After midnight -- Rankings and more

Catching you up after another long travel day, more Alex Box project work and a much-needed nap that is sure to throw my sleep schedule off even worse than it already was after so many years in this business ...

Unranked no longer

LSU's nine-game winning streak has vaulted the Tigers back into the national polls for the first time since the 2006 season.

Here is LSU's ranking in each of the four notable polls:

Baseball America -- No. 22.
USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll -- No. 22.
Collegiate Baseball -- No. 23.
National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association -- No. 27.

Big weekend

As I wrote in today's column, this weekend offers a good opportunity for LSU and its fans to show the NCAA a glimpse of what one last regional at the Box could be like.

I'm sure some who read that the record crowd at the Box is 7,607 are surprised the figure isn't higher. They've probably seen LSU's list of the top attendance figures, but those totals represent ticket sales, not actual fannies in the seats and such.

For example, the 2008 media guide says the top attendance figure for the Box was 8,683 for a 2004 game between LSU and Houston. A number of different marketing pushes raised the ticket sales for that game to an all-time high, but the crowd that showed up numbered 6,074.

The last game that season at the Box, the deciding game of the 2004 regional between LSU and Texas A&M, set the record with 7,607 in attendance. That broke the record set the day before, and it broke it by a good baseball number: 9.

Considering where LSU was two weeks ago -- 11th in the SEC -- isn't it a little crazy we're talking just two weeks later about a possible home regional?

A few housekeeping notes

As you know if you've read the blog regularly, my Alex Box project has taken me away from the usual daily coverage and the blog a few times. After traveling back from Kentucky yesterday and writing today's column, I'm turning my attention back to the weekend project.

That will mean a day or two more of minimal blogging. I know it comes as a bad time, with LSU on a hot streak, but the paper has too much invested in our Alex Box countdown coverage for me not to close it out properly.

Scott Rabalais got our week started with an excellent story on the people who have worked at the Box for many years. Darlene Denstorff has a good piece today on Chris Guillot. We've got more for you this week, including a four-page wrap-around of the Friday sports section and other good stuff this weekend.

It's been fun seeing people on our staff volunteer to do something outside their normal routine because they know how special the Box is to LSU fans and readers of The Advocate. This is a week that can never be duplicated in our lifetime -- unless, of course, the NCAA awards LSU a regional.

Postseason play is the only imagineable way to send out the Box in style, right?

Anyway, please understand the lull in blogging these few days would not happen if I didn't think you'd enjoy the payoff at the end of the week and the weekend. Below are some attendance comparisons you might enjoy, and they'll keep you busy while I finish my project work.

I'll catch up with you soon, and until then, thanks once more for stopping by.

Speaking of attendance ...

Year   Season at a glance (final overall record)              Final attendance
2001 -- SEC West champion, 1-2 in super regional (44-22-1) ..… 168,482 (36 games)
2002 -- Second in SEC West, 0-2 in super regional (44-22) ..…...158,729 (36 games)
2003 -- SEC champion, 0-2 in College World Series (45-22-1) ... 164,576 (39 games)
2004 -- Tied for second in SEC West, 0-2 in CWS (46-19)  .......... 170,264    (36 games)
2005 -- SEC West co-champion, 2-2 in regional (40-22) ..…….... 141,149 (36 games)
2006 -- Fourth in SEC West, missed postseason (35-24) ..…….....  98,260 (37 games)
2007 -- Fifth in SEC West, missed postseason (29-26-1)   ..…….... 97,856 (35 games)
2008 -- First in SEC West, season ongoing (32-16-1) .....……...….. (season incomplete)

Through 33 home games
2001 -- 149,492
2002 -- 140,392
2003 -- 122,749
2004 -- 148,761
2005 -- 127,139
2006 --   85,937
2007 --   92,633
2008 --   91,474

Ticket sales vs. attendance
Year -- Tickets sold   Attendance
2001 -- 275,266               168,482
2002 -- 271,159               158,729
2003 -- 291,676               164,576
2004 -- 284,259               170,264
2005 -- 270,344               141,149
2006 -- 247,812                 88,301
2007 -- 256,537                 97,856
2008 -- 245,284*                91,474*

* Note: Three games remaining in 2008.

Per-game averages (all games)
Year … Tickets … Attendance … No-shows
2001 .… 7,646 ………… 4,680 ………… 2,966
2002 .… 7,532 ………… 4,409 ………… 3,123
2003 .… 7,479 ………… 4,220 ………… 3,259
2004 .… 7,896 ………… 4,730 ………… 3,166
2005 .… 7,510 ………… 3,921 ………… 3,589
2006 .… 7,289 ………… 2,597 ………… 4,692
2007 …. 7,330 ………… 2,796 ………… 4,534
2008 …. 7,433 ………… 2,772 ………… 4,661

Season-ticket sales
2001 -- 6,477
2002 -- 6,354
2003 -- 6,610
2004 -- 6,524
2005 -- 6,520
2006 -- 6,486
2007 -- 6,518
2008 -- 6,524

Through 12 SEC games
Year -- Attendance    Tickets sold
2001 -- 59,882                 93,486
2002 -- 54,748                 92,307
2003 -- 51,290                 92,962
2004 -- 55,517                 95,317
2005 -- 46,010                 90,706
2006 -- 38,743                 91,334
2007 -- 33,846                 87,995
2008 -- 35,532                 89,549

Largest crowd
(regular season)
2001 -- 6,854 (Ole Miss, April 13)
2002 -- 6,453 (Alabama, May 20)
2003 -- 6,471 (Auburn, May 9)
2004 -- 6,388 (Miss. State, March 26)
2005 -- 6,297 (Tulane, March 8)
2006 -- 4,711 (Tulane, March 7)
2007 -- 5,360 (Tulane, Feb. 27)
2008 -- 5,510 (Indiana, Feb. 22)

Largest crowd
(including postseason)
2001 -- 7,072 (Va. Commonwealth, regional)
2002 -- 7,190 (UL-Lafayette, regional)
2003 -- 7,492 (Baylor, super regional)
2004 -- 7,607 (Texas A&M, super regional) *
2005 -- 6,631 (Rice, regional)
2006 -- same as in regular season; no postseason
2007 -- same as in regular season; no postseason
2008 -- same as in regular season; season incomplete

* school record

Smallest crowd
2001 -- 2,458 (Southern, March 6)
2002 -- 1,415 (Long Beach State, March 3)
2003 -- 1,865 (Kansas, Feb. 16)
2004 -- 2,027 (Arkansas, April 11)
2005 -- 1,920 (Nicholls State, Feb. 14)
2006 -- 724 (Southern, April 4)
2007 -- 687 (Auburn, April 8)
2008 -- 612 (Centenary, April 2)

Crowds of 5,000 or more
2001 -- 13
2002 -- 8
2003 -- 9
2004 -- 17
2005 -- 4
2006 -- 0
2007 -- 1
2008 -- 1

Crowds of 2,500 or less
2001 -- 1
2002 -- 2
2003 -- 4
2004 -- 2
2005 -- 3
2006 -- 18
2007 -- 12
2008 -- 13

See you soon.

CD