Dave Sez

Seminole Tribe Removes Support For Florida State's Nickname

In a statement released earlier today, the Seminole Tribe of Florida announced that they no longer support Florida State University's use of their name for their athletic teams. This announcement reverses years of support, including a recent show of solidarity in the face of an NCAA ruling that the name was offensive. Based largely on the tribe's support, the NCAA backed down from their censure of FSU and removed the name Seminoles from their banned names list.

According to Seminole Tribe Chief and Comptroller William Runningturkey, the change of heart has actually been coming on for some time now. "For years, Florida State football ruled the nation, routinely blowing out opponents and competing for the national championship, making us proud to be Seminoles. Sure, there were a few incidents like the 'Free Shoes' scandal and the Peter Warrick shopping spree, but those teams were still really good, so you know, we looked past that stuff."

"The Seminoles were not historically a warring tribe, but like the Florida State football team, when we did fight we always won. Well, except against the Europeans. I guess they were sort of our Miami, you might say."

Runningturkey pointed out that with the football team's recent struggles, young Seminoles were no longer proud to be associated with the university. "Our kids are starting to wear Miami jackets and, God help us, even Notre Dame."

Apparently, the Tribe has talked for a year or two about backing away from the Florida State teams but felt forced to make a decision when the NCAA came around this summer. "We thought the team would be good this year," Runningturkey added.

"But then, everything just went to hell this year. We, I mean they, lost to NC State again. I mean, even Wake Forest beats those guys every year!"

According to several in the Tribe, the final nail in coffin was last week's loss to hated rival the Florida Gators. Florida State was down 34-0 late in that contest before falling 34-7. It was the Seminoles third consecutive loss, ending a 7-4 regular season, the worst season for Florida State in twenty years.

Runningturkey suggested that Florida State consider other names like the Capitals, Oranges or Navajo. "The Tribe is putting together some packets to pitch to some other schools that we think might better suit our image, like Virginia Tech or maybe Alabama. What's a Crimson Tide anyway?"

3-3

The first big night of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge went almost as I predicted it. The only game I got wrong was the Wake Forest - Wisconsin game. Wake played much better than I expected and outlasted the Badgers in an outstanding game. Of the other results, the only real surprise was the margin by which Florida State beat Purdue. The Seminoles were up 35 points at the half! By they time I caught up to start watching it, the second half, it was already garbage time.

Back to that Wake Forest game ... I was very impressed with how the Deacons played. Moving Justin Gray back to the shooting guard and slotting in freshman Harvey Hale made all of the difference. Gray was back to his old self last night - fearless and confident. He couldn't have been more different than the guy who committed 27 turnovers in his first three games as a point guard this year. While Hale is no Chris Paul, he is an adequate one - he can get the ball up the court and to guys who can do something with it. I was impressed with Hale's confidence. He'll only improve as he plays more and the Wake Forest will be all the better for it.

Eric Williams also played very well last night, particularly after he came back in with his four fouls. He scored three big inside baskets that really helped Wake right the ship after Wisconsin had taken the lead. The other player who was outstanding last night was Kyle Visser, a guy who sort of disappeared last year. Visser defended, scored and rebounded. With him, Williams and Chris Ellis, the Deacons can really go with a big look if they need to. It appears that they have all the parts they need to be a very good team. I hope they can keep it up and that last night doesn't prove to be a high point of the season.

I already mentioned Florida State's shocking output last night, but I want to give Clemson some credit as well. I wasn't able to watch them play, but you have to like that they build a 19 point half-halftimetime lead on the road. They got it over 20 a couple of times in the second half and then held off a late charge to get the critical win. Sure, it was just Penn State, but road wins over major conference opponents should never be ignored, especially for a program like Clemson.

The Carolina - Illinois game went about as I expected. Both teams are tying to figure out exactly how they are going to play this year and are trying to mix in new players. Only two starters return from last year's championship game, both on Illinois. While the Illini held off a late charge from the Heels, no one who watched could help but be impressed with the Tar Heel freshmen. Tyler Hansbrough, Marcus Ginyard, Bobby Frasor and Danny Green all played well. Hansbrough got most of the attention from Dick Vitale (we get it Dick, you think he plays hard and is going to be a superstar), but I was equally impressed with Green and Ginyard. Both of those guys contributed in multiple ways and even seemed to have a connection between each other. Several times, they hit each other with excellent passes leading to easy buckets. Those guys are going to be good. Frasor still looks very talented, but hasn't yet learned how to run an offense. If he does, UNC could be a very good team by March.

The way that Miami crapped the laundry hamper against Michigan didn't surprise me so much as disappoint me. Their results in previous games made me suspicious and their play last night confirmed my fears. They are a talented team (Robert Hite, Guillermo Diaz, Anthony King and impressive freshmen PG Denis Clemente), but they seem to have no idea how to play together. Coach Frank Haith got a lot of praise for Miami's play last year, but don't forget how they fell apart late in the season. Could it be that teams just underestimated them early on? Maybe they got a look at the Hurricanes' talented trio of guards (including the now-injured Anthony Harris) and figured out a way to stop them. They certainly don't look like a well-coached squad now. Put all that talent in Mike Krzyzewski or Roy Williams' hands and that would be a top-fifteen squad, easy.

So, where does that leave the Challenge? At this point, the ACC is one game ahead of where I figured they'd be. With five games remaining, it's all square at 3-3. Of tonight's five games, two are no-brainers - Maryland beating Minnesota and Michigan State beating Georgia Tech. That means that whoever gets the best of the remaining three games will win the Challenge. The NC State - Iowa game will be played last and it may well decide who wins this thing. The lynchpin though might be that Virginia - Northwestern game that no one will watch. Northwestern plays that boring, but difficult Princeton style, but keep in mind that UVA has already seen that style once this year. They beat Richmond, who just switched this season. Richmond is no Northwestern, but just having the experience (plus, UVA played and beat Northwestern last season) will help. The Cavaliers are limited in what they can do, but I like what I've seen so far of Dave Leitao's work with the Hoos. They are much more disciplined than in years past, although frankly that's not saying much. If the Cavaliers can maintain their poise against the patient Wildcats, the only thing that can keep the ACC from a seventh straight Challenge victory would be an upset of Duke by Indiana (which isn't out of the question).

Great Soccer Goals

Click here to watch a cool video montage of great soccer goals. The music is a little unfortunate - Creed - but otherwise, it's damn fun. There are quite a few famous goals in here, but I'd never seen many of them.

My favorites are probably the Roberto Carlos free kick (simply incredible) and that one-timer off of the corner kick. I'm not sure who hit that second one.

We Must Protect This House ... Starting Next Year

NC State fans will recognize this story - hotshot coach returns to his alma mater and immediately affects positive changes in the program. Expectations immediately rise along with the excitement, but after a few years the team isn't really winning any more than they were before he showed up. Chuck Amato's story, say hello to Ralph Friedgen's story.

Fridge came in and immediately kicked the Maryland program into the conference elite, winning 10, 11 and then 10 games in his first three year - a stunning reversal of fortune for a school which had basically no football success for well over a decade. Unfortunately, just as the Terrapin faithful were beginning their 35-story gilded statue of the Rotund One, the football team had back-to-back losing seasons.

Now what? Well, just like everywhere else, they look to next year. Next year everything will be better again, right? Right?

ACC - Big Ten Challenge!

The ACC - Big Ten Challenge kicks off for the eighth time tonight when Virginia Tech visits Ohio State. In the previous six years, the ACC has won the "challenge" every single time. 6-0. If it were ping-pong, one more ACC win and the game would be over. Next. Are you ready Big East? Sure, you chickened out of the original challenge years ago, but maybe with the recent bad blood between the conferences, it's time to try again. It sure would be fun!

But, back to reality. It's the Big Ten that the ACC faces and despite six years of triumph (including margins of 7-2 each of the past two years), I think this will be a tough year for the ACC. So much talent left the conference for the NBA that there's no way for this year to be anything other than a (relative) down year. Georgia Tech and North Carolina both have almost completely new teams and Wake Forest was hurt nearly as badly. At the same time, the Big Ten seems to be on an uptick this season.

Could this be the year that the Big Ten wins the Challenge? Probably so, but nothing is for certain.

Let's run through the games. I'll give you my picks and also drop a few opinions on the ACC teams based on what I've seen or read so far this year. Honestly, I haven't seen any Big Ten ball outside of Michigan State this year, so take my picks with a grain of salt.

Monday: Virginia Tech at Ohio State, ESPN2, 7:30 - For the Buckeyes, this year is the Purgatory before heaven arrives next year in the form of 7 foot messiah Greg Oden and the rest of a phenomenal freshman class. Whatever they accomplish this year is pretty much gravy.

The Hokies have been their typical inconsistent selves in the early going, dropping a game to Bowling Green. While Tech really had a nice year last year, I suspect they'll fall off a bit this season. It's different when expectations are higher. Plus, Carlos Dixon really did a lot for that team, especially on the defensive end.

I'm going with Ohio State

Tuesday: Wisconsin at Wake Forest, ESPN, 7:00 - I really thought that people were wrong to say that Justin Gray would struggle at the point this season. He played quite a bit of the one when he was a freshman, and he played it well. I thought the bigger problems with moving him to the point would be his atrocious defense and the fact that they'd miss him at the shooting guard. Well, I got two out of three right. His defense still sucks and they missed him at the two, but he could not handle being the point guard. He looked simply awful against Florida.

Fortunately, Skip Prosser is a smart guy and moved Gray back. He'll still have to switch back and forth, but that's better than relying on him at the point and watching him turn the ball over 9-10 times a game while simultaneously not finding room to get off his threes.

Wake's other problem is that their defense still sucks. I mentioned Gray, but Eric Williams is just as bad. He just doesn't seem to get it. Florida passed the ball into good post position all night long.

On the flip side, Trent Strickland really seems to have elevated his game. Like Duke, Wake will need that third scorer to be a good team.

As for their matchup - I really like Wisconsin. Bo Ryan is a hell of a coach. I'm going with the Badgers.

Pick: Wisconsin

Purdue at Florida State, ESPN2, 7:30 - The Seminoles seem every bit as flaky/bad as ever. I was really excited when I saw the score that they were up big on Florida in the second half. I was not surprised later when I saw the final score and knew that they had blown a 17-point second-half lead. Some things never change.

Fortunately for Florida State, Purdue really, really sucks.

Pick: Seminoles

Clemson at Penn State, ESPNU, 8:00 - Like the VT - tOSU matchup, this would be much better as a football game. Clemson actually seems like they are on the rise. Oliver Purnell has things headed in the right direction. Of course, that's happened before at Clemson. It seems like the right direction tends to run into a lot of detours down there.

But Penn State is always bad. It's like an axiom.

Pick: The Tiggers

Illinois at North Carolina, ESPN, 9:00 - This one certainly sounds juicy, doesn't it? A big rematch of last year's national championship game. It might well be a good game, but if so, it will have little to do with revenge. Carolina's top seven players are gone and so are Illinois' Luther Head and Deron Williams.

For the Heels, they of course are really hoping that their freshmen mature and play well enough to keep the program's momentum going. So far, things look pretty promising. Tyler Hansbrough has played very well so far, and I was very impressed with Bobby Frasor when I saw him against UCSB the other night. That kid is fast! It'll be a lot of fun to watch Frasor battle Duke's Greg Paulus over the years.

One problem Carolina may have is finding the proper roles for their two "veterans," David Noel and Rayshawn Terry. Neither was asked to do much during his career, but both seem determined to be the man now. Noel's numbers have actually been pretty good, but watching them play, it looked to me like he was forcing things. Everyone hopes he becomes a reincarnation of Ademola Okulaja, but I just don't think he's that good. They'd be better off making Hansbrough the focus and using Terry and Noel as very solid sidekicks.

Pick: Illinois

Miami at Michigan, ESPN2, 9:30 - Miami had a very surprising season last year and returned pretty much everyone. They should be really good this year, right? So why did they get waxed by Temple this weekend then? And what about that loss to Air Force? Something's going wrong down there and I wonder if they won't fall back to earth this season.

Michigan has very slowly been building themselves back up. They are still far from the program they were in the Fab Five days (maybe they need to increase the payroll!), but I like them at home over the erratic Hurricanes.

Pick: Michigan

Wednesday: Georgia Tech at Michigan State, ESPN, 7:00 - Georgia Tech lost by 22 points to Illinois. Illinois-Chicago. At home.

Needless to say, things aren't good in Atlanta. You just can't lose your whole starting five and expect to compete the next season unless your jersey is a certain shade of light or dark blue. I think Paul Hewitt is a very good coach and he'll get some good results this year, but this team is going to struggle at times.

Michigan State had a bad loss to Hawaii, but rebounded to nearly beat Gonzaga in that incredible triple-overtime game. They then knocked off a very talented Arizona squad. This team can play and they've already been battle-hardened.

Pick: Michigan State in a rout

Minnesota at Maryland, ESPN2, 7:30 - I really don't know anything about Minnesota this year. Although they are losing to Gardner-Webb by eleven points right now (update: and they went on to lose to G-W).

Maryland has had a good start and I think they'll have a good season. The loss of Gilchrist will prove to be addition by subtraction. Getting DJ Strawberry back is addition by, uh, addition, although I'm surprised to see him playing point guard. Strawberry is a versatile, athletic player, but I don't think he's a point.

Pick: The Terps

Northwestern at Virginia, ESPNU, 8:00 - I watched UVA play Arizona last night and was very impressed - for a half. Even at full strength, the Cavs are limited, but right now they are without injured players TJ Bannister, their second point guard, and Donte Minter, their only low-post scorer. Without those two, Virginia is relying almost entirely on star point guard Sean Singletary and shooting guard JR Reynolds for their offense. No one can score inside - not even Jason Cain and his Camaro 'stache (but you know that look allows him to score elsewhere).

But back to being impressed in that Arizona game - Virginia was actually up five late in the first half - a road game against a very talented top-ten team. Then things got ugly. Really ugly. Johnnie Rhodes ugly. Over a stretch of something 97 minutes, the Cats outscored Virginia 29-1. Evidently, Arizona figured out that they really only needed to stop two players and stop them they did.

So, Virginia's pretty bad. Singletary is very good, but a great PG can only do so much if he has nowhere to throw the ball.

Northwestern plays that snooze-inducing Princeton offense that will probably keep the Cavs in the game. If Virginia hits some outside shots (and by "Virginia," I mean Singletary and Reynolds), they can actually win this game.

It helps that Northwestern isn't just slow - they're bad.

Pick: Virginia

Duke at Indiana, ESPN, 9:00 - Duke. I have seen them by far the most of any team so far, largely because they played in the preseason NIT. And won it.

Duke is #1 and they deserve that ranking, but they are not the juggernaut of some past #1 Duke teams. This is not the 2002 squad of Battier, Williams, Boozer and Dunleavy. It's not the 1999 squad of Brand, Avery, Langdon and Maggette. Not even close. While Redick and Williams are outstanding players, they are somewhat limited. Both play hard and smart, but neither is terribly quick or fast. Dockery really hasn't become the player that most thought he would be. They can't rely on him to be the point guard, and as we saw against Memphis, he can't be relied on to hit the open jumper when the defense collapses on Redick. Melchionni could be the guy to hit those shots, but he is also athletically limited and he's not hitting his shots yet.

DeMarcus Nelson is a terribly important part of the team, but he's out for a while now with a broken ankle.

So, that leaves the freshmen. Duke has a very good crop, but they will need to continue to live up to expectations. Paulus looked excellent against Memphis. Pocius is really fast, but judging by the minutes he's getting, he has a lot to learn. McRoberts looks like he could be a deadly complement to Williams inside, but it really doesn't appear that the team is getting him the ball that much. It seemed to me like he got his points more off of broken plays, although I'm guessing that will change.

So, all that adds up to a flawed team. They might become a great team, but they aren't one now.

Indiana appears to have a very good team this year, but they haven't played anyone yet. They certainly have the talent to beat Duke. And it's on their court. But their coach is Mike Davis, and I don't trust him.

I say Duke wins, but I wouldn't be shocked if there's an upset here.

Pick: The Dookies

NC State at Iowa, ESPN2, 9:30 - I have a feeling that NC State is going to have a very good year. Julius Hodge was a great player for State, but his departure has all the makings of a Ewing Theory case study. Hodge got all the attention at State, and he did many things for the program. But he wasn't that good. While he scored, rebounded, passed, defended (sometimes) and led, he also seemed to take on too much. The Wolfpack has a bunch of versatile players, but they always deferred to Jules when things got tight - almost out of deference. I think they'll be a better team without him.

So far, the early returns back up my claim. State has killed their cupcakes (not a given in years past) and went on the road for a very impressive road win over Notre Dame this weekend.

On the other hand, non-conference games have been Herb Sendek's Achilles heel in recent years. It always seems like the Pack can beat the teams it knows, but can't beat the South Carolinas and St. Johns on their schedule.

Iowa is a tough team and would be very hard to beat on the road. They like and support their basketball out there. I'm going to go with the Hawkeyes, but I think this could be a really good game.

Pick: Iowa

Add it all up and it comes out to 6-5 Big Ten. I hope I'm wrong. If I'm right, and I get the order right, it'll all come down to the last game at Iowa. That would be pretty cool, huh?

Other previews:
Duke Basketball Report
CBS Sportsline
ESPN

Update: One tidbit I forgot to add ... It's not preemptive excuse-making, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Boston College, ostensibly the ACC's second-best team and the #8 squad in the nation, is not playing in this year's Challenge. BC would be the second-highest ranked team in the Challenge, behind only #1 Duke. The highest ranked Big Ten squads are Illinois and Michigan State at 12 and 13 (or 14, depending on the poll).

The Courtmaster On ACC Hoops

The Courtmaster has a very nice review of the early season ACC basketball play over at the DBR. He runs down every team and throws in a preview of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, which starts tonight.

I'm hoping to get my own Challenge preview out as well. I'll throw my thoughts about various ACC teams in there.

Also, be sure to check out The Courtmaster's own site from time to time. You'll find some very good college football and basketball writing there.

ACC vs. Big Ten - Football

A poster in the Sports Shack (named after infamous NC State forward Charles Shackelford) asked me how I'd compare the ACC to the Big Ten in football this year. I figured that instead of putting my answer in there, I'd write a quick article about it.

First off, comparing conferences in football is difficult. With eleven game schedules, most teams have only three non-conference games. Of those three, two are often cupcakes, leaving only one game for a good interconference matchup. This scarcity of games means that it's hard to compare two different conferences. There are just too few direct links. Case in point - I think the only matchup between the Big Ten and ACC this year was Wisconsin beating North Carolina back on September 17.

Instead, probably the best way to compare is to use a computer rating system, like Sagarin. These systems combine all teams' results together, so by the middle-to-end of a season, there are enough connections to reasonably compare conferences.

Of course, another way is to wait until Bowl season, because that's when the get the most interconference matchups. The problem with that is that by the time those games are all done, no one much cares anymore. Also, because the games are often a month or more after the last regular season games, teams' performances tend to be unpredictable.

My gut feel is that the Big Ten is better than the ACC this year. A look at Sagarin's ratings confirms that feeling. Sagarin has the Big Ten as the top conference, with a rating of 82.99, nearly four points higher than the #2 ACC at 79.08. Four points is a significant difference when you are comparing whole conferences.

So, now let's go team-by-team, starting from the top down. Since the ACC has one extra team, we'll drop Duke. I think it's fair to say that we all know that Duke can't beat any Big Ten or ACC teams. I'll put the Sagarin ratings for each team in parentheses by the team name.

Virginia Tech (93.74) vs. Penn State (94.61)
Sagarin likes the Nittany Lions by a bit less than a point. In other words, it's a toss-up. Seems about right to me, but in my gut, I think I'd take the Hokies in that game.

ACC 1 - Big Ten 0

Miami (89.20) vs. Ohio State (94.52)
A rematch of the 2002 championship game! Sagarin likes the Buckeyes by over five points in this one. I doubt Vegas would put the line that high though. I'll go with Ohio State here, but it would be a good game.

ACC 1 - Big Ten 1

Boston College (84.29) vs. Michigan (87.90)
It's been a tough year for the Wolverines, at least relative to their lofty expectations. I agree with Sagarin though - they'd take BC.

ACC 1 - Big Ten 2

Florida State (81.34) vs. Wisconsin (84.55)
The Seminoles have really had a bad second half of the season, but I'm a bit surprised that their rating is so low. I'm going against Sagarin here and picking the Seminoles.

ACC 2 - Big Ten 2

Georgia Tech (80.90) vs. Minnesota (84.54)
The middle of the Big Ten has actually been more erratic than the middle of the ACC this year. It makes these comparisons tough. I guess I'll just have to go with Sagarin here.

ACC 2 - Big Ten 3

Clemson (80.39) vs. Iowa (83.99)
See the comment for the game above.

ACC 2 - Big Ten 4

Virginia (77.62) vs. Northwestern (81.75)
If Sagarin is to be believed (and I do generally like his stuff), Northwestern is better than Florida State. Does anyone believe that? Northwestern can't stop anyone. They should be in the Pac Ten. I'm picking Virginia just on principle.

ACC 3 - Big Ten 4

Maryland (77.36) vs. Michigan State (80.97)
I don't think the Spartans can beat anyone these days. Since the beat Notre Dame (back in mid-September), the only teams they've beaten were Illinois and Indiana. They lost their other six games. Have to go with Maryland here.

ACC 4 - Big Ten 4

North Carolina (77.16) vs. Purdue (78.81)
The Sagarin numbers are getting closer again. I have no feel for this game, so I'm going with the computer.

ACC 4 - Big Ten 5

NC State (75.81) vs. Indiana (70.73)
Wow. Quite a dropoff there in the Big Ten. Easy pick, although the Wolfpack has proven that it can lose to anyone.

ACC 5 - Big Ten 5

Wake Forest (70.77) vs. Illinois (64.78)
Illinois had one of the worst seasons in major conference history. 61-14. 35-7. 63-10. 40-2. 37-3. Damn. Gotta go with the preppy boys from Winston-Salem here.

ACC 6 - Big Ten 5

And there you have it. In a major upset, the ACC takes the win!

In fairness though, since I left out Duke, we can call it even. Maybe we can get Illinois and Duke to schedule a Loser Bowl to break the tie. Of course, I'd much rather watch them play basketball against each other instead.

Bob Novak - Maryland Fan

Who knew Bob Novak was a Maryland Terrapin fan? It seems that my favorite CIA spy-leaking columnist was getting on a flight to Hawaii to watch his beloved Terps play and he got into an altercation with another passenger.

Bob, Bob, Bob. A true Maryland fan knows that you wait to riot until after the game.

Weekend Football Thoughts

Some observations and thoughts about last weekend's ACC football games...

• Note to self - you never want to play a good team the game after they get embarassed on national television. Man. Virginia Tech destroyed UVA. They beat them in every possible way. Their offense was better, their defense was better, their special teams were better and they made fewer mistakes. It was very impressive. I don't really think the Hokies are five touchdowns better than Virginia, but on that day they certainly were.
• And for Virginia's next game ... refer to the first bullet point. They get to travel to Miami and take on the pissed-off Hurricanes. Who thinks we'll see another ugly blowout? The only hope UVA has is that the Hurricanes are too dejected after blowing their BCS opportunity. Well, that or maybe they spend a little too much time on the seventh floor.
• The top five teams in the ACC by both overall record and computer rating? Virginia Tech, Miami, Florida State, Boston College and Georgia Tech. The only team to play them all this year? Virginia.


• Georgia Tech's impressive upset over Miami reinforced one thing I've seen several times this year - with poor quarterback play, any team can lose. Unfortunately, we've seen a lot of bad quarterbacking this year. Kyle Wright looked terrible on Saturday night (although the constant pressure from the Yellow Jacket linemen was a big reason) and that's why the Canes couldn't move the ball. That's largely why FSU lost their last two games, why Virginia Tech got spanked by those same Hurricanes and why NC State has struggled all year. When your quarterback is playing poorly, it's hard for anything else to work right.


• This is the time of the year when folks start talking about who the conference award winners should be. I can't remember a weaker year for conference player of the year. There hasn't been one single offensive player who has stood out. The best offensive player is almost certainly Calvin Johnson, but he just doesn't have POY-type numbers. Chris Barclay leads the league in rushing - by a lot - but he hasn't really had any signature games and Wake has had too few wins. Marcus Vick is probably the front runner and he's probably been the best quarterback, but the Hokies don't rely on his offense. Vick is only eighth in the league in passing yards per game.

  No, I don't think any offensive players have earned the award. This is a perfect year to give it to a defensive player. And that player is Maryland linebacker D'Qwell Jackson, and not just because he has the most bizarre apostrophe in ACC history. For some reason, I haven't heard much talk about his season, but the man's averaging nearly 14 tackles per game! That's an incredible number, somewhat equivalent to rushing for 200 yards per game. Maybe he's not the NFL prospect that many other ACC linebackers are, but he's been the most effective player. D'Qwell Jackson - ACC Player of the Year.



• For ACC Coach of the Year, I think it's a two-man race between Frank Beamer and Chan Gailey. Beamer's team is good and extremely well-coached. But, then they were supposed to be good this year, weren't they? The Yellow Jackets had little expectations, but jumped out of the gate and beat Auburn on the road. They stumbled a bit in the middle of the year, but last weekend's win over Miami was one of the most impressive wins of the year.

  So, who should win it? The guy whose team is at the top but is only meeting expectations or the the guy whose team is not quite as good, but has exceeded expectations? I say give it to the guy at the top. The Hokies were picked to win it all in large part because of Beamer. Sure they have a lot of talent, but do they have more than Florida State or Miami? I don't think so. Frank Beamer - ACC Coach of the Year.



• Back to the weekend games - tough loss for Maryland against BC. They moved the ball well enough to win, but two turnovers for touchdowns really killed them. Nothing can ruin a game like driving for a score, fumbling and watching the defense score on a 95 yard return. Ouch. Fortunately for the rest of us, that loss set up a very interesting final game against NC State. Both teams are 5-5 and need one more win to gain bowl eligibility. On top of that, both programs need the win to avoid adding to the perception that they've failed to capitalize on a few years of success. A loss for either team would mean consecutive losing seasons. Neither program expected to have losing records at this point in Friedgen's or Amato's reigns.


• How about the way that Tommy Bowden and his Clemson Tigers finished the year? They knocked off Florida State at home and then went on the road and beat their rivals, the red-hot South Carolina Gamecocks. A loss to the Cocks would have been very painful, as it would have possibly signaled the start of Steve Spurrier's reign over South Carolina (the state, not the school) football. Caulton Tudor had an interesting piece last week about how many regional schools were probably pulling for Clemson in that game. No one outside of Columbia wants to see the Dark Prince get things rolling.


• The ACC Bowl situation is still a bit murky. The conference has six bowl tie-ins and already has seven teams who are eligible. The winner of the Maryland-NC State game will be the eighth. If a cholera epidemic breaks out in Blacksburg leading to a North Carolina win on Saturday, the Heels would be the ninth ACC team. Fortunately for the ACC, there are some other bowls available. As strong as the SEC has been, they won't have enough teams to fill all of their slots, and the Pac-10 and Big-10 might fail in that regard as well. So, it's possible that all of the eligible teams will find a place to go, but I bet it won't work out that way. Virginia has a long and glorious history of not being invited to bowls when they seemingly earned the right and if they finish with two blowout losses, that might happen again. I'm guessing the guys in tacky jackets aren't too excited about Maryland either, considering the way their season has gone. Look for one or two ACC schools to completely whiff on that extra game.

Two Live U

Have you heard the latest hit out of Miami? It's not to be missed. Well, unless maybe you are sensitive to things like profanity, awful lyrics, poor musical ability and oh ... gangbangs.

Yes, it's quite a little ditty and it's courtesy of the Miami Hurricanes. Incredible. Actually, the most amazing part of the whole thing is that it has taken this long to happen. What, didn't Luther Campbell's influence rub off right away?

While this story is exploding in the mainsteam media now, The Mighty MJD was all over it yesterday. I strongly recommend you read his take. He does a nice job comparing and contrasting the Hurricane's wordsmithing with the Chicago Bears' classic Super Bowl shuffle. Who wins the lyrical contest? I think the clear answer is that we all win.

The (Unofficial) ACC-Big East Challenge Begins

OK, so there's not really an ACC-Big East Challenge anymore, but there should be. With the improvement of the Big East and the recent raiding of three of their members by the ACC, it would be a hell of a spectacle. But, it doesn't exist, so we have to make do with the regularly scheduled matchups.

Oh, it looks like there was one last night!

Let's see ... Duke won, beating Seton Hall by a slim 53 point margin! Ouch.

So, just a couple of days after sleepwalking through their opener against Boston University, Duke found their game. And how. Man did they put an ass-whipping on the Pirates.

Before the season, I really thought DeMarcus Nelson would be the key to this team. All great teams need that do-everything glue guy and I think Nelson is their guy. With 16 points and 5 rebounds last night, he's off to a great start.

Terrapins, Tigers and Cavs, Oh My!

What a great weekend of football we had last weekend! Going in, almost all of the games had critical importance to one or both teams. With so many ACC teams nearing the magical 6-5 mark that earns (potentially) a bowl bid, it's a certainty that the last several weekends will have plenty of triumph and heartache. The ACC may not be as loaded as the SEC this year (it's far from it), but it's still been surprisingly competitive and interesting.

Let's start with the Clemson-Florida State game. Because of the "Bowden Bowl" stuff, this game will always have a reasonable level of interest, but what has made it even better in recent years has been the nearly constant attention paid to Tommy Bowden's job status. Every year, he seems to be in hot water and needs some critical wins to earn another season. Beating Florida State (and his dad) pretty much always qualifies as a good win.

With just two games remaining on the schedule, Clemson was 5-4 and needed just one win to have a winning season and go to a bowl game. Unfortunately for the Tigers, their last two games were home against the (supposedly) mighty Florida State and at rival South Carolina. Neither game would be an easy win. If Clemson lost to FSU, as would be expected, that last game against the Gamecocks would have been huge. Not only is it a rivalry game, which means you can never chalk it up as an easy win, but USC's hire last year of Steve Spurrier energized the USC program. The perception immediately became that the Cocks are a team on the rise and if there's anything Spurrier proved when he was at Florida it was that he could beat his main rivals. His Gator teams simply dominated Tennessee and Georgia. On top of that, he loved needling Papa Bowden and took every chance he could to disparage the Noles in front of a microphone. Remember who coined the term "Free Shoes University?"

If Clemson were to lose both games, there's a very good chance that Tommy Bowden would have been fired. They would have a losing record, miss a bowl again, and would have been perceived to have lost a step to the cross-state rival - a rivalry that Clemson has pretty much always dominated.

So with all of that on the line, the Tigers came out and played their best game of the year, absolutely dominating Florida State. It was certainly the worst loss the Seminoles have suffered since they joined the conference. Clemson dominated in every way. The only reason they won by "just" three touchdowns was FSU's touchdown off of a blocked punt.

It was a huuuuge win for Clemson and Coach Tommy. Sure, they still have pressure next week (after all, did you see what USC did to Florida at about the same time that Clemson was whacking FSU?), but it's nowhere nearly as intense as it would have been. I have to think that a second straight home win over the former conference bullies has to earn Tommy at least another year in Tiger Town.

And how about those Seminoles? What a season they've had. They started things off by finally shaking that Miami monkey off their back. They didn't look sharp in that game, but they won. They then went on and rolled through the rest of the first half of their schedule. It seemed that they were back. Maybe not all the way back to the their 90s dominance, but after a couple of relatively meager years, they looked close to their old selves again.

And then the Virginia upset happened. To me, it didn't signal that the Noles were bad. They just got beat by a good team, and a good player in Marques Hagans, that got hot at the right time. It happens.

And then a week after a surprisingly close game against Maryland, Florida State lost to a struggling NC State team. At home. Unlike the Virginia game, in this one, FSU was soundly beaten. NC State looked like the better team. Not a lot better, but better. Warning signs were flashing everywhere, but I and many other missed them, as we were focusing rather on what had gotten into the Wolfpack.

And then the Clemson game. This time there was no mistaking it. It was not just a good team getting hot. It was not just one team outplaying another. It was one team dominating the other. Florida State couldn't stop Clemson (who has hardly been an offensive juggernaut) and they couldn't move the ball either. The Noles had only 226 yards of offense. Two hundred and twenty-six! That was a good quarter for the old Seminoles.

So what happened? How did they go from a return to glory to a 5-3 conference team with consecutive losses? I won't claim to have all of the answers, but the most glaring problem is their quarterback play. Drew Weatherford was awful in that first game against Miami, but really improved throughout the year. Unfortunately, while he was improving, the Seminole brain trust decided to stop trying to run the ball. Good thinking. Put the whole burden of your offense on the shoulders of a freshman who was just starting to figure things out. He buckled under that weight and has been terrible the last two games. Against Clemson, Weatherford threw for only 117 yards and had two interceptions. Many of his incompletions were nowhere near their intended targets. Unfortunately for Florida State, their backup, the highly regarded Xavier Lee was even worse. His first series in relief of Weatherford - a delay of game penalty (after a change of possession, no less), a pass waaay off the mark that was somehow caught in a miraculous effort, a pass right off the chest of an unsuspecting Clemson linebacker and then a sack when Lee stayed in the pocket for roughly four minutes. Punt.

Tough times for the Noles. Fortunately for them, they always have this. And honestly, when you have that on your side, does the rest of it really matter that much? (yes, you absolutely should click on that link. Here, I'll give you another chance.)

The Tortoise And The Prevent Defense
The Maryland - North Carolina game was another critical one. Both teams came in at 4-4, needing two wins in their last three. Carolina has one gimme left with Duke and one no-f'in-way game at Virginia Tech. So to get to the promised land (hey, their expectations ain't that high), they pretty much needed to beat the Terps.

Maryland had a similarly tough three games left in which to get two - at UNC, home against BC and at NC State. Nothing quite as hard as a game at Virginia Tech, but there are no Dukes in there either.

Basically, both teams really needed the win. Badly.

For most of the game, Maryland appeared to me to be the better team. They moved the ball more consistently, but they kept shooting themselves in the foot. Paw? Claw? What do turtles have? Anyway, two missed field goals and an int returned for a touchdown had put the Terrapins in a 10 point hole late in the fourth quarter.

Now, my wife isn't a big football fan. Frankly, she just doesn't like the sport that much. When she does watch it though, she loves to see bombs. It seems like every time she watches a bit of a game, she'll see some 60 yard play and ask why they don't just do that every time. It looks so much easier! Well, I guess Ralph Friedgen agrees, because when down 10 late in the game, Maryland decided to make it easy. Bombs away! Sam Hollenbach hit Jo Jo Walker for a 67 yard score to make it a three point game. On their very next offensive play, they tried it again, this time hitting Danny Melendez for an 80 yard score. Nice job Tar Heel defense!

Fortunately for the Heels, Dan Ennis can't kick and he missed the extra point, giving the Heels life. Down only three, they tied it with just seconds left. Unfortunately, the Heels kicker Connor Barth isn't much better and he missed his chippie in overtime and the Heels lost.

Tough way to go down. Now the only chance Carolina has to is to go up to Lane Stadium and knock off the Hokies. While that's not impossible, I think they have a better chance of overlooking Duke and taking an ugly upset.

For Maryland, while they aspire to better results than 6-5, that still has to be their goal. All they need to do now is split their remaining games against BC and the schizophrenic Wolfpack. I think they have a good shot.

The Curse of Scott Sisson
Did you know that Georgia Tech hasn't won a football game in Charlottesville since 1990, the year of their classic shootout that ended with Scott Sisson's winning field goal? Tech knocked off the #1 Cavaliers that day and went on to win the national championship. Do you think they'd trade that for at least one win in fifteen years in Scott Stadium? No, me neither.

Going into this year's game with Virginia, the Yellow Jackets had to feel pretty confident. Sitting at 6-2, they were one of five ACC teams with a bowl game locked up. Virginia was 5-3 and was in a similar situation to Maryland and UNC. While the Cavs needed only one more win to get to 6-5, their last three games were all against ranked teams - Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech at home and at Miami. A win against the Rambling Wreck looked to be a critical goal for the erratic Cavs. Lose that game and a three-game skid seemed very likely.

Instead Virginia came out with a focus not seen since their now-devalued Florida State win and controlled almost the whole game. Taking all the factors into account, it was probably the best effort of the season for the Cavaliers. Now that they are 6-3, they can go into those final two difficult games with a bit more confidence and less pressure. They will probably still lose both, but losing two in a row and still going bowling (possibly) is a WHOLE lot better than skidding home with three losses and not going anywhere.

No Steak For You
There's an expression in sales that you don't sell the steak, you sell the sizzle. Chuck Amato must have taken some sales training. He's a master of the sizzle, but seems to have a hard time procuring the steak. Sure, NC State beat Florida State on the road for the second time last week, and they looked great doing it, but they were still sitting at just 4-4 and 2-4 in the ACC. Beating the Noles is the kind of sizzle that gets you on ESPN, but beating Wake Forest and North Carolina every year would be the steak that would keep the Wolfpack nicely fed.

Going into last weekend's game in Boston, State was on a high, having won two games in a row. They had a new, undefeated starting quarterback, a new running back that had people evoking the name of *cough* *cough* Herschel Walker (!!), and a rejuvenated defensive line that was tearing apart opposing offenses. It seemed to all of the world that they had righted the ship and might just make this season a good one after all. With one cupcake left on the schedule (Middle Tennessee) to assure a fifth win, all the Pack needed to do was beat either BC or Maryland to get to a bowl game.

Losing to BC wouldn't be the end of the world, since they still would have that Maryland game to get things together, but they way they did lose ... well, let's just say the sizzle is quiet now. The Eagles positively smacked the Pack around. If not for one 97 yard play, State would have had almost no offense. The length of the seven drives after that 97 yard one - 4, 4, 3, 10, 2, 4, 3. BC, particularly freak Mathias Kiwanuka, just beat State up. It was very reminiscent of the Clemson beatdown.

For BC, it wasn't a critical win, but it was important. They had lost two in row and needed to get back on track. Their loss in Blacksburg proved that they didn't belong with the ACC elite, and the loss in Chapel Hill put into question whether they were the best of the ACC's broad middle class. There should be no more doubt about that now. Actually, with the collapse of the Noles, I'd say BC is the #3 ACC team now.

As for the Pack? Well they have to beat Maryland now in their last game. If the Terps lose to BC this weekend, then they too will need to win that game. Should be a doozy.

And for Chuck Amato and his sizzle? Put the coffee down! Coffee is for closers.

All-Time Squad Hoops Tourney

ESPN has a rare interesting article where they put together an NCAA Tournament field using schools' all-time rosters. They limited each school to just seven players, so some teams are not quite as overpowering as they could be.

They seeded the 32 teams they picked and Scoop Jackson (he's actually tolerable in this - go figure) and Eric Neel predict all of the first round matchups.

The ACC programs that made the tourney are UNC (#2 seed), Duke (#9), Maryland (#7), NC State (#23) and Georgia Tech (#28).

What's nuts is to look at Carolina. Their second squad could be about a 10 seed. My pick for their second seven:
Sam Perkins
Jerry Stackhouse
Rasheed Wallace
Donald Williams
Kenny Smith
Brad Daugherty
Antawn Jamison

And some All-Americans like J.R. Reid, Joe Forte and Vince Carter didn't even make that team (I'm looking only at college production, while the ESPN guys considered both college and pro careers).

Update: Damn, I completely forgot about the most recent Tar Heel squad. I'd be tempted to bump Rasheed and put Sean May on there instead. I'd love to work Felton in there as well, but I can't figure who to bump. Donald Williams is the weakest guy on that squad, but you need someone to hit jumpers.

What Would You Do ...

if you won the lottery? What if it were the $300 million Mega Millions lottery?

Well Eagle in Atlanta knows what he would do (and he bought a ticket to make his dream come true) - he'd go all SEC on the Boston College football program. Cheat, cheat, cheat his way to titles galore.

Gotta admire the man's vision.

Brick

Former Duke basketball player Robert Brickey is now the new basketball coach at Shaw University. I really liked Brickey as a player mainly because the dude could jump out of the gym. He wasn't the greatest player, but man I loved to watch him get up.

It's interesting that he's gotten into coaching and seems to be finding some success. You tend not to think of the athletic stud-types as future coaches. I guess he learned some things along the way other than "hey, I can just jump over these guys!"

Tar Heels Take Top Talent

The News & Observer had a nice article yesterday about UNC's ridiculously good recruiting class for next year. Better get your kicks in this year, because they won't be down for long.

As a very interesting addendum to this story, they also ran brief listings of Bob Gibbon's best recruiting classes ever including details about his top-five ever classes. There's plenty of discussion fodder in there!

ACC Football Roundup - Week Ten

It's been a little while since I've posted about football, huh? That's what happens when the sneakers start squeaking the round balls start bouncing. I get distracted. Or at least, that's my excuse. I have two weeks worth of thoughts to dump here, so I'll probably miss some stuff.

The big event in the ACC of course was the stomping that Miami gave Virginia Tech last weekend. They were very impressive and are clearly now the class of the league.

The other big event was NC State's surprising, yet somewhat predictable, upset of Florida State. Does that mean that the Pack is back? I'll talk more about both teams below in my rankings.

1. Miami (7-1, 4-1) - That lethargic first half against North Carolina was the very best thing that could have happened to this Miami team. They had gone five weeks without playing a team that would make them exert any effort (since their September 24 game against Colorado) and I think they just forgot how to play hard. When you are talented and fast, it's very easy to fall into a pattern of playing at something less than full speed. I mean, why get up to play Duke or Temple? The problem is that when you do that week after week, you get complacent. Enter UNC. While the Tar Heels may not be an elite team, they are pretty good and they came out fired up against the Hurricanes.

Carolina smacked the Canes on their butts for a half and clearly that sent a message. The Miami team that came out in the second half was a completely different team. Local writers blamed (at least in part) that loss on the terrible first half drop by Jawarski Pollack of what would have been a sure touchdown. The thing is, those writers were ignoring what Miami did in the second half. It wouldn't have mattered if Carolina had had another touchdown. Miami was going to win either way.

The Hurricanes came out with that same passion from the opening kick against the Hokies last Saturday. They just wanted it more and it showed. I don't think they are that much better than Tech, but on that night they were.

It's a shame that Miami couldn't find a way to win that opening game against FSU, because they are rounding into a national championship caliber team. Or well, they would be if not for several key injuries. Even so, they'll probably get their revenge over the Seminoles in the ACC Championship game.

2. Virginia Tech (8-1, 5-1) - Sure, they got exposed a bit, but this is still a good team. Marcus Vick was absolutely horrible in that game. I don't think it means he's that bad though - he just had a bad game at a bad time. Miami's defense was jacked up and he didn't respond properly. I think he'll do better next time he gets a chance like that.

3. Florida State (7-2, 5-2) - Yeah, they've lost twice now and kept Maryland in the game two weeks ago, but who else are you going to put here?

The recurring problem for this team is that they are unable to generate a ground game. It's hard to understand why, because they have some terrific running backs. Their offensive line does a good job of pass protection, but maybe they're just too slow to open running lanes. Or maybe it's the schemes. I don't claim to know, but something's wrong.

Still, this is a fast team who can beat anyone in the country when they are playing well.

4. Georgia Tech (6-2, 4-2) - There's still a big dropoff from #3 to #4. I like the Jackets here over the Eagles, because Boston College is just so damn boring to watch. While neither Reggie Ball nor PJ Daniels are having the seasons I expected of them, this is still a good team. It's not a great team, but they do just manage to win. And they are one freak play away from being 7-1 on the season.

5. Boston College (6-3, 3-3) - It's one thing to be dominated by Florida State, but when Carolina manhandles you, well ...

The Eagles were actually in the game against Carolina the whole team, but it never felt that way. The score was close, and maybe Carolina wouldn't have won without that touchdown on the opening kickoff, but for some reason it just never seemed like BC took control of the game. Carolina's defense kept them from making any big plays and BC wasn't effective enough stopping the Heels' running game.

With games left against a resurgent NC State and at Maryland, it's entirely possible that BC could close out their season on a four-game skid.

6. North Carolina (4-4, 3-2) - I have to concede that I'm coming around on John Bunting. Maybe the man can coach. He has the Heels playing some very good, if boring, ball these days. Check out their last three games - a defensive masterpiece against a hot Virginia team, a half of an upset against Miami and a methodical beating of Boston College. That's a very solid run.

At 4-4, the Heels need two more wins to get to another bowl game. Duke is a gimme and a game at Lane Stadium is probably an L. That leaves this weekend's home game against Maryland as the most important game the Heels have left. It'll be interesting to see what happens in that one, as both teams seem to have found their stride.

7. Clemson (5-4, 3-4) - I freely admit that when it comes to ranking these middle teams, it's a tossup. It's just very slight perception differences between the teams. Clemson has beaten Maryland and NC State, but yet they lost to Wake, BC and GT. Ah well, this feels about right.

At 5-4, the Tigers are once again in precarious spot. They have only two games left - Florida State at home and South Carolina on the road. Neither of those are easy games. The Seminoles are obviously beatable, having lost to two teams that I haven't even ranked yet, but they'll be pissed on Saturday. If Clemson can get a ground game going, they can win. Against the Gamecocks, anything can happen, but something tells me that Spurrier will find a way to win that game.

If the Tigers manage to lose both games, will that finally be the final blow for Tommy Bowden's tumultuous reign? It would mean a losing record, no bowl game, finishing with three losses in the final four games and - worst of all - losing to the hated USC and their shiny, new evil coach. I predict that it would spell doom for little Tommy.

8. Maryland (4-3, 2-2) - The Terps have lost two in a row, but they were against Virginia Tech and at Florida State. Not too many teams wouldn't have lost both games. Of great interest should be how well they played in Tallahassee. I was watching the game for a while and started flipping channels after the Noles got up 14 early. I felt I'd seen that show before and that Maryland was headed for a big, ugly beatdown. Didn't happen that way though. The Terrapins fought back and were actually in the game until the very end.

That said something to me. While they aren't a really good team, Maryland is a good one. They can give anyone trouble. Again, I think their game in Chapel Hill this weekend will be very interesting. Maryland need to find a way to get two wins out of their last three games - that game at UNC, home against BC and at NC State.

9. Virginia (5-3, 2-3) - They spanked Temple. Whoopdedo. Doesn't really mean a whole lot, does it?

Like just about every other conference team, the Cavs need a strong finish to get to a bowl game this year. They only need one win to be eligible, but their last three are pretty damn tough - home against Georgia Tech, home against Virginia Tech and then at Miami. Those three teams are a combined 21-4. A crushing finish to the season is entirely possible. The difficulty of the last two makes this weekend's game against the Yellow Jackets extra critical. Knowing the history of those teams, expect something like a 41-38 shootout.

10. NC State (4-4, 2-4) - I want to rank the Wolfpack higher. I really do, but it's hard just yet. That win over Florida State was very impressive, but they Pack had already dug themselves quite a hole.

Most people seem to be focusing on the 2-0 record of new starting QB Marcus Stone and the running of sudden sensation Andre Brown, but I really think the stars of that big win were the defensive line. State played a nickel or dime just about the entire game, but yet still put continuous pressure on Florida State's backfield. It was impressive. It was what we expected of that line all year. Ironically, it seems like they've gotten better since they lost John McCargo who I thought had been their most effective lineman. Maybe his loss inspired the other guys to step up or maybe it was just a coincidence, but either way it was much needed.

I should also point out that State's offensive line also played very well. Brown rushed for a lot of yards, but he had some HUGE holes to run through at times. I don't know if they changed their blocking schemes or what, but something's gotten better, and it's not just the running back. It's not like Darrell Blackman and Toney Baker were any slouches.

The Pack has one cupcake left, with Middle Tennessee State next week, so they need to get just one win out of their trip to Boston or their last game against Maryland. It's not out of the realm of possibility that they'll win all three and make Chuck Amato once again the toast of Raleigh. Somehow I think he'd enjoy that change.

11. Wake Forest (4-6, 3-4) - Well, at least the Deacons showed how big the gap is between them and Duke. They may not be going to a bowl game this season, but they did prove that they are doing something right when they beat the Blue Devils by five touchdowns a couple of weeks ago. That counts for something, right?

12. Duke (1-9, 0-7) - Honestly? I'm running out of jokes here. Anyone have anything new?

You Go Girls!

A couple of weeks ago I posted about the controversy swirling around Fisher DeBerry's comments about black and white athletes. At the end of the article I questioned if that sensitivity is really productive.

And now I found out about this. Sigh. Again I ask, is this what we want as a society? Do we want to live in a place where professional football cheerleaders can be arrested merely for having hot lesbian sex in a bar bathroom? See, I think we shouldn't frown on this sort of thing. Nay, I think we should celebrate it. Promote it even!

God bless America.

Doyel Disses Calhoun

Wow. This is something you don't see everyday - a well-respected national columnist savaging the head coach of a major athletic program. CBS Sportsline's Gregg Doyel goes off on Jim Calhoun in this article, saying without reservation that Calhoun is a man of low integrity who plays dirty.

Let me give you a taste:

Connecticut stole a recruit from St. John's this week, and the sad part is, nobody's surprised.

UConn coach Jim Calhoun is a Hall of Famer and a champion, but when it comes to coaching, he is not a moral beacon of light. This is not a news flash.

And it gets better:

Calhoun is feared, but he is not respected. Not by coaching colleagues who have grown tired of his cutthroat negative recruiting tactics and by his exploitation of NCAA loopholes like the one that landed him Brown and Gay.

There's plenty more of that sort of thing in there.

Now, I'm sure this article will piss a lot of people off - Connecticut fans, in particular - but I think it's great. It seems like Doyel has plenty of facts to back up his assertions and too often reports shy away from telling the truth in these situations because they are afraid they'll lose access. To be clear, when I say "the truth," I'm talking about the specific instances he lists, not his interpretations of those. I think his interpretations are spot on, mind you, but that doesn't mean they aren't still opinions.

Give it a read and see what you think. An unfair hatchet job? Is Doyel right and Calhoun is a snake? Or is Calhoun just doing what everyone else does and Doyel is off-base for singling him out?

I think you can guess what I think.

Credit goes to the Georgia Tech Sports Blog for finding this one. They were particularly interested in the story about how Calhoun recruited Ed Nelson to UConn while Nelson was still at GT.

Name That Site 4

It's time for the fourth episode of Name That Site! If you aren't sure what that is, check out the previous versions (one, two, three).

The gist of is it that I'm posting a picture from Google Earth below. You get to guess what building/stadium it is and explain (if it isn't obvious) what ACC relevance it has.

Got it?

OK then, does anyone know what this is (click for larger view)?

As always, I'll wait several days before revealing the answer.

Literary Rankings

You know I like me some Chris Chase. He's a funny guy. It turns out that he's pretty well-read too. Or maybe he just knows the titles. Either way, he had a great gimick for his NFL rankings this week - great works of literature.

Funny and smart! Who says that blogs are just a waste of time?

More Basketball Links From the DBR

I'm gonna catch yo (and my) ass up on hoops reading. First stop, the Duke Basketball Report. I've said it before, but they do a great job of following the whole ACC. If you could read only one site for ACC basketball coverage (and if you could put aside your Duke hatred), this would be the one.

All sorts of links about the ACC's Operation Basketball.

And now for the DBR's previews of each ACC team. I think you'll find that they do a pretty thorough job.

Miami
Florida State
Virginia Tech
Virginia
Boston College
Georgia Tech
Clemson
Maryland
Wake Forest
NC State
North Carolina

There. That should keep you busy for a while. You may have noticed that Duke is missing. I don't think they've done that one yet. I can probably sum it up pretty succinctly though:
Duke - they're going to be really, really good. If they don't win a national title, they'll probably be quite disappointed.

Basketball!

Football is great. I love it. It's a great game and it comes at a great time of the year, just about when I'm positively sick of baseball highlights on ESPN.

But basketball is even better, especially here in ACC country. College hoops rules.

I'm way behind on my links to basketball articles. There have been many good ones on the Duke Basketball Report, Ken Pomeroy's blog, Yoni's College Basketball blog and elsewhere. I plan on going back and linking to many of those, but for simplicity I'm going to start with News & Observer's ACC preview. This main article is about the Big Four, but they have previews of every team. Click through the stuff under the Related heading over on the right side of the page.

Gotta love it!