Monthly Archives: November 2011

My official thoughts on #903 are coming later today at Grantland, and I’ll link them here. For now, let me give you a synopsis:

-Coach K is amazing.
-Andre Dawkins is a badass.
-Austin Rivers is a work in progress, but last night was ugly.
-The Plumlees are about as bad as we could ever imagine.
-This team is probably not #6 in the country.

Like I said, a lot more coming later. Now, quick fall sports updates.

Women’s Soccer:

1. The Duke women beat Radford with ease in the first round of the NCAA tournament. They’ll face Georgia in Round Two Friday night at home.  Duke, a 1-seed, will have homefield advantage through the quarterfinals if they keep winning.

2. The UNC women posted a 3-0 victory over William & Mary. They’ll face Baylor in Florida Friday afternoon, and will likely meet Florida, a 2-seed, if they reach the Sweet 16.

Men’s Soccer:

1. Duke lost in the semifinals of the ACC tournament to Boston College, and will face Georgia State in the NCAA first round at home tomorrow night.

2. After winning the ACC tournament, UNC is a 1-seed with a first round bye. The Heels will play at home against Elon or Coastal Carolina Sunday night.

Field Hockey:

1. Duke lost in the Elite 8 to Old Dominion, the #2 overall seed.
2. UNC, the best team in the country, is in the Final Four. A rematch with Maryland, who they’ve met in the championship game the past two years (lost in 2010, won in 2009), is looking very possible.

Please welcome Jill to the TRB fray. This is her first post for the site.

Once upon a time, during a chilly November, two revered athletic programs sat on the brink of history. In one arena, nearly 10,000 fans, dressed in blue and white, cheered in adoration, celebrating their legendary coach. In another, over 100,000 fans, also dressed in blue and white, cheered in confusion, mourning the loss of theirs. Only 435 miles separate the Gothic Wonderland from Happy Valley, but on Saturday, the two college havens, both of which sound like villages out of a fairy tale, could not feel farther apart.

As we have recently and painfully learned, a storybook ending can be rewritten in a matter of days. On October 29th, Coach Joe Paterno set the all-time record for wins in Division I football. His Penn State faithful worshiped accordingly, kneeling in reverence before his bronze statue on campus. The man they lovingly call JoePa, like everyone’s favorite grandpa, was an elder statesman who ruled over his Happy Valley Kingdom for six decades with a heart seemingly made of gold. Although insufferably arrogant at times, it was with this heart that he set a gold standard, both for his football program and for his university. He poured his soul into Penn State, he donated and raised millions of dollars, he won two championships without one NCAA infraction, he benefited the lives of thousands. Those facts are unquestionable. On November 9th, just 11 days after making history, Joe Paterno was unceremoniously fired by telephone. It is also unquestionable that he deserved to be.

Continue reading →

Every Friday, a group of fearless webmasters and sports fanatics from around the Triangle will gather to predict five college football games against the spread. Every Duke, Carolina, and N.C. State game will be featured, along with a smattering of high profile non-Triangle games. As the season goes along, we’ll keep the standings updated and see who emerges as the one true prophet. Make your predictions in the comment section. Each week, we’ll feature any and all commenters who pick all 5 games correctly.

Current Standings

1. John Watson, The Devil’s Den – 29.5 points

2. Nate Friedman, UNC football correspondent – 26.5 points

3. Me – 25.5 points

4. Tar Heel Fan Blog – 24.5 points
4. James Henderson, Publisher, Pack Pride – 24.5 points

6. The Devil Wolf, TRB – 23.5 points

7. Jim Young, Editor, ACCSports.com – 22.5 points

8. William Earnhardt, Site Designer – 20.5 points

Continue reading →