Yearly Archives: 2012

The Walk-Ons! ACC Tournament Podcast

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Shane
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In today’s episode, Ben and I wrap up Duke-UNC II, preview the ACC tournament, speculate about Kendall Marshall’s dad, and discuss the creepiness of the recruiting cults. Also, a classic lightning round, and I give out my cell phone number at the very end. Time stamps below.

Don’t forget that you can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Just click “view in iTunes” once you reach that link, and then ‘subscribe for free.’ Voila. If you’re feeling really generous and benevolent, you could also rate the podcast and write a positive review.

You can also access our podcast RSS feed.


 
0:00 – UNC / Duke Round 2 recap
13:30 – ACC Tournament preview
22:00 – “Recruiting guy” rant
30:00 – Twitter Q&A #1
38:00 – All-ACC voting: Selections, methodology (metrics, bias & eye test), and Kendall Marshall’s dad
53:00 – Twitter Q&A #2

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A Different Feel

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Nate
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This one had a different feel.

By this one, of course, I mean the Comeback Run That Wasn’t: a five-minute stretch in the middle of the 2nd half where Duke went on a 16-7 run to cut the deficit to just 75-64. Cameron was loud, the spirit fingers that spawned unlimited memes rollicking (see picture), and Duke was hitting threes again.

But it felt different. This time, I never felt more than healthy nervousness. Even when Seth Curry drew a miraculous flopping foul on a 3-point shot (thank you for that little legacy, J.J. Reddick), even when Curry rose for a 3-pointer that would have cut the lead to single digits, blown the roof off of Cameron Hansbrough Indoor Stadium, I still barely twitched. Why?

A minute or two earlier, I had seen John Henson, resting on the bench, stand up and whip his towel to the ground. And yell. Unlike the bench against Duke the first time, where dispirited faces stared glumly at the scoreboard, the sideline was fired up. The message was clear: this was not happening again.

Understand, John Henson is not the fiery type. He’s the kind of player opponents hate because he’s obnoxiously friendly on the court. This is Henson’s M.O.: after dunking on someone (and he’s done that quite a bit this year), he’ll turn to his posterized opponent, smile, and say, “Did you see that? Wow! That was a crazy dunk!”*

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UNC-Duke II: Vengeance.

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Nate
12 Comments

(Ed note: don’t miss the Walk-Ons Duke-UNC preview podcast one post below.)

I, Nate Friedman, do solemnly swear that I will not allow myself to reach the heights of emotional investment attained during the first UNC-Duke game. I pledge to watch the game quietly, to restrict my celebrations to guarded fist-pumps and the occasional single clap. I will not throw remotes at the TV or scream swear words when Duke hits sixteen threes. Even if the Heels are winning by ten with two minutes to go, I will not begin gloating. Nor will I allow the outcome of the game to determine my mood for the next week. I make this oath in the interest of maintaining my own mental stability.

I shudder at what's going on out of this shot.

I write these words today because I’m bitterly wary. Have you turned on ESPN this week? Yes? Then you’ve seen The Shot, the first buzzer-beater in the history of the rivalry, approximately 900 times (I categorically refuse to link to it here). You’ve heard Dick Vitale moan over and over like an orgasmic Chewbacca and been forced to watch what in Alabama qualifies as sodomy as the Blue Devils man-humped each other near center court, celebrating.

I speak for a number of my Tar Heel friends when I say there is a certain sense of looming vengeance about this game. One of my friends has been posting on social media every day for the last week, “T-minus X days until dookies cry” (pejorative spelling hers). She’s not alone in the sentiment that Duke stole the game in the Dean Dome, and she’s not alone in seeking just retribution.

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Posted in Duke, UNC | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

The Walk-Ons: Duke-UNC Preview

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Shane
1 Comment

It’s time for another edition of:

The Walk-Ons.

Before we get down to business, don’t forget that you can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Just click “view in iTunes” once you reach that link, and then ‘subscribe for free.’ Voila. If you’re feeling really generous and benevolent, you could also rate the podcast and write a positive review.

You can also access our podcast RSS feed.

In today’s special Duke-UNC preview edition, Ben and I talk about the big game, investigate the ins and outs of Duke’s credentialing process, get to the bottom of referee bias, untangle the Duke-UNC hype conspiracy, fret about the looming ACC basketball boycott bathe in the wisdom of Bleacher Report, do something called a “lightning round,” and field questions from our listeners and twitter followers. It is an exciting day, my friends. Enjoy the game.

(Time stamps below the media player if you’d like to skip around.)

This week’s show runs over an hour because of the depth of the topics covered; chapters and time markers are added for listener convenience:

0:00 – Introduction
3:00 – Discussion of Grantland credential controversy
13:00 – Discussion of Duke/UNC backlash; ACC bias towards Duke and North Carolina
17:30 – Twitter Q&A #1
23:50 – Duke/UNC referee bias
36:40 – ‘Bleacher Report time’, Duke/UNC preview
42:35 – Our Duke/UNC breakdown
51:00 – Twitter Q&A #2

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Unclear Expectations

Posted on February 29, 2012 by KevinM
8 Comments

I had one specific thought that kept coming up in my head while watching the Duke-Virginia Tech game. It wasn’t that I loved watching this team play as my last post stated. It wasn’t that I was extremely disappointed in this team for letting an inferior opponent come into Cameron and nearly win. I kept thinking to myself that I wasn’t that surprised with how this game was going. This Duke team has reached a level I have literally (Rob Lowe reference) never seen before.

I expected the 1999 Duke team to make the Final Four and would have been shocked if they would have lost in one of the first few rounds. I expected the 2007 Duke team to lose early in the tournament, and would have been surprised if they made it even as far as the Elite 8. This Duke team on the other hand could pretty much do anything, and I wouldn’t be surprised. I doubt they will lose in the 1st round, but beyond that anything is else is possible. Lose in the 2nd round to a team like Uconn? I could easily see that. Make it to the Final Four? I can see that happening as well. Has any other Duke team had a greater difference between their ceiling (defeating Kansas, Michigan, UNC, Michigan State) and their floor (NC State, Miami of Florida, Virginia Tech games)?

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Selfish Young Americans, Episode 3

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Shane
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Here it is, gang, Episode 3 of Selfish Young Americans. This week, Jim and I talk Vladimir Putin getting hip, YouTube for tweens, Stephen Hawking’s sex life, the email habits of middle-aged women, and masturbating in the Neil Diamond room. WHAT COULD IT ALL MEAN?

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here (click “view in iTunes” and then “subscribe), and our RSS feed is here.

Enjoy! And if you’re feeling super generous, go nuts and write a positive review on iTunes. Or tell a friend. Or print up a bunch of flyers with the show info, hire a plan, and drop them all over Germany.

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A Welcome Return To Optimism

Posted on February 27, 2012 by MattW
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Happy Monday, TRB readers. The last time that you heard from me, my perspective was heavy on the alcohol consumption and light on the optimism. You may have feared for me due to my curious silence after the loss to Miami. Perhaps that brutal home defeat had finally been enough to send me over the edge. While you may have pictured me slumped over a bottle of Buffalo Trace, sobbing into my favorite Battier jersey, the truth is much more mundane and shamefully adult. On that particular day, I was finalizing a move to Chicago for a new job, and didn’t have time to think about the game. I don’t enjoy life’s occasional reminders that there are many things more important than sports.

This Duke team, which had been the softest, most confused team in recent memory, took the pen out of my hands with two amazing comebacks against in-state rivals. Even so, I wanted to withhold judgment about this group until I saw how they handled one of the biggest games of the year in Tallahassee. We knew how tough this game was going to be because of Florida State’s defense, their emerging star in Michael Snaer, and a hostile home crowd. Leonard Hamilton’s team certainly knows the recipe to beat the Devils. A win would have made it 3 straight, which sounds unbelievable, but is absolutely true.

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Learning to Love: Duke/FSU

Posted on February 24, 2012 by KevinM
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As the title of this post suggests, I’m in a particularly pleasant mood this morning. Duke beat Florida State last night 74-66 and gained some sort of revenge for the earlier loss. They are now in position to go undefeated on the road in the ACC for the first time since the 1999/2000 team. It has been an up and down year, but at this point it is clear that Duke has beaten their expectations. For example at the beginning of the year resident Duke expert Shane Ryan wrote on Grantland.com that “If I had to guess Duke’s fate, I’d say 11-5 in the ACC, good for second place, an ACC tournament title (after Carolina tanks in the first round), and a Sweet 16 exit.” Mark Titus’s picked Duke as the ACC’s most overrated team in his preview.

There have been times this year where those type of predictions looked prescient. I don’t know many Duke fans that were expecting much after the loss to Temple. At their worst this Duke team can be an unatheltic, poorly constructed (no point guard) team that relies too much on the 3. However, today isn’t a day to think about what Duke isn’t, but instead it is time to celebrate what they are.

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The Walk-Ons: Duke-FSU preview, UNC-State recap

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Shane
2 Comments

Ladies and gents, thanks for checking in to our newly named Podcast:

The Walk-Ons.

As of RIGHT NOW, you can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Just click “view in iTunes” once you reach that link, and then ‘subscribe for free.’ Voila. If you’re feeling really generous and benevolent, you could also rate the podcast and write a positive review. That kind of thing warms our hearts.

You can also access our podcast RSS feed. I’m not sure exactly what an RSS feed does, but some people seem to use it. So there you go.

In today’s episode. Ben and I discuss Duke’s upcoming game against Florida State, revisit Carolina’s win at N.C. State, reflect on which American states have betrayed us by not listening to previous episodes, turn to Bleacher Report for wisdom and solace, and challenge Debbie Yow to a debate.

Thanks very much for listening, and enjoy.

Posted in Duke, UNC | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Selfish Young Americans, Episode 2

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Shane
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Hey Sports friends,

I know you didn’t sign up for this, but I think you might enjoy it anyway. The second episode of our little comedy podcast, Selfish Young Americans, is now here for your listening pleasure. Today, I’m joined by my friend Jim to chat about ‘revenge shitting,’ giant prehistoric mushrooms, old-time baseball, sex change, the white underclass, evicting old people, and of course our mutual idol Rick Santorum.

Other items:

1. You can subscribe to Selfish Young Americans by looking it up at the iTunes store. That will automatically download new episodes to your comp. If you like it and want to take a moment to write a positive review, that would be appreciated.

2. The basketball podcast has a name: The Walk-Ons! Ben and I will be taping a new episode tomorrow, on Tuesday, to talk about the weekend action and preview Duke-FSU. You can’t find that podcast on iTunes yet, but you will be able to shortly. We’ll keep you updated.

 

 

Thanks for listening, pals. Happy President’s Day, and don’t forget to take time to recognize obscure presidents like Franklin Pierce, Zachary Taylor, and Alexander Graham Bell.

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