1/ Birmingham Southern's Historic Run Comes to An End
D3 Birmingham Southern had a remarkable run. We saw them come back in a super regional to punch their ticket to the World Series after having 9 players come down with food poisoning. They then hit a walk-off home run on the official day they closed to continue their streak. But this week marks the end when they lost to Wisconsin-Whitwater 11-10.
I don't know if it was his music, locks of gold, or his story, but the St. Louis Cardinals have made a remarkable signing of Yung Gravy.
Matthew Hauri or also known as his stage name Yung Gravy signed with the Cardinals after the staff found out his devastating story of rejection by famous podcast host Bobbi from the Really Good Podcast.
3/ Amateur Status is Dead and Has Been Buried For Over 20 Year Now
A 20 year story in the making is starting to find it's final chapter. But don't kid yourself, there will be a sequel and we could see it become it's own book series.
The weight of the judicial system has forced the NCAA's hand in allowing schools to pay their players. In a $2.75 Billion settlement the NCAA will be paying out a bunch of hosts in an antitrust lawsuit.
What does this mean?
If you're struggling with following the timeline here's a refresher to catch you up to speed:
Points: I started something new this week. I'm adding up the points of previous Rundowns to have a grand total for the team. I think this is a great way to represent past winnings while showcasing this weeks championship runs.
Here's how it works: If you make the championship game you get points! 2 points for first place. 1 point for second place.
Picture of the Week- "No-No in Semis" St. Louis Rawlings Tigers
Tiger Alum (2024) and current Wabash Valley College commit, Tyson Oswald throws a No-Hitter in the semi-finals of the state championship playoffs. This is him on the last out of the game. (Tip of the cap to his high school)
Other Tigers on this team: Daxton Shawke, Paul Pratte, Michael Callahan, Jonah Schmersahl, Jack Burckhardt, Taylor Engle
Second Place Picture of the Week- "Winning Slide and Orange Hair, Don't Care"
Put It On Your Radar
National Team Update: We're preparing for Cincinnati on July 31-August 4. More information will be released coming shortly for Mesa, AZ on September 20-22 and Surprise, AZ on October 18-20
To learn more about the National Team and how to get in touch please visit here.
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Archer Stankowski: makes Northwoods debut! From Case Western Reserve University. Northwoods is one of the top summer college leagues and can be seen on ESPN+
|Commitments
Jack Nobe:Xavier University commit named player of the year in the state of Missouri by Prep Baseball Report
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I was sent this video by one of our coaches. I thought it deserved a spotlight because it's not getting the recognition it should be from the community.
Back in the early 2000's, the internet was young, immature, and still finding it's hold on daily basis. A common phrase used was: "Do you really believe everything you see on the internet?" This was usually said in a sarcastic manner with an eye brow raise.
Today, it's switched to, "Did it really happen if it's not on social media?"
We have gone from believing only some things, to believing everything we see on our 1920 by 1080 screens. The emergence of AI will make us rethink what we see but that's a different topic all together.
There are a number of accounts that highlight players on their profiles. They do this to attract more followers, likes, and comments. The business model for these people are to build an audience, become an influencer account, and then generate revenue from advertisement, shilling out online program, or products.
Please don't take the above sentence as a bias towards not liking these accounts. I think some of them do a great job to promote players. Players need this because majority of them struggle with this side of their career. I was one of those guys!
The problem with some of these accounts is that they lie about the players they're promoting. It's no fault to the player. It's the person who runs the account. This gives false expectations to players scrolling through social media. It also hurts the game because players will start thinking, "Whats the point of even trying if this kid is hitting these metrics and i'm not even close!"
What I took a way from this piece of content is this: comparing are abilities to others is a natural human tendency. It can drive us to reach a goal, or it robs us of our joy in the things we like to do. BUT, we get to decide how we use comparison.
We're in control of how we perceive the content. One way of doing this, is not believing everything we see on the internet or take it at face value. Another way of handling it is reminding ourselves why we play this game. For me, its because I enjoy the strategy, the head first slide, and the unpredictable moments.
Be you, play the game because you love playing the game.
