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Quick look at FSU's next hurdle in Omaha

The Noles go prime time Tuesday night against UCLA. Here's a snapshot of the 2012 Bruins.

Record: Overall 48-15 / PAC-12 20-10

Coach: John Savage, career record 363-290-1. Named 2010 National Coach of the Year by CollegeBaseballInsider.com

Watch his 2012 season preview. Here’s his interview with Tim Brando on the eve of the CWS.

UCLA played the toughest schedule in college baseball and won a share of the Pac-12 Conference title.

The Bruins were seeded No. 2 nationally going into the 64-team playoffs.

UCLA has six starters hitting better than .300

13th best team batting average in the nation (.309). FSU is 119th, batting .280.

Home Runs: FSU is 32nd with 44 in 64 games. UCLA is 159th with 23 in 62 games.

Team ERA: UCLA is 22nd in the nation with 3.08. FSU is 57th with a 3.49

Starters: Adam Plutko, 12-2, 6th in the nation in victories, 2.48 ERA. Nick Vander Tuig, 10-4 / 4.43 ERA

Ace Relievers:  Scott Griggs, 3-1 during the regular season with a 2.27 ERA in 34 relief appearances. Freshman All-American David Berg was 5-3 during the season with a 1.58 ERA, the best in the PAC-12, and had an amazing 47 appearances.

All-Stars: The Bruins placed six players on the PAC-12 All-Conference Team, the most of any school in the league: Pitchers David Berg, Adam Plutko, and Scott Griggs; Outfielders Beau Amaral and Jeff Gelalich, and Catcher Tyler Heineman.

Some NOT so great recruiting news for a change (#%&!)

Getting a commit from the consensus no. 1 recruit is something Nole fans can appreciate. But this time it's the orange-clad folks up in tiger town doing the celebrating. The buzz on this kid over the past year has made him almost a legend. And the commit alone -- even if he signs with a different school next February -- will serve as a magnet for Clemson to bring other blue chippers into the fold.

Arizona Scouting Report: Breaking down a team with only one weakness

In this video, the Wildcats leading beat writer, Anthony Gimino of the Tucson Citizen, goes in depth on the Noles opponent tonight. Gimino believes Arizona has "all the ingredients with no weak spots in the lineup from one through nine." Defense? He boasts that "nothing gets past the left side of the infield." But he's also objective enough to reveal one glaring weakness. And after watching the video, here's an excellent story by Gimino about the long friendship between 'Zona coach Andy Lopez and FSU's Mike Martin.

Mike Martin pre-CWS audio: "The guys will never forget this as long as they live"

Join "11" in the Seminole dugout as he holds court with the media earlier in the week, assuring everybody there's absolutely no need to "calm the players down."

Mike Bell pre-CWS audio: "It's about coming together as a staff"

Listening to Mike Bell talk about his pitchers it's easy to feel good about the bold coaching change after last season -- and even the possibility of Bell succeeding "11" someday. He starts off talking about how the older guys and newcomers meshed together to become a winning staff. Then there's plenty more, including his take on FSU's first opponent in the CWS and how college baseball is evolving.

Packing for a trip to Omaha? Here's some good stuff to know

Game One: By know you probably know FSU is matched with Arizona's Wildcats on Friday night at 9pm. The Noles and 'Cats take the field after the 4pm opener, which pits the tourney's Cinderllea team Stony Brook against UCLA. If you can't make it to Omaha, ESPN2 and 3 will have the game.

Check out the official CWS website here.

Ticket info and prices here, here and here.

The Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau has a website (smart phone enabled) just for fans coming to the College World Series. You can also download the Omaha Visitors Guide and map here. The video above is a good introduction to the city.

There are several hotels within walking distance of the new stadium. Here’s a complete guide from the visitors bureau.

Adios, Rosenblatt. Last year the CWS moved to the new TD Ameritrade Ballpark.  The new ballpark, located in downtown at 1200 Mike Fahey Street.

Post-Super Regional Title Game Audio

Listen in on the highlights from Sunday's post-game celebration and press conference. Number 11 doesn't spare the kudos, while Devon Travis and Seth Miller add their comments. The only question not asked? Just how much do they want to win a first-ever College World Series for their veteran coach?

Gambling may be legal in Nevada but don't bet on Wolfpack coming to Tallahassee

After Randy Spetman broke the news that Nevada wants out of its 2013 game in Tallahassee, we spoke to Dan Hinxman who writes sports for the Reno Gazette-Journal. He told us that basically Nevada's coach, Chris Ault, isn't crazy about a cross-country trip and believes the game would do nothing for the Wolfpack program. Instead, the school has apparently lined up a game with a closer opponent that potentially pays more than playing FSU. It doesn't help that the 'Pack is changing conferences this year from the WAC to the Mountain West.

So why did Nevada agree to it in the first place? Hinxman says that a young assistant A.D. who "wasn't in tune with Ault" booked the game back in 2005. Since then the program has become a consistent winner and gained a national reputation with an increasing number of TV games (seven this season). Bottom line: Nevada isn't just looking for a big payday any more -- especially without a home-and-home agreement like the Wolfpack has with USF. The Bulls travel to Reno this year -- three weeks before their game with FSU -- and Nevada plays in Tampa in 2015.

Look for Nevada to try and negotiate a lower buyout than the $600,000 while FSU sticks to its guns as leverage. But odds are Nevada never makes it to Tallahassee. At least Spetman has more time to look for a replacement opponent than he had with the West Virginia cancellation. He'll need it to find a team that won't make Nole fans roll their eyes and grunt, "Whatever..."

Staring down the barrel of a cannon called Mark Appel

This video shows what Seminole batters will see tonight when they step in against Mark Appel, the obvious starter, ace of Stanford's staff and number eight selection in this week's MLB draft. Tallahassee's signature humidity probably won't slow down his 98mph fastball much, so expect plenty of smoke from the 6'5" first team All-American.

Here's another look at Appel, this time slow motion. The better to see where his velocity comes from.

Besides the blazing fastball, Appel says he has a breaking ball, and a change up he’s recently honed to be one of his “go-to pitches” (interview here).

While the Noles respect Appel and the rest of the Stanford team, they aren't exactly ready to concede game one. Here's video of Ramsey, Travis, No. 11 and others on what it will take this weekend to get to Omaha.

Devon Travis audio: "We're excited for the challenge" this weekend

The Seminoles junior infielder looks ahead to Florida State's biggest series of the season and what it's like facing a 98mph fastball pitcher like Stanford ace Mark Appel.