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Okay, former NBA center John Amaechi is gay. So what. Who cares? Why do former athletes who are gay feel compelled to announce their sexual preference to the world? If they are trying to revolutionize the sports world and make athletes accept homosexuality as normal, it’ll never happen. Sports, particularly pro sports, are for the macho…the uber-macho. Athletes will always talk about loose women, fast cars, and yes…they’ll make “fag” jokes.

Announcing that you are gay AFTER your playing career is downright unmanly. But what should we expect? Man up…announce it when you’re playing. Nobody’s going to whip your butt. Judging by current NBA player reaction nobody would give a damn. It is also nearly an invasion of privacy of your former teammates. Who the hell wants to think that they showered next to a dude that might like to spend a night with you in the sack? Personally, I think group showers with men is a bit queer anyway, but that has nothing to do with the issue at hand.

So now Amaechi has a book coming out describing how he thinks the gay jokes in the locker room are offensive. He describes how tough it is to keep your sexuality quiet. He laments that nobody would be comfortable if they knew he was gay. Well….yeah. Let’s say I’m into erotic asphyxiation masturbation (look it up), another deviant sexual practice. I’m not going to announce it to my co-workers. I’m not going to cry in my Earl Grey and wish that everyone understood me. I would KNOW that I’m not normal. If I truly believed that I was normal (like Amaechi does) I certainly would tell them. I’d be a man.

Of course national television and politicians want to convince us that homosexuality is normal. Well it’s not. Biologically, physiologically, theologically, socially, hygienically, etc. Amaechi can preach all he wants to arouse sympathy or empathy, but he’ll never get much. Again…most likely nobody would care. The worst thing that could have happened to him if he came out of the closet while in Orlando or Utah would be some taunts from opposing fans or perhaps some loss of popularity among teammates. But he admits to being an oddball loner anyway. If he was cut because he was gay he’d make more money in court than he ever did on the court. On the bright side, his millionaire teammates probably would have pitched in for a private shower.

One more thing - After seeing that Snickers commercial during the Super Bowl I’ll never eat another Snickers again. What’s funny is that GLAAD is furious that the commercial is homophobic. I guess they figure that the two guys who liplocked should have enjoyed the experience.

Why is Duke so bad (relatively speaking, of course)? Nobody will say it, but I will. My apologies to the Dukies out there. I like Duke. I respect Duke. But this year’s team is lacking in a big way. After three terrible ACC losses in a row, Coach K and Duke are reeling. They are last in scoring per game in the ACC. It’s not because they don’t have scorers. McRoberts can score at will. Scheyer is a weapon as he proved against UNC the other night. It’s not because they have no depth. Other teams have managed to beat Carolina with less depth. It’s not because they don’t give 100%. This Duke team hustles more than any ACC team in recent memory. I haven’t said it yet. But I will now: The reason Duke is sucking is because of Greg Paulus. That’s right. That feels better….you Dukies should try it. It’ll be a burden off of your shoulders once you admit that your team is not that good and the reason is because your point guard sucks.

No offense to Greg. He was highly touted out of high school and everyone wanted him. You now have to wonder why. He’s without a doubt the worst point guard in the ACC. There are four ACC point guards in the top 50 of the NCAA in assists per game. Greg isn’t one of them. There would be five if Engin Atsur was healthy. His assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.3. That is not a number that is acceptable for arguably the greatest basketball program in the game today.

Dick Vitale and the talking heads can claim that he’s got a sweet shot and he hustles non-stop, but the fact is he’s shooting about 43% from the field and whenever he drives to the hoop he gets his lunch packed. Again, it’s not for lack of effort. Case in point: The last couple minutes of the UNC game….Paulus launches a trey, that quite honestly, I could have dropped kicked and come closer to making it. Then he decides to drive the lane with about 45 ticks left and down by 5 and attempt an underhanded layup between Hansbrough and Wright….not good. I remember the announcer saying, “Duke doesn’t need a three quite yet”. True. They also didn’t need a demoralizing blocked shot. We won’t even mention his 0 point, 6 turnover performance earlier this year where a VaTech player hopped over him for a layup like he was a folding chair in the NBA dunk contest.

No media outlet will criticize Coach K and his choice of personnel. But in this case, we will. No way Paulus belongs in Divison I, unless it’s under center.

    After watching a very inexperienced and struggling Virginia team shutout Caroina 27-0 Thursday night on national TV, I began to wonder how many teams in ACC history have been worse than the team I witnessed.  ESPN has ranked the Duke 2000 and 2001 teams, both 0-11, on their all-time worst NCAA teams list.  Also on that list is the 0-10 1959 Cavaliers.  Let’s examine how those three teams stack up against the 2006 Tar Heels.
    The 2000 Duke team went 0-8 in the ACC with consecutive midseason terrible losses to Clemson, FSU, and GaTech.  But their next three games were an 11 point loss to Maryland, a two point loss to Wake and a four point loss to NCSU.  Obviously they were at least competing in these contests. 
    The 2001 Blue Devils are generally regarded as the worst ACC team of all time.  Their 11 losses capped a 23 game losing streak dating back to 1999.  They were blown out in every ACC game except one…a 7 point loss to Wake Forest.  In league games they were outscored by an average of 28 points. 
    The 1959 Cavaliers were woeful, too.  Back then they only played five league games and the Cavs were walloped in each game except one.  They “only” lost by 12 to South Carolina, then a member of the ACC.  They were outscored by an average of almost 40 points in those five games. 
    What about those terrible Mack Brown teams back in 1988 and 1989, you might ask?  Those 1-10 teams were bad, but the ‘88 team had a conference win over Georgia Tech and the ’89 team showed up a couple times….losing by three at Tech and by only a point to Wake. 
    What about the 2006 Blue Devils?  First of all, although they are winless (0-3), they suffered a heartbreaking 14-13 loss to Wake who are now the #25 team in the nation. No way they can be the worst of all-time.
    That brings us to the 2006 Tar Heels.  At the halfway point in the ACC season, the Heels are 0-4 having been outscored 132-24.  That’s an average score of 33 to 6.  Their closest game thus far was a 27-7 loss to a mediocre Miami team.  What’s astounding is they haven’t been competitive in any ACC game.  Two of the three TDs they’ve scored against league foes have come against second and third team defenses.  If the Tar Heels run the table in reverse and are not competitive in a couple league games, they must get consideration as the ACC’s All-Time Worst. 

Other notable terrible ACC teams:

1957 Wake Forest - 0-7 ACC, but their average margin of loss was just 16 points.
1959 NCSU - 0-6 ACC, but 5 of the losses were by 8 points or less. 
1967 Maryland Terps - 0-6 ACC, but only lost to Virginia by 5 and to UNC by 14.
1994 Georgia Tech - 0-8 ACC, but only blown out once, 41-10 by FSU.  The other 7 losses were by 17 points or less.
1995 Wake Forest - 0-8 ACC, but they had a one point loss to the GaTech and a three point loss to the Terps

  The first BCS standings, which will determine which two teams play in the National Championship Fiesta Bowl, came out this week.  It is very early and the rankings will probably work themselves our by season’s end and the two best teams will vie for the crystal trophy like most years past (except for when LSU got crapped on a couple years ago). 
  The BCS standings are determined by three ranking systems.  They are the USA Today poll (otherwise known as the coaches poll), the Harris Poll (a combination of former players, coaches, administrators and current and former media) and the Computer Rankings (a sum of six different computer formulas).  
  Currently the concensus is that BCS #1 Ohio State, #2 USC and #3 Michigan are the top three teams in the nation.  But none of those teams is a unanimous pick of the three polls.  OSU is ranked #1 by both  ”people polls”, but are #3 (believe it or not) in the computer ranking.  USC is #1 according to the computers, #2 by the coaches and #3 in the Harris Poll.   
  Fortunately for the BCS, OSU and Michigan play each other in the final game of the season. One will most likely play in the title game and the other will definitely be left out.  So a USC vs Big 10 champ would fill the ticket.  But what if USC loses, which I think they will vs Cal? Here’s where the controversy could develop.
  If West Virginia (currently ranked #4 in both people polls) goes undefeated, they play the Big 10 champ….right?  Not so fast.  The computers have WVU ranked #14! <--that's not a typo).  Auburn, who were THRASHED AT HOME by Arkansas two weeks ago  27-10, is #4 in the BCS standings, WVU is #5.  Heck, if BCS #6  Florida (who was beaten by Auburn) runs the table they could leapfrog WVU due to strength of schedule.
  Again, it is very early in the season.  But if an undefeated Mountaineers team gets left out of the Fiesta Bowl in favor of a one-loss Auburn, Florida or even worse Notre Dame the muskets will be firing in Morgantown. 

It has been a rollercoaster ride for NC State coach Chuck Amato, the Wolfpack football team and their fans the last year or so. Think back to October 22, 2005. The Pack had just lost to a mediocre Wake Forest team and had sunk to 1-4 in the ACC and 2-4 overall. With impending games at Florida State and Boston College, the future wasn’t so bright. Amato was getting blasted in the press and by his own fans on message boards. Somehow, despite a lack of offense, NCSU finished the season by winning five of the last six games due in part to a quarterback change (out with Jay Davis, in with Marcus Stone). The season ended with a ho-hum 14-0 Tire Bowl win over South Florida. Despite finishing a respectable 7-5 after a miserable start, Pack fans wondered what was in store for the 2006 version of their team. A mass exodus to the NFL by key members of their defense made it imperative that the Pack score more points in ‘06. Few believed that would happen and the grumbling began again.

The roller coaster took a nosedive after game three of the current season. A blowout loss to Southern Miss followed a heartbreaking loss to Akron. Amato’s press conference tirade about non-qualifiers fueled the flames of his hot seat. His arrogance and defensiveness (and his squeaky voice) made him a laughingstock in the press and to opposing teams’ fans. A change was looking inevitable and a change took place. In what appeared to be a desperation move, Amato switched quarterbacks again. And for the last three weeks he looks like a genius. NCSU won a thrilling game against Top-25 Boston College on a hail mary pass and then came from behind to beat #17 Florida State. Suddenly, the Pack is 2-0 in the ACC, in first place and the bandwagon is filling back up. Before I go on, let me say that Pack fans support their team even when the going gets rough as evidenced by their weekly sellouts at Carter-Finley. By “bandwagon”, I mean the Amato bandwagon. I dare say that Chuck is probably the most loved coach in the nation as I type. But hold on….that could change.

Next up is a tough Wake Forest team that simply ran out of gas against the best team in the ACC, Clemson. If the Pack can muster a win against the Deacs at home and go to 3-0, Amato just might get carried off the field by the Pack faithful. Following that game the Pack goes on the road to Virginia (who have been absolutely woeful) and to Maryland who are still in the midst of a three year bout with mediocrity. It is conceivable that the NCSU Wolfpack COULD be 5-0 and ranked when they host Georgia Tech and their All-World receiver Calvin Johnson. They finish the season @Clemson, @UNC and host a vastly improved East Carolina team.

Three weeks ago we were wondering if Amato would win another game this season. After seeing QB Daniel Evans play and with a rejuvenated defense, the talk has turned to bowl games. A loss to Wake and a loss to either UVa or UMd will certainly halt that banter and once again the flames will be stoked under Amato’s hot seat. Such is life as a Division I coach.

Sidenotes: Amato and NCSU have won 8 of their last 11 games dating back to Oct. 29th of last year. They’ve also won 4 of their last 5 ACC games, including two wins over FSU and one vs. BC.

As I watched Miami’s less-than-impressive 27-7 win over North Carolina yesterday, the first time I have seen the Hurricanes this year, I began to realize why their fanbase is calling for the head of coach Larry Coker. This team does not resemble IN THE LEAST the once mighty Canes of years past. We’re talking about a program that is not only used to winning, but winning big. Since 1983, Miami has won FIVE National Championships….their latest one coming as recently as 2001. They won 9 Big East championships in 13 years in the league. Since joining the ACC in 2004, Miami has a pair of Peach Bowl appearances. Not too long ago, they were playing in Fiesta and Rose Bowls. Their 12-6 ACC record (21-8 overall) is nothing to sneeze at, but it falls far short of their fanbase expectations. Remember, in eight seasons from 1988 to 1995 the Canes lost EIGHT games total! More recently, in three seasons from 2000 to 2002 they went 35-2.

Going into the UNC game, Miami had scored 31 total points against three Division IA opponents. Even after scoring 27 Saturday, the Canes are still #79 in the nation (out of 119 teams) in scoring offense and #88 in Total Offense. Miami had 324 total yards against UNC. Two of their three TDs came via a trick play and a long run. If you take away those two plays, Miami would have had 82 yards rushing and 143 yards passing for a grand total of 225 yards on 55 plays or about 4 yards per play. UNC’s last two opponents, Clemson & Furman, averaged 6.4 and 7.1. The Tar Heels also forced Miami to punt seven times (a season high for the Heels). Previously, teams had punted 12 times total against UNC in 4 games. Clemson did not punt two weeks ago.

Currently, the Sagarin rankings have Miami as the eighth best team in the ACC at #63 in the nation, ahead of only Duke, UNC, Virginia, and Maryland (#65). Division IAA teams Appalachian State, UMass, So. Illinois, Youngstown St., New Hampshire and Montana are currently ranked ahead of the Canes. For a number of seasons there weren’t six teams better than Miami in any given year. Now there are six IAA better than them (theoretically, of course). When the ACC added Miami to the league, the powers-to-be envisioned that the Canes would bolster the strength of the ACC. At least this year, they are dragging the ACC down. “The U” stands for UGLY.

Not that anyone should have any faith in my predictions after last week’s 0 for 6 showing, I’ll post them anyway and hope to rebound.

Maryland +16 vs West Virginia - I lost all faith in Maryland last week after a pitiful showing against MTSU. WVU is a legit title contender and they roll. Take WVU and give the points. Prediction: WVU 38, UMd 10

Boston College -6 vs BYU - You have to give BC credit for winning last week against Clemson when nobody thought they could. Take BC and give the points. Prediction: BC 23, BYU 16

Virginia Tech -35 vs Duke - Duke’s inspired play last week in a heartbreaking loss to Wake and Virginia Tech’s less than stellar offensive display vs UNC makes me think that Tech will have to score at least 14 points on defense to cover. And they will. Take Tech and give the points. Prediction: VaTech 45, Duke 3

Wake Forest +6 vs UCONN - I’ve made up my mind never to bet against Big East teams or former Big East teams. Losing Mauck for the season was more devastating than I thought for Wake. Take UCONN and give the points. Prediction: UCONN 24, Wake 14

Virginia -8.5 vs Western Michigan - 8.5 doesn’t sound like much, but if you watched the Cavs last week, it is plenty. Take WMU and the points. Prediction: UVa 20, W.Mich 16

NC State +2.5 vs Southern Miss - State has been just as good as away underdogs through the years as they have been miserable as home favorites. I’m taking the Pack again this week in a low scoring affair. Take NCSU and the points. Prediction: NCSU 13, SoMiss 10.

Florida State -5 vs Clemson - My faith in both teams was shaken a bit last week. Neither is quite as good as the experts thought. I think FSU gets their offense in gear this week. Take FSU and give the points. Prediction: FSU 27, Clemson 21

Miami +4 vs Louisville - I know the Cardinals can roll up the points, but not against Miami….can they? I just doesn’t look right seeing the Canes GETTING points. Take Miami and the points. Prediction: Miami 30, Louisville 28.

UNC gets their butts handed to them by Virginia Tech, NCSU loses to Akron and Wake Forest blocks a field goal attempt to beat Duke, arguably the worst team in football. How low can the Big 4 go? Throw in the abyssmal record of ECU through the years and Division IA football in North Carolina is officially dead. I hate to make fun of the handicapped, but being the best team in North Carolina is kind of like winning a gold medal at the Special Olympics….you know the rest of the joke.

First let’s take a look at UNC. They haven’t been good since 1997 when they ended up #6 in the AP poll. They haven’t won a conference championship in over 25 years. John Bunting has a winning percentage of under .400 since coming on board 2001. Bunting prefers to get his butt whupped by strong out of conference opponents. That’s fine, unless you continue to get whupped by strong opponents, which means you won’t be bowl eligible regardless of you conference record. As of today, Bunting is 9-8 in the “new ACC”, but five of those wins have been against Duke, NCSU and Wake Forest.

Next, let’s look an North Carolina State. The Wolfpack were #11 in the nation in 2002 behind Philip Rivers. There was great excitement in Wuffieland. Although they sell out every game and continue to be excited, no Pack fan can claim that they are still optomisitic. Chuck Amato has made a living beating up on weak out of conference foes, boing to bowls 5 of 6 years under his leadership while posting an unimpressive 6-10 ACC record in the last two years. He, like Bunting, pulls an upset against a good team every onec in awhile to keep his job. Bunting beat Miami in 2004, Amato has beaten both ACC champions in the last two years (VaT in 2004, FSU in 2005). The good news is that Bill Cowher’s contract runs out in Pittsburgh after this year.
Next, Wake and Duke. Both schools are limited by strict academic requirements and the fact that they are both small private schools with mediocre to bad football facilities. And let’s be real…their fanbase doesn’t expect much from their football teams and don’t really care. It could be worse. They could be Vanderbilt competing in the SEC.

Finally, ECU. The Pirates are still recovering from Terry Holland’s housecleaning. They fielded some pretty good teams under Steve Logan and fired him after a 4-8 season in 2002. Logan only had 3 losing seasons in 11 years. What the heck do they expect competing against four North Carolina teams for in-state recruits?

That brings me to the subject of North Carolina High School Recruits. There just isn’t enough talent to go around in this state. Many of the 4 and 5 stars go out of state to winning programs (see Leak, Nicholson). Can you blame them? Go to UNC and get your brains bashed in by Louisville or go to NCSU, beat up on MTSU and go to the Tire Bowl OR go to the SEC (or Miami, VaTech, FSU) and compete for a BCS slot. You make the choice.

Football in North Carolina has reached a low point and I don’t see it getting any better.

NC State -10 against Akron. Akron is a decent team, but the Pack is at home. If the defense plays like they did last week, NCSU will cover….barely. Take NCSU. Prediction: NCSU 22 Akron 10.

Viginia Tech -12 against UNC. The Tarheels are 2-0 against the spread in their last two home games vs the Hokies. UNC has improved slightly over that time, VaTech has not. Plus, Bunting has a way of rebounding from terrible losses. Take UNC and the points. Prediction: VaTech 30 UNC 21.

Wake Forest -19 against Duke. The big question here is “will Duke score?” Yes they will, but not enough. Take Wake. Prediction: WFU 27 Duke 6

Clemson -2.5 against Boston College. BC lost four offensive linemen from last year’s team that beat Clemson by 3. Clemson returned 8 starters on O and 7 on D. Rushing game makes the difference in this one. Take Clemson. Clemson 28 BC 20

UVA -9 against Wyoming. Wyoming finished last year in 8th place in the MWC and lost a bunch of key players from their team. UVA isn’t that good this year, but take ‘em in this one at home. Prediction: UVA 32 Wyoming 21

Maryland is -22 against Middle Tennessee State. Maryland should run up the score on a weak team that only returned 4 defensive starters. Take UMd. Prediction Terps 40 MTSU 14