Featured stories, Redskins

Fox Sports makes a stupid move in switching away from Redskins game

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foxnflDoes Fox Sports know anything about history? If so, you’d think they wouldn’t have switched local TV viewers away from the Redskins-Eagles game midway through the third quarter. Regardless, it doesn’t make sense.

The Eagles were beating the Redskins 24-0 so they thought they’d switch us to a “more competitive” game. First of all, Steelers and Lions fans weren’t sitting around hoping Fox Sports might switch to their game if the scheduled game got out of hand. Those fans either have DirecTV Sunday Ticket or they were at a sports bar watching the Lions at Steelers game.

Second, if people start watching a game, they want to finish watching the game. Otherwise, they would have the Red Zone station where they are switched from game to game depending on who is threatening to score.

Third, DirecTV did a study a couple of years ago where they found the most popular out-of-market team for each TV market. The team that was picked for the Triangle area? The Redskins. Therefore, it amounts to switching away from an area’s favorite team in order to show a “better” game.

Redskins and Eagles fans, regardless of how the game is going, want to watch their team play and they made plans based on the the TV schedule showing the Redskins at Eagles game on local TV.

Fourth, has Fox Sports ever heard of comebacks? Earlier in the year the Redskins almost came all the way back against these same Eagles. And had Redskins QB Robert Griffin not thrown a bonehead interception in the end zone with less than a minute to play in Sunday’s game, there would be even more egg on the faces of those experts who know better than us what we want to watch. The Redskins scored twice and converted a pair of two-point conversions to pull the Skins within one score at 24-16. They were driving for the possible tying score when Griffin threw the interception. Meanwhile, the Steelers ended up beating the Lions by 10 points. The Eagles ended up beating the Redskins by eight points.

To make matters worse, those who pay a lot of money to watch every down of every NFL game on DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket were blacked out for about 15 minutes between the time the game was switched on local TV until the time they got around to lifting the blackout on the Sunday Ticket channel so local fans could watch the fourth quarter of the game. I’m sure a lot of people with NFL Sunday Ticket gave up thinking they weren’t going to make the switch.

Was it really worth ticking off a sizable number of people to please a few couch potato football fans who just want to watch the most competitive game possible? Those people had probably changed the channel already anyway – unless they’ve heard of comebacks.

Featured stories, UNC

Heels can’t overcome 3s, missed FTs

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Brice Johnson.
Brice Johnson.
For a while it looked as if North Carolina would escape a three-point barrage and poor free throw shooting but Belmont’s J.J. Mann drilled three triples in the last minute as the Heels went down 83-80 at home.

Belmont extended a 41-34 halftime lead to 11 at 55-44 five minutes into the second half. But over the next eight minutes the Tar Heels seemed to right the ship with a 21-5 run to take a 65-60 lead with 6:54 left.

The Heels still led by eight at 78-70 with two and a half minutes left.

That’s when Mann took over. First he hit two free throws in a one-and-one situation and then, following a Tar Heels turnover after burning clock, Mann took advantage of a screen to drain a three with 1:01 to go to make it 78-75.

Marcus Paige hit a couple of free throws for Carolina but Mann came right back with a three from the right side with 53 seconds left to pull Belmont to 80-78.

UNC burned clock again but then Paige lost the ball drive to the hoop at the end of the shot clock with 20 seconds to go.

Just seven seconds later, Mann popped in the go ahead basket with 13 seconds left.

While Mann scored a career-high 28 points, the team as a whole scored 15 threes and 20 of 22 free throws. UNC on the other hand hit just 22 of 48 free throws and a mere two of seven three pointers.

Brice Johnson, who scored 14 off the bench for the Heels, summed it up this way, “When you miss 26 free throws, that’s the ball game right there.”

It was the first non-conference loss for the Heels at home since 2005.

For more, please click here.

Boxscore

Featured stories, UNC

Paige’s career high saves sluggish Heels

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Marcus Paige.
Marcus Paige.
Marcus Paige scored a career-high 23 points to keep North Carolina from getting embarrassed at home against Holy Cross, a team not expected to contend in its conference. With Leslie McDonald and PJ Hairston still in NCAA limbo on the Tar Heel bench, one has to wonder if the Heels will contend in the ACC following a lackluster 62-54 win. (11/15)

After the season-opening half being close to perfect last week, fans at the Smith Center probably weren’t expecting a first half where the Tar Heels shot just 27 percent and were outrebounded by a smaller squad. But heading into the second half, Holy Cross was tied with No. 12 ranked Heels at 25-all.

Holy Cross took a three-point lead, its largest lead of the game at 32-29, early in the second half. Carolina got the lead back after a Paige steal and layup combined with a Kennedy Meeks follow shot inside before Holy Cross tied it at 35.

That’s when the Tar Heels took control of the game with a 12-0 run. Brice Johnson provided a spark off the bench as he hit a turn-around jumper and scored on a layup following a Luke Davis steal to start the run.

JP Tokoto hit a jumper and Paige drove around the basket for a layin to put the Heels up 43-35.

Johnson backed in for a short shot and Paiger hit a jumper from the right side to end the run to put Carolina up 47-35.

For more, please click here.

Boxscore

Panthers, The skinny

McCormack, former Panthers president and Redskins assistant coach, dies at 83

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Mike McCormack, who played an instrumental role in the expansion process for the Carolina Panthers and later became the team’s first president, died early Friday morning at the age of 83.

McCormack was an advisor for Jerry Richardson’s efforts to bring the National Football League to the Carolinas during the six-year process to obtain a franchise, which culminated with the awarding of the team on Oct. 26, 1993.

McCormack served as the organization’s first president and held that post for Carolina’s first two seasons (1995-96) before retiring. On Sept. 21, 1997, he became the first inductee into the Carolina Panthers Hall of Honor.

“It is safe to say that we would probably not have a team in the Carolinas if it were not for Mike McCormack,” Richardson said. “He had the contacts in the National Football League and was universally respected by everyone associated with professional football. He was a wonderful man, and our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Ann, and the entire McCormack family.”

McCormack, a native of Chicago who lived in Palm Desert, Calif., at the time of his death, made his name in the NFL long before joining the Panthers as a consultant in 1989.

He both played and coached in the league and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1984 following a standout career (1951-62) with the Cleveland Browns that included six Pro Bowl appearances. Teaming with quarterback Otto Graham, McCormack helped the Browns win NFL championships in 1954 and 1955. He later blocked for running back Jim Brown.

Legendary Browns coach Paul Brown gave McCormack’s Hall of Fame induction speech, calling him “the finest offensive lineman I have ever coached.” Before the 1994 season, USA Today agreed, featuring McCormack in its 75th anniversary all-NFL team as one of the three finest tackles in league history.

McCormack began his coaching career as an assistant in 1965 with the Washington Redskins, learning under coaching legends Vince Lombardi and George Allen. McCormack went on to hold head coaching positions with the Philadelphia Eagles (1973-75), Baltimore Colts (1980-81) and Seattle Seahawks (1982) before serving as Seahawks president and general manager until 1988.

Richardson hired McCormack in 1989, two years into his campaign to bring the NFL to the Carolinas, and McCormack proved a trusted and valuable advisor. Upon his retirement following the 1996 season, a historic season in which the Panthers advanced to the NFC Championship in just their second year of competition, McCormack had spent nearly a half-century in the NFL as a player, coach and administrator.

– News release

Featured stories

Predictions for first week of high school football playoffs

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hsfootballhelmet2It’s the first week of the high school football playoffs. It’s going to be cloudy and humid tonight Friday, Nov. 15, with temps in the around 50. For games that run late, there may be a chance of light rain. Tonight’s radio game of the week on 99.9 The Fan is Millbrook at Leesville Road.

High School Football Brackets

All games tonight start at 7:30 pm. Try to make a point to get out there and support high school athletics before the season is over.

My record in picking games last week was 12-4 for a season record of 114-36. That’s 76 percent, well below my 83 percent last year and 84 percent the year before. To my defense, there were several upsets this year and several evenly matched teams fighting for titles.

With the higher-seeded teams playing at home, I only have three underdogs picked this week: Cardinal Gibbons, South View and Wake Forest. Below, the predicted winners for this week are in bold.

Cardinal Gibbons at Triton
Chapel Hill at Southern Durham
Clayton at Hillside
Fuquay-Varina at Middle Creek
Green Hope at Wakefield
Heritage at Scotland County
Holly Springs at Garner
Millbrook at Leesville Road
Northern Durham at New Hanover
Rocky Mount at Orange
Sanderson at Jack Britt
South View at Riverside
Southeast Raleigh at New Bern
Southern Alamance at Knightdale
Wake Forest at Panther Creek

Duke, Featured stories, N.C. State, UNC

UNC’s Okwuonu highlights All-ACC men’s soccer team

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Boyd Okwuonu.
Boyd Okwuonu.
Notre Dame senior Harrison Shipp and North Carolina junior Boyd Okwuonu highlight the 2013 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Soccer Team, announced today by Commissioner John Swofford.

Shipp was selected as the ACC Offensive Player of the Year and Okwuonu as the Defensive Player of the Year in a vote of the league’s 12 head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own players. Boston College midfielder Zeiko Lewis received Freshman of the Year honors, while Notre Dame’s Bobby Clark was voted Coach of the Year.

Shipp, a senior forward, ranks second in the league in points (24), is tied for second in assists (8), and is tied for third in goals (8). The Lake Forest, Ill., native tallied a league-best five game-winners and has led the team as the captain to a No. 1 national rank and the semifinals of the ACC Championship. Shipp is the first Notre Dame student-athlete to earn an ACC Player of the Year award in any sport.

Okwuonu, a junior defender, led the Tar Heel defense to nine shutouts – tied for the best mark in the league — and a 0.62 goals against average. A native of Edmond, Okla., Okwuonu earned his third career ACC honor after being selected to the First Team All-ACC the past two seasons and earning All-Freshman honors in 2011. He is the second North Carolina player to be named ACC Defensive Player of the Year after Matt Hedges in 2011.

Boston College’s Lewis started in 17 of the Eagles’ 18 games this season, notching three goals and a league-leading 11 assists for 17 points in his rookie campaign, which ranks eighth in the conference. The Pembroke, Bermuda, native twice tallied multiple assists in conference games. He is the first player from Boston College to be named ACC Freshman of the Year.

Notre Dame’s Clark led the Fighting Irish to a share of the ACC regular season title in 2013, the team’s first in the league. Notre Dame, which stands 12-1-5 overall and 7-1-3 in conference play, started the season on a 13 game unbeaten streak. The Irish have been the consensus No. 1 team in the nation the past two weeks, and have been ranked in the top 10 the entire season.

Notre Dame leads all teams with six All-ACC selections. Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, and Wake Forest all had four players recognized.

The 2013 ACC Men’s Soccer Championship continues on Friday, Nov. 15, with a pair of semifinal matches. No. 2 seed Notre Dame will play No. 6 Virginia in the first semifinal at 5:30 p.m., while No. 1 Maryland and No. 4 Clemson will meet in the second semifinal at 8 p.m. Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN3.

ACC Offensive Player of the Year – Harrison Shipp, Sr., F, Notre Dame
ACC Defensive Player of the Year – Boyd Okwuonu, Jr., D, North Carolina
ACC Freshman of the Year – Zeiko Lewis, Fr., M/F, Boston College
ACC Coach of the Year – Bobby Clark, Notre Dame

All-ACC First Team
Thomas McNamara, Gr., M, Clemson
Sebastien Ibeagha, Sr., D/M, Duke
Patrick Mullins, Sr., F, Maryland
Dan Metzger, Jr., M, Maryland
Boyd Okwuonu, Jr., D, North Carolina
Harrison Shipp, Sr., F, Notre Dame
Nick Besler, Jr., M, Notre Dame
Kyle Renfro, Sr., GK, Virginia Tech
Sean Okoli, Jr., F, Wake Forest
Luca Gimenez, Sr., M/F, Wake Forest
Jared Watts, Sr., M, Wake Forest

All-ACC Second Team

Zeiko Lewis, Fr., M/F, Boston College
Sean Davis, Jr., M, Duke
Schillo Tshuma, So., M/F, Maryland
Nazmi Albadawi, Sr., M, NC State
Jonathan Campbell, So., D, North Carolina
Brendan Moore, Jr., GK, North Carolina
Patrick Hodan, So., M, Notre Dame
Emil Ekblom, Fr., F, Syracuse
Eric Bird, Jr., M, Virginia
Darius Madison, So., F, Virginia
Jalen Robinson, So., D, Wake Forest

All-ACC Third Team

Jack Metcalf, Sr., M, Clemson
Kyle Fisher, So., D, Clemson
Zach Mathers, So., M, Duke
Brody Huitema, Fr., F, Duke
Mikey Ambrose, So., D, Maryland
Alex Martinez, Sr., M, NC State
Jordan McCrary, Jr., M/D, North Carolina
Vince Cicciarelli, Jr., F, Notre Dame
Luke Mishu, Sr., D, Notre Dame
Grant Van De Casteele, Sr., D, Notre Dame
Alex Bono, So., GK, Syracuse
Jordan Allen, Fr., M, Virginia

All-ACC Freshman Team

Zeiko Lewis, Fr., M/F, Boston College
Brody Huitema, Fr., F, Duke
Zack Steffen, Fr., GK, Maryland
Michael Sauers, Fr., M, Maryland
Travis Wannemuehler, Fr., F, NC State
Omar Holness, Fr., M, North Carolina
Emil Ekblom, Fr., F, Syracuse
Alex Halis, Fr., M, Syracuse
Jordan Allen, Fr., M, Virginia
Ian Harkes, Fr., M, Wake Forest
Jacori Hayes, Fr., M, Wake Forest

Featured stories

Washington, D.C. to host 2016 ACC men’s basketball tournament

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accbballThe 2016 Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball Tournament will be held at Washington, D.C.’s Verizon Center, ACC commissioner John Swofford announced today.

“We are excited to bring the ACC Tournament back to the nation’s capital in 2016,” Swofford said. “Verizon Center is a tremendous showcase for our event, and the Washington, D.C. area is an appealing tourist destination for our member institutions, as well as the alumni and fans of our teams. We received a lot of positive feedback after our 2005 Tournament in Washington, and we look forward to duplicating that success in 2016.”

The 20,000-seat Verizon Center previously hosted the 2005 ACC Tournament. The Washington metropolitan area also welcomed the ACC in 1976, 1981 and 1987, when the tournament was held at the Capital Centre in Landover, Md. The 14-game 2016 tournament will open Wednesday, March 9 and continue through Sunday, March 13.

“Verizon Center is thrilled to once again host the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament in Washington D.C.,” said David Touhey, Verizon Center SVP & General Manager. “The nation’s capital serves as the perfect site for the championship tournament of such a prestigious conference. We thank the ACC for selecting us and look forward to hosting another successful tournament in March 2016.”

Located in the heart of downtown Washington, D.C., Verizon Center serves as home to the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the NHL’s Washington Capitals, the WNBA’s Washington Mystics and the NCAA’s Georgetown Hoyas men’s basketball team.

The arena has hosted a multitude of high-profile events in its history, ranging from the 1998 Stanley Cup Final to the NBA (2001) and WNBA (2002, 2007) All-Star games to the 2003 World Figure Skating Championship, the 2005 ACC Tournament, the first and second rounds of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament (1998, 2002, 2008) as well as the second and third rounds (2011), the Washington Regional Round (2006, 2013) and the 2009 NCAA Frozen Four men’s hockey championship.

Verizon Center also hosts a variety of concerts and family shows ranging from all-time greats to current-day chart-topping artists. In the 15 year history of the arena some of the artists who have mastered the stage include: U2, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Coldplay, The Three Tenors, Barbra Streisand, Bon Jovi, Prince, Beyonce, the Dalai Lama, Tina Turner, Keith Urban, Disney on Ice and WWE.

Amenities within the arena include 106 luxury suites, a high-definition center-hung scoreboard, an indoor basketball practice facility and 10 dressing rooms. The arena offers a variety of concession stands and restaurants, including kosher, vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.

The ACC Tournament has been held in seven different cities and 11 venues since the inaugural event in March of 1954. The Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum is set to serve as host in 2014 and 2015.

Featured stories, UNC

Carolina’s season hinges on beating Pitt on the road

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bluefedoraIn order to have a winning season and go to a bowl game, North Carolina needs to win its last three games. That’s doable but they first have to get past Pittsburgh on the road.

Pitt, winners last week against Notre Dame, are the favorites.

“We’ve got to do a great job with our team this week preparing them for Pitt and what they do offensively and defensively, go up there and focus on being 1-0,” UNC coach Larry Fedora said.

Fedora wants the team to focus on one game at a time even though they understand it’s a lot of pressure when each game is a must win. “Give the staff credit because they’ve done a tremendous job of keeping those guys believing in what we’re doing, believing in each other, and continuing to work hard,” Fedora said. “I’m proud of the way our guys approach practice. It’s the same way every day. They don’t get too high with the highs and they don’t get too low with the lows. They go out there and they just work hard every day. We’re seeing some results from it.”

Fedora admits to losing sleep over worrying about various aspects of the season and upcoming games.

“I’m thinking about everything that could possibly happen,” he said. “Do I think that we have to worry about that? This Pitt team just beat Notre Dame and we’re going on the road, our guys are going to know. They’re going to turn the film on, look at the film and they’re going to know. What we’ve been doing is focusing on ourselves. Let’s just be 1-0. Let’s give one more inch. Let’s find a way and let’s do whatever it takes. That’s really what we are locked in on it doesn’t matter who we play each week.”

Featured stories, N.C. State

State’s Albadawi wins ACC soccer honors after leading team over UNC

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Nazmi Albadawi.
Nazmi Albadawi.
NC State senior midfielder Nazmi Albadawi has been named the final Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Soccer Player of the Week of the 2013 season after leading the Wolfpack to a 1-0 overtime road win over No. 19/9 North Carolina last Friday night.

Albadawi scored the game-winning goal less than two minutes into overtime to lift NC State to the win. The Raleigh, N.C., senior’s goal was the first allowed by the Tar Heels in 425 minutes of play, dating back to Oct. 22.

Since returning from an injury that sidelined him for most of October, Albadawi has scored four goals with two assists while leading the Wolfpack to wins in three of four matches.

The 2013 ACC Championship, featuring the conference’s eight top-seeded teams, gets under way tonight with four 7 p.m. quarterfinal matches at campus sites. The semifinals are set for Friday evening at the Maryland Soccerplex in Germantown, Md., which will also host Sunday’s 2 p.m. title game.

Duke, Featured stories, N.C. State

NC State swimmers earn weekly ACC honors

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Zina Grogg.
Zina Grogg.
The NC State swimming and diving program earned two Atlantic Coast Conference weekly honors after posting multiple victories in league action this past weekend. Sophomore Christian McCurdy was tabbed Male Swimmer of the Week, while senior Zina Grogg was named Female Swimmer of the Week. Also earning honors this week were Virginia sophomore Katie Warburg as Female Diver of the Week and Duke senior Nick McCrory, as Male Diver of the Week.

Grogg had a solid weekend in victories against Duke and Miami on Friday, as well as against UNC-Wilmington on Saturday. Grogg recorded two NCAA ‘B’ cuts on Friday, as she finished first in the 100 backstroke (55.02) and the 100 butterfly (53.96), respectively. She also collected victories in the 400-medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay. On Saturday, the senior recorded her second straight ‘B’ cut with a time of 54.26 in the 100 backstroke, but her time did not count for the team score.

McCurdy enjoyed an outstanding weekend, recording four top times in each of the events he swam. On Friday, McCurdy posted two NCAA ‘B’ cuts in the 200 butterfly and the 400 IM. His time in the 400 IM was not accounted for in the team scores, but ranks as the 12th fastest time in the country. McCurdy also posted victories in the two distance events on Saturday in the 1000 freestyle (9:26.24) and the 500 freestyle (4:31.74).

Diving in a quad meet, Warburg registered a NCAA zone standard diving score of 313.80 on the three-meter springboard. The score was good enough to place her second amongst 16 competitors. Additionally, the victory propelled the Cavaliers to a victory over No. 25 Penn State and West Virginia.

McCrory collected his second award of the season after he posted scores of 401.20 and 417.20 on the one-meter board and three-meter board, respectively. Both scores earned McCrory first-place finishes in the Blue Devils’ meet against ACC foe NC State.

– News release