College Baseball Update

For a team that wasn't one of the top eight seeds, UCLA had a remarkably easy run to the title.  I think they went through the whole tournament without losing a game, and they thumped Mississippi State 3-1 and 8-0 in the final.  It's the Bruins' first baseball title, but their 109th title in all sports.  (That's the record.  Stanford is next, with 104, and USC is in third, with 98).  The SEC teams with the most titles in all sports are Arkansas and LSU, both of which have 42 titles.

With the end of the College World Series, we bid farewell to the 2012-13 college season.  Congratulations to the Alabama Crimson Tide, which exorcised some old demons and finally whipped Notre Dame in a big game to capture its third football title in four years.

Congratulations to the 2010 Auburn Tigers, who still have their football title (despite numerous accusations of cheating) -- while their opponents in that game, the Oregon Ducks, just got three years of probation.

Congratulations to the Texas A & M Aggies, who celebrated their entry into the SEC by winning a football game in Tuscaloosa and a basketball game in Lexington, and who get to enjoy Johnny Football for at least one more season.

Congratulations to the Vanderbilt Commodores, who finally pounded Tennessee in football, and who had one of the best baseball teams in the country.

Congratulations to the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, who again won the men's basketball tournament in the Sun Belt in a stunning upset, which worked out a new conference alignment, and which hired Bobby Petrino to coach football.

Congratulations to the Kentucky Wildcats, who got a new football coach, who came in second in the NCAA rifle championships, who had an excellent women's basketball team, and who had another great recruiting year for men's basketball.

But most of all, congratulations to the Louisville Cardinals, who won the Sugar Bowl, went to the College World Series, got into the ACC, went to the finals of the NCAA women's basketball tournament, but who -- most of all -- ended 27 years of frustration by finally winning their third NCAA title.  The Cardinals have the best Athletic Director in the country (Tom Jurich), they may have the best men's basketball coach in the country (Rick Pitino), and they will be anxious to see the new school year begin.  We (and they) will only have to wait a few months, and then it will all start again.