With regards to the collision at home plate: The plate umpire, Mike Conlin (with whom I worked the Big Ten tournament last year) did an absolutely EXCELLENT job of administering the rule. Delayed dead ball, great positioning, fabulous timing. He signaled the delayed dead ball so his partners would be able to help with placement of runners at the end of playing action (if needed). It was not a malicious collision, and the runner could not have been called out for trying to dislodge the ball as the catcher did not HAVE the ball. 5 stars to Conlin.
PS I'm really tired of Harold Reynolds trying to interpret the NCAA rules for viewers. How about ESPN having an analyst on hand that KNOWS what they're talking about?
PPS Eric Karros is doing a great job. Harold who???
