State And Carolina Share Last Place

I am a person that when I watch sports on TV, especially if N.C. State is involved, I scream at the TV, complain about a ref's call, or question what the coach was thinking.

Not this year:

I just sit back and wait for the bottom to fall out. When I first got into doing play-by-play, I use to keep my own stats as the game went along. I did not have the luxury of Charles Alston sitting beside me feeding me the numbers.

Last night, while watching the State-Florida State game, I kept in my head as the second half unfolded a telling stat. I kept track of the trips down court and times scored. I then divided it into a second category. How many times did they shoot without the ball getting inside the foul line before a shot? If they were fouled and attempted foul shots, that counted as a made shot.

During the second half, the Wolfpack was 4-16 when the ball never got any closer than the foul line. They were 11-17 when they at least fed it inside for a shot or a passed it back outside.

With seven minutes to go the score and the Wolfpack ahead 61-57, they were 4-12 outside of the foul line and 10-11 inside. Then the wheels fell off.

I guess you are asking what do those stats tell me. Get the ball inside stupid! Unfortunately, the Wolfpack gets about five minutes of good guard play per half.

If Sidney Lowe survives to last as long as his contract, he must recruit a point guard.

It is very hard for any player to improve if they can't get the ball in a position to score where you are best suited. Because players aren't getting the ball at their best possible spots on the floor, every player looks as if they have not improved since they were freshmen.

I don't care how many 6-foot-9 All-Americans you have, if you can't get the ball at the right time, they can't showcase their talent.

Rumors:

Carolina has lost two of three and rumors abound that all the players who tested the NBA last spring and decided to come back are playing me ball instead of UNC ball. They are working to improve their 3-point shot instead of their baseline jumper.

What I see is teams are triple-teaming Hansbourgh. When he flops, like he normally does, he is not getting the calls he has gotten in the past.

Carolina's perimeter defense was awful against BC and Wake.

NFL:

Which team has the best quarterback left in the playoffs?

McNabb? Roethesberger? Flacco? No, the answer is Kurt Warner. The NFL's two-time MVP is third in the all-time quarterback ratings list at 94.3. That trails only Steve Young at 96.4 and Peyton Manning at 94.7.

Philip Rivers, my favorite player in the NFL needs 72 more pass attempts in his career and he will qualify for all career list with 1,500 attempts. Right now, he would be fourth. He has a career quarterback rating of 92.9 which ties him with Tom Brady.

Dan Marino, who I consider the best passer in the NFL since I have been watching, has a 86.6 rating. Brett Farve has a 85.3.

Exams are going on this week throughout the county. There is jubilation in our house as Morgan passed math. She can keep her job as basketball manager for another semester.