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Rusty LaRue, a three-sport star during his playing days at Wake Forest, has been hired as an assistant coach for the Demon Deacons basketball team.

LaRue, who was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame last year, will replace Pat Kelsey on head coach Dino Gaudio's staff. Kelsey left Wake in April to take the associate head coach at Xavier.

“We are thrilled to have Rusty join our staff,” Gaudio said in a statement released Wednesday by the university. “... As a student-athlete he excelled in the classroom as well as on the court and fields of competition. No student-athlete has better represented what Wake Forest is all about better than Rusty. He will be a great addition to our staff as a coach and recruiter and will serve as a terrific mentor and role model not only to the basketball players but to all of the student-athletes at Wake Forest.”

As a junior in 1995, LaRue became the first athlete since 1952 and just the second in ACC history to compete in football, basketball and baseball in the same year.

On the basketball court, LaRue was a member of Wake Forest's back-to-back ACC championship teams in 1995 and 1996. He is one of seven players in program history to play in four NCAA Tournaments.

From 1993-96, LaRue scored 667 career points and made 151 career three-point field goals. He currently ranks seventh all-time at Wake Forest in both career three-point field goals and three-point attempts. His career three-point percentage of 43.4 percent is the fifth-best mark in school history.

After college, LaRue played five seasons in the NBA for the Chicago Bulls -- he was a member of the 1998 championship team -- the Utah Jazz and the Golden State Warriors. LaRue also played professionally in Italy and Russia.

LaRue was named to the ACC Basketball Legends Class of 2006.

LaRue also played football and baseball for Wake Forest. A four-year letterwinner at quarterback from 1992-95, LaRue set school and ACC records that still stand including marks for total offensive yards, total offensive plays, pass attempts, pass completions and passing yards in a game. He finished his football career with 5,016 career passing yards, the fifth-highest total in school history.

In 1995, LaRue pitched in one game for the baseball team, earning a save with three innings of two-hit relief in a win over Furman.

LaRue also excelled in the classroom, earning Academic All-ACC honors, winning the ACC Scholarship Award and an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. He was named Wake Forest's Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 1996 and was also selected as the Arnold Palmer Award winner as a senior.

Following his professional basketball playing days, LaRue spent one season as the head men’s basketball coach at Greensboro College in 2004-05.

Most recently, LaRue was the athletics director and head boys’ basketball coach at Forsyth Country Day School in Winston-Salem. He also runs the Rusty LaRue Basketball Academy Triad Pro-Am Summer League, as well as youth basketball camps and travel teams.

LaRue, 35, grew up in Kernersville. He graduated from Wake Forest in 1996 with a degree in computer science.

-- Jeff Mills, Staff Writer

By now, the story of Barack Obama's campaign stop in Chapel Hill for a pickup game with the Tar Heels is well known. So, too, is the story of Obama's NCAA tournament bracket, in which the leader of the free world correctly picked North Carolina to win the national championship.

Monday afternoon, those same Tar Heels met with Obama again -- this time at the White House for a congratulatory ceremony with the president.

A certain senior on that team made a lasting impression on Obama. Jack Wooten, a walk-on from Burlington, wasn't a star for the Heels. But neither was he intimidated.

"When we played, everybody went out of their way to pass me the ball, set screens for me, let me take a shot," Obama said. "Tyler (Hansbrough) chose not to block my shot, but I was so intimidated by him being near me that I missed it.

"There was one exception, though: Jack Wooten," Obama added. "He stole the ball from me, he blocked my shot, he fouled me once -- coach (Roy) Williams had to remind him that there were a bunch of guys with guns around. But just to show that there are no hard feelings, Jack, I want to congratulate you. He made Phi Beta Kappa this year, that’s worth applauding. To achieve academic excellence as part of a national championship is extraordinary. And I know that Jack is interested in public service and we need more young people like him to serve our country. So, Jack, any time you’re ready, jump on board."

Wooten, who was a star guard in high school at Williams in Burlington, had one of the more memorable one-liners of the season when he spoke at North Carolina's basketball awards banquet in April. His role, like the vast majority of walk-ons at all 343 Division I programs across the country, was to play hard on the scout team, imitating as best he could an opposing team's player.

"During my time here, I learned to guard five positions," the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Wooten said. "Point guard. Shooting guard. Small forward. Power forward. And president."

Photos and complete text of Obama's presentation: http://northcarolina.scout.com/2/864163.html

-- JEFF MILLS, Staff Writer

Now that North Carolina juniors Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington are officially off to The League, the Tar Heels and coach Roy Williams have an extra scholarship available to help fill out the 2009-'10 roster.

So, Roy, what will you do with it?

“In the spring time, all the players -- or at least a huge, huge majority of players -- have already made their decisions," Williams said during Thursday's news conference to say goodbye to Lawson and Ellington. "So you can’t prepare for (players leaving early), but it is what it is.”

Not everyone has made a decision this spring. There's a certain 6-foot-4, 184-pound high school senior in the Tar Heels' back yard who hasn't signed a letter of intent yet. Maybe you've heard of him: His name is John Wall and he happens to be one of the top-rated recruits in the nation. The top-rated player by some services.

And Wall is a point guard, seemingly a perfect fit for a North Carolina group Williams called "thinner on the perimeter than any team I've had at this time of the year."

But the Raleigh Word of God senior is almost certainly a one-and-done player. Would the Heels still be interested (if Wall were interested in them, of course)?

These days, players leaving early for the NBA is “something that you do prepare for," Williams said. "When we’re recruiting, I want a good mix. I want to get guys who can shoot, guys who can defend, but I want to also get guys who are so good that they’ll have this question mark after every year and some who I feel will be with us the whole time. There’s no general rule that’s good for everybody.”

By the way, Wall has reportedly narrowed his choices to eight schools -- Kentucky, Kansas, Baylor, Memphis and four from the ACC: Miami, Duke, N.C. State ... and North Carolina.

-- Jeff Mills, Staff Writer

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, it's good to see Northwestern coach Bill Carmody is at least as confused as I was by his team's pairing with Virginia in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge this year, which again demonstrated that the Big Ten is hardwoodly challenged when it comes to matching up with the ACC in November.

As he pointed out in this Roanoke Times story Wednesday, the Big Ten doesn't do a preseason poll, "but, if they did have one, we'd have to be near the bottom," Carmody said.

We admire his honesty. The Wildcats are quite horrid. So playing a UVa team that was the No. 2 seed in last year's ACC tournament and was picked to finish fifth this year seems an unfair matchup. Oh, yeah, UVa hit 16 3-pointers and won by 42 points.

Maybe Rob or Jim can explain to me the league and TV ramifications that brought us this game and an overmatched N.C. State team against Michigan State, which despite finishing 8-8 in its league last year, has to be considered one of the top 2 or 3 teams in the Big Ten. N.C. State finished 7th in the ACC last year, I think, though the Pack was picked a little higher this year if I'm not mistaken. So I'll give a pass on that one. Surely, the Ohio State-UNC pairing was established with the expectation that Greg Oden and Mike Conley would be back in Columbus this year. Another pass.

At least Duke-Wisconsin, Maryland-Illinois and Penn State-Virginia Tech made sense. Well, at least on paper they did. Yeesh, Badgers.

OK, Jim couldn't be with you this morning as he's attending a wedding in Nova Scotia. Or New Delhi. Maybe it was New York. I really can't remember.

But he did manage to find time to submit his AP football poll to us as well as the Associated Press. Here it is. (Feel free to bash him for ranking South Florida #1 last week. Clearly Rutgers brought him to his senses ... sort of. And how about South Carolina losing to Vandy ... at home? Ouch.)

Rank/School/Last week 1/LSU/4

2/Ohio State/2

3/Oregon/7

4/Oklahoma/3

5/Boston College/5

6/West Virginia/8

7/Florida/10

8/South Florida/1

9/Arizona State/11

10/Kansas/14

11/Virginia Tech/13

12/Missouri/16

13/USC/15

14/South Carolina/9

15/Kentucky/12

16/Cal/6

17/Alabama/NR

18/Texas/19

19/Georgia/24

20/Michigan/25

21/Virginia/NR

22/Wake Forest/NR

23/Penn State/NR

24/Rutgers/NR

25/Auburn/17

Dropped Out:

Boise State, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Texas Tech

What? Virginia #21? The Cavs are now the worst 7-1 team in the nation. OK, it'll be a lively podcast topic this week.

Maybe now we'll find out just how influential East Carolina alumni and fans can be. The test case is MASN v. cable operators of North Carolina. MASN, for the uninitiated, is the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, which is owned by diabolical Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos.

As a Washingtonian, it's hard to side with Angelos on anything. Especially after he saddled the Nationals with a horrible TV deal that essentially denied DC viewers the ability to see their Nats on TV last year. But, it's '07, and Angelos has learned he can make a ton of money by putting the O's and Nationals on the same network. And, now I unfortunately have to side with Angelos in his battle to get MASN picked up by Time-Warner, which has monopoly rights on Greensboro cable TV, as I'd rather not shell out the money for a satellite dish at this time.

I realize not many in this market care about the Orioles and Nationals, but MASN's case gains traction when you consider that the network carries a number of ACC and SoCon games, not to mention 9 of East Carolina's 12 football games this season. That fact has spurred the mayor of Greenville to write this plea to that area's cable monopolizer.

Mayors of Durham and Raleigh have heard their constituents, too, and are putting some pressure on Time-Warner to do the right thing there. Can we now count on Triad politicians to pressure Time-Warner to end its boycott?

I would think many area residents would even be willing to pay for digital cable if it were so packaged to see games on MASN. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe local politicos aren't hearing from their constituents. Or maybe Angelos' people are dirty dealers and Time-Warner wants nothing to do with them for good reason. If the cable operator showed me some evidence to support such a claim, that would be one thing. Instead, I'm price-shopping for a dish.

First off, win or lose against Page, it was good to see Ragsdale pull itself together and turn in an outstanding game a week after the death of beloved assistant coach Ronnie Smith.

In fact, the Tigers did win 22-14, and Ladarious Canty's 99-yard TD reception played a big role in the victory. He told our reporter, Rob Daniels, that he wouldn't allow himself to be caught from behind on the play because he heard the voice of coach Smith telling him, 'If you get caught, I've got something for you.'"

Mighty Nine impact games:

Reidsville continues to prove itself a worthy No. 1 team in the area -- and in the state 2-A poll -- by rolling past a decent Rockingham County team 61-7 after laying Cummings to waste a week earlier. The Cavaliers are at risk of dropping out of the Mighty Nine after following that 36-16 loss with a 26-0 clunker against Eastern Alamance.

Thomasville extended its winning streak to 40 with a 12-7 squeaker against Albemarle. That's now the longest streak in the state, as Greenville JH Rose lost to Rocky Mount. Charlotte Independence saw its 109-game streak snapped a week earlier against Cincinnati Elder. The Bulldogs play 2-2 North Rowan this week.

Despite a lot of penalties -- two touchdowns were called back -- Grimsley improved to 4-0 with a 27-6 romp over Andrews. Likewise, Glenn, now 4-0, just seems to be getting stronger and stronger.

Dudley had no problems with Smith after solving the Eagles' bizarre three-man offensive line, 6-receiver set. More on that later this week. The Panthers won the Saturday-night tilt 50-7 in front of between 7,000-8,000 fans at Jamieson Stadium. ...

Mike Paulus, in an interview with the News & Record last night, cast himself as the key to holding UNC's '07 recruiting class together. And he says he has told AD Dick Baddour as much. See today's story here.

"It seemed like it really did matter to him," Paulus said. "He understands I'm the ringleader, and if I de-commit, others might step back."

So, basically, Paulus is on the search committee for a new coach, even if unofficially. He wants Dave Brock and/or Frank Cignetti Jr. to remain on the staff. That probably isn't happening, but a pass-minded offensive coach would probably be a suitable hire to keep Paulus from bolting to Oklahoma, Florida State or somewhere else. He mentioned Tennessee OC David Cutcliffe, the guy who groomed Peyton Manning in Knoxville and Eli Manning at Mississippi, as someone he wouldn't mind playing for.

It appears UNC's focus is on Butch Davis, or maybe Tulsa's Steve Kragthorpe, at this point. Davis has expressed an interest, though a cynic would say he's just trying to get Paul Dee's attention at Miami (between the lines: you better hurry up and can Coker before I take another job).

Continue on for a list of the Tar Heels' '07 commitments, recruits that John Bunting's staff is trying to keep in the fold even though they're soon to be gone.

So, now that Dick Baddour has pulled the trigger and fired John Bunting – his critics would call it his best move as AD yet in almost 10 years – we take a look at names who may be on Baddour’s short list, if he in fact has one.

At the least, there are some coaches here that legitimately could have an interest in the UNC job or that the school has reason to believe it has a shot to hire.

What's a good fit? Well, there are the known quantities, big-name Frank Beamer-type coaches, the kind who have already burned Baddour in the past. West Virginia’s Rich Rodriguez might fall into this category, as he (or one of his proxies) is rumored to have contacted UNC about the job. He could just be trying to get himself or his assistants a raise, if so. There are also the lesser-known "next-hot-coaches" out there. Texas’ Gene Chizik, Tulsa's Steve Kragthorpe and Navy’s Paul Johnson might fit this description.

It's unlikely Baddour and his cadre will rule out any particular background out of hand, except maybe NFL position coach. Generally, you don't make the same mistake back to back. And don't think Baddour, a UNC grad and lifelong employee, is married to the idea of hiring within "the family." Like you, he remembers Matt Doherty, and Bunting hasn't exactly worked out. His preference is for a proven winner.

Here's a list of potential candidates for the job, and some reasons why the Heels have reason to consider them and, in some but not all cases, a legitimate shot at hiring them:

Name (current job): The skinny

* Gene Chizik (Texas DC): Don’t worry UNC fans, he’s only been with Mack for the last two years. Oh, in case you forgot, the Longhorns won the national title in Chizik’s first year in Austin. The year before that, he was the defensive coordinator at Auburn, where the Tigers went 13-0. Coincidence?

* Norm Chow (Tennessee Titans OC): Vince Young is his pet project right now in Nashville, but Jeff Fisher’s staff could be looking for work soon. That means Chow, one of the great offensive coaches at the college level, could be back on the market soon. Mike Paulus might take note of what Chow did for Philip Rivers at N.C. State. But can UNC afford him?

* David Cutcliffe (Tennessee OC): Yes, Cutcliffe got canned as the head coach by Ole Miss, but many think he was unfairly let go. Plus, he’s worked wonders with Erik Ainge, Eli and Peyton Manning. Think Mike Paulus might be interested in working a with a quarterbacks guru?
Butch Davis (NFL Network analyst): He is being reported as a person of interest for UNC. It appears Davis is ready to return to the college ranks after a failed go with the Cleveland Browns. But if you’re Davis, wouldn’t you wait to see what fate befalls Larry Coker at Miami, where they think you walk on water?

* Jimbo Fisher (LSU OC): His name has been floated for a number of jobs in recent years, begging the question: Why hasn’t he become a head coach yet? Fisher, in his seventh year at LSU, is considered one of the top offensive minds in the college game who is the passing QB’s best friend. He gets the ball in the hands of his star talent, which could draw better talent to UNC if here were to come.

* Bobby Johnson (Vanderbilt HC): He’s not just the coach that beat Torbush 28-3 while at Furman. Johnson, a Clemson grad, hasn’t won nearly as often at Vandy but has made the Commodores competitive in the SEC, even beating Georgia two weeks ago. If not Johnson, maybe his disciple, Bobby Lamb.

* Paul Johnson (Navy HC): He won big at Georgia Southern, then took his spread option offense to Annapolis, where he’s engineered a huge turnaround at Navy. Many could be coming after Johnson, but the Heels have this going for them: He’s from Avery County.

* Steve Kragthorpe (Tulsa HC): In 2003, Kragthorpe took a Tulsa team that hadn’t had a winning season since 1991 to a bowl in his first year. Now he’s turned the Golden Hurricane into the power of Conference USA. Granted, he doesn’t have many contacts east of the Mississippi, but his brother is a sports columnist with the Salt Lake Tribune. What’s not to love?

* Bo Pelini (LSU DC): Like defense? Well, Bo knows defense. His Tigers rank No. 1 in total defense, and he had a dominant unit prior to that at Oklahoma. He also has nine years of NFL coaching experience. He might be able to do better than UNC, if he’s willing to wait for the right opportunity.

* Rich Rodriguez (West Virginia HC): Why would Rodriguez, who’s rapidly reaching legend status in Morgantown, be interested in a move to UNC? He would likely score a big pay raise by heading south. Skeptics, though, wonder if Rodriguez might give the Heels the Beamer treatment instead.

* Charlie Strong (Florida DC): If UNC really wants to make a splash with its hire, it could either throw a lot of money around or hire a talented up-and-coming African-American assistant coach (sadly, hiring a black coach is still so unusual in college football that it qualifies as major news). Strong, who has worked wonders with defenses at Florida and South Carolina, certainly fits the bill. Marvin Sanders might have before his Tar Heels defense took major steps backward this season.

* Ty Willingham (Washington HC): He’s a Kinston native, a Jacksonville High grad and he’s been the head coach at Notre Dame. But Willingham didn’t leave South Bend on his own terms and is still early in a rebuilding process at Washington.

_ compiled by Jeff Carlton and Jim Young

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.
I don't read USA Today often but came across a copy of today's edition on my way up to tonight's UNC-Virginia game and found an interesting piece on Clemson sackmaster Gaines Adams.

As many ACC fans know by now, Adams played 8-player football in high school for former South Carolina QB/mullet aficiando Steve Taneyhill. The most interesting nugget to me was that North Carolina was one of the few I-A schools to offer Adams but, after he spent a year at Fork Union, Bunting's staff rescinded the offer.

Adams leads the ACC with 7 1/2 sacks. UNC, 1-5 entering tonight's ho-hum affair, has 8 sacks as a team. And the Heels' defense is -- well, you know how bad it is. I won't belabor the point, but they sure could use a decent rush end, don't you think?

I will not go into an in-depth rehash of UNC's 52-7 loss at Clemson as Jim has for N.C. State's win over BC. Really, there just isn't much you can say about that game. Really, the tone of the threads on the Carolina message boards say it all. Just the "Fire John Bunting" thread alone has reached 411 posts, 21 pages and about 22,000 views at Inside Carolina. And, that's just a small sampling of the bad vibes flowing among UNC fans.

Caulton Tudor of the News & Observer says it's time, after six years, to cut Bunting loose. I suspect our own Ed Hardin might not be far behind, but I'll refrain from speaking on his behalf.

It's amazing how roles can reverse in just one day, or in just a few seconds. Before Daniel Evans' miracle TD pass, Chuck Amato was on death row in Raleigh. Like, really in trouble after losses to Akron and Southern Miss. Now, after a win over a top-25 Boston College team, they're talking redemption and bowl games at N.C. State? Wow.

A few hours earlier, Bunting seemed safe, even after the scare by Furman. Only disaster at Clemson could really put him in the firing line. And wouldn't you know it, his Heels got lit up again. Now he's the one who has raised the ire of his fan base and whose program seems to have totally lost direction.

Simply amazing.

It'll be interesting to see if UNC fans pull harder for the Hurricanes Oct. 7 than the Miami fans pull for the Heels. If you missed it, Canes fans are fed up with Larry Coker. Maybe the teams can trade cheerleaders for a day.

BC, Miami and Virginia Tech left behind many disgruntled Big East members, and were subjected to a lawsuit. But now they have to be wondering what they've gotten themselves into by joining the ACC.

Let's start with new Big East member Louisville's 31-7 thrashing of Miami today. And that was without Michael Bush.

Three years ago, it was expansion time. The first few weeks of this season tell me it might be time for contraction. Not only has the ACC not established itself as one of the power conferences, but it's hard to figure how they're going to fill eight bowl slots from among these shlock teams.

* A week ago, N.C. State was done in by Akron, and all the Zips' alleged nonqualifiers. Chuck trails Southern Miss 10-0 in the second quarter. We'll have to wait to see how that one turns out before asking Amato to assess the loss as only he can.

* Maryland gave up about 6 million first-half points Thursday night against West Virginia. With Miami's loss to L-ville and Wake Forest's pride-saving 24-13 win over UConn on Saturday, the Big East leads the season series against the ACC, 4-2. (Wake also beat Syracuse in week 1 before its near-loss to Duke last week.)

* That record includes Pitt's 38-13 rout of Virginia in week 1. Think Al Groh's in trouble now? He slipped past Wyoming in OT last week at home, then fell to Western Michigan today, 17-10, at Scott Stadium. Nice homecoming! The MAC is now 2-1 against the ACC.

* Troy put a huge scare into Florida State last week, then took Ga Tech into the fourth quarter in a 14-14 tie today. Yes, Troy.

* Should I go on? UNC, which lost at home to Rutgers in the opener, just gave up another TD to Furman here in Chapel Hill. The Heels lead 21-14, while looking entirely clueless against Furman's option offense.

Oh, Boston College did manage to knock off BYU in OT. Can't forget that.

Anyway, there obviously are a lot of ACC teams with QB issues, and several sent a bunch of players to the NFL. But this is ridiculous. So, does anybody else have BCS fever around here?

How's this for cutting edge? Matt Doherty, the new head basketball coach at SMU and a name somewhat familiar in these parts, has his own blog on SMU's official athletics Web site. And he's not afraid to make what I'd consider needling comments vis a vis his alma mater, UNC. He's not overt about it, but it can't be lost on folks in Chapel Hill that he's selling the SMU program as "the Duke of Dallas."

Check out Doherty's blog to see his explanation. Basically, he's at a private Methodist university where top administrators have Duke pedigrees, and he considers his rebuilding process akin to the program Krzyzewski took over in Durham in 1980-81.

Note, of course, that UNC did not schedule Florida Atlantic last season when Doherty (a former Roy Williams assistant) was the Owls' coach. FAU will visit Chapel Hill this year with Rex Walters (another Roy disciple) at the helm.

OK, the question sounds ridiculous. And the moment could be fleeting, but check these numbers out:

* Duke leads Wake Forest 10-0 before halftime. The Devils, a 19-point dog, have gotten 219 passing yards (so far) from freshman QB Thaddeus Lewis.

* N.C. State not only trails Akron 7-0, but the Wolfpack is being dominated in terms of total yardage, a good gauge: 223-92.

* The Heels trail Virginia Tech 14-3. No surprise there, but UNC actually has gotten tremendous play from its defense (68 first-half yards allowed) and only trails because of two Joe Dailey interceptions and a blocked punt. The Hokies have two 1-yard TD drives. How often do you see that? The good news for Heels fans: Cam Sexton is now being given his shot at QB.

Cory Holt, Virginia Tech's redshirt sophomore who piled up more than 6,000 total yards as Lexington High's quarterback, won't be playing QB in Chapel Hill on Saturday. He's apparently dropped to No. 3 on the Hokies' depth chart behind Sean Glennon and Ike Whitaker. But you might see him at wide receiver. That's where he's been practicing this week in preparation for the UNC game, according to this Washington Post story (quick registration required).

As far as we know, he's no relation to NFL star, and Gibsonville native, Torry Holt. But he might try to do his best imitation, though he hasn't played wide receiver since middle school.

Sometimes there's just not enough room in the newspaper for all the news we report. Since this note has been bumped two straight days, I figured I'd throw it into the blog for anyone curious about Cam Sexton's reaction to not getting into Saturday's game, as coach John Bunting had said previously he would:

The opportunity to play against Rutgers never came for Cam Sexton, the redshirt freshman who narrowly lost a camp battle for the quarterback job to Joe Dailey. So he merely watched -- and listened on a headset to the plays offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti called down to the sideline.

"I had a feeling after the first quarter, the way things were going, that it probably wasn't going to come," Sexton said Tuesday. "It's hard standing on the sideline. I was ready to go. I don't think there's anything you can do but go back to practice and keep awaiting your opportunity."

His coaches have made no guarantees, but Bunting said Sunday that he is "anxious" to get Sexton into a game.

***

Quite frankly, the timing never did seem quite right to get Sexton into the 21-16 loss to Rutgers. The Heels had so few possessions (8) and were playing from behind on the last seven. You'd want to go with the guy you consider your top QB in that situation, especially given how Dailey got on somewhat of a roll in the second half.

In another note, Terry Hunter might be back at some point to provide depth to UNC's defensive line, though certainly not this year. Hunter, suspended in February '05 after he was charged with driving with a revoked license and misdemeanor marijuana possession and later dismissed from the team, is apparently re-enrolled at the school.

"He is not practicing with us," Bunting told reporters after Wednesday's practice. "To my knowledge, he is enrolled in school and going to class."

The Heels won't be getting defensive tackle Khalif Mitchell back. He's enrolled at East Carolina.

Joe Dailey, not a resounding success as a starting quarterback at Nebraska, will get that opportunity in North Carolina's opener Saturday against Rutgers largely because of that prior experience. Coach John Bunting announced the decision to start Dailey at Tuesday morning's news conference at Kenan Stadium.

"Joe Dailey will start the game for us because he's earned that right," Bunting said. "Cam Sexton will play because he earned THAT right."

How much Sexton plays is yet to be decided. The QB's won't be rotating every two series, as Darian Durant and Ronald Curry did for much of the 2001 season. Otherwise, it appears game-day performance will be an overriding factor on playing time.

Aside from his 11 starts at Nebraska, Dailey has impressed his coaches with how well he's grasped Frank Cignetti's offense.

Read more about the Heels' QB battle in Wednesday's News & Record. And feel free to tell us who you think should get the job. Remember: Mike Paulus isn't eligible ... yet.

Well, apparently we in the media and game statisticians weren't the only ones confused last fall by a UNC football roster that included two #32's named Edwards.

Running back Barrington Edwards said Wednesday that he was getting a little tired of kids coming up to him and saying, "Hey, Larry, can I get an autograph?"

So he did the genial thing, showing deference to the senior linebacker and switching his number this summer to 5.

Why 5?

Well, 3 + 2 = 5. Barrington Edwards had worn No. 32 throughout his high school and college career (at LSU before UNC), and figured he'd just do some simple math.

"We're coming in on this 'New Blue' theme, so it just felt like a different start," Barrington said. "I like the number."

Of course, this means he probably won't get credited for defensive tackles on the stat sheet. He got one last year at Miami that rightfully belonged to Larry Edwards.

The Tar Heels began grilling, er, practicing Friday afternoon at the on-campus Navy fields in 95-degree heat. On one field, the thermometer registered between 115-120 degrees. That's because UNC has a new FieldTurf synthetic-grass field thanks to a $1 million renovation project. According to assistant coach Ken Browning, they're still looking for how best to water the turf to cool it before practices.

The Heels' defense will mostly practice on the new turf, while the offense uses the adjacent natural-grass field. The Heels also can practice on AstroTurf.

As for the FieldTurf, it looks and feels like real grass, it just doesn't smell like it and, because of the rubberized base, it traps the heat very well. That's brutal on days like Friday, when players practiced in shorts and helmets (but not yet in pads).

The upside comes late in the season when temperatures drop near or below freezing. Whereas the practice fields generally turned to dust bowls by late November, the new turf holds up nicely to abuse and cold weather.

Not only has former N.C. A&T star running back Maurice Hicks found a decent paycheck in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers, he's also broken into the online publishing business. Then again, that might be a prerequisite for the marketing of today's pro athlete.

Check out the link to Mo Magazine here at his aptly named Web site, movethestickshicks.com. A shout-out to Kia Mason for bringing this production to our attention.

That's what Roy Williams and his UNC coaching staff are hoping for. Kevin Love, Scout.com's No. 2-rated 2007 high school basketball recruit, will announce his choice -- either UNC or UCLA -- at a press conference in Las Vegas at 4:30 EST today.

The 6-9, 250-pound power forward from Lake Oswego, Ore., appears to be leaning to Ben Howland's Bruins, but he hinted to ESPN's Andy Katz that a surprise might be in store.

Find out at news-record.com what the decision is. We'll post a brief story soon after it's official, with more on Love's choice to follow in Wednesday's News & Record.

Junior left-hander Andrew Miller is widely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick of the Kansas City Royals in next week's baseball draft. (Cy Young himself couldn't save the woeful Royals, but that's a blog for another day.) Oddly enough, Miller will not be pitching the all-important first game of this weekend's NCAA Regional at Boshamer Stadium when the Heels face Maine today at 6 p.m.

Coach Mike Fox hasn't lost his mind. He offered pretty solid reasons for opening against the Black Bears with soft-tossing righty Robert Woodard and coming back with Miller against either Winthrop or UNC Wilmington on Saturday in the Tar Heels' first home regional since 1983.

For instance, Woodard has been a No. 1 starter before ('05), Maine has a lot of right-handed bats and Woodard is better on short rest than either Miller or Daniel Bard, another high first-round talent, meaning he could throw again Sunday or Monday if needed.

Then, there's this:

We just made the call and felt like Robert's going to get deep into the game. Not that Andrew won't, but the history with Robert is he throws so many strikes, he's going to get us into the sixth or seventh inning more than likely. The last thing you want to do is tax your bullpen the first game of regionals, so we'd rather not do that.

Let's see how it pans out. If they lose Game 1, the Heels would likely need to win four games in 48 hours to advance to the Super Regional.

I'll also be interested to see whether UNC's surprising two-and-out at last weekend's ACC Tournament in Jacksonville is a sign of trouble or maybe a blessing in disguise. We'll see how fresh and focused the Heels are in comparison to N.C. State, which made a strong tournament run and now might possibly have some tired arms when it plays a brutally tough regional in Austin, Texas.

A must-read from columnist Pat Forde is up at ESPN.com in which he announces he is not a candidate for the N.C. State coaching vacancy:

I figured I should make this announcement now, before the coaches at Savannah State, Ithaca College and Fayetteville 71st High School beat me to it. They seem to be the only guys left who haven't yet pulled their hats out of the Wolfpack's Ring of Despair. Nobody likes to be the last guest to leave a sagging party, you know?

In going on to list all the actual coaches who have announced their non-candidacies for the job, Forde reaches the logical conclusion: "This job has cooties."

And he expects Winthrop's Gregg Marshall to be the last, lonely girl at the bar, available if the Pack gets desperate.

Well, I'd say at this point, Fowler should've had more up-and-coming mid-major coaches on his radar to start with. He had to take a run at Rick Barnes and John Calipari, sure, but I'm certainly not enthralled by his Plan B. If he, in fact, had one.

Roy Williams was the guinea pig, the first coach of a major D-I program to lose his top seven players all at once thanks to the simultaneous loss of four underclassmen to the NBA. Now his coaching buddy, Jim Calhoun, is experiencing a similar exodus at Connecticut, though it doesn't appear Josh Boone is a definite goner at this point.

It would appear the NBA's new age-limit/year-of-college draft rule will only make ridiculous player turnover like this more common. Most of those players who before would've skipped college altogether to enter the draft are now leaving after one year. Those losses are felt more severely than losing a guy you never had in the first place, i.e. JR Smith in UNC's case.

So, Duke already has its Paulus, a point guard named Greg. Now, John Bunting has tangible proof that his UNC football program is alive and well with a verbal commitment from a younger Paulus, Mike, one of the top-rated high school quarterbacks in the class of '07. I finally managed to get my story posted here.

I heard back from the Pauluses' father, Dave, this morning. "It'll be interesting on Tobacco Road with two Paulus boys down there," he said.

It surely will. Mike, who backed up Greg at QB for two years at Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse, N.Y., before taking over the position last fall, ultimately chose the Heels over Southern Cal. What this means for North Carolina from a recruiting standpoint was not lost on the family.

"They have a need for a big-time quarterback," Dave Paulus said, "and he can really help their recruiting."

Mike Paulus fully expects to give Cam Sexton, Joe Dailey, or whoever his competition will be, a run for the job as soon as he arrives in Chapel Hill.

Fallen Tar Heels coach Matt Doherty has climbed another rung up the ladder, leaving tiny Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton to become head coach at Southern Methodist in Dallas. The hiring was expected to be finalized today.

Doherty, who was 15-13 in his one year at FAU, probably would've been in the mix for some better D-I jobs had his Owls won the A-Sun and pushed a top seed in the NCAA's. Maybe there'd even be serious Doh-to-State talk. OK, maybe not.

As it is, the UNC grad and former coach takes over an SMU program that apparently committed NCAA violations in Jimmy Tubbs' two years as coach -- Mike Dement, now back at UNCG, coached the Mustangs previously.

Pat Forde has an excellent column up at ESPN.com calling out college basketball coaches on their money-chasing hypocrisy. Seems appropriate after N.C. State AD Lee Fowler threw a pile of cash at Rick Barnes only to see Barnes get a huge raise at Texas and, yesterday, he got turned down by John Calipari when Memphis AD R.C. Johnson scrambled to put together a "show-me-the-money" package for Cal.

Not sure who Fowler turns to next, but expect John Brady to get a nice raise at LSU and Billy Gillispie the same at Texas A&M in the next few days. The coaching arms race -- driven in part by fans who will accept no less than a big name as their coach -- has created some unnatural market forces. As ECU AD Terry Holland said in today's N&O, nothing you can do about it absent collusion, which antitrust laws prevent.

Watching George Mason knock off top-seeded Connecticut to make a historic trip to the Final Four, the natural reaction was to be totally blown away. First mid-major to make the Final Four since the field expanded to 64, first school without a football program to get there since UNC Charlotte in '77. GMU was 0-3 in the NCAA's before last weekend. And so on.

You think UNC fans feel a little better about their team's second-round loss to the Patriots now? Nah, probably looking at it this way: Wichita State would've been a breeze and UConn looked like a soft No.1 seed. Time to check the Heels' message boards to confirm that prediction.

Here's my take on this out-of-nowhere commuter school from Fairfax, Va., that was founded just 34 years ago: They're for real. And they're very well coached. They have excellent balance, an offense that plays to the strengths of their personnel and, as coach Jim Larranaga pointed out last week in Dayton, a renewed commitment to defense. Most importantly, they have the kind of poise Cinderella teams aren't supposed to have when so much is on the line. Yeah, they missed too many free throws late vs. the Huskies, but how about making their first 5 field goals of OT after the deflating finish to regulation?

In a way, I'm sorry I didn't stick around Tournament Town to the bitter end of the 28-games-in-10-days spree of college basketball. As colleague Jay Reddick pointed out, that Chris Lofton buzzer-beating baseline shot for Tennessee over Winthrop was reminiscent of a Bryant Stith game-winner against his alma mater, Wake Forest, about 15 years ago. And UNCW-GW looked like great drama, too.

Alas, I was sent away to frigid Dayton for UNC's first- and second-round games. That trip had its own highlights -- a good steak at the Pine Club and some compelling upsets at UD Arena -- but as tournament towns go, Dayton has nothing on Greensboro.

Today, I'm sad to report, we went back to being just plain old Greensboro. They started pulling down the banners from the Market St. street lamps with the basketball, Coliseum logo and ... Nike swooshes? ... and replacing them with Greater Greensboro Merchants Association signs.

As a Northern Virginian by upbringing, it heartens me to see the Fightin' Patriots of George Mason sticking it to Michigan State for a half. They lead 33-30 thanks largely _ and I mean about 300 pounds worth of largely _ to junior center Jai Lewis, who has displayed the nimbleness and quick first step from a man of that size not seen since John "Hot Plate" Williams was living large for LSU, the Bullets and Clippers. (He got really big after blowing out his knee but wasn't so nimble after that.)

Lewis, who the Tar Heels could see Sunday if GMU keeps up the pace, only scored six first-half points. But really fun to watch him work. And,Kipp Hanley of the Potomac News tells me that many believe he could even wind up an NFL tight end. But GMU doesn't even have a football team! Yep.

First off, I could complain about how the NCAA set-up at the Dayton site is horrible compared to how the ACC does it up for the media at its tournament. But now that I finally have wireless (for a cost) and have had a solid meal at the UD Arena buffet, I'll let it slide.

I should point out to those who have never been to this building that there is a strangely steep ramp (about 25 degrees)from street level to courtside extending about 50 yards. For indoor X games, maybe? Or sportswriter body-tumbling? And the arena itself is in the saddle-style of the late great Capital Centre in Landover, Md. A lot of obstructed views, not a lot of seats. Odd choice for an NCAA site except that this is a good basketball town.

OK, now on to more important things:

UNC-Murray State tips off in less than three hours _ we hope _ and Racers point guard Keith Jenifer might have served up a little extra motivation for the Tar Heels, especially Bobby Frasor and Wes Miller.

"Their guards are really young and kind of small," Jenifer said, "and I think that's where the advantage is at."

I don't have a good feel for Murray State, but I don't think the advantage, if there is one at guard, will carry the Racers to a 14-over-3 upset. If the Heels' freshmen were shaky in their first NCAA appearance, maybe, but there's little reason to think that'll be an issue.

In the first game at Dayton, Davidson gave Ohio State all it wanted before the Ian Johnson-led Wildcats fell 70-62. Terence Dials hardly played like what you'd expect from the Big Ten player of the year in the first half but was huge down the stretch.

It got a little chippy toward the end. Here's what Davidson's Matt McKillop had to say about a shoving exchange with the Buckeyes' Jamar Butler. The real shocker here is that this made it on the NCAA quote sheet uncensored (it is censored here because we're a family paper):

"At the end of the game, he blocked my shot and said, 'That's right, B****-a**.' Which didn't seem very classy to me."

Oh, and one last thing. We found a restaurant Roy Williams might enjoy last night in the greater Dayton area: Frickers. On the menu: Frickin chicken chunks, Frickin sauces and -- for the kids! -- Frickin Bologna and Cheese sandwiches.

Anyone else notice that UVa AD Craig Littlepage looked a little uncomfortable being berated by CBS's Billy Packer during last night's NCAA selection show? If you missed it, Packer beat up on the selection committee chairman mostly for giving the Missouri Valley Conference the same number of NCAA bids as the ACC (4 each). Don't you know, Craig, that the ACC has won 25 tourney games in the last three years, while the MVC and CAA have just one? What's the matter with you? (I'm paraphrasing here.)

I can't honestly believe Packer felt Maryland or Florida State was more deserving than Wichita State? But I was a little stunned to see UNC sent to Dayton as a 3-seed while Tennessee got to Greensboro as a No.2 despite losing four of its last six games. And BC a 4? Looks like the Eagles were slotted before the ACC semis and locked in. No problem, though, because that Minneapolis bracket looks pretty suspect and could deliver BC to Indy.

Littlepage did counter Packer with a pretty lame response, I must say, something about how the lesson for the power conferences is they need to schedule more mid-majors. So playing top-25 teams nonconference isn't good enough?

Anyway, here's a story on the MVC's less lame response to Packer.

It's Thursday afternoon. You have Clemson playing Miami in the day's first ACC Tournament game, on the first day of the tournament. A Hamilton 3-pointer bounces off, and Miami prevails. Pretty exciting stuff. Not much of a crowd, but, hey, it's early, and folks around here know the tournament doesn't really hit its stride until Friday.

What doesn't seem right is what's happening at Madison Square Garden. You should absolutely NOT being getting classic Big East matchups like Syracuse-UConn at noon on a Thursday. But, all eyes in the press room were tuned in to their wild finish about an hour ago. To sum up: Gerry McNamara hits a 3 to send it to OT, he gets a steal and open layup toward the end of overtime to put it away, but blows it and UConn hits a quick 3 the other way. Still, the 'Cuse hangs on to win.

If their dramatic win over Cincinnati on Wednesday didn't clinch an NCAA bid for Syracuse, then beating UConn sure will --

But we're losing sight of what's important in Greensboro. FSU is up 23-16 on Wake right now, trying to secure an NCAA berth itself.

OK, so Tyler Hansbrough was the unanimous selection for ACC rookie of the year and tied Kenny Anderson's record for most rookie-of-the-week nods, with 10. His coach, Roy Williams, insists it should've been 11, figuring the panel that selects the honorees just got tired of writing his name in one week.

Fair enough. Coach of the year wasn't unanimous, but Roy was the overwhelming pick after losing nearly his entire NCAA title team, then winning 21 games, and going 12-4 in the ACC, this season. He talked Tuesday about how he's only left practice mad or disappointed two or three times this year through 85 practices.

How often did he leave upset during last year's 33-win season? "About every other day ... until down the stretch."

He went on to add (see if you notice which NBA draftee is missing here):

"How can you not enjoy Marvin Williams, Sean May and Raymond Felton?"

As for Sean Dockery's hard foul on Tyler Hansbrough near the end of Saturday's win at Duke, Roy said he didn't see it but saw from Hansbrough's reaction _ after he'd landed on the floor _ that it must've been pretty rough. There was no technical foul called. But the coach has no intention of calling Mike Krzyzewski or anyone about it being a cheap shot.

Hansbrough said Tuesday: "I took a hard foul and I just remember hitting the floor. But that's behind me. I didn't know if it was intentional or not."

This from reporter Rob Daniels in Durham today:

Mike Krzyzewski was in top form Friday in analyzing media coverage of his team, which he said hasn't received sufficient credit for winning the ACC's regular-season championship with two weeks of games to go.

Specifically, the coach said he is disturbed about implications that Duke wins because of preferential treatment from referees.

"Over the last month, this has swept the nation," he said. "It's like a new dance. 'Oh man, let's talk about The Foul.' I hope when ESPN does their game, they can acatually show something that says, 'Hey, that Duke player was fouled and nothing was called.' It gets old. It hurts Shelden specifically. Besides hurting the game and everything we're doing."

With various facial expressions, he played the role of sleuth-journalist seeking to explain the Blue Devils' triumph.
" 'Why did they win it? Let's uncover this. I got it. I got the reason. Of course they're gonna win.' And that type of thing. It's been sad. And I think it has been orchestrated. I know it has been," he said.

The orchestration, he said, comes from, among others, ESPN producers whose editorial decisions focused disproportionately on the issue of fouls and not on the excellence of, for example, Shelden Williams' shot-blocking skills.

Well, UNC senior David Noel's picks for coach of the year and rookie of the year are even more obvious than ours. But how about his All-ACC first team?

He goes with Tyler Hansbrough, J.J. Redick, Shelden Williams, Al Thornton and BC's Craig Smith. Noel short-changed himself, apparently not impressed by his own 26 points on Senior Night against UVa.

More importantly, what does Noel think the Cameron Crazies will have in store for him tomorrow night? Maybe they'll break out pink Devine wigs (from his Late Night with Roy crossdressing routine). He says, "I'm not worried about that. I've been doing that three years. They could've been bringing that out."

Rumor has it the Crazies will somehow play to Hansbrough's fear of snakes. We'll have to wait and see ... from ESPN's 6,000 camera angles.

To follow up on Mike Krzyzewski's self-defense on the working-the-refs issue, the News & Observer has followed up its cartoon lampoons of Chuck Amato and John Bunting with this animated parody of Coach K, taking his American Express ads a few steps further. How does this one rate with Chuck Dynamite?

Oh, and a shout-out to Patrick Eakes for digging up the Gregg Doyel link.

Upon re-reading it, I still feel the column was way too holier-than-thou and came from the ax-to-grind school of journalism. He writes as though Dean Smith stopped working refs when he was older, wiser and more respected. And why so anti-sneerite? You mean a man's facial expressions can erode their influence in college basketball? When Bobby Knight did his "game face" routine at the Final Four 15 years ago, did that diminish K's mentor?

To follow up on Mike Krzyzewski's self-defense on the working-the-refs issue, the News & Observer has followed up its cartoon lampoons of Chuck Amato and John Bunting with this animated parody of Coach K, taking his American Express ads a few steps further. How does this one rate with Chuck Dynamite?

Oh, and a shout-out to Patrick Eakes for digging up the Gregg Doyel link.

Upon re-reading it, I still feel the column was way too holier-than-thou and came from the ax-to-grind school of journalism. He writes as though Dean Smith stopped working refs when he was older, wiser and more respected. And why so anti-sneerite? You mean a man's facial expressions can erode their influence in college basketball? When Bobby Knight did his "game face" routine at the Final Four 15 years ago, did that diminish K's mentor?

The more Mike Krzyzewski wins, the more heat he seems to take for ref abuse, or at the least, "working the refs." Gregg Doyel of cbs.sportsline.com went over the top in his criticism of K a few week ago. (Sorry, the link is no longer up. But, trust me, he was rough). Last week, Rob Daniels gave us Coach K's top 5 reasons why this reputation is ill-founded.

But they keep asking him. Here's what Krzyzewski had to say on Monday's ACC teleconference (sorry I'm late posting it, I was really busy yesterday):

"I never look at talking to a referee as 'working a ref.' What I'm trying to do is find out why something is being done or trying to explain your situation. It's not a matter of working; it's a matter of explanation. I don't think a ref -- a really good official, which is what we have and are going to have in the NCAA tournament -– can be worked. That’s just not part of it."

So the occasional expletive is thrown in. Having heard Gary Williams and others on the sideline, I've always considered that criticism overrated. But what about the "double standard"? When he was new to the ACC, K did of course accuse officials of having one of those for Dean Smith vs. other coaches.

"The night I said it, there was one as far as technical fouls were concerned. ... I was angry, I said it and I'll live with that. And I’m fine with it."

Happy 75th to Dean, by the way.

What's more fun this time of year than playing the Bracketology game -- to borrow a term from ESPN, meaning I probably owe somebody a lot of money now for using it. At least it's fun if your college of choice is in the NCAA tournament picture, which probably excludes Maryland, UNC's opponent here at the Dean Dome today.

It's certainly a nerve-racking game if you're a beat writer covering, say, the Tar Heels. One day, Jerry Palm has the Heels going to San Diego as a 6 seed at collegerpi.com. Then, after a big win at N.C. State, he has the Heels in Jacksonville as a 3 seed, in the Oakland regional. And now it's State that's going to San Diego, having clearly played its way out of a trip to Greensboro for the first round. Jay Lunardi of ESPN has the Heels and Wolfpack both in Jacksonville. We've already asked State beat writer Jim Young to bring the poker chips, just in case.

More likely, though, this game that only Craig Littlepage's NCAA tournament selection committee plays for real will bounce schools all over the place for two more weeks. Except Duke. We're pretty sure they'll be in Greensboro as a No.1 seed.

I figured Tennessee for a 2 or 3 seed at the coliseum because, after Duke, it was the next closest school deserving of a top-4 seed. Now I can't be so confident after the Vols' home loss to Arkansas yesterday. My fear, as I do like to travel during tournament time: an all expenses-paid trip to ... Greensboro.

Truly, the Heels have played their way into solid position with a nice stretch run. I could see them suffering a post-State letdown today. But I can't see them losing at home to the slumping Terps.

While we're reporting news of the weird from Chapel Hill, it's worth noting that UNC coach Roy Williams planned to attend Friday night's Keith Urban concert at the Smith Center. "Evidently, he's pretty doggone good," he said.

Williams isn't exactly a huge country-music fan, though he might listen to some country-Western or soul music (but no rap) on the car radio when driving. Actually, he heard a rumor Shania Twain would be coming and said that he might get to the Dome early. Rumor wasn't true, apparently.

Speaking of rumors, one's been out there about Williams having back surgery. He's getting treatments on a painful sciatic-nerve injury 2-3 times a day but no surgery. As long as he's able to "tee it up" by May 1, Williams will be happy.

For those who thought UNC freshman Tyler Hansbrough might be a Vegan, he set the record straight Friday. He'd eat steak and salmon all day long if it were socially acceptable. Hansbrough, generally pretty strait-laced and serious with the media, added this during a gathering with reporters:

"I can eat probably three or four steaks. I can tear some steaks up. If I haven't eaten in a while, I can throw some down. It would probably take a whole cow."

With sweet potatoes on the side.

Hansbrough hasn't eaten as heartily since leaving Mom's cooking back in Poplar Bluff, Mo., and has maintained his playing weight of 235 pounds throughout the season. The fact that he was in the weight room working out alone the day after dropping 40 points on Georgia Tech gives some idea of how dedicated Hansbrough is to staying in shape.

Forget ACC for a moment. How about the CAA? As VCU alum/N&R reporter Robert Bell gets all fired up for tonight's VCU-George Mason showdown, it should be noted that the Colonial Athletic Association has five teams in the RPI's top 63 -- the same number as the ACC -- according to collegeRPI.com. The CAA's conference RPI, good for 10th, is its highest in at least 10 years.

If UNC Wilmington (10-3 CAA, 17-7 overall) is going to make the NCAA's, the Seahawks will have to get through first-place George Mason (11-2, 17-5, #32 RPI), as well as Hofstra, VCU, Old Dominion and Northeastern. They're all within two games of GMU in the league standings.

ODU has junior Drew Williamson, the former two-sport star at Cummings High, running the show at point guard, by the way.

So the season's first Duke-UNC showdown is quickly approaching, and the Herald-Sun's Frank Dascenzo just pointed out to me that the latest line in Vegas is Duke by 5. We, of course, boldly predicted an 82-80 upset in today's News & Record. I should amend that to Rob Daniels picked the Heels by that score. I don't totally disavow it, but I give UNC about 40% odds on winning this one. So, when Rob's proven right, I'll take the abuse due me. Or vice versa.

A big question, obviously, will be how "on" J.J. Redick is. And, if he is in that shooter's zone where few dare go, can UNC put together a fourth straight impressive offensive showing to keep pace? If Georgetown can do that, then I suspect the Heels can, too.

Keep an eye on the defensive assignments. Who will get the bulk of J.J. duty for the Heels? Bobby Frasor? Marcus Ginyard? Roy Williams mentioned those two Monday, along with Wes Miller and Reyshawn Terry, in what could be a defense-by-committee sort of thing. But you figure Roy will go with the hot hand, so to speak.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski meant this as a compliment to Wes Miller, UNC's 5-11, former walk-on guard. But I suspect it will be used as bulletin-board material in the Dean Dome's home dressing room -- if the rivalry is in need of such things:

"I wondered how they won the game, and there's this little kid who hit six 3's, every time it looked like they were going to get blown out."

That from Monday's afternoon press conference at Duke.

Miller has already gone on record, in the Tar Heels' media guide, as calling his dream SportsCenter highlight a "Buzzer-beater from half court to beat Duke."

But isn't that every little kid's dream?

The bravest young man in the building was easy to spot: He's the guy smack dab in the middle of the all-red Maryland student section wearing a UNC #32 Rashad McCants jersey (and Carolina-blue wrist bands).

As for the action on the court, just about to get started. And, quite frankly, I confess I have no idea how this game's going to go. The Heels won a huge late-season game here last year but obviously aren't the same team. Really, they've been a different team from game to game lately, so which team shows up tonight? And will David Noel break out after a five-game shooting slump?

On the other side of the equation, Maryland has been all over the map too. They've won 3 of 4 since losing Chris McCray, and Mike Jones has filled in well at guard. But their defense has been pretty atrocious without McCray and they lost at Temple -- not a good way to impress the committee.

So, I'll just sit back and watch now.

Thought I'd throw out a few related nuggets.

First, off, after covering the UNC women's visit to Cameron Indoor for the 1-vs.-2 battle Sunday night, I took a stroll through Krzyzewskiville just to get a feel for how the "future doctors and lawyers of America" -- as Dick Vitale likes to call Duke students -- spend their time in tent city. I was somewhat intrigued by Rob Daniels' ongoing series on the tent dwellers and thought I'd see for myself.

Craig Bohn, a former Greensboro Day student and now a Duke senior, called my name, and he updated me on the happenings at Tent 4. It was a warm night, so he was pretty upbeat. He also turned me on to his blog about life in K-ville. Check it out here.

In related news, Roy Williams gave this illness update on his radio show Monday night:

"Marcus Ginyard (sore throat) felt much better today and Michael Copeland practiced -- those were the two that were under the weather the most. It does worry me because we spend so much time together that it usually affects more than one or two guys. We're trying to keep our eyes on it, but right now everything is OK."

And I received this e-mail from an online ticket broker in New York. How much are you willing to pay to get a seat to next Tuesday's Duke-UNC game in the Smith Center?

For the University of North Carolina Tar Heels vs. the Duke University NCAA basketball game on Tuesday, February 7 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, NC, the following volume and prices are available on Ticketsnow.com: This information was logged as of 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday, January 31, 2006.

Number of Tickets Available: 94
High Price (single ticket): $1,625
Low Price (single ticket): $275

I'd refrained from posting on the Tom Penders technical foul from over the weekend until I saw actual footage, but I haven't gotten in much SportsCenter time this week, so I'll comment without going to the videotape. I think the evidence speaks for itself, anyway.

In case you missed it, Houston coach Tom Penders collapsed to the floor Saturday when a UAB player scored and was fouled in the first half. The officials apparently thought Penders was taking a theatrical dive to protest the call. And they T'd him up.

You would think there might have been a change of heart when the stretcher and EMT staff rushed to the court. But, no. Even after Penders was helped off the sideline, the technical stood and UAB's Squeaky Johnson made both free throws in a game the Blazers would win 82-79.

The refs apparently weren't aware of Penders' cardiomyopathy and didn't particularly care. Or were too proud to change their ruling. The Conference USA commish offered up a weak mea culpa: they "exercised poor judgment," he said.

Well, Penders did come back to coach the second half. For which I almost expect C-USA officials to say, "See, it's not like he died or something. Maybe he was faking."

This eclipses my all-time favorite ref-out-of-control technical. That coming in the late '80s when NBA official Steve Javie T'd up the Washington Bullets mascot. I still crack up when I think of TV announcer Mel Proctor's play-by-play, which went something like this: "Darrell Walker has gotten a technical. So has coach Wes Unseld. Oh, no! Now he's given Hoops a T. Javie's completely lost control!"

Amazingly, the guy's still an NBA ref. Guess he's tenured.

To University Hall, or as former Virginia center Ted Jeffries put it so well, The Pregnant Clam.

I'm here for North Carolina's 41st and final visit to U-Hall, where in the early '80s, the teams had some classic showdowns. I've never had a romantic view of this place and I'm not about to adopt one now. John Paul Jones Arena will open across the street this fall and not a moment too soon.

As for tonight's game, the Heels aren't exactly facing a powerhouse. No, the Cavaliers have eight scholarship players and if not for Sean Singletary, they'd be lost on the floor. Actually, Dave Leitao seems to be doing a good job turning the Cavs into a defensive-minded team that can cause teams problems. He's already milked two ACC wins out of them.

It should be a decent test of the UNC freshmen's resiliency and poise on the road. That USC trip still lingers in the mind. But their visit to Florida State on Sunday likely will prove tougher than their last trip to U-Hall.

BUIES CREEK _ The stage lights aren't nearly so bright in the Atlantic Sun as in the ACC. But Matt Doherty, now at Florida Atlantic after two years out of coaching, says the thrill is not gone.

More later on how he's gained perspective on life and coaching. But here are a couple of interesting Doherty comments following FAU's 97-88 victory over Campbell Tuesday night:

"We have that same feeling you have preparing to beat Duke. When we came over on that bus, it reminded me of the bus ride from Chapel Hill to Duke. My same gut feelings walking into Carter Gymnasium as it was walking into Cameron Indoor Stadium. It's just that less people are watching."

On what he misses about coaching in the ACC:

"I miss: It's always the big game. It's going over to Duke, and that's the game everyone's talking about. Being in the main arena is a pretty cool feeling. Then, staying at the Ritz-Carlton isn't bad. Eating at Morton's once in a while isn't bad. But I don't mind Applebee's or Outback. And the Comfort Inn in Fuquay's not a bad spot."

BUIES CREEK _ It couldn’t have taken Florida Atlantic coach Matt Doherty long to realize that Campbell’s Carter Gym is a long, long way from Chapel Hill. Actually, it’s only about an hour down the road – the closest Doherty has come to UNC as a coach since he was forced out three years ago – but this old barn is a throwback to basketball 50 years ago.

It’s definitely more Cameron Indoor than Dean Dome. And the Camel Crazies – not to be confused with Duke’s students fan section – did their best to make Doherty feel unwelcome. Division I’s smallest arena was filled to capacity (947 strong) and derided Doh at every turn, at least until FAU blew the game open midway through the first half.

For example: “Sit down, Matt!” … to which Doherty, already sitting, replied with a smile: “Make me sit down!” There were also a lot of “Where’s your ring?” barbs. A 1982 national championship ring was on his right hand, but we’re pretty sure that’s not the ring to which they were alluding.

There were surprisingly few obvious Tar Heel fans in the stands to see Doherty’s Atlantic Sun-leading team, though he greeted some old UNC pals – including Woody Durham – before tipoff. For those Tar Heel partisans who ridiculed Doherty on his way out of Chapel Hill but couldn’t make it down to Buies Creek, the Campbell undergrads fired off some zingers on their behalf. Pretty lame ones, mostly. But I did enjoy the pep band’s P-Funk rendition.

Read more about Doherty’s first season at Florida Atlantic in the News & Record in the coming weeks. Or watch it on ESPN’s “The Season.” A camera and boom mic followed Doherty’s every move here.

You guys have given up 1,628 points with plenty of time left on the game clock! You call that defense???

Actually, when you've been playing basketball for 40 hours already, it's a miracle anyone has the strength to get the ball to the rim. Check out this wire story on a game between Duke and North Carolina students over the weekend that was set to last 2 1/2 days, which would shatter the Guinness world record. With 33 hours left, the AP's Aaron Beard reports Duke held a comfortable 1,628-1,465 lead.

It was for a good cause, too. Read more at these links for the Duke-Carolina Student Basketball Marathon, Hoop Dreams and Guinness World Records.

With those words, standout linebacker Jarrell Miller of Highland Springs, Va., announced on national TV Saturday that he'd committed to North Carolina. Coach Thig is UNC linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen, who recruited a 6-4, 235-pound player ranked the No. 9 linebacker in the nation by Scout.com and No. 4 overall player in Virginia.

Miller is yet to qualify academically, but is expected to. He gives UNC a second commitment from a four-star recruit, according to Scout.com, joining Jacksonville White Oak safety Deunta Williams.

Julius Hodge plays for the Denver Nuggets these days (or at least works for them). But his name nevertheless came up a few times in Chapel Hill on Friday, where Roy Williams and his players discussed UNC's game Saturday against N.C. State.

The thinking in the Dean Dome is this year's Wolfpack team has a more dangerous offense without the high-scoring Hodge. With balance comes more weapons to worry about and so on.

Senior David Noel had this to say: "Now that Julius is gone, I think I like them a little bit more. I like him off the court, but on the court, he was something else."

Chris Paul could not be reached for comment.

In a related note, Williams says not to expect him to adjust the Heels' game plan much for the Wolfpack, which runs stuff a lot different than most of UNC's opponents. Since Williams' arrival in Chapel Hill, the Heels have had success with extended pressure against State's guards, so why change now?

"What if we go out there tomorrow and try to play like Vegas when Tark was there?" the Heels coach said. "Then all this dadgum practicing we’ve been doing was for nothing. Or what if we go out there tomorrow and I walk the ball up and spread it out in the Four Corners? You better have me examined. There’s some damn alien that’s crawled up in my body. It ain’t me."

And we thought there were hard feelings when Mack Brown bolted Chapel Hill for Texas eight years ago. This congratulatory note was posted at UNC's athletics Web site today following Texas' 41-38 national-championship victory over Southern Cal last night.

Kudos also went out to Mack's many former Tar Heel assistants who are now with him in Austin, where, thanks to the wondrous Rose Bowl play of QB Vince Young, Brown will no longer show up on the BCTNWTBO lists.

Pat Hill jumped the gun by announcing Saturday that Fresno State offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. was taking the same position at North Carolina. It wasn't a done deal at the time, and apparently isn't yet.

But Cignetti is expected to be introduced some time this week as successor to Gary Tranquill at UNC. Cignetti, who coached the fifth most productive offense in I-A this year at Fresno, was scheduled to meet with Heels coach John Bunting and AD Dick Baddour on Sunday in Chapel Hill to discuss the OC vacancy, according to the Fresno Bee. It appears to be just a matter of finalizing his contract agreement at this point.

Meanwhile, coaches are falling all around the NFL -- and even at the University of Miami -- today. Losing six games in the last two years, and being woefully unprepared for LSU in the Peach Bowl, cost four Hurricanes assistants their jobs.

Then there are the ACC's early defections to the NFL. Miami's Devin Hester and Maryland TE Vernon Davis are reportedly declaring for the draft. And, as Jim Young reports, N.C. State DE Mario Williams is expected to announce he's NFL-bound at a Tuesday press conference.

Ask, and thou shalt receive. Here's a timely story from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review with thoughts from Parker as well as UNC running backs coach Andre' Powell on what went wrong for the Steelers tailback at Chapel Hill.

An excerpt:

Bunting wanted Parker to gain weight and become more of a power back. Parker, who was 200 pounds at the time, wanted nothing to do with Bunting's plan.

"He said to me, 'If Willie ain't going to do it, it's my way or Willie's going to hit the highway,' " Parker said of a conversation he had with Bunting.

And from Powell:

"In retrospect, we probably could have done some things differently with Willie," Powell said Monday. "But we were trying to develop our own style. When we got there, North Carolina was a finesse team, but we were bound and determined to be a (physical) running team. We wanted things done a certain way. We have more 1,000-yard rushers in our history than any other program. We hadn't had one since 1997. We wanted to get back to that."

Parker, though, never bought into the new staff's power-ball philosophy.

So Willie Parker is just 63 yards shy of 1,000 in his second NFL season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. With two weeks to go, I imagine he'll get there -- he better, he's on the Van Buren Boys' fantasy-football roster. As any North Carolina football fan can tell you, Parker never rushed for 1,000 yards in a season with the Tar Heels. In fact, he finished with 1,147 in his four-year career. And no Tar Heel has eclipsed 1,000 since Jonathan Linton in '97.

Yet, here Parker is about to join a list of Steelers 1,000-yard rushers that includes Franco Harris, Rocky Bleier and Jerome Bettis. How do you figure? He had a great career at Clinton H.S., but quickly established a reputation in Chapel Hill for his breakaway speed ... when running to the sidelines. Either he's a late bloomer, has developed a new-found toughness and willingness to run north-south or the UNC coaches gave up on him/failed to develop him to his potential.

So which is it?

Dave Glenn, publisher of the ACC Sports Journal and an erudite Raleigh-area radio commentator on all things ACC football and basketball, now has a must-read sports blog. Check it out here, where today he expounds on the recently released, and revised, ACC graduation rates -- you can read N&R reporter Robert Bell's story on the subject here -- and comes down hard on Grinch sports columnists who grouse about 28 being too many college bowl games.

To them, he says:

So whether or not you're a long-fingered, canine-abusing, furry green guy, or perhaps just a sportswriter who's too lazy and unoriginal to come up with a better idea for a column, you probably have more important things to worry about than a handful of mostly meaningless football games. Kiss your wife. Play with your kids. Hug your girlfriend. Heck, introduce the wife to the girlfriend.

And, may I add: Yes, why complain? There are a lot of TV channels to choose from, especially if you have digital cable or satellite. So shut up, turn the channel, sit back and let the free-market economy do its thing. Of course, the BCS cartel isn't exactly a shining beacon of capitalism. And the bowls don't allow us the equal-opportunity excitement the NCAA basketball tournaments do. But I'm not a columnist. And I don't want to be a Grinch. So I'll leave it right there.

As for the wife meeting the girlfriend, that's the kind of halftime entertainment that would likely boost the attendance at such pre-Christmas snoozefests as the New Orleans and GMAC bowls.

After seeing some sparring on the ACC message boards about which school bought more tickets for the Charlotte bowl -- UNC last year or N.C. State this year? -- I checked around to see how some other schools are doing with bowl ticket sales. I came across this interesting item about buying proxy tickets for the Music City Bowl at UVa's athletics Web site.

The guiding principle: Buy tickets to be donated to local families so you don't have to travel to Nashville to see your lousy team and the school will still get credit for ticket sales, thus helping to eradicate this nasty image of Virginia as a school that doesn't travel to football games. Wonder how that reputation got started. In any case, it's a pretty crafty plan. But it means we can't trust the numbers.

Actually, it is funny to read -- on message boards and elsewhere (quotes from GT AD Dave Braine, for instance) -- that Georgia Tech would've brought a huge contingent to Nashville. Sure, the Jackets are coming off the upset of Miami, but since when do their fans travel? And didn't they lose to Virginia? So I don't really understand the uproar.

Every time I hear the Virginia Tech band play the Imperial March from "Star Wars" tonight -- and I know that they will -- I'll be checking over my shoulder for Darth Vader. That's because, much like the Death Star in "Return of the Jedi," the Lane Stadium press box remains a work in progress. It was supposed to be fully operational in August, Tech beat writer (and former N&R intern) Kyle Tucker tells me, but the project is WAY behind schedule.

The elevators aren't entirely reliable, there's sawdust on press row and the smell of fresh paint everywhere. Apparently, the UNC game is the first week they've had carpeting in here.

Still, it's pretty impressive how this stadium has evolved into Southwest Virginia's ultimate hot spot. Lane Stadium and the football facilities have expanded quite a bit from 15 years ago, when Tech football was barely relevant.

Miami has just beaten Virginia -- unimpressively, I might add -- which takes the pressure off the Hokies. They've clinched the Coastal Division title an hour before kickoff. That could be good news for the Heels, who may now face a softer, less focused Tech team. Not counting on that, I'm sure.

For those out there who don't think Virginia Tech fans have a sense of humor when it comes to football, here's a fun Web site to contradict the inevitable calls from disgruntled UVa fans to fire Al Groh. In C'ville, Groh's long-term contract is looking a lot the albatross that was Pete Gillen's 10-year deal.

Apparently so, and quite a diabolical one. Well, is there any other kind of serial killer? Here'a story that came up on a Google News Alert today, obviously not about the Tar Heels coach but a guy in Adelaide, Australia, who liked to kill people in vats of chemicals.

If this guy ever becomes a household name like Charlie Manson, that would be an unfortunate inconvenience for UNC's John Bunting, much like what Mike Bolton went through in "Office Space." Of course, he held firm, reasoning about the singer of the same name: "Why should I have to change my name because of that no-talent a**-clown?"

This was bound to happen. I'm sorry for posting this story a couple of days late, but it's still worth reading, from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune regarding Rashad McCants' recent ejection for taunting. McCants might have a solid case regarding the double-standard in the NBA that rewards veterans with favorable calls and penalizes rookies unfairly. In fact, of course he does. But he's not about fixing the league's age-old problems.

This gem of a line might sound vaguely familiar to UNC followers, as it reminds us that, for Rashad, it's not about the NBA, it's about Rashad:

"It's just the disadvantage of being me," McCants said. "What I did [Sunday] night was who I am."

And, while I'm picking on referees, I'll let John Bunting vent a little at your neighborhood blog about what he considers a bit of overzealousness on the part of game officials to keep on-field celebrations tasteful.

After Saturday's 33-30 OT loss, which moved the Heels to the edge of bowl elimination, Bunting had this to say about Kareen Taylor holding the ball off to the side before he crossed the goal line on a 4th-quarter interception return:

"If there's one thing that bothers me about this game of football, it starts with the NFL ... They've gotten away from stopping all the absolutely foolish and unnecessary attention-drawing shenanigans and stuff that when I was playing they didn't allow. And now it's the thing to do in that league, every individual trying to outdo another.

"It's unfortunate that it happens in that league. But at the college level they say you're not supposed to celebrate excessively, and you're not supposed to taunt. The referees told me that Kareen Taylor taunted by holding that ball with one hand as he crossed the goal line."

Is that a taunt?

"I'll tell you this," Bunting said, "when I scored a touchdown against Maryland my senior year, I know that I held the ball up over my head as I crossed the goal line. I guess I should've been called for taunting."

UNC has long been the top, or one of the top, merchandising schools in the country what with the Tar Heels' basketball tradition and the apparent popularity of their shade of blue. The Heels' 2005 NCAA championship team now is monopolizing the video-game world. There's Raymond Felton on the cover of EA Sports' '06 college basketball game, and now comes Roy Williams and one-year Heel Marvin Williams on another cover.

Meanwhile, the News & Observer continues to market off-color cartoons spoofing Triangle-area ACC coaches. For those who enjoyed Chuck Dynamite, you might want to check out John Bunting in "Miami Twice." While Chuck came off looking clownish, the lyrics in the latest cartoon are fairly unrestrained in critiquing Bunting's 6-win season, bad losses to Louisville and survivability despite not making the most of his talent (note the Willie Parker reference).

And I mean that literally, not as a prediction of what's going to happen to North Carolina at No. 6 Miami Saturday. While electricity remains out in much of Dade County, that's not so much the issue in the game being bumped up from 3:30 to noon. Apparently, the light towers and scoreboard sustained heavy damage from Wilma and can't be repaired by the weekend even if power is restored. Read more about it here.

Rick Steinbacher, director of football operations, tells me it won't mess up the Heels' pregame plans at all. In fact, they prefer noon games because they basically just have to wake up, get breakfast and head to the stadium. For night games, they usually will see a movie during the day. With 3:30 games, you end up sitting around waiting anxiously for kickoff.

Cory McCartney of SI.com seems to think that (outside of Kentucky's Rich Brooks) UNC's John Bunting is next to go:

"He went 8-5 with an inherited team in his first year in 2001 and landed a trip to the Peach Bowl, but has gone 13-28 since and is staring down his third losing season in five years."

His SI.com colleagues identified Mark Mangino of Kansas, Gary Pinkel of Missouri and Tom Craft of San Diego State as coaches in the hottest of seats.

In all cases, you have to not only judge a program on how disappointing its record is this year -- and in recent years -- but also look at the coach's contract. That's why a quick hook for Bunting doesn't make a lot of sense right now. He's signed through 2009.

You also just can't look at one lopsided loss (69-14 at Louisville) and say, based on that, this program's going down the drain. For now, it looks like somewhat of an anomaly (or maybe Louisville is that good). Generally, there seems to still be some carry-over optimism from last season around Bunting's program. We'll have to wait and see if 2 or 3 more bad losses causes the mood to sour and chases away the better recruits they're in on now.

A year ago today, things were looking bleak and the firing talk was rampant, and more justified.

Yes, the Grounds are gorgeous when the leaves start turning. But that's not what I mean.

As most North Carolina football fans can tell you, the Heels haven't won in C'ville in a long, long time. Last win there was 1981, the end of the Dick Bestwick era, as a matter of fact. Next visit is '06.

But I was surprised to see the UNC men's soccer team hasn't won at UVa since 1977, back when Anson Dorrance was coaching the Heels' men. They get another shot at it this weekend at Klockner Stadium. UNC is 7-0-0 and ranked No. 2 in the nation. Virginia, not nearly the powerhouse it was under Bruce Arena, is 6-1-1 and ranked 11th.

The notice might be a little late, but if you're still milling around the office and haven't heard enough talk about this weekend's N.C. State-North Carolina game, check out a discussion among our beat writers (and Rob Daniels) on Radio Free Sports.

Oh, and we talk about the sham that was the Saints' "home" game in the Meadowlands.

Two things in particular stood out to me in Atlanta about North Carolina's season-opener at Georgia Tech, at least after I got past the matter of Matt Baker's debut start. One, the Tar Heels really miss Ronnie McGill, not to mention Jacque Lewis and Chad Scott. Two, why on earth did Tech not run the ball much at all in the fourth quarter up 13 points?

Judging by the talk on talk radio and message boards today, that 2nd question is on the minds of a lot of people. P.J. Daniels rushed 21 times for 103 yards, but was a forgotten man by his own coach late. On their last scoring drive, to go up 27-14, the Jackets passed the ball 7 straight times. QB Reggie Ball then scored on a 9-yard run that looked like a broken pass play. The next three Tech drives: three passes and a punt; two passes, run and punt; three passes and a punt. That, to me, was responsible for the game taking three hours and 50 minutes and giving UNC enough clock to come back with a shot to win.

Here's was Ga Tech coach Chan Gailey's explanation: "Their front seven was strong and physical, and they did a better job at stopping the run as the game went on, especially in the second half."

Seriously, that can't be it.

As for UNC's running game, the true freshman, Cooter Arnold, got the start. But neither he nor Barrington Edwards appeared ready for a 1,000-yard season. The Heels need a running game, obviously. Here is what John Bunting had to say about it -- after the game, and Sunday.

On the opening weekend of college football season, Virginia's Al Groh puts his ego aside to remind us that any win's a good win -- and is one more than Oklahoma has:

"If you're not happy with this win, you've got a problem with your ego," Groh said, according to the Washington Post after UVa's sloppy 31-19 win Saturday over unheralded Western Michigan. "I'm real happy. We won. That's a pretty good feeling. Now we've got one more win than Oklahoma's got. That feels pretty good, too. It wasn't perfect. Nope, it wasn't perfect. We'll do some things better. We better do some things better. I'm real happy about it. I'm not going to let my ego get in the way."

(The Sooners lost at home to TCU.)

That might be small consolation to Wake Forest and Duke, which lost to Vanderbilt and East Carolina, respectively. Maryland survived Navy on a last-minute TD. Clemson and Georgia Tech got the ACC big nonconference wins, though, for those who missed those late-Saturday night finishes (ABC's special report on Rehnquist's death almost ran long enough to keep the Tigers' dramatic finish off the air).

Last-minute signee Michael Copeland has officially joined the North Carolina basketball team after receiving clearance from the NCAA, an athletics department spokesman said Thursday.

Copeland, a 6-foot-8, 235-pound forward from Winston-Salem, will travel to the Bahamas this weekend with the Tar Heels, who will play a couple of club teams on a team-building trip.

UNC offered a basketball scholarship this spring that was contingent on Copeland meeting freshman-eligibility standards. He enrolled last week after receiving the needed grades in correspondence courses, but had to wait on the NCAA Clearinghouse to pass judgment before joining the team.

Copeland is one of five freshmen who will help rebuild a program that lost its top seven scorers from an NCAA-championship season.

Marcus Ginyard, a first-year guard from Alexandria, Va., will not play in the Bahamas because of a wrist injury suffered a few weeks ago. The Heels expect to learn the extent of the injury early next week.

Five days before Florida State's season-opener against Miami, Bobby Bowden has finally named his starting quarterback, though he says he's been leaning toward Drew Weatherford, over Xavier Lee, for a while. Of course, when Wyatt Sexton was diagnosed with Lyme disease, it threw the position into a bit of disarray. Now, Bowden suggests Lee might be his closer ... or have a chance to win the starting job as the season goes on.

FSU hasn't had a consistent performer at QB in several years. It should be interesting to see how this plays out. I suspect it will go a long way toward deciding whether the Seminoles are playing for an ACC title in Jacksonville in early December.

In the meantime, N.C. A&T still hasn't decided on its starting quarterback for the Aggie-Eagle Classic, which, like the Miami-FSU game, will be played on Labor Day. Read Rob Daniels' story on that situation tomorrow in the News & Record.

Just about everyone who scored a point in North Carolina's national-championship run will be playing in the so-called World's Greatest Alumni Game at the Dean Dome Saturday (7 p.m., go to tarheelblue.com for tickets). That's to be expected. Just as it's no surprise other former Tar Heels like Greensboro's own Brendan Haywood, Joseph Forte and Jason Capel are playing.

But J.R. Smith? Ranzino Smith and Kenny Smith, sure. J.R. Reid, you bet. But I don't recall ever seeing J.R. Smith in a Tar Heel uniform. Do UNC fans really want to see a guy who spurned Roy Williams' offer to go straight from high school to the NBA draft? (His New Orleans Hornets teammate Chris Paul is expected to play, too. See here for the entire roster of expected participants.)

Note also that new Northeast Guilford coach Curtis Hunter and former Greensboro College coach Rusty LaRue (NW Guilford, Wake) are playing, too. Oh, and Tony Moore. Remember him?

First, Virginia gives Al Groh a contract extension worth $1.7 million a year. Not to be outdone, Virginia Tech awarded Frank Beamer $2 mil in an extension today. That's better than what two-time national champion Pete Carroll makes at USC. But, hey, gotta keep up with the competition, eh? We haven't seen this kind of deficit spending since Ronald Reagan helped drive communism out of business in the USSR in the '80s.

Actually, this tit-for-tat salary escalation reminds me even more of the petty battle my college paper had with our rival. The day after we lifted our daily circulation to 14,000, they came in at 14,001. For what it's worth, my paper is still going strong; the other is dead.

Jeff White of the Richmond Times-Dispatch offers a promising nugget on former Ragsdale High receiver Emmanuel Byers, whose career at Virginia so far has been underwhelming:

FRESH START: After redshirting in 2003, wide receiver Emmanuel Byers played in Virginia's first three games last season, catching four passes (for 31 yards) and completing one, for 32 yards to wideout Michael McGrew.

And then . . . nothing. Byers, apparently out of favor with his coaches, didn't play in the final nine games, and there was little reason to believe he'd have a significant role in U.Va.'s offense this season. But the 5-9 191-pounder has been one of the team's top performers during training camp and figures to earn a spot in the rotation at receiver.

"His whole game has progressed," U.Va. coach Al Groh said. "It probably would be unfair to Emmanuel to say that it's one thing or the other, but he's a more confident, more active and certainly more productive player. Amongst the players who are having a very good camp, Emmanuel is very much one of them."

While hard to side against the NCAA's intentions, David Teel of the Newport News (Va.) Daily Press does a nice job of spelling out how Myles Brand et al bungled their efforts to banish offensive Native American mascots from the college arena.

Seems this is happening a lot in the political arena, too. Here, the NCAA more or less assumed Seminole Indians would be -- or should be -- offended by Florida State's mascot and ignored the existing, easy-to-locate evidence to the contrary.

As Teel writes:

More embarrassing was the NCAA's ignorance of how Seminole Indians view Florida State's nickname and mascot. The university has a long-standing and mutually profitable relationship with its home-state Seminoles, but in rebuking Florida State, the NCAA's vice president for diversity and inclusion, Charlotte Westerhaus, said "other Seminole tribes are not supportive."

Well. The other Seminole tribe resides in Oklahoma, and last month its General Council rejected 18-2 a resolution condemning Florida State's use of Seminoles.

This rather salient fact, discovered by Florida reporters in about five minutes, escaped the finger-on-the-pulse NCAA, specifically the Executive Committee and the Minority Opportunities and Issues Committee.

***

There are some genuinely offensive mascots out there, i.e. the Washington Redskins. As ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski puts it on his list of 99 Imperfect Things in the sports world, coming in at No. 24:

The Washington Redskins. Has Daniel Snyder ever spoken to an actual American Indian about that nickname?

My question: Has the NCAA?

Oh, and an interesting take on the NCAA's holier-than-thou hypocrisy from collegeRPI.com guru Jerry Palm:

Since this is only in effect for NCAA championship events, can we assume that the NCAA will no longer enter into sponsorship agreements for those events with companies that use hostile and abusive racial/ethnic/national origin names and/or logos?

If you watched the NCAA men's basketball tournament, and I'm pretty sure you did, you saw roughly 1,425,618 ads for Pontiac, which is a major corporate sponsor of the tournament. Pontiac was an Indian chief who led raids on Ohio Valley settlers during the days of the French and Indian War and the company logo is an arrowhead. If it were a member institution and not a company, it would certainly be in violation of this policy. Now, we have a situation where CMU could play Wichita State in a men's basketball tournament game and "Chippewas" has to be covered, but "Wichita" (another Indian tribe name) does not and Pontiac arrowheads are on display everywhere.

This from MSN Sports Net on West Virginia football recruit Marquis Melvin of Whiteville, NC:

In the past, (Rich) Rodriguez has lost players to homesickness and having a change of heart, but this year was the first time he lost a player to the music industry. Freshmen defensive back Marquis Melvin notified the coaching staff Friday night that he wasn’t going to join the program.

"I've been coaching college for 21 years and head coach for 13 and this is the first time I've lost one to a music contract," said Rodriguez. "We knew he was a singer but we didn't know he was that good. If we see him on American Idol or something we'll know what happened. I was hoping he'd hang around for the annual Gong Show that we do, but now we’ll have to wait for the TV appearance."

Me: It's just another sad example of a gospel singer turning pro early, jumping straight from high school to the big leagues. I doubt he's ready. And college choirs obviously suffer when singers with the talent of Marquis Melvin, who also considered going to N.C. State like another Marcus Melvin, skip school altogether. When is the music industry going to follow the NBA's lead and invoke a much-needed 19-year-old draft-eligibility rule?

That's the refrain they'll be singing in Urbana and Champaign if the NCAA has its way. Indian names (i.e. Illini) and mascots (i.e. the Chief) have been banned from the postseason by the NCAA, a move that will go a long way toward forcing schools to change longstanding names deemed offensive to Native Americans.

Think about it: These nicknames can't appear on uniforms in the postseason, and schools with these nicknames can't host postseason NCAA events. That means Illinois can't host NCAA gymnastics, as they apparently have in the past. And Florida State's Seminoles can't host baseball regionals, as they do often. And what will Dee Brown wear in March? Well, "Illinois" doesn't offend anyone, as far as I know, so maybe he'll be fine.

Those two schools' mascots are considered "hostile and abusive" -- which seems a bit harsh to N&R summer intern Lindsey Reu, an Illinois grad who does count herself in the anti-Illiniwek camp -- along with 16 other schools not named in the AP story. UNC Pembroke's Braves are exempted from sanctions because of the school's history and 20 percent-plus enrollment of Native Americans.

A whopping 200 NCAA violations have been found to have occurred at Florida A&M since 1998, and that's just after the MEAC school's internal investigation. Football coach Billy Joe has already been fired, and FAMU imposed major scholarship reductions on itself. Can the school's athletics department -- already bleeding red ink -- survive this crisis? At the least, can it maintain its I-AA status in football and remain a league rival to N.C. A&T?

That planned move to I-A is looking like a distant pipedream now, isn't it?

T.A. McLendon, one of the most talented running backs to ever come through N.C. State, continues to sputter as a would-be NFL back. The N&O's Caulton Tudor notes his quick release from the Atlanta Falcons, examining his history of falling short of expectations because of injuries and lack of heart.

Word out of Spartanburg, where the Carolina Panthers open training camp this weekend, is that Stephen Davis' knee troubles will prevent him from returning any time soon. He's expected to fail his physical and to be put on the PUP -- active Physically Unable to Perform list. So maybe McLendon, from nearby Albemarle, can get an invitation to Panthers camp.

... Well, I'm not even willing to commit to Andrew Bogut on that one. With all the crossed signals and subterfuge coming from the NBA teams themselves, it's not even clear if Milwaukee knows what it's going to do with that No. 1 pick less than 3 hours to NBA Draft time. It's all pretty much wait and see.

One interesting development is Utah traded its 6th and 27th picks to Portland for No. 3. Hmm, wonder how Chris Paul is going to like Salt Lake City. He appears to be the Jazz's target.

One other observation as I settle into my seat on the floor at the NBA Draft: The "green room" has not a hint of green. Red carpet, black tablecloths and mostly blue background. They have tables for May, McCants, Felton and Marvin Williams huddled next to each other. Together one more night.

One celebrity sighting on my way from lunch to the 1 train in the Theatre District, OK, minor-celeb sighting: Chris McDonald, who you might remember as golfer Shooter McGavin from "Happy Gilmore." Say this for the 50-year-old actor, who blew past us in a hurry to get somewhere: he is prolific. according to IMDB.com, one of the greatest web sites known to man, he has 86 TV and film credits since 1978.

And one celebrity-in-his-own-mind sighting: Stuart Scott is part of ESPN's draft production.

For the record, it hasn't all been recruiting trips and rubber-chicken circuit for UNC coach Roy Williams since the Heels won that championship a couple of months ago.

Some tidbits from Wednesday's news conference:

He took in some golf at the U.S. Open last Friday, following Davis Love III and Fred Couples for a while. He bolted Pinehurst No. 2 before Tiger Woods teed off, he said, because Tiger's tee time conflicted with his own at nearby Forest Creek.

He had a chat with former Tar Heel Mitch Kupchak, now the GM of the LA Lakers. Kupchak reportedly said Roy turned him down for the third time. Steve Kirschner, associate AD for communications, said: "Isn't that four times?" Williams said he knows what the number really is, and left it at that. Phil Jackson was named, or renamed, Lakers coach last week.

Williams called the NBA's new age minimum of 19 "window dressing," and said he wouldn't change the way he recruits. Look for more on that in the N&R at a later date.

David Noel, the Heels' de facto veteran leader, expects 6-10 freshman Tyler Hansbrough to start right away at center and to have an impact. "He's a banger," Noel said.

Center Damion Grant, who's spent more game time in street clothes than in uniform because of injuries, now has a sprained ankle. Again, his coach isn't holding out high expectations from Grant this season, though he will be counting on bigger things from Byron Sanders in the post.

Due to technical difficulties, we weren't able to get this posted on our Web site's home page, but for those checking the blogs, here's a preview of what's coming in tomorrow's paper on Shavlik Randolph's future:

Staff report

Shavlik Randolph will take his chances in the NBA Draft rather than return to Duke for his senior season.

Randolph informed the Blue Devils coaching staff Tuesday afternoon that he would not withdraw his name before the 5 p.m. deadline for early entrants. The grandson of former N.C. State All-American Ronnie Shavlik is not expected to be selected during the draft's two rounds, according to most mock drafts.

His parents supported his decision to remain draft eligible so long as he promised to complete his work toward a college degree, his father, Kenny Randolph, said Tuesday.

If Shavlik Randolph is not drafted and does not pay an agent, he could still return to school. He must inform Duke within 30 days after the draft. Or he could try to make an NBA roster as a free agent, compete in a developmental league or look abroad for professional basketball opportunities.

The 6-foot-10, 240-pound Randolph was the subject of a heated recruiting battle between Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State when he was at Raleigh Broughton. But he's struggled with injuries and illness since arriving at Duke, where he's averaged 6.3 points, 4.3 rebound and 1.4 blocks a game over a three-year career.

Randolph could not be reached for comment.

_ Jeff Carlton

Jackie Manuel, the defensive stopper on North Carolina's NCAA title-winning team, has been the forgotten Tar Heel in the lead-up to the NBA Draft because teammates Marvin Williams, Raymond Felton, Sean May and Rashad McCants are the ones projected to go in the first round. Make that co-forgotten man -- fellow senior Jawad Williams is also looking to go quietly in the second round June 28.

The Chicago pre-draft camp going on now is particularly important for guys like Jawad Williams and Manuel, who have much to prove to NBA scouts. That's why it was an especially unfortunate setback for Manuel when he suffered a hairline fracture in his left foot Tuesday, the first day of the camp.

Greensboro-based Keith Gatlin, who's been working Manuel out the past few weeks, said Manuel likely won't be able to play basketball for 2-4 weeks. It's unclear whether he'll be able to do a scheduled workout in Seattle June 21. He is staying in Chicago to do IQ tests and such, even if he can't play, said Gatlin upon his return from Chicago on Friday.

I'm hoping to hear from Manuel before the day's out. If I do, you can probably read something in the News & Record on his draft preparations (and injury) either Saturday or Sunday.

Check here for the Peoria Journal Star's recent "sizzlers" and "fizzlers" wrap-up of the predraft camp that noted Williams had a rough 2-for-9 game Wednesday.

Speaking of baseball and NBA drafts, I got Rashad McCants' mom, Brenda Muckelvene, on the phone a few minutes ago while she was on her way to a "draft party." I said, "That's a little premature, isn't it?" She said it was for her nephew, Cameron Maybin (Rashad's cousin). He was taken 10th overall in the major-league draft by the Detroit Tigers. He's an outfielder for T.C. Roberson High. Rashad isn't likely to go that early in the NBA Draft on June 28.

"We'll be excited if he's just there," his mom insisted.

If you want a good snapshot recap of ACC basketball recruiting for 2004-05, take a look here at The ACC-area Sports Journal Web site, where recruiting guru Brick Oettinger has handed out grades to the schools and projections on the players.

Duke, UNC and State scored very well, and Wake came in with a B. Tyler Hansbrough (UNC) and Josh McRoberts (Duke) earn "high big-time" status. And so on from there ...

I realize college baseball doesn't excite the masses, not in these parts anyway, but conference tournaments are always good fun this time of year if you allow yourself to indulge.

Unfortunately, the ACC tournament is a long haul down I-95, in Jacksonville, Fla., this year. It will most likely come to Greensboro's new downtown ballpark in the not-too-distant future. But, for now, you pretty much have to follow the action on "gametracker" on your computer, not that you would let that distract you from real work.

A game to follow this morning: Clemson vs. Miami. Two high-ranked teams; one could be headed home by noon. It's a double-elimination tournament and each was upset Wednesday, the Hurricanes by Andrew Brackman and N.C. State, the Tigers by Virginia.

Much like the ACC basketball tournament, you've got teams fighting for NCAA at-large bids. State and UVa, who meet today in a winner's-bracket game, helped their respective causes.

North Carolina, meanwhile, very well could be hosting an NCAA regional. But the Heels will have to come back through the loser's bracket to win the ACC tourney after Wednesday's heartbreaking, 3-2, 12-inning loss to Florida State. The winning run scored on an errant throw to third by pitcher Matt Danford. The Heels got to extra innings when FSU catcher Aaron Cheesman mishandled strike three with two outs and fired into the runner going to first to allow the tying run to score. D'oh!

The Noles play either Wake Forest or Georgia Tech today. The Deacs and top-seeded Jackets are tied 7-7 in the seventh as I write.

Tony Kornheiser of the Washington Post, while criticizing Redskins safety Sean Taylor for not returning Hall-of-Fame coach Joe Gibbs' calls, wonders if the player's pigheadedness is a Miami thing in this column (quick & free registration required) that I'm posting a day late.

An excerpt:

But I wonder about the University of Miami players -- the guys from the place they proudly call "the U." They don't seem to be happy where they are. Portis was terribly unhappy with Gibbs's offense last season. Taylor is unhappy here now. Edgerrin James is threatening not to report to the Colts. Jeremy Shockey wasn't happy working out in New York with the Giants, the team that pays him. So he left and went back to Miami to work out with "the U" guys. Look at Kellen Winslow Jr., a U guy who so famously said he'd make the Redskins regret not drafting him. Winslow's contract specifically forbids him from riding a motorcycle. But he rode one anyway, wrecked it, and now he's out for the whole season.

Me again: Is he on to something here? "The U" has cleaned up its image considerably since the Jimmy Johnson/Dennis Erickson outlaw-program days while continuing to turn out more pros than any other school. But these guys haven't exactly been ideal NFL employees in many cases.

They blew up -- rather, imploded -- the old Burlington Industries headquarters in west Greensboro this morning. Sorry I missed it. The 34-year-old glass building inside a steel shell was an oddly hideous sight, not an architectural marvel as some would contend. Fortunately, the N&R has provided a replay of the great earth-shattering kaboom here.

One building we don't want to see imploded is historic Reynolds Coliseum on the N.C. State campus. Unfortunately, a blown transformer tried to take her out. At last check, a fire was still burning in the basement.

N.C. A&T broke new ground last year by playing Wake Forest, a I-A football program. It was a lopsided loss but a nice payout for the Aggies.

With a rule change passed by the NCAA Thursday, I-A wins over I-AA schools will count toward bowl eligibility every year -- not just once every four years -- so there's no penalty for playing down for what is generally an easy W. That means A&T, Elon et al. should be seeing a lot more opportunities to play bigger programs for the kind of guaranteed money its athletics department so badly needs to pay the bills.

Of course, I-AA coaches don't want to get their players beat up playing top-25 I-A programs. Bill Hayes balked at going to Nebraska when he coached the Aggies. But those schools will be calling. The question at A&T is: Will an AD be there to answer?

No Rick Barnes. No Tubby Smith. Thus, no proverbial home run for Virginia AD Craig Littlepage. What he might have ended up with in the hiring of DePaul's Dave Leitao, according to this espn.com report, is something between a solid single and ground-rule double. Leitao could be a rising star in college coaching -- it's usually hard to tell until they've won at the highest level -- but in terms of name recognition and fundraising potential, he might rate as a yawn.

As blogger The Monk points out, a) Virginia isn't the program you might remember from 1981-84, the Sampson Era plus one bonus Final Four trip the year after he departed, and b) Leitao isn't destined for greatness simply because he fell from the Jim Calhoun tree. Many fine examples of spoiled fruit from the limbs of Coach K and Roy.

Former UConn assistant Karl Hobbs is off to a solid start at GW, and I've heard Leitao is the more formidable of the two. But we'll see. He'll have a new arena (in '06) to recruit to. But until there are coaching changes at UNC and Duke -- could maybe throw Maryland, Ga Tech and Wake into this mix -- the Cavaliers won't be contending for ACC titles.

First, off, today I checked the messages left on my voicemail while I was in St. Louis. Four of them were UNC-related, two jabbing me for picking Illinois in the final. I thought there might have been more of these -- I think it's the first time I've picked against the Heels in print (we don't predict scores in the regular season) since I had Texas beating them in the second round last year. So I figured I might catch some grief.

But it's not like I called for an Illinois blowout. I thought it would be 85-82 or something very close. Just gave the edge to a team that had won 37 of 38 games, whereas I wasn't totally sold the Heels would make all the right decisions and big plays down the stretch.

I stand corrected, but I don't think there's any need to apologize for my pick.

Now, to a question Heels fans are pondering: Are they better off without Rashad next year? While the media might be better off without him -- he cultivated an enigmatic image as soon as he arrived in Chapel Hill and, this year, only talked to reporters right after games -- I don't agree that the team would be better with him in the NBA. The N&O's Caulton Tudor slams that theory today.

This truly is one of the great days on the sports calendar, with the cozy juxtaposition of baseball's Opening Day with the NCAA basketball final.

For the first time in my life, baseball season has snuck up on me. When the Red Sox and Yanks played an actual, meaningful game last night -- well, not as meaningful as last October's games -- I did a double-take. Is it really here?

Guess I've been distracted by the Tar Heels' tournament run, which has kept me fairly busy.

But between a visit to the Gateway Arch and to The Ed, as they call the dome here, I did watch some baseball, and it was great. Even a few innings of Royals v. Tigers.

As a Phillies fan, I wasn't too thrilled about the signing of Kenny Lofton, who's 10 years past his prime. But glad to see the Phils' tiny park has even turned him into a home-run hitter. A big day for Pat Burrell, too.

Now, I'm guessing Lofton is a UNC fan tonight, seeing as how Illinois bumped off Arizona, a team for which he once played, after the Illini had trailed by 15 with four minutes left.

I haven't checked my work voicemail lately, but I appreciate the lack of hate mail I've received so far for picking against the Heels. It really almost came down to a coin flip. If Felton stays on the floor and May feasts, I think the Heels will probably win. But the Brown-Williams-Head triumvirate is so solid, and I don't expect them to shrink in the big game.

My biggest fear is that a game being billed as one for the ages turns into a blowout. That's a fear that a run of Super Bowl routs put into me.

We'll know in a couple of hours. Then we turn our attention to the NBA Draft watch and baseball -- a lot of baseball.

Dining at the Kitchen K in downtown St. Louis tonight, we thought we spotted Arizona's Lute Olson walking in wearing a red-and-blue sweat suit. He was about the right height, had the same white hair. Then he turned around -- not him.

Where there's a Final Four, there's also a coaches convention. From D-I to D-III, they're all here, except Fran McCaffery, of course. He's back in Greensboro saying so long to his UNCG players.

It hasn't exactly been a who's who of college coaching, at least not yet. In the airport, I saw coaches from such powerhouses as Samford, Fort Valley State and St. Xavier University. I did have a brief word with Terry Holland in the hotel lobby tonight. I didn't ask how well received Ricky Stokes has been as his new basketball coach at ECU. Call it tact. From what I hear, not everyone's thrilled.

Now that UNC's semifinal tipoff with Michigan State is about 44 hours away, it's time to give serious thought to who's going to win this game. I mentioned on Dave Glenn's radio show (The Buzz in Raleigh) that I'm not entirely sold on the mental toughness of Roy Williams' team, especially without Raymond Felton on the floor. Hope that doesn't anger the Heels' faithful. It's just that they don't look entirely convincing in the tight finishes.

I'd love to read some thoughtful predictions, hopes and fears, from UNC followers before Saturday's game. Basically, I'm asking you to help your neighborhood beatwriter, who is still very up in the air about this Heels-Michigan State matchup. Feel free to post here.

Oh, and, I read a great piece in the Chicago Tribune on my flight to the STL about how Urbana is the forgotten community in Illinois' great run. Everyone talks about the team from Champaign. The Illini's sports arenas are in Champaign; most of the university is in the smaller town of Urbana. That burg deserves some attention, too, the paper writes. OK, so they're running out of things to write about on Illinois.

Speaking of which, Southwest Airlines had a huge Illini fan in the cockpit today. As we flew over Champaign-Urbana/Urbana-Champaign, he told his passengers, "If you look out the left side of the plane, you might see Assembly Hall. Go, Illini, rah, rah ..."

This is a very Jim Young thing to do, but the Blue Devils are back in Durham and so is Jim, yet the show must go on.

So I'll offer a little pregame analysis on UNC and Wisconsin, who tip off in the Syracuse bubble in about an hour. I've already picked the Heels to win in print, by a 72-65 score if I recall correctly, and I'm not going to contradict myself now. That would be bad for business. But I certainly could see a scenario by which UNC stumbles over its own talented feet.

Think back just two nights ago to the frustration NC State had against Wisconsin's patient swing offense and disciplined defense. And the Wolfpack is a team accustomed to playing at a deliberate pace. For the Heels, seeing the shot clock repeatedly go below 10 seconds is worse than watching "Ishtar" over and over and over. This could lead to a force-the-issue, force-shots mode.

We saw it in the ACC Tournament. Could happen again against a team like Wisconsin. But Villanova might have been the Tar Heels' big-scare game. Sean May and Marvin Williams could have huge days against the Badgers, and they could win by 12-14, which would feel like a blowout.

That would keep us on track for Illinois-Carolina in St. Louis. That's the matchup I'd like to see from a basketball purist's standpoint. Who's the best? Let's see for ourselves. So that had me in the odd position of being an Illini fan last night against Arizona. What a comeback. Or choke. However you prefer to look at it.

This certainly isn't the Charlotte Coliseum. First off, the media work room in the Carrier Dome isn't nearly as cramped. We're on a football field and have 150-foot high ceilings. I'm sitting at the 15-yard line while N.C. State practices on a basketball court on the other side of the curtain.

Wolfpack fans in town for the regional might flashback to a very nice football victory here a few years back.

Chased out of Greensboro by a tornado (or at least there was a warning and scary cloud formations), your intrepid News & Record crew landed in Syracuse late last night during snow showers that tapered this morning.

Cab driver tells us she's only been to the Carrier Dome twice: once for a Pink Floyd concert and once to a Syracuse intrasquad football scrimmage.

"You couldn't lose that one," Rob Daniels cracked.

"Coach P could," she shot back.

First pot shot at Paul Pasqualoni, who was relieved of his duties after the '04 season. But it probably won't be the last.

As for concerts, we'll be seeing the Fixx on Saturday night at Armory Square. I'm fired up. For some odd reason, nobody else seems to be.

Roy Williams cemented the pressroom legend status of Durham Herald-Sun Duke beatwriter Bryan Strickland on Saturday.

Two days earlier, Strickland asked for his thoughts on a colleague in the building tying Dean Smith's record for NCAA tournament victories. The Tar Heels coach apparently misheard the question. He thought he said overall victories and told the media how impressive it was that Mike Krzyzewski had won 100 games in one week. Or maybe the questioner meant Tennessee women's coach Pat Summitt.

In any event, Williams was thrown. Later, he quipped, "Just don't let the guy in the blue shirt ask any more questions."

Saturday, someone else asked about Coach K's 65 tourney wins. Williams scanned the room.

"I was just looking for my man in the blue shirt," Williams said, adding when he spotted Strickland: "Darker blue, huh? I'll tell Mike you're wearing his colors."

For those who think Roy might get uptight at tournament time, that exchange shows he doesn't stop looking for punchlines in March.

How come I'm the only one that went into the NCAA tournament unaware of UW-Milwaukee's upset potential? Everyone, I mean EVERYone, is bragging about how they picked Bama to go down in the first round. Not me.

After the first day, the one thing that's clear isn't necessarily that UWM is a great team. It's that the SEC, as suspected, isn't very good this year. Alabama, LSU are done. Florida almost lost to Ohio. Kentucky almost lost to the Colonels of Eastern Ky. I wasn't completely caught unaware: I only had two of those teams going to the Sweet 16 and one, Kentucky, going to the Elite 8 (in my fictitious, just-for-fun bracket that was not compiled for gambling purposes).

Roy Williams was asked Tuesday about the firing of former Tar Heel Buzz Peterson as Tennessee's coach earlier this week. He responded that Tennessee isn't exactly the best coaching job in the world.

He also has seen reports that missing the NCAA tournament four straight years isn't the only reason Peterson was canned.

"They've got to make their own decisions," Williams said, "but I read in articles it's because of attendance and concessions and souvenir sales. And a basketball coach has to handle his team, he's responsible for making the product good enough to put people in the stands, he has to work with the media and he has to work with the alumni.

"But I really didn’t know that the basketball coach was responsible for how much dadgum popcorn was sold."

Recalling his days as a high school coach, Williams revealed a trick of the concession trade: We used to put more salt in the popcorn to sell more Cokes.

I assume that worked with pretzels, too, causing many a fan to say: "These pretzels are making me thirsty."

Sorry, I can't let the day go by without at least one Seinfeld reference.

Had some time to ponder the NCAA field on the 6-hour drive back from D.C. yesterday _ should be 5 hours, but that's another story _ and here are a few of the things that stand out:

There are surprisingly few teams left out that have a gripe. Indiana? Only Big Ten shills even tried to make a case for the Hoosiers; there are a surprisingly high number of those folks out there. I would have put DePaul in ahead of Iowa, which, let's face it, benefited hugely from AD Bob Bowlsby being the selection committee chair, even if he wasn't in the room when Hawkeyes talk was going on.

Washington as a No.1. That stunned a lot of people. The majority opinion in the MCI Center press room seemed to favor Wake as a No.1, giving the ACC 3 No.1 seeds. After Arizona's loss to U-Dub, I thought Oklahoma State should've gotten the 4th No.1 -- the Cowboys lost late in the year to Nebraska but beat Kansas twice and then won the Big XII tourney. Frankly, I'd never given the Huskies much thought. Obvious East coast bias. They are #3 in the RPI and 26-5. Worthy I suppose, but ...

They're going down before getting anywhere close to St. Louis. Wake Forest ought not gripe too much about being a No.2 seed. Yes, Gonzaga or Texas Tech will be tough in the Sweet 16, but they're basically the top team in that bracket, as far as I can tell.

Louisville is in the same regional. Yes, the Cards deserve better than a 4-seed. No, they shouldn't be a 1-seed. Perish the thought. I've seen them as overrated all year. I'm thinking a legit 3-seed, though. What they've done is win, much like Kentucky has. After seeing the Wildcats early in the year, I've been surprised they've won as much as they have. Credit Tubby. (And make him a nice offer, Craig Littlepage.) Or question the strength of the SEC.

Georgia Tech has to be upset about its draw. Nearly won the ACC tourney to get a 5-seed. That's nice. But the Jackets will have to be Louisville in the 2nd round after a brutal 1st-round matchup with a solid GW team. Either GT or L'ville knocks off Washington. (That advice is not for office-pool purposes, of course.)

Regional in Syracuse. Ugh. Can't we please put these regionals in warmer, less desolate towns? At the least, can we at least not put North Carolina, the team I cover, in this regional? I was hoping for Austin.

Syracuse as a popular pick to beat Duke in the Austin regional. If they meet, I might agree. Just not sure they'll get that far. Gerry McNamara hasn't been completely healthy and is not shooting as well as past years. My friend Russ is a diehard Syracuse fan who studies them a little too closely, and he uses expletives to describe the Orange's season. That's good enough for me, forget their Big East title. I might even pick Vermont to knock them off in the first round. That could be my Tom Brennan bias coming through though. Or maybe I'm wondering why a team with an RPI of 26th is a 13-seed.

Back to the Syracuse regional. Trouble for the Tar Heels? Yes. Villanova in the Sweet 16 would be a tough perimeter matchup. Roy Williams dreads the possibility of seeing Kansas, with a bunch of guys he recruited, in the Elite 8. More likely, the Heels will see UConn, which will be much tougher the second time, especially with Rashad Anderson back.

Illinois is the best team in the field, no doubt, but Oklahoma State in the regional final will be big trouble. Good thing it's in the Chicago suburbs. The Illini will win it all, even if Dee Brown was on a recent SI cover.

CBS analyst Billy Packer was not warmly received by the MCI Center crowd Friday when he was introduced as this year's winner of the Skeeter Francis award that honors a media member's longtime outstanding coverage of the ACC. Booed rather lustily, really.

Carolina fans don't like him. Duke fans don't like him. I knew that. But, wow, were Wake Forest fans even booing their famous alum?

I think what the crowd wanted was to see recently retired News & Record sports writer Larry Keech get the award. I know I did. LK (he likes to call folks by their initials) made the trip. I'm sorry to see him leave empty-handed. Maybe next year.

Sorry to have let work interfere with my blogging from the ACC Tournament, but, hey, that's what they pay me for. I think.

Anyway, Mike Krzyzewski just finished his Duke-Virginia postmortem in the press hangar, er, room. The last question, from Doug Doughty of sister paper Roanoke Times, was: "This was probably you're last game coaching against UVa with Gillen as its coach. Your thoughts when shaking his hand for the last time?"

"I hope not," K said before professing his respect for Gillen's time and success in college coaching. It's been a pleasure, in other words.

While Maryland has probably been the ACC's biggest disappointment this season, Virginia has basically been the league's biggest disappointment the past 3-4 years. Really, it's been all downhill since Gillen recruited Elton Brown, Jermaine Harper, Keith Jenifer and Jason Clark coming off an NCAA trip and 20-win season.

Gillen is highlighting his team's injury problems right now. Sorry, not good enough.

I'm not going to lie to you. I really, really want Old Dominion to be assigned to the same subregional site as UNC, which I'll be covering in the NCAAs. The Monarchs (28-5) are a fun team and a mid-major with upset potential.

Most importantly, they have Drew Williamson, a player gifted beyond the obvious statistical measures. He just does whatever is needed to win. It's what he did at Cummings High in Burlington, when he led the Cavaliers to state titles in basketball AND football. And he's doing it now as an ODU sophomore. The Monarchs' point guard had zero turnovers in 91 minutes in the CAA tournament, which they won Monday with an overtime win over VCU. No worries about at-large bubbles now.

"We needed to win," he told ESPN.com's Pat Forde. "We didn't want to leave it up to anybody."

UNC coach Roy Williams said Monday that Rashad McCants would have to make it through "several" practices before he plays his next game. Before that, he wants him to work up a sweat in shootarounds early this week.

It doesn't appear likely McCants will be back for the Tar Heels' ACC quarterfinal against either Maryland or Clemson at noon Friday. They're 4-0 without him so far. We might find out if they can win three games in three days short their dynamic scorer.

Before Monday, McCants had done some casual shooting, before games and before practices. But they weren't exactly workouts.

"When we have a shooting practice, at the end of it, everybody's sweating," Williams said Friday. "He sweated about as much as Humpty Dumpty out there. ... He has not had a shooting workout, a rebounding workout, a ball-handling workout."

Speaking of working up a sweat, Williams almost worked himself into a lather on his radio call-in show Monday night over the ejection of his son, Scott, from Sunday's game against Duke. He's "ticked" about it.

At the end of the first half, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski overheard a fan _ the UNC coach's son, it turns out _ yelling at him: "You've got (official Larry) Rose in your pocket!" He didn't take kindly to it and reportedly had a security guard eject the fan/coach's son from the Dean Dome.

I suspect the Roy-Coach K relationship has taken a turn for the worse.

I'd be curious to know how much attention the typical college basketball fan pays to postseason awards/honors voted on by media types, i.e. ACC player of the year, All-Americans, all-freshmen teams.

I know the fan interest is intense on matters that affect their teams -- BCS standings in football, NCAA tournament seedings in basketball -- but how long does an ACC player of the year stick in our memories? I know preseason POYs are quickly forgotten, unless it serves the purpose of illustrating how big a disappointment someone's season was. Take Raymond Felton last year or Chris Duhon the previous year.

These all-this-and-that teams are fun for debating purposes, at the least. It certainly is for sports writers, anyway. Neil Amato of the Herald-Sun and I racked our brains trying to come up with more than three players for the five-member ACC all-freshman team while in College Park on Sunday. After Marvin Williams, Sean Singletary and DeMarcus Nelson, we hit a wall.

Radio man Woody Durham pointed out to Roy Williams after UNC's win over the Terps how amazing it is that the Heels hadn't had an ACC player of the week all season -- that honor is bestowed by the league office, I believe. I'm not sure he was implying an anti-Carolina bias at Grandover, but he seemed a bit perturbed.

Well, that streak ended. Raymond Felton was POW after averaging 15.5 points, 8.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds in wins over N.C. State and Maryland. He hit the game-winning basket against the Terps.

In the office debates over ACC coach of the year, we haven't talked much about Roy Williams. It's gone from favoring Miami's Frank Haith to Va Tech's Seth Greenberg to Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, who normally can't be credited with overachieving. But what about Roy? Going from 19-11 and slightly dysfunctional to 24-3, No. 2 in the country and a title contender with the same group (and sometimes without Rashad McCants) is pretty impressive.

I get a vote, and I admit, I'm reconsidering.

Well, the obvious answer is yes. North Carolina just beat N.C. State the first time in three seasons that Rashad McCants wasn't in the lineup. If his mom's doubts hold up, the Tar Heels will have to win Sunday at Maryland without him because of what tests have shown to be an "intestinal virus." Clemson just won at College Park. But, with Maryland, who knows?

I'll be examining the adjustments UNC will have to make without McCants -- or with its star guard at less than full strength -- in the News & Record this weekend. Stay tuned. The school has been unusually silent when asked for health updates this week. But McCants' mother, Brenda Muckelvene, gave me a few insights this afternoon.

Here's the N&R note that may or may not be posted elsewhere online Friday:

McCANTS "DOING BETTER": The mother of Rashad McCants said she expects the North Carolina junior to miss his second straight game Sunday at Maryland because of an intestinal virus.

But, after speaking with him Thursday, Brenda Muckelvene is confident McCants is making significant progress.

"He will be fine as soon as he works it out of his system," she said. "He’s doing better."

McCants, who is the Tar Heels' top scorer (15.8 ppg), played sparingly Saturday against Clemson because of an upset stomach. He did not make the trip to N.C. State on Tuesday night. It was the first game McCants missed in his college career.

"He’s really been bothered by this since the night of the Duke game" Feb. 9, coach Roy Williams said after UNC's 81-71 victory over the Wolfpack. "So he's tried to fight through it."

Team trainer Marc Davis said in a statement released by the school Tuesday afternoon that doctors had no timetable for McCants' return. Muckelvene said Thursday she doubts he’ll play against the Terps.

"I don’t think he needs to rush," she said. "That's what happened last time."

Wallburg's Madison Hedgecock wasn't so much wowed by the Hula Bowl experience, or the hula girls, when he went to Maui last month to showcase his game for NFL scouts as he was by the celebs he saw while there.

If you catch my story in Friday's News & Record on Hedgecock's trip to the NFL Scouting Combine, you'll notice a passing reference to the "highlights" of his Hula Bowl voyage. Unfortunately, space limitations wouldn't allow me to digress and elaborate on his celebrity sightings in the newspaper.

But there are no such space restrictions in blog world, so for the curious, I'll elaborate here. Hedgecock, who played fullback at Ledford High and North Carolina, ran into beach volleyball star -- and swimsuit model -- Gabrielle Reece at the Maui airport baggage claim. He also saw Yankees manager Joe Torre (a good guy, even if you hate his employer as I do) and country singer Randy Travis, whose music Hedgecock said he enjoyed when he was in elementary school. He also added that Travis' wife is from Kernersville, but our fact-checkers haven't verified that claim yet.

It'll be interesting to see how far Hedgecock's blocking skills and all-around toughness can carry him in the NFL. Even if he's not drafted -- and he probably will be -- he can look to fellow Ledford grad Brad Hoover for inspiration. Hoover was undrafted but has become an invaluable member of the Carolina Panthers, as a ball-carrying and blocking fullback and as a big hitter on special teams.

If Clemson is to do the unthinkable later today -- beat North Carolina for the first time ever in Chapel Hill -- it's best they don't think about that big 0-50 record, which dates back to a 50-20 UNC victory in 1926 when the Heels were called the White Phantoms and played in the Tin Can.

But, best not to think about such details today if you're the visitor. Call it ignoring your limitations.

That is contrary to Roy Williams' philosophy, which he bases on a great Clint Eastwood line in his favorite Dirty Harry movie, "Magnum Force."

He shared this philosophy with reporters a couple of weeks ago when asked how much freedom he gives point guard Raymond Felton on the floor. I thought I might save this for a later story, but when you read it, you'll agree it works better as a Roy Williams monologue than as a quote in a Felton feature. Plus, at least one local blog enthusiast has been pining for more blogosphere "access" to the people we cover, so for his sake, enjoy ...

RW: "The first Dirty Harry movie was about some weirdo, but the second one was about some bad cops, and the chief of police was also a bad cop. And 2 or 3 times throughout the course of the movie, Dirty Harry said, 'You have to know your limitations.'

"And at the end, the chief of police, who was a dirty cop, got a bomb put in Clint Eastwood's car. And Clint Eastwood started walking toward the car and the chief of police walked toward his car, smiled, got in his car and turned his ignition and it blew up because Clint Eastwood had put it in his car.

"Clint turned around and said, 'You've got to know your limitations.'

"And that's the way I coach basketball. I give them all the freedom they can have, but, by golly, they better be able to do what they attempt to do. We get them to understand their limitations and then give them all kinds of freedom."

I should point out, Roy does NOT put a bomb in their cars if they fail to understand their limitations.

I expected to see a "Live from Cassell" blog from Jim on Thursday night, or Friday, at least. But since he probably had to tend to his young daughter, we'll let it slide.

So I'll second an observation UNC's David Noel made Friday. The Tar Heels were fortunate to get their trip to Blacksburg out of the way early this season, as in mid-December early.

At the time of UNC's 85-51 rout, Tech didn't have Coleman Collins or football tight end Jeff King in the lineup. That's a lot of muscle -- those two accounted for 22 rebounds and 21 points in the Hokies' 67-65 upset over Duke. Without them, the Hokies even lost to VMI in December. Clearly, they're a more confident team now, one that's in a four-way tie for fourth place at 6-6 in the ACC.

No doubt J.J. Redick has become a respectable player on the defensive end. But he was too often victimized by Carlos Dixon's quickness. Seems to be the type of matchup that does not favor Redick, who committed four fouls. In one night!

OK, this has been bugging me since last night, when the folks at the Dean Dome treated us to R.E.M.'s frenetic classic "It's the End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine)" on '80s Retro Night.

There's one lyric in the song that has always stood out to UVa grads because it seems to be an obvious reference to their alma mater:

"Watch O'Neill crush rush, uh-oh, this means no beer Cavalier. Renegade steer clear!"

Colleague Rob Daniels tells me R.E.M. passed through Charlottesville some time in 1984-85 and threw in the lyric as a reference to then-president Robert O'Neill's ban on alcohol on campus, er, Grounds. That included fraternity houses.

That's consistent with what I'd been told years ago. But when I check lyrics Web sites, only one that I can find has that version. Nearly all others have this as the line:

"Watch your heel crush, crushed, uh-oh, this means no fear cavalier.
Renegade steer clear!"

What that's supposed to mean, I have no idea. It's not what I hear when the song, off the "Document" album, is played, so I'd never given it any thought.

Does anyone out there know the real deal on R.E.M.'s lyrics? Perhaps they did alternate versions. Perhaps UVa people twisted it to their own advantage. Or maybe it's like Jimi Hendrix's line, "Excuse me while I kiss the sky," which many hear as "kiss this guy."

Anyway, seemed appropriate to me they'd play this while the Cavaliers were in town. I suspect Norwood Teague, UNC's associate AD for marketing & promotions, had something to do with the song choice. He used to have the same job at Virginia.

Not all Retro Night tunes were so solid. The copy desk cut this from my "Sights and Sounds" note: The musical selections from the '80s ranged from the quirky to the catchy to the outstanding (see above) to the ridiculously bad ("Karma Chameleon" by Culture Club).

And who picked out the outfits for ESPN's Len Elmore and Mike Patrick? Don't remember any afros that big in the 80's or jackets that plaid (except maybe on Wimp Sanderson or Norm Sloan).

Speaking of nostalgia, Savannah State closed out its basketball season last night at 0-28. That takes me back to Curtis Hunter's final season as N.C. A&T coach when I covered an Aggies team that started the year 0-25. They won at Norfolk State to end the streak before I had a chance to do a retrospective on the 1991-92 Prairie View team that was the last to go winless for an entire season.

Savannah State might be a cautionary tale for any Division II program that is making, or thinking about making, the jump to D-I. Like Winston-Salem State, the Tigers of Savannah would like to join the MEAC, A&T's league. Savannah State's athletics department operates on a $2 million budget. Successful MEAC programs are in the $6 mil-$9 mil range.

I'd planned on blogging about the tight relationship between UConn coach Jim Calhoun and UNC's Roy Williams, but I'll save that for tomorrow. Instead, I direct you to a story by Doug Doughty, esteemed UVa beat writer for the Roanoke Times, who has finally gotten Pete Gillen to explain his unusual philosophy on timeouts after 5 1/2 years of trying.

"Some legendary coach who shall remain nameless lent me 4,125 timeouts," said Gillen in a thinly-veiled reference to former North Carolina coach Dean Smith. "So, I have a few more left than most coaches. You are who you are and that's just our style."

Smith was fairly judicious with his timeouts. Perhaps in his honor, Pete only called two when the Heels visited Charlottesville last month. Or, perhaps, he knew the timeouts wouldn't help in a game the Cavs ended up losing by 36.

OK, so it might not have been on the level of the infamous "Heidi" game. But local CBS affiliate WFMY-2 did befuddle many viewers -- some in this office -- last night by breaking away from the Duke-North Carolina game the instant the clock hit 0:00. Never mind that Coach K wasn't even sure the 71-70 game was officially over when the station practically cut Billy Packer off in mid-sentence to switch to their 11 o'clock news.

I was covering the game, so didn't hear about this snafu/gaffe/case of questionable judgment until this morning. I can only hope that WFMY had one heck of a lead story to their news broadcast.

It is February, and as Colin Smith, a vice president for Raycom Sports, notes, that's sweeps month. So affiliates want to get to their local news as quickly as possible. Raycom and the stations who carry its basketball broadcasts have an unwritten agreement that if the game goes more than 10 or 15 minutes past the two-hour programming window, they can drop off as quickly as they feel necessary.

In this case, it was 15 minutes over when the game ended. So no replays of UNC's final possession: Did Felton blow a chance to drive to the basket? No postgame wrap-up or ACC scoreboard. And, at least in this market, no so-called terminal break, which means something to advertisers if not to most of us.

"We give them the ability to leave our telecast as quickly as possible without interfering with the integrity of the broadcast," Smith said.

You be the judge.

We illustrated graphically the ebbs and flows of the Duke-North Carolina basketball rivalry in Tuesday's paper all the way back to 1920. One amazing note, courtesy of the UNC sports information office, that we failed to include in our coverage leading into tonight's game at Cameron Indoor: Duke has had a higher AP ranking than UNC in the teams' last 21 meetings.

My first thought was: Wait. Doherty had these guys up to No.1 for a couple of weeks in 2000-01. Well, the Heels were ranked No. 4 when they beat No. 2 Duke 85-83 on Feb. 1 that season, helping propel them to the top. And they were back down to No. 4 -- after losses to Clemson and Virginia -- when they faced No. 2 Duke again on March 4, a 95-81 Blue Devils win. It was pretty much downhill from there for Doherty.

UNC coach Roy Williams, who befriended Duke's Mike Krzyzewski through their work together on the NABC board of directors, is more than willing to admit Duke's owned the Heels lately (14 of the last 16).

"There's a saying that goes, 'As a coach, you don't want to make everybody else's Christmas nice.' Mike has never been nice to anybody at Christmas, New Year's, Thanksgiving or Easter. I say that tongue in cheek, but with a heck of a lot of respect."

Sports writers, especially those who vote on Heisman Awards and national players of the year, get some of the strangest things in the mail. Rob Daniels still has his Byron Leftwich bobblehead doll sent by Marshall a few years back. I recently received my Bogut boomerang courtesy of the University of Utah sports publicity office, complete with Australian Andrew Bogut's impressive stats.

Check out this Mike DeCourcy "Daily Dish" on what happened, or didn't happen, when he threw his boomerang in the garbage can. He offers an excellent explanation of why nobody sees Bogut play nor cares how impressive his stats are. Sunday, DeCourcy wrote that the Duke game is important for UNC because the Heels could use a quality RPI road win, much as I'd blogged over the weekend.

N.C. State coach Herb Sendek hadn't gotten a lot of looks at Marvin Gaye Williams Jr.(his grandparents were big fans) before Thursday night's trip to the Dean Dome. The 6-9 freshman, and future lottery pick, impressed him with a 20-point, 5-rebound outing while recovering from the flu. And, no, Williams still hasn't started a college game.

"I didn't have a chance to watch him extensively in high school," Sendek said after UNC's 95-71 win, "but as everyone knows, there was a lot of speculation if he would even come to college -- and you can see why. He is just an awesome talent, he really is. I don't think there is anything he can't do. What is really eye-catching when you see him for the first time up close is how big he is."

Williams had already shown Tar Heel fans his ability to rise above the rim, though his vogue pose on one breakaway dunk Thursday was new to them. What he hadn't shown off much until UNC's trip to Virginia last weekend is his stroke from 3-point range.

He had five 3's before that rout, but is 6 of 7 over his last two games. He said following the State game that assistant coach Joe Holladay has implored him to look for his shot behind the arc.

They say he's a great listener. So there's your proof.

North Carolina visits Duke next week, as every man, woman, child and domesticated animal between Bayboro and Boone is well aware. Cameron is dangerous territory for lightning-rod players who don't play for the home team. Which is to say J.J. Redick is treated well by the Crazies; Rashad McCants and Julius Hodge ... not so well.

So McCants probably didn't do himself any favors by making that throat-slash gesture on national TV in the second half of Thursday night's UNC win over N.C. State. As Roy Williams noted in the preseason, Duke students are sure to have a field day with his media-day "jail sentence" comments. Now this.

The message boards were pretty active Friday about where the gesture falls on the scale of poor taste. General consensus: not as offensive as Taron Downey's throat slash, but too offensive to be seen in public.

I won't enter that debate, but I will say this: It's hard to find the slightest shortcoming in the way the Tar Heels are playing right now, but at least three questions remain (I'm sure I'm forgetting something) when sizing them up as an NCAA-title contender:

1) Can they win in a tough road environment? 0-1 under those circumstances so far.
2) How will they handle a close finish? Smallest margin of victory so far is 7 points, at Indiana; lost by 11 and 13.
3) Will McCants have a meltdown? He's not as tightly wound as many seem to think, but he can be an unpredictable, at times combustible, personality. The Heels want him to remain unselfish, healthy and happy. And no more throat slashes.

It's sad irony for Virginia coach Pete Gillen that it was the excitement he'd created, reviving UVa's program and getting the Cavs to the NCAA tournament in 2001, that got plans rolling for a new, 15,000-seat basketball arena across the street from decrepit U-Hall. It's that half-completed building that will likely be his downfall.

UVa AD Craig Littlepage said this week the school needs its basketball teams on an upswing to keep the donations coming in for the $130 million project and to sell tickets in an arena with nearly twice the seating capacity of U-Hall. Mostly, that means the UVa men can't be losing at home to Miami and losing at home to Wake by 19 and to UNC by 36 -- Saturday's loss to the Heels could've been a lot worse, by the way -- and going a fourth straight year without an NCAA trip.

Gillen has six years left on a 10-year contract, but that deal has reportedly been restructured, so a buyout might not be as costly as it once would've been. Especially when the implications of moving into a new arena in 2006 are weighed against it.

Visiting coaches have offered public support after beating Gillen this year, but their words are sounding more and more like eulogies.

Take Roy Williams, for instance.

"He's one of the gentleman in the coaching profession," Williams said after the Heels' 110-76 drubbing of Gillen's team Saturday, "and not only is he one of the gentleman, he's a guy that everybody respects a great deal and that does a great job of coaching. You can look at his record year after year after year, and what he's been able to accomplish at Xavier, at Providence and here. It's a very difficult time period for him."

While injuries have played a big part in Gillen's current woes, and his past disappointments -- remember how good Majestic Mapp was before his knee surgeries? -- something's not right with the program when you've had 14 players leave with eligibility remaining in seven years.

Sean May and his North Carolina basketball teammates were lifting weights at the Dean Dome on Thursday when he noticed in the mirror a vaguely familiar-looking guy in a beret -- yes, a beret -- strolling past him.

Turns out it was Michael Jordan, the school's most famous basketball alum. Foul weather ruined Jordan's golfing plans in Pinehurst, apparently, so he decided to drop in on Dean Smith instead.

He dropped in on Roy Williams' Tar Heels, too, to tell them to keep doing what they're doing -- which is winning, mostly.

"Just for him to come down and show his support, it meant a lot to this team," May said. "He just made us feel us relaxed and comfortable."

Rashad McCants, whose dad called him the "next Jordan" in his baby book when he was a toddler, wasn't available Friday to talk about Jordan's visit, unfortunately. But one thing's for sure: Jordan didn't delight the Heels with stories of great UNC-Miami ACC battles of old, seeing as how, until tonight, there have been no such meetings between the two schools.

Roy Williams isn't a civil engineer -- doesn't even play one on TV -- but if he were, the UNC coach says he'd design a better road system in the Triangle so Tar Heel fans can get to their 7 p.m. games on time.

He says he could've said hello to all 13 fans who showed up early enough for pregame warmups Wednesday when Georgia Tech visited. Many seats were unoccupied until the second TV timeout. Not exactly a Cameron Indoor atmosphere at the start.

"It's a fun team to watch even when we were ugly like tonight," Williams said after the 91-69 victory. "It's still a fun team to watch. I think the crowd is getting better, and we want to be THE best place."

But, as Jim noted, that's why us reporters get to the games 1.5-2 hours early. That, and to grub Boston Market chicken, gossip and complain about our editors.

North Carolina senior Jawad Williams had just finished being interviewed by reporters Tuesday -- we should have a link up this morning to a story explaining what Jawad has done with the mask he wore much of last season -- when he decided he wanted to give sportswriting a whirl.

Jawad grabbed a notepad and took up position behind the TV cameras. When there was a lull, Jawad raised his hand and asked Marvin: "Are you suffering from a cold?"

"No," Marvin replied.

"Then why does your voice sound like that?" Jawad asked.

Laughter drowned out Marvin's reply.

So, was that a good follow-up question? Or was that just cruelty toward his 18-year-old teammate who just happens to have an unusually husky voice?

One aside for anyone out there who might be attending tonight's UNC-Georgia Tech game, or who regularly attends games at the Dean Dome: When the little kids are throwing on those oversized Brian Bersticker jerseys and the big shoes and trying to shoot layups during the timeout contests, has it occurred to you that Bersticker's getting more pub now than he did during his modest Tar Heel career?

North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams was watching a high school recruit's basketball game earlier this week when he ran into a coaching friend who was also checking out a recruit in the same game. The friend was Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer, a football coach once wooed by UNC.

"His player wasn't as good at basketball as my player was, without question," Williams said Thursday. "But I'm guessing the player I was watching wasn't as good at football as the one he was watching."

Beamer and Williams first met at a speaking engagement in Hilton Head, where they shared laughs over golf and a shrimp dinner. Billy Hite, a classmate of Williams' at UNC, is on Beamer's coaching staff.

Sunday, Williams will coach his first game in Blacksburg. Beamer warned him that Hokie fans are fired up about their first-ever ACC game. The fifth-ranked Heels take a seven-game winning streak to Tech, which has already suffered a loss to VMI.

UNCG basketball coach Fran McCaffery's latest find from the Philly area, freshman Kyle Hines, is a crowd-pleaser. And he doesn't do it with thunderous dunks. He does it on the other end. Hines is second in the nation in blocked shots, with a 4.2 average going into tonight's game against Guilford College at Fleming Gym. Only Deng Gai of Fairfield is swatting more shots per game.

In upending Southern Miss 79-78 on Dec. 3, Ricky Hickman scored 29 for the Spartans; Ronnie Burrell poured in 27. Impressive. But what McCaffery remembers was a critical Hines block.

"It was one of those things, the timing of it," McCaffery said. "You're watching the game, and they're going to score -- no, they're not. He's blocked it."

They tease us with tournaments in Maui and challenges against the best the Big Ten has to offer (Illinois and, well, Illinois), then they leave us in the lurch for most of December. ACC basketball is basically on hiatus for a while aside from two intraconference affairs this Sunday. Apparently, final exams are the lame excuse for this down time. That's fine for the student-athletes. But what about us, the viewers ... and sports writers?

The occasional game against a Liberty, a Toledo, a Loyola of Chicago or a Temple -- nice scare for the Deacs, eh? -- isn't going to hold our attention. So here are some alternative forms of entertainment while you wait for Tobacco Road's winter ritual to begin:

It's hard to go anywhere these days without seeing a football coach fired. When I was in Cincinnati last January, they were introducing the new guy that day at UC. Visited Bloomington on Wednesday, and if I were so inclined, could have attended the Gerry DiNardo-is-fired press conference at Indiana.

No such events took place in Chapel Hill this year, which may be a surprise to some and great news to others.

But, down in Greenville, they canned John Thompson before his second season was up and quickly moved to hire Skip Holtz. He's the guy Lou Holtz was grooming to be his successor at South Carolina before demoting his son instead. What do ECU fans -- and others -- think about the Holtz hire? Is this guy still on his way up, a guy who can carry the Pirates to greatness, or at least goodness? Or not so much? Should ECU have waited to see who else would become available during the firing season?

Who else out there was surprised by how decisively Clemson and South Carolina moved to impose stiff sanctions on their own programs after Saturday's sideline-clearing brawl? No bowl games. Wow.

My guess is so many players were involved and deserving of at least one-game suspensions that they figured they'd barely have enough players for a bowl game, so what the heck?

Lou Holtz was ready to retire, anyway, so that makes South Carolina's call a little easier maybe. But by agreeing to the same penalty, Clemson removed the suspense from a pretty good debate: Who was more deserving of a Continental Tire Bowl invitation? North Carolina or Clemson? And who was more likely to get it?

The loser in that debate was going to get sent to Boise. Clearly, it sometimes is better to stay home.

Are Tigers fans out there feeling ripped off? It could've been a great pre-New Year's party down in Charlotte. Or are you happy to see your school take the high road and show that it values integrity?

Let's say right off the bat: We know that you don't care how difficult our jobs are. "Just give me the news and quit whining about how hard life is for you," you're thinking. You're right.

However, you, the reader, may like to read about certain athletes or teams or universities and may like to see certain questions answered. Sometimes it's about strategy, sometimes it's about personnel (and we understand rights to privacy), and sometimes it's about dollars and public institutions. It's not "the media" they should be answering to, it's you.

So here's a little of what's gone on in the last few days:

One thing that Skip Prosser acknowledged his Wake Forest basketball team had to do better this season was defend. Obviously, scoring wasn't a problem last year. And judging by last night's season-opening 97-76 result against GW, it's still not a problem. But the jury's still out on the 2nd-ranked Deacons' defense, which did manage to blow open 5-point game by surprising the Colonials with some triangle-and-two late.

What's the Wake fan's take on things? A solid win over a decent A-10 school? We have Chris Paul and you don't? Or nagging concerns that the Deacs' D will be their undoing in March?

NC State coach Chuck Amato has received some pretty good wardrobe tips from our readers -- I particularly like "the Bro" suggestion, for upper-body support -- on how to turn things around for the Wolfpack.

One person Amato should have turned to for help before going to the media for advice: Dawn Bunting's mystical friend who spread sage all over Kenan Stadium several weeks ago while doing incantations to chase away the losing spirits from John Bunting's UNC football team. That seems to have worked: the Heels went on to beat Georgia Tech, Chuck's Wolfpack and No.4 Miami and have a good shot at a bowl berth now.

Unless she has a no-rivals clause in her contract with Carolina, Chuck should call her up and tell her to bring the incense on over to Carter-Finley. And, while you're at it, Chuck, pass along her number to John Fox in Charlotte and George Small in Greensboro.

So, how about ACC bowl predictions? After a bizarre Saturday on which North Carolina stunned Miami and Maryland beat Florida State for the first time in about 15 tries, the league is out of the national championship running and has one fewer BCS contender. But, the good news is 10 of 11 schools remain in contention for a bowl game with 4 wins or more.

Who goes where? Back-from-the-dead Tar Heels to Boise, maybe? Stumbling State recovers and lands in Charlotte? The Hokies climb all the way into the Gator? Virginia to the Tangerine, er, Champs Sports Bowl? Where do you think your school's going during bowl season, and how confident are you in that prediction? Let us know.

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)?

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.

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?

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?

It looks like the Oakland Raiders may have found their next big-play receiver Sunday ... and in the most unlikely place: Ronald Curry.

The former UNC quarterback (and point guard) caught 5 passes for 89 yards and scored his first NFL touchdown, then had an impressive high jump into the crowd. That just demonstrated the amazing athleticism that seems to have gone to waste for a few years in Chapel Hill and a few more in Oakland.

So, forget trying to make him a quarterback, defensive back or kick returner. It looks like, at 25, Curry has found his niche at wide receiver. Is he for real? Should we all go pick him up for our fantasy-league teams?

Listening to Dan Reeves call the UNC-Virginia game reminds me of how Truman Capote must have felt in the fantastic film, "Murder By Death," where Peter Sellers' character -- who's Chinese and butchers English syntax -- finally drives him to the brink of insanity, and to exclaim: "Say your &@*%#! adverbs!"

At least 4 times, Reeves has referred to former UVa quarterback Matt Schaub as Matt SCHWAB. He's not an investment banker. He's just one of the best QB's in UVa football history. When Bill Dooley butchered names on the air -- like calling UVa QB Bobby Goodman "Benny Goodman" repeatedly -- it seemed somewhat endearing. This just seems disrespectful.

Terry Holland seems to have made another bizarre career choice, as he's reportedly about to be introduced as East Carolina's new athletics director. Not long ago, he was an AD of an ACC school with a much larger budget. I realize he was unfulfilled as a fundraiser for UVa's basketball-arena project. But ECU seems a strange career move, at least to me.

Am I right? Can he help make ECU more than a baseball school -- the billboard outside my window reminds me that's what the Pirates think of themselves -- and do anything that would successfully revive the football program? (Chances are, he won't land Al Groh for this job.) Or is this more about being close to his Clinton home and maybe a beach house as retirement approaches?

Turns out Bobby Washington is almost a shoo-in to land at N.C. State after Miami told the talented running back it probably wouldn't admit him because of a suspicious jump in his ACT score.

If Washington ends up in Raleigh, one has to wonder how this affects Ragsdale's star RB, Toney Baker, who is strongly considering signing with the Wolfpack in February.

The question for Wolfie fans: Who would you rather have? And are you confident Baker will say yes to State even if Washington comes in as a freshman this year and is the real deal?

ESPN has provided the latest fodder for combatants in the ongoing struggle between the Tar Heel and Blue Devil basketball fandoms. In its latest ESPN25 poll, they've rated the best COACHES of the last 25 years -- across all sports. Their "expert panel" has Dean Smith No.1 and Mike Krzyzewski No. 3 (Scotty Bowman is No. 2), while the fan poll has K No. 1 and Dean No. 2.

Or he just doesn't care? Seems odd that Rashad McCants couldn't make the USA Basketball roster, considering his obvious talents. So, was he a little too selfish for Kelvin Sampson's liking or maybe a little too disinterested in playing in this World Young Men tournament in Canada. C'mon, Sean May made it.

Oh, and did he really call Chris Paul the best point guard he ha's ever played with? I'm told he did. Any help in finding the actual quote would be appreciated.