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