It's that time of year. Whether you like the preseason polls or not, whether you are for them or against them, they are still done. This year I will have a vote in the AP poll. Go ahead, let the heckling begin. But I can bet you that when I'm not covering nearly every basketball game here in the triangle I'm watching other ones on TV. So allow me to break down my first poll.
If you compare my votes to the actual first AP poll of the season they aren't drastically different. I do think Kansas is stockpiled with talent starting with Cole Aldrich and guard Sherron Collins. They've had problems off the court for sure. But these are the same types of kids Bill Self won a national title with a couple of years ago. Fighting with the football team shouldn't something they can't overcome.
I put Kentucky ahead of Texas in my top three because it's hard to overlook the talent in their recruiting class. Power forward Patrick
North Carolina missed a golden opportunity on Thursday Night Football. There was more excitement and build up for this game than there has been in a long time in Chapel Hill and after a half of football it seemed fans would have a good story to tell. But the Tar Heels failed to turn in a complete game. The defense wilted down the stretch as Christian Ponder made easy completions for big chunks of yards en route to a 30-27 come from behind win.
Pros: There really aren't many to speak of. But if you have to choose one it's Shaun Draughn and his day running the football. The Tar Heels have had a pitiful rushing attack, but getting back Jonathan Cooper back at guard clearly helped. Draughn ran for 126 yards and carried a 5.5 yard average. It was only the second 100-yard day by a Carolina tailback this season. Draughn had one against The Citadel. The entire running game was effective too as the Heels gained
Duke embarrassed an already shaky secondary at Carter Finley Stadium on Saturday night with a 49-28 conference road win. Duke hadn't had one of those since 2003.
Pros: Where do I begin. You beat your rival. You won on the road in the ACC. You improved your conference record to 1-1 and overall record to 3-3. Your quarterback Thad Lewis tossed it for 459 yards and five touchdowns while running for another score. Coach David Cutcliffe said that it was the greatest performance by a quarterback he's ever had in college. You know that guy coached Peyton and Eli right? You have an open date and then Maryland at home after that. Did I mention that you beat your rival, N.C. STATE?
Cons: This one win doesn't mean that Duke is going to a bowl game. N.C. State absolutely lit up your defense just as you did to theirs in the first half. This was an N.C. State secondary that was
There are some things in sports that just drive me nuts. I hate how there isn't a better replay system for baseball. I hate how rookies hold out two months into the season. I hate how teams that are under .500 make the playoffs. But above all I hate when long established rivalries suddenly vanish.
It makes me angry that there are two schools in the same conference separated by only 25 miles. And they don't play each other every year! When the ACC expanded earlier in the decade it decided that N.C. State and Duke aren't rivals. I think it was a huge mistake.
The only other intra-conference teams (in BCS conferences) that are closer in proximity are Duke and North Carolina (It's two shades of blue and seven miles or whatever it is you Duke and Carolina fans say) and UCLA and USC. Only 15 miles separate the Trojans and Bruins. Only 25 miles separate Duke and N.C. State.
I sure know how to pick the exciting football games.
Last Thursday I thought I was in for a real treat. It was a nationally televised season opener featuring pretty decent ACC and SEC teams. Three hours and fifteen minutes later of time I can never get back and N.C. State loses 7-3. They had 133 total yards.
I didn't think it could get worse. Then I went to a football game at Duke on Saturday.
I thought it was a done deal. I went to the Duke opener last year at Wallace Wade Stadium. That was Cutcliffe's very first game, and they also had a really strong FCS opponent in JMU. That was the year where you would have considered the upset. But Duke handled the Dukes. They didn't handle the Spiders on Saturday. It wasn't even close.
It's really hard to put into words when an ACC team loses at home to a team in a smaller division. Even with Richmond being a very highly ranked FCS team and Duke being a lowly
It's been a week marred by discussions of sports figures who have done some really bad things. Rick Pitino, Michael Vick, and Donte' Stallworth all fit that bill.
In listening to sports radio all morning on 99.9 The Fan ESPN Radio I have heard many listeners and e-mailers comments on the Eagles signing Vick. That news may have overshadowed Stallworth's year long suspension from the league, but I was surprised to hear how the two are being compared.
So that brings up an interesting discussion. Which guy is worse? Donte Stallworth killed a person by accident. Michael Vick killed animals on purpose.
I think Michael Vick is so much worse of a person for his crime.
Before you want to jump down my throat and crucify me understand that I do think a human life is more important than a dog's. But I own a dog. I love them. They're domestic in this country and along with cats they are the next most important beings in terms
What a difference a year can make in college football. The ACC is normally the laughing stock of college football. The stadiums aren't that big. They have Duke in their conference. How could N.C. State go down to a decent SEC school's raucous 80-thousand seat stadium in the season opener and expect to compete?
Well, they didn't. South Carolina trashed the Wolfpack 34-0. More bragging rights for the SEC. But those are bragging rights that South Carolina won't be taking back to Columbia this year.
These two teams look completely different heading into the start of the 2009 campaign. Not to mention the Wolfpack have the luxury of playing this game at home. Pick up any preseason publication and you won't find a single one that projects the Gamecocks to be better than the Pack this season.
This all starts with 2008 All-ACC first team quarterback in Russell Wilson. Having an inexperienced Wilson was going to be a struggle in last year's opener. It
There never seems to be a shortage of stuff going on around the Duke basketball program. It's not surprising considering you have one of the winningest coaches of all-time there.
Recently internet reports had him going to the L.A. Lakers if Phil Jackson retires, he still has to decide whether to keep coaching Team USA, and a star freshman just left his program.
The good news is Coach Mike Krzyzewski just said on Tuesday that he is not going to the Lakers, and that he will leave Duke when he leaves coaching. Since that's over we can look at his Duke squad for 2009-10. The one that now only has two guards on it, a big problem.
A team that had at least six legitimate guards last season including Gerald Henderson in that realm, now has less than half of that.
First of all, losing Elliot Williams in an unexpected turn is a huge loss not just because he gave depth at guard, but because he was a rising talent. He had experience starting,
One of our "friends of the show" on Mike Maniscalco's Sports Lunch on 99.9FM The Fan ESPN Radio is Charles Chandler. Charles always checks in and gives us great insights on the latest with the Carolina Panthers.
I was reading Chandler's update of the Panthers' summer school sessions over the weekend when I caught a blurb about center Ryan Kalil. Chandler says, "Ryan Kalil looks a bit bigger and more muscular than last season, which should serve him well next season."
That's good news for Panthers fans who are counting on a consistent and stable offensive line to provide pass protection for an aging quarterback with a new contract, and a one-two punch running game with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart.
I couldn't help but think back to a couple of years ago when Kalil was leaving USC after an impressive career with the Trojans. I knew where he learned the importance of strength and conditioning and it appears it's noticeably
The Capitals Alexander Semin has his foot in his mouth as he gets ready to start his golfing season, or whatever a Russian winger does when the season ends. He said something stupid to a Yahoo Sports reporter through a translator earlier this season.
"What's so special about (Sidney Crosby)? I don't see anything special there. Yes, he does skate well, has a good head, good pass. But there's nothing else. Even if you compare him to Patrick Kane from Chicago, Kane is a much more interesting player."
What is so special about Crosby? Maybe the fact that he had eight goals in the series and you had zero. Maybe because he scored two goals against your team in Game 7, and maybe because his team beat yours 6-2 on the road! There is nothing I love more than athletes trash talking players that are better than them.
The Carolina Hurricanes on the other hand run a different type of show. In following this team all season long not once did
