OMAHA—John Manuel's cheeks were wet when he said his final goodbye to Rosenblatt Stadium last night. That might have been because we were standing on the field in the pouring rain, but then, anyone who knows John is aware of his penchant for getting verklempt at those sorts of moments.

In any case, Manuel has completed his 12th and final trip to Rosenblatt—he flew back to Durham early this morning. He called me this afternoon to make his Thursday picks and tried to pull a fast one by taking Clemson in the resumption of last night's suspended game. Sorry; just as Clemson says it has a policy against announcing mid-game changes (meaning we still don't know who will take the mound for the Tigers when play resumes today, though lefty Will Lamb is the smart bet), we've got a policy against changing picks mid-game. So John is stuck with Oklahoma, which trails 6-1 heading into ths sixth. I've got Clemson in that game, and I need the Tigers to hold on to pull me even with John in our picks competition.

Here's what John had to say about tonight's Texas Christian-Florida State game:

"I will pick the Horned Frogs. Geoff Parker has been FSU's go-to guy in all these situations, and he just pitched two innings the other day, so I don't really know if they have a pitcher they trust left for this game. I think it's set up very well for TCU with Steven Maxwell and Tyler Lockwood, I love the spirit they showed against Gerrit Cole, and they should be able to feast against Florida State pitchers that throw much less hard."

I agree. TCU is the more balanced team, and its superior pitching depth will loom large today. I'm also taking the Horned Frogs.