May 9, 2008
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FRIDAY, MAY 9- 8:40 PM
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I’m currently sitting in the press box at Hawkins Field watching the Commodores and Bulldogs square off in the first of three critical games this weekend… and thought I’d post some news and notes.
First, congrats to women’s tennis head coach Geoff Macdonald. Macdonald (pictured to the right) picked up his 300th win at Vanderbilt earlier today when the ‘Dores defeated Indiana State, 4-0, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. If you’re in the Nashville area Saturday, stop by and watch the Commodores take on SEC rival Kentucky for the right to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
Today was also a busy day on campus as several Commodore student-athletes officially graduated with a degree from Vanderbilt University. One of the graduates was basketball star Shan Foster. Foster finished off a degree in Human and Organizational Development and is now preparing for June’s NBA Draft. In case you missed it, there were a couple of great pieces recently published on the Kenner, La., native.
NCAA Champion Magazine featured Foster on the cover of its spring issue. The story also included some nice photos from a recent campus shoot.
And if you haven’t read Jennifer Johnston’s story on Shan, then stop what you’re doing and take five minutes to find out how the senior swingman excelled not only on the court, but in the classroom.
And keep your eyes out… we sat down with Shan today to get his thoughts on graduation and the upcoming draft. Look for that video interview sometime next week.
Also, there were some other good articles on the web today that you should check out.
Teresa Walker’s AP story: Alvarez showed smarts, boosted draft stock
Brett Hait’s Friday Q&A with basketball’s A.J. Ogilvy
Rocky Mountains News: Jay Cutler raises money and profile
Finally, we posted a new YouTube video.
Fans had emailed about wanting to see video of Pedro Alvarez’s monster home run (approx. 430 feet) against Memphis at Pringles Park Tuesday. The blast soared over the right field scoreboard within the blink of an eye… and legend has it that it might be one of only a couple of homers that have ever been hit over the Double A park’s scoreboard.
A couple of things to notice while watching the video.
First, Pedro had already homered earlier in the game when he was greeted by “overrated” chants as he stepped to the plate. You’ll see what happens.
Second, this game was the first time the ‘Dores broke out their gold pinstriped jerseys and pants. I would say there’s a chance we’ll see these again since we’re undefeated (1-0) wearing them. Something you won’t see again are the white shoes they played in a few times this season. After losing the Kentucky series, it was determined that they contained “bad karma”.
Finally, listen to the crowd reaction once the contact takes place. There was no doubt in anybody’s mind where that ball was headed.
Anyway… Hope you enjoy it. I’ll see you out at tennis and baseball Saturday.
