Defending Champs both Edged Out at C-USA Indoor Track

Cougars fall one point short in C-USA Men’s Indoor Track and Field

The fact that the Tulsa Golden Hurricane moved from the second place finish they had in 2011 to first place in 2012 was a surprise even to their head coach.  In the  Conference USA indoor meet staged at the new Birmingham Crossplex  coach Steve Gulley admitted to FSN’s Jeremy Bloom he had been hoping for another second.  The Cougars looked too tough to overcome.  Not only had they won in 2011, but had dominated the league.  Houston had won twelve men’s indoor titles in sixteen years.  They would not win a 17^th in 2012.

Houston had a huge 30 point lead with two events to run, but lack of talent and depth in the long distance game—one of Tulsa’s strong points—did them in.  In the 3000 meter run Houston did not score a point.  Tulsa scored 34 and the lead changed hands.

Houston was favored to win the last event—the men’s 4x400 relay.  Had they done it and Tulsa finished no higher than third it would have been another Houston victory.

For three quarters of the relay things were looking good for Houston.  The Cougars were well in front with Tulsa running fourth behind both UTEP and East Carolina.

Then came the final leg.  Houston freshman Anthony Coleman could not hold the lead, being edged by UTEPs Curtis Kock at the finish, while Tulsa’s Julian Frazier had a strong finish and moved Tulsa into third.  With UTEPs win in a conference indoor meet record 3:11.64, Houston second and Tulsa third, a new champion was guaranteed.

For Tulsa it was the Golden Hurricane’s first C-USA men’s title.  For Houston is was their last chance to win another one.  They move to the Big East Conference next year.  Still, 12 men’s titles in 17 years is impressive.

Ladies Have First Time Winner, Too

A first time winner on the ladies side as well.  East Carolina rallied to knock off the women’s defending champs from the University of Central Florida.  They also clinched it by winning the 4x400 relay with UCF second.  But the real turning point was one event earlier as it was for Tulsa on the men’s side. Brittany Copeland won the 3000 meters and  the ten points she earned pushed East Carolina ahead of  UCF for the first time.  Like the Houston men, UCF’s women did not score a point in the event. 

So the defending champions Houston and UCF both lost out in the 3000 meters when they did not score a point to lose leads heading down the stretch.  Tulsa and East Carolina had the depth (Tulsa) and skill (Brittany Copeland, East Carolina) to get the points they needed.

The Conference USA men’s and women’s indoor track and field meet will seen on FSN affiliates and other outlets as early as next Friday.  Check your local listings.

If you join Lara Overton, Jeremy Bloom and me for the telecast you will be witnessing a number of conference record setting times and multiple winners.  You will also be seeing, perhaps for the first time, some names you may be hearing more of in future national competitions and maybe even the Olympics.

Similarities with Rockets and Astros are Evident

Are the Astros and Rockets the Same Team in Different Sports?

The Houston Astros will begin the 2012 baseball season with a number of players in the lineup that fans who gave up on the team midway through 2011 won’t know. The Houston Rockets are playing the 2011-2012 season in the NBA with a roster filled with little known or mysterious names to casual local sports fans.


The Rockets don’t have any players in the NBA All Star game. That may not be a bad thing. The team reached six games over .500 for the first time in three seasons when they beat the 76ers on Wednesday. Coach Kevin McHale has his club playing as a team bereft of super star players. Sure, Kevin Martin, Kyle Lowry and Luis Scola have veteran status. None of them are super stars that need to have each game revolve around them. McHale has used his bench and has broken away from the standard substitution patterns most teams follow.


How does this apply to the Astros? Like the Rockets, the Astros will not likely have any all stars (other than the required representative) on the NL team this summer. Like the Rockets, not much is expected from the team this season. GM Jeff Luhnow told reporters in Florida a couple days back that his expectation is higher than most of the media. He did not go so far as to expect contention from the 2012 team, but that it would have a better record than last year and could surprise a lot of folks.


If that happens we would have another valid comparison with their basketball buddies. The Rockets are playing much better than expected. They look like a genuine playoff team that has the capability of beating almost anyone in a given game. Will the Astros be able to do the same?


Competition for playing time with the Astros mirrors what is going on with the Rockets. As spring training begins it would appear that other than catcher and third base most spots are solid. But are they? Jason Castro would appear to be the primary catcher, but he must prove his physical health and then win the job. Chris Johnson may have the early edge at third base, but will face competition from Jimmy Paredes and perhaps Brett Wallace. Brian Bogusevic won the hearts of a lot of Astro fans last season in right field. But he faces stiff challenges from Jack Cust, Fernando Martinez and others. Jordan Schaffer may have the edge in center field. But what about Jason Bourgeois? In left field J.D. Martinez is the leader, but he, too could be beaten out. In short, the Astros have almost the same situation as the Rockets. Players will face real competition and, other than Carlos Lee at first base, do not have a position guaranteed by virtue of a large contract. As for the pitchers only Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers and Bud Norris have spots wrapped up it would seem. Wandy and Brett thanks to the investment in them and Bud thanks to his arm strength and potential. Roster spots and playing time is up for grabs just as it is with the Rockets.


Another future comparison with the two teams as the Astros continue to build their minor league system is that there will be players that don’t make the team that wind up being key cogs with others. Rocket fans know all too well that Jeremy Lin of the Knicks did not make it through training camp. They also note that Jeremy’s teammate Steve Novak has been doing some successful long range shooting for New York. Then there is Carl Landry and Aaron Brooks who are performing at high levels in the NBA, but no longer in Rocket uniforms.


If the Astros are successful in their building plan fans may bemoan some baseball players with other teams that passed through the Astros as young unproven players and became stars elsewhere. Pitchers Mike Cuellar and Curt Schilling are two notables out of several from years past.  If the system is built to the level desired that may be more frequent. It is not a bad thing. That is the price of building a deep system. You can’t keep everyone and judgments must be made. Sometimes the player that gets away is still worth it because of what he brought in return. The jury is still out on the Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn deals of last season. There is no question the Astros got some top prospects in return. If a few of them turn out to be productive or even better players that trade will be positive even if Pence and Bourn are all stars.


Although Lin was not really traded from the Rockets—he just failed to make the team— and there was no room for him, many Rocket fans still bemoan him as “one that got away.” Yet, the 2011-12 team without him is doing quite well anyway. The Astros and their fans hope for the same after this spring when a number of the 63 plus in camp have to be trimmed—some of whom will no doubt catch on elsewhere and may even develop into stars.

Spring Training in Indiana? It Happened and in More Unusual Places, too!

Florida and Arizona Have Not Always Been Spring Training Centers

While all thirty major league baseball teams currently train in either Arizona or Florida that was certainly not always the case. As recently as 1992 the Angels trained in Palm Springs, California, but since then everyone has stayed in either Florida or Arizona.


The latest trend has more teams leaving Florida for Arizona. For years there were twice as many clubs in Florida. Now the difference is down to four.


Earlier this week I wrote of the many Texas cities that once hosted major league teams in the spring. Marlin Springs hosted the Giants for eleven years and San Antonio had several teams train over the years. A total of 33 camps were held in the Alamo city, most of any Texas town. Only the Cubs and Dodgers never trained in Texas.


This state was hardly the only one other than Arizona and Florida to welcome the major leaguers. During the World War II years when travel was restricted there were some unusual choices. Most clubs found the closest locations to their home cities that had gyms or field houses for indoor work.


The Braves, then based in Boston, trained in Wallingford, CT in 1943 and 1944 and in Washington, DC the next year. The Cubs went down to Larry Bird’s hometown—French Lick, Indiana. The Reds trained at Indiana University in Bloomington. It was there that head groundkeeper Matty Schwab discovered a big football player who could hit the ball a mile. The Reds were happy he did. The player was Ted Kluszewski who would star for the Reds in the 50s and hit 40 or more home runs twice.


The Brooklyn Dodgers went upstate to the Bear Mountain Resort in New York. The Phillies set up camp in nearby Wilmington, Delaware and the Pirates went all the way to Muncie, Indiana.


The St. Louis Cardinals crossed the Mississippi and worked out at Cairo, Illinois while the American League Browns used Cape Girardeau, Missouri just a few miles away.


The New York Giants trained during the war in nearby Lakewood, New Jersey while the Yankees tried both Asbury Park and Atlantic City. In fact, in 1945 the Red Sox also moved to Atlantic City from Medford, Massachusetts. That would have made a great opportunity for Joe and Dom DiMaggio of the Yankees and Red Sox respectively to get together. Alas, both were serving in the U.S. military and not in camp for a reunion.


The Chicago White Sox, like the Cubs tried French Lick for a couple of springs then moved on to Terre Haute, Indiana in 1945. The Indians stayed in Indiana as well by using Purdue University’s field house as home and the Detroit Tigers were also part time Hoosiers when they trained in Evansville. The original Washington Senators trained just a few miles from home on the campus of the University of Maryland at College Park. The Philadelphia A’s used both Wilmington, Delaware and Frederick Maryland.


During World War II Indiana hosted more teams than any other state which might win some bar bets. Only Florida, Arizona and Texas have hosted more.


Yet, before Florida and Arizona claimed major league baseball a number of other widely disparate locations had teams working out in advance of the season.


Hot Springs, Arkansas was popular. So was New Orleans and several cities in the Carolinas, Georgia and California. Three teams trained on islands. The Cubs were a fixture on Catalina Island off the California coast when William Wrigley owned it. The Pittsburgh Pirates once trained in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Dodgers call two islands spring homes—Cuba and the Dominican Republic. In 1947 and 1948 much of the reason was because the club was integrating and living conditions were more favorable.


When major league baseball moved into Florida and Arizona neither state had major league baseball. Spring training has gotten bigger and better even so. The days of Indiana and New Jersey serving as substitute spring homes is a foot note from the past and won’t likely ever happen again.