What a run by the Fresno State Bulldogs. Sure, I'm disappointed that my Georgia Bulldogs didn't win the College World Series, but that doesn't mean I can't be impressed by what could be the biggest underdog in college sports history to win a national title.

Congrats to Fresno State, which collected its first-ever men's national championship in any team sport.

As for the Georgia Bulldogs, that's a heck of a year for Dave Perno and hope he gets a nice big extension. Perno, seen by many as a guy UGA settled on when they hired him, has proven not only to be a top-notch coach, but also an incredible builder of a program. Since taking over following the 2001 season, Perno, an Athens native and UGA grad, has taken UGA to three trips to Omaha and two SEC titles.

Despite winning the first game of the finals and having a 5-0 lead in the second game, Fresno State just outplayed UGA and deserved to win the whole thing. What a great CWS and congrats to the Bulldogs.

* Rick House over at RedReporter has a nice look at the Volquez-Hamilton trade and concludes the Reds are winning so far. He's got a great point about Hamilton's season and how if you look at the non-Triple Crown stats, Milton Bradley's having a better season. Bottom line is, I think both teams would do the trade again in a heartbeat.

* Bobby Livingston struggled yesterday in his second appearance in the Gulf Coast League, going three innings, allowing six hits, five runs (three earned) and walking three.

* You may remember the "controversy" of Sports Illustrated's poll of players that had Derek Jeter as the most overrated player in baseball. I got this week's issue in the mail and it had the most underrated. While Placido Palanco took the top spot in voting done by big league players (and a pretty good pick there), Aaron Harang got the most votes of any pitcher, getting 3.5% of the vote, the only pitcher to get more than 1%.

* Josh Fogg pitches for Louisville tonight. Get your tickets early.

* Baseball Tonight has a good look at the maple bat controversy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(And David Chalk's roundup is hilarious -- the Joba Chamberlain is the anti-Roger Clemens joke cracked me up)

I've gotta say, Jeff Passan was on this early and now it's turned into a big story.

An interesting point by Buster Onley that there aren't enough ash bats to go around right now.

* Umpire Brian Runge apologized to Jerry Manuel, but he should be suspended. If it's an automatic suspension for a manager to bump an umpire, it should go both ways.

* So, who is crazier -- Milton Bradley or Shawn Chacon? I say Bradley, but Chacon's still young.

* Joe Posnanski talks about Joe Morgan -- which is interesting, because among baseball bloggers, Poz is a bright shining beacon of "mainstream media" that "gets it." (And, I can't disagree -- Poz has been my favorite writer for a long time, he's got a curious baseball mind that's open to new ideas and he's a great, great guy to boot.) And Joe Morgan is a symbol of all that is wrong with tradition baseball thought. And here, Poz finds middle ground. That's why Poz is the best. Just the best.

I can't tell you how excited I am for Poz's book on the Big Red Machine. I had a chance to help him do some research, but I'm pretty busy with my gig here, so my guy Josh Katzowitz is doing it and I'm jealous. I just want to observe and learn from the best any way I can. But still, I think it's pretty awesome that I've gotten a couple of meals with my professional hero and next time he's in town, we've talked about a Skyline run.

* Um.. I have no idea what to say about this. Maybe they should ban pillows.

* Have I mentioned lately just how much I love the Onion? Oh, yeah, I really, really love it. Lots.

* While I'm not crazy about the NBA (I did watch more of the playoffs this year and really enjoyed it), I do love the NBA Draft, which is tonight. I love all drafts, really. I'm not sure why, but I do.

I think it's because I love college sports and it's like graduation for them. It's like letting your kids go in the wild. It's also a way for me to keep tabs on other teams, mostly in the NFL. In the NFL, I always pay attention to where former Bulldogs go and wish them success.

* Long-time reader EWad sent me this:

(And, yes, I realize for all the smack I've talked about tOSU, the Buckeyes will win the next five national titles.)

There are more alternate covers here. (I like the new Alabama one)

* Michael Gondry lists his Top 25 music videos of the last 25 years. I was disappointed in Be Kind Rewind, but still think Gondry's amazing.

* Time Magazine on how George Carlin changed comedy. I listened to the Fresh Air retrospective and it was incredible.

* So, I took Brutus the Boxer Beefcake to the dog park yesterday. Now, I'm cool with letting your dogs off their leashes at the dog park, because that's kind of the whole point -- but who ever said it was cool to let your children off their leashes at the dog park?

Some little rugrat was dumping a ratty stuffed animal in the one clean water bucket for the dogs to drink out of and when I asked him to stop, he responded like he'd never heard the world 'no' before. And then he kept doing it.

Then it got worse, the little brat started waving it around and throwing water on all the dogs. Brutus is pretty cool, but he couldn't believe the little jerk was doing it and wisely walked away amazed that there was no parental supervision.

If I were Brutus, or the big German Shepherd Hannibal that was there, I'd have bitten the kid. And you know what? I wouldn't blame my dog for biting the kid. He was asking for it. I'm sure the mother, if she would have noticed, would not feel the same way.

And while I'm ranting about the dog park, how about guy who sits on his cell phone and doesn't even pay attention to his dog. This guy, wearing Birkenstocks and with a pinky ring, was oblivious as his dog started picking fights with other dogs. Brutus, like his owner, is a lover, not a fighter, so he didn't get involved. But Mr. Pinky ring didn't even notice until the third fight when all the other owners started yelling at him. He then left.

* I try not to hate people I don't know (and even most I do -- they're usually not worth more than a strong dislike or a scoffing pity), but I'm not too fond of Sam Zell.

* Maybe I'll have to buy the domain ctrentrosecrans.sex

* Presented without comment: Girls Gone Grabbin'

* Yeah, that's about it. I didn't find too much on the ol' internets today that got my blood going. How about this, is there any interest in a mailbag feature? You know, you send in questions or comments to me and I publish them and respond? You know me, it can be about anything, I don't care. Just think of me as the next Ann Landers -- but with less facial hair. I think it could be fun. Egotistical, but fun. I've got some great readers -- let me know -- ctr@1530homer.com