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Although this when has more to do with No Heart. Jake Plummer, a former teammate of Pat Tillman - the NFL player turned Army Ranger who died in Afghanistan - has been offering a small tribue to Tillman this year by putting Tillman's old number - 40 - on the back of his helmet. The NFL, in all its wisdom has said no.

Why? Because as the NFL argues, you can't allow players to put personal messages on their uniforms. Where would you draw the line?
It's pretty simple, really ...

OK, what color do you get when you mix baby blue with red? Mauve? Indigo? I have no idea, but I suspect we might see it Saturday in Kenan Stadium when a good percentage of the crowd will be wearing red rather than the Tar Heel blue typically found in Chapel Hill.

Will that be the case? Can UNC fans allow it to happen, even those who have given up on John Bunting's team? I suspect many will dump tickets for the right price. But will that be $100? Face value? Or free of charge?

I'll admit again that I'm not a NASCAR afficianado, so maybe I should ask Dustin Long or Ed Hardin for help here.

But doesn't it seem just a little bit strange that Robby Gordon's intentional wrecking of Greg Biffle - which took out Cup Contenders Tony Stewart and Jeremy Mayfield - drew only a two-lap penlty from NASCAR, while Lil' E's jubilant S word drew a 25-point penalty?

Before I hop on the soapbox, I will give NASCAR a light pat on the back ...

Baseball's Wild Card is a source of salvation for otherwise boring regular-season races. It gave fans in Houston, Chicago, San Francisco and other places some reason to pay attention in September. The downer to the Wild Card is, ironically enough, the fact that it has to result in another round of playoffs. Because of it, teams must win two series just to get to the World Series, which makes baseball postseason seem like the NBA playoffs. And the NBA playoffs, as we know, are the interminable process by which the television networks select the participants of the Finals.

Look, I've convinced myself that 1995 was enough. I've learned to take satisfaction in division titles, even though the wild card has really rendered it meaningless. I'm trying, really trying hard not to get upset when the Braves flame out each postseason. I was all set to concede this series to the Astros, who were clearly the superior team (although not a division champ. Big deal).
Then Furcal hits that home run and now I'm seeing possibilities again. Hey, I'll take my chances against this Brandon Backe guy. Then it's a shot at Clemens on three days rest, so maybe he's vulnerable, right?
But then sanity returns ...

Ed Hardin today makes a compelling case, seemingly an airtight case, for why the UNC-N.C. State football rivalry is hardly a rivalry at all, even after 93 meetings.

One team's up, the other is down. They're never ranked at the same time. They don't play on the final weekend. They're basketball schools. And so on.

But aren't these schools bitter rivals? Isn't that enough to stoke the passions Saturday? Or is bitter too strong a word, one Heels fans reserve for Duke? And is UNC struggling too much these days for either side to get worked up over the matchup?

First off, let me be clear: I have not seen a replay yet that is, in my mind, conclusive one way or another as to whether TA McLendon's knee was down before or after he stretched the ball across the goal line at Kenan Stadium. There weren't many TV angles to choose from, considering one of the great games in this rivalry -- can I call it that, Ed? -- was only televised by a local station.

That said, shame on the Wolfpack message-boarders floating the conspiracy theory that ref Jim Knight reversed linesman Mike Owens' original TD signal because he felt a debt of gratitude to UNC Hospitals after his on-field heart attack several years ago. It's a painful loss, and it's going to hurt for a while, but come on.

First, a diclosure. I've hated the Yankees with a white-hot passion for a long time, peaking when Jim Leyritz hit that hanging slider off of Mark Wohlers for a three-run homer in Game 4 of the 1996 World Series.

But I digress. Even with my anti-Yankees sentiments firmly set, I confess that I've gotten a little tired of the same old woe-is-us, we're so cursed whinings of Red Sox fans. Like they've cornered the market on despair when it comes to professional sports. Like they deserve some sort of special status as sports martyrs.

Well now, I'm starting to reconsider ...

Forest Oaks has been hit by an infestation of beetles. No, not the goofy little retro cars. As Todd reports, about 90 trees have been removed from the golf course leading up to the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro because of "disease, beetle infestation and the lingering effects of last year's renovations."

Fortunately, it doesn't sound like the departed trees will affect the layout of the course a lot. But sounds like an aesthetic loss. Let us know if you agree -- or even notice they're gone.

While watching the second half of the Miami-Louisville game (a contest which I shudder to say, may earn the ESPN created-tag "Instant Classic") I started to wonder just how great this new ACC is in football right now. As far as I can tell, the biggest non-conference win the ACC can claim is the one it got last night - just barely.

But when I started to think about which conference can lay claim to being the nation's best, I couldn't come up with a very good answer.
The problem is that there just aren't that many huge non-conference matchups out there. The best comparison point we get for conferences really doesn't come until the bowls comer around.

(continued)

They celebrated briefly in New England early this morning. Then they realized that the Red Sox' marathon win over the Yankees merely cut the series deficit to 3-1. And then the bad thoughts began to set in. What if the Sox win the next two games, take a 7-0 lead into Game 7 and then blow it? Wouldn't it have been better to get swept and get it all over with? Such in the mindset.

Boston wins at home.

And it only took 5 hours, 49 minutes this time, the longest game in baseball postseason history. It felt like 5 years and 49 days, which on top of that 12-inning epic that ended Monday morning should extend the Red Sox's championship drought to about 100 years.

To follow up on Rob's point, this has been merely a draining, exasperating tease for those of us who either profess loyalty to the Sox or despise the Yankees, or both. Nobody's come back from 3-0 to win a playoff series -- unless you're talking hockey -- so taking the series back to the Bronx for Game 6 is admirable, but it's only setting up Red Sox Nation for more heartbreak.

If Curt Schilling were of sound mind AND body, it would be a whole different series, but he's got a bad ankle and his team has too much bad karma. Tonight, it ends. In approximately 5 hours and 480 pitches. And that means extra caffeine Wednesday morning.

I tried to avoid this. I really did. I didn't want to produce a third straight blog entry on the Yankees-Red Sox series. If you're a fan of the Astros and the Cardinals, I completely understand if you're annoyed by the fact that everyone else - including me - has ignored your very good series. Heck, I've even been a critic in the past of how much hype New York-Boston gets because of where they're located.

But c'mon, tonight is going to be a historic moment, one way or the other ...

Red Sox fans' lives -- and visions of Grady Little -- had to flash before their eyes when they saw Pedro Martinez warming up before the 7th inning last night. Derek Lowe was cruising, Pedro had just pitched two nights earlier and the Yanks fans were revived, chanting "Who's your daddy?" at Pedro in honor of his ill-advised comment in September.

Up 8-1, I have no idea what Francona was thinking, but naturally I feared the worst. Nothing to fear. All my doomsaying was in vain. These Red Sox are special. Or these Yanks are colossal chokers. Or a little of both. Until the Sox win the World Series, Yanks fans can feebly keep their "1918" chants going. But to come back from 0-3 in the series, that's something that has never been done before in baseball.

To think, the Yanks were one quick Mariano Rivera inning away from a sweep. I'll never be the same. Boston will never be the same.

So I went on to ESPN Sports Nation this morning and filled out this 16-question poll

about the matchups between the Red Sox in the Cardinals. My final tally? Six in favor of St. Louis, six in favor of Boston, four rated even. My conclusion? This one's going seven games.

But I know you're all wondering, "Jim, who do you think is going to win this series?" And because I have absolutely no special expertise with this, I'll tell you ...

Before the ink had dried on his contract, Florida football coach Ron Zook was the subject of a Web site, www.fireronzook.com, calling for his ouster. Today, that site has this proclamation: "It's happening! It's happening! Oh my god it's happening!"

There's also excitement at www.hirestevespurrier.com, where it counts the days since the Ol' Ball Coach left the Swamp: 1025. Now that Zook's been fired with four games left in the season -- another late-game collapse, this time against woeful Mississippi State, was the last straw -- there's a fervor to bring back Spurrier, who didn't exactly deny an interest when asked about it Monday.

No doubt, there aren't many Florida fans who would turn Spurrier away after his previous success at his alma mater. The question is: Will he be offered (probably) and will he accept (I'm not so sure)?

Before I ask this question, a quick announcement for Todd Graff and all other high strung paranoid Boston Red Sox fans: THIS IS ONLY A HYPOTHETICAL QUESTION. NO JINX IS INVOLVED. PLEASE DO NOT BURN DOWN MY HOUSE AND SHAVE MY DOG.

If (see, I used the word IF) the Red Sox are able to win one more game and clinch their first World Series victory since 1918, what will Boston fans be like? Will there be a sudden spike in the death rate there, as thousands can now die happy? Will interest wane once there is no ongoing psychodrama?

I think the passion stays, minus the angst. I think Boston morphs into something like St. Louis - a great baseball town where the fans care fervently, but don't have any psychological hangups.

Now as for the future of sports radio in Boston, I have no idea what they'd talk about in the wake of a HYPOTHETICAL World Series win.

Put your mind at ease, Jim, Mr. Graff won't be burning down your house or shaving your dog. That's not how they celebrate in Boston, as far as I know. Sounds more like Detroit.

Angst-ridden Red Sox fans -- and I've been afflicted with a mysterious, fatalistic passion for the Sox over the last 20 years, despite growing up a Phillies fan in Pennsylvania and Virginia -- are rejoicing a sweet Series sweep, made all the sweeter that it came on the heels of 86 years of misery and a historic comeback from down 0-3 against the Evil Empire.

As for the question: What now? No clue. I think Boston will become more a baseball town like St. Louis, so much less jaded. Or maybe they'll just transfer their frustrations to the Celtics. The other big question: Who's next to end the suffering? The Cubs? The White Sox, who are enduring what I call the Curse of the 1919 Black Sox? Maybe the Indians, who were three outs away in '97 but for the Curse of Joe Table?

That's not Boston's problem anymore. Rest easy, Babe.

Toney Baker of Ragsdale High School is going to conclude his career as one of the four most prolific rushers in documented high school football history. So we thought it would be interesting to see what happened to the others on the Top 10 list. A column in the Nov. 9 News & Record will explore the topic in greater depth; for now, suffice it to say that not all of the big names have gone on to greatness after their high school days. Some have never been heard from again.
Baker may be the most intriguing and tantalizing figure on the list because many of the others played against numerically -- and physically -- smaller competition than Baker has seen in the Tri-County 3A Conference.
What do you think the future holds for the talented Tiger?

.... your opportunity to tell the ACC-area media what you think of their basketball predictions.