If you missed it live, don't worry, we say the best parts. This is the Drive Podcast. Here we go. Welcome into a late. A very late.
Afternoon drive right here on WSJS. Happy Wednesday. To everybody. Had some college World Series action. Carolina.
West Virginia and Carolina is heading to the College World Series final. That was an interesting game. Darren Vought. Going to join the proceedings here in just a few minutes to help us react to this. We'll go out of left field as well.
In fact, You know what? Maybe we'll just go to Deren Fought. Darren, what's happening? Yeah, this is going to be a fun little reaction today. It might be the shortest show we ever do.
It might just be. Um But I so 12-7 final. I texted you in the seventh inning when things started to go a little haywire for Carolina. Twelve, five. Twelve, five was the count at that point?
Yeah, five or six. I mean, they entered the inning twelve to one. And then You know, think that three pitchers that inning, but They got out of it.
So, just initial reaction, I'll pose it to you. Caroline is headed to the final series. What's the reaction from Darren Vought? This is kind of as expected, especially coming into today, knowing that West Virginia was going to have to beat them twice. But even coming into Omaha, generally speaking, I mean.
West Virginia wasn't going to make it easy. I figured it would be these two. But North Carolina was, I think, the favorite on that side of the bracket. And it's the leaner of the two sides for sure. And I think there's just a lot to be said for North Carolina having guys on the team who have been there before.
I think that has mattered a lot to this point. Because Troy and West Virginia making their first ever College World Series appearances. I mean, they would certainly tell you they're not just. Happy to be there. But they are kind of just happy to be there.
And again, West Virginia, there's no quit in them. We saw Guzman. I mean, that rally late started with Guzman. Beating out a ground ball. I mean, they're down eleven going into the frame, and there's just no quit.
And that's very much the culture of West Virginia baseball now.
So, of course, like they it's not like they weren't trying to win. Um But the experience matters when you get to this point in the season. And it's benefited North Carolina. And They got, you know, a little bit past where they want to be in terms of the. the pictures that they use.
And so then they reined it back in. They put Caden Glauber in. That's when I texted, or when you texted me, they had just put him into the game. I was like, okay, no, no, no, they're fine. 27-0 when he pitches, by the way.
Yeah, they've not lost a game. That he pitches in. A true freshman. Freshman of the year nationally, you know, the best. reliever in in college baseball probably.
You know, but even that's kind of a stretch because he gives them starts in relief a lot of the times that he pitches. But that's that's their guy, that's their stopper. And They weren't going to let it get too stressful before bringing him or Walker McDuffie. Into the game to stop it and put an end to the nonsense and say, okay, we're going to the final, we're not playing again until Friday. Uh-huh.
So Darren Vought with us here of ESPN. Saturday, rather, I guess, because the game one would be Saturday.
So, you know, a couple days off. That's right. Because Mike Monaco was on the call and he was saying, yep, Jason DeCarrow, because they had the camera on DeCaro. And it's like, yeah, that's your game one guy Saturday night. And then he was giving wet willies to whoever was sitting next to him in the dugout.
I don't know. You know how college baseball is. It's fun. Darren Vought with us of ESPN. Of D1 baseball.
We are reacting in real time to Carolina beating West Virginia to head to the College World Series final. And do I have it right? This is the first time back. To this point in the proceedings since 06 when they lost to Oregon State. Is that right?
Correct. Yeah.
Okay. Yep.
Okay. So looking at the other side of the bracket, you had Georgia eliminates Texas last night.
So now they're going to be in a series or have a game with Oklahoma. Deciding who Carolina is going to be playing on Saturday night. Who do you like? Between Georgia and Oklahoma. That side of the brackets turned out to be pretty interesting.
I think a lot of people. The College World Series began. saw that first Evening matchup. Texas and Georgia, or I guess it would have been the second evening matchup because that side of the bracket had day two. Texas and Georgia.
And the belief was, I think the feeling was across a lot of college baseball. Whoever wins this is gonna go to the College World Series final.
Well That is yet to be seen because Georgia won that. But they then lost a game to have to fight their way back from an elimination game and a rematch with the team Texas that they beat. In that first you know, perceived de facto game, semi-final game. Oklahoma has this is a team that finished 11th in the SEC in the regular season. There are good teams throughout the SEC, so it's not that they're not a good team, but this, like, the Sooners did not finish the season well at all.
But you can kind of see it now in retrospect that When they knocked off Georgia Tech. in Atlanta. That this might just be a team that has. a sustained postseason run in them. And it might just be the team that When we talk about getting hot at the right time.
They might be the team that gets hot at the right time.
So now they're in the driver's seat. And Georgia's got to beat them twice. And granted, Georgia is is Maybe the best team overall in the country, top to bottom, right? Great lineup. They pitched a shutout against Texas to fend off elimination.
Joey Volchko had a career performance the other day for them, and it looks like the pitching is rising to the occasion. In Omaha. But they gotta win twice. And like, that's. Not gonna be easy.
I find it very interesting that However, this ends up. If it's Oklahoma. North Carolina is kind of going to have the chance to run through the College World Series. Against some familiar postseason foes, right? Like they just knocked out West Virginia.
That was the super regional a couple of years ago on their way to. The College World Series. Oklahoma. was a team that that beat them in a super. in the last three years.
So it's kind of an interesting full circle. Possibility if it is. Oklahoma. For For the final against North Carolina, in addition to just the compelling nature of North Carolina is really good. And has played really well all season long.
And Oklahoma is a good team, not a great team, that looks way different than we thought they would at the beginning of the season. It's just playing really, really well right now. Oklahoma, Georgia, 7 o'clock first pitch tonight on ESPN. We've got Darren Vought with us here of ESPN, D1 baseball. Before we get to Adaf Field, of which Darren has a very interesting announcement to make today.
I got the preview earlier today. It's going to be fun. Let's get to the major leagues because I would say the biggest story, other than Ben Rice being a stud for the Yankees, Tariq Skubel. Looks like Detroit shopping him. Who would you like to see?
Because I mean, that dude is just a beast. Who would you like to see him go to? What do you think the best fit would be? I don't know about a fit. Yeah, that's probably not the right word.
No, it's fine. I mean, certainly it's an answerable question. This is about my comfort in answering the question. I don't know. Who the best fit would be.
The Chicago Cubs really, really interest me as a team. And It kind of varies from week to week. Um How they're doing. And you and I are talking now in a moment where they're doing pretty well in recent days. And Pete Crowe Armstrong is on a tear, and he's been so much fun to watch.
Wouldn't it help? To to Sort of harbor some consistency for them to have an absolute stud ace two-time Cy Young Award winner at the top of their rotation. I mean, that. That to me.
Sounds really fun. And I know there's some injury stuff too that that Has um Befallen the the cubs for a stretch or two here or there and Getting some guys right and back in the lineup, and Seiya Suzuki is back and. Um but man, getting a bona fide ace would be really fun for the Cubs. I think the Braves would be a lot of fun. Yeah.
No doubt. I mean, and they're already. The best team in Major League Baseball. They are. Like.
Do you think the Dodgers would get in on this? Good grief. It just like. Anytime we try to set a boundary for the Dodgers, they pass it. Yeah, so I'm not ruling it out, and they do.
Continue to have a really good farm system, which means they have assets to trade away. Um Yeah, I'm not ruling it out. I I mean like I I kind of Wince at the idea of it. Not that I don't hate the Dodgers like a lot of people do, but. That does feel like maybe a little too much, right?
Yeah, yeah. Darren Vaughn, ESPN D1 Baseball with us here, reacting to the College World Series, talking some ball. And now. We take it out of left field. From minds that wander off a beaten path.
Here we go. Unexpected, unscripted, unbelievable. I like it. Simple to the point. It's the curveball of your day.
Out of left field with Darren Vought. That's right. It's where we get a little quirky, we go off the beaten path, or just. Go out of left field as the music says. Uh I'm gonna give Darren the floor here.
Darren, what do you got for Adelaide Field?
Okay, so I had an alternate, or not an alternate, but a second one that is, I guess, more befitting of the segment. All right. Get a little real here. That's fine. That's fine.
So let me start with that one, okay? Are you guys familiar with the 82-0 game? Yeah, Morgan was showing me this last week. I love this game. Yeah.
Okay, so. I have a friend, one of my oldest buds, who I went to high school with, and he and I, they've made separate versions of it for. different sports. I see.
So he and I have exchanged Sort of results, and it's like, okay, we're gonna do the NBA one today. Who can get 82 and 0 first? Right?
So we do that, both of us get it around the same time. of tries, that that sort of thing.
So we move on to NFL and then there's a college football. And then there's a college basketball. And then there's an MLB version, right?
So I've mowed through a lot of these, getting the perfect record. And for those unfamiliar, it is a very simple game, and it's 82ando.com, 82.0. Is where you can find these games. It's a very simple concept. You like spin a wheel basically, you tap a button, and it randomly generates a team and an era.
So, like, a range of years. And the goal is to, with your number of selections, take someone for your team who played for that team in that era each turn. It's a different team and era that you spin it every time. And once you fill out your roster, there's an algorithm based on their stats that will tell you how they would perform. Right.
So um I've gotten down to just one left. And I think it might be impossible.
Okay. I'm doing the WMBA one. Oh boy. And I'm telling you, man, if you can conjure up the greatest lineup in women's basketball history, I've done it six times. And every single time it's like they're going to lose two games.
And then sometimes it'll tell you which player in the mix is holding, quote, holding you back, holding back your score. Yeah.
So many times, it's told me Angel Reese is holding me back. Oh, God. It told me. It's told me Diana Taurasi is holding me back. No, not Diana.
I don't want to live in a world where three of the best players on planet Earth are holding me back, and I'm just so frustrated by this game. Yeah, I So Okay. Like I said, Morgan was showing me this last week because I like to get in on Immaculate Grid, and he's just kind of. Yeah, it's of the same vein, right? It is.
It's a simple little. Fun way to start your day, you know, type of game. Get the brain working a little bit, get yourself activated. Of course, I guess now for the WNBA, it'd be 50-0. Shout out to the.
Expanded season they're going to do now. They're going to 50 games.
Well, so I think it's playoffs included, so it's like 53 in a game for WNBA. I see.
I see.
But no, I wasn't sure if you had played or not. I just. Have you gotten the 82 and OG? I have not, and it's making me so angry because I play it every day. He loves it.
I have gotten to 80 and 2 two or three times. I am putting some stellar teams together. And I just can't get it. He loves it. There's a way to game it, you know?
Like with each sport, you can... You you can see they value different positions more.
So, like point guard, center, probably are the two that you gotta prioritize.
So, you just like, you gotta luck up. And the re-rolls.
So, like, you get a certain number of re-rolls. For these games, depending on the sport, I think it varies. Like you gotta wisely use those. That's that's one of the keys too. I'll let you get to your announcement here in just a second.
Morgan, what do you have for out of left field? I'm going to be completely honest. It has been a very hectic day. Oh, he's pulling something out of my old back. Yeah, you know, it's been a long day.
Morgan, it's good. We only got 30 minutes of a show to fill here.
So it's fine.
Okay, I got something fun here. We. I can p go to a pizza place. I love Little Caesars. Oh, it's gotta be food.
It's like there's something about sitting in that chair over there that makes it. It infects people's brains. It's got to be a food-related question. Because I used to always. If I'm doing pizza chain.
Yeah.
I think I prefer dominoes.
Okay, you don't hear that one very often. Respectable. But I don't often do like chain pizza. Like, I. If I'm going to get a pie, I'm going to.
There's probably a nearby local-ish spot that I'll do instead. See, my move is I just go to the grocery store and get one that I can throw in the oven. Like, I got a buffalo chicken pizza in my freezer right now from Aldi. I can't wait to get a picture. That's not a pizza.
That's not a pizza. That's another meal on a. Circular bread plate. Yeah, it's called a chicken plate. It's a pizza with like barbecue chicken.
They got all types of things, Darren. I don't, no, no, no, it's fine. It's fine. You can like what you like. I don't need to hot take it up.
That's fine. Well, I didn't know it was going to be food related, but let's just stay right there. Because did you see where McDonald's. And I didn't know it was Because of this, but to celebrate the 250-year anniversary of the U.S. of A, they're bringing back fried apple pies, McDonald's's.
And so it got me thinking. Like the ones that are shaped like hot pockets that slide. Did they not. I never realized they discontinued those. Apparently, so.
I don't eat McDonald's like that, so I don't think I knew that either. But it did get me thinking: what is. The best Fast food dessert option. Like you're just wanting something sweet, something you can go through the drive-through very quick. What's your move?
What do you do? Uh I like the McFlurry, by the way. That's my answer. I don't know what it is about that ice cream at McDonald's. Yeah, it's ice cream.
When the McFream, that feels easy. But it's McDonald's ice cream. It's different. A frosty. Wendy's frosty.
Frosty's a good answer. I feel like that's an underrated answer. I like that. See, I thought you were going to go with discontinued fast food items that we would bring back. See, that would be a whole nut.
I like that even better. I don't know what mine is. What it is. We've been doing this unusual question/slash out of the field thing for a while. We have.
I have. I'm bad at it. Discontinued desserts. Do you have an answer for that? Not dessert, fast food items.
Oh, fast food items. Do you have an answer? I'm teasy. What do you got? I don't believe Taco Bell has the grilled stuffed burrito anymore.
Oh. And that was the move. That was the jam. That, I mean, golly, grilled stuff burrito. And speaking of dessert, the cinnamon twists.
Grilled stuffed burrito and cinnamon twist. That Is terrific. See, I don't. I don't know if I have an answer to this. Does Wendy still have the big bacon cheddar burger?
Is that. Maybe. Is that still a thing anymore? I don't know. I mean, the baconator?
Do they still have the bacon at her? Yes. They have the baconator. I eat that a lot. Love the bacon.
I don't eat fast food like that, so I just don't know. That's been fun. That's been out of left field. Yes, it has.
So Darren. You have an announcement to make. Yeah, I mean, you're calling it an announcement. I'm dramatizing it a little bit. Yeah, it feels dramatic.
But I mean, listen, like, I texted you before the show. This is something that you're aware of. It's been ruminating for a while.
So I figured, okay, you know, we do. out of left field. This feels like something maybe Been on this show for a long time in its many iterations. Maybe something we should let the audience know. I am moving.
Yeah.
And by that, I don't mean that I'm moving from Durham to Eden, North Carolina, or Kernersville, or whatever. I am In less than a month's time, going to be moving to Southern California.
So, I will not be local to North Carolina anymore. Although I think I'm still going to be around.
Okay. I don't want to overstate. The the the magnitude of the change. My permanent home will be elsewhere. But it Seems like I'm going to continue to cover the ACC for both SPN and D1 baseball.
Um, And obviously, like I've cultivated some work stuff over here for many years, that I think some of it reserves the right to remain in my mix. I travel a lot anyway, so I am going to get even more used to being on a plane and coming back and forth. My brother's here. My parents are up in Virginia.
So, like, you know, I'll be back in the area pretty frequently. Relatively speaking. But yes, as of next month, headed to California. It's a life first. Move.
My girlfriend finished up a residency. She's a PA at Duke at the end of the year. And she's from out that way. She's got family that, you know, a couple of nieces that she's missed out on some years of their growing up. Going out there to be with her and do life, do life that way.
So. Yeah, love that. That's it. I don't love that. We're on Pacific time.
So, yeah. If we do this in the future, it'll be. What, like two something for? Yeah.
Yes, it will.
Well, Darren, we appreciate you popping in here for a. 30-minute edition of this show. Yeah, that was good. That's it, right? Easy job for you today.
