Yes sir, I pitched there in ‘73–‘74 after playing for Chipola. Our son, Alan Horne, pitched for the Gators team in 2005 along with Tommy Boss, Darren O’Day, and many others. “11” had his chance with Alan but we caught him in so many “mis-truths” we walked away from there. Coach Mac was good to Alan as well as good for him. UF was first class across the board both with their recruiting Alan and after he was on campus as well. Coach Mac sent Ross Jones, then Gator pitching coach up to the Cape Cod League for a week where Alan was playing to watch him for a couple of starts and recruit him. There’s a lot of history there that I won’t bore you with but needless to say—FSU came out on the south end of the stick. As far as my avatar goes, all of the parents on the team pretty well knew our history and how we ended up at UF and at the time I had an account with Baseball America—74nole was my handle—it’s the way everyone got to know me and I just never changed it. Thanks for asking. It’s been one of the easiest and best swaps I’ve ever been a part of.
It might be a bit before we find out. Both games today are evening starts. Perhaps they will go ahead and announce before the games. The decisions of start times really impacts travel!
I'm sure media would agree with u which was my point. Personally, I rarely root for private schools and won't be in ORUs case either.
Loved watching that team, Alan and Bryan Ball were my two favorites. If I recall that was Ball’s best year.
We had a very good team that year. Texas just had more arms. I’ve given my opinion in the past about Mac and Ross Jones’ pitching philosophy, but that ‘05 run was pure magic and that team is forever in our hearts. They set the bar for the 2017 team to top.
I'm sure you know who Rick Catlett is. Former head honcho of Gator bowl association. He got his degree from FSU. But everybody knows he's a big Gator fan. Thanks for your explanation.
Got my tickets for Friday night and staying as long as the gators stay. First time to Series. Missed 2017 and not missing this one!
Has anyone said what they have on tap for the Opening Ceremonies for this year’s CWS? In 2005 they had all eight teams sitting on the field and 8 Navy Seals parachuted into Rosenblatt. Each one had a respective school’s flag tied to him and presented the flag to a designated player from each school. Pretty dang impressive.
I hate to the bearer of bad news---they are no more. Evidently there were complaints of it being too long of a day for the teams. They will do a banquet for the players instead. Really bummed me out! The fireworks were great! NCAA Men’s College World Series Open Practice Day Information - College World Series "The College World Series of Omaha listened to the feedback of our coaches and student-athletes and found a great way of re-imagining the opening day of the Men's College World Series," said NCAA Managing Director of Championships Anthony Holman. "This new format is the best of both worlds – it allows fans a sneak peek at the teams while still reducing the time commitment for teams just before they begin competing for a national championship." To abbreviate the length of Opening Day obligations for student-athletes, teams will now attend an off-site event in their honor for an evening of food and entertainment following Thursday's open practices. This is a transition away from previous, public festivities that would often result in 12+ hour days for many of the MCWS teams. "We are excited for this new chapter in the MCWS Opening Celebration Day tradition," said Amy Hornocker, Executive Director of CWS of Omaha, Inc., which serves as the local organizing entity. "We believe it considers the long hours committed by these student-athletes to assure accessibility to fans, while also providing a worthy commemoration of their hard work and successful seasons."