College Baseball Update

We have had an extraordinary run of sports in June -- a tremendous NBA finals series, a bright start to the World Cup, and a thrilling U.S. Women's Golf Open.  So we haven't had as much time for NCAA Baseball as we would like.

After a barrage of upsets, the Classic SEC will miss the finals of the College World Series for the first time since 2018, when Oregon State beat Arkansas.  Since 2018, the Classic SEC had won the CWS six years in a row:

2019:  Vanderbilt

2020:  N/A

2021:  Mississippi St.

2022:  Mississippi

2023:  Louisiana St.

2024:  Tennessee

2025:  Louisiana St.

But not this year.  Here's what happened (seedings in parentheses):

BRACKET ONE:

(16) W. Virginia 7, Troy 5

(5) N. Carolina 6, Mississippi 2

Troy 12, Mississippi 8 (Mississippi eliminated)

(5) N. Carolina 5, (16) W. Virginia 2

(16) W. Virginia 12, Troy 0 (Troy eliminated)

(5) N. Carolina 12, (16) W. Virginia 7 (W. Virginia eliminated)

BRACKET TWO:

Oklahoma 9, (7) Alabama 0

(3) Georgia 7, (6) Texas 1

(6) Texas 14, (7) Alabama 2 (Alabama eliminated)

Oklahoma 4, (3) Georgia 3

(3) Georgia 2, (6) Texas 0 (Texas eliminated)

Oklahoma 11, (3) Georgia 4 (Georgia eliminated)

So it will be North Carolina v. Oklahoma in a best two-of-three playoff to wrap up the 2025-26 sports year.  Carolina has never won the CWS.  Oklahoma won it in 1951 and 1994.

College Baseball Update

Today in Bracket Two, we have the following matchups:

Texas v. Alabama

Oklahoma v. Georgia

And I just want to comment that at my age, I will never accept Texas and Oklahoma as members of the Southeastern Conference.

NBA Update

I can't remember the last time that the first three games of the NBA Finals were all up for grabs with a few minutes to go.  Here is what the Series looks like after Game Three (home teams listed first):

06/03:  San Antonio 95 - 105 New York

06/05:  San Antonio 104 - 105 New York

06/08:  New York 111 - 115 San Antonio

It's the first time since 1993 that the road teams have won the first three games of the Final.  That year, the Bulls ended up beating the Suns 4-2 with a 99-98 win in Game Six.

Here are the current odds to win the NBA Title:

New York:  -184

San Antonio:  +154

So it's very much up for grabs.  Personally, I think San Antonio has gotten better in each game so far, which means that New York will be in huge trouble if the Knicks cannot win Game Four at home.  For Game Four, Vegas has made New York a 1 1/2 point favorite, and have set the over/under at 216 1/2.  Those are almost exactly the same odds as Game Three, and it would mean something like a 109-107 win for New York.  I will certainly be tuned in to see what happens.

One other point should be made here.  The analytics revolution in both baseball and basketball led to some awkward moments, as teams played in styles that felt somewhat off-putting and artificial.  All those popups and strikeouts with a runner on third.  All those missed three-pointers when there were driving lanes available.  But last year, I thought the MLB playoffs showed that the managers and the players have caught up with the analytics -- the teams took advantage of the analytic insights, but in a way that fit the logic of the game.  The result was beautiful; well-played games that had all the traditional virtues, but avoided the obvious mistakes (leaving in tired pitchers, for example) that analytics has corrected.

You can see the same thing in this series.  Yes, they shoot a lot of threes.  But those shots are not forced -- they develop from offenses that feature beautiful passing and cutting.  And the defense has been both intense and clever.  The result is a very balanced game that uses the whole floor and is really fun to watch.  I always believed in analytics, because I believe in winning.  But I'm really pleased to see that analytics doesn't interfere with the beauty and traditions of the game.

College Baseball Update

The Super Regionals turned out not to be as interesting as hoped.  Only one of the eight Super Regionals went three games, and many of the Super Regional games were blowouts.  Here are the results:

BRACKET ONE

Morgantown:  (16) W. Virginia beat Cal Poly 12-2, 17-1.

Troy:  Troy beat Ark-Little Rock 12-2, 7-2

Chapel Hill:  (5) N. Carolina beat U.S.C. 5-9, 4-0, 4-3

Auburn:  Mississippi beat (4) Auburn 6-4, 5-3

BRACKET TWO

Lawrence:  Oklahoma beat (15) Kansas 8-1, 13-2

Tuscaloosa:  (7) Alabama beat St. John's 8-0, 7-2

Austin:  (6) Texas beat (11) Oregon 11-3, 6-5

Athens:  (3) Georgia beat (14) Mississippi St 13-12, 11-9 (10 innings)

And that gives us the following matchups for Friday and Saturday in Omaha:

BRACKET ONE (Friday, June 12):

(16) W. Virginia v. Troy

(5) N. Carolina v. Mississippi

BRACKET TWO (Saturday, June 13):

(7) Alabama v. Oklahoma

(3) Georgia v. (6) Texas

Texas just won the Softball title.  Can they make a sweep?

NBA Update

As Eric reminds us, tonight is Game Three of the NBA Finals.  These have been the best NBA playoffs since at least 2019, and could end up being the best since 2016.  Here's what ended up happening in the Western Conference Finals (home teams listed first):

05/18:  Oklahoma City 115 - 122 San Antonio (2 OT)

05/20:  Oklahoma City 122 - 113 San Antonio

05/22:  San Antonio 108 - 123 Oklahoma City

05/24:  San Antonio 103 - 82 Oklahoma City

05/26:  Oklahoma City 127 - 114 San Antonio

05/28:  San Antonio 118 - 91 Oklahoma City

05/30:  Oklahoma City 103 - 111 San Antonio

Games Two through Six had a somewhat stately pattern, with the team leading at halftime winning every time, and Games Four through Six each being a fairly easy blowout.  But Game Seven, like Game One, was a death struggle -- and once again, the Thunder had no answer for Victor Wembanyama.  He finished with 22 points and 7 rebounds -- and even though SGA had 35 points of his own, the San Antonio defense prevented the rest of SGA's teammates from giving him the support he needed.

And so, San Antonio beat the defending Champs on the road, and headed home to play a red-hot Knicks team in the finals.  And then this happened:

06/03:  San Antonio 95 - 105 New York

06/05:  San Antonio 104 - 105 New York

The Knicks ran their winning streak to 13 with back-to-back thrillers in San Antonio.  Game Two was certainly the best NBA game I've seen in the final since the Cavs upset Golden State in 2016.  Wemby had 29 points and 9 rebounds, and led a late charge that put San Antonio in a good position to win.  But in the last minute, he had a huge turnover, committed the foul that allowed the Knicks to take a one-point lead, and then missed the shot at the buzzer that could have won the game.

So the Knicks are coming home to an absolute madhouse with a 2-0 lead.  If New York can win tonight, they should sweep the Spurs and win their first title since 1973.  And that may happen.  But the Spurs know how to win on the road, and in the fourth quarter of Game Two they started to figure out the Knicks.  I expect a spectacular game tonight that could go either way.

Vegas has New York as a 2 1/2 point favorite with an over/under of 216.5.  That would mean a score of something like 109-107.  I don't think they'll score that many points, but I do think it will be very close.