Under the radar
I arrived in Omaha on Thursday afternoon anxious to find out what locals thought of Florida’s chances heading into the College World Series.
Turns out, not much. In a 10-minute interview on local sports station 1620 (the Zone), rivals.com baseball editor Kendall Rogers didn’t mention the Gators once. Nor did the two hosts ask about Florida.
Florida State was brought up because of Mike Martin’s long history of bringing teams here but never taking home a national title. So were Texas, LSU and Nebraska, three teams that didn’t even make it to the CWS this year.
Rogers, by the way, likes Arizona State and UCLA, Florida’s opponent on Saturday night. Rogers raved about UCLA’s pitching depth.
It’s hot, but breezy here, which made for a bumpy landing. My hotel, the Sleep Inn, is across town from Rosenblatt Stadium but just a short drive from downtown. It’s aptly named, because there is little space in my room to do anything other than sleep. Square-footage is a step above solitary confinement. But on the plus side, there are free home-made chocolate chip cookies in the lobby.
Rogers made a good point that Rosenblatt has a tendency to play smaller when it’s breezy, which could work against teams with strong pitching staffs and little offensive punch.
Also, I had a chance to drive past the new downtown ballpark, Ameritrade Stadium, which is still under construction. Looks like it will be a nice state-of-the-art facility to host the event beginning next year.
Big day ahead on Friday, which includes a full day of interviews and opening ceremonies. Who knows, Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan may even name a starter for Saturday night? My guess is O’Sullivan will hand the ball to sophomore lefty Alex Panteliodis, a.k.a. the Big Panda. It would be tough to ask a freshman to start UF’s first CWS game since 2005.
OK, off to find some steak.
Kevin Brockway gave up on his dream of becoming a lefty starting pitcher for the New York Mets when he walked four straight batters, then hit one in a middle school game in Suffern, N.Y. Since graduating college in 1993, he’s worked as a sports writer at daily newspapers throughout the state of Florida, beginning with the Key West Citizen. He then moved on to the Northwest Florida Daily News and Naples Daily News before becoming the men’s basketball writer for The Gainesville Sun in 2003. Brockway has won multiple state and national writing awards during his 16-year career. Favorite pastimes include karaoke and watching baseball. Favorite college hoops team growing up was St. John’s.
Best of luck to the Gator baseball team. GOOOOOOO GATORS!!!
by ngamtngator
To be fair, Rogers has been very high on the Gators in his online columns and analysis.
by peachy
Thanks for the update and info. Go Gators
by Phil
Thanks for the update, Kevin.
by Allapattah
Nebraskans love their Big Red and their Big 12 (er 10…) brethren, and just don’t like the SEC teams, for the most part. Next best pick for them is the Pac 10 (er 12…) teams, since there are NO midwest teams in there this year (I think TCU is a southwest team). Best of luck to the Gators this year !
by Jim E.
How come Dooley’s always crowing about staying at Hiltons, Hyatts and Marriots and the Sun sticks you in a shoebox like the Sleep Inn? Where’s the love??? Oh, and Go Gators!!
by Tom W.
To be fair, I usually stay at Marriott’s but all of the media hotels were full by the time I booked. So I’m stuck at the Sleep Inn.
by Kevin Brockway
Just curious about the draw. If ASU (1) Florida (3) and UCLA (6) are the only nationally seeded teams among the eight in the CWS, how did they end with UCLA as their opening game? Doesn’t seem to make sense. Any idea?
by Carolina Gator Dan
I believe the bracket is laid out before it starts, think basketball bracket. So if Oregon St had won the Gainesville regional and then also beat Miami, they would be playing UCLA. They do not re-seed or rearrange the bracket once in Omaha. If all the top seeds had made it through 3 vs. 6 would make sense. Can’t say I agree with it, but you have to beat them at some point, might as well do it in game 1.
by Rob