Former UNC player Ethan Albright, 39, may have played his last game as a long snapper in the NFL, just two years after making the Pro Bowl team. The Washington Redskins’ new coaches have brought in free agent snapper Nick Sundberg, who was signed as a rookie in May 2009 and then waived by the Carolina Panthers in September 2009.

Albright, who started out as a tight end with the Tar Heels, moved to the offensive line and started his long career as a deep snapper. The 16-year NFL veteran had been with the Redskins since 2001 and was considered the model of consistency over his career. He did have a high snap on a field goal attempt last season but the holder Hunter Smith, also a casualty of the new coaching regime, got the ball down fine only to see the 23-yard field goal shank off the leg of Shaun Suisham in an overtime loss to eventual Super Bowl champs New Orleans.

Albright, who lives in Greensboro, has not been picked up by any other team and is a free agent. While the Redskins have cleaned house, having gotten rid of 16 players from last year’s roster, I’d like to see them consider bringing Albright back if Sundberg doesn’t work out. Long snapper is a position that can be played by a 40-year old and the Redskins need to have some consistency and continuity. They already got rid of several other character guys like Ladell Betts, Rock Cartwright and Cornelius Griffin.

While there needed to be changes in the Redskins and while new coaches want to bring in their own people, I’m not sure I’d toss aside someone experienced like Albright for someone like Sundberg, who hasn’t played in an NFL regular season game and ended last season on the Ravens’ practice squad.

I’m not sure if today’s athletes are more wide open than athletes of yesterday but the Internet certainly exposes them more – so to speak.

NC State softballer Lauren Peters (pictured right) made frathousesports.com’s All Hot Team and was featured in a seven-picture layout online where she shows a lot of skin. The reserve outfielder finished the season for the 28-27 Wolfpack batting only .154 but she did have 33 putouts.

Meanwhile, UNC coach Roy Williams told his players, particularly Dexter Strickland, John Henson and Larry Drew Two, to tone it down with the online Tweets. He met with the team earlier this week to give them guidelines on what not to write on Twitter. The players’ Tweets certainly personalize the team but the Tweets can also be embarrassing, inappropriate and provide fodder for opponents and opponents’ fans.

Apparently, the last straw for Williams came when several of the players took part in a jokefest about why the Wear twins left the Carolina program. Williams himself Tweets but very rarely. Since January, Williams has posted four Tweets totalling just more than 80 words.

After the meeting with Williams, Henson – whose dirty-dancing with bikini-wearing babes pictures made the rounds on the Internet recently – and Strickland released a Tweet which read, “Well, coached (sic) just talked to us about twitter and told us we offend some people n what not so this is a farewell to bein’ myself.” Then, they wrote, “Yeah these people be emailin coach n stuff smh….self expression is a birthright and something you did PRIOR to hoopin…” Sounds a little bitter and snarly, not to mention the spelling and grammar errors.

Maybe they should be schooled in how to communicate as much as what they communicate.

Veteran defensive end Vonnie Holliday has signed to play for the New Over-the-Hill Gang Washington Redskins. A former Tar Heel All-ACC player, Holliday, 34, was selected in the first round of the 1998 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers.

That draft was the first time in UNC school history that three Tar Heels were selected in the first round – Greg Ellis went to the Dallas Cowboys while Brian Simmons went to the Cincinnati Bengals. All three played defense. The 1997 Tar Heels (11-1) ranked as one of the strongest defensive units in school history, posting a program-record 42 sacks while placing second nationally in rushing defense, third in total defense and fifth in turnover margin.

The Redskins plan to use Holliday in its new 3-4 defense as a third-down player, or as a backup to Albert Haynesworth, or even as a starter if the oft-injured, expensive, overrated and unhappy Haynesworth is traded (possibly to the Vikings). Holliday had success in the 3-4 when with the Dolphins 2005-2008. He had been a starter every year until serving as a backup for the Broncos last year where he still proved to be a strong pass rusher.

Raleigh-Durham has the strongest out-of-market fan base for the Redskins, according to a national survey conducted by DirecTV. That’s not a big surprise considering that the Redskins were the “home team” for the area for more than 50 years until the Panthers moved into Charlotte.

Coastal Carolina that is. The Chanticleers are 45-6 and should get a nice seed in the NC AA tournament. Two years ago Coastal Carolina fell to the North Carolina Tar Heels in the NCAA Super Regionals in Cary. The Tar Heels, who stand at 32-20 and 11-16 in the ACC, probably won’t qualify for the ACC tournament and are on the bubble for getting an NCAA bid.

UNC lost pitching and hitting but few thought the Heels would fall this far, this fast. One of the biggest differences between this year’s team and last year’s club is power. With the season dwindling down, the Tar Heels have only 36 home runs compared to 69 last year. Carolina was a plus 19 in homers last year and are a minus seven this year.

Of course the main reason for that is the loss of Dustin Ackley, now in the Seattle Mariners minor league system. No one has been able to come close to making up for Ackley’s 22 home runs and .417 batting average from last season.
The Heels’ top hitter this year is Levi Michael, who is batting an impressive .351 but who has only six homers.