John Swofford, with his history as a player and later athletics director at North Carolina and now the commissioner of the ACC, has a long perspective on issues with college athletics. Given that, I asked him Sunday, at the ACC Football Kickoff in Greensboro, if the problems with rogue agents were more pronounced now than in the past.

”I suggest it has some because of the dollars at the next level in the NFL and NBA. That’s a part of it,” Swofford said. “I think it’s also being paid more attention as a whole, and that’s good.”

But the issue is clearly one of concern to Swofford, who gave a lengthy answer in front of hundreds of reporters. In particular, Swofford addressed what could be done to improve the issue.

First, he said, the players associations for the NFL and NBA need to be involved. Those are the institutions that govern the players – and agents.

Second, he said, the NCAA needs to review the rules it has in place and consider beefing up its small enforcement staff.

Third, the 38 states that have statutes limiting agents like, North Carolina, should aggressively enforce those laws.

“I applaud the investigation that the secretary of state in North Carolina, Elaine Marshall, has undertaken,” Swofford said. “I think that’s a big plus. I’d like to see more of that.” But he said the punishments should be much more than mere fines like $25,000, he said.

As for the conference’s role, the league helps educate players and coaches on what’s allowed, but Swofford said knowing the rules is really not the problem.
“I think an athlete knows what’s acceptable and what’s not,” Swofford said.

Make a list of the best N.C. State football players ever, and you can guarantee this – Dennis Byrd is on it.

Byrd died Thursday at the age of 63. You knew it was serious when Johnny Evans opened the Triangle Pigskin Preview with a prayer for Byrd.

Byrd, as detailed here in GoPack.com, was State’s first two-time All-America and the anchor of the White Shoes defense on the famous 1967 team. It’s probably fair to say that after Roman Gabriel, he was the second great Wolfpack player on a national level.

Best player in Wolfpack history? That’s open for debate, but the names to consider on my list would be Philip Rivers, Roman Gabriel, Ted Brown, Jim Ritcher, Torry Holt, Dave Buckey, Mario Williams, Erik Kramer, Dick Christy, Mike Quick, Russell Wilson … and Dennis Byrd.

Inside Carolina, which really does some great working covering UNC, has its football preview issue out … and all you can say is, Ouch.

I gasped Thursday at the Triangle Pigskin Preview event at the Washington Duke Inn when N.C. State athletics director Debbie Yow spent $1,500 for a Wolfpack football helmet.

But then the Duke helmet sold for $3,000 … and the East Carolina one for $3,100 …
Auctioneer Don Shea had to be reminded by the crowd that he’d forgotten to get bids for the UNC helmet. That one went for $1,500, too. All that made the N.C. Central helmet seem like a steal at $500.

Recession? What recession?

Butch Davis said he couldn’t comment on the NCAA investigaton but did say the NCAA told Carolina the investigation should ho quickly.

“The NCAA has told us they will make this as quick as possible,” Davis said.

He also said there could be more schools involved as the probe continues. Steve Wiseman will post more of what Davis said later Thursday afternoon.

Cary Post 67, 21-8, faces off against Cherryville Post 100, 25-14, Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in the first round of the double-elimination American Legion State Tournament in Asheboro.

“This is the first senior legion team Cary has ever had to go to the state playoffs,” said Cary coach Neil Woodall. “It’s just a real exciting time for us right now. We’re real excited to be able to go to try to compete and to experience that whole state championship series thing.”

Eight teams from throughout the state converge on McCrary Park for the tournament, which runs through Wednesday.

Rocky Mount Post 58, which defeated Cary two games to one in a seeding series, is the top seed and starts the tournament off with a 9 a.m. game Saturday against Rutherford County Post 423. On Wednesday, Rocky Mount earned the position with an 8-2 win at Cary. The other four teams competing are Wilmington Post 10, Kernersville Post 36, Randolph County Post 45 and Whiteville Post 137.

Rocky Mount at 24-6 and Wilmington at 22-3 have the best records of the contenders. The winner of the Cary-Cherryville game plays the winner of the Wilmington-Randolph County game on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. The losers of those games play each other at 9:30 a.m. Sunday.

To find out more about the tournament, please click here. To read a story about one of Cherryville’s best players, who overcame a surgery, please click here.

The state of North Carolina has the power to prosecute rogue agents for athletes, but has not done so yet, according to a spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s office.

Under the current statute, passed in 2003, sports agents can be convicted of a felony for furnishing “anything of value” to an athlete in North Carolina. There were laws regulating sports agents before the current law was passed, according to Liz Proctor of the Secretary of State’s office.

However, Proctor said no agents have been prosecuted yet. “There have been inquiries but nothing that was found actionable,” she said Wednesday afternoon.

While the NCAA has met with some players at UNC, Proctor said that no formal complaint has been filed with the Secretary of State’s office. She said the Secretary of State’s office can initiate an inquiry if it wishes.

Later Wednesday, after questions from the media, the Secretary of State’s office reported it would be looking into the issue. Both The News and Observer and WRAL reported that, quoting a different Secretary of State officer, George Jeter.

Proctor said the local district attorneys are the ones who prosecute if the state finds evidence that an agent broke the law. The statute allows for an agent to be convicted of a Class I felony, which is a lower-level felony but one that does have the potential for jail time.

The fact that no agent has been convicted might sound surprising, but Proctor made an important point – when the law was passed, the department received no funding, so it has no staff specifically dedicated to the issue.

The area football coaches are speaking Thursday in Durham at a luncheon at the Washington Duke Inn, and you can bet many questions will be directed at North Carolina coach Butch Davis.

But don’t expect Davis to say much about the NCAA probe into his program. UNC officials said Tuesday that athletics director Dick Baddour will speak for the school. The issue of agents will be a hot topic Thursday but there are more compelling stories out there.

One is the appearance at the event of new East Carolina coach Ruffin McNeill. And the other is the health of N.C. State assistant Dana Bible, who was struck with cancer last season.

Capital Sports’ Steve Wiseman and Dane Huffman will be at the event and will update the site Thursday afternoon.

Reporters are always asking people to fess up, so shouldn’t they do that themselves? Just look at The News & Observer Tuesday morning.

The paper’s Ken Tysiac ran a strong story about problems colleges have regulating agents (and the paper, to its credit, avoided Monday’s flimsy report in the National Football Post). But one player under fire is South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders, who played at Durham Riverside and is the son of N&O Metro columnist Barry Saunders.

Barry Saunders is refusing to comment on the case, which has to make for awkward moments in the newsroom. The Columbia (S.C.) State is a McClatchy paper, like The N&O, and reporters from Raleigh, Charlotte and Columbia often work together.

Saunders wrote his usual column news Tuesday, so it’s not like he’s off on vacation. His column Tuesday was about how much he gained from reading “To Kill a Mockingbird” as a youth. Harper Lee’s Atticus Finch had a passion to reveal the truth, regardless of the consequences, and that’s a trait that makes for great lawyers – and journalists.

If the press is going to demand answers from others, it should be forthcoming itself.

Cary 67 has qualified for the eight-team American Legion Baseball State Tournament which starts Saturday in Asheboro at McCrary Park.

Post 67, now 18-6, defeated Garner Post 232 and Johnston County Post 71 to earn the berth.

In a best-of-three series for seeding purposes against Rocky Mount Post 58, Cary trails 1-0 with Game 2 being played tonight at 7 p.m. at Cary High School. If you can’t be there and want to check out the action, you can hear the game by clicking here.

Post 58, which defeated Cary 9-6 Monday night in Rocky Mount to move to 23-5, is undefeated in playoff action and is a victory away from the No. 1 seed at the state tourney.

Rocky Mount’s Matthew Berry had six RBI including two on a tie-breaking homer in the eighth inning off Post 67’s James Todd.

Should Cary win tonight, Game 3 will be Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Cary High School. Win or lose, both teams will advance to the state tournament but seeding can be crucial.

Other teams that have qualified so far for the eight-team tournament are Wilmington Post 10, Whiteville Post 137, Rutherford County Post 423, Cherryville Post 100 and Randolph County Post 45.

Cary Post 67 has never won the state tournament while Rocky Mount Post 58 won in 1973. The tournament started in 1928 with Raleigh Post 1 winning that one. The only other Raleigh-area team to ever win the state championship is Garner Post 232 which won in 1999.