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Not the Only Thing That Happened This Weekend: But in perspective, the only one that really matters. Late Saturday night, a disturbance over a young lady's companionship turned into a fatal shooting at an apartment complex in Auburn, AL. Ed Christian and Ladarious Phillips, former members of the Auburn football team, were among the three dead; current Tiger Eric Mack was among the wounded.
Mack will apparently be okay, and has already been discharged from the hospital; he initially wasn't even aware that he was shot, and was busy trying to help the other victims when it was pointed out to him. Christian, an offensive lineman who died at the scene, suffered a career-ending back injury during his redshirt year and never actually took the field as a result; he was expected to accept a medical scholarship to finish his degree. Phillips, a fullback with an extremely limited role in an offense that doesn't use a fullback very much, had left the team with plans to transfer to Jacksonville State for the coming year. Phillips was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The third dead victim was Demario Pitts. Pitts had no direct connection to the Auburn program, though he was related to former Auburn player Montae Pitts. Pitts had been a high school athlete, but his life got derailed; in March, he accidentally shot and killed his own cousin in an incident in which no charges were immediately filed though a grand jury presentment was pending. Pitts may have been involved in the incident which led to the shooting, as he and another party-goer named Turquorius Vines were apparently the two men initially accosted by the shooter and a companion; Vines responded with a punch, and Pitts with a broken bottle, according to Vines.
As for the shooter, 22-year-old Desmonte Leonard, a manhunt is underway. Leonard already has a bit of a rap sheet, including being charged with carrying an unlicensed weapon.
Spring Championships: Cinderella's on the way to Omaha, as Stony Brook took two out of three in Baton Rouge to eliminate Louisiana State. They may be joined by another northern interloper, as Kent State won game one at Oregon before dropping the second game; the rubber match will be tonight at 7 CT. Two other game threes are today; Arkansas at Baylor, also at 7, and Oklahoma visits South Carolina at 4. Already making their travel plans to Omaha along with Stony Brook: Florida, Florida State, Arizona, and UCLA.
Of note: You should already know this if you've ever paid any attention, but LSU baseball fans are pretty classy. They gave an ovation after LSU lost, and even high-fived the cinderella kids from Stony Brook.
Florida squeaked past Louisiana State to capture the Division I men's outdoor track title; K-State finished tied for 23rd along with Iowa, Ohio State, and... grr... Kansas. Thanks to LSU's failure to reach Omaha, Florida now has what amounts to a commanding lead in the Men's Capital One Cup. The second Florida wins a single game in Omaha, it will force UCLA to win the College World Series to even have a shot; if Florida wins two games in Omaha, it's all over. On the women's side, LSU captured the outdoor track crown; Stanford already had a nearly-insurmountable lead for the women's Capital One Cup going in, and by finishing sixth in the meet actually extended that lead to win the cup.
UNC, Bastion of Academic Excellence, Shining Star of the ACC: Eighteen UNC football players were "guided" into a class where there was no instruction. The class was "taught" by the head of UNC's African and Afro-American Studies department, who just happened to "teach" 83% of the 54 classes being investigated by the university for academic fraud. His punishment: he's retiring. Go, accountability!
Diablerie: West Virginia, a grey and dreary place (click the photo at the story). ... Virginia Tech, a camouflaged and leafy place. ... Jason Kirk commits headline perfection: "Les Miles, Commencement Speaker" says all you really need to know. ... Jason also helps you plan your wedding date, pointing out specifically that two K-State games this year are more important than your stupid wedding.