Articles in
March 2019

Elite Eight predictions

Sweet 16 Record: 5-3

Seed Numbers in front of teams

Today

West Region

No.3 Texas Tech (29-6) vs. No. 1 Gonzaga (33-3)

Honda Center, Anaheim, CA. 18,336

5:09 PM CT

TBS

Gonzaga by 4 1/2

I picked against Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 opting for Florida State, but I missed that one. They played some terrific defense against the Noles and they really know how to score. The Red Raiders bring some serious defense to this game, but so does Gonzaga, and they’re a better on offense than Tech. Going with Bama Golf, who has Gonzaga winning it all. He could be right.

Gonzaga 65, Texas Tech 60

South Region

No.3 Purdue (26-9) vs. No.1 Virginia (32-3)

KFC Yumi Center, Louisville, KY. 22,090

7:49 PM CT

TBS

UVA by 4 1/2

Purdue is quite an offensive juggernaut with the great Carsen Edwards, who scored 29 points on Thursday in a 99-94 overtime victory over Tennessee. But maybe the bigger story was the shooting of Ryan Cline, who was 7 of 10 from 3 and scored 27 points before fouling out. Cline connected on big shot after big shot. It was miraculous shooting really.

With that said, I’m still bullish on this UVA team. Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter are 3 of the top trios in college basketball. And UVA plays some serious defense. I like the Cavs’ defense to hold Purdue enough in check and for Guy, Jerome and Hunter to make the shots to get Virginia to the Final Four, finally, after years of having excellent teams that fall just short.

Virginia 70, Purdue 64

Sunday

Midwest

No.5 Auburn (29-9) vs. No.1 Kentucky (30-6)

Sprint Center, Kansas City 18,972

1:20 PM CT

CBS

Kentucky by 3

I doubted Auburn yesterday mainly because I picked UNC to win it all.I knew it would be a hard fought game and Auburn would be tough to defeat. Auburn proved they were hard to defeat and then some laying it on the Tar Heels, 97-80. Auburn is a phenomenal team. Even with the loss of Chuma Okeke, who is out for the rest of the tournament with a serious knee injury suffered last night after he was dominating scoring 20 points and pulling down 11 boards, I still believe in this team. Okeke is definitely a blow, but the depth of the talent is still there. Danjel Purifoy, Austin Wiley and Anfernee McLemore filled in admirably and played terrifically well. The whole team did. Okeke’s loss is very tough because not only is he a spectacular player, but he’s also such an awesome teammate and person. The team loves him. Bruce Pearl was visibly upset after the game in saying that Okeke’s knee injury was most likely serious.

But sometimes that works to a team’s advantage. They play even harder for their injured teammate. I see the Tigers playing inspired ball. J’Von McCormick played some awesome minutes coming off the bench for the Tigers finishing with 12. Samir Doughty is an awesome player. Malik Dunbar is as well. And, of course, Jared Harper and Bryce Brown give some supreme marksmanship from trifecta, along with a lot of the other guys. But those guys are gunslingers and they’re accurate from deep and very deep.

Kentucky is an excellent team, they’ve already beaten the Tigers twice this season including a shellacking at Rupp. But it’s extremely hard to defeat a team 3 times in a season, and I’m ridin with the Tigers to move on to the program’s first Final Four. Like Auburn to go to Minneapolis.

Auburn 78, Kentucky 76

East Region

No.2 Michigan State (31-6) vs. No.1 Duke (32-5)

Capital One Arena, DC, 20,356

4:05 PM CT

CBS

Duke by 1 1/2

Duke has been getting by barely by the skin of their teeth in the round of 32 versus Central Florida, 77-76, when a tip in by UCF as time expired rolled around the rim and impossibly fell out. Then against Virginia Tech last night, an inbounds play in the last seconds gave VA Tech a tip in opportunity as well, but it just missed too which would have sent the game into overtime,. Duke won 75-73.

I see Duke’s luck running out here. Tom Izzo and stellar point guard Cassius Winston knock the Blue Devils off.

Michigan State 68, Duke 66

Baseball sizzling, MLB guys, basketball coaching search, football spring game Saturday

Walker Grisanti with a huge homer to right in the top of the 9th against the Dawgs (Photo Vanderbilt Athletics).

Walker Grisanti with a huge homer to right in the top of the 9th against the Dawgs (Photo Vanderbilt Athletics).

Our baseball team is doin some serious work right now. Last weekend at the Hawk, we swept No. 22 Florida, winning Thursday Night, 5-0, behind the stellar pitching of Drake Fellows, who was named SEC pitcher of the week this week. Then we won Friday, 15-2, and Saturday, 14-2. This past Tuesday Night, we defeated Lipscomb, 15-1 at First Tennessee Park in Nashville. Here are the details.

Last Thursday Night, Drake pitched a complete game giving up only 5 hits, 0 runs, with 3 walks and 8 K’s. He threw 116 pitches with 68 for strikes against 48 balls. Not the greatest ball: strike ratio, but Drake battled and pitched very well. He’s doing superbly.

Right fielder J.J. Bleday had an RBI double, 2nd baseman Harrison Ray drove in a run with a single and left fielder Cooper Davis was 2 for 4 and scored 2 runs.

On Friday, Saturday and this past Tuesday, the bats were cookin. Friday, we pounded out 19 hits and scored 15 times. Shortstop Ethan Paul was 5 for 6 with 6 Ribeyes. Ethan almost hit for the cycle with 3 singles, a double and a triple. He’s been spectacular this season as have a lot of our guys. Stephen Scott was 4 for 4 and scored 3 runs. DH Ty Duvall was 3 for 3 with 4 Ribbies including 2 doubles. Patrick Raby went 6, gave up only 1 hit, 0 runs, with 6 walks and 7 K’s. Like the strikeout total, but not the walks. Rabes threw 102 pitches, with 56 strikes against 46 balls. Would like to see our control keep improving on the mound. Jake Eder struggled in an inning giving up 2 hits, 2 runs with 3 walks, but I still believe Jake can help us. He throws it 95, and was electric at the beginning of the season. Hoping he can get that back. Ethan Smith and AJ Franklin closed out the game pitching scoreless innings in the 8th and 9th respectively.

Saturday, we did it again scoring 14 runs on 12 hits leading to a 14-2 victory. Stephen Scott had another big game in left field going 2 for 4 with 4 RBIs. Stephen hit his 3rd home run of the season. Harrison Ray was 2 for 4 with 2 Ribbies. Third baseman Austin Martin was 3 for 5 with 2 RBIs, and JJ Bleday cranked his 7th homer of the season. Freshman Kumar Rocker was very good on the mound. Kumar went 6, gave up 5 hits, 2 earned, with 2 walks and 6 K’s. Kumar threw 106 pitches with 61 for strikes against 45 balls. It was a really solid outing. Kumer looks very probably to be our Sunday guy if he can keep this up. He’ll be our Sunday guy this weekend. Tyler Brown didn’t have his best stuff but Tyler has been superb this season. Tyler gave up 2 runs in 3 innings on 3 hits with a walk and 4 K’s. Really like Tyler out of the bullpen though.

On Tuesday, we crushed Lipscomb, 15-1. Bleday hit 2 home runs, a 3 run homer in the third and a 2 run homer in the 7th. First baseman Julian Infante also homered, which is great to see. Pat DeMarco is injured right now and out indefinitely in left field so Scott has moved out there and Julian is at 1st. He’s got a lot of talent, he just really struggled at the plate last year, but he looks like he’s coming closer to playing like he did as a sophomore when he hit .310 and hit double digit homers and drove in 50 or 60 runs. Would love to see that because Corbs says what an awesome guy Julian is. Ethan Paul was 3 for 5 with 2 RBIs including a double, Austin Martin was 2 for 4 with a pair of Ribbies, catcher Philip Clarke was 2 for 5 with 4 driven in and Harry Ray was 2 for 5 with an RIbeye.

Mason Hickman has really been spectacular this season. Mason went 6, gave up 1 hit, 0 runs, with 1 walk and 8 K’s. We’ll need Mason to keep being good for middle of the week starts and possibly weekend starts if one of the other 3 struggle. He’s doing extremely well. A.J. Franklin gave up a run in an inning and Hugh Fisher and Zach King finished it off.

So, we’re on fire right now. Austin Martin still leads the team in hitting at .437. Just one heckuva baseball player, like many of our guys are. Ethan is having a huge senior year hitting .404 with 3 homers and 37 Ribeyes. Stephen Scott is hitting .385 with 3 homers and 24 Ribbies. Cooper Davis is hitting .360, JJ is hitting .357 with 9 homers and 29 Ribbies, that’s phenomenal, and Harrison Ray is hitting .314 and is 8 for 8 in the stolen base department. Philip is hitting .267, but he’s getting back to being the kind of hitter Philip Clarke is. He’s hit 4 homers and driven in 30. Feel really good about Philip. He’s awesome and doing a terrific job behind the plate and working with the pitchers. We’re hitting .324 as a team

Our team ERA is 3.66 and our opponents’ ERA is 7.79. Rabes is 4-0 with an 0.57 ERA. Hick is 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA and Drake is 5-0 with a 3.68 ERA. Tyler Brown has 5 saves on the season and a 2.12 ERA. Kumar has a 4.43 ERA, but he’s been pitching much better and getting adjusted to the college game. He’s getting it and the arm talent is off the charts good.

We’re fielding at a .982 clip and our opponents are at .964, so we’re doing well on defense after a little bit of a slow start.

Overall, really like where our team is right now. Tennessee this weekend. We’re 20-5 and 4-2 in the SEC. We are ranked 6th nationally by D-1 Baseball, which has UCLA first, Mississippi State 2nd, Georgia 4th, Arkansas 8th, A&M 10th, Auburn 15th, Florida 23rd and Ole Miss 24th. That’s like wow. Tremendous conference once again. Tennessee is 2-4 in the SEC and 20-6 overall, so they’ve played well. Friday Night’s game is at 6:30 and will be streamed by SEC Network+. Saturday’s game is at 8 PM and will be broadcast by the SEC Network. Sunday’s game is at 2 PM and broadcast by the SEC Network. Drake goes Friday Night, Rabes Saturday and Kumar Sunday in all likelihood. Need to keep this incredible momentum going.

Exciting stuff for our MLB guys

Dansby Swanson is the starting shortstop for the Braves, Tony Kemp is a key piece in the Houston Astros outfield and 2nd base when Jose Altuve takes a night off, and Curt Casali is a valuable backup catcher for the Cincy Reds. All 3 of those guys are important pieces of their respective teams.

What’s just as exciting is we have 5 pitchers starting today and this weekend in the majors. Mike Minor started for the Texas Rangers today at 3:05 PM today as they host the Cubs. Saturday, Sonny Gray will debut with his new team, the Cincinnati Reds, as they host the Pittsburgh Pirates. Great to see Sonny have a fresh start with the Reds. Sunday, Walker Buehler, who was my world series MVP in my baseball preseason predictions column yesterday, will start for the Dodgers at home versus the Arizona Dbacks Sunday at 3 PM CT. And Kyle Wright gets the start for the Braves Sunday Night at Philadelphia against Jake Arrieta. That game will be on Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN at 6 CT so super excited to see Kyle make his debut for the Braves in a pressure cooker in Philly against a usually top flight pitcher.

David Price will take the hill on Monday at Oakland with a 9:07 PM CT start. That’s a late one, but will catch up on it Tuesday morning and have a report for you on all our players Tuesday or Wednesday along with our college team. DP had an unspecified illness in spring training, thus the reason for him starting at the bottom of the rotation for the Red Sox. Dave will be there when it counts. It counts Monday at Oakland.

So, some really exceptional stuff going on for our college team and our guys in the bigs. We have a massive amount of guys in the minor leagues. Will work on keeping up with as many guys as I can to report here on the blog.

Basketball

While I was disappointed in the firing of Bryce Drew, it’s time to move on and find a new coach. Bryce is an awesome person, was dealt a bad hand when Darius Garland went down in game 5 with a season ending meniscus injury in his knee, and our team just couldn’t recover. Saben is one of my all time favorites because he’s got so much heart and a ton of talent, but he’s a 2 guard, not a point guard. We just never recovered from losing Darius. Sorry Bryce had to lose his job over some really unfortunate circumstances. He’ll do well somewhere else, I’m sure of that.

For our candidates for the job now, Johnny Dawkins of UCF has gotten a lot of traction recently. He may be the guy, not really positive because there are so many different reports/rumors come in. Last weekend it was John Thompson III. Russell Turner of UC Irvine is a candidate. There are others. Dawkins has done an excellent job at UCF after doing a pretty solid job at Stanford, where it seems to be pretty tough to win as the latest coach, Jared Haase, is finding out. Johnny was a great player at Duke in the 80’s, played in the NBA and just took his Central Florida team to a 24-9 record this season and a tough, incredibly hard fought loss to Duke last Sunday in the round of 32, in which Duke benefited from some friendly officiating and a tip in by UCF to win the game almost impossibly rimmed out. Would be very happy if Johnny was offered and took the job.

JTIII is a pretty good coach. He took Georgetown to 7 NCAA Tournaments in 12 years and even to a Final Four in 2007. So he’s been good.

Turner has been at UC Irvine 9 years and led them to a 31-6 record and a victory over No.5 seed Kansas State in the first round of the tournament last Friday before falling to Oregon last Sunday Night. Looks like a pretty decent candidate.

Heard the coaches from UNC Greensboro, Northern Kentucky and Murray State are in the mix along with others. I don’t want to give out any bad information, so I’m not going to speculate. Would be very happy with Dawkins. He’s a former Duke player, he’s coached at Stanford, so he knows the culture you need to have at an elite school. I would say he’s my personal favorite. His son, Aubrey, is one heckuva player too, so it would be awesome to have them both though Aubrey may choose to go to the NBA as he’s a redshirt junior.

The other guys are good candidates. Would like to see Malcolm Turner make a decision pretty soon, and, of course, get the right guy. We’ve already lost one signee who has opted to get out of his National Letter of Intent. Austin Crowley, a 4 star shooting guard, has gotten out of his NLI. Four star power forward signee Dylan Disu and high 3 star point guard commit Scotty Pippen look to be in a holding pattern right now to see who our new coach will be.

Matt Ryan and Yanni Wetzel are entered into the transfer portal. That doesn’t mean they are transferring, it just means they’re weighing their options.

So we need to get the right guy in pretty quickly.

Football

The spring game is Saturday at 11 AM on the SEC Network. Deuce Wallace was taking the first team reps at quarterback, but he has a slight infection under his arm, so they’re keeping him out right now. Coach Mason wasn’t sure if he’d play Saturday or not. Riley Neal, our transfer from Ball State, will play a good bit as will 3rd stringer Allan Wallace, who I still like a lot along with our other guys at quarterback. We have quite a bit of talent at that position. Hope Deuce can play. He needs to as he’s missed a lot of playing time.

Offensive line will be interesting to watch as we lost a couple of key starters off the front, but there is good talent and size returning. Ke’Shawn Vaughn is going to be spectacular if he can stay healthy. Same for Kalija Lipscomb and Jared Pinkney. We have a lot of weapons at our skilled positions. Ke’Shawn has good backups led by Ja’Veon Marlow, who is hurt right now and out for the spring, but I’m really excited about Marlow. We have Jamauri Wakefield too and some talent coming in in the freshmen class. Wide receiver and tight end have some exceptional talent.

Defense is a competition for jobs. I’m excited to see Alston Orji this season. The 4 star redshirt freshman linebacker can be a force for us in the inside linebacker position along with the super Dimitri Moore, who was all over the field at the end of last season. We’ve got good size and talent on the defensive front, like our linebackers, and our secondary has a lot of good players. So our defense can be very solid and we have playmakers there who can get a lot of turnovers.

We can have a good team this year. What that translates into victories, I’d say 6, 7 would be very good and 8 would be outstanding. Hoping to win them all of course, but playing Georgia in game 1 and LSU in game 3, though they’re at home, is tough. Florida, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Tennessee are also on the road. Kentucky, Missouri, UNLV, Northern Illinois and East Tennessee State are at home. We play on the road the second game of the season @ Purdue. That’s sandwiched between Georgia and LSU, so we’ll need to do well at West Lafayette.

Will have more on our football team coming early next week with a progress report on the team after the spring game and a look at our incoming freshman.

Also, will stay locked in on our basketball coach search, our awesome baseball team and our phenomenal players in the big leagues. Thanks.

Late Note, Brandt, Luke

Brandt defeated Tiger Woods today 2 &1 at the Dell Technologies Match Play Championship at Austin, TX. Luke List defeated Matthew Fitzpatrick of England 2 &1 as well. That means Brandt and Luke led their opponents by 2 holes, won 2 more holes, with only 1 left to play so it’s impossible for their opponents to come back. Awesome stuff from Brandt and Luke.

Sweet 16 predictions

Last year’s record Sweet 16 on: 10-5

Today

West Region

No.4 seed Florida State (29-7) vs. No.1 Gonzaga (32-3)

Honda Center, Anaheim, CA.

6:09 PM CT

CBS

Gonzaga by 8

I like the Seminoles to pull off the upset. Like their athleticism over the Zags.

Florida State 71, Gonzaga 67

South Region

No.3 Purdue (25-9) vs. No.2 Tennessee (31-5)

KFC Yumi Center, Louisville, KY.

6;29 PM CT

TBS

Tenn by 2

Going with the Vols in a very hard fought game. Carsen Edwards scored 42 for Purdue last Saturday Night vs Nova, and he’s a tremendous player. But I’ll take the Vols who I have in my Final Four. Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield and company outlast the Boilermakers.

Tennessee 82, Purdue 78

West

No.3 Texas Tech (28-6) vs. No.2 Michigan (30-6)

Honda Center, Anaheim

8:39 PM CT

CBS

Michigan by 1 1/2

This is another tossup game, but I’ll take Texas Tech barely in a hard fought defensive game with some pretty good shooting as well.

Texas Tech 68, Michigan 66

South

No.12 Oregon (25-12) vs. No. 1 Virginia (31-3)

KFC Yumi Center, Louisville

8:57 PM CT

TBS

UVA by 8 1/2

Oregon has been impressive so far in blasting Wisconsin and then blasting UC Irvine. They are highly athletic and play excellent defense. But so do the Cavs. Like the favored team here.

UVA 67, Oregon 56

Friday

East Region

No.3 LSU (28-6) vs. No.2 Michigan State (30-6)

Capital One Arena, Washington, DC

6:09 PM CT

CBS

Michigan State by 6

LSU’s had a super season this year, but losing their coach to suspension has got to catch up with them at some point. I like all world point guard Cassius Winston and the Spartans to advance here. But I like it close.

Mich State 72, LSU 68

Midwest Region

No.5 Auburn (28-9) vs. North Carolina (29-6)

Sprint Center, Kansas City, MO.

6:29 PM CT

TBS

UNC by 5

Like Chapel Hill to advance over the Tigers. Luke Maye, Cameron Johnson, Coby White and the Heels will be too much for the Tigers, but I expect another close game.

UNC 82, Auburn 78

East

No.4 Virginia Tech (28-8) vs. No.1 Duke (31-5)

Capital One Arena, DC

8:39 PM CT

CBS

Duke by 7

The Blue Devils barely escaped Central Florida with some friendly officiating on a clear charge by Zion Williamson for a basket that cut the UCF 3 point lead from 3 to 1, then on the free throw miss, there was a clear push off by R.J. Barrett that lead to a basket to put Duke up by 1. UCF had the last shot and the floater barely missed and the tip in impossibly hit the rim, floated around it, and fell off. Duke was very fortunate, but I guess that’s what it takes sometimes. VA Tech is a quality team, but I like the Blue Devils to come away with the victory in a hard fought game.

Duke 81, VA Tech 78

Midwest

No.3 Houston (33-3) vs. Kentucky (29-6)

Sprint Center, KC

8:59 PM CT

TBS

UK by 3

The major question is whether Kentucky star power forward P.J. Washington will play. He’s been out with a sprained foot, but took his protective boot off yesterday, so it’s about 65-35 that he will play. I like Kentucky either way, but in another outstanding game. Houston’s guards are excellent. They’ll give the Wildcats everything they want.

Kentucky 62, Houston 60

MLB preview, predictions

The Los Angeles Angels put their faith in MIke Trout. That’s a good idea (Photo, Washington Post).

The Los Angeles Angels put their faith in MIke Trout. That’s a good idea (Photo, Washington Post).

The Dodgers are bullish on Justin Turner as well as their leader this season. (Photo, MLB Trade Rumors).

The Dodgers are bullish on Justin Turner as well as their leader this season. (Photo, MLB Trade Rumors).

The big news in major league baseball so far this year was the free agent signings of Bryce Harper and Manny Machado and the massive contract that Mike Trout signed with the team he’s been with for 8 years, the Los Angeles Angels.

Harper inked a 13 year, $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. He’ll make over $25 million a year. Great player. Will see how he does in Philly on a team that is banking on making a deep run in the postseason this year. Machado signed a 10 year $300 million contract with the San Diego Padres, another team trying to step it up and be a World Series contender. Not sure they’re ready yet, but with Machado and some other talented veterans, and the best farm system in baseball, they could get there next season and be very competitive this year.

Finally, Trout, the best player in baseball, signed a blockbuster, inking a 12 year, $426.5 million contract, which will pay him $35 million a year. He’ll be the highest paid player in baseball.

Machado and Harper are 26 and Trout is 27. They are some of the major faces in baseball right now.

To give an example of Trout’s talent, he hit .312 last year with 39 homers and 79 RBIs on a team that has struggled to make the playoffs, making it only 1 of Trout’s previous 8 seasons, because there is not enough talent around him. His WAR, wins above replacement value, which is a key metric now in baseball that measures a starters’ winning games number over a replacement player with a lesser contract and value, was 10.2, which is excellent. Only the Red Sox Mookie Betts had a higher WAR at 10.4. Trout has had a WAR of 10.5 twice. In 2012, he hit 30 homers and drove in 83 runs and stole 49 bases to lead the American League. In 2016, when his WAR was 10.5 also, he hit 29 homers, drove in 100 runs and stole 30 bases in 37 attempts. His OPS last year, on-base plus slugging percentage, was 1.088. Over .900 is considered outstanding, so that’s off the charts good.

He’s the epitome of a classic 5-tool player that all teams want; he can hit, he can run, he can hit for power, he can hit for average and he’s got a cannon for an arm. So in these days, where it’s an arms race to get the best player, LA secured their stud. Now they just need to add some more pieces around him.

This season should be terrific with so many teams in the hunt for the World Series title. The Yankees are loaded with bats, the Red Sox have everybody back from their World Series winning team, the Houston Astros are angry, talented, and ready to prove that 2017 wasn’t a fluke. In the NL, the Nationals lost Harper, but they have a strong team returning with Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasborg and Patrick Corbin, who came over from Arizona after a terrific season in 2017, anchoring their staff along with excellent position players. The Phillies will be a factor with Harper and the Braves have pretty much everybody back. The Cubs will try to recapture some magic from 2016, The Milwaukee Brewers, fresh off their NLCS appearance last season where they fell to the Dodgers, have everybody back. The Cardinals signed superstar first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and look impressive on paper. The Dodgers are back with superstar shortstop Corey Seager healthy. The Dodgers will be very formidable.

With that said, here are my predictions for the 2019 season.

National League

Division winners

NL East: Washington Nationals

NL Central: St Louis Cardinals

NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers

Wild Card

Phillies, Cubs

American League

AL East: Red Sox

AL Central; Cleveland Indians

AL West: Astros

Wild Cards

Yankees, A’s

Wild Card games

NL: Phillies over Cubs

AL: Yankees over A’s

NLDS

Dodgers over Phillies in 4

Nationals over Brewers in 5

ALDS

Red Sox over Indians in 5

Astros over Yankees in 4

NLCS

Dodgers over Nationals in 7

ALCS

Astros over Red Sox in 6

The Fall Classic

The Dodgers knocked on the door 2 years ago, losing to the Astros in 7, then knocked on it again last year, losing to the Red Sox in 5. This year I like them to knock it over behind 3rd baseman Justin Turner, shortstop Corey Seager and a staff led by Clayton Kershaw, who will be on the 10 day DL to start the season, but is throwing well according to reports, and Walker Buehler, the 98 mile per hour hurler, who has developed a very good change up to go with his heat and a stellar curve ball.

Dodgers in 7 over the Astros

The Dodgers have the best record in baseball and grab home field winning their 7th world championship, but first since 1988. That’s 31 years. The Dodgers end the lengthy drought with excellent pitching and outstanding position players.

MVP AL: Mike Trout

MVP NL: Justin Turner, Dodgers

AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander, ‘Stros

NL Cy Young: Max Scherzer

World Series MVP

Walker Buehler, Dodgers

I like 24 year old Walker Buehler to play a big part in getting the Dodgers their first World Championship since 1988 (Photo, Dodger Blue).

I like 24 year old Walker Buehler to play a big part in getting the Dodgers their first World Championship since 1988 (Photo, Dodger Blue).

Tomorrow: Sweet 16 Predictions

2019 MLB pump up video

Alabama Basketball

The Crimson Tide has hired Nate Oats as their next head basketball coach.

Oats replaces Avery Johnson. Oats, 44, coached Buffalo for 4 seasons compiling a 96-43 overall record and 3 NCAA appearances. His last 2 teams have advanced to the second round of the tournament, defeating Arizona last year and Arizona State this year before falling to a highly talented Texas Tech team on Sunday in the second round.

Looks like a good hire to me.

Winner at the Valspar Championship

I’m going to take my man from Vanderbilt University. He finished T-5 last week at the Players 3 shots back of Rory, who finished -16. The 38 year old shot 69, 72, 65, 69 for -13. I like the way he’s trending.

Brandt Snedeker

Darkhorse

Ollie Schniederjans

Give me Sneds on the Copperhead Course in Tampa (Photo, Golf Digest).

Give me Sneds on the Copperhead Course in Tampa (Photo, Golf Digest).

2019 NCAA Tournament Bracket

Coach K goes for National Championship No.6 after championships in 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010 and 2015 (Photo, Football Scoop).

Coach K goes for National Championship No.6 after championships in 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010 and 2015 (Photo, Football Scoop).

After months of exhaustive research and development, multiple hikes coupled with deep thinking at Oak Mountain State Park, interviews with sports psychologists throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico, transcendental meditation for total relaxation and focus, and conferences with my pastor about these tremendously difficult decisions, here is my 2019 NCAA tournament bracket.

Will the Blue Bloods prevail or will a team like that nun team last year, Loyola-Chicago, pull off a Cinderella Story and bust up brackets.

Enclosed are White’s World’s predictions for this spectacle in March called March Madness.

Bracket 2019

The 46th Players Championship, SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, PAC 12 conference tourney predictions

Tiger tries to win here again after winning in 2001 and 2013 (Photo, Syracuse.com).

Tiger tries to win here again after winning in 2001 and 2013 (Photo, Syracuse.com).

The Players Championship

TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida (7,189 yards, Par 72)

Architect, Pete Dye

Defending champion; Webb Simpson. Shot 18 under to win be 4 shots over Charl Schwartzel, Xander Schauffele and Jimmy Walker. Doubled the 72nd hole to shoot 73, but shot 66, 63, 68 to have a commanding lead heading into the back 9 on Sunday.

Last week: Francesco Molinari shot 64 on Sunday at the Arnie Invitational to win it. Molinari was 5 shots behind Matthew Fitzpatrick heading into Sunday, but posted a 64 early, and the lead held. Molinari finished -12 and won by 2 shots over Fitzpatrick. He has now won 3 times in his last 12 starts on the PGA Tour including winning the 147th Open Championship at Carnoustie last year by 2 shots over Kevin Kisner, Rory, Justin Rose and Schauffele.

Key holes:

No.9, Par 5, 583 yards

This hole is considered by many to be one of the finest par 5’s in the country. A large lake and bunker to the right of the fairway collect wayward drives while woods to the left hinder second shots. Second shots are critical here as a long iron or fairway wood are required to go to the right side of the fairway.. To the left, a fairway bunker and large oak trees crowd the small second shot landing area. The green is narrow and slopes severely from the front to the back right. A severely steep bunker guards the left side and the backside of the green. This can make or break an outward 9.

No. 12, Par 4, 302 yards

Redesigned in 2017. players can go for this hole, but it’s not without its perils. A lake guards the left front of the hole, so a player going for the green has to contend with that. An overcooked drive will be in the water. There is a large bunker the players will need to clear on the left side of the fairway. There is a landing area that stretches 100 yards to the green over the bunker. The green slopes severely towards the water, so good approaches and chips will be at a premium

No.16, Par 5, 523

This short par 5 will give many players the opportunity to reach the green in 2. A fairway wood or long iron will be required for the second shot. There is water on the right, a bunker front right and a challenging landing area with trees on the left where up and down can be tough. The pin on Sunday is usually in the front right portion of the green inviting players to go at it but with the fear factor of going in the water or the sand, though the sand can be managed for the most part, but the players could be short sided in the bunker making for a difficult up and down. A birdie here will be necessary for a player leading the tournament or in contention. An eagle would be exceptional as danger lurks on the next hole.

No. 17, Par 3, 137 yards

This is arguably the most famous hole in golf. The island hole requires the player using anywhere from an 7 to 8 iron to a sand wedge depending on the wind. It’s March, so it’s more windy with winds at 10-15 all weekend, but good weather overall. But the wind WILL be a factor and with the pressure ramped up to the max, this will test the player’s nerves and fortitude. Should be a fantastic watch on Sunday.

No.18, Par 4, 462

An awesome finishing hole, the most exciting in golf besides the majors. If the leader or contender survives the island hole, this hole presents another massive challenge off the tee. Water runs all along the left side of the hole, and with wind gusting right to left that could be problematic. There’s an oak tree 280 yards out on the right and if the player hits it right, he’s going to have to contend with the trees where a bogey is certainly in the cards. You’ve just got to hit it straight or hit it right to left without contending with the water. Players might try to cut it over the lake, but that could turn out to be costly. The second shot will be highly pressurized, and is critical to winning the tournament. If the leader gets it on, and he’s not close, he’ll have to 2 putt to win, and that’s no guarantee, as 2 putts from distance are challenging. After the elite and treacherous 17th, the 18th leads to spectacular drama.

Weather

Pretty nice. Sunny most days with a chance of showers Saturday. Highs in the mid to high 70’s Thursday and Friday, a little cooler on Saturday and Sunday with temperatures in the mid 60’s. That could impact shots on 17 with the cooler March air. Winds at 10-16 will be a factor.

TV:

Thursday-Friday: 12-6 PM CT, Golf Channel

Saturday: 1-6 PM CT, NBC

Sunday: 12-5 PM, NBC

Winner

This is maybe the most unpredictable tournament in golf. This stat is pretty telling. Dustin Johnson, 10 starts, 0 top 10’s. Justin Rose, 15 starts, 1 Top 10. Brooks Koepka, 4 starts, 0 Top 10’s. Justin Thomas, 4 starts, 1 top 10.

It doesn’t favor the power hitter. It’s more about accuracy and the short game.

All those guys will be in the hunt. I don’t like Tiger’s chances. His neck kept him out of the Arnie and he struggles physically these days. His putting has been pretty lousy too lately. He had 66 putts in the last 2 rounds at the WGC Mexico Championship. He’s working with a putting coach now, Matt Killen, who’s worked with guys like JT and J.B. Holmes and has had reasonable success with them. I don’t see that being enough for Tiger this week. I don’t see Phil in the hunt either.

While it’s an unpredictable tournament, I’ve got to predict it, so I’ll go with the hottest player in the world right now, and, as my man Walter Pittman says, I’m going to take a big bowl of-

Francesco Molinari

Like Molinari to be hoisting the trophy Sunday evening at TPC Sawgrass (Photo, Golf Digest).

Like Molinari to be hoisting the trophy Sunday evening at TPC Sawgrass (Photo, Golf Digest).

College basketball conference championship predictions

SEC Tournament

Semifinals, Noon and 2:30 PM CT Saturday, ESPN

In the semis, I like the Auburn Tigers to defeat the LSU Bengal Tigers, 76-74. The Auburn Tigers are hot going 3-0 in March with victories over State and UT at home and a road victory over the Crimson Tide, and the upheaval at LSU with the Will Wade suspension will be too much for the Bengal Tigers to overcome.

In the other semi, I like the Kentucky Wildcats to reach the finals again defeating the Tennessee Vols, 70-67.

Championship Game

Sunday, Noon CT, ESPN, Bridgestone Arena, Nashville

I think it’ll be great to be an Auburn Tiger on Sunday. Pearly and the Tigers defeat Kentucky after losing twice to them during the regular season. It’s really hard to beat a team 3 times. Just ask No.1 Gonzaga, which had crushed Saint Mary’s in the regular season both times only to lose last night in the West Coast Conference Championship game, 60-47. Like Pearl and the Tigers.

Auburn 78, Kentucky 76

Pearl and the Tigers capture the SEC Championship (Photo, Sports Illustrated).

Pearl and the Tigers capture the SEC Championship (Photo, Sports Illustrated).

ACC Championship

Saturday, 7:30 PM CT, ESPN,

Spectrum Center, Charlotte

Virginia 72, Duke 70

BIG Ten Championship, United Center, Chicago.

Sunday, 2:30 PM CT, CBS

Michigan 72, Michigan State 68

BIg 12 Championship

Saturday, 5 PM CT, ESPN, Sprint Center, Kansas City

Texas Tech 62, Kansas State 58

PAC-12 Championship

Saturday, 9:30 PM CT ESPN T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas

Arizona State 82, Washington 80

Baseball with a very good week, plays today, Corbs captures victory No. 800, McDonald earns 500th at VU, Astra Sharma with elite play, men’s golf news, basketball

Ethan Paul had a huge week last week at the plate (Photo, Youtube).

Ethan Paul had a huge week last week at the plate (Photo, Youtube).

Coach Tim Corbin secured his 800th career victory Sunday in our 9-1 victory over Illinois State in the first game of a doubleheader. We were defeated in the second game, 7-3, breaking a 7 game winning streak, but went 4-1 for the week with some impressive hitting and pitching and solid defense once again.

Corbs has now won 694 games at Vanderbilt and won 106 games at Presbyterian. What a coach.

The team had a very impressive week with a 24-2 win over Davidson, a 12-4 victory over East Tennessee State, and took 2 of 3 from Illinois State, 10-4 on Friday Night, 9-1 in the first game Sunday, as Saturday was washed out, before falling 7-3 in the nightcap. We are now 13-3 and D1 Baseball.com, Baseball America, and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) all have us ranked No.1. Collegiate Baseball News has us at No.4 with Florida State at No.1.

Right fielder J.J. Bleday is hitting a sizzling .415 with 6 homers and 20 Ribeyes, both team leading stats. Shortstop Ethan Paul had a super week last week hitting .388, 7 for 18, and is now hitting .413 with 2 homers and 19 Ribbies and playing terrific at short. Left fielder Cooper Davis is hitting .379 and is 3 for 4 in the stolen base department. Stephen Scott is hitting .345 with a homer and 17 Ribbies. Harrison Ray and Jayson Gonzalez are now starting at 2nd and 3rd respectively as 2nd baseman Austin Martin has been suspended indefinitely for an internal team discipline matter. They are taking advantage of their opportunities. Jayson is hitting .333 with a homer and 6 RBIs, while Harrison, who had taken over 3rd base, but was moved to 2nd when Martin was suspended this past Sunday, has hit .294 and is 5 for 5 in stolen bases. Harrison’s also been excellent in the field. Jayson played well with the glove on Sunday. He’s had his issues at times, but he’s got the ability to be a strong 3rd baseman.

Patrick Raby is still on fire. After going 6 innings, giving up 4 hits, with one earned run, a walk and 5 K’s, Rabes moved to 3-0 on the season with an 0.87 ERA. Rabes has walked 9 and K’d 20. He’s been superb. Drake Fellows is also 3-0 but has a 5,32 ERA. He’s walked 10 and K’d 36. Drake needs to get that ERA down, but he and Rabes are serious strike throwers and that’s where effective pitching starts. Like where we’re at on Friday and Saturday with Drake and Rabes respectively. Sunday, we’re still working to figure out. Zach King strikes out a lot of people, but he can’t seem to get through the 3rd inning without being hit. So we’ll need to find a solution there. I’d give Kumar Rocker another shot or even Tyler Brown. Both are hard throwing and accurate. Like either one of those guys as options.

The defense has been very good recently. We have committed only 7 errors in 16 games and we’re fielding at a .988 clip, while our opponents are fielding at .958. Would like to see us turn the double play a little better, but overall solid stuff on defense.

We play 12-3 Samford today at 6:30 PM CT on SEC Network+ which can be streamed on the ESPN app or Watch ESPN on the computer. Samford has won 10 in a row so they will be a formidable opponent. Right hander Chance Huff takes the hill for us. Chance is 2-0 with a 5.87 ERA. He will face right hander Gene Hurst for the Bulldogs who is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA.

This weekend we head to College Station to open the SEC season facing the 19th ranked Aggies of Texas A&M. Friday’s first pitch is at 6:30 PM CT, Saturday’s middle game is set for 2 PM CT, and Sunday’s game is scheduled for a 1 PM CT first pitch. All 3 games will be streamed on SEC Network+.

McDonald earns 500th Career victory at Vanderbilt

The great McDonald captures victory No.500 at VU (Photo, Vanderbilt Athletics).

The great McDonald captures victory No.500 at VU (Photo, Vanderbilt Athletics).

The awesome Geoff McDonald secured his 500th career victory at Vanderbilt with 4-0 victory over Alabama Sunday in Tuscaloosa. Geoff has been an incredible ambassador for the university in his 25 years at the helm of VU women’s tennis, and the tennis victories just keep piling up with the superb McDonald in charge. Fernanda Contreras, Georgia Drummy, and Amanda Meyer were all victorious in singles Sunday and we also took the doubles point. We had defeated Auburn last Friday at Auburn, 4-1. We are ranked No.5 in the country and Fernanda is ranked 3rd nationally in singles. The new ITA rankings come out today, so will update if there is any change in our’s and Fernanda’s ranking. Geoff just keeps on cookin. We’ve got an awesome team that just keeps getting better and better. Next up we play at No.21 Texas A&M this Friday at 5 PM CT, and then we’re @ No.15 LSU on Sunday at Noon CT. They can be streamed if you go to the VU Women’s Tennis twitter handle and go to the link to the matches. Or you can probably find it on vucommodores.com. The Vanderbilt Women’s Tennis twitter handle is that if you type it in the search bar on Twitter. I’ll have a report Monday.

We’re very fortunate to have Corbs, Geoff, Scott Limbaugh, Bryce Drew, Derek Mason and all of our stellar coaches.

Astra claims singles and doubles titles in Mexico

Astra Sharma tearing it up on the pro circuit (Photo, The West Australian).

Astra Sharma tearing it up on the pro circuit (Photo, The West Australian).

The phenomenal Astra Sharma won both the singles and doubles titles at the International Tennis Federation tournament in Irapuato, Mexico. Astra defeated former world No.73 Veronica Cepede Royg, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 to capture the singles championship. Astra improved her singles record to 9-3 this year. She and her doubles partner Paige Hourigan defeated Cepede Royg and Renata Voracova to capture the doubles title.

Astra sits at No.160 in the world and is projected to move up to No.143 as she keeps cookin in her attempt to play in the second major of the year, the French Open, May 26th through June 9th and then the Championships at Wimbledon in late June, early July. Astra wants to capture more titles. Her journey has been extraordinary so far with her qualifying to play in the Australian Open by winning 3 matches, winning a singles match at the Australian Open and making it to the finals at Melbourne in the mixed doubles.

Awesome stuff from Astra.

Men’s Golf in a loaded tournament starting this Sunday

Scott Limbaugh takes his No.3 ranked Men’s Golf Team (Golfstat rankings) down to Palm City, Florida to compete in the Valspar Collegiate Championship. Coach Limbaugh and assistant Gator Todd will have their team squaring off against No.1 Oklahoma State, No.2 Duke, No.6 Wake Forest, No.8 Texas, No.9 Georgia Tech, No.12 LSU, No.15 Auburn, and No.23 Texas A&M among others. Wow. Hoping for a great result from our team though. We know we’ll get a good performance from the nation’s No.6 ranked player, Will Gordon, and probably from studs Patrick Martin and John Augenstein. We just need some of the younger guys to step up like Harrison Ott, Mason Greenberg and Reid Davenport among others. Good test for the team.

The tournament starts this Sunday, 3-17, and runs through next Tuesday, 3-19. Will keep you posted on the men’s progress.

Men’s Basketball vs Texas A&M

Our team takes the floor tomorrow (Wed) at 8 to 8:30 PM CT versus Texas A&M in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. The game will be televised by the SEC Network. It’s been a tough season, but the future looks bright and we’ve got a new season starting tomorrow night. Excited to see the guys compete. Will give a report Thursday if we’re successful.

Bucky, Trendon, Alex, Lior, 1 on 1

The historically good 2019 Mountain Brook basketball team (Photo, Patch).

The historically good 2019 Mountain Brook basketball team (Photo, Patch).

The Mountain Brook Spartans completed a phenomenal season finishing off a 3rd straight state championship last Saturday Night with a 61-42 victory over Baker of Mobile. The Spartans compiled a 31-3 record and are the first team in the state’s highest classification to win 3 state championships in a row. That dates back to 1950. Not only that, the Spartans also finished their season ranked 5th in the country by USA Today’s Super 25 rankings with victories over No.1 IMG Academy out of Bradenton, Florida, 72-67, in the City of Palms Tournament in Fort Myers Florida on December 28th. IMG featured 3, 5 stars and 2, 4 stars who are attending blue chip college programs. It was a phenomenal victory for the team. The great Trendon Watford outplayed all 5 of the IMG players scoring 38 points. It was a tremendous individual performance from the 5 star.

The Spartans also defeated Memphis East, 51-47, on January 26th in the Hot Bed Classic in Mississippi. Memphis East featured the No.1 player in country, James Wiseman, who is 7’0”, 210, and will be playing at Memphis under Penny Hardaway. Also on that team was 4 star Malcolm Dandridge, 6’8”, 245, who will also be playing for Memphis. Another key victory for the Spartans on a national level was the 56-53 victory over Olive Branch of Mississippi at the Lighthouse Classic in Mississippi on November 24th, a team which featured 98, 4 star D. J. Jeffries, a 6’4”, 218 pound shooting guard, who is also going to Memphis.

Then the Spartans navigated the state and came through in the clutch, particularly in the semifinal game of the state championships last Thursday when Alex Washington drained four 3 pointers in a row to bring the Spartans back from a 6 point deficit in the 3rd quarter and lead them to a 59-48 victory.

I spoke with Coach McMillan along with 3 of his star seniors, Trendon Watford, Alex Washington and Lior Berman and got their insights on the season and the magnitude of being the first team ever in the state to win 3 state championships in a row.

Here’s what they all had to say.

Coach McMillan

DW: What did you guys do after you won the state for the third time in a row?

Bucky: We went up to Mafioso’s in Crestline Village, we had a big party up there, it was fun. We do it every time.

DW: What is it like to win 3 in a row now and 5 in the last 7 years?

Bucky: I was telling someone this. When you look at it now, this team was such a great team. We were top 5 in the country. This was how good this team was. We didn’t play our best basketball in the last 2 games. Watching the last half of the last game, compare it to where it started (11 years ago) and we were happy to get out of the area tournament. We won the state championship by 19, and I thought we could have played a lot better than that. That’s just how good this team was. We found a way to get it done in the last game. Baker pulled a couple of upsets to get there. It was a great run by those guys. We were probably having too much fun when we got up by 20. When you play in these games, Lee Montgomery is just so athletic, they get you to play ugly and you just got to get through it. There have been a lot of teams with players like Trendon Watford. DeMarcus Cousins (LeFlore, Mobile) Eric Bledsoe (Parker) Robert Horry, (Andalusia) Charles Barkley (Leeds), Gerald Wallace (Childersburg), and all of these guys they never won a state championship. All these guys went on to the NBA. It’s just not a given because you have a great player and very good players that you’ll do it, and particularly to win it 3 times in a row, those players have to have something special about them. When they do face adversity, they play well. When they aren’t playing their best, they continue to play defense and guard. That was the strength of our team, no one in the playoffs could get to 50 on us. You hold teams under 50 and sometimes under 40, and the teams can’t get to 50 and I’m pretty sure our guys are going to get to 50 somehow, and you can win even when you’re shooting poorly. We were 1 for 16 from 3 (versus Baker) and finally sank a 3 in the last minute against to go 2 for 17. That’s the great part about it. When they’re not playing their best offensively, they guard and grind and look good doing it. You’re playing Vestavia for the fourth time and James Clemsons, you can slip up, and our guys wouldn’t let that happen. In 2017, we’re playing Gadsen City and it’s a tie game with under a minute left and they have the ball and we have to get the ball back and score, and we score and we make a free throw and we win by 1 in that game. That was in 2017, the regional semifinals, the Sweet 16. And then the Elite 8 we’re down 6 or 7 to Huffman with 3 minutes left in the game and we come back and we win that. And the next one, we’re down 1 to McGill Toolen (in the Final Four) with about 2 minutes left to go in the game and we win that game and come back to win the championship. In 2018, we’re playing Huffman in the regional finals, Elite Eight game, and the lead changes or is tied 32 different times and we never had more than a 4 point lead, neither team did. And in the last 2 minutes of the game we pulled it out and won 78-71. We went on to the Civic Center and played really well. Then this year, we had to face some adversity against Lee. We were down 6 points with 2 minutes left in the third quarter. We didn’t have much rhythm, they were doing a great job defensively and we had to have something different so Alex Washington makes five 3’s, 4 to end the game when we just had to have it. And so we win that game. We went against Baker who we could usually beat. People forget all those other games where it could have gone the other way and you looked dead to rights, and our guys came through and won it. So we found a way. You don’t hear much about guys 3-peating because they have an off game and slip up, they don’t win those 50-50 games, they don’t come back from 6 or 7 down with 3 minutes left. So it’s more about the culmination of all 3 of those years and being in those tough games and coming out on top.

DW: It’s hard to beat Vestavia 4 times in a year like you did this year.

Bucky: Yes, there was a lot of pressure in the regional finals because we had already beaten them 3 times. We got up on’em 32-11 at halftime. We came out making every shot, playing well, and just getting it done.

DW: What is Trendon’s legacy at Mountain Brook and what does his future look like in the college game and in professional basketball?

Bucky: He has such a legacy at Mountain Brook because of the great success he had here. He is a 2 time Mr Basketball right now and you gotta assume he’s got a great chance to be that guy again. Gatorade player of the year 2 years in a row and he’ll be that again this year. He’s a McDonald’s All American, my goodness, Mountain Brook has a McDonald’s All American and he’s been offered by about every school in the country and he’s been talking to Coach K a lot in the past few days. So his legacy as a player is just phenomenal. He wasn’t just a good player, he also did a lot for this school by not only being successful himself on the floor, but also by helping the team be successful. It wasn’t like he was player of the year, McDonald’s All American and won a lot of awards but the team didn’t do great. He was part of a great team and made the team great. One thing people forget, we’ve played 6 state championships in the last 7 years and Trendon’s played in 3 of them. Trendon didn’t play in the other 3. We played in 3 before Trendon got here. The culture has done a lot for Trendon Trendon’s first year on the team in 2016 as a ninth grader, we lose in a Sweet 16 game. I remember he and I walked off the court and he told me I never want to feel this again. And he made sure he didn’t.

DW: How do you see his college future and beyond that?

Bucky: I just think the sky’s the limit. He’s got the size. He’s a prototype. He can play a guard position, he’s 6’9”, with a 7’2”, wingspan. And he can dribble it and he can shoot it. He didn’t shoot it great from 3 at the Civic Center, but he’s become a really good 3 point shooter. And he’s got great handles and he’s a great passer. He can guard the perimeter, he can guard down low. It’s not like he’s a great high school player whose size will not translate. Sometimes you have a great high school player who’s a 6’4” center and he’s a bulldog, But the problem is how many 6’4” centers are in the NBA? He’s never going to be outsized. He’s going to be a 6’9”, 2, 3 or 4. So he’s going to be able to always be the biggest guy at his position.

DW: How much does he weigh?

Bucky: People ask me that all the time, I don’t know weights, I don’t know our players’ weights.

DW: Do you care about that, does that matter?

Bucky: I just care about their strength. In basketball it’s not as much about weight as it is strength. That’s been one of his biggest deals, is the weight room. He’s just become a much better athlete. He’s come into his own as an athlete.

DW : Do you feel like Duke is getting real attractive to him?

Bucky: I do. We’ll know if he’ll go for a visit coming up. It’s moving in the right direction.

DW: When will the 7A player of the year be announced?

Bucky: They’ll do it in the next month or so. They’ll do Gatorade player of the year and Mr. Basketball. But Mr. Basketball is the best honor along with the McDonald’s All American Game. (Wednesday, March 27th in Atlanta at 6 PM CT on ESPN2, best high school players in the country competing).

DW: I bet you’re excited to see him play in the McDonald’s?

Bucky: I can’t wait. I get to coach Trendon again on March 15th ( a week from tomorrow ) in the Alabama-Mississippi all star game. I’m coaching the Alabama team. He’s playing obviously. That was my first pick. (***Bucky said that didn’t take much thought). Ten days later he’ll play in the McDonalds game in Atlanta. It’s such a cool thing because they’re practicing, the NBA scouts are there, its’ a great opportunity.

DW: Do you think he’ll be a 1 and done kind of player or do you want to see how he develops?

Bucky: You just never know. I can’t definitely say he won’t be. You can’t ever say definitely. I couldn’t say if LeBron went to college that he’d be a 1 and done. You just never know.

DW: What about the play of Alex in the semifinals and Lior in both games?

Bucky: Alex, for his first couple of years, was not a great shooter. He was an adequate shooter. Sometimes he was so quick they would take their chances with him shooting it because that was the best way to guard him. Well he did everything else, driving it, passing, defending that shooting probably was the weakest part of his game. Well he turned the weakest part of his game into his strength this year. He shot 47% from the 3 point line and that’s up there at the top of the state. We had to have that in the Lee game. They were double and triple teaming Trendon. We were off. Some plays we normally make, we missed a layup. So we had to have it. Nobody was making 3’s and we were missing layups. They were trapping like crazy. It wasn’t about as a coach calling plays. There were 3 minutes left in the third and we called a timeout and I told them don’t look at me to call a play. Somebody is going to have to make a play besides Trendon for us to win this game or we’re not going to win this game. If we’re making plays and we go down swinging we can live with that. But someone has to step up and make some plays. And Alex goes off. He makes four 3’s in the last 10 minutes of the game. We weren’t going to get much at the rim. Alex stepped up there behind the 3 and said I’ll get this done and he did.

Lior Berman came out in the high pressure game and performed. Some of our juniors felt a little pressure and turned the ball over some, and Lior decided, hey, I’m going to the rack. He played against a team that was as athletic as we’ve played. And he kept us up by 4 at halftime. One thing about Lior, he’s not afraid of the big stage. The bigger the game, the better he’s played. That goes all the way back to his 10th grade year. In that Gadsden City game, our senior went out with 4 fouls and Lior stepped up in that game. He did the same thing as an 11th grader. And as a senior. The bigger the stage, the better he’s played.

DW: Finally what does all this mean to you personally?

Bucky: It’s something that can never be taken away no matter what. If I was in an accident and I couldn’t coach another basketball game, I would know that from 2013-19, that was the greatest run in big school high school basketball history. And for that to happen in a place I’m coaching and to happen at the place not only where I’m coaching, but where I grew up going to games, where I played, a place I love and I live in, that means so much to me. It just makes me so proud for the community. When I get texts, it’s not just from the players, I got 300 texts in the past couple of days, and it’s not just from players or past players, it’s from random people that I know through someone else. They say I got your number from someone else and I came to the game and lived in this community for 35 years and the community is so proud. And that’s what’s unique to me. It’s not just the team being proud and the school being proud, it’s that the community and past Spartans are so proud of the group and what we’ve accomplished. And that’s remarkable. And there are 2 things I want to say. You know we won it in 2013 and I was very proud of the team. But when I first started coaching in 2008-09, we had a group that came in there and the year before they were 8-18,. My first year we won 18 games. And they would not be remembered for holding up the championship trophy, but they were the team and the group that laid the foundation for what Mountain Brook basketball was going to be the next 10-11 years. Their talent level wasn’t what this group is. But the heart, the fight, the effort that is imprinted in our program started with all the players in that group. And we were good in 2010, we were top 5 in the state. In 2011 and 2012, we were a top 5 team in the state. And we kept getting further and further. We finally figured out how to get out of the area, OK let’s get out of the sub regional game, we got past the subregional. Then we get to the regionals and keep getting beaten in the regionals, and finally we take it a step further, and in 2013 we knock the door down. They would have never knocked the door down without those previous groups that came along. We just kept taking it a little bit further. Now some of those guys won’t get all credit, but 4 guys who will get credit are these 4. In big school basketball no team has never won 3 in a row since the inception of big school basketball. That dates back to 1950. That means that Alex Washington, Trendon Watford, Lior Berman and Paulie Stramaglia were 4 players on all 3 of those teams. Those are the only 4 players in big school history who have won 3 high school championships in a row. But it’s gotta get back to the guys who started in 2009. That’s how we got to where we are today.

DW: What’s next for you, I know you have Alabama-Mississippi, but what about next year how does that look?

Bucky: We’re going to be good next year. We lose a great group but these (juniors) have a big ceiling next year. We’re going to bring back Paulie Stramaglia, who’s coming off a knee injury this season, and he’ll be a Division 1 point guard. We have Colby Jones who’ll be a Division 1 player. Holt Bashinsky will be a college basketball player. Peyton Haley will be a college basketball player. He’ll be back. I’ll have 7 players back. We’ve got Alex Belk, Edward Reed and Carter Sobera. So those 7 will come back and it’ll be a great nucleus of players. I think we’ll be really good. We won’t be as tall, we’ll have to go back to playing like we did in 2013, but there will be a lot more pressing and trapping. It’ll be a lot faster. It’s fun though.

DW: Will you have to shoot it better next year though you shot well this year?

Bucky: We’ll be more reliant on shooting 3’s that’s for sure. We’ll shoot a lot more 3’s in games. We didn’t have to this year.

DW: Will you have a good 3 point shooting team next year?

Bucky: We will. We’ll shoot it at a very high clip. The great thing about this team is that we shot it 2 for 17 from 3 (in the state championship game) and won by 19. That’s a positive. Next year we may not have that luxury.

DW: You’ll definitely be back next year?

Bucky: Yes, I’ve been waiting for this group to come through for a long time.

DW: You must be excited about this group.

Bucky: We’ve got a bunch of guys that play basketball all the time. It’s what they do. Some groups do well at baseball, some groups may be a good football group, some group may be good at all 3. But this group I know they’ve always been good at basketball.

Trendon Watford

The great Trendon, a consensus 5 star, is down to 5 schools after averaging 24 points, 12 rebounds and 3 1/2 assists this season along with several blocked shots. For his 4 year career, Watford scored 3,579 points, 6th all time and most in the highest classification, he pulled down 1,915 rebounds, the most all time in Alabama high school basketball history. His choices are Duke, Alabama, LSU, Memphis and Indiana. Here’s what Trendon had to say.

DW: I know you guys were tested both on a national and state level, but what does it mean to win 3 state championships?

TW: It meant the world to us. We definitely came in every day and worked hard in practice. We showed them how hard we worked and how hard work pays off.

DW: Do you feel like you played your best in the state championship tournament?

TW: No, definitely not, definitely not.

DW: You and your team accomplished so much. What was your mindset heading into the state championship tournament (The Final Four)?

TW: We wanted to treat it like every other game. We didn’t want to treat it like a state championship game or a Final Four game. We just try to treat every game like it’s the same. And I just feel like we didn’t shoot the ball very well. But I thought we played defense at a top level, and I think that helped us when we weren’t playing that well on offense. We really played some defense.

DW: You got a lot of rebounds in those games, were you happy about that?

TW: I definitely had to do everything the team needed me to do especially in the Final Four game because it was hard keeping Lee Montgomery off the glass. So I just had to step up and rebound.

DW: Do you feel like when your shot’s not falling you try to do other things well?

TW: My shot wasn’t falling and a lot of the other shots weren’t falling. We definitely had to guard and board and we did that well.

DW: Where do you think your game is headed into the next chapter of your career?

TW: I definitely need to get better at things. I’m going to work a lot this summer and get ready for the next level.

DW: Trendon, that IMG game was quite a victory for your team. How did that game go and what did it mean to you and your team to come out victorious?

TW: It meant a lot to us and a lot to me. I was going against some guys who were ranked ahead of me and ranked below me. I definitely looked forward to that game and my team did also. We played pretty well that game. It was a win and a good win for our team.

DW: Those guys were all highly ranked players , like you said, a couple above you, a couple below you. What did you all think going into that game was there an intimidation factor or where you guys pretty confident?

TW: We were pretty confident. We came out there with a nothing to lose mentality, and we just went out there and played hard. That’s how we treated it.

DW: What was you guys’ reaction when you won that game? That had to be an incredible feeling.

TW: We definitely were excited. We knocked off the No.1 team in the country. They hadn’t lost a game and they still haven’t lost a game since that game. We definitely had fun afterwards.

DW: I know there’s a national tournament in California that can decide the national champion in high school basketball. Do you wish you guys were there?

TW: Yeah, I definitely wish we were there. We were invited, but can’t play (***note: due to an Alabama High School Association rule that protects Alabama athletes academically). I haven’t though about it that much, but I definitely wish we could play in it.

DW: Now you have the Alabama-Mississippi game (next week). How much are you looking forward to that one?

TW: I haven’t thought a lot about it, but my head coach is coaching in it, so I look forward to it.

DW: Then you play in the McDonald’s All American game (Wednesday, March 27th, 6 PM CT ESPN2, in Atlanta). How big of a deal is that for you?

TW: That’s a really big deal to me. It means a lot from my high school career. A lot of guys i know are playing in that game.

DW: What players are you looking forward to facing in that game?

TW: I’ve faced a lot of those guys, so I’m very excited about it, playing on that stage in the State Farm Arena. Yeah, I’m very excited about it.

DW: Do you think you’ll announce your college decision in that game?

TW: I might. I haven’t really thought about it, but I might.

DW: I know Coach K has called you a couple of times, how does that feel?

TW: It feels good to hear from the Duke staff and Duke in general feels good.

DW: What are they telling you? Have they offered?

TW: They haven’t officially offered, but they talked about me playing in the future. They’re getting ready to play in a conference tournament, but it’s good to be hearing from them some.

DW: You have a final 5, Alabama, LSU, Indiana, Duke and Memphis. Tell me about each one. ‘First of all lets go with Alabama, what do you like about them?

TW: They’ve been recruiting me since the 8th grade. They were the first school to recruit me and offer me a scholarship. I like Coach Avery Johnson and the staff there.

DW: What about LSU?

TW: I like Coach Will Wade. I like what he’s doing. He’s got his team in the top 15, top 10 of the country, and he knows what he’s doing.

DW: What about Memphis.

TW: I have a strong relationship with Coach Penny (Hardaway) and Coach Mike Miller. I enjoyed my visit there and I like that school a lot.

DW: What about Duke.

TW: I haven’t really been able to visit up there but I like the way they play. Coach K is one of the greatest coaches ever.

DW: And what about Indiana

TW: My brother played there (Christian) and I have a lot of family ties up there. Really like it up there.

DW: What’s your brother up to now. What’s Christian doing?

TW: He’s playing with the Raptors 905 team, their G League team.

***Note: Christian was a standout at Shades Valley High School in the first decade of the 2000’s. He played for Tom Crean at Indiana and fell one game short of going to the Final Four his senior season. He had a stellar college career, and now, at 28, is still trying to make it in the NBA playing in the triple A of the Toronto Raptors organization.***

DW: Do you have a timeline when you’ll make a decision for college?

TW: No, I do not.

DW: How do you feel about it, do you feel pressure or do you feel kind of relaxed about it?

TW: I feel relaxed about it. I wanted to finish my high school career, and now I can take it in my own time.

DW: Have you enjoyed the process of recruiting?

TW: Yeah, I’ve definitely enjoyed it.

DW: Finally, what are you doing now? How much are you and your team enjoying this accomplishment of a 3 peat?

TW: A lot of our guys are excited about it. We’re definitely enjoying it. It was a heckuva season.

Alex Washington

DW: Alex, tell me what does it mean to you to win 3 in a row?

AW: It just means the world. Coming back from all the adversity, it means a lot for sure.

DW: What kind of adversity did you and your team have to go through?

AW: My first year we were here, we went out in the first round (2016). At Mountain Brook, we’re used to going to the BJCC every year. We went over there and we lost, and everybody’s asking us what happened. So that motivated us even more to go on and win 3 more.

DW: Did you feel pressure with that?

AW: There’s always pressure with that, but inside the community everybody supported us.. So mostly it was internal pressure.

DW: How do you respond to those expectations?

AW: I kind of like it because it pushes us. We’re going to be the best we can be, so that definitely pushes us.

DW: Alex, tell me about yourself. You got hot in the semifinal game making four 3’s in a row and 5 for 5 from 3 for the game. What was going on there, was the basket looking pretty big?

AW: Yeah, I just noticed they were doubling Trendon, so I kept getting open and let’er rip. I made 2 and then I thought, all right I’ve got to keep shooting, I think I’m hot.

DW: You guys played an amazing schedule and the IMG win was memorable with Trendon’s 38. Tell me about that game and how it went.

AW: Coach Bucky did a great job game planning all week. All before the game, he was telling us, we’ve got to get’em to play our game not their game. We all had faith that we could win. It was kind of a surprise, but not really because we all knew what we could do in that game.

DW: So you guys felt good going into that game?

AW: Yes sir. We followed the game plan to a T. And made them play a game they weren’t used to playing and it worked out great.

DW: What did you all do exactly?

AW: They’re really talented, and they’re a real transition team. But when they have to guard for long periods of time, they don’t like that. So we just spread them out and made them come out and guard us. They had a big dude who couldn’t really guard Trendon, so we spread them out made them come guard us, we slowed down their transition game, and closed on their shooters, So that did it.

DW: So you guys played more of a half court game in that game?

AW: Yes sir.

DW: Tell me how’s it been playing with Alex, Lior and your senior class?

AW: I love it. We are so close in our senior class. We’re close as a team but especially with our seniors. I just feel like it’s been a blessing playing with them, and seeing us grow into something is pretty cool.

DW: How has it been playing for Coach McMillan?

AW: It’s been great. He brings the best out of us on the court and off the court. He’s going to stay on you no matter if you get 38 or whatever. You’re still going to have to play defense. He’s a genius coach.

DW: What game did you think, well we have a special team, any time in the season?

AW: It was really the City of Palms (where the Spartans defeated IMG in December) because we went there for a week and everybody on the team just bonded. So after that, we had a special group that cared about each other and knew we could win some games.

DW: You played McEachern (of Georgia, No.2 team in the country, 50-29 loss) the next night. What happened in that game?

AW: We had tired legs. We played the night before (against IMG) at 9 and then the next night at 7, so we really didn’t have time to recover. But everybody was just gassed, so it wasn’t our best performance.

DW: Do you think this is the best Mountain Brook team you’ve played on?

AW: Oh yeah, for sure.

DW: What’s made this team so good?

AW: I feel like everybody can play. If you take out Trendon, somebody else can play. We had so much depth. Everybody is really good. We also love playing together. Our chemistry is amazing.

DW: Well tell me about going to Harvard (on a football scholarship) what’s that like?

AW: I’m excited. It’s definitely a dream come true. I’ve been wanting to go to the Ivy League for a long time. I know it’s going to prepare me for the future, so I’m really excited.

DW: Are you going to play both football and basketball there?

AW: I’m still thinking about it. It would be a lot to keep up my school work and play both sports, so I’m still debating it.

DW: Will you play one sport for sure.

AW: i’m going to play football for sure.

DW: And you’re a cornerback aren’t you?

AW: Yes sir.

DW: I saw you, you were quite a cornerback. Your grades must be fantastic, you must have done well in the classroom. How are your grades.

AW: My parents did a good job of making me do my best. And I’ve tried my best to do well in school.

***Alex carries a 3.9 GPA and scored a 28 on his ACT. He also just won a state art award.***

DW: What’s next for you, what do you have cookin?

AW: I’m taking a week off then I’m going to start working on my skills, my footwork and stuff and get ready for football.

Lior Berman

DW: What’s it like to be a state champion 3 years in a row?

LB: It’s pretty awesome. Winning it the 3rd year was just as exciting as winning it the first year.

DW: Was any year more special or were they all pretty cool?

LB: I don’t think so. The first year was more special because it was the first one. But every year has had its own specialness to it.

DW: Tell me, you played well in the semis and the finals, but your team didn’t play as well. Were there nervousness or what was happening?

LB: I think it was just one of those games where our team wasn’t playing like we usually do. We still got the job done, but it wasn’t as good as we usually are. It just shows you even when we aren’t playing as well, we find a way to win.

DW: You guys had some amazing wins this year. You beat IMG, you beat Memphis East, you beat Olive Branch. Talk about those games.

LB: If we were assigned the game with IMG tomorrow and we didn’t have any preparation, IMG would just destroy us. But we prepared for them a couple of days before. Going over their players, who can shoot, who can drive, who can do both, and just getting a general game plan for how to beat those teams. When we executed perfectly we were able to be successful in those games. It was a great feeling.

DW: The execution must have been something else in those games.

LB: Yes sir. We knew we had to follow the game plan our coaches had for us perfectly to be successful.

DW: Alex said you guys ran the half court game against IMG. Is that what you all did?

LB: Yes sir. So with IMG, we wanted to make them come outside the 3 point line to come out and guard us, so we had our motion offense and all the action at half court allowed us to drive.

DW: Tell me how Trendon played.

LB: It was incredible. He had 38 and took over. That’s the best basketball I’ve ever seen him play. Defensively and offensively he was at the top of his game.

DW: Does that tell you what kind of college player he’ll be?

LB: Yes sir. If he can do that against all those highly ranked players, then he can do that against a lot of people.

DW: You looking forward to seeing him in the McDonald’s?

LB: I can’t wait.

DW: Tell me about your plans. What have you got cookin now?

LB: I have an offer from Spring Hill in Mobile. But I also have several offers from several D3 high academic schools. I’m not sure what I’m going to do now, but hopefully soon, I’ll be able to say.

DW: What D3 schools are you looking at?

LB: Rhodes (in Memphis), Berry (in Rome, GA.), Birmingham Southern, Sewanee, a couple more.

DW: When do you think you’ll decide?

LB: Probably in the next 2 weeks I imagine.

DW: Are you waiting on something to happen before that?

LB: No, I’m just taking my time, it’s a big decision.

DW: Lior, tell me how’s it been playing with Trendon, Alex and all the seniors.

LB: Well, I love the senior class. We’ve been together a long time. I remember how good I thought Trendon was my first year, and to see him get even better than that this year. The growth of all the players from our first year to now has been pretty incredible. Everyone has grown so much.

DW: What do you attribute that to?

LB: I attribute that to just after the season, we get a month off and get to the offseason grind of conditioning and the early morning hard practices. And all the guys love basketball so much. We might not even have practice and we’ll be in the gym shooting, just trying to get better.

DW: What has Coach McMillan done for you?

LB: He’s done a lot for me. He’s made me a lot tougher person. if you’re tired he’s going to get the best out of you no matter what. He’s always pushing you to be the best you can be.

DW: Did you kind of get conditioned with that?

LB: Yes sir. My first year of varsity it was really rough. I wasn’t used to all that running, pressing. In year 2 it was a little easier. Then I learned what spots to go to and it was pretty awesome.

DW: Talk about the leadership of your class for the younger guys

LB:. We led them in ways on the court, what to run. Our coach expects us to do the little things so the juniors and sophomores will know what to do to win.

DW: You think these guys will keep it up next year?

LB: Definitely. We’ve gotten a lot better this year, and they’ll keep it going next year.

DW: Has doing what you guys have done this season with the national victories and the third straight state championship, has it sunk in yet?

LB: Not really. I haven’t really had the chance to encompass everything we’ve done.

DW: How much have you enjoyed the experience of playing for Mountain Brook?

LB: Growing up my cousin, Jeremy Berman, was on the team when I was little. I went to all the basketball games and knew it was something I wanted to do. When I finally got into the Mountain Brook system I felt like I was recreating what the guys before me did.

DW: Your dad was a player at Mountain Brook?

LB: Yes sir. His name is Elan.

DW; Has he supported you a lot in this experience?

LB: Yes sir, all the time. He made sure I woke up for those early AM practices.

DW: When do you guys practice in the morning?

LB: We start going at 6 (AM), get an hour and a half in, so we have time to shower and get to school. We can get our legs back in the afternoon.

DW: You’ve had a great career and excited to hear about your future. What does winning 3 in a row mean to you? That’s tremendous.

LB: It just shows that if you do the small things and keep working hard, it’ll pay off. We have to buy into the system. If everyone on the team is buying into the system, there are no weak links, and I feel like there’s no weak link on our team. Everyone wanted to be great and follow the system. It shows you how hard work pays off.

DW: Let me know by text when you decide what to do.

LB: I will. Thank you so much for reaching out to me.

Winner at the Arnie

Brooks Koepka

Darkhorse

Lucas Glover

Like the powerful Koepka to raise the Arnie hardware on Sunday (Photo, The New York Times).

Like the powerful Koepka to raise the Arnie hardware on Sunday (Photo, The New York Times).

VU Baseball finishes off a super weekend, what’s coming up, Women’s and men’s tennis excel, Men’s golf fighting hard in Mexico

Our baseball team completed a 3 game sweep of Dayton over the weekend behind some timely hitting and terrific pitching.

Drake Fellows pitched a masterpiece on Friday going 6, giving up 5 hits with 3 earned, 2 walks and 13 ring ups in an 11-3 Commodore victory.

On Saturday in game 1, as the Commodores played a doubleheader Saturday due to weather concerns on Sunday, Patrick Raby pitched another gem. Rabes went 6, gave up 2 hits, 0 runs, with 2 walks and 8 K’s. Rabes’ fastball was hitting its spots and his curve and changeup were superb. Love what I’m seeing out of Rabes. He looks very much like the Patrick Raby we saw 2 years ago, even better really. His performance on the hill is a big key to our success this season among other factors. Hugh Fisher pitched 2/3 of an in inning and didn’t have great success, but Tyler Brown came in with his 93-94 fastball and was tremendous. In 2.1 innings, Tyler gave up no hits, 0 runs with no walks and 4 K’s. Tyler was phenomenal.

J.J. Bleday was 2 for 3 with his fourth homer of the season and his 11th RBI. He is now hitting .442. Austin Martin is still leading us in hitting at .476. Ethan Paul is hitting .422, awesome leadoff hitter Cooper Davis is hitting .383, and Philip Clarke is hitting .283 but has belted out 4 homers and leads the team in Ribeyes with 14. We are hitting .325 as a team and holding our opponents to a .227 average. Love the way our pitching is developing.

In game 2, Zach King, Ethan Smith and Jake Eder combined to pitch a 4 hit shutout as we blanked Dayton, 2-0. Zach went 4.1 innings, gave up 3 hits, 0 runs, with 2 walks and 7 K’s. Ethan came in for the 4th and pitched 3.2 innings of 1 hit shutout ball, with 3 walks and 5 K’s. The freshman was fantastic. Jake came in for the 9th and allowed a hit batsmen before ending the game on a 6-4-3 double play.

I thought our defense was pretty solid once again. We are now fielding at a .985 clip and our opponents are fielding at .971. We have only committed 6 errors in 11 games. We started out a little slowly, but we keep improving. Harrison Ray looks like he might be taking over at third for Jayson Gonzalez and he played some awesome third and got a couple of hits. Harrison was really good on Saturday.

We are now 9-2 on the season and D-1 Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Sportswriters Association (NCBWA) still have us at No.1 in the country. Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America haven’t released their polls this week. Collegiate Baseball had us at #2 behind LSU last week, and BA had us at No.1.

So some really good stuff going on for this baseball program. Like what this team is right now, it’s development, and what it can be. Pitching is looking stronger and stronger and we’ve got really good hitting and some pretty solid defense. Austin Martin is making some sensational plays up the middle at second, going to his right and jumping and throwing across his body for outs. Austin is a heckuva’n athlete.

Today, we’ll play Davidson at 1 PM CT at the Hawk. The game will be broadcast by SEC Network+. Freshman right hander Chance Huff will take the hill. Chance is 1-0 with a 7.71 ERA, but has plenty of talent. It will be good to see Chance get a start and see how he fares. Tomorrow, we’ll host East Tennessee State with a 2 PM CT first pitch. That game will also be broadcast by SEC Network+. No announcement on pitchers yet.

This weekend we’ll host Illinois State Friday at 4:30 PM CT (SEC Network+) with Drake, in all likelihood, on the hill, Saturday at 2 PM CT (SEC Network+) with Rabes on the mound, and Sunday at 1 PM CT (SEC Network+) with our starter to be determined.

So, we’re cookin pretty well right now. Will keep you posted on our progress today and the rest of this week.

Women’s Tennis

Fernanda Contreras won her 127th career singles match breaking Taka Bertrand’s single season career singles record at VU. The third ranked Contreras won 6-2, 6-3 at No.1 singles. Awesome stuff from Fernanda. She’s been a phenomenal player for our team for 4 years now, and is a first class young woman. And we’ve got Fernanda for a good while longer this season. She’s an amazing leader on this team as well. Such a fiery competitor. It rubs off on the rest of the team. Our No. 6 women (ITA rankings) defeated Arkansas @ the Currey Tennis Center, 6-1, on Sunday to move to 7-3 and complete a weekend sweep as we defeated Missouri, 7-0, on Friday.

Christina Rosca, Georgia Drummy, Amanda Meyer, and Carolyn Campana were also singles victors. Emma Kurtz/Emily Smith and Summer Dvorak/Amanda Meyer won in doubles to clinch the doubles point. Teams play 3 doubles matches and if a team wins 2, it clinches the doubles point. We’re a really good doubles playing team. Geoff is big on doubles and knows the importance of it.

We are on the road this weekend playing @ No.34 Auburn at 2 PM Friday and then @Alabama on Sunday at 11 AM CT. Alabama is not in the top 50 of the ITA rankings, but they’re a dangerous SEC team and it’s on the road which will make it tougher. So big weekend for Geoff and the team.

Men’s Tennis

The men, after losing a tough one @ No.8 Mississippi State last Friday, defeated No.30 Ole Miss on Sunday @ Ole Miss in a huge victory for our team, 4-1.. Our 27th ranked men moved to 10-3 on the season. George Harwell, Macsen Sisam, Billy Rowe, and Panu Virtenen were all victors in singles. Ole Miss defeated us in the doubles, but our singles performance got us over the top.

We now face Auburn at home this Friday @ the Currey Tennis Center at 2 PM CT.

Sunday, we’ll face No.20 Alabama at noon CT. Both matches will be streamed on vucommodores.com. The women’s matches will probably be available for streaming too on the vucommodores site.

Men’s Golf

Our No.3 Men’s golf team is presently tied for 4th at +3 in the Querencia Cabo Collegiate in Los Cabos, Mexico. No.1 Oklahoma State is leading at -26. No.9 Arizona State is 2nd at -17 and No. 36 Baylor is 3rd at -3. We are tied with No.50 Arizona in 4th.

We are through holes 6-8 today, the final day of the tournament. Maybe we can get hot and get to third before the day is over. Will Gordon is tied for 11th at -1, Reid Davenport is tied 23rd at +1, John Augenstein is tied for 26th at +3, and Patrick Martin and Harrison Ott are tied for 29th at +4. Not our best showing in this event, but maybe w can improve here on the final stretch of holes.

Will let you know what transpired tomorrow.

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May 18, 2017, 2:34 PM

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