Drew
Its a post, about nothing!
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2013
- Messages
- 7,746
- Reaction Score
- 27,455
Shatel: Should the North secede? Gophers coach says region should have own CWS
If you’re looking for a team to root for to get to Omaha these next two weeks, hug a Gopher.
Big Ten baseball needs the boost. The Southern-fried sport of college baseball needs the variety.
Mostly, Anderson needs the proof.
The sun is shining in Minnesota. The Gophers are having their best season in decades, sweeping the Big Ten and hosting their first NCAA regional since 2000. In their first regional game Friday night, they drew a record crowd of 2,291.
It’s the kind of season that makes an old coach dream again. But Anderson keeps seeing clouds.
I had a conversation with the 63-year-old veteran coach during the recent Big Ten tournament in Omaha. I was expecting optimism. But the cold, harsh realities of coaching 37 years in the Great White North came out.
Start with the idea of changing the college baseball season. A lot of northern coaches, including most in the Big Ten, support the famous Gene Stephenson plan to move the season to the summer and play the College World Series in August.
Anderson takes it a step further.
“I loved that plan,” he said. “I made that proposal to the (Big Ten) coaches over the years and talked to (commissioner) Jim Delany about it. We’re never going to get the Southern people to agree to play in the summer. They have the weather and they can plan when they want.
“I think we’re going to have to create another league.”
Another league?
“Have a Northern league and a Southern league in baseball,” Anderson said. “We’re going to start at this time and you guys (in the south) can start whenever you want.”
But what about the CWS?
“You have two championships,” Anderson said. “You could have two championships right here (Omaha) if you wanted to. What league do you want to play in? Play in the summer or play now?”
How many schools would be interested in playing in a summertime Northern League?
“We’ve had those conversations,” Anderson said. “There’s interest, but someone’s got to take it and run with it. Oregon, Oregon State, Washington. East schools, the MAC, the Missouri Valley.
If you’re looking for a team to root for to get to Omaha these next two weeks, hug a Gopher.
Big Ten baseball needs the boost. The Southern-fried sport of college baseball needs the variety.
Mostly, Anderson needs the proof.
The sun is shining in Minnesota. The Gophers are having their best season in decades, sweeping the Big Ten and hosting their first NCAA regional since 2000. In their first regional game Friday night, they drew a record crowd of 2,291.
It’s the kind of season that makes an old coach dream again. But Anderson keeps seeing clouds.
I had a conversation with the 63-year-old veteran coach during the recent Big Ten tournament in Omaha. I was expecting optimism. But the cold, harsh realities of coaching 37 years in the Great White North came out.
Start with the idea of changing the college baseball season. A lot of northern coaches, including most in the Big Ten, support the famous Gene Stephenson plan to move the season to the summer and play the College World Series in August.
Anderson takes it a step further.
“I loved that plan,” he said. “I made that proposal to the (Big Ten) coaches over the years and talked to (commissioner) Jim Delany about it. We’re never going to get the Southern people to agree to play in the summer. They have the weather and they can plan when they want.
“I think we’re going to have to create another league.”
Another league?
“Have a Northern league and a Southern league in baseball,” Anderson said. “We’re going to start at this time and you guys (in the south) can start whenever you want.”
But what about the CWS?
“You have two championships,” Anderson said. “You could have two championships right here (Omaha) if you wanted to. What league do you want to play in? Play in the summer or play now?”
How many schools would be interested in playing in a summertime Northern League?
“We’ve had those conversations,” Anderson said. “There’s interest, but someone’s got to take it and run with it. Oregon, Oregon State, Washington. East schools, the MAC, the Missouri Valley.
