Sprints Sees a Slow News Day as a Reason to Talk Baseball // 05.20.10

Weekend Open Thread
I'll be in Mobile starting today, but we'll have a weekend open thread up for the baseball games and I'll try to wrap things up each night.

Could Bama miss the SEC tournament and make the NCAA field?
I actually doubt it. It would be hard for the Association to pass over a few teams that made Hoover to select Alabama, regardless of the RPI numbers. If the Tide gets to .500 in the league and misses the tournament, it's possible, but probably only if another bubble team or two loses early and badly in Hoover.

They can only hope
Optimism, LSU baseball style.

"I think that's the bottom," said LSU senior first baseman Blake Dean, who was one of four LSU hitters in the meat of the order to go hitless. "That's as bad as we can play. I can't imagine that we can play much worse. I've never experienced anything like that. We didn't hit. We didn't pitch. We didn't do anything right."

"That" was a loss to Tulane as the Bayou Bengals enter the final weekend of the SEC season. LSU is one of four teams trying to claim one of the last two spots in the SEC tournament, and needs some wins to get into the NCAA playoff as well. Certainly they can't lose to Mississippi State -- right?

Is Greg McElroy just Jordan Jefferson with a better supporting cast?
Dr. Saturday makes the case.

You can see at right that Jefferson's downfield numbers compare very favorably with Alabama's Greg McElroy, and if you gave Jefferson a Heisman-winning running back, the best defense in the country and an offensive line that didn't yield three-and-a-half sacks per conference game, he could probably lead that team a national championship, too.

In fairness, almost anyone could win a national title with that -- and everyone knew it at the time. Almost. But the Good Doctor's post on Jefferson is great reading for everyone, with the possible exception of LSU fans.

Alabama's key offseason loss: Leigh Tiffin?
Roll Bama Roll looks at the Tide's trouble in the crimson red zone.

Tyrik Rollison is gone
The quarterback is officially officially leaving Auburn for Sam Houston State.

Southern Cal could lose BCS title
We talked several days ago about whether Southern Cal might lose its BCS title, under the then-common belief that there's not a policy dealing with that. Apparently there is.

Quietly in early 2007, as the investigation into USC and alleged improprieties involving Bush and his family was unfolding, college football's Bowl Championship Series drew up a policy calling for teams' BCS appearances and BCS titles to be vacated when major rules violations subsequently are discovered and the institutions are sanctioned by the NCAA. Current BCS executive director Bill Hancock confirmed the provision Wednesday.

Does 1/2 a national championship still make you a dynasty?