Anchor Drop, May 25, 2023: 93 Days to Kickoff

Good morning.

Optional Musical Accompaniment

We are now 93 days away from Vanderbilt football’s season opener against Hawaii. 93 for the Commodores is defensive lineman/linebacker B.J. Diakite. The 6’4”, 215-pound sophomore from Pinson, Alabama (the same hometown as another pretty good Vanderbilt linebacker, Zach Cunningham), played in nine games as a true freshman and notched 12 tackles. He should be in line for a bigger role this season.

Vanderbilt baseball advanced in the SEC Tournament last night with a 6-4 win over Auburn, in a game that ended after midnight. Probably the most important thing here is that the Commodores only needed two pitchers to get through Wednesday night, with Sam Hliboki pitching the first four innings followed by Patrick Reilly going five, with the first four of them being scoreless. That sets up a Thursday night game against top seed Florida, which swept Vanderbilt two weeks ago. That game will tentatively start at 8:00 PM CT, but that will require the weather and the early games to cooperate. The weather isn’t expected to be a problem, but two of yesterday’s four games went to extra innings.

R.I.P. to the legend, Nutbush, Tennessee’s own Tina Turner.

Sports on TV

All times Central.

• 9:30 AM: SEC Baseball: South Carolina vs. Texas A&M (SEC Network)
• 12:00 PM: MLB: Blue Jays at Rays or Cardinals at Reds (MLB Network)
• 1:00 PM: SEC Baseball: Alabama vs. Auburn (SEC Network)
• 3:00 PM: PGA Tour: Charles Schwab Challenge, First Round (Golf Channel)
• 4:30 PM: SEC Baseball: LSU vs. Arkansas (SEC Network)
• 6:00 PM: MLB: Phillies at Braves or Mets at Cubs (MLB Network)
• 7:00 PM: NHL: Golden Knights at Stars, Game 4 (ESPN)
• 7:30 PM: NBA: Heat at Celtics, Game 5 (TNT)

Scoreboard

SEC Baseball: LSU 10, South Carolina 3 ... Arkansas 6, Texas A&M 5 ... Florida 7, Alabama 6.

MLB: Rangers 3, Pirates 2 ... Phillies 6, Diamondbacks 5 ... White Sox 6, Guardians 0 ... Brewers 4, Astros 0 ... Twins 7, Giants 1 ... Reds 10, Cardinals 3 ... Rays 7, Blue Jays 3 ... Orioles 9, Yankees 6 ... Nationals 5, Padres 3 ... Braves 4, Dodgers 3 ... Tigers 6, Royals 4 ... Cubs 4, Mets 2 ... Marlins 10, Rockies 2 ... Angels 7, Red Sox 3 ... Mariners 6, A’s 1.

NHL: Panthers 4, Hurricanes 3 (Panthers win series, 4-0.)