OMAHA STAKES BENEATH THE COOL

It is the eve of the opening game of the CollegeWorld Series, and John Savage is ascool as a cucumber.

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Scratch that.

He's as cool as a cucumber ... wrapped in an ice pack ... in a freezer ... buried deep in the arctic snow ... with light peaking through ... so ... cool.

He's the UCLA head baseball coach, but he could be a skateboard salesman in a retirement home.

He did, after all, sell Gerrit Cole on the Bruins after the New York Yankees selected him in the first round in 2008. He sold Trevor Bauer on forgoing his senior year at Hart High of Newhall to enroll early at UCLA. He sold Rob Rasmussen on the Bruins, Savage's enthusiasm for the program the final fig leaf.

Now he's selling the fact that his ballclub can walk away from Omaha with a national championship.

And he's believable.

"We feel we're a complete team," Savage said. "We have as good as pitching as there is in the country. There are just a lot of positive feelings in our team right now. We've been through the wars, we've been through the toughest conference in the country. There's just a lot of belief."

Savage may talk a big talk, but he can back it up.

The man has turned raw talent into polished stardom, going all the way back to his beginnings at the University of Nevada. During his time as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for the Wolf Pack, 24 players were drafted. From there, it was on to USC, where he helped the Trojans win the 1998 national championship, also as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator, building future stars out of Barry Zito, Seth Etherton and Mark Prior.

UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero, then AD at UC Irvine, tapped the pitching maestro to rebuild its dormant program in 2001, and the Anteaters were in the NCAA playoffs within three seasons, despite competing in the ultra-competitive Big West Conference.

"He's a great recruiter; the way he connects in conversations, not only with the players but with the parents," said Matt Falk, who played two seasons for Savage at UC Irvine in 2002-03. "It was really cool being a part of bringing that program back; I didn't even feel like the program was brand new. We were there to compete right away. You have that safety net, 'Oh, (the program is) young, they won't do anything.'

"But it wasn't like that; he got players who were ready to compete Replica Abbey D Handbags right away."

A quick turnaround has been his calling card.

Following much success with the Anteaters, Savage was again called upon by Guerrero, hired in July 2004 to take over the Bruins from Gary Adams. After a 15-41 opening campaign, Savage led UCLA to the playoffs three straight years, including a super regional berth in 2007.

Panerai Bags Replica Now he's back in Omaha, trying to guide the Bruins to their first national championship in the program's first appearance in the CWS since 1997.

"The lasting thing that will always stick with me was his faith and joy when we beat Fullerton on Sunday," said Rasmussen , UCLA's starting pitcher in that 8-1 win . "For me, I know how hard he's worked to get this program to Omaha. Just that faith, man. It took him six years to get here, and that's the faith I'll always remember. It felt so good, as a p
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