Holtz Bolts Pirates

I am not one of these people that believes that the world is going to end for all the ECU football players now that Skip Holtz has moved to Tampa and South Florida after all any athlete who is getting a free education just because they run fast or catch a ball is living out a dream.

Whether it is Holtz,Kiffin, or Pete Carroll they have all live up to the requirements of their contract. If they hadn't lawsuits would be flying all over the place. I find them to be no different from me or you that if someone called and offered more money,more opportunity I'd jump too. We live in a society that people leave their jobs everyday for $10 a week more down the road.

What I feel in Skip Holtz case is to the naked eye South Florida doesn't look like a step up when in fact it is. They are in the Big East a conference that ECU would jump at in a minute if they were invited.

A major decision in athletics at ECU in the near future is non qualifying athletes. Southern Mississippi a member with ECU in Conference USA has for years tried to get other members of the conference including ECU to quit accepting players that don't meet academic standards after high school graduation.

This point is a major sticking point on why Carolina and NC State hate to play ECU in football. ECU accepts players that Carolina and State can't get in school. This is also a major reason ECU is in Conference USA and nothing better. This is why Skip Holtz is not being offered jobs like Tennessee because he hasn't proved he can win without the non-qualifiers.

Terry Holland has done a terrific job in Greenville as Athletic Director. I am sure ECU can bring in a coach who can continue the winning as Holtz has done.

Tonight high school sports cranks up again after the EOC break. The Gryphons jump in the frying pan taking on Hunt at Hunt. The Warriors and Gryphons are tied with Fike as the only undefeated team at 1-0 in conference play. A win by either side helps get a leg up in the early conference standings.

Back to college football for a minute. Rumors are flying that David Cutcliffe of Duke is on Tennessee's list as a possible coach. I know this would be bad for the Blue Devils but to me he seems perfect for Tennessee. If Tennessee says no to Cutcliffe, hey ECU Cutcliffe would look good in Purple! I doubt that Tennessee will not take him however.

Must Have Been The Bus Crash

Yesterday the UNC Basketball bus on the way to their shoot around at Clemson was involved in a fender bender. Last night while playing their conference basketball game at Clemson the Tar Heels were involved in a crash which involved the entire team.

I don't believe I have ever seen Carolina out of a game from the get go like last night. They had twenty six turnovers which ties for the most in Chapel Hill during the Roy Williams era.

Luckily for Carolina their 54 game home winning streak again Clemson in Chapel Hill is not in jeopardy because Clemson doesn't come to Chapel Hill this year. The way I saw it last night there are several more conferences losses heading the Tar Heel way this year as long as their point guards are inconsistent and their big men up front play like stick men.

Is it possible Carolina will not make the NCAA tournament this year? Despite this Carolina team not being the Carolina team that we see most of the time the Clemson fans stormed the court anyway.

Duke beat Boston College last night in the fashion they beat most teams in Durham. Looks as if Duke is the best in the ACC this year but I don't see any team from the ACC making the final four.

Looking nationally the two best teams Texas and Kentucky both have Chris Paul like guards running the show for them.

Lane Kiffin had not even arrived in LA yesterday before Tennessee football fans were hollering foul. Seems Vol fans are claiming Kiffin and his coaches were on the phone with Tennessee recruits trying to get them to switch from their Tennessee commitment.

Does any body see Lane Kiffin in college football to be what John Calipari is in college basketball? Everywhere he goes he leaves the school in turmoil and NCAA trouble but comes out smelling like a rose every time.

Exam week

This area is slow this week with high school sports because this week is exam week or to be politically correct EOC week. In my day they were called exams but we don't want to put to much pressure on our children so let's call them something that doesn't sound as hard. Our kids must make a grade point average of 81 after the EOC's or they must retake their exams or excuse me EOC's again on Friday.

There is celebration in our household as Morgan made 92 on Biology on Monday in which I had to review material that I have not had since the Ice Age. I wasn't much help in the 94 she made Tuesday in English.

Friday sports returns and the Gryphons will travel to Hunt. If we can go by non-conference portion as an indicator Hunt looks like the team that if we can sweep them Friday the Gryphons will have a leg up on everyone in basketball.

This past Saturday the Big East held the duels in wrestling. Like in tennis this is the team championship part of wrestling and Northern Nash won the conference championship whipping the Gryphons for the title. Later on the individual championships will be held.

Last night N C State found someone in the ACC worse than them as the Wolfpack won 88-81. Yesterday I talked about point guard play and I kept up last night with the number of passes made in the first half. The Wolfpack made 108 passes outside the three point line in the first half resulting in fifteen points. They made eleven passes that started outside the three point line and went across the line resulting in twelve points. The remaining eleven first half points occurred from steals and no passes or shots taken with no pass involved. Eleven times they went inside and scored twelve points. Basketball is an easier game when you get close to the basket over passing outside the three point line and never attacking the basket.

Wake beat Maryland at home in OT 89-87. Carolina has a real test tonight with a a visit to Clemson.

Looks like Skip is leaving ECU as Holtz was rumored to have interviewed yesterday for the South Florida job. Hold the phone, with Pete Carroll leaving Southern Cal and Lane Kiffin leaving Tennessee for Southern Cal the coaching carousel is in the works and if I was Holtz I would wait a week or two to see where the dominoes fall over the next week. Who knows the Notre dame job may be open again.

Depressing Days in Wolfpack Country

The battle for last place in ACC basketball Virginia beat N C State in Raleigh. Now if this is suppose to be last place battle and you can't beat Virginia at home then you must assume State can't beat anybody.

If you watched the game Saturday they put a graphic on the screen which pretty much was the last straw for me with Sidney Lowe. His first three years he was 15-33 in conference play. They are now 0-2 in his fourth year.

Lowe who has won about 53% of all his games will never get past this year unless this team pulls a Herb Sendeck and almost wins the ACC Tournament. By the way, folks in Raleigh pretty much ran Sendeck out of town at a winning percentage of almost 60%.

The basketball team has not won the conference since 1987, football 1979. You must know that Wolfpack fans have to be the most loyal in the world. The football stadium is filled every game with sixty thousand and sometimes basketball will put nineteen thousand in the house. I doubt there will be a basketball sellout for the remainder of this year as long as Lowe is there. That's the way as fans you protest when things are not going well, you don't go to the games.

I find it hard to believe that Lowe and Towe two glorious point guards from past Wolfpack national champions can't find a point guard. I judge point guards from their first pass once they get into the offensive end of the court.

State doesn't have any players of All american caliber, but they have some really good ones who when they are given the ball when they are ready to score can put it in the hole. A Tyler Hansbourough for Carolina could not bring the ball down the court and score. He had to rely on a point guard to get him the ball when he was open.

Seems as if every year is look who we have coming next year. This year was next year, last year.

Carolina has a point guard problem this year and Carolina fans are pulling their hair out. Point guards are what make any basketball teams go.

Sidney Lowe to have been a great point guard on a national championship team should know what one looks like and you would think know how to teach to be a point guard.

Then there is always look what we got coming next year.

Wild Card Games a Dud Until Last One

Saturday's wild card NFL playoff games were dominated by the team that had already won the same game in week 17 or the final week of the regular season.

Sunday's first game saw the most mighty team of the decade the New England Patriots play as it was time for a new decade and new team of the decade losing by twenty at home.

The night cap of the weekend started and seemed destined to be like all the others as the Cardinals jumped to a 17-0 lead over the frozen tundraless Green Bay Packers.

The NFL is touting itself as a passing league these days and after three games and one quarter of the fourth running had dominated the three playoff games in the books.

Finally the quarterbacks took over and the end result may have been the most entertaining playoff game in NFL history. The way the offenses moved the ball winning the coin toss for overtime was a one way ticket to victory for Green Bay. Not so fast my friend" a fumbled touchdown put a capper on the second highest scoring playoff game in history. Who would have thunk it, that the winning score would come from the Cardinal's defense.

So now we are down to eight. This Saturday opening game will send Dallas to Minnesota. You have to give Tony Romo his due. He is now the third highest rated quarterback in NFL history and he will be going head to head with the most over hyped in Brett Favre.

Saturday night's prime time game will send Baltimore to Indianapolis to take on MVP Peyton Manning and the Colts. This will be the now Colts taking on the use to be Colts. Have the Colts killed their momentum losing on purpose their last two games? Can Baltimore really beat anybody good completing only four passes like they did this past Sunday?

Sunday's first game will send Arizona to New Orleans. This might be the game next weekend that it will take fifty to win. The team that actually makes a stop in this game may be the winner.

The late Sunday headliners will be the J-E-T-S taking on the San Diego Chargers. Has anybody noticed that the top four vote getters in the MVP voting will be playing for the first time next weekend. Manning,Brees.Rivers and Favre.

If the NFL has truly changed to a passing league, we will find out next weekend.

How Bout Them Cowboys

Before everyone anoints the Cowboys Super Bowl champions I would like to remind everyone that the Carolina Panthers, Tennessee Titans and the Arizona Cardinals have been in the Super Bowl Since Dallas last won a playoff game.

Denver has won the super bowl twice and the lowly St Louis Cardinals who won once and lost one since a Dallas playoff victory.

Dallas the last two weeks have looked like world beaters or should we say Philly beaters. Even the game before that they beat that power house New York Giants who the last two games scored only sixteen points and gave up over 80.

In the same light the New York Jets beat a team who since the death of one of their players have been a shell of themselves. Cincinnati played an emotional game at San Diego but the last two weeks of the regular season seemed to be playing out the season.

There are now five team left in the NFC. New Orleans losers of three in a row. Minnesota losers of three of their final five. Arizona drubbed last week at Green Bay and as a new Years present they will Host Green Bay today. The two teams with the momentum right now is Green Bay and Dallas.

The AFC's five teams left are the Chargers winners of eleven in a row, Indianapolis losers of their last two, New England limping into the playoffs and Baltimore.

What happened to try to play your best ball at playoff time? You know every year there seem to be one team that wins during the wild card that makes it to the super bowl. Ten teams left and it sure does look like the hottest teams are the Chargers, Cowboys and Packers and the Packers and Cowboys are in the wild card round.

Peyton Manning won the MVP award and I have no qualms with that. It was a runaway with Drew Brees, Philip Rivers and Brett Favre finishing way back. Chris Johnson of ECU didn't even get one vote for MVP after rushing for 2,000 yards. I guess it only shows you that the NFL is now a passing league and rushing the football don't mean what it use too. There use to be a day when passing teams always lost to the ball control teams. The Titans who Johnson plays for didn't even finish abouve 500 on the season.

Gryphons Open League Play Winners

The Lady Gryphons got double figure scoring from Tamisher Walker (17) and Tia Hudgins (12)as the Lady Gryphons open Big East play with a 51-30 victory over Nash Central.

The Ladies are now 8-2 and 1-0 as they beat Nash Central for the second time in eleven days.

Marred by injuries and personnel problems the boys continue to win. Darius McKnight and Billy Young were the only Gryphons in double figures but each hit for 22. Gryphons win at Nash Central 78-67 to win their first conference game and their ninth win in ten tries.

Both Northern Nash and Southern Nash are swept by the Wilson County schools. Northern lost at Hunt and Fike took two from Southern.

Today starts the NFL playoffs and I think I have changed my mind every day this week.
The opening game has the Jets at Cincinnati and for the life of me I can't find a way to think the Jets will win. Saturday night I am sticking with Dallas but I am not all that confident in that one.

Sunday has Green Bay at Arizona and I think the healthiest team will win, Green Bay. Sunday night I think with Wes Welker being out for the Patriots that is going to make it hard for New England to score. I doubt whether Baltimore scores much either but I think they will have one more point than New England.

We pay a lot of attention to men's college basketball in this area and there is no doubt that Duke and Carolina women's basketball is of National quality. N C State sent shock waves through out the college basketball world Thursday night when the N C State women beat Maryland 73-45.

New coach Kelly Harper has the Wolfpack women at 11-5 in her first year after replacing Kay Yow. There is something about Harper that makes me think she is going to take State to a higher level that they have ever been including one trip to the final four. Seems to me Harper has Pat Summitt's replacement at Tennessee wrote all over her when and if Summitt retires