The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, June 22, 2005, Page 10, Image 10
TED KIRKTTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Arizona State’s Colin Curtis, right, is picked off at first base by Nebraska’s Curtis Ledbetter in the
seventh inning of a College World Series elimination game in Omaha, Neb., on Tuesday.
World Series in full swing
By MIQUEL JACOBS
STAFF WRITER
Entering the final week of the
College World Series, the Florida
Gators (47-20) and Texas
Longhorns (53-16) remain 2-0 in
the tournament and need just
three more victories to be
crowned the 2005 National
Champions.
A new champion is guaranteed
with defending champion Cal
State Fullerton at home following a
Super Regional loss to Arizona
State. The double-elimination
tournament began last Friday,
pitting the eight teams who
advanced from the Super Regionals
in Omaha for the championship
tournament.
The SEC and the Big 12 once
again displayed baseball
supremacy, placing two and three
teams, respectively, in the series.
The regular-season SEC champion
Gators were paired with the
Tennessee Volunteers (46-21) in
the opening game of the
tournament. Despite claiming a
best-of-three series in the regular
season, Tennessee and its ace
pitcher Luke Hochevar were
dominated early in the game,
allowing Florida to claim a 6-4
victory and advance to the winners
bracket.
The Volunteers would next see
the winner of the opening day
pairing of Nebraska (57-15) and
Arizona State (41-24). The
Cornhuskers rallied for a 5-3
victory, their first ever in the CWS,
to extend their winning streak to
11 games and face Florida in the
winners bracket.
Tennessee became the first team
eliminated from tournament play
Sunday after allowing a three-run
eighth inning for Arizona State.
The Sun Devils took the 4-2
victory and awaited the Florida
Nebraska game for their
elimination tilt.
With the second-largest crowd
in CWS history at 26,813 fans, the
hometown Cornhuskers collected
12 hits but could not capitalize on
them, as the Gators moved within
one game of the championship
round with a 7-4 victory. The
elimination-game rematch
between Arizona State and
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Sports world cools off
as summer heats up
Forgive me if I look as if 1 have
no clue what to do this summer. I
go to work every day at the golf
course as 1
have the past
three summers.
I come home
and turn on
the TV after
eight hours of
mowing
fairways and STEPHEN
fairways and pASTENAU
r a k 1 n g ,
Second-year print
sandtraps and journalism
watch the student
College World
Series. But for
the first time since I graduated
high school, I don’t see Ray
Tanner’s team.
1 he nrst aay oi LW5 coverage
1 was confused. I had attended
the Atlanta regional, seen the
Gamecocks lose a 5-0 thriller to
Georgia Tech and be knocked out
of the NCAA Tournament, but
evidendy I didn’t believe it.
I expected USC to be in
Omaha on ESPN, in much the
same way 1 expect eggs to be in
the grocery store when I want
them. This was crap, or so I
thought. Clemson lost in its
super regional to Baylor, ending
the Tigers’ streak of ZERO
consecutive appearances in
Omaha. Haha. What a
bittersweet moment.
Alas, after scouring Gamecock
message boards until monotony
nearly gave me cancer, I turned to
my second love — golf. The U.S.
Open returned to Pinehurst No.
2 in North Carolina this past
week. I attended a practice round
when the Open was first held
there in 1999 and loved the
course.
Once again, I turned on the
TV. Once again, I was
disappointed. Not because Tiger
Woods wore a pink shirt for
Thursdays round (don’t let
anyone ever tell you that black
and pink match) or that he
abandoned his traditional Sunday
red for some reddish-orange
pattern that made him look as if
he was selling a tropical juice
medley but because he lost.
Second place for only the second
time in his career in a major.
Don’t tell me — you hate
Tiger Woods? He’s Microsoft and
the New York Yankees rolled into
one. You cant pull tor that guy,
you might say. But if it weren’t for
that guy, you wouldn’t watch golf
in the first place would you?
C’mon, my mom is the only
person who watches for anyone
else. She likes Phil Mickelson
because he’s a “cutie-pie.”
Anyway, Tiger blew it. He
bogeyed two of his last three
holes and lost by two strokes. If
he could have putted decently, he
would have run away with it. But
for four rounds, it seemed he
couldn’t hit sand if he fell off a
camel in the middle of the desert.
Seriously, it was like Tiger the
blind, amputee instead of the
nine-time major championship
winner.
Ah well, what can you do? Go
home to your hot Swedish wife
and wipe with $100 bills. Life’s a
drag for Tiger right now.
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