The countdown continues for San Jose as they handle the last few games of the regular campaign, They currently sit 6 points ahead of Detroit, but need just 5 points to clinch the top spot in the Western conference.

Interestingly, San Jose has rebounded from the February faltering that saw them have two dismal road trips and a tumultuous March that featured Team teal losing five of six and four in a row for the first time all year. Team teal is beat up and tired. I can’t remember the last game there wasn’t a laundry list of injuries.

San Jose has survived, though, and should enter the Western Conference playoff bracket with home ice advantage and the top dogs back in the lineup.

Whether or not they do clinch the presidents trophy remains to be seen, Boston has really come on of late, even though they seemed out of the race two weeks ago. JT’s former club has won six in a row heading into their final four games.

The matchup for the first round will likely not be set until the final day of the season, with as many as six teams possibly being paired with the Sharks. I know it never matters who you play when you get to the playoffs because it’s always a battle, but I would prefer not to face Anaheim or Edmonton in the first round.

I’m not sure why, but just a hunch or a bad feeling I guess.

In other news, The San Jose State Spartan Baseball has started off their season on the right foot. SJSU has rattled off a 20-7 record and are hanging with one of the toughest opponents in the WAC, #24 Hawaii.

The Spartans were actually ranked for part of the season and lost that accolade when they dropped two games to powerful Cal Poly. But the Spartans have a lot to live for this season. They’ve jumped out to a good start they may be looking at trying to crack the 64-team college world series tournament for the first time since the year 2000.

San Jose State will have some tough tasks along the way. They will play New Mexico State on the road, the Aggie have only dropped 4 games all year, but haven’t really played anybody. And they will have to look at defending national champion Fresno State.

But it’s a nice change for the university who has little to be excited about athletically this year. Hopefully, San Jose State can crack the tournament and give alumni something to build on in support of the athletic department.

MORE SJSU NEWS:

San Jose State’s football Schedule has been released, and the Spartans could put themselves in an 0-3 hole to start the year. The first three games: at USC, vs Utah, and at Stanford.

San Jose State’s girls water polo team is ranked #6 in the nation. I guess the athletic does have something to get excited about.

-dan.

In 2005 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted on weather baseball should be admitted in the 2012 Games. The news has only become highly publicized because of the Beiging Games, but by a vote of 46 to 42 the IOC decided to exclude baseball from the London Games. Also excluded from the London Games, by a vote of 47 to 43, was softball. Despite the similarity of the two sports, and the fact they are both out in 2012, the reasons for the two sports dismissal are quite different.

The main reason for baseball’s ousted,the IOC says, there is not proper representation of the worlds finest athletes in the Olympics. The main culprit for this…drum-roll…Major League Baseball (MLB)! The IOC claims that because the MLB has such a diverse group of of the sports talent, that the league should suspend play so the world can be better represented during the Olympics. The Japanese baseball league, also known as Nippon Professional Baseball, is already suspending its play for the Olympics so why not MLB??? I will tell you why…$$$, and who can blame them.

Remember the 2006 World Baseball Classic? Major League Baseball finally let its players participate in a international baseball tournament because the tourney took place just prior to its pre-season (the Baseball World Cup has been going on since 1938 and MLB players have never been permitted to play) . Do you remember what happen afterthat tourney? Major league players started the season on the disabled list. Pitchers came into camp with thrown-out arms and bum-shoulders, and some field players were already complaining of bumps and bruises. If I am a baseball owner and am spending $20 million dollars for a player like Alex Rodriguez, I want him playing FOR ME! And if he does get hurt it better be while busting his hide in winning my team win a championship!

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for representing your country and all, but if I have that much money invested in anything, I am going to protect my investment. You might be saying; “Well what about the NBA, they let their players play in the Olympics?” Well, their season is just concluding, the players bodies are already battle ready and if injured they have a lot of time to heal before the start of next season. An injured baseball player would have to go back to potential playoff race!!!

Softball was dismissed for a totally different reason then baseball. The IOC deemed that the rest of the world was not competitive enough with a select few countries, the USA being one of them. Softball has been a sport in the Olympics since the 1996 Atlanta Games and the United States and Australia have won a medal in every game since (USA has always won gold).

Even though the reasons for the veto of these sports seem legitimate, many reports suggest a European influence within the IOC might also be to blame. The two sport are primarilyplayed in the Americas and Asia and the two sports were invented in the USA.

Baseball was introduced in the 1984 Los Angeles Games and became a medaling event in 1992. The Beijing Games hosted 28 events and the London Games intended to do the same. Some of the events listed to fill-in are golf, karate, rugby, squash and roller sports (whatever those are).

Baseball and softball can be reinstated into the 2016 games and will be voted on by the IOC in 2009.

-Shawn.

Dan’s take:

The NHL always allows for an Olympic Break and I think it’s a nice change of pace every four years. I will say that Hockey has a different talent pool than Baseball or Softball, but the players genuinely WANT to play for their countries.  I like the idea of the league itself giving the players the time to take part in some national pride.

While there’s no doubt the big business of baseball in the States controls this decision, I don’t think it’s that big a risk. The players could just as easily injure themselves in the ten games they’re playing on their respective MLB club.

Equally as frustrating is the lack of exposure baseball is getting at the games. I find it very hard to find a game to watch, and many times not at the time or place that NBC lists them. Softball is getting better props and getting live coverage everyday. San Francisco Giant Nate Schierholtz deserves more.

-Dan.

BASEBALL: The US Team is off today and is preparing for a match up with China early tomorrow morning. Standings remain the Same. See below.

BASKETBALL: The US WOMEN took it to New Zealand this morning 96-60. The win keeps TEAM USA undefeated heading into the knockout rounds.

FINAL STANDINGS

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	Avg	Pts
USA	5	5	0	491	276	2	10
China	5	4	1	358	346	0.986	9
Spain	5	3	2	350	354	1.009	8
Czech Republic	5	2	3	353	326	1.174	7
New Zealand	5	1	4	320	423	0.795	6
Mali	5	0	5	255	402	0.644	5

Beating out the Chinese Team sets up a date with Korea on Tuesday.

KNOCKOUT BRACKET

Quarterfinals (2008-08-19)

Semifinals (2008-08-21)

Gold medal game (2008-08-23)

A2

Russia

B3

Spain

B1

USA

A4

Korea

B2

China

A3

Belarus

Bronze medal game

A1

Australia

B4

Czech Republic

The Men will conclude their round robin play with Germany tomorrow at 5:00am.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL: One women’s team is eliminated in the Quest for Sandy Gold in Beijing. The duo of Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs fell in straight sets to the Chinese in their quarterfinal matchup. Misty May and Kerri Walsh had no problems with one Brazilian team and now will face the other team in the Semi-Finals.

UPDATED BRACKET:

Quarterfinals							Semifinals							Gold Medal Game
	1	Tian Jia – Wang (CHN)	21	21
	14	Schwaiger – Schwaiger (AUT)	12	12
								1	Tian Jia – Wang (CHN)
								4	Xue – Zhang Xi (CHN)
	5	Branagh – Youngs (USA)	17	13
	4	Xue – Zhang Xi (CHN)	21	21
	10	Barnett – Cook (AUS)	22	14
	6	Talita – Renata (BRA)	24	21
								6	Talita – Renata (BRA)
								2	Walsh – May-Treanor (USA)						Bronze Medal Game
	3	Larissa – Ana Paula (BRA)	18	15
	2	Walsh – May-Treanor (USA)	21	21

The Men’s Quarterfinal matches are set for Tonight and Tomorrow Morning.

FOOTBALL: The Women’s Semifinal Matchup with Japan is on deck tomorrow at 5:00am.

FIELD HOCKEY: We’re still waiting to see what happens against Great Britain tomorrow as the US Women fight to keep their medal round hopes alive. That game coming up tomorrow at 3:00am.

SOFTBALL: TEAM USA in yet Another Mercy Rule win. They beat up on the Netherlands 8-0 (5 inn.) They will wrap up their Round Robin play against China tonight at 9:00pm. PST. TEAM USA has already clinched their spot in the Elimination Round . The USA has wOn the Gold Medal every year since Softball has been played at the Olympics.

Team	W	L	RS	RA	WIN%	GB	Tiebreaker
United States	6	0	44	1	1.000	-	-
Japan	5	1	17	13	.833	1	-
Australia	4	2	21	9	.667	2	-
Canada	3	3	17	17	.500	3	-
China	2	4	19	12	.333	4	-
Chinese Taipei	2	4	8	19	.333	4	-
Venezuela	2	4	13	26	.333	4	-
Netherlands	0	6	4	46	.000	6	-

GYM VOLLEYBALL: TEAM USA has already played Poland in Women’s Volleyball but I won’t spoil it, since it hasn’t aired on NBC yet. The Men’s team will take on Japan tomorrow morning.

-Dan.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT A GREAT ARTICLE HERE ON THE BULLET: SPIKING THE COMPETITION by SHAWN CAMILLERI

(Also available below this post)

Let’s do the roundup:

BASEBALL: It’s a victory for TEAM USA! The R,W, and B beat our neighbors to the North 5-4 last night. Brian Barden went 2-for-5 with a double and a homerun. The win brings the USA into the mix in the standings again.

Team	W	L	RS	RA	WIN%	GB	Tiebreaker
Cuba	4	0	17	12	1.000	-	-
South Korea	3	0	14	10	1.000	½	-
United States	2	2	23	17	.500	2	-
Japan	2	2	17	10	.500	2	-
China	1	2	12	23	.333	2½	-
Canada	1	3	20	13	.250	3	-
Chinese Taipei	1	3	13	15	.250	3	-
Netherlands	1	3	6	22	.250	3	-

Up Next for TEAM USA is China very early Monday Morning.

—–

BASKETBALL: Team USA cannot be beat in these Olympics it seems. Both the Women and Men’s teams destroying Spain. The Boys beat the current world champions, 119-82. They will take the #1 seed into the knockout round no matter how they far against Germany on Monday

Team	Pld	W	L	PCT	PF	PA	Avg	PD	Pts
USA	4	4	0	1.000	409	297	1.377	+112	8
Spain	4	3	1	.750	320	319	1.003	+1	7
Greece	4	2	2	.500	324	298	1.087	+26	6
China	4	2	2	.500	289	309	0.935	-20	6
Germany	4	1	3	.250	273	284	0.961	-11	5
Angola	4	0	4	.000	271	379	0.715	-108	4

Tournament knockout bracket to be completed by Monday. The U.S. Women to take on New Zealand early tomorrow. .

—–

BEACH VOLLEYBALL:

The Men’s Round of 16 match results are in. Rogers/Delhausser(#1 seed) began the tourney against Switzerland. They won in three sets. The Gibbs/Rosenthal duo easily dispatched Spain in 2 Sets. So NOW the tournament bracket.

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Gold Medal Game

Klemperer – Koreng (GER)

Rogers – Dalhausser (USA)

Nummerdor – Schuil (NED)

Geor – Gia (GEO)

Ricardo – Emanuel (BRA)

Gibb – Rosenthal (USA)

Bronze Medal Game

M. Araujo – Fabio Luiz (BRA)

Gosch – Horst (AUT)

TEAM 1 is scheduled at 7 PM tomorrow night.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL – WOMEN: The Two team’s Quarterfinal matches are set for later tonight and early tomorrow morning. Both teams will look to advance to the Semifinals. See the Bracket below.

—–

FOOTBALL: The big game between USA and JAPAN in the Women’s Semifinal will go off tomorrow at 5:00am PST. As mentioned TEAM USA already beat Japan in the tournament. The win could set up a gold medal match with Brazil or Germany.

—–

FIELD HOCKEY: The U.S and New Zealand was a crucial match for Team USA as they need a full six points to even have potential into the Medal round. They got the effort they needed. USA destroys New Zealand 4-1. USA’s Keli Smith scores two goals in the win: 1 Field Goal and one off a Penalty Corner.

Updated Standings

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Germany	9	4	3	0	1	11	8	+3
Argentina	8	4	2	2	0	10	5	+5
Great Britain	7	4	2	1	1	7	9	−2
USA	5	4	1	2	1	9	8	+1
Japan	4	4	1	1	2	5	6	−1
New Zealand	0	4	0	0	4	4	10	−6

Now, the United States plays England, so if they win outright they would leapfrog the Brits. They would need a big victory over GB and a loss by Argentina who wraps up their play against Argentina. It doesn’t look good, but if New Zealand can beat Argentina 1-0. The US would only need to beat England by 5. HA!

—–

SOFTBALL: The US team gets another Mercy Rule win. They beat up on Chinese Taipai 7-0 in 5 innings late last night. Jennie Finch on the Bump for TEAM USA, Jessica Mendoza hits a homerun in the 3rd inning, part of a 5-run 3rd for USA.

Team	W	L	RS	RA	WIN%	GB
United States	5	0	36	1	1.000	-
Japan	4	1	12	11	.800	1
Australia	3	2	17	9	.600	2
Canada	3	2	17	13	.600	2
China	2	3	18	10	.400	3
Venezuela	2	3	11	21	.400	3
Chinese Taipei	1	4	6	18	.200	4
Netherlands	0	5	4	38	.000	5

USA has clinched a spot in the Semi-finals. The Softball page playoff system is different but an interesting twist in this tournament. (though, it really won’t affect the USA too much if they win out.)

—–

GYM VOLLEYBALL:

MEN: Check out Shawn’s Article Below as he discusses the great journey of the US Men’s Volleyball team. The Men swept China in dominating fashion and now have a match with japan to wrap up round robin play. The US Men are already into the knockout round by way of their 4-0 record.

Rk	Team	Points	Played	Won	Lost	PW	PL	Ratio	SW	SL	Ratio
1	United States	8	4	4	0	385	320	1.203	12	4	3.000
2	Italy	7	4	3	1	332	297	1.117	10	4	2.500
3	Bulgaria	6	4	2	2	348	358	0.972	7	8	0.875
4	China	6	4	2	2	341	385	0.886	7	10	0.700
5	Venezuela	5	4	1	3	339	353	0.960	7	9	0.778
6	Japan	4	4	0	4	341	373	0.914	4	12	0.333

Shouldn’t be a problem for the men who have secured a top seed in the tournament.

WOMEN: The women are 3-1 in their respective pool and will qualify for the knockout round, just maybe not as dominating as the men. They wrap up their round-robin with Poland.

Rk	Team	Points	Played	Won	Lost	PW	PL	Ratio	SW	SL	Ratio
1	Cuba	8	4	4	0	351	312	1.125	12	3	4.000
2	United States	7	4	3	1	357	338	1.056	9	7	1.286
3	China	6	4	2	2	391	341	1.147	10	7	1.43
4	Japan	6	4	2	2	337	313	1.077	7	8	.875
5	Poland	5	4	1	3	338	343	0.985	7	9	0.778
6	Venezuela	4	4	0	4	203	320	0.649	1	12	0.008

-Dan.

BASEBALL: A marathon game between Cuba and the United States hands the Red, White and Blue their second loss. The defending Gold Medal winner Cubans scored two runs in the top of the 11th to win it. I still have not seen a baseball game on TV, It’s starting to piss me off. If NBC can’t stick to it’s schedule how does it expect us all to stick around for it’s coverage.

LATEST STANDINGS:

Team	W	L	RS	RA	WIN%	GB	Tiebreaker
Cuba	3	0	16	12	1.000	-	-
South Korea	2	0	9	7	1.000	½	-
Japan	2	1	14	5	.667	1	-
China	1	1	8	17	.500	1½	-
United States	1	2	18	13	.333	2	-
Canada	1	2	16	8	.333	2	-
Chinese Taipei	1	2	13	14	.333	2	-
Netherlands	0	3	0	18	.000	3	-

Top Four Advance to knockout round.

—–

BASKETBALL: Only the women have played Spain so far and this wasn’t much of a contest. USA’s Lisa Leslie with a double-double and the USA Women are on autopilot as they head into the Quarterfinals. Up next: New Zealand Sunday morning.

Team	Played	Won	Lost	PF	PA	Avg	Points
USA	4	4	0	395	216	1.876	8
China	4	3	1	279	303	0.894	7
Spain	4	2	2	271	307	1.009	6
Czech Republic	4	2	2	290	247	1.174	6
New Zealand	4	1	3	260	327	0.795	5
Mali	4	0	4	228	334	0.630	4

Nothing more can happen in this group, so the New Zealand game is pretty minor.

—–

BEACH VOLLEYBALL: The women’s beach volleyball Round of 16 is underway, and the USA didn’t disappoint. Both teams demolished the opposition and it’s startiong to look really good for the American teams. The draw for the knockout tournament is in. May-Traenor and Kerri Walsh should have smooth sailing and could face Branagh and Youngs for the Gold.

Quarterfinals							Semifinals							Gold Medal Game
	2	Tian Jia – Wang (CHN)
	14	Schwaiger – Schwaiger (AUT)
	5	Branagh – Youngs (USA)
	4	Xue – Zhang Xi (CHN)
	10	Barnett – Cook (AUS)
	6	Talita – Renata (BRA)
															Bronze Medal Game
	3	Larissa – Ana Paula (BRA)
	1	Walsh – May-Treanor (USA)

The Men’s side of the coin has set them up for Round of 16 play before we get to the eight-team bracket. One pair gets Switzerland and the Other, Spain. shouldn’t be a problem for the USA who should advance into the bracket easily.

—–

FOOTBALL: or Soccer. The US Women scored in Extra Time to catapult them into a semifinal matchup with Japan. The US Women have already defeated Japan 1-0, That was back on August 9th. Either way, the game should be a nice test before the US women go for the GOLD.

The Bracket:

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Gold medal match

F1

Brazil

2

G2

Norway

1

F1

Brazil

F2

Germany

E2

Sweden

0

F2

Germany

2

G1

USA

2

E3

Canada

1

G1

USA

Bronze medal match

G3

Japan

E1

China PR

0

G3

Japan

2

—–

FIELD HOCKEY: The US women have the weak New Zealand sqaud next. They will need a victory here and over Great Britain to have hopes of advancing to the Medal Round.

—–

SOFTBALL: Two big wins, first over Japan and then over the rain-shortened game against Canada. UP next Chinese Taipei.

Team	W	L	RS	RA	WIN%	GB
United States	4	0	29	1	1.000	-
Canada	3	1	17	11	.750	1
Japan	3	1	9	11	.750	1
Australia	2	2	9	9	.500	2
China	2	2	18	7	.500	2
Chinese Taipei	1	3	6	11	.250	3
Venezuela	1	3	9	21	.250	3
Netherlands	0	4	4	30	.000	4

It’s almost disgusting how good TEAM USA is….

—–

GYM VOLLEYBALL: The Men’s win over Bulgaria clinches their spot in the Quarterfinals. They have two more matches against China and Japan.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL:

Rk	Team	Played	Won	Lost	Points
1	United States	3	3	0	6
2	Italy	3	2	1	5
3	Bulgaria	3	2	1	5
4	China	3	2	1	5
5	Venezuela	3	0	3	3
6	Japan	3	0	3	3

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL:The women’s only loss to Cuba will be okay as the girls clinch semifinals as well. They escaped a brutle slug-fest against China, a 5 set nail biter goes to the Americans.

Rk	Team	Played	Won	Lost	Points
1	Cuba	4	4	0	8
2	United States	4	3	1	7
3	China	4	2	2	6
4	Japan	4	2	2	6
5	Poland	4	1	3	5
6	Venezuela	4	0	4	4

Enough!

-Dan.

Let’s start with

BASEBALL: Two rain delays left the game with a USA lead 7-0 into the bottom of the ninth. The excessive rain forced officials to call the game with the Netherlands rallying. Nevertheless, USA gets it’s first win of the tournament and is now set to face Cuba later today.

Standings

Team	W	L	RS	RA	WIN%	GB	Tiebreaker
Cuba	2	0	11	8	1.000	-	-
South Korea	1	0	8	7	1.000	½	-
Canada	1	1	16	7	.500	1	-
United States	1	1	14	8	.500	1	-
Japan	1	1	8	5	.500	1	-
Chinese Taipei	1	1	6	6	.500	1	-
China	0	1	0	10	.000	1½	-
Netherlands	0	2	0	12	.000	2	-

Top Four teams qualify for Medal round.

========================================================

BASKETBALL: Both teams are crushing opponents and the Men seem to have the Redeem Team mentality locked up. No one has been close to either team in round-robin team. Is there any competition in this tournament. Up Next both teams to face Spain over the next two days.

USA MEN and WOMEN have qualified for the Quarterfinals already.

MEN STANDINGS:

Team	Pld	W	L	PCT	PF	PA	PD	Pts
USA	3	3	0	1.000	290	215	+75	6
Spain	3	3	0	1.000	238	200	+38	6
Germany	3	1	2	.333	218	225	-7	4
Greece	3	1	2	.333	222	237	-15	4
China	3	1	2	.333	230	254	-24	4
Angola	3	0	3	.000	210	277	-67	3

WOMEN STANDINGS:

Team	G	W	L	Pts
USA	3	3	0	6
China	3	2	1	5
Spain	3	2	1	5
Czech Republic	3	1	2	4
New Zealand	3	1	2	4
Mali	3	0	3	3

========================================================

BEACH VOLLEYBALL-WOMEN: We’re in the playoffs now and the USA teams have dominated the fields here as well. The May-Treanor/Walsh team has been superb as expected.

FINAL STANDINGS – WOMEN

Pool B

Rk	Team	Points	Won	Lost	PW	PL	SW	SL
1	Walsh – May-Treanor (USA)	6	3	0	126	85	6	0
2	F. Grasset – L. Peraza (CUB)	5	2	1	116	116	4	2
3	Håkedal – Tørlen (NOR)	4	1	2	108	111	2	4
4	Teru Saiki – Kusuhara (JPN)	3	0	3	88	126	0	6

Pool E

Rk	Team	Points	Won	Lost	PW	PL	SW	SL
1	Branagh – Youngs (USA)	6	3	0	139	129	6	1
2	Pohl – Rau (GER)	5	2	1	117	115	4	2
3	Esteves Ribalta – M. Crespo (CUB)	4	1	2	130	117	3	4
4	Kadijk – Mooren (NED)	3	0	3	107	132	0	6

PLAYOFFS:

Team 1 will face Belgium in a round of 16 match.

Team 2 will face Cuba.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL-MEN: The Playoffs are ahead as well, here. Not quite as dominating a performance as on the women’s side. But the Gibbs/Rosenthal team should make a case for Gold in Beijing.

FINAL STANDINGS – MEN

Pool F

Rk	Team	Points	Won	Lost	PW	PL	SW	SL
1	Gibb – Rosenthal (USA)	6	3	0	142	111	6	1
2	Asahi – Shiratori (JPN)	4	1	2	147	151	3	5
3	Boersma E. – Ronnes (NED)	4	1	2	125	137	3	4
4	Brink – Dieckmann Ch. (GER)	4	1	2	106	121	2	4

Pool B

Rk	Team	Points	Won	Lost	PW	PL	SW	SL
1	Samoilovs – Pļaviņš (LAT)	5	2	1	139	134	4	3
2	Rogers – Dalhausser (USA)	5	2	1	121	92	4	2
3	Heyer – Heuscher (SUI)	4	1	2	120	129	3	4
4	Conde – Baracetti (ARG)	4	1	2	99	124	2	4

Playoff matchups have not been determined.

========================================================

FOOTBALL: or Soccer. Well, the Men are done as they faded to Nigeria early yesterday morning. The women are still alive and have a date with Canada early Friday.Tough break for the men who really needed a win or draw against Nigeria.

WOMAN’S KNOCKOUT BRACKET

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Gold medal match

F1

Brazil

G2

Norway

E2

Sweden

F2

Germany

G1

USA

E3

Canada

Bronze medal match

E1

China PR

G3

Japan

WOMEN’S FINAL STANDINGS

Group G

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
USA	3	2	0	1	5	2	+3	6
Norway	3	2	0	1	4	5	−1	6
Japan	3	1	1	1	7	4	+3	4
New Zealand	3	0	1	2	2	7	−5	1

MEN’S FINAL STANDINGS

Group B

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Nigeria	3	2	1	0	4	2	+2	7
Netherlands	3	1	2	0	3	2	+1	5
USA	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
Japan	3	0	0	3	1	4	−3	0

========================================================

FIELD HOCKEY: The USA Women are in trouble if they can’t pull off two straight wins and somehow wiggle their way back into contention. It was  virtual must-win against Germany yesterday and Team USA floundered to a 4-2 loss. A controversial missed call noted by NBC commentators would not have made a difference in this loss. Up next: NEW ZEALAND.

Pool B

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Germany	9	3	3	0	0	11	4	+7
Argentina	5	3	1	2	0	6	5	+1
Japan	4	3	1	1	1	4	4	0
Great Britain	4	3	1	1	1	5	8	−3
USA	2	3	0	2	1	5	7	−2
New Zealand	0	3	0	0	3	3	6	−3

Looking at the standings, It doesn’t look good for a medal round as only the top two will advance to the knockout stage.  With 2 wins, Team USA would have 8 points and would leapfrog England. Japan and Argentina still both have to play Germany, so it’s not completely unheard of.

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SOFTBALL: The rain quieted the matchup between USA and Canada last night, so there isn’t much here.  They will play a double header today.

Team	W	L	RS	RA	WIN%	GB
Japan	3	0	9	4	1.000	-
Canada	2	0	15	3	1.000	½
United States	2	0	14	0	1.000	½
China	2	1	18	6	.667	1
Australia	1	2	6	8	.333	2
Chinese Taipei	1	2	5	8	.333	2
Netherlands	0	3	4	22	.000	3
Venezuela	0	3	1	21	.000	3

Nothing to be too worried about, here though. The USA should make the top four in this group and advance to the Semi-Finals.

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GYM VOLLEYBALL:

Admittedly, I haven’t been paying as close attention to the indoor volleyball, but the United States is in the mix here. Both the MEN and WOMEN were off yesterday. The men played earlier this morning against Bulgaria, but will not air on NBC until tonight, so I will not spoil.

For updated Men’s Standings, go here

WOMEN’S STANDINGS

Pool A

Rk	Team	Points	Played	Won	Lost	PW	PL	Ratio	SW	SL	Ratio
1	Cuba	6	3	3	0	276	251	1.100	9	3	3.000
2	China	5	3	2	1	288	230	1.252	8	4	2.000
3	Japan	5	3	2	1	266	238	1.118	7	5	1.400
4	United States	5	3	2	1	246	235	1.047	6	5	1.200
5	Poland	3	3	0	3	263	299	0.880	4	9	0.444
6	Venezuela	3	3	0	3	159	245	0.649	1	9	0.111

Top four teams advance so USA is on the fringe but still hanging on. They will play China in the early morning hours tomorrow.

THAT’S ALL FROM HERE. WOMEN’S SOCCER LIVE ON USA TOMORROW MORNING 3:00am!!!

-Dan

Standings and Brackets courtesy: Wikipedia.

An exciting finish for TEAM USA even if they were on the losing side of the coin. Trailing 5-6 in the top of the ninth, Matt Brown stands in for a battle with S. Korea pitcher Suk Min Yoon. Brownie smacks a line drive into left center and drives home two runs (Brian Bardon and Dexter Fowler). USA goes up 7-6 into the Bottom of the 9th inning.

S. Korea didn’t concede so easily though. Jeff Stevens came into try and close it out for Team Stars and Stripes. BUT he gives up a rally starting double to Keun-Woo Jeong–the innings first batter. The the pinch hitter Hyun-Soo Kim (a stud in the Korean League) up to the plate. His groundout pushes Jeong over to third.  Ko Youngmin up for SK, with one out and he pops up a bunt foul

Here’s a question… This is where it gets weird. Korea sends up a different hitter in the at bat who takes over with one strike. The batter Taekkeun Lee, who -surprise, surprise- a infeild ground ball to second. USA’s Jayson Nix goes home with it and the play at the plate isn’t close, and they don’t get the out at 1st. Game tied 7-7.

And then we got problems… Stevens throws the ball away on a pick-off attempt, and Lee takes not one, but two bags on the USA error. He stands at 3rd with one out. Then the game winning Sacrifice Fly by Jongwook Lee who was the next batter. SK wins 8-7.

Nix’s choice to go home allowed the winning run to remain on the bags, and Stevens throw away allowed the sacrifice to be set. It’s a really tough way to open this tournament.  Up next the Netherlands.

TOP FOUR ADVANCE TO THE KNOCKOUT ROUND.

Team	W	L	RS	RA	WIN%	GB	Tiebreaker
Canada	1	0	10	0	1.000	-	-
South Korea	1	0	8	7	1.000	-	-
Chinese Taipei	1	0	5	0	1.000	-	-
Cuba	1	0	4	2	1.000	-	-
Japan	0	1	2	4	.000	1	-
Netherlands	0	1	0	5	.000	1	-
United States	0	1	7	8	.000	1	-
China	0	1	0	10	.000	1	-

Yesterday’s Games:

Game #1 Stanford vs. Florida State: With the Seminoles coming from behind twice in the same game, I thought certain they would prevail in the bottom of the Ninth. The move of future giant Buster Posey to pitcher in the 9th was a rough one. The Cardinal put up 11 runs in the top of the ninth, to solidify their presence in the Winners side of Bracket 1. It almost didn’t happen though. The ridiculous blunder of the first base umpire calling a chalk drenched base hit by Jason Castro foul almost nullified the rally. Castro did deliver anyway, but the foul ball would have scored two runs. Either way, Cardinal Advance to face the winner of…

Game #2  Miami  vs. Georgia: It should have been an easy one  for the Hurricanes, though this Bulldog team came powering out of the losers side of the Athens Bracket. They have shown no fear since. Ane they showed no fear in the ninth inning down 4-3. The Bulldogs capitalized on some Miami errors and had timely hitting putting together a four run rally and a nail in Game #2. The Bulldogs will see if they still have the magic against Stanford Monday.

Today’s Predictions:

Game #3 Fresno State vs. Rice: Call me a pessimist but i just don’t see it. While I love the WAC representation in the CWS, but the buck stops here. Rice easily wins it for Dad. Fresno State should be out of here by Tuesday.

Game #4 LSU  vs. UNC: Tough Draw for LSU, They’re going to lose… UNC! UNC!

-dh.

Fullerton Super: The Stanford Cardinal are moving on to Omaha.  The shock Cal State Fullerton in Game @ winning 8-5. Castro Valley High School’s Jason Castro hits a bases clearing double in the sixth to get that 8-5 lead they would never lose. The Titans are sent packing. Stanford is really surprising me… as i didn’t think they would make it out of their own regional bracket, let alone Fullerton’s Super.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Stanford   CASTRO: 3-4, 2B, 4 RBI, R, SB

Tempe Super: Game 1 of this regional really put Fresno State in its place. The Cinderella Team out of the WAC got swatted back to reality by the Sun Devil bats. A 5 run fifth and 4 run  eighth demolished the Bulldogs, who appear to be fading into the Arizona Sunset. Fresno State’s run ends today I fear.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: ASU  Sontag 2-4, 2 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, BB

Athens Super: NC State is still alive. They defeated the #8 Nationally Ranked Georgia Bulldogs to force a Game Three today. I see Georgia as the winner in this three game set, but the boys from North Carolina are being a little pesky. The win featured a four run fourth seventh including an RBI double by Foschi. He’s our..

PLAYER OF THE GAME: NC ST  Foschi: 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, SB

Cary Super: UNC is the obvious favorite here and no problem dispatching coastal carolina yesterday 9-4. Evenly Distributed Offense and solid pitching make the Tar Heels a difficult foe for CCU… It’s doubtful they will respond in anyway today.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: UNC  WIlliams 3-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R

Tallahassee Super: Florida State answers back and now it’s a toss up in Game 3. I knew this one would go the distance and Wichita State now must find a way to out hit the Seminole Bats. The 14- 4 win for Florida State featured huge offensive performances by Tapley, McGee and Posey. The Florida State Bats are going to take control and move on to Omaha.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Florida State   McGee: 3-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB

Houston Super: Rice and A&M in an all Texas Super. This one could stay interesting into Monday. Rice takes Game 1, but only by 2-runs. A & M Attempted a comeback in the top of the ninth but was shutdown by Rice’s St. Clair who got the win. It will be interesting to see if A & M will respond and force a game three Monday. I’m not going to even try on this one.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Rice   Dodson 3-3, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, BB, SB

Baton Rouge Super: Uc Irvine make a case for itself in the Louisiana regional taking game one from the LSU Tiger 11-5. Irvine got hot in the back half of the game scoring 9 runs in 5,6,7,8… Irvine pitcher Gorgen pitched six strong innings allowing just one earned run. Anteater Bardeen hits a pinch hit homerun in the eighth inning to support the cause. LSU will bounce back today and force Game Three tomorrow night.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: UCI   Cusick 3-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI, R

Coral Gables Super: Miami Answering back after being beaten by Arizona in Game 1. This offensive battle featured 24 runs in a game that Arizona looked like they might win. They jumped out to an early lead putting up a four spot in the bottom of the first, then tying the game at seven in the fourth. Miami’s six-spot also in the fourth included a homerun each for Hagerty and Alonso.  And don’t think this game was close after that inning. Miami left 13 runners on Base in this Game. I’m not worried, They’ll advance as the #1 seed.  RF Draben drew six walks and 2 runs… Six walks…

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Miami    Sobolewski 3-6, HR,

TEAMS QUALIFYING FOR COLLEGE WORLD SERIES: Stanford (40-22-2),

dh

First break down the regionals, then look ahead to the Supers.

 Coral Gables Regional: Missouri didn’t get by Ole Miss as i had hoped, Miami handles the final with ease going undefeated in their regional bracket.

Ann Arbor Regional: Well there was no game seven, but this bracket featured another 1 vs 3 final, with UA advancing to the next round.

CORAL GABLES SUPER REGIONAL:  Arizona and Miami in a three game set, now. You can’t ignore the #1 seed in the country. Miami handled Ole Miss in the Regional Final, and the only handling Arizona did was against lowly Eastern Michigan on the first day of the Tournament. Miami wins this Super Regional in two games.

Raleigh Regional:I have just not been able to predict this bracket. James Madison fals to South Carolina, who in turn just barely loses to NC State. Only problem if see for NC ST in the Super regional is their lack of dominance. They didn’t blow anybody out.

Athens Regional: Georgia still on my mind…  Lipscomb lets me down, and somehow Georgia works all the way from the losers bracket to beat up on GTECH over Sunday and Monday. What a showing, their last three final scores?   14-3, 8-0, and 18-8. ]

ATHENS SUPER REGIONAL:  I would love to see NC STATE have some luck here and get through, but Georgia found their stride in the loser’s bracket of their own regional and i think they win it. They may lose a game, but the Bulldogs advance to the CWS.

Tallahassee Regional: That a rough finish for Tulane who looked as if they would advance to the Supers as a Three seed. But Florida State pulled a Georgia and just dominated their way out of the losers bracket.  Final Scores for their last three: 24-9, 17-8, 16-7. Look out for the #4 nationally seeded Seminoles… The bats are hot at the right time.

Stillwater Regional: Pat on the back for Daniel. Wichita State is the first non-#1 to advance to the Supers in the this recap.  And they had no problems doing it either. Wichita played the minimum. Three games.

TALLAHASSEE SUPER REGIONAL: This may be the best matchup in the Supers. I love Wichita State and their dominance out of the Still Water Bracket, But then again, how can you not acknowledge the powerhouse bats of Florida State. This will go the distance, and it’s too close to call. Going to be fun to watch though.

Cary Regional: One team. UNC… need i say more… again?

Conway Regional: I mean the boys from Coastal Carolina REALLY aren’t kidding around. They put together a massive run through their bracket, scoring 47 runs through 3 games. ECU didn’t even have a chance in the final dropping it 24-11.

CARY SUPER REGIONAL:This one will be interesting… will UNC be able to quiet the bats of Coastal? Will powerhouse North Carolina be able to weather the storm and return to the CWS? I think so. It will go three, but UNC advances.

Baton Rouge Regional: So Miss surprised be in Game Five but didn’t in the Finals. LSU easily handles the final game, putting up a third straight double-digit effort. Another #1 in the Supers.

Lincoln Regional: I called the Nebraska Upset, and the UC Irvine win in the finals. Oral roberts knocks out the 1 seed 8-0 and then loses to Irvine by the same score.  One Question, though, How does Irvine end up in  Nebraska?

BATON ROUGE SUPER REGIONAL: So this pits LSU and UC Irvine, kind of a random pairing if you think about LSUas a national powerhouse in many athletic areas and Irvine… Who… Well… isn’t all that famous for anything. BUT… They are together for 2 games, with LSU winning both and advancing to the College World Series.

Fullerton Regional: UCLA WAS CLOSE… but not close enough… A team they beat earlier in the weekend comes back to force a Game 7 and crush the Bruin dream. A 5-4 contest that was relatively even. Fullerton returns to the Supers, and will host a pretty easy matchup with…

Stanford Regional: I still fear how bad I am at this. Stanford proves me wrong. The Cardinal work from the losers bracket to destroy Pepperdine in Game six and then advance in Game Seven.  I just didn’t think they had it in them.

FULLERTON SUPER REGIONAL: Fullerton vs. Stanford. While I would love to keep the Bay Area Buzz going for this Cardinal Squad. I juts don’t see it. Cardinal may win the first game on emotion alone, but Fullerton will battle back (because they are #5 in the Nation) and advance to the CWS.

Tempe Regional: ASUnot only handled Oklahoma… they destroyed them in the final. 12-0 . Arizona State looks good going into the Supers… really good. They might have some trouble with a CWS Cinderella story.

Long Beach Regional: San Diego definitely made this bracket interesting, pushing our underdog fan-favorite to a deciding 7th game. The 4-seed Fresno State advances to the Super Regionals on a 5-1 win in Long Beach.

TEMPE SUPER REGIONAL:  Arizona State looks like the team here. They’ve got it all going for them heading into Friday’s Super. Only problem i see is a team filled with magical phrases like: Destiny, Hope, Miracle. The Cinderella Story ends in this Super as ASU beats them in three. I would love some WAC representation in the CWS though.

College Station Regional: It took a little more for A & M then I thought, but they get through almost blowing it to Houston.  They win 13-5 in the Final

Houston regional: Rice. Rice. Rice. Didn’t even need a Game 7.

HOUSTON SUPER REGIONAL:Well, Rice will get A&M and they will practically have three days of practice with the Aggies. I should say two days of Practice. Rice in the CWS here.  

ELIMINATED TEAMS: Bethune-Cookman, Charlotte, Mt. St. Mary’s, E. Michigan, Florida, Columbia, Texas South, W. Kentucky, Louisville, Rider, Stonybrook, Arkansas, California, Dallas Baptist, E. Illinios, Sam Houston, UNC-W, Elon, ECU, Alabama, Oral Roberts, Nebraska, So. Miss, New Orleans, Texas, St. Johns, Illinios-Chicago, Houston, Long Beach St., San Diego, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, Missouri, Ole MIss, Michigan, Kentucky, James Madison, South Carolina, UCLA, Virginia, Pepperdine, UC Davis, TCU, Oklahoma State, Bucknell, Tulane.

-Dan.