Yearly Archives: 2011

Triangle Prophets, Week 6

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Shane
5 Comments

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. William Earnhardt, Site Designer – 13.5 points
1. Me – 13.5 points
1. The Devil Wolf, TRB – 13.5 points

4. Nate Friedman, UNC football correspondent – 12.5 points
4. Tar Heel Fan Blog – 12.5 points
4. Jim Young, Editor, ACCSports.com – 12.5 points

7. John Watson, The Devil’s Den – 11.5 points

8. James Henderson, Publisher, Pack Pride – 8.5 points

 

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Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

When Worlds Collide (in a Parking Lot)

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Joey
1 Comment

Each week, contributor and new parent Joey will post his thoughts as he undergoes the transformation from fanboy to father.

Last week in this space, I shared with you my own personal enlightenment upon tearing down my man-cave. This entire transition from Delirium to Dad has its perks, too. One of which is coming to fruition this very weekend.

I’ve become somewhat of a Tailgate freak. Go ahead and make your jokes about there being no tailgating at Carolina football games, tailgating in a parking deck, etc. Trust me, I’ve heard them all. I’ve also personally disproved all of those stereotypes over the last seven or eight years.

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Limbo: A Profile of UNC’s Carlos Somoano

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Shane
2 Comments

(From the annals of last year’s sports journalism class comes this feature on current UNC men’s soccer head coach Carlos Somoano. At the time, he was just the interim coach and wasn’t sure if he’d land the top position. This piece caught him in flux.)

Limbo

Carlos Somoano’s early dreams didn’t include Chapel Hill.

He spent his youth in Texas, the epicenter of American football. But while an entire state looked to the gridiron, Somoano and his friends traveled an hour and a half just for a few good hours on the soccer pitch. Everyone else called it a “sissy sport,” but Somoano was devoted. So devoted, in fact, that he made his way to a Division 2 program when college seemed like a distant possibility. So devoted that he played in Europe before suffering a career-ending leg injury. So devoted that he took his first job as an assistant coach for no pay, and his second for a mere $16,000 per year.

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Posted in UNC | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Fall sports rankings and national title odds

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Shane
9 Comments

Let’s take a look at the respective rankings of every fall sports team at Duke and UNC.

Football

UNC: #35 (by the ‘others receiving votes’ portion of the USA Today poll)
Duke: #42 (hey, we got a vote!)

Men’s Soccer

UNC: #4
Duke: #26

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Posted in Duke, UNC | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The Doldrums

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Marc
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This is the worst time of year to be a college basketball fan.  Let me explain.  In the springtime after March Madness we all sit around and evaluate the “what ifs?” and “should haves.”  As we move into summer we accept that college basketball is still far away.  We decide whether we want to watch golf, baseball or stab our own eyeballs with forks.  From personal experience I can declare that the fork stabbing is far more entertaining than baseball or golf.  We’re frustrated there isn’t college basketball, but we’ve come to accept it.

However, as we venture forth into fall we feel that college basketball is right around the corner.  We can almost taste it.  We want to see Sportscenter highlights of Duke or UNC crushing a team by forty.  We want to see Virginia Tech squeak by cupcakes and laugh as they don’t get picked for the NCAA tournament yet again.  We want to see Wake Forest actually lose to the Polytechnical School for the Deaf and Blind.  But we can’t always get what we want.

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Duke Earns Its First Erwin Cup Point!

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Shane
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The Duke football essay project returns tomorrow, but in the meantime, here’s the wrap from the weekend.

-Check the scoreboard, baby! (Right sidebar.) Duke has its first point of the Erwin Cup, and it was well-earned. Visiting the #5 UNC Tar Heels, the men’s soccer team pulled out an incredible 2-2 draw. Luckily, Will asked me the day before the game what would happen in the case of a tie, and we decided that the difference in possible points earned would go to the road team. So in this case, UNC stood to gain 3 with a home win, and Duke would get 4 with a road win. The difference is 1, so Duke takes the point.

Riley Wolfe scored the game-tying goal for Duke in the 84th minute, and the Blue Devils are now unbeaten in their last five matches.

-UNC women’s soccer did a better for themselves, winning 4-1 at Miami. You can watch the goals here.

-Duke women’s soccer continued its incredible season, and Tara Campbell earned yet another shutout, in a 1-0 win over Virginia Tech. You can see the nifty goal, scored by Kaitlyn Kerr after a great headed pass from Chelsea Canepa, here:

Posted in Duke, UNC | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Optipessimism Week 5: North Carolina – East Carolina

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Nate
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Before getting to this week’s Optipessimism, I have to beat my own chest for a minute and explain to you, lovely readers, my commitment to Tar Heel football. Upon hearing that the night game against ECU would only be televised in my area on a channel called the CBS Sports Network, and I didn’t get it, I called up Comcast and asked what it would cost to just buy it for a day, like pay per view or something. I had to buy a whole “package” of sports channels for a whopping $5 a month, though the low cost meant I wasn’t too broken up about it (I know, I’m undermining my heroics statement). So I have officially spent real money now this season on Carolina football in absentia; and I promised not to donate any money to the program when they fired my precious Butch Davis! (I’m kidding. Seriously. Donating money requires, well, money.)

The reason I’m telling you all this is because part of the sports package included NFL RedZone. Which is, hands down, the most perfect sports channel for a football fan ever invented. It’s amazing. You literally miss nothing. I sat down at 1 PM on my couch on Sunday and watched, enraptured, for hours. I caught nearly every touchdown, almost all the important plays, and felt like I could carry a legitimate conversation about the flow of all 10 or so games. It’s incredible. And there are no commercials. My question: how the heck has no one done this yet for college football? (And ESPN Goal Line doesn’t count; they don’t cover all the games.) I can understand there would be some serious obstacles, namely:

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Triangle Prophets, Week 5

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Shane
6 Comments

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. Tar Heel Fan Blog – 10 points
1. Nate Friedman, UNC football correspondent – 10 points
1. William Earnhardt, Site Designer – 10 points

4. Me – 9 points
4. John Watson, The Devil’s Den – 9 points

4.The Devil Wolf, TRB – 9 points
4. Jim Young, Editor, ACCSports.com – 9 points

8. James Henderson, Publisher, Pack Pride – 7 points

 

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Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Cobb’s Crossbars, Weekend Look-Ahead

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Shane
1 Comment

It was heartbreak city last night at Koskinen Stadium, as Kelly Cobb hit two shots into the cross bar and #4 Duke was forced to settle for a draw with #7 Virginia. Post-game comments from goalie Tara Campbell (excellent all night), Cobb (strong but unlucky), and head coach Robbie Church:

Another positive from the match was Natasha Anasi, the defender who was on the end of every header and seemed virtually unbeatable on the ground. All in all, it was a very solid defensive performance for Duke, but aside from Cobb, the offense seemed to lack a little speed. UVA had an answer for every attack, and eventually it became apparent that the only way a goal was going to happen was if Cobb did something dynamic. And she almost did, twice.

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Posted in Duke, UNC | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Tonight: #4 Duke vs. #13 Virginia, Women’s Soccer

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Shane
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I’ll be at Koskinen tonight, at 8pm, to check this one out. Not only because I’m curious, but because I’m working on a story about Duke women’s soccer that will culminate on October 13, when they face Carolina in Chapel Hill.

For the first time maybe ever, you can actually make a compelling argument that Duke is better than their Tobacco Road rivals. UNC’s greatness is established; 20 of 28 NCAA titles, 20 of 22 ACC tournament championships, and a 33-2-1 all-time record against Duke. Even on the rare instances when the Blue Devils won, Carolina finished the year as the better squad.

This year, though, Duke is ranked higher. They beat Texas A&M, who beat Carolina. They beat Notre Dame 3-1, who Carolina beat 2-1 in overtime. And tonight, they have a chance to beat a team that just won against Carolina for the first time in 25 years of trying.

The real test won’t come until Duke faces Carolina, but this is another baby step; progress toward proving to themselves that they have the superior team.

Last thing: check out the awesome Erwin Cup scoreboard Will put on the right side bar. We’re going big time, baby!

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