There have been so many football teams from NC in the running for the ACC Championship in the past few years that Swofford and his crew decided to move the Championship game to Charlotte to bring it closer…I’m relieved that now UNC and Duke won’t have that far to travel…

Starting next year the Championship game will be in Tampa Bay for 2 years, then travel to Charlotte for 2010 and 2011.  Check it out

Picture courtesy of: theacc.com

I love it when Grey Blackwell of N&O posts his newest cartoons for different ACC teams. I even loved the ones making fun of Chuck last year.

Check out his latest video of Butch Davis trying to motivate his team on News & Observer’s Site- it is worth watching.

Now if you haven’t seen “More Cowbell” from Saturday Night Live you have to. It is hilarious. My fantasy football team name was even “More Cowbell” for a short time.

Last weekend was kinda rough for the Pack faithful.  For the football team, Wake didn’t just beat State they ran them off BB&T Field with a 20 point victory.  I was kinda happy I didn’t have to witness such a gruesome murder (I was receiving text updates while I was at NBC 17’s Tree of Lights), and I tried to stay optimistic since it is now basketball season.

When I got home from Tree of Lights (and was still trying to shake the loss to Wake, that my Dad and brother would not let me hear the end of…) I found out that one of State’s football recruits for next year, Terrell Manning, tore his MCL and ACL in a playoff game for Scotland vs. East Burke.  Manning is ranked at 13 in Rivals’ outside linebackers prospect ranking, and is one of the four star incoming freshman for 2008.  But the weekend wasn’t completely ruined because our basketball team is ranked 21st in the county, and they were playing New Orleans Sunday night.  This would be a great ending to a long weekend.

So I sat down to watch our game Sunday night vs. New Orleans- ready to bask in a win, and continue to talk smack to all of my Carolina friends about the games to come.  But this never happened.  Do I need to re-hash the pain?  State couldn’t get it together on either end of the court.  They missed rebounds, choked on foul shots, and couldn’t hit a 3 if their life depended on it.  (Which it pretty much did at that point)

Everyone in the world has an opinion on why State couldn’t pull it together, so why shouldn’t I? 

I think that JJ Hickson is a great asset to the team.  He was even mentioned by ESPN to be one of the top college basketball players in this year’s freshman class.  He averaged 26.5 points and 10 rebounds in the first two games of his college career, and was even named ACC Rookie of the Week on Monday (Nov. 19th).  BUT, when Hickson gets shut down and is triple-teamed by the defense, the rest of the team needs to know what to do. 

State’s team is still young, with the exception of Gavin Grant, but they actually have a bench this year.  Just because there is so much talent on the team does mot make the games or practices any easier.  Some teams just need a wake up call, and I hope this one was good as a fog horn for State.  Last year Sid Lowe was doing well, and must have thought he would do better this year with his own recruiting class of players.  This may be true, but they seem to still be lacking something. 

State played their first game of the Old Spice Classic today in Florida.  It was a win, and I’ll take it.  Once again, the team didn’t play like they had any chemistry.  I think that Lowe is trying to tweak the rotations to figure out how to capitalize on all the talent the team has and find out who will work best together.  Hickson did not start today, the starting line up included: Grant, Costner, McCauley, Fells, and Degand.  Hickson, Gonzalez, and Ferguson came off the bench for a total of 18 pts.  Today it was pretty obvious that the Princeton Offense left with Coach Sendak, State was 0/7 from the 3point line in the first half, but improved slightly to end the game 5/14.

The schedule will not get any easier.  State will play South Carolina tomorrow at 12:30pm on ESPN2 with little rest and their ACC/Big 10 challenge game against Michigan State will be on Wednesday in Michigan.  I think  the team will come together, and find their rhythm.  Until then, I think Degand will make progress with each game, JJ is a baller he just needs to find his niche with the team, Trevor should stay on the bench longer, Grant should step up as the senior, Fells needs to keep playing like he did tonight against Rider, the team can focus more on rebounding and foul shots, and it could shape up to be a nice season.

PS- For all those UNC fans who are never gonna give me a break from the New Orleans jokes….let’s remember two words: Santa Clara.  This year may just end for us the same way 04-05 ended for you after that loss….

When I was on fanblogs.com I found a sweet post with a link to a site created by Tom from Strangebrew.

Even though we are a good way into the season, you can still select the teams you want to see and their schedules are pulled up in a table with their records, and tv schedule listed.  Check it out!

So, Jericho Cotchery (WR for the NY Jets) is originally from Birmingham Alabama, where he played basketball and football at Phillips High and even competed in high school basketball against future teammate Phillip Rivers.  BUT, he grew as a football player here in Raleigh at NC State, where he majored in Sports Management.    At State Cotchery broke a few records held by Torry Holt, including having 200 career receptions and 15 games of 100 yard receiving.   

Cotchery was drafted in the 4th round in 2004 by the Jets, and in his four years with the Jets he has played in 53 games and has 1954 yards receiving and 7 touchdowns.

He made news this weekend, and I found this article on packpride.com, courtesy of Press of Atlantic City.  He is doing great on the field and the article takes a look at his family.

 Cotchery and his wife, Mercedes (who he met at NC State) adopted their first child this fall.  He continues to make his Wolfpack proud.

I just wanted to share some pictures from the Wake vs. UNC game last weekend at BB&T Field in Winston Salem.

The girl’s and guy’s basketball teams were out signing the posters for this season and I got to hang out with Sophomore PG Ish Smith.  Check it out: Courtney and Ish Smith

 And one more picture from the game, no comments necessary for this one…GO DEACS!

It’s just starting to get cool outside, we’re right in the meat of football season, NBA pre-season games are in full force on ESPN for NBA Fridays, and the NCAA coaches poll of Men’s Basketball rankings was released today.  Basketball season is right around the corner.  Can life get any better in college sports? 

 Next to Christmas, today is probably my favorite day of the year.  (Well, maybe today tied with the first ACC basketball match-up of the season.)  I love to see the preseason polls and tear them apart for all they are worth because they really mean nothing and definitely do not give you wins.  Three teams from the ACC made the top 25, and all three are from North Carolina.  UNC was ranked #1, Duke #11, and (I saved the best one for last) NC STATE #24.

 The best part was seeing State back in the Top 25.  I hope they will be able to maintain all season, but they are looking great.  It’s nice to see some national attention.  I am excited to see how Degand does at point, how Costner has improved and what I am looking forward to the most is seeing JJ Hickson run the court.  The 6′9″ freshman was a five star recruit from Marietta, Georgia, and his strengths include rebounding and being a well rounded athlete.  At State’s ‘Ballin at the Old Barn’ practice a few weeks ago, Hickson was jogging up to the basket and pulling off a reverse windmill dunk.  Hickson will be fun to watch.  State only lost 1 starter last year, point guard Engin Atsur, and will have a deeper bench than they had last year.

 Looking at the poll overall, I was surprised that UCLA got 12 first place votes, but ended up at #2; behind UNC who got 10 first place votes.  I think UCLA should have been #1.  I was also surprised that Tennessee was ranked so high this year.  Their senior guard, Chris Lofton, who averaged about 20ppg last season, is good but I don’t think they should be #7, I was thinking more like 10th or 11th. 

What would your top 25 look like?  Any other changes?

Check out the poll that was decided on by 31 of the Division I coaches.                           

Most of you have seen the clip of OSU coach Mike Gundy go off on the media in his post-game interview after beating Texas Tech last month. The Daily Oklahoman Newspaper had written a piece about Coach Gundy benching junior quarterback Bobby Reid for sophomore Zac Robinson, and suggested it was because Gundy was disappointed in Reid’s attitude and effort. The video from the press conference is below, in case you have been living under a rock for the past month, or have missed all sports stories.

I think that Gundy went a little over the top with the whole fiasco, but I do like to see a coach sticking up for his players. The coaches have the responsibility to grow and build the team as their own children.

Seeing Gundy stick up for his QB made me think about the ACC QBs. Most of the ACC QBs are not recognized on a national level because they are not on the same level as the Tebow’s or Woodson’s of college fb. Matt Ryan, from BC, is an awesome QB. In Boston College’s first five games he threw for 1,545 yards and is usually on the Heisman Watch list that is changed weekly by one of the Heisman Watch voters.

None of the QBs in the ACC have an easy job, and they play to the best of their ability. So here are some of the Tobacco Road quarterback’s strengths showcased, instead of tearing them down for not always carrying their team to a win.

Riley Skinner-Wake: After missing the first 3 games of the season due to a shoulder injury from Wake’s season opener at Boston College, Skinner’s first game back was against Maryland at home and he led Wake to a victory in overtime. In the 3 games he has played, Skinner has completed 70% of his passes for over 800 yards and boosted the team’s confidence.

Daniel Evans-State: Evans has been on his toes the past two seasons. He has been in and out of games, and knows that when he is called in, he has to lead his team. He started in 9 of the 12 games in 2006, and his best known game from last season was the first one he started in, against Boston College. State won that game due to Evans’ leadership in marching the offense down the field in 5 plays and completed the game winning touchdown pass. Evans has started in just 2 of the Pack’s 6 games this season and will continue to start while redshirt sophomore Harrison Beck (who took over as starting QB against Wofford, and held that position until his injury against Clemson) recovers.

Thaddeus Lewis-Duke: Jumped into the QB position as a true freshman last year when starter Zack Asack was put on academic suspension. Lewis led several late game comebacks versus Wake (when they had the chance to win with a field goal) and Miami (when Duke was only down by 4 and had the last possession on Miami’s 6 yard line) last year that took a lot of guts and confidence to lead the team so late in games. This year he has lead the team to breaking their 22 game loosing streak to beat Northwestern in Illinois.

T.J. Yates-UNC: The red shirt freshman led the team in the Spring game of 2007. Before this season, he had only played football on a team for 2 years, including his senior year of high school in Georgia and last season when he was redshirted. This year he has already thrown for 10 touchdowns and 1671 yards.

My friend Rich and I used to play a game where you had to name as many D-1 College mascots whose names do not end in “s”.  I started because the first one I thought of was of course-NC State WOLFPACK!  (If you count the Nevada Wolfpack, then I got 2 for 1).  See if you can do it.  It’s harder than you think it would be.  I am not sure how many there are total, but the first time I tried I got 8 right away.  Rich and I would take turns and whoever couldn’t think of one usually lost.  I will still see teams on SportsCenter that I had forgotten and if their name doesn’t end in “s” I will call him.

Since then we have found other games to play with the college teams.  We try to list all of the D-1 College football teams without logos on their helmets.  There are few without any decal or lines, but there are more without a logo.  I got 5 without cheating, 7 if you count Alabama with just their numbers and Michigan with the lines.

I am not sure how many there are total, of either list.  How many did you get?  Know any other games like that, I’d love to hear about them!

I love to hear about local athletes who have moved on and are showcasing their talent in other schools or places.  They are a great example of how much potential we have in our local communities.

 Josh Adams is an example of this.  The Cary native got offers from schools including Clemson, NC State, and Maryland before choosing to attend Wake Forest University.  Before moving to Winston Salem, he had a successful career at Cary High.  He was rated by Rivals.com as the 10th best running back in the nation for the class of 2006.  Adams had 2,884 rushing yards as a senior and college scouts took notice. 

 He was red shirted last year, but in the three games he has played in this season as a Demon Deacon he leads the team in rushing, with a total of 186 yards this season.  He has scored two touchdowns, and continues to improve each game.

 Some of the players in our backyards right now will be in the same place one day.  The video below, from rivals.com, has a few clips of Adams from his senior year at Cary High in Fall of 2005.

 What other local athletes did you know from your community that have gone on and made you proud?