Hey, I’m back in the U.S., our long tour of Italy (including a middle-of-the-night viewing party of LSU’s title-clinching win over Florida) now but a swarm of happy memories.
Awaiting me when I got home was an overgrown lawn, a few burnt-out lightbulbs and a pile of newspapers. It’s always fun to leaf through the pages when you return from being away, just to see what were the major stories over here that got lost in translation.
I hate to disappoint the LSU fans, but the Italians don’t know the College World Series from a cherry cheesecake gelato.
So let’s take a trip down the recent memory lane, shall we?
Pitching heroes: Yes, if Michelangelo were creating his masterpiece sculpture today, he might chisel a 17-foot tall Paul Skenes instead of a David (isn’t Skenes that tall in real life?). But America’s Ace only pitched twice in the CWS. That left lots of games in which other LSU pitchers had to shine, and shine they did.
There was Nate Ackenhausen starting a 5-0 elimination game victory over Tennessee. There was Ty Floyd and his record-breaking 17 strikeouts in Game 1 of the CWS championship series against Florida. But how about Griffin Herring’s start in LSU’s 5-2 win over Wake Forest? Or the rubber-armed Riley Cooper throwing again and again and again, earning a win and three saves during the Tigers’ fabulous fortnight in Omaha?
Skenes was the star, no question. But the rest of LSU’s pitching staff is what allowed the Tigers to climb their stairway to seven.
Biggest blow since? I could only listen to LSU’s 2-0, 11-inning victory over Wake Forest that put the Tigers in the CWS championship series. The drama sounded incredible, punctuated by Tre Morgan’s amazing diving play to force the out at home plate and capped by Tommy White’s two-run, walk-off home run.
LSU has had some huge home runs on Omaha, but the only one that ranks bigger than that is Warren Morris’ two-run blast to beat Miami in the 1996 CWS final. Not bad company for Mr. White to be in, I’d say.
NCAA resolution: The end of LSU’s four-year NCAA investigative ordeal came to an end June 22 when the NCAA finally handed down its verdict. Three years probation for both the football and men’s basketball programs, along with LSU being forced to vacate 37 victories from 2012-15 and the loss of one scholarship each for basketball the next two seasons.
The football forfeits are an embarrassment for LSU, but beyond that the penalty is a bit of a nothing burger for everyone except former LSU coach Les Miles. Miles’ combined career winning percentage at LSU, Oklahoma State and Kansas now drops from .665 to .597, just short of the .600 threshold to make him eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame. Think what you will of Miles’ coaching ability, but he was getting in the CFHOF at some point before this.
The biggest penalty going forward is the loss of scholarships for men’s basketball. This makes the job harder for current coach Matt McMahon and just lengthens the amount of time LSU fans may have to be patient with him as he tries to rebuild a winner from the ashes of the Will Wade years. McMahon deserves whatever length of runway he gets.
Feelgood Foster: There was no better news on the local sports front over the past couple of weeks than the announcement by Saints/LSU/New Orleans tight end Foster Moreau that his Hodgkins Lymphoma is now in remission. “Our prayers were answered,” the charismatic 25-year old tweeted on Monday.
Moreau was already one of the most popular Saints players on this year’s team based on his local ties. Now his support should be off the charts. Can’t wait to see what the reaction will be like the first time he catches a touchdown pass in the Caesars Superdome.
And then there were … Simone Biles’ announcement last week that she is returning to competition at next month’s U.S. Classic gymnastics meet in Chicago could well pave the way for her to be on the U.S. Olympic team next summer in Paris.
Given Biles’ reputation, her “twisties” at the Tokyo Olympics besides you have to expect she will be one of the Americans in Paris. That would leave four spots for a raft of American hopefuls including two LSU recruits: 2022 U.S. all-around champion Konnor McClain and 2023 U.S. Pan American Games team member Zoe Miller.
McClain also is expected to return to competition in Chicago. Let the race for the final four (or five) spots for Paris begin.
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