Featured stories, The skinny

Hurricanes’ Skinner returns to practice

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For the first time since suffering a concussion on Dec. 7 in Edmonton, Jeff Skinner skated with the team in practice in a yellow, non-contact jersey. Skinner has missed the team’s last 10 games.

Though he still might be a ways off from returning to the lineup, today was an important step in his recovery, something the team has handled with precision.

“I haven’t been out there with that many bodies, that many pucks, that much noise, so I wasn’t sure how I was going to react,” Skinner said. “So far, I’ve felt good. I’ve got to talk to the doctors and take the next step forward.”

“He’s a huge part of this team, so he’ll continue to work on the processes, but it’s a great sign to see him out there practicing,” head coach Kirk Muller said. “He’s obviously anxious to get back in the lineup, and I’m sure he was happy just to get out there with the guys.”

“It was nice to see him out there. He looked to be in good spirits, and hopefully he continues to progress,” Eric Staal said. “He’s an important piece to our team, and a guy that has the ability to make a difference night in and night out.”

Skinner has skated a few times by himself before taking the ice with the team today, something that doesn’t really compare for the 19-year-old.

“I’ve been out a couple times by myself,” he said. “You get excited to go out on the ice, and then two minutes pass and you get bored just playing by yourself.”

For more, please click here.

– News release, Michael Smith

Featured stories, The skinny, UNC

UNC’s Paige-Moss to enter draft, bad mouths coaches, fans ESPN reports

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Joe Schad of ESPN is reporting that UNC junior defensive end Donte Paige-Moss, who hurt his ACL in the bowl loss to Missouri, is going to enter the 2012 NFL Draft. After bad mouthing his coaches and Carolina fans, he might as well.

After the bowl game, Paige-Moss Tweeted, “Worst xmas eva cant wait till.this horrible bowl in this horrible city wit sum of da mos horrible coaches r ova Sum.of.yall mofos jus haten cuz yall.gotta pay.fo.skool unc. Fans r.the.worse.we.win its all.good. Have a bad game we suck thats.a.reason #imout #nosupport”

I guess that’s not really illiterate since it’s Twitter. But he also has a misdemeanor assault on his record and wasn’t even a starter this season. Also, back in 2009, Butch Davis kept him out of the Meineke Car Care Bowl after a skirmish after a game at N.C. State.

After starting 12 games during the 2010 season, he lost his position to sophomore Kareem Martin and finished the 2011 season with just 29 tackles and two sacks.

Still, the NFL scouts remember his 77 tackles and seven sacks from his sophomore year and tend to take chances on guys of his size and potential.

Featured stories, The skinny, UNC

Hatchell to speak at Raleigh Sports Club meeting

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UNC Women’s Head Basketball Coach Sylvia Hatchell will be the guest speaker Wednesday at the Raleigh Sports Club meeting. After more than 1,000 career games and 36 seasons of coaching, Coach Hatchell is one of the most decorated coaches in women’s basketball history. She has more than 800 wins, has been named National Coach of the Year three times and is in the women’s basketball Hall of Fame. Energetic, animated, humorous, never at a loss for words, Coach Hatchell is sure to entertain as well as inform.

Kristen Gaffney, Green Hope basketball player and a Vanderbilt recruit, will be honored as the Student Athlete of the Week.

Buffet lines open at 11:30 a.m. The Forks Cafeteria will continue to cater a Southern Buffet. The meeting location will again be at Highland UMC at 1901 Ridge Road at the intersection of Lake Boone Trail, just inside the Beltline. Annual dues for the 2011-12 season will remain $60. Weekly attendance fee will remain $14 and applies whether the member plans to eat lunch or not. All guests fees will be $20 per guest. Pick sheets and door prizes will be held.

Featured stories, The skinny, UNC

Heels D-UNC Elon after impressive first half

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The North Carolina Tar Heels used a couple of dominating D’s in the first half – defense and dunks – on their way to whipping Elon 100-62 at home.

The Tar Heels held Elon scoreless for more than eight minutes as the Phoenix scored just 19 points in the first half and were held to just 20 percent shooting.

Meanwhile, Carolina used a 23-0 run and a slew of dunks, six of them by John Henson, to take commanding 53-19 halftime lead. Henson had a double-double in the first half alone with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

UNC won the second half by just four points as Elon shot better and second and third team players saw lots of action for the Heels.

For more on the game, please click here.

Featured stories, The skinny, UNC

UNC’s Renner undergoes surgery on ankle; two others have torn ACLs

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University of North Carolina quarterback Bryn Renner had successful surgery on his left ankle to remove an anterior bone spur and a posterior accessory bone Wednesday.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Bob Anderson in Charlotte at Carolinas Medical Center – Mercy. Dr Anderson heads the foot and ankle division at OrthoCarolina. Renner is expected to make a full recovery. His status will be updated at the beginning of spring practice.

Renner’s ankle condition became an issue in mid-July, approximately three weeks before the start of UNC’s training camp. After consulting with the UNC sports medicine staff, Renner and his family made the decision to play with a hinged ankle brace and postpone surgery until after the season.

A native of West Springfield, Va., Renner had an outstanding sophomore season, completing 239 of 350 attempts for 3,086 yards and a single-season school record 26 touchdowns.

Post-Bowl Game Injury Update: A pair of North Carolina players tore knee ligaments in the Independence Bowl on Monday in Shreveport. Sophomore linebacker Darius Lipford tore the ACL in his left knee and junior Donte Paige-Moss tore the ACL in his right knee. Both players will miss spring practice. A further update on their status will be available after surgeries are performed in the coming weeks.

– News release

Featured stories, Panthers, Redskins, The skinny

Panthers center the only Pro Bowl starter from either Carolina or Redskins

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Panthers center Ryan Kalil has been named a starter for the NFC in the Pro Bowl. He was the only starter from either the Carolina Panthers or the Washington Redskins, the two teams historically associated with North Carolina. Steve Smith, the Panthers receiver, was named to the squad but not as a starter. The Redskins, 5-10, had no representatives selected despite the fact that Redskins linebacker London Fletcher leads the NFL in tackles.

Fan votes counted for one third of the vote, as did the players’ votes and the coaches’ votes. For a full listing of the Pro Bowl selections, please click here.

Featured stories, N.C. State, The skinny

N.C. State 31, Louisville 24: Big plays, desire, other thoughts

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It wasn’t always pretty, especially on special teams, but a couple of big plays, consistency from a quarterback and desire gave N.C. State a 31-24 victory over Louisville in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte.

A 65-yard interception return by all-everything DB David Amerson combined with a 68-yard run after a catch by Wolfpack senior T.J. Graham were the big plays N.C. State needed to defeat Louisville.

But it was consistent quarterback play from Mike Glennon, after an early interception, that steadied the boat after a few bonehead special teams plays rocked it. Glennon threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns.

Certainly the “home” crowd helped inspire the Wolfpack, who just a couple of games ago were fighting for Tom O’Brien’s head coaching job. The Pack got healthier as the season went on and played their best ball late in the season and would have been fired up regardless, but playing in Charlotte helped.

A lot of people are trying to compare the Tar Heels with the Wolfpack but the situations were and are drastically different. Carolina was playing a long way from home the day after Christmas. Even a really good Tar Heel team would not have drawn many Carolina fans to Shreveport, Louisiana. Plus, the Tar Heels had a late season dive while the Wolfpack came on late. Add to that the coaching situation at Carolina, with a lame duck coach who didn’t want to be there vs. a surging coach who feels more confident and excited about his future at his university.

The excitement that the Wolfpack players showed at the end of the game was as demonstrative as any we’ve seen in the bowl season. They wanted to be playing right where they were and, in the end, everything turned out like they wanted. The Wolfpack ended the season 8-5 while Louisville matched Carolina’s record of 7-6 despite also losing to the Tar Heels earlier in the season.

Duke, Featured stories, The skinny

Voice of Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1970 dies

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Longtime Duke men’s basketball public address announcer Art Chandler passed away at Hock Family Pavilion on Christmas Day at the age of 78. Known as the “Voice of Cameron Indoor Stadium” for 40 years, Chandler retired from the position at the close of the 2009-10 season.

Chandler left a lasting impression on the Duke fan base as well as his signature introduction of “Here Comes Duke!”, which he began using years ago at the suggestion of former Blue Devil Alaa Abdelnaby. Chandler manned his first game behind the microphone in 1970 went on to inform thousands who scored, who fouled, and who subbed in over 600 games. During his four decades at the scorers table, Chandler saw four national championship teams, 12 ACC Tournament champs and a plethora of All-Americas.

“Art Chandler was a great friend of the program,” said head coach Mike Krzyzewski. “He not only helped out at Duke but was also active with his military service. Art went out of his way to help mankind and I greatly respected that about him. He did a terrific job in his role and his service to the Athletic Department, specifically the basketball program for 40 years was greatly appreciated. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. He will be missed.”

– News release

Duke, Featured stories, The skinny

Duke’s Cook wins rookie of the week honors

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Duke’s Quinn Cook has been selected ACC Rookie of the Week.

Cook scored a career-high 14 points in Monday’s 90-63 win over UNC Greensboro. After a scoreless first half, the Bowie, Md., freshman guard went 6-of-6 from the field (1.000) with a pair of three-pointers in the second half. Cook added two assists and one steal in only 18 minutes of action for the fifth-ranked Blue Devils.