World Wide Webb
Congratulations to Raleigh native Webb Simpson who won the Wyndham Championship (formerly the GGO) on Sunday. It’s been a long road to a first win for the 26 year old, and there no indication it is the last. Simpson has done it the right way, whether it Is picking up self-imposed penalty strokes or getting up with the baby so his wife can sleep in, Simpson seems to be a much needed stable figure in the golf world. He holds the course record (?52? shots) at Raleigh’s exclusive Carolina Country Club, yet Simpson seems to be the type person that the golf world feels comfortable rallying behind. Tiger Woods; he is not. Check out these nice articles which undoubtedly are making his family proud this Monday morning. Congratulations, Webb!
- Webb Simpson a humble star in the making (CBSSportsline)
- Webb Simpson rising through the ranks (ESPN.com)
- Simpson reacts to the win he "was dreaming about" (WRAL video)
- Simpson’s victory hits close to home (Boston Globe)
- Webb Simpson Wins Wyndham, Proclaims Christ Lord and Savior (Examiner.com)
Ummmm….
WRAL welcomed new sports reporter Mandy Mitchell this week. This is from her story about, well, I have no idea what she said. There were plenty of distractions from the work she was hired to do. Check
the video
.
RBC Center Turning Red
This summer the
RBC Center’s
100 Level is getting a long-awaited makeover. New seats are currently being installed and the good news for State fans is that they are, indeed, RED. RBC Center General Manager Dave Olsen said that the upholstery of the building’s original, 12-year-old seating is still in excellent shape, however the fading and failing red plastic seat frames were past their lifetimes. As seen in the accompanying photo, the seats had turned an awful mauve color that not even the ‘80s would have wanted back. Installation of the new seating has begun and will continue throughout the summer, dodging long-scheduled events.
I was able to visit Section 120 recently and saw that not only are the seats a solid, fairly bright red (though not as bright as Memorial Auditorium’s, thank goodness), the new frames for the seats are black, insuring against color slump from exposure to the arena’s bright playing surface lighting. The chairs are the same size as before, however the armrests feel slightly shorter and are bowed slightly.
Sections containing only the large chairs are being replaced first, so I still have not determined what style chair will be used in the upper rows in the end sections which previously contained smaller, less confortable chairs.
While the chairs themselves are a nice replacement, the aisle lighting is emphatically
not
. The RBC Center has followed the technology bandwagon and installed white LED lighting under the last armrest of the row. Unfortunately the lighting is distractingly bright during a concert and has a yucky, almost blue hue that probably reaches the upper 5000K
range of temperature
. The lighting from the original seats was an extra-warm amber that was a perfect balance during dark events.
The seating replacement is expected to be completed before the first exhibition game for the Carolina Hurricanes in mid-September.
World “Football” Challenge Coming to Carter-Finley
Good news, soccer fans! On Thursday, July 28,
Juventus
and
CD Guadalajara
will meet at Carter-Finley Stadium as part of the 14-game World Football Challenge series. Tickets go on sale tomorrow (7/8) at 10am.
A Living Trophy Is Lost
The hearts of many area sports fans fell heavy yesterday upon learning the identity of the driver in the fatal bus accident on Interstate 40: Lorenzo Charles. Charles and his Cardiac Pack teammates captured the hearts of not only the vast majority of North Carolinians on April 4, 1983, but those of many across the nation.
The 1983 season carried few national story lines: Could Ralph Sampson finally win it after turning down the NBA again?, Could Michael Jordan and a strong UNC team earn another title? Could Guy Lewis’ incredibly talented team continue its dominance through the post-season? That Houston team had names like Micheaux, Franklin, and Young, but it also had Akeem “The Dream” Olajuwan and Clyde Drexler, who would go on to be two of the NBA’s Greatest 50 Players. The team was perhaps the greatest fast-breaking team in history, easily earning the moniker “Phi Slamma Jamma”. The way they dismantled a sensational Villanova team in Kemper Arena in the Regional Finals was nothing short of scary. They were a great rebounding team, too, so dominant that only a miracle could stop them.
Lorenzo Charles came to Raleigh in the fall of 1981 from Brooklyn and quickly became a household name; for the wrong reasons. One night during his first semester, Charles mugged a Domino’s Pizza delivery man and became the brunt of jokes across the ACC. Duke students greeted him with pizza boxes as (yet another) NCSU player had gotten in trouble with the law (see Tiny Pender). Charles settled in, worked on his game, and became a bona fide starter his sophomore year.
The 1983 team was a solid team on paper, but they were thin in the backcourt. Things got worse one night in January when Virginia’s Othell Wilson landed from a jumpshot on Derrick Whittenburg’s right foot, breaking the DeMatha product’s Right 5th Metatarsal bone. Whittenburg would not play for roughly six weeks. During that 14-game period, the Pack struggled going 9-5, but taught us a valuable lesson about laying down a foundation when times are tough. Young shooter Terry Gannon got more reps, and Ernie Meyers’ game really flourished. Little did we know how important they would be spelling starters in tight, more important games.
Whittenburg, coincidentally, returned to play in the Pack’s game at Virginia, and it took a few games for the team to find its rhythm. However in the regular season’s final game, the Pack flexed its muscle in a way that hadn’t been seen since David Thompson left early to the NBA; a 130-89 thrashing of a solid Wake Forest team. “Hmm,” we thought.
Still, NCSU had lost 10 regular season games and needed to get to the ACC championship game to even be in the NCAA tournament conversation, by most accounts. Its first opponent in the ACC tournament was a familiar face; Wake Forest. This time, though, it was a nip and tuck game to open the tournament, coming down to two free throws with a dead clock to win the game 71-70. Who made those two shots? Lorenzo Charles, a 67% free throw shooter.
Next came an improbable OT win against the defending National Champion Tar Heels, led by Sam Perkins and the eventual greatest player to play the game, Michael Jordan. Only Ralph Sampson and the Virginia Cavaliers stood between the Pack and the Big Dance now. NCSU squeaked out a 3-point win for the ACC title, and earned the automatic bid to the tournament. “Four for Albuquerque!” my family announced as we facetiously begged scalpers for Final Four tickets while leaving The Omni.
Of course the Cardiac Pack went on to dispose of Jim Harrick’s Pepperdine team in a double OT heart-stopper in the middle of the night. Next was a last-minute upset of nationally 6th–ranked UNLV. In the Sweet 16 State got a bit of a break, as Utah was no match for the Pack. However the Pack would have another legendary game in a 4th game against the mighty Virginia Cavaliers. The one-point win disposing of 4-year media darling Ralph Sampson sent the city of Raleigh into a frenzy. Horns could be heard across the city as fans poured into the Brickyard for the Pack’s first return to the Final Four since winning it all in 1974.
The Pack went on to handily beat the Georgia team that knocked off UNC, and the well-documented championship became the Houston coronation that wasn’t. State found itself in familiar territory against Houston; down by 6 with around a minute left. We’ve all seen the desperation shot by Derrick Whittenburg and the miraculous stuff by Lorenzo Charles. Almost equally as bewildering, though, is that it was the game’s only dunk, and that Lorenzo Charles only scored 4 points.
* * *
Books have been written about the miraculous ‘83 team, however none quite address how the experience keeps teaching lessons and keeps impacting the Raleigh area. For this 8th grader, it was a bright light in a dismal education period. Junior High was not easy, but NCSU’s win brought the school together as fans of all schools stunningly celebrated the miraculous championship. I was obsessed with jumping and increasing my vertical jump during that period, and it was the first time that I was able to touch a 9-foot ceiling. As the grade’s second-shortest person, the touch taught me that we can go beyond our perceived boundaries, especially when we are truly inspired.
Lorenzo Charles was basketball role model. I always wanted to have a tough, back-to-the-basket game like his. While playing a big-man basketball game was never in the cards for me, it still was a fun escape. More importantly, though, Charles stood as a testament to those who have gotten in trouble; you are not eternally damned and are still capable of greatness.
The ‘83 championship inspired dreams of many, and one of those dreams was that of having a first-class arena. Both Mayor Avery Upchurch and Coach Jim Valvano lobbied necessary people for years to achieve that dream, and today, Raleigh’s RBC Center is one of country’s finest. It is Raleigh’s first climate controlled space that can accommodate more than 2,000 people.
The ‘83 Wolfpack team marked the beginning of an era in the NCAA tournament. Until Charles’ moment, the tournament was predominantly about big programs winning it all. We were less than a decade removed from UCLA’s dominance, and still the rule was that in order to win it all, one needs to be a Top 5 kind of program all season long. Most of the tournament games were predictable and parity was just a concept. After ‘83, tournament games became anyone’s. It was a moment that forever changed the course of the tournament, and turned it into one of the top annual sporting events.
Lorenzo Charles’ professional basketball career was modest, and he went on to be the most recognized limousine driver in the area. Always carrying a smile, he was instantly recognizable to those who were here before Est Est Est was the only decent restaurant downtown. Lorenzo was a walking trophy, representing Hope and all that we can do. Those were some of the favorite moments in our lives, and we will never forget them. We will miss you, Lo Man.
Carolina Hurricanes 2012 Schedule for Sync and Download
Canes hockey fans who like electronic calendars rejoice! I’ve uploaded the 2011-2012 Carolina Hurricanes schedule in .CSV, .ICS, and Google Calendar formats. This way you can easily port the schedule over to your Android phone, iPhone, Blackberry, Google Calendar, Outlook, and more!
Without a doubt, the gogoraleigh Hurricanes Calendar is the best on the web. Not only is the complete calendar available, but also a home-only version is available. For each event, the teams playing in the event are listed in 3-digit codes, so the entire event is easy to see on devices that can’t display wide paragraphs. Additionally, the game locations are included, so devices that can automatically associate the location field with a map will offer these locations as hyperlinks. This is perfect if you are going to the game in an away city!
Finally, with the synced versions of the calendar, game time changes and television information are automatically updated as the information becomes available.
Android/Google Calendar Users
If you already subscribe to last year’s Carolina Hurricanes schedule feeds, you don’t need to make any changes. The new events now automatically appear in the feed. For those just getting started with this highly efficient method of scheduling, consult the calendars at the gogoraleigh Calendars’ page:
iPhone/Blackberry/Outlook/Palm Users
- Create a new folder in your in Outlook calendar (Canes11, for example). Use the File | Import and Export… to import from “another program or file”, then “Comma Separated File (Windows)”. This will set up the schedule in your new sub-calendar where you can make whatever changes you want.
- iPhone Users – You are done. Now you can view the Canes’ schedule as its own sub-calender or as a part of all calendars.
- When you are happy with the way the subcalendar looks, change the calendar view to “Events” (instead of 7-day or 31-Day or whatever view you’re using). “Select All” from the list, and drag them over to your main “Calendar” (The Treo and other Palm Handhelds only sync to the main calendar – time for Palm to get with the program on that one!). If you want to keep your sub-calendar intact, use Ctrl-drag instead of plain drag. That will create a copy of each event to the main Calendar and keep the Canes08 calendar in place. Sync your handheld to copy the events to the handheld.
-
CSV Files.
(right click on the link and “Save As…”)
- Hurricanes Schedule (Complete) – Download canes_11.csv (version: 6/23/11)
- Hurricanes Home-only Schedule – Download canes_11_home.csv (version: 6/23/11)
iCal Users
There are two options:
- Use iCalTextImport to import the .CSV version (linked above) of the schedule.
-
Download the .ics files and import them into iCal.
- Hurricanes Schedule (Complete) – .ics file (version: 6/22/10)
Notes
Calendars are apt to change, so check back occasionally for updates. To determine the version of your schedule, open the note associated with any event, and look for the version number. If your calendar is older than those listed above, simply delete the events in Outlook in your old one and import the events of the newer file. Google Calendar is dynamically up-to-date. Use at your own risk. I do not accept responsibility for any consequences resulting from errors in the schedule.
Mommy Daddy Deals Features ACC Sports Journal
One of the biggest areas of internet growth over the last couple of years has been with discount gift certificates. Sites like Groupon have become wildly popular for people seeking an occasional discount on their favorite items and on items they want to try.
The craze has spurred many local startups, too. One of the newest is Raleigh’s own Mommy Daddy Deals . The site’s focus is generally on local items and services that family’s can use, but their deals are not exclusive to families. Too, the site has a referral credit system that can help users save even more.
This week’s deal features a one year subscription to the ACC Sports Journal (The Poop Sheet) for only $29 (normally $59). The publication is simply the best at covering all of the current happenings at each of the ACC’s 12 constituent schools. The deal will last another week, but it would be a perfect Father’s Day gift for many, hmm,hmm.
Raleigh Area in Championship Hunt, Again
With Scotty McCreery’s appearance in next week’s American Idol Semifinals, the Raleigh area has, once again, found itself as a factor in a national Springtime competition. Given all of the hoopla surrounding Duke’s lofty ranking for most of the basketball season, and with UNC’s genesis once Larry Drew II mercifully withdrew from school, it looked like this area would once again celebrate another Final Four event. However this year it’s the world’s most famous Garnerian that has captivated us.
Over the past 50 years, the area has had a local competitor in a large-scale national event during 36 of the past 50 Springs, and 22 of the past 24. The only down years since 1962 have been 1962*, 1965, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1996, and 2007.
Click after the break for the detailed events per year since 1962
Follow the Durham Bulls Google Calendar
The Durham Bulls
released
their schedule
several months ago, and I have finally gotten a chance to create their home schedule as a Google Calendar. The calendar features abbreviated team names, so instead of “Durham Bulls vs. Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees”, your calendar will simply display “DUR vs. SCR”. Each event page still contains all of the Bulls’ vital info such as their website link and the link to purchase tickets.
In order to add this calendar to your collection of Google Calendars, simply click on the Calendar tab at the top of this page, scroll down to the Durham Bulls calendar, and follow the link/instructions there.
Bobcats To Play Heat at RBC Center
On Wednesday, October 19, LeBron James will bring his talents to Raleigh as the Charlotte Bobcats will play an exhibition game against the Miami Heat. The event is part of a swap which will take a Carolina Hurricanes preseason game against Atlanta to Charlotte’s lopsided hockey layout on September 25.
Looks like Raleigh gets the better end of this deal, assuming there is an NBA season next year. While Raleigh gets to cheer against God’s Gift to the World for a night, Charlotte gets to cheer against a hockey team about which Atlanta couldn’t care less. Oh, I’m sorry. We will cheer Stephen Jackson, DJ Augustin, Boris Diaw, Tyrus Thomas, and Gerald Henderson. yep.
It’s Mark Gottfried
Good news for my dental patients: Mark Gottfried will be introduced as the NCSU head coach this afternoon:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Gottfried
http://statsheet.com/mcb/coaches/mark-gottfried/team_stats
I remember liking his interviews when he was at Alabama. They miked him up for a game and it was fun to hear his conversation. Solid hire. Who cares about shaking the earth. He can get the team to being good. Alabama is hard to recruit to, so he might be able to do even better here. With Leonard Hamilton being the 3rd best coach in the ACC, the ACC beyond Roy and K is wide open (and they won’t be around in 10 yrs)….
Follow NCSU Coaching Candidates on TV
Today Sidney Lowe officially resigns from his coaching post at N.C. State University, casting a new light on the NCAA and NIT tournaments for NCSU fans seeking the right coach. Back in January I posted a list of coaches who are fairly young and finding success at smaller schools. Some of these coaches continued to have excellent seasons, and others didn’t.
Let’s revisit this list, however, with the tournament schedules in mind. The list appears in the order in which each coach’s team will play over the next four nights.
Format: Name (school) – Sagarin Computer Ranking, Tourney Seed, Air Time (Network)
Season Over (No Bid or Tourney Loss)
- Fred Hoiberg (Iowa St) – #87
- Ron Everhart (Duquense) – #75
- Randy Bennett (St. Marys-Cal) – #43, NIT 2-seed. 11p (ESPN2) – Lost by 1 in 1st round
Wednesday
- Gregg Marshall (Wichita St) – #64, NIT 4-seed. 7p (ESPN2)
- Tad Boyle (Colorado) – #49, NIT 1-seed. 9p (ESPN3.com)
- Ken Bone (Wash. St) – #55, NIT 2-seed. 10p (ESPNU)
Thursday
- Blaine Taylor (ODU) – #39, NCAA 9-seed. 12:40p (truTV)
- Chris Mooney (Richmond) – #36, NCAA 12-seed. 4:10p (TBS)
Friday
- Mark Turgeon (Texas A&M) – #33, NCAA 7-seed. 4:10p (TBS)
- Chris Mack (Xavier) – #35, NCAA 6-seed. 7:27p (truTV)
- Mark Fox (Georgia) – #52, NCAA 10-seed. 9:45p (CBS)
Advancing, Next Game TBA
- Cuonzo Martin (Missouri St) – #73, NIT 3-seed. 8p (ESPN3.com)
If you would like to add these events to your Google Calendar, simply follow the link below.
Subscribe to Gogo’s Google Calendar for Complete NCAA Tournament Action
It’s NCAA tourney time and you guessed it! Gogoraleigh is your source for importing calendar events for all of the games. It is a Google Calendar which contains all 36 First Round games. Keep following it, though, as the next round games will be added as soon as they are determined.
Subscribe in Google Calendar
, on your Android Phone,
iPhone
, iPad other capable device!
The two area teams playing include:
- UNC vs. Long Island – Friday at 7:15 pm (CBS)
- Duke vs. Hampton – Friday at 3:10 pm (truTV)
This year’s tournament will be broadcasted on four different networks for the first time. The games will appear in Raleigh on these Time Warner Cable Channels:
SD
- CBS – 3 and 105
- TBS – 34 and 302
- TNT – 26 and 301
- truTV – 44 and 313
HD
- CBS – 1105 and 5.1
- TBS – 1302
- TNT – 1301
- truTV – 1313
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