Softball

That's one of the most creative (and baffling) examples of blaming "political correctness" for a stance one disagrees with that I've ever encountered.

As for the slowing down the game argument: The time Coach Gasso spent arguing with the home plate ump over a blatantly incorrect call could instead have been devoted to getting the call correct via video replay. The game is delayed either way, but video review at least offers the prospect of rectifying the bad call. The argument wastes time and accomplishes nothing.

The human element is provided by the players and coaches. The umpires' humanity, I have no interest in (not during the game, anyway). They are decidedly not why I am watching.
 
That's one of the most creative (and baffling) examples of blaming "political correctness" for a stance one disagrees with that I've ever encountered.

As for the slowing down the game argument: The time Coach Gasso spent arguing with the home plate ump over a blatantly incorrect call could instead have been devoted to getting the call correct via video replay. The game is delayed either way, but video review at least offers the prospect of rectifying the bad call. The argument wastes time and accomplishes nothing.

The human element is provided by the players and coaches. The umpires' humanity, I have no interest in (not during the game, anyway). They are decidedly not why I am watching.

As I said we see the game differently and that is not going to change. If you have failed to see the disruptions replay does to momentum and its impact on the game that is your issue.

The last logic to use to support an argument is citing a single exception only to have a counter example cited. The rules of the game are designed to do what is best for all the plays of the game not an isolated exception. I just find fault with the concept of that logic. Which to me is the same mentality used by the politically correct mob. Punish the masses to patronize the very few in every little incident. Society cannot accommodate all the wants/needs of everyone like many seem to think. Craziness!
 
From Eric Bailey: Pitching ace Giselle Juarez's domination powers Sooners to NCAA Super Regional

NORMAN — Oklahoma’s Giselle Juarez wasn’t molded into a dominant pitcher from her elementary school days.

Her introduction to pitching came when she was around 12 years old and playing recreational softball. Like all newcomers to the game, she tried all positions including pitcher.

A large target was set up and one of the country’s most intimidating pitchers didn’t come close to hitting it.

“Then I hit it once and I was like, ‘Oh man,’” Juarez said. “My mom asked if I really wanted lessons. I said yes and kept bugging her. I would not stop.”

Like most parents, her mom was worried about her daughter getting hit with the ball. But soon she calmed while a young Giselle constantly threw pitches to her father.

“Both of them kind of got me into it, but I was the one that was like ‘Let me pitch,’” Juarez said.
 
I have been too irritated to post for the past couple days because of the NCAA/ESPN scheduling of OU's Super Regional games. OU is the overall #1 seed - so their first game is scheduled for mid-afternoon Friday? Not prime time? And on ESPNU - not ESPN or ESPN2? And the 2nd game is scheduled for mid-afternoon Saturday? What a screw job.

Let's look at a hypothetical March Madness and say Duke is the #1 overall seed of 64 teams and is in the Elite 8 matched up with Villanova. The winner advances to the Final Four. Would this game be scheduled for mid-afternoon when millions of fans/people are at work? Would it be shown on ESPNU which many affordable cable packages doesn't offer?

I want toes who will be playing in prime time this weekend, other than west coast supers because of the time zones. End of rant.
 
I agree a mid-day afternoon start time on Friday is far from ideal for Sooner fans. And I fully understand your rant. Who is playing when in softball has minimal impact on the viewing audience with semifinal games in WCWS only
having about 1 million viewers. ESPN cares little about the few thousand change in viewers that one team has over the other. It has no impact on their pocketbook.

But comparing women's softball to men's basketball is a poor analogy. The 2018 WCWS final game had 1.5 million TV viewers. 2017 1.7 million, 2016 1.4 million and 2015 2.2 million (Florida vs Michigan). The the regional quarterfinals between Duke and Michigan State in 2019 had 16 million viewers and the final's 23.5 million viewers down 15% primarily because Texas Tech and Virginia do not draw casual fan interest like UNC, Duke, Villanova and Michigan State. That 15% amounted to a 4.6 million reduction in viewers which is 3 times as many viewers as watched the WCWS final game.

The WCWS does hold its own with thw CWS where viewership is similar from year to year with the WCWS even higher on occasion which I think is a big positive for women's sports.

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2018/06/womens-college-world-series-ratings-down/

https://www.flosoftball.com/articles/5043857-wcws-dominates-baseball-world-series-ratings

https://deadline.com/2019/04/ncaa-t...virginia-texas-tech-cbs-the-voice-1202591765/

http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2018/06/30/2018-cws-tv-ratings-highest-since-2012/
 
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I have been too irritated to post for the past couple days because of the NCAA/ESPN scheduling of OU's Super Regional games. OU is the overall #1 seed - so their first game is scheduled for mid-afternoon Friday? Not prime time? And on ESPNU - not ESPN or ESPN2? And the 2nd game is scheduled for mid-afternoon Saturday? What a screw job.

Let's look at a hypothetical March Madness and say Duke is the #1 overall seed of 64 teams and is in the Elite 8 matched up with Villanova. The winner advances to the Final Four. Would this game be scheduled for mid-afternoon when millions of fans/people are at work? Would it be shown on ESPNU which many affordable cable packages doesn't offer?

I want toes who will be playing in prime time this weekend, other than west coast supers because of the time zones. End of rant.

this would be like the sweet 16 and yes lots of times the #1 seed plays in the afternoon ..


also espn doesn't think OU vs northwestern will be a good matchup .... they think it will be over early and i think they are correct
 
Just a heads up: I don’t know if it’s right or not, but my viewing guide is now saying the game is on ESPN 2, not U.
 
I have been too irritated to post for the past couple days because of the NCAA/ESPN scheduling of OU's Super Regional games. OU is the overall #1 seed - so their first game is scheduled for mid-afternoon Friday? Not prime time? And on ESPNU - not ESPN or ESPN2? And the 2nd game is scheduled for mid-afternoon Saturday? What a screw job.

Let's look at a hypothetical March Madness and say Duke is the #1 overall seed of 64 teams and is in the Elite 8 matched up with Villanova. The winner advances to the Final Four. Would this game be scheduled for mid-afternoon when millions of fans/people are at work? Would it be shown on ESPNU which many affordable cable packages doesn't offer?

I want toes who will be playing in prime time this weekend, other than west coast supers because of the time zones. End of rant.

To be fair, although we fill the Duke role, I don't think that NW fills the Villanova role. I very often prefer the 2 vs 3 games in the Sweet 16 over the 1 vs 4/5. If we make it to the WCWS, I suspect we'll get prime time coverage. Or at least I'll be right there with you in outrage.
 
Direct TV guide confirms they are showing the game on ESPN2 at 2PM Friday. Channel 208.
 
OSU pitcher retired the last 18 batters she faced. Really an outstanding pitching job against one of the top hitting teams in the country. The 'noles have 7 hitters who have hit 10+ home runs.
 
From Eric Bailey: 'Gritty' Sooners prepared for NCAA Super Regional pairing with Northwestern

NORMAN — Oklahoma had celebrated 41 consecutive victories and then, all of a sudden, the Sooners were one loss from seeing their softball season come to an end.

But OU survived last weekend’s NCAA Norman Regional elimination game against Wisconsin.

“We’re gritty,” OU ace pitcher Giselle Juarez said. “We fight with our backs against the wall. Playing for each other and having more fun within the game is really important to us. I think that’s what kind of played into that last game. We had more fun and we were being resilient.”

On Friday, the Sooners will begin a best-of-3 Super Regional series against Northwestern. Games are scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and, if necessary, 1 p.m. Sunday.

The winner will advance to the Women’s College World Series, which is played May 30-June 5 at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma is 52-3, but that third loss — 2-1 to Wisconsin — was an important teaching moment.

“It’s something we’ve kind of talked about. I think we needed that game. It sucks at the time, but I think it just sets our mindset and takes us to another level a little bit,” senior infielder Caleigh Clifton said. “We kind of talked about not taking anything for granted anymore. Not just coasting. To get to a new level. So I think that was important for us.”
 
I think OSU is this good. They impressed me with their defense, which no Big Twelve team has done recently. While Show isn't a top five pitcher, she is good enough to keep a lot of teams down by letting them hit into her defense. They do have some bats, and they have played some good teams on their home fields. I thought they were a lot better than Texas.
 
I think OSU is this good. They impressed me with their defense, which no Big Twelve team has done recently. While Show isn't a top five pitcher, she is good enough to keep a lot of teams down by letting them hit into her defense. They do have some bats, and they have played some good teams on their home fields. I thought they were a lot better than Texas.

+1. Much more complete team than is Texas. But Texas is stronger in the circle which tends to level the playing field. JMHO.
 
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Good hardfought game today. Nice to see the seniors step up to secure the victory. Nice win all around.
 
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OSU eliminated the defending national champions on their home field, 3-2. In my last ratings, I had OSU up to #7, ahead of Texas, probably the only person who had them in the top ten. They hadn't even played OU yet, and they really impressed me in that series. What did they pull off?----five double plays? They lack a super-ace, but they are good, very good. They are the first in the CWS.
 
OSU eliminated the defending national champions on their home field, 3-2. In my last ratings, I had OSU up to #7, ahead of Texas, probably the only person who had them in the top ten. They hadn't even played OU yet, and they really impressed me in that series. What did they pull off?----five double plays? They lack a super-ace, but they are good, very good. They are the first in the CWS.



Admittedly I haven’t followed softball closely, but is this the first time the OSU softball team has been relevant since Lauren Bay in the early 2000s?
 
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