Georgia was 14-1 coming in their last 15 games before today's matchup, good enough for the third seed, but so far it's been the underdogs' day as the sixth-seeded Commodores took the 9-4 win. Of course, this does make tomrorow's loser's bracket, with a 10 a.m. Kentucky-Georgia meeting, that much more interesting.

The crowds were pleasant but relatively tame for both of these early games. It would be foolish to expect the same from the LSU-Alabama matchup next, since I can already see the overflow stadium parking beginning to fill up beyond the left field wall. Might have to take the blog down out of the pressbox really soak up the atmopshere.

Before today's second session, however, some other first impressions from Hoover:

*In the 20-minute drive from the airport to Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, I spotted no less than three Waffle Houses from the highway. Depending on your cholestorol, this place is a stone's throw shy of heaven or hell.

*Had my press lunch next to a guy whose company was providing the SEC with the locker-room x-ray machines for the games. Things you hope to never use at the SEC tournament: the fifth guy in your bullpen and an x-ray machine.

*Kudos to the Hoover Met for having an entire deck set aside for barbeque consumption, along the first base line. From the press box you can see the BBQ stand, and a handful of picnic tables with condiments and an entire roll of paper towels on each one. THAT is class.

*Any place that offers Diet Dr. Pepper in the press box is all right with me. (They're a corporate sponsor, I'm such a pawn.)

*From the All-Name team: Oh how I wish I could've seen South Carolina's Harris Honeycutt toss a few at Kentucky's Colin Cowgill. Alas, it was not to be -- maybe they'll hang on for a Saturday morning matchup. Cowgill did get his 17th home run of the season against the Gamecocks.

AMERICAN IDOL WATCH: To be fair, I haven't watched more than 12 total minutes of American Idol this season, but CSTV.com's resident expert, Eric Mirlis, informed me that Birmingham native Taylor Hicks is his personal pick to take the Idol title in tonight's finale. Mirl, who has a certain expertise on this sort of thing, assured me that there would be celebration in the streets of Birmingham if Hicks (an all-name team nominee) does indeed take his platinum coif to the Idol throne. I hadn't been in my rental car more than five minutes when Mirl's assertion was in part confirmed: Hicks has a pre-recorded promo for the pop station in Birmingham, and there are Idol-watching parties all over the area. I may be forced to sneak away from tonight's Ole Miss-Arkansas game for a minute or two to cast my own vote for the Boy from Birmingham.