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Wednesday - May 30, 2007

The Regional schedule sucks

Okay. Gripe time. Here's a link to the official Austin Regional Tournament page.

Look at the schedule. Day 1, game times: 1 pm and 7 pm. Day 2, game times: noon and 6 pm. Day 3, game times: noon and 6 pm. Day 4 (if necessary), game time: 1 pm.

A typical game lasts about 3 hours. So, if the early games go the typical 3 hours (they could go less), we will have a 3 HOUR break between games. THREE HOURS. If you plan to go to all the games (which I do plan to do), that means, realistically, spending 10-11 hours at the park. For 3 days. How ridiculous is that? The drive from my house is about an hour. So, add another 2 hours to the day. Does UT not want people to attend all the games? Because, I'm telling you right now, I don't know of a single other person who will be at all the games who isn't being paid to be there. I'm sure there will be others. But, there won't be many of us. If the gap between start times was 4 hours, the number of "casual" fans who might show up for at least part of the non-UT games would increase dramatically.

It's not like the Dell Diamond is within walking distance of anything, either. Other than Old Settler's Park...whatever that is. And, the folks at Dell Diamond are not honoring Longhorn Foundation parking passes. I bet they charge us twice for parking if we leave the grounds between games. And, really...what are we supposed to do for those 3 hours? The fact of the matter is that most people will just go to the Texas games. So, it's not like it'll take hours to clear the stadium between games. The house will not be full for the non-UT games. It won't take long to clear folks out and let us back in. And, how long will we be expected to be out...sitting on the hot parking lots...waiting to get back in? Two hours?

The schedule sucks.

By the way, I do not think the 10-run rule is in effect for Regional games. That guess is based on the fact that it was not used last year. So, yes, games could drag on if one team is pounding on another. And, we could go extra innings if the opposite is true. But, the likelihood is that we'll have a bunch of 3-hour games with a bunch of 3-hour breaks.

The schedule sucks.

By the way #2. I can see how the 3-hour break on Day 3 will probably be a good thing for whoever wins Game 5. Because, they have to turn around and play in Game 6. So, go ahead...give 'em a 3-hour break on Sunday. But, on the other days?

The schedule sucks.

By the way #3. I thought, briefly, that it might be some sort of NCAA rule ('cause you know how much the NCAA loves its rules) but...apparently not:

The schedule sucks.

Posted by Joanna at 12:17 AM