The Official FSU @ #1 Tennessee CWS Game 1 Thread (Fri. June 14) (7PM EST) (ESPN)

[firestorm]

Yep, that’s the perk of being your own boss. I also wore the daddy coat to faculty meeting (on Halloween), the sports fans enjoyed it but the other faculty members were confused!

What do you teach exactly?
If it’s not at a University or College I don’t expect you’ll say a Philosophy class.

 

[firestorm]

Personally, I hope that the BaseVols crush FSU. Every Vol is swinging the bat like they’re seeing grapefruit, chasing ‘Nole after ‘Nole off the mound, and scoring in the double digits before the fifth inning is complete. Let ‘em use half a dozen pitchers, nobody garnet & gold can quiet the Vols’ thunder at the plate. Meanwhile, the Vols shut them down, using just two pitchers. No ‘Nole reaches base for four innings. Their attempts at rallies end with stranded runners. Their big bats are 0 fers. Let ‘em leave scoreless and shellshocked. Let ‘em carry home psychological scars from their encounter with the Vols. GBO.

I’m not expecting Tennessee to bulldoze Florida State because that’s mostly a rose colored glasses colossal expectation.


I’m hopeful for the Volunteers winning this game manly because they are a great team that has a challenging to contain high scoring offense, and they can score a variety of ways.

 

[Volprofch05]

What do you teach exactly?
If it’s not at a University or College I don’t expect you’ll say a Philosophy class.

I teach chemistry (everyone’s favorite subject!) at UT

 

[Orange.]

I teach chemistry (everyone’s favorite subject!) at UT

 

[vol94]

I teach chemistry (everyone’s favorite subject!) at UT

My daughter is an animal science major @ MS State. She struggled with chemistry and organic chemistry.

 

[Volprofch05]

My daughter is an animal science major @ MS State. She struggled with chemistry and organic chemistry.

Yeah, I teach organic, and most students struggle with it. It is challenging material for sure.

 

[Volprofch05]

View attachment 647936View attachment 647937

 

[OldTimer]

I teach chemistry (everyone’s favorite subject!) at UT

I'd tell you a chemistry joke but I know I wouldn't get a reaction.

 

[vol94]

Yeah, I teach organic, and most students struggle with it. It is challenging material for sure.

My wife and I want the best for our daughter and son (her twin brother), who is a finance major @ UT.

A few of those classes are hurting her GPA which will prevent her from getting accepted into vet school. She studies around the clock but they are extremely difficult classes.

She is on a three week trip in Uganda with other animal science and vet students. I’m not sure what she will do after she graduates.

 

[ATP]

I was in college so long ago that half the elements hadn't been discovered yet.
I do remember learning about Beam and Coke. And Alka Seltzer.

 

[Volprofch05]

My wife and I want the best for our daughter and son (her twin brother), who is a finance major @ UT.

A few of those classes are hurting her GPA which will prevent her from getting accepted into vet school. She studies around the clock but they are extremely difficult classes.

She is on a three week trip in Uganda with other animal science and vet students. I’m not sure what she will do after she graduates.

Disclaimer: This diatribe has nothing to do with baseball!

Yeah, it is disheartening to teach a class that challenges student goals. Here are some of my observations/recommendations from over the years.

First, why is organic so troublesome: A. most college classes (for example, gen chem) take a subject students have learned previously and build on it with more detail/depth. However, organic really comes out of left field (appropriate forum/thread for that slang!) and thus students don't have much preparation for it coming in. B. Based on the students who enroll, it tends to be highly competitive, since it is usually the first course in which everyone in there is pre-health or in some kind of science major.

Here are my suggestions:
1. (Doesn't sound like this is a problem for your daughter), but you absolutely cannot use the strategy where you wait until a few days before the exam to study. The problem is that every single lecture I'm building upon what we learned in the last class. So, if they wait to study, students won't understand what I'm talking about as we build up.
2. I strongly recommend against trying to memorize organic (some faculty even teach it that way, which I despise!) Many students (tends to especially be pre-health) will ignore this advice because they have succeeded in other courses this way and it has become the natural approach to learn. The problem with organic is that I can dream up hundreds of different problems/reactions that are all testing the same concept. Memorizing all of the permutations would be extremely challenging, and by doing so students will miss the underlying concept. It is really about pattern recognition and understanding why molecules behave in a certain way that, over time, becomes predictable. When you get to medical school, there's a lot of info that can only realistically be learned by memorization, but for organic that is a no-no (IMHO).
3. The best way to learn organic as I see it is to work through as many problems as possible, and if you aren't getting the right answers, go meet with the instructor. Beyond the homework for the class, there are additional examples to work through all over the internet. There are a lot of problem solving strategies that we don't have time to cover in class because there's so much core material, but we can work through those in office hours. Students think they won't get time with the instructor since the classes are large, but the reality is very few students actually come to my office hours.

Finally, there is no shame in struggling in organic. I know of award-winning researchers at the top of the field who will (only occasionally) admit that they got a C in Organic I. I myself struggled with it at first, which helps me in teaching since I understand the challenges. On the other hand, for some students it just clicks. It can be dangerous when such a person teaches it because they won't understand why it causes many others trouble. Finally, due to the reputation of the course, it can be overlooked by admissions to medical programs. I know of students who received Cs and even Ds in organic and still got into medical programs, although that could have certainly changed and is risky and not ideal. Anyways, I hope there may be something in here that is helpful and I wish your daughter all the best!

 

[Volprofch05]

Dang, we're already so far off topic and we still need to wait over 2 days for the next baseVols game?

 

[Christian Lowe]

Yeah, I teach organic, and most students struggle with it. It is challenging material for sure.

the only class i ever failed, high school and college, was chemistry. I've always sucked at math and science- chemistry is both combined. I stuck to history because of those classes lol.

 

[Tin Man]

That’s all? I’d take it…I guess

I’m not expecting Tennessee to bulldoze Florida State because that’s mostly a rose colored glasses colossal expectation.


I’m hopeful for the Volunteers winning this game manly because they are a great team that has a challenging to contain high scoring offense, and they can score a variety of ways.

There is a certain humor in overstatement. Then, there are those who must pop balloons. A little friendly advice, kids don’t like balloon poppers.

May you fall for the burning bag prank.

 

[fryeguy93]

2-1/2 days before the game and we have 289 posts in the game thread.

Cool.

I'm thrilled to see so many people on the board. I'm not sure they're all new but a lot of past posters on line at the same time.

Looking forward to the actual game time posts.
Let's keep it positive. These are the best 8 teams in the country. I do not see a team that accidentally made it to Omaha as they all have the talent of a top-8 team.

Tennessee will not be facing any second tier starters until at least 5 days down the line. So are batters will be facing top pitchers; as our pitchers will be facing some great hitters.

I know Tennessee has the most talented roster overall, but baseball often does not care. The best hitters will fail 50-67% of the time. It how they "fail" that matters. Have quality ABs and make it easier for the next guy to succeed or you to succeed in the next AB.

I will be watching from the beach. Gin & tonic in hand and will try to be as mellow as possible. Let's bask in what are clearly the glory days.

 

[chuckiepoo]

2-1/2 days before the game and we have 289 posts in the game thread.

Cool.

I'm thrilled to see so many people on the board. I'm not sure they're all new but a lot of past posters on line at the same time.

Looking forward to the actual game time posts.
Let's keep it positive. These are the best 8 teams in the country. I do not see a team that accidentally made it to Omaha as they all have the talent of a top-8 team.

Tennessee will not be facing any second tier starters until at least 5 days down the line. So are batters will be facing top pitchers; as our pitchers will be facing some great hitters.

I know Tennessee has the most talented roster overall, but baseball often does not care. The best hitters will fail 50-67% of the time. It how they "fail" that matters. Have quality ABs and make it easier for the next guy to succeed or you to succeed in the next AB.

I will be watching from the beach. Gin & tonic in hand and will try to be as mellow as possible. Let's bask in what are clearly the glory days.

Excellent reality check!

 

[volfan102455]

2. I strongly recommend against trying to memorize organic (some faculty even teach it that way, which I despise!) Many students (tends to especially be pre-health) will ignore this advice because they have succeeded in other courses this way and it has become the natural approach to learn. The problem with organic is that I can dream up hundreds of different problems/reactions that are all testing the same concept. Memorizing all of the permutations would be extremely challenging, and by doing so students will miss the underlying concept. It is really about pattern recognition and understanding why molecules behave in a certain way that, over time, becomes predictable. When you get to medical school, there's a lot of info that can only realistically be learned by memorization, but for organic that is a no-no (IMHO).

Very off topic, I know, but I took organic chemistry way back when I was at UT and I had a professor who expected you to memorize, so exams were built such that if you didn't memorize, you couldn't complete the exam in the time allotted. I refused to memorize and followed your approach - so with every exam, everything I was able to complete was 100% correct but I could never complete the exam in the time allotted. Drove me crazy and I had a conversation with the professor - you don't really learn complex subjects via memorization.

Now back to baseball - just two sleeps until it is game day!

 

[2EastTnVols]

2-1/2 days before the game and we have 289 posts in the game thread.

Cool.

I'm thrilled to see so many people on the board. I'm not sure they're all new but a lot of past posters on line at the same time.

Looking forward to the actual game time posts.
Let's keep it positive. These are the best 8 teams in the country. I do not see a team that accidentally made it to Omaha as they all have the talent of a top-8 team.

Tennessee will not be facing any second tier starters until at least 5 days down the line. So are batters will be facing top pitchers; as our pitchers will be facing some great hitters.

I know Tennessee has the most talented roster overall, but baseball often does not care. The best hitters will fail 50-67% of the time. It how they "fail" that matters. Have quality ABs and make it easier for the next guy to succeed or you to succeed in the next AB.

I will be watching from the beach. Gin & tonic in hand and will try to be as mellow as possible. Let's bask in what are clearly the glory days.

Great post. Although I'm dying for a natty in baseball, and we are the most talented team, the most talented team doesn't always win. I'll be disappointed but there is no shame in losing in Omaha. That being said, hopefully it's our year. GBO!!

 

[Zues1]

Crazy when you realize we lost two probable Friday night starters, one to the portal and one to TJ surgery and still made it to Omaha.
Fantastic job by the staff and the players.

Now let's show Omaha what Tennessee can do.

 

[NighthawkVol]

I don't know about anyone else, but IMO the loss to Evansville on Saturday, painful as it was, was the best thing that could have possibly happened. It was a wake up call, and the team looked totally different on Sunday than they did since the SEC tournament, galvanized and laser focused. I would bet that Tony V is thankful in some ways for that loss in that it made sure this group was completely locked in for the duration.

Been thinking this same thing.

 

[cardvolfan]

View attachment 647938

That’s one I haven’t seen. Good stuff, Professor.

 

[cardvolfan]

Been thinking this same thing.

I will play devil’s advocate here. I truly believe that we were just as focused and locked and loaded Saturday. I think we knew how important not getting to game 3 was, because game 3 was going to be an “anything can happen” game. Personally, I think game 2 was one of those games that just went their way, and was not related to anything but the oddity of baseball at times.

 

[NighthawkVol]

I will play devil’s advocate here. I truly believe that we were just as focused and locked and loaded Saturday. I think we knew how important not getting to game 3 was, because game 3 was going to be an “anything can happen” game. Personally, I think game 2 was one of those games that just went their way, and was not related to anything but the oddity of baseball at times.

Perhaps. But since we won Game 3, it sure didn’t hurt. And given those “oddities of baseball,” it was probably good to get a loss out of our system after winning 8 straight.

 

[VetVol]

Disclaimer: This diatribe has nothing to do with baseball!

Yeah, it is disheartening to teach a class that challenges student goals. Here are some of my observations/recommendations from over the years.

First, why is organic so troublesome: A. most college classes (for example, gen chem) take a subject students have learned previously and build on it with more detail/depth. However, organic really comes out of left field (appropriate forum/thread for that slang!) and thus students don't have much preparation for it coming in. B. Based on the students who enroll, it tends to be highly competitive, since it is usually the first course in which everyone in there is pre-health or in some kind of science major.

Here are my suggestions:
1. (Doesn't sound like this is a problem for your daughter), but you absolutely cannot use the strategy where you wait until a few days before the exam to study. The problem is that every single lecture I'm building upon what we learned in the last class. So, if they wait to study, students won't understand what I'm talking about as we build up.
2. I strongly recommend against trying to memorize organic (some faculty even teach it that way, which I despise!) Many students (tends to especially be pre-health) will ignore this advice because they have succeeded in other courses this way and it has become the natural approach to learn. The problem with organic is that I can dream up hundreds of different problems/reactions that are all testing the same concept. Memorizing all of the permutations would be extremely challenging, and by doing so students will miss the underlying concept. It is really about pattern recognition and understanding why molecules behave in a certain way that, over time, becomes predictable. When you get to medical school, there's a lot of info that can only realistically be learned by memorization, but for organic that is a no-no (IMHO).
3. The best way to learn organic as I see it is to work through as many problems as possible, and if you aren't getting the right answers, go meet with the instructor. Beyond the homework for the class, there are additional examples to work through all over the internet. There are a lot of problem solving strategies that we don't have time to cover in class because there's so much core material, but we can work through those in office hours. Students think they won't get time with the instructor since the classes are large, but the reality is very few students actually come to my office hours.

Finally, there is no shame in struggling in organic. I know of award-winning researchers at the top of the field who will (only occasionally) admit that they got a C in Organic I. I myself struggled with it at first, which helps me in teaching since I understand the challenges. On the other hand, for some students it just clicks. It can be dangerous when such a person teaches it because they won't understand why it causes many others trouble. Finally, due to the reputation of the course, it can be overlooked by admissions to medical programs. I know of students who received Cs and even Ds in organic and still got into medical programs, although that could have certainly changed and is risky and not ideal. Anyways, I hope there may be something in here that is helpful and I wish your daughter all the best!

I agree with you 100% VolProf with your assessment of organic. I got into UT Vet school in 1990, and I struggled with organic. 1st time I was trying to memorize everything and barely got a C. I re-took the class in the summer so that I could concentrate on it and learned the concepts better the 2nd time around. At the time I felt like it was a weed out class, but there were definitely times organic helped in other classes. Hats off to you for trying to help students learn a very difficult class. Luckily, studying Vol baseball is much easier and more fun.

 

[Grnhead13]

If we can get the weather fronts to slow down another 10-12 hours by game time, we can play the opener with winds blowing out and toward right field, before the wind rotates into the batter's face.

So far, since Sunday, that wind change of direction has slowed by 3 hours. But if it stays where it is (in the forecast) both teams will be playin' small ball Friday night, directly into 10-11mph winds.

just like death and taxes, the severe weather threat is one thing you can always count on at some point during the CWS