Making The Schedule

Last summer when everyone had a chance to look over the ACC football season schedule Tom O'Brien at N C State spoke up and said that he did not like playing Carolina the last game of the season.

When all they yeah "you don't want to get your butt kicked the last game of the season" talk was over O'Brien had a legitimate reason. He saw the possibility that when ever an Atlantic Division team played a Coastal division team the last game of the season there was that rare chance that they might have to turn around and play each other again the next week in the ACC championship game.

The short ACC championship game history has not had that problem yet, but if you continue scheduling games in that manner it will happen some day.

The NFL finds themselves having played three games yesterday which will in turn be played again next week in the first round of the playoffs.

Philadelphia must return next Saturday night to Dallas. Green Bay instead of hosting Arizona must now head to the desert. Finally, the New York Jets must go to Cincinnati.

Philadelphia lost at Dallas yesterday and I see no reason why they will not lose again. The first game of the NFL playoffs Saturday afternoon will be the Jets at Cincy. Flipflopping the game from New York to Cincinnati will make a big difference in the outcome next week, as well as Green Bay leaving the Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field to play in eighty degree Arizona.

The ACC needs to make sure the last game of the season is against teams from your division while the NFL needs to make sure the season ends playing opposite divisions. Then we will not have to watch such games as Philadelphia and Dallas play two straight weeks.

The rule never put the team behind on the foul line while you are ahead stood tall yesterday as N C State fouled Florida twice in the last ten seconds to keep Florida from trying to shoot a three pointer to tie. What happened was Florida scored seven points in the last ten seconds to win.

It's been thirty years since N C State won a football championship, and twenty three since a basketball title. Ever since the Jim Valvano firing, State has tried to live by the Academics over athletics which I totalaly believe in. However I don't think that means you can't find coaches who understand in order to win you must have more points than the other team.