Well, the 2010-11 year is put to rest...today is a massive cleaning day around the Big South headquarters (you have spring cleaning, we have SUMMER cleaning) as we set our sites already on the year ahead.
For the Big South sports calendar, July 1st is New Year's Day...that's the start for the fiscal year and the dividing line on paper between the season past and the season to come. 
This year, it also means the arrival of the Campbell University Fighting Camels to the Conference. Well, not "arrival" really--more like "return," since CU was a founding member of the Big South and participated here from 1983-1994. So the Camels are back: WELCOME, FRIENDS!
As for the year gone, well, Liberty won the Sasser Cup after taking 7 of the 18 Big South Championships outright (MXC, WXC, MITF, WITF, MG, MOTF, SOFT). Coastal Carolina was next in terms of hardware, with another four of the BSC titles (MSOC, WG, WOTF, BASE). Count High Point in for two (WSOC, VB), and then it's one each for Winthrop (WTEN), Asheville (MBB), Gardner-Webb (WBB), and Radford (MTEN)...all of which means none this time around for VMI, CSU, or PC. The only one not mentioned was football, and since that one is based just on regular season finish and not a tournament or championship like the ones listed above, we're left with a tie there between Coastal, Liberty, and Stony Brook (CCU got the playoff bid in a tiebreaker).
The last gasps in the sports year included Coastal winning the baseball tourney and grabbing a big win at the regional before falling after that, and NCAA Track & Field efforts that topped out with another National Championship for Liberty's Sam Chelanga--this time in the 5K. We've said this in other spaces already, but there really aren't words enough to describe the success of Chelanga, a multiple national champion and an All-American many times over...a shame to see him go, but he's going to keep on running to even greater achievements, I'm sure.
Meanwhile, some rotating vacation time around the office includes days off for yours truly next week, but once we get into July, we're full speed ahead into the 2011-12 season on all fronts. We are looking forward to updates and improvements to all our online outlets in the year ahead...psst...already tweaked our Twitter page--go see the simple yet sleek new background.
I hope everyone in the wide world of Big South Conference fans, friends, and family has a great summer--enjoy the breather while you can, because the competition will be back and just as intense as ever, if not more so, in only a couple of months...so get fired up (but pace yourself)!
And on that note, thanks, everybody...and...SHOUT...out.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
An Early Summer SHOUT (for the old year and the new)!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Baseball Bonanza, Gem Included
Here we are, in the midst of the Baseball Championship tourney--full name, "The 2011 Royal Purple Big South Conference Baseball Championship Presented by Triangle Rent A Car." The event always promises a wealth of excitement and a list of storylines, but with five games completed, one stands out among the rest...keep reading, we'll get there.
All the action is happening at VMI, where a number of renovations and improvements have made Gray-Minor Stadium a solid host for this event. Play follows the same model of recent seasons, with a single-elimination first night to pare the lower four seeds to two teams, and then four days of full double-elimination bracket play.
This year that formula meant the elimination of the event host school in the very first game, a 3-1 win for Radford over VMI...always tough to lose the home team early, as it can have a tendency to deflate some of the crowd size and enthusiasm, but baseball attendance often poses a riddle in any year, given that school is out for most students anyway.
The other elimination game on Tuesday saw Gardner-Webb parade around the bases to mount a 14-4 victory against High Point. But, baseball being a fickle game, GWU got the other end of that stick the next day, when Liberty rode some home run hitting to a 13-5 win. For the Runnin' Bulldogs, the loss forces an elimination game on Thursday, while the Flames know they'll be around at least to Friday.
Like LU, Charleston Southern knows it will have at least two games ahead. CSU & Liberty will meet Thursday night, given that the Bucs dealt Winthrop a loss in a 9-3 final Wednesday.
Thursday's first game is an elimination game setting Radford against GWU...each squad won Tuesday night to stay alive, but dropped a game the next day against a higher seed. Now they face off against each other to see who's going home and who lives to play another day.
Radford got put in that game by top-seed Coastal Carolina. Well, they really got put there by star pitcher Anthony Meo, 
who tossed an absolute gem: the first no-hitter in Big South Conference Baseball Championship history. Now THAT earns a real SHOUT-out from us--what a remarkable performance (CCU celebration pictured). In fact, the no-no went both ways for the first four innings--neither side had mustered a hit by that point--but the Coastal bats awakened, while the Radford hitting could not find a solution for Meo's mastery. Credit CCU for the 5-0 win, and salute Meo for doing what no Big South pitcher had done before in this tournament. The Chants next draw old rival Winthrop Thursday afternoon, 
with a chance to eliminate the Eagles (although WU will be naturally doing all it can to prevent that outcome).
Remember, all three games on Thursday and again on Friday can be seen on the Big South Network at BigSouthSports.com, while the game(s) for the Championship final on Saturday will be shown instead by ESPN3.com.
The full details of game schedules, with links to Live Stats, BSN streaming, and the tournament bracket, can all be found on the Baseball Championship page.
And, just in case you missed it, you can find the full listing of Big South Baseball All-Conference and season award honorees at BigSouthSports.com.
Enjoy the games, everybody--another year of competition is nearly in the books!
SHOUT---out...
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
It Came From the Blog!
Many demerits and well-deserved slaps on the wrists for not having a SHOUT in this spot recently...as they say in all the movies, it's been quiet--too quiet--here lately. Time to fix that with a quick reset.
First subject: the Big South Conference & the NCAA this spring...some nice extras this year...
WGOLF -- the Coastal Carolina women were thrilled to pull down the Big South title, but it turns out that was just the beginning, as last week the Chants nabbed fourth at the NCAA East Regional at Daytona Beach, qualifying for Nationals! CCU even managed to sit in the lead position briefly in that competition, and earned plenty of respect as the first team in school and Conference history to make the final stage of competition for the Women's Golf National Championship.
MGOLF -- the men's teams are no mere duffers either: Liberty won the Conference crown by a crushing margin and earned the Big South's automatic qualifier position for regional play, but the Flames will not be alone when the squads hit the links next week--Coastal Carolina snared an at-large selection as well, giving the Big South two MGOLF NCAA teams for only the third time. In an odd twist of fate, LU will travel out to Arizona, while CCU heads up to Virginia for the next round.
M/W TEN -- also on the calendar, we have our men's and women's champions in tennis ready for upcoming action in Knoxville--both of them...yes, unaware of what the other selection committee was up to, both the men's and women's panels sent the Big South champs to Tennessee's courts. For Radford's men, it is as a 4-seed for those pairings, and the Highlanders will indeed draw the Vols. For Winthrop's women, it is as a 3-seed, and the Eagles will see the Vanderbilt Commodores as they hope to play another day.
Meanwhile, next on the agenda: the teams still in action, trying to see if they too will have a chance at NCAA tournament play. This week, we have the softball championship at Winthrop (tonight, in fact, I will be emcee for the season awards banquet at WU). Play cranks up with six games Thursday (five at Terry Field, one on a different diamond), plus another four-to-six games on Friday (as needed), and the single-game championship final on Saturday. The Terry Field games on Thursday and Friday (5/12-13) can all be seen on the Big South Network, while Saturday's final (5/14) belongs to ESPN3.com.
Two weeks later, we'll follow a similar plan for baseball at VMI, with games running on the Big South Network from Tuesday (5/24) through Friday (5/27) and capped off by the final on Saturday (5/28) on ESPN3.com.
By the way, I don't know how long it's going to hold up, but Coastal Carolina has won four consecutive games without allowing a run -- in fact, the Chants have an overall streak of 37 consecutive shutout innings. While we're at it, let's give a SHOUT-out to CCU star pitcher Anthony Meo...all he did in his last outing was pitch eight shutout innings with a dozen strikeouts and no walks. Not too shabby, right? Wow. Coastal seems to be peaking at just about the right time. Whether Coach Gary Gilmore can get his guys to make another run to the Super Regional (or beyond) remains to be seen, but anyone who thought the Conway Kids were struggling this season should take another look.
Okay, that's good for checking in for now--
should see more from SHOUT in the coming weeks, plus some summer features and bonus items once we get beyond the season. Oh, and don't forget, we have Camels in our future once we get beyond the softball and baseball championships--which will make for some interesting changes! Thanks for sticking with us...follow us on Twitter and Facebook, everybody! And that's SHOUT--out...
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Postseason Hoops in Alphabet Soups
Lots of teams, lots of tourneys, lots of terms, right? That time of year...
So let's try to clear up the postseason basketball picture for everybody, okay?
Right now it appears that no Big South teams this year will be going into things like the CBI and similar ad hoc tourney set-ups, so that leaves us with the "big four": the NCAA & NIT fields for both the men and the women.
Interesting that this year the regular-season champions in the Big South both came up short in the finals of their respective tournaments, so they both wind up in NIT brackets: Coastal Carolina for the men and Liberty for the women.
The teams that knocked those strong squads off the top of their mountains will be going to the world of NCAA brackets: UNC Asheville for the men and Gardner-Webb for the women.
Of course, in Asheville's case, it still isn't that simple because they are in the "First Round" or "First Four" group, formerly known as the "Opening Round", yet widely regarded as play-in games by hoops followers across the country despite what branding the NCAA chooses in a given year.
Let's break this down first by team and then by the calendar...
UNC Asheville -- the Bulldogs open with Arkansas-Little Rock in Dayton, Ohio...the game is Tuesday night (tonight, as I post this), tipping at 6:40pm on tru-TV. Start looking for that before you get to 6:30, just to be sure you find it. You probably have it without realizing it, as it's part of the CBS-TBS-TNT-tru-TV partnership showing the NCAA and the powers that be WANT you to have this channel. As a DirecTV guy, I can tell you it's on channel 246, but again, consult your local listings, as they say. Now as much as we all believe in Asheville, certainly last year's Winthrop vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff opener should serve as a sufficient cautionary tale that just because you're not playing Pitt yet, that doesn't mean you're not in for a tough game.
Speaking of Pitt, that's the "reward" for the winner in that opening contest: a "Second Round" (what we've always called "First Round") game against the 1-seed Pitt Panthers in Washington, D.C., on Thursday afternoon. Win THAT one and we would have quite a story to tell!
Coastal Carolina -- 2nd straight year in the NIT, certainly not what the Chants were hoping for, and the news gets tougher, as Coastal will open with 1-seed Alabama, a team that had spent lots of time on the NCAA bubble and stood a chance of making the other tourney...perhaps the disappointment will be larger for the Tide and open up a chance for CCU, who already dispatched SEC foe LSU on the road in the regular season...the game will be at 7pm Tuesday on ESPNU. If Coastal stems the Tide, next up would be the winner of the New Mexico-UTEP game (details tba).
Gardner-Webb -- the third time WAS the charm for the Runnin' Bulldogs, who knocked off their nemesis, Liberty, in the Conference Final to earn the automatic NCAA berth...GWU got a 14-seed and faces Miami (the Hurricanes are a 3-seed) in Charlottesville, VA. That game is set for noon on Sunday the 20th and can be seen on ESPN2. The winner will face the winner of the Oklahoma-JMU ballgame on Tuesday the 22nd.
Liberty -- an odd position for the Flames, quite used to the NCAA side of life, but now moving into the WNIT bracket...Liberty opens up at Charlotte, Wednesday night at 7pm (no TV known). Strange part of that is it seems like the committee was using part of last year's bracket--GWU opened WNIT play at Charlotte's Halton Arena in 2010...go figure. The winner of this one would advance to play the winner of the South Carolina-App.St. contest. If the Flames are not too put out by falling short of their primary goal, they could do some damage in the WNIT field--watch out for that.
Okay, so here it is chronologically:
TUESDAY (today), March 15th:
M-NCAA, UNC Asheville vs. UALR in Dayton-OH, 6:30pm on tru-TV;
M-NIT, Coastal Carolina at Alabama, 7pm on ESPNU (winner vs. New Mexico-UTEP winner tbd)
WEDNESDAY, March 16th:
W-NIT, Liberty at Charlotte, 7pm (winner vs. SC-App.St. winner tbd)
THURSDAY, March 17th...(M-NCAA, Asheville-Little Rock winner vs. Pitt in DC, 3pm)
SUNDAY, March 20th:
W-NCAA, Gardner-Webb vs. Miami in Charlottesville, 12pm on ESPN2
TUESDAY, March 22nd...(W-NCAA, GWU-UM winner vs. Okla.-JMU winner tbd)
Hope that helps--that's about as much as we can say as of Tuesday--good luck to all our teams and we hope everybody enjoys the upcoming games! SHOUT -- out.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Happy Track-iversary (Blog-iversary?)
It's a few days early by the calendar, but not by the event: it's the three-year anniversary for Big South SHOUT!
See, I'm writing this (in first-person no less--feels more appropriate) from the press deck of the Clemson University Indoor Track & Field facility, just like we did the very first official post of SHOUT in 2008. That first post, "Taking a LEAP," hit February 29th, 2008...making the "leap" a forced pun on the launch of the blog and the calendar's Leap Day...and it used the same clip art photo seen below...
The wheel keeps turning...
that was my first stint streaming from the Big South Indoor Track & Field Championships--and I'm now on my fourth. Back then the event was a joint meet held along with the Southern Conference. Since then, the SoCon and Big South have gone back to staging separate events (although on consecutive days), which greatly simplifies the process--as many events as we see in a meet like this, imagine even more sessions and double the athletes. Separate events means a little more in rent for each league, but a less hectic process. And of course, I'll be handling the video streaming for it all on the Big South Network again this year.
It's also the fourth year for the CCSA Swimming & Diving Championships, where I was last week...sweltering (and streaming of course) in the oppressive humidity in the otherwise very nice Gabrielsen Natatorium at the University of Georgia. Those four years have been on the move--Huntersville-NC, Athens-GA, Knoxville-TN, and back to Athens-GA. Those three-day meets can drag at times, but you can't deny the skills of the student-athletes who come out and give their all--some very impressive displays in the pool and the diving well. They come to compete from four different conferences, none of which have their own championship events: Big South, SoCon, MEAC, and the Atlantic Sun. Big South news of note from the CCSA: Gardner-Webb had an impressive dual finish, taking second for the men and third for the women (congrats), and Liberty's women finished 6th--which is an impressive performance for a first-year program, making the upper half of the field.
Anyway, it's all part of the annual gauntlet of championships and travel: swimming, track, men's basketball, women's basketball (and board meetings) in consecutive weeks, after which we can fully embrace the spring sports...which have already begun. Such a busy time, but it's all part of the wheel that turns in collegiate athletics every year.
So Happy Blog-iversary, SHOUT fans, here's a SHOUT-out to you!
Yours truly,
Mark Bryant
Big South Conference
Friday, February 4, 2011
Tier System?
Under the current format of the Advance Auto Parts Big South Men's Basketball Championship, used for the past few seasons, there wind up being three races at once in the Conference standings, and this year is no different.
At the top, it's obviously been a two-horse race all season, although one of those thoroughbreds is clearly up a length now. Coastal Carolina and Liberty have been the top of the heap throughout league play, with the Chanticleers sporting the edge and the Flames managing to keep pace right behind. Well, last night CCU held off a late LU charge to complete the season sweep of the challenger, thereby giving the Chants a two-game lead in the standings plus a tiebreaker edge over the Flames, with just six Conference games remaining in the regular season. With the Coastal win streak now at 19 games, it's a legitimate time to ask if the run has an end, and where it will fall.
Surely it could go down as soon as Saturday, with VMI running and gunning at CCU. Fail to keep up with the pace or fail to hit your shots when you have the chance, and you're in trouble against the Keydets. That said, VMI has continued its habits of scoring 90 and giving up 100--defense is largely a non-factor in those high velocity contests. But one should note the Chants haven't lost at home this season to anyone. Down the schedule, we see at PC, at Winthrop (now THAT could be interesting, given the grudge match between those rivals), vs. GWU, vs. NC Central, vs. Asheville, at CSU, and then the tournament. If Coastal CAN keep this momentum running, they could be as strong as 28-2 riding a 26 game streak when March arrives and CCU hosts championship play. Surely any team can win any night, and all this could be moot in short order, but the speculation is intriguing. If, and I mean IF, Coastal runs the table, one would have to favor them to win three home games for the Conference Championship--and then what happens in terms of NCAA seeding? The record and the win streak would be wildly impressive, the RPI given a generally weaker out-of-conference schedule would not.
In any case, that's putting a number of carts before their respective horses, no doubt about it.
After all, let's look at Liberty--they've beaten all Big South comers save one...LU has lost only two Conference games, both to Coastal Carolina. You have to like THEIR chances to advance in the tourney, possibly to a final against CCU. Can the same team win the head-to-head match-up three times in one season? It has happened, but it's a tall order. The Flames' faithful know they have a beautiful chance to play spoiler in much the same way that Coastal's much-hated rival Winthrop did one year ago, knocking off the regular season champs on their own floor.
So the captivating race and rivalry at the top is one drama playing itself out in front of us...and with FOUR teams hosting first round games, the next race then comes into play. If you can't be numero uno, you really, really want to be in the top four. As of this writing, with Coastal at 12-0 and Liberty at 10-2, those teams pretty well have one and two locked down--because the next squads are at least three games behind second place!
The middle group could be considered as large as five teams fighting for two positions: Asheville and Charleston Southern have the lead of the moment, each with 7-5 records, followed by Winthrop, lurking on the perimeter at 6-6, and you can't yet count out VMI and HPU, holders of 5-7 marks, just two games off of the pace for hosting a game. There will still be plenty of shake-ups going on within that quintet for the remaining weeks of the season.
Okay, so two teams currently in the top tier, FIVE teams in the middle tier, leaving three currently in the bottom tier, yes? Now if you consider that those first two groups we discussed include seven teams, that takes up every slot but one in the tourney field, still set at eight. Of the three teams remaining, PC has the unfortunate distinction of being ineligible for postseason play due to NCAA division transition rules. The Blue Hose have been forced to be content with the role of spoiler from day one--they can't play for seeds, tournaments, or championships. So that leaves us with two teams scrapping for one spot: Gardner-Webb and Radford. It seems so hard in this light to think that Radford was the Big South Champion the season before last, falling to UNC in the NCAA's, but the Highlanders have not enjoyed much high ground this season. In fact, both RU and GWU have staggered out to 2-10 Conference records. The "winner" in this contest will have the distinction of (almost certainly) making a trip to Conway to meet Coastal Carolina...some reward...but still, "that's why they play the games," right? It's not as if the team left out gets a better draft pick--you might as well be pushing for greatness. Win the right games at the right times and big things happen--the beauty of the college hoops Cinderella stories.
Make sense? So as you're watching the MBB standings in the Big South, remember the three races at stake: the top one, top four, and top eight positions. If you keep those in mind, you'll start seeing more intrigue, more on the line than before--trust me.
And finally, a huge SHOUT-out of support for our fans and friends facing the worst of the winter storms. Most of our region here is under merely cold rain, but beyond the borders of the Big South there are plenty of folks struggling with astonishing amounts of ice and snow--we send you our wishes for your safety and comfort through these difficult days!
Enjoy the upcoming games, everybody---------SHOUT, out.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Talkin' Baseball (?)...and Plenty More
Okay Big South peeps, this weekend still seems simple enough on its face: Conference match-ups for men's and women's basketball take center stage, right? Sure, but it's not that simple any more, certainly not beyond this weekend anyway.
Here's the deal--Saturday has a full line-up of men's hoops, with five games tipping off throughout the day, plus a quartet of women's games also hitting the court. But January is coming to a close and February is coming in fast, so those games get the most buzz right now, but it's just the tip of an athletics iceberg that will culminate with a parade of championships in the spring.
Put another way, the tennis teams are facing off against out-of-conference foes right now, while the golf teams are rolling out their tournaments, and, most notably, the indoor track and field squads are making lots of noise in various meets around the region. How much noise? Good enough for the men to make the USTFCCCA (it's the governing body, don't worry about the alphabet soup, just go with it) top ten for ALL conferences in the country! The Big South ranked eighth, coming in behind only the six large power/BCS leagues, plus the Mountain West Conference.
Is that all, you ask? Well, noooo...although not under the "Big South Sports" umbrella, don't forget about the wrestling competition happening out there right now for some schools (VMI, Liberty, and GWU all wrestle...catch the VMI-Citadel competition streaming tonight on the Big South Network). Then there's the swimming and diving, which has been growing, with Liberty joining GWU, VMI, and Radford in the pool. All have been actively competing and await the CCSA Championships in February, featuring the swimming schools from four regional conferences that do not have enough participants to stage their own individual championship meets.
And then there's this...baseball and softball practice. Seriously, the ball-and-bat sports will hit their respective diamonds soon, and there's a sizable and eager fan base waiting for play to begin. The preseason polls were released this last week, and it probably does not shock anyone following the sports to see that Coastal Carolina had the nod for tops in baseball and Radford the same for softball. In fact, both are getting a little national attention as well.
For baseball, Coastal not only won the top spot in the coaches' vote, but did so unanimously! The Chants will start the season ranked 24th nationally, and will be watched closely to see how they follow last year's Super Regional finish. For softball, Radford will not begin ranked, but the Highlanders have votes in the national preseason polls, so they are not far off the radar.
Interestingly enough, Liberty lurks just behind the leaders in both sports in the preseason count. The Flames matched CCU baseball's unanimous first-place prediction by collecting a unanimous set of second-place votes. It seems clear that the Big South's baseball skippers agree that the 2011 season begins where the 2010 season left off: with Coastal ruling the roost but Liberty burning it up right behind. It wasn't unanimous for softball, but it was nearly as decisive, as the softball coaches made the Radford-Liberty duo a clear one-two.
For those already wanting to get their hands on for spring streaming packages on the Big South Network (presented by State Farm), good news: those packages will be available starting February 1st at BigSouthSports.com. Individual games will be available for order soon after that.
Okay, okay, let's get back to the whole HOOPS thing!
Opposite poles? Matter and anti-matter? Call it what you like, but the still blistering-hot Coastal Carolina Chanticleers play at ice-cold Radford Saturday. It's the upset of the year within the Conference if the 1-9 Highlanders stop the 10-0 Chants and their 17-game win streak, "but that's why they play the games"...
As amazing as the Coastal run has been (and it has been stellar), don't overlook the fact that the Liberty Flames have paced CCU every step of the way. The only loss for the 9-1 Flames was to Coastal Carolina, and it will be very interesting to see if that's still the case when these teams meet again: February 3rd in Conway. First, LU will have to dispatch a pesky GWU squad that has shown some resilience after a huge losing skid.
Other games for the men this weekend: Asheville at VMI -- two contenders trying to sort out the seeds behind the leaders, CSU at HPU -- Panthers trying to salvage a rougher season than expected vs. Buccaneers in that contender mix, and Winthrop at PC -- Eagles fighting for position and Blue Hose trying to play perpetual spoiler.
On the women's side, there are four Saturday games and four Monday games, but for the fans of recent Big South history and rivalry, there's only one game to watch for: Liberty at Gardner-Webb, Monday night (1/31, 7pm, on Big South Network). The Flames and Bulldogs are two of the three teams (along with RU) in a tight race for first, but that's just a bonus in what has become one of those rapidly intensifying rivalries...which tends to happen when you battle for the title a couple times, yeah? Conference competition at its best.
By the way, speaking of championships, did you know the Advance Auto Parts Big South Conference Basketball Championships have their own official Facebook page now? It's true. You now have a perfect companion to the Big South Facebook page (covering all Conference news) with the "Advance Championship" page, updating the races in the standings and the pursuit of records, plus the promotions, contests, events, and fans of Big South basketball. Go now and "like" both pages if you haven't already!
While I'm shilling, go follow us on Twitter, please...
For my final shameless plug, don't forget to browse through items at the Big South Online Store. If you haven't tried it yet, you will be surprised by the variety and quality of items available for you to order for your favorite school or for the Big South Conference. It's the best across-the-board merchandise for the Big South membership that you'll find anywhere--and right now (through the weekend), they're running a 15% discount special on personalized team basketball jerseys...go--what are you waiting for? After all, I'm done.
Have a good weekend, everybody...SHOUT--out.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Ice, Ice, Baby...Musings on the Week
First came the snow--hey, how nice, it's snowing...but then the ice, and more and more ice, all over the snow, and all freezing into a rink-like glaze over the world. That's how some stretches of Big South territory started this past work week...certainly that's how things got going (or not going) here at the home office in Charlotte, and in nearby Rock Hill (Winthrop) and Boiling Springs (GWU). Asheville of course got even more snow--and then another batch of snow. And so it went, as the early 2011 winter storm that paralyzed Atlanta for a week did its work across our region as well. The women's games scheduled for Monday wound up being played on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, as different schools addressed their area and travel needs in the most appropriate ways they could find.
So the weather stole its share of headlines, but there have certainly been stories from the sports side of the ledger as well. Let's run through some notes...
--Coastal Carolina narrowly beat Liberty last Saturday in the battle of men's basketball unbeatens, and since they each followed up by winning on Thursday, it remains a clear pair of teams at the top: the 6-0 Chanticleers and the 6-1 Flames. Again, watch for that rematch February 3rd in Conway.
--While those two duke it out for the important first seed and the right to host throughout the tournament, remember that the top four teams all host first round games, because that race (presumably for spots three and four, based on Coastal/Liberty so far) will also be a good one. After Thursday's games, SIX teams fit in the range from 4-2 (CSU) to 2-4 (PC/HPU), with marks of 3-3 (WU/ASHE) and 3-4 (VMI) for the teams in the middle. That's a pretty big pack of contenders for just two probable positions...should be fun.
--Those with attention to detail will note two teams didn't make the cut in the previous two items. Well, Radford and Gardner-Webb have both fallen to 1-5 records in the Big South, and it's going to take something big to turn these ships around now, because they have been running hard in the wrong direction. But here's the catch: since PC can't play in the postseason due to the NCAA terms of transition to DI, only one of these teams will be eliminated from the Conference Championship event. As one camper said to another, "I don't have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you." In other words, if one of these teams can slow that descent, they'll get their shot...mind you, that's likely on the road at the top seed, but beggars cannot be choosers in this situation.
--On the women's side, we have a chance at an early treat on Monday, but that will still depend on how things turn out Saturday. Two teams survived to 3-0 starts: Liberty and Radford. They are slated to meet on Monday the 17th, but you have to play one game at a time...RU faces Winthrop before that collision, while Liberty does not have a Big South game in the way (instead playing at Longwood this evening).
--Meanwhile, Gardner-Webb is just one game back of that undefeated duo, and will certainly contend, just as the Runnin' Bulldogs have done so well the last two seasons. Behind those top three teams, the WBB standings are as bunched up as they are in MBB, with four teams at 1-1 or 1-2 (WU/PC 1-1, HPU/CSU 1-2). Two teams still seek Conference win number one: CCU at 0-2 and Asheville at 0-3.
I enjoyed taking part in the Big South's first basketball game to be available exclusively on ESPN3.com last night. Liberty won by six at High Point, and I had the good fortune to be on play-by-play (I'm Mark Bryant, for those who don't know the name behind SHOUT), along with Nate Ross as analyst. Nate has been a frequent broadcast partner in both football and basketball, and it's a pleasure working with him--particularly when we get good material to work with, as we did at the Millis Center. Sure, it was really low scoring for a while, and Liberty led most of the way, but the HPU comeback and the excitement of the late second half made for a good payback after the sluggish start. Fun stuff.
Gotta roll on to other things now, but I hope this post has helped update you on the early layout of the Conference races and put the upcoming games in context. Should be a great weekend--get out to a game if you can, or catch the live video streams on the Big South Network if you can't attend in person. Enjoy! SHOUT...out.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Hoops Time...& a Fall-Out Review
Ah, yes, let's tip this thing off for real today.
But, you say, "The season started weeks ago."
True.
Yet it's so hard to gauge what should be learned from a combination of road games against superior opposition and home games against weaker opponents. Sure, it's not ALL that, but it's generally the case that Big South teams spend a lot of time in November going out to major conference foes and bringing in lower level squads. The results are predictable, but not absolute: on the men's side, Asheville started out by beating Auburn and Winthrop knocked off Wake Forest, while on the women's side, there were some disappointing losses to very small visiting schools...let's not bother with those details, too depressing.
So why get excited now?
Because tonight (Thursday) there are four Big South Conference games for the men, with another five coming on Saturday. If you're wondering about the math, that's two games for eight members this week, with two teams only getting one game (CCU & CSU).
Yes, Conference games.
The unquestionable peer-to-peer measuring stick, when we'll be able to get a clearer picture of what we might expect down the road. Obviously the league schedule does not begin in earnest until we're ready to bid farewell to 2010 and swing into 2011, but the games of early December will count just as much, so they'd better be ready for them!
Here's the schedule:
Dec. 2nd...
Gardner-Webb at High Point,
PC at Liberty,
UNC Asheville at Radford,
Winthrop at VMI...I do like this one in particular--the "grind it out" defense of Winthrop and the "run and gun" offense of VMI--you figure something's gotta give...
Dec. 4th...
PC at VMI,
CSU at Coastal,
GWU at Radford,
Asheville at HPU,
Winthrop at Liberty.
From there, it's a couple light weeks to get through the month and the holidays, but get fired up again for New Year's Eve and the roller coaster ride that follows, with the full regular slate of Big South Conference games--and that applies to the women in January as well.
For those who live for the hoops side of things, this is the start of--as the song says--"the most wonderful time of the year."
If you're looking for more on the early part of the men's season, you can find our check-in with "Rush the Court" here.
RECAP TIME
Yes, so SHOUT has been quiet recently, but let's fix that and get caught up with a quick review of what the fall sports brought us this season...
Cross Country -- championship-wise, it was another sweep of the Men's & Women's Championships by the Liberty Flames. No one was surprised to see Liberty's Sam Chelanga run away with the individual title again for the Big South...just as you couldn't be too surprised to see Chelanga cross the line as the individual National Champion--a back-to-back winner of the NCAA title! Our congratulations and appreciation for Sam's accomplishments truly runneth over...he is simply the best. Factor in Josh McDougal's win in the event a few years ago and the Flames have produced three of the last four Men's Cross Country National Champions!
Women's Soccer -- would you believe a FIVE-way tie for the regular season title? Yeah, seriously. So tiebreakers sorted out the seeding among a pool of virtual equals, and when the dust settled, the High Point Panthers had made it as back-to-back Big South Champions (the highlight of which was the golden goal bicycle kick in the final by Jillie Johnston). HPU then fell to Maryland in the NCAA First Round.
Men's Soccer -- speaking of High Point, the men's squad for the Panthers roared through the year with a fast, high-scoring attack, going undefeated against Conference foes all the way to the Championship's final game...and that's when they got tripped up: Coastal Carolina took the title, downing HPU 3-1. Coastal then lost at Duke in the NCAA First Round.
Volleyball -- another tight battle through the season played its way into the Big South Championship, and the tournament had its own plot twists--this time favoring the Panthers in the final. High Point stunned top seed Liberty by rapidly sweeping the Flames in the final match. LU may have been exhausted from a five-setter over host Winthrop the night before, but whatever the reason, HPU is the survivor...and the final chapter there has not yet been written, as the Panthers play at Duke (them again?) on Friday to start NCAA play.
Football -- we've mentioned tiebreakers and twists from other sports, but football definitely had its share and then some. With the Big South's first-ever Automatic Qualification entry to the NCAA FCS Playoffs on the line, the whole year came down to the last two games on the last day of the regular season. Stony Brook and Liberty dominated Big South play out of the gate and lasted as undefeated most of the way...but Coastal Carolina found itself mid-season and started an amazing push. The Chants lost to SBU early, seemingly part of the tailor-made set-up for a clash between the Seawolves and the Flames in the end, but everything changed when Coastal Carolina upset Liberty later in the year.
Suddenly a very real possibility existed for a three-way tie at the top among those schools...all would share the regular season title, but who would get the AQ? If Liberty beat Stony Brook, the head-to-head match-ups would only lead in a circle (A beat B beat C beat A, etc.), so no winner...and comparing records against the remaining teams would also not matter, as they all beat everyone else...meaning that the tiebreaker would come down to fewest points allowed in Big South games, a test of relative defensive strength.
So to the final week we go, SBU seemingly holding all the cards--win and in, no ties to break...and even if they lost, they had a cushion of about 40 points in the tiebreaker. Get ready for the playoffs? The answer was a two-part resounding NO. First Coastal obliterated Charleston Southern 70-3 (interestingly enough, only the "3" matters, as it was irrelevant how many points Coastal scored on CSU...the whole point of the defensive tiebreaker was to attempt to avoid running up the score...tiny bit of irony there, as you'll see). In doing that, the Chants actually knocked Liberty out of the running for the AQ just as the Flames began their own game. How? Because LU entered the day four points behind CCU in the tiebreaker and CCU only surrendered three! Unless the Flames figured out how to put SBU in negative numbers, Liberty was already done. For Coastal, the issue became one of hoping for two more things: Liberty winning, and doing so with 42 or more points on the board. And again, all SBU needed was the win--making everything else immaterial. So what happened? Of course, the wild scenario played out--in a game breaking a number of offensive records (both for Liberty and the Big South), the Flames defeated Stony Brook 54-28 -- pandemonium!
Summing up: three teams shared the Big South Conference Football Championship, but when the tiebreakers sorted out the one team receiving the automatic bid, that went to Coastal Carolina. From there, the good news was that CCU got to host the opening game...the bad news was that the Chants fell 17-10 to Western Illinois (who will play next at App. State). Also unfortunate was that Liberty once again was denied an at-large bid to the playoffs. The Flames can claim all or part of four straight Big South titles now, but regrettably no trips to the postseason for all that success.
Okay, so those are the soap operas of the fall, wrapped up for you in one wordy package.
If you hadn't guessed by the mentions above, the fall Sasser Cup leader (standings for all sports) is High Point. HPU has never won the Sasser Cup, but the fall was certainly a good start. Liberty and Coastal (who have each won multiple Sasser Cups over the years) sit in second and third, so watch out, Panthers. That same 1-2-3 order held at the top of the rankings for the men's, women's, and overall standings.
OKAY, time now to ramp up your hoops attention, if you have not done so already.
Enjoy the games, and remember this thought: Thanksgiving should not be the only time for giving thanks, and Christmas should not be the only time for peace on earth and goodwill. Make the most of your holidays, everyone--may they be happy and safe for all. And Happy Hanukkah to those celebrating this week (it came early this year)!
That's all (that's plenty) for today...SHOUT--out!!!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Tricks, Treats, Titles
Happy Halloween weekend, SHOUT fans!
My goodness, just look around the Big South Conference right now--tricks and treats abound.
That's what happens in late October, as the fall sports engage in critical Conference play and approach their seasonal conclusions and championship tournaments--while the basketball machine begins to hum to life (IT'S ALIVE! IT'S ALIVE!)
Football? Got that...and no trick there--fans are getting treated to what was expected coming into the season: Liberty and Stony Brook on top. Neither of those squads would be forecast to stumble this week, but you never can tell with this bunch--"any given Saturday" and all that. The Flames and Seawolves have each begun Big South play 2-0 this year, and the conclusion-jumpers are already pointing to that late November clash in Lynchburg, when those teams could meet with a playoff berth on the line. Too early to call, but it could happen.
Volleyball? Yep, got that too--Liberty is on top as I write this, but the margin is small: Flames at 10-1, High Point Panthers at 9-2. Looks like those two could easily wind up as the top two seeds, but there are a couple more weeks of Conference play to sort that out...
Soccer? Two times over, of course...for the men, High Point has already clinched the regular season title, thanks to a double-overtime victory at Coastal Carolina this week. The Panthers have been ROLLING, mounting goal after goal on the way to a 7-0 Big South record. Meanwhile, the women's side is going to be a lot messier than that...not a treat for those trying to sort out tie-breakers: as of this morning, Winthrop is 6-1-1, with FOUR teams tied for second, just one game back, at 5-2-1...that's CSU, Coastal, Radford, and HPU. Yep. Messy.
CROSS COUNTRY????? So glad you asked! Men's & Women's Cross Country will be the first championship events of the season, kicking off the 2010-11 Big South Championships with a running start in Radford, VA. Liberty swept all the running sports a year ago and would appear to be the favorite yet again for this year's contest. So will the Flames burn brightest again--or can someone else "run away" with the title this year? We'll have the answer by early Saturday afternoon.
And...basketball? You bet. Practices have begun and preseason games are right around the corner. The seasons for both men and women tip off officially on Friday, November 12th, just two weeks away from right now. Lots of hoops fans have their countdowns running with anticipation for another great batch of thrills on the court, and with good reason.
So, is it the most wonderful time of year? Well, that's all about perspective of course, but you have to like what you're seeing out there right now.
That's your recap for today -- gotta run, folks -- and that's SHOUT -- out.
Friday, May 28, 2010
A Study in Contrast and the Sun Delay
Sorry for not having time to fire off a SHOUT yesterday from the Baseball Championship, but I'm back today with more to share...
Gotta share quick stories on the two games I worked Thursday on the Big South Network, doing play-by-play for the video stream. Talk about two fascinating and different ballgames...whew...
The 3pm game was Coastal Carolina vs. Radford, and it was all about the bats.
I've seen a lot of baseball in my day, but the 2nd inning for the Coastal hitters was an amazing sight. CCU sent 14 batters to the plate, and ten men scored! Felt like we saw one of everything in that frame, and we may well have. The hitting display was impressive, and quite demonstrative of how talented and aggressive the Chanticleers can be. They built a big lead but kept the foot on the throttle, expanding it as wide as they could for as long as they could.
So 10-0 after two and RU facing elimination...game over early?
Hardly.
No quit in the Highlanders: grand slam in the fourth, another four runs in the fifth, and surprise: it's 10-8 and a whole new ballgame for the final few innings.
In the end, it was 11-9 Coastal...the Chants stay unbeaten (both in the tourney and in overall Conference play this season), while the Highlanders hit the high road back home. Radford showed a lot of heart after getting blitzed up front in that game, but the hole was just too deep. A three-hour ballgame, it had 20 runs and 26 hits combined (making the result not unlike Radford's first game, a 10-8 loss to High Point: 18 runs and 24 hits).
So clear the decks and prep the field, it's time for the nightcap with Liberty and High Point...
Total opposite of the last game--no runs at all in the first five innings. The pitching showdown would theoretically been a quick game as well, but with so many deep counts, walks, hit batters, and the like, the game was methodical but not efficient time-wise. That said, the hits were scattered and the pitchers were largely in control of the game...which made the first run that much more ironic: bases-loaded hit-by-pitch, HPU runner comes in to score. Oh my.... So the 1-0 score lasts from the 6th to the 9th, and then the game changes again. The Panthers got the sought-after insurance run in the top of the frame, taking a 2-0 lead in a game with runs at a dear premium (as opposed to the scoring-in-bunches approach seen just before).
You wouldn't believe it...but here we are, bottom of the 9th--strikeout, 0-2 count on the second batter--single, HBP, HBP, and the BASES ARE LOADED, one out, bottom of the ninth...and PASSED BALL, run scores--two runners in scoring position with a one-run game!
Every minute that passed seemed to ramp up the drama another notch.
But the next two batters would go down--game over, 2-1 final, High Point defeats Liberty.
So two games with fascinating scripts, but different stories from start to finish.
That's baseball, folks.
One sidebar before I head back to the ballpark for today's action...
I've often said with regards to baseball (after several years working in the minor leagues), "Every time I think I've seen one of everything, I see something else." Well, Thursday night was one of those times. Early in the game, I witnessed my first "sun delay."
Yeah, you read it...not a rain delay or anything like that, but a sun delay.
You see, The Winthrop Ballpark is a wonderful facility, really it is...but it's not facing the right way, not in any traditional baseball sense, anyway. The setting sun shoots right into the face of the place--right at the hitters, the fans, the press box, etc. To counteract that problem, a huge wall was built in center field years ago as a super-sized batter's eye. Okay, but yesterday the angle was just right, and the sun hit the press box windows just right, causing a reflective glare that was fully in the face of a pitcher standing on the mound. And so we waited...for several minutes...while the sun slowly set...changing the angle in question...and moving the reflective glare away from the mound...eventually disappearing altogether. Strange but true--the story of the sun delay.
Back to the ballpark for me--enjoy the games, and have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend everyone--get some family time and start your summer, catch the races, do what you do, but above all, remember what the holiday commemorates, okay? And with that in mind, a quick note for Saturday:
In honor of Memorial Day Weekend, all Military veterans and active members of the armed forces and national guard will be admitted free to Saturday's 1:00pm Big South Baseball Championship game at The Winthrop Ballpark. Immediate/accompanying family members will be admitted to the game for $5 each. Sound good, don't you think? Stay safe, everybody...SHOUT--out!!!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Put Me In, Coach...
Another salute to proper punctuation: "Put me in, Coach" as opposed to "Put me in Coach"...the former would get you entered in a game, the latter would get you seated on a plane.
But all baseball fans recognize the familiar refrain of John Fogerty's "Centerfield," a classic homage to the love of the game. Things change, but there's always something about the game that inspires us, "The one constant throughout the years," as James Earl Jones calls baseball in his epic speech from "Field of Dreams."
The 2010 Royal Purple Big South Conference Baseball Championship began yesterday...that's a mouthful of words for one simple principle: baseball games that matter--a lot.
The first game between VMI and UNC Asheville played as scheduled, despite getting some mid-game showers, and despite a seemingly random glitch that kept some--but not all--streaming viewers from seeing the first few innings. That tech issue had me hopping with troubleshooting, not to mention hopping mad, but all was resolved in a fair amount of time. Meanwhile, the game itself rolled on, a well-fought contest with the Keydets coming out on top 7-4. For VMI, that means at least two more games in the season...for Asheville, it's all over: opening day is single-elimination play.
For the nightcap between Winthrop and Gardner-Webb, I got to put on the headset and take the play-by-play call for the Big South Network. Although I have done literally hundreds of baseball games, the majority on radio, but many on TV as well, it had actually been a while since I had the mic for baseball. In the past few months, I've been tapped to voice softball, swimming, track, and basketball, but no baseball this season, so I was looking forward to the opportunity to dust off some of the old ballgame patter.
I gotta say, it was fun--I've always enjoyed doing that. Every game follows a different script, so you never know what you're going to get. In this case, we got a game with some drama, as Winthrop got on the board and increased its lead slowly from one, to two, to four, before GWU even scored at all. The Runnin' Bulldogs made the most of the late innings, climbing within one and getting good hitters up in the ninth with a shot at changing the outcome. But Winthrop held off the charge 4-3, and the tournament-hosting Eagles punched a ticket to stay alive in their own ballpark for at least two more days. Gardner-Webb? Like Asheville, done.
The Wednesday lineup, about to begin as I post this SHOUT (not from the ballpark for now, but from an edit session for our Hall of Fame Banquet--I'm getting to the park later today): 11am - Coastal Carolina vs. VMI; 3pm - Liberty vs. Winthrop; 7pm - Radford vs. High Point. And again, all games can be found on the Big South Network at BigSouthSport.com. Enjoy! SHOUT (and Mark B.) -- out.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
PLAY BALL!
Fans in the Big South Conference certainly have plenty of events and athletes to get excited about throughout the year, with lots of successes and remarkable competitions to enjoy...but we also know that there are times when fan fever reaches a higher level--moments when even casual fans find themselves fired up for the sports drama to come.
Over the years, the Baseball Championship has been one of those benchmark events. This year should be no different, and it's time to take the field and get going: games one and two are tonight at Winthrop Ballpark for the 2010 Royal Purple Big South Conference Baseball Championship.
The headline story has to be top-seeded Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers are justifiably ranked with the nation's elite teams. Their overall record is sensational; their Conference record is spotless: 25-0 in Big South play for 2010.
Seriously. Undefeated. Twenty-five wins.
CCU has an inside track on hosting an NCAA Regional--and a Super-Regional if they survive. Those games would all be played at BB&T Coastal Field (home of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans minor league team, and a very nice room to catch a game, right across from the Broadway at the Beach complex). The Chants have been knocking on the door to Omaha for years--does Coach Gary Gilmore have the right combination this time? I won't be the one to jinx anything (baseball is so superstitious), so I'll just say "all things are possible"...and now that the regular season is over, all eyes are on the various conference tournaments as teams are slotted into postseason roles.
But here's the thing...Coastal may be wearing the belt, but seven other participants are in the ring for this particular royal rumble. The top four seeds know they are in the main double-elimination bracket starting play on Wednesday: CCU, Liberty, Radford, and High Point. The next four teams have to play their way into that phase of the competition, with single-elimination play Tuesday afternoon and evening...
Game 1 - VMI vs. UNC Asheville, 4pm
Game 2 - Winthrop vs. Gardner-Webb, 7pm
The two winners join the top four seeds and play for the title...the two losers are one-and-done, postseason over, thanks for playing. If that seems rough, remember that Charleston Southern didn't even make this party, finishing 9th for an eight-team field (noting that PC is still not eligible for the tourney due to NCAA D-I transition rules).
Beyond the two-game opening day on Tuesday, it's three games each day for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (11am / 3pm / 7pm schedule each day), and then the final game(s) on Saturday starting at 1pm (one game for certain, two games if necessary to determine an overall winner).
The entire event will be broadcast on the Big South Network. If you subscribed to a Baseball SportPass (or a Spring Combination Package or an Annual Membership), you already have the tournament included in your account. If you're a game-by-game purchaser or new subscriber, you'll need to order the Championship (available by the day or full event) to see the competition. It promises to be one of the more elaborate productions attempted to date on the Big South Network, with up to six cameras in use, significant graphic support, frequent use of replays, and experienced announcers (including me, so I won't lay it any thicker than "experienced" for now). We give a big SHOUT-out to Everett Hutto and Scott Finn at Winthrop for the ambitious production plans and look forward to a sensational product.
Okay, enough hype...PLAY BALL! Just hours after this was written, all the words in the world won't make a difference, as the teams will start sorting it out for themselves between the lines. I hope you have a chance to follow the tournament in whichever way you wish -- either by attending the games at Winthrop, watching on the Big South Network, or following the updates I intend to offer as frequently as I can on Twitter, Facebook, and naturally in some first-person accounts right here in SHOUT! Whew...enjoy the games.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Things That Are & Things That May Be
Been a little while since our last SHOUT, hasn't it?
So let's get to it...
Our focus today is baseball and softball, throwing that at you right now.
On the baseball front, we have some interesting dynamics happening...
First I have to brief you on the baseball tourney format, because that's key to the stuff that follows...keep up with me on this, please: ten teams play in the regular season for the Big South, but PC is not eligible for postseason play yet in baseball as part of their transition to D1, leaving nine eligible for the tournament--but only eight teams make it into the tourney field (with me so far?)...the top four seeds skip the opening day and go directly into double-elimination bracket play, but the bottom four seeds have to play on the first day in single-elimination mode to see who joins the top group and who ends the postseason in a one-and-done...okay, who's lost?
Nobody? Great!
So let's start with the news at the top, because there are some staggering stories to share.
Coastal Carolina is the leader right now...and it's a pretty well-defined stake for king-of-the-mountain, as the Chanticleers are a whopping 20-0 in the Big South this year. Read it again if you like: undefeated in Conference play--in BASEBALL, where even the best team slips up on occasion. But wait, there's more: CCU has actually won 30 Conference games in a row, going back into last season! The Chants peaked with a week at #1 in the NCAA RPI for baseball, now sitting just slightly back, at 6th in the nation. Coastal is ranked in the top 11 in all major polls (6/4/5/4/11, with Rivals.com the only holdout from having CCU as top six across the board).
Very well, you say, Coastal=good, got it...but not so fast, my friends--don't look past Liberty. The Flames are second in the Big South at 18-3, and LU has 15 consecutive Big South victories tucked away. Liberty has inched its way up the RPI to #42 and is receiving votes in multiple polls right now.
Okay, so not quite as mind-blowing as the Coastal data, right? Well buckle up for this, sports fans: they play each other for a three-game series this weekend, the penultimate week of the college baseball season. As a wise man once said, "something's gotta give."
Sidebar on CCU/LU: both teams figure to make the NCAA field, barring odd circumstances down the stretch. ESPN's current "Baseball Bracketology" forecast (are these things getting out of hand?) has Coastal Carolina hosting a Regional, with College of Charleston, North Carolina, and Michigan penciled in to fill out the foursome...and Liberty going to Charlottesville for a Regional hosted by Virginia, with Vandy and JMU there to complete that quartet. That's all speculation, so file that under the "Things That May Be" in our title today...but that kind of guesswork has not slowed down the Coastal Carolina ticket office, offering sign-ups for ticket packages to postseason play not yet awarded. Certainly confident and likely prudent, but in superstition-heavy baseball, is no one concerned about the major hex cast by such a move? The jinx factor can almost be tangible sometimes in baseball, but it's likely the Chants can back up the bravado.
By the way, the focus of that ESPN piece was the likely lineup from one-bid leagues...nice to see that the Big South was NOT featured for a change.
Now to the opposite end, the polar extreme, the bottom of the standings...PC brings up the rear at 4-17, but they're out of the tournament discussion anyway. Remember that remark about the top eight teams? Well, there's a duel for eighth place between Charleston Southern at 6-14 (with five Big South losses in a row) and UNC Asheville at 5-16 (with nine straight Conference losses). And, you guessed it, they also face off in a three-game set this weekend!
Yes, in a happy accident of scheduling, we could very well determine the positioning at the top and bottom of the seeding in concurrent series with just a week left in the season. Sure, there will be a little jockeying thereafter, but a lot will depend on what happens for those teams in those series.
Meanwhile, there's drama in the middle as well, given the value of being in the top four. Now, Coastal and Liberty already have two of those spots locked down, but the others are in play. Radford (13-8) has a leg up, but it's not a done deal. VMI (11-10) holds fourth now, but only by a game on High Point (10-11)--and don't overlook Winthrop just behind at 9-12. The Eagles of course covet a spot in the top four to be sure they avoid a potentially quick exit from an event they're hosting in Rock Hill. The only team I didn't mention up to now is Gardner-Webb, largely because the Running Bulldogs (at 8-13) float in a space neither likely to make the top four nor get bounced out of the top eight. Expect to see them playing in the single-elimination round on Tuesday the 25th.
Moving right along now to softball...we KNOW those seeds, because the Softball Championship is THIS WEEK--no waiting here. All seven Big South teams (including PC for softball) participate in the tourney, with the seeding in this order: Radford, Liberty, Winthrop, GWU, CSU, Coastal, and PC. There will be five games Thursday, five more Friday, and the event will conclude Saturday. It's double-elimination throughout, and although nobody gets knocked out on the opening day, they start falling right away on day two with lower bracket games. Tell you what--in a set-up like this, you don't want to lose your first game. It sounds obvious, but knowing that your second loss is the one that kills you may take some of the sting out of the first--don't be fooled. Losing your opener in this tourney puts you on a rough road if there's going to be a title in your future: a relentless series of elimination games in a narrow time span--good luck...have a look at the bracket here.
If you plan on checking out the coverage from Coastal Carolina on the Big South Network for the Softball Championship, you'll probably hear my voice. I'm the guy doing play-by-play for the first ten games of the softball frenzy in Conway--so check it out!
Okay, enough rambling, I think...yes? Yes...you've gotten a taste for the chases and races here at the waning moments of the baseball and softball seasons--hopefully that gives you a little context to enjoy the games ahead. Follow closely on BigSouthSports.com, Twitter.com/BigSouthSports, Facebook.com/BigSouthSports, and this space as well...even though I'll be talking away, I'll do my best to update all of the above for you, so stay tuned...SHOUT--out.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Channel Your Inner Channels
Hello, Big Southers far and wide--welcome to another edition of SHOUT.
Surely you're ready for a weekend...I know I am...and if you're a Big South sports fan (which of course you are), then you're also looking forward to another great weekend of Conference games in baseball and softball. Plenty of good match-ups to enjoy out there!
Congrats to Radford for clinching the Regular Season Softball Championship nice and early--but there's still the matter of the upcoming tournament. RU will surely be the favorite, but a lot can happen with so many games in such a short period, so we look forward to the drama that will unfold at Coastal Carolina's field May 13-15.
Meanwhile, we quietly hit a unique milestone on the bas
eball side this past week, as Coastal Carolina topped the NCAA Baseball RPI list...you read that right: Number One in the nation based on record, road performance, schedule strength, and all the other factors that go into computing RPI. Regrettably (and isn't this always the case for teams at the top), CCU lost the first game after those rankings were published, falling on the road at Virginia. The good news is that loss may not have a catastrophic effect, considering that UVa came in at #4 on the very same list. RPI position is naturally among the consideration factors for regional hosting and seeding, so the Chanticleers have to be happy finding themselves in the uppermost tier.
By the way--big congratulations to Winthrop for the performance at the 2010 Big South Conference Men's & Women's Tennis Championships: WU swept the titles, winning final team matches as the 2-seed on both sides. The Eagles defeated the top-seeded teams in both men's play (Radford, also the host team) and women's play (Charleston Southern).
Before I go on to plug our title topic today, I also want to be sure and add a proper salute and SHOUT-out to our Winter Sportsmanship Awards winners, as voted on by their peers: PC women's basketball, GWU men's basketball, VMI women's indoor track, and Liberty men's indoor track. Those results will be combined with the fall honors already known and the spring list to be announced in determining who the overall Sportsmanship Awards will belong to at year's end.
And now, what's all this "channel" nonsense from today's headline?
We've put together a significant enhancement and upgrade to our Big South Network video portal at BigSouthSports.com. Before this, you always had to view everything from a Big South window and find anything you're looking for from out of the entire selection of events throughout the Conference. Not anymore--particularly not if your loyalty resides with a specific member of the Big South. 
When you access video via the Big South Network now, you will find a new drop-down menu on the left side inviting you to "SELECT A TEAM." Clicking that gives you a list of the ten member institutions, and picking one of those essentially "changes the channel," transforming the player to a skin matching your school of choice and altering the available programming accordingly. Want to find only upcoming games for Coastal? championship events for Winthrop? games on demand for High Point? Gotcha covered...all part of the ongoing efforts to improve the fan experience with BigSouthSports.com and the Big South Network. We hope you like it--a lot went into making this happen, and we thank our web and streaming hosts with NeuLion/JumpTV, because these video developments were actually a bit harder than they look, and they were implemented seamlessly (so a SHOUT-out to the project developers today as well).
Speaking of the Big South Network (you knew this was coming), here's the video guide not only for this week, but the next TWO weeks of programming:
That's all I'll throw your way today. Enjoy yourselves out there--and try to catch a game at a Big South school if you have one within reach (and if not, well...that's what the video streaming is for, right?)...and that's SHOUT...out.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Championships-A-PLENTAY
Many Southerners know that if you ever find yourself in Spartanburg, SC, and you need a major burger-and-fried-stuff fix, the Beacon Drive In is the place to be. Those not traveling much through the region may know the Beacon from its appearance on "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives." Either way, you need to know how to order right away. Yep, it's one of THOSE places--first-timers better learn quick that you don't hold up the line, because you need to "CALL IT!" A hallmark of ordering at the Beacon is getting your burger A-PLENTAY (that's "plenty" with proper inflection, of course), meaning virtually buried in an avalanche of fries and onion rings. You get what you came for--and then some.
Hence the appropriate title for this post, because we know it's time for spring championships--and boy do we have an overflowing plate of stuff we can sink our teeth into today!
Let's take this chronologically...
It had been a month since the basketball tournaments for the Big South, but the silence ended last week, starting with the Women's Golf Championship. Charleston Southern's women logged the best showing at The Patriot Golf Club in Ninety-Six, SC, bringing back the first Big South Championship for the Bucs in anything this year. The kudos for CSU don't just end with the trophy--after all, the Bucs beat the Championship record score by eight strokes (881) and became the first team in event history to record team scores under 300 each day. AND CSU senior Olivia Jordan-Higgins brought was the individual medalist. Nice finish all around.
Before the men would get their crack at The Patriot, we turned to the CSU campus, site of the 2010 Men's & Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships. With a talented roster of competitors from all across the Big South, the OTF Championships nonetheless came down to one team on top, and the Flames burned brightest. Liberty won both the men's and women's titles, and in so doing, completed an unprecedented sweep of all the "running" titles: Cross Country, Indoor Track, and Outdoor Track, all for both Men's and Women's Championships. Call it the "double triple" as they are at LU, or just call it dominance. Coastal's women's team gave Liberty a major challenge, and even held the team lead for a while, but it was not to be this time. As for the men, Liberty led wire-to-wire there. Interestingly, while the Men's Top Performers in Track (Evans Kigen) and Field (Clarence Powell) came from Liberty, the Women's Top Performers in Track (Ikeiylah Brown) and Field (Brittany Connor) came from Coastal Carolina.
This week began with the Men's Golf Championship, and it's a familiar refrain in the Big South to announce Coastal Carolina as the team champion for men's golf, so that result comes as no real surprise to anyone. Take in these impressive numbers: CCU has now won seven titles in a row and 12 of 14. The Chants were pushed by CSU and Liberty, but could not be caught. Given all that, perhaps it's of some interest that the individual medalist was not a Chanticleer: Liberty's Robert Karlsson had the best score for the tournament.
AND NOW another title tilt is happening, even as I write and share these thoughts with you. The Big South Men's & Women's Tennis Championships began this morning from the campus of Radford University, where the hosting men's team enters with the top seed, while Charleston Southern has that honor on the women's side. So by Saturday afternoon, we're scheduled to have two more champions crowned.
That's if the weather holds, of course...we just got through nine days staging four outdoor championship events with nothing more than a fog delay one morning and some breezes, so the luck so far has been quite good (bringing the law of averages into play, quite possibly). It may be a race against rain come Saturday, but we're hoping all is well for tennis to run on schedule.
Once tennis concludes, that just leaves softball and baseball to finish out the "pennant races" of their seasons and stage their May tourneys, which will close out the 2009-10 season.
As far as title-winners this year, looking back on it, we find a very favorable run for LU:
Championships won (14 total)--
7.5 Liberty (M/W XC, M/W ITF, M/W OTF, WBB, FB-tie)
2.0 Winthrop (MSOC, MBB)
2.0 Coastal Carolina (VB, MG)
1.0 High Point (WSOC)
1.0 Charleston Southern (WG)
0.5 (Associate Member Stony Brook: FB-tie)
And with only four left to crown, nobody can catch Liberty on this list...as for Sasser Cup, there are a number of other factors involved, but no one can doubt LU would be a favorite to repeat.
In other news, HPU is streaming their Spring Athletic Banquet tonight (4/22). It's available on the Big South Network, just like these other games I'm going to talk about in the video (although the banquet is the only one of those events that you can watch for free)...here's the guide for this week--with one note--ADD IN the Saturday-Sunday games for Coastal Carolina at VMI baseball:
So that's it for today...until next time-- "CAALLLLLLL IT!" SHOUT--out.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Big Games & Championships, Good Times...
So you've been waiting for your SHOUT...(okay, okay, at least play along).
It's here, it's time, let the embloggination begin...(no, it's not a word, nor is it mine, but I liked it, so I'm throwing it in there).
First off, a happy SHOUT-out to the ranked Big South baseball teams for pulling off a tremendous Daily Double on Tuesday night against another pair of ranked teams: VMI downed Virginia and Coastal Carolina defeated North Carolina.
Now, the actual rankings depend on your poll of preference. This week, I could easily produce different lists that placed Virginia at number 1, 2, 3, or 4. Regardless, we're talking about a top-flight team right now, yes? For the sake of argument, we're calling UVa a #1 team--one that came into Lexington and got a good beating by the Keydets, 12-3. Very impressive...VMI holds the #26 spot in the Collegiate Baseball Poll, but could get some increased consideration with that victory.
Meanwhile, Coastal is in the # 9 - 12 area of the rankings, while UNC holds a spot about ten places down from that, so by rank this was not an upset. Nonetheless, props to the Chants for completing the ACC two-fer by the Big South teams this week--and again, not a close one, with a 12-4 final score.
That was a big night for the Big South--after all, that group would make a heckuva regional lineup, wouldn't it? I know it would not go down that way, but CCU, UNC, VMI, & UVa would make for some great ballgames. Perhaps down the road we'll see Virginia and Coastal each hosting their opponent from this week in a regional of their own...but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
A Big South Championship was decided this week, and it was a good one for the folks of Charleston Southern--winner in women's golf. CSU led the event after day one, after day two, and most importantly, after day three. Bucs golfer Olivia Jordan-Higgins also brought a title back to Charleston as the individual medalist. CSU had not broken through with a championship in any sport last year nor so far this year until taking the crown for women's golf.
But the Buccaneers did not stop there this past week, clinching the Regular Season Championship for women's tennis as well, as they cruised through a spectacular season. We'll see next week if they can add another event win with the Tennis Championships at Radford's campus.
And while we're talking about Charleston Southern, that also happens to be the host site for the 2010 Big South Men's & Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships, happening right now at CSU. The leading teams after the first day of competition were Liberty for the men and Coastal Carolina for the women. Not coincidentally, those squads were the winners of those titles a year ago and now seek the repeat. At the same time, there will be added intrigue on the women's side, where LU will be trying to get past the strong CCU team in an effort at a remarkable sweep. Liberty holds the current titles for M/W Cross Country and M/W Indoor Track -- so taking both sides at outdoor would complete a powerful cycle (something I believe they've referred to as a "double-triple crown"). We shall see...
Right on the heels of outdoor track comes the championship tourney for men's golf and then men's and women's tennis next weekend. We'll have more on those events in SHOUT next week, of course...and beyond that, we've got softball and baseball in May
Here's your guide to what's streaming on the Big South Network...
Hey there--not following us on Twitter or a fan on Facebook yet? What are you waiting for? We've got hundreds who've already joined the fun, but we're still missing you!
Have a great weekend, one and all--get out to some games if you can (and if you can't, then catch some at the Big South Network). Thanks....SHOUT--out...
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Take Me to Your Leaders
Time for your Friendly Neighborhood Spring Sports Update...While I can list four programs that have run off winning records in the Bi
g South and overall, only one is truly the leader here: Charleston Southern. CSU has raced out to a 7-0 / 15-1 start and has mounted a legitimate threat to Winthrop's grip on the sport in the Conference. Winthrop (3-1 / 9-8) is among the schools in that winning group, along with Coastal Carolina (3-1 / 15-4) and Radford (3-2 / 12-4), but there's a lot of catching up to do if the Bucs are to be overtaken by anybody else before the Championship at Radford in just two weeks.
While the next Big South Championship will be awarded in women's golf, the next one you can watch on the Big South Network is the 2010 Big South Men's & Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships from Charleston Southern.
Given the level of competition seen across the Conference this year, I would expect some remarkable times/heights/distances from the participating student-athletes. Team-wise, keep your eyes on the Liberty contingent. The Flames took home the hardware for men's and women's cross country in the fall and for men's and women's indoor track in the winter...meaning LU seeks a remarkable "double triple crown"--winning for men and women in all three running/track-related sports. It would be an incredible feat, but they'll have to beat the field next week to pull it off, and that won't be easy.
Speaking of the "BSN" -- here's the story on what will be streaming this week, including that football game from PC...
That's all for now, folks. Not expecting a new entry tomorrow, so I'll wish you a good weekend now...SHOUT--out!
