News-Record.com

Seems we've seen 5-6 NFL coaches call multiple timeouts to freeze kickers this year. Not just to me, but apparently to Joe Gibbs too. Of course, the Redskins' head coach should know league rules better than I, just an observer barely paying attention during this miserable season. Well, he called two today as Rian Lindell lined up for the game-winner from 51 yards. Got a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty on the 2nd one, and from 36, the Skins suffered another improbable loss to a horrible team.

It's been tough times at Redskins Park this week. Sean Taylor's funeral is Monday. The Bears game is Thursday. Taylor's former football team can be excused for not winning another game under the circumstances. At this point, I'd have to think Gibbs walks away at season's end. He's classy enough a guy to admit he blew today's game, and even after all he's achieved in the past, it's hard to consider this team's operation salvagable under Gibbs' leadership.

A sad disintegration for those of us who grew up watching Gibbs lead the Redskins to 3 Super Bowl wins. OK, no more Redskin rants from me, I promise.

I'm going to go short on the other teams and focus much of this poll on what Austin Powers would want to know - Who Is No. 2?

1/3 Ohio State (1) - Sigggh. I still don't feel great about the Buckeyes, but they have only one loss and they have a conference title in a BCS conference. These days, that's hard to argue against.

2/6 LSU (2) - I had to do some serious thinking after all the chaos finally ended on Saturday. First, was I okay with leapfrogging LSU over the teams I'd had at No. 4 - Georgia and No. 5 - Southern Cal. Yes I was. Georgia was easy. The Dawgs didn't win their division, much less the SEC. How could I put them in the title game over LSU? Southern Cal wasn't too hard either. LSU played a tougher schedule and lost both its games to winning teams in triple overtime. The Trojans still have the stink of that loss to Stanford on them.

The tougher question was this - LSU or Oklahoma? The Sooners had a Big 12 title, two wins over Missouri and a win over Texas. Not bad, but still not as good as the Tigers, who destroyed Virginia Tech in non-conference play and knocked off Florida, Auburn and Tennessee in conference play. Pretty impressive. Yes, LSU has its flaws, but hey, who doesn't this season?

3/8 Oklahoma (3) - The Sooners don't make it to the BCS title game, but we get a really interesting matchup of Oklahoma and West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl.

4/7 Virginia Tech (5) - The Hokies ended up No. 3 in the BCS standings. If they had only held off that rally by BC in Blacksburg, we'd probably have a team that lost 48-7 earlier this season playing for the national title. Try wrapping your mind around that.

5/4 Georgia (4) - Hey, if we were playing a plus-one playoff system, Georgia would have a pretty good case for getting a shot at the national title. But we don't, so the Dawgs don't. Beating up on Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl will just have to do.

6/5 Southern Cal (6) - You gotta love all the mid-season talk about the fall of the Trojans's dynasty. Another season, another Rose Bowl. Yawn.

7/1 Missouri (1) - Somehow I just don't think the Cotton Bowl is a sufficient consolation prize for the Tigers.

8/9 Kansas (8) - By losing a week early, the Jayhawks go to Orange Bowl while Mizzou gets the Cotton Bowl. Genius. Mangenious.

9/10 Florida (9) - During his down-time before the Gators play in the Capital One Bowl, Tim Tebow plans to win the War on Terror.

10/2 West Virginia (11) - Jeff Carlton and I are both afraid to go anywhere near our boss, Joe Sirera, a West Virginia alum. I plan to correspond via email only for at least two weeks.

11/13 Arizona State (12) - It's off to the Holiday Bowl for the Sun Devils.

12/14 Hawaii (10) - All right. Okay. You win. The Warriors deserve to go to a BCS Bowl. There, I said it. Happy? Good luck against Georgia.

13/15 Illinois (13) - One of the cool things about the at-large BCS bids - we get a PAC-10/Big Ten matchup in the Rose Bowl with the Illini and Southern Cal.

14/11 Boston College (14) - Win the ACC title go to the Orange Bowl. Lose and go to the Champs Bowl. Hey, at least it's still in Florida, right?

15/16 Clemson (15) - Clemson vs. Auburn in the matchup of two schools that are really, really, really a lot alike. Seriously. All my friends in high school applied to both schools during sixth-period study hall. Apparently essays weren't part of the applications back then.

16/12 Tennessee (16) - The Vols didn't win the SEC title. Does that mean Phil Fulmer gets fired?

17/17 Texas (17) - Holiday Bowl in San Diego. Nice prize for a thoroughly underwhelming season.

18/19 Wisconsin (18) - The Red of Wisconsin is going to clash mightily with Tennessee Orange in the Outback Bowl.

19/20 Virginia (21) - The Cavs head to Jacksonville to play ... Texas Tech? Somehow this just doesn't seem right. Regardless, I predict UVA by one.

20/21 South Florida (23) - The Bulls head to El Paso to play Oregon. This bowl is just unappealing in so many ways, starting with the location.

21/22 Auburn (22) - Tommy Tuberville kind of reminds me of actor David Strathairn ... until he starts talking. Somehow I can't see Tommy doing a good Ed Murrow imitation.

22/23 Arkansas (23) - I think I read that defensive coordinator Reggie Herring will be the Hogs' interim coach. He's going to be great in the pre-bowl press conferences. The man is a talker.

23/24 BYU (19) - The largely Mormon school heads to the Las Vegas Bowl. This just feels right.

24/25 Cincinnati (20) - The Bearcats play Southern Miss in the Papajohns.com Bowl. If you need any more info on this ... look elsewhere.

25/NR Oregon State (NR) - The Beavers play Maryland in the Emerald Bowl. San Francisco and college football. What a perfect match.

... and Dudley and Western Alamance have a chance to bring the Triad 3-A two state football titles, one with a lights-out defense, the other riding a dynamic offense to Chapel Hill.

Western got just enough out of its offense to beat Dudley in OT back on Oct. 26, 14-7. The Panthers haven't lost since, with Northeast Guilford -- also out of the Triad 3-A -- coming closest in an 18-13 2nd-round loss. Perhaps Charlotte Catholic will be Dudley's toughest test yet, but when they say they're "battle-tested," the Panthers have a very solid case.

The offense continues to make things interesting with drives stalling inside the 30 and, with no kicking game to speak of, no points. Penalties were the culprit at Oxford Webb on Friday, according to Jim Young's report. They did get one 50-yard TD run from QB Ricky Lewis Jr., who has been Dudley's most impressive ball-carrier of late.

On defense, Dudley survived thanks largely to a nice 2nd-half adjustment. Webb had found a size mismatch on 6-3 receiver William Alston's defender and scored on a jump-ball pass. Dudley moved 6-2 corner Kenny Okoro to Alston's side of the field and he blanketed him. A late goal-line stand, and the Panthers are on to the 3-AA final -- 3:30 kickoff Saturday at Kenan against the West regional champ, Charlotte Catholic (13-2), a 24-7 winner over Asheville TC Roberson.

Western Alamance (15-0) looks to win the 3-A state championship vs. North Gaston (12-2) after three straight heartbreaking losses in the final. If you know Hal Capps, you'll be rooting for the Warriors to get it done this time and avoid that Buffalo Bills comparison.

Capps' Warriors got here by hanging 50 points on Rocky Mount, though to give their defense due credit, Levon Curtis scored the final points on an interception return. Western also had to rally from a 22-21 halftime deficit. Showing some moxie in a tight East regional final.

The question for Reidsville, also 15-0 and looking for the school's 16th state title, is: How will the Rams react to a tight, tooth-and-nail game? Haven't even been close in the playoffs, blowing everyone out of the water by halftime (161-7 in the first half). So Dudley's done it with defense, Western with offense and Reidsville with domination on both sides of the ball. Jimmy Teague's spread offense is clicking like nobody's business, and even if the Rams give up some points to Shelby, I like their chances to win No. 16 and give a little payback for their '05 loss to Shelby in the 2-AA final.

Just got off the phone with Greensboro's favorite tennis-playing son, John Isner. I'll have a story on him in Friday's paper, the day he's back in town to play an exhibition against Mardy Fish. But this little tidbit just couldn't wait.

John told me he'll be playing doubles in the Australian Open with Ivo Karlovic. Or, I should say, 6-10 Ivo Karlovic. So that'll be 6-10 Ivo and 6-9 Isner at the net at the same time. Word of advice to their opponents - don't try to lob.

Doubles doesn't normally get a ton of air time, but I have to imagine those two will get some attention down in Sydney.

But first, they need a nickname. As an old-school wrestling fan, I'm leaning toward the Legion of Doom. Would Isner be Hawk? Or Animal? That's a tough call.

Why does that matter you say? Take a look at the Panthers' road record this season.

Eight wins and ... no losses.

Yep, Dudley's unbeaten on the road this year. That includes a season-opening win at Carver, as well as wins at the 3-AA East No. 2 seed (Northeast Guilford), No. 3 seed (Nash Central) and No. 1 seed (Oxford Webb) in consecutive weeks.

Dudley wound up as the visiting team for Saturday's game just because they swap home honors back and forth between the East Region rep and the West Region rep each year and this year it's the West's turn. But something tells me Panthers' coach Steven Davis might have requested that his team be the visitors regardless. Why mess with a good thing?

More tidbits later ...

It now appears that Jim Grobe's name is being bandied about for every job in the land, tossed as indiscriminately as a McDonald's paper bag onto Business 40 near Kernersville.
Nebraska? Yeah, you could see that one. But UCLA? Here are a few considerations:
** Grobe doesn't have many Pac 10 ties. He recruited Spokane, Wash., and Sacramento, Calif., and a few other places in Pac 10 land while an assistant at Air Force, but that was a while ago. Offensive coordinator Steed Lobotzke is a California native and associate head coach Billy Mitchell worked with Grobe in Colorado Springs. Other than that, it's hard to find serious links between the current staff and anywhere west of Oklahoma.
** Money. Jim Grobe has never been about money, but unless UCLA changes its unofficial policy of financial restraint, it won't be able to provide him the same standard of living he has in the Triad.
The last firm numbers of his compensation say he made $1,021,000 in the FIscal Year ending June 30, 2006. He has since gotten a raise. Let's be conservative and say the new deal pays him $1.2 million. OK. Now let's check out the cost of living difference between Winston and Westwood. In order to have the same buying power in the UCLA neighborhood, he'd have to pull in $2.2 million.
Keep in mind that UCLA paid the recently deposed Karl Dorrell a maximum of $1,355,000 annually.
** This column makes two additional points: UCLA hasn't hired an "outsider" in nearly 60 years, and a $2 million package for a football coach would trigger the curiosity of one Ben Howland, who is apparently going to keep his Bruins relevant for years to come.

Would you move all the way across the country to an entirely new place and take the equivalent of a pay cut to do it?

OK, I've been slightly delayed on blogging the first in-season Mighty Nine basketball polls -- I blame our many area football teams in the state championships, but sorry to those who were impatiently awaiting an explanation for why I have both Page and Grimsley, boys teams that finished last season under .500, in the poll.

Well, first, here are the polls which first appeared in Tuesday's paper and will be out each Tuesday (except maybe over the holidays) through the end of the regular season. Records include last night's games:

MIGHTY NINE

BOYS
School / Record / LW*
1. Greensboro Day / 10-0 / 1
2. Dudley / 0-0 / 2
3. Ragsdale / 4-0 / 4
4. Trinity / 5-0 / 5
5. Glenn / 0-0 / 6
6. Andrews / 0-1 / 3
7. Reidsville / 0-0 / 7
8. Page / 3-0 / 9
9. Grimsley / 2-0 / --

Dropped out: Cummings (8).

*_Last week’s ranking

GIRLS
School / Record / LW*
1. Grimsley / 2-0 / 1
2. Bishop McGuinness / 3-0 / 2
3. Page / 3-0 / 3
4.Rockingham County / 3-0 / 4
5. Southeast Guilford / 3-0 / 7
6. Northwest Guilford / 3-0 / --
7. East Davidson / 2-1 / 5
8. Southern Alamance / 0-0 / 9
9. Eastern Guilford / 5-0 / --

Dropped out: Northeast Guilford (6), Ragsdale (8).

*-- Last week’s ranking

Boys poll: As per usual, Freddy Johnson has managed to squeeze in 9 or 10 games on to Greensboro Day's schedule before the public schools have gotten cranked up. The Bengals have won all of them and, in their blowout win of Mt. Zion that I attended last week, they looked very good in the process. Javan Mitchell, at about 6-7, has given them a legitimate inside presence. Dudley is yet to play -- a game against Hillside was postponed, so the Panthers open at home Friday against rival Smith and their new coach, Gene Banks.

Ragsdale is 4-0 after last night's 79-63 win over Grimsley, as the triumvirate of Wally Jones-Jay Canty-Ladarious Canty makes the Tigers a definite team to keep an eye on. They're up from No. 4 to No. 3 this week. Trinity knocked down Andrews 45-42 last week. Page was 10-17 last season but has looked good in its 3-0 start and appears to have a solid lineup that should keep the Pirates in or on the cusp of the poll all season. Grimsley, after a 2-0 start, was handled pretty easily by Ragsdale this week, so perhaps its stay in the Mighty 9 will be short-lived. As we showed in the football poll, we like that No. 9 spot to be a rotation of the week's hottest up-and-coming team. Maybe next week it'll be Northern Guilford, Stan Kowalewski's team of fabulous freshmen and sophomores. The Nighthawks are 3-0, but we'll wait and see.

On the girls side, Grimsley has been strong early but will have to beat Page twice and Northwest Guilford along the way to stay unbeaten, and at the top of the poll. Bishop McGuinness is lurking at No. 2. Northwest has jumped in at No. 6 after Northeast Guilford dropped a couple of early games, including one to Eastern Guilford, which showed it's a team to watch after a 5-0 start. The Wildcats also beat Williams and are No. 9 with a bullet. Southeast Guilford looks sharp early with a solid win over Anna Freeman and East Davidson.

Jeff Carlton and Jim Young spend some extra time breaking down the state title games for Dudley, Western Alamance and Reidsville. Shockingly, they're predicting wins for all three local teams. (19:22)

It's interesting to look at the three different perspectives of area high school teams on the cusp of football state titles. All are chasing the same dream, basically, a championship that these teenagers can brag about to their grandchildren many years from now. But Dudley, Reidsville and Western Alamance are three distinct teams with different communities -- from city to small-town to rural/suburban -- and much different football histories.

First, a look at Dudley. In Steven Davis, you have a man who is taking the Panthers to the 3-AA final for the second time in his four years as head coach. They also went in '02 when he was Vic Floyd's defensive coordinator. But Dudley is yet to win an NCHSAA title, and to do that Saturday against Charlotte Catholic would be enormously significant for a school that has been a state powerhouse the last 10-12 years in basketball and has fared well at the state level in track and field but has not won a football state title since 1951, pre-desegregation. Ed Hardin will have more on the what the Panthers' title run -- and high school football in general -- means to that tight-knit community in Saturday's News & Record.

Game time is 3:30 p.m. at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill.

Western Alamance coach Hal Capps calls Dudley's defense the best he's seen in 10 years, and we don't dispute it. I'd like to see the Panthers' offense not only drive to Catholic's 20 but find a way to put up some points. That would take some pressure off the D, which has come up big all season.

Reidsville and Shelby (7:30 p.m. at Carter-Finley in Raleigh) isn't just a rematch of the 2005 2-AA state final. It's a matchup between two of the state's proudest 2-A football programs. Add Clinton, and you've got a historical triumvirate. The Rams and Golden Lions share a proud history deep in championship victories. Reidsville's won 15; Shelby has 6, plus 4 Western NC titles. They even share a common mascot: Before they were the Rams, Reidsville was the Golden Lions from 1927-69, when the school merged with Booker T. Washington during integration.

Both schools even have outstanding Web sites devoted to football: Reidsvillefootball.com and home of the "True NC high school football dynasty".

We like Reidsville's chances to win No. 16 Saturday and avenge that '05 loss. The Rams' offense, which runs the ball so effectively out of the spread, is just that good at 49.5 points a game. And their defense will likely keep Shelby from putting up big numbers out of the double-wing attack, especially if the Rams keep forcing turnovers at the rate they've been doing it in the playoffs.

Saturday morning, Western Alamance tries to complete a perfect season and end a frustrating streak of losses in the 3-A final. After three tough defeats in a row, even the good-natured Hal Capps is growing tired of talking about the past. The Warriors' coach is confident that his senior-loaded team has put the letdowns behind them and will put North Gaston away in this one even though they are a banged-up team.

This looks like the year. May Capps' boys enjoy a blowout victory and endure much less stress in the final minutes.

Nice timing on the Carolina Panthers' upcoming N.C. high school coach of the week. The Panthers have selected Steven Davis just in time for the Dudley High coach to lead his Panthers into Saturday's 3-AA state final against Charlotte Catholic. The Carolina Panthers also have Northeast Guilford offensive tackle Michael Via honored at their Web site as a "Community Captain."

Here's the article Tyler Wessel did for the Panthers' Web site on Davis:

By Tyler Wessel

The Carolina Panthers have named Coach Stephen Davis of James B. Dudley High School (Greensboro, NC) as a 2007 Coach of the Week recipient. The program recognizes outstanding high school coaches that have a positive influence in the communities and schools which they serve. In addition to receiving this award, a $1,000 donation from the Panthers and the National Football League will be made to the school’s athletic department.

In 2004, his first year as head coach at Dudley, Coach Davis received the State 3-A Exemplary Award from the NCHSAA for the most disciplined team in the state. He points out that the discipline started early on in his time at Dudley.

"We held one of those overnight camps for the players," says Davis. "After I told them several times to go to sleep, I took them out to the field and made them do 500 up-downs at 4:00 in the morning."

"I was going to have them call their parents to come pick them up, but some of the seniors came to me and talked me into letting them stay. That showed me they really wanted to be part of a great team and do what it takes to succeed."

In that first year, Davis led those Panthers to the State 3A Finals.

The on-field success has continued during Davis' tenure at Dudley. In 2007, he has led the Dudley Panthers to a 12-3 record and a berth in the 3-AA state championship game. Since taking over the program in 2004, the Panthers have averaged 11 wins each year. He was named the Greensboro News & Record Guilford County Coach of the Year after winning a school-record 13 games in 2004.

In addition to the on-field influence that he has had on his team, Coach Davis has also ensured that he and his team stay involved in the community. In addition to scheduling his own speaking engagements, Davis has also joined some of his players to visit elementary schools to speak to the children.

"I usually start out talking to the kids about the importance of education and listening to your parents," says Davis. "The players usually talk about the fun stuff kids have questions about …mainly about football."

Davis' influence has also extended to the entire student body at Dudley High. He has participated in a school counseling program in which he serves as a mentor to many non-football students. He checks the students' attendance, grades, and provides guidance for students who may need direction. He has also been instrumental in school fundraisers, from car washes to starting a donation basket for clothes or school supplies for less fortunate students.

The Carolina Panthers would like to congratulate Steven Davis and the Dudley Panthers on their great season and wish them continued success in the future.

OK, who out there was NOT expecting a shootout today between Western Alamance and North Gaston, two teams scoring over 40 points a game this season?

Guess what? It's a shootout. At halftime, the Warriors lead 34-24. But the lead hardly feels safe. Not after North Gaston QB AJ Blue and Princeton Brooks put up huge rushing numbers by flying through huge holes up the middle in the first half. They combined for 286 rushing yards and 3 TD's.

Of course Western was busy putting up 361 yards of offense, with Levon Curtis rushing for 69 and a TD and scoring two on long pass plays while totaling 150 yards receiving.

In the 5 minutes it took me to type that, the Warriors got a nice long kick return from Kenneth Lindsay and QB Donald Britt went in from 4 yards. Western, 41-24.

Warriors coach Hal Capps decided at one point in the first half that his best defense was an onside kick. You figure: 50-50 chance we get the ball back and keep AJ Blue off the field for a few minutes. They got it but ended up punting. Still, three valuable minutes of rest for Western's defense.

Now let's see if they've made halftime adjustments and can close up the middle. The Warriors have good speed at linebacker and do a good job of stopping plays to the perimeter. But they better keep the lanes closed inside or else ...

Here's an example of what Britt and his teammates have been hearing all week: A woman came up to him Friday night at the Food Lion and said, "We're not going to have any of this losing stuff tomorrow, are we?"

For those just tuning in, the Warriors have been in the 3-A final four straight years. Heartbreak visited Capps' team the previous three. They'll try to win the school's first football state title in the next hour or so.

While I'm thinking of it, if you want to follow the game from home in the Triad or Alamance County, I highly recommend the radio coverage of WPCM-920. Byron Tucker and his crew do an excellent job of calling the high school game and really seem to know and enjoy each other a lot. That helps make their call of the game very listenable.

Not to jinx things, but it's looking very good for the Warriors now, with 8:30 left in the third quarter. Donald Britt just went around left end and scored from 38 yards out for a 48-24 lead.

Alamance native Bruce Clark must be kicking himself on the North Gaston sideline for trying a fake punt on fourth-and-2 from his own 36. The upback was stopped short, and it set Britt & Co. up with a short field. Western made 'em pay, and the 4,000 or so fans on the East side of the stadium are feeling good about their chances.

Well, so much for defensive adjustments at halftime. Princeton Brooks takes an inside handoff and cruises untouched through the middle of Western's line, rumbling 90 yards for a TD. The Warriors' lead is down to 48-36 early in the fourth quarter.

North Gaston isn't having any luck with onside kicks but it's still getting back into the game. That's also without much of a passing game.

The two teams have now combined for 958 yards, a state record since the finals went to neutral sites in 1989. That breaks the record set in 2001 when Albemarle won the 1-A title 66-28 in a game with just over 900 yards.

And another update: Onside kick fails as Kenneth Lindsay gathers it in at the 50. Western picks up two first downs, and then on fourth-and-1 from the Wildcats' 3, Levon Curtis takes a handoff around right end, scoring easily. At 55-36 and 7 1/2 minutes left, is the lead safe?

I really don't know. Stay tuned. One thing I do know: This game is going to go over 3 hours easily. That might be another state record. It's like watching a Yankees-Red Sox ALCS game.

In a game that set modern-era records for points and combined yardage, Western Alamance has won the 3-A state championship 62-36 over North Gaston. It was truly an offensive shootout from the start.

In case I can't get the story posted on our Web site sports page (having technical difficulties right now), here's the early-early edition game story:

By JEFF CARLTON

CHAPEL HILL _ This time, Western Alamance wasn’t stopped a yard short. No 70-yard trick play did in the Warriors. And there was no overtime interception to deny them the 3-AA state title.

In their fourth try in four years, Hal Capps' Warriors decided they would score however many points were necessary to bring the championship trophy back to Elon. Actually, they scored a few more than they needed, turning away North Gaston in a 62-36 shootout Saturday at Kenan Stadium.

"It's unbelievable," Capps said after Western claimed the school's first NCHSAA football state title. North Gaston is an outstanding team, but we were on a mission and didn't want to be denied."

The teams set modern-era state finals records by combining for 98 points and 1,130 total yards. No wonder, then, that Capps attempted two onside kicks, even while playing from ahead the entire day. And that helps explain why North Gaston coach Bruce Clark went for it on fourth-and-2 from his own 36 with a fake punt. The Wildcats (12-3) trailed 41-24 late in the third quarter at that point.

The fake failed, and Britt made quick work of the Wildcats on a short field.

The victory capped a perfect 16-0 season for Western Alamance, which was ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press state 3-A poll throughout the season.

The Warriors came to Chapel Hill averaging 40.5 points a game. Offensive coordinator Jeff Snuffer, who lost his brother Kevin to cancer Thursday, said he knew they'd have to score a lot of points to match a North Gaston attack scoring about the same per game.

Senior receiver Levon Curtis said coaches asked the offense to put up 60 points. No problem. Quarterback Donald Britt realized early that Curtis would be instant offense any time he touched the ball and got it to him often.

Britt hit Curtis on a 40-yard score less than five minutes into the game. North Gaston's fabulous QB, North Carolina recruit A.J. Blue, answered with a 65-yard scoring run up the middle. That would be the soft spot in Western’s defense all game.

Curtis came back with an 18-yard TD run and, before the first quarter was finished, he scored on a 70-yard pass on which Britt hit him in stride on a deep route.

Curtis was named MVP of the game after totaling 96 rushing yards and 153 yards on seven catches. Britt threw for 226 yards and ran for another 138. His only blunder was an interception with Western driving deep into Wildcats territory. Instead of blowing the game open, North Gaston went 76 yards, and Blue scored his second TD to cut the lead to 48-30 late in the third quarter.

Plenty of time. Princeton Brooks’ 90-yard dash made it 48-36. But Western kept coming, and put the game away with two more touchdowns.

Brooks finished with 269 rushing yards, Blue with 193. It wasn't enough to match Curtis, a man on a mission.

"In our quarterback meeting, we kind of knew what we wanted to do on the perimeter," Britt said. "We just wanted to get the ball to Levon and let him run."

Contact Jeff Carlton at 373-7065 or jcarlton@news-record.com

No chance to blog during the game, unfortunately, and I'm having difficulty getting my story posted online, but rest assured Dudley fans, Ricky Lewis Jr. has led the Panthers to the promised land. The defense was passable, but the passing game was unbelievable.

Lewis, a junior, was named the game's most valuable player after rushing for 150 yards and the Panthers' first touchdown and going 7 of 10 through the air for 196 yards and three scores. That came a week after completing 1 of 5 passes for 7 yards at Oxford Webb.

"They came prepared," Lewis said of the Cougars, "but we came even better (prepared) than we thought we would. Everybody came prepared to play: The O-line, D-line, offense _ we just came ready."

It won't take you much trouble to find somebody on a message board who decries the 23-month federal prison sentence
imposed on Michael Vick today. Nearly two years? For fighting dogs? For gambling?
You bet.
The justification of the punishment is rooted in far more than the offenses to which Vick pleaded guilty. It's about the defendant's post-plea conduct as much as the atrocities that started this tale in the first place.
MInutes after admitting to the charges, Vick went into a hotel ballroom packed with reporters and offered an allegedly heartfelt apology. He spoke of being a changed man and about the influence of a higher power in his life. Legions of enablers, having decided long ago to deem him a martyr and a victim of racist prosecution, praised the oratory and decided he had suffered enough.
Even some of his harshest critics backed off. Public opinion was already prepared to offer him a second chance.
And how did he react to this shifting of the sands?
First off, he violated a term of his bail by testing positive for marijuana. More recently, he failed a lie-detector test that asked, among other things, if he had ever participated in the killing of dogs.
Are those the actions of a contrite, reformed man of God?
The judge threw the book at Michael Vick. Good for him. The quarterback thought he was above the law even when the law was sitting on top of him and ready to pile on if necessary.
It was necessary.

Plenty of movement in both Mighty Nine polls this week.

We'll start with my area boys basketball poll first. Dudley's finally taken the game to the hardwood, beating Smith 71-61 Friday and having to squeak out a tight game for that 1-0 start. No. 1 Greensboro Day suffered its first loss, to a Raleigh Ravenscroft team that gave the Bengals some trouble with its size. That's a warning for this weekend, when Christ School's tall timbers come to town. Note that unbeatens Trinity and Page are fast-climbing while Glenn's 9-point loss to East Forsyth leaves the Bobcats on the verge of dropping out.

Here's the full poll, with last week's results, and this week's games listed for each school:

MIGHTY NINE

BOYS
School / Record / LW*
1. Greensboro Day / 10-1 / 1
LW: Lost to Ravenscroft 68-64, def. Hope Christian.
This week: Fri. vs. North Raleigh Christian, Sat. vs. Asheville Christ School.

2. Dudley / 1-0 / 2
LW: Def. Smith 71-61.
This week: Friday at Smith.

3. Trinity / 8-0 / 4
LW: def. Red Springs 84-63, def. Davie 72-53, def. S. Guilford 63-39.
This week: Tues. at HP Central, Wed. vs. Randleman, Thur. vs. Andrews.

4. Page / 5-0 / 8
LW: def. Reynolds 79-70 (OT), def. Ragsdale 89-67.
This week: Fri. vs. E. Randolph.

5. Ragsdale / 4-1 / 3
LW: Def. Grimsley 79-63, lost to Page 89-67.
This week: Tues. at Andrews, Friday vs. SE Guilford.

6. Reidsville / 1-0 / 7
LW: No games
This week: Tues. vs. Grimsley, Fri. vs. Rockingham Co.

7. Andrews / 2-1 / 6
LW: Def. E. Randolph 72-45, def. Lexington 57-48.
This week: Tues. vs. Ragsdale, Thur. at Trinity, Fri. at HP Central.

8. Grimsley / 4-1 / 9
LW: Lost to Ragsdale 79-63, def. N. Davidson 62-38.
This week: Tues. at Reidsville, Fri. vs. W. Forsyth.

9. Glenn / 1-1 / 5
LW: Def. West Forsyth 87-81, lost to East Forsyth 67-58.
This week: Thur. vs. Atkins.

Dropped out: None.

It's that time of year, after the high school football championships, before the bowls crank up and before conference basketball starts in earnest. Yes, it's time to take a peek at the RPI and see just what sort of wackiness those numbers have cooked up.

As always, the RPI did not disappoint.

Ladies and gentlemen, your No. 2 team in the country ... Miami!!!!

(Sadly, I probably need to add Florida just to make sure you're not confusing the Hurricanes with the Red Hawks of Oxford, Ohio)

Yes, the 'Canes are No. 2, right behind St. Mary's. (Yes, that's a bit weird too, but let's stay focused on Miami for now).

How, exactly has Frank Haith pulled this off? Well, it helps to be undefeated, but at this point in the season, that's not saying a whole lot. It also helps - immensely - that margin of victory is not part of the equation. So that four-point squeaker over Morgan State - the same team that got drubbed by Maryland (No. 119 Maryland, by the way) - is just a W in the books, thank you very much.

The other key factor for Miami is its huge win over ... Providence??? Yes, the Friars are No. 13 in the RPI, so that's a big Top 25 win for the Canes.

I know what you're thinking, "Why, exactly, is Providence No. 13?"

Because they beat No. 10 Arkansas, silly.

"Why, exactly, is Arkansas ..."

Okay, let's just stop that before our collective head starts to hurt.

The nice thing about the RPI right now is that it doesn't mean squat. So rather than outrage, we can greet these statistical anomalies with laughter.

And besides, as Jeff Carlton just pointed out, "What's good for Frank Haith is good for America."

Staff writers Jim Young, Jeff Carlton and Rob Daniels can't resist taking a ride on the college football coaching carousel. Feel free to hop on board. (13:17)

Staff Writers Jim Young, Jeff Carlton and Rob Daniels spend one more podcast gushing over local football powers Dudley, Reidsville and Western Alamance. (9:56)

Staff writers Jim Young, and Jeff Carlton find out that Rob Daniels knows an unhealthy amount about football bowl sponsors. (9:28)

It's a question you really had to ask yourself after Duke hired Tennessee's offensive coordinator to replace Ted Roof as head coach of the Blue Devils.

Surely, the conventional thinking goes, Cutcliffe must have a few warts if he was available for Duke to scoop up and was willing to take the job.

The wart, in this case, was that Cutcliffe was fired after six season at Ole Miss, back in December, 2004. So he must be damaged goods, right?

Except that Cutcliffe went 44-29 in six seasons at Oxford, won four bowl games, had five winning seasons and was, by most measures, the second-most successful coach in school history. The No. 1 guy on that list had the stadium named after him.

This naturally leads to this question - why was Cutcliffe fired by Ole Miss?

To get that answer I did a little digging in the newspaper archives, to see what the papers that covered the Ole Miss program were reporting.

The reason I'd always heard the most was that Cutcliffe couldn't cut it as a recruiter. That's why Ed Orgeron, Southern Cal's top recruiter, was brought in as the replacement. But when I checked the Scout and Rivals rankings from 2002-2004, the last three recruiting classes Cutcliffe brought in, I didn't see much evidence for this charge.

2002 - Scout No. 26, Rivals No. 33
2003 - Scout No. 33, Rivals No. 39
2004 - Scout No. 39, Rivals No. 24.

Granted these aren't earth-shattering numbers, but remember, this is Ole Miss. Not Florida, not Alabama, not Tennessee. (By the way, according to a Nov. 26, 2005 article in the Knoxville Sentinel-News, when Cutcliffe was in his first tenure as a Vols's assistant, he was the primary recruiter for defensive end Leonard Little, running back Jay Graham and defensive lineman Shane Burton. Some pretty good names).

So maybe it wasn't recruiting. Another complaint about Cutcliffe was that he didn't show enough emotion - that he was too business-like. Another reason for adding Orgeron, a Ragin' Cajun if there ever was one. This seems like a bit of a dubious reason to can a coach. N.C. State, for example, traded fiesty Chuck Amato for buttoned-down Tom O'Brien. Most everyone in Wolfpack land seems okay with that switch.

Plus, according to Joedy McCready of the AP - who covered Cutcliffe during his Ole Miss days and now will cover him at Duke, Cutcliffe's personality apparently underwent a huge shift after his heart surgery in 2005.

The most likely explanation I stumbled upon was a power struggle with the athletics director, Pete Boone. Bear in mind that Boone was not the A.D. when Cutcliffe was hired. That's always a bad start to the AD-coach relationship.

According to the reports at the time, after Cutcliffe's first losing season at Ole Miss, Boone wanted him to submit a written report detailing what changes he would make to get things turned around. Cutcliffe didn't want to make any changes. He just wanted his players and coaches to do better at what they were already doing. The two butted heads for several days before finally Boone cut Cutcliffe loose.

It was often speculated that Boone wanted Cutcliffe to fire some of his staff and that Cutcliffe refused. I was never able to find a story that had solid confirmation of this, but I did find this interesting comment from a column in the Jackson Clarion-Ledger a few days after Cutcliffe's dismissal.

"Should he get another head coaching position, his display of loyalty will ensure the hiring of a great staff in a heartbeat."

So to recap:

Cutcliffe was canned from Ole Miss because he couldn't recruit. This appears to be a shaky argument at best.

Cutcliffe was canned because he didn't show enough outward emotion. This is a pretty weak grounds for firing and anyway, it appears to no longer be true.

Cutcliffe was fired because he refused to let his A.D. micromanage his program. The most likely explanation and hardly one you can hold against Cutcliffe.

So there doesn't appear to be a good explanation for the original question. Fortunately for Duke, it didn't need that answer. It just needed a coach.

Terry Bowden wants to be the next West Virginia coach. He wants the gig so badly that he has hired a publicst to craft and send statements on his behalf. Seems a bit desperate, doesn't it?
Just a hunch: Bowden, who has been out of the business for nearly a decade, is overcompensating. Will it be a turn-off?
One thing's certain: As long as Bowden and others are front and center, you won't hear any complaints out of Winston-Salem.

** Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg had an ongoing discussion with expressive referee Ted Valentine for much of Sunday's first half, which ended with the Hokies trailing Wake Forest 45-36.
"It’s not about the old men; it’s about the kids," Greenberg opined.
"I've had it up to here with you," Valentine responded. "I'm fed up with you. I’ve had enough of you already. I’ve been trying to talk to you and won’t listen."
Shortly thereafter, Valentine gave Greenberg a technical foul for further discussion, none of which was profane.
** Turnover margin decided this one. The Hokies went 29-for-32 from the foul line and outrebounded Wake 39-32, but the visitors' 22 turnovers against Wake's 11 proved critical.
** Wake coach Dino Gaudio went with the hot hand in the final seconds. The recently hot hand, that is. After a 1-for-6 start from the floor, Ishmael Smith went 6-for-8 down the stretch.
"I'll live and die with the ball in his hands. At any time," Gaudio said.
Four nights earlier, Smith was benched against South Florida, having been deemed a liability because of a 4-for-20 free-throw performance to that point in the season.
He was 2-for-3 against Tech.
"At the end of the South Florida game, he wasn't on the floor for us," Gaudio said. "But he kept working. He deserves the success he had tonight because of how much time he had put in at the gym."
** Chas McFarland on his late defense against Jeff Allen: "I knew I was not going to let him score. I wasn't going to help us lose the game. I was going to at least foul him."
McFarland and Harvey Hale distracted Allen's shot and the Deacs' center claimed the rebound.