Thanks to Brian DeCaussin from Big Ten Hardball for taking this photo of me in front of the field at Ray Fisher stadium at the University of Michigan. The stadium is great and the staff here have been very friendly and helpful. Special thanks goes to the lady in the Big Ten Conference T-shirt booth who looked out for me and yelled for me when they finally got the XXL shirts in.
As you can see, the wind on Thursday was sometimes fierce. At times, it would play havoc with fly balls (I saw at least two “easy” fly balls misplayed because the wind took a hold of it). And a couple hits that I thought were goners were pushed back in flyouts.
While watching the Iowa-Penn State game, a couple Minnesota coaches came and sat near us. Brian DeCaussin, who knows everything about Big Ten baseball, told me they were a couple of the assistant coaches.
Remember guys, no spitting in the stands.
I did a double take when I saw a Wisconsin shirt at Ray Fisher stadium. Not that Wisconsin didn’t make the tournament, the Badgers don’t even have a baseball team. I think he was with the Illini crowd though. His son had an Illini cap.
It’s 11:00am and I just stepped outside the cafe (thank you, Artisan Bistro… my wireless crapped out at my hotel and you came through) and I felt a few drops.
Up till now, it’s been fantastic weather if you don’t mind the heat. The breeze does help though unless you’re an outfielder or power hitter (see above). Bit of Big Ten tournament trivia from my program. Minnesota was declared champion in 1993 with a 2-0 record when the last games were rained out. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen here.
Go Illini!