Miami comes into Duke’s Wallace Wade Stadium Saturday after a lackluster loss at home to Florida State.

“They will be angry,” Coach Randy Shannon said of his Hurricanes. “They are disappointed, upset.” He added that today’s practice was very physical and the players were very enthusiastic.

“You can tell false enthusiasm and this wasn’t false enthusiasm,” he said. “There were some big hits in practice today. Guys were going after each other offensively and defensively. Anytime you have that you feel good about it but you have to bring that to the game.”

Duke is coming off a decent effort in a close loss at Maryland two weeks ago but will be underdogs at home this week to Miami.

Blue Devils coach David Cutcliffe says his team used the off week to not only heal physically but to heal mentally. “I think confidence has suffered to some degree,” he said. “Confidence is never given, confidence is earned. So it gave us a chance to get back our confidence, and hopefully we’ve done that.”

They’ll need it against an angry Miami team.

Even though Capital Sports is getting 100-plus unique visitors to its site each day, only a handful of people were interested in responding to this week’s poll question: The Carolina Hurricanes open the home schedule Oct. 27. How many games will you attend this season?

I’m assuming that means that our readers don’t have a good feel for how many games they will attend or that they don’t care enough about hockey to even answer the question.

Of the respondents to the poll 55 percent said they would not attend a Hurricanes game at all this season. Only one voter said he would attend 10 or more games. Two others said they’d attend one or two while one voter said he’d attend three to five games.

Hurricanes games aren’t inexpensive but they are a fun time and the club has managed to make it more of a family-friendly event than at some other NHL arenas.

Garner native Brandon Banks seems to have a solid hold on punt return duties for the Washington Redskins and is getting more chances on kickoff return duties after Devin Thomas was released a few days ago.

Today, the Carolina Panthers picked up Thomas, a receiver out of Michigan State who was the 34th overall selection by the Redskins in 2008.

Banks broke one big return during Sunday’s victory over the Packers but it was called back by a penalty. He returned three punts for 47 yards and two kickoffs for 33 yards.

“He’s got great quickness and he plays with a lot of confidence,” Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said today. “When he went in for the last punt return, he said, ‘Coach, this game’s over.’ … He’s got a lot of belief in himself. He can make something happen so hopefully he continues to do what he’s been doing.”

The University of North Carolina has dismissed senior defensive lineman Marvin Austin from the football program for violations of NCAA agent benefits, preferential treatment and ethical conduct rules., the school announced Monday.

North Carolina based its decision on recent information gathered as part of the joint investigation with the NCAA.  Austin’s case was not submitted to the NCAA for reinstatement. A senior from Washington, D.C., Austin had been suspended indefinitely since September 1 for violating team rules.

Carolina announced Austin was off the team just moments after announcing the NCAA had ruled Robert Quinn and Greg Little were permanently ineligible. (See post that follows). In a strong statement, Athletics Director Dick Baddour said the three had not been truthful with NCAA and UNC officials about their actions.

“It’s a sad day when three young men are no longer able to represent their school based on actions they have taken and decisions they have made contrary to NCAA rules,” Baddour said in a statement. “Unfortunately, they made serious mistakes in judgment in accepting extra benefits and then not being truthful with our staff and NCAA representatives. Now they must forfeit the privilege of playing again for the Tar Heels. Although they are responsible for their actions, they are part of our university and our program and we will support them as they move into the next phases of their lives. I know they love to play the game, but I hope they will learn from their mistakes and lead productive and responsible careers.

“As an institution, we must learn from these mistakes and work with the NCAA and others who love the game of football to repair the environment in which they occurred. College football is a wonderful game, but we need to closely examine and address the agent-related problems. The University of North Carolina pledges to do all it can to do that.

“I hate that these issues have hurt the University of North Carolina and our fans. We have so much to be proud of as a University. We will learn from this and we will become a better program as a result.”

North Carolina football players Greg Little and Robert Quinn are permanently ineligible, according to a decision Monday by the NCAA student-athlete reinstatement staff. The decision was announced Monday morning by UNC.

The university declared both student-athletes ineligible for violations of NCAA agent benefits, preferential treatment and ethical conduct rules. According to the facts submitted by the university, the total value of the benefits is approximately $4,952 for Little and $5,642 for Quinn.Little accepted diamond earrings, as well as travel accommodations for the Bahamas, Washington, D.C., and two trips to Miami, among other benefits. Quinn accepted two black diamond watches, a pair of matching earrings and travel accommodations for a trip to Miami, among other benefits.

Little, Austin in preseason

Based upon information gathered by the institution and the NCAA Agent, Gambling and Amateurism staff during its joint investigation, unethical conduct charges were found against both student-athletes for providing false and misleading information. According to the facts submitted by the university, each player was not truthful during three separate interviews with university and NCAA enforcement staff members. Further, Little and Quinn only provided more accurate information when presented with evidence that was contrary to their assertions, UNC announced in a statement.

When reaching permanent ineligibility for each of the player, the staff noted the cases included multiple occasions where the players accepted benefits that were clearly against NCAA rules. The staff also noted that the players provided false information despite multiple opportunities to correct their assertions.

During the reinstatement process, NCAA staff reviews each case on its own merits and the specific facts. Staff decisions consider a number of factors including guidelines established by the Division I NCAA Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement for the type of violations and value of benefits, the athlete’s responsibility for the violation, as well as any mitigating factors presented by the university.

When a school discovers a player has been involved in an NCAA rules violation, it must declare the player ineligible and may request the eligibility be reinstated to the NCAA national office staff for consideration. Reinstatement decisions are made independently of any NCAA enforcement process.

The university can 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, but it cannot increase the staff-imposed conditions. If appealed, the student-athlete remains ineligible until the conclusion of the appeals process.

When the Panthers franchise moved into Charlotte in 1995, a Raleigh-Durham radio station had an event where you could bring in your old Redskins t-shirt to be burned in a bonfire and receive your new Panthers t-shirt.

Let me first say that anyone who did that was never really a Redskins fan or they had worn it out so much they were going to throw it away anyway. But many fans remained fans of the Skins and wanted to support the new “Carolina” team. When the Redskins played in Charlotte for an exhibition game, there were literally hundreds of people walking around with a Redskins hat and a Panthers shirt or vice versa.

Some, mostly those in the vicinity of Charlotte, were making the transition I suppose while others were making the point that they are fans of both teams.

I remember one drunken, foul-mouthed Panthers fan that night who took exception to all the split loyalties being displayed in the urinal line. (For the record, I’m not fond of much conversation at the urinal anyway.) But those like him have to understand that most adults have been fans of another team and that team in North Carolina for decades was (and some would argue still is) the Redskins.

Since the Redskins have only appeared in the playoffs three times since the Panthers came along, and since such DC icons as RFK Stadium and owner Jack Kent Cooke have died, things changed and it worked to the Panthers advantage in winning over fans. Plus, after more than 15 years as a franchise, and a Super Bowl visit, the Panthers also have some younger fans who never were a part of the Redskins history.

But most people who ever were a Redskins fan are either still a Redskins fan and despise the Panthers for taking the Skins off TV after they’d been on for 30 years (radio for 50) or they still otherwise hold a soft spot for the burgundy and gold.

A female relative of mine didn’t really understand why Redskins fans wouldn’t just become Panthers fans now that “we” had a team. Telling her that Charlotte wasn’t exactly “we” didn’t seem to help her understand the plight of the North Carolina Redskins fan. Then I asked her how she would feel if her favorite Soap Opera was being preempted every time it was on in favor of a locally produced Soap Opera. Couldn’t she just become a fan of that new Soap Opera? She finally understood.

Now, with the excitement of having Mike Shanahan as coach and with Donovan McNabb becoming the quarterback, a lot of attention has been on the Redskins. Considering that the Panthers are struggling (boy, was that an ugly effort against the Bears today) and the Redskins are playing exciting ball (four of the five games have come down to the last seconds – and boy, was that an thrilling comeback against the Packers today), some with split loyalties (Skinther fans) might just be tilting back to the burgundy and gold.

The winless Panthers lost their fifth game of the season 23-6 to the Bears and former Panthers All-Pro Julius Peppers. The boos from the fans went from being directed at Peppers to being directed at the Panthers, who are the lowest-scoring team in the NFL. Rookie QB Danny Claussen was ineffective and benched in favor of Matt Moore who started the season as the club’s QB. If the people who are fans of the Panthers (and the Panthers only) are restless, imagine the Skinther fans who can either stick with the negativity of the Panthers season or lean back toward the positivity of the Redskins season.

Had the NFL put the Panthers in the AFC (which might have made more sense with nearby NFC markets established not only for the Redskins but for the Atlanta Falcons), Skinther fans could have watched both teams on regular TV (one on CBS and one on FOX) and could have rooted for both the Panthers and the Redskins. But the Panthers ownership didn’t want that – they not only lobbied to be in the NFC but at least one member of the ownership team that I spoke with at the time was hoping to get placed in the NFC East to start a Cowboys-Redskins type rivalry with the Skins.

While there are hard feelings, especially among Redskins fans, that could fuel a rivalry, the Panthers have played the Redskins only nine times in the regular season over the years and are just 2-7 against them.

A lot of people who have come to North Carolina (and the Triangle area in particular) in the last 15 years don’t really understand the history of support for the Redskins (which I have barely touched on) or even understand that many North Carolinians just east of the Triangle area can actually get to DC quicker than they can get to Charlotte. They also don’t know about the DirecTV study which shows that the most Redskins fans outside the DC market are congregated in the Triangle area of North Carolina. (Pass this on to your non-native friends as a service.)

You know, those Skinther fans may actually have it good because they have insurance that if one team isn’t doing well, perhaps the other one is. This year the pendulum is swinging (for now at least) toward the Redskins. Too bad they have to go to a sports bar or purchase DirecTV’s Sunday Ticket to watch them now though.

Yes, it’s still six weeks away and NC State has big games ahead with ECU, Florida State and Clemson while North Carolina has big games in the meantime with Miami, Florida State and Virginia Tech. But the UNC-State game set for Nov. 20 is looking like an intriguing, emotional matchup.

At the first of the year, most thought the experienced Tar Heels would handle the Wolfpack at home. Then, once the experience drained and the Pack looked good in winning their first four games, most thought that N.C. State would handle the Tar Heels.

Since then, State QB Russell Wilson showed he was human in a disappointing loss to Virginia Tech, which scored twice in the last minutes to win at State. UNC QB T.J. Yates who had been carrying the offense had a subpar game against Clemson yet the Tar Heels found a way to win.

With UNC players becoming eligible again and the team having an us-against-the-world team strengthening mentality – and with State (and Wilson) rebounding well against BC and with fans and presumably players desperately wanting to kick the Heels when they are down – this could be a special game.

Regardless of what happens with the teams records between now and Nov. 20, these teams are going to be emotional and go at it hard against each other. And, it looks as if they are evenly matched with no clear-cut favorite. Of course, with the way this season has gone, that part of the equation could change.