Golden: Old rivalries are being renewed at the College World Series

If the College World Series folks really want to make a splash, they will invite Notre Dame’s Carl Yastrzemski, Texas’ Keith Moreland, Texas A&M’s Chuck Knoblauch and Oklahoma’s Bobby Witt to Omaha this weekend.

Just stick them all in an air-conditioned suite and let them talk about their college baseball days while the youngsters battle it out on the field. Three longtime rivals have taken over the left side of the bracket and are joined by the Irish, who drew the ire of Texas football fans back in the 1970s when quarterback Joe Montana took away a Longhorns national championship with a 38-10 win in the Cotton Bowl.

Replay: Texas returns to College World Series after outlasting weather delay, East Carolina

The aforementioned baseball legends had great major league careers — all but Yaz won a World Series, while Moreland pulled the CWS-MLB championship double — but the nostalgia would be flowing simply because their descendants own half of the eight-team bracket.

It’s the best weeks of hardball of the season, but these matchups can’t help but conjure up old memories of football legends like Earl Campbell, Billy Sims and Jacob Green and coaches like Darrell Royal, Barry Switzer, Jackie Sherrill and R.C. Slocum. Those people made Saturday afternoons a childhood staple in this region.

“And to draw a Notre Dame, A&M, OU bracket?!?,” tweeted Texas President Jay Hartzell. “Couldn't ask for anything more compelling. Must-see baseball.”

Golden: How Texas baseball ignored the undertaker to force Game 3 in Greenville

After surviving a raucous weekend in Greenville, the Horns will take on Notre Dame in Omaha for only the second time. The Irish took a 9-0 win back in 1957, but the Horns hold an overwhelming 38-3 edge in appearances, for what that’s worth.

If they win, either the Aggies or Sooners will be waiting in the next round. Better yet, the team that comes out of the bracket just might face the Arkansas Razorbacks for the championship.

Hey, hospitality committee: you might want to add Kevin McReynolds and Lou Holtz to the invite list, just in case.

After huge spring, spotlight turns to football: The Texas Longhorns are the spring kings and queens of college sports.

Now, wouldn’t some fall love be great?  Yes, football, we’re looking at you.

Having won four NCAA national titles, Texas will clinch 2nd straight Directors’ Cup title

Edrick Floreal’s track teams notched a couple of runner-up team finishes in the NCAA outdoor championships in Oregon over the weekend, and the Longhorns, as a result, have already clinched a second straight Directors Cup title even if the official results haven’t been announced yet.

With baseball riding some momentum after coming back to win the Greenville super regional, whatever Texas does in Omaha will only add to the massive domination we've witnessed over the last six months.

Football is on the clock, and if we’re being honest, no one is expecting a national championship from Steve Sarkisian and Co. in 2022. But the window for a Big 12 title has to be there given the talent the Horns are bringing back and the adjustment period in Oklahoma under defensive-minded new head coach Brent Venables.

Longhorns legend Rod Babers summed up the feelings of many of his fellow alumni and fans who are happy for the spring but itching to make some long overdue new memories in the fall.

“For me, a football guy, bragging about Texas winning their second consecutive Directors Cup after going 5-7 in football feels like boasting about a relationship that is amazing in every way,” he tweeted. "Except for the sex.”

Football is definitely the sexy needle mover. The bigwigs won’t say it over there, but you know the hardcore diehards in Longhorn Nation would quietly trade in one of those spring natties for a single Big 12 title and chance to play in the CFP. Call it greed or outright desperation, but the truth hurts sometimes, and not nearly as much as four sub-.500 seasons in the last 10 years. That stuff can drive up your blood pressure.

Vegas oddsmakers have the over/under for Texas regular-season wins at 8.5. A 9-3 mark would match the 2018 team, which went on to lose to OU in the Big 12 title game before spanking Georgia in the Sugar Bowl behind sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger, who yelled “We’re back!” in a postgame interview in the middle of the Superdome.

Turns out Texas wasn’t back, but the Horns were respectable. It’s Sark’s charge to make that happen ASAP before we see any kind of success that comes close to what’s happened here in the spring.

Boyer's big fundraiser: Texas ex Nate Boyer is bringing a tremendous event to Austin. The Green Beret and former long snapper is the cofounder of Merging Vets and Players. He and MVP founder Jay Glazer, a Fox NFL studio analyst who also trains MMA fighters, have spearheaded the Merging Vets and Players (MVP) initiative to bring combat veterans and retired professional athletes together to help assist in the transition from both areas of life to what follows.

Saturday’s F45 Cocktail fundraiser, which will include 150 guests, former Longhorns legends, other pro athletes and local business leaders, will go from 5-7 p.m. at The Chive HQ located at 98 San Jacinto Blvd. Proceeds will benefit MVP.

After their days are over on the battleground or in the sporting arena, these people often have a tough time transitioning into retirement. Depression is a major enemy and substance abuse can often lead them down an even darker path.

"MVP started because part of it is I needed something like this," Boyer told me Monday. "(Glazer) was talking to so many NFL players and former MMA players going through the same struggles.

"The year 2015 was my last year doing both of those," Boyer said. "With the loss of the uniform and the team and the missions, I was looking for a purpose. I'm an innovative person who looks for challenges, but I wanted a bigger purpose behind it. MVP has been huge for me and others like me."

MVP conducts weekly sessions which consist of 30-45 minute workouts, followed by The Huddle, which is peer-to-peer support and plain old fashioned encouragement and empowerment from one person to another.

Weekly workouts are already taking place in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Chicago, Seattle, Dallas and Phoenix. There are also virtual workouts available at vetsandplayers.org/program.

It’s a great cause that will benefit two groups: the ones who protected our borders and the others who entertained us through the games we love.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas baseball will meet familiar foes at College World Series