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There will be 64 college baseball teams participating in this week’s first round of the NCAA Division 1 baseball tournament.  Each team would love to eventually bring home the national title from the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska during June.



This weekend’s opening round features 16 regional site locations which will host a “pod” comprised of four teams apiece.  The first NCAA playoff games will begin on Friday, May 31 around the country.

But mostly in the South.

Would you believe that thirteen of the sixteen regional host sites are located south of the Mason Dixon line?



Eight of the last nine NCAA college baseball champions have come from the South, too.

The SEC has produced the last four College World Series winners.  LSU is the defending champion after winning the title in 2023.  Prior to that, it was Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt which have kept the NCAA title within the SEC family.

Southern fried college baseball is on the menu this weekend 



Let’s take a look at every host regional city, the home team (ranked by its national seed) along with the other teams competing in each region:

1.  Knoxville, TN – #1 seed Tennessee plus #2 seed Southern Miss, #3 Indiana, and #4 Northern Kentucky

2.  Lexington, KY – #1 seed Kentucky plus #2 Indiana State, #3 Illinois, and #4 Western Michigan

3.  College Station, TX – #1 seed Texas A&M plus #2 Louisiana-Lafayette, #3 Texas, and #4 Grambling State University

4.  Chapel Hill, NC – #1 seed North Carolina plus #2 LSU, #3 Wofford (S. Carolina), and #4 Long Island University

5.  Fayetteville, AR – #1 seed Arkansas plus #2 Louisiana Tech, #3 Kansas State, and #4 Southeast Missouri State

6.  Clemson, SC – #1 seed Clemson plus #2 Vanderbilt, #3 Coastal Carolina, and #4 High Point (NC)

7.  Athens, GA – #1seed Georgia plus #2 UNC-Wilmington, #3 Georgia Tech, and #4 Army

8.  Tallahassee, FL – #1 seed Florida State plus #2 Alabama, #3 UCF, and #4 Stetson

9.  Norman, OK – #1 seed Oklahoma plus #2 Duke, #3 UConn, and #4 Oral Roberts

10.  Raleigh, NC – #1 seed North Carolina State plus #2 South Carolina, #3 James Madison, and #4 Bryant University (Rhode Island)

11.  Stillwater, OK – #1 seed Oklahoma State plus #2 Nebraska, #3 Florida, and #4 Niagara University

12.  Charlottesville, VA – #1 seed Virginia plus #2 Mississippi State, #3 St. John’s, and #4 Penn

13.  Tucson, AZ – #1 seed Arizona plus #2 Dallas Baptist, #3 West Virginia, and #4 Grand Canyon University (AZ)

14.  Santa Barbara, CA – #1 seed UC-Santa Barbara plus #2 San Diego University, #3 Oregon, and #4 Fresno State

15.  Corvallis, OR – #1 seed Oregon State plus #2 UC Irvine, #3 Nicholls State (LA), and #4 Tulane

16.  Greenville, NC – #1 seed East Carolina plus #2 Wake Forest, #3 VCU, and #4 Evansville

SEC, SEC, SEC!!!



Of the 64 teams participating in the NCAA baseball regional games this weekend, a record 11 teams come from the Southeastern Conference.  This eclipsed the previous record of ten teams – also from the SEC – set just a year ago in 2023.

Four of the five top overall seeds in the NCAA baseball tournament are from the SEC as well.  Tennessee is ranked #1 followed by #2 Kentucky, #3 Texas A&M, and #5 Arkansas.  The #4 national seed comes from the Atlantic Coast Conference as the University of North Carolina will try to break the SEC’s recent stranglehold on the NCAA men’s baseball trophy.

The top non-Southern teams hosting national regional events this weekend will be #13 Ariz...

Sports should be fun.  Yes, even at the professional level.

A sporting event can become quite intense at times for both the players and the fans alike.  At the professional level, athletes have progressed to the top of their sport.  They are paid handsomely to perform well and are expected to win.



Fans of professional athletes and their teams also pay handsomely to buy tickets.  For those of us watching games at home, we are forced to endure an hour of media advertisements in order to watch our favorite stars perform.

Television networks have continued to add more and more statistical data and on-camera commentary (some relevant, much of it not so much).

A missing element in most televised sports presentations has been keeping the game fun for fans.  For televised sporting events, the ability to relate to the average fan and keep sports enthusiasts entertained has been an underappreciated art form.

Since 1990, TNT’s “Inside the NBA” show has been in a league of its own



Turner Network Television’s popular “Inside the NBA” basketball coverage before, during, and after the games has become “must see TV” viewing for hoops fans.

Meshing diverse personalities on television can be tricky.  TNT’s dream team of former players serves to provide spot-on analysis in a highly entertaining way.  Their own genuine enjoyment of each other’s company on the set makes for a TV viewing treat.

NBA Hall-of-Famers Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal plus two-time NBA champion guard Kenny Smith and veteran announcer Ernie Johnson, Jr. have perfected the art of live television chemistry every night.

Barkley (nicknamed “The Round Mound of Rebound” as a player) generally starts the discussions with a few perceptive (and sometimes outlandish) comments about the game.



He is generous with his praise and very blunt with his criticism.  Barkley rarely holds anything back.

Shaquille O’Neal coyly bides his time waiting for a turn to either agree with Charles Barkley or shoot him down with pinpoint accuracy.



When the Big Fella speaks, I usually turn up the TV sound and listen.

Kenny Smith is tasked with dissecting the video highlights of the game and adding his own comments.



Much of the time, Kenny’s assessments rarely agree with Charles Barkley.   Sparks can fly – usually in fun.

Studio host Ernie Johnson functions as the moderator of this extremely entertaining basketball food fight.



He rarely interrupts the proceedings as this trio of former NBA players function like an expensive sports car smoothly cruising down the road.

This quartet has a ton of fun along the way as they joke and pick on each other through every segment of the show.

The television ratings bear it out.  TNT’s studio pregame and post-game shows regularly outdraw rival ESPN by up to one million fans per game during the NBA playoffs.



The show has won numerous Sports Emmy Awards.  Last week, Charles Barkley won “Outstanding Studio Analyst”, Ernie Johnson, Jr.  pocketed the award for “Best Studio Host” and “Inside the NBA – Playoffs edition” won best sports show.

Enjoy it today because TNT may not be televising the NBA for much longer

The NBA’s current television contracts are handled by Disney (ESPN/ABC) and Warner Brothers Discovery (TNT’s parent company).  There have been two “packages” of TV rights in previous years.  TNT has been part of the NBA’s television package since 1989.



The previous NBA TV deals were negotiated nine years ago.  Effective in 2016, ESPN and TNT (together) spent a total of $2.6 billion per year to televise NBA games.

The spirit of Monty Hall is alive and well this week in college athletics.  The man who was one of the creators and the original host of television’s long-running game show called “Let’s Make A Deal” passed away in 2017 at the age of 96.



The Big Dealer’s popular TV game show involved a trading floor of wildly dressed contestants (usually in some theme to gain his attention) willing to interact with the host for a chance at prizes.  Monty Hall would present the contestant with one or more decisions as to which prize option to choose.  In almost every case, one of the contestant’s possible selections involved taking a risk on trading a “sure thing” (such as cash) for an unknown prize behind a numbered curtain or box on the stage floor.

Sometimes the contestant taking the numbered curtain won a more valuable prize (like a major kitchen appliance).  Other times, they received a “Zonk”.



That was “Let’s Make A Deal”’s way of presenting a silly worthless joke prize like a giant tricycle or a baby goat.  You get the idea.

What does that game show have to do with college sports?

Plenty!  On Thursday night, the NCAA (the overlords for most of college athletics) and a group of the largest athletic conferences agreed to accept a massive $2.8 billion settlement agreement in a pending lawsuit.  This agreement will (hopefully) resolve a class-action lawsuit claiming theoretical back-pay due for about 14,000 (the number keeps fluctuating) former and current college athletes going back to 2016.



On average, that works out to be about $200,000 per athlete.

What started this lawsuit?

A former Arizona State University swimmer (Grant House) filed the suit demanding that college athletes (under the NCAA’s confusing “Name Image and Likeness” approval) should have started receiving their share of NIL loot while implementation was delayed for several years.

The attorneys involved in announcing Thursday night’s settlement agreement in “House vs. the NCAA” have been working for months to hammer out a mutually agreeable financial deal.

Why didn’t the NCAA just say, “Tough luck, buddy.  See you in court!”



Though I am not an attorney, the consensus was that the NCAA may have been on the hook for as much as $20 billion in damages if this lawsuit was permitted to continue for years and the NCAA lost in a “worst case” scenario.

Just like most legal actions, the brave attorneys on both sides will bark loudly at each other early to make their clients happy (while paying the legal fees).  A few months later, both sides become painfully aware of the mounting legal bills and realize that everyone (including the attorneys) might be better off taking a less-risky mutually agreeable deal today rather than spending years in the courts.

If the NCAA eventually lost a $20 billion judgment, it could have resulted in bankruptcy for the organization.

Who cares if the NCAA goes under?



Good question!  The NCAA, which lists itself as a non-profit organization, has its primary offices and about 500 employees located in Indianapolis, Indiana.  One of the NCAA’s primary jobs is to conduct championship events for college athletics (at a profit, of course).  The lone exception is the quite lucrative Division 1 College Football Playoffs.  The BCS football schools keep that revenue and split the net profits outside the purview of the NCAA....

Another fantastic sports weekend just occurred.  In case you were busy with yard work or partaking in other springtime activities, I’ll get you caught up on this weekend’s biggest sports news.

Mystik Dan slides into second in Preakness



In thoroughbred horse racing, the second leg of the annual Triple Crown was held last Saturday in Baltimore at Pimlico with the Preakness Stakes.  As you might remember from two weeks ago, the trainer of Mystik Dan (winner of the Kentucky Derby) said that he was going to let the horse tell him whether he was ready to run in the Preakness.

Mystik Dan apparently gave his OK.  Though he tried valiantly, Mystik Dan came up short with a second place finish at the Preakness on Saturday.  His trainer was still amazed by the Kentucky Derby winning horse.



“My colt’s a fantastic colt, and [I’m] proud of him,” Kenny McPeek said. “It just wasn’t his day, but he’ll live to race again.”

Live to race again?

Watch out, Mystik Dan!  If your trainer is inferring a trip to the glue factory may be in your future, perhaps you should communicate to your trainer that you are considering following in the footsteps (oops, I mean “hoof prints”) of TV’s iconic Mr. Ed and taking up baseball next!



Golf’s PGA Championship was an even better horse race – including a photo finish

PGA Tour golfer Xander Schauffele is just 30 years old and had won seven PGA events already.  However, he has struggled at times to win golf tournaments when holding the lead coming into the final round.   A regular finisher in the top ten on the PGA Tour, Schauffele was considered by many to be one of the best players without a major title.



Just last week in Charlotte at the Wells Fargo Championship, Xander Schauffele held a two shot advantage over Rory McIlroy as they took to the course for the final round.  Rory zoomed past Xander with a closing round six-under par 65 as Schauffele faded with a 71 to finish a distant second.

Last Thursday at the PGA Championship in Louisville, it was Xander Schauffele who raced out of the starting gate like horse racing’s Mystik Dan with a record-tying opening round of 9-under par 62.  He was still in the lead at 15-under par starting Sunday’s final round.

It all came down to the 72nd hole on Sunday



Playing just ahead of the leader, LIV Golf’s long driving Bryson DeChambeau and Norway’s Viktor Hovland put on an incredible show of low scoring golf on Sunday to put some serious heat onto the leader.   Both players were 5-under par on their final round coming into the par-5 18th hole and just one shot behind Xander Schauffele.

DeChambeau’s birdie putt on 18 fell into the cup in slow motion to move him to 20-under par (a score which would have been good enough to win most major tournaments).  With the birdie, he moved into a tie for the lead.  Victor Hovland three-putted the final hole to finish in third place alone.

Standing on the 18th tee now tied with DeChambeau (the 2020 US Open champion), Xander Schauffele’s drive on the final hole landed about one foot short of a fairway sand trap.  In order to hit his second shot, he had to place his feet down into the adjacent bunker.  He took a big swing (and a big risk) but was able to land the golf ball about 30 yards short of the green.  From there, Schauffeler pitched his third shot within six feet of the hole and then rolled a birdie putt in to capture a one-shot victory and his first major championship.



Xander Schauffele’s 21-under par final score at the PGA Championship set a new all-time record...

The term “All in” only has five letters, but it means different things to different people.

After the 12-5 Dallas Cowboys were embarrassed on national television by the 9-8 Green Bay Packers 48-32 in a first round playoff game which wasn’t as close as the final score, boisterous Cowboys fans were stunned into silence.

For the 27th consecutive year, the Dallas Cowboys did not advance to play in either the NFC Championship game or, of course, the Super Bowl.



Since the last Dallas Cowboys title on January 28, 1996, thirteen other NFL franchises have won a Super Bowl:

Green Bay (1997 and 2011)

Denver (1998, 1999, and 2016)

St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams (2000 and 2022)

Baltimore (2001 and 2013)

New England (2002, 2004, 2005, 2015, 2017, and 2019)

Tampa Bay (2003 and 2021)

Pittsburgh (2006 and 2009)

Indianapolis (2007)

New York Giants (2008 and 2012)

New Orleans (2010)

Seattle (2014)

Philadelphia (2018)

Kansas City (2020, 2023, and 2024)

Fans of “America’s Team” are painfully aware that the team’s fortunes have sunk after the departure of former coach Jimmy Johnson after winning his second Super Bowl on January 30, 1994.  Yes, former Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer led Dallas to the 1996 Super Bowl but it was with, essentially, Jimmy Johnson’s players.

Since then, a generation of young football fans has never seen Dallas play in another championship game.

Yet Dallas Cowboys fans still believe 



After having the second seed in last season’s NFC playoffs and watching their team get run off the field by Green Bay, Dallas Cowboys fans still believe.

After learning that head coach Mike McCarthy was not going to be fired after losing early in the playoffs for the third time in his four seasons as top man in Dallas, the Cowboys fans (somehow) still believe.

After the NFL’s free agency period ended this spring without Dallas making any significant player moves, the Cowboys fans still believe.

After April’s NFL draft and Dallas selecting, by most reasonable observers, an “average” group of young players, Cowboys fans still believe.

With the clock ticking on the 2024 off-season and several key players heading into the final year of their current contracts, somehow, Cowboys fans still believe.

Why do the loyal fans of the Dallas Cowboys still believe in this team?



One of my best friends (I call him “Mr. Cowboys”) has always been a true blue die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan.  He loved the Dallas Cowboys teams of the 1960’s, 1970’s, and 1980’s led by former coach Tom Landry.  Though he isn’t a big fan of current team owner Jerry Jones, he still retains a perpetual optimism for his Dallas Cowboys – including the coming 2024 season.

You probably know someone like “Mr. Cowboys”.  They are quite unique in their willingness to believe that Dallas is on the verge of breaking through again for the first time since January, 1996.



On the football field, Jerry Jones remains his own worst enemy

Why do Dallas Cowboys fans even listen to their 81-year old billionaire owner anymore?

As covered here in the past, the problems in Dallas start and end with their egotistical team owner.



In Jimmy Johnson’s excellent book called “Swagger”, the former Cowboys coach laid out an entire chapter detailing how Dallas team owner Jerry Jones (who initially agreed to run the financial side of the team) wanted to become more involved with the media and in the team’s clubhouse.  I highly recommend this book as a Father’s Day gift for any long-suffering Dallas Cowboys’ dad.

Once Jimmy Johnson finally had enough of Jerry Jones’ increasing meddling with the football team,

Last week started poorly for both Rory McIlroy and the PGA Tour but ended on a positive note (at least for Rory).

As Tiger Woods remains wounded by his long-term injuries and world #1 golfer Jon Rahm now plays for the rival LIV Golf League, Rory McIlroy is the biggest draw on the PGA Tour.  He just picked-up his 26th career win on Sunday in Charlotte, too.

The PGA Tour desperately needs Rory McIlroy to shine more than ever right about now.



Let’s discuss Rory’s evolving story 

When LIV Golf hit the scene about two years ago in 2022, Rory McIlroy was one of the most vocal opponents of the new golf tour.  While some of his fellow PGA Tour players accepted millions in bonus bucks from LIV Golf and their Saudi Arabian backers, it was Rory McIlroy who let them know, “Don’t let the screen door hit you on your way out!”



Just one year later in June, 2023, the PGA Tour surprised everyone by announcing a merger with LIV Golf was to take place by the end of 2023.  At that point, Rory McIlroy began to soften his criticism of LIV Golf as this merger appeared likely in 2024.

As negotiations between the two rival men’s golf leagues apparently hit a snag, the PGA Tour announced a $3 billion partnership with US-based Strategic Sports Group in late January, 2024.  Though neither the PGA Tour nor LIV Golf have called-off their merger, Rory McIlroy started to sound more sympathetic to the LIV Golf group for playing more tournaments on the world stage.

In recent weeks, the rumor mill was filled with stories that Rory McIlroy had been offered upwards of $800 million to join the rival LIV Golf league.  Both Rory and LIV Golf president Greg Norman vigorously stated that no offers had been made.



For Rory, this past week started in even more controversy.  Apparently, some of his fellow PGA Tour members may have denied him a seat on the PGA’s Policy Board to replace the departing Webb Simpson.  McIlroy had resigned from that same Policy Board last November as he cited personal and professional commitments.

After being denied a return to the Policy Board last week, word spread that a few of Rory’s fellow PGA Tour members such as Tiger Woods, Patrick Cantlay, and Jordan Speith had been among those who had voted against placing him into the vacant board seat.



What are friends for, right?

Instead, the PGA Tour placed the 35-year old Northern Ireland golf star onto a different committee.  It is tasked with studying the nearly one-year old merger proposal with LIV Golf.

To his credit, Rory McIlroy downplayed this rather obvious slight from the top ranks of the PGA hierarchy and pledged to help the committee’s work on a possible merger with LIV Golf.



“It got pretty complicated and pretty messy, and I think with the way it happened, it opened up some old wounds and scar tissue from things that have happened before,” said McIlroy late last week.

He added, “There was a subset of people on the board that were maybe uncomfortable with me coming back on for some reason. I wouldn’t say it was rejected. It was a complicated process to get through to put me back on there. So that’s all fine, no hard feelings and we’ll all move on.”

Moral of this story:  Don’t make Rory McIlroy mad!

I don’t know about you, but I think last week’s PGA Tour board snub appeared to have lit a fire under Rory on the golf course over the weekend.  In Sunday’s final round, he played like “Ryder Cup Rory” with a barrage of birdies and eagles as he zoomed to the top of the leaderboard at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte.



During an eight-hole stretch in the middle of his final round, McIlroy went on an incredible 8-under par binge.