I haven’t seen it mentioned here, but is this guy insane. Compared going to Omaha to winning a game to make it to the NCAA tournament round of 32. I’ve never heard of this guy but apparently he’s on the radio in the afternoon. Bo Bounds and his group were trashing him pretty good over the comments this morning.
SIAP: Chris Brooks
- Thread starter jack daniels dog
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May he was trying to make his OM listeners feel better that they were that close making the Thrilling 32 in basketball this past year too.
Either way they're still losers.
And the analogy is just stupid. But you can bet I'll be listening today to hear his explanation/walk back.
Either way they're still losers.
And the analogy is just stupid. But you can bet I'll be listening today to hear his explanation/walk back.
They pulled that clip out of a discussion on what the job expectations should be for Mike Bianco and the difficulty level of him getting to Omaha. Had nothing to do with State.
I would’ve worded differently if I thought someone was gonna pull out one sentence and discuss it out of context, but I still think I’m right in terms of pure difficulty level for SEC teams. We’ve filled 20 Sweet Sixteen spots the last decade by 7 teams and filled 28 Omaha spots with 9 teams I think. SEC teams have to get to Omaha to be called national programs.
Obviously Omaha is a much bigger deal here than getting to the Sweet Sixteen. It had nothing to do with level of achievement or prestige comparing the two.
I would’ve worded differently if I thought someone was gonna pull out one sentence and discuss it out of context, but I still think I’m right in terms of pure difficulty level for SEC teams. We’ve filled 20 Sweet Sixteen spots the last decade by 7 teams and filled 28 Omaha spots with 9 teams I think. SEC teams have to get to Omaha to be called national programs.
Obviously Omaha is a much bigger deal here than getting to the Sweet Sixteen. It had nothing to do with level of achievement or prestige comparing the two.
The difficulty is the same, the SEC is just better in baseball than they are in basketball, same with football
I don't. Just because the SEC is good at a sport does not make top 8 = top 32.
There are only 296 D1 baseball teams compared to 351 in basketball but top 32 still does get close to top 8 statistically. You are one of the best if you consistently get to Omaha, you are not thought of in the same light when not even making sweet 16's. The very elite actually win it once it awhile as well.
It's Apples to Oranges. In the SEC Baseball is way better than Basketball.
Maybe Final 4 to WS..
brooks is a good guy. what he really seems to want to say but cant force himself to say is that MSU is a superior baseball program and that ole miss has done nothing wrong, its just that they live in a state where they are and always will be 2nd fiddle. ole miss baseball's greatest sin was comparing themselves to Mississippi State. Bianco turned them from nothing into a top half sec baseball program, which aint easy, but with our empty trophy case, they still yearn to beat us to the finish line, which is understandable.
I don't think it's that the SEC is good. It's that there is much more competition in basketball. Baseball is an afterthought for a lot of schools. Men's basketball, b/c of tournament money, can be a money maker for just about any school. And people play it all year round just about everywhere.
I'd say equating the CWS to top 32 looks wrong to me. But I don't think equating it to the Sweet 16 is obviously wrong. Sweet 16 gets you some buzz for a year, but other than the most committed fans, they can't tell you who was in the Sweet 16 a month after it happens. But getting their consistently changes the perception of the program. I think the same is true of the CWS but not necessarily true of making it to super regionals.
Another way to compare would be to look at a sport like hockey. However many programs there are, the real competition comes from schools in the area where climate is conducive to ice hockey and where they have a commitment to it. For baseball, the real competition is mostly from the Southeast and sunbelt and west coast, which means the competition isn't quite as stiff as you would think from looking at the number of schools competing.
Elite 8 is Elite 8 where you have hundreds of teams competing regardless of whether its basketball or baseball. ACC puts way more emphasis on basketball than the SEC does and most other leagues for that matter but does that cheapen the accomplishment when one of their basketball teams makes the Elite 8 in the NCAA basketball tourney? I don't think so.
Appreciate the first part. I can agree with some of that but not the 'Ole Miss has done nothing wrong' part which is really all we were talking about when I dropped that quote. When so many SEC teams are going regularly and you aren't, then you are doing something wrong. There are 3 SEC West teams in Omaha and 4 total. We send 3 SEC teams to Omaha on average every year and the teams change a good bit. Mike built that program up with fans and the money to seriously compete but if you're not going to the CWS from the SEC, you are doing something wrong. It is a weird deal considering OM has regular season success and SEC tournament success, but the O.M.A.H.A. thing is what it is.
But I do agree on a lot of the comparing to MSU comments in there. That's a real thing. It rubs a lot of salt in the wound.
But I do agree on a lot of the comparing to MSU comments in there. That's a real thing. It rubs a lot of salt in the wound.
Like you said, its not really how many teams play but how many have a legitimate chance to win the NCAA tourney. In some ways baseball is even harder because its a game where the best team wins less often and Cinderella is MUCH more of a factor in the baseball tourney than the basketball tourney. You would NEVER have a team like Coastal Carolina or Fresno State win the NCAA basketball tourney but they can sure get hot and win the baseball tourney. In both sports though the Power 5 conferences still provide the teams with the best chance to win and the only difference between basketball and baseball as far as that goes is that the Big 10 doesn't put much emphasis on baseball in general so they aren't as much of a factor there as they are for basketball. The other 4 conferences however are very much bought into having good baseball programs.
I listen to brooks and think he is a great guy. The show is pretty fun too. Bo is just trying to stir this up. Chris was bashing Bianco for his lack of post season success despite the resources he has. Which isn’t wrong. When you take that one sentence out of context, it does sounds like a really dumb take. And I disagree with comparing it to the round of 32. But his overall topic wasn’t wrong
For the purposes of grading Bianco, the path to Omaha is easier than reaching a Sweet Sixteen. At the same time, around here reaching Omaha is viewed about the same as a Final Four. It just matters more to people.
But it's summer and they gotta create something to talk about.
But it's summer and they gotta create something to talk about.
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it shouldnt really rub salt in the wound tho. we have been doing it for a long time, yall are the new kids on the block, settle down, take your lumps and keep building. win 3-5 more games over the last 3 years and you are feeling much better about yourselves as a program. with top classes coming in consistently, its hard to blame bianco for the kids not performing. he cant make them execute. that said, i hope yall botch the crap out of the hire, but it seems to not be about personnel or coaching, it seems to be a mental block and having the confidence to perform when needed. that x factor is the difference in our two programs. godwin or whoever likely wont be the guy you want to accomplish that.
I think it's short sighted to say OM is doing something 'wrong'. They may not be on the level as the other teams, but remember: MSU, A&M, LSU and Arkansas have all been contenders in the CWS for over 35 years. Auburn, Ole Miss and Bama have not.
Just having a good coach for the last 10-15 years and getting a nice stadium years after the others built theirs means that OM is behind the power curve. I think OM is building it's program nicely but they got the right coach long after the top 4 in the west had established themselves.
OM isnt doing it wrong. They are doing it late.
I don't think they should change coaches. I'd give it time as long as the regular season, recruiting, etc is going well. When I say something is wrong, I mean there has to be something there to change that keeps resulting in the same season.
Fresno State and Coastal Carolina have won World Series in the past decade. Coaches can’t recruit the top athletes and have to work around the draft so you have to do a lot of developing players. You have 11 scholarships to work with so the talent gets spread around. All of this makes baseball way more difficult, not less difficult for the major schools. Your comparison while not mean spirited is simply incorrect. It’s the same as the elite 8 in basketball. I don’t really understand how anyone could think otherwise.
Yeah this is where I think you’re off Chris. Just make it easy and compare it to the elite 8. Baseball has a lot of unexpected things that can happen. In basketball, if you have a super star, they can carry you to the round of 32 or the sweet 16 (Ex. steph curry). Baseball needs all 9 and pitching to step up. And you can run into one guy who is pitching lights out and force a loss.
Apparently, for Ole Miss, difficulty of the path is about equal as since 1975, they have ONE baseball CWS appearance and ONE basketball Sweet Sixteen appearance. I personally think making the CWS is slightly harder than a Sweet 16 appearance in general although for SEC teams it probably is roughly equal given SEC basketball players are normally not as skilled as players from some other parts of the country which shows up in the tourney.
It's not a perfect comparison but I think there are a lot of similarities there. Winning % and SEC winning % almost identical. Stans won the West I think 5 times and Bianco won 4 times. Both had post-season struggles. The main difference is Mike built the baseball program and Stans followed Richard Williams who already built a lot of basketball tradition.
Back up two posts to the real difference that makes Baseball’s path harder.
11.7 scholarships split among a roster of 35, with 27 of those allowed on Game Day rosters.
14 scholarships for basketball, with a 15 man travel roster. And as was stated it only takes 5 roll players and 2 stars in basketball as most teams have a 7-8 player rotation.
In baseball, you may use 14 players counting pitchers in one game and have to use a different 4-5 pitchers the next game depending on innings pitched.
Short scholarship numbers mean depth issues.
11.7 scholarships split among a roster of 35, with 27 of those allowed on Game Day rosters.
14 scholarships for basketball, with a 15 man travel roster. And as was stated it only takes 5 roll players and 2 stars in basketball as most teams have a 7-8 player rotation.
In baseball, you may use 14 players counting pitchers in one game and have to use a different 4-5 pitchers the next game depending on innings pitched.
Short scholarship numbers mean depth issues.
The College World Series is the equivalent of the Final 4 in basketball and the Football Playoff.
Just so happens that college baseball has a 8 team Tourney instead of 4
Every team that makes it to the final weekend in their respective sport has a chance to win a Natl Championship.
My take on it anyway.
Just so happens that college baseball has a 8 team Tourney instead of 4
Every team that makes it to the final weekend in their respective sport has a chance to win a Natl Championship.
My take on it anyway.
You won’t ever see a team “luck” into the CWS. You will, however, see teams “luck” into the sweet 16 occasionally. When a team makes it to the CWS, they earned it. It wasn’t a one game flash in the pan. They had to win a tournament with outstanding teams, Plus a 3 game series against an even stronger opponent than they saw in the tournament.
I would like to ask you...if OM had beaten Arky the other day, and were in the field at the CWS, would your view of it still be the same? That it’s marginalized and a low tier accomplishment. Or would you be crowing that it’s equal to the Sugar Bowl and final 4, all wrapped into one? And that OM overcame so much to advance to the pinnacle of college baseball. And are now about to win their first natty in baseball. Just like Yancy, Chuck, Ben, and all of the other OM media would be crowing.
This narrative gets tired. But it’s so predictable. Anytime State has a great accomplishment, it’s marginalized and talked down. And anytime OM has a great accomplishment, it’s touted from the highest peaks as the greatest thing ever.
You can marginalize it all you want in your head, but here’s the basic facts of the matter. State is still playing, and has a good chance at a first national championship in baseball, and OM’s season is done. Again.
the CWS is comparable with at least the Elite 8 and, to me, is harder to accomplish because any team can beat another in baseball on any given day.
Bottom line is that, as someone said on Twitter today, State is a top 10 national program now(and has been a few times over the last 45-30 years), and OM isn't and never has been.
Also State would never stand for a coach having 1 trip to Omaha in 19 years. OM would and has
Bottom line is that, as someone said on Twitter today, State is a top 10 national program now(and has been a few times over the last 45-30 years), and OM isn't and never has been.
Also State would never stand for a coach having 1 trip to Omaha in 19 years. OM would and has
I've had this same discussion about OM baseball for years on what is a realistic expectation. Pretty sure I was having the same discussion before the game in anticipation of what might happen. I had a caller try to defend the 1 in 19 years and that's when I said it wasn't super hard to get there, not hard enough to think 1 in 19 is anywhere near enough. MSU wasn't even part of the discussion. Had nothing to do with marginalizing anything by pointing out how many SEC teams are going regularly compared to Ole Miss' struggles. We just spent the day before talking about how Sunday night's 9th inning may have been the most special baseball inning I've ever watched and has to be on the MT Rushmore for State fans.
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What? Top 4 ever, you must not know much about MSU baseball.
Nice game and last home game for Jack and Mac, but really.. Mount Rushmore..lol
I thought you went to Mississippi College, not UM...
Yeah, I'm a Choctaw. But that whole 9th inning wouldn't be a top 4 baseball moment? I'm not an MSU baseball historian by any means, but that's gotta be close. That was rare.
How does one adopt the rebels in such a way? I have heard you speak of your wife being a big om fan, but you gotta wear the pants and lay that Choctaw law down. Now your poor kids are brainwashed.
I’m obviously joking....a little. That moment was special for sure, but I’m not putting it on the Mount Rushmore. It was as electric and meaningful as any moment you will see, but Mac has had two swings bigger than that one. It barely scratches his own personal Mount Rushmore.
I’m obviously joking....a little. That moment was special for sure, but I’m not putting it on the Mount Rushmore. It was as electric and meaningful as any moment you will see, but Mac has had two swings bigger than that one. It barely scratches his own personal Mount Rushmore.
Breaking down how to eat a chicken biscuit for 30 minutes ain’t cutting it anymore? Why start talking sports now?
She is but it's me too. Was raised an OM fan. Grew up wanting to play baseball there but life happens and ended up at Co-Lin and MC. Love MC though. Worked in athletics there for ten years.
Hey, are you the 'ol Choctaw Utt from back in the early days of MS sports talk radio?