Duke is Duke

I went outside today and laid a basketball at my feet. Then, as I bent over to pick up the ball, I had my brother start a stopwatch and had him stop it after I made the shot (or the shot hit the rim). In 4 attempts my fastest time was 3 seconds. So, I believe that it is safe to say that an ACC level athlete could not accomplish the same thing in anything less than 2 seconds. The referrees at the Duke game last night would have you believe otherwise.

With exactly 5 seconds showing on the clock, and Duke up 66-63 over Clemson, Duke's Josh McRoberts attempted to make an inbound pass that was arrant. Clemson's Vernon Hamilton picked up the ball, stepped back behind the line, looked both ways and then shot. The clock did not start until the ball was almost through the basket, when it should have started when Hamilton first touched the ball. The officials reviewed the play and subsequently placed 4.4 seconds back on the clock. That means Hamilton had to have done all of that in just .6 seconds. Duke then drove the length of the court and David McClure made the game winning lay-up with less than a second remaining.

The NCAA states that with .3 seconds or less left all a team can attempt is a tap-in. Common sense would tell you that there is no way for someone to be able to do all of that in .6 when you can only attempt a tip-in with .3 on the clock.

The ACC office issued a statement admitting that a timing error had occured. And, that the issue would be handled internally. This embarassment should have never occured.

Now, eventhough Clemson got a raw deal with the clock they still should have been able to make a play and win the game. Duke shouldn't have had that much time to make a play, but they did and Clemson did nothing to stop it.

Duke may have went into overtime and pulled away for a 12 to 15 point victory. Or, Clemson may have pulled away for the win. The sad thing is that we will never know. Clemson lost and they should have done something about it, but they should have been given a fair shake. I think that head coach Oliver Purnell would have much rather lost in overtime than in the fashion he did.

This whole Duke getting treated better by the officials thing needs to stop. The best teams get the calls, but not this many. Dean Smith and the Carolina Tar Heels were once accused of getting all the call. I don't remember it ever being this bad.

There absolutely no reason for the outcomes of games to be decided by the officials and Duke's ever so influential Coach K. The timing issue is not the only instance where the Blue Devils seem to be getting special treatment. Last year Duke shot 91 more free throws (in conference games) than their opponents. So far this conference season, Duke has only had 85 fouls called against them. No one else in the conference has fewer than 101 fouls called against them. In the Clemson game McRoberts, John Scheyer and Demarcus Nelson all played 33 or more minutes for Duke; however, each of them ended the game with no fouls. McRoberts plays the entire game in the paint and doesn't have a single foul called on him. That's hard to believe.

If Duke is as good as they claim to be then why do they always seem to need that extra boost from someone not playing? Why is it that this sort of stuff only happens at Cameron Indoor Stadium? I know it happens from time to time, but this is twice in one month at duke (previously there was questionable timing during the Virginia Tech game at Duke).

I think Coach K is the greatest coach of this generation, if not ever. And, I also think that Duke has the premiere basketball program in the country. That is why they shouldn't need the breaks they get. Other than last night, I do not think that I have ever seen a game that had 3 players play 3/4 of the game without committing a single foul.

Clemson has no excuse for letting Duke drive the length of the court in the final seconds of the game. Duke made a play when Clemson couldn't. The game should have never came to that point and should have went into overtime. Let's just hope that this is the last time that any such controversy takes place in Cameron Indoor.

Photos:

1. http://www.spokesmanreview.com/ap/media/Clemson_Duke_Basketball.sff.jpg

Early ACC Football Picks

The Atlantic Coast Conference released its official football schedule yesterday. The conference should be more competitive than last season. Each team should see improvement, with the exception of Duke. Boston College could stumble due to their recent coaching change. The cupboard was not bare at NC State and UNC, whereas at BC there have been a few losses to the roster that could make the transisition harder for the Eagles.

Wake Forest, 2006 ACC Champions, will be a better team; however, dont expect them to repeat last year's success. The loss of the Demon Deacons' heart and soul, Jon Abbate to the NFL will hurt and could be a much bigger loss than anyone could expect. Who will drive the team on the field? If they can answer that question, then they have a chance to once again make some noise in the ACC. The biggest news in WInston-Salem this March could very well be the spring football game. That is unless the 'Deacs head basketball coach, Skip Prosser, isn't let go at the end of the season.

Florida State added Jimbo Fisher as offensive coordinator and quite possibly the heir apparent to Bobby Bowden when he decides to step down as head man at FSU. That should lead to an improved offense. The Seminoles return almost all of their starting line-up from last year's 7-6 team, so that experience will go a long way to taking FSU back to the top of the ACC.

Miami will struggle this year. Not as bad as last year, but with first time head coach Randy Shannon the Hurricanes will take some time to get back to the top. The Hurricanes shouldn't expect to make it to the ACC title game, but a Chik-fil-a Peach Bowl appearance is not out of the question.

Virginia Tech will be the top dawgs in the Coastal Division and should improve on last year's 9-4 mark. The Peach Bowl collapse is behind them and Sean Glennon is poised to lead the Hokies to Jacksonville, or Charlotte.

Virginia will have a make or break year under Al Groh. If the Cavaliers fail to make a bowl game once again, then Groh could be out. Could Wake's Jim Grobe be the next guy at UVa? Quite possibly, but it is too early to tell. It is however too early to start that talk. I can't see a bowl game for the Wahoos but I do think they will be a lot more competitive than last season.

At Clemson the expectations are always high. Last year the expectations were extremely high; however, the Tigers fell toward the end of the season and lost to Kentucky in the Music City Bowl. Tommy Bowden could be on the hot-seat once again if the Tigers do not get off to a hot start. They won't win the ACC but they won't dissapoint.

Duke? 0-12? Probably!

Boston College's new offensive coordinator Steve Logan should be enough to keep the Eagles in just about every game this season. A return trip to the Meineke Bowl in Charlotte would make a successful season.

Chan Gailey appears to be staying in Atlanta as opposed to setting off for the NFL as a head coach. The Yellow Jackets lost to Wake in the ACC title game last year and blew a big lead against West Virginia in the Gator Bowl. Reggie Ball is gone for good, to the delight of many Ramblin' Wreck fans. Calvin Johnson, the all-world wide receiver, left for the NFL. The offense could struggle and the defense has never carried this team. A bowl appearance is highly unlikely for this bunch.

Butch Davis will trot his first Tar Heel football team onto the field this fall and has a long road ahead of him to make that program successful. As I stated before, teh cupboard is not bare in Chapel Hill but the recent struggles will make for yet another long year for the Heels. They won't be down too long though. Davis will have that place up and running within 2 to 3 seasons.

NC State has a disciplinarian and program builder at the helm with new head coach Tom O'Brien. The talented roster has lacked discipline over the past few years and the offense has been lathargic at best. The Wolfpack needed to take a new direction, and they did. The talent has been in place for several seasons and that is why O'Brien should be the most successful of all the new coaches in the ACC. The Wolfpack faithful shouldn't be making advanced plans for the ACC Championship, but the Gator Bowl is a realistic goal for the team that last won in October against FSU.

Maryland will be the wild car in the conference. Just as they were last season. I am not sure what to expect from the Terrapins. They return a good number of players to the squad that came within a field goal of an ACC title shot. A bowl game awaits them at the end of the season, but Boise, Idaho is their likely destination. However, noone ever knows quite what to expect from Ralph Friedgen's team. That's why you can never count them out.

This upcoming season should be a great one. The conference will be much improved and will gain back a lot of the respect that it lost last season with the sub-par performances of just about everybody. My early picks for the ACC championship game are FSU vs. Va. Tech. The winner of that game will be Va. Tech. The Hokies should be in the BCS title hunt, and could find themselves in the title game with a little luck. Other bowl teams from the conference will include Clemson (Champs), Wake (Music City), NC State (Meineke), FSU (Peach Bowl), Miami (Gator) and Maryland (Emerald). Coach of the year honors will belong to Va. Tech's Frank Beamer.

Boise State: Best Story...EVER!

For years the little guy has begged for the chance to play the big dogs of college football. And for years the big dogs have said. "Thanks, but no thanks!" Until this year when an extra game was added to the BCS to give the luttle gut a chance.

The Boise State Broncos, who have been better known for their blue field, ran the table and went undefeated during the regular season. The Broncos earned a spot in the BCS by finishing ranked in the top-12. They, as everyone knows by now, were sent to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl to face the Sooners of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma was winning national championships while Boise was still a junior college. Boise brought only 10 years of D-1A football experience to the table. It was Oklahoma and their 7 national titles versus Boise's junior college and D-1AA titles.

The Broncos pulled off the impossible and defeated the Sooners in overtime, in what was one of the greatest games in college football history.

The Broncos head coach, Chris Petersen, wins the award for the most intestinal fortitude after going for a 2-point conversion after scoring a touchdown to come within one point of Oklahoma in the overtime session. The Sooners never had a chance to stop the play and the Broncos' Ian Johnson scored the game winner and then got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend. (She said yes, by the way)

The Boise win will most definitely go down as the biggest upset in college football history and the biggest argument for a playoff. Boise is also the best story this year in college football.

Unlike Wake Forest, Lousiville or Rutgers, Boise State is not guaranteed a spot by winning their conference championship. The Broncos had no choise but to go undefeated and they did. Neither Wake Forest nor Louisville went undefeated, yet both were able to make it to the BCS. Had Boise went 11-1 or 11-2, then they would have played in some cut-rate bowl game. Granted Wake and Louisville play tougher schedules; however, neither had their BCS hopes shattered by losing regular season games.

Boise had to play with the must win pressure in every game and had a giant target on their back. Everyone they played wanted to play the spoiler and that coupled with the must-win pressure makes every game just as tough as any Wake or Lousiville played. And Boise went undefeated and then beat a college football dynasty.

They defeated an 11-2 Oklahoma team that was actually 12-1 (they lost a game at Oregon that the refs blew and the Pac-10 later apologized for). Their only "real" loss came to Texas in one of the most heated rivlaries in the country.

The Broncos deserve all of the credit in the world and will ultimately be responsible for bringing a playoff to college football. They are 13-0 and will not have a shot at playing for a national championship. They proved they could play with the big boys and they are still being denied.

Wake Forest had a great season and they deserve a truck load of credit as well. They won 11 games, a school record, and they are one of the smallest universities in D-1A. The Demon Deacons got hot while the rest of the ACC was stuck in the ice-age. That doesn't diminish what they did. Jim Grobe and the 'Deacs will be back next year and they will be a force to be reckoned with yet again. Can they repeat this year's performance? Probably not, but they are capable of churning out 7-8 and maybe even 9 wins on a regular basis. Grobe is going to have a sticky situation come spring time. QB Ben Mauk will be back and ready to compete for the job he lost to injury in the season's second game and Riley Skinner will eb fighting to keep that position. That could lead to one of 2 things. It could make the team better or tear them apart, hopefully it will be the first scenario that takes hold.

But, back to Boise State. Give the little guy a chance to win it all! Would they do it every year? No. Would they ever pull it off? Probably. Just ask Jim Valvano, Texas Western, Rudy or that team from Hoosiers. If Boise St. had the chance to play Ohio St., then they would probably lose. However, we will never know. That is because D-1A football has no clue as to what a real champion is. It is a shame because those kids who deserve at least the opportunity will never get it.

Photos:
1.http://img.groundspeak.com/cache/log/622b48f3-f34e-459a-acc6-800e2f00eaef.jpg
2.