Annie Aldrete transferring

[Sandvol]

Nope - he just needs to make some personality changes -- IF thats true what some posters say about him.

Again, those aren't facts. His record above that I posted are the facts. Some players have left and some have stayed but his record is what it is. I say we keep the best coach and coaching staff on campus based on these facts no matter which players have come and gone.

 

[508mikey]

Based on your standards we have a lot of coaches who should be fired. Softball is the best program right now at Tennessee so every other coach should be fired based on your standards.

Where did I post the word 'fired', and isnt the NC the goal now ? I was one of the few that wanted to keep Fulmer and I never have bashed Warlick .

 

[508mikey]

Again, those aren't facts. His record above that I posted are the facts. Some players have left and some have stayed but his record is what it is. I say we keep the best coach and coaching staff on campus based on these facts no matter which players have come and gone.

I havent seen any posts from anyone saying he should be canned - I just agree with some posters that Karen relates better to the players than he does.

 

[Sandvol]

I would say that it's a easier for UT to make the Elite 8 in basketball than to make the championship tournament (OK City) in softball. But that's Elite 8, not the Final Four. If you are comparing the WCWS and the Final Four, they are probably comparable.

If we assume that both our basketball and softball teams are good and would host NCAA games, the BB team would play two easy games AT HOME, then have to win the Sweet 16 game to get to the Elite 8. Last year we played Boise State and Pitt at home to open the NCAA tourney--both easy games against unranked opponents (though of course we made the Pitt game tougher than it should have been). We then played Gonzaga in the Sweet 16. We eeked out a victory and made it to the Elite 8, and then were beaten. So if we're good enough to play home games to start the tourney, we only have to win one (sweet 16 game) to get to Elite 8, and that is usually against a solid but not spectacular opponent.

In softball, we played the regional tourney at home with three opponents, two of them average and one pretty good. We ended up playing and beating a solid but not great Utah team in the best-of-three regional final. We then played a very good fla state in the super-regional, best of three, and somehow won that. We are helped in softball because it's double elimination--gives the favorite another chance to do its thing--but on the other hand you can run into great pitching from just about anyone in softball.

Importantly, SEC softball has become brutally competitive--much more so than SEC basketball. So from now on it's going to be increasingly difficult for us to put together a great record and host a super-regional, IMO. You've got to have an excellent team to finish in the top 3 in SEC softball nowadays. We managed to do it last year without having a great team thanks to the wins we scratched out in the SEC tournament, but the conference is tough. In basketball, the league still isn't nearly as rugged. South Carolina is now very good, and kentucky tests us--but mostly because of their style and not their talent. LSU can be good, but that's about it. Everyone else is meh.

I think they are both pretty comparable although you could argue that softball is easier because the SEC makes the teams so tough and battle hardened that they have a better chance to make the Elite 8 if they make the tournament.

 

[Sandvol]

I havent seen any posts from anyone saying he should be canned - I just agree with some posters that Karen relates better to the players than he does.

I suppose you have gone to some of the games like I have. Ralph will occasionally bark at the players whereas Karen just gives them that icy stare. I suspect the girls would prefer the icy stare over being yelled at. Girls are a lot more sensitive in that respect than guys are. But you can tell the players very much respect Ralph.

 

[508mikey]

I suppose you have gone to some of the games like I have. Ralph will occasionally bark at the players whereas Karen just gives them that icy stare. I suspect the girls would prefer the icy stare over being yelled at. Girls are a lot more sensitive in that respect than guys are. But you can tell the players very much respect Ralph.

Pat won NCs with the icy stare --- I rest my case

 

[Sandvol]

Pat won NCs with the icy stare --- I rest my case

She barked a lot too.

 

[LVJeff]

Yeah and it stung watching UF win the NC after beating them during the season and in the SECT

Tennessee did not play Florida in softball during the regular season in 2015.

 

[Sandvol]

Tennessee did not play Florida in softball during the regular season in 2015.

He's probably talking about last year. But, we beat them at home. We got a bad draw last year in the tournament with Oklahoma. Also, Ellen wasn't pitching that well in the post season for whatever reason.

 

[LVJeff]

Yeah and it stung watching UF win the NC after beating them during the season and in the SECT

Tennessee did not play Florida in softball during the regular season in 2015.

He's probably talking about last year. But, we beat them at home. We got a bad draw last year in the tournament with Oklahoma. Also, Ellen wasn't pitching that well in the post season for whatever reason.

Tennessee did not beat Florida in the SECT in 2014.

If he means Tennessee beat Florida in the 2014 regular season and then in 2015 beat them in the SECT, the wording was such that I did not understand that.

 

[508mikey]

Tennessee did not beat Florida in the SECT in 2014.

If he means Tennessee beat Florida in the 2014 regular season and then in 2015 beat them in the SECT, the wording was such that I did not understand that.

Yeah -- sorry about that - I was in a hurry and had to leave for an appt. Anyway its time to move on from this season, it was more than anyone would have expected.