Underdog Bulldogs Felled in Omaha

Congratulations to the University of Georgia for its spirited run through Omaha. Georgia should be proud that it knocked off Stanford to reach the NCAA title game. That, in and of itself, was quite an accomplishment. So much so that you can overlook the fact that Georgia was only a few outs away from being swept in three games by Fresno State.

Some nitwits, however, are claiming that Fresno State actually pulled one of the biggest upsets in college baseball history. Those people are dopes.

Fresno State's 31 losses were not any more jarring than a two-loss team playing the for the mythical national title in college football. Besides, Fresno State was ranked No. 18 by Baseball America in its preseason rankings.

Anytime you have a West Coast vs. East Coast (sorry Rednecks, but your state is on the Atlantic Ocean, deal with it), you have to believe the West Coast should be the favorite. Cal State, Oregon State and now Fresno State have won titles in recent years. Heck, you have to go back to 2001 to find a World Series champion that was west of the Mississippi River.

And to be honest, if the NCAA baseball seedings were not so regionally biased, then there would probably be an even bigger list of West Coast teams who have won the World Series. Put Cal State in North Carolina's bracket, and the Titans are in the World Series. Long Beach State has to be pretty upset that Fresno State was a No. 4 seed in its regional when the team was obviously much better than the top team in the SEC.

This also is not a shot at the SEC, but you do realize that Fresno's top pitcher, Tanner Scheppers, only played in 11 games this season.

Fresno's championship should not be viewed as some great "underdog" story, rather this should be a wake up call for the NCAA to seed its teams more equitably. Fresno State should not have been a No. 4 seed in a West Coast regional. They probably should have been the top seed in a place like Baton Rouge.

What other sport does the NCAA try to rig so badly? Imagine if the NCAA hockey regionals were seeded so that at least one West Coast team would be guaranteed a spot in the tournament. That would be ludicrous. But that happens with the College World Series.

As long as this continues, we'll continue to be feed the b.s. that Fresno State beating some scrub SEC team is an upset. Well, it wasn't. This is what happens when you have a sport where the coach can cry his eyes out to make it to the championship game.