Here are 10 football games that are within driving distance in the Triangle area tonight. In bold is the predicted winner. Most games are at 7:30 p.m. You might want to check with local officials as some games start at 7.
My record last week was 8-2 for a season total of 36-15.

Broughton at Millbrook, 7 p.m.

Cary at Holly Springs

Charlotte Country Day at Ravenscroft

East Chapel Hill at Durham Jordan

Enloe at Leesville Road, 7 p.m.

Knightdale at Southeast Raleigh

Lee County at Green Hope

Middle Creek at Athens Drive

Panther Creek at Apex

Wakefield at Sanderson, 7 p.m.

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

It was 59 years ago that the first live sporting event was seen coast-to-coast. NBC televised the Duke at Pittsburgh football game on Sept. 29, 1951.

Oddly a big deal was not made of that fact in the 1952 Duke yearbook. However, viewers got to see a good one.

Duke, with Bill Murray in his first year as coach, took an early 7-0 lead but trailed 14-13 at the half. It was beginning to look as if it would end that way but with five minutes left George Grune raced 42 yards with a Pitt punt down to the enemy 26 yard line. Just four plays later, halfback Charlie Smith bulled his way into the end zone to give the Blue Devils the lead. The Duke defense stopped a Panther drive to ensure the Devils 19-14 victory.

The Pittsburgh yearbook claimed that the Panthers outplayed the Devils in “every department” and lost due to “a freak pass interception and a blocked punt.” There was no mention of the punt return or the fact that the game was televised across the country. It was Duke’s second game of the season and Pitt’s first. The Devils would finish the year at 5-4-1 while the Panthers would finish 3-7.

As a bit of trivia, the game was not seen in New Orleans because the coaxial cable wasn’t extended there until almost a year later.

Also, Wikipedia says the game was played on Sept. 22 but, as you can see from the football program, the game was actually played on Sept. 29. In addition, the Pitt sports information office says on its athletics website that the game was played at the Rose Bowl when it was really played at Pitt Stadium. Not sure why there is so much confusion.

The game was part of an experiment. The NCAA feared that live telecasts would reduce attendance at games. In January of 1952, after the 1951 season experiment, the NCAA adopted a plan where the NCAA would have total control over one national telecast each week.

Below are mid-week notes provided by the four ACC schools in the state of North Carolina.

Duke
Duke senior center Bryan Morgan has been named to the 2010 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® announced by the Allstate Insurance Company and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). “It is a huge honor and I am thankful to have been nominated,” said Morgan. “I love to work in the community and work with the kids and people of
Durham. It makes me very grateful for all of the opportunities I have been given.”

Morgan is the third Blue Devil to earn the honor, joining Zaid Abdul-Aleem (1994) and Re’quan Boyette (2008). A native of Hoover, Ala., Morgan has participated in community service projects involving Duke Children’s Hospital, Durham Rescue Mission, Read with the Blue Devils, Marbles Kids Museum, E.K. Powe Elementary School, Sandra E. Lerner Jewish Community Day School, Veterans Affairs Center, Forest at Duke Retirement Home, among others.

North Carolina
Quarterback T.J. Yates (Marietta, Ga.) has not thrown an interception in his last 89 attempts, dating back to last year’s bowl game vs. Pittsburgh. He has thrown 70 passes without an interception this year. That is the longest streak in his career. His previous best was 67 attempts in 2008 – last 12 vs. McNeese State, 22 vs. Rutgers, 18 vs. Virginia Tech, 3 vs. Georgia Tech and first 12 vs. NC State. The school record for attempts without an interception is 154 by Oscar Davenport in 1996-97. Yates’ 46 attempts without an interception vs. LSU was a school record for a single game. The previous record was 42 by Darian Durant vs. NC State in 2003.

NC State
NC State enters the Georgia Tech game tied for sixth nationally in turnover margin, with seven takeaways to just two giveaways for a +5 mark. The Wolfpack didn’t turn the ball over in its first two games, but fumbled twice in the win over Cincinnati.

Quarterback Russell Wilson (Richmond, Va.) has thrown 101 passes this season without an
interception and even though the Pack is playing two freshmen at halfback, there have only been two lost fumbles.

The Pack’s success in holding onto the ball is even more impressive considering that in 2009, NC State finished the season ranked 114th nationally in turnover margin, with 25 turnovers to just 14 takeaways.

Wake Forest
A number of Wake Forest and Florida State players were high school teammates before heading to college. FSU freshman T Garrett Faircloth (Brunswick, Ga.) is a graduate of the Bolles School where he teamed with Wake Forest freshman P Alex Wulfeck,(Orange Park, Fla.) redshirt sophomore LB Scott Betros (Jacksonville, Fla.), junior C Chance Raines (Jacksonville, Fla.), freshman S Desmond Cooper (Jacksonville, Fla.) and freshman FB Jordan Garside (Jacksonville, Fla.).

The Deacons have five players from the Bolles School on their roster, while Faircloth is the only Bolles graduate on the Noles’ roster. Deacon senior WR Jordan Williams was a teammate of two Seminoles at First Coast HS in Jacksonville: junior CB Avis Commack and junior RB Jermaine Thomas. Wake Forest redshirt sophomore WR Lovell Jackson and FSU sophomore T Rhonne Sanderson were teammates at Plant High School in Tampa, Fla. Wake Forest junior G Ryan Britt and FSU senior QB Christian Ponder were teammates at Colleyville Heritage High School in Texas. As a junior at CHHS, Britt protected the senior QB Ponder as the Panthers’ starting left tackle.

Wake Forest redshirt sophomore DE Derricus Ellis is a graduate of Darlington Prep in Rome, Ga., where he played with FSU P Shawn Powell and C Ryan McMahon.

The Florida Panthers scored three goals in the first five minutes of the Carolina Hurricanes’ exhibition opener and went on to win 4-1. For more information, please click here.

NEWS RELEASE – Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has signed center Jeff Skinner to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Beginning with his first full professional season, the contract will pay Skinner $810,000 per season at the NHL level or $67,500 per season at the minor-league level. Skinner receives a $270,000 signing bonus as a part of the contract.

“Jeff was one of the OHL’s top forwards last season and really stood out at the prospects tournament in Michigan,” said Rutherford. “He’s an exciting, young player and an important part of the future for the Hurricanes.”

Skinner, 18, finished the 2009-10 season ranked second in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with 50 goals, and ranked seventh in the OHL with 40 assists while playing in 64 games with the Kitchener Rangers. The Markham, Ont., native ranked tied for first in OHL playoff goals (20), and second in OHL playoff points (33), as Kitchener won two postseason series before falling to the Windsor Spitfires in the Western Conference Finals.

The Hurricanes selected Skinner (5’10”, 193 lbs.) in the first round, seventh overall, of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. He played for Team Orr in the 2010 Canadian Hockey League Top Prospects Game, and was named Most Valuable Player after picking up a goal and an assist in the contest. Skinner also played for the gold medal-winning Team Ontario at the 2009 World Under-17 Challenge, scoring the game-winning goal against Russia in the championship final.

Under the guidelines of the NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, Skinner may still be reassigned to his junior hockey team, Kitchener, but may not be assigned to the Hurricanes’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers.

– Ken Preston

The Carolina Hurricanes had trouble scoring goals and creating scoring chances last season. Jeff Skinner, the team’s first-round draft pick, scored 70 goals in 84 games last year for the Ontario Hockey League’s Kitchener Rangers.

Sure, there will be growing pains if the Hurricanes give the 18-year-old Skinner a roster spot. But the Canes are looking for a third-line center behind Eric Staal and Brandon Sutter, and the Canes have decided to go young. So, why not give the youngster a chance?

By all accounts, he is mature for his age. He comes from a good family. He can handle the fame and limelight. He’s a competitor. He plays intelligently. He works hard as evidenced, in part, by his commitment to conditioning and strength training that he’s done with Gary Roberts. He’s quick and a natural goal scorer.

While he’s relatively small at 5-foot-10, 195 pounds and he’s not known for his skating ability, those aren’t things that are going to change after another year in the Ontario Hockey League.

Hopefully the Canes will find a roster spot for Skinner. If they have someone else they want on the squad as the third center, they can try Skinner at wing. But the Hurricanes need scoring and Skinner can score.

Canes Notes: The Carolina Hurricanes open their 2010 exhibition schedule against the Florida Panthers Tuesday at the RBC Center.

The Hurricanes signed former Edmonton Oiler Patrick O’Sullivan, who was raised in Winston-Salem. He had an undistinguished season a year ago but he’s only 25 and will be playing for his home state. Maybe his career can get back on track. O’Sullivan was the American Hockey League’s Outstanding Rookie and was named to the 2006 AHL All-Star game.

Carolina begins the regular-season with two games against the Minnesota Wild in Helsinki, Finland on Oct. 7-8. For the record, I’m not fond of playing regular season games overseas – for any sport.

NEWS RELEASE – The Carolina Hurricanes will hold a player-signing news conference tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 21, at noon in the RBC Center Arena Club Restaurant.

President/General Manager Jim Rutherford will speak at the news conference, and Rutherford and other members of the team’s management, as well as the signing player, will be available for comment.

Live streaming of the press conference will be available on CarolinaHurricanes.com.

Fans will wonder for a long time what would have happened if the UNC football team were at full strength.

The what ifs extended into the loss at home to Georgia Tech.

For instance:

What if Carolina had beaten LSU, would they have come into the game with a different attitude?

What if Georgia Tech had won last week instead of being upset by an inferior Kansas team, would the Jackets have come into the game with a different attitude?

What if Carolina had thrown the ball on third and three from the four at the beginning of the game?

What if Carolina had gone for it on fourth and less than two at the end of the same drive instead of settling for a field goal after such a long drive?

With Georgia Tech going for it on fourth and inches trailing 17-14 in the second quarter, what if the officials had flagged GT guard Omoregie Uzzi for moving prior to the snap (as he did)?

For that matter, what if the officials had flagged Uzzi, who moved on almost every down, even one time for motion?

What if Carolina had stuck more to the ground game to continue to control the clock (instead of eventually losing the time of possession category)?

What if, on third and four and leading 24-17 in the third quarter, a rushed UNC quarterback T.J. Yates had committed to running earlier rather than scrambling behind the line? (Video shows that once the initial rush came, he had room to possibly get the first down but instead kept rolling out until pursuit came and got it as he finally tried to run for the first down.)

What if Quan Sturdivant had not been called for roughing the passer on the ensuring GT drive? Replays indicate that while Nesbitt was running out of bounds, he was still partly in bounds when Sturdivant made contact.

What if Georgia Tech had punted from the UNC 46 instead of going for it on fourth and two? Even though the Jackets failed to get the first down, Carolina came out and promptly botched a handoff.

For that matter, on that next play, what if Yates and fullback (and converted linebacker) Josh Bridges hadn’t collided in the backfield as Yates was trying to hand off to the tailback? There are actually a lot of what ifs there but certainly there wouldn’t have been a fumble that was recovered by Georgia Tech. The Jackets went in to score the tying points at 24-17 shortly thereafter.

What if any one of Tar Heels could have gotten to Nesbitt before he dumped a pass off to Ronnie Jones for a first down on third and 11 that kept the game-tying drive alive?

On Georgia Tech scoring play, what if Uzzi had been called for starting early (which he did)? That would have negated the touchdown and the Jackets would have been backed up to almost the seven yard line. Perhaps the Jackets would have gotten a field goal instead of a touchdown and Carolina would have been calling plays to get into field goal position on its last drive rather than having to get a touchdown to win.

What if Pianalto had been able to hang onto the ball on a pass play that would have gone for a first down in the fourth quarter with the Heels trailing 27-24? For that matter, what if offials had ruled that the ball was incomplete instead of fumbled because he hadn’t tucked the ball in yet?

What if Carolina didn’t have to begin their final drive inside its own 10 yard line because of a late block by special teams player Steven Hatley?

What if Yates had seen the GT defensive end’s big paw before attempting the short pass on third down that was batted at the line of scrimmage?

What if Yates could have escaped the shoestring trip up for an eight-yard loss on the final drive? Replays show that he had a wide open receiver right in line of sight had he not fallen.

What if the Heels had struck to passing in the last two minutes instead of trying a time-consuming and ineffective end around?

What if Yates had not been injured on a second and long scramble run and the never-used back up quarterback Bryn Renner had to come in a for a play to try a pass on third and 10 yards to go?

What if, on fourth down, Yates had thrown it anywhere past 10 yards rather than dumping it to tailback Johnny White five yards short of a first down? For that matter, what if any of the three receivers had looked back to see Yates in trouble rather than running longer patterns than needed? It seems the Heels were going for more than a first down with the deep routes.

Certainly most teams that lose a close game can play the what-if game. But, in light of the big what ifs for the Carolina program this year, it seems appropriate to outline the Heels’ what ifs against Georgia Tech.

The Durham Bulls fell in game 4 of the Governor’s Cup championship Friday night in Durham 13-2.

Jason Kipnis led the way for the Columbus Clippers, hitting for the cycle to pace a 20-hit attack. The loss ends a record-breaking season for Durham, whose 92 total victories broke the team’s Triple-A record and was the most since the 1962 team won 94 games in the Class-A Carolina League. The win gives Columbus their eighth Governors’ Cup Championship in their history, and first since 1996.

Jose Constanza got the scoring started in the first inning off right-hander Paul Phillips, doubling off the left field wall before coming around to score on a ground out by Cord Phelps. They would add three more in the third, as Kipnis led off the frame with a solo blast to start the inning. Josh Rodriguez added an RBI single later in the inning, and another run came across on a sacrifice bunt by Constanza.

Phillips lasted just 1.1 innings, allowing four earned runs on five hits to take his first loss at the Triple-A level.

The Bulls added single tallies in the third and fourth innings against Clippers starter Paolo Espino. Chris Richard brought home a run with an RBI double to plate Elliot Johnson in the third inning. After Columbus added a run in the top of fourth, it was JJ Furmaniak bringing home Angel Chavez with an RBI single as the Bulls cut the lead to 5-2.

The Bulls however were no match for the Clippers potent offensive attack, as they plated a pair of runs in the fifth and four more in the sixth inning to make it a nine-run advantage. In the fifth inning, Kipnis doubled and came around to score on a two-run single by Rodriguez which made the score 7-2. In the sixth inning, Kipnis completed the cycle with an RBI triple into the gap in right-center. Columbus would go on to add three more runs in the inning, making it 11-2 after six innings. They finished off the scoring with a pair in the eighth inning to make it 13-2.

Kipnis became the first Columbus Clipper to hit for the cycle since Mitch Jones in April of 2005, and the first to accomplish the feat at Durham Bulls Athletic Park since they became a Triple-A franchise in 1998.

Espino earned the win for Columbus, tossing 6.0 innings allowing two earned runs on nine hits while walking two and striking out five. Jerad Head finished the night 4-for-4, while Jared Goedert and Josh Rodriguez each had three hits for Columbus.

For the Bulls, JJ Furmaniak, Chris Richard and Rashad Eldridge each had two hits. Furmaniak finishes the 2010 Playoffs hitting .363 (12-for-33) with a double, triple and a home run.

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