NBA Update

This has been a pretty good series so far.  Indiana pulled off yet another amazing comeback on the road in Game One, storming back in the last two minutes to beat Oklahoma City 111 to 110.  Then the Pacers conceded Game Two, with OKC rolling to an easy 123-107 win.  But of course, the Pacers have no intention of conceding Game Three back in Indiana.  With 6:05 left in the second quarter, the Pacers and the Thunder are tied at 42.

Sly Stone

I never intended the Defining Generation X series to turn into a series of obituaries, but these are the moments when I feel like we need to write something about these important figures.  

Another member of the Silent Generation who had a huge influence on Generation X.  Sylvester Stewart, Sly Stone, died yesterday at age 82.  If you know much about his personal story it is hard to imagine he made it this long.  For the sake of this piece though I want to focus on not just Sly, but Sly & the Family Stone.  

Their first three albums are good, but if you don't know much about Sly & the Family Stone and you want to introduce yourself to them, start with Stand! their big breakout hit album from 1969.  This would be the start of a 3 album run that would establish them as one of the most influential bands in the history of popular music.  1971 they came out with There's a Riot Goin' On, then Fresh in 1973.   

There were critical bands in the 60's that would have a huge influence on Generation X.  If you wanted to break it down to just 3, ignoring country and folk I would say it was The Beatles, The Velvet Underground, and Sly & the Family Stone.  

You might think I'm crazy but their music would have a massive influence on early Gen X rap and the move to embed components of rap and funk into pop.  Of course they also hugely influenced artists like Prince, who would then be a major influence on many Gen X R&B artists.  Their ability to marry blues, funk, and gospel all in a pop wrapper is something that still today you hear from many young experimental R&B artists.  You can't listen to Willow experimenting with jazz and funk and not think about Sly & the Family Stone, or listen to an artist like XXXTENTACION and not think of Sly & the Family Stone and these are modern artists.  

So why did I match up Sly & the Family Stone with The Beatles and The Velvet Underground?  The Beatles are the basis of pretty much all modern rock forms.  They married the blues, rock, and R&B that so influenced them into a pop and rock package that really has been the basis of most rock music since.  They didn't invent rock or blues or R&B, but they packaged it in a way that became incredibly influential.  The Velvet Underground did something different.  They took their influences from jazz, folk, and R&B and merged them into something not quite rock and not quite pop, something uniquely it's own thing.  That creation would go on to be in many ways just as influential as The Beatles.  This then brings us to Sly.  Sly married R&B, blues, gospel, world music, and jazz together to create something again quite unique that again would go on to become hugely influential.  

If you want to know who is influencing the artist you are listening to, remember we aren't looking at country that would be a completely different conversation, then you really just have to go back to these three artists.  For hip hop, modern R&B, modern funk, funk jazz fusion, etc. you can look to Sly & the Family Stone.  If it is punk, experimental rock, rock jazz fusion, performance you can look to The Velvet Underground.  If it is based on traditional R&B, blues and rock then it's The Beatles.  

 The funny thing is I believe that people place The Beatles and The Velvet Underground up there, but not Sly & the Family Stone and they really should.  In fact I would argue that they music they hold the most influence over is the music currently dominating popular music.  

They had a short run, like many artists, but it was incredibly important and had a profound effect on Generation X, but also the generations that followed Gen X.  

 

 

More on the Super Regionals

Seven of the eight Super Regionals have been decided.  Here's where it stands:

LOUISVILLE SUPER REGIONAL:

Louisville 8, Miami (Fla.) 1

Miami (Fla.) 9, Louisville 6

Louisville 3, Miami (Fla.) 2

Louisville advances to the College World Series for the sixth time overall, and the first time since 2019.  The Cardinals have never won the title.

LOS ANGELES SUPER REGIONAL:

(15) U.C.L.A. 5, Tex-San Antonio 2

(15) U.C.L.A. 7, Tex-San Antonio 0

U.C.L.A. advances to the College World Series for the seventh time overall, and for the first time since 2013, the only time the Bruins won the title.

FAYETTEVILLE SUPER REGIONAL:

(3) Arkansas 4, (14) Tennessee 3

(3) Arkansas 11, (14) Tennessee 4

Arkansas advances to the College World Series for the 12th time overall, and for the first time since 2022.  The Razorbacks finished second in 1979 and 2018 -- 2018 was a real heartbreaker -- but they have never won the title.

AUBURN SUPER REGIONAL:

(13) Coastal Carolina 7, (4) Auburn 6 (10 innings)

(13) Coastal Carolina 4, (4) Auburn 1

Another SEC Team bites the dust.  Coastal Carolina advances to the College World Series for the second time overall, and for the first time since they won it all in 2016.

CHAPEL HILL SUPER REGIONAL:

(5) N. Carolina 18, Arizona 2

Arizona 10, (5) N. Carolina 8

Arizona 4, (5) N. Carolina 3

A hugely satisfying result in Chapel Hill.  Arkansas is the only top five seed left in the tournament.  Arizona advances to the College World Series for the 19th time overall, and the first time since 2021.  The Wildcats won the title in 1976, 1980, 1986, and 2012.

BATON ROUGE SUPER REGIONAL:

(6) Louisiana St. 16, W. Virginia 9

(6) Louisiana St. 12, W. Virginia 5

L.S.U. is the only member of the Classic S.E.C. to reach this year's College World Series.  L.S.U. advances to the College World Series for the 20th time overall, and the first time since 2023.  The Tigers won the title in 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2009, and 2023.

DURHAM SUPER REGIONAL:

Duke 7, Murray St. 4

Murray St. 19, Duke 9

Game Three in the Durham Super Regional is scheduled for 6 P.M. Central today.  This game will be on ESPN, and will probably be the most high-profile game any sports team at Murray State has ever played.

CORVALLIS SUPER REGIONAL:

(8) Oregon St. 5, (9) Florida St. 4 (10 innings)

(9) Florida St. 3, (8) Oregon St. 1

(8) Oregon St. 14, (9) Florida St. 10

Another satisfying result.  With UNC, Texas, and FSU all eliminated before the CWS, I can really enjoy the competition.  Oregon St. advances to the College World Series for the eighth time overall, and the first time since 2018.  The Beavers won the title in 2006, 2007, and 2018.

Super Regionals

Here's where the Super Regionals stand in NCAA College Baseball:

LOUISVILLE SUPER REGIONAL:

Louisville 8, Miami (Fla.) 1

Miami (Fla.) 9, Louisville 6

Game Three at 11 AM Central tomorrow.

LOS ANGELES SUPER REGIONAL:

(15) U.C.L.A. and Tex-San Antonio play Game One at 6 P.M. Central tonight.

FAYETTEVILLE SUPER REGIONAL:

(3) Arkansas leads (14) Tennessee 4-2 in the seventh inning of the first game.

AUBURN SUPER REGIONAL:

(13) Coastal Carolina 7, (4) Auburn 6 (10 innings)

(13) Coastal Carolina 4, (4) Auburn 1 (Auburn eliminated)

CHAPEL HILL SUPER REGIONAL:

(5) N. Carolina 18, Arizona 2

Arizona 10, (5) N. Carolina 8

Game Three at 11 A.M. Central tomorrow

BATON ROUGE SUPER REGIONAL:

(6) Louisiana St. 16, W. Virginia 9

Game Two at 5 P.M. Central tomorrow

DURHAM SUPER REGIONAL:

Duke 7, Murray St. 4

Game Two at 11 A.M. Central tomorrow

CORVALLIS SUPER REGIONAL:

(8) Oregon St. 5, (9) Florida St. 4 (10 innings)

Game Two at 8 P.M. Central tonight

The Oxford Regional

Each season, the NCAA Baseball Tournament begins with 16 Regional Tournaments, each of which is hosted by one of the top 16 seeds in the field.  This year, Ole Miss -- the overall number 10 seed -- hosted a regional at Swayze Field in Oxford, Mississippi.  Swayze Field is very large by college baseball standards -- it can hold over 12,000 people, and the Ole Miss folks really cram the fans in there for big tournament games.  When Swayze Field is packed, and the bleacher fans are showering themselves with beer, Coke, and other drinks after every home run, it is one of the most intimidating places in college baseball.

And this year's Ole Miss team was quite good.  They went 40-19 in the regular season, and reached the final of the SEC Tournament.  Last weekend, they were the number 1 seed at home, and they were hosting the following teams:

Georgia Tech (40-17), the number 2 seed.

W. Kentucky (46-12), the number 3 seed and champion of Conference USA.

Murray St. (39-13), the number 4 seed and champion of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Together, these four teams played a double elimination tournament for the ages.

Game One:  The tournament opened on Friday afternoon with a pretty easy win for Georgia Tech, who beat W. Kentucky 9 to 2.  No drama so far.

Game Two:  On Friday night, in front of a packed stadium, Murray State jumped out to an early 4-0 lead with two runs in the top of the 1st and two more in the top of the 2d.  But Ole Miss fought back with three runs in the 3d and two more in the 4th to take a 5-4 lead.  Just as the Ole Miss fans started to think they had the situation under control, Murray added one run in the 5th and another in the 6th to take a 6-5 lead.  But then Ole Miss responded with another run in the bottom of the 7th to tie things at 6.  However, Murray still wasn't finished.  The Racers took the lead in the top of the 8th with a two-out single, and added two more in the 9th with a two-out, bases loaded double from right fielder Dustin Mercer.  (Mercer was 4-5 with four doubles in this game).  Down 9-6 going into the bottom of the 9th, Ole Miss tried to rally.  A single and a double put Rebels on second and third with one out.  The next batter struck out, but the next was hit by a pitch to load the bases.  With the crowd going nuts, the next Rebel batter popped up, and Murray had a stirring 9-6 win.

Game Three:  On Saturday afternoon, Ole Miss took out its frustration on Western.  The Rebels led 8-3 after 6 1/2 innings, and held on for an 8-6 win.  That eliminated the Hilltoppers.

Game Four:  On Saturday night, with the Ole Miss fans mostly at home, Murray and Georgia Tech played another game for the ages.  Tech opened with three runs in the top of the first, but Murray responded with five runs in the bottom of the first.  The Racers then tacked on five more runs in the bottom of the fourth, and suddenly they led 10-3.  Amazingly, however, Tech then responded with SEVEN runs in the top of the fifth to tie the game at 10.  At this point, I assumed Murray was out of pitching.  But I was wrong.  Neither team scored in the sixth, but Murray took a 12-10 lead in the bottom of the 7th.  Tech responded with a run in the top of the 8th to make the score 12-11, but a Racer home run made the score 13-11 going into the 9th.  The Racers retired the first two Yellowjackets in the 9th, but Tech then got a walk and a double to leave the tying runners on second and third with two out.   However, Murray State struck out the last Tech batter to wrap up a stirring 13-11 victory and put themselves in the regional final.

Game Five:  On Sunday afternoon, Tech and Ole Miss met in an elimination game.  Amazingly, Tech again opened with three runs in the top of the first -- and again yielded five runs in the bottom of the first.  Tech rebounded, however, and led 8-6 after four.  From this point on, however, the Ole Miss pitching staff rallied, and Tech could get only one more run.  Meanwhile, the Rebels got two in the 5th, one in the 6th, one in the 7th, and one in the 8th for an 11-9 win that finally eliminated the Yellow Jackets.

Game Six:  So now Ole Miss had to beat Murray twice in two days to win the region, while the Racers only had to win once.  The Rebels got off to a good start on Sunday night.  They were up 15-6 after four innings, and they romped home with a 19-8 win.  In three games, Murray State's pitchers had allowed 36 runs.  But if the Racers could win Monday night's winner-take all final, they could still survive.

Game Seven:  And so, on Monday night, the Rebels and the Racers met for the third time in four days.  I don't think anyone who was there will forget it.  Murray led 5-0 after 2 1/2 innings, but the Rebels responded with one run in the bottom of the 3d and two more in the bottom of the fourth.  Leading 5-3 after 4, Murray exploded -- the Racers put up four runs in the 5th, one more in the 6th, and two more in the 7th.  Amazingly, the Racers now led 12-3 -- and they only needed nine outs to win the region.  Unfortunately, they were almost out of pitching.  Ole Miss scored five runs in the bottom of the 7th to make the score 12-8.  And the Rebels whacked a three-run homer in the 8th to make the score 12-11.  Ole Miss wasn't done.  The next two batters singled, and the Rebels suddenly had the lead run on base.  But somehow, Graham Kelham -- the same pitcher who had already given up six hits (including a three-run homer) -- struck out the next two Rebels to end the inning.  Murray couldn't do anything in the 9th, and Kelham had to defend that one-run lead in the bottom of the 9th.  He struck out the first two batters -- that's four strikeouts in a row.  And finally, the last batter flew out to center, and Murray had one of the greatest wins in its history:  12 to 11, and Regional Champs.

Murray State has had many great basketball team, but the Racers has never reached the round of 16 in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.  This year's baseball team, however, is one of the last 16 still playing.  The Racers are on their way to Durham, North Carolina, to face the Duke Blue Devils.  The Dukies pulled an upset of their own, beating Georgia on the Bulldogs' home field, and the Devils will be tough to beat at home.  But if Murray State can win two of three in Durham, they will go to Omaha for the College World Series.  How about that?

The Regionals were full of drama, and we can't do justice to them.  But here you can see the Super Regional matchups -- home teams listed first.  Each series is best two out of three.  The figures in parentheses represent the national seeds who are left:

BRACKET ONE:

Louisville v. Miami (Fla.)

(8) Oregon St. v. (9) Florida St.

(5) N. Carolina v. Arizona

(4) Auburn v. (13) Coastal Carolina

BRACKET TWO:

(15) U.C.L.A. v. Tex-San Antonio

Duke v. Murray St.

(6) Louisiana St. v. W. Virginia

(3) Arkansas v. (14) Tennessee