Sunday 31 July 2016
Sunday News: Battleground, NC
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ELECTORAL MAP GIVES TRUMP FEW PLACES TO GO (New York Times) –Donald J. Trump, confronting a daunting electoral map and a significant financial disadvantage, is preparing to fall back from an expansive national campaign and concentrate on just three or four states that his campaign believes he must sweep in order to win the presidency. Trump allies have grown concerned about North Carolina, a Republican-leaning state that has large communities of black voters and college-educated whites — two audiences with which Mr. Trump is deeply unpopular.
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Dennis Smith Jr. getting rave reviews for performance at Adidas Nations
In his first serious competition since suffering a knee injury, Dennis Smith Jr. is impressing everybody. Smith is playing at the annual Adidas Nations event, which gives him an opportunity to play against other college players. His performance on Friday night earned a lot of positive remarks from media members.
One year after tearing his ACL, right here at this very camp, Dennis Smith showing he is absolutely back to 100% physically. #adidasnations
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) July 30, 2016
Buying Dennis Smith Jr. stock. All there but the jumper. NC State's gonna be a scouting destination this season.
— Luke Winn (@lukewinn) July 30, 2016
Dominating first half from Dennis Smith. Not a ton of prospects on the team he's playing against, but he's working college vets right now.
— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) July 30, 2016
For the college hoops fans still awake, Dennis Smith Jr is killing dudes at Adidas Nations right now. Gonna be a monster at NC State
— Aaron Torres (@Aaron_Torres) July 30, 2016
Just asked Dennis Smith: On a scale of 1-100 how his knee was. His answer: "110 percent."
— Aaron Torres (@Aaron_Torres) July 30, 2016
Here is the box score from the game:
Box Score from Court 6 (Dennis Smith) from Day 1 http://pic.twitter.com/mvaPQWiR0C
— NBADraft.net (@nbadraftnet) July 30, 2016
DSJ played with NC State teammates Abdul-Malik Abu and Maverick Rowan in the game. Smith scored 17 points on 8-15 shooting, with four rebounds, four assists, and six steals. That’ll work.
Everybody was at least a little worried about how a major knee injury might affect Smith’s game—how could you not be—but it doesn’t look like that setback cost him much at all. He looks explosive, and by his own account, his knee is 110% good fine great tremendous. There is substantial video evidence of this.
I realize this is a dangerous sentiment in Raleigh, but man, I’m ready for basketball season to start, like, yesterday.
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Saturday 30 July 2016
We need to incorporate, not dismiss Bernie supporters
They're not entirely wrong:
Virtuecrat – (noun): A sanctimonious person, usu. of the political left. The Harvard Dictionary of Political Eccentricities. Welcome, friends, to the world of the virtuecrats. You may find their school of politics familiar. In 1948 they broke with the Democrats and marched under the “Progressive” banner of FDR’s former vice president, Henry A. Wallace...
You may have detected the same note of righteous indignation in Philadelphia among some noisy followers of Bernie Sanders. They taunted moderates and told television reporters that it “doesn’t matter” who wins the election, Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. Some walked out. They rely on the fiction that Hillary Clinton’s nomination was “rigged.”
Calling them "Virtuecrats" is fairly accurate. Their sometimes vicious moral superiority can be tedious, to say the least. It has the effect of casting all others as either naive or a willing participant in the destruction of our democracy. Or whatever they think is happening. All that said, when you sweep away the anger and frustration and look at the issues in question, there *is* substance to their movement:
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Three-star running back Erin Collins commits to NC State
NC State’s been having a lot of success recruiting in Florida during this cycle, and that continued Friday. Erin Collins, a running back from Armwood High School in Seffner, FL, announced his commitment to the Wolfpack on Twitter.
I have committed to North Carolina state university. I would like to thank god my parents and my coaches #wolfpack http://pic.twitter.com/1FZH0H1KCS
— Erin Collins (@collinserin20) July 29, 2016
Collins visited Raleigh earlier this month and had State in his top five prior to making his announcement. He is a consensus three-star prospect, per the 247Sports composite rankings, who also holds offers from Minnesota, UCF, and Indiana.
Here’s a brief scouting report from Scout.com:
Collins, a three-star prospect who's now closing in on a chiseled 200 pounds, is a smooth athlete that shows nice burst and vision when operating between the tackles. Collins can continue to work on keeping his pad level down, but possesses nimble feet and can make cuts at full speed. He has a reputation for stretching the field and being that home-run hitter in the offensive backfield.
As he heads into his senior season, he’s been ranked as the No. 27 prep player in the Tampa area by the Tampa Bay Times. Collins piled up 688 rushing yards on only 81 carries (8.5 yds/carry) as a junior to go with 422 yards on 17 receptions (24.8 yds/catch). Those are some pretty impressive per-touch averages, to put it mildly.
Collins is the first running back commitment in NC State’s 2017 class, and I’d imagine there won’t be any other additions at that position. NC State has 14 verbals for 2017, half of them from Florida.
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A defibrillator to the Democratic Party’s heart
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4th Circuit slaps down Republican voter suppression law
The intent to disenfranchise people of color is obvious:
We appreciate and commend the court on its thoroughness. The record evidence provides substantial support for many of its findings; indeed, many rest on uncontested facts. But, for some of its findings, we must conclude that the district court fundamentally erred. In holding that the legislature did not enact the challenged provisions with discriminatory intent, the court seems to have missed the forest in carefully surveying the many trees. This failure of perspective led the court to ignore critical facts bearing on legislative intent, including the inextricable link between race and politics in North Carolina.
Boom. Or is it Bam? One of those two things.
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Friday 29 July 2016
NC State fall camp position battles to watch: Defense edition
The defense is in pretty good shape in terms of returning starters, and the defensive line should be a strength. There are several starting spots to be had on this side of the ball, though, and in places there is a worrisome lack of experience.
Cornerback
Between the two of them, Mike Stevens and Jack Tocho have appeared in 60 games at NC State, with 33 starts. They spent a lot of time on the boundary side in 2015, with Juston Burris handling most of the duty to the field side.
Stevens and Tocho are easily the most seasoned players at corner, but will one of them be capable of taking over Burris’ role in the secondary, and if not, where does NC State turn? There is little proven talent behind that pair, which is one reason that Johnathan Alston was moved from receiver to defensive back for the 2016 season.
Of the 11 players listed at corner on State’s roster, five are either true or redshirt freshmen, which is to say that they’ve never played a down of college football. And Alston, obviously, has had no in-season reps at DB either.
The returning CBs who did see the field last year: Sean Paul (4 snaps at corner), Freddie Phillips (3), and Nicholas Lacey (0; he was exclusively a special-teamer). There is a lot to be sorted out here.
Defensive end
NC State’s defensive line returns largely (heh!) intact; the notable departure is Mike Rose, who started every game at one of the end spots. The Wolfpack should have Bradley Chubb at one end spot to begin the year, with B.J. Hill and Kentavius Street in the middle, leaving Rose’s vacancy to be filled.
On the other hand, State’s coaches could choose to move Street back outside, which was his presumptive position coming out of high school. Street’s versatility and strength allow him to fill multiple roles, and while all of his starts last year came on the interior, he didn’t spend all of his time there.
Perhaps if, say, DT Justin Jones—who logged a lot of reps in 2015—has a good camp, State would feel comfortable putting Street back at defensive end.
If not, then an obvious candidate for Rose’s place along the line is Darian Roseboro, who like Street was a four-star prospect out of high school. Rose spent a lot of his true freshman year catching up to the speed of college football but still finished third on the team in sacks, and also took a pick to the house.
Safety
Between Hakim Jones’ graduation and Germaine Pratt’s move to linebacker, NC State is missing quite a bit of experience at the back end. Fortunately, Josh Jones is back to anchor one of the safety spots.
Shawn Boone was on the field for nearly 200 snaps as a sophomore and would have played more if he hadn’t missed four games because of injury. He’s as good a candidate as anybody else to nab that second safety spot.
Josh Sessoms is entering his fifth year at NC State, but he hasn’t seen much of the field during a career that’s taken him from safety to wide receiver and back to safety again. What kind of production is he capable of giving this group?
If there’s a general theme in the secondary, maybe it’s less about sorting out the first string and more about wading through the youth and uncertainty to find reliable reserve players.
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Democrats won the conventions
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Hapless McCrory blames Cooper for NBA All-Star exodus
He's going to have to see a chiropractor after this twist:
"We actually had a deal with the NBA," McCrory said. The deal did not include any change to the restroom, showers, or locker room provisions of HB2. He said the NBA leaders told him that this was not an issue for them.
But the deal was tanked by leftist politicians and activists. Namely, his Democratic opponent - Attorney General Roy Cooper. "Roy actually helped sabotage that deal by calling Democratic legislators to say don't vote - all or nothing - don't vote for it. By sabotaging that, the NBA decided not to come. The HRC [Human Rights Campaign] was very, very influential in trying to sabotage that, too."
Okay, let me get this straight, because your "confused little boy" fist-clenching is really hard to follow: You claim you had an agreement with the NBA, and the Senate bill in question was acceptable to them. The bill passed, you signed it, so your alleged "deal" was honored. The Dem Senators didn't "sabotage" the vote, they just refused to take part. So apparently you did not have a deal with the NBA, unless it was merely in your imagination. Which is very possible. And also more than a little scary...
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When charter schools go horribly wrong
They can leave your child struggling to catch up:
In spring 2014 with about a month left in the school year, StudentFirst was in debt by more than $600,000 and shut its doors, giving only a week’s notice. Rochelle scrambled to get her children into a public magnet school operated by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district.
A few weeks later at the new school, her eldest son, CJ, a third-grader, failed the end-of-year reading test—and Rochelle fully realized that StudentFirst’s shortcomings were not just financial, but academic as well. “It became clear that CJ had learned virtually nothing. He fell behind in all subject areas. He went to summer school after that to begin catching up.”
This whole idea of "competition" improving results all around in education is faulty, and the product of an equally faulty economic model. Competition in the retail sector brings focus to prices, driving them down. Which encourages stocking even cheaper products, very often imports slapped together in foreign sweatshops. The overall quality of goods deteriorates, and the same thing happens in the education sector. Charters and vouchers siphon off funding that should go to traditional schools, and these new private-sector "competitors" can employ non-certified teachers, some of them with no formal training in educating children. Instead of demanding quality, we're crossing our fingers and hoping quality magically appears out of thin air. That's not responsible leadership, it's the exact opposite: The complete abrogation of responsibility.
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The #goacc Moment of the Week (7/29/2016)
The weekly in-depth look at the best (worst?) moments in ACC schadenfreude.
We’re finally getting #goacc season ramped back up, y’all. I’ll be honest, unlike the past two seasons, the offseason this year has been a bit sparse in terms of #goacc material. Never fear though, we’re back this week with some hilarious moments from ACC Kickoff, and more. We’ll close with the mocking of yet another worthy #suregrin winner, and as always, some wisdom from the world of wrasslin’. Let’s get right down to the vote. Which is your #goacc Moment of the Week? Vote below!
1. Kyrie Irving wears a bracelet with a very blunt statement (h/t @JordanHeckFF).
Kyrie Irving is wearing a wristband that says "Don't be a little bitch." #Cavs http://pic.twitter.com/XHdqEsyzF5
— Jordan Heck (@JordanHeckFF) July 22, 2016
I suppose that’s strong advice, yes. We should all strive to not be a little bitch.
2. A fire alarm went off during ACC Kickoff interviews, and nobody moved (h/t @joeovies).
#goacc http://pic.twitter.com/SRxbLD6g0T
— Joe Ovies (@joeovies) July 22, 2016
Gotta get that content created, fire drills be damned!
3. Brandon Ingram said he never missed a FT in high school. About that...(h/t @SBNation).
Brandon Ingram says he never missed a free throw in high school.
— SB Nation (@SBNation) July 21, 2016
[checks receipts]
Actually, he missed 105: https://t.co/tuKIXatWuW
What an odd thing to claim, because surely he had to have known someone was going to go fact check such a ridiculous statement.
4. Virginia Tech came up with a bingo board to play at ACC Kickoff.
Tune in at 1:20 for @CoachFuente's first #ACCKickoff press conference & play #FuenteBingo!https://t.co/fCmZPGQVUt http://pic.twitter.com/s0C2wDBiuB
— VT Football (@VT_Football) July 21, 2016
Loved that they included coachspeak as some of the options, pointing out some of the dumb platitudes that coaches have to say at these sorts of media events. Well played, VT. The Fuente era is off to a good #goacc start, but let’s be honest - he’s got some big shoes to fill if he wants to reach Beamer status in terms of #goacc.
5. Ben Boulware had some hilarious reactions to the VR setup at ACC Kickoff (h/t @theACCDN).
.@benboulware7 may be wearing swaggy blue pants.. But he's not too fond of the ocean
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) July 22, 2016
"y'all... I might cry" http://pic.twitter.com/k8VQA1Z4tf
Y’all, this is too much. There are some great other videos from the ACC DN up on their twitter feed too, so check them out.
6. Russell Wilson continues to remain weird as hell (h/t @armstrongabc11).
Hahahaha. They still make posters like this? http://pic.twitter.com/1sJUbuKwW8
— Mark Armstrong (@ArmstrongABC11) July 27, 2016
Just........sigh. He’s gotta lay off the nanobubbles.
the #suregrin award.
This week’s goes out to ECU’s absurdly thirsty move of practically begging the Big 12 to accept them as an expansion member. Akula touched on this earlier, but for the love of God just look at this:
Looks like @ECUAthletics would be an excellent travel partner along with @WVUSports! http://pic.twitter.com/7FN5tKRS23
— ECUAthletics (@ECUAthletics) July 25, 2016
It looks like the state of NC is urinating on all of the other Big 12 members. That’s not exactly going to inspire the Big 12 to bring y’all in, Pirates.
And now, for your moment of wrasslin’...
THE JIM ROSS BAH GAWD MOMENT OF THE WEEK!!
Truth be told, I wasn’t able to get a clip edited in time for this week’s post. However, Deadspin put together a prospectus of Stone Cold Stunners, and it’s well worth your time:
The Stone Cold Stunner is the most important wrestling move of all time: https://t.co/8FC6zQGq5o http://pic.twitter.com/zgzPPobjaS
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) July 28, 2016
Hell, it’s worth it just for this insane compilation video they posted from YouTube of just about every stunner imaginable (this video is almost 30 minutes long lol).
Have a great week everyone!
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DNC Day 3: An Interview with Ken Serrano
Tonight at the DNC I found myself sitting next to a handsome young man from Madrid, Spain. Ken just finished his freshman year at the University of Tampa. He has an internship this summer with Congressman Joe Garcia from Miami
We began to talk and one of Ken’s first observations was that American youth seems uninvolved in government. He wondered why they were so disconnected or disinterested.
Ken wants to help make sure that Donald Trump is not elected. He explained that he feels this election holds worldwide importance. He says that in Spain, Trump is not admired as a world leader. He asked me why I thought Donald Trump wanted to be president. My response was that Trump has always been self-serving and self-motivated. He nodded.
He stated that he lives in a democracy in Spain. He was raised in a family that believes in equal rights for all races and religions and people. He does not believe Donald Trump shares in those values. This is a concern for Ken.
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SD-19: Meredith Poised for Reelection in Swing District
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Dallas Woodhouse and his Twitter War Team Screwed the Pooch
Dallas Woodhouse and his motley band of Twitter warriors screwed up in epic fashion last night. After rallying the crowds of Facebook to follow their Twitter War Room during the DNC last night, Woodhouse and his team failed to exercise basic common sense before attacking Tim Kaine during his speech.
The results:
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Op-Ed on the GOP's disingenuous attack on wind energy in NC
In which I preach from my chair a little bit:
In each of the last five years, we have seen numerous attempts by the Republican-led General Assembly to erode environmental protections and undermine the fantastic growth in our clean energy sector. Some have succeeded, some have failed, but the efforts have been relentless. In this previous short session, one of the more notable of these was Sen. Harry Brown’s attempt to ban the construction of wind energy projects in the vast majority of the state, in particular eastern North Carolina, where the most suitable winds are located.
While this bill failed to pass out of the N.C. House this year, Brown has promised to bring it back again next year. When he does, it needs to go to the Rules Committee or wherever the muckety-mucks decide is the best place for it to die a slow, legislative death.
I would like to take this time to encourage everybody reading this to engage in the process of analysis and feedback with media outlets, especially print media. Their "stable" of content creators has shrank severely in the last decade or so, and they are much more open to publishing material from non-standard sources. By "non-standard" I mean clumsy amateurs like myself. :)
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Making the case
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Recant or resign, Richard
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Scouting Omer Yurtseven: An evaluation from Draft Express
NC State signee Omer Yurtseven has been playing this summer for Turkey’s U20 team in a FIBA tournament, and while the Turks didn’t win the championship, they showed well, and Yurtseven played well. He averaged 23 points and 12 rebounds per 40 minutes.
Draft Express’ Joshua Riddell has an extensive evaluation of Yurtseven following that event, including some thoughts on how he can fit in at NC State:
He will be one of the better offensive players for the Wolfpack as well. He should be used in ball screens regularly and will be a safety valve as a baseline cutter who can catch every dump-off pass. Can be used sparingly in the post. Will help rebound on both ends, especially if he is able to box out ACC big men on the defensive side to help finish plays.
Yurtseven looks like a good finisher at the rim, but as a wiry seven-footer, may not have the strength yet to be a good defensive rebounder in the ACC. With Turkey, most of his rebounds came at the offensive end, which is not a bad thing by any means but is mildly discouraging since NC State is going to need help at the defensive end with Lennard Freeman out.
Freeman is an excellent defensive rebounder whose production is going to need replacing. Abdul-Malik Abu will grab plenty of defensive boards, but he’s got to get consistent help from BeeJay Anya, Darius Hicks, and Yurtseven.
One side factor you have to recognize with a kid like Yurtseven is you don’t get him into your strength and conditioning program early. He’s been busy playing abroad and isn’t supposed to report to Raleigh until mid-August. Not ideal. With a talent like this, though, you take it every time.
Dude’s going to be a good player for State. Dennis Smith might be the perfect complement for him. Of course, Dennis Smith could be the perfect complement for a lot of players.
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Thursday 28 July 2016
The man in the arena does it again
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NC State’s apparel deal with Adidas is nation’s 14th-most valuable
NC State signed a six-year contract extension with Adidas late last year worth almost $39 million in total. That agreement represented a huge increase over NC State’s previous deal, and it also one of the top 15 richest apparel deals college sports, according to Forbes.
That’s impressive, though it’s important to remember that the timing of various deals across major college sports varies widely. Comparing a contract signed in 2015 to one signed in 2010 is not exactly and apples-to-apples evaluation. When the next cycle of negotiations hits—several big-name schools are up for new deals in 2018 or 2019—State is gonna fall down the list.
That doesn’t change the fact that NC State managed to get a really good deal out of Adidas. It has a higher dollar value than a lot of contracts handed out in a similar time frame, and even better, it’s a relatively short agreement, which gets State back to the negotiating table sooner.
Yow spoke recently with Pack Pride about the negotiation process, and among other things, she was candid about Nike’s utter lack of interest, which I found interesting:
"Actually, Nike has not been interested either time that we put this on the street," said Yow. "They certainly had the opportunity through the RFP. They're not serious.
"It isn't just us. I know that for a fact. They're leading in this industry category. [They] don't feel the need, particularly, to add new schools. When they add, it's very selective."
Nike is in such strong position that it can get Michigan to spurn Adidas and Under Armour despite making a lower offer than either of them. What’s the Swoosh need us for anyway—they’ve got our more prominent neighbors down the road already.
A lot can change in six years, and I know a lot of folks are always gonna be hoping for a Nike deal at some point. But this Adidas contract isn’t exactly going to have Wolfpack athletics starving over the next half decade.
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DNC Day 2: Final thoughts
Elayne had some final thoughts last night about the events of the day, so I thought I would share them before tonight's speeches got started.
Celebrity sighting; my Facebook friend, Christine Pelosi. It was such a thrill to not only hear her speak but to meet her. She touches my heart because we have both been on this journey to educate down-ticket Dems to run effective campaigns.
I was sad that there were only 20-30 people in the room for this dynamic session entitled “10 Secrets to winning campaigns” which offered cutting edge strategies for campaigns.
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2016 preseason All-ACC football team announced; Jaylen Samuels adds another snub to his list
If not the Mackey Award people, or the Hornung Award people, then surely—surely!—we could count on ACC media members to recognize Jaylen Samuels. After all, Samuels was a first-team All-ACC selection last season.
But ... nope. Samuels, who I have been told does indeed plan on playing college football this season, finished second in the voting at TE to Clemson’s Jordan Leggett. Leggett played in two more games than Samuels and had 22 fewer receptions, but he is a “true tight end” or whatever and WE MUST MAINTAIN THE PURITY OF THE GREAT AND MOST HOLY TIGHT END POSITION.
Go cram that vote down your cramholes, ya dingbats.
Tony Adams, A.J. Cole, Joe Scelfo, Jack Tocho, Josh Jones, Nyheim Hines, B.J. Hill, Bradley Chubb, Matt Dayes, and Bra’Lon Cherry also received some votes.
Hill continues to fly under the radar, while Hines got very little respect from voters, who gave him zero votes at receiver and just three at specialist.
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The lesson of Bernie Sanders
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Wednesday News: HB2 goes national edition
HB2 PLAYS INTO DEMOCRATIC, GOP PLATFORMS (WRAL-TV) -- Education and economic opportunity are longtime planks in the Democratic Party platform, but the fight over transgender rights that has been raging in North Carolina for months has now entered the national political fray. North Carolina's House Bill 2, which excludes gay and transgender people from anti-discrimination protections and requires transgender people to use bathrooms in schools and other public buildings that correspond to their birth gender, has affected both the Democratic and Republican platforms adopted their respective conventions.
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Left behind: The GOP cuts funding for special needs children
Because tax cuts for the wealthy take precedence:
About 2,200 children are part of the state's CAP/C program, which gives medically fragile children, and their families, access to money for nursing and other special needs. News that the state was reducing those services stunned the Weaver family when they found out Sophia's allotted nursing hours would be cut in half.
"It was completely shocking," Weaver said. "I was stressed and in shock for a couple of days and then I just got my mom spirit going and decided I needed to fight this. I will do whatever it takes to fight it, and that's what I'm doing right now."
If lawmakers were forced to spend just one hour taking care of one of these children, at least some of them might get it. But that would never happen, because they keep themselves insulated from such suffering. And their policies reflect that disconnect.
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Wednesday 27 July 2016
DNC day two recap: a different Bill, a better Hillary
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DNC Day 2: You know you are at the DNC if...
It is official! Hillary Clinton is the first woman candidate nominated to run for president by a major political party.
The vast majority of drama came in the form of heartwarming stories and nomination speeches. I was brought to tears by Larry Sanders being allowed to individually cast his vote for his younger brother as part of the Americans Living Abroad delegation. I also leaked tears when a long-time friend of Hillary's spoke and could barely get the words out as she was overcome with emotion.
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NC State’s strength program paying off for B.J. Hill and the defensive line
In essence, football is basically organized pushin’. That guy’s pushing, that other guy there is pushing, that fellow on the other side of the field is pushing. Everybody’s constantly pushing each other around the field. So it follows that to be successful, you need to be the pusher more often than the pushee.
B.J. Hill knows a little something about that, as he is coming off an impressive sophomore season in which he recorded 50 tackles, 11 of those for a loss. Already a large and strong human, he appears to have gotten even stronger this offseason.
I'm up to something http://pic.twitter.com/DmoT6ZcvTg
— BJ Hill (@BJHill5) July 25, 2016
That’s a lot of weight. That’s like benching three of me. Or roughly 12,000 McNuggets. (And after spending time actually calculating that number, I feel somewhat disappointed that pounds is the standard for weightlifting benchmarks, and not McNuggets. How many McNuggets ya bench, bro?)
Anyway, Hill is just one of several members of the Wolfpack football team showing off impressive weightlifting numbers, as ESPN’s Andrea Adelson explained on Twitter this afternoon:
NC State returns eight starters on defense and should be led by its front seven, bigger and stronger than any group Dave Doeren has had with the Wolfpack. Seven players power cleaned over 350 pounds during the offseason: defensive ends James Smith-Williams, Kentavius Street and Bradley Chubb, along with defensive tackles Justin Jones, Eurndraus Bryant, B.J. Hill and Monty Nelson. When Doeren arrived four years ago, he only had one player hit that mark.
Let’s hope this helps lead the defense to a better season, because between the unknown QB situation and the schedule, the defense has to be better. Maybe these guys, what with their improved strength and therefore improved pushing skills, can simply sack the quarterback on every play. Boy that would really help out a lot.
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Day two of the DNC: the challenge going forward
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SD-18: Barefoot Won’t Be Caught Flatfooted in Senate Race
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Day two of the Democratic National Convention: until the last Big Dog dies
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All in a day at the DNC
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Tuesday Twitter roundup
This says it all:
Hillary putting cracks in that highest glass ceiling and we are with her -- @flotus #ncpol #demcovention
— Angela R. Bryant (@angelareb) July 26, 2016
We made history eight years ago, and we're going to make history again this year.
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Tuesday 26 July 2016
Michelle Obama wins the night and gives her party some hope
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DNC Day 1: A report from the streets of Philly
After attending the Democratic National Conventions in 2008 and 2012, I was not able to go and represent BlueNC this year. Fortunately, my good friend, Elayne DeMaria, the founder of DownTicketDems.com is there and is willing to send pictures and some stories from the field.
If you have never been, the convention week features festivals, concerts, seminars, meetings, receptions, and parties. All of this happens before, during, and after the main event.
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Are you there, Big 12? It’s me, East Carolina
Not long after the ACC and ESPN announced an agreement to establish a linear ACC Network, the Big 12 pulled a 180 on its conference expansion position. The Big 12 is now all about some expansion. Give the Big 12 all your lovin’, don’t let up until they’re through.
So now that topic everyone got tired of like five years ago is back, except this time it comes with more East Carolina. Yes, that East Carolina. You know the East Carolina I’m talking about. Garishly clad outfit incapable of defending a hail mary. Down yonder. Right, that’s the one.
East Carolina would really really really really really like to be in the Big 12:
http://pic.twitter.com/2SCSbuBbFw
— ECUAthletics (@ECUAthletics) July 21, 2016
If the Big 12’s expansion teams don’t come from the pool of BYU/Cincy/Memphis/Houston/UConn/UCF/USF, it’ll be some kind of miracle, but nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? Never know what might help. Fart those words out there, man, you can’t tell how they might land.
Looks like @ECUAthletics would be an excellent travel partner along with @WVUSports! http://pic.twitter.com/7FN5tKRS23
— ECUAthletics (@ECUAthletics) July 25, 2016
[cuts to Big 12 HQ]
“SIR!”
“What is it, Johnson?”
“This school I just heard of, sir, they’re good at maps!”
“Get the fuck out of here!”
“I’m serious, sir.”
“No, I mean, leave so that I can call them to tell them they’re in.”
“Oh, stop it.”
“God we have fun.” /they laugh for 10 minutes
***simultaneously, 2,000 miles away at AAC HQ***
“MY GOD.”
“What the hell is it, Jerry?”
“Sir did you realize the East Carolina people could do geography?”
“WHAT.”
“It appears to be true, sir.”
“You said the school was called what now?”
“It’s not important.”
“It’s on the east what?”
“Honestly it doesn’t matter.”
“So I can get back to this cup of coffee, then?”
“What’s the move today? Two-percent?”
“Nah, I went half-and-half.”
“Cool.”
“Right. So I’ll see ya.” /resumes stirring coffee, walks away
[end scene]
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PoliticsNC: LIVE from the DNC
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Feeling the Bern in Philly
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Profile of a Possible Savior REDUX: Sean Miller
Spring 2011, after years in the wilderness, NC State parted ways with Sidney Lowe and were in the business of finding someone to save us. The media portrayed us as being rejected numerous times, so eventually Mark Gottfried ended up answering the call and has experienced positive-to-mixed results over his 5 year tenure. This series will take a hop in the TARDIS and theorize whether or not we would have been better (or worse) with another candidate from Backing the Pack's famed, award-winning* Profile Of A Possible Savior series or POAPS for short.
*validity of statement under question
(All stats & figures from Wikipedia, KenPom, & Scout.com)
Mark Gottfried's tenure at NC State:
Layman Stats
|
Overall Record |
108-69 (.610) |
|
Conference Record |
44-44 (.5) |
|
NCAA Appearances |
4 (2 Sweet Sixteens) |
|
Conference Titles |
0 |
|
4/5 Stars Signed |
13 |
Geek Stats (KenPom)
|
Average National Rank Overall |
48 |
|
Average Adj O / Avg National Rank |
112.6 / 24 |
|
Average Adj D / Avg National Rank |
100.1 / 115 |
Next Up
Arizona Head Coach Sean Miller
In The Beginning
Whenever there is a coaching change every team in every sport has a dream candidate. This person may not have the best accolades of any of the other candidates but they just seem to check off all the proverbial boxes. Whether its familiarity with the school/region, accomplishments, personality or experience...these candidates represent it all. Gregg Marshall and Shaka Smart would've been home runs, but Sean Miller would've been a grand slam for NC State. Miller spent time at State as an assistant, is a phenomenal recruiter and has shown that he could take pretty solid programs and maintain (or expand upon) their success. State's ever so reliable rumor mill expressed that there may have been some interest from Sean in the job even though he was just 2 years in at a high-profile program like Arizona. The rumors were unfounded and another case of false hope (Billy Donovan is ON CAMPUS!) that gave the appearance that our coaching search was a failure. Miller was so desired that some folks speculated that his unproven younger brother and NC State alum, Archie, should've been considered. Boy...we all were taking crazy pills weren't we? Hell at least we weren't the only ones...(Hiya Twerps). In the end, Sean's only knock at the time was an association with some guy named Herb Sendek...did folks have strong feelings about that guy at the time or something?
5 Years Later...
Layman Stats
|
Overall Record |
142-38 (.79) |
|
Conference Record |
67-23 (.74) |
|
NCAA Appearances |
4 (2 Elite 8, 1 Sweet Sixteen) |
|
Conference Titles |
3 (2 Reg, 1 Tourny) |
|
4/5 Stars Signed |
18 |
Geek Stats (KenPom)
|
Average Rank |
18 |
|
Average Adj O / National Rank |
113.3/ 29 |
|
Average Adj D / National Rank |
92.5/ 27 |
Sean Miller wins games folks. While he missed the NCAAs in his third year (Gott's first) not only has he made it 4 straight times but has made deep runs, just missing out on that elusive Final Four twice. A near 80% win percentage overall and winning ¾ of your conference's games in the Pac-12 are Hall of Fame worth numbers if Miller can keep that streak going. He's been so close that he feels almost like a Jay Wright-type...a guy who's level of success makes you wonder when, not if, he'll win a national title.
Would He Have Recruited Better Than Gottfried?
At the end of last year this would've been a landslide of epic proportions. But then June happened, and Gottfried re-upped his great reputation as a recruiter. Still, what Sean Miller has done at Arizona is phenomenal. UA is definitely a great job but not only has Miller been able to wrangle numerous 5 star recruits there, Arizona has commonly had Top 5/Top 10 classes. With an average of over 3 high-level recruits per year, Sean Miller proves that he is still a significant step above Gottfried.
Advantage: Miller
Would He Have a Better Offense Than Gottfried?
When I first started putting this series together there were some assumptions I made. One was that Sean Miller would be leaps and bounds above Gottfried in all of these categories. I was wrong. Both Miller and Gottfried missed the NCAA Tournament one year out of the 5 we've been reviewing. In that year their offenses struggled mightily BUT during the other 4 they performed quite well. Look, comparing the average offensive rank of 24 to 29 gives Gottfried a small edge. Comparing the average Adj O gives Miller a silk thin leg up over Mark. So in this category it's pick your poison and there really isn't a definite conclusion to be made. Bias makes me want to say "Advantage: Gottfried" but this is just really the best example of a "wash" this series.
Advantage: A Wash
Would He Have a Better Defense Than Gottfried?
Arizona had back to back years ranked #2 in defense. WELP!
Advantage: Miller
Conclusion
It is fascinating to consider where Sean Miller's Arizona program is compared to NC State. Arizona has recruited at a high level with a couple of deep runs in the NCAA, commonly ranked highly in the polls, and a few conference titles. When the "The Musician" Lute Olsen left Arizona it had a recent winning tradition with a national title under its belt and a Pact-10(12) that didn't have a wide-range of competition. Miller successfully maintained that but the State job would've been very different to start from with 5 years of missed NCAAs and 1 Sweet Sixteen in 20+ years. What would've made Miller more successful here than anyone on this list, in my opinion, is his familiarity with the area and the culture of the school. While Herb failed to fuel much fire in our rivalries with U*NC and Duke, Miller would at least recognize how the fanbase felt due to his time here as an assistant. Not only is he a perfect fit in that sense, but he has recruited at an elite level and maintained Top 30 offenses and defenses over his tenure at UA. It's not a stretch to believe that a conference title or an Elite 8 (or more) would be hanging from the rafters had Miller come here. We are fine right now that State "may be near when it seems so far" to these goals but Sean Miller would have been the perfect hire for State in 2011.
Post-Mort on POAPS Redux
In general I am supportive of the job Gottfried has done here. The transfers are worrisome as is our inability to play competent defense but overall I am satisfied with where we are as a program. That's where doing this series worried me a bit initially. Mainly, I worried because this was my first foray into really researching and digging somewhat into advanced statistics for comparison purposes. I assumed that many of these candidates would shine over Gottfried in multiple categories, which as I look back, was more than likely a reflection of this past year than his overall tenure. This did lead to some revelations as we look to next season:
1) Gottfried's offenses are near-elite. Others have highlighted this in the past but it's now more stark when compared to various other coaches. Some take exception to this point because the UCLA High-Post has often been abandoned over the past 3 years with reliance on one spectacular player scoring for us. Why is that a problem? Every one of those guys Gott recruited here and instead of forcing an offensive system, like some past coaches would do, he allowed his players and teams to do what's best to win. Some coaches get praised for making adjustments, others fit a narrative that makes folks skeptical.
2) Gott recruits better than most. June was funny when writing these because the section on Gott's stats had to be updated over and over again. The only name on this list that out-recruits Gottfried is Sean Miller. Shaka & Cuonzo both showed promise but Gott is showing something amazing in bringing in these guys to a team that hasn't won anything in decades.
3) Our defense has to get better. Almost all the candidates we've reviewed have had better defenses than Gottfried. Even some of the poor ones have had flirtations with Top 30 defenses while we've been nowhere close. This doesn't imply just a deficiency; it implies a level of neglect considering the talent we have had here these past 5 years. In comparison with other candidates, Gottfried could elevate his reputation if he found an answer to that question and truly make the program elite.
4) Projecting the future success of a coach is hard. While dodging Steven's assassination attempts over the less than flattering portrait of Tim Miles, it was curious to see how hard college basketball really is...even for good mid-major coaches. Miles, Chris Mooney, & Cuonzo Martin were guys whose numbers and acumen implied they'd have great success on the high-major college level. Cuonzo seems to just be finding his footing after a couple of stops, Mooney is just treading water, and Miles is in an unwinnable situation. Guys we didn't revisit like Brian Gregory (WHEW!), Blaine Taylor (fired 3 years after we hired Gott), and Mike Lonergan (currently um...dealing with some stuff) would've been disasters. Finding a Shaka Smart or a Tony Bennett to make that transition successfully is the exception and not the rule.
5) We made the right hire. Miller wasn't leaving Arizona & Marshall, Smart were just fishing a bit. After an awkward coaching search Debbie landed on Gottfried which is exactly what State needed at the time. We hadn't hired a coach with previous high-major coaching experience since Norm Sloan. And of the 4 we did hire, 2 were catastrophes, one did solidly before he wore out his welcome, and the other was Jim Valvano. Hiring Gottfried, a re-tread, was outside the box from what State had done in the past. Plus, hiring guys who have resigned or been fired from their previous job raises concerns and dampens the excitement of a fanbase. Yet in Coach Gottfried we found a competitive guy with a strong personality who knew the region and had something more to prove. Other options like Tubby had nothing left to offer and Miller had a great thing going in Arizona. So while Gottfried may never win another national title here, in retrospect, his coming here in 2011 compared to all the other candidates shows he may not have been the BEST hire, but he was the RIGHT hire for that time.
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NC State picked to finish fourth in Atlantic Division; Clemson heavy favorite to win ACC
The ACC’s preseason football media poll was released on Monday, and to absolutely nobody’s surprise, Clemson is widely expected to repeat as league champion. NC State, also not surprisingly, was picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic, behind Clemson, FSU, and Louisville.
Atlantic Division
(First place votes in parenthesis)
1. Clemson (148) – 1,293
2. Florida State (42) – 1,176
3. Louisville (1) - 961
4. NC State - 704
5. Boston College - 441
6. Syracuse - 426
7. Wake Forest - 347
Coastal Division
(First place votes in parenthesis)
1. North Carolina (121) – 1,238
2. Miami (50) – 1,108
3. Pitt (14) - 859
4. Virginia Tech (3) - 697
5. Duke (2) - 597
6. Georgia Tech (1) - 588
7. Virginia - 261
As usual, the bulk of uncertainty lies in the Coastal, where UNC is picked to repeat as division champ. Miami is always stacked with talent and always gets a bunch of first-place votes that it has never, ever earned. Some things never change in this league, I tell ya.
I like Pittsburgh to nab the division this year and go on to lose the ACC title game in true, heartbreaking Pittsburgh fashion. (Note: I am not a media member and do not have a vote. Y’know, just if that weren’t already clear.) Pitt’s got a difficult September that includes a road trip to UNC, though, and the Panthers also have to play at Clemson this year.
The Tar Heels return a lot from an incredibly prolific offense and should smoothly transition from Marquise Williams to Mitch Trubisky, much as it pains me to write those words. We should know a lot about the Coastal and the Heels early—they have Pitt to open league play, then have a run of games against FSU, Virginia Tech, and Miami. The FSU and Miami games are on the road.
Scheduling breaks (or a lack thereof) tend to be a bigger factor on this side of the league, but really, who knows what the sweet heck is gonna happen. Coastal chaos is why the ACC is so much fun every year.
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Crooked and Rigged
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Trea Turner is finding his niche with the Nationals
Trea Turner had a good week for the Washington Nationals. Since July 19, he’s hit three triples. He’s also managed to steal home. If you aren’t paying attention to Trea Turner on the basepaths, then you’re in trouble.
Ask Coastal Carolina. (There are levels to this but it’s kinda hilarious in hindsight.)
Turner still is looking for a permanent spot on the field for Washington, which is a serious contender for the National League pennant this year. The organization has experimented with Turner at centerfield in the minors, but it hasn’t forced that on him in the majors.
The Nats don’t really need to; there’s no pressure to make Turner an immediate contributor. He’s been pretty good lately, though, stating his case as somebody who can be at least a good situational player off the bench come playoff season.
Hitting a triple isn't cool. You know what's cool? Hitting a triple and not having to slide. Trea Turner's 3rd 3B of the year starts us off.
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 24, 2016
Speed always travels, right? Turner might not get a lot of opportunity as a regular down the stretch, but as usual, he’ll be making a difference with his legs.
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A stark choice
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Monday News: The HB2 blame game
SUSAN LADD: MCCRORY BLAMING EVERYONE BUT HIMSELF FOR HB 2 FALLOUT (Greensboro News & Record column) -- Gov. Pat McCrory continues to blame everyone else for his problems, which last week included the announcement that the NBA was pulling its All-Star Game out of Charlotte because of House Bill 2, which excludes LGBT citizens from discrimination protection.
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The GOP's misguided approach to economic development
Far behind where we should be:
How bad is the economy in the rural areas of the state? Last year, of the 83,700 jobs added in North Carolina, 75 percent were in Raleigh and Charlotte. The projection for this year is that there will be 86,000 new jobs with 55 percent in Raleigh and Charlotte.
That’s not to suggest there isn’t any growth or entrepreneurial innovation in North Carolina. But often those efforts are met with hostility instead of support. A case in point is the state’s growing clean energy economy. Rather than support one of the fastest growing renewable energy sectors in the nation, Republican leaders build roadblocks and seek to impose added and unnecessary regulation – a rather ironic ploy given the anti-regulation mantra many are given to.
It is painfully ironic. It's one thing to cross your arms and refuse to support or celebrate the growth of Solar and wind energy. But to actively oppose these things stinks of intervention by the fossil fuel industry, making it obvious to anybody with half a brain Republicans don't really care about economic growth.
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NC State fall camp position battles to watch: Offense edition
August is a week away, and so is the start of fall camp at NC State. There is a lot unsettled on the offensive side of the ball.
Quarterback
Whenever a program has to replace its starting quarterback, it’s usually going to be the headlining story of the offseason. Sometimes you’re lucky enough to have a clear successor, but more often you’re going to have two or three guys competing, which is the case for NC State this year.
Jalan McClendon has excellent tools and was a well-regarded prospect out of high school. He has ideal size at 6’5, 212, and nobody’s every questioned his arm strength. He’s been at NC State the longest of the three in this competition, and he’s the only one to actually see the field in an NC State uniform. But whatever advantages that brought may have been wiped away when State changed offensive coordinators.
Jakobi Meyers is a different type of quarterback than McClendon, with a smaller frame and much better wheels. But his solid spring game performance aside, he’s more of an unknown than the other guys in the competition, given that he’s only a redshirt freshman. (And a rather lightly-regarded recruit out high school. Which may not mean anything at all, but still.)
Ryan Finley was an eyebrow-raising addition this spring as a graduate transfer with multiple years of eligibility remaining. He has more on-field experience than either McClendon or Meyers, and he also has the advantage of having played in offensive coordinator Eliah Drinkwitz’s system before. Is he the most talented guy in this group? No. If he’s running the offense noticeably better than the other two, though, that could be the difference.
Offensive line
We probably can ink in grad transfer Joe Scelfo at center and Tony Adams at one of the guard spots. Both have extensive experience as starters at the FBS level. Scelfo has made 25 starts and was a first-team all-conference player with South Alabama in 2015. Adams started every game at right guard last season.
After that, the questions begin. Only seven offensive linemen made starts in 2015, and three of them graduated.
Will Richardson served a semester-long suspension in the spring and did not participate in football activities as a result. That may have set him back some, but assuming he is healthy and in good standing for the fall, it’s hard to imagine him not claiming a starting spot at tackle. He was on the field for nearly 600 snaps in 2015 and started nine games.
Garrett Bradbury, Tyler Jones, Peter Daniel, Bryce Kennedy, and Terronne Prescod also got snaps last year though with the exception of Jones, none got playing time worth mentioning. Jones was the sixth man last year; the other guys only managed spot duty.
There are nine offensive linemen on the roster who are either redshirt-freshmen or true freshmen, which is a whole lot of uncertainty, especially when we get into the second string and overall depth at the position.
Wide receiver
Jumichael Ramos’ knee injury was bad news where State really really didn’t need it. Five players listed at wide receiver managed 10+ receptions in 2015, and only three are back after factoring in Ramos’ injury and Johnathan Alston’s move to defensive back. Only two if you don’t want to count Nyheim Hines.
So, uh, who’s gonna do the stuff here? Bra’Lon Cherry is the old man of the group and should prove a steady contributor, but he’s never been a major factor in the passing game. That probably needs to change.
Hines and Maurice Trowell need to have larger impacts as pass catchers, and they’re both capable of that.
State still lacks size at this position, a predicament not helped by Ramos’ setback. The 2016 recruiting class included some promising prospects with size like Kelvin Harmon and C.J. Riley, but how ready are those kids gonna be right away?
Running back
Matt Dayes is going to be the dude getting most of the carries at running back, no doubtin’ that much. I’m more interested in how the depth chart behind him stacks up, since the Wolfpack once again has a lot of useful players to take handoffs.
Dakwa Nichols, Reggie Gallaspy, and Johnny Frasier have the ability to be above-average running backs, not to mention that Nyheim Hines and Jaylen Samuels are more than capable of making big plays out of this spot.
Nichols and Gallaspy had their moments in spot duty last season, while Frasier earned praise from the coaches for his work on the scout team during the season. Frasier, a former Florida State commit, was a four-star high school recruit who redshirted last season. Gallaspy enrolled early and Frasier didn’t, which helped Gallaspy beat out Frasier for a job last season. Frasier could be ready for significant playing time by now, but again, it’s a tough crowd.
It’ll be interesting to see how this position develops and how the coaches manage the distribution of carries.
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Monday 25 July 2016
Art Pope's minions now going after bicyclists
Wherever there is a whiff of progress, JLF and Civitas will soon be there to oppose it:
I do not oppose bike lanes in principle. If significant numbers of people wish to travel by bike and need safe lanes, it is reasonable for the city to use part of its transportation budget to meet that need.
But I do oppose social engineering and paternalism. I absolutely object to Raleigh and Wake County using taxpayers’ money to push taxpayers away from one behavior (driving cars) that they prefer and toward a different behavior (riding bikes) that they have not embraced.
Oh! Bonus points for including the trigger words "social engineering" and "paternalism." Seriously, these free-market clones are so predictable I could write for them under a pseudonym and get away with it for months before they figured it out. All you need are a few key phrases and a dash of hyperbole (Raleigh trying to "push" citizens into biking), and you've got Puppet Gold ready to be published.
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Drowning in incompetency: Revised coastal floodmaps ignore sea level rise
Science? We don't need no stinking science:
New maps for Dare County will remove thousands of homes and lots from flood zones, creating a need to amend local building codes that until now accounted for more rising water, not less.
In Dare County, according to maps released last month, 15,970 buildings are either removed from a flood zone or placed in a zone where the hazard is reduced. Entire neighborhoods in Nags Head, Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills are suddenly not so prone to water surging into the living room, according to the preliminary maps.
To give you an idea of what's at stake here, here's a Facebook post from a few months ago. Pay attention to the last sentence:
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Sunday 24 July 2016
NC State football recruiting: Wolfpack gets verbals from WR Antoine Thompson, LB Nick Smith, LB Isaiah Moore
Friday night was a big one for NC State, which landed a trio of verbal commitments, all of them from outside of NC. Wide receiver Antoine Thompson of Plant City, FL, is the headliner of the three and immediately became the highest-rated player in the Pack’s 2017 class.
Thompson, a high three-star, is listed at 6’1 and 176 pounds by 247Sports. He has an impressive offer sheet that includes Miami, Wisconsin, Louisville, Arizona, Penn State, and Mississippi State. Thompson was an outstanding playmaker as a junior, racking up 692 receiving yards on only 30 receptions. He also plays defensive back.
State also picked up commitments from a couple of linebackers: Nick Smith of Orlando, FL, and Isaiah Moore, of Chesterfield, VA. Both are consensus three-star prospects. Smith holds offers from numerous power-five schools, including Nebraska, UNC, Maryland, Louisville, and Arizona. NC State appears to be the only power-five offer so far for Moore.
Rivals ranks State’s current 13-member recruiting class 30th nationally, while 247 places it at No. 32 overall and sixth in the ACC.
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Saturday 23 July 2016
2016 ACC Kickoff: Dave Doeren addresses schedule, new offense, quarterback battle
Dave Doeren (and Matt Dayes and Jack Tocho) went through the ACC media car wash on Friday. Here are a few notes on what Doeren said. (The full remarks from Doeren’s presser are available here.)
The schedule: It’s difficult
Doeren already has used this line on multiple occasions this offseason, so if you ain’t heard it yet, good for you, and also, be prepared to hear it several more times.
Doeren: It's a challenge that we're the only team in the ACC that plays all six Top 25 teams in the ACC, plus we have ECU/Notre Dame, etc.
— David Glenn Show (@DavidGlennShow) July 22, 2016
Here comes the excuse train into Excuse Station choo choo. Doeren’s first few schedules were very forgiving, which was by design—after a 3-9 year, you need to show progress, or at least the illusion of progress. Which Doeren and NC State did.
The soft schedules of the last two years created whatever goodwill Doeren carries into 2016, but sure, let’s get the whine machine started now that the schedule’s gone difficult. Yes, it’s a bad break that the Coastal rotation hit on Miami this year. Yes, playing ECU and Notre Dame is upping the degree of difficulty a lot. Wouldn’t seem so formidable without all those cupcakes the years prior, though. And you might not be here to talk about it.
Doeren more subtly downplayed his 2016 team’s potential rough season in other ways—calling the team “young” still, pointing out there’s only 10 seniors on the roster, etc.
Doeren: There are ACC (divisional) realignment conversations, but the teams in the Coastal don't want to change, so you can't get the votes.
— David Glenn Show (@DavidGlennShow) July 22, 2016
The division realignment stuff is a talking point borrowed from Debbie Yow, and hey, I’m on board with the idea of changing the divisions or getting rid of them entirely. It flat out sucks to be stuck playing FSU and Clemson every year. But, uh, Dave, you’re 1-5 against the Coastal.
New offense: Tempo! Speed!
Doeren called the 2015 Wolfpack “a huddle football team,” which he says benefited the Pack because the offensive line was a veteran group and Jacoby Brissett had a “good presence” in the huddle. Doeren wanted Brissett and the offense huddling up so that Brissett’s calm and steady demeanor was ever-present.
Now, though, it’s a new era, with a new offensive coordinator, new quarterback, and a less experienced offensive line. He spoke a bit about a change in pace, and also what about the offense may look different:
We're different. We're younger on the offensive line. We're playing against, everybody knows, the hardest schedule in the ACC. We're playing some veteran D lines. To give my offensive line the best chance they had, playing up-tempo would help them.
With [Eliah Drinkwitz’s] system, back to that part of the question, he does put the ball in the quick game part of what we do, the screens. Perimeter passing game will look a lot different.
Formationally, there's not a lot he does that's different than what we did before. I think it's just how fast it's happening. Some of the play selection is different.
On to marginally less incisive remarks:
What didn't you like about last year's offense?
— NSJ Sports (@nsjsports) July 22, 2016
Dave Doeren: "at times, I think, we didn't score enough points" #ACCKickoff
At times—how many games did we lose? Yeah, I can think of six times.
At QB: ‘We have three options’
Jalan McClendon, Jakobi Meyers, and graduate transfer Ryan Finley are fighting for the starting job at quarterback. Dave Doeren isn’t suggesting any leader in that competition yet.
I believe when you have a new system, you need to let the system not just get taught, but get taught a couple times before you see what the guys have. Sometimes they're thinking things through still. It's not natural for them yet.
I didn't want to make any choices at the end of the spring because of that. I wanted the summer to be a time when they could relearn the system. When we go into the fall camp, see where we're at. There may be a lot of separation when we come into camp, there may not.
Let’s just hope somebody does separate himself from the other two, because otherwise it’d be a significantly bad omen heading into the season.
Stick to politics, bub
If you need any reminder that this is truly silly season, thanks to politics, see Paul Ryan’s rough week of sports analogies. If UNC made it to a title game, would not we all unite as North Carolinians and root for them? SIR. Doeren was asked about that.
Re: Paul Ryan #NCSU's Doeren roots for #ACC, but..
— Marilyn Payne (@marilyn_payne) July 22, 2016
"Who’s going to root for your rival if you don’t have to, right?" http://pic.twitter.com/f3dqN00EFH
As a vindictive sports fan, I would rather every other team in North Carolina lose a lot and lose spectacularly since that would help us out. Well, the “lose spectacularly” part wouldn’t really make a difference but it would provide a lot of additional entertainment.
TEQUILA FIRE HOSE
Dave probably needed that trusty tequila shot after the Jumichael Ramos news.
Doeren, on comparing 1st becoming a head coach to drinking tequila out of a firehose: "It's an experience you can't really explain."
— David Glenn Show (@DavidGlennShow) July 22, 2016
A wonderful, dizzying experience.
Also this happened
Taking his turn at Fruit Ninja, @StateCoachD going for the high score http://pic.twitter.com/4Thp62pvha
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) July 22, 2016
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Dan Forest is an embarrassment to NC
Tripling down on McCrory's ignorant attacks on the NBA:
I enjoy the NBA and wanted them to hold the All-Star game in Charlotte but if that game comes with strings attached, strings that would expose women and children to danger, molestation, assault and voyeurism, then no thank you. Take your business elsewhere, and I have no apologies about saying that and never will. The NBA knows the economic hit North Carolina will take from this decision. I wish the NBA would likewise acknowledge the pain, sorrow and devastation a child or woman feels when they are exploited. We will never value a dollar over a woman's or child's safety and security.
Bolding mine. Where do I begin? How about we start with the GOP's refusal to expand Medicaid, leaving half a million NC citizens without medical coverage, many of them women and children. Sorry, costs too much. And then there's slashing environmental protections and dropping the ball on coal ash cleanup. Sorry, costs Duke Energy too much. Oh, and let's not forget, deeply cutting unemployment benefits, literally taking the food off the tables of tens of thousands of women and children. Sorry, it would cost private businesses too much if we made them pay what they should as responsible employers. The list is endless. Wherever a dollar is concerned, women and children must take a back seat to the wealthy who want to buy a bigger boat with their tax cuts.
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Friday News: More than just a game
LISTEN TO THE NBA AND THE COACHES: HB2 IS A LOSER (Capitol Broadcasting Co. editorial) -- North Carolina's top three basketball coaches offer sound reasons why HB2 is wrong. The NBA shows the high cost of legalizing discrimination. HB2 needs to be repealed.
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NBA MOVING 2017 ALL-STAR GAME OUT OF CHARLOTTE (Charlotte Observer) -- The NBA announced late Thursday afternoon that it is moving the 2017 All-Star Weekend out of Charlotte, in reaction to concerns with the North Carolina law known as House Bill 2.
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Trump’s never-ending primary campaign
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Friday 22 July 2016
Robin Hayes strands Cruz supporters kicking them off his private plane
Robin Hayes just can't help himself. He lost his job in Congress after telling one too many lies and now he's put his pettiness on full display in Cleveland.
According to the CharO:
When North Carolina Republican Chairman Robin Hayes asked fellow delegate Ted Hicks on Thursday what he thought of the convention speech by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Hicks was candid.
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Cat Barber signs partially guaranteed contract with Philadelphia 76ers
Cat Barber didn’t get a lot of playing time with the Pelicans’ summer league team this month, but he’ll still have a shot to make an NBA roster this fall. Barber has signed a contract with the Philadelphia 76ers that is partially guaranteed, per a report from The Vertical’s Shams Charania.
So what does that mean for Cat? First and most obviously, he’s got some money coming his way. He’ll also be one of the 20 players at 76ers’ training camp, giving him the opportunity to earn his way onto the regular season roster of 15, though that is not likely to happen.
His guarantee is probably not huge—maybe in the $50,000 to $100,000 range—and he would have to make it past an early January deadline with the Sixers for his full (and much larger) rookie-season salary to become fully guaranteed.
More likely, Barber will be assigned by the Sixers to their D-League affiliate following training camp. The salaries in the D-League are paltry—$26k at best—but the financial guarantee from the Sixers effectively triples or quadruples that salary.
So, factoring in the guarantee and his potential NBADL salary, he has an offer to stay in the Sixers organization that is competitive with most international offers, which is an important point. NBA teams take these financial fliers on kids to keep them stateside and within their own organizations.
It’s possible that Barber surprises everybody and makes the Sixers’ roster, but these sorts of deals with rookies are aimed toward the longer term. Whether or not Cat makes the team this year, he’ll be making enough playing basketball to support his family. That’s not bad for the first year of his professional career.
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ACC basketball conference schedule expanding to 20 games in 2019
ESPN and the ACC officially announced the ACC Network at a press conference on Thursday morning, and what does a television network need? Inventory! So when the ACC Network hits the air in 2019, the league will increase its men’s basketball schedule from 18 games to 20.
I’m not really sure how to feel about that just yet, but if it was necessary to help make the network a reality, then so be it. The ACC Network, like other league networks, will be well down the pecking order when it comes to selecting football and basketball games, so the more games available, the better for the network.
In other ACC Network-related items: Raycom will continue to operate the current “ACC Network” in its current syndicated, regional form until the linear network is up and running in 2019. In other words, Raycom’s farewell tour is officially underway. The ACC Digital Network will remain in its current role, cutting highlights of all the games and what-have-you.
Here’s more on the ACC’s new arrangement with ESPN.
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Parsing the propaganda: Lisa Sorg rips DEQ promotional video
Van der Vaart is in deep trouble:
DvdV: “Hello, I’m Donald van der Vaart, Secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality. I’m here to talk to you about the action North Carolina has taken to protect the environment, public health, and the communities that have been affected by the long-ignored problem of coal ash.”
NCPW: As DEQ secretary, van der Vaart has the power to allow Duke Energy to miss its deadline to remedy impoundments and coal ash residue. The utility can blow its deadline if for some reason, it can’t use the “best available technology found to be economically reasonable” and it would produce a “serious hardship” without an equal or greater public benefit. Translation: If it’s too expensive.
Among her many other talents, Lisa has an uncanny ability to pull up the rug to see what trash has been swept under it. Hat-tip to NC Policy Watch for bringing her on board:
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Greatest show in politics
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Thursday News: Freak show at the fairgrounds
TRUMP COMING TO WINSTON-SALEM ON MONDAY; FAIRGROUNDS LIKELY SITE (Winston-Salem Journal) -- Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will be campaigning in Winston-Salem on Monday, the Winston-Salem Police Department confirmed to WGHP/FOX8’s Michael Hennessey on Wednesday afternoon. The Trump campaign contacted the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds on Wednesday about a potential event on Monday, City Manager Lee Garrity said on Wednesday evening.
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Thursday 21 July 2016
2016 ACC Kickoff schedule and livestream
This year's ACC football media days are sure the be dominated by the news of the league's agreement with ESPN to establish a conference television network. Commissioner John Swofford will address that right away on Thursday morning along with ESPN president John Skipper.
(The above livestream embed should work, but if not you can also watch everything at this link.)
Here is the full, tentative interview schedule for each team over the next couple days (all times ET):
Thursday, July 21
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. -- Commissioner's Forum
11:50 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. -- Miami
12:20 p.m.- 12:50 p.m. -- Georgia Tech
12:50 p.m.- 1:20 p.m. -- Duke
1:20 p.m.- 1:50 p.m. -- Virginia Tech
1:50 p.m.- 2:20 p.m. -- North Carolina
2:20 p.m. - 2:50 p.m. --...
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Position Preview: Offensive Line
Stats courtesy of GoPack.com and ESPN
New offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford will have his work cut out for him as we approach kickoff with three starters gone from the offensive line. Center Quinton Schooley, guard Alex Barr, and All-American tackle Joe Thuney all will need replacements. There is going to be a little bit of sorting out to do along the line, but the addition of a pretty impressive graduate transfer center has made things that much easier.
Joseph Scelfo is that transfer, and he should be the man in the middle when the first snap is taken this year. Scelfo, who was an all-conference selection during his junior season at South Alabama, brings 25 starts worth of experience at center to a team that returns zero total. He’ll also allow junior Tony Adams to remain at guard, which is Adams’ primary position. Adams seamlessly moved to center for one game after Schooley left with an injury against UNC in 2014, and he was the best option to take over there prior to Scelfo joining the program.
Adams was held out in the spring with an injury, but at 100% he’s a sure thing to start, and Scelfo is probably pretty close to a sure thing as well. After those two though, things start to get a little messier. Redshirt sophomore Will Richardson started nine games at right tackle last season, but a lengthy suspension leaves a lot of questions about his situation when he returns. Tyler Jones saw time last year at both tackle and guard. The redshirt sophomore was the expected starter at one of the two tackle spots last year until some late shuffling sent him to a backup role. He’s a good bet to find a starting spot somewhere along the line.
Everybody’s favorite offensive lineman is Emanuel McGirt. Big expectations combined with his spurning of UNC to come to Raleigh have made things that way. He looked physically ready at the spring game and started at left tackle, but lack of experience compared to the other leading candidates puts him at a disadvantage. McGirt, Jones, and (assuming everything is good with his return to the team) Richardson are probably the top three candidates to fill the two tackle spots. Redshirt freshman Aaron Wiltz would probably be fourth in line.
The left guard spot opposite Tony Adams also has a few different players fighting for a starting spot there. The coaches seem to be big fans of redshirt sophomore Garrett Bradbury, who bounced around to a few different positions before landing on the offensive line. He played some center this spring, but should be a leading player to claim that guard spot at the start of the season. Tyler Jones is currently listed as a tackle, but it’s feasible that he could slide into that guard spot as well. Graduate student Bryce Kennedy, defensive tackle convert Coult Culler, and gigantic person Terronne Prescod are probably second tier candidates for the job.
Obviously there’s a good deal of uncertainty along the line. Hopefully we’ll hear a bunch of really good things in the fall and have a cemented starting five by the time William & Mary comes to town.
Other Previews: QB RB JS/TE WR
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SD-17: The Battle for Suburbia
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PODCAST | This Republican Believes #BlackLivesMatter
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RNC: Trump’s Greatest Show on Earth
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NC State wide receiver Jumichael Ramos out for season with knee injury
I suppose it wouldn't be an offseason without football injury news, would it? NC State announced Wednesday morning that veteran receiver Jumichael Ramos will redshirt this season after suffering a knee injury that required surgery. Ramos was expected to be one of the leaders on a receiving corps that doesn't have a lot of bonafides.
From the release:
"If J-Mike had tried to play, he would have had to deal with nagging injury all season and not be able to play to the level that he is capable of playing," said Doeren. "I'm happy that he will be able to enjoy a senior season at top form."
Ramos finished 2015 second on the team in receptions (34), receiving yards (457), and receiving touchdowns (three).
It's nice and everything that State will have him to help anchor the receiving group in 2017, but man it really hurts to lose a productive player at this position for 2016. The Wolfpack will need some younger guys to step up, whether that's Nyheim Hines or Maurice Trowell or some of the incoming freshmen.
Having Matt Dayes healthy for a full season should help--he was second in receptions per game in 2015--but this is a bummer, man.
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Wednesday 20 July 2016
Carolina Firewall
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Carolina Firewall
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Tuesday News: "I'm just here for the cash."
McCrory’s weekend: Speaks to social conservatives, joins national governors (Raleigh News & Observer) -- Gov. Pat McCrory was at GOP ground zero in Cleveland this weekend but not for the Republican National Convention, which began Monday. He attended a fundraiser hosted by friends on Friday night, his campaign spokesman said Monday.
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McCrory’s 35 seconds at the GOP National Convention (Raleigh News & Observer) -- While Gov. Pat McCrory isn’t attending this week’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland, he made a brief appearance on video Monday afternoon at Quicken Loans Arena.
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Tuesday Twitter roundup
Apparently charlatanism is a communicable disease:
GOP consultant Steve Schmidt declares the RNC speech of @realDonaldTrump's wife to be plagiarism from Michelle Obama at 2008 DNC. #ncpol
— Gerrick Brenner (@ProgressNC_GB) July 19, 2016
In all fairness, there's no way in hell she could have written the speech, or possess the skills to Google excerpts to make sure it wasn't plagiarized...
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Tuesday 19 July 2016
ACC and ESPN have agreement on new media deal that includes 24-hour TV network
An ACC Network is on the way, and this is no longer empty speculation: as first reported by the N&O's Luke DeCock, the league and ESPN have been ironing out the details of both a traditional television network and an online streaming service.
Additional details have since leaked: according to ESPN's Brett McMurphy, the ACC Network*** will debut by 2019. The league's streaming service is going live in August of this year, per Sports Business Journal's John Ourand, and will be available to all ESPN subscribers.
(***Quick clarification: we are not talking about the current iteration of the "network," which is merely branded production that appears on local television affiliates in the ACC region. The ACC Network will be a devoted 24-hour cable channel, assuming there is still television in 2019.)
The timing of this agreement is not coincidental. ACC football media days are coming later in the week, and commish John Swofford always has a "state of the union" sort of speech at the event. Now he's got a pretty big deal to talk about, and I'm sure he'll have more to offer about his negotiations with ESPN then.
More than this obvious bit, I mean:
"That's why ESPN is in the discussions with us," Swofford said. "They like to make money, too. And we like to make money, as well."
Remember that we're talking about amateur athletics here, kids.
You might roll your eyes at 2019 as the date for a network (I did the same), but this is a significant deal in ways that extend beyond that headlining item.
The ACC and ESPN have extended their media contract until 2036. The league's grant-of-rights deal also now runs through 2036. That essentially makes it impossible (or very financially painful) for any school to leave the league. And if Notre Dame opts to join a conference in football between now and then, it is contractually obligated to join the ACC.
We won't know the financial implications of this agreement for a while, but for now, the Swoff is coming out of this looking pretty good.
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