A Sports Scene Quickie

Let's hammer out three series of thoughts on the world of sports. The topics: Carolina Basketball, ACC Hoops &, the Super Bowl.

1. Carolina Basketball: The Heels came off an exciting but ugly victory vs FSU on Wednesday night to play at rival NC State on Saturday. Each season, I take a look at the schedule and try to identify games that the Heels will struggle with that one might not expect. The FSU/State back-to-back jumped out at me for a couple of reasons. Carolina typically seems to struggle after a break (the Heels had last weekend off) and any time you play a "rival" who gets up to play you more than you get up to play them, there can be problems. Without question, the Florida State game was awful from a Tar Heel perspective, minus the ridiculous conclusion. Somehow, instead of coming out completely flat, the Heels survived a sloppy first seven minutes to dominate the first half and go into halftime with a comfortable lead. But, instead of pulling away, Carolina struggled to be strong with the basketball and had no answer for the screen and roll, allowing the 'Noles to take a three point lead with two minutes remaining. From there, however, the Heels showed what it takes to be a great team - buckle down and find a way to win on a night that you can do nothing right. Missed dunks, terrible team defense, an off-night from your All-American...most teams do not survive such issues. But Carolina got a steal and-one from Danny Green, played unreal defense on consecutive possessions against Toney Douglas and got the ball back with 3.2 incorrect seconds remaining (how in the world did the officials blow this? Should have been 4.3 seconds. I watched it five times on my DVR to make certain on Friday night during my Tar Heel Rewind segment of the week). Ty Lawson's buzzer-beater was superb, as the Seminoles tried really hard not to foul. As a collegue of mine mentioned, "Florida State had this game wrapped up until Leonard (Hamilton) started to coach." Just piss-poor late-game execution by FSU, and a team that knows how to win doing just that. For the record, I watched this game in near-complete silence in my hotel room in Winston-Salem, NC, at an ISP Sales Academy in which nearly everyone else was pulling for Florida State (they are an ISP school, and a great one at that). And I never thought the Heels would lose. I promise. Somehow, I managed to not be kicked out of the hotel after the last shot, as I am pretty sure that everyone watching at the hotel bar still heard me screaming and whopping from the eighth floor of the Marriott.

Saturday, the game at NC State was emotional only twice - pre-game during ceremonies for the late Kay Yow, and at the end of the game as Mike Copeland tried to assault Ben McCauley after first being legally assaulted during a "hard foul". My rule for the Heels is now official: if Ty Lawson is head-and-shoulders above the opposing point guard, Carolina wins. Hands down. When everyone was panicking following the earlier back-to-back losses and fretting about the trip to UVA, I was not worried in the least. The reason? I had just seen UVA in person here in Blacksburg and can tell you that Lawson is much, much better than either of the 'Hoos lead guards. Same goes for today, as Degand and Mays were no match for #5. Of course, it did not help that the NC State bigs played matador style defense, ole-ing nearly every time a Carolina player got near the rim (mostly Hansbrough, but happened to the benefit of others as well).

So where does that leave the Boys in Blue? In a better place than they were three weeks ago, that much is fo' sho. Unfortunately, I do not think the ailments have been magically healed. The issues are consistent: lack of a perimeter defender (Dear Marcus, Get Well Soon. Love, Kyle), the inability (still) to be able to defend the screen and roll for crap, the tendency to get caught up in one-on-one battles instead of working the ball for a good shot, and little bench production whatsoever. I just imagine how much better the team could be having Ginyard at 100% (not including if Zeller were healthy). Three of those four issues would be solved in all likelihood, plus his leadership might help the one-on-one problems. I personally believe he will come back in a couple weeks and try his best to contribute for the late-season, March Madness run. Between really wanting to finish up with his classmates and the desire to win a national title, I predict a return. Unfortunately, if he's not 100%, it just won't matter.

By the way, I think we all entered this season assuming Lawson and Ellington would leave with the seniors. I'm not sure that will happen now. Ty might go anyway, but Ellington might end up having to stay. If both came back and Ginyard had to redshirt, only Green and Hansbrough would be lost from the starting lineup. Therefore, next year's team could potentially start Lawson, Ellington, Ginyard, Davis/John Henson and Thompson, with a bench of Zeller, Travis Wear, David Wear, Davis/Henson, William Graves, Larry Drew II, Leslie McDonald, and Dexter Strickland. You tellin' me that team ain't a Final Four favorite? Wow. I think I just shat myself.


2. ACC Hoops: The big story in the league right now is the top four. Clemson and Wake Forest have clearly separated themselves from the remainder of the league, along with the Dookies and Heels, and are national contenders. Of course, most folks are skeptical of Clemson, and rightfully so. Three consecutive years of hot starts and subpar finishes will do that to you. I do think they are legitimately good this year, and hungry to prove people wrong. I could see another 5-seed for the IPTAY backers. Wake Forest is really, really good. Unfortunately, I think we have seen their flaws the last couple of weeks. There are times the Deacs just do not defend the ball well, they have trouble executing on offense late in games (hint: get Teaguethat ball by letting him run the point and put Ish Smith on the pine), and they have some complete mental breakdowns by key guys (McFarland and Johnson, The Blue Team is looking at you). They might have enough talent to override these issues, but I think the problems will continue to rear an ugly head against some inferior opponents and again in the NCAA Tournament.

In the middle of the league, it seems that four teams are battling for a couple tournament bids: Virginia Tech, Boston College, Florida State, & Miami. They all have ugly losses, but also have some quality wins. Personally, I think a couple teams do just enough to sneak into the NCAA Tournament, but I would not put money on who it will be. By the way, for people who want to argue that the ACC is better than the Big East, I implore you: shut up. The top four ACC teams are Clemson, Duke, North Carolina, and Wake Forest. The Big East top four are probably Pittsburgh, UCONN, Louisville, and Marquette. The next four ACC teams? FSU, Miami, VT, and BC. The Big East? Georgetown, Syracuse, Notre Dame, and WVU. Do you really think VT can play with Georgetown? BC with Syracuse? FSU with any of those four teams? This is where the Big East is unquestionably better. As for the top four teams, we'll decide that in March.

One other quick note - Chas McFarland, the 7-footer for Wake Forest, is quickly earning a reputation in the league for being a complete and total douchebag. He whines, flails, flops, elbows, and bitches his way through every game, drawing the ire of fans and opposing players alike. This is not new - it's been going on for a couple of years now. But now that Wake Forest is actually good, people are taking notice. Chris Chase, a Wake Forest alum over at Player Hater's Ball has pointed this out already, so I'm just echoing the fact: McFarland is due to really hurt his team with his antics before this season is over. If nothing else, he's at least going to really piss people off and be remembered for being a jerkoff instead of a solid player.

3. Super Bowl XLIII: Steelers vs Cardinals. Thus far in the playoffs, my picks are at 7-3 (Colts, Panthers, and Titans were the losses, Scout's Honor). Not a bad year for sure. I have to say, I've picked some Super Bowl underdogs in the past. My backing of the Chargers prior to the beatdown of the century that allowed Steve Young to get the monkey off his back went down in infamy. On the flip side, my belief of the Pats against the Rams (and at the beginning of those playoffs mind you) are that of legend. But this ain't a year for the Dog...

I am going with the Steelers for a few reasons. First, I do not think Arizona can run on the Pittsburgh defense, period. The Cards were at least able to move the pigskin two or three yards in their three previous playoff games, but the Steelers will have none of it. Second, I think Big Ben will be able to hit the deep ball against an Arizona defense that likes to take some chances. Two or three big plays will be enough to give Pittsburgh good field position or to score. Third, Kurt Warner is due to struggle a bit. He's had some complete stink bombs this season to go with his great games, and I think Dick LeBeau can scheme Warner into struggling on Sunday. Last, the Steelers will not panic in this contest. A close game for a half, then Pittsburgh pulling away a little bit, and a key turnover will be enough. Of course, it does not hurt that I picked the Steelers before the season started...

The pick: Pittsburgh 30 Arizona 17