NCAA Softball Tournament Part 1

In the next couple posts, I'm going to preview the NCAA Softball Tournament, which starts Thursday.  The softball tournament, like the basketball one, is made up of 64 teams.  It has 16 national seeds. The first round is called 'Regionals,' where four teams come together for a weekend to play a double-elimination set of games.  The winner then moves on to the Super Regionals round, which is the equivalent to the Sweet 16.  The Super Regionals are a best 2-of-3 series between two teams.  The winner of this moves on to the College World Series which also is double-elimination.  If you lose, you must come out of the winner's bracket.

I'm going to look at the top three seeded Regionals and some intriguing others.

Regional # 1: Hosted by the University of Alabama

  UAB. Lipscomb and Alcorn State join the host Crimson Tide, who were surprisingly awarded the top overall seed in the tournament.  All three visitors are making their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The only reason I say surprising top seed is because given the fact that Washington won the title last year and stayed at No.1 all year, one would have thought that the Huskies would have been the top seed.  That's not to say the Tide didn't deserve it because they did and I'm about to show you why.

Alabama: Alabama is trying to make their third consecutive trip to the College World Series after finishing the year with a 48-9 record, while winning both the SEC regular season and tournament championships in the same season for the first time in school history.
 
The Crimson Tide faced 17 opponents that made the NCAA tournament this year, including UAB, whom they defeated twice this year.  The team complied a 25-8 record against those teams, including wins over Missouri, Michigan, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, LSU and Georgia Tech, all teams that received national seeds. All-time they are 8-0 against UAB and 2-1 against Lipscomb.  This will be the team's first meeting with Alcorn State.

The team boasts a prolific offense led by Charlotte Morgan.  The senior from California leads the team with 16 home runs, 11 doubles and 67 RBI.  The offense features five players who have over 30 RBI, with two more at 28.  After losing speedster, Brittany Rogers to graduation, the team doesn't seem to have lost anything on the base paths as they replaced Rogers with a freshman speed demon by the name of Kayla Braud.  She has 40 steals in 44 attempts, while Jennifer Fenton has swiped 26-of-27 bases.  Two more players have combined to steal 32-of-38 bases as well.

Not only has the offense been amazing, but so has the Crimson Tide pitching.  The staff is led by Kelsi Dunne, who boasts a 27-4 record and a 2.00 ERA.  She has struck out 308 of 662 batters faced and hitters are hitting a mere .180 against her.  Along with Dunne, Lauren Sewell, Amanda Locke and Morgan comprise a staff that has struck out 477 batters with a combined 2.49 ERA.

UAB - The Blazers (36-20) are making their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance.  Unlike Alabama, the Blazers did not face as many teams that qualified for the tournament.  Of the five teams they faced that qualified for the tournament, they went 7-6, including splitting a doubleheader with their first opponent, Lipscomb.

 While the UAB offense may not be as dynamic as some of their opponents, they do have a steady lineup, led by Martina Landrum, Kayla Orr and Mandy Lowman.  Landrum leads the team with an impressive .376 batting average, while Orr and Lowman lead the team with 40 RBI each.  Landrum adds speed at the top of the lineup, as she has stolen 35 bases in 41 attempts.

The pitching staff may be what is most impressive about the Blazers.  The team is led by a two-headed monster of Lauren Webster and Alisha Smith, both of whom have ERA's below 2.00.  Webster leads the staff with a 17-5 record, 1.77 ERA and 7:1 K:BB ratio. 

Lipscomb - The Lady Bisons (48-11) split a doubleheader with UAB at Draper Diamond April 20. They won game one 1-0 on a no-hitter by Whitney Kiihnl, the Player of the Year and the Pitcher of the Year in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Lady Bisons lost the second game 7-5.

The team has faced four teams including the team they play first UAB.  Two of those teams, California and Hawaii, are two of the top teams in the nation.  They managed to pull off an upset of California in the first game of the Hawaii Spring Fling and held its own in other games against the two stronger teams.

The Lady Bisons also have a balanced lineup, as seven of their eight regulars have a batting average of over .300.  Kellie Sirus and Abby Keese lead the team with 17 and 14 runs, respectively.  Sirus leads the team with 55 RBI, while Keese is third with 38.

Whitney Kiihnl has to have one of the most impressive resumes in the country.  The sophomore pitcher boasts a 31-3 record and a sparkling 0.73 ERA.  She has pitched 12 shutouts and struck out 319 of the 696 batters she has faced.  Hitters are batting a mere .107 against her.

Regional # 2: Hosted by the University of Michigan

The No. 2-ranked University of Michigan softball team will be the No. 2 overall seed for the 2010 NCAA Tournament and host a regional for the ninth straight season.  Michigan is joined by regional No. 2 seed Notre Dame, No. 3 seed Illinois State and No. 4 seed Wright State in the double-elimination event.

Michigan - If you were to say that Michigan (46-6) has played one of the toughest schedules, including one of the, if not the toughest non-conference schedules, you would not get many people to disagree with you.  The team faced 17 non-conference teams that made the NCAA Tournament before Big Ten play started, where they faced two more tough NCAA teams, Illinois and Ohio State.  In one stretch, the Wolverines played 24 out of 31 games against tournament teams. Michigan won its third straight Big Ten title by going 18-1. 

Michigan has always been known as a team that has a dynamic offense and this year was no different.  The Wolverines outscored their opponents by 278 runs (378-100) on their way to bashing 74 home runs and 76 doubles.  The team features five hitters who hit over .350 and three who hit over 13 homers.  Dorian Shaw leads the team with 18 homers and 55 RBI, while teammate Maggie Viefhaus added 17 round-trippers and 53 RBI of her own.

And while their offense has been prolific as usual, you would be hard=pressed to find a better 1-2 punch than Jordan Taylor and Nikki Nemitz.  Taylor leads the squad with a 24-3 record, while posting a 1.43 ERA. Nemitz counters with a 20-3 record and a 1.67 ERA.  Taylor hasn't lost since a 5-3 setback to Ohio State on April 28, while it has been nearly three months (Feb.27) since Nemitz dropped a decision. Taylor leads the team with 278 strikeouts, while walking only 39, while Nemitz has retired 167 via the strikeout and walked 30.

The Wolverines are 11-5 against Notre Dame, 2-2 against Illinois State and 3-0 against Wright State.

Notre Dame - For the 12th consecutive season Notre Dame learned it had earned a spot in the NCAA Championship when the NCAA Division I Softball Championship Committee announced the 64-field team on Sunday evening. Notre Dame (45-10) will head to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the opening round of the 2010 tournament.

The Irish faced 10 NCAA Tournament teams this year, going  8-7 against those foes.  They have won 10 of their last 11 games heading into the tournament, their only loss being in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament.

Sadie Fitzenberger leads the offense with a .410 average.  Christine Lux and Heather Johnson lead the Irish with 17 and 16 home runs, respectively. The Irish as a team lead the country in batting average, hitting at a solid .346 clip.

Notre Dame has ridden the arm of Jody Valdivia, who has a 36-5 record and an impressive 1.72 ERA.  She has struck out 260 of the batters she has faced, while allowing hitters to only bat .195 against her.

Illinois State - Illinois State will be making its seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament and earned its third at-large bid to the tournament, with the last coming in 2007, which is also the last time they made the tournament.  Coincidentally, they defeated Notre Dame the last time they were in the tournament 2-1.

The Redbirds faced 10 teams that are in the tournament this year, finishing with a 5-9 record against them.  While the record may not look that great, one of the five wins was against Arizona State, which is the 13 seed, in Tempe.

Ashly Olson is the big bopper on the team, leading ISU with 18 homers and 55 RBI.  Her .808 slugging percentage leads the team by more that 200 points.  Her .370 batting average is second on the team, only behind Kara Nelson, who is hitting an even .400 on the season.

Illinois State is led by a pitching staff of Megan Warner and Jordan Birch.  Both have almost identical records with Warner having a 15-9 record and Birch 15-8.  Birch has struck out 124, while Warner has 119 K's to her name.

Wright State - The Raiders (30-28-1) are coming to Ann Arbor after having won the Horizon League Tournament.  They have faced five teams in this year's tournament and have lost to each of them. 

The Raiders offense is led by Kristen Bradshaw, who is coming off of an MVP performance at the Horizon League Championships. Bradshaw boasts a .353 average and has swiped 36-of-39 bases.  Jamie Perkins and Justine Shilt lead the offense with 38 and 35 RBI, respectively.

Melanie Heyne leads the team in victories with 13 and ERA (3.03) and has won her last five decisions. 

Regional # 3: Hosted by the University of Washington

Washington - The defending National Champions and top ranked team all year might have some gripe with the selection committee after "earning" the 3 seed.  The team is joined in their Regional by Nebraska, North Carolina and North Dakota State.  The Huskies will make their 17th consecutive NCAA postseason appearance this week and first as the defending National Champion.  The Huskies (46-5, 17-4) are coming off one of their most successful non-conference seasons in school history, including winning the Pac-10 Conference for the third time in school history; it was their first since 2000 and the first out-right title since 1996.

The Huskies faced yet another challenging schedule, having to face seven NCAA Tournament teams from the Pac 10, as well as 11 nonconference teams that made the tournament.  The team amassed a 23-4 record against NCAA Tournament opponents on the year.

Danielle Lawrie is the star of the team and has not disappointed.  She leads the team with 14 home runs and 55 RBI.  Kimi Pohlman leads the team in average, hitting at a .385 clip, while also leading the team with 20 steals.  Sharon Wright and Niki Williams have some power as well, as they hit 11 and 10 homers respectively.

As good as Lawrie was at the plate, she was even better on the mound.  Lawrie compiled a 35-2 record, 0.99 ERA and struck out 407 of 857 batters.  She had a 12.3:1 K:BB ratio.  She recently became the PAC 10's career strikeout leader, while moving up to second for career wins with 131.

North Carolina - Carolina earned its eighth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament with this year's berth and gathered 40 wins in a season for the fifth straight year this season.  The team is coming off of a loss to Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament semifinals.

The Heels faced 12 teams that made the tournament, going 8-12 against them.  

Danielle Spaulding leads the team in hitting with a .356 average and 33 RBI.  She leads a balanced offense, which features six players with over 20 RBI, including Kelli Wheeler, who leads the team with 12 home runs.  Christine Knauer has been a paid on the base paths, as the speedster has swiped 41 bases in 45 attempts.

Like Washington's Lawrie, Spaulding is a dual-threat on the diamond, as she heads a two-man pitching staff.  Spaulding has compiled a 19-5 recors, while posting a 1.32 ERA.  It is her teammate Amber Johnson, however, who leads the team in wins with 20, while amassing a 2.26 ERA.  Both pitchers have struck out over 200 batters, with Spaulding having K'd 294 batters and Johnson 216.

The Heels are 2-2 against Nebraska, 1-0 against North Dakota State and 0-1 against Washington.

Nebraska - The Nebraska softball team will make its 20th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance this weekend when the Huskers travel to Seattle, Wash.  Nebraska will be playing its first-ever games in the state of Washington this weekend, but the Huskers are no strangers to the postseason. The trip to Seattle will mark Nebraska’s 20th all-time NCAA Tournament appearances, a total that ranks ninth in NCAA Division I history. The Huskers have been a frequent participant in the postseason under 18th-year Head Coach Rhonda Revelle, who has guided her team to the NCAA Tournament in 15 of the past 16 seasons.  


Eight of the Huskers’ last nine games have come against NCAA Tournament teams, including seven contests against teams currently ranked in the national top 20. Overall, Nebraska played 22 total games against 13 teams in the NCAA Tournament field, posting a 7-15 record in those games. The Huskers posted a 2-8 record against six teams that earned a national seed, with victories against eighth-seeded Georgia Tech and ninth-seeded Missouri.

Ashley Guile leads a balanced Husker offense with a .391 average, 15 doubles and 40 RBI.  Heidi Foland and Brooke Thomason provide the power for Nebraska, as they have knocked out 12 and 11 home runs, respectively.  

As it seems like with many teams, the Huskers use two pitchers, Robin Mackin and Ashley Hagemann.  Hagemann leads the team in victories (14) and strikeouts (208), while Mackin leads the two in ERA (2.61) and batting average against (.202).

North Dakota State - North Dakota State advances to the NCAA tournament for the second straight season after winning the Summit League tournament in Fargo this weekend. The Bison went 3-2 in its first Division I tournament appearance in 2009, winning three games to take the NCAA Norman Regional title and dropped a pair of games at Arizona State in the NCAA Super Regional.  

North Dakota State is 0-9 against the Pac-10 all-time including a 6-0 loss to then 6th-ranked Arizona on Feb. 13 at Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. The Bison are 0-4 against the Wildcats, 0-2 against Arizona State, 0-2 vs. Cal and 0-1 against Stanford. NDSU is 0-14 against Nebraska and 0-1 vs. North Carolina.

It's the ninth tournament appearance overall (including Division II) for North Dakota State. The Bison have compiled a 27-17 record in NCAA competition and is 3-8 against NCAA teams this year.

 The Bison are led by the big bat of Melissa Chmielewski who leads the team in average (.398), home runs (10) and RBI (59).  

  Whitney Johnson is the horse of the pitching staff, poating a 26-16 record and 2.53 ERA.  She has nine shutouts amongst her 32 complete games and has struck out 315 hitters.

College Athletes and Social Media

A recent story by the Columbia Missourian addressed the issue of athletes using social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter.  While most people probably don't see using such networks as a big deal, it has become something that can actually play a roll on whether you play on the team, are dismissed/suspended, etc. But how hard is it exactly for a coach/team/school to monitor so many athletes?
The answer to that is through a system called UDilligence. What the service does is monitor athletes' Facebook, Twitter and MySpace pages for over 400 words they find may be inappropriate. The service then notifies the school and they can take it from there.  But is this a violate of the students' right to free speech and the right to be a kid?

One thing that athletes, politicians and people in the public eye don't seem to realize is that if you are in the public eye, expect to have every move you make magnified by EVERYBODY.  If you want to be part of the face of the university's athletics, be ready for people to check out your every move.  This includes writing inappropriate/dumb statuses on Facebook and Twitter.  There is no reason for anyone to use language that should not be used in any setting, but if you have so many people "following" you or being your "friend", learn to tone it down a little.

If the rest of the world can be subject to firings or suspensions because of something we write or pictures that show us drinking or flashing gang signs, the question is why don't we learn?  Is it because people in today's world continue to think that 'oh that won't happen to me"? Personally, I don't know what is so hard to not swear in statuses or call people inappropriate names or take pictures of someone doing something stupid that can get them in trouble.  It's just common sense, but for some reason that doesn't seem to resonate with many people.

Some players, such as Missouri's Kim English, who is quite popular on Twitter, use the social networking site as a place to communicate with their fans.  Other players like Evan Turner and even Shaq use it and want to keep in contact with their fans.  English, however, is the only one that I remember shutting down his account during the season.  Whether this is because of what his coach told him or he just felt it would be right, the account, which has been mentioned numerous times by Internet journalists as a great follow, was closed from December until the day after the season ended.

Maybe if more players did that, there wouldn't be so many problems. 

Lebron...should he stay or should he go? And his options...

To say that this year's Cavs season-ending series was a disappointment would be the under-statement of the year.  Well the NBA season at least.  To have the best player in the league and just flame out like that is uncharacteristic of both Lebron James and his teammates.  But the question likes more with why did it seem as if Lebron just quit towards the end of the series?  Is it because he found out about those rumors of his mom and Delonte West?  Well anyways, below is a breakdown of some of the teams Lebron could go to this summer outside of Cleveland, because I don't think he is coming back.

Teams with a Good Shot

Miami - This in essence may be the most attractive place for him for one reason: they can offer TWO max contracts.  So that means that he could play with his buddy D Wade in a lineup that would compete in the East right away!  From this year's squad, they have D-Wade, Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, James Jones and Daequan Cook with contracts for next year.  And Wade (player), Chalmers (team) and Jones (team) have options in their contracts.  The only thing that may deter Lebron from coming to the Heat would be the uncertainty of the players, outside of Wade, that would be playing around them.  A nucleus of Wade, Beasley, Cook and Chalmers is a nice start, but how does that stack up against those of other teams?

New York - The Knicks pulled off some ridiculousness at the trading deadline this year, trading away players for some crazy expiring contracts.  Tracy McGrady, Al Harrington, Cuttino Mobley, Brian Cardinal and Chris Duhon all have contracts over $6 million that expire.  The only big contract that can come back is Eddy Curry, who has a $11.3 million player option for next year.  Outside of him, the other returning players' combined contracts come out to about $10 million.  Because of this, they have the possibility of signing two max-contract players.  One thing that might be nice for Lebron would be the exposure he would get by playing in New York, but will he be any closer to a title with the likes of Curry, Danillo Gallinari, Sergio Rodriguez and Wilson Chandler around him?

New Jersey - The one true thing that the Nets have over some of the other schools is Jay-Z, a partial owner.  He and Lebron have formed a bond that might entice Lebron to come to Jersey and play for the Nets.  The Nets have seven players under contract for 2010-11, plus a very affordable $854,000 option on Chris Douglas-Roberts.  Included in those seven players is Devin Harris, who when healthy is one of the top point guards in the East, if not the entire league.  Add Brook Lopez and that would be a nice 1-2-3 punch.  And let's not forget about the possibility of getting the top pick in the draft, which will be John Wall.

And finally...the hometown Chicago Bulls - That $31.85 million under contract includes the Bulls' core of Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah and Kirk Hinrich, along with Taj Gibson and James Johnson.  With seven roster spots accounted for, the Bulls will have about $20 million, enough to dangle a max contract in front of one of the top-tier free agents.All of them will be around for at least the next two or three years, but will that be enough to convince Lebron to come to Chicago?  The best rebounder in the league, statistically, and one of the best young players in the league make for a nice young core.  Will this help the Bulls tho?

Either way, the summer promises to be a fun one.  Plenty of teams will have $$ to spend and this has to be one of the best free agent classes in recent memory.  In a couple weeks...let the excitement begin!

Steroid Tests in High School: A Policy Worth Discussing

  

By: Michael Wojtychiw and Stephen Villatoro

For all athletes, the pressure of being the best is something that can cause some to do things they would have never imagined.            

Anabolic steroids and performance-enhancing drugs have been a part of the sports landscape since the 1970s, from professional sports to high schools. And for Illinois prep athletes as well as many in other states, testing for these banned substances can be the only way to keep the playing field level and the athletes healthy. 

However, randomly testing student-athletes doesn’t sit well with everyone.   

        

In December 2006, Illinois High School Association member schools approved a bylaw that took effect on July 1, 2007 and identifies what schools or school officials can and cannot distribute to student-athletes as far as testing. According to the IHSA Web site, this bylaw is a change aimed at strengthening the relationship between students and their schools by affirming the school's commitment to offering a safe environment in which students can develop.           

Paul Murphy, varsity football coach at Waubonsie Valley High School and trustee for the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association, said he believed the IHSA is moving in the right direction with their drug testing policy.           

“Performance enhancing substances are not good for anyone, especially teenage athletes who have no idea what they are putting into their bodies and what the drugs are doing to their bodies,” said Murphy.  “As coaches and teachers, we do the best we can to educate student-athletes on the harmful effects of performance enhancing substances.”           

 

But not everyone agrees that testing is the right approach to take.           

Ed Yohnka, director of Communications for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the ACLU does not support this type of testing program, suggesting that random testing is irresponsible and doesn’t send a good message to student-athletes.           

“We are concerned about any intrusive, invasive drug testing that is random and suspicionless,” Yohnka said.  “We do not agree that we address the serious problems posed by the use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs by subjecting every student-athlete in Illinois to a dragnet of drug testing.” 

Is the Policy Working?        

Steroids and other performance enhancers in sports has become a major topic in professional sports over the past decade.  However, when it involves high school athletics it becomes a complicated and highly debatable issue.            

Currently 1,000 Illinois student-athletes are randomly tested each year.  The Illinois High School Association is made up of 765 schools.  That equates to less than two student-athletes per school being tested.      

      

While no one interviewed said steroid use could be avoided, some wonder if it can even be regulated efficiently. A year after the testing measure passed, the IHSA sent out a survey to its 765 members, with questions ranging from performance-enhancing drugs to the expansion of classes. Of the 765 administrators asked to fill out the survey, approximately 54 percent responded. The results suggest the drug testing policy has a long way to go before it’s effective.

See the survey results.

Seventy-two percent of the respondents said they did favor a drug-testing program. Those who did favor the plan were asked to answer five more questions about the program.  Nearly all of the respondents (284 of the 294) said they would favor declaring ineligible any player who was caught using performance-enhancing drugs or steroids. However, 60 percent said they would not favor the forfeiture of any post-season award.            

Matt Troha, assistant executive director of the IHSA, believed there was an explanation for the statistics.           

“I believe the majority of the membership who voted this way wanted each case reviewed by our Executive Director rather than having a broad plan,” Troha said. “For example, if a student who was sitting out all postseason because of injury was tested through our program and tested positive, the administrators felt like that student had no barring on the result and the other kids should not be punished.”           

Troha said 10 athletes have tested positive so far, but were given exemptions by a medical review officer.  The numbers suggest IHSA athletes are staying clean but the plan is designed to test only a small amount of students.  However, the study proved the program still has unresolved issues.           

Loyola Academy senior football player Quinn Kaiser said the results of the test proved just how different certain schools and officials feel about the whole program.

“That just goes to show how greedy some people can be I guess,” Kaiser said.  “Some people just care more about winning than being right and that’s sad.  I know if it was me, and I am pretty sure it goes for the rest of the people here at Loyola, but if someone messes up, you need to do what’s right.  If you cheat, take responsibility.  It’s only right.”

National Institute on Drug Abuse | Drug Free Sport | Sport Safe Testing Service

Lacrosse Catching on in Chicago, Suburbs

A Glenbrook South player battles an opponent from Hathaway Brown for possession (Photo by Fred Dial)

In a sport dominated by schools on the East Coast, schools in the Midwest are starting to show that they are forces to be reckoned with. The sport of lacrosse has become so popular in the state of Illinois that the Illinois High School Association has approved a Lacrosse State Series starting in the 2010-2011 school year.

To do that, there needs to be a total of 60 boys and 40 girls teams by February of next year. Both the girls and boys have met those figures already and with the rapid growth of the sport, it is safe to say that the number of schools will only go up.

Lacrosse originated with the Native Americans of the United States and Canada, mainly among the Huron and Iroquois Tribes. In many societies/tribes, the ball sport was often part of religious ritual, played to resolve conflicts, heal the sick, develop strong, virile men and prepare for war. Legend tells of games with more than 100 players from different tribes taking turns to play.

It could be played on a field many miles in length and width; sometimes the game could last for days. Early lacrosse balls were made of deerskin, clay, stone and sometimes wood.

In the United States, lacrosse had primarily been a regional sport centered in and around Colorado, Florida, upstate New York, Texas, and mid-Atlantic states. In recent years, its popularity has started to spread south to Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama and Florida, as well as the Midwest. The sport has gained increasing visibility in the media, with a growth of college, high school, and youth programs throughout the country. According to a 2006 New York Times article, the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship has the highest attendance of any NCAA Championship, outdrawing even the Final Four of men's basketball.

The sport of boys lacrosse first originated in the state of Illinois in 1988, when the first title game was held between Lake Forest and Evanston High Schools, with Lake Forest winning. It has grown from a mere seven schools to over 60, including schools in the inner city, such as Harlan and Collins Academies.

New Trier High School and Loyola Academy have been the two most successful programs in boys lacrosse, having played in 13 and 17 of the 21 championship games, respectively. Loyola has won the most titles, winning eight of the 17, including five against the rival Trevians, but new Trier has had the ramblers’ number recently, as they have defeated Loyola in the title game in each of the past four years.

“The competitiveness of Illinois high school lacrosse has risen in recent years, said Jamie Considine, an Illinois High School Lacrosse Association administrator said. “We now have lots of players going on to play Division I, II, and III college lacrosse. We have expanded the number of All-Americans from one to six annually to account for the increase in numbers and talent.”

Girls lacrosse, while not as popular yet in Illinois as the boys game, is only entering its 12th year of competition in the state of Illinois. Seven schools first started the Illinois High School Women’s Lacrosse Association in 1998: Loyola, New Trier, Regina Dominican, Lane Tech, Glenbrook South and Lake Forest.

Like their male counterparts, Loyola and New Trier, along with Lake Forest, have been the most successful teams, with Loyola being in every single of the 12 championship games.

“We are all excited because I feel this will give lacrosse more of a seal of approval,” said Loyola girls lacrosse coach John Dwyer. “Because it will now be an IHSA sport, more schools will start programs and that only makes the level of play in Illinois better.”

With the new Championship Series, there will be a new quirk in the seeding that there wasn’t before. The boys game has two divisions, A and B, where the top teams are in the A division and the rest are in the B division.

With the inception of the new playoff series, this will no longer be the case. All schools will play in one class. The girls game, however, does not have multiple classes and is seeded. The Championship Series will do what they do with the rest of their sports: break schools up into regionals and sectionals, based on location. Not all coaches are thrilled about this.

“I have a bad feeling that the Championship games won’t feature the best two teams in the state anymore,” said Dwyer, who has been Loyola’s coach for eight years. “In the past it had been that we would face New Trier or Lake Forest in either the semifinals or finals. With this new system, we will face them in the second or third round. So it might end up that the best team in the state is done after one or two games.”
But as Dwyer later added, it doesn’t matter what the name on the trophy is, it’s all the same. You can never take away the feeling of a championship.

Rain Delay Theatre

How do you waste time during a long rain delay?  Take a look at how the Florida Atlantic and Western Kentucky Universitiy baseball teams handled the delay!

http://fauowlaccess.com/video/107/fau-and-wku-present-rain-delay-theatre.aspx

Expansion of the NCAA Tournament

A huge topic as of late has been the talk of expanding the NCAA Tournament to a record number of 96 teams. This plan can happen as soon as next year. I have one question for the NCAA: Are you crazy?!

Yes, this whole thing is about money. Right now the NCAA is in the midst of a 11-year, $6 BILLION contract with CBS. It has an option to opt out of the contract after this years' NCAA Tournament and after yesterday's Final Four press conference, it seems like that will happen.While the press conference was originally supposed to be on what the options for expanding the tournament, whether it be 68, 94 or 96 teams, it clearly became one that focused on one specific number: 96.

In today's tournament, there are 65 teams, as one game is played earlier in the week, a game called the 'Play-In game.' In the new format, the tournament will be extended by a week and to make things more ridiculous, the seeding will also change.

In the current format, teams are seeded 1-16 in four regions, with the top seeded team playing the 16th, 2 vs. 15, etc. The new format would be as follows. The top 32 seeds, so those usually seeded 1-8 in the four regions, would be given first-round byes, therefore allowing the remaining 64 teams to determine who would face any of those 32 seeds in the next round. Does this make sense? Not really, but oh well.

What truly doesn't make sense is the fact that the NCAA won't do anything about the BCS, but it will ruin the best thing they have by including 32 more teams. The tournament creates BILLIONS of dollars of revenue. All the NCAA cares about is how much more it could make. It doesn't matter that some teams that qualify for the tournament won't deserve it, but it's ok more $$$.

Under the future rules, all of the teams in the NIT, including schools such as Northwestern, UNC and UCONN would have qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Did they deserve to be included? No. They didn't prove themselves in the regular season to be deserving of a bid. The new format pretty much makes the regular season irrelevant and just seems like another way to get all the big schools in the tournament. It will get rid of the NIT and end something that made all smaller schools happy: the fact that if you won your conference regular season title, but lost in your conference tournament, you got an Auto-NIT bid. But it's ok forget about them, right?

NCAA before you do something you regret, sit back and realize the ramifications this expansion will have on the college basketball landscape. But as I have already said, neither something you nor I say will matter, so just sit back and watch the NCAA become even more greedy.