One could say that Ed Peak gets excited over things most people don’t even think about. The last two weeks or so I’ve been hungry for those preseason college football magazines. I picked up two Saturday.

With sports sidelined because of the pandemic since March. I was chomping at the bit, anxiously waiting for something. Anything. NASCAR provided a little relief. as did horse racing and golf.

When I heard the conjecture that professional, college and high school football will be played this fall I was giddy. It looks like the NBA is coming back in Orlando at Disney World. If we could only get major league back on the field, it won’t be a lost summer.

I have sorely missed University of Louisville baseball and coach Dan McDonnell. This could have been Dan’s best. We’ll never know.  We do know McDonnell is in favor of moving the baseball season further into July. Instead of beginning in February as the Cardinals do and a lot of teams in the North and East do, it makes sense to move the start of the season.

The proposed changes are spearheaded by Erik Bakich, coach of Michigan’sNCAA runner up team last season. Michigan, of course, is located in the upper Midwest, and battles cold weather conditions for months.

With budgets continuing to be cut and travel expenses rising it would be wise to move the schedule a month forward. Say beginning between March 15 and 20, instead of late February.

Louisville attempts to play close regional games against the state schools. Indiana, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Cincinnati on usually on the schedule,.
The Cardinals are forced to travel south in February where this past season they had a series with Ole Miss. For several years Louisville opened in Florida.

I’d love to see baseball not have to battle for attention as basketball reaches the post season. Softball and track and field could also take a look at moving their seasons.  A lot has to come together for this to happen. But it’s worth investigating.

Back to those preseason football magazines. Street and Smiths have the Cardinals ranked 20th and runner up in the Atlantic Division of the ACC. Running back Javian Hawkins is preseason second team All America. Junior Tutu Atwell was listed as the leagues fastest receiver.

In Athlon Sports preview, the Cardinals were ranked 30th. No surprise that Clemson is listed as the preseason No. 1 in both magazines. Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Penn State are in both magazines’ top five. All too familiar faces but at least college football is on its way back.

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By Ed Peak

Ed Peak has covered UofL sports since 1973, as a student reporter, as a correspondent for the Courier-Journal, a freelancer for the Associated Press and United Press International, as well as ScoreCard, Fox Sports and CBS radio.

One thought on “Quit giving college baseball the cold shoulder”
  1. Ed,
    I agree with you and Dan McDonnell about moving the start of baseball season to mid-March.I am a former baseball pitcher for UofL and when you are playing in cold weather it is difficult to grip a baseball.It is also harmful to your pitching arm.An added plus would be that more fans would come to games in warmer weather.

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