One of the newest Carolina Hurricanes was involved in a bar fight recently, which may have been one reason his father, the general manager of the Calgary Flames, decided to trade him.

N.C. State players were exhuberant last season when the Wolfpack blocked North Carolina’s 38-yard field goal with 4:44 to play, but State coach Tom O’Brien showed no emotion on the sideline.

O’Brien knew this wild game at Carter-Finley Stadium still hung in the balance, and the coming minutes would prove decisive for State, and have an impact on the 2010 season.

The Wolfpack is now 7-3 and needs a win Saturday in Chapel Hill to keep alive its hopes for its first ACC title since 1979. The seeds of this season’s success date back to last season, when State calmly ground down Carolina in the final minutes with a critical drive after that blocked field goal.

Russell Wilson hit Toney Baker for a 16-yard pass and Baker ran 14 yards as State pushed out to the UNC 47-yard line with 3:31 to play.

The Heels called time, and O’Brien motioned Wilson to come to over to him. When Wilson didn’t come all the way, O’Brien demaned he come further. Relax, O’Brien said. Be smart. Finish it off. And Wlson did, hitting Owen Spencer on a perfect throw for a first down on thrd-and-11. State didn’t relinquish the ball until only 23 seconds remained and won, 28-27.

Asked Wednesday if that game “carried over,” O’Brien said, “I think certainly it did. You go back to even the year before – Russell going down at halftime of the bowl of game was a harbinger [of the 2009 season]. By the same token, the last game we had last year, I think that set the table for where we were headed and what we were going and the belief we could be a good football team.

“We’ve shown the ability. We’re 7-3 but the three losses are all in overtime, in the last minute, last three minutes.”

N.C. State finished last season only 5-7, its fourth straight losing season and third under O’Brien. But asked to assess his program overall, O’Brien said, “I think we’re definitely on the way. We had some situations the last two years that didn’t allow us to get into the position we are in today.”

Now, State has seven wins for the first time since 2005.

“It speaks volumes to where the program is headed,” O’Brien said. “We came in here, we had a plan, we stuck to our plan. We plan was set back by defections and injuries and not having a consistency on the field.”

That plan got a big lift last year in the final minutes of that win over UNC.

How did so many ACC schools miss on Russell Wilson? Who knows? Even the University of Virginia passed on him. Whatever you think of Chuck Amato, he sure left Tom O’Brien with a great quarterback for his program.

With Wilson headed toward what might be his last game against North Carolina, here is an interesting look from YouTube of Wilson’s days at the Collegiate School in Richmond, Va. If you were a college coach, would you have wanted this elusive runner with a strong, accurate arm? Absolutely.

You can’t help but wonder, when you watch Duke play, how Seth Curry wound up signing with Liberty after his older brother, Stephen, was overlooked by ACC schools.

Much of the talk so far about Duke has been about Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith and the impact of the true freshmen. But what’s interesting is how easily Curry is fitting into the Duke rotation. Obviously, he had a year to practice with the team, but his impact on Duke, and perhaps the ACC, can’t be overstated.

Curry’s father, Dell, was  the Charlotte Hornets’ first pick in the expansion draft back in 1988. He was a brilliant shooter out of Virginia Tech with a smooth stroke and quick release. Curry, Rex Chapman and Kelly Tripucka were about all the offense those early Hornets ever had.

You can see Dell Curry, who wore No. 30, in the YouTube video above. The Hornet wearing No. 25 is Tony Bennett, now the Virginia head coach. Watching Seth Curry brings back memories of that Curry jump shot from the Charlotte Coliseum’s heyday.

Seth Curry is headed toward being one of the ACC’s best players this season. He had 17 points Tuesday in the 79-45 win over Miami (Ohio), and played only 22 minutes.

This is a deep Duke team, but if you’ve followed the Blue Devils program, you have heard that before. Coach Mike Krzyzewski often talks in November about how he can play 10 guys, but that rotation shortens to around seven by conference play in January. Some of the Blue Devils you are seeing on the floor now will be weeded out by then.

It’s hard to see that happening with Curry. His game is so fluid, and his stroke is so pure, that you watch him and think, Wow, he’s going to make a difference this season. His father was one of the NBA’s top sixth men, a calm scorer who could enter a game at any time and start producing points, and Seth Curry is headed toward a similar role for the Blue Devils.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have cut former UNC kicker Jeff Reed after eight seasons over which he became the 12th most accurate field goal kicker in NFL history. They have replaced him with former Washington Redskins’ kicker Shaun Suisham.

Reed missed a 26-yarder against the Patriots Sunday. He blamed a slippery turf at Heinz Field. In October Reed missed a 49 yarder and a 45 yarder in a 17-14 loss to Baltimore. He has missed seven of 22 attempts overall this year.

“Some big kicks, I’ve missed some important kicks,” Reed said following the Steelers’ 39-26 loss to New England. “It’s sports. It’s not an excuse, but it’s life. You can’t sit back and say, man, you’ve been an 85 percent (kicker) and now you’re whatever percentage. I’ve lost track. It hurts me that I don’t help this team get points.”

Reed, 31, has two Super Bowl rings with the Steelers. He still holds the UNC record for most consecutive extra points with 66 in 2000 and 2001 and the record for highest percentage of field goals made at 87.5 percent.

Suisham, 28, a Canadian, kicked at Bowling Green and has kicked for both the Cowboys and Redskins.

Reed has had some off-field issues. Last season, he got into an alcohol-induced dispute with Pittsburgh police and performed 40 hours of community service. There was another incident where Reed paid a fine after being accused of property damage and harassment at a convenience store.

University of North Carolina football student-athletes Devon Ramsay and Michael McAdoo have been ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA.

North Carolina will appeal the decision to the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement, an independent panel comprised of representatives from NCAA member colleges, universities and athletic conferences. This committee can reduce or remove the condition. The student-athletes remain ineligible until the conclusion of the appeals process.

“While we respect the decision, the facts of the cases simply do not support permanent ineligibility,” says Dick Baddour, North Carolina Director of Athletics. “We will aggressively appeal and are hopeful the reinstatement committee will reach the same conclusion.”

A junior from Red Bank, N.J., Ramsay played in the first four games of the 2010 season and had two catches for 15 yards, including a touchdown vs. LSU. He was withheld from competition beginning with the Clemson game on Oct. 9 and has not returned. The NCAA enforcement staff will not require UNC to forfeit the two wins in which Ramsay played this year.

A junior defensive end from Antioch, Tenn., McAdoo has not played this season.

Duke’s Kyrie Irving and NC State’s C.J. Leslie were named Atlantic Coast Conference Co-Rookies of the Week following their outstanding performances this past week.

Irving had 17 points, four rebounds, a freshman season-opener record nine assists, one block and two steals in 25 minutes of play as the top-ranked Blue Devils opened their season with a 97-60 win over Princeton on Sunday. The West Orange, N.J., native was 3-of-6 from three-point range and 6-of-6 from the foul line, while committing just one turnover.

Leslie came off the bench to help lead the Wolfpack to a 82-69 win over Tennessee Tech in the season opener Friday night at the RBC Center. The Holly Springs native finished with a game-high 21 points, hitting on 7-of-10 from the field and 7-of-11 from the free throw line in his 31 minutes. Leslie also finished with six rebounds and six assists in the Pack’s 17th consecutive season-opening win.