All posts by Cliff Barnes

Featured stories, Redskins, The skinny

Redskins do their part in killing out their NC fans

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Twenty years ago, if the Washington Redskins were to play a game in Charlotte, they would have been considered the home team. Still, today, even with the Panthers franchise in Charlotte, a DirecTV survey indicates that there are more Redskins fans in the Triangle area of North Carolina than any other “out-of-market” team.

But the Redskins poor effort in Charlotte during a 33-20 loss to the Panthers today further erodes support for the old Burgundy and Gold, that in past years featured North Carolinians Sonny Jurgensen, Charlie “Choo Choo” Justice, Chris Hanburger and many others.

When the Carolina Panthers played their first game in 1995, most of the fans in North Carolina were Redskins fans. At a preseason game between the Redskins and Panthers in Charlotte that first year, there were as many Redskins fans as Panthers fans and many of the Panthers fans were wearing a Redskins hat and a Panthers shirt or vice versa.

But the NFL made an effort to convert Redskins fans to Panthers fans, in part, by putting the Panthers in the NFC rather than the AFC. In comparison, the Dallas franchise and the Houston franchise were put in different conferences. TV watchers in that market could watch either or both. While Jacksonville was put in the AFC, which also has Miami, fans in Florida could watch either game on local TV (because of market population and media outlets). However, by virtue of the Panthers being put in the NFC, the Redskins were taken off TV in North Carolina, even in the eastern part of the state where fans could get to DC quicker than they could get to Charlotte. TV stations in eastern North Carolina requested Redskins games instead of Panthers games and were denied, again, because they wanted to convert (or as I call it kill out) Redskins fans in North Carolina.

A radio station in Raleigh even had a promotion where Redskins fans could trade in their Skins t-shirts for a Panthers shirt and they were going to have a bonfire to burn the Redskins attire. Not realizing the seriousness of Redskins fans in North Carolina, except for the casual Redskins fan, there was little interest and it just pissed off the Redskins’ fans.

After having watched the Redskins on local TV for more than 30 years and listening on local radio for more than 50 years, Redskins fans were mad as hell. Only hatred of Dallas surpasses that of the Panthers. That makes the 33-20 loss today even more stinging.

In a bit of irony, those seeking to bring a team to Charlotte back in the ’90s urged the NFL to have the Redskins play an exhibition game in Chapel Hill to help prove that “the Carolinas” would support a team. The game was well attended and the boisterous fans helped make the case. Of course it proved that people would come see the Redskins – a Chargers vs. Browns game would not have gotten nearly as many excited fans to the stadium. But the fans were certainly loud and into it.

Back in the ’90s, I spoke with Mike McCormack, one of those initial investors in a Charlotte team, who admitted that the group wanted the Charlotte team to be placed in the NFC. In fact, he wanted the Panthers in the NFC East to compete directly against the Redskins. Of course, again, what that would do (and did indeed do) was to take the Redskins off local TV all over North Carolina.

The fans who did remain loyal to the Redskins felt a sense of satisfaction the first six times the two teams played against each other from 1995 to 2001. The Redskins won all six of them. But since 2003, the Panthers have beaten the Redskins three out of four times. The Panthers won 20-17 in 2003 and in 2009 while losing 17-13 in 2006.

Over an 11-year period starting in 1982, the Redskins went to the playoffs eight times, played in the Super Bowl four times and won three Super Bowls. But considering the Redskins play since the Panthers have been in the league, it’s amazing that there are as many Redskins fans in North Carolina as there are. Since, 1995, the Panthers first year, the Redskins have only been to the playoff three times and have a 2-3 record. Also since 1995, the Redskins regular season record is just 118-143-1. The Panthers aren’t much better with a 121-142 record but they have been to a Super Bowl and gone 6-4 in the playoffs.

The interest in the Panthers from Raleigh to the coast isn’t great, in fact it’s rather poor, but will this game today finally kill off the Redskins fans in North Carolina? It certainly won’t affect the die-hards but some fans have tired of the losing and all the drama that owner Dan Synder has brought. Most media attention is focused on the Carolina Panthers and Cam Newton has brought some excitement. Certainly, young kids that don’t remember the Redskins glory days may very well grow up being Panthers fans even if they live in places like Rocky Mount and Wilson that are closer to DC than to Charlotte.

It’s sad for older Redskins fans in North Carolina. It could have all been avoided if the Panthers were put in the AFC. The Redskins could have been a fan’s favorite NFC team and the Panthers could have been that same fan’s favorite AFC team. But money is involved and the plan was to force the Panthers on North Carolinians to make the Panthers viable with more market population. Similarly they used the name “Carolina” instead of “Charlotte” to tell people in North and South Carolina that the Panthers are now your team.

It certainly makes sense to push the Panthers in Charlotte and that area but to expect Redskins fans in eastern North Carolina to follow the Panthers was and is a little much.

“We had a ton of fans here so it is a disappointment,” former Redskins player and TV announcer Rick “Doc” Walker. “It’s tough to deal with but Cam Newton and Steve Smith were just better.”

As for the game itself, rookie Newton was 18 of 23 for 256 yards and a TD run and TD pass. Smith had seven receptions (two or three of which that were sensational) for 143 yards. The Redskins were ripe for the picking. They were starting a new quarterback this week who hasn’t played in four years (John Beck). They were playing without All-Pro tight end Chris Cooley, starting safety Oshiomogho Atogwe (who was the franchise tag player for the Rams two years ago) and two starting offensive linemen who were all injured.

During the Panthers game, the Redskins lost starting runningback Tim Hightower to a knee injury (and he might be gone for the season) as well as All-Pro receiver Santana Moss to a broken hand. Also, linebacker London Fletcher, who has a record 169 straight starts, injured a hamstring and is in doubt of continuing his start streak next Sunday. Others injured during the game included lineman Jamaal Brown, cornerback Josh Wilson and safety Reed Doughty.

The Redskins fall to 3-3 while the Panthers improve to 2-5. With those records, maybe a NFL team in Raleigh is in order. Joking.

Featured stories, Redskins, The skinny

Redskins fans rally to be held in Charlotte Saturday

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The Washington Redskins are paying tribute to their North Carolina fans by holding a Redskins Rally at Kickstand Burgers-N-Bar in Charlotte on Saturday from 5-6:30 p.m.

Redskins greats Mark Moseley and Doc Walker will be on hand to greet fans as will the Redskins cheerleaders. Kristen, pictured on this page, is a native of Charlotte and will be on hand to cheer the Redskins on to victory (or so believe the vast number of Redskins fans still around in North Carolina).

When the Panthers first came into the league, you could see fans wearing a Redskins hat and a Panthers shirt or vice versa. The Panthers have won over most of the Charlotte area but much of the rest of North Carolina still roots for the Redskins as they did for about 50 years, including 30 years on TV each week, before the Panthers joined the league in Charlotte.

Despite being from Charlotte and a graduate of Western Carolina, Kristen says the Redskins fans are the greatest in the NFL. “My first year as a Redskins Cheerleader was all that I had imagined and more,” she said. “I was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina but I have found an amazing home in the DMV (District Maryland Virginia).”

Many Redskins fans have remained in North Carolina however. A recent survey by DirecTV indicates that there are more Redskins fans in the Triangle area of North Carolina than any other place in the country besides the DC area.

Every Redskins fan who attends the rally will receive a “Hail Yeah” Redskins t-shirt as long as supplies last and each fan will have a chance to win tickets to the Redskins-Panthers game on Sunday afternoon.

If you see Kristin, give her some good Southern food if you want to make a friend but keep in mind guys that she is married to a marine. “I support our military and appreciate what they do and sacrifice for us,” Kristin said. “I am a proud Marine wife and I love being a part of the USMC family.” If you do see Kristin, thank her for her sacrifices as a Marine wife.

Featured stories, The skinny

Teams fight for playoffs in Week 10 of the high school football season

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As the season is winding down, teams are fighting for playoff spots. Two games that could be close are favorites Wakefield at Broughton and favorites Garner at Southeast Raleigh. Those games could go either way but I’m sticking with the favorites. The weather will be clear with temperatures in the 50s tonight. Here are 11 football games being played tonight that are within driving distance in the Triangle area. Most games are at 7:30 p.m. You might want to check with local officials as some games start at 7. In bold below are the predicted winners. Last week my record was 9-0-1 for a 73-16-1 season mark. I am dropping the Apex at Northern Durham tie and adding an extra game this week.

Apex at Fuquay-Varina

Cardinal Gibbons at Orange

Garner at Southeast Raleigh

Green Hope at Cary

Durham Hillside at East Chapel Hill

Holly Springs at Middle Creek

Durham Jordan at Panther Creek

Leesville Road at Heritage

Millbrook at Wake Forest-Rolesville

Sanderson at Enloe

Wakefield at Broughton

Other games in the Triangle include Wake Christian at North Raleigh Christian, Southern Vance at Chapel Hill, Southern Durham at Northern Durham, Smithfield-Selma at East Wake and Charlotte Christian at Ravenscroft. Check the scores at the top of the left navigation bar on this page.

Featured stories, N.C. State, The skinny, UNC

Baseball America ranks Wolfpack 4th, Heels 20th in recruiting

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Vanderbilt topped Baseball America’s annual recruiting class rankings while N.C. State ranked fourth and North Carolina 20th. The Wolfpack surpasses their previous high ranking of 11th in 2009.

The Commodores landed the nation’s top recruit in unsigned first-round pick Tyler Beede, a bona fide ace with premium stuff, command and makeup. The early enrollment of power-hitting catcher Chris Harvey gives Vanderbilt a second marquee recruit. Athletic outfielder John Norwood and high-upside pitchers Adam Ravenelle and Philip Pfeifer join Beede and Harvey as the core of a very deep class.

Texas brought in the No. 2 class, its eighth top-10 class since the BA recruiting rankings started in the fall of 2000. Southern Mississippi welcomed its best class ever, landing in the recruiting rankings for the first time at No. 3. Mississippi rounds out the top five with its highest-ranked class ever, marking the Rebels’ seventh appearance in the 12-year history of the recruiting rankings.

The Southeastern Conference placed eight teams in the Top 25 for the second year in a row, leading all conferences once again. The Pacific-12 Conference followed with four teams in the Top 25, and the Atlantic Coast Conference produced three ranked classes as Virginia was ranked eighth. Nine different conferences appeared in the rankings.

Four-year transfers were not considered for BA’s rankings, except graduate transfers who are immediately eligible.

For breakdowns on the top 25 classes, plus a look at some of the best classes by region outside the top 25, visit www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/recruiting.

Duke, Featured stories, N.C. State, The skinny, UNC

All voters name Barnes as preseason player of the year for preseason pick UNC

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Fronted by the unanimous choice for Player of the Year, the North Carolina is the media’s nearly unanimous pick to win the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2011-12.

While this seems to suggest the season’s course is already determined, consider this: Last year, the lone dissenter was the only psychic.

Duke was the choice of every voter save one in October of 2010. That fellow picked the Tar Heels, who went on to claim the regular season. (The Devils prevailed in the ACC Tournament.)

On Wednesday, 57 of 59 electors went with Tar Heels, which return the vast majority of their roster from a group that went 29-8. That contingent includes swing man Harrison Barnes, whose excellence in conference play last season made talent evaluators swoon. Barnes, to the surprise of some, is still an amateur, and, joined by post players John Henson and Tyler Zeller, he gives North Carolina an acclaimed front line.

Barnes, who averaged 15.7 points a game last year, was the second player to get the early nod from every voter in the past four years. Another Tar Heel, Tyler Hansbrough, was the choice in October of 2008.

The Devils received the other two first-place votes and are solidly second overall. Florida State, which advanced to the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16 last year, is third. Also occupying the upper stratum is Virginia, which has its highest on-paper expectations (fourth place) since predicted third in 2001-02.

Miami and Virginia Tech round out the top half of the projected final standings. The triumvirate of Barnes, Zeller and Henson made UNC the first team to place three men on the top preseason squad since voters tapped Duke’s Jason Williams, Carlos Boozer and Mike Dunleavy for the 2001-02 season.

Generally speaking, electors have a solid track record. The No. 1 or No. 2 choice in preseason has gone on to win or share 35 of the past 42 regular-season titles.

2011-12 ACC Preseason Predictions
ACC Operation Basketball, Charlotte
59 Ballots
Team Finish:
1-North Carolina (57) 706
2-Duke (2) 649
3-Florida State 560
4-Virginia 463
5-Miami 455
6-Virginia Tech 411
7-Clemson 403
8-NC State 316
9-Maryland 264
10-Georgia Tech 176
11-Wake Forest 109
12-Boston College 90

Preseason All-ACC:
Harrison Barnes, UNC 59*
John Henson, UNC 47
Tyler Zeller, UNC 46
Malcolm Grant, Miami 32
Seth Curry, Duke 20 (t)
Mike Scott, Virginia 20 (t)
*denote unanimous

Preseason Player of the Year:
Harrison Barnes, North Carolina 57
John Henson, North Carolina 2

Preseason Rookie of the Year:
Austin Rivers, Duke 57
James Michael McAdoo 1
Nick Faust, Maryland 1

– ACC News Release

Duke, Featured stories, The skinny

Both Duke and Wake coaches believe their teams are similar

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At the Wednesday weekly ACC coaches news conference, both Duke coach David Cutcliffe and Coach Jim Grobe had similar answers to this question. How would you characterize the Duke-Wake football rivalry (which renews this weekend)?

COACH CUTCLIFFE: I think it’s two teams that obviously come from similar universities that makes it a rivalry, geographic location make it’s a rivalry. Circumstances, like I said, that most universities are faced with. I think the thing is right now our programs are very similar. You have two teams that are going to play extremely hard, two teams that are going to be disciplined. They’re going to compete like crazy. Since I’ve been at Duke, and really quite often in recent times even before we came, a very hotly contested game, and it’s going to always be an exciting, good football game for the fans.

COACH GROBE: Well, I think it’s a great rivalry because the games have been really, really close. That’s what you look for in a rivalry, and our schools are so similar. We’re academic schools playing in a big-time football league. I think we’ve got both of us have a bunch of kids from North Carolina. A lot of our kids have played against each other in high school, so they’ve probably
developed a little bit of competitiveness going against each other at the high school level, and they get up here and it continues for four years. Our universities are very similar. Every year our games have been really, really close. We’ve had some barn burners playing each other since I’ve been at Wake Forest, and I would expect that that will continue Saturday.

Featured stories, N.C. State, The skinny

Can O’Brien get State on track during second half of season again?

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N.C. State is coming off a bye week to play Virginia. A healthier Wolfpack will be taking on the second half of the season, a time that Tom O’Brien coached teams have done well. How does he do it?

“Our first year was a question of getting the right people in the lineup,” Coach O’Brien said. “We had the wrong people in the wrong spots and was able to restructure the defense and the offense. The second year, we were in a situation like we were now where we had so many injuries the first half of the year that we couldn’t get any continuity until we got to the off week and got people healthy and got back at it again.”

Unfortunately, while bumps and bruises have healed, the Pack hasn’t gotten many players back from the injury list. “So we used the off week to try to get the guys that are going to have to play the second half of the year fundamentally sound and better football players,” O’Brien said. “We are who we are, and we’re going to go play the second half of the year.”

Players who could possibly return for the game at Virginia are A.J. Ferguson (DT) and Curtis Underwood (HB).

Featured stories, The skinny, UNC

UNC’s Barth might be redshirted if his leg continues to bother him

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Preseason Groza Award candidate Casey Barth has been injured most of the season and UNC is looking into redshirting the senior kicker from Wilmington.

“Right now we are not ready for Casey to kick,” UNC coach Everett Withers said. “In fact, we’re investigating the situation of possibly redshirting him. We’re going to look into the ACC office about a hardship possibility.”

Withers said he didn’t want Casey to come back until he is 100 percent healthy and his leg continues to bother him. “We just felt like in our best interest and in his also, and his family’s and this football team, not to push him out there, not to rush him.”

Featured stories, Redskins, The skinny, UNC

Hanburger selected as Carolina’s Legend for ACC championship game

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Professional Football Hall of Famer Chris Hanburger has been named Carolina’s 2011 Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship Game Legend. The Legends (one from each school) will be honored at this year’s Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship Game weekend.

They will be honored at the ACC Night of Legends event on Friday, Dec. 2, and during ceremonies at Bank of America Stadium for the 7th Annual Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship, which has an 8 p.m. kickoff on Dec. 3 and will be nationally televised
by ESPN in both HD and 3-D.

Hanburger (1962-64), was a standout linebacker and center for the North Carolina teams of coach Jim Hickey in the early-to-mid 1960s. Named a first-team All-ACC selection as a center in both 1963 and 1964, he helped lead the 1963 Tar Heel team to a 9-2 record, a share of the ACC championship and a 35-0 win over Air Force in the Gator Bowl.

Drafted on the 18th round of the 1965 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins, Hanburger went on to play 14 seasons in Washington, where he earned nine Pro Bowl selections and was regarded as one of the best outside linebackers of his era. Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August at Canton, Ohio, he played in 187 NFL games and was voted to the All-NFL team four times.

A mainstay of the dominant Washington Redskin teams of the 1970s, he made 19 career interceptions, returning them for 347 yards and two touchdowns. He led Washington to the 1972 NFC Championship and Super Bowl VII. That year, he was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Year. Originally a native of Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, he now lives in Darlington, S.C.

Featured stories, The skinny

Hurricanes assign rookie Faulk to Charlotte

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Carolina Hurricanes today announced that the team has assigned defenseman Justin Faulk to the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Faulk, 19, made his NHL debut with the Hurricanes in the team’s season opener on Oct. 7 against Tampa Bay. The South St. Paul, MN, native has played in three of the Hurricanes’ six games this season, averaging 18:59 of ice time per game. Faulk (6’0”, 205 lbs.) is in his first full professional season after winning the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship with the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs in 2010-11. The Hurricanes drafted Faulk in the second round, 37th overall, in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

The Carolina Hurricanes will continue their four-game road swing on Friday at St. Louis (8 p.m. ET, FOX Sports Carolinas HD, Hurricanes Radio Network) in the first game of a back-to-back set that wraps up on Saturday at Winnipeg. The Hurricanes will return to the RBC Center on Tuesday, Oct. 25, to face the Ottawa Senators. For information on 2011-12 Carolina Hurricanes ticket packages, please visit www.CarolinaHurricanes.com, or call 1-866-NHL-CANES.