This time of year I am glued to the TV watching the NCAA College World Series (CWS) from Omaha, Nebraska. There is something about the ping of the ball off the bat that you just don't get from the pros. As always, you have your national college baseball powerhouses in Omaha - Miami, Rice, LSU - but there is usually a cinderella story somewhere in the field of eight.
This year the Fresno State Bulldogs take the cinderella crown home with them no matter where they finish in the tourney. They are the first regional #4 seed ever to advance to the CWS. The NCAA baseball tourney starts with 16 regionals of four teams. If you win your regional you play in a super regional, you win that and you go to Omaha. Having a number four seed win the regional and super regional is equivalent to a 13 thru 16 seed in the NCAA men's basketball tourney reaching the Elite 8 during March Madness. It does not happen - ever. Until this year.
In fact, Fresno State has advanced all the way to the championship series against another set of Bulldogs - the Georgia Bulldogs. The Georgia Bulldogs won a squeaker in the first game of the series by scoring 4 runs in the 8th inning to come back from a 6-3 deficit and win 7-6. Game two featured a barrage of offense from both clubs with the Fresno State Bulldogs coming out on top by a score of 19-10. 29 runs and 34 hits in the game, proving that virtually no lead is safe with aluminum bats.
The deciding game is to be played on Wednesday evening and televised live on ESPN beginning at 7:05pm EST. Only one thing can be guaranteed at this point - the Bulldogs are going to win a National Championship on Wednesday night. Only time will tell if it's the good old boys from Georgia or the cinderella kids from Fresno. I am hoping Fresno State pulls it out. I always root for the underdog unless my Red Sox are involved.
Mood: Relaxed
Song of the Day:
"Omaha, somewhere in middle America....."
-Omaha
Counting Crows
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Deadlines
If it weren't for deadlines I would clearly get nothing done. The 2009 NCAA Frozen Four is being held in my backyard next April at the Verizon Center in Washington DC - our nation's capital. I have had an eye on this event for probably a little over 2 years since I first noticed in early 2006 that DC was the 2009 host city.
The Frozen Four is a very popular event and in order to get tickets you have to register online for a lottery drawing. The application process began on April 1, 2008 and ends today, June 1, 2008 at 11:59pm EST. I have literally had a note on my whiteboard that states: "2009 Frozen Four; April 9-11, 2009; apply 4/1/08 - 6/1/08" since February or March 2007. So when did I apply for tickets? Sunday, June 1, 2008 at 9:25pm! Nothing like waiting until the last minute, eh?
The ticket process is quite interesting in itself and is part of the reason I waited until the very end to apply. The NCAA charges your credit card, or debits your checking account, the day after they receive your application for the full amount of the tickets, $177 per seat, plus a $7 handling fee. This, however, does not mean that you are going to get tickets in the lottery. So I spent $361 today for the privilege of being selected in the ticket lottery to be held sometime this summer. If my application is not picked they will refund me $354 sometime in July or August and keep the other $7 for themselves.
In the financial world that is known as "float". They get to collect money from thousands of fans, sit on it for upwards of 5 months, earn interest on it and then refund some of it to the unlucky applicants who are not chosen for tix. That is a pretty good racket. In fact, dozens of Fortune 500 companies specialize in doing just this for a living. Ever heard of American Express? Sorry American Express, the Frozen Four only accepts Visa or Mastercard.
Mood: Fabulous!
Song of the Day:
"I get knocked down, but I get up again, you're never going keep me down"
-Tubthumping
Chumbawamba
The Frozen Four is a very popular event and in order to get tickets you have to register online for a lottery drawing. The application process began on April 1, 2008 and ends today, June 1, 2008 at 11:59pm EST. I have literally had a note on my whiteboard that states: "2009 Frozen Four; April 9-11, 2009; apply 4/1/08 - 6/1/08" since February or March 2007. So when did I apply for tickets? Sunday, June 1, 2008 at 9:25pm! Nothing like waiting until the last minute, eh?
The ticket process is quite interesting in itself and is part of the reason I waited until the very end to apply. The NCAA charges your credit card, or debits your checking account, the day after they receive your application for the full amount of the tickets, $177 per seat, plus a $7 handling fee. This, however, does not mean that you are going to get tickets in the lottery. So I spent $361 today for the privilege of being selected in the ticket lottery to be held sometime this summer. If my application is not picked they will refund me $354 sometime in July or August and keep the other $7 for themselves.
In the financial world that is known as "float". They get to collect money from thousands of fans, sit on it for upwards of 5 months, earn interest on it and then refund some of it to the unlucky applicants who are not chosen for tix. That is a pretty good racket. In fact, dozens of Fortune 500 companies specialize in doing just this for a living. Ever heard of American Express? Sorry American Express, the Frozen Four only accepts Visa or Mastercard.
Mood: Fabulous!
Song of the Day:
"I get knocked down, but I get up again, you're never going keep me down"
-Tubthumping
Chumbawamba
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
