If you missed part one, where Ben and I obsessively dissect the last 2.5 minutes of the game, check it out here.
In part two, we discuss the aftermath of the game, dish out some (dignified) gossip from the locker room, speculate on where Duke and UNC go from here, and analyze the outlook for the ACC. We also enlist your help for a podcast name.
Thanks to all the people who are downloading, and we’d love to hear your feedback. Enjoy!
In Part 1 of our recap of Duke-Carolina, Ben and I obsessively pick over the minute details of game’s last two and a half minutes. Our wide-ranging theories are the capstone on the greatest Duke victory of the year.
My written takes on the game can be found at Grantland here (serious, stayed up til 5am writing it) and here (a lot of jokes, took me about 10 minutes).
Ben’s take can be found here, at the Oxford Public Ledger.
Enjoy the pod! Part 2 up later tonight or tomorrow morn.
I’ll link my magnum opus on Grantland in a second, but at the end of the Ryan Kelly interview, when all the other reporters had trickled away, I couldn’t resist asking him one last question.
Me: You like the nickname ‘White Raven’?
Kelly: (laughs) I’ve heard that one before. Someone actually- someone was just telling me the other day, that now the Cameron Crazies all say that every time I make one, and flap the wings.
Me: What do you think?
Kelly: It’s pretty good.
(Ed’s Note: Don’t miss the first Tobacco Road Blues podcast, previewing tonight’s game.)
“My best friend is a Duke fan.”
Shudder.
About twice a year (sometimes three), I think these words to myself and physically recoil. How could I be associated with such a being? How could I justify my fandom as a Tar Heel when treason runs so close to home?
In short? I rationalize. Sam and I were friends before I went off to UNC and he went off to Duke. We shared social circles, experiences, friends. We’ve traveled abroad together. Once, we almost got murdered in a Greek soccer riot (true story). We are both hyper-competitive people: Sam crushed his ex in mini-golf on their first date. I once forced my dad to drink a “Cup of Shame” of milk and lemon juice from a sippy cup because I had just defeated him in a game of chess. We are very similar.
Yet twice a year, I mentally lump Sam in with the rest of… those dark blue people. Sam becomes an dookie. I dredge up my anemic highlight reel of dookies fulfilling their stereotype:
Amigos,
The Devil Wolf and I had ourselves a chat about an upcoming game you might have heard of- DUKE-CAROLINA. THE ONLY SHOW IN TOWN.
Let the Tobacco Wars begin.
Thanks for listening. Click here to download the episode to your hard drive.
It is pretty amazing how quickly things have changed in the Duke – UNC rivalry over the past three years. Everyone knows that UNC won the title in 2009 and Duke won the title in 2010, but it goes deeper than that. There was a point in the past three years where it seemed like one school wasn’t just doing slightly better than their rival, but that one team had such a upper hand that it almost didn’t even seem like a rivalry.
On November 13, 2009 Harrison Barnes picked UNC over Duke. UNC had just come off winning the 2009 title and was 2-0 at the start of the 2009-2010 season. There was optimism in Chapel Hill, because Duke didn’t seem to be Duke any more. They hadn’t made it to the Final Four since 2004 and seemed to be the type of team that lost out on the top recruits (ex. John Wall, Greg Monroe, Harrison Barnes) and lost in the tournament to athletic teams like like Villanova the year before. It was clear who was winning the rivalry. This was the peak for UNC.
On September 30th, 2010 Austin Rivers picked Duke over UNC and Florida. Duke had just come off winning the 2010 title and were the pre-season #1 ranked team for the 2010/2011 season. They replaced Jon Scheyer, Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas with future #1 pick Kyrie Irving and Seth Curry. There were some concerns about their size (could the Plumlees replace Zoubek’s productivity?), but most people were optimistic about lineup of future NBA players like Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler, Kyrie Irving and Mason Plumlee. They would start off the year beating good teams like Michigan State and Marquette and destroying a supposedly very good Kansas State team in a road environment (Kansas City) that had me texting my brother-in-law (a UNC grad) about being surprised if Duke didn’t win the title. UNC had come off a year, where they went 5-11 in the ACC, lost to Duke by 32 and didn’t even make the NCAA tournament.
Hey my friends,
Big news here at Tobacco Road Blues. You may have noticed that the posting has “slowed” a bit, meaning that I’ve basically ignored the site for a couple weeks now. Posting here takes more time than I’ve got, unfortunately, and nobody has sent me $1,000 in unmarked bills to keep me interested. So the paid work takes precedence.
However, the site will not die. Instead, it will serve as a temporary home for two podcasts I’ve hatched.
The first, which will start next week and live here permanently, is a college basketball podcast. I don’t have a title yet, so if you’ve got something good, lay it on me. It won’t be just about Duke and UNC, though of course we’ll talk about them a lot. But we’re also going to take a more general look at what’s happening in the college bball world, from the Big Ten to the SEC to the Pac-12. (Don’t worry, just a few minutes on the Pac-12.)
The second podcast, which will likely have a new home eventually, is called “Selfish Young Americans.” It’s a comedy podcast, because we need more of those in this world, hosted by me and a rotating cast of characters. I made the first one this morning with my pal Stephanie, and it is now available for download. Soon, you’ll be able to subcribe on iTunes and everything like that. I apologize in advance for this episode, because I was out late the night before and had a bit of a hoarse voice. I’ll try to be more responsible in the future.
Anyway, I think it came off okay, and I know we’ll get better as time goes on. Here’s the description:
Stephanie joins Shane to chat about peacocks, Mayans, the beauty of the German language, and the Jonestown Massacre. At various points, you can hear her eat almonds. If that’s your kind of thing. There are a few swear words interspersed throughout this episode.
I have no idea what an RSS feed does, but here’s ours: http://syapodcast.libsyn.com/rss
You can follow us on twitter here: @SYAPodcast
The only other thing is that you’ll probably have to turn the volume pretty high to get it a decent level. My mistake on that one, it’ll be better next time.
Thanks for checking it out. Please feel free to give me feedback, because I’m sure we need it. Always say something nice before you start to get down to business and tell me that I’m a no-talent hack. If you like it, send it out to your friends and grandparents. And hey, enjoy the Super Bowl tomorrow. BUT BE SAFE, YOU GUYS!