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Dugout toilet a royal flush for Titans
By MARGERY BECK
Associated Press Writer
College World Series
Notebook
<View previous day's notebook>
OMAHA The miniature toilet
positioned in the Cal State Fullerton dugout might seem an odd sight, but
players take its presence seriously.
The faux toilet is used by
players to ``flush away'' disappointing at-bats, dismal pitching and poor
fielding.
``It has sound effects and
everything,'' said Ryan Ermeling, sports information director for the Cal
State-Fullerton Titans.
``A lot of the players have
little ones they carry on their key chains,'' Ermeling added. ``They call
them mini-me's.''
Don't write it off too
quickly. The Titans, who have kept the toilet in the dugout all year, are in
the College World Series' championship series.
Those who chalk up the novelty
to baseball superstition are swiftly reprimanded.
``I wouldn't call it
superstition,'' Ermeling said. ``It's positive mental imagery.''
The credit for the dugout
toilet goes to team psychologist Ken Ravizza, a professor of kinesiology at
Fullerton who has been counseling the Titans since 1979, when Texas coach
Augie Garrido was at the helm.
``It lets them know that they
have to let the bad stuff go and make the most of what they've got left,''
Ravizza said. ``It also gets them to laugh a little bit. The key to winning
is to relax.''
Ravizza, who attended
Saturday's game pitting the Titans against Texas, teaches courses in sports
psychology and philosophy. He has been a sport psychology consultant for the
U.S. Olympic field hockey, water polo, and baseball teams, as well as the
Anaheim Angels, Arizona State football team and Long Beach State baseball
team.
And he's no stranger to
Nebraska. Ravizza also helped the Cornhuskers football team in the late '80s
when Tom Osborne was coach.
LUCKY 13:
There is nothing unlucky about the No. 13 when it comes to Cal State
Fullerton.
Fullerton is making its 13th
consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, and this is the Titans' 13th CWS
appearance. Oh, and they qualified for Omaha on June 13.
There are more parallels, too.
The Titans' team hotel, the
Crowne Plaza, is 13 miles from Rosenblatt Stadium, which is on 13th Street.
On Monday, Ricky Romero won
his 13th game of the year in Coach George Horton's 13th CWS game as a head
coach. The win snapped Miami's 13-game winning streak. And the Titans had 13
hits.
Fullerton's radio booth in the
press box is booth 13.
If that's not enough, ``Omaha,
Nebraska,'' and ``Titan Baseball'' each have 13 letters.
VENERABLE GURU SAW TITANS
COMING: College baseball coaching icon
Rod Dedeaux was half-right on his prediction about which teams would play
for the national championship.
Dedeaux, who won a record 12
titles as Southern California's coach, told the Titans at their preseason
banquet they would play his beloved Trojans in the CWS finals.
``I'm close to being right,''
Dedeaux said. ``That's not a bad prediction.''
Dedeaux retired as USC coach
in 1986 after 45 years on the job. At 90, he remains one of the great
ambassadors of college baseball.
He visited the Titans' dugout
before Saturday's game to wish Coach George Horton good luck.
Dedeaux said he also has been
longtime friends with Longhorns coach Augie Garrido, who coached at
Fullerton for 21 years before going to Texas eight years ago.
``I have mixed emotions. On
the other hand, I don't even know where Texas is,'' Dedeaux said, laughing.
``I'll stay neutral for the record.''
Dedeaux said he liked
Fullerton to reach the championship series because the Titans have ``above
average'' pitching.
Dedeaux joked about how
Garrido, the winningest coach in Division I history, has more victories than
him.
``He was talking about me
being a legend,'' Dedeaux said. ``I would settle for just being a model
legend, because you know that a model is an imitation of the real thing. And
Augie's the real thing.''
HOLDING THE LINE:
Kara and Tom Bosler of Kansas City, MO, were among the die-hards waiting in
the general admission lines before Saturday's game.
About 45 minutes before the
game, the Boslers were standing behind the left-field fence waiting to enter
a general admission gate. Despite the thousands of people waiting in front
of her, Kara Bosler said she thought she and her husband would get a seat.
``She's confident,'' Tom
Bosler said, looking much less so.
Rudy Fox of Pembroke Pines,
FL, stood just in front of the Boslers and initially shared Kara's outlook.
But with about 10 minutes to go before the first pitch and a long line still
in front of them, his thoughts turned to Sunday's game.
``I'll be here earlier
tomorrow,'' he said.
CALLAHAN IN THE STANDS:
Nebraska football coach Bill Callahan brought his family out to the ballpark
Saturday.
Callahan, who was attending
his first College World Series, called the event a ``great time.''
Asked who he was pulling for,
Callahan said, ``I'm neutral.'' The remark drew laughs from a group of Texas
fans sitting in front of him.
Copyright 2004
The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
02/23/2007 10:37:38 AM
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