The last week has been busy as hell for me so I missed a couple of stories involving UC sports in general.
The UC Baseball team was knocked out of the Big East tournament with consecutive defeats to UConn by a score of 9-6 and Pitt by a score of 13-4. I have to be perfectly honest here, I don't really care for baseball, on any level, so I could be talking out my ass here. But shouldn't UC be getting a little more from Brian Cleary in terms of performance? UC has great facilities, a good history, with some legendary players and is in the middle of one of the most baseball mad areas in the country which should be a boon for recruiting. But Cleary's career win percentage is hovering around .450 and he has never taken the team to the NCAA tournament? maybe I am missing something but I think the longest tenured coach on campus is reaching the end of his rope.
Sophomore Brian Zimmerman advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the Javelin with a throw of 222 feet. Antoine Drakeford missed out on a return trip the NCAA's in the 400 posting a 46.11 in the semi finals. Drakeford wound up placing 14th with only the top 12 advancing to Eugene, Oregon and the legendary Hayward Field. Drakeford will not try to follow in the footsteps of David Payne and Mary Wineberg as former UC track stars that have gone on to perform at the highest levels of international athletics.
The UC Basketball team has announced that it will take on Oklahoma in the All College Basketball Classic. A holiday tournament which I have either A) never heard of before or B) never paid attention to before. If push comes to shove I would probably vote for B. Anyway its Oklahoma, just in case you needed some more Sooners in your life after the fall. Like I said, an event that I have never paid attention to before, even though it has been around for 75 years. It should be a good game to bring upon the end of the non conference schedule.
And finally a story with a UC bent about one of my favorite sporting events, the World Cup. Tim Brown made the cut for the 30 man provisional roster for New Zealand's All Whites in the build up for the World Cup. He is a vice captain of the squad and therefore a good bet to make the final 23 man roster on the plane to South Africa. Unfortunately Brown took a hard fall, fracturing his shoulder in a friendly against Australia on the 25th and now is in doubt for New Zealand's opening match against at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium against Slovakia on the 15th of June. The most recent news is that his surgery went well on the 28th of may and is now a better than 50/50 shot to be fit for South Africa.