While survival instinct might be the underlying reason that the human brain focuses on negative aspects, I think we really seek the joy of order out of chaos. Beethovens' symphonies. Monet's paintings. The Golden Gate Bridge. Fredrick Law Ohlmsted community design. Talisien and Falling Water by Frank Lloyd Wright. You name it: everyone has their own sets of beauty archetypes.
While there may be stylistic & genre preference differences, we can generally discern dissonance from harmony, organized from disorganized, functional from dysfunctional, proportional from disproporoportional, etc. As a consequence, I believe that noting the negative is an aspect of the brain's process of seeking order by recognizing a system that's "flawed" and endeavoring to figure out how to fix those flaws. Successfully implementing the fix(es) results in more order and a "win" against nature's entropy.
It IS uplifting to read "positive" stories and you DO provide so many of them (e.g.: changes to Pac-12 BB tournament; Soji learning how to ride her bike; legacy toy drives from "Shoe's" passing, etc.).
But at the heart of each of these positive stories is at least one negative that has been recognized, analyzed & overcome (correspondingly: a flawed tournament design that diminished Pac-12 BB teams' post-seasons; Soji's overcoming fear of falling (gravity) & failing (inertia), while learning to ride a bike; distilling ongoing life-affirming opportunities for sick kids' happiness from the tragic passing of a special sick kid, etc.). You give us plenty of positive stories and they are appreciated.
You are meeting your responsibility as a credible journalist when you report the "negative " stories, too. You do so properly when you report in your accurate, fair & balanced manner. This allows your readers & listeners to consider the issues and propose solutions. Some of your readers & listeners are in positions of power to actually consider & implement solutions that may fix the problems. Ordo Ab Chao
My wife and I attended the 2nd of the Oregon State - UCLA games in 2022 that went all afternoon long and into the night (11:30pm). We did not make it past the 8th inning. It was really hot sitting in the stands in the late afternoon and you could tell the field was no cooler. The players looked worn out and they had innings to go when we threw in the towel around 8:30pm. Most people were commenting it was too many games in too short a period of time and something had to be done. I am glad the powers-that-be listened.
I like the tournament but it should be moved. It’s too hot in Arizona this time of year. Maybe that’s why the event looked sparsely attended. Find a good minor league ballpark in California.
An excellent example JC, highlighting the effectiveness of (baseball) coaches vs. Presidents/Chancellors in recognizing a problem/issue and addressing it. Effectively. Nice.
Oregon State having WON 3 National NCAA baseball tournaments in recent years should have been given a little extra reward by being able to choose game venues ; there should be a reward for Pac 12 universities that excel at winning more then the other non champions , like UW, UO and WSU who can’t match OSU ‘s NCAA BB Championship wins . There should be a reward for Past Excellence in enhancing the “Conference of Champions” !!
OSU has done its best , more then other PAC 12 schools , to excel and bring more Championships !!
I'm not sure about these conference tournaments particularly for baseball. The teams have spent the whole season playing legitimate 3 game series with each other to determine their place in the standings, then they revert to pool play where one bad game can knock you out.
Then I wonder if all teams take the tournament seriously and what is the incentive to win it and push your pitchers at the risk of injury when the NCAA tourney is a week away?
Tournament Baseball games for elimination should be played as a series or at least a team must have 2 losses to be eliminated so I don't think pool play is the best way to go. Any team could have 1 ace pitcher that could knock you out but then after that they have nothing left.
Look at Barlow #30 defeating Lakeridge #3 this year. Barlow had a hot pitcher and credit to him but is that fair to say Barlow is a better team. They were that day but could they take 2 of 3 or shouldn't Lakeridge have the chance to come back up through the loser's bracket?
John: I have a friend who was a head referee in the Big Sky: He has many friends who are football officials in the Pac 12. He says there are many good officials in the Pac 12. I think you like to keep the fire going about had bad they are. There are bad apples everywhere including sportswriters. Something positive sometime would be nice.
I remember the heat and marathon format from last year and wondering why would they make players do 3-4 games a day into night in AZ this late into Spring? Glad they changed the format, and hope it results in a better overall post season run for the PAC-12 teams. No need to self destruct playing each other!
We made the trip down with two other couples last year. Being true believers who ALWAYS stay to the end of the game; vowed to never go back again for this tournament. I am not one to purchase a bunch of merchandise but even that was lacking. OSU gear, -think T-shirts, sold out in no time and they even had shirts printed up for the one team in the Pac 12 that does not have a baseball team (CO). It is really hard work cheering on one's team, those kids might be young bucks but man it was brutal. Why do we really need this? Oh that's right -- $$$$$$$$ -- mostly for the broadcast media.
One of the couples is down there now as their son works in the area. So will get a report back from them. When they got there for the game yesterday morning, they talked to the staff about attendance on Tuesday--sounds like AZ folks just do not show up be it ASU or UA. Just got a text saying more ASU fans at the game today versus AZ fans for yesterday's game.
Smart, very smart column. I agree with Sean, AZ is too hot. Modesto, Stockton, Vallejo, Sacramento would work. Even Portland would work. The Hops have a great Stadium where fun could be had by all.
John, nice to see the Pac12 be responsive to constructive criticism. My one quibble with this piece is the quote "It showcased the teams for the NCAA selection committee." How did it do that? The games were on Pac-12 Network (except for the championship game). Finding the Pac-12 Network would have been more difficult for the committee than actually selecting the participating teams.
Thanks for writing about Pac12 baseball. I have enjoyed the games this Tournament. I tweeted a few messages to you about baseball so I’ll post them again here.
1. Have you heard of any NIL collectives for @pac12 baseball programs or any sports other than football & basketball?
2. You haven’t mentioned before @Pac12Network has helped Olympic sports & women’s basketball. Has P12N helped baseball programs in a similar way?
3. Any thoughts on how the changes to the @MLB draft & minor league can help @pac12 & @AztecBaseball with all the CA talent not being drafted after the 6th round?
4. How does @AztecBaseball program rank up there with a new configured @pac12? I watched multiple games on the @Pac12Network last week & Tony Gwynn stadium was better than most facilities in the @Pac12 without $$$ including Utah’s new park.
While survival instinct might be the underlying reason that the human brain focuses on negative aspects, I think we really seek the joy of order out of chaos. Beethovens' symphonies. Monet's paintings. The Golden Gate Bridge. Fredrick Law Ohlmsted community design. Talisien and Falling Water by Frank Lloyd Wright. You name it: everyone has their own sets of beauty archetypes.
While there may be stylistic & genre preference differences, we can generally discern dissonance from harmony, organized from disorganized, functional from dysfunctional, proportional from disproporoportional, etc. As a consequence, I believe that noting the negative is an aspect of the brain's process of seeking order by recognizing a system that's "flawed" and endeavoring to figure out how to fix those flaws. Successfully implementing the fix(es) results in more order and a "win" against nature's entropy.
It IS uplifting to read "positive" stories and you DO provide so many of them (e.g.: changes to Pac-12 BB tournament; Soji learning how to ride her bike; legacy toy drives from "Shoe's" passing, etc.).
But at the heart of each of these positive stories is at least one negative that has been recognized, analyzed & overcome (correspondingly: a flawed tournament design that diminished Pac-12 BB teams' post-seasons; Soji's overcoming fear of falling (gravity) & failing (inertia), while learning to ride a bike; distilling ongoing life-affirming opportunities for sick kids' happiness from the tragic passing of a special sick kid, etc.). You give us plenty of positive stories and they are appreciated.
You are meeting your responsibility as a credible journalist when you report the "negative " stories, too. You do so properly when you report in your accurate, fair & balanced manner. This allows your readers & listeners to consider the issues and propose solutions. Some of your readers & listeners are in positions of power to actually consider & implement solutions that may fix the problems. Ordo Ab Chao
My wife and I attended the 2nd of the Oregon State - UCLA games in 2022 that went all afternoon long and into the night (11:30pm). We did not make it past the 8th inning. It was really hot sitting in the stands in the late afternoon and you could tell the field was no cooler. The players looked worn out and they had innings to go when we threw in the towel around 8:30pm. Most people were commenting it was too many games in too short a period of time and something had to be done. I am glad the powers-that-be listened.
I like the tournament but it should be moved. It’s too hot in Arizona this time of year. Maybe that’s why the event looked sparsely attended. Find a good minor league ballpark in California.
An excellent example JC, highlighting the effectiveness of (baseball) coaches vs. Presidents/Chancellors in recognizing a problem/issue and addressing it. Effectively. Nice.
Oregon State having WON 3 National NCAA baseball tournaments in recent years should have been given a little extra reward by being able to choose game venues ; there should be a reward for Pac 12 universities that excel at winning more then the other non champions , like UW, UO and WSU who can’t match OSU ‘s NCAA BB Championship wins . There should be a reward for Past Excellence in enhancing the “Conference of Champions” !!
OSU has done its best , more then other PAC 12 schools , to excel and bring more Championships !!
Baseball...especially NCAA baseball...is the epitome of "anybody can beat anybody."
I'm not sure about these conference tournaments particularly for baseball. The teams have spent the whole season playing legitimate 3 game series with each other to determine their place in the standings, then they revert to pool play where one bad game can knock you out.
Then I wonder if all teams take the tournament seriously and what is the incentive to win it and push your pitchers at the risk of injury when the NCAA tourney is a week away?
Tournament Baseball games for elimination should be played as a series or at least a team must have 2 losses to be eliminated so I don't think pool play is the best way to go. Any team could have 1 ace pitcher that could knock you out but then after that they have nothing left.
Look at Barlow #30 defeating Lakeridge #3 this year. Barlow had a hot pitcher and credit to him but is that fair to say Barlow is a better team. They were that day but could they take 2 of 3 or shouldn't Lakeridge have the chance to come back up through the loser's bracket?
John: I have a friend who was a head referee in the Big Sky: He has many friends who are football officials in the Pac 12. He says there are many good officials in the Pac 12. I think you like to keep the fire going about had bad they are. There are bad apples everywhere including sportswriters. Something positive sometime would be nice.
OSU track program. Luis Quintana coach
Why did U of O hire Jerry Schumacher. Former track athlete busted for PED
PDX MLB Baseball. What's going on. Is Portland's image tainted?
Portland Pilot Baseball
What's up with Thorns/Timbers ownership?
Larry Mahan
Jaydon Grant how is he doing?
Follow up story on your daughter at OSU. 3 years later.
Have U of O and OSU basketball coaches. Have they lost their luster with today's player?
BFT success stories
Corvallis Knights
Jade Carey
Moda Center remodel when and why?
What's the plan if Bo can't go?
Pac 12 and WCC baseball tourney in the heat.
How you balance work, wife kids, etc...
St Paul Rodeo
Horse racing
Gambling addiction
👍Finally, a good move.
I remember the heat and marathon format from last year and wondering why would they make players do 3-4 games a day into night in AZ this late into Spring? Glad they changed the format, and hope it results in a better overall post season run for the PAC-12 teams. No need to self destruct playing each other!
We made the trip down with two other couples last year. Being true believers who ALWAYS stay to the end of the game; vowed to never go back again for this tournament. I am not one to purchase a bunch of merchandise but even that was lacking. OSU gear, -think T-shirts, sold out in no time and they even had shirts printed up for the one team in the Pac 12 that does not have a baseball team (CO). It is really hard work cheering on one's team, those kids might be young bucks but man it was brutal. Why do we really need this? Oh that's right -- $$$$$$$$ -- mostly for the broadcast media.
One of the couples is down there now as their son works in the area. So will get a report back from them. When they got there for the game yesterday morning, they talked to the staff about attendance on Tuesday--sounds like AZ folks just do not show up be it ASU or UA. Just got a text saying more ASU fans at the game today versus AZ fans for yesterday's game.
Smart, very smart column. I agree with Sean, AZ is too hot. Modesto, Stockton, Vallejo, Sacramento would work. Even Portland would work. The Hops have a great Stadium where fun could be had by all.
John, nice to see the Pac12 be responsive to constructive criticism. My one quibble with this piece is the quote "It showcased the teams for the NCAA selection committee." How did it do that? The games were on Pac-12 Network (except for the championship game). Finding the Pac-12 Network would have been more difficult for the committee than actually selecting the participating teams.
Yawn. John, you keep writing about the same Pac12 stuff.
Thanks for writing about Pac12 baseball. I have enjoyed the games this Tournament. I tweeted a few messages to you about baseball so I’ll post them again here.
1. Have you heard of any NIL collectives for @pac12 baseball programs or any sports other than football & basketball?
2. You haven’t mentioned before @Pac12Network has helped Olympic sports & women’s basketball. Has P12N helped baseball programs in a similar way?
3. Any thoughts on how the changes to the @MLB draft & minor league can help @pac12 & @AztecBaseball with all the CA talent not being drafted after the 6th round?
4. How does @AztecBaseball program rank up there with a new configured @pac12? I watched multiple games on the @Pac12Network last week & Tony Gwynn stadium was better than most facilities in the @Pac12 without $$$ including Utah’s new park.