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NCAA ponders delaying baseball season's start
By SCOTT BAUER
Associated Press Writer
College World Series
Notebook
<View previous day's notebook>
OMAHA � The NCAA is
considering delaying the start of the college baseball season by two weeks,
which would push the end of the College World Series into July.
If the change does occur, it
wouldn't happen until 2006 at the earliest.
A 10-person NCAA committee
consisting of athletic directors, baseball coaches and others will be
meeting Monday to consider ideas, some of which have been talked about in
various forms for years.
"There's so many variables and
influences on it," said Florida State athletic director Charlie Carr, a
member of the committee. "There's a lot of needs."
Small schools worry about the
expense of extending the season beyond the academic year, while northern
schools want more games when the weather is warmer, Carr said.
"The hard part is you're
trying to fit a baseball season into an academic schedule," he said.
Under the model, the regular
season would remain at 56 games but the first game wouldn't be played until
March 1. That would push the start of the CWS to July 2 instead of June 18.
It would end either July 11 or 12, instead of June 27 or 28.
MVP returns
The last time John Dolinsek
was at Rosenblatt, Stadium he was shagging fly balls in left field. The MVP
of 1969 College World Series, Dolinsek is back in the stands this year for
his first trip to Omaha in more than 30 years.
"I tried to put together a
30-year reunion in '99 but I couldn't get guys to commit," he said.
Dolinsek's 1969 Arizona State
Sun Devils team defeated Tulsa for the championship. In the six games that
year, Dolinsek batted .476 with two homers and six RBI. For his effort he
was named to the CWS 1960's All-Decade Team.
A lot has changed in three
decades.
"Championship night, there
were 9,500 people and the place was packed," he said. Rosenblatt now holds
more than 22,000, including new bleacher seats in the outfield.
"I played left field and there
was nothing there," he said.
Dolinsek tried to make it to
the majors, but after two years in the minors in Oklahoma City and one in
Denver, he quit in 1973 and entered the insurance business in Bodega Bay,
Calif., where he lives now.
Wayward beach ball
Grounds crew member Craig
Stockhaus got in a race with Cal State Fullerton left fielder Danny Dorn and
lost.
Stockhaus, reacting to an
illegal beach ball fans knocked onto the warning track during the
Fullerton-South Carolina game, sprinted onto the field from his seat along
the left-field line.
Dorn, just taking the field
after the top of the fifth inning, also eyed the ball sitting just a few
feet behind him. He ran for it, too.
With fans in the left field
bleachers yelling for the return of the ball, Dorn and Stockhaus reached it
simultaneously. Dorn stuck out his leg and booted it back to the masses,
garnering a roar of approval from the crowd.
"He just kind of laughed and I
chuckled," Stockhaus said an inning later from his seat on the field. "I
figured I'll get it next time."
Tight security
It may seem counterintuitive,
but if it rains at the series this week it's a good idea to leave the
umbrella at home. A rainy opening day led to a mountain of umbrellas at
entrances around Rosenblatt Stadium. Umbrellas are among the list of items
prohibited by security from being brought into the stadium. Stricter
security measures were put in place in 2002, the first series following the
Sept. 11 attacks. New this year are photo IDs for news media and CWS
personnel to make it easier for security officials to know who is allowed
where.
1996 rematch
Miami and LSU met Saturday for
the first time in the CWS since the 1996 championship game the Tigers won
9-8 thanks to a two-run homer in the ninth. The two programs are the most
successful of the last three decades with 34 trips to the CWS between them
and nine championships. Miami last won in 2001, with LSU last taking it all
in 2000.
Time and attendance
The games are longer and the
fans are fewer so far this year. At two hours and 58 minutes, the average
length of a CWS game last year dipped below three hours for the first time
since 1995. Through the first two games this year, the average crept up
slightly to three hours and five minutes. Average attendance through the
first two games last year was 19,462. This year it's 18,592. Last year's
total attendance of 260,091 was a record.
Copyright 2004
The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
02/23/2007 10:37:25 AM
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