Featured stories, UNC

What they’re saying about Carolina’s comeback and ultimate defeat

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“Louisville had it in the bag, or so it seemed.

“The No. 19 Cardinals were up 36-7 on North Carolina at the end of the first half. But the game wasn’t decided until UNC, trailing 39-34, failed to complete a Bryn Renner pass from the Louisville 4-yard line with 1:49 left in the game.

A game that should have—could have—been a blowout quickly turned into a nailbiter as the UNC defense clamped down and Louisville fought just to hang on.”
– Sporting News

“Down five points, the Tar Heels were given an incredible opportunity to complete the rally after Louisville fumbled on their 25-yard line. It came down to a 4th and goal for North Carolina, but Bryn Renner’s final pass attempt was broken up by Andrew Johnson. By ‘broken up,’ I meant Johnson pulled Erik Highsmith’s helmet off by the facemask.”
– Joe Ovies, 99.9 FM The Fan ESPN Radio

“We had to come up with a big-time play in a big-time game. I saw (Tar Heels receiver Erik Highsmith) jump and I knew I would outjump him, so I got my hand on the ball and tried to strip the ball. … But with (losing) such a big lead, no coach should be happy.”
– Andrew Johnson, who contested the fourth down pass

“I really thought we were going to come back and win this. Everything was going in our favor in the second half. I mean, I just gotta make that play. I’m probably gonna have nightmares about it. I gotta make that play.”
– Erik Highsmith, UNC receiver

“I thought second half we came back and competed our butts off.”
– Bryn Renner, UNC QB

“From what I can remember from the first half, it looked like a lack of effort, a lack of intensity, a lack of passion, a lot of mental mistakes. You name it: whatever could go wrong went wrong in the first half. You gotta give Louisville credit, but we can’t play football the way we played in the first half.”
– Larry Fedora, UNC coach

Featured stories

High school football predictions 9/14

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Friday’s high school football games feature a number of key conference matchups. For instance, Clayton and Garner open conference play while Lee travels to Middle Creek in a key early season game for first place in their conference. Interesting games that could go either way include East Chapel Hill at Jordan and Green Hope at Holly Springs. The weather is expected to be mostly clear and 70 degrees in the Triangle area. Below are tonight’s games involving Triangle-area teams with predicted winners in bold. Last week my record was 12-1. For the year I stand at 25-2. Most games start at 7:30 p.m. You might want to check with local officials as some games start at 7.

Broughton @ Millbrook
Cary @ Fuquay-Varina
Clayton @ Garner
East Chapel Hill @ Jordan
East Wake @ Knightdale
Enloe @ Leesville Road
Green Hope @ Holly Springs
Heritage @ Wake Forest-Rolesville
Lee @ Middle Creek
Panther Creek @ Apex
Southern Durham @ Hillside
Southern Guilford @ Orange
Wakefield @ Sanderson

Featured stories, UNC

Tar Heels will see how they measure up at No. 19 Louisville

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After blowing out Elon and losing a squeaker to Wake Forest, the Tar Heels get a chance to see how good they are when they travel to Louisville this Saturday to play the No. 19 team in the country.

“We’re really looking forward to see how we measure up,” UNC coach Larry Fedora said during his weekly media teleconference.

It appears they’ll be able to find out with Gio Bernard, who sat out last week, and Bryn Renner, who took a blow to the head in last week’s game.

Fedora’s hurry-up, no-huddle offense still has a ways to go. “We’re still not where we want to be,” Fedora said. “We’ve still got guys that are still
learning how to get lined up quicker, how to process quicker.”

He says he wants a more fanatical pace. “When that happens, then we’ll get to where we want to be, but we’re still a ways from that.”

On the defensive side of the ball, Fedora said his team needs to get more pressure on the quarterback and contain Louisville’s quarterback, who can run.

Duke, Featured stories

Duke takes on NCCU in the second Bull City Classic football game

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In 2009, Duke scored 28 unanswered points for a 49-14 victory over North Carolina Central University in the first football meeting between the two Durham universities. The game was named the “Bull City Gridiron Classic.” The second version of the classic comes Saturday.

“We’ve got a big game this weekend,” Duke coach David Cutcliffe said. “It’s about two great close institutions that are five miles apart, we’re very proud to be a part of it.”

Cufcliffe said the game is a celebration of Durham. “I think this is a game that the community really does take to heart,” he said. “All the high schools in Durham and local area people are very aware of this ballgame, and we have local products on our team and they get to display their skills in front of their communities. So I’m convinced this is a great thing in every area for us.”

NCCU lost to Elon 34-14 last week – the same Elon team that fell to Duke rival UNC by a 62-0 score the week before.

Featured stories, N.C. State

O’Brien: Pack working hard to get back on the same page, excited to play at home

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After a pair of tough road games, the 1-1 NC State Wolfpack comes to Carter Finley for their first home game of the season against South Alabama.

State coach Tom O’Brien said the Pack is excited about playing a home game. “It seems like it’s been a long time since we’ve played here at Carter Finley,” O’Brien said.

“I just hope our defense continues to play like it did last week and we protect our quarterback a little better this week,” he added during his weekly media teleconference.

In addition to the protection, State QB Mike Glennon had trouble throwing in windy conditions last weekend and receivers had trouble running the right route. “We’ve worked hard this week to get everybody back on the same page so we can be much more efficient throwing the football and help him out,” O’Brien said.

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ACC accepts Notre Dame as a full member, except for a limited football schedule

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The ACC sent out this news release earlier today regarding the acceptance of Notre Dame into the conference. In the current state of college athletics, this is a good move for the conference. However, it’s just another diluting of the ACC for long-time fans and will cause further scheduling headaches where rivals may not play each other as much. Also, the Irish will play fewer than half their games against ACC teams.

In football, in particular, Notre Dame seems a better fit playing against the likes of Purdue, Michigan and other Big Ten teams. While the good old days of the ACC are gone, financially this will be a big deal for both the school and the conference.

News release – The Atlantic Coast Conference Council of Presidents has unanimously voted to accept the University of Notre Dame as a new member. The Irish will compete as full members in all conference sponsored sports with the exception of football which will play five games annually against league programs.

“We are committed to keeping the Atlantic Coast Conference a vibrant and competitive league dedicated to ensuring the appropriate balance of academics, athletics and integrity,” said the ACC Council of Presidents in a joint statement. “The addition of Notre Dame further strengthens the rich tradition and culture of the ACC as well as allowing for future academic collaboration and we enthusiastically welcome them into the league.”

“The ACC was founded on the cornerstones of balancing academics, athletics and integrity,” said Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford. “Our partnership with Notre Dame only strengthens this long-standing commitment. Notre Dame enhances the league’s unique blend of public and private institutions that are international in scope. The collective alumni and fan bases cover the entire country with exceptionally strong roots up and down the Atlantic Coast. This is a terrific milestone in the evolution of the ACC and showcases tremendous solidarity and vision by our Council of Presidents.”

“The ACC is composed of some of the most highly respected universities in the country, and we at Notre Dame look forward to joining them,” said Notre Dame President, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. “With a mix of institutions – many of which are also private, similar to Notre Dame in size, and committed to excellence in research and undergraduate education – the ACC is an exceptionally good fit for us academically, as well as athletically.”

“We have monitored the changing conference landscape for many months and have concluded that moving to the ACC is the best course of action for us,” said Jack Swarbrick, Notre Dame Vice President and Director of Athletics. “We are able to maintain our historic independence in football, join in the ACC’s non-BCS bowl package, and provide a new and extremely competitive home for our other sports.”

With the addition of Notre Dame, the ACC’s future membership includes 11 institutions ranked among the top 58 in the 2013 U.S. News & World Report survey of “America’s Best Colleges”, more than any other conference also competing at the highest level athletically.

In addition to extending an invitation to Notre Dame, the Council of Presidents voted to increase the conference exit fees to three times the annual operating budget. Currently this would equate to an exit fee of over $50 million.

Featured stories, UNC

Chapel Hill is Peyton Place with Kupec, Hansbrough storyline

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Now Chapel Hill is turning into Peyton Place. Seems Matt Kupec, who is in the conversation for being the best UNC quarterback of all time, got divorced, started dating Tyler Hansbrough’s mother and turned fundraising trips in his position as the vice chancellor for university advancement into personal trips with Tami Hansbrough to see her son Ben play basketball.

Confronted with information that Chancellor Holden Thorp learned, Kupec chose to resign his position rather than undergo the scrutiny. Tami Hansbrough, a major gifts officer at UNC, is on administrative leave.

Thorp said, “It was difficult because Matt has been such a great person for the university and has raised billions of dollars for us, but I had to share with him what we had been finding and it didn’t look good and that it’s likely that this sort of personally driven travel was unacceptable, and we are going to need to do a pretty thorough investigation of it.”

In a released statement, Kupec said, “I have been privileged to have worked with incredibly talented faculty, students, administrators and staff. I have worked with gifted Chancellors. But most of all, I have been fortunate to work with a score of passionate alumni and friends who love this University and who have paved the way through their generosity to make Carolina a true gem. I will miss you all but in my heart I will always be a part of the Carolina family.”

Of course Tami Hansbrough is the mother of Tyler Hansbrough, who is in the conversation for the best Carolina basketball player of all time. The Kupec-Hansbrough Carolina royalty would be enough of a Peyton Place without the improper use of University funds angle.

Here’s my list of the top 10 quarterbacks in Carolina history, not necessarily in order but not far off either: Matt Kupec, TJ Yates, Chris Kupec, Darian Durant, Chris Keldorf, Danny Talbott, Jason Stanicek, Ronald Curry, Mark Maye and Mike Thomas.

Oddly enough, Scott Stankavage, the only UNC QB other than Yates to take snaps in an NFL game, doesn’t make the top 10. Talbott was a backup to Sonny Jurgensen for the Redskins but never got in a regular season game. Also, Charlie “Choo Choo” Justice, perhaps the greatest Tar Heel of all time, was considered a halfback although he threw 25 touchdowns during his college career.

Here’s my list of the top 10 basketball players in Carolina history, again not in order but not far off either: Tyler Hansbrough, Phil Ford, Lennie Rosenbluth, Charlie Scott. Walter Davis, James Worthy, Larry Miller, Michael Jordan, Antwan Jamison and Billy Cunningham.

Featured stories, Redskins

An excited Griffin III brings game ball to news conference

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Robert Griffin III was so excited about his first TD pass that he brought the ball to his post-game interview after the Redskins upset the Saints 40-32.

Griffin said,, “It was funny. They blitzed on that play. And I was hot, and I was looking to throw to my hot guy, and he got covered. Pierre was the primary receiver on that [play], so I had enough time to look back to him and throw it to him. The one thing receivers don’t like to do, [no matter] tough they are or not, they don’t like to run across the middle for a long period of time. And Pierre ran across the middle, caught it high over the middle and did a good job finishing the play, so I commend him for that. This is actually the ball from that touchdown. They gave it to me. You know, first touchdown in the NFL.”

Featured stories, Redskins

Fox TV switches away from the Redskins game in the Triangle in crucial final minutes

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Not that Redskins fans in North Carolina need any more fuel to the fire regarding a dislike for the Carolina Panthers, the team that took their Skins off local TV 18 years ago, but North Carolina fans of the Redskins missed the ending of the big season-opening win over the Saints and a career-opening win by starting QB Robert Griffin III.

With the Redskins ahead 33-25 and 3:23 still left in the game, Fox studio announcer Curt Menefee interrupts the game announcer Kenny Albert who had just said, “the Redskins take over…” Menefee says “Due to NFL obligations we’re going to take you from the completion of that game…” Then he said, “We’re going to get you out to kickoff of your late game right after this.”

Then, on the Fox affiliate in Raleigh/Durham, they proceeded to run advertisements for Southwest Airlines, Suzuki automobiles, Ruby Tuesday restaurant, Time Warner Cable and Fox50. During those three minutes or so before going to the Panthers-Buccaneers game (which didn’t kick off right away), the Redskins scored a touchdown. Considering that the game had run longer than most of the 1 p.m. games and since there were plenty of opportunities for commercials (you know how the NFL loves to show commercials both right before and right after kickoffs and there were plenty of kickoffs in this game), you’d think that enough commercials had been shown.

Except for the Charlotte area Fox stations, I would argue that other TV affiliates should stay with the game people have been watching all afternoon, especially since the outcome was still in doubt. There were 14 more points scored in the Redskins-Saints game after Fox took the viewers away to commercials and then the start of the Panthers game. There was even a Hail Mary pass at the end that was intercepted at the end zone which could have tied the game and forced overtime.

Certainly, Fox stations should at least stay with the game as long as possible, which means switching directly from the Redskins-Saints game to the kickoff of the Panthers-Buccaneers game. No three or four minutes of commercials, no pregame analysis of the second game, nothing – just the kickoff. If they aren’t willing to do that, then the NFL should build in more cushion between the times of the first game and the second game.

These are prime examples of why the NFL needs a fan advisory committee with some clout or either, as much as I dislike the abuse of power from most unions, the fans need a union just as the players have a union.

For those of you newer to the Triangle area, you might not know about the history of the Redskins in North Carolina. Briefly, the Redskins were on local radio for more than 50 years and on each week on local TV for more than 30 years. In addition, Redskins players used to make appearances in North Carolina during the offseason to sign autographs and help sell cars at dealerships, for instance. Many Redskins fans don’t even know that the words to the fight song originally ended with “Fight for Old Dixie” and not “Fight for Old DC.”

The NFL and the Redskins cultivated North Carolina as Redskins country. The people bringing the Panthers to Charlotte specifically named them “Carolina” instead of “Charlotte” in order to stake a claim to fans throughout the wide state of North Carolina and all of South Carolina as well. They also fought to be placed in the NFC rather than the AFC because, in part, they knew if Redskins fans could continue to watch their team on another over-the-air station, their ratings would suffer. After all, football fans east of Raleigh can get to DC as quickly or quicker than they can get to Charlotte. I know it’s quicker to DC from my native city of Rocky Mount. By the way, the Fox affiliate at the Crystal Coast of North Carolina stayed with the end of the Redskins’ game and picked up the Panthers’ game in progress. I supposed the “NFL obligations” circle doesn’t extend to the beach.

I would argue that if the Panthers had been placed in the AFC and the Jaguars in the NFC instead, the Panthers would have more fans east of the Triad and the Triangle. The Panthers could have been Redskins’ fans second favorite team, for instance. Tampa Bay fans got it better than Redskins fans because those between Tampa and Jacksonville could still watch the Bucs on Fox and the Jaguars on CBS. There are probably lots of people in Florida who like the Bucs or Jaguars as their second favorite team. There probably aren’t many Redskins fans who like the Panthers as their second favorite team – and after Sunday’s “NFL obligations” to the “home” team of Carolina (which still means “Tar Heels” to most people), that probably won’t change.

Duke, Featured stories

What they’re saying about Duke’s drubbing at Stanford

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“Drew Terrell returned a punt 76 yards for a score and caught a 19-yard touchdown pass, and No. 25 Stanford rebounded from a disappointing debut to roll past Duke 50-13 Saturday night.”
– Antonio Gonzalez, Associated Press

“I saw on film earlier in the week that their punt team wasn’t real good at getting out. I saw there was one guy to beat. Fortunately, I was able to get inside of him and I saw it was me and the punter and as a returner you can’t let the kicker bring you down.”
– Drew Terrell, Stanford receiver

“The lopsided win didn’t follow the script Stanford fans have become accustomed to over the past three years. There was no power running game to open up the pass, in fact Duke’s nine-man defensive fronts caused the Cardinal to nearly abandon the run completely.”
– Kyle Bonagura, ESPN.com

“If anyone has nine-man front run plays, please, don’t keep them to yourselves. I give the coaching staff of Duke a lot of credit. They did the same thing to us last year; they made it tough on us. They made it hard on us and just like last year, you got to make plays in the passing game.”
– David Shaw, Stanford coach

“Everyone says put it behind you, but we can’t put this behind us. We need to remember this and then we need to correct off of this.”
– David Cutcliffe, Duke head coach