During the last few weeks I've watched the college baseball postseason as I have the last few years since it's been on ESPN. I like the College World Series because the camera is placed overlooking home plate in such a way that the TV viewer can judge balls and strikes (horizontally better than vertically, but one can still judge pretty well). Also as well I've watched the University of Iowa baseball team play at home. College baseball is a lot of fun to go and see.
A few years ago, I read an article about the format of the tournament and how the regionals ought to be based on geography and such. The argument went along the lines that northern teams are always underrepresented in the postseason because teams are chosen and those teams almost always come from the south. For instance, Iowa played fifty-four games this season. In contrast, Louisville (a team playing in the World Series) has won fifty games. The lack of competitiveness of the north is usually blamed on shorter seasons caused by winter and wet springs that cause games to be cancelled and teams to be out on the road losing instead of playing at home and winning.
Allowing teams from the north into regionals based on geography might be nice, but I would think that they'd still get shelacked once they met teams from the south that have been playing months longer in some instances. Thus the daydream today has been Iowa and a field with a retractable roof for more home games and parity with the south. This is not an idle dream either as baseball has come under threat in the state of Iowa. A few years ago, Iowa State dropped baseball as a varsity sport because it didn't have the money. Lately as well, there have been rumors that baseball could be cut at Iowa, though thankfully they've proven not to be true. A competitive Iowa team would help to solidify support within the athletic department and the fan base at large.
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