Back Home in Omaha!

Well, the field for the College World Series is set. Six of the eight national seeds advanced. Who didn't make it? Well, No. 3 seed Arizona State was ousted Monday night by Fresno State, which was the No. 4 seed in its regional. The Bulldogs won the Long Beach Regional and then surprised the Sun Devils in Tempe. Stanford upset national No. 5 seed Cal State Fullerton in the Super Regional.

The national seeds that advanced are No. 1 Miami (Fla.), No. 2 North Carolina, No. 4 Florida State, No. 6 Rice, No. 7 LSU and No. 8 Georgia.

A few Blogs to read during the CWS:
The College Baseball Blog
Baseball America
ESPN.com
NCAA Blog Central

I was fortunate enough to see Rice beat Texas A&M last Saturday at Reckling Park in Houston. They have strong pitching again this season but have an offense, too. If they can keep their fielding under control, they'll make a run at their second national championship. They are making their seventh CWS appearance (all since 1997) and won the school's only national title in 2003. Obviously, I'm pulling for them, having worked in the Owls' SID office from 1994-2000.

Miami looks like the team to beat and the ACC appears to be in good shape to win its first national championship since Wake Forest won in 1955. Seriously. If Rice can't play for the championship, I'll be pulling for North Carolina, which has been close the last few years but hasn't been able to get over the hump. I despise Miami in all sports, mainly because they are sore losers and even worse winners.

Complete Bracket
Official CWS Site

I know this site is dedicated to Ohio State baseball, but its purpose is also to help introduce fans to college baseball at a national level. There is no sporting event better than the College World Series and I think every fan should make the trip to Omaha at least once. I'll never forget my first visit with Rice in 1999. I went again with Clemson in 2000 and have been back a few other times through my participation with the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

NCAA Field Announced

Only one Big Ten team got in the NCAA tournament as expected. Michigan is in and will be the No. 2 regional seed and will welcome Arizona as the top seed as well as Kentucky and Eastern Michigan to Ray Fisher Stadium this weekend. The Wovlerines will play Kentucky in their first game on Saturday. Arizona meets Eastern Michigan. The winner of the four-team, double-elimination regional will face the winner of the Coral Gables Regional (Miami/Fla., Missouri, Mississippi and Bethune Cookman).

NCAA Tournament Bracket

I know there was a lot of discussion by Purdue fans thinking they would get in, but you need a much better resume to make it in. The program has been making great strides the last few seasons but is not quite there yet. It would have been great to have seen them surprise Michigan this past weekend so the Big Ten could have gotten two teams in. Instead they go from three teams in last season to just one.

Michigan is the first Big Ten team to play host to a regional since Ohio State hosted in 2001. I wonder if they can get past Arizona and likely Miami. That is a tall order.

I was disappointed that two-time defending champion Oregon State did not get in. Of course a 28-24 overall record won't help much, but the still managed some impressive wins. It is the first champion to in the tournament since Georgia did not make the 1991 field. I was upset to see Arkansas get the nod. Ohio State had them on the ropes in College Station and I wasn't overly impressed with them. I have always said you should have to play in your conference tournament to qualify for the NCAA tournament. Arkansas did not qualify for the SEC tournament.

I am always glad to see Rice make the field. I spent the early part of my career in sports information working with the Owls and have great respect for their coach Wayne Graham. They go in as the No. 6 national seed. I am glad their 2-and-out effort in the Conference USA tournament didn't cost them a national seed. Clemson, another one of my former schools, did not get in this year for the first time in a very long time.

Eight teams from Texas qualified for the tournament. Rice and Texas A&M will play host to regionals. Hopefully I can make it out to see a few college games this weekend.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the NCAA tournament selections, how you think Michigan will do and which team you think will win the championship.