Sunday, December 26, 2010

2nd is up for grabs. Congrats Coach K

Say what u want. Its time to see who can battle for 2nd place in the Regular Season of the ACC. 3rd and 4th will be up for grabs as well. And worse if you don't kick it into gear quickly. It looks like Duke can go undefeated in the ACC. Even saying "anything can happen" doesn't sound that great right now. It has been a rough start for the conference.

Congrats to Coach K and his achievement in passing Coach Smith for second on the all time record(I know game is the 29th) You coaches have been a thrill for this area! You two have made College and USA Basketball even more exciting that it already was. Still the best for holding egos in check!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Heels need to quit playing chicken.

Okay Carolina it time to quit playing scared basketball! Enough is enough! First of all its an honor to wear those colors and be apart of one of the greatest winning programs EVER!(U haters can stop gagging now) U highly ranked rookies need to get with the Program. Obviously you are very talented. Because Carolina wouldn't have looked at you! YOU HAVE TO GIVE ROY A REASON TO PUT U IN A ROTATION! It all starts with a point guard. This is a huge problem. Carolina has been blessed over the years with great point guard leadership and Larry Drew is not the answer. "Give him a break you say". Last year was forgiven and you are supposed to be better than what you were. In all the years that I have followed Carolina Basketball they have had a leader. 2010(last/this season) has been the worst I have ever seen. Yes even 2002, and they were awful. Carolina was spoiled by Ty Lawson and some plug in play doll named Hansbrough. Reloading from their departures have been very challenging. Didn't have any leadership with Thompson or Ginyard. If your point guard can't be the leader on the floor then it is someone elses job to be the leader(Zeller?) If this does not happen soon. You are going to get what you have been getting and thats unnacceptable! Hey Harrison! Is it just hype? Please stop playing like you are chicken! Illinois, Kentucky and Texas are coming up very soon! Better get in gear! U don't want to go into conference season with a limp.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Pigskin and Hoops

Well like predicted The ACC had high hopes by having 5 teams in top 25 preseason poll. That didn't fare well so we knew they would beat each other up. Virginia Tech is waiting to see who they will meet for the ACC Championship next week in Charlotte. One of those teams is NC State who last won the ACC in 1979. That team finished 5-1 in the Conference and 7-4 overall. They were to play in The Garden State bowl but declined due to exams. That was actually a year the Conference was Good in football. If memory serves me right.(which it does) The conference won a few bowl games that year and beat some SEC opponents in their house.(That was back then) Now State must beat Maryland on their Senior Day at their place to have a rematch with the Hokies who came back to upend the Pack earlier this season in Raleigh. Florida State will go to Charlotte if Maryland wins. There will be several rivalry games as well. Carolina- Duke Virginia - Virginia Tech South Carolina- Clemson Georgia Tech - Georgia and Florida- Florida St. These games will be played for bragging rights in their respective States and gives the winning school an advantage in their recruiting battles.

This will pretty much end the football Regular Season and throw us into the basketball season starting with the ACC-BIG 10 Challenge. Hopefully some of us get to see better things from our teams who have gotten off to a rocky start. Some have gotten off to a promising start and are looking for their respect. The Challenge will help them possibly earn it.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Its early but scary!

I am hoping this early season will help teams get better by March. Carolina fans didn't expect to be 2-2 two days before Thanksgiving. Lots of talent BUT. The only consolation in losing to Minnesota and Vandy is that maybe these teams will compete in their conferences and possibly make The Big Dance. Roy has got to find a combination that will work. Heres an idea. Leslie McDonald should be getting more playing time than Justin Watts. I think its great he(Watts) hustles in practice but last time I checked practices should improve game skills. Game skills are not there for him just yet. And most obviously if Larry Drew is going to be a stud point guard he better get it in gear. Barnes and Bullock will be fine. Hensen and Zeller need to eat 20,000 calories a day! Fatten up boys,its going to be a long year!


NC State has a young and exciting team.(They have been young for the last decade) Having a chance to watch this team play on TV a few times was a nice experience. These kids can play! Even in the loss to Georgetown they showed signs of being really good. Its up to Sidney Lowe to find a way to make it all mesh.This should be his best team. It seems like Gonzalez has been there longer than ever but he has steadily improved and has a chance to mentor this young "raw talent".

Duke is Duke. They are loaded with talent and are the class of the ACC at this point. That really hurt to say! Dick Vitale is constantly sweating Coach K. I usually like Dukie V but he really got on my nerves last night. Duke has all the tools to repeat! But am not saying they will. Their match up with Kansas State should be very entertaining!

Wake Forest is a mess! This team won a game in the NCAAs last year. I think they just lost to my nephews Jr High team. That new coach really has his hands full! Georgia Tech lost to Kennesaw State and I will wait a while to talk about them. Just saw Virginia get HOUSED by Washington. Havent seen Va.Tech play yet but have heard they are pretty good. While Vitale stopped jabbering about Duke. He did mention how talented Maryland was and that they have been exciting thus far. I have not seen Clemson, FloridaSt, or BC. But heard they(BC)lost to a no name school. ACC-BIG 10 challange is next week. Lets hope it gets better!



Happy Turkey Day Folks!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

This may be the year BCS gets it right - WRALSportsFan.com

This may be the year BCS gets it right - WRALSportsFan.com STILL WANT PLAYOFFS!!

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Time to beat each other up!

ACC football is finally here. They obviously aren't ready for the Big stage but they are ready to knock each other around for a few months. There are alot of questions to be answered during this time. The biggest surprise to me right now besides NCStates 4-0 start is a depleted North Carolina team that are a few plays from 3-0. I will not start with the what ifs but playing close games with these back up kids is amazing. Saturday against East Carolina should be a shootout. ECU can put points on the board but have a difficult time stopping people as well. They allow 41 pts per game so Carolinas 4th team defense had better be ready!(kidding but some 4th stringers are probably playing)


Russell Wilson is possibly where he left off from last season before baseball started. He is pretty good at that too. There have been comparisons to Charlie Ward.(I know he played basketball) Wilson sure playes like him. They have a lot of simililarites and want to be on the field with the game on the line. He has become the best Field General since Phillip Rivers was in Raleigh. Saturday is a huge chance for him to spotlight infront of a National Television audience. He has one National TV win and looked good in doing so. They will not be playing Cincinnati saturday. Virginia Tech is the favorite to win the ACC Crown along with Clemson, Miami and Florida State. Saturdays game is a huge measuring stick for both teams,especially NC State. Virginia Tech is used to being the favorites and they are still mad from a 0-2 start. They know they have a lot to prove but State feels the same way and 4-0 being ranked in the nations top 25 should give them enough incentive. 5-0 would be amazing!! Its time to put the women and children to bed and go looking for dinner.

Friday, September 24, 2010

UNC: Tutor not cooperating with football investigation - WRALSportsFan.com

UNC: Tutor not cooperating with football investigation - WRALSportsFan.com

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Is it time for BASKETBALL?

Which game was more important for the ACC this weekend? Hope nobody voted!

Cincinnati at NC State
Maryland at West Virginia
East Carolina at Virginia Tech
BYU at Florida State
Alabama at Duke
Clemson at Auburn
Wake Forest at Stanford


FYI- Duke and Wake Forest lost by a combined score of 130-37, after their shootout in Winston Salem last week. State and Florida State won impressively over quality teams.(they were good last year) Lets not forget Clemson finding a way to lose. Carolina fumbling away another 4th quarter drive(dont care if its a conference game). Also locally ECU was given a dose of reality by a pissed off Virginia Tech team.Losing by the same score they pasted Memphis with(49-27) last week. This was a week for the ACC show off that preseason hype again. This sure is not the year! Its time for some hoops! The only thing I learned this weekend was the Carolina Panthers are the best(College)team in the state of North Carolina!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

A MESS!!

Well this was a Saturday for the ACC to show its improvement, and they "stunk up the joint"! Miami and Florida State showed why they have hit the skids over the years. But they had big wins over crappy opponents last week! Both got their butts kicked on the road. Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech were upset by teams that honestly had no business being on the same field with them. NC State held on to beat Central Florida on the road and Virginia shut USC down but still lost. But The ACC game of the day was Duke and Wake Forest,who put on a score fest. 70 pts were scored in first half. 102pts in all. This will be another year of ACC teams beating up on each other in conference play. They are still a step behind everyone else in College Football and it doesn't look any better next week as Alabama comes to play Duke. At least it will be tied at kick off! Basketball cannot get here soon enough!!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

An interesting first week. 2nd week even better!

The first weekend of College Football came and left with a sense of what lies ahead for the rest of the season. There were expected blow outs,last second finishes and major upsets. I am still in shock(like many others) that Jacksonville St won at Ole Miss. Alabama is still the best in the land. Granted they beat a cream puff, like Ohio State, Georgia,Florida State, Miami and Florida(who struggled) did as well. North Carolina who was missing 13 players made LSU sweat it out in Atlanta. Virginia Tech did the same to Boise State (except Boise rallied to win). Both had great comebacks that fell short. Next week there are some really good match ups and should make for another exciting week of college football. Competition will be much stiffer than last weekend. There are alot of talented quarterbacks this year. Several will be on display this weekend.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Tough Time at UNC Board of Governors Meeting

Some meetings you just have to see to believe.

Meeting Video

UNC players, under cloud, won't make trip to Atlanta - WRALSportsFan.com

UNC players, under cloud, won't make trip to Atlanta - WRALSportsFan.com Anyone shocked?

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

UNC's Marvin Austin suspended indefinitely from football team - WRALSportsFan.com

UNC's Marvin Austin suspended indefinitely from football team - WRALSportsFan.com More to come!

Friday, August 27, 2010

Your day has come!

Okay you Carolina haters your wishes are coming true. The Tarheel Football program is facing a lot of trouble from the NCAA. As a Tarheel fan I am dissapointed in the actions that have transpired over the last month. Carolina got caught.("Right Tiger"?) Plain and simple! The stereotype is everyone does it. At least until you get caught. Apparently Carolinas flawless record of academic achievement has been tarnished, and "oh boy" the jokes will come a flying! People are already upset because Carolina gets more press than any other school in the state. It will now be a good read for the typical Carolina Hater. I heard someone say "thank goodness its not the basketball team". In my heart I feel it still happened.(Regardless of the sport) I really felt like this team was good and tough enough to hang with the big boys and possibly earn something better than a Carquest Bowl bid. Now with all the distractions and possible suspensions they will be lucky to even hang with one of the better teams in LSU. This was supposed to be a measuring stick of where they stand with the nations elite. The SEC has their arrogance in football, like the ACC has in basketball. The SEC deserves to be that way, in having the last 4 BCS National Champions. There were high hopes for this conference and I still think they will be better than in years past. But back to Carolina. Its time to take what ever punishment that comes your way and man up! How could a coach who has a reputation of cleaning up messes left by other coaches and players, not know this was going on? Especially when it was his kid being tutored. Then again I don't know the whole story.You're guilty until proven innocent in this country or something like that. I am more passionate about Carolina Basketball than football. Most Carolina fans are! These infractions could damage recruiting efforts for future prospects in years to come. ABCers(Anybody but Carolina) rejoice! This is the day you have waited for.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

UNC to update NCAA investigation Thursday - WRALSportsFan.com

UNC to update NCAA investigation Thursday - WRALSportsFan.com

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Walk the walk

The ACC enters the 2010 season in a respectable position thanks in large part to having 5 teams in the preseason polls. But that and a quarter will get Florida State, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Miami and Virginia Tech a soda out of our company vending machine. What happens during the course of the season is what really matters. So how many ACC teams will be left standing at the end of the year?

In 2005, the ACC had 5 teams in the final AP Top 25. The conference has its work cut out for them in they want to match the league record in this year.

The Coastal Division alone is a stumbling block. It wouldn't be a shock to see a team headed to the ACC Championship game with 2 conference losses in the standings.

Now go outside the league. The ACC takes on 11 teams ranked in the AP preseason poll. Of the potential BCS contenders in the conference, there are pitfalls early on -- from Virginia Tech's game against Boise State to Miami's road games against Ohio State and Pittsburgh. Lets hope the ACC is better than we think. There are a few games to try and proove that. Winning solves everything!

Bowden tells AP he was pushed out by Florida State - WRALSportsFan.com

Bowden tells AP he was pushed out by Florida State - WRALSportsFan.com

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Tide starts where it finished: No. 1 - WRALSportsFan.com

Tide starts where it finished: No. 1 - WRALSportsFan.com Hey ACC time to earn RESPECT!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Vols want to eliminate UNC game from 2011 schedule - WRALSportsFan.com

Vols want to eliminate UNC game from 2011 schedule - WRALSportsFan.com

Sunday, August 15, 2010

What if?

Okay folks time to claim your know it all status. Once again your team(s) are asking. What if? If things would have gone a certain way, then this would have happened. It would have been different. WOULDA COULDA SHOULDA My dad used to say. "If a buzzard had a picicclo up his ass.There would be music in the air". Another one was"if you lie down with dogs, you get fleas". Some schools are waiting for their punishment of the no nos agents and players thought they could get away with. Others return from a season that had asked What if? The only one that isn't really asking is Alabama. The Crimson Tide steam rolled their way to a conference and a National Championship. Their 13th! They had to win some close games. One in particular Tennessee. Call it what ever you want, but a great play or plays happens on the road to a championship. It was not luck . It was a GREAT play made on defense! That blocked FG was amazing! Mt Cody had errupted! His second of the day! Florida and Texas were on nice runs of their own until they played Bama. By the way Bama still wins if McCoy is healthy. All three of these teams could be playing in December and possibly in the ALL MIGHTY BCS Championship Game if not penalized by the NCAA for violations that could be a HUGE blow to a teams season. There are other teams that should be in the mix for other BCS Bowl games. Many asking. "What if"?

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Here we go! Its about that time!

Its almost that time of the year where pigskins will be flying. Eventually in a stadium near you. This is the time to stay friendly with your season ticket friends. If the tickets are available. Take full advantage of this opportunity and go. Most games are a lot of fun. And the seats are usually very good!(with a parking pass!) This is a season with alot of anticipation and excitement. At this time everyone is unbeaten and eligible for those coveted BCS Bowl bids(conferences that are eligible) Those dreams of your teams playing in the conference championship game on that cold December Saturday( where you go to a special place where you cannot be bothered with real life at that time. ) Everyone has their superstitions and rituals. (You know who you are) It seems like over the last few years SEC and The Big whatever it is (formerly Big 12)games are aired again on ESPN Classic the next day or so.! Time to make sure calendar is cleared. Unless you have to work or have an event to go like a Wedding and cannot watch. You have to keep hitting refresh on your phone for game updates and hopefully your wife or signifigant other will not catch you in the act. I know there are some that are ok with that. Then there are others...... Will not go there!

Is this going to be the year you have been dreaming about for your team? Go ahead you have less than a month(2 weeks) to fantasize before reality sets in. More to come!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Duke, Fans, K, Purnell

Lots of thoughts, little time...

Congratulations Duke. What an awesome game. It wasn't perfect. Maybe not even as good a game as CBS and K would have us think, but Wow is Butler good, and amazing that this duke team won a national championship.

I was almost sure that Stall-Ball was going to undo Duke. I still think it was a mistake, but then again, I don't have any national championships, and K has 4. Great call to miss the free-throw. Despite the all too painful memory of Florida beating State this year in a similar situation because of the miss and a bomb, I am convinced it is the best call.

99% of Carolina fans SUCK, as do probably 75% of State fans for not pulling for Duke in this tournament. It only elevates our programs to have another triangle based championship. Not to mention it actually gets each ACC school a bigger check. Maybe it is just a sign of how society as a whole has changed, kind of like how Washington is broken and Republicans and Democrats have to hate each other and insult each other to further their own agendas, but I sure miss the days where we hated each other when we play, but we'd all pull for ACC when outside the league. Most Carolina fans I know now would pull for Iran over Duke. Even worse, most Duke fans would pull for Kentucky over UNC.

My 9 year old son (I think he's 9 now) has seen two championship games. My earliest basketball memory is David Thompson busting his head in the NCAA and returning from the hospital with his head wrapped as State continued on its way to the NCAA Championship. And I was hooked for life. My kids memories are of two ACC championships. I've trained him right, we can be State fans and Hate the arrogant Heels and rich Dukies during the season, but come tournament time, we pull for the ACC. I did have to pause and remind him firmly though that we are State fans when he wanted to paint his hair Blue for school today. I told him No, and reminded him that if somehow it came out light blue, we'd have to shave his head.

Have you noticed the kinder, gentler Coach K? He's making his best effort to be a nice guy with the press, and I think is understanding more that some of the Duke-hating has been his fault, and he's trying to fix it. I can't help but see similarities between this change and the softer, more fan friendly Tiger Woods we are going to see this year. Maybe K went to Alabama for asshole rehab? OK, cheap shot. But let's be honest, both have been the absolutely best at what they do, and while they both have done absolutely great things outside of their sport that don't get much attention, they've both also been abrupt, quick tempered, and abusive to fans and press at times. Let's hope they both continue to realize they can actually be nice and still succeed at the highest level.


Oliver Purnell to Depaul. I am shocked, but shouldn't be. This is very much like a non-firing similar to Herb's departure from state. If fans complain enough and there is a lateral move out there for a fresh start, why wouldn't a smart coach take it. I think Oliver is a great coach whose teams have really excited me and repeatedly disappointed me. Here's hoping Clemson can find a good one. The ACC needs a coaching upgrade similar to the UVA hire last year.

I love college basketball, and thank god it is over. Masters here I come.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Thank God for Duke

Love them, or love to hate them, thank goodness we have Duke this year to give the Final Four relevance on Tobacco Road. They survived 2 wars to make it to Indy, and I'm really glad they did. This team may not be great, but how can you not appreciate smart kids who work their butt's off and give it their best every time out.

Let me place a vote now for new policy to reseed the final four. This year reminds me a bit of the year that Duke beat UNLV in the semi's. While MSU/Butler may surprise us, it sure feels like Duke vs. WV is the championship game.

Monday, February 1, 2010

What's up with the ACC?

A lot has happened since the last post. Random thoughts below:

-State beats duke in one magical night then comes back down to earth. Hopefully that win and a couple of other bigs ones buys Sidney a couple of more years. He's on the right track.

-Has anyone else noticed how unlike Dean, Roy, and K that Sidney is when talking about what went wrong in a loss. He'll take his share of blame, but he doesn't quite protect his players like most college coaches do. When Javier and Horner are playing like crap, he'll publicly call them out on it. It is somewhat disconcerting after fans being trained to expect coaches to protect their guys at all cost. It isn't like Sidney is pulling a Doherty, I really think he loves the kids. But really, these guys are pretty much men, they can take it right? Maybe it is the NBA background that has him calling out guys that aren't getting it done. I'm not sure yet, but I think I like it.

-UVA is for real. They aren't great, but they are greatly improved. For all those UVA fans who were underwhelmed by the coaching choice, what you got to say now?

-UNC, Wow. That is about all I can say. Sure, you beat State. You are better than State. But you aren't better than many other teams right now. Such a shame Clemson doesn't get to play at the Dean Dome this year. I know the heels will be great again starting next year, but a little humbleness is attractive in the normally smug heel fans. Wait 'till last year ;)

-Duke looks terrible, Duke looks Great. Clemson is amazing, Clemson sucks. Who the hell can figure out Maryland. The ACC is down again. Is this a serious trend? Has expansion really hurt the league. Has Big East expansion really helped them? Is it a major leveling of the playing field everywhere? Or is it just a blip that is soon to be reversed? I'm pretty sure nobody knows.

-I HATE his writing style, but really interesting article from BobLeeSays about the point shaving era in ACC Basketball at
http://bobleesays.agilesite.com/archives/all/-Lefty-,--Ace-,-Doug-and--Dutch-.aspx

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Wood on Fire - White Boy can SHOOT - Racism in Basketball Fandom


NC State freshman Scott Wood was on fire last night, and NC State rode it, and great free throw shooting to a big upset at #25 FSU last night.

Wood hit 7 3's and played an all-around great game. Much maligned Julius Mays hit a great string from the line to seal the victory, and Wolfpack Nation is happy.

State fans have been expecting this from Wood, but his early season shooting woes worried everyone, including his coach. But good shooters always come out of slumps.

I'm very excited about Wood and the future. But I also can't seem to shake the memory of Migjen Bakali. If my memory serves me correctly, I remember sitting in Reynolds watcing Bakali as a freshman light up Duke with 7 3's. He never quite lived up to what we expected after that.

All season I had been wondering how a white boy from Indiana ends up playing at NC State for a black coach. I now know that it was because he's from the same high school Julius Mays came from. But the bigger question is why was I wondering that at all? I think, because I'm a racist. I was going to say a reverse racist, but really a racist is a racist.

What do I mean by reverse racist? Since the days of Phil Ford, I've found myself pretty much assuming a black player was going to be better than a white one. I remember my shock sitting in Charmichael Auditorium the first time I saw Jeff Lebo. All the hype I had heard about him before he arrived in Chapel Hill had me assuming he had to be black. Despite freaks of nature like Wes Welker and Bobby Hurley, I always assume the black kid is going to be faster than the white one. Like Herb Sendek, I would have assumed there is no way Jeff Blake is going to be better than Cliff Crawford.

I know I'm not alone in seeing color as a fan of college basketball. Some Duke fans like Duke a little more because they are so white. I wouldn't even remember the name of 80's Clemson player Murray Jarman, were it not for the fact that as a white boy, he could really, really jump.

I'm not sure what it says about me, or US, but I couldn't help be struck by how much we notice these things. Good or bad, wrong or right, I couldn't help but at least notice last night when NC State had 3 white guys on the court at the same time. Should I feel bad that in 2010 I still make note of it? Am I a bit happier because the kid hitting 7 3-pointers is white? Do I give myself a pass because my favorite player is Puerto Rican, or my teams coach is black? Beats me.

Monday, January 11, 2010

The future looks bright...The Present Sucks

Hubert Davis just said "Don't overlook NC State".
http://www.wralsportsfan.com/ncsu/story/6782340/

I think he's right, State will beat some people this year. They should. There are some bright spots. Unfortunately all of the sentences talking about positives about NC State are two-parters. They all state a positive despite a negative.

Even though he isn't quite tall enough to play center in the ACC, Tracy Smith has some amazing moves around the basket.

While not as tall or as strong as Kyle Singler, Scott wood can really shoot the ball.

What Javier Gonzalez lacks in raw talent, he makes up for in effort and a never back down attitude.

This is what this year is going to be like. This team is a painful joy to watch. When on, they can flat out shoot the 3. But no lead is ever safe, because they can't shoot free throws. Their perimeter defense can be very Duke-like at times, but can just as quickly be exposed by a well run scheme.

Sidney Lowe I believe is a master at identifying a weakness and designing some pretty complex and involved plays to get exactly the shot he wants. When it works, it is a thing of beauty. But the team may not be disciplined or talented enough to pull it off most of the time.

I'm about 90% convinced at this point that NC State is going the right direction and within a year or two we will once again regularly be making the tournament. But man is it going to be an up-and-down journey until then.

One other thing of note I came across recently that gives Pack fans something to hang their pride on. In the 2009 Academic Progress Rate put out by the NCAA, the NC State basketball team scored 995 out of possible 1000.

This reporting system is designed to grade teams on academic performance, and punish those (by taking away scholarships) who aren't making the grade. NC State ranks #1 in the ACC. (For those of you in CH and Durham who may not be real quick at drawing conclusions, this means they ranked above UNC and Duke).

Congratulations to coach Lowe and the team on this accomplishment.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Upsets, Miracles, Curses

What a crazy couple of days. Bobby Cremmins gets an upset over UNC. Even Heel fans have to have a little appreciation for that one. If I were Cremmins, I'd retire today!

The NC State/Florida game still has me dazed. My brain still hasn't completely processed what I saw. To quickly summarize for those who were too distracted by the Panthers 3rd straight win:

Most people thought NC State didn't have the talent to stay with Florida. Florida isn't great, but they've got some talent. The Pack hung with them the entire game, I'd say probably even lead more than not. Trailing by 2 near the end, as we've seen so many times, Javier comes up with a huge play to tie the game, and we go into overtime.

Javier hits a 3, and State looks like they have the game won, up 6 in overtime. FL hits a 3, State starts misisng free throws. Lowe pulls a card from the Valvano deck and starts fouling to not give up a 3. They hit theirs, we miss ours.

Now here is where even the casual fan starts to think maybe NC State is cursed. This curse idea is common to all bottom dwellers, but anytime there is losing and guilt, the word curse is going to come up. Guilt? Oh yes, there is a lot of guilt in wolfpack nation. We feel a little guilt for all the luck we used up winning in '83. We feel guilt over the fact all standards were thrown out the door during the mid-to-late 80's. We feel guilt over firing Valvano. We feel guilt that V died, most of us assuming the firing somehow caused it. We feel guilt that we didn't appreciate Herb and ran him off. Guilty Losers soon conjur up curses.

How else do you explain it? With 3 seconds to go, down 2, Florida tries to miss a free throw. The kid tries to throw it off the back of the rim. Only, it goes in. Now, state up 2 with 2 seconds to go, we miss the free throw. That isn't so bad. I actually said moments before, "you are almost better off missing this one".

Obviously not. You could offer Chandler Parsons a million dollars and give him 20 tries, and he couldn't hit that 75 foot shot again.

How do you explain something like that? It has to be a curse ;)