What was really learned in Los Angeles...

[The Sheriff]

What a difference two months make. If we go back to the weekend of March 5th, I was in Tucson awaiting the showdown between USF and Arizona in softball. I couldn't think of a better way to turn 31 than to spend it pulling for the Bulls (well, Hugh Heffner's mansion wasn't an option). Like a kid in love, I was dying to see first hand our young phenom Cristi Ecks take the mound. This was as much about hometown pride as it was about USF. But something happened... and it wasn't pretty. There was no fluidness in our play. It was a comedy of errors... and against Arizona, that can only lead to one outcome. A rout.

Plain and simple... we were overmatched. Done-ski as my boy would say.

Move the clock forward two months.

Big East tourney... one and done.

Things aren't looking pretty heading down the stretch to the regional tourney. We had a hell've run through the regular season, but a late season stumble cost the girls the outright Big East title.

Next stop... Gainesville. Forever known as the sewer system of the world (taking the coveted title from the Jersey shores), things weren't looking all that promising. UNC was the apparent favorite, and we drew them in the opening round. But something happened... Tiffany Stewart gave her former teammates a parting gift for giving up on her so early in her career. Better yet, she gave Ken Erickson a deserved W for giving her a second chance to come back to Tampa.

USF to the winner's bracket... UNC awaits the UF-FAU loser.  

The rest of the tourney speaks for itself... Ecks goes into the seventh inning of the championship game before giving up a run. USF starts packing for LA with big dreams.

In the meantime... wallowing away in 100+ degree heat in the deserts of Arizona, my mind can't keep wondering about how bad things will get for our girls when gametime arrives against the #1 seeded UCLA Bruins. This was the same USF team that got ambushed by Arizona in March. We were still without JoJo Medina... and both Bree Spence and Cristi Ecks arms were both beaten up from the long season.

At 2 AM on Saturday morning, about twenty minutes before getting into my car for the six hour drive, I was still battling the effects of a stomach virus that beat me down throughout the week. The drive just wasn't having the appeal that it initially offered... so... I booked the flight. Roundtrip... $240... time to catch the Bulls while also meeting the Almighty Steve Mazza.

We'll skip through the plane crap... there were no hot girls or flight attendants that were worthy of the mile high club... so we'll get right to the stadium.

About 15 minutes before the game, an older gentleman introduces himself... he was sporting a USF athletics shirt, whereas I was sporting my Ricky Vaughn sleeveless Bulls jersey, my green graduation hair, and my green and gold 'Cat in the Hat' hat. The man... Doug Woolard.

I was definitely caught off guard. Maybe this guy didn't know of my outlandish exploits... he definitely would not want to be directly associated with me if word got back to him. But he was a cool dude. I peppered him with questions from Bob Huggins to Eddie Carderi, from Seth Greenberg to St. Louis soccer. He answered them all... and he was real. For a couple minutes, I felt like I had clearer insight on why RMC is still the main man and why Huggins just wasn't the right option at the time (and this is still a bitter pill to swallow IMHO). We retreated to our seats... but knowing Mr. Woolard went out of his way to say hello... it tells you certain parts of our athletic program are on the up and up.

I get to the stands, and I see some bombshell mom with two girls dressed in Bulls cheerleading outfits. If I learned one thing this weekend... if you get married, you can't go wrong marrying a Bulls alumnus. The bombshell was Coach Erickson's wife... mad props to ya coach... does she have any younger sisters?

I see a lot of the parents that made the Arizona series... and there was also two students there that had just graduated from USF that made the roadtrip. It was good stuff. The softball mom's and dad's are definitely a dedicated group. It doesn't take much to get them going... and obviously when their daughters are up, the fun and games stop and the deep down hope for a hit kicks in.

Right before the game is about to start, this entourage of four in designer jeans and upscale shirts make their way over to where I'm sitting. One of the fellows stands out though... sporting an old school polyester South Florida Bulls basketball warmup, it's the message's board most legendary gramatically incorrect typist, Steve Mazza.

I have a whole row for him and his posse (he brought some family and his girlfriend/secretary - and you can put the gay Smazza rumors to bed now because his secretary would definitely make you straight). We talk about the message board and Steve's family (Memorial Day weekend is tough for the Mazza family due to the untimely death of his 9-year old son in 1999 from a drunk driver - so don't drink and drive bitches - and I know we're all guilty of it... but just think about what Steve has to live with because of some ******* the next time you get behind the wheel when you could just as easily sleep for a couple of hours in the passenger seat).

The game starts and I'm praying we keep it close. Nothing would kill me more to here Smazza make a nasty comment about USF if things got out of hand... and bullieve me, I was prepared. But today... the girls didn't look like the team that played in Arizona in March. If it wasn't Bree throwing a complete gem against the #1 team in the nation, it was our freshman second baseman making play after play after play (you are a bad ass Britta)! Not to be outdone, Christy Chapman and Krista 'Holla for a Dollar' were controlling the left side of the field with wreckless abandon. And then to top it off... Smazza dropped more compliments than I did F-bombs on the missed call of the supposed final out of the first game. It was truly a moment I always remember in USF sports. We lost, but I felt the gap between UCLA and USF was the mere difference of timely hitting. That can be corrected.

Let's skip past my night on the beaches of Santa Monica... and get to game two. I didn't score, so it's not worth mentioning.

We all know I'm biased to Ecks... hey, we went to the same high school. But now I really would have a chance to see if this girl is the Messiah of USF softball.

I sat behind the backstop in front of her dad and her pitching coach for the dominant Northern Virginia/Maryland travel team known as the Shamrocks. Renee Ousler played for the Shamrocks before coming to USF. She was the Maryland player of the year before coming to USF. Ecks was the Virginia player of the year. You might say the expectations are high.

Cristi's first pitch of the game got unloaded into the forest past centerfield. Talk about an auspicious beginning. But the girl settled quickly... and soon the K's started rolling. I would glimpse at the gun for pitch after pitch. Throughout the evening she would hover around 63 mph to 65 mph. At one point... she hit 65 mph for seven straight pitches. UCLA's star hovered in the 63 mph range throughout the game. Cristi threw harder than the #1 team in the nation's top pitcher. That is a scary thought... and she is a freshman. At the same time, it wasn't a wild 65 mph pitch... very controlled. Some were completely nasty. The difference between Ecks and the UCLA stud... if Cristi left a ball over the plate (and these were few and far between), UCLA murdered her for it. That is the main difference. We didn't capitalize on Angeliques miscues... maybe that is the one difference between Pac-10 and the Big East or East coast play in general.

The UCLA batters see pitchers of Cristi's ability throughout their Pac-10 schedule, and can adjust quickly. But make no mistake, she owned most of them (and she is a frosh again). Add 15 pounds of muscle to her frame in the next three years, four to five mph to her pitches, and then the control that comes from becoming acclamated to the game, and you're looking at a future Greg Maddux on the mound. She is a prodigy and worth seeing in person just to pay respect to the game.

For those who care... her changeup dropped 10 mph off of her heater. She would pound you at 65 mph, then set you up with an offspeed pitch at 55 mph (great game calls Laura Wolf - and I can still her Erickson's daughter in my ear howling like a wolf everytime Wolfie came up to bat). Cristi's top pitch I saw was 67 mph on a 3-2 count. The hitter though crushed it to the right center wall for a double. The speed though... 67 mph. Dirty.

Ken brought in Kasey Kash... and talk about catching UCLA off guard. Kasey hovered in the 55 mph to 57 mph range, and then would throw her change up at 44 mph. You would think you would pound the ball at 44 mph, but she literally froze the batters because it left them so unorthodox after getting acclamated to her 55 mph pitches.

Bree would eventually close the game out... and she would continue her mastery of the Bruins brutal lineup. For anyone that wants to know... she threw in the 61 mph range and would top out at 63 mph.

After the game, I talked briefly to one of our assistants. She said we have a transfer pitcher from the 'Cuse that actually shut UCLA out last year and homered off the them to beat them. For those that don't know, Ken Erickson is the personal pitching coach for Jenny Finch and Cat Ostermann of Texas. With the talent we have lined up in the bullpen now, it is only a matter of time before the super regional becomes a brief pit stop on our way to Oklahoma City. I hope for next year, but I'll guarentee in two years we'll be playing for a chance to claim our first National title.

Our hitting will not regress in the coming seasons... and with players like Ashley Bullion and Britta Giddeons returning for three more years, we will eventually have a Bull's version of murderers row.

And FWIW... the same heart and fire displayed by Krista Holla in running over the UCLA 1st basemen was demonstrated flawlessly by Ashley on a very physical tag on a UCLA baserunner.  The fans were pissed... but if people remember back... a UCLA runner knocked the ball out of Ashley's glove on a play at first... it was not going to happen a second time.

Anyways... signing off from LA... Go Bulls!

The Sheriff

[USFan]

I peppered him with questions from Bob Huggins to Eddie Carderi, from Seth Greenberg to St. Louis soccer. He answered them all... and he was real. For a couple minutes, I felt like I had clearer insight on why RMC is still the main man and why Huggins just wasn't the right option at the time (and this is still a bitter pill to swallow IMHO).

Could you tell us more on this one Sheriff?

GREAT WRITE-UP!

[USFCollin]

Great job Sheriff... you represented well on ESPNU also.

Cristi's Mom as well as several other parents joined us at The Clubhouse for the games, and they're as excited about the future of this team as you are.  Replacing the left side of the infield will be tough, but in softball you build around pitching and we certainly seem to have plenty of that.  

Nice job in keeping the trip report rated PG as well... I don't think that'll happen for the men's basketball Las Vegas tournament in December.  

[The Sheriff]

I felt like I was talking to Velcro at one point... he nailed every point of bad luck that beset the basketball team. And he mentioned the prior season's stats for those players (yes, he is knowledgeable). Some bad luck is expected... but RMC basically got hit by the perfect storm. The ship has to be righted this season... he didn't say if there was a cap on wins or losses, but I left with the impression that there is a standard that he will run with in his mind that will define if RMC stays or not.

On Coach Cardieri... nothing in my mind made me believe that Eddie Cardieri will be back next season. Mr. Woolard didn't say anything to that effect, but you can see a look in a man's body language that shows the questioning has already answered itself.

The softball stadium deal... he said it was only a matter of time... see the article today by Brett McMurphy that was already posted.

I asked about Huggins... the timing was inappropriate. He stands behind our coaches through thick and thin. Huggins wasn't an option at the time.

With Seth... he knew him from his days at St. Louis and had good things to say. We also talked about the St. Louis soccer program. I would expect that program's success to further materialize here at USF.

He's a hungry AD. And he knew the tennis scores for me from Palo Alto since I couldn't get there to catch the quaterfinal match. The guy is a walking SportsCenter of USF athletics.

We all ***** extensively about medocrity... but its a matter of time before one coach sets the bar that the other coaches will have to follow. I see Erickson or men's soccer raising that bar for all the coaches to have to achieve at higher levels.

That is it for tonight... I gotta a lotta work still to do.

[SRQ]

Great report and encouraging becsuse you're not a blind homer.

[Triple B]

Beautiful job, Terry ........... maybe after you make your millions in the real world, you should take up writing for a living.

Loved the comments about Mac from DW.......  

[Guest BasketBull.]

See, this is why I've always supported the Sheriff since the days when he first slept in the Sun Dome parking lot for free pizzas from Seth... He's all Green and Gold, even if a little of him has turned to the dark side when it comes to men's basketball.  

Where the heck do you think the Bulls' car-tag holder you sent me in Taiwan is now, Terry? --Yup, the back of my car...

Good job on supporting the BULLS!

[smazza]

it was such a fun time and the ladies arent that far behind ucla

i say give erickson and program whatever they need and want.this program is special and can achieve great things in future

you guys in tampa are lucky to be able to see bulls as often as you can.enjoy it.

[Velcro]

I felt like I was talking to Velcro at one point... he nailed every point of bad luck that beset the basketball team. And he mentioned the prior season's stats for those players (yes, he is knowledgeable). Some bad luck is expected... but RMC basically got hit by the perfect storm. The ship has to be righted this season... he didn't say if there was a cap on wins or losses, but I left with the impression that there is a standard that he will run with in his mind that will define if RMC stays or not.

If I am being compared to Woolard in any way, I am flattered    

I'm glad you are seeing a little bit where the good forces are coming from.  We too think there should be a cut-the-cord point, but not now, and certainly not for anyone like the suggested replacement.

[Brad]

The Sheriff does do a fantastic job of writing...I still lament the loss of the chronicles that went down with the board years ago.  The Sheriff has brought some good laughs and insight to board members for years.

I also felt proud of my longtime affiliation with The Sheriff when he reported on his interaction with Mr. Woolard.  It would have been easy for him to show a glimpse of the Dark Side or to not tell us the whole story.  I think the interaction with Mr. Woolard was good for The Sheriff and it is that kind of interaction that USF has really improved on over the last decade.

Nice work Sheriff.