Tourney bye-bye
How about we do away with the Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament - and let the teams focus on the prize that is the College World Series?
I know, I know - the ACC is not exactly the only conference that holds its own postseason in advance of The Drive to Omaha.
Here's why we don't need to do it here anymore - try we have pennant races now.
The tournament mucks up what could be exciting races in the Atlantic and Coastal divisions. You need to look no further than this year's Coastal Division chase between North Carolina and Virginia that came down to the final day of the regular season for evidence of that.
It also adds that much more strain to the arms of the starters and relievers who will need every inning they have left when it comes time for the regionals, super regionals and (we hope) the College World Series.
Powers-That-Be in the ACC, take note. Conference baseball tournaments are a thing of the past - and if we get rid of ours, we can be the Conference of the Future.
(That imagery is speaking out directly to John Swofford. Anything that he can do to make himself feel like a pioneer is something that he'll drop everything else to try to do.)
- Chris Graham