WSD Sports Page: Texas Longhorns advance to NCAA Baseball Super Regionals

NCAA Baseball's Super Regional information is announced with a highlighted matchup between Texas and Houston, Dan LeBatard goes on a predictable and crazy rant about the Miami Heat, and Dan Marino sues the NFL over concussions on today's sports page.

The Lede: American hope fades in 2014 French Open

Photo from Wikimedia

NCAA Baseball: Texas defeats Texas A&M in Houston Regional

Texas baseball is back after a two-season hiatus from the postseason. From the lone team that missed out on the Big 12 Championship a year ago, the Longhorns defeat their hated in-state rivals to move on and host the Houston Cougars next weekend in the Super Regional.

Texas took two out of three against Texas A&M during the long weekend. Starting pitcher Chad Hollingsworth responded to Tyler Stubblefield's complete game for the Aggies by giving up just two hits and one run in a complete game himself.

Perhaps Stubblefield was a bit too quick on flashing the "Horns down" hand signal after his dominant 134-pitching night. But you'd expect nothing less from the Aggies that can't seem to find much success against their in-state rival. They'll take what they can get.

Super Regionals: All four Big 12 teams will host three-game series

While the SEC likes to hail themselves as the best in college baseball -- and they certainly have the attendance to prove it -- they saw a buzz saw in the Regional round. Of the 10 SEC teams that made it, only two will advance to the next level while the Big 12 saw four of their five teams advance and all of them will be hosting.

Texas will host Houston in the highlight matchup of the weekend. All games will will take place in the afternoon -- Game 1 will be Friday at 3:00 PM Central time while Games 2 and 3 (if necessay) will be at 1:00 PM Central time on ESPN.

Oklahoma State will host UC Irvine (who dropped the top overall seed in the nation, Oregon State), Texas Tech will host College of Charleston, and seventh-seeded TCU will host Pepperdine.

NFL: Dan Marino joins mass of players suing league over concussions

Now out at his NFL gig with CBS, apparently Marino's tactic to get back at the league is to sue them for concussions, joining a ridiculous amount of former players that are trying to collect some money. His lawsuit is apparently separate from the big one, but will probably take just as long to complete.

NBA: Dan LeBatard goes on shouting rant dissing Pacers, Indianapolis after Heat win ECF

"GIVE IT TO ME AGAIN! GIVE IT TO ME AGAIN!" The 10-minute rant that went on seven minutes too long shows local Miami blowhard turned ESPN blowhard yelling out disses to the city of Indianapolis and the Indiana Pacers after the Miami Heat took the Eastern Conference Finals.

Honestly, the bit itself really isn't that bad. But this is local radio sewage that was spewed on national airwaves through ESPN Radio. Dan's sidekick constantly laughing at everything comes off as fake as hell, and LeBatard's constant shouting of "Give it to me again!" definitely promotes a worthy remix if the Heat do fail in the Finals.

NHL: Kings, Rangers Twitter accounts spar after LA advances to Stanley Cup Final(s)

The Rangers Twitter account went Bomani Jones and corrected the Kings after getting excited that the team reached the Stanley Cup Final. As usual, the Kings' responded with gold, asking if it was "gonna be like that Mavis Beacon?"

Afterwards, the Kings continued to celebrate by posting a picture of Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York cruising in a limo with pizza and a glass of chardonnay. Of course, the Rangers pounced again by tweeting out the subtitle. Because that matters.

We'll give them a break though. This is the first time the Rangers' Twitter account has been relevant in its history. They'll get better.

Today's Slate
Central times listed.

TENNIS
French Open (Qtrs) - Now on Tennis Channel

MLB
-Giants at Reds - 6:10 CSBA/FSOH
D'backs at Rockies - 7:40 FSAZ/RSRM
White Sox at Dodgers - 9:10 WGN/SNLA
Pirates at Padres - 9:10 RSPT/FSSD

French Open 2014: American's last hope falls as Simona Halep drops Sloane Stephens

Photo from Wikimedia

The American's last hurrah on both the men's and women's side of the French Open ended on Monday when Sloane Stephens lost in her fourth round match agianst Simona Halep.

Stephens lost 6-4, 6-3 to Halep, the Romanian who was made famous locally by the now-defunct Sports by Brooks blog that showed pictures of her before breast reduction surgery. That's been a few years now, and Halep continues to climb the charts receiving the four seed in the French Open and advancing to the quarterfinals.

Hope for new great new American talent is small these days in tennis, but it's continuing to improve. The two stars on both sides are John Isner for the men and Stephens continues to emerge for the women. If there's anything we learned in the French Open this year, it's that Serena Williams' age is starting to show and it's only a matter of time before her dominance will dwindle like her sister, Venus. Both of them lost back-to-back early last week.

Stephens wasn't exactly thrilled from her match, but she was complimentary to her opponent afterwards (via ESPNW).

"It was a tough match, but she has played pretty consistent over the last nine months," Stephens said. "It's always tough against someone who is really consistent and has a lot of confidence and just plays a solid game. It definitely was tough, and there are a lot of things to take away from the match."

Stephens still continues to make a name for herself, reaching the fourth round in six straight Grand Slam events. But she's never made a final in any tournament yet on tour, a goal that's still on her radar and she won't be happy until she achieves it.

As her fame grows, media pressure will certainly align with it. At 21 years of age, her youth clearly shows as she snaps back at some reporter questions. Hopefully she'll become cooler and calm as she grows up, and winning would certainly ice the tension that will mount for her.