by John Manuel
June 21, 2003

First impressions can go a long way. In his initial visit to the College World Series, count NCAA executive director Myles Brand impressed.

On his first trip ever to Omaha, Brand clearly was taken with Rosenblatt Stadium and the atmosphere around the ballpark, even two hours before the first game of the championship series started.

"Denny Poppe said it was one of the greatest championships in the country," Brand said while being shown around the field by Poppe, the NCAA director of baseball operations. "It's a first for me to come to Omaha, and I'm really excited about it. The stadium looks great, it's a fantastic group of fans, and from what I've seen on TV, there's a lot of good baseball."

The increased television exposure this postseason is one of the things Brand is most pleased about. Not only did ESPN add super-regional broadcasts and work with the NCAA to expand the championship game into a best-of-three series, but the network has expanded its postgame coverage during the Series. ESPN's Harold Reynolds and San Diego State coach Tony Gwynn have teamed for analysis after games on ESPN News, which also will carry news conferences after each game of the championship series.

"I'm very pleased with the increased exposure the tournament has gotten on television," Brand said. "It's good exposure for college sports at their best. There have been a lot of hard-fought games the last week when I have been watching.

"And it's good to have teams like Rice and Stanford that have such good academic credentials. It couldn't be a better championship for college baseball in every way."

Rosenblasts

• Offense is down for the tournament across the board, except for hit batsmen. A record 34 HBPs through the first 13 games actually eclipses the number of homers, 30. That hasn't happened since 1972, when just six homers were hit in the penultimate year in which college teams used wood bats. In fact, sacrifice hits (23) have almost caught home runs, and there have been just 14 stolen bases, the fewest since--you guessed it--1972. The SB record is 42, set in 1984.

The combined average for the eight teams in the CWS is just .267, the lowest since 1994's .262. The previous low in that span was .278, and the 11.6 runs per game is also the lowest since '94 (10.9). For comparison's sake, the numbers were .286 and 12.7 last year, and in 2001 the figures were .314 and 15.4, the second-highest totals ever.

• Rice starter Jeff Niemann wasn't able to become the first pitcher in NCAA history to win 18 games in a season without a loss. The sophomore righthander didn't get a decision Saturday, giving up three runs in the first inning before settling down. He joined three other pitchers--two in Division I--in finishing 17-0. (After throwing 117 pitches, it's unlikely he's going to pitch again in the Series.) Texas' Jim Gideon (1975) and Wichita State's Kennie Steenstra (1991) are the other D-I pitchers to go 17-0, while D-II Florida Southern's Dave McCorkle did it in 1984.

• Attendance records seem to fall at the CWS every year, and 2003 has been no different. Even before the best-of-three Series added a game, the tournament hit the 200,000 mark in fans Saturday, the sixth time in seven years. However, the 23,741 total on Saturday left the tournament 72 fans short of tying the record of 223,762 for the entire tournament, thought the mark will be shattered Sunday.

• Rice, as the undefeated champion of its bracket, earned the option of choosing whether or not to be the home team. The Owls opted to be home team Saturday, with Stanford the home team Sunday. There will be a coin flip to determine the home team if a third game proves necessary.