I read two great letters to the editor in a recent edition of the News & Observer. Not great in the sense of impressive, but great in the sense that I laughed out loud at them and couldn’t wait to write about them. Unfortunately, I can’t find the damn things, so I’ll just paraphrase them…
Each year when I do my NCAA Tournament predictions, I fill out my bracket and submit it to whatever pool I’m in. I also keep a copy of my sheet to track my progress. When I get a game right, I highlight it in yellow. When I get it wrong, I highlight it in pink,…
There seemed to be a lack of upsets in the first round this year, with only three higher seeds advancing. It was kind of curious given the relative volatility of the top 25 rankings this year. Maybe the teams in the power conferences have finally realized that you can’t take any NCAA games for granted.…
Oh, Richmond! The Spiders almost did it again. I picked Wisconsin in my pool, but I was pulling hard for Richmond. I can’t help it. Unless it’s an ACC team in trouble, I always pull for the underdog. Richmond is sort of underdog royalty. It’s amazing how a few upsets over a nearly 20 year…
Whew! Wake Forest damn near blew my up my brackets just a few hours into the first day. For some reason, and I’m blaming it on those damn squirrels, I ended up with Wake in my Final Four. Not a great idea, probably, but I certainly didn’t want to lose them in the first round.…
The ACC had a great regular season. It regularly had five teams ranked and finished with six in the final polls. The league really was competitive from top to bottom, as demonstrated by having six of nine teams make the NCAA tournament and two more make the NIT. Only Clemson missed out on the postseason,…
Basketball is a great sport. It’s fast, physical, graceful and beautiful. Many have compared a well-played game to jazz – the participants engaging in free-form improvisation while adhering to common, recurring themes and practiced set pieces. There is a growing problem with the music though – a few false notes sprinkled occasionally throughout the music.…
On Thursday, the fifty-first ACC tournament begins. Well, at least the Les Robinson Invitational takes place. The tournament really starts in earnest on Friday. This is a great time of year for ACC fans – our Christmas season. We get a great tournament this weekend and then a few days of rest before the NCAA…
What a year it’s been in the ACC! Yes, everyone else has already said it, but for once the general media has it right. It was a great year and I hope it continues. I can’t remember a year when the conference was so competitive from top to bottom. There may not be a great…
It never ceases to amaze me how many people think that basketball production can be summed up merely by total points scored. Case in point, the headline in today’s News and Observer, “Lewis leads Jackets over Seminoles.” A quick look at the box score tells you why the headline writer (probably someone at the AP)…