LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- When did Mondays get so busy? I woke up needing to write about Louisville's College World Series opponent, Oregon State. (You can read that here.) I've also got an Overtime webcast to prep. And I hadn't even had my coffee.
Well, I'm having it now.
Today, I just want to look back through the weekend, maybe with the help of a few photos and some comments from coaches and players — but mainly swing the lens around from the field to take a look for a moment at the stands for the Super Regional in Jim Patterson Stadium.
For Louisville, it was a memorable weekend, which culminated a frustrating couple of seasons. This Louisville team had shown flashes of what we saw in the regional and super regional — just not consistently.
Fans watch from the outfield berm of Jim Patterson Stadium during Louisville's NCAA Superr Regional against Miami.
In putting it all together, it gave Louisville coach Dan McDonnell a chance to talk about some of those frustrations, and how he handled them, and how his players emerged to do what they did. I wrote about it in my column on Sunday.
Before he wrapped up a 38-minute postgame news conference, McDonnell had one more thank you — for Louisville fans. Attendance had dwindled for Louisville baseball at times this season, but nearly 18,000 showed up over three days for the Super Regional. And McDonnell was grateful.
Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Bozich & Crawford
Among those who showed up were the Louisville basketball team, hoops coach Pat Kelsey (who led a C-A-R-D-S cheer on Saturday), football coach Jeff Brohm, former Cardinal Adam Duvall (among many other former players), Gov. Andy Beshear, Sen. Mitch McConnell, stadium namesake Jim Patterson, longtime fan Lonnie Ali – and many others, I'm sure I'm leaving some big names out.
"I've got to tell you, I'm blown away by the support," McDonnell said. "We've hosted a lot of regionals, and we've hosted Super Regionals, and, man, every time I looked up in the stands and just the rows deep in the concourse, and when I looked out on the berm, it was just awesome and so we're so appreciative."
McDonnell, though, wouldn't have been doing his job had he not taken the opportunity for a sales pitch.
"Make sure they know, February 13, our first home game, we open up first weekend against Michigan State at Jim Patterson. … We're always recruiting fans now and season ticket holders, I will say it broke my heart how many people couldn't get a ticket initially, and how many people blew us up to get tickets. But it kind of was a blessing that it was a tough, tough ticket to get. I've always said if you're a season ticket holder, you kind of got your spot for the postseason, and our season tickets are pretty darn cheap, so I hope, I hope that jump starts the support over the winter months, and we get more people out here early next spring."
Students watch from nearby rooftops as Louisville's baseball team takes on Miami in the NCAA Super Regional at Jim Patterson Stadium.
In the new college sports reality, sports that don't generate more money than they spend are in some jeopardy. There's no question about it. I call them "boutique" sports, that only the richest schools (in terms of athletics) may be able to afford to compete in. Even this trip to the College World Series, I suspect, could wind up losing money for the Louisville athletic department, welcome as the accomplishment is.
For those sports, support from fans may be the major difference. If people show up, if they give where they can, they can help sustain some of these sports that have, frankly, been the competitive backbone of Louisville athletics over the past 10 years.
I don't know if their support will be enough to sustain some of these. But I know it won't hurt.
Quick Sips
- John Clay, a Hall of Fame sports columnist at the Lexington Herald-Leader and a fixture of journalism in the state of Kentucky for the past quarter century, announced today he'll be retiring at the end of the month, after 44 years in the business. There's no better person in the business than Clay. His voice will be missed in the Herald-Leader, though I hope he finds another forum to keep writing, now and then.
- Local teams are alive and well in the KHSAA Clark's Pump-and-Shop state baseball championship in Lexington. Trinity will face Boyd County on Friday in Lexington in one state semifinal. PRP gets McCracken County – a matchup of last year's state title game – in its bid to repeat in the other semi. The championship will be played Saturday at Kentucky Proud Park. In softball, Assumption will play in the state semis, also in Lexington. Across the river, Floyd Central's fantastic softball season ended last season with a loss to Center Grove in the semistate championship.
- Former Louisville great Russ Smith was arrested on DUI and other charges over the weekend. More on that story here. Whether the actual DUI charge winds up sticking, it's still not a good look for Smith, who was stopped when an officer saw expired tags and an illegal U-turn. It's a good reminder -- drinking any amount and then getting behind the wheel is a very risky decision. Best to avoid doing it altogether.
The Last Drop
"If you're looking for the most money, let's not waste our time here. That's fine. I'm not going to judge you, but I'm not wasting my time on you. Let's get the right players that want to be here for the right reasons. I don't know how you can put a price tag on that. … Though I don't want to act like I'm not fighting for money for my kids. I'll do everything I can to help them. I don't want kids taking loans and passing up a lot of money and feeling not appreciated."
-- Dan McDonnell, on competing in the age of NIL
Louisville Baseball Coverage:
Next stop: Omaha. Next test: Oregon State. Louisville draws a College World Series powerhouse
CRAWFORD | The streak that refocused Dan McDonnell -- and led Louisville back to Omaha
BOZICH | Louisville bound for College World Series after beating Miami, 3-2
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