Alabama softball: Tide wins doubleheader to sweep series with Auburn. 4C
Sports
S U N D A Y , A P R I L 4 , 2010
SECTION C
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NCAA FINAL FOUR
CECIL HURT
Final showdown
Tide won’t have a re-run of last season
A
s much as any avid Alabama fan out there, University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban wants a repeat of the undefeated season and BCS championship run of 2009. But Saban understands there is a subtle but critical difference in the word “repeat” and the word “rerun.” Since there was clearly nothing wrong with 2009, many Alabama fans would simply like to see Saban and the staff push some magical rewind button and win in the exact same way it won last season, with a fierce defense limiting the opponents’ capacity to score and a conservative offense centered on the power running of Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram and his fearsome backup, sophomore-to-be Trent Richardson. Why mess with success, right? Here is the thing, though. Success has been messed with. It isn’t Saban’s fault. It is the inexorable law of college football that has changed things. Alabama had six members of the 2009 All-America team and five of them are gone. And every one of the five made a huge impact, not just on winning, but on the way in which Alabama won. Terrance Cody’s presence, for instance, had a huge impact on how teams prepared an offensive game plan to attack the Crimson Tide. His value wasn’t just measured in the plays he made. Cody simply forced more teams to work less on running the football because they didn’t want to have to deal with the double- or triple-teaming required to move him out of one gap. That’s just one example. A similar example could be made of the special-teams value of Javier Arenas and Leigh Tiffin, or the secondary presence of Arenas and Kareem Jackson. That’s a long introduction to a review of the things that could be gleaned from the statistics and, more importantly, Saban’s comments after Alabama’s first scrimmage of the spring. Statistics are deceptive. You have to view them through the magnifying glass of prior knowledge, and then Mark Ingram’s day (nine carries for 22 yards) makes sense. Chances are that most of Ingram’s opportunities came in short-yardage situations and he still maintains that same Heisman ability that he has always had. But it was glaringly obvious Alabama threw the ball a lot. The reasons, when you consider this season won’t be a rerun of last year, are obvious. Alabama has to find a way to score a few more points. That doesn’t mean the defense won’t be talented. It does mean the secondary is, at best, a work in progress. The Crimson Tide won’t be deep in the defensive backfield. The loss of junior college signee DeQuan Menzie — who isn’t even on campus yet — may be bigger news than people realize. When a team at Alabama’s level signs a junior-college prospect, it isn’t to fill out a roster or spend time developing him. Whether you’re talking about Cody or James Carpenter or Menzie, they were signed to fill an immediate need. Coupled with Robbie Green’s uncertain status, his absence will SEE HURT | 3C
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Butler’s Gordon Hayward celebrates after the Bulldogs’ 52-50 win over Michigan State in the NCAA Final Four semifinal game Saturday in Indianapolis.
Butler holds off Michigan State
Duke rolls past West Virginia
The Associated Press
The Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS | After 25 years, “Hoosiers” is getting a rewrite. One more win, and plucky Butler will give it an even better ending. Gordon Hayward had 19 points and nine rebounds, including one with 2 seconds left that sealed the game. The small school looked anything but, taking down another of college basketball’s biggest names with a 5250 victory over Michigan State in the Final Four on Saturday. Butler (33-4) now plays the winner of West VirginiaDuke in Monday night’s title game. SEE BUTLER | 6C
INDIANAPOLIS | They don’t call ’em the Devils for nothing. After a thorough squashing of one feel-good story, the Duke Blue Devils get to go after another. Jon Scheyer scored 23 points Saturday night to lift Duke, the team so many folks love to hate, to a 78-57 victory over West Virginia and set up a meeting against tiny Butler in a classic matchup of big vs. little, with the national title on the line. In a tournament turned upside down, the Blue Devils (34-5) were SEE DUKE | 6C
ALABAMA BASEBALL
FULL BLOOM
Three-run seventh lifts Tide to victory
Major League Baseball season has arrived
S
pring training is over and the 2010 Major League Baseball season is finally here as the Boston Red Sox and the defending World Series champ New York Yankees get the season started tonight in Boston.
By Aaron Suttles Sports Writer
TUSCALOOSA | The game ended with Alabama’s coach listening to his team’s final three innings via the radio. What Mitch Gaspard missed was a three-run rally that propelled his University of Alabama baseball team to its sixth come-from-behind victory of the season with a 6-5 win over arch-rival Auburn Saturday at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Alabama goes for the series sweep today at 2:05 p.m. Gaspard and senior middle reliever David Head were ejected in the sixth inning when the left-hander hit Auburn’s Kevin Patterson, who had homered in his first two at-bats of the game, with an off-speed pitch. Home plate umpire Scott Kennedy immediately ejected Head, and according to NCAA Rule 5.16.D that meant Gaspard was ejected as well. Head will serve a four-game suspension, meaning he will not be available until Saturday’s game at Kentucky. It is believed Gaspard will not have to serve a suspension. The ejections stemmed from Friday’s game when Alabama starter Adam Morgan hit Auburn’s Hunter Morris with a fastball. Both teams were warned at that time about the repercussions if another batter was hit. SEE TIDE | 3C
INSIDE ■ Preview capsules of the American League | 5C
COMING MONDAY ■ Preview of the National League
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Duke’s Brian Zoubek reacts in the second half of Saturday’s Final Four semifinal game against West Virginia in Indianapolis. Duke won 78-57.
STAFF PHOTO | DUSTY COMPTON
STAFF PHOTO ILLUSTRATION | ROBERT SUTTON AND EDWIN STANTON
Auburn’s Justin Fradejas (20) safely slides into second as Alabama’s Josh Rutledge catches the throw from home a second too late during Saturday’s game at SewellThomas Stadium.
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