Rain Go Away
May 22, 2009 09:18 AM | General
(9:18 a.m.)
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Excuse the West Virginia University baseball team for having the feeling that it is being held under water. That's because it is.
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| The tarp hasn't moved off of Bright House Stadium in Clearwater, Fla. following West Virginia's 20-8 victory over Pitt Thursday afternoon. Games are scheduled to be played all day Friday.
Big East Conference photo |
After depositing Pitt 20-8 in record-setting fashion Thursday afternoon, the Mountaineers were expected to return to Bright House Stadium later Thursday evening to play the loser of the Connecticut-South Florida game in an elimination game.
But the remaining games that day were suspended because of steady rain that has plagued the tournament since teams arrived last Sunday.
"The low pressure system is just hanging over this part of Florida," said the Big East's Ben Fairclough.
The uncooperative weather has made things pretty interesting for tournament administrators, now trying to deal with a backlog of games and only three days to get them in.
"After three days we were supposed to have 10 games in and we only have seven," said West Virginia baseball coach Greg Van Zant. "It's really been fortunate that we have had that many."
Today, the Big East has tentatively scheduled games at three-hour intervals beginning at 10 a.m. to try and catch up. That means the earliest West Virginia would play is 4 p.m. but that is likely to be pushed back an hour or so because of the fact that an average college baseball game lasts about three hours.
"The league told us to be at the ballpark and be ready to play by 4 p.m.," said Van Zant.
If the weather cooperates, it is conceivable that West Virginia could return to the ballpark and play another game later that evening should the Mountaineers win their 4 p.m. game.
"It's going to be tight to see if they even get this thing finished," said Van Zant.
What happens then?
"If they don't finish then the highest remaining seed gets the bid," said Van Zant. "If you've got three teams, two teams or four teams left, whoever is the highest seed is named the automatic champion."
And that would be top-seeded Louisville, which deposited Cincinnati on Tuesday and Notre Dame on Wednesday.
Only Cincinnati and Pittsburgh have been eliminated so far.
The weather forecast for Friday?
More rain.
Stay tuned.
Briefly:
Tip the balance a little too far in one direction and it can wreck a season. Tip the balance a little too far in the other direction and it can damage revenues.
Naturally, football fans want to see marquee out-of-conference match-ups and West Virginia has lined up several very appealing games in the coming years.
This season, Colorado makes a return trip to Morgantown and West Virginia also travels to Auburn after the Mountaineers defeated the Tigers in Morgantown last October.
LSU comes on the football schedule in 2010, followed by very attractive future non-conference games against Michigan State, Florida State, Maryland and UNLV.
Induction ceremonies will take place on Saturday, July 18, at Anthony’s Lakeside Party Center in McClellandtown, Pa. There will also be a Hall of Fame golf scramble held at the Uniontown Country Club on Friday morning, July 17. Tickets for the banquet can be purchased for $30. For more information, contact Jes Hutson at (724) 430-4100, ext. 4886 or George Von Benko at (724) 626-1433.
The class of six also includes Tennessee All-American running back George Cafego, former Philadelphia Eagles star Russ Craft, ex-South Carolina and NFL standout Alex Hawkins, and former Winfield High School coach Leon McCoy.
The Pac-10 receives approximately $43 million from its TV deals with Fox, ABC/ESPN. The Big Ten in 2008 received $66 million from the Big Ten Network alone, according to a recent story in the Orange County Register.
However, don’t look for the Big East to go out and start its own TV network any time soon. The conference is presently satisfied with its television situation and the exposure it receives on ESPN’s family of networks.
This year’s banquet will recognize Carlen’s West Virginia University football teams from 1966-69. Among former WVU players planning to attend are Bob Gresham, John Mallory, Dale Farley, Terry Snively and Garrett Ford. Carlen will also be in attendance. Juskowich said that more than 40 former players are confirmed to attend.
Only three of the 25 table sponsorships remain. Those interested in sponsoring a table or purchasing an individual ticket can contact Juskowich at (304) 276-0727 or (304) 598-8090.
In addition to Saturday's banquet, former players and their families will have the opportunity to golf on Friday, May 29, at The Pines Country Club and Saturday morning, John Spiker, coordinator of athletic medical services, will give the team a tour of the football stadium.
It should be a great weekend for everyone involved.
