Dave Sez

8-3 = 8-0

Last night the ACC headed into its five ACC-Big Ten "Challenge" games with a 4-2 lead, needing to win just two more to take the title again. Not content with a small win, the Good Guys went 4-1, administering yet another whupping to our midwestern friends by a total of 8-3.

In the marquee matchup of the night, UNC and Ohio State played a fun, end-to-end game that eventually went the Heels' way. I was impressed with the way that the Buckeyes played. They were fast and fearless, but part of that was that they were supernaturally hot in the first half. Knowing that his opponent only really went eight deep, Roy Williams had his guys keep the tempo extremely high. That strategy worked in the second half as the Buckeyes finally cooled off and the Baby Heels started seeing more cracks in the OSU defense. As usual, Tyler Hansbrough was the best player on the floor, banging and hustling his way to 21 and 14. As ESPN reminded us though (once or twice), Greg Oden was NOT playing for OSU. If he had been, the Buckeyes not only would have won by at least 50, but Hansbrough and Brandan Wright would likely now be dead. Fortunately for us all, Oden had the good sense to wear a beard and hat because had we been subjected to his full visage over and over and over last night, we'd likely all be mad with fear, just as mortals who peer into the face of a god. Help us all when his wrist heels.

The only game that didn't go the ACC's way was Virginia's loss to Purdue. The Cavs were sloppy for much of the game and paid the price. They did surge late and seemed to have the game wrapped up when the Boilermakers hit back-to-back threes with less than two minutes left. The Cavs tied it up but lost on funny-looking runner from 12 feet with just a second to go. As usual, Sean Singletary was outstanding, but his running mate JR Reynolds had a bad game. The Cavaliers just aren't good enough at this point to withstand a bad game from one of their two stars.

Chris Clark of 850 The Buzz wrote a nice review of the night here.

Speaking of games not going the right way, if you look back at my predictions, I missed only one game (the Virginia one) out of eleven. Not bad, huh?

So now that the ACC has run its record in this competition to 8-0 what should the future hold? Before I go on, I should say that despite my jokes, I do really like and respect the Big Ten. I think this has been a lot of fun and I love seeing the ACC teams match up against these schools that we'd otherwise see little of. There is a lot of basketball history in the Big Ten.

But enough is enough. This thing has run its course. I absolutely want to continue having an inter-conference competition, but the ACC needs new blood. While a lot of folks are talking up the SEC, I really would like to see a revival of the ACC-Big East Challenge. The Big East is loaded with good teams, there are lots of folks writing about how it, not the ACC, is the preeminent conference in the land, and there's already a lot of recent bad blood. It would be great! To keep things fair, the BE can even leave out their four worst teams (The Big East really is big, with 16 teams). John Swofford, redeem yourself (or at least, take a step that direction). Make this happen!

4-2 ACC

Last night's games weren't terribly pretty and they didn't all work out the ACC's way, but I'll take it. The Good Guys went 3-2 to push the overall "Challenge" lead to 4-2. With five more games tonight, the ACC just needs to win two to make it eight for eight in "Challenges" against the Big Ten.

Maryland had the best win last night, knocking off Illinois in Champagne, where they hadn't lost to a non-conference team in 51 games. Even with the win, the Terps found a lot of things to work on. They blew a large early lead by getting sloppy with the ball and failing to ever block out even once. Fortunately, one of those point guards I've talked about, Greivis Vasquez, put the team on his wiry shoulders in the second half and personally secured the win. I'd like to see one of the seniors step up in those situations, but a freshman is better than nobody.

Duke and Georgia Tech both won home games a bit too snuggly. Neither game should have been as close as it was, but a win's a win, right? I couldn't watch the Tech game, but Duke looked particularly lost on offense. If Greg Paulus doesn't get his game together, the Blue Devils are going to struggle at times this year.

FSU got spanked as expected by Wisconsin and Miami blew a golden chance to steal a win from Northwestern. The Hurricanes got the ball down two with almost 13 seconds left. Jack McClinton, who scored 30 jogged up the court, giving the defense time to get set, and then launched a contested 25-footer. He didn't even think about passing. Stupid. The smart, easy play is to just put your head down and drive to the hoop. They don't want to foul, so they'll probably give you an easy layup and possibly a three-point play. If they collapse, kick it out for an open three. Oh well.

The big game tonight is obviously Ohio State at UNC, but I'm pretty excited to see my Cavs visit Purdue. I watched Georgia Tech take apart the Boilermakers with their guard play, so I'm hoping the Cavs can do the same. The other game of interest is Michigan State at Boston College. This is a good chance for the Eagles to get their stuff together.

Pata Packing Arsenal

This doesn't make the Bryan Pata story any less tragic, but maybe his murder wasn't quite as unexpected as we were led to believe. Evidently, police seized the following weapons from his apartment, an assault rifle, shotgun and handgun. An assault rifle!

Boy am I glad that Miami's in the ACC now. Just loving it.

1-0 ACC

One game down, a one game lead for the ACC. I didn't realize my TiVo was recording other stuff, so I only saw the last 12 mnutes, but I liked what I saw of NC State beating Michigan. Don't misunderstand, I wasn't terribly impressed by the basketball. NC State looked a bit unsure how to handle their 20-point lead and then they looked extremely tired while the Michigan was incredibly disorganized the whole time. But I did like the Wolfpack's attitude. They played with joy and moments of creativity, usually when Ben McCauley had the ball. A good team would have punished the Pack for being so dead and having no real point guard, but for now, that was a great win. Wins like that early in a season can do wonders for a team's confidence. I still don't think State has the horsepower to make too much noise in the ACC, but they won't be pushovers.

There should be some better-played games tonight and hopefully the outcomes will continue on the same track that the Wolfpack started on last night.

ACC/Big Ten "Challenge!"

Man, this snuck up on me! I didn't realize until this morning that the ACC/Big Ten "Challenge" kicks off tonight when NC State travels to Michigan. The ACC has won the "Challenge" each of the first seven years and looks to make it eight for eight this time around. That's why I put quotes around "Challenge" in the title. Is it really a challenge if one side wins every time? ;-)

This year's games with brief thoughts:

11/27/06
Michigan @ NC State - Tough to say with this one. State is a big question mark. Michigan has been pretty mediocre in recent years, but they are experienced. I was going to go with the Wolverines, but my gut is saying that Sidney Lowe is going to get his first big win tonight. 1-0 ACC.

11/28/06
Maryland @ Illinois - The Illini are basically rebuilding now that most all of the players from their great '04-'05 team are now gone. Maryland is trying to build something after a few disappointing seasons. I like what I've seen of the Terps so far, but Assembly Hall is a tough place to win. Tough call, but once again, I'm going with my gut and the ACC squad. 2-0 ACC.

Florida State @ Wisconsin - The Badgers are experienced and well coached. The Seminoles are neither. Wisconsin. 2-1 ACC.

Indiana @ Duke - The Kelvin Sampson era at Indiana had probably the worst start of any new coaching era ever. A win over Duke in Cameron would go far in salvaging his image with the Hoosier faithful. But that ain't gonna happen. 3-1 ACC.

Penn State @ Georgia Tech - Penn State on the road. In basketball. Nephew, please. This team lost at home to Stony Brook. Georgia Tech in a blowout. 4-1 ACC.

Miami @ Northwestern - One team is athletic and poorly coached. The other is unathletic and well-coached. Score one for the nerds in an upset! Northwestern in a don't-record-this-one! game. 4-2 ACC.

11/29/06
Michigan State @ Boston College - Now this is a tricky game. As usual, the Spartans have already played several good teams and had mixed results. BC is supposed to be good, but has stumbled. Here is their chance to show that the predictions were true. I don't have a lot of faith in this pic, but I think the Eagles will find their game here. 5-2 ACC.

Virginia @ Purdue - The Cavs have only been tested once, and were impressive in beating a good Arizona team. Purdue played fairly well out in Hawaii, losing to Georgia Tech, but beating Oklahoma and Depaul. I think Sean Singletary will be too much and this will be their second ACC loss. 6-2 ACC.

Iowa @ Virginia Tech - The Hokies should be better this year, but they've already had two bad losses. Meanwhile Iowa has played a tough schedule, but lost to all of the good teams they've played. Tough call, but I think since it's in Cassel, the Hokies will crank up the D and run Alford's boys off the floor. 7-2 ACC.

Ohio State @ North Carolina - The marquee game. It would have been titanic if Greg Oden were playing. Even without the ginormous wunderkind, Ohio State is dangerous. The Heels are very deep, talented and young, sort of like the Buckeyes. Carolina inexplicably loses frequently in this "challenge," but I think they'll come through here at home. If they hadn't already lost to Gonzaga, I'd have picked them to lose this one. 8-2 ACC.

Clemson @ Minnesota - I was all set to pick the Gophers here before I looked at what they've done so far this year. Four straight losses and listen to the four schools - Iowa State, Marist, Southern Illinois and Montana. I'm sure several of those schools are actually pretty good, but a Big Ten team shouldn't lose four in a row like that. I have to go with Oliver Purnell (who I really like) and the Tigers. 9-2 ACC.

So there you have it. I really didn't plan on picking so many ACC teams, but going game-by-game, that's just the way it looks to me. It probably won't go quite like that, but I'd be surprised if the ACC didn't make it eight straight "challenge" wins.

Can we get the Big East next year?

Wake Forest - ACC Division Champs!

Of course you know, I've been a Wake Forest football fan forever. So, like my black and gold brethren, I couldn't have been prouder or more jubilant when my Deacs went up to College Park and smacked the Terrapins around to win the ACC's Atlantic Division. Drink that and in and swirl it around a bit. Wake Forest. ACC football champions. Quite a rare and unexpected flavor, is it not?

With Boston College's loss to Miami on Friday, Wake and Maryland knew that the winner of their game would take the division and play Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship game. So in a huge game on the road against a worth opponent, Wake Forest did it again. They led Maryland for virtually the whole game. I'm running out of words to describe what the Deacons have been doing this year. "Incredible" just doesn't do it justice.

A few random football thoughts before we forget this season ever happened ...

This weekend, the ACC had a chance to redeem itself. Three games against big rivals from the SEC. Three games, and the ACC went ofer. Lost to each and every one of those eponymous southeastern state schools, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. I should have known.

After this past weekend's game, if any ACC voter casts a coach of the year ballot for anyone other than Jim Grobe, their rights should be revoked immediately. And they should then be roundly beaten and forced to watch a video of John Bunting's greatest press conferences.

I was thisclose to getting my UNC-over-NC State and then Duke-over-UNC prediction right. So damn close. Those two teams were so damn bad, but Duke just barely outbadded the Heels. Nothing shows the fear of victory like having a game-tying extra point blocked. On the other hand, the Heels deserved to lose just for the late interception. There should be some sort of scoring rule that says that if you throw in an interception in the last three minutes of a game when you're up by one TD or less, the defense just automatically gets two points. Better yet, subtract two points from the offending team.

So Ted Roof is coming back for another action-packed season, but what about his (very) special teams coach? Against the Tar Heels, not exactly the USC Trojans, mind you, Duke gave up two returns for touchdowns, had two extra points blocked and had a third return for a TD called back on a holding call. Good lord, you have to try to be that bad, don't you?

They may not be playing in the conference championship, but there's no doubt in my mind that Virginia Tech is the best team in the ACC. No question.

In 12 Virginia football games this year, four, or one third, involved shutouts. Twice the Cavaliers shut out their opponent (UNC and Duke) and twice the Cavs were blanked (Virginia Tech and Florida State). In two other games, UVA's opponent did not score until the final few minutes (NC State and Miami). So in half of their games, one team either did not or barely scored! Those facts probably won't be in UVA's season ticket marketing push next year.

The All-ACC second team QB position should be left blank. After BC's Matt Ryan, not one quarterback had a good year. Not one. A few guys did pretty well considering what they were asked to do, but is that really worthy of all-league selection? There are many reasons why the ACC sucked this year, and poor QB play is right at the top of the list.

The University of Alabama is nuts if it doesn't put in a phone call to Jim Grobe. Miami too. I'm not sure Grobe would or should want either job, but they won't find a better coach to fix their problems. If he can win with Wake Forest talent, think of what he could do with the studs in Tuscaloosa or Coral Gables.

Chuck The Ex

According to the News and Observer, Chuck Amato has been fired at NC State. The news is evidently not official, but N&O cites several unnamed sources. While I used the verb "fired," the N&O doesn't quite put it that way, but I seriously doubt that Old Chuck resigned unless it was with a revolver at his temple.

This coaching search should be a hell of a lot of fun. State searches always are, but considering that Carolina just ran a very successful search a few weeks ago, well ... I think Lee Fowler is going to be under a hell of a lot of pressure. How will he top Butch Davis? Bill Cowher is a pipe dream. Norm Chow might be as well, and won't be available for at least five weeks. One name I never really heard in the UNC search, but I think should be near the top of State's list is Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster. That man can coach!

BTW, I learned of this news on my own site from veteran poster Ed-Hoo!

Other Amato fired links:
ESPN
Pack Pride
850 The Blog

ACC Basketball Review - 11/22/2006

I tell you what, it's a LOT more fun to write about ACC basketball than football and it's not just because I like hoops better. A couple of weeks into the basketball season and the ACC has already earned more significant non-conference wins than in the entire football season. This is just way more fun.

Thursday, Nov. 16
Duke 75, UNCG 48
Md 92, St. John's 60

Now, I don't know how good St. John's is supposed to be this year (CBS picked them 9th in the 16-team Big East), but I do know this - Holy Crap that was an ass-whupping! Maryland was up 37 points(!!) at the half. That's what you might expect against Johns Hopkins, not St. John's, a power conference team.

A bit more about the Terps further down.

GT 103, Ga. State 74

It looks like Georgia Tech's freshmen have come in more ready to play than the ACC's other stud freshmen. I'll talk a more about these guys further down.

Friday, Nov. 17
Clem. 79, App. State 49

Five games in the first eight days of the season! But this win made Tigers 5-0, so I guess it's working.

Wake 73, Elon 48
N.C. State 63, Delaware State 43
Miami 74, Evansville 69
Md 62, Mich. State 60

This was my first time watching the Terps play. After their impressive win over St. John's, I had to see this game. Michigan State was coming off of a close win against #19 Texas and you always know that Tom Izzo's team is going to play good defense and pound the boards. But, keeping with their early play to this point, Maryland beat off the Spartans, leading the whole way and fending off a late charge.

Maryland returned several good players in Ekene Ibekwe, Mike Jones, DJ Strawberry and James Gist, but the real key this team is evident within seconds of watching them play. Ever since John Gilchrist lost his mind, Maryland has struggled at the point guard spot and it has killed their teams. Last year, Strawberry had to play the point and it was a disaster. That team had enough talent to be good, but if you don't have good point guard play in college ball, you suffer. This year Maryland has two very promising freshmen points in Eric Hayes and Grievis Vasquez. Hayes looks and plays a lot like Steve Blake while Vasquez is a more bigger, more aggressive option. Both help the Terps immensely. With someone else handling the point, Strawberry can move to the wing where he is more dangerous on both ends of the court. Last year, he spent the whole season chasing smaller, quicker guys so now he can completely destroy the two-guards he's facing. With Strawberry hunting down every pass and Ibekwe at the back to erase mistakes, the Terps are back to their pressing ways and it's making all the difference.

Keep an eye on this Terp team, they might be very good.

Saturday, Nov. 18
Buffalo 60, Miami 57

Doh! Not what you want to see from an ACC team, but it happens and it's just the second loss for the entire conference this season.

Sunday, Nov. 19
UNC 103, Gardner-Webb 50

Maybe that Carolina defense is coming around. Of course, it's Gardner-Webb, but then Pfieffer put up 101 on the Heels in an exhibition, so clearly things have improved.

UVa 85, Morgan State 66
Cleveland State 78, Miami 67

I think I've written before that I don't think Frank Haith is a very good coach. So far, nothing is changing that opinion.

FSU 69, New Orleans 50

Monday, Nov. 20
Ga. Tech 79, Purdue 61

You can almost take my paragraph about Maryland above and apply it to Georgia Tech. Last year that team had Jeremis Smith and Ra'Sean Dickey - two players with the physical gifts to be all-conference performers, along with Anthony Morrow and talented guard Lewis Clinch. The problem was, they had no real point guard so much of those various talents were wasted.

Well, that has changed. Javaris Crittenton has come in and been sensational right away. From what I've seen, he's already the second best point guard in the league behind Sean Singletary. Crittenton just tore Purdue apart, particularly late in the game when the Boilermakers were trying to get back in the game. With Crittendon taking the attention and showing the way, Clinch is playing much better at both the 2 and 1. He could make a hell of a backup point guard.

Add to that all-everything freshman Thaddeus Young and this could be a really good team. Look at what they've already done this season and remember that Anthony Morrow isn't even healthy yet and the freshmen are only going to get better. Add the Yellow Jackets to the ACC's growing list of good teams.

Duke 71, Air Force 56

This game really impressed me. To understand why, first take a look at what Air Force had already done this year. In the two games before losing the Blue Devils, Air Force beat Stanford on the road by 34 points and then Colorado (also on the road) by 38 points. Read that sentence again. Air Force beat two major conference teams by a total of 72 points. And this is a team that plays a patient offense! Air Force is good.

For Duke, this game was a great test. The Blue Devils are incredibly young, playing pretty much all freshmen and sophomores. The only junior, DeMarcus Nelson missed chunks of his first two years with injuries. They are an inexperienced squad and were facing a very experienced, very well-coached, very good Air Force team that plays that maddening Princeton offense as well as a funky matchup zone. The Blue Devils passed the test with flying colors. They took the game to the Falcons from the get go, making very few poor decisions or letting cutters go. They lapsed a bit in the second half, but got it back together again behind Nelson in the last 7 minutes.

This was a nice win.

One quick aside - the announcers went on and on about how versatile and unselfish Josh McRoberts was. To me, while it's true that he's doing lots of things, I didn't like what I saw. McRoberts can certainly dribble and pass but this team needs someone who can put the ball in the hole. If he's going to be the leader, he's going to have to develop a bit more of a nasty streak. Past versatile Duke big men Christian Laettner and Danny Ferry could do it all too, but they never shied away from shooting. They knew that the offense went through them and that their versatility complimented their scoring, not the other way around. McRoberts could learn from that.

Md 71, Winthrop 60

I mentioned before how impressed I was with this Winthrop team. Well, between losses to UNC and Maryland, they went on the road and beat Mississippi State. This was a good win for Maryland. Maybe Miami should think about hiring Gregg Marshall.

Tuesday, Nov. 21
Clemson 69, Miss. State 66

Speaking of Mississippi State ... For Clemson, not only was this their 20th win of the season, but their first good one.

N.C. State 78, Valpo 64

NC State is taking baby steps this year as they figure out just what they have, but at least they've all been forward steps. Valpo is a solid mid-major to get a win over.

Ga. Tech 92, Memphis 85

And the beat goes on for the Yellow Jackets, knocking off the #12 Memphis Tigers. Say what you will about John Calipari, and I have, but his teams are usually quite good.

This time, the two talented big men Smith and Dickey stepped up and made the plays necessary to take this game. Tech has already won in several different ways behind several different players. Again, this team might be really good.

Wake 88, Vandy 78

Just like Georgia Tech and Maryland, Wake should have been better than they were last year. They didn't return quite as much talent as those teams, but like them they have a freshman point guard, Ishmael Smith who's making a huge difference. I haven't seen enough of this team to say just how good they are, but this was a nice non-conference win over an SEC squad.

Marquette 73, Duke 62
I didn't get to see this game last night. With the holidays coming up, I probably won't get a chance to pull it off the TiVo, but from what I read, Duke's recent bugaboo bit them again - defending athletic wing players. This team is decidedly more athletic than their previous two squads were, but defense can take time, especially when the philosophy has to change so much. No longer can Duke's guards pressure the ball and assume Shelden Williams will bail them out when they inevitably get beat. There's no eraser back there this year. The guards, Paulus in particular, need to keep their man in front of them and let the pressure come from the wings Nelson and Lance Thomas.

Even with Duke's loss to Marquette of the Big East, the ACC has a had a very nice start against the other power conferences. Last year was clearly a down year, but the ACC looks to be back with a vengeance. The ACC against the power conferences so far:

Big East 1-1
Big 10 2-0
Conference USA 2-0
Pac 10 1-0
SEC 2-0

eBay And Email

God, I love Bobby Bowden.

When talking to reporters about how his son Fredo resigned and why, he uncorked this awesome quote:

Because you all ignited it. You listen to eBay and e-mail and all that junk, and you all kept writing about it and that fans it and makes it grow and grow, and it becomes a cancer. That's why.

That damn eBay!! Sending out those evil messages through the Internets tubes!

Big thanks to NCAA Funhouse for finding that (and read their take; it's very funny) and Deadspin as well. For that matter, while I'm unwinding the thanks, I originally saw this at the Sports Frog.

Charles In Trouble

What to do about Chuck Amato? What to do?

Now in year 3 PR (post Rivers), it's clear that NC State is NOT on the verge of greatness. It's abundantly clear that Chuck has not capitalized on the momentum he built up in his first few years and that the program is no longer the up-and-coming comet it once appeared to be. NC State is not a national power and doesn't appear to be headed anywhere near there. Worse, with UNC's hiring of Butch Davis, Wake Forest's miracle season and ECU's surprising bowl game run, NC State is possible the fourth hottest program in the state.

Back in the Philip Rivers days, the Wolfpack didn't quite live up to the outrageous expectations (it may be hard to recall, but many folks were actually and seriously talking about national championships!), but did do quite well. Amato and Rivers whomped Notre Dame (and UNC) in their first year and went 11-3 in year three. Even with a surprisingly mediocre 8-5 in Rivers' senior year, the Wolfpack's future looked exceedingly bright. Alumni was rabid, money was rolling in and buildings were going up. Then came the 5-6 season. OK, a little rebuilding was to be expected (although a true Florida State North would go 8-4 in a rebuilding year, right?). Last year, the Pack rebounded slightly, going 7-5 after winning five of their last six.

The two middling PR seasons left Chuck Amato on the proverbial hot seat. Things were nearly bad enough to fire him, but even the most ardent supporters were wondering if they'd been had by a smooth-talking charlatan. Last Saturday's sloppy loss to the hapless Tar Heels left no doubt. NC State is now 3-8 with six straight losses. They couldn't beat Carolina, a team with a lame-duck coach that hadn't beat a 1-A school all year. If John Bunting isn't good enough to coach anymore in Chapel Hill, what about Amato, who Bunting's beaten three straight times?

The thing is, the ironic thing, is that Amato's early success and hype is largely to blame here. In most of NC State's history, two middling seasons (including one bowl appearance) followed by one terrible year wouldn't guarantee a firing. That would earn you one more year to earn your job back. But that's not the program anymore. Chuck Amato came in talking about building a national power and national powers don't accept four consecutive years without a winning conference record.

For Amato, it's not even just the ugly record, the angry fans or the embarrassing loss to a crappy rival. Now the newspapers have turned on him. Dick Dascenzo of the Durham Herald Sun skewered the Chest yesterday and the News & Observer's Caulton Tudor did the same. When the newspaper guys, the ones who need good rapport with coaches to get their stories, turn on you, you know you're in deep Davenport. For good measure, the student paper called for his head today.

So, what to do? Clearly Chuck has done lots of good at State. He helped build a new football building, expand the stadium, bring in superior talent and create a positive vibe that had been missing in Raleigh since Jim Valvano slinked off campus. Is one terrible season (after three disappointing ones) enough to fire him? Maybe not, but consider what bringing him back will mean. It's clear to me that Amato just isn't a good enough coach to compete at this level (unless he has one of the greatest players in ACC history running his offense). Another year isn't going to help that. Tudor has a nice paragraph about what that extra year would mean:

There's a chance Amato will get another year. But if so, it would be a plunge into purgatory marked by a weekly referendum on his fate. N.C. State would have 12 games, each a certifiable crisis until the coach either won or lost enough games to make the eventual decision a moot issue.

How would that be good for the program? Would that brutal deathmarch be worth making it appear that NC State gives coaches a fair shake?

On the flip side, could State land a guy who could fulfill Amato's empty promises? Possibly, but maybe not. Odds are, their search wouldn't be as quick, painless or as successful as UNC's was. In the long run that probably doesn't matter, but in the short term, while local high school kids are still picking their schools, it would have an impact.

What to do?

Chucked?

StateFans Nation is reporting that there's a rumor buzzing around NC State's campus that Chuck Amato has been fired. Keep in mind that SFN is making it clear that this is just a rumor with legs, not actual news. Not yet.

I hope it's not true. I've been batting an Amato article around in my head all day and haven't had a chance to write it yet. You know, because it's all about how it affects me.

Stack!

Looking for a little something special for your little something special this holiday season? Well, how about some music from basketball star and Christian crooner Jerry Stackhouse (scroll down a bit)?

Word on the street is that following the huge success of this limited release single, he has a new track hitting stores in January. It's a cover of a classic - "Eight Days A Week." The B-Side is a original, "Slapping Laettner On A Plane."

Penultimate Football Weekend

With two weekends left of ACC football, only one half of the conference championship is set. Georgia Tech wrapped up the Coastal Division last weekend (and yes, I have to look up the names each time. It's going to take a few years to get used to this divisional thing.), but Wake Forest, Maryland and Boston College all still have a shot at the Atlantic title.

Wake has the most control of their destiny. If they beat Maryland next weekend, they win go on the championship regardless of what they do tomorrow against Virginia Tech.

For Maryland to make it, they need to beat both BC and Wake in the next two weeks. Actually, they could also squeak in with a loss to BC, a win over Wake and a BC loss to Miami.

Boston College has the most distant shot because they are one game behind both the Terps and Deacons and they already lost to Wake. For them to advance, they need to beat both Maryland and Miami and have Wake lose both of their remaining games.

A quick look at the standings:

(As Of November 14)
ATLANTIC DIVISION
School	Conference	Pct.	Overall	Pct.
Wake Forest	5-1	.833	9-1	.900
Maryland	5-1	.833	8-2	.800
Boston College	4-2	.667	8-2	.800
Clemson	5-3	.625	8-3	.727
Florida State	3-5	.375	5-5	.500
NC State	2-5	.286	3-7	.300
COASTAL DIVISION
School	Conference	Pct.	Overall	Pct.
Georgia Tech	6-1	.857	8-2	.800
Virginia Tech	4-2	.667	8-2	.800
Virginia	3-3	.500	4-6	.400
Miami	2-4	.333	5-5	.500
North Carolina	0-6	.000	1-9	.100
Duke	0-6	.000	0-10	.000

And now a quick preview of the weekend's games...

NC State @ North Carolina - 12:00 PM - I've been telling everyone who would listen for weeks that UNC was going to win this game. My envisioned scenario was that State would continue to play well (remember when that sentence actually made sense?), but would fall again to their rivals. The second part of my prediction was that Carolina would turn around and lose to Duke in the last game of the season. I'm sticking with that even though it's not quite the bold call it was a few weeks ago. You don't need to be Nostradamus to foresee an embarrassing loss by either the Wolfpack or Tar Heels.

BTW, remember when this was an interesting, anticipated game? Yeah, me neither, but still the fans get pretty fired up about it, or at least the State fans do. Carolina fans certainly don't want to lose to their red neighbors, but it means considerably less to them than to the Wolfpackers.

Considering just how these teams have managed to lose in so many different ways, the only good thing to write about this game is that someone has to win. And it's going to be the lame duck coach.

Maryland @ Boston College - 12:00 PM - Can Maryland keep it going? They are working on one of the best lucky streaks in the nation. It's not that they haven't deserved to win their games, they have, but that they just as equally deserved to lose. It's tough to pull off five games in a row like that. It would probably be best for the conference if the Terps went on to win this one too to run their record to 9-2. Probably not going to happen though. The ACC just seems destined for disappointment this football season.

Miami @ Virginia - 12:00 PM - Earlier this year, this game seemed like an absolute no-brainer. The only question was just how badly the Hurricanes would humiliate the Cavaliers. Now, Virginia has improved quite a bit and I honestly wonder if the Canes even care anymore. I get the feeling - and granted, I'm not close the program at all, so I could be way off base - that the Miami players wouldn't mind if this season ended today. It's been a frustrating year for a program that's not really used to much frustration. Bullies don't usually take failure well.

Duke @ Georgia Tech - 1:30 PM - The Blue Devils have slowly, almost imperceptibly, improved this year. But not this much. They aren't winning this. Their big win comes next week.

Western Michigan @ Florida State - 2:00 PM - Not really a great test for the new FSU offense (you don't really think Jeff is still working do you?), but hey, they have to start somewhere. As much as I don't like the Seminoles, I beg of them - don't lose this game. Just don't.

Virginia Tech @ Wake Forest - 7:00 PM - Yet another nobody-saw-this-coming game-of-the-week involving Wake Forest. The Deacons have been involved in more important ACC football game this year than in the past two decades combined. Like in most of their other recent games, they appear to be the underdog here, but I would never bet against them. I hope they keep this thing rolling. Go Deacs!

RIP Bo

On the eve of perhaps the biggest regular season game in Michigan football history, legendary coach Bo Schembechler passed away at the age of 77.

There are two very nice tributes at mgoblog and the Sports Frog. You have to wonder if this will affect the game at all tomorrow. Probably not too much, but you can be sure the Wolverines will come out on fire and sometimes there's nothing better than having a single rallying cry and external motivator.

Farrakhan To Be A Cavalier

I'm a little stunned here. The joke possibilties are overwhelming (would you say I have a plethora?). Mustapha Farrakhan, the grandson of calypso singer and National of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, has signed to play basketball at Virginia.

I guess it makes sense. Jesse Jackson's son played linebacker for George Welsh in the early 90s.

Does Al Sharpton have any kids?

Think Farrakhan's grandson would have signed to play for Pete Gillen?

ACC Basketball Review - 11/16/2006

How about a quick rundown of all the games played so far? Who's up for that? I'll sprinkle in some comments about the games of interest.

Tuesday, Nov. 7
Maryland 102, Hampton 75

Wednesday, Nov. 8
Maryland 81, Vermont 63

As I wrote about before, those are two nice wins for Maryland after struggling in their exhibitions. Of course that second win looks a lot better now than it did at the time.

Friday, Nov. 10
BC 86, New Hampshire 47
N.C. State 92, Wofford 88

State was led in scoring by Ben McCauley's 26 points. I guess that's a good thing.

Va. Tech 94, Coppin State 43

The Hokies gave up just 14 points in the first half.

Ga. Tech 83, Elon 49

Freshmen studs Javaris Crittenton and Thaddeus Young had a nice start, combining for 32 points. "Javaris & Thaddeus" sounds like an Amish law firm.

Clemson 83, Arkansas State 44

Saturday, Nov. 11
Wake 91, James Madison 82

Wake was down at the half, but came back. Maybe they have some heart this year. Apparently Kyle Visser was reanimated and freshman point guard Ishmael Smith had an excellent debut with 11 assists. If Smith can keep playing like that, the Deacs can keep Harvey Hale at the 2 where he is much more comfortable.

Clemson 77, Monmouth 65
Miami 73, FIU 50

Sunday, Nov. 12
Clemson 74, Old Dominion 70

The Tigers are apparently going to play every single night in an attempt to get enough wins to qualify for the dance this year.

Maryland 93, Florida A&M 54
UVa 93, Arizona 90

The best matchup of the season so far for the ACC resulted in the best result so far. UVA was getting blasted in the first half. They were down 19 and Arizona was making them look silly. The Cavaliers fought back though and chipped and chipped until they had the lead. They held it for an excellent win and a great way to open their new building. If this game is any indication, Dave Leitao really is an excellent coach. Arizona had four of the best five players in the game.

BTW, I nearly choked on my popcorn when I saw that they retired Curtis Staples' jersey during this game. Curtis Staples? Sure, he was a nice player and set the NCAA three-point record, but he was a one-time third-team All-ACC player and was never even the best player on the team. Only later did I read that they made a distinction. They retired his jersey, not his number. It's a new honor, I guess as a way to fill the rafters in the new John Paul Jones arena. Still, there are many Cavaliers who would have been better choices. At Carolina, you have to be a two-time All-American or national player of the year to get up in the rafters. I know Virginia isn't UNC, but come on. At least go with someone who made all-conference first team once.

FSU 85, McNeese State 65
Duke 86, Columbia 43

Just like at UNC and Georgia Tech, Duke's trying to work in a bunch of talented freshmen. The results are going to be uneven for a little while.

Monday, Nov. 13
Vermont 77, BC 63

Doh! Tyler Coppenrath is gone and so is coach Tom Brennan, so this wasn't supposed to happen. Still, BC is trying to adjust to not having seniors Craig Smith and Louis Hinnant and obviously things aren't perfect yet. This is still a good team. Remember, Sean Williams and Akida McLain were suspended.

Duke 72, Ga. Southern 48

Notice that the Blue Devils have given up 43 and 48 points in their first two games. This is a more athletic and better defensive team than recent squads.

GT 100, Jackson State 70
FSU 73, Illinois State 59

Illinois State was led by guard Dominitrix Johnson's 32 points. Dominitrix.

Tuesday, Nov. 14
Wake 86, Bucknell 83 (OT)

Wshew! Hey, like I said, this team is showing more fight already than last year's team. They may not be a great team, but the first step for this program is just to learn again how to win.

UNC 103, Sacred Heart 81

Carolina's defense is not good. On the other hand, 11 Tar Heels played at least 7 minutes.

Miami 96, Alcorn 57

Miami was led in scoring by someone named Jack McClinton. Who?

FSU 59, SMU 52
VT 95, West Fla. 47

Two game, two big blowouts for the Hokies. Maybe their run of bad luck has finally ended. If so, they could be a good, balanced team. They certainly should be excellent on the defensive end.

Wednesday, Nov. 15
UNC 73, Winthrop 66

This was my first chance to see the young studs. I give them mixed reviews. Brandan Wright was awesome and is only going to get better. Wow. Wayne Ellington has a pretty stroke, but is going to have to learn how to play the rest of the game. I was most interested in seeing Tywon Lawson and came away underwhelmed. I'd heard how good and fast he was, but he wasn't nearly as good or fast as Raymond Felton was at the beginning of his freshman year. I'm sure Lawson will get better, but he's not the superstar I expected. I now understand why Bobby Frasor is still starting over him.

I'm going to go ahead and put out a warning right now. It's one game in and I'm already sick of hearing how Tyler Hansbrough is such a hard worker. Yeah, I get it. You don't need to mention it 47 times a game. I have eyes.

Oh, and beware of this Winthrop team. They are pretty damn good. And in case you didn't know, Gregg Marshall is a hell of a coach. That team was very well prepared.

Clem. 67, Furman 58

Clemson is on pace to win 147 games this year.

Fredo Bowden Steps Down

Just a couple of days after the unthinkable, being shut out by Wake Forest at home, Jeff Bowden has done the only sensible thing. He's quitting. Godfather Bobby Bowden could stick up for his inept son for only so long.

I'm sure the folks in Tallahassee are dancing in the streets right now.

Sources say that in the lockerroom after Saturday night's debacle, Bobby could be seen hugging Jeff and telling him "you broke my heart."

Football recap

With basketball starting up and football nearing its conclusion, my head has been spinning with things I want to write about. To keep things easy for now, I'll go with a quick recap of the week's football games with some thoughts.

Clemson 20, NC State 14 - Yet another tough, close loss for NC State. If receiver Lamar Barrett's foot had come down a few inches to the side late in the game, State would have won. Instead, they lost for the fifth straight time and clinched a second losing season for The Chest. Each of State's five losses has come by one score or less. StateFans Nation has some of the pertinent stats from this game and season. They ain't purty.

For Clemson, the game was just as important, as it snapped an unexpected two-game losing streak and gave them their eighth win of the season. Clemson can't go to the ACC Championship game, but they can at least still make an argument that they are the ACC's best team. Of course, that's like being the sanest Jackson.

Georgia Tech 7, North Carolina 0 - Yawn. This was the most boring game in ACC history. Nothing happened. Nothing at all. The only interesting note is that the win clinched the Coastal Division for Georgia Tech. Congrats to the Yellow Jackets.

Maryland 14, Miami 13 - Maryland has now won five straight. The margins of victories in those game - 2, 6, 3, 1, 1. Crazy, huh? The Terps are like the bizzaro Wolfpack. With the narrow win, Maryland stayed atop the Atlantic Division standings with Wake Forest at 5-1. Their last two games are against Boston College (4-2) and Wake. It'll be like a mini-tournament!

The loss guaranteed that Miami can finish no better than .500 in the ACC this year, They'll have to beat either UVA in Charlottesville or Boston College to even be bowl eligible. And Butch Davis is off the market. Let's just say it was a bad week for Hurricane football.

p.s. Maryland became the first ACC team to beat both FSU and Miami in the same season.

Virginia Tech 23, Kent State 0 - Ho hum. Sure, some folks thought that Hokies would win by more, but this year, no win should be diminished. Especially not a shutout.

Boston College 28, Duke 7 - Duke actually stayed close in this game for a while. That's about the best the Blue Devils can hope for most weeks, to keep it close for a while. Now that basketball has started, I'm not sure even the players on the team care about football anymore.

BC has two critical games left on the schedule. They host Maryland next Saturday. A win keeps alive their chance at the ACC title. After that, they travel to Coral Gables to close out the year. Sure, Miami's down, but a game in the OB is always a big deal.

Wake Forest 30, Florida State 0 - I think I've covered this one. This game will be talked about for decades.

Davis Deal Done (For Real This Time)

The charade is over. The worst kept secret in college football is no longer. Butch Davis will be North Carolina's next football coach.

I understand as part of his compensation package, he doesn't have to watch the Tar Heels' final two games. That might have been a dealbreaker.

The Greatest Ever

You hear the expression "in your wildest dreams, you never could have imagined it" a lot and it's rarely true. I mean, like Han Solo, I can imagine a lot. Well, last Saturday's 30-0 Wake Forest win over Florida State in Tallahassee absolutely qualifies. Seriously, even your most die-hard, longtime Deacon backers couldn't have dreamed that. Sure, it was easy to imagine stealing a win down there - that would have been awesome! - but that dream probably involved some tight game with some big plays at the end. No way, no how, does anyone ever imagine shutting out Florida State.

If you consider the teams involved, the one program that is so far on top of the ACC's historical rankings and the other that is so far at the bottom, and considering that FSU hadn't been shut out in 17 years - 30 years on their own field - and considering that the final margin was 38 points off of Vegas' prediction, I think that game qualifies as the most amazing result I've seen in ACC football in the 20+ years I've been paying attention. It wasn't the most important game; that was either the 1990 Georgia Tech win over #1 Virginia when Tech went on to win the national championship (can you believe that? Two different ACC teams ranked #1 in the same year and neither were from Florida.) or the huge 1995 Virginia win over Florida State that showed the ACC that the Seminoles, like the Predator, bled and therefore could be killed.

So go on you Deacon fans. Celebrate! Even if the rest of the world isn't paying attention, those of use who really know see what your team is doing. They're living the dream.

The Ball Is Tipped ...

I'm a day late with this, but it's never too late to announce the official start of the college basketball season. Maryland kicked off the ACC year with a nice win over Hampton Tuesday night and followed that with another solid win over Vermont last night. Now, I know neither Hampton nor Vermont is a Grade A competition, but neither are true cupcakes. Both have known recent NCAA success, something the Terps cannot claim. Considering Maryland's shaky exhibition games, winning their first two real contests by 20+ points is a very pleasant surprise.

From what I saw of the game last night, the Terps look as athletic as ever, but maybe a bit more focused. They are breaking in two freshmen point guards, but the key to the season may be the play of senior enigma Mike Jones. Jones was a McDonald's All-American - an athletic wing guard who won the Mickey-D's three-point contest. How can a guy like that miss out on college stardom? I can't explain why, but he did - or rather, he has. If he keeps up his play from the first two games, he might just become a star this season. Better late than never.

BTW, at one point during the game, the analyst (I didn't catch who it was) was talking about the other ACC squads and actually said that he wouldn't be surprised if Virginia - Virginia! - snuck into the Final Four this year. I hope he meant the ACC Tournament Final Four. I'm a fan, but even I'm not that delusional.

Davis Deal Denied

Since I posted on the Butch Davis rumors yesterday, it's only fair that I give an update. The update is ... well, nothing. Everyone who knows is doing a great job saying nothing. Take that for what it's worth.

850 The Blog has a nice rundown of the latest stuff, including a great pic. I won't ruin Joe Ovies' joke. You'll have to click the link yourself.

Also, keep in mind that that stuff is all from yesterday, but from what I heard from David Glenn on the radio today, nothing has changed. Those in the know in Chapel Hill ain't talking.

Davis A Done Deal?

If the posters at Inside Carolina are to believed (and well, they aren't), Butch Davis' hiring is imminent.

It looks like AOL agrees.

As 850 The Blog reported yesterday, nothing is official yet, but there certainly seems to be a hell of a lot of Davis-colored smoke over Chapel Hill.

If the Heels do land him, it would be a great accomplishment. I'm not 100% convinced that he'd be great, but just that they landed their first choice and probably the biggest name out there says good things about the program's direction. You can be sure that this will cause some headaches in Raleigh from all the tooth-grinding of frustrated Wolfpackers.

Duke 2006-07 Preview

Last Season: 32-4 overall, 14-2 in the ACC. ACC regular season and tournament champs. Lost to LSU in the Sweet Sixteen as a #1 seed.

Gone: All-Everything JJ Redick (you've heard of him?), All-American Shelden Williams, starter Lee Melchionni and seldom-used freshman Eric Boateng.

New: Gerald Henderson (6-5 SF), Jon Scheyer (6-5 SG), Lance Thomas (6-9 PF) and Brian Zoubek (7-1 C). Henderson, Scheyer and Thomas were all McDonald's All-Americans and Zoubek was ranked #38 by Scout.com

Forecast: Obviously, Duke lost a lot with the graduation of Redick, the ACC's all-time leading scorer and Williams. Redick provided a huge hunk of Duke's points and Williams was possibly even more valuable, controlling the paint on both ends of the floor. Melchionni had a bit of a disappointing season, but he did give the Blue Devils some big threes and hustle. He also led the team in jumping, screaming hugs.

As always though, Duke has plenty of fresh talent to step in. This new team should be much more athletic than the past couple of Blue Devil squads and will probably play at a higher tempo. The key will be sophomore point guard Greg Paulus, who had a good, if uneven, freshman campaign. The thing is, Paulus has already injured his foot, a repeat of problems he suffered before, and the Blue Devils don't really have a reasonable backup. Also, folks seem to be taking it for granted that Josh McRoberts will step up his game to an all-league and even All-American level. I'm not so sure. McRoberts is clearly talented and showed it at times last year, but he was far from assertive and didn't seem to be a leader. Maybe he'll improve - he certainly has the potential - but I think folks are looking more at the DUKE on his chest than his actual production so far.

All that said, I'd be shocked if this team finished lower than third in the ACC. OK, maybe not shocked, but very surprised. If there's one thing Mike Krzyzewski knows how to do, it's to work with talented basketball players. They may not be experienced, but he'll coach them up and put them in positions where they can be very successful and will improve throughout the season.

Other Reviews:
Blue Ribbon (only half without paying)
Fox Sports
USA Today

Miami Lineman Shot, Killed

This is a terrible story. Miami defensive tackle Bryan Pata was shot and killed shortly after practice today.

That's awful for Pata's family, friends and teammates and the program in general. It's been a tough, tough year in Coral Gables, but this is by the far the worst thing yet.

At some point, you have to wonder if all the shootings and violence that surround that team will affect their ability to recruit. Would you want your kid playing there?

Well, He Was A Good Motivator

This is nuts. Apparently, the soccer team at Forestview High in Gastonia, NC played a speech from Hitler over the loudspeakers while warming up for a playoff game against Charlotte Catholic.

Talk about your bad decisions. The head coach claims he didn't know about it, which of course makes perfect sense, because head coaches always skip the pregame warmups of playoff games. Fortunately, the principal has some principles and issued an apology to Charlotte Catholic officials.

Tip o' the cap to the ACC Basketblog for the find.

Clemson 2006-7 Preview

Last Season: 19-13 overall, 7-9 in the ACC (seventh place). The Tigers lost in the first round of the ACC Tournament (as is the Law) and the second round of the NIT.

Gone: Starters Akin Akingbala (#2 scorer and #1 rebounder) and Shawan Robinson (#1 scorer).

New: Four freshmen (David Potter, Trevor Booker, Karolis Petrukonis and AJ Tyler). None were ranked in Scout.com's top 100 recruits.

Forecast: I believe that Oliver Purnell is one of the better coaches in the ACC, but it's about time to prove it with better on-court results. The backcourt of Vernon Hamilton and Cliff Hammonds will give opponents fits as they are aggressive and quick defenders. The Tigers actually play good overall team defense, but as is Clemson tradition, they struggle at times to score points. It's hard to say if that will be any better this year. Hamilton and Hammonds can both score, but neither are really great shooters. James Mays, who missed most of last year with academic problems, could help and they'll also need Sam Perry and KC Rivers to step up.

My guess is that, as usual, Clemson will dominate their early, weak non-conference schedule and then go somewhere between 6-10 and 8-8 in the ACC while praying that they have done enough for an NCAA bid. It's time for Purnell to get this program back into the Dance.

Other Reviews:
Duke Basketball Report
TigerNet.com

Boston College 2006-07 Preview

(Foreword: I'm going to try to do one of these for each team. I hope I can pull it off!)

Last Season: 28-8 overall, 11-5 (3rd place) in the ACC. BC lost to Duke in the ACC Tournament championship and was knocked off by Villanova in OT in the third round of the ACC Tournament after narrowly escaping Pacific in the first round.

Overall, the Eagles were a steady team led by forwards Craig Smith and Jared Dudley. They were not the most athletic team in the league, but with Sean Williams, Sean Marshall and Tyrese Rice, they could put a very athletic team on the floor when they needed to.

Gone: Craig Smith (1st team All-ACC) and Louis Hinnant, the starting point guard.

New: Three freshmen (Daye Kaba, Tyler Roche, Shamari Spears) and a transfer from Loyola-Chicago (Tyrell Blair). None of the freshmen were ranked in Scout.com's top 100.

Forecast: While BC lost two experienced starters including Smith, one of the program's greatest players, they should still have a good team. This year's version will be much more athletic and emotional with Tyrese Rice taking over the starting point guard spot and (probably) Sean Williams taking Smith's position. Rice was a better and more dynamic player than Hinnant last year, but the Eagles needed Hinnant's stability and game management. How BC does this year will depend a lot on how well Rice can handle those duties. It's a lot different being the starting PG than being the spark off the bench.

Fortunately for Rice and coach Al Skinner, Jared Dudley is one of the best and most versatile players in the ACC. Dudley isn't terribly athletic, but he plays hard and can do a little of everything. His job will be to use his intensity in a positive way to keep his emotional teammates, especially the volcanic Sean Marshall, focused on the game. Coach Skinner should help here, as he maintains a very calm demeanor during games, but then he gives me the feeling that he's bottling up a lot of fury in those clenched jaws. I wouldn't be surprised if this team induces at least one in-game explosion from the head coach.

I'd expect the Eagles to do just about the same as last year. They won't win the ACC, but they'll be right near the top.

Other reviews:
Duke Basketball Report
Collegehoops.net

Basketball Nears

Do you hear the sneaker squeaks? The bouncing balls? Basketball is here!

The first ACC game is tomorrow night when Hampton visits Maryland. Most other teams get started this weekend. I can't believe we're here already! The Duke Basketball Report has a quick look at the early games along with a few good links.

I had planned on doing quick previews of each team. Hopefully I'll still get a chance to do that, at least listing who's gone and coming in for each squad along with links to various preview stories. Stay tuned ...

Weekend Preview

With only four weeks to go and the division races still way up in the air, this is a pretty important weekend of ACC football. So I think it's time for my (first of the year!) weekend preview.

First things first, let's take a quick look at the standings:

ATLANTIC DIVISION
School	Conference	Pct.	Overall	Pct.
Boston College	3-1	.750	7-1	.875
Wake Forest	3-1	.750	7-1	.875
Maryland	3-1	.750	6-2	.750
Clemson	4-2	.667	7-2	.778
NC State	2-3	.400	3-5	.375
Florida State	2-4	.333	4-4	.500
COASTAL DIVISION
School	Conference	Pct.	Overall	Pct.
Georgia Tech	4-1	.800	6-2	.750
Virginia Tech	3-2	.600	6-2	.750
Virginia	3-2	.600	4-5	.444
Miami	2-2	.500	5-3	.625
North Carolina	0-5	.000	1-7	.125
Duke	0-5	.000	0-8	.000

As you can see, almost nobody is out of the hunt at this point. Almost every team has three or four ACC games left so there's lots of movement possible, but I bet we'll be using tiebreakers in at least one division to see who plays in Jacksonville.

Maryland @ Clemson - The Terps are on a three game winning streak that has taken them from mediocrity to the top of the Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, Clemson was spanked last week on national TV by Virginia Tech to fall into fourth place in the Atlantic. But don't be misled. The Tigers are still the best team in the ACC and I think they'll take out some frustration on Friedgen's boys.

If Maryland gets blown out (like I suspect), they need to make sure they have short memories. Their last three games after Clemson are Miami, at BC and Wake Forest. All three games possible wins or losses. They need to keep their heads right.

Virginia @ Florida State - I wrote a bit about this game here. These are two teams headed in opposite directions, but I suspect that the natural order of things will be restored at least for one day. The Seminoles are a wounded beast and that makes them dangerous. They are a seriously flawed team, but they do have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball and I have a hunch that they're tired of losing. If Virginia can manage to keep this game close (or have a lead) going into the fourth quarter, they can win the game, but if they let FSU score early, look for the Noles to roll.

Navy @ Duke - Think Paul Johnson will swing down 15-501 to look at some houses in Governor's Club?

For Duke, this is one of only two reasonable chances for a win this year. If they don't beat the Midshipmen (and they probably won't, as Navy is disciplined and well coached and ... well, the Devils aren't) they'll have to wait until the season-ender in Chapel Hill.

North Carolina @ Notre Dame - In John Bunting's tenure, Carolina games against good outside competition have not been pretty. Typically, they end with the opposition (Wisconsin, Utah, Louisville, Furman) rolling up record yardage and beating the Tar Heels like they owe them money. Expect the same this weekend.

Georgia Tech @ NC State - Georgia Tech is on top of the Coastal Division and coming off a big win over Miami. NC State has dropped three straight, sending fans to read about Sidney Lowe's first basketball practices. So the winner here is obvious, right? That's right. State's going to win. Chuck Amato is always at his best when his back's against the wall. The Wolfpack sucks in games that they should win, but do surprisingly well against teams that appear to be better. Book it - the Wolfpack in a thriller.

Boston College @ Wake Forest - Who would have guessed that in a November weekend that includes a Virginia Tech - Miami tilt that the Boston College - Wake Forest game would be the most important game? Like Kyle MacLachlin said in Blue Velvet, "It's a strange world."

The Eagles and Deacons, both 3-1 and leading the Atlantic have had some thrillers in the past few years, even before BC joined the ACC. Last year, BC won 35-30 when they scored two TDs in the last three minutes. In 2004, it was the Deacons who scored a TD in the last minute to win 17-14. And back in '03, the Deacons won 32-28 on a TD in the final two minutes (less than a minute after BC had taken the lead). That's a hell of a series!

For tomorrow's game, I honestly don't know who will win. I have an idea what to expect - two well-coached and fairly conservative teams who won't beat themselves. Neither team has many game-breakers so don't expect a ton of highlights. Instead there will be a lot of hard running and hard hitting and probably a game-winning score in the final minutes.

Virginia Tech @ Miami - I'm tempted to blow off this review just out of spite and not a little schadenfreude. Neither team really feels like it belongs in the ACC yet and right now, neither is delivering on the promise of top-notch ACC football. But that said, both teams have just two conference losses and the winner of this game could conceivably end up winning the Coastal Division (although Georgia Tech owns the head-to-head tie-breaker over both).

With the way the Hokies took it to Clemson last week and Miami crapped the laundry hamper against GT, it's easy to say that Beamer ball will win the day. So ... that's what I'm going with. The Hokies win, sealing Larry Coker's fate and bringing Butch Davis one step closer to his Coral Gables return.

Finding Yourself

I apologize in advance for this post. It's not really a sports one. Feel free to move along unless you care about things like blogging.

Just this morning, I realized that Google's blog search is mighty damn cool. I've always used Technorati and BlogPulse to keep an eye on who's been linking to my articles, but now I realize that Google just does a better a job. I should have known. I think I have a man-crush on Google.

Anyway, if you care to see who's linked to your favorite site, just put myfavoritesite.com into the search box and you'll get a comprehensive list. You can sort be relevency or date. You can also (and this is the really cool part) get an RSS feed of the top 10 or 100 hits. That's going right into my RSS reader.

Just browsing through the list this morning, I found a few links from sites that Technorati and BlogPulse never showed me. Google rocks.

Of course, you can also use the service for less narcissistic ends. Want to find out what bloggers are writing about the UNC coaching search or Jason Cain's mustache? Google will tell you. (I know you want to click that last link. Go ahead.)

Lending My Services

Walt, the creator of Inside FSU Football asked me a few questions about this weekend's Virginia-Florida State game and I answered them.

Exhibitionists

Enough with football! The college basketball exhibition season has begun!

The thing about exhibition games these days is that you have to be very careful what conclusions you reach from the results. Because of the Rudy Gay rule, teams now have to play lower-division college teams instead of those roving bands of former stars, so there is a great talent disparity (or there should be). A good rule of thumb is that you can't learn too much good from one of these games, but you can certainly learn some bad. For example, the star-studded Tar Heels ran and dunked their way to a 31-point win over St. Augustine's last night. The game was fun and showcased the new freshmen, but ultimately it doesn't mean much.

On the other hand, Maryland also had a game last night, squeaking by the Division II California (Pa.) Vulcans 79-78. (Raise your hand if you knew there was a school named California in Pennsylvania. Raise your other hand if you had any idea that there were schools with Star Trek baddies as their mascot.). The Terps had to hit key free throws in the final seconds to seal the win. Uh oh.