Hopefully This Will Help!

The University of West Virginia settled their lawsuit with Rich Rodriguez and the University of Michigan earlier today. West Virginia had filed suit against Rodriguez and the University of Michigan in an attempt to collect on Rodriguez's $4M buyout clause with the University. Rodriguez broke his contract and left the Mountaineers this past December. Under the terms of the settlement, Rodriguez will pay $1.5M in three annual payments beginning in January, 2010. The University of Michigan will pay the remaining $2.5M of the buyout.

In my opinion, this type of contract enforcement is long overdue. Coaches should be held accountable to the Universities, and more importantly to the athletes that they recruit. The vast majority of major college athletes decide on a school, not for the academic institution, but based solely on the coach. If the athlete doesn't receive the playing time that he was promised, if he doesn't get along with the coaching staff, or if he wants to be closer to home; whatever the reason, if that student athlete decides to leave school he is required to sit out a year. But the coach that the student athlete came halfway across the country to play for can leave a job on Friday and start the next job the following Monday. Why should a student athlete be punished and the coach not? Until now, a coaches contract has not been worth the ink on the paper it is written. The coaches have not had to pay any sort of price for welshing on their contract. Hopefully this will make coaches thing twice before jumping ship.

NBA Draft Freshman Laiden

What does Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley, O.J. Mayo, Kevin Love, Eric Gordon, Jerryd Bayless, Anthony Randolph, JJ Hickson, Kosta Koufos and Donte' Green have in common? Instead of heading back to class this fall for their sophomore year, they will be getting an education of a different kind. They will be beginning their careers in the National Basketball Association.

After watching the majority of the NBA Draft last night, I was amazed to see the number of players selected with only one year of college experience. The NBA has always drafted on potential, but some of these guys looked as if they were still in high school. I certainly do not blame the players for leaving school. If given the opportunity, I certainly would. No one has the benefit of a crystal ball, who knows what the next college season will bring. Will the player have a bad year, dropping next years draft status; or will the player blow out a knee or hurt an ankle, potentially ruining any chance of professional career.

The NBA's high school + 1 year, in my opinion, has done nothing but harm the college game. These players should be allowed to enter the NBA draft coming out of high school. They are old enough to vote and old enough to serve in the military, they should be old enough to make millions of dollars playing a game that they love. The NBA should emulate Major League Baseball, giving players the option of declaring for the draft after high school or after completing his third year in college.

The NBA marketed the high school + 1 year as a help to the college game. It would stop players from jumping straight from high school to the NBA. But what it did in effect, was give the NBA scouts the ability to watch these players, for an extra year, against tougher competition and in a different social setting. My guess is that most of the 10 freshman drafted last night would have declared for the NBA draft last year, given the opportunity. The NBA really needs to revisit the high school + 1 rule.

Fresno State Bulldogs win the 2008 College World Series

Congratulations to the Fresno State University Bulldogs for winning this years College World Series. Fresno State was the 49th seeded team entering the tournament. This is the first NCAA Championship, in any sport, for Fresno State. The Bulldogs had to win the WAC Championship just to make the field of 64. Outstanding accomplishment! It can definitely be said that Fresno State was one of the last teams anyone would have expected to win the 2008 College World Series.

Fresno State Takes Control

Fresno State took control of their bracket last night, beating the North Carolina Tarheels 5-3. Fresno State will now await the winner of the rematch between North Carolina and LSU. Stanford and Miami are on the slate for 7pm EST today.

Back to College

Those college basketball player that decided the test the waters of the NBA draft, and had yet to hire an agent, where forced to make a decision by 5pm yesterday. The North Carolina Tarheels received some good news at 4:43pm in an email. The email stated that Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green would return to the Tarheel program next year. This will surely make the North Carolina Tarheels the prohibitive favorite to win the National Title next year.

The Tarheel program was not the only one that would receive good news on Monday. Chase Budinger will return to Arizona next year. Budinger averaged 17.1 points per game during the 2007-08 season. Coach Lute Olsen will return to the bench this year and he is no doubt excited that Budinger will be returning this coming season.

Jeremy Pargo will return to Gonzaga for his senior season. Pargo was the West Coast Conference player of the year. He averaged 12.1 points per game and 6.0 assists.

Miami and Florida State Face Off Today

At least one team from the ACC will be leaving Omaha after today's game. The top see Miami Hurricanes will face the Florida State Seminoles at 2pm EST today. Miami got the better of the Seminoles this past April, taking their series two games to one. In Miami's two wins, they scored 22 runs to Florida State's 14. In their loss, they gave up nine runs while scoring only five.

Miami was the top, overall seed coming into the tournament, having won the ACC tournament and having a current record of 53-9. Miami suffered an upset, losing to Georgia 7-4 in their first CWS tournament game, giving up 4 runs in the 9th inning.

Florida State's current record is 54-13. They were shellacked by Stanford 16-5, also loosing the game in the ninth inning. They gave up 11 runs in the top of the last inning.

Regardless of how they got here, neither of these teams are ready to go home. This promises to be a great baseball game.

In other College World Series action, Fresno State beat Rice 17-5, scoring 11 runs in the forth inning. North Carolina beat LSU 8-4. This game did not end without controversy. There was a questionable out in the eighth inning, where it appeared that the LSU base runner beat out a throw to first base. The heated exchange with the first base umpire and LSU coach Paul Mainieri did not reverse the call. North Carolina will face Fresno State and LSU will line-up against Rice. These two games will be played tomorrow, June 17th.


UPDATE:

Miami will advance, beating FSU 7-5. Miami will now play the Stanford Cardinals. Stanford lost to Georgia 4-3. Georgia will wait the winner of Miami and Stanford, who plays tomorrow (6/18) at 7pm EST. In the second bracket, North Carolina and Fresno State face off in the winners game. The other game will feature Rice and LSU. This game will be played at 2pm EST today.

Mississippi State's Former Skipper Unhappy

Ron Polk is the outgoing Head Baseball Coach for Mississippi State University and he is NOT HAPPY with his replacement. Polk is Mississippi State's winningest coach and the winningest coach in the SEC in all sports. He has just completed his 28th and final season with Mississippi State. During the past 28 years he has led the Bulldogs to a 1116-557-2 record and a record of 1350-669-2 over his entire career. With the hiring of former Kentucky baseball coach John Cohen, Polk has said that he will remove his name from the stadium, remove the banners that display his name and number and have the Mississippi State program removed from his will.

This is certainly not the way to create a smooth transition for the players that you have left behind, regardless of whether your hand-picked successor was passed over for the job.

The Bracket is Set for the 2008 College World Series

Sixty-four teams began the journey to Omaha. Only eight teams have survived to make the trip. The bracket for the 2008 College World Series has been set. The bracket is broken down into two smaller brackets. The four teams that make up bracket 1 are top ranked Miami, Florida State, Stanford and Georgia. Bracket 2 is made up of North Carolina, Rice, LSU and Fresno State. The games in Bracket 1 will begin play on Saturday and Bracket 2 will begin on Sunday. The double elimination format will continue, with the winners of Brackets 1 and 2 will play a best of three series beginning June 23rd.

Super Regionals Begin Today

The 2008 NCAA Super Regionals begin today. There are four games on the schedule, with a full slate of games beginning tomorrow. The first match up features North Carolina State vs. Georgia. This series is being played in Athens, GA. The second game has Wichita State taking on Florida State. The two night games feature Arizona at Miami and Stanford at Cal State Fullerton.

See Day 1 scouting reports here.

MLB Draft Today

Ahead of tomorrow's start of the College Super Regionals, Major League Baseball will hold its first year player's draft later today. Baseball, unlike the other major sports, still have the option of drafting straight out of high school. The MLB's draft doesn't receive the hype or fanfare of the NFL draft or the NBA draft, but it is important nonetheless.

Possible top 10 picks, courtesy of Foxsports.

College Baseball Legend Steps Aside

The Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball coaching legend, Larry Hays, stepped aside this past Monday. He will remain a fixture with the program for the next four years, continuing to develop the program and to oversee the renovation of Dan Law Field. Coach Hays ranks fourth in NCAA wins with 1509. His head coaching career spans 38 years, 22 of which were heading up the Red Raiders program. His successor is current associate head coach Dan Spencer.

Congratulations to Coach Hays on a stellar career.

Read more about Coach Hays here.

Congratulations to Mount Olive College

Mount Olive College won its first national championship in school history this past weekend, winning the 2008 NCAA Division II baseball championship. Congratulations to Mount Olive College.

NCAA Super Regionals Begin Friday

Friday marks the start of the NCAA Super Regionals. There have been very little surprises in this years tournament, with maybe the exception of Fresno State. Fresno State was a 4 seed in an initial bracket that included Long Beach State as the 1 seed. The top four overall seeds are still in the tournament.

View game information and bracket.

College World Series Field Set; Defending Champions Absent, Miami No.1 Overall

The 64 team field for the college world series was chosen yesterday. Noticeably absent, the back to back defending champion Oregon State Beavers. This is the first time since Georgia in 1991 that a defending champion has failed to qualify for the tournament. The Beavers finished the season 28-24.

While the Beavers are noticeably absent, the Miami Hurricanes are ever present. Fresh off their ACC tournament win and after spending six of the last seven weeks ranked No.1, the Hurricanes have garnered the overall No.1 seed and will play Bethune-Cookman in their first match. The Hurricanes have not been the No.1 overall seed since winning the tournament in 1999. They are the only team to have been ranked top seed overall and went on to win the tournament.

Miami is not the only team from the ACC to make the field. The University of North Carolina (No. 2 overall seed) and Florida State University are also number one seeds. In total, the ACC has 6 teams in the 64 field tournament as does the Big 12. The SEC is the lead conference with 9 teams, including Arkansas which failed to make the 8 team SEC tournament.

The regionals will begin May 30th.

Kansas wins 3rd National Championship

Congratulations to the Kansas Jayhawks, winner of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship over the Memphis Tigers. The question now becomes will Kansas pony up the money that it is going to take to keep Bill Self from returning to his alma mater, Oklahoma State University. Rumors suggest that Oklahoma State is willing to offer a signing bonus of up to $6 million. Bill Self could not be in a better negotiating position, having just won his first national championship and Kansas' first championship in 20 years.

I do not begrudge any one returning to their alma mater to coach, in fact I applaud it. I just hope that Bill Self will not hold Kansas hostage and that college basketball does not see a repeat of the Michigan, LSU, West Virginia mess that college football gave us this past winter.

Crean to Indiana

Tom Crean has been named the new head basketball coach at Indiana University. This is the third coaching change since the firing of Bobby Knight in 2000. Crean was hired as the head basketball coach at Marquette on March 30, 1999. Marquette was Crean's first head coaching job and since arriving in Milwaukee, he has compiled a record of 188-94.

The Selection Committee Got It Right!

The NCAA Selection Committee apparently got it right when they only selected four teams from the ACC. Clemson, a five seed, lost to Villanova in the first round. Duke and Miami both lost in the second round. The only team from the ACC to make it into the "Sweet 16" is North Carolina. Carolina will face Washington State, a four seed, in Charlotte on Thursday.

Duke being beat by West Virginia was certainly a surprise. The Bluedevils had a 5 point lead at the halftime break. Apparently their legs failed them down the stretch because they could not manage to hit their jump shots. Everyone knows how imperative for Duke's shots to fall, especially from behind the three point line. Duke's inability to knock down shots from the outside and lack of size inside and on the boards, made for an uphill battle ultimately leading to an early exit to the tournament.

Another North Carolina surprise was Davidson. The Wildcats defeated Gonzaga and came from a 17 point second half deficit to defeat the Georgetown Hoyas. Stephen Curry, a sophomore, has now scored 100 points in his last three NCAA tournament games. Davidson will face Wisconsin on Friday.

Little Respect for the ACC

The ACC did not get the respect that it deserved when it came to selection Sunday. The ACC was the highest rated conference according to the RPI. Collectively, the ACC won 77% of their their games against non-conference opponents. The Big East Conference was awarded 8 bids, the most by any conference. Their conference ranked 5th in the RPI and won 73% of their games against non-conference opponents. The Pac-10 which has been widely regarded by all the experts as the best conference in basketball, has an RPI ranking of two. They collectively won 80% of their games, but with a strength of schedule rank at 21. The ACC's strength of schedule ranking was 7th and the Big East's strength of schedule ranking was 6th.

Based in this information, I believe that the ACC should have been given more respect. I believe that Virginia Tech has a very good case as to why they should have been awarded an at large bid. Hopefully, Virginia Tech will use this "snub" as motivation and win the NIT Tournament where they are a No. 1 seed.

The ACC Tournament Begins Today

Click to see the 55th ACC Tournament Bracket.

UPDATE:

Florida State, Miami, Boston College and Georgia Tech all advanced to the second round. That sets up games with Florida State vs. North Carolina, Miami vs. Virginia Tech, Duke vs. Georgia Tech and the night cap is Clemson vs. Boston College.

Florida State dropped its game to North Carolina 82-70. North Carolina will now face the winner of Miami and Virginia Tech. Miami dropped their game to Virginia Tech 63-49. Duke faced Georgia Tech, winning 82-70 and Clemson defeated Boston College in the last quarterfinal match-up.

That set up Saturday games between North Carolina vs. Virginia Tech and Duke vs. Clemson. The first semi-final game saw North Carolina defeat Virginia Tech on a Tyler Hansbrough jump shot with .8 seconds left on the game clock. In the other semi-final, Clemson defeated Duke 78-74 in, somewhat of a surprising fashion, by hitting their free throws down the stretch. I heard Coach K say (paraphrasing) "there are games that you loose and there are games that you just don't win, and this is one that we just did not win."

Tournament Recap:

The Tournament final was North Carolina vs. Clemson. This was the third time that the two teams have faced off this year. The first two games ended with North Carolina wins, but not before going to double overtime and a single overtime the second time they played in Chapel Hill. North Carolina was able to pull this one out as well, but by a closer margin than it should have been. North Carolina could not hit their free throws throughout the entire game. A team that normally does not miss, at least not very often, was only 58% from the charity stripe. North Carolina defeated Clemson 86-81.

Congratulations to Tennessee

The Tennessee Volunteers came from 16 points down to beat the defending National Champion Florida Gators. The win gives the Volunteers the SEC regular season title.

The Bluedevils Did Their Part

The Duke Bluedevils did their part last night by going to Virginia and winning 86-70. The greatest rivalry in college basketball will have additional meaning Saturday night. When the North Carolina Tarheels make that eight mile trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium saturday night, the ACC regular season title and the No.1 seed in the ACC tournament will be at stake. Also up for grabs is a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and the opportunity to play the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament in Raleigh at the RBC Center and the third and forth rounds in Charlotte.

Even if there was nothing on the line, it would still be a great game. The greatest rivalry in college basketball continues Saturday night at 9pm.

UNC over FSU

The North Carolina Tarheels added another win last night as they prepare for a showdown with the Duke Bluedevils on Saturday, March 8th. The Tarheels defeated Florida State last night 90-77, in the Dean E. Smith Center on Senior night. It was a special night for Senior Quentin Thomas, who has played such an important role for the Tarheels with the absence of Ty Lawson. Coming into the season, Thomas was third on the depth chart at the point guard position, and probably expecting his only start to come on senior night. But with the injury to Bobby Frasor and then the high ankle sprain of Ty Lawson, Thomas had to step in and deliver. And deliver he did. Under his guidance, the Tarheels were able to regain their No. 1 ranking. Since becoming a starter, the Tarheels are 7-1, with their only loss coming right out of the gate against Duke. Thomas has contributed with 6.6 points/game, just under 6 assists/game and barely over 3 turnovers/game as a starter.

Duke has a game tonight at Virginia, who is always tough with Senior Sean Singletary. Assuming that Duke is able to prevail tonight, a battle for the ACC regular season title and more than likely an NCAA No. 1 seed in the tournament will be settled Saturday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Virginia Wins Make-Up Game

The Virginia Cavaliers traveled back to Atlanta to face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, again. The first game, which was to be played on February 21st, was postponed when leaks in the roof allowed for a soaked gym floor. It was a back and forth game, but Virginia made the most of their trip back to the Georgia Dome. Virginia comes out on top, with a 76-74 victory.

Bad Knight for Texas Tech

Monday, March 3rd, 2008 is a night that newly appointed Texas Tech head coach Pat Knight would love to forget. Texas Tech traveled to Kansas and was shellacked. The final score was 109-51. This game set the bar for the worst loss in Texas Tech history, at 58. This is just one week after loosing to Texas A&M by 44, which was the previous mark. This game also set another the record for the greatest margin of victory in Big 12 Conference play. The margin of victory tied Kansas' seventh largest victory in school history. All but one of the Kansas Jayhawks scored, with six players in double figures. This victory over Texas Tech will give Kansas a perfect record at home this year, 20-0.

The ACC, Simply Amazing

There were three Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball games that looked by the start of the second half, in each case, to be blow outs. The outcomes proved to be far from blow-outs. Saturday Duke traveled to Raleigh to face NC State. The Wolfpack had dropped six in a row and by games end, they would have dropped their seventh straight, based on conventional wisdom. But, as they say, that is why you play the game. NC State was 3 points ahead at the half. They extended that lead to 13 points with 10:22 left to play in the game, with no signs of looking back. The Bluedevils made a few stops and battled their way back. Poor free throw shooting down the stretch made made it impossible for the Pack to pull the game out. The Wolfpack missed three of their last six free throws after going 22 for their previous 23. The final score was Duke 87 and NC State 86.

Later Saturday afternoon, the UNC Tarheels traveled to Chestnut Hill, MA to take on the Boston College Screaming Eagles. It was a cold and snowy day outside, but the Tyrese Rice was on fire. He scored 34 points in the first half and 46 for the game. The second half opened with Boston College making the first two baskets of the half to extend their lead to 18 points. Shortly thereafter, Coach Roy Williams sent in the "blue team," replacing all five starters. That lit the spark that the Tarheels needed. They battled back to win the game by 10 points. Also a contributor in this game was Tywon Lawson, seeing his first action in six games.

The Duke and North Carolina comebacks were both special, but Clemson battling back from a 59 - 39 deficit with just 11:23 left was simply amazing. Both Maryland and Clemson were fighting to be the next team in the ACC, following Duke and North Carolina. They are also fighting for at large bids to the NCAA tournament. Clemson went on a tear. A 31-11 run brought the second half to a close. The game was tied at 70 coming out of a Clemson timeout. The play drawn up by coach Oliver Purnell was designed to get the ball into James Mays in the closing seconds. Unfortunately, Maryland did not cooperate and the Tigers had to settle for long three from Terrence Oglesby. The shot fell and Maryland had 2.3 seconds to get the ball in bounds and get off a three point shot of its own. Maryland had to settle for a shot from just short of the half court line, which came up well short.

This past weekend hammers home the point, at least to me, that year in and year out, the ACC has the best basketball conference in America.

No. 1 Tennessee falls to Vanderbilt

The Volunteers could tame the tigers, but fall short against the Commodores. The Vanderbilt Commodores and Memorial Gym took down another No. 1 team, as they have done six times in nine opportunities. Tennessee was coming off an intense fight with the then No. 1 Memphis Tigers on Saturday night.
For more information on the game, click here.

Texas Drops Kansas State At Home

The Texas Longhorns defeated Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas last night. The Longhorns play continues to keep them in the conversation for a possible No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Michael Beasley had another great night with 30 points and 15 rebounds.

Two North Carolina Programs Going In Different Directions

The University of North Carolina men's basketball team and the North Carolina State University men's basketball teams are heading in opposite directions when it seems to matter the most. Carolina picked up another win last night against Wake Forest 89-73. Wake Forest, not having played since beating Duke last Sunday night, played very well during the first half, keeping pace with North Carolina. But in the end North Carolina proved to be too strong. This is the sixth game that North Carolina has been without their starting point guard, Ty Lawson. In that stretch, UNC is 5-1. The Tarheels will not play again until March 1st when they travel to Chestnut Hill to play Boston College. The Tarheels must be looking forward to this week off, hoping to get healthy again.

The North Carolina State Wolfpack, on the other hand, are struggling. They traveled to Virginia yesterday afternoon to take on Sean Singletary and the Cavaliers. NC State could only manage 18 points in the first half, ending the period with a twenty point deficit. The 18 points was only a symptom to what ailed the Wolfpack. The real problem was ball security. The Wolfpack turned the ball over 17 times in the first half and 25 times for the game. The Wolfpack had got to find an answer at point guard.

This is the time of year when the you hope that your team is coming together, that you team is "gelling", that your team is peaking at the right time. Fortunately for Taheel fans, UNC appears to be moving in the right direction. NC State fans do not have that same luxury.

Clemson cannot stand success

Clemson entered tonight’s game with Florida State tied for third place in the Atlantic Coast Conference. After a horrible night shooting the basketball, Clemson will leave Tallahassee in sole possession of forth place. Shooting just under 31% from the floor and not much better from the free-throw line, Clemson lost 55 - 64. They were only able to muster 17 points in the first half. Unbelievable for a team that was showing promise for a tournament bid.

NCAA Violations for Indiana Basketball

For all the notoriety that Bobby Knight brought to Indiana, granted not all of it was good; I imagine that the University would rather be celebrating a coach with over 900 wins than agonizing over the recent NCAA violations brought on by current coach Kelvin Sampson. Sampson is accused of committing five major NCAA violations. This is the first time that there have been any violations in the Indiana Basketball program since 1960. It is not surprising to me that the head of the program during most of that time was Bobby Knight.

Duke Remains Unbeaten in Conference Play

Duke topped Maryland last night 77-65. Duke remains unbeaten in conference play with a 10-0 record; Maryland fell to 6-4 and has sole possession of third place in the conference. Duke had the game well in hand for the majority of the 40-minute contest. Maryland was able to trim a halftime deficit of 11 points down to two points midway through the second half, but that was as close as they could muster. Duke was again on fire from behind the three-point line, hitting 12-25. Maryland only managed to make 3-13 from behind the arc. Kyle Singler with 26 points and Greg Paulus with 20 led Duke. Singler and Paulus were a combined 10-17 from behind the three-point line. Maryland will face Florida State on Saturday and Duke's next game is Wake Forest on Sunday.

ACC Basketball UPDATE

The North Carolina Tarheels escaped with a win over a very good Virginia Cavalier. Last nights game at Virginia was by all accounts Virginia's best showing of the year, even in a loss. Unfortunately for Virginia, they are now the only team in the ACC with a record below .500 (11-12 overall and 1-9 in the ACC).

The Tarheels play is again noticablely handicapped without Ty Lawson. The injuries continue to mount. Marcus Ginyard continues suffers from a painful toe injury and Deon Thompson, who continued to play, suffered an apparent knee injury early in the first half of last nights game. The Tarheels also continue to miss back up Point Guard Bobby Frasor.

The Maryland Terrapins will visit Cameron Indoor Stadium tonight. The Duke Bluedevils continue to play excellent basketball and remain undefeated in conference play. The Terrapins are also playing inspired basketball. Look for a good game from Osby and Gist.

Thursday night, there are three games on the slate, NC State at Boston College, Georgia Tech at Clemson and Wake Forest at Florida State. The Wolfpack has been playing better of late, with wins over Wake Forest and Virginia Tech prior to a tough loss at Maryland. Boston College will be looking to rebound, having come off of six conference losses in a row.

The Georgia Tech vs. Clemson game is critical to Clemson. Coming off an overtime loss at North Carolina, a place where they have never won in 53 tries, how will they respond? In my opinion, this is a chance for Clemson to prove that they belong in the top of the ACC.

The Wake Forest vs. Florida State game also promises to be worth watching. Wake Forest has played well for coach Dino Gaudio, in his first year following the death of Skip Prosser. Florida State always plays well at home, recently taking North Carolina into an overtime period, before falling 84-73.

This week's schedule continues to prove that there is no better basketball conference in the country.

Duke Reigns Supreme in the ACC

With the absence of point guard Tywon Lawson, describing the Tarheels as "sloppy," might just be an understatement. The Duke Bluedevils went into the Dean E. Smith Center and quieted the crowd. Duke's defense was better and they were able to hit shots from behind the arc. Duke held North Carolina to under 41% from the field and only allowed 3-17 from behind the arc. In contrast, Duke shot almost 46% from the field, including 13-29 from behind the three-point line. Duke also had six players in double figures to Carolina's four. Wayne Ellington and Danny Green where pretty much absent offensively. Alot of that can be attributed to solid defense by Duke, but Ellington and Green where a combined 4-24 and 11 points. If the Tarheels are to have any hope of avenging this loss in Cameron Indoor Stadium some 30 days from now, these two guys are going to have to step up.



Here's what Jeff Goodman of Foxsports.com wrote.

National Signing Day

Today is national signing day for football. Where does your team rank? It appears that things are very fluid, even at this late hour when you would expect that the signee's would have already made up their minds. Going into today, Florida was expected to have the No.1 class. Unfortunately, for the Gators, they lost two of their recruits today, one of which commited to instate rival Miami.

Where will everything shake out...it is to early to tell.

UPDATE: Signing day has come and gone...what do the recruiting guru's think about which school and which coach came out on top?

Rivals.com's rankings

ESPNU.com's rankings

Scout.com's rankings

Goodbye Bobby - Bobby Knight Retires

When I saw the blurb last night about Bobby Knight's immediate retirement, like many sports fans, my first thought was "what happened now". With a career that has always been clouded in a bit of controversy over his temper and coaching style, I suppose that thought was inevitable. Maybe it shouldn't be.

I've never been a Knight detractor. Truth be told, I haven't really cared. Around Tobacco Road, Bobby Knight is the firey coach who bested Dean Smith's win record and once had an assistant on his staff named Krzyzewski (you can call him Coach K). If anything, I think the criticism of Coach Knight was mostly unfair. My high school football coach didn't just throw chairs and yell obscenities... I also saw him pick a kid up and hold him against a brick wall one time. And we were in high school. Maybe basketball players are different, but if we could take that in high school, then I don't see why the over-sensitive PC-police went after Coach Knight for less. Sure he expected a lot from his players, sure he let them know when he was displeased and they weren't giving their all. Should we expect anything less? Coach Knight also reportedly considered it his duty to mold boys into men and would do anything for them later in life. Yet that part of the story is often untold.

But it doesn't matter. Even though I dismissed much of the Knight criticism over the years I obviously hadn't forgotten, because I still thought he must have done something if he was retiring now. But from initial reports, things couldn't be further from the truth. Coach Knight always did things his way, controversy and criticism be damned. Apparently he wants to retire the same was he coached, on his own terms. After thinking about it over the weekend and discussing it with his wife, Bobby Knight retired Monday, effective immediately, and left the reigns to his son Pat. Virtually no other coach would leave like that, but then no other coach is Bobby Knight. The winingest coach in Division I men's college basketball retired, in the process securing a head coaching position for his son and continuing the mystic and controversy around his career. And when you think about that career in total, it couldn't have been done in a more perfect way.

Congratulations on a great career Coach Knight.

A Rivlary Continues: Wake Forest 65, NC State 67

NC State University and Wake Forest University have battled on the hardwoods 226 times (including today). Today's match-up must have been one of the most exciting. The entire game was close, although Wake Forest held the lead for the entire first half and much of the second. But the Wolfpack would not be denied and took a slight lead late in the second half. The two conference foes traded the lead within a few points and the game was tied at 65 a piece with just 5 seconds to go. Coming off a time out, the Pack got the ball to Gavin Grant who took a 3 with a couple seconds left. The 3 rimmed out, but Ben McCauley was there to put it back with a one-handed slam dunk. And NC State won the game 65-67 with just .2 seconds to spare.

Duke over NC State

The Duke Bluedevils outlasted the NC State Wolfpack, and then some. The final score was 92-72. NC State had a 9 point lead going into halftime. The Duke Bluedevils came out of the half firing on all cylinders and outscored the Wolfpack by 29 in the second half.

NC State will face Wake Forest on Sunday (2/3) and the Virginia Tech on Tuesday. The Duke's next opponent is Miami on Saturday, followed by an 8 mile trip to North Carolina on Wednesday night. It is no coincidence that Dick Vitale will make his return courtside to call the game for ESPN.

Carolina vs. Boston College

North Carolina improved its record to 20-1 tonight. This is Coach Williams' 18th season with 20 or more wins. The Tarheels defeated a very young, but good Boston College team. All five Tarheel starters finished in double figures. North Carolina led the entire game, with the exception of 26-25 at the 9:15 mark in the first half, when John Oates banked in a three pointer. A wholesale substitution followed soon after and the Tarheels never looked back. The final score was 91-69.

For more game highlights, click here.

Who will be in, Who will be out?

Rivals.com has released their March Madness projections! How many of these will come true? Only four teams from the ACC? Surely the ACC will have a better showing than that?

Another Tough ACC Match-up

Wake Forest, with a jump shot for Ismael Smith with :03 seconds left on the game clock, beat Miami 70-68. The Demon Deacons also got a solid performance from Freshman Jeff Teague with a career high 27 points. Wake Forest is now 3-3 in the ACC and 13-6 overall. With the win over the Hurricanes, they were able to continue a 16 game winning streak at home. Miami was led by guard Jack McClinton with 16 points. Next up for the Deamon Deacons is a trip Sunday to North Carolina State, while the Hurricanes will travel to Durham to face the ACC's top team the Duke Bluedevils.

Terps vs. Heels - Ladies' Turn

When the Carolina Tar Heels and Maryland Terrapins met last weekend for an ACC Men's Basketball showdown, the Terps handed the Heels their first loss of the season. This weekend was the ladies' turn on the hardwoods. Could the Lady Terps repeat what the men accomplished and beat the Heels?

In Chapel Hill, #4 Maryland's women's basketball team battled the 3rd ranked Lady Heels for two halves and two overtimes this afternoon. At the end of regulation through the beginning of the 2nd OT, it looked like the Turtles would come out on top. But the Lady Heels kept battling and broke away mid way through the 2nd Overtime to end a 12 game Maryland winning streak and their first loss in the ACC.

Final Score: 86-97 UNC.

Tar Heels Fear the Turtle.

Conference opponents Maryland Terrapins defeated the University of North Carolina Tar Heels today 82-80, giving Carolina its first loss this season. ACC Football might have been less than desired this past season, but there is no question ACC Basketball is in a class by itself. Congrats to the Terps for beating the unbeatable. From this Pack fan's perspective, its always a good day when UNC takes a loss... even if it does come at the hands of someone else.

900 for Bobby Knight

Congratulations to Bobby Knight on his 900th win last night. Texas Tech topped Texas A&M 68-53. Bobby Knight has done wonders for Texas Tech basketball and even more for the University as a whole. But for me, it is a shame that he is not eclipsing this mark at Indiana.

Lucky and Good

The saying goes, "I'd rather be lucky than good." Last night, the North Carolina Tarheels were both lucky and good. The Tarheels traveled to Atlanta to face the Ramblin' Reck of Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech was looking to defend its home court, which is so important in ACC conference play. By doing so, they would be one of only three teams that has been able to hold serve with the Tarheels four times in a row. Duke and Virginia are the two teams that have been able to do this.

It was an up and down, run and gun, fast paced basketball game. North Carolina was certainly on pace to meet or exceed their scoring average of 92 on the road. The problem for the Tarheels was that Georgia Tech was playing and scoring at the same pace. From the games that I have seen, and this was echoed by the commentators last night, a game with North Carolina is a game of attrition. North Carolina will continue to fly up and down the court, they will "trap" after a made basket. Often times causing a steal, resulting in another made basket. This played out a couple of times last night. But Georgia Tech kept pace. In fact, Georgia Tech had two opportunities, inside of 12 feet in the closing seconds to win the game. The shots would not fall and Carolina came out on top with an 83-82 win.

There is no doubt that the North Carolina Tarheels are good, in fact they are very good. But without luck last night, Georgia Tech would have added their name to a list that only Duke and Virginia sit on today.

Here is the Associated Press' take courtesy of Foxsports.

In other ACC play from last night, Duke went into Tallahassee to play a Florida State Seminole team that always give Duke a tough time. Last night was no different. With 3:56 seconds left in the game, Florida State held a 55-54 lead. Duke managed to finish out the game by making 16 of the last 18 points. The final score was 70-57.

Here's more information on the game.

Virginia Tech outlasted the Virgina Cavaliers in a 70-69 overtime win. A.D. Vasallo led the Hokies with 22 points and 5 rebounds. The Cavaliers were led by Sean Singletary with 34 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists.

Game Recap.

Tobacco Road is the Most Valuable

Tobacco Road does not only offer the best college basketball in the country, but according to a study by Forbes magazine, is also the most valuable.

See the entrie article.

Welcome Back Dickie V

ESPN's Dick Vitale has been cleared to return courtside after successful surgery to remove lesions in his throat. His first game back, a shock, the Duke vs. North Carolina game on February 6th. Welcome back Dickie V, it has not been the same with out you.

See ESPN's press release here.

Two Games to Watch [UPDATE]

Check out the games in the Big 12 and the Big East tonight. Both promise to be very good games. First in the Big 12, it is the 16-0 Kansas Jayhawks hosting the 12-4 Oklahoma Sooners. Kansas is currently ranked No. 3 in the country behind North Carolina and Memphis. The Jayhawks are led by Junior Guard Brandon Rush. The unranked Sooners are led Freshman standout Blake Griffin. The 6 foot 10 freshman most recently put up 27 points pulled down 14 rebounds in a loosing effort to Kansas State. This game tips at 9:00 and can be seen on ESPN

The game of the night is probably the first game on ESPN schedule. It will tip at 7:00pm in Pittsburgh. The No. 18 Pitt Panthers will host the No. 8 Georgetown Hoyas. The Panthers are 14-2 overall and 2-1 in conference. Georgetown is perfect in conference play with three wins and 13-1 overall with their only loss of the season to the No. 2 ranked Memphis Tigers. Georgetown is led by 7 foo 2 center Roy Hibbert with 12.6 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game.

Both games will definitely prove to be worth watching.

UPDATE: Kansas had little trouble with Oklahoma. The Jayhawks beat the Sooners 85-55. Kansas had four players in double figures. Oklahoma Center Longar Longar led the Sooners with 21 points. Kansas faces Missou on the 19th and Oklahoma will face Bobby Knight and Texas Tech.

The game of the night was definitely Georgetown/Pittsburgh game. The Pitt Panthers upset the Georgetown Hoyas 69-60. Ronald Ramon and Keith Benjamin both scored 18 points for the Panthers. Roy Hibbert turned in an admirable performance with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Check out all the Division 1 scores last night.

Duke Wins Conference Opener

Duke won its ACC opener with an 87-65 win over Virginia. Duke was on fire from behind the 3-point. That proved to be a huge factor in Virginia's defeat. Virginia never could seem to get on track from behind the arc. Duke is now 13-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play. Duke travels to Tallahassee to play a Florida State team that has been know to give them trouble. Virginia falls to 0-1 in conference play and 10-4 overall. The Cavaliers will host Virginia Tech on Wednesday, January 16th.

Don't Throw The Record Books Out Yet.

After starting as a defensive contest with the score 9-9, the North Carolina Tar Heels went on to score 34 more points before the half, while State missed 18 straight shots and only put up an additional 4 points before the break. So much for throwing the record books out for this rivalry match, NC State couldn't hit a shot and didn't play much like a team. The second half proved better, in-part because of adjustments made by Coach Sidney Lowe, but probably also due to the large lead and lack of urgency felt by Carolina.

State went on to score 49 in the second half, but Carolina scored 50, so the 30 point margin from half was actually increased by 1 at the final buzzer.

Its time for the red coat to go back in the closet for a while and for Coach Lowe and the boys to regroup. I certainly hope we make a better game of it when the Heels come to Raleigh... it can't be much worse.

Tobacco Road: The Red Coat Returns.

Whether you believe the rivalry has renewed or never left, you can't question that its in full force now. The last time rivals NC State and North Carolina met was last year's ACC Tournament. As happened then, you can throw records and stats out the window... these two rivals play each other hard, with the winner often determined by heart as much as ability.

Today State heads to the Dean Dome (or Smith Center for all my Tar Heel friends). And even Jones Angell will have to admit that this first ACC contest is a big game. We might be out matched on paper, and we might not be wearing dark blue like your other Tobacco Road rivals, but we're going to put up a fight until the last whistle blows.

Forget UNC's 16-0 start... this is a historic battle. Its the 212th meeting between the Wolfpack and Tarheels, and like the 211 contests before, it will be a good one. Tip-off is at noon.

Go Pack!

Wins by all of the Big Three

All three Triangle schools won non conference games last night. NC State beat North Carolina Central University 57-29 to win their seventh straight contest. The Duke Bluedevels beat Temple 74-64 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA. This was Coach K's 787th victory, making him sixth on the all time career win list. Duke is currently ranked No. 9 with a 12-1 record overall. North Carolina also won, defeating UNC Asheville 93-81. UNC Asheville has the country's tallest player, Kenny George who is 7 foot 7. George had 14 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. North Carolina is still ranked No. 1 in the polls with undefeated Memphis and Kansas on their heels.



NC State travels to the Dean Dome this Saturday for what promises to be a typical high energy, high intensity, throw the records and rankings out the door Tobacco Road battle.



For information on NC State, click here. For Duke, click here. And for North Carolina, click here.

Time To Celebrate: LSU Tigers Championship Merchandise.

LSU Tigers 2007 Championship merchandise is now available at FavoriteU! From official logo watches to golf gifts and household items, they have a little bit of everything to commemorate the Tiger's historic 2007 BCS Championship.

Link: LSU Tigers 2007 Championship Licensed Merchandise.

Congratulations to LSU!

LSU became the first two-loss team to win the BCS National Championship Game, much less play in the game. Congratulations to LSU! Apparently Les Miles made the right decision to stay at Louisiana State University.

Is A College Football Playoff Coming?

Yesterday, the University of Georgia President Micheal Adams made his pitch for an NCAA Football playoff system. I could not agree with this gentleman more. But I do have to wonder if he would be proposing this had Georgia not finished their season so strong. Georgia was in the conversation because they were playing football as good as anyone was at the end of the season. As I heard someone on sports radio say yesterday, "where was Mr. Adams when Auburn was one of three undefeated teams who got left out of the National Championship game?"

Read Mr. Adams proposal in more detail by clicking here.

LSU Wins National Title!

The Louisiana State University Tigers, after having two losses this season, captured the BCS National Championship by defeating Ohio State 38-24. For the second straight year, The Ohio State Buckeyes made it to the final game only to come up short, last year losing to the Florida Gators, and tonight to LSU.

If Ohio State deserved to be there, LSU certainly did. After ending the first quarter down 10-3, LSU scored 21 unanswered points before the half and controlled the rest of the game.

Congratulations Louisiana State, 2008 BCS National Champions!

Kansas Still Undefeated

Kansas visited Boston College on Saturday, coming away with an 85-60 victory. Darnell Jackson led all scores with 25 points and 9 rebounds. Boston College was led by Rakim Sanders with 20 points.

For more information, click here.

No. 9 Duke picks up another win

Cameron Indoor Stadium was the site of another Bluedevil win. Duke topped Cornell 81-67. DeMarcus Nelson led the Bluedevils with 23 points and 8 rebounds. The Bluedevils improved to 11-1.

For more information on Duke's win, click here.

North Carolina Eaks Out An Overtime Win at Littlejohn

The North Carolina Tarheels began their conference schedule last night by traveling to Clemson's Littlejohn Colesium, taking on the number 18th ranked Clemson Tigers. This game, in my opinion, is the epitome of ACC basketball and why ACC basketball is so special. It was a track meet; up and down the court, back and forth. Clemson held a 41-38 lead at the half. Both teams had managed 81 points at the end of regulation.

In the overtime period, Clemson pulled ahead with 13.9 seconds left when Freshman sensation, Demontez Stitt made two free throws, giving the Tigers an 88-87 lead. Following two timeouts by North Carolina, the ball was put in Wayne Ellington's hands. He nailed a three pointer with 0.4 seconds left on the game clock.

It was an outstanding game for both programs. North Carolina picked up a key conference road win and proved that they could win without a dominating performance from Tyler Hansbrough. Wayne Ellington showed up big with a career high 36 points, hitting 11-19 (5-8 from behind the three point line) from the field and 9-9 from the line. And Clemson, in my opinion, really validated there place in the top 25. Their were questions as to whether Clemson was for real, given their 17-0 start last year, and then failing to make the NCAA tournament.

For more information about North Carolina vs. Clemson, click here.

The ACC's Horrible Bowl Appearances Contiued

Virginia Tech continued the ACC's dismal showing in this year's bowl games. Virginia Tech lost to Kansas 24-21. Unfortunately, I missed the game last night. The Iowa Caucus coverage held my attention.

For a complete breakdown of the FedEx Orange Bowl, click here

Interim Coach Finally Siezes The Opportunity

With the exit of Rich Rodriquez to Michigan, it was thought that West Virginia would be hard pressed to compete with Oklahoma in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. It was widely thought that with the uncertainty of the coaching staff at West Virginia, would the assistant coaches have the opportunity to stay at West Virginia, would some of them have an opportunity to follow Rodriquez to Michigan, or worse yet would some of the coaches be left without a job. With the assistant coaches having so much "up in the air," how could they possibly prepare a team like Oklahoma?

Not only did they prepare for Oklahoma, but they won. And won convincingly! The coaching staff put their team, the kids that they recruited and the University first (much like Rodriquez claimed to do last year when he turned down the Alabama job to stay "home" at West Virginia). And in a classy move by the University, Bill Stewart will be named the Head Coach this morning. Coach Stewart is the only interim head coach (that I am aware of) to capitalize on their opportunity and lead their team to a bowl game victory. Fortunately, Bill Stewart is getting rewarded for his efforts. Congratulations to Coach Stewart and the rest of the Mountaineer coaching staff!

Disappointing Bowl Season for the ACC

The ACC has once again proven that it is not a power football conference. Eight teams out of the ACC made, or as of tomorrow night, will have made bowl appearances this year. The participates included, Georgia Tech, Virginia, Florida State, Maryland, Wake Forest, Boston College, Clemson and Virginia Tech. All the games have been decided except for the Orange Bowl between Virginia Tech and Kansas. The ACC's has managed to only 2 of the 7 that have been played thus far. Football in the ACC has a long way to go in order to considered in the same conversation as the SEC.

A Good Listen

The Capital One Bowl, Michigan vs. Florida. I must start this post by stating that I would be hard pressed to tell you which team, Michigan or Florida, that I dislike more. The truth, I can't stand either one. But I was looking forward to watching this game, purely as a fan of good college football. Unfortuntely, or so I thought, I was unable to see the game in person. I did have the opportunity to hear a good portion of the game on the radio. Man, what a game! And what an exciting way to be a spectator. Admittedly, I was initially irritated that I could not see the game, but truthfully, it was nice to picture it through someone else's eyes. Try it sometime, I don't think that you will be disappointed.

Michigan won 41-35.

For more information on the Capital One Bowl, click here.