... and wishing that ranking system would go the way of the buffalo at the same time.

(We could only wish...)

I predict I will type the letters "RPI" about 100 times in this column. But you can't help but have RPI on the brain with just two weekends of regular season play remaining for most conferences. (Of course, the smart ones don't play conference tournaments, so they've got three weekends of conference play left.). I just wonder how much the RPI is on the minds of the NCAA selection committee. There have been years where it's been too much. Let's see how 2008 turns out.

People, the first tuxedo fitting for the Big Dance is a Columbia blue one.

(Ahhh, you've gotta love a Columbia blue tuxedo.
Now the CU Lions are ready to dance.)

Well, we've got one down and 63 to go as Columbia takes down Dartmouth for the Ivy League title today to make its reservations for the tournament.

Elsewhere, we've got more breaking hearts and waning chances for national seeds and post-season hosting slots. Here's the rundown of what happened on this Wednesday full of college baseball action.

I know, I know, it's not a Thursday Thoughts night or a Sunday Summations Ouch List night, but this is May (the cruelest month in college baseball). So that means it's time to post a little bit more info from time to time. So here we are on an RPI Tuesday. Let's take a quick whirl around the nation from today's action.

(Wichita's Gene Stephenson was hoping for better results tonight to enhance his team's post-season hopes)

Spent the day out at the unparalleled confines of Eddy D. Field Stadium to see San Diego put some distance between itself and the rest of the West Coast Conference with a solid, typically pitching-heavy 2-0 win over the Waves at Pepperdine.

Frosh fireballer Kyle Blair went 7.2 innings, giving up just two hits and striking out seven to pace the Toreros to the victory and weekend series win. It also means that USD is very nearly assured of being in the WCC playoffs and, barring a big tank job, should go in as the regular season champions and host the best-of-three vs. the No. 2 team.

(Kyle Blair 2-hit performance proves USD has a helluva third starter)

Overall, it was both a surprising and painful Sunday for many of the teams around the country. So we'll start with the good and bad of things from all over Division I.

In my attempt to look at college baseball teams from all four corners of the country (I'm still working on getting up to Maine), I turned my attention to the team that is housed in the farthest Northwest corner in Division I: The Washington Huskies.

(UW 1Bman Aaron Russell had a bloody scary moment after taking a pitch to the dome)

Actually, the boys over at CBS College Sports Tonight, the nightly two-hour wrap-up of college athletics, contacted me on Friday about doing some more quick-hit snippets for features to run on the show in the next few days. So since the Going Yard guys, Brody and Jason, were out at today's USC-Washington game at Dedeaux Field and have some video equipment to shoot with, I was sent there to make a trio of videos for the show after today's game was over.

Here are the three subject matters they wanted me to touch on:
1- My prediction on the national seeds for the upcoming NCAA tournament.
2- My surprise teams in college baseball.
3- The most important upcoming games in the last few weeks of the season.

Not to ruin the features when they air or anything, but here were my answers:

There's a reason why I still think Arizona State will make it to Omaha, even with all their injuries, suspensions, grades, investigations and seemingly shallow pitching staff. Tonight's 9th inning at UCLA is Exhibit A.

The Devils score five runs in their last at-bat and break the Bruin spirit with a 10-5 win in Westwood. And make no mistake, it's a win UCLA could've used for their RPI.

(Jason Kipnis gets another handshake after his second home run tonight)

Two things happened on Wednesday that made the lead stories on CBS College Sports Tonight.

1- The NCAA announced that it will hold the College World Series in Omaha for another 20 years, through the 2030 series, which is of course, the good part.

But that also means that the new stadium in downtown Omaha has been given the complete green light for sure now. Apparently, 2010 will be the last year of the CWS in Rosenblatt Stadium. Which begs the question...

And 2- And in the further bad news department, the NCAA proved it is still weak when it comes to its own biggest revenue sport by having the Division I conference commissioners reject a plan for a 4-team football playoff using the existing bowl structure. The bowl committees and chamber of commerce's win again. The college football fans lose again.

Could you imagine if college baseball's post-season was owned by a bunch of men in suits from large, money-grubbing corporations and instead of the College World Series, they just matched up regionally-based teams that would bring in big crowds, big bucks and good TV ratings and played a single game against each other?

First question: Has the SEC just lost any hopes for a national seeding? If Memorial Day rolls around and not a single SEC team gets a guaranteed home Super Regional, this past weekend might be the main culprit. All the higher ranked teams took in on the chin in the Southern super-conference this weekend.

(Curt Casali and the Commodores will have to hustle more to rebuild from this weekend)

That's where we're going to start our Ouch List for this week. Because of attrition, it looks like the SEC is slowly becoming like it was last year, a lot of good teams, but no great teams. I know, that's certainly arguable. And, it's still early. Here are the hurtin' kind from this weekend.

TCU wrestles the Mountain West lead with 13-6 Sunday win on Montezuma Mesa.

(Clint Arnold paced the Frogs with four hits and, get this, scored from 2nd base
on a sac bunt. Yes, he scored from 2nd on a sac bunt in the 8th inning)

It's no exaggeration to say that when the Horned Frogs WEREN'T facing the pitching of San Diego State ace Stephen Strausburg, they schooled the Aztecs this weekend.

Sometimes it's good to just sit on your fat butt and watch all the great college baseball games that come on satellite TV. Welcome to my world this Saturday. No traveling. No credentials to make arrangements for. No long drives on crowded freeways with drivers paying much more attention to their cell phones than their lane changes.

(Alabama's Kent Matthes made the play of the day, robbing an Auburn home run)

So here's what I saw from the comfort of my couch today. (I know, I need a life. I hear ya'.)