1. It didn't happen without its share of dramatics, but Ole Miss took two of three at LSU over the weekend, strengthening its positioning to host an NCAA regional next month at Swayze Field.
The Rebels bounced back from a Friday night loss to win convincingly Saturday and then survived a crazy Sunday afternoon affair to win a series in Baton Rouge for the first time since 1982.
Sunday's game was, simply put, crazy. Ole Miss blew a six-run lead with two outs in the ninth inning. LSU rallied to tie the game at 15-15 in the ninth, forcing a 10th frame. The Rebels scored four times in the top of the 10th and Houston Roth closed things down in the bottom of the inning to allow the Rebels to exhale.
At the end of the day, Ole Miss desperately needed to win two in Baton Rouge, and the Rebels did just that. It's fair to question why Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco left Parker Caracci in the game in the ninth Sunday. The Rebels' closer was clearly done.
But again, the Rebels got it done. Credit is due the Rebels' bats for rebounding in the 10th. A loss Sunday would have been devastating. The win negates the nightmare finish to the ninth.
Ole Miss is now 15-9 in the league, likely needing to go at least 3-3 the rest of the way to bring postseason baseball to Oxford. Given where the Rebels were just two weeks ago after dropping a series a Auburn, they have to be thrilled to be in this position.
2. Ole Miss will entertain Mississippi State this weekend in Oxford. The Bulldogs are also 15-9 in the SEC, though they're basically playing to wrap up a national seed at this point.
Both the Rebels and Bulldogs are two games behind first-place Arkansas in the SEC West, and Ole Miss owns the tiebreaker over the Razorbacks should it come to that.
Ole Miss probably isn't focused on that going into the weekend. The Rebels simply need to win games. Getting a pair from the Bulldogs would be monumentally huge for Ole Miss' resume -- both in terms of win numbers and in RPI.
Mississippi State does everything well, and the Bulldogs hammered Ole Miss in Jackson a couple of weeks ago. In short, it's a tall task for Ole Miss, but given the way the Rebels have risen to the occasion against good teams and struggled against subpar teams all season, anything could happen.
3. It sort of feels like I'm burying the lead a bit, but Drew Bianco hit a home run Friday night that got _ I can't believe I'm using this term _ Rebel Nation all up in its feelings.
I know it's a long story, but I'm going to summarize. Drew Bianco, Mike's son, signed with LSU after a stellar career at Oxford High School. That ruffled some feathers, even though Mike and Cami Bianco had made it known that none of the Bianco boys would play for their dad at Ole Miss.
Mike and Cami went to LSU, met there, etc. It stands to reason, if you're into the alma mater thing, that there are some emotional ties to the school within the family. Anyway, fast-forward to January. At a media gathering, Drew Bianco talked about one day facing his dad's team. He said his dad had already told him the first pitch he saw would be a fastball.
Now, fast-forward to Friday night. LSU had just blown the game open in the eighth inning and Bianco was called upon to pinch hit. Sure enough, the first pitch was a fastball. It was meant to be low and away. The pitch, however, missed its target by two feet. It was up and in, and Bianco unloaded on it, hitting it 440-plus feet to left field. Bianco, who has had his fair share of struggles at the plate this season, flipped his bat excitedly and ran the bases.
LSU won, 8-3. Bianco's homer was nothing more than some extra icing on LSU's proverbial cake. The fact that it came on Mike's 52nd birthday and on the aforementioned first pitch made it all the more dramatic, but it didn't really impact the game.
To believe Mike Bianco intentionally gave up a home run to his son requires an incredible leap of logic. It means one has to believe Mike, on the Friday night of a critical SEC series, had his pitcher intentionally throw a pitch into Bianco's wheelhouse and presumably not tell any of his teammates about it. It assumes that Mike Bianco would undercut his own team and completely lose his players' trust in him for the sake of his son's at-bat.
On Saturday, by the way, Bianco struck out twice -- each time on fastballs away. It's possible, though not nearly as sexy, that Bianco simply benefited from a missed pitch location -- sort of like the Cubs' Taylor Davis did on Saturday when he thumped an inside fastball into the Wrigley Field bleachers for his first home run of his Major League career.
This isn't popular here, I've learned, but I'm going to repeat it anyway. One can feel Mike Bianco's tenure at Ole Miss has gone stale. One can feel that it's time for a change at the top of the program. Those are points worth debating, but they're fair and in bounds to debate and discuss. Frankly, if things end a certain way this season, I think those issues are going to be discussed by those that matter in Oxford.
However, Mike Bianco did not owe his employer his children. He'll be their dad long after his tenure at Ole Miss ends. The dad role in his life is and should be more important that the coach role. One son went to Louisville. One went to LSU. Another is headed to Louisiana-Lafayette. The family clearly made a sweeping family decision, one that's no one else's business. The motivation for that decision isn't public business either,
Drew Bianco had every right to go to LSU. I doubt he or his dad were thinking of that January interview on Friday night. The bat flip was celebratory. No one was taunted. His team had just taken a big lead and I suspect he was pumped to crush a fastball in his first appearance of the night. I'm not a huge fan of bat flips, but they don't bother me either.
I just didn't think it was a big deal. I still don't.
4. Ole Miss is still waiting on Khadim Sy.
The former Virginia Tech forward, now a standout at Daytona Beach Community College, didn't make his scheduled trip to LSU last weekend. He could go to Baton Rouge midweek, and Arkansas is still trying to make a play for Sy as well, but sources close to the Ole Miss program believed the Rebels and Pittsburgh were the leaders as of this weekend.
Sources close to the Ole Miss program insist the Rebels have backup plans if Sy doesn't matriculate to Oxford. I'm guessing here, but I wouldn't be surprised if the transfer portal isn't played all the way out just yet.
Further, I don't rule out the possibility that four-star forward Jaemyn Brakefield decides to reclassify later this summer. I still maintain that's a 50-50 proposition. If he does reclassify, I like Ole Miss' chances.
Bottom line: Things still have to play out.
5. Speaking of LSU basketball, it was basically revealed in federal court that the Tigers and coach Will Wade agreed to purchase forward Naz Reid for $300,000. That revelation comes months after it was strongly implied that Wade and the Tigers made a "strong-ass offer" to guard Jevonte Smart, who signed with and played for LSU.
Arizona's Sean Miller, according to federal wiretaps that caught his former assistant Book Richardson on tape, paid former Wildcat Deandre Ayton $10,000 a month from his own pocket during Ayton's one season in Tucson.
The NCAA has an out right now. The judge in the federal case has not freed the NCAA to act on information gathered by federal investigators. Multiple programs have been named, however, and the rest of college basketball is watching.
The NCAA has few choices. Barring a systemic change that essentially eliminates the current system and pays the players, the NCAA can either hammer the offending programs or basically issue a license to cheat.
6. Ole Miss' softball team needed one win in Athens, Ga., this weekend to earn a top-four seed in this week's SEC Tournament in College Station, Texas. The Rebels didn't get one. Instead, Ole Miss was swept by Georgia, losing a pair of games in controversial fashion.
Ole Miss will play either Mississippi State or Texas A&M Wednesday at 8 p.m. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.
I don't know enough about softball rules to say anything about the umpiring over the weekend. However, people who do know the rules were questioning the integrity of several calls that likely cost the Rebels two games.
In the end, it likely won't cost the Rebels a host bid in the NCAA Tournament, but the calls against Ole Miss will be a point of contention, I suspect, as the postseason begins. If I'm Mike Smith, I'm seeking real clarity right away, and I'm also likely lodging a complaint against the crew in Athens. Specifically, I wouldn't want that crew working my team's games the rest of the way.
7. The NBA Playoffs have provided the drama most expected so far in the conference semifinal round. In case you're interested, here are my quick observations:
- Milwaukee leads Boston, 2-1, going into Monday's Game 4 in Boston. The Bucks have made excellent adjustments on both ends following an embarrassing Game 1 loss. Boston has had a difficult time getting Jayson Tatum going on the offensive end. Frankly, Kyrie Irving has tried to do too much for the Celtics. They've looked frustrated at times in Games 2 and 3.
- Kevin Durant has been the best player in the playoffs, but man oh man, Kawhi Leonard has been terrific for Toronto. The Raptors and Philadelphia are tied at 2-2 after four games. Leonard had 39 points and 14 rebounds Sunday in Philly to tie the series. He's carrying the Raptors. Kyle Lowry will have to step up, in my opinion, or the Sixers' are going to be too much. It's a fun series to watch.
- Houston captured Game 3 to stay alive against Golden State Saturday. James Harden is proving his greatness, but the Rockets simply don't appear to have enough to make this a real series. Golden State has to be worried about Steph Curry's injured finger; he's not been his usual effective self. Draymond Green's antics are getting old. They work, but he is killing his reputation by seemingly going after Harden's face and head during this series.
- Denver beat Portland, 116-112, in Game 4 Sunday to tie what has been a phenomenal series. The four-overtime Game 3 will be remembered as one of the best playoffs games in history. Simply put, it was incredible theatre. Both teams just made plays all night.
8. Most Major League Baseball teams have played approximately one-fifth of their season. Here are some thoughts on MLB now that sample sizes are almost big enough to draw some preliminary conclusions:
- Philadelphia heads to St. Louis Monday with a 19-14 record and a 1.5-game lead over Atlanta in the National League East. Bryce Harper hasn't done a lot yet, but Rhys Hopkins has. The Phillies-Braves race is going to be fun to follow all summer.
- Miami heads to Chicago at 9-24. The Marlins are an absolute mess. They have no power to speak of, have made a series of terrible trades, etc. Derek Jeter as an executive appears to be a disaster.
- Arizona is 20-14, one game behind Los Angeles in the National League West. Cody Bellinger is an MVP candidate, and the lineup is uber-talented. San Diego, behind Manny Machado, is just 2.5 games behind.
- Chicago, after sweeping St. Louis, is now 17-5 after a 2-7 start. Javy Baez is playing MVP-level baseball, the bullpen is solid and Willson Contreras is once again playing all-star-caliber baseball at catcher. If Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo get going, the Cubs are scary.
- Tampa Bay is 21-12 after splitting two games in Baltimore. The Yankees, fighting injuries, are two back. Boston, rebounding from a horrid start, is five back. The American League East is going to be full of drama all summer.
- Corey Kluber is out months with a broken arm. The Indians now trail Minnesota by two games, don't have a ton of expendable income and might be in trouble in the American League Central.
- Seattle is 3-7 in its last 10 games and now trails Houston by two games in the American League West. Texas is playing .500 baseball and is just three back. The Rangers are overachieving.
9. Jonathon Howard was tied up with the Kentucky Derby this weekend, so I went exploring for the drink of the week. My discovery: The Grapefruit Beer Margarita.
4 oz Corona Extra (or Corona Light)
1 oz. tequila
4 oz. grapefruit simple syrup
Grapefruit simple syrup (1 cup grapefruit juice + 1½ tbsp sugar)
Directions: Make the simple syrup if you don't already have it on hand.
Combine grapefruit juice and sugar in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Mix until the sugar is dissolved and remove it from the heat just before it begins to boil. Allow it to cool.
Combine sugar and/or salt with food coloring to make salt. Wet the rim of your glass with a little simple syrup and dip it upside down on a plate to salt the rim.
Combine beer, tequila, and simple syrup in a shaker with ice. Pour into the glass over ice and garnish with a grapefruit slice. Cheers.
10. We'll have coverage of Ole Miss baseball, softball, football and basketball recruiting and whatever else may come up this week on RebelGrove.com. Until then, here are some links of interest to me _ and hopefully, to you, for your reading pleasure:
Way-too-early list of top 2020 NFL draft prospects
Dana Holgorsen Came Back to Houston to Be Himself on His Turf
Inside the most controversial and surreal Kentucky Derby ever
The Celtics, My Father, and Me - The Ringer
An N.J. hoops star might have been sold for $300,000 -- and nobody seems to care | Politi - nj.com
Prodigy hustler Christian Dawkins has college hoops on brink
Analyzing Kelli Tennant's Sexual Assualt Lawsuit Against Kings Coach Luke Walton
Louisiana Tech Copes With Tornado's Aftermath • D1Baseball
In News Industry, a Stark Divide Between Haves and Have-Nots
Rachel Held Evans, Voice of the Wandering Evangelical, Dies at 37 - The New York Times
Men With Attractive Wives Have Happier Marriages, Says Study - AskMen
