We're now less than 24 hours away from the beginning of the Women's College World Series. One last topic I'd like to explore before the start of play is the participating schools' athletic budgets. The Indianapolis Star newspaper compiled what it calls the NCAA Financial Reports Database , which provides revenue and expediture information -- broken down into fairly fine-grained categories -- for a large number of NCAA schools. It's actually a lot of fun to poke around in the database, which you can access via the above link. You can select schools, and for each school, switch between "Revenue Statement" and "Expense Statement." I first viewed the database several weeks ago after hearing about it through -- what else -- a sports discussion board. As I was going back to look at it earlier today, I was hoping that information would be available specifically for softball, but that wasn't the case. As you can see, the breakdowns are only for...

One thing that cannot have escaped college softball fans is that many of the dominant pitchers are very tall, especially for women. Among the teams playing in the Women's College World Series, which begins Thursday, we have: Cat Osterman of Texas (whom I profiled in yesterday's entry, below), 6-foot-2; Monica Abbott of Tennessee, 6-3; and Brianne McGowan of Oregon State, 6-2. Given my recreational interest in physics , I've begun to wonder if longer pitching arms produce higher speed on the ball. We first need to establish that taller people have longer arms; indeed, arm span is positively correlated with height. Further, writings on various sports suggest that there may be something going on with height and/or arm length. Regarding whether 16-year-old female golfer Michelle Wie would ever be good enough to qualify to play on the men's PGA tour full-time, a commentator suggested on ESPN.com's website that: ... there is the fact that she is 6-foot-1 trendin...

Everything is now in place for softball's Women's College World Series, which begins Thursday in Oklahoma City. The official NCAA bracket is available here . For each game, the starting time and television information is provided. It looks to me like several of the teams have the potential to do a lot of damage. When a team as talented as Tennessee is the eighth seed, you know the field is going to be competitive! Of the many storylines that will unfold over the next week and a half, perhaps the most compelling one is that this year is Texas pitcher Cat Osterman's last chance for her and her teammates to win the WCWS. Already an Olympic gold medalist ( here and here ), and also the all-time NCAA softball strike-out leader , Osterman is softball's mega-celebrity, attracting enormous media coverage such as this splashy feature in USA Today . From Lawrence to Lubbock , her road appearances in the Big 12 have brought out some of the biggest softball crowds seen in...

Few minutes after 6:00 pm Central: We now have our eighth team for the Women's College World Series, Oregon State (in the postings below, all WCWS qualifiers are depicted in bold). The Beavers defeated Cal 3-0 and then 1-0 today, to take the teams' super-regional series 2-1. 4:40 pm Central: We have the identities of two more teams going to the WCWS (bringing the total to seven), but Oregon State has stayed alive against Cal, forcing a third and deciding game to determine the one remaining team for the World Series. Leave it to the Beavers! Here are the two teams (in bold) that have earned bids to Oklahoma City thus far today: Tennessee , which edged Michigan 1-0 in what must have been a very dramatic finish to those who saw it live. The reason I say must have been is that ESPN cut away to show a live Barry Bonds at-bat in his quest for 715 home runs, a number that would surpass Babe Ruth for second on the all-time list. Sure enough, Bonds blasted one deep into the c...

A little after 10:00 pm Central: It got a bit dicey at the end from LSU's perspective. But the Tigers, who led Arizona 3-0 going into the Wildcat (top) half of the seventh, were able to hold on for a 3-2 win, forcing a third and deciding game in their super-regional series later tonight. It looked to me like LSU might have been able to end Game 2 a little earlier than was the case, as a Wildcat batter took a pitch with two outs and two strikes that easily could have been called for a game-ending strike (discussants on the Ultimate College Softball forums seem to agree). The pitch was called a ball, however, and the batter rifled the next pitch for a line-drive the LSU shortstop was unable to handle. LSU retired the next U of A batter for the win, though. It's unclear to me whether Game 3 will be televised on one of the "regular" ESPN channels (ESPN or ESPN2), or only on the less-available ESPN-U. The recently concluded Arizona-LSU Game 2 was on ESPN2, but appa...

9:45 pm Central: The 1-0 Texas score over Washington alluded to below indeed held up , so the Longhorns now lead the series 1-0. Other finals... In Tuscaloosa, it was Crimson and Cardinal (sort of sounds like the Tommy James and the Shondells song, "Crimson and Clover"). Anyway, it was Alabama (the Crimson Tide) defeating Stanford, 4-1. Rounding out today's action, Arizona went a game up on LSU. In looking at the discussion forums at Ultimate College Softball (see link to UCS in the right-hand column of this page), it appears that additional series are being televised, beyond what I've noted so far. These additional games are on ESPN-U and College Sports TV (see link to the CSTV page, too). 8:20 pm Central: The Washington at Texas game is currently on ESPN, the Longhorns having just taken a 1-0 lead. The Huskies are now coming up in the top of the sixth. It'll be a busy softball weekend on ESPN and ESPN2, with the focus on the Michigan-Tennessee series...

A few tidbits from around the nation, as we await the start of super-regionals on Friday... Northwestern University student radio broadcasters Dan Platt and Howard Tilman preview each of the super-regional series. In my links section on the right, go to Softball Bracketology--WNUR Sports , then when the page comes up, select Bracketology Week 8: Super Regional Edition . Our friendly bracketologists are also keeping a running count of how each conference is doing, complete with lines crossing-out eliminated teams. The University of Michigan site has a photo essay of the Wolverines' regional-clinching win over Oklahoma last Sunday. UM's upcoming opponent, Tennessee, likewise has pictures from the Vols' win over Louisville to advance. ESPN.com offers this overview of the past weekend's regionals and upcoming super-regionals. The apparent reference in this piece to Stanford losing to Tulsa in regional play is incorrect, however. As shown in this game-by-game log , t...

The opening weekend of NCAA tournament action is now on the books! The 16 surviving teams move on to next weekend's super-regionals (most of them, Friday-Saturday, May 26-27). There are eight "supers," each hosting two teams, who play a two-out-of-three series to see who qualifies for the Women's College World Series. Here is a link to the official NCAA brackets, updated to reflect who will be meeting in the super-regionals. In 13 of the 16 regions, things went according to plan, as the designated national seed was victorious. The three unseeded teams advancing are South Florida (from the regional in which the University of Florida was the national seed), Florida State (where Georgia was the national seed), and UMass (where Texas A&M was the national seed). One of the most interesting super-regionals, if not the most interesting one, will send defending national champion Michigan (No. 9 national seed) to Knoxville, to face No. 8 seed Tennessee. The series wi...

5:50 pm Central: There have been several interesting developments in NCAA regional softball action thus far today. We have our first qualifier for next weekend's super-regionals, the Washington Huskies. In the only other regional on a Thursday-Saturday schedule, Arizona is seeking to join its fellow Pac 10 school in the "supers." The Wildcats just need to beat Auburn once, out of two opportunities, to win the regional. The Tigers have a loss (to Ohio State, which Auburn avenged, sending the Buckeyes home), so Auburn would need to beat the Wildcats twice to win the regional. Arizona-Auburn is currently on ESPN2, and the Wildcats seem comfortably ahead. Jennie Ritter continues to carry defending NCAA champion Michigan, now the only undefeated team in the Ann Arbor regional and one win away (Sunday) from making the super-regionals. The Wolverines' win today wasn't easy, as they needed nine innings (two beyond the regulation seven) to edge Oklahoma, 1-0. A...

10:45 am Central: The bulk of regional action gets underway today. Two regions started yesterday, however ( scoreboard ). In the four games played, all of the losing teams were shut out. In the Tucson regional, host Arizona won easily. In the other opening-round game, Ohio State edged Auburn 1-0 in 10 innings, the Buckeyes being helped by a dramatic triple play in the bottom of the seventh inning. In the Provo regional (where Washington is actually the nationally prominent seed), the Huskies won their opener, as did Big 12 tournament champion Kansas. There's going to be a ton of games today and over the weekend, with 14 additional regions beginning play, and winners', as well as losers', bracket games. As I did for last week's conference tourneys, I'll focus on the upsets that occur during regionals, thus allowing me to keep my summaries to a manageable scope. Thus, if you're a fan of a highly ranked team and don't see me writing anything, "no ...

Here’s an interesting item I recently saw on the Ultimate College Softball discussion boards (I’ve cleaned up a few typos): On Wednesday, May 17th from 6 pm to 8 pm CST, "The Road to the Women's College World Series" debuts on the internet. It's an idea put together by Nic Hoch, the Sports Director for WVUA-FM, 90.7 (the voice of Alabama softball). This is an idea that's long overdue, kind of like the road to the final four for basketball. There are going to be special guests and segments for callers to ask questions, make predictions, etc. This is the first year and I really hope this catches on as the game of softball continues to expand. There are a couple of ways to access the show, but the easiest is as follows. The direct link to the web stream is [ here ]. Again, the show will air May 17th at 6:00 CST to 8:00 CST. Anyone that clicks on this link will be taken to an audio stream, most likely through Windows Media Player. "If it goes over well and we get...

Continuing with the previewing of the NCAA regionals, the University of Arizona has received the No. 2 seed nationally (behind UCLA) and a lot of "buzz", thanks in good part to a 10-game winning streak to close the season (and, presumably, Texas's two-and-out collapse at the Big 12 tournament). As shown in this U of A game-by-game log , the Wildcats defeated Washington, Stanford, Oregon, and Oregon State twice each, and Arizona State and Cal once each, during the streak. One often hears about the importance of momentum heading into play-off competition, and the 2005 MLB World Series champion Chicago White Sox provide some anecdotal support for the proposition. The Chisox won their final five games of the regular season , then went 11-1 in the post-season , for a 16-1 close-out, overall. In late September 2005, in fact, the baseball website Hardball Times published a piece analyzing many years of data to assess the degree to which September success carried over to cham...

The NCAA Division I softball selection show ended a short time ago on ESPNews. In this posting, I link to the official brackets for the 64-team field, and provide some initial reaction. The official list of the 16 regionals (each a double-elimination affair), the teams comprising them, and the host sites is available here . Most of the regionals start this Friday, May 19, although a few start Thursday, May 18. Within each region, only one team has been given a national seeding, anywhere from 1 to 16. The 16 regional winners are then paired off to compete a week later in eight super-regionals, each a two-out-of-three series. The winners of the super-regionals go to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. As shown in the linked brackets (above), the regionals feed into the "supers" such that the national seed of the top team in one region, when combined with that of the top team in the "partnered" region, add up to 17 (e.g., 1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15, ......

2:10 pm Central: The CSTV broadcast of the Big 10 championship game between Northwestern and Michigan, which got underway a short time ago, can be viewed on the web for free at the following site . Tennessee has won the SEC tournament , 3-0 over LSU. In the Big 12 , Oklahoma and Kansas will meet this afternoon at 3:00 (Central) in the final of the conference tourney . The game will be shown on Fox Sports cable, at least in the Southwest region. 8:20 pm Central: All of the major conference championships have now been determined, so it's on to the NCAA selection show tomorrow at 2:30 pm (Central) on ESPNews! In the Big 10 tourney final, defending national champion Michigan dominated Northwestern 6-0, in Evanston. Two keys to the game were the stellar pitching of the Wolverines' Jennie Ritter, who allowed no runs at all over the weekend, and some defensive miscues by the Wildcats. In the biggest surprise among the top conferences, No. 6 seeded Kansas captured the Big 12 t...

I've just verified, from an NCAA TV listing , that Sunday's Division I softball selection show will air at 3:30 pm (Eastern) on ESPNews . As far as I know, ESPNews is available only if you subscribe to satellite or digital cable service. I'm sure that the brackets will be posted on several of the websites in my links section (right-hand side of the page), however. Talking about websites I've linked to, student radio station WNUR at Northwestern has been doing a "Bracketology" during the season, fearlessly forecasting who will be in the NCAA filed. Take a look, if you haven't already. Here's where we stand at the moment (a little before 5:00 pm Central) in the major conference tournaments: Starting at 9:00 am Saturday, the Big 10 tourney will have its semi-finals (Michigan vs. Indiana, followed by Northwestern vs. the winner between Ohio State and Penn State) and then the final. As I did yesterday, I just checked the Weather Channel for Evanston a...

2:20 pm Central: Today's a big day of softball, as the Big 12 tournament is in Day 2, action begins in the Big 10 and SEC tourneys, and there are some key Pac 10 games later in the day. Right now, in a Big 12 losers' bracket game that should just have gotten started, Texas A&M (which lost earlier today in a 13-6 slugfest to Oklahoma) is now taking on archrival Texas. Pretty intense game for the losers' bracket, huh? The two teams split their previous match-ups this season. You can follow the tournaments (and particular teams) via the links on the right-hand side of the page. More updates later... 5:15 pm Central: Texas is out . Cat Osterman started against A&M, but that didn't prevent a 5-0 Aggie rout. In other news, Day 1 of the Big 10 tournament at Northwestern has been rained out (click here for announcement and updated schedule). I just checked the Weather Channel for Evanston, Illinois, and the current reading is rainy, 45 degrees (F.), feels ...

If you're visiting this website at 9:45 pm Central time or shortly thereafter, go to the Big 12 tournament site at once , and then click on the Gametracker for the Oklahoma State-Texas game. The Cowgirls are batting in the top of the 7th, leading the top-seeded Longhorns 2-0. The runs came off of UT starter Meagan Denny, who was relieved by Cat Osterman. OSU, seeded 8th, had to win a play-in game earlier in the day against 9th-seeded Iowa State to qualify to play the Longhorns. One thing I noticed that had escaped me earlier is that for the play-in round, it's single-elimination (meaning that Iowa State, and 10th-seeded Texas Tech who lost to 7th-seeded Missouri, have to go home). From here on out, it's double-elimination, so even if Texas loses, it's not eliminated. More later... 9:58 pm Central: It's all over. The Longhorns come up with a run in the bottom of the 7th, but fall short 2-1 ( box score and play-by-play ). No. 2 seed Nebraska has also lost, 3-...

We're now exactly one week away from the May 14 NCAA selection announcement . In the meantime, the Big 10, Big 12, and SEC will be holding conference tournaments. The Pac 10, which does not have a tournament, will have one more weekend of league play. Because it's the only major conference whose standings are still in play, let's start with a summary of where things currently stand in the Pac 10. Today's UCLA at Oregon State game was rained out . Arizona swept all three games this weekend against its visitors from northern California (beating Cal once and Stanford twice). Arizona State defeated Stanford, but lost two to Cal. Thus, the Golden Bears fared second best of the foursome and Stanford, the worst. The Pac 10's softball page has fallen behind in updating the standings, so here are the most recent ones: UCLA 14-3 Arizona 11-6 OSU 9-7 Cal 10-8 ASU 7-9 Stanford 7-11 Wash. 6-12 Oregon 4-12 With only next weekend's play remaining, UCLA appears to have th...

Many readers of this blog will be familiar with the " Sports Illustrated Jinx ." If you appear on the cover of the famed magazine, misfortune has a good chance of following (SI actually did a study in 2002, tracking what happened to nearly 2,500 individuals and teams that had graced the cover; 37% of them experienced a setback, but no "control group" of non-pictured counterparts was studied, so there's no way of knowing if being on the cover actually increases bad outcomes above what the rate of occurrence otherwise would have been). Perhaps my college softball blog has a jinx of its own. No sooner did I prominently feature Oregon State in yesterday's posting (below), than did the Beavers drop consecutive 1-0 games to Washington and to UCLA . OSU has one last chance Sunday against the Bruins to salvage a win for the weekend. Northwestern, another team I recently featured, showed no signs of a jinx, however, defeating Illinois in the opener of the teams...

In addition to the final weekend of Big 10 play (discussed in yesterday's entry, below), another highlight of this weekend will be UCLA's two games at Oregon State (single games on Saturday and Sunday afternoon). Both major national polls agree on the Bruins at No. 1 and the Beavers at No. 5 (see links on the right). Within the Pac 10 standings, OSU (9-5) remains within striking distance of UCLA (12-3) with each team having six games remaining (today, OSU hosts Washington and UCLA is at Oregon; then, next weekend, UCLA plays the Northern California schools and OSU, the Arizona schools). If this weren't enough to spur interest in the UCLA-OSU match-up, there's even more... In the teams' one previous meeting this season, the Beavers came into L.A. and shut out the Bruins , something that rarely happens. Also, as illustrated in a pair of ESPN.com articles, UCLA represents the "old guard" of collegiate softball, absolutely engulfed in tradition , whereas Ore...

One of the key storylines of this upcoming weekend's play will be Northwestern's attempt to win the Big 10 regular-season title for the first time under Coach Kate Drohan . The Wildcats, who go downstate to play single games at Illinois Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, have a "Magic Number" of 1, in relation to second-place Michigan, who goes to Michigan State for single games Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Northwestern is 14-3 in the conference, whereas Michigan is 12-4. Even if, hypothetically, the Wolverines swept and the Wildcats won only one of two, Northwestern's 15-4 would still top UM's 14-4 (sometimes rain-outs work in your favor, sometimes they don't). Likewise, a single Michigan loss, even in the absence of any Northwestern wins against Illinois, would give the Wildcats the crown. Adding to the importance of winning the regular-season title, doing so allows you to host the conference tournament. About a week ago, ESPN.com ran a nice arti...

If you're a fan of men's college basketball, there's a good chance you're familiar with ESPN's Bracketology, where during the season, "bracketologist" Joe Lunardi periodically projects what the NCAA tournament field will look like. No detail is spared -- you get to see expected head-to-head match-ups, seedings, and game locations. Lunardi even has his initial projection of the 2007 hoops brackets up and available for viewing, which for now at least provides some food for thought. The best analogue I can find for softball comes from a discussion thread at Ultimate College Softball. It's mostly listings of whom people think will make the NCAA field from each conference, but you can also find projections of which teams will be placed together in regional tournaments. Not all the comments offer full-fledged projections; many simply offer concurrences and/or dissents from what others have posted. For those of you who are new this year to following c...