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.”

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.

N.C. State’s offense looked powerful in a shellacking of Boston College, Coach Tom O’Brien’s first win over his former team. Johnny White’s runs and UNC’s fourth-down conversions led to a 21-16 victory over Clemson, a team the Heels haven’t defeated in almost a decade. East Carolina comes from 20 down to defeat conference favorite Southern Miss in the waning moments 44-43.

Yet, the news leads with the fact that Devon Ramsey, a fullback at Carolina, has been dropped from the team because of the ongoing investigations into academic fraud and inappropriate connections to NFL scouts. The speculation is that UNC could have to forfeit two of the games in which Ramsey played. Another player who has been held out all year, it was announced, will not be back this season.

The ABC crowd was enjoying the travails of Carolina but now it’s overshadowing their team’s efforts, performances and wins. If the Tar Heel players weren’t admirably fighting through the adversity and hadn’t won their last three games in impressive fashion, I’d be tempted to call for forfeiting the season just to stop all the bleeding and move on.

UNC officials have been diligent (holding out anyone they thought might have been involved) – Ramsey evidently fell through the cracks.

I’m not going to speculate about what sanctions there may be. Let the chips fall where they may, whenever they fall. As hard as it is, I’m going to try to focus on UNC’s play on the field, as well as the fine play of State and the excitement of ECU.

Cam Ward stopped three shots in an overtime shootout and 18-year-old rookie Jeff Skinner scored the lone shootout goal as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Minnesota Wild 2-1 in Helsinki, Finland.

Thursday the Canes started the season in Finland with a 4-3 win over the Wild.

Skinner assisted Tuomo Ruutu in the second period to tie the score at 1-1 and become the youngest player ever for the Hurricanes franchise to get a point.

In the overtime shootout, Skinner became the third youngest player ever to score a shootout goal in the NHL. Skinner, the first man shooting in the shootout, slowly went right, picking up steam he crossed over and popped it up and in from left side.

Ward had 41 saves including the three shots in the shootout.

Here are 10 football games that are within driving distance in the Triangle area. In bold is the predicted winner. Most games are at 7:30 p.m. tonight. You might want to check with local officials as some games start at 7.
My record last week was 7-3 for a season total of 52-18.

Broughton at WF-Rolesville, 7 p.m.

Cary at Athens Drive

Chapel Hill at Cardinal Gibbons

Fuquay-Varina at Holly Springs

Lee County at Middle Creek

Panther Creek at Green Hope

Sanderson at Millbrook, 7 p.m.

Smithfield-Selma at Garner

SE Raleigh at East Wake

Wake Christian at Ravenscroft

Check the scores in our Sports Roundup on the left navigation bar.

Carolina football wins a couple of games and Dick Baddour indicates that the investigation into wrongdoing might be coming to a close. Just when things start looking up, Will Graves is dismissed from the basketball team and Chancellor Holden Thorp says the investigations may take up to a year to complete. And now this: the owner of Rameses, the Carolina mascot, has died.

Below is the announcement coming from the UNC General Alumni Association, which broke the news.

Rob Hogan, for years a fixture on the Kenan Stadium sidelines as the owner and handler of Carolina’s mascot, died early Friday from illness related to a fall on his farm.

The Hogan family has cared for the Tar Heel mascot since 1924.

NEWS RELEASE – Fifth-year senior forward Will Graves has been dismissed from the University of North Carolina men’s basketball team for failure to comply with team rules, head coach Roy Williams announced today.

Graves red-shirted in 2006-07 then played in 92 games over the past three seasons. He scored 513 points at UNC, including 353 last year, when he averaged 9.8 points per game and was the Tar Heels’ third-leading scorer.

The Greensboro, N.C., native made seven three-pointers and scored a career-high 25 points in the 2010 NIT championship game against Dayton.

“This is 100 percent not related to any NCAA matters on campus,” says head coach Roy Williams. “I hate this for Will. He worked extremely hard this summer to get himself physically in the best shape he’s been in years, but he did not do everything he needed to do to be a part of our basketball program. This is a huge blow to our team, but an even bigger blow for Will. Playing for the Tar Heels meant so much to him.”

Special teams might see the biggest boost from the return of safeties Da’Norris Searcy, who was cleared to play last week, and senior Deunta Williams, who is coming off a four-game NCAA-imposed suspension this Saturday.

UNC coach Butch Davis says that the return of Searcy and Williams, an All-ACC player, frees up guys to contribute on special teams. “That’s an area we have been absolutely paper thin throughout the first four games of the season,” Davis said during the weekly ACC teleconference. “We were having to burn redshirt years and play young, inexperienced players.”

DB Matt Merletti, who played a very high 70-75 snaps in one game at safety, will be able to return to special teams and play in the secondary in certain packages. Davis says he doesn’t want any member of the secondary to play as many snaps as Merletti has had to play.

Searcy got a lot of work in his first game back and he made a key interception for a touchdown late in the first half against East Carolina to tie the score. “It was emotional for him,” Davis says. “He was ecstatic just that he was going to be able to return to play and then to go out and help win the game – to make a play that not only changed the momentum but changed the score.”

Searcy was also able to provide a lift to special teams as he did a good job returning punts and kickoffs against East Carolina. Williams’ return could provide a similar lift to the defense and special teams this weekend at Kenan Stadium against Clemson.

“Clemson is probably the most talented and complete football team we’ve played against this football season,” Davis says. “They are extraordinarily fast on defense. They rotate guys in and there is no drop off.”

He also pointed to Clemson’s offense led by QB Kyle Parker whom he says gives them a lot of leadership and playmaking ability. He will be testing the Carolina secondary.

While the starting safeties are back, the starting cornerbacks are still out. “Our corners are a work in progress,” Davis said. “We have kids out there that didnt even think they were going to play this year.” He says they have huge new roles and their challenge is to get better each week.

One of the starting cornerbacks, Kendrick Burney, will be back from an NCAA suspension in two weeks.

Injury report: Senior Greg Elleby, who moved from offensive guard to defensive tackle after all the suspensions, tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee against East Carolina and has been lost for the season.

Meanwhile, senior linebacker Quan Sturdivant, who is a leader on defense, is expected back this week after sitting out last weekend with a thigh injury.