WITHOUT A ROOTING INTEREST GAMES ARE ALWAYS “NO SWEAT”

If you are an armchair sports fan life is pretty simple. Watch what is interesting and if a team gets too far ahead or behind change channels. If you have a more personal rooting interest you really can’t call it quits until the final inning, minute, chucker, dart, hole, or whatever. For further evidence please contact Long Beach State baseball.

On a weekend that almost locked up post season for the underdog Dirtbags (picked 4th in the pre-season Big West poll) all the winners came from behind. Out to a nice 3 zip lead Friday LB left as a 7-4 loser. On Saturday Fullerton had the early advantage but 14 innings and 5 hours 43 minutes later the 49ers were 4-3 winners. Sunday the Titans were down to their last out trailing 5-3 and then blew up the Beach bullpen scoring 4 and winning 7-5. Being a Beach backer does indeed build character.

The Saturday contest was the highlight albeit extended. Once a weekend you hear from a baseball buddy something like, “well we have a banquet, wedding, funeral, retirement party, bat mitzvah…but if there is time maybe we will stop by in the late innings.” Well Saturday night and early Sunday morning there enough late innings that you could return the tux, feed the dog and still catch a taut “little-ball” thriller that finally ended with two outs in the bottom of the 14th.
Skippers George Horton and Mike Weathers, veteran coaches who are known to need an afternoon nap now and then, must have gotten carpal tunnel syndrome after penciling in 42 players, including eleven pitchers. And lest we forget the brothers in blue, Umpires Heath Jones, Dan Ignosci and Ron Ridd who also worked the entire 5:43 without a bathroom break.

PARTY DUST—There were only kind words and not too much drama at the men’s basketball banquet Sunday. Exiled coach Larry Reynolds came late, said nice things, and wished the program luck. He gave the nine departees best wishes in the “journey you will be taking and that I am taking” introduced the season highlight video and left before the lights went back on.

Most of the west coast baseball brass do not like the changes in the wind for college baseball. Basically, if passed, the NCAA proposal will mean that JUCO athletes coming in must be eligible in the fall, as opposed to the spring. The result will be a smaller pool of prospects. D-1 transfers who can now just come in and pick up a glove and bat will have to sit a year like football and basketball. Finally the proposal will require any scholarship player to receive at least 33 percent of average athletic aid and will cap the number of scholarship players at 27. with the rosters capped at 35 to “eliminate the over-recruiting and open tryouts in the fall”.

Translated fall certification puts more pressure on players to perform academically in the spring, unless they want to forego summer ball to take summer classes.

After last of the baseball stuff, the Niners open conference Friday through Sunday at UC Irvine where the crowds will certainly be less that the 7387 fans who packed Blair last weekend, that total being the second-largest regular season turnout.
Rounding up the rest, on the smaller diamond Niner softball opens its’ BWC season hosting Cal State Northridge this weekend with a double header Saturday and a single game Sunday. Volleyball is in a must win mode at BYU, they are ninth in the MPSF which only invites their top eight to the post season party April 21-28. Final teams to discuss are women’s water polo (where rumors persist that that the five Big West teams will leave the MPSF next year and form their own league) and women’s tennis (ranked 50th) is on a six match road trip. —DR. DAN

BAGS AND TITANS BURN PITCHERS AND MIDNIGHT OIL BEFORE LB PREVAILS IN THE 14TH

Once a weekend you hear from a baseball buddy something like, “well we have a banquet, wedding, funeral, retirement party, bat mitzvah…but if there is time maybe we will stop by in the late innings.” Well Saturday night and early Sunday morning there enough late innings that you could return the tux, feed the dog and still catch a taut “little-ball” thriller that finally ended with two outs in the bottom of the 14th.when the Dirtbags survived Fullerton 4-3.

Skippers George Horton and Mike Weathers, veteran coaches who are known to need an afternoon nap now and then, must have carpal tunnel syndrome this morning after penciling in 42 players, including eleven pitchers. And lest we forget the brothers in blue, Umpires Heath Jones, Dan Ignosci and Ron Ridd who also worked the entire 5:43 without a bathroom break. The attendance, which started at 2402, thinned out faster than NBA players in the paint when Kobe starts throwing elbows but the hearty home folks got rewarded when little used Steve Tinoco (a sub in the sixth) singled with two out in the bottom of the 14th to plate AJ Pinocchio, break an eight game losing streak and set up today’s rubber match between the #18 49ers (13-8) and #13 Fullerton (14-10.)

There were chances on both sides to finish earlier but both dugouts know each other so well and the chess match went back and forth. Get a runner on, get Godfrey to sac, walk Danny Espinosa (he got four strolls--one away from the LBSU record) and then the up-Titans would get an out. Same way for the Niners but Andrew Liebel was the toughest guy down the stretch. He shook off the miseries at Wichita and Friday night to hang zeroes in the final four innings to up his mark to 4-1. Liebel was especially effective in the 12th fanning catcher Dustin Garneau with a runner on third with two outs to keep it tied at 3-3. The Titans previously wriggled off the hook in the ninth when reliever Michael Morrison loaded the bases with two outs and went full count to Pinocchio before getting a called third strike on ball low enough to, well just say it was real close. For the evening Shane Peterson went 2-for-3, catcher du jour Brian Capon had a pair of hits including a two-run double that gave the Beach a 3-1 lead before those pesky Titans tied it back up with two in the seventh. Dirtbag starter Omar Arif lasted until the seventh giving up one unearned run on five hits and striking out six. Enough game stuff, there’s plenty of ball in front of you today, let’s finish with notes on the napkin.

POST GAME DUST-- If you are looking for a Sunday post game option (besides the drama of the men’s basketball banquet today at the Grand) there is a Spring Fundraiser/Party to benefit California Pools of Hope at the wildly popular Tracy's Bar on Spring from 4-8…free to get in, raffles and a the usual good grub and grog…next week LB AD VC, we trained you on that yesterday, goes to the Final Four to chat with prospective employees for the head basketball coach…applicants must like blue pointed buildings, be ready to hire a full staff, fill up to eight scholarships if the youngsters on hand are allowed to leave, beat Fullerton, UCSB and Irvine and make ends meet on $250,000…actually one national analyst said that this coaching carousel ought to be sponsored by the National Dairy Council since it is all about MILK, that would be openings at the big four: Michigan, Iowa, Long Beach and Kentucky…now your early morning scoreboard--Arizona State 4 @ Southern California 3; Fresno State 3 @ Louisiana Tech 5; Oral Roberts 1 @ California 6; Oregon State 6 @ Cal Poly 0; Pacific 4 @ UCLA 3; Pepperdine 16 @ UC Santa Barbara 1;Sacramento State 6 @ Stanford 0; San Diego 5 @ UNLV 4; and UC Davis 3 @ Loyola Marymount 4…changes in the wind for college baseball, and some like it and some don’t…basically, if passed, the proposal will mean that JUCOs coming in must be eligible in the fall, thus a smaller pool…D-1 transfers who can now just come in and pick up a glove and bat will have to sit a year like football and basketball… the proposal will require any scholarship player to receive at least 33 percent athletic aid and will cap the number of scholarship players at 27. with the rosters capped at 35 to “eliminate the over-recruiting and open tryouts in the fall”…fall certification also puts more pressure on players to perform academically in the spring, unless they want to forego summer ball to take summer classes…last add where are theys…ex Bags Mike Hofius, Steve Velazco, Sean Boatright and Tito Cruz in the house…the Cruzer loving that Mr. Capon had escaped the bull pen catching duties as he did…former softball coach Pete Manarino visiting because “I get so bored now that I don’t have anything to do on weekends” and finally, the MIAs, Houston Bob, wife Marge and their posse at a big time BP banquet in San Pedro where no oil was spilled in the harbor but a little beer on the bar…and yes they could have made it back in time for ball—DR. DAN

JUST LIKE W. BEACH PROPHECIES ARE BUSTED AT BLAIR ON A PICTURE PERFECT FRIDAY NIGHT

For their long awaited homecoming the Long Beach State baseball team had several prime objectives for Friday night. Nice weather (sunny and the low 70’s at first pitch), Blair Field in great shape (“that diamond looks like Mount Vernon” a fan would say), a great crowd (2,447, 14th largest ever), five good innings from Vance Worley (7 hits, one ER and a couple of Ks) and trouble for Fullerton ace Wes Roemer (three unearned runs, control out of control, 4 walks and 4 hit batters). As George W said on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln May 1, 2003, Mission Accomplished. Sadly, that wasn’t the case for W then and it wasn’t the case for the Dirtbags now.

Despite Dirtbagging their way to three runs in their first at bat, Beach miscues gave them all back in the top of the second and then settled down until a slump-busting home run by Shane “Slash” Peterson (Sunday’s secret pitcher) in the bottom of the fifth got the lead back at 4-3. Mission Accomplished…not so fast. Top of the sixth the Titans got three consecutive hits chasing Worley but bringing in usually reliable Andrew Liebel who fanned the next two F hats to hold the contest at 4-4. Nothing good happened to Andrew or the LB offense after that so in the good-news-only tradition of the Dust we end our scoring report at this point and return to game notes and gossip already in progress.

NEW DAY DUST--Peterson was a frustrating 3-for-38 for the season before Friday but is a reliable lefty with a 1.93 ERA in his three starts...a couple of newcomers made actual or imaginary errors that hurt their teams early on…in the first the CSUF replacement second baseman Corey Jones “Ole-ed” a sharp grounder by Godfrey to keep a rally going and LF Teddy Pattock (in just his third start) turned the wrong way in the Titans three run answer inning…sitting back in the press box, the PT’s Bob Keisser and I had our cell phones out but weren’t calling anybody when LB AD VC (Mr. Cegles for those that have trouble with code) popped in…charming and animated as a head hunter should be, Cegles is a poker player that keeps his cards under his vest…”if Ernie Kent leaves Oregon that will put a lot of things in motion” VC opined, and then recited all the possible movements of head coaches and assistants up and down the coast from Gonzaga to San Diego and a few spots in between…back to the miscues of Pattock and Jones, the old baseball axiom “the ball will find you” is sure true but one box seater worried that the Niners were still auditioning in this the series before Big West play begins…”I know that the conference rosters are shorter and it is better to hit a lefty against a righty but…”…Roemer report, the game was his first no-decision and the first time in his three-year career he did not reach the fifth inning…credit the Beach boys for taking more doses than the school nurse gives out—bangs received by Pattock, Espinosa, Cline and Perry…other numbers news…the just approved increase in tution will cost all the ahtletic programs dearly since most LBSU teams were slightly underfunded this year…the president may try to increase the Beach Pride dollars (he’s got a lot of descretion in those matters) but the acadmeic senate is nervious about the effect on the average student….now this note for you hoop fans still looking for controversy…two spots are still being shuffled with some guys batter at bat and some better at glove…behind the plate you have the good D of Travis Howell, the occasional bat of Kip Masuda and recently the appearance of bull pen catcher Brian Capon…take your pick since nobody has a standout swing but have been excellent keeping runners in check and handling the occasional wild things from the pitching staff…the other hot topic is the hot corner where Weathers can platoon lefty-righty…Jason Tweedy is the left-hander, Taylor Krick from the right side and AJ Pinocchio switches…great glove by Tweedy, better bat by Krick…as usual the Beach has the overall program edge over the one-sport wonders on Nutwood…LBSU won the BWC Commissioner’s cup last year, is in second this year and moving up...CSUF is in fifth and not going anywhere…Long Beach got a lot of points by winning the BWC hoops and senior Louis Darby will get the Beach some air time on Thursday in the ESPN Slam Dunk event with the Final Four in Atlanta…tonight’s hurlers are LB lefty Omar Arif (1-3, 3.81) challenged by Jeff Kaplan (3-2, 3.67) ….Kaplan has a good walk to K ratio, 14/25 but has yielded a team high three homers…sitting behind home plate surrounded by scouts was Ex LB Assistant and current CSUN skipper Steve Rousey…”Bobby Braswell is a hell of a coach” Rousey offered to no one in particular…the Mats come here in Mid April…after the Friday loss the D Bag numbers fell some, the bats are now at a coolish .269 and the team ERA grew slightly to 3.67…closing with the Friday scores…Arizona State 10 @ Southern California 0; Fresno State 11 @ Louisiana Tech 8; Nevada 3 @ Hawaii 5; Oral Roberts 3 @ California 8; San Diego 6 @ UNLV 4; San Diego State 21 @ Air Force 10; UC Davis 9 @ Loyola Marymount 3…film at 11—DR. DAN

SCOREBOARD WATCHING WITHOUT LAPTOP OR CELL PHONE—BAGS AND TITANS HERE AND NOW

After they rolled out this 2007 College Baseball season the first weekend in February, Long Beach and Fullerton fans played two types of games-- three outs for each side in the top and bottom of innings, and scoreboard watching, internet listening and chat room chatter the rest of the time. Today there is only one scoreboard that counts (big blue at Blair) and if a fan wants to keep track of a team they love to hate you can get the 411 right from your seat.

Officially this is a Big West non-conference game (play that counts starts next weekend) but this Orange County border war raises revenues of both programs and blood pressure of alums and fans. As far as the coaches and teams are concerned the series is more fun than frantic, a measuring stick that because of the excellent RPIs of both sides doesn’t hurt the loser as much as a win over cream puff. The Friday night lights of course shine on the pitching aces, for the Niners a big, stoic righty Vance Worley (1-0, 3.38 and five NDs) against Wes Roemer, the fist pumping, mound dancing 2006 all star who has very pedestrian numbers so far, 3-3,4.22. Worley has kept the Beach in the ball game all year, giving up just one run against USC, Cal and Wichita State. Backing up the Beach is excellent relief and a solid defense, #2 in the conference vs. #5 for CSUF. The Titans come in as a puzzle, dropping some pop ups, shifting the infield more than a Rubiks Cube and that was before their most disciplined hitter (.324 in 21 starts) Joel Weeks tumbled in practice and is out for six weeks or so. His sub is a freshman with nine at bats and that may not be comforting to Roemer who comes into the game losing his last three starts. The Dirtbags are led by senior Robert Perry, who tops the LB charts with a .342 average, 15 runs and 11 RBI but five other regulars are plus.300 hitters and playing in Blair that is just what this doctor ordered.

DUSTING UP—LB went 2-2 last week and the Nutwood Nine went 1-1 beating Pepperdine but getting on three hits losing to San Diego 5-1…the elephant’s Evan McArthur (.279) returned from his broken hamate bone and is back at shortstop and Dirtbag outfielder Chuck Nelson i(.286) is back from his hamate moment…more name dropping…what do Danny Ainge, Art and Shirley Golden, myself and Nancey Kredell have in common…we all flew back to SoCal together from Columbus but I suspect that the $30,000 NBA fine that Ainge paid for contact with Texas sharpshooter Kevin Durant is more than what we tipped Chi Kredell for his airport limo work…the Shocker series were all one run affairs…on Friday Brandon Godfrey delivered a ninth inning RBI double for the 2-1 win, on Saturday the Dirtbags twice rallied from four-run deficits but lost 8-7 and on Sunday it took 13 innings to decide the series with WSU’s 3-2 win… what you may not know about CSUF…while they are 9-4 at home overall, in their last five games they are 1-4 and just 4-5 on the road…been off for the last nine days…tomorrow the Nutwooders start Jeff Kaplan 3-2, 3.67 ERA facing Omar Arif (1-3, 3.81 followed by a Sunday offering of Sean Urena (3-2, 3.54 versus the Niners secret weapon ( I could tell you but I would have to kill you)…the polls have these teams in the same neighborhood, Titans 11 to16, Niners 17 to 20…the sweetest LB win of recent times was the 49ers knocking the Titans out of the 2002 Stanford Regional with a 4-0 shutout…opponents have three hit Fullerton in three of their last five games, all three resulting in losses…the Titans have committed 33 errors in the 22 games they have played so far (averaging 1.5 a game) and their 2007 fielding percentage (.959) is as low as it has been since 1994…the last two years were very good, .977 in both 2005 and 2006…Wichita State was happy to see the Bags pack their bags so they could get back to Mid West patsies like struggling Arkansas-Pine Bluff (4-16) …the Shockers smoked their visitors 19-2… if you are looking for an iron maiden in LBSU athletics try tennis star Sandra Rocha (Pomona) who picked up career wins 134 and 135 as the #50-ranked 49ers defeated #64 Princeton yesterday…hoop moment, when the Beach was coach searching after Wayne Morgan left, I got a call from a job-seeking Pitt assistant Jamie Dixon via Steve Holton and Ben Howland…hooked him up with Bill Shumard who had a long chat and said no thanks…what you may not know about LBSU…LB will make two appearances on national TV later this season, at San Diego State on May 8 and at Fullerton on May 26…the most surprising 49er fact this season is the hitting….the Beach boys have scored 7 or more runs in 8 of 20 …around the west this weekend, Oregon State @ Cal Poly; Arizona State @ USC, Pacific @ UCLA, Pepperdine @ UCSB and UC Davis @ LMU…last add, spy stories…those pesky marsupials (the #25 UCI Anteaters) are around taking notes for the Bags visit next weekend…the Eaters have won seven straight games and six straight weekend series—DR. DAN

BIG DANCE IN A SMALL TOWN: NINER NUMBERS WERE UP AND OUT

As you might expect this is a busted-bracket edition of Diamond Dust direct from Columbus, Ohio where the star the show was a Pearl not a prospector.

Indeed Prospector Pete was there, he came into a town that was festive with Welcome banners in all the hotels. CBS brought announcing stars Tim Brando, a fixture in big games, and Mike Gminski, who beat the Niners by a single point when Tex Winter took a really promising team to Duke in 1979. Big West ref Bill Vinovich worked the first Virginia Tech game where the sidelines were prowled by former LB coach Seth Greenberg. Seth won on Friday and lost on Sunday and in between went looking for former LB President Bob Maxson who was “Go Beach-ing” one and all. Seth of course has a following in this town because he regularly said how much he liked it and wished he could have stayed longer.

Of course in the Va Tech press handouts there is a long story on how much he loved Tampa when he was at South Florida, “I will genuinely say I enjoyed my seven years at South Florida…”

Celebs aside the event and the venue were what excited the LBSU players and fans. The arena was picture perfect, really big, and they have one of those giant LED ribbon boards (670 linear feet with 601,000 pixels) that sure enough had Long Beach State in the same bright lights of more regularly seen bright lights like Tennessee, Illinois and Virginia.

Before I get too mushy I should recall the day would open with Virginia’s collaring of the Great Danes of Albany by a large margin. During a timeout on the court a couple of fans from the New York school were overheard saying “we are only down by 12” yet when I looked at the scoreboard the difference was actually 24. I looked puzzled and the fellas punctured by Pollyanna with “Oh we are just 12 away from beating the spread reminding me that there is this March Gambling Madness that accompanies the innocent flinging of objects into peach baskets.

As to the Niner game it wouldn’t be nice to recount the path of Beach pain, suffice to say that Bruce Pearl of Tennessee knows how to coach, admitting post game that he pressed with his considerably larger players to “keep that Kevin Houston from getting it going.” The pressure led to turnovers and shortly after halftime even if the Beach scored, say 86 points, it wouldn’t be enough. You see the Vols clearly liked playing in the shooting gallery known as the Nationwide Center, not to be confused, as some did, with the Ohio State on campus facility.

If you need more numbers in one 25 second span Tennessee scored nine points.
The Greenberg subplot of course interested some of the So Cal travelers since his he was the skipper the last time any of this dancing had gone on for LB alums who still feel that the four straight tourney appearances in the Tarkanian years meant a birthright to battle Bruins, Trojans, or Blue Devils every year. The new administration with a young and basketball-minded president and athletic director will work hard to get there but just like the road to Columbus, it is not going to be a quick trip.

Back to the Future. Last week was pretty good for the LB baseballers who end a month of roaming this weekend when Fullerton comes in for three. The Beach boys, who one rating service said had the top RPI in the country, went two and two playing at UCLA and Wichita State while the Titans split the pair they played. The Shocker series were all one run affairs. On Friday Brandon Godfrey delivered a ninth inning RBI double for the 2-1 win, On Saturday the Dirtbags twice rallied from four-run deficits but lost 8-7 and on Sunday it took 13 innings to decide the series with WSU’s 3-2 win. The CSUF visit will not count in the Big West standings but will fill the cash box and empty the anti-acid bottles in both dugouts.–DR. DAN

HELLO COLUMBUS, DIRTBAGS IN THE DESERT, AND MAKING THE BASKET CASE

An elusive gal pal of mine once said, “so many men, so little time”. This week’s column is so many notes so little space.

Case in point, I could easily fill the space allotted with basketball bragging at the Beach. “We’ll keep dancing until they send us home,” Larry Reynolds almost gushed after he and his team escaped the center court championship celebration Saturday night in Anaheim. By Sunday Reynolds and his senior citizens (the top seven scorers are lined up to graduate in May) were still in a celebratory mood for an NCAA pairings party at the on-campus pub. Hopefully by the time you read this the 49ers will have their game faces on in Columbus, Ohio where SEC power Tennessee and an old pal of Reynolds awaits.

The Tennessee team finished 22-10 and a round one loser in the Southeastern Conference tournament. Despite their football prowess the Tennessee Coach Bruce Pearl still has to sell the Volunteer faithful on the indoor sport. The Vols are a modest 9-15 in the post season while LBSU is 7-8 over the years. The Pearl-Reynolds connection goes back the 1995 D-II championship game when a short-handed UC Riverside team coached by John Masi with Reynolds as a chief lieutenant led 30-8 but eventually ran out of gas losing to Pearl’s Southern Indiana team.

Expecting the regional underdogs, literally in the case of the Great Danes of Albany, to not travel well, Pearl challenged his Orange nation to help him, “,make an impression on the court and in the stands.” “It is a short trip for us up I-75 and we need to get everybody up there.” Reynolds, CSULB athletic director Vic Cegles and Dr. Doug Robinson, the LBSU student affairs VP, will have a harder sell although Robinson’s crowd building success in Anaheim, with students, signs, bands and cheer squads, virtually brought tears to the eyes of many old time alums.
There is much more one could say about basketball (and we haven’t even mentioned the two gritty BWC wins by the suddenly settled ladies team) but the remarkable road weekend of baseball really is a notebook full.

On Friday the Dirtbags and Arizona State traded four-run fourth inning rallies but ASU came out a one run winner. On Saturday Travis Howell's two-run single was part of a three-run ninth in an 8-7 victory and on Sunday LB collected 23 hits and had two five run innings to win the series with a stunning 16-9 win over the then 9th ranked Sun Devils. The hitting heroes were Brandon Godfrey and Danny Espinosa who both had five hit games, Taylor Krick, a four-hit afternoon and Allen Woods reached base safely five times, three walks, two singles and two RBIs. All that made the Bags more poll popular, up to 15 in Rivals.com and 17 in the Collegiate Baseball list.

Meanwhile the rest of the LB sporting line-up has been faring pretty well albeit outside the bright lights. Men’s volleyball traveled to and conquered Stanford and Pacific and is home this weekend hosting a tourney featuring Cal Baptist, IPFW, and Penn State. Softball won three of four last weekend in their tourney, tennis beat Cal Poly and Penn and have home matches with Iowa, Nevada and Princeton coming up. Baseball is on the road to another ranked opponent, Wichita State.

Our closing quote is back to basketball. Sweating out the NCAA pairings show Reynolds swore “this is tougher on me than the Big West tournament.” And about Tennessee, the skipper simply says, “we expect them to be a lot like us, move up and down the court and score”, (79.7 to the Beach’s 80.3). Hello Columbus, it sounds like we have a cure for that Midwest winter chill.—DR. DAN

NAMES, NUMBERS, REYNOLDS RAP AND SHOPPING WITH THE STUDENTS

As has been widely reported it has taken the crew chief of Long Beach State basketball, Mr. Larry Reynolds, a weekend short of five years to build a championship level 49er scoring machine. In their Big West games Reynolds guys have wrapped up all the team scoring titles, an average of 86.4 ppg., plus 11 scoring margin and the best overall and three point shooting percentages on home and away courts. So one question remains to be answered, what happens when the Niner machine shifts into a neutral court?

Friday night the best Beach basketball model in a dozen years rolls into the Anaheim Arena carrying the hopes of their hardcore hoop fans and, obviously, their coach. Two wins gets you an NCAA dance ticket plus around $160,000, less what ever the Big West conference keeps, and an Excedrin Headache #49 for the those wanting to end the Reynolds era at 61-82. Personnel dramas aside, the regular season conference title came with a bye meaning that the 6:30 p.m. Friday’s contest will be against a team that will have already played one or two tournament games and will try to derail an all senior line up of rested and ready 49ers. The championship game will be Saturday at 8 p.m.

EQUAL TIME DUSTING—The LBSU women played after the Gazette went to press on Wednesday but were hopeful of polishing what has been a dismal season by earning a Thursday afternoon quarter final game with a first round win. Elsewhere the Dirtbags play three at Arizona State this weekend trying to hold onto their Top Twenty ranking.

The men’s NCAA pairings of course come out of an Indianapolis hotel room and this year there is a Big West member on the ten person selection committee, UC Riverside athletic director Stan Morrison, the only man to coach three different Division I teams from the same state (Pacific, USC and San Jose State) to the NCAA tournament.

Last of the famous names. Irvine’s Pat Douglass is happy to have this season over not just because of a losing season (13-17) but because he is sick and tired of seeing that in the corner in your face buzzer beater in the Big West tourney last year by Aaron you know who. Long Beach beat UCI with one tick on the clock in the 2006 semi-finals. The conference made a pre-tournament commercial and used Nixon’s heroics. “Every time I watched a game this season I had to see that shot over and over”

Our closing note is on the recently passed Long Beach State referendum to build a $65 million Student Recreation Center. 2,181 students voted yes, 737 voted no and 31,702 didn’t care.

The facility will have eight basketball, volleyball and badminton courts, an indoor jogging track, rock climbing wall, juice bar, multiple racquetball courts, an outdoor recreational swimming pool and seven multi-purpose dance/group fitness rooms. Among the arguments overlooked in the rush to get today’s student’s to commit tomorrow’s students to paying the above bill (over $300 for the year starting in 2010) is that the location is as far away from the dorms and the center of campus as you can possibly get.

Now I confess to having a NIMBY conflict owning a house across the street, but in the past the good burghers of LB ignored the jibes of rival cities when they called Long Beach “Iowa by the Sea.” Considering the great weather at the Beach, a mere 2,000 beds on campus, existing facilities like two pools, five racquetball courts, 10 bowling lanes, a fitness course, running track, golf range and acres of open space is it not possible that the Long Beach State model of a commuter campus works and LBSU as an academic entity doesn’t need to be “Iowa State By the Sea”? Just my humble opinion.—DR. DAN