Featured stories, The skinny

ACC Orange Bowl Committee announce opponent and broadcast partner

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The Atlantic Coast Conference and the Orange Bowl Committee announced today that the Discover Orange Bowl will annually feature the ACC Champion against an opponent from the Big Ten Conference, Southeastern Conference or University of Notre Dame as part of the 12-year agreement that begins following the 2014 season. In addition, ESPN will serve as the broadcast partner, and the historic bowl game will either be played in an exclusive prime-time window New Year’s Eve or on New Year’s Day, pending the schedule of the new collegiate postseason playoff games.

The selection of the opponent will be based on the guiding principle of securing the highest-ranked team in the final standings available from the Big Ten, SEC or Notre Dame, but will also utilize criteria that shares the minimum appearance standards as agreed upon by all parties. The standards include at least three guaranteed appearances over the 12 years for both the Big Ten and the SEC and a maximum of two with no minimum for Notre Dame.

“We are pleased to have finalized our long-term partnership which brings tremendous exposure and value to the ACC and our member institutions,” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “The Discover Orange Bowl has a rich history of prestige and featuring our teams against opponents from the Big Ten, SEC and potentially Notre Dame provides attractive matchups year in and year out. The opportunity to partner with ESPN to showcase the game on either New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day provides us with a terrific way for fans to ring in the New Year in South Florida.”

”The Orange Bowl Committee is truly excited about the completion of our bowl matchup with the ACC Champion by solidifying that their opponent will be from either the Big Ten, SEC or Notre Dame, at a special time of year in beautiful South Florida. Undoubtedly this arrangement will provide tremendous national visibility and generate significant economic impact to the South Florida Community,” said O. Ford Gibson, Orange Bowl Committee president and chair. “The Orange Bowl values our special partnership with the Atlantic Coast Conference, as we are looking forward to strengthening our already deep relationships with the Big Ten, SEC and Notre Dame.”

“Our continued media partnership with ESPN is of great importance to the Discover Orange Bowl property,” said Eric Poms, Orange Bowl Committee chief executive officer. “The worldwide leader in sports brings the optimal platform to annually showcase one of college football’s great traditions.”

“A game pitting the ACC champion against the SEC, Big Ten or Notre Dame ensures a great match up for sports fans,” said John Skipper, ESPN President. “The Orange Bowl has a great history and we are very proud to be part of extending that into the next decade.”

“We are very excited to reach agreement with the ACC to provide a highly regarded football opponent at the Orange Bowl following select seasons from 2014-2026,” said Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany. “The ACC plays great college football and our fans have a deep respect for the historic Orange Bowl tradition. If previous Orange Bowl appearances are any indicator, I am confident that our fans will travel in great numbers to South Florida; and that those who can’t be there in person, will tune in to ESPN to watch these exciting postseason contests.”

“The tradition of the SEC playing in the Orange Bowl began over 75 years ago and since that time we have played in 39 Orange Bowls,” said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. “We are pleased to renew this long standing relationship with the Orange Bowl and appreciate having the opportunity to compete in front of a national audience on ESPN against the ACC.”

“The Orange Bowl qualifies as one of the most prestigious events in college football’s postseason and Notre Dame has played a part in that history, three times playing number-one ranked teams in our five previous appearances,” said Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick. “We are honored to partner with two of the premier conferences, the SEC and the Big Ten, to make certain the ACC will have a top-flight opponent on a regular basis.”

As was previously released, the ACC selected the Discover Orange Bowl to be its annual contract bowl partner, serving as the home of the ACC Champion in the new postseason college football arrangement recently announced by the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee. If the ACC Champion is identified as one of the top four teams by the Bowl Championship Series selection committee, then the ACC Champion will participate in the national semifinals and a replacement team from the ACC would participate in the Discover Orange Bowl.

In addition to the partnership between the ACC and the Orange Bowl Committee, it is anticipated that the Orange Bowl will host at least four semifinal games in the new postseason college football structure. In the years that the Orange Bowl serves as a semifinal host, the ACC Champion would then participate in one of the three host bowls that will be established as per the direction of the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee.

The Discover Orange Bowl has been the home of the ACC Champion since 2006 and in the first seven years of partnership, five different ACC teams have competed. Throughout the 78-year history, nine of the current ACC institutions have played in at least one Orange Bowl.

– News release

Featured stories, N.C. State

Wolfpack goes to Death Valley with the idea of slowing down Clemson’s offense

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NC State has a tough assignment playing at Clemson against a team that is averaging 28 points – in the first half alone.

“They’re so explosive on offense,” Wolfpack coach Tom O’Brien said. “What they’ve done is they’ve come out and jumped on people right away. I don’t know if you can stop them. I think you have to try to contain them and slow them down.”

O’Brien said a lot of their big plays come off the play-action pass and run fakes. “Certainly you just have to try to control what they do and not give up the big explosive plays that they’re so good at.”

That’s something that hasn’t really be done this season.

“They’ve lost one game on the road to Florida State. They’ve been undefeated I think probably two years at home,” O’Brien said. “Certainly it’s a tough venue to play in. They feed off their crowd, and they have so many big play guys, a quarterback that can beat you with arm or leg, tailbacks catch the ball and run with it, and same thing with their wide receivers. There’s not any one area that you say they’re weak in. They’re strong in all areas, and they put a lot of pressure on your defense.”

Featured stories, UNC

UNC, UVA look for exposure, improvement during ESPN Thursday night game

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Thursday night ESPN games are big, especially good for recruiting. When North Carolina travels to Virginia, it will important to both teams to win as well. The Cavs have won two in a row and looking to finish the season at .500 while the Tar Heels, who are on probation, have two games left in their season and simply want a win after scoring 50 and still losing Saturday.

UNC coach Larry Fedora said the quick turnaround for a Thursday game is probably just what the doctor ordered. “I think our guys have had a great attitude this week and I’m excited about getting back out on the field with them,” he said.

UVA coach Mike London said he feels honored to be playing on national TV when all eyes are on you. “ESPN is a great brand and does a great job of marketing it’s programming, particularly on those Thursday nights,” he said. “You look at the last couple Thursday night games, you see teams that are playing that I think have received bumps in their recruiting.”

He said playing at Miami on a Thursday ESPN game a year ago helped his team’s recruiting. He added that while his Cavs aren’t doing as well this year but this is an opportunity to improve their brand. He also said that the exposure may allow a recruit to get a second look at Virginia

Fedora seemingly is focused on the game itself and having his Tar Heels improve after giving up 68 points last Saturday. “We gave up a kickoff return for a touchdown,” Fedora said. “We had a botched fake punt on the 25-yard line that gave them another score. We turned the ball over on a screen pass on our own side, and we fumbled ball in the red zone going in. So there were around 24 points just off of special teams and turnover mishaps. We can correct a lot of things.”

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Former ECU football player, veterans salute highlight sports club meeting

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Tony Collins, former ECU and NFL player, will be the speaker at Wednesday’s Raleigh Sports Club luncheon. Collins is known for speaking to young people about the importance of academics.

In a previous speech, Collins said, “It’s so important for these kids to understand how important the academic side of this thing is and for them to understand that, man, if I do good in the classroom, I do good on the football field, or what ever sport that you play, now I have an opportunity to go on and play at the college level.”

Caroline Garrett, a volleyball and track star at St Davids School, will be honored as the Student Athlete of the Week.

The RSC will be honoring all veterans at Wednesday’s meeting. There will be a special presentation and recognition of those individuals who serve and have served in the military.

The club will participate again this year in a Thanksgiving Sharing Project to help our less fortunate neighbors with donations of non-perishable food items which will be donated to Midway Baptist Church’s program called “God’s Pantry”.

Please bring your non-perishable food items to the Wednesday meeting.

The RSC meetings emphasize friendship, fellowship, weekly door prizes, pick sheets, and great food. This is the 49th year of The Raleigh Sports Club.

The Raleigh Sports Club weekly Wednesday luncheon meetings are from 11:30 -1 p.m. at Highland United Methodist Church at 1901 Ridge Road in Raleigh. The Forks Cafeteria caters a Southern Buffet with lines opening at 11:30 a.m.

Member attendance fee is $15 while guests are $25. For more details go to www.raleighsportsclub.org.

Featured stories, Panthers

Things really falling apart in Charlotte as rumors fly about coach, franchise

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The Carolina Panthers were handled easily 36-14 at home by a team coached by their former head coach John Fox.

At 2-7 during a year some thought the Panthers would at least contend for a division title, the rumors are flying.

Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer writes, “Despite the rumors, the Panthers aren’t going to Los Angeles. But they are headed toward the bottom of the standings. It’s as if they have a standing reservation. They finally won a game last week but whatever momentum they hoped to generate faded Sunday after another Denver sack or another Peyton Manning completion, another Carolina turnover or another Panthers’ special teams error.”

Dave Friedman, a sports columnist, writes, “the guy that got fired leading to Rivera’s hiring beat the Panthers in every way possible. John Fox, who was unemployed for about for about five minutes when the Broncos scooped him up, reminded Panthers fans and management that sometimes the status quo beats the unknown.”

The Panthers are 8-17 without a win over a team with a winning record since Ron Rivera took over as coach.

Friedman adds, “Fox, who took over George Seifert’s 1-15 mess and two years later was in the Super Bowl with Jake Delhomme leading the way, is now 15-11 with the Broncos including a playoff win with Tim Tebow at QB.”

Rivera may be gone as the Panthers coach at the end of the season but some are calling for the ouster now. Even though the odds aren’t great, the bigger issue may be whether or the Panthers will even be around.

California political officials have been courting Panthers owner Jerry Richardson to move the team to Los Angeles. Richardson says he’s committed to keeping the Panthers in Charlotte because of his connections to North and South Carolina. ESPN is reporting that a source close to Richardson, however, that if Charlotte balks at helping him with some of the stadium renovations the Panthers have been wanting, it could happen.

Featured stories, UNC

UNC pulls away in second half, 80-56

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Despite being a game that was never really in doubt, North Carolina didn’t pull away until the second half in an 80-56 victory over Florida Atlantic. (11/11)

“I didn’t like our shooting in the first half,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “In the second half we shot a heck of a lot better.”

That’s an understatement as the Heels shot just 34 percent from the floor and just 4 of 14 from the free throw line in the first half. After a dressing down in the lockerroom at halftime, the Heels shot 55 percent the rest of the way and a slightly better 8 of 13 from the line.

Williams said he doesn’t normally talk about free throws since common wisdom is that it could hurt confidence. But, he figured, how could it get much worse.

It’s already apparent that the Tar Heels are relying on sophomore James Michael McAdoo to shoulder the burden of the loss of four starters from last year’s team. For the second time in two games, McAdoo accomplished a double-double, this time 19 points and 11 rebounds.

For more on the game, please click here.

Featured stories, UNC

Cold-shooting Heels open with easy, expected win

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North Carolina started the season with an expected win over Gardner Webb 76-59, and as expected James Michael McAdoo led the way with 26 points.

What wasn’t expected was the Tar Heels’ cold shooting from the outside. It has been expected that the three-point shot would be more prominent in the Heels’ arsenal with experience long-range shooters.

But Carolina only managed to hit one three in 13 attempts. The triple by Reggie Bullock gave the Heels its largest lead of the game at that point 43-28 less than two minutes into the second half. Sophomore P.J. Hairston missed all five of his three-point shots.

Dexter Strickland, back after missing much of last season with a torn ACL, was back to his slashing-to-the-basket ways in route to 13 points. He and McAdoo were the only Heels in double figures.

Carolina only shot 41 percent compared to 46 percent by the Bulldogs but the Heels got off 16 more shots – many coming on offensive rebounds. UNC outrebounded Gardner-Webb 48-32.

McAdoo led all rebounders with 14. Both his scoring and rebounding totals were career highs for the sophomore. A low-key McAdoo said of his effort, “I thought it was ok.”

The Heels started sloppy with a number of turnovers that kept the game close early but the Heels got the lead to double figures at 32-22 late in the first half and increased the lead from there.

However, after a brief run, the Bulldogs closed to within nine at 63-54 with five minutes left in the game. Leslie McDonald, himself coming off an ACL tear, drained a long two from the corner to stop the bleeding and gave the Heels a 65-54 lead with 4:34 left.

An 11-5 Carolina run ended the game.

“I was disappointed in how we played but not disappointed in my team,” UNC coach Roy Williams said.

Williams said that freshman point guard Marcus Paige, taking over for Kendall Marshall, will get better and Bullock will be fine from the three-point line. Bullock ended with just five points on four shots while Paige, considered more of a scorer than Marshall, scored six.

Williams did said it was a good test for the Tar Heels, who host Florida Atlantic Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

“We don’t have a zone defense so it’s hard to practice against a zone,” Williams said. “So, that was good to play against a zone.”

Featured stories, UNC

No longer favorites, can young Tar Heels contend for the ACC title?

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Unlike last season, when the experienced North Carolina Tar Heels were looking at a national championship or bust, the 2012-2013 team wil be looking to contend for the ACC championship with perennial power Duke and newly powerful N.C. State.

The Tar Heels lost four players who went in the first round of the NBA draft – Tyler Zeller, Harrison Barnes, John Henson and, maybe most devastatingly, Kendall Marshall. Marshall left after his sophomore year and after his wrist injury certainly cost the Tar Heels a Final Four visit and perhaps a national title.

Marshall’s field generalship will be missed. A lot of the burden of the success or failure of this current team will fall on his replacement, freshman Marcus Paige, who is highly regarded but thin and unproven. Paige is excellent ball handler and can shoot (although he didn’t show it much in the preseason). Marshall was known for being able to see the floor well and make the difficult pass seem easy. Whether Paige can distribute the ball anywhere close to what Marshall did is a big question mark.

The guy he’ll probably be looking for most is James Michael McAdoo, just a sophomore but looked to as the top inside scoring threat for the Heels. He only scored in double figures six times last season and only average six points a game but he came on at the end of the season and looks to take over the role held by Zeller last season. Despite his relative inexperience, McAdoo is one of six ACC players on the preseason nominee list for the 2013 John Wooden Award, which is presented to the National Player of the Year.

The only senior on the team is guard Dexter Strickland, who missed the last half of the season a year ago with a torn ACL.

To read the rest of the season preview, please click here.

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Ten area teams still playing in state high school football playoffs; predictions

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The second round of the high school playoffs features 10 local teams including four of them playing each other. Leesville Road (11-0) travels to Middle Creek (11-1) while Wakefield (11-1) travels to Garner (12-0). Unless Garner wins the state championship, the Trojans next loss will be the final game for coach Nelson Smith. Temperatures should dip into the 40s but it will be clear. Most games start at 7:30 p.m. You might want to check with local officials as some games start at 7. Last week I was 14-2 in predictions. I finished the regular season at 112-23. Together, I’m 126-25 That’s nearly 84 percent correct. Game predictions are as follows.

Chapel Hill at Northern Guilford
Clayton at New Hanover
Fuquay-Varina at Richmond County
Hunt at Cardinal Gibbons
Leesville Road at Middle Creek
Randleman at Carrboro
South Johnston at Orange
Wakefield at Garner

Featured stories, N.C. State

State’s O’Brien being philosophical after two losses with Wake coming to town

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NC State coach Tom O’Brien is trying to be philosophical after two losses in a row, including last week’s weak effort against Virginia, as his team prepares to host Wake Forest Saturday.

“I’ve been around long enough to know that – there’s only one team that meets its goals every year, and that’s the team that wins the National Championship,” he said. “You try to win 14 games, that’s what you want to do. Life is about readjusting and setting different goals as you go along.”

Turnovers have derailed the Wolfpack season and have them readjusting their goals. State has turned the ball over just four times during its five wins but have turned it over 19 times in its four losses. “It’s pretty apparent what you have to do to be successful,” O’Brien said.

Combine that with the fact that the Wolfpack was flat against Virginia and beaten in the trenches. Problems with the offensive line and runningbacks have hampered the Wolfpack with their running game. “That’s what happens in college football,” O’Brien said. “That’s why each week you worry about what you’re able to control that week, because you don’t know what team you’re going to have until the trainer tells you who’s going to practice and what you have. And then you take that product and you do the best you can to try to put yourself in the position to win each and every Saturday, and that’s the way it goes.

“And then at the end of the year, you’re either going to make goals like winning seasons, go to bowl games, those things, or you’re not.”

O’Brien on Wake Forest:
“It’s a typical Wake Forest team, a lot of red shirt seniors and juniors, a lot of experience, been in the program for a long time. Certainly the heart and soul of the guys on defense is Whitlock in the middle, No. 50. He’s played for a long time, makes a lot of plays, causes a lot of disruption there. They’re great run-to-the-football, get-after-you type of guys there, and then certainly (Michael) Campanaro is back, and he and (Tanner) Price, they’re on a different wavelength than everybody else. They know where they’re going to be and what they’re going to do, and Josh Harris does a great job when he gets the ball in his hands of making things happen. They’re very inventive with what they do offensively, and the 3-4 allows them to do a lot of different things on defense.”