What would Grier's departure mean to USD basketball?

If University of San Diego basketball coach Bill Grier does indeed take the Oregon State job, what does it mean for the Toreros?

First and foremost, it means USD is darned if it does – and darned if it doesn’t – when it comes to winning.

If/when Grier leaves, he will be living proof that the Toreros probably aren’t going to keep a coach who is highly successful (baseball coach Rich Hill being an exception.)

All Grier did in his first year at USD is enable the Toreros to become the first San Diego team ever to win an NCAA Tournament game, that coming in a stunning upset of Connecticut.

Just a year ago, highly-successful USD football coach Jim Harbaugh left to become the head coach at Stanford.

Based on these two cases, it appears USD is becoming a testing ground for coaches to make their way into the Pac-10.

So what happens when a coach doesn’t reach the top with the Toreros?

Just ask Brad Holland, who was fired after posting a 187-181 career record at USD.

What’s next for the Toreros without Grier?

Look for the job to go to top assistant coach Bill Carr, the former head coach at UC San Diego.

The Toreros will look for another Grier to lead their basketball program … with the hopes an impact coach will stick around for awhile.

Barrett adds punch to Padres

The Padres sure added punch to their roster today by acquiring catcher Michael Barrett from the Chicago Cubs for back-up catcher Rob Bowen and minor league outfielder Kyler Burke.

But are the Padres adding punch because Barrett is now tied for second on the team with nine home runs?

Or are they adding punch because Barrett duked it out with Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano and had a heated discussion with starter Rich Hill, both this month?

The Padres, who also received cash considerations from the Cubs, must also remember that Barrett landed a punch to the jaw of A.J. Pierzynski after the White Sox catcher ran him over at home plate in May 2006. Barrett was suspended 10 games; Pierzynski was fined.

Barrett adds a defensive element that has been missing in San Diego. Although the Padres say they are not concerned by opponents successfully stealing bases close to 90 percent of the time on them, that broken record has to be getting old.

The Padres may very well lose Barrett when he becomes a free agent after the season.

But for now, he may provide the fight they have been looking for in order to stay on top of the NL West.

USD baseball has unlimited vision

While standing above Cunningham Stadium on the University of San Diego campus, it seems like you can see forever while looking west out over the water.

Luckily for the Toreros’ baseball team, coach Rich Hill appears to have unlimited vision concerning where his team is headed.

His Toreros are ranked fifth in the nation as they begin a best-of-three series with Gonzaga today to determine the West Coast Conference’s automatic representative in the NCAA Tournament.

No matter what happens this weekend, USD will be going to the NCAAs. If the Toreros beat Gonzaga, they are all but guaranteed to host an NCAA Regional at San Diego State.

That brings us to another point. SDSU was eliminated from the Mountain West Conference Tournament last night, finishing its season with a losing record at 29-30.

Isn’t it amazing how SDSU gets most of the publicity, but USD records a great majority of the victories?

USD baseball looking beautiful

When it comes to college baseball, people often wonder why San Diego can’t have a Top 10 team nationally.

After all, the weather is perfect for year-round baseball, and the talent is certainly in the area.

It hasn’t happened with coach Tony Gwynn at San Diego State, but the honor is being celebrated across town.

Congratulations go out to the University of San Diego Toreros for being ranked No. 9 in the latest Baseball America top-25 poll, and at No. 10 in the latest Collegiate Baseball top-30 poll. This is the second time in history the Toreros have been ranked in the Top 10.

“We look at these things kind of like a beauty pageant,” USD coach Rich Hill said on CSTV.

To top off the honor, the Toreros completed a three-game sweep of Pepperdine for the first time in 22 years Monday with a 7-3 win.

Even with Gwynn (who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer) at SDSU; local high school baseball players continue to flock to USD, where Hill has built the best collegiate baseball team by far in a hotbed of baseball prospects.

The Toreros are setting a standard that can only be envied by SDSU, a school that has not even been invited to the NCAA playoffs in 16 years.