Women's basketball vs. softball?

Listening to the final seconds tick down as the Fresno State women's b-ball team beat Nevada for the WAC tourney championship on Saturday, I couldn't help but let out a "WOO!"

This is an exciting bunch of Lady Bulldogs, and coach Adrian Wiggins is a genuine guy -- the type of guy who's easy to root for because he seems to be rooting for everyone else around town just as much. And hey, the 'Dogs are going dancing for the second straight year -- after never having gone to an NCAA Tournament in school history before. Take that Stacy Johnson-Klein...

Now to the whole point. A friend of mine brought up an interesting question this week when he said he never thought he'd see the day Fresno State's women's hoops team was better than its softball team. My reply: "Is it better?"

While Margie Wright's softball team has been a big disappointment so far in this young season, many Red Wavers are shaking in their cleats hoping the team's nation-best consecutive NCAA Regionals streak continues this year (Fresno State is the only school in the country to make every NCAA tournament -- ever)! But, superhero pitcher Morgan Melloh is battling a sophomore slump of inconsistency and the team's offense is, well, pathetic. We here at The Bulldog Bounce knew losing Jenna Cervantez and Aja Schuber would hurt -- but we didn't realize it would be this bad.

Last year, Fresno State finished 54-13. So far this year, the Bulldogs are 14-12.

But if you're thinking it's obvious the women's basketball team is more successful right now, not so fast. Let's consider the softball team plays a juggernaut of a schedule, with top 25 teams in at least 50% of its games so far. The women's hoops squad plays a decent non-conference slate, but then strolled through the dreadful WAC, which isn't much of a conference since Louisiana Tech's fall from grace.

Consider this, if winning the WAC was all that on a national scale, why has Fresno State been seeded 13th and 14th in the past two NCAA tourneys?

So Red Wave, you tell us. Which program is more successful today -- women's basketball or softball? And why?

A must-read thread on BarkBoard.com

"I am a Bulldog, WE are Fresno State!"

That's the slogan of the new 'Dogs T-shirt, but what happens when someone says we're not allowed to refer to Fresno State as "we"...?

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=164&f=1687#s=164&f=1687&t=2032954

Here's my opinion, as posted on BarkBoard.com:

It's even on the back of the school's new T-shirts. That's absurd to tell someone not to refer to Fresno State as "we." I can see saying that about a NFL or NBA team, but it makes perfect sense to say "we" talking about our college team.

Why? Because:
--WE go to games and cheer tell our voices are gone to make the type of impact that helps the team win.
--WE have an emotional buy-in to everything that happens with Fresno State; a win makes us ecstatic, a loss takes us time to get over.
--WE donate money and time to contribute to Fresno State, through the Bulldog Foundation and other things.
--WE promote the university to our friends, our families and strangers.
--WE recruit new fans, exposing new people to the family known as the Red Wave whenever we can.
--WE, as a community, have banded together to ensure Fresno State is capable of competing at a national level. Without us, Jim Sweeney, Pat Hill, Jerry Tarkanian, Bob Bennett, Boyd Grant, Margie Wright and Dennis DeLiddo could never have accomplished as much as they have.

Listen here Margie...

OK, we just got back from the softball season-opening doubleheader (two 'Dogs wins). First, let me say this...I'm bummed Robin Mackin is taking a year off for her Olympic dreams. We FINALLY decided to get two star pitchers in the same year and now Mackin redshirts. Freshman Morgan Melloh looks good, REAL good. And she's a lefty...her and Mackin together next year will be our best 1-2 combo in recent memory, if not ever.

It's exciting. Poor Jenna Cervantez...she won't get to join those two next year (she homered today in Game 1).

But listen Margie Wright...there was practically a full house out there at Bulldog Diamond today -- you know, the LARGEST college stadium in the country that Fresno State built for you and your team. It seems to me softball has some pretty nice facilities, a heckuva following and gets as much marketing as any program not called football. Here's to hoping you recognize softball gets its fair share from the university because we really want to keep being a fan of you as coach and supporting your program...and that's something we might not be able to do if this Title IX card keeps getting played...