Anchor Drop, May 3, 2023: Vandy United Raises $300 Million

Good morning.

Optional Musical Accompaniment

(Ed. note: The Optional Musical Accompaniment is gonna be Gordon Lightfoot all week. RIP.)

Vanderbilt announced yesterday that its ongoing Vandy United campaign has hit its initial goal of $300 million raised for improvements to athletic facilities (to put a general term on it.)

On one level, this is great; Vanderbilt, after all, badly needed to upgrade its facilities to keep up with the other 13 SEC schools — soon to be 15, when we have to start recognizing Texas and Oklahoma (gets handed a note by Pinman) wait I’m being told that we still don’t recognize Missouri, and they’ve allegedly been in the SEC since 2013.

On the other hand, well, it’s only been a week since a presumptive starting cornerback on the football team entered his name in the transfer portal for reasons that are probably best summed up as “somebody told him he can make more NIL money playing football somewhere other than Vanderbilt.” No, he didn’t come out and say that, but it doesn’t make any damn sense if that wasn’t the main factor. (Especially since the SEC doesn’t allow immediate eligibility for intra-conference transfers that occur after spring practice, and he’s from Louisiana. In other words, he’s probably not transferring to be closer to home.)

It sure seems like Vanderbilt is catching up on facilities right around the time facilities are starting to not matter so much. You know, in case you needed a reason to be depressed.

For reasons not to be depressed, the baseball team dispatched Georgia State in a midweek game last night by an 11-5 score, thanks to four home runs. The Commodores will travel to Alabama on Thursday to start a three-game series.

The NCAA men’s golf championship field will be announced today at noon CT on the Golf Channel. Vanderbilt is getting in in spite of losing the final of the SEC Tournament. I’m not even going to stick weasel words in that sentence, they’re ranked #1 in the country. I would guess they’re going to either the Auburn or South Carolina site for the regional.

In less important news, I’m 39 today.

Sports on TV

All times Central.

• 1:00 PM: MLB: Giants at Astros (MLB Network)
• 6:00 PM: NHL: Devils at Hurricanes, Game 1 (ESPN)
• 6:40 PM: MLB: Orioles at Royals (ESPN+)
• 7:00 PM: NBA: 76ers at Celtics, Game 2 (TNT)
• 8:30 PM: NHL: Oilers at Golden Knights, Game 1 (ESPN)
• 10:00 PM: MLB: Mariners at A’s or Brewers at Rockies (MLB Network)

Scoreboard

SEC Baseball: Ole Miss 12, Little Rock 10 ... Florida 7, Florida State 5 ... Georgia 10, Kennesaw State 9 ... Tennessee 13, Wofford 3 ... Missouri 9, Kansas 7 ... Lipscomb 8, Arkansas 6 ... Texas A&M 6, Tarleton 5 ... LSU 10, SE Louisiana 0.

MLB: Braves 6, Marlins 0 ... Rays 4, Pirates 1 ... Nationals 4, Cubs 1 ... Yankees 4, Guardians 2 ... White Sox 3, Twins 2 ... Red Sox 7, Blue Jays 6 ... Orioles 11, Royals 7 ... Angels 5, Cardinals 1 ... Giants 2, Astros 0 ... Rockies 3, Brewers 2 ... Rangers 6, Diamondbacks 4 ... Mariners 2, A’s 1 ... Reds 2, Padres 1 ... Dodgers 13, Phillies 1.

NBA: Knicks 111, Heat 105 (series tied, 1-1) ... Lakers 117, Warriors 112 (Lakers lead, 1-0.)

NHL: Panthers 4, Maple Leafs 2 (Panthers lead, 1-0) ... Kraken 5, Stars 4 (Kraken lead, 1-0.)