Well, we can't go anywhere but up.

I just have one question: Can Mike Patrick pull any harder against the Tar Heels? In every single sport, he downplays the accomplishments of Heels and touts the opponents as if they are all the second coming. Granted, there wasn't much good Carolina play to talk about tonight, but he is really grating.

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Well, the Carolina bats finally arrived in Omaha, and the Heels came through, winning their third straight elimination game. Starting Saturday, it'll be a rematch of last year's final with the Tar Heels looking to avenge their loss to Oregon State.

I am so proud of this team for their resilience and ability to get the 'W.' Adam Warren looked solid, then a bit shaky, then solid again before handing the reins off to Rob Wooten and Andrew Carignan to seal the win from the mound.

Great job, guys. Keep it up and bring a championship to Chapel Hill.

How great is it to have college sports (and the Heels alive) in June?

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Finally, some starting pitching worth writing home about. Luke Putkonen looked very good on the mound today, save one home run pitch, and the Heels advance to face Rice again Wednesday at 2. The Diamond Heels need to take two in a row from the Owls. That's the rub, but really what they need to do is take one tomorrow, and take one more in the next game. One game at a time. It's a cliche, but it's what needs to happen. So who goes to the mound? Woodard, I'd guess. Good luck, guys.

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Well, the Diamond Heels found a deficit they couldn't come back from last night, falling to Rice, 14-4.  Starting pitcher Alex White had a nice first inning, but then gave up five hits in the second. The Heels used eight pitchers against the Owls, setting a CWS record.

Maybe this is a good thing. The Heels needed to know that their luck would run out some time. There are some deficits you can't come back from, and perhaps the guys were a little too comfortable playing from behind.

Now it will take three in a row to get to the championship series. The Heels can do it, but they need to score early and get more from their starting pitchers. I think that's obvious, but I typed it anyway.

I just watched Con Air. Stupid movie.

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Last night I made one of the most difficult decisions I've ever made about television. It was either watch The Sopranos finale when it first aired at 9 and miss the Diamond Heels' elimination game against South Carolina, or watch the game live, wait til midnight and catch the west coast feed of the Sopranos.

I watched the game. And what a game. Chad Flack came through again like he did a year ago in Tuscaloosa, and Andrew Carignan pitched four strong innings to close out the Gamecocks. What a series it was. The Heels trailed 6-0 in game one before striking it rich late in the game, and came back again to win Sunday. Best of luck to them against Mississsippi State in Omaha.

And what a show. The Sopranos ended in a way that no one expected. I had to live in a cone of silence from 10 p.m. to midnight, but it was worth it. I hated the ending at first, but, the more I think about it, the more I like it. The show didn't wrap things up in a neat little package. Life doesn't work that way either. All of life's storylines don't wrap up in an hour, so a show attempting to depict real life shouldn't do that either.

Now what will I do with Sundays at 9? Wait for Entourage, I guess.

You'll notice that watching Game 2 of the NBA Finals was not one of the options I considered.

What an incredible series this turned out to be(against South Carolina). In game 1 in the bottom of the 7th inning 2 outs and 2 strikes the Heels(down 6-3) start their comeback Tim Federowicz gets a single then Josh Horten hits a double(he had 3 in the game) and Federowicz scores then Chad Flack singles and Horten scores, then Reid Fronk hits a single  WRISP and then Tim Fedroff gets a single WRISP. Now it's 9-7 Heels and Andrew Carignan slam the door WHEW. Game 2 the Heels fall a little short after a rain suspension and played two or 1 1/2 games today. In game 3 it looks like a Homer for us and SC's outfielder snags it away..... In the bottom of the 6th thats right 6th inning tied 4-4 we put in Carignan who goes out their for four innings and shuts down SC while his teammates score five more runs.

 Game 1 MVP Josh Horton.

 Game 3 MVP Andrew Carignan.