March 21st update

Peyton Makes a Decision

• The Peyton Manning sweepstakes ended on Tuesday when he decided to sign a 5-year $96 million deal with the Denver Broncos to become the highest paid player in the NFL by annual salary. Manning, the most sought after free agent on the market, was released by the Indianapolis Colts two weeks ago so they could avoid paying him a $20 million bonus.
• The Broncos emerged as a leader for Manning over the weekend. Manning will go to a team with a stout defense and a strong running game that went to the second round of the playoffs last year with a quarterback who is not as talented as Manning.
• The addition of Manning to the Broncos makes last year’s starter Tim Tebow expendable. There is a bit of controversy, as Tebow was riding an incredible wave of fan support for his incredible success either real or perceived, after taking over the starting job last season. Rumors are currently swirling about what the Broncos will do with Tebow. There are many teams who could use him, especially the Jacksonville Jaguars, whose fan base is closely linked to Tebow's Florida Gators and who would come out in droves to watch him play.


Big Injury in NCAA Tournament

• Before the tournament started, the most famous wrist in the tournament was of UNC’s forward John Henson. Henson, who injured it against N.C. State in the ACC tournament, returned to play against Creighton in North Carolina's second game of the NCAA tournament and UNC fans breathed a sigh of release.
• Unfortunately, later in the same game of Henson’s return, irreplaceable point guard Kendall Marshall was fouled hard on a drive and landed hard on his right wrist. (Marshall is left handed). Similar to the Henson injury, Marshall played for a while after incurring the injury, but was in noticeable pain as the game neared its end.
• Undergoing emergency surgery on Monday, Marshall has not been ruled out of UNC’s next game, against the Ohio Bobcats on Friday. There is a chance the wrist heals to a point where Marshall can play. UNC Coach Roy Williams has said the team is preparing for the weekend game(s) with the assumption Marshall will not play.

March 5th Update

Monster day for East PG's

• Deron Williams set an all-time New Jersey Nets record on Sunday, scoring 57 points in a surprisingly close 104-101 win over the hapless Charlotte Bobcats. Williams, who also had 6 rebounds and 7 assists to go with his scoring outburst, shot a perfect 21-21 from the free throw line, missing the all-time NBA record for free throws made without missing one by 2. (23 by Dominique Wilkins in 1992). The Nets were actually losing for a good portion of the game but when Williams realized no one else was going to win the game for them, he decided to do it himself. Charlotte is now an abysmal 4-31.
• While Williams led his team to victory by scoring, Boston Celtics PG Rajon Rondo had one of the most impressive triple doubles of all-time, putting up a mind-boggling line of 18 points, 17 rebounds and 20 assists in a 115-111 win over the New York Knicks. The 17 rebounds were a career high and Rondo became just the third person ever to record more than 15/15/20 (PTS/REB/ASSTS) with the other two being Oscar Robertson and Wilt Chamberlain back in the 1960's.
• By comparison, Ty Lawson's near triple double (22 points, 9 rebounds and 11 assists), Derrick Rose's 35 points and 8 assists and Chris Paul's 28 points and 10 assists are not even in the same neighborhood but they do deserve an honorable mention as solid performances, all in winning efforts.


Rory proving he belongs

• Rory McIlroy held off a charging Tiger Woods to win the Honda Classic. Woods, who finished tied for second, shot a 62 which was the lowest final round score in his career, but it wasn’t enough. McIlroy, knowing Woods was closing in on him, was able to eek out a number of clutch shots to give himself a two stroke victory.
• McIlroy’s victory catapults him passed Luke Donald to become #1 in the world. He is the second youngest person in the world to be #1 (behind Woods). McIlroy's ascension seems like the next logical thing as the young Irishman has taken the world by storm since winning the US Open last year.


ACC’s big 2 get a new competitor

• For years UNC and Duke have passed the ACC crown between one another. This year has been partially the same, as UNC finished the regular season #1 and Duke #2, except it seems like there is a newcomer who can play. Florida State defeated UNC by a boatload at home, and then beat Duke on a last second shot a few days later. All this being said, UNC and Duke (both top 10 teams) are still the class of the ACC and represent the conference’s best chance of winning a National Championship.
• Duke (ranked #4 last week) has been playing very well this year. Lead by a trio of NBA progeny (Austin Rivers, Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins) as well as a trio of brothers (Miles, Mason and Marshal Plumlee), the Blue Devils were 26-4 and 13-3 in the ACC coming into this weekend including a last second victory over the Tar Heels in February.
• UNC, lead by Forwards Tyler Zeller, John Henson and Harrison Barnes, (ranked 7 in the country last week) came into the weekend 26-4 and 14-2 in the ACC including the last second loss to the Blue Devils and the beat down to FSU. This weekend, however, the Tar Heels went into Cameron Indoor Stadium and destroyed the Blue Devils. An 18-point beat down avenged the heart breaking loss and gave them the regular season ACC Championship.

February 8th update

Tobacco Road Rivalry Renewed Tonight at 9:00

• Some of you may be aware that the University of North Carolina and Duke have a bit of a basketball rivalry. And by a bit, I mean the way there was a bit of an international conflict between 1941 and 1945 and the way Coca-Cola sells a bit of product every year. Carolina, the best rebounding team in the nation is predictably led by the three headed frontcourt monster of formidable post presence Tyler Zeller, shotblocking/rebounding phenom John Henson and Harrison Barnes, who's drawn comparisons to a young Kobe Bryant due to his size, agility and scoring ability.
• Duke on the other hand, features two sons of former NBA players in the backcourt; super-agile Austin Rivers (Son of Celtics coach Doc) and the long range shooting Seth Curry (Son of Dell, brother of Stephon). They also feature 3 Plumlee brothers, although only Mason and Miles have contributed much this season, their younger brother Marshall still being a freshman.
• The Heels are ranked #5 and the Blue Devils are ranked #9, both teams being ranked in the top 10 seeming almost like a forgone conclusion. Duke has lost 2 of its last 3 at their homecourt, Cameron Indoor Stadium and will hope to fare better in Chapel Hill. North Carolina is tied for the lead in the ACC with Florida State and leads the all time series with Duke 131-101.


NBA Injuries taking toll

• There have been a pretty decent amount of injuries in the NBA lately and many teams are being adversely affected. Just to name a few:
- Manu Ginobili of the Spurs broke his hand a month ago and hasn't returned.
- Andrew Bogut of the Bucks is probably out for the year with a leg injury.
- Chauncey Billups tore his Achilles tendon this week and will probably be out for the year.
- Eric Gordon (the main piece of the Chris Paul trade) has only played parts of 2 games this year because of a variety of injuries, the main one dealing with his knee).
- Al Horford of the Hawks is probably done for the season with a torn pectoral.
- Zach Randolph experienced a career resurgence last year but has been out for a while this year with a knee injury.
- Brook Lopez of the Nets has missed the whole season and is still a little while from returning because of a knee injury.
- Carmelo Anthony is out for a few weeks with a groin injury.
- Former #1 pick Andrea Bargnani has been among the NBA top's scorers this season but is out for about another month.
- Another #1 pick, Greg Oden, is out for the season... again... but at least the guy drafted after him isn't possibly the best player in the NBA right now. Oh wait...
- Kevin Love isn't hurt but will be suspended for two games after kicking Luis Scola in the face during a game. Just call him this decade's Christian Laettner.

November 16th update

NCAA Hoops kicks off

• On Veterans Day, a number of NCAA games marked the beginning of the 2011-2012 college basketball season, none receiving more publicity than the North Carolina-Michigan State matchup, the first ever to be played aboard an active aircraft carrier (or any other type of boat I'd imagine) and a rematch of the 2009 NCAA Title game.
• North Carolina won 67-55 to improve to 6-0 against Michigan State under coach Roy Williams. The Tarheels return nearly their entire team from a squad that won the ACC's regular season championship and begin the year as the consensus #1 pick. As always, they may face some competition from #6 Duke, who we'll mention more on later, although Duke is now without their trio of scorers from last season (Nolan Smith, Kyrie Irving and Kyle Singler).
• Kentucky may be the biggest threat to the Tarheels this season as the #2 Wildcats return some talent in the form of Doron Lamb and Terrence Jones and have also added superstar recruits Anthony Davis and Michael Gilchrist. The Wildcats may be the most athletic team in the NCAA's and will get another chance to defeat the Tarheels at home on December 3rd as they did in the Elite 8 last season.
• #3 Ohio State returns Jared Sullinger (who was probably the best player in basketball last year not named "Jimmer") and the defending champion UConn Huskies has plenty of talent to replace dynamic scorer Kemba Walker and starts at #4, in good shape to make a repeat title run. Vanderbilt started the year ranked #7, but suffered the first big upset of the young season, losing 71-58 to Cleveland State.


New Leader atop the Winners Board

• On Tuesday night the Duke Blue Devils defeated the Michigan State Spartans 74-69 at Madison Square Garden in New York. This was the 903rd win in the illustrious career of Blue Devil’s Coach Mike Krzyzewski and puts Coach K (as he is commonly known) ahead of his mentor Bobby Knight at the top of the list of winningest men's college basketball coaches.
• Krzyzewski (pronounced sha-shef-ski) began his career as a player at the US Military Acadamy. After serving in the military, Coach K returned to Army where he soon took over as head coach. After five years he went to Duke University in 1980. He has won 830 of his games during his 31 years at Duke.
• In addition to the litany of professional players that have come out of Duke during his tenure (Grant Hill, Carlos Boozer and JJ Redick), Coach K has also had many assistants go on to be head coaches at other schools, and has been the head coach of the US Mens Basketball team since 2006, winning a Gold Medal in the 2008 Beijing summer games.
• Coach K has also been one of the most hated people in all of sports, as the face of a university that has always been disliked for a number of reasons. As two UNC grads, this post has been hard to write but we have to admit that Coach K has been unarguably one of the best coaches of all-time. A four time National Champion in addition to the all time winningest coach, it’s hard to argue with Coach K’s pedigree, but much easier for us to continue disliking him on a non-personal level.


NFL Update

• Green Bay continues to roll. Monday Night, the Green Bay Packers crushed the Minnesota Vikings 45-7, completely demolishing the Vikings in all facets of the game, even though Jared Allen moved closer to the single season sack record and now only needs 9 more to tie Michael Strahan's record of 22.5. But the real story was not Allen, but the Packers, who have continued to prove they are the best team in the NFL. Lead by quarterback Aaron Rogers the Packers seem unstoppable and have not lost in nearly a full year. Rogers is on pace to have one of the best seasons for a quarterback in the history of the NFL.
• The Second Thursday Night game of the 2011 season features some early trash talk. The New York Jets travel to the Mile High City to take on the Denver Broncos. Unconventional Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow (who won last weeks game while only completing two passes) came under fire this week from Jets All-Pro cornerback Darrell Revis. Revis questioned Tebow’s ability to play quarterback and called him more of a running back than a quarterback. Additionally, he said that the Jets were not worried about Tebows ability (or lack thereof) to throw the football, worrying more about his ability to run.

July 29th update

NFL Kicks Off-Season in Overdrive

• After Monday's vote to end the NFL lockout the off-season started with a flurry... ok, a blizzard of activity. Big name Free Agents like Deangelo Williams, Santonio Holmes and Charles Johnson all inked long term deals to stay with the teams that they played for last year. Players like Johnathan Joseph(Texans), Sidney Rice (Seahawks), Quintin Mikell(Rams) and Jason Babin(Eagles) all decided that the grass was greener on the other side and subsequently relocated.
• Big name Free Agents Nnamdi Asomugha and Cullen Jenkins have yet to make up their minds.
• The trading wire was also active, with the cream of the crop, QB Kevin Kolb, being traded from Philadelphia to Arizona. The Washington Redskins took care of a lot of their locker-room issues by trading Donovan McNabb to Minnesota and Albert Haynesworth to the New England Patriots, who acquired Chad Ochocinco from the Bengals as well. The firesale prices of these moves only highlighted that the Redskins are in full-on rebuilding mode at this point.


Santana no-hits Indians

• On Wednesday, LA Angels pitcher Ervin Santana threw the third no-hitter in the MLB this season, as the Angels defeated the Indians 3-1. If it seems unusual that an opposing team would score a run without getting a hit, you'd be correct.
• The run scored after a player reached on an error, then advanced on a stolen base, fielder's choice and then came home on a wild pitch. Only one other Indians player reached base, on a walk in the 8th inning.
• No team has scored a run without getting a hit since September 8th, 1993 when the late Darryl Kile of the Houston Astros threw a no-no against the Mets but allowed a run.
• The Angels hadn't thrown a no-hitter since 1990 when Mark Langston threw the first 7 innings and Mike Witt finished the last 2 in a 1-0 victory against the Mariners. The time before that was in 1984 when Witt started as well as finished another 1-0 game, this time against the Rangers.


Tar Heels Athletic Department Hits the Fan

• University of North Carolina chancellor Holden Thorp took to the podium in Chapel Hill on Thursday to announce that he had begun the process of firing the Tarheels' head football coach Butch Davis. Athletic Director Dick Baddour (who was going to retire at the end of the year either way) handed in his resignation.
• This all came on the "heels" of an increased NCAA investigation of the football team for players getting paid during their time on the team. The all encompassing nature of the violations left little to doubt that Coach Davis had an idea of the violations. Despite excellent recruits and solid in-game performance, the violations were just too much for a university that consistently strives to maintain its reputation.
• Thorp announced that former defensive coordinator Everett Withers would take over for the year while he searches for a new Athletic Director who would then find a permanent head coach.