

Three-seeds that advanced to the Super Regionals:

Dallas Baptist (42-18), UC-Irvine (42-16), Mississippi State (37-23) and California (35-21)

 

Two-seeds moving on to Super Regionals:

Stanford (35-20) and Connecticut (45-18-1)

 

Check back Monday or late Sunday night as I analyze that Super Regionals from over the weekend. And who knows, I might be attending the Nashville Super Regional for one game. My friend coached Vanderbilt freshman DH/1B Conrad Gregor. I know that I only posted mainly scores and little facts, but when not all the Regionals were televised in the Indianapolis area, it's a little hard to break down games you really didn't see!

NCAA Regionals: Many upsets over the weekend, but that's why it's the NCAA Tournament!

Sports enthusiasts could probably come up with a nickname for the NCAA Baseball tournament that is comparable to that of that NCAA men's basketball tournament's March Madness, but it may or may not catch on like the interest that college basketball has. I have no idea exactly what I would call it, but I honestly think that there needs to be some sort of moniker that screams to the die-hard college baseball fans out there.

The excitement of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament keeps getting more and more exciting every year. There is more and more coverage televised nationally. Depending on where games are being played throughout the country, games range from starting around Noon or 1pm to some games starting at 11pm, since they're on the West coast. Great games are occuring all across the country. The format is somewhat similar to the NCAA men's basketball tournament. There are 64 teams. The opening weekend are the Regionals, which pit four schools at one site, in a double-elimination format. The four teams at each site are seeded 1-4. The #'s 2 and 3 seeds play Game 1 and seeds 1 and 4 play Game 2. After that, it becomes a double-elimination format until  the Regional Champion is crowned on Sunday or possibly Monday at the latest. Champions of Regionals move on the following weekend in a two-team Super Regional.

There are eight schools that are the Top 8 National seeds:
1-Virginia, 2-Florida, 3-North Carolina, 4-South Carolina, 5-Florida State, 6-Vanderbilt, 7-Texas, 8-Rice

The remaining 8 hosts schools:
#12 Georgia Tech, #14 Clemson, #7 Texas A&M, #15 Oregon State, #11 TCU, #8 Cal State Fullerton, #17 UCLA and #10 Arizona State

Atlanta Regional - GEORGIA TECH
(3) Mississippi State 3, (2) Southern Mississippi 0
(4) Austin Peay 2, (1) Georgia Tech 1
(1) Georgia Tech 6, (2) Southern Mississippi 2 (Southern Mississippi eliminated: 39-19)
(3) Mississippi State 8, (4) Austin Peay 3
(1) Georgia Tech 12, (4) Austin Peay 2 (Austin Peay eliminated: 34-24)
(3) Mississippi State 7, (1) Georgia Tech 3 (Georgia Tech eliminated: 42-21)

Austin Regional - TEXAS
(3) Kent State 4, (2) Texas State 2
(1) Texas 5, (4) Princeton 3
(2) Texas State 3, (4) Princeton 1 (Princeton eliminated: 23-24)
(3) Kent State 7, (1) Texas 5
(1) Texas 4, (2) Texas State 3 (Texas State eliminated: 41-23)
(1) Texas 9, (3) Kent State 3
(1) Texas 5, (3) Kent State 0 (Kent State eliminated: 45-16)
Austin Regional Champ: Texas (47-16)

Chapel Hill Regional - NORTH CAROLINA
(3) James Madison 11, (2) FIU 7
(1) North Carolina 4, (4) Maine 0
(4) Maine 4, (2) FIU 1 (FIU eliminated: 40-20-1)
(1) North Carolina 14, (3) James Madison 0
(3) James Madison 5, (4) Maine 2 (Maine eliminated: 33-24)
(1) North Carolina 9, (3) James Madison 3 (James Madison eliminated: 42-19)
Chapel Hill Regional Champ: North Carolina (48-14)

Charlottesville Regional - VIRGINIA

Clemson Regional - CLEMSON


College Station Regional - TEXAS A&M
(3) Seton Hall 4, (2) Arizona 0
(1) Texas A&M 11, (4) Wright State 0
(2) Arizona 13, (4) Wright State 0 (Wright State eliminated: 36-19)
(1) Texas A&M 6, (3) Seton Hall 3
(2) Arizona 6, (3) Seton Hall 0 (Seton Hall eliminated: 34-25)
(2) Arizona 7, (1) Texas A&M 4
(1) Texas A&M 3, (2) Arizona 0 (Arizona eliminated: 39-19)
College Station Regional Champion: (1) Texas A&M (45-19)

Columbia Regional - SOUTH CAROLINA
(2) Stetson 8, (3) North Carolina State 7
(1) South Carolina 2, (4) Georgia Southern 1
(3) North Carolina State 5, (4) Georgia Southern 2 (Georgia Southern eliminated: 36-26)
(1) South Carolina 11, (2) Stetson 5
(2) Stetson 5, (3) North Carolina State 3 (North Carolina State eliminated: 35-27)
(1) South Carolina 8, (2) Stetson 2 (Stetson eliminated: 43-20)
Columbia Regional Champion: (1) South Carolina (48-14)

Corvallis Regional - OREGON STATE
(2) Creighton 2, (3) Georgia 1
(1) Oregon State 7, (4) Arkansas-Little Rock 4
(3) Georgia 7, (4) Arkansas-Little Rock 3 (Arkansas-Little Rock elimintated: 24-34)
(1) Oregon State 5, (2) Creighton 1
(3) Georgia 5, (2) Creighton 4 (Creighton eliminated: 45-17)
(1) Oregon State 6, (3) Georgia 4 (Georgia eliminated: 33-32)
Corvallis Regional Champion: (1) Oregon State (41-17)

Fort Worth Regional - TEXAS CHRISTIAN
(3) Dallas Baptist 3, (2) Oklahoma 2
(1) TCU 10, (4) Oral Roberts 2
(4) Oral Roberts 7, (2) Oklahoma 0 (Oklahoma eliminated: 41-19)
(3) Dallas Baptist 3, (1) TCU 2
(4) Oral Roberts 8, (1) TCU 4 (TCU eliminated: 43-19)
(4) Oral Roberts 7, (3) Dallas Baptist 2
(3) Dallas Baptist 11, (4) Oral Roberts 9 (Oral Roberts eliminated: 39-22)
Fort Worth Regional Champion: (3) Dallas Baptist (42-18)

Fullterton Regional - CAL ST. FULLERTON
(2) Stanford 10, (3) Kansas State 3
(1) Cal St. Fullerton 10, (4) Illinois 4
(4) Illinois 5, (3) Kansas State 3 (Kansas State eliminated: 36-25)
(2) Stanford 1, (1) Cal St. Fullerton 0
(4) Illinois 7, (1) Cal St. Fullerton 5 (Cal St. Fullerton eliminated: 41-17)
(2) Stanford 14, (4) Illinois 2 (Illinois eliminated: 30-27)
Fullerton Regional Champion: (2) Stanford (35-20)

Gainesville Regional - FLORIDA
(2) Miami (FL) 7, (3) Jacksonville 2
(1) Florida 17, (4) Manhatten 3
(3) Jacksonville 5, (4) Manhatten 4 (Manhatten eliminated: 34-19)
(1) Florida 5, (2) Miami (FL) 4
(2) Miami (FL) 6, (3) Jacksonville 3 (Jacksonville eliminated: 37-24)
(1) Florida 11, (2) Miami (FL) 4 (Miami FL eliminated: 38-23)
Gainesville Regional Champion: (1) Florida (48-16)

Houston Regional - RICE
(2) Baylor 6, (3) California 4
(1) Rice 14, (4) Alcorn State 2
(3) California 10, (4) Alcorn State 6 (Alcorn State eliminated: 27-30)
(2) Baylor 3, (1) Rice 2
(3) California 6, (1) Rice 3 (Rice eliminated: 42-21)
(3) California 8, (2) Baylor 0
(3) California 9, (2) Baylor 8 (Baylor eliminated: 31-28)
Houston Regional Champion: (3) California (35-21)

Los Angeles Regional - UCLA
(3) UC-Irvine 12, (2) Fresno State 6
(4) San Francisco 3, (1) UCLA 0
(1) UCLA 3, (2) Fresno State 1 (Fresno State eliminated: 40-16)
(3) UC-Irvine 4, (4) San Francisco 3
(1) UCLA 4, (4) San Francisco 1 (San Francisco eliminated: 32-25)
(3) UC-Irvine 4, (1) UCLA 3 (UCLA eliminated: 35-24)
Los Angeles Regional Champion: (3) UC-Irvine (42-16)

Nashville Regional - VANDERBILT
(3) Troy 9, (2) Oklahoma State 2
(1) Vanderbilt 10, (4) Belmont 0
(4) Belmont 3, (2) Oklahoma State 0 (Oklahoma State eliminated: 35-25)
(1) Vanderbilt 10, (3) Troy 2
(4) Belmont 5, (3) Troy 2 (Troy eliminated: 43-19)
(1) Vanderbilt 6, (4) Belmont 1 (Belmont eliminated: 38-26)
Nashville Regional Champion: (1) Vanderbilt (50-10)

Tallahassee Regional - FLORIDA STATE
(3) Alabama 5, (2) Central Florida 3
(1) Florida State 6, (4) Bethune-Cookman 5
(2) Central Florida 16, (4) Bethune-Cookman 5 (Bethune-Cookman eliminated: 36-25)
(1) Florida State 9, (3) Alabama 5
(3) Alabama 12, (2) Central Florida 5 (Central Florida eliminated: 39-22)
(1) Florida State 11, (3) Alabama 1 (Alabama eliminated: 35-27)
Tallahassee Regional Champion: (1) Florida State

Tempe Regional - ARIZONA STATE
(3) Charlotte 3, (2) Arkansas 2
(1) Arizona State 4, (4) New Mexico 2
(2) Arkansas 3, (4) New Mexico 0 (New Mexico eliminated: 20-41)
(1) Arizona State 16, (3) Charlotte 1
(2) Arkansas 11, (3) Charlotte 3 (Charlotte eliminated: 43-15)
(1) Arizona State 13, (2) Arkansas 4 (Arkansas eliminated: 40-22)
Tempe Regional Champion: Arizona State (42-17)

Noblesville rally comes up short, Millers lose sectional opener to Fishers, 3-2

4A Sectional 9 at Zionsville: Fishers 3, Noblesville 2

We got one last glimpse of the Ryan Byrne that we've all known for the past 4 seasons. He threw a total of 80 pitches, 61 for strikes. His fastball was pin-point on the mark. His off-speed pitches were throwing the Fishers hitters off a little from time to time.

It wasn't until the bottom of the 4th that the Tigers got a rhythm going at the plate. Drew Clark led off with a single to center. Matt Woolwine climbed aboard with an infield single. It didn't seem like JP Pena's at-bat would ever end. Pena had an saw 11 pitches, finally ending his at-bat with a two-run single to left. That hit drove home Clark and Woolwine for a 2-0 Fishers lead. Pena tried stretching it to a double, which was a horrible idea. You should never test the arm of Derek Asuras, no matter which outfield spot he's playing in. Asuras gunned down Pena at second base from left with a throw to shortstop Tanner Watson, who put the tag on Pena. That throw out at second ignited the Miller defense. The Fishers battery of Chris Patrick and Ant Roach were consecutively the final outs of the inning.

Seth Rayle started the top of the 5th off for Noblesville with a hit to Pena at short that resulted in an error on Pena, because he threw the ball in the dirt to Clark at first. Rayle stole 2nd with Hammond up. Hammond drove Rayle in with a stroke down the third baseline to being the score to 2-1, Fishers.

 With two quick outs, it looked like the Millers would be back to bat sooner than Fishers could blink. It was short-lived, but Fishers made good use of their 5th inning. Connor McCalley belted a triple to deep center field over the head of Caleb Shore. Koby Orris hit a groundball to the hole at short and made it difficult to Tanner Watson to make the throw in time, giving Orris an infield single and an RBI, scoring McCalley from third. Fishers was now up 3-1 and Nobleville's back was to the wall, with no room for flaws from there on.

Watson wasn't happy with his play in the field during he previous half inning, so he made up for it when he led off the top of the 6th inning. Tanner smoked a double to the wall in left, getting the Miller bench and faithful in the stands to their feet. Jamerson Brock then smacked his own double to left, scoring Watson from second to close the Fishers lead to 3-2.

It only took Byrne 6 pitches in the sixth to end the inning. Woolwine flied out to right. Pena struckout looking. And Chris Patrick grounded out to Watson at short.

JP Pena came on in the top of the 7th in relief of Ant Roach, who held Noblesville in check for the most part. The Millers went quickly and unfortunately quietly in their final chance during the top of the seventh. Brock Hammond flied out to left. Patrick Rader pinch-hit and struck out. Derek Asuras hit a grounder just to the first base side of the mound. Pena picked the ball up and tossed it to Drew Clark at first to end the game and Noblesville's season.

Fishers (19-12) advances to the semifinals to face the host and 4A #8 Zionsville (22-5) in the first game on Monday at 11am. Zionsville advanced with a victory in Friday night's continued game from Wednesday night's rainout. They defeated Carmel 6-0 in that continuation game. Carmel finished with a 9-20 record, while Noblesville wound up with a 14-17 record. The second semifinal game will feature Hamilton Southeastern (14-15) against Westfield (10-16). The 4A Sectional 9 championship game will be at 7:30 Monday night.

Millers get big road victory, then lose heartbreaker on Senior Night

Noblesville 6, Harrison (West Lafayette) 4

After Derek Asuras threw his Tuesday night no-hitter at home against Westfield, the Millers had one more road test lest in the HCC season. They got a big road victory, 6-4 over Harrison (West Lafayette). Some might think that beating Harrison isn't that big of a deal, but this season for Noblesville, we take wins when we can get them.

Noblesville socked the host Raiders for 9 hits, including doubles by Caleb Shore and Sam Wides and a two-run home run by Austin Ramey.

Brock Hammond started and Ben Yoder finished the game, combining on for eight hits. Yoder secured the win in the bottom of the7th for the Millers.

Senior Night: Harrison (West Lafayette) 2, Noblesville 1 (8 innings)

Things started out somewhat shaky in the top of the first inning. With one out, there was a little controversy at home plate. Nick Leuck was up to bat for the Raiders and our plate umpire was already having trouble keeping track of the count. In a nutshell, Leuck was technically given an extra pitch in the at-bat. He was walked on 7 (technically 8 pitches). The plate umpire's mishap turned out to slap Leuck right in the face. On the first pitch of DH David Carnahan's at-bat, Leuck tried to steal second base, but Noblesville catcher Sam Wides had other ideas in mind. He threw a rocket to second base and Seth Rayle tagged Leuck out, fueling the home crowd at Dunker Field.

The Miller half of the first started out eventful, fueled by that previous momentum. Derek Asuras led things off with a walk. He advanced to 2nd on a fielder's choice at-bat by Dewey Rodgers. Asuras advanced to 3rd on an error by Harrison 2B Payton Smith. Rodgers sole second on the very next pitch. Jameson Brock then hit a sky-high fly ball to left field. It was high and far enough to allow Asuras to score from third for a Brock sacrifice fly and a 1-0 Noblesville lead.

The second through seventh innings were nothing short of a chess match. Noblesville senior Ryan Byrne struckout nine for the game and they all came within those six innings.

The Millers' bats weren't quiet by any means during that span of baseball. They had five base hits, nine fly ball outs and five groundouts. Talk about opportunities that they weren't able to take advantage of to score some runs.

Harrison found a way to tie the score up at 1-1 in the top of the 6th inning, however. Joe Dinkel had a one out 2B to get things going for the Raiders. He then scored on David Carnahan's hit in the infield that was ruled an error on Miller shortstop Tanner Watson.

Derek Asuras had a two-out single, followed by a steal of second base, but it wasn't enough for Noblesville in the bottom of the 7th inning. We're playing extra baseball on Senior Night at The Dunk!

Normally a starter, junior Kent Williams was sent in by Coach Keever in a relief role to lend a helping hand to senior starter Ryan Byrne. Williams seemed out of sync, walking the Raider #9 hitter Evan Tislow on five pitches. Dinkel laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Tislow to second. Leuck walked for runners at first and second. Tislow moved to third easily. He scored on a groundball that was an opportunity for a double play to end the Raider 8th. Rayle's toss to Watson was good to second base, but Watson's throw to first sailed over Austin Ramey's head, which allowed Tislow home from third. Tislow's run gave Harrison a 2-1 lead.

Brock roped a one out single to center, then stole second. JB advanced to third on an infield single from Caleb Shore. C-Shore and Jameson Brock were stranded at second and third bases, respectively, as Seth Rayle struckout with a full count to end the ballgame and the threat of Noblesville winning on Senior Night. Harrison 2, Noblesville 1 in 8 innings.

I've been exactly where these 6 seniors are at following a loss on senior night. I'll never forget every moment of senior night. Those moments stick with you and overshadow all other moments, but only for the time being. They'll never forget how they won the 2010 Class 4A Sectional 9 Championship at home, under the lights at Dunker Field.

The Millers will continue their quest to right the ship and bring home the 2011 4A Sectional 9 title, but this time they're playing at Zionsville's new stadium. On the first day of play, Carmel takes on host Zionsville, followed by Noblesville and Fishers. The winners of those two games will face off on Monday, Memorial Day, at 11am. Hamilton Southeastern and Westfield will play in the bye game of the bracket, just after the matchup between the winners of the first two games. The championship game will be played at 7:30 Monday evening.