Oh No! Not OU!
sandcrabs May 28th, 2008
Before I begin, I want to make a quick comment regarding the non-call at the end of the Spurs-Lakers game 4. Sports talk shows and blogs all over are blowing up over this issue. I’ve brought it up on many occassions and that particular play just illustrates how inept NBA officials are. Or, at least should give more credence to the fact David Stern really wants LA in the finals. Granted the shot was a crappy one. Had there not been any contact it likely would not have gone in. However, as clearly shown in replays…hell, even live it was obvious. Derek Fisher fouled Brent Barry. No ifs, ands or buts. He practically landed on his head. This should not be a case of “You’ll never get that call at that junction of the game.” It was not ticky-tack. Barry got hammered. Stone up. Make the freaking call!
Okay, enough of that. On to the topic which has caught me today. The start of the NCAA Baseball tournament begins. The 64 teams were chosen and shown on ESPN with a little less fanfare than the NCAA Basketball selection show. Okay, no issues there. However, there will be no repeat champion. In fact, Oregon State could have gone for 3 in a row had they been given the chance. To say a team just wasn’t good enough is okay, but the NCAA’s excuses were pretty lame. Committee chairman Larry Templeton gave a small list of reasons for excluding OSU. Let’s take a look at them.
First, he cited the Beavers’ 24 losses and who some of those losses were against. Hmm. Oklahoma has 24 losses and lost games to Washington State (3), Baylor and that powerhouse of a program Southern Nazarene. Next he mentioned Oklahoma’s non-conference record. Quite amazing since they went 10-0 against stalwarts Arkansas-Pine Bluff, North Dakota State (don’t they play hockey?), Western Illinois and South Florida. All Oregon State could do was beat the likes or Georgia and Pepperdine, both tournament teams. In fact, Oregon State had a winning record against teams who are in the tournament this year. Oklahoma, sadly, did not quite meet this feat. In fact they had over 15 losses to tournament teams.
Granted, Oregon State did not look much like the 2-time defending champions this year. Well, they didn’t look like that last year either and look at the run they had. All they did was end the year repeating as champs. Quite impressive. This has the appearance of the NCAA still punishing the state of Oregon for the blown replay call in the Oregon-OU game. Come on! Enough is enough. It was bad enough that parishoneers for a church in Oklahoma were threatening their pastor when they learned he came from Oregon. The NCAA stands for No Class At All. Based on that criteria, Oregon State should have been given the opportunity to make another magical run much the same as last year. Point taken NCAA. Get over it. We have.
- NCAA Baseball
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