Men's Soccer Endures Tough Start

In any sport, the beginning of a season proves crucial: it can give you the impetus to sustain a successful campaign, or it can spoil your confidence so much so that the year is lost as fast as it began.

For the Ohio State Buckeyes men's soccer team, the focus will be on changing the tone of their start to the former, and not letting it slip into the latter. After two losses to start to the season - to Dayton and UIC respectively - the Buckeyes find themselves in a hole they are desperate to get out of.

In their first matchup the scarlet & gray found themselves on the road in Gem City against the Flyers. A goal each from Sebastian Rivas and Alec Lowell gave them a chance, but both goals were scored while the Bucks were two goals down.

When they returned home to Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on Sunday they had real hopes of putting in a much better performance than they did in Dayton. The clear skies and excited crowd seemed ready for a first win of the season, but the men from the University of Illinois at Chicago had other plans.

A mere five minutes and three bounces into the game the Flames had the lead. An opportunistic strike from Ned Pavlovic gave them the crucial early advantage. A mishit from one of his teammates and an attempted block by an Ohio State defender aided in the ball sitting up perfectly for the junior forward. From that point on the Buckeyes knew they had to take the game to their guests, and they certainly began to turn the screw.

Chris Gomez saw his terrific half-volley tipped over the crossbar by Flames keeper Piotr Kikolski, the standout performer of the half. The junior was called into action again later in the first half when quick interplay between the aforementioned Rivas and Chris Hegngi lead to Rivas' low drive being deflected out for a corner. The big man in goal needed to be on his toes again when Sage Gardner's free kick almost crept in under the crossbar.

The standout chance of the first half though, went to Gardner, one of the Buckeye captains. After Austin McAnena was freed on the right side, his cross was met in front of goal by the onrushing Ohio State skipper, but he couldn't direct his header on target. If the ball had found it's way towards the frame, the outstanding Kikolski wouldn't have even had a chance. But the Buckeyes still trailed at the half.

After the interval the hosts did all they could to muster more goalscoring opportunities. But industrious moves from the likes of midfielders Zach Mason and Louie Berra were continually suppressed by the Flames defense, and the path to goal seemed to be permanently blocked.

For all the Buckeyes effort and persistence the chance never came, and it wasn't until the 82nd minute that the result was finally put beyond all doubt. Picking up the ball in the center of the park, UIC captain Ivan Stanisavljevic - their best outfield player on the day - began dribbling in the center channel, unchallenged by any Ohio State defender. As he approached the box he did the deftest of shimmies to his left before cutting back onto his right foot and fizzing a shot into the bottom of Alex Wimmer's net.

The goal left the entire stadium with no doubt of the result, and it also left the Buckeyes a lot to ponder before they host Coastal Carolina on Friday.

Final Baseball Bracketology

All 30 conference champions have been crowned, several in dramatic fashion. Fresno State won the WAC with a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 13th. Manhattan needed extras to win the MAAC. Samford needed 11 innings to win the SoCon. UCLA needed to hold off USC to win the Pac-12 title. Yesterday, Purdue took the Big Ten Championship after a bench-clearing brawl with in-state rival Indiana. This weekend was simply insane.

Of those 30 teams to earn automatic bids, only 2 will be hosting regionals, UCLA and Purdue. The other 14 hosts were reserved for at-large entrants. That means, on Monday, there will only be 20 spots up for grabs with the selection committee announces the field of 64 at 12pm EDT.

But now, for the final baseball bracketology of the 2012 season...

Baseball Bracketology - May 28, 2012
ALL CAPS - Conference champion

Tallahassee Regional #1 Florida State Vanderbilt SAMFORD (SoCon) UAB (C-USA)	Palo Alto Regional Stanford CAL STATE FULLERTON (Big West) Utah Valley FRESNO STATE (WAC)
Columbia Regional #8 South Carolina COASTAL CAROLINA (Big South) Louisville AUSTIN PEAY (OVC)	Raleigh Regional NC State Oregon State Appalachian State BELMONT (ATLANTIC SUN)
Gainesville Regional #5 Florida Ucf KENT STATE (MAC) BETHUNE COOKMAN (Won MEAC)	Coral Gables Regional Miami MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC) STONY BROOK (America East) ARMY (Patriot)
Eugene Regional #4 Oregon Clemson Gonzaga CREIGHTON (MVC)	Gary Regional PURDUE (Big Ten) Arkansas Indiana State VALPARAISO (Horizon)
Chapel Hill Regional #6 North Carolina Mississippi UNC WILMINGTON (CAA) MANHATTAN (MAAC)	Tucson Regional Arizona San Diego New Mexico State MISSOURI (Big 12)
Waco Regional #3 Baylor Tcu UT ARLINGTON (Southland) ORAL ROBERTS (Summit)	Houston Regional Rice Oklahoma Missouri State CORNELL (Ivy)
Baton Rouge Regional #7 Lsu GEORGIA TECH (ACC) Texas LOUISIANA MONROE (Sun Belt)	College Station Regional Texas A&M Dallas Baptist Wichita State PRAIRIE VIEW A&M (SWAC)
Los Angeles Regional #2 UCLA (Pac 12) PEPPERDINE (WCC) NEW MEXICO (MWC) SACRED HEART (NEC)	Charlottesville Regional Virginia Kentucky SAINT JOHN'S (Big East) DAYTON (Atlantic-10)

First 6 Teams Out: Charleston, East Carolina, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Washington

Two Days Til Selection Monday

Two days ago, I claimed that the conference baseball tournaments in May made the conference basketball tournaments look tame in comparison. After two days filled to the brim with upset after upset, the bubble looks a lot different and is much smaller. The only teams who have played their way into the NCAA Tournament talk are teams who needed to win their conference tourney. Well, many are just one win away from doing so.

The Big 12 is one of the major conferences who are looking to send an extra team. With A&M and Texas gone and Baylor on the cusp of elimination, the Big 12 will get an extra bid if Missouri or Kansas pulls an upset on Sunday.

In the Big East, Louisville was the only lock to make the NCAA Tournament. But with their early exit, the Big East is guaranteed a second bid, maybe a third if the committee shows a liking to Saint John's.

Conference USA, which had two locks and a bubble team going into their tournament, is down to two teams: 5th-seeded Memphis and 7th-seeded UAB, two teams who had no chance at playing in the NCAA Tourney as an at-large.

The list goes on and on...

In the Big Ten, Purdue is just one win away from winning their 1st Big Ten Tournament title in school history. This is bad news for the Big Ten as they may be a one-bid conference with Indiana needing to win the tourney to advance to the NCAA Tourney while Michigan State is one of the teams on that rapidly shrinking bubble.

Baseball Bracketology - May 26, 2012
ALL CAPS - Projected conference champion

Tallahassee Regional #1 Florida State Ucf SAMFORD (SoCon) SACRED HEART (Won NEC)	Palo Alto Regional Stanford CAL STATE FULLERTON (Big West) Utah Valley SACRAMENTO STATE (WAC)
Tucson Regional #8 Arizona San Diego NEW MEXICO (MWC) NORTH DAKOTA STATE (Summit)	Gary Regional PURDUE (Big Ten) Arkansas Indiana State VALPARAISO (Horizon)
Gainesville Regional #5 FLORIDA (SEC) MIAMI (ACC) KENT STATE (MAC) BETHUNE COOKMAN (Won MEAC)	Raleigh Regional NC State Vanderbilt East Carolina ARMY (Won Patriot)
Los Angeles Regional #4 Ucla PEPPERDINE (WCC) Wake Forest CANISIUS (MAAC)	Charlottesville Regional Virginia Mississippi State STONY BROOK (Won America East) SAINT JOHN'S (Big East)
Baton Rouge Regional #6 LSU (SEC) Oregon State Texas LOUISIANA MONROE (Sun Belt)	College Station Regional Texas A&M Dallas Baptist Missouri State PRAIRIE VIEW A&M (Won SWAC)
Eugene Regional #3 OREGON (Pac-12) Ole Miss Gonzaga EASTERN ILLINOIS (OVC)	Lexington Regional Kentucky Clemson Louisville DAYTON (A-10)
Chapel Hill Regional #7 North Carolina COASTAL CAROLINA (Big South) UNC WILMINGTON (CAA) CORNELL (Won Ivy)	Columbia Regional South Carolina Georgia Tech Appalachian State BELMONT (Atlantic Sun)
Waco Regional #2 BAYLOR (Big 12) Tcu MEMPHIS (C-USA) UT-ARLINGTON (Southland)	Houston Regional Rice Oklahoma (Big 12) Washington SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (MVC)

Last 10 Teams Out: Virginia Tech, New Mexico State, Maryland, Wichita State, Sam Houston State, Charleston, Michigan State, Cal Poly, Tulane, California

Big Ten Tournament & Baseball Bracketology

All across the country, conference baseball tournaments are taking place as I write this entry. From the Norwich, Connecticut down to Clearwater, Florida out to Las Vegas, Nevada, teams are fighting for their conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. From experience I can tell you, if college basketball has madness in March, college baseball has Jack Torrance-level insanity.

Looking at things from a local perspective, the Big Ten Tournament at Huntington Park in Columbus has the chance to end the dreams of one of the many bubble teams.

Purdue - The Boilermakers are coming of their first conference championship since the Taft administration. In fact, the Boilermakers could be the first B1G team to host a regional since Michigan did so back in 2008. That is what Purdue is playing for this weekend. If they make it into the championship series on Saturday, they will most likely host a regional from U.S. Steel Yard in Gary, Indiana. If the Boilers lose to Ohio State today and make an early exit from the tournament, they may still host, but it would be as a #2 seed.

Michigan State - Sparty put together an impressive resume for the second straight season. Last year, the green and white missed out on the NCAA Tournament despite a 36-win season under head coach Jake Boss. This year, the bubble is weaker and the Spartans are firmly on it. They've already matched last year's win total. The committee may not like their series loss to lowly Michigan back in April, but have to like their road wins against Baylor and Purdue.

For the remaining four, Indiana, Penn State, Nebraska, and Ohio State, it's a win-and-in scenario. Anything less this weekend and their seasons are finished. In fact, Penn State and Nebraska play today in an elimination game which will end one team's season. Indiana and Ohio State face tough opponents in Michigan State and Purdue respectively later on today.

Up in Avon, Ohio, the MAC Tournament began yesterday. The MAC is a one-big league this year no matter how you slice it. The clear front runners are the Kent State Golden Flashes who finished 24-3 in conference play to win the East. If Kent State doesn't come out of the MAC, then it's anybody's guess. But with victories yesterday, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, and Miami University have the best chances of challenging last year's tournament darling.

The Horizon League Tournament is being played at Les Miller Field in Chicago, which has one of the most amazing backdrops in college baseball. Valparaiso is the #1 seed in the Horizon League Tournament, but the automatic bid could go to anybody in this conference. Wright State earned a bye in the tournament and is led by the Horizon Player of the Year in senior outfielder Tristan Moore. UIC is the #4 seed, but is the host of this tournament and has plenty of depth in the offense from 1 to 9.

Baseball Bracketology - May 24, 2012
ALL CAPS - Projected conference champion

Tallahassee Regional #1 FLORIDA STATE (ACC) UCF Vanderbilt FLORIDA ATLANTIC (Sun Belt)	Lexington Regional Kentucky MISSOURI STATE (MVC) Maryland KENT STATE (MAC)
College Station Regional #8 Texas A&M Tcu Wake Forest ORAL ROBERTS (Summit)	Houston Regional RICE (C-USA) Dallas Baptist Georgia Tech SAM HOUSTON STATE (Southland)
Los Angeles Regional #5 Ucla CAL STATE FULLERTON (Big West) UNC WILMINGTON (CAA) MANHATTAN (MAAC)	Charlottesville Regional Virginia Oregon State COASTAL CAROLINA (Big South) STONY BROOK (America East)
Gainesville Regional #4 Florida Miami Washington BETHUNE COOKMAN (Won MEAC)	Raleigh Regional NC State Mississippi State East Carolina AUSTIN PEAY (OVC)
Baton Rouge Regional #6 LSU (SEC) Oklahoma Tulane SAINT LOUIS (A-10)	Palo Alto Regional Stanford Clemson Gonzaga CORNELL (Won Ivy)
Eugene Regional #3 OREGON (Pac-12) Pepperdine Utah Valley SACRED HEART (Won NEC)	Gary Regional PURDUE (Big Ten) LOUISVILLE (Big East) Indiana State VALPARAISO (Horizon)
Chapel Hill Regional #7 North Carolina Ole Miss APPALACHIAN STATE (SoCon) ARMY (Won Patriot)	Columbia Regional South Carolina Texas Charleston BELMONT (Atlantic Sun)
Waco Regional #2 BAYLOR (Big 12) Arkansas Wichita State PRAIRIE VIEW A&M (Won SWAC)	Tucson Regional Arizona SAN DIEGO (WCC) NEW MEXICO STATE (WAC) NEW MEXICO (MWC)

Last 10 Teams Out: Virginia Tech, Cal Poly, California, Long Beach State, Michigan State, Georgia, Elon, Washington State, Saint John's, SE Louisiana

End of an era

So it has been a huge past week, Terrell Suggs tore his Achilles, Junior Seau supposedly committed suicide, and the NBA and NHL playoffs are in full swing. But those aren't the stories I am going to talk about today. I want to talk about the end of an era.

I want to talk about Mariano Rivera.

For those of you who don't know Mariano Rivera is the closer for the New York Yankees, or at least was. The man considered by many to be the greatest at his position in the history of America's pastime tore his ACL in practice yesterday, and while not usually a career ending injury you have to wonder.

Mariano is old, 42 years old to be precise (ok not old in general but for an athlete he is), and I cannot see how he can recover from an injury as devastating as this. He will be out for the entire rest of the season and will probably continue to rehab well into spring training. The amount of time he is going to be forced to take off before he can get his body back into baseball shape, not to mention that his body is already weaker due to his age, may make it nearly impossible for a return.

It is truly hard to see for baseball fans all over America. It does not matter if you are a normal person and hate the Yankees, or a terrible human being and love the Yankees (just kidding?), when the sport loses a legend as substantial as Mariano everyone's heart has to be breaking.

He has all the records for a closer, and even this past season when he came into the ball game it was essentially a death sentence for the opposing squad. Never has a single pitcher been able to accomplish so much just one pitch. Mariano's fastball has become the stuff of legend, to the point where I honestly don't know if another one pitch has ever been more feared.

And as a fan I can honestly say that I wish this were the extent of the story but sadly it isn't. Not only does this most likely mean the end of Rivera, but possibly the Yankees as we know them.

Throughout history, the sport of baseball has been dominated by the Bronx Bombers. Always the richest, strongest, fastest, and best team the Yankees have more championships and hall of famers than any other baseball franchise. For the past 20 or so years though the Yankees have been composed of their core 4. Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Petite, and Mariano Rivera.

These 4 players have anchored multiple world series titles and have been the faces of the franchise since the minor leagues. But that core is crumbling. Petite has retired, we already talked about Rivera, and Posada is out of the game as well. This means that the old version of the franchise lies on the shoulders of Derek Jeter, a heavy burden for one of the greatest players the game has ever seen.

Not to mention the death of George Steinbrenner. A man who not only changed New York but the entire sport forever passed away recently and the future of the Yankees organization is in question.

I am not saying that the Yankees will completely stop being the Yankees, but with this current aging roster and the loss of these great men it could spell the end for this incarnation of the richest sports franchise in America.

This isn't a prediction of doom and gloom for the Yankees more than it is a letter of regret to one of the sports finest. It is not 100% that Mariano will not return, he himself has vowed to come back, but it is a bleak outlook to say the least.

Mariano I wish you a speedy recovery and will be watching your career till the very end.