ACC basketball transfer tracker: Marial Shayok's departure from UVA is league's most notable loss

Since it is officially transfer season in college basketball, I decided to begin tracking all of the departures from ACC programs. Most likely there are more to come, but so far, the league hasn't been hit too hard by defections. Several schools have lost multiple players, but few of those players were important pieces.

The obvious big loser at this point is Virginia, which has lost a pair of kids that played 20+ minutes every night. None of the other schools that have lost players are likely to miss their departing players. Virginia will, though. Marial Shayok and Darius Thompson would have been important rotation members as seniors in 2018, but with those two gone along with London Perrantes, UVA's offense-challenged roster is suddenly looking pretty thin. And young. There's actually only 10 guys on their official roster at this point.

This is not to say that UVA will suffer the most from attrition next season. Duke and Florida State both have lost several guys to the NBA, for example. Attrition comes in a variety of ways, and here I'm only looking at transfers. The full list of transfers is below.

Player	School	Class	Grad transfer?	Measureables	2017 Role	2017 Stats
Ty Graves	BC	FR	no	6'0, 165	Inconsequential	11 GP, 1.6 PPG, 36.1 3FG%
Sean Obi	Duke	JR	yep	6'9, 255	DNP (inj)	DNP
Chase Jeter	Duke	SO	no	6'10, 230	Inconsequential	16 GP, 2.6 PPG, 2.7 RPG
Michael Gilmore	Miami	JR	no	6'9, 215	DNP (kicked off team)	DNP
Rashad Muhammad	Miami	JR	yep	6'6, 160	DNP	DNP
Matt Ryan	ND	SO	no	6'7, 228	three-point specialist	36 GP, 7.9 MPG, 3.6 PPG, 43.4 3FG%
Damon Wilson	Pitt	SO	no	6'5, 195	took 19 shots from the field this season, was 0-12 from three	29 GP, 6.3 MPG, 0.8 PPG
Crisshawn Clark	Pitt	SO	no	6'4, 210	DNP (knee inj)	DNP
Corey Manigault	Pitt	FR	no	6'8, 230	Inconsequential	18 GP, 4.4 MPG, 0.8 PPG
Jarred Reuter	Virginia	SO	no	6'7, 243	Decent end-of-bench contributor	32 GP, 10.8 MPG, 3.8 PPG
Marial Shayok	Virginia	JR	no	6'5, 196	Important rotation player; had highest workload on team	34 GP, 20.6 MPG, 8.9 PPG, 2.4 RPG
Darius Thompson	Virginia	JR	yep	6'4, 196	Rotation player; secondary scoring option	33 GP, 20.8 MPG, 6.2 PPG, 35.1 3FG%
Greg McClinton	Wake	JR	yep	6'7, 200	Inconsequential	26 GP, 7.1 MPG, 1.2 PPG

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Roy Cooper goes on the record about HB142 deal

Actually, Doug Clark's blog is called Off The Record, but let's not quibble:

The Democratic governor is engaged in damage control today. He even called me, even though my take and the N&R editorial favored the compromise while acknowledging its drawbacks. We spoke for 23 minutes, mostly on the record. Cooper insisted yesterday's bill represents "nothing but forward movement" for North Carolina and ticked off the reasons why.

By repealing HB 2, it removes any directive on bathroom use. "People can go where they want," he said, meaning that transgender men can use men's facilities, transgender women can use women's facilities as they always have. Gone is the language requiring them to use the bathroom corresponding to the gender on their birth certificate.

I've been hawking social media today to gauge responses, and have seen a lot of analyses that point out what this deal has actually accomplished, versus yesterday's seeming consensus that it was HB2 all over again. But those who do support this move need to be real damn careful, and not create false hope. Just because HB2's bathroom/birth certificate bullshit is no longer statute, it doesn't automatically follow that, "People can go where they want." If it wasn't a problem before, if transgender men and women didn't have to "hold it" or make 2-3 trips home every day just to use the bathroom, that part of the Charlotte Ordinance wouldn't have been needed in the first place. It was a problem, and still is a problem, because without protections every trip to a public restroom is a gamble. And after a whole year of HB2 controversy, that gamble probably feels a lot more dangerous than before. Here are some other facets that may have been overlooked yesterday:

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NC State spring game 2017: Game time, online stream, event info, format changes, and more

The spring game is going to look a whole lot different this year.

I was wrong: Dave Doeren and his staff aren’t just tweaking the spring game format, they’re changing it completely. Rather than playing a true exhibition football game, NC State will run through a variety of different situational drills, and no tackling to the ground will be allowed during the contest.

Here’s how things will go, via the release from NCSU on the event:

1Q: In the first quarter, the first, second and third teams will compete against each other in a series of scripted plays.

2Q: The team will scrimmage in “sudden change” mode, simulating action following a turnover or a big momentum play on special teams. At the end of the second quarter, the situation will change to a two-minute offense before the half.

3Q: The offense will start inside the red zone.

4Q: The second and third teams will finish the day with a live scrimmage.

The game gets underway at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday and will be streamed live via ESPN3/ACC Network Extra.

If you are planning on attending the game, don’t forget to bring a little cash for a donation to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. As always, NCSU asks for a minimum $1 donation. Don’t be a lamer, okay, bub?

What: The Kay Yow spring game

When: 1 p.m. ET, Saturday, April 1 (no foolin’)

Online Stream: ESPN3/ACC Network Extra

Streaming broadcast crew: Andrew Sanders (PXP), Brandon Bishop, Taylor Cunningham

Game day events:

The Wolfpup Fan Zone will open on the east side of the stadium at 10:30 a.m., featuring face painting, a TapSnap picture station and corporate sponsor booths. From 11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., the cheerleaders, mascots, dance team and Tuffy II will be in the fan zone for autographs and pictures.

Game day parking:

Parking lots will open at 8 a.m. (enter at gates A, B or C off of Trinity Rd.) and parking is free. Stadium gates 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9 will open at 10:30 a.m. Following the game, the parking lots will need to be cleared by 4 p.m. as the Hurricanes host the Dallas Stars at 7 p.m.

Odds: Expert handicappers across Vegas fully expect NC State to prevail.

Additional event notes: BRING AT LEAST ONE DANG DOLLAR TO THE GAME IF YOU ARE GOING

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HB2.Gone, for better or worse

Politics is ugly and the bill that passed as a repeal of HB2 was proof. That said, it also helped the state move forward. The interest groups on both sides are vowing to keep the issue alive but they won’t be able to keep the momentum. Most of the state is just tired of hearing […]
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Tryon Equestrian partner to fuel massive Trump propaganda machine

The Mercer family is the worst of the one-percenters:

Making America Great, a nonprofit run by Rebekah Mercer, one of Trump’s most influential donors, will begin airing $1 million in television ads on Wednesday, coupled with a $300,000 digital advertising campaign. The TV ads will run in the District of Columbia, along with ten states Trump carried in the presidential election where a Democratic senator is up for re-election in 2018: West Virginia, Wisconsin, Missouri, Michigan, North Dakota, Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Montana and Pennsylvania. The digital campaign also will focus on voters in those states.

“Our group will be a conduit to highlight President Trump’s achievement to the rest of the country,” says Emily Cornell, who is moving from the Mercer-funded data firm Cambridge Analytica to run Making America Great’s day-to-day operations. “We are here to promote successes and hold accountable broken promises -- not just to those who voted for Trump, but to all Americans.”

Really? I would imagine you've got your hands full on that "holding accountable" thing already, since Mister Drain The Swamp has surrounded himself with swamp monsters. If you're frequently plagued by nausea, you may want to skip reading the following:

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Friday News: The aftermath of HB142

HB2 REPEAL DEAL WIDELY VIEWED AS BAIT-AND-SWITCH, NOT REAL COMPROMISE: The NCAA had threatened to remove all championship basketball games from the state through 2022 if H.B. 2 was not repealed by Thursday. Because the political and financial cost of such a move would dwarf the billions already lost to the law, on Wednesday night the state’s Republican leadership and the new Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, forged an unholy deal — a kind of bait-and-switch meant to keep NCAA games and their revenue in the Tar Heel State — and sent it to the legislature Thursday, where it was approved with bipartisan support and later signed by Cooper. “It’s not about principle, it’s about the money” was the overall take Thursday morning from the cafe gang of six, which included a real estate agent, an ironworker and a schoolteacher.
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Friday fracking video

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NC State picks up graduate transfer kicker Carson Wise

Meet the Pack’s new starting kicker.

As Dave Doeren’s ongoing quest for a competent placekicker continues, the Wolfpack has added Carson Wise, a graduate transfer from Carson-Newman. (Which is a school and not another guy named Carson.)

If you are curious about what is expected from Wise, just read this here statement from Doeren:

"I'm excited to have Carson join the family," said Doeren. "He is a talented player who should be a great addition to our special teams as we look for him to handle our field goal and kickoff duties this fall."

So unless Kyle Bambard suddenly morphs into a kicking genius—which I guess is theoretically possible—we should expect Wise to be the Wolfpack’s field goal kicker this fall. Wise actually still has two seasons of eligibility remaining, so like Ryan Finley, he’s unique in that regard.

"No." -- Dave Doeren to me last week on if the kicking was better. Today NC State announces D2 kicker Carson Wise (21/31 FG) transferring in

— Jared Shanker (@JShankerESPN) March 30, 2017

Wise began his college career at Virginia Tech but transferred to Carson-Newman for playing time. He hit 21 of 31 attempts at Carson-Newman with a long of 49 yards, which is nice and everything, but I think I speak for all of us when I say, Son, please just make the short kicks. Especially the 33-yarders.

This is the second graduate transfer placekicker in as many years for NC State, and hopefully it’ll work out a bit better this time around.

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In defense of the press

Yesterday, Peder Zane wrote a piece in the N&O bemoaning the partisan bent of news coverage in the state and nation. He has some legitimate gripes. Reporter bias does often come through and, yes, coverage does occasionally seem to reflect a more progressive view of the world especially when covering social issues. Editors and reporters […]
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Historical context of the rise of HB2 and other discriminatory practices

Barry Yeoman at the Indy spells it out:

House Bill 2 seemed like a bolt from nowhere. One day transgender North Carolinians were living low-profile lives; the next day their most private moments were being bandied about without a modicum of understanding. But the new law was not a bolt from nowhere. It can be understood by examining the decades preceding its passage. If history is a river, then at least three distinct tributaries converged in Raleigh on March 23.

The first is the growing practice by state lawmakers—one that took root during the Reagan era—of slapping back local governments that get too proactive. The second is the successful national Republican effort to seize control of North Carolina's government. And the third is the recent visibility of transgender Americans, their push for legal equality, and the utterly predictable backlash.

Before we continue, a few words on what may be about to happen today. The supposed compromise bill that has emerged is, in some ways, worse than a few of the bills the GOP has floated since last year to repeal HB2. But it's important to understand, those other bills did *not* hit the floor for a vote, without some last-minute alterations that changed them into something different. So before we start whining about what could have been, keep that in mind. We don't really know what could have been, and speculation at this time is pointless. And before anybody starts lining up Democrats for excoriation for supporting this bill, such as a Tweet I just saw calling for a new NCDP Chair election to oust Wayne Goodwin, the responsibility for HB2 and its consequences falls solely on the shoulders of the Republicans who wrote it and passed it. They want this controversy to tear the Democratic Party apart, but we can't allow that to happen. The article continues:

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Thursday News: One-way compromise?

HB2 "DEAL" WOULD CONTINUE PROHIBITION OF TRANSGENDER BATHROOM CHOICE: North Carolina lawmakers could repeal House Bill 2 on Thursday under a deal struck late Wednesday night by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican legislative leaders. Senate leader Phil Berger announced the deal shortly after 10:30 p.m. The announcement capped days of marathon, often contentious negotiations and closed-door meetings. “I support the House Bill 2 repeal compromise that will be introduced tomorrow,” Cooper said in a statement. “It’s not a perfect deal, but it repeals House Bill 2 and begins to repair our reputation.” “The deal proposed would continue to actively discriminate against the LGBT community,” Chris Sgro, executive director of Equality NC, said in a conference call.
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NC State’s spring camp is coming to an end, so let’s watch Jaylen Samuels highlights

We have Jaylen Samuels, whereas other teams do not.

NC State will conclude spring camp this weekend with the spring game on Saturday. Football is a welcome distraction this time of year, and this is all the college football we’re going to get until late August. The offseason always feels eternal.

Since we’re in something of a football mode this week, I was thinking about how we have Jaylen Samuels and no other teams have Jaylen Samuels. It’s fun for me to look back at what I wrote about Samuels when he committed out of high school. At the time I was incredulous that he scored touchdowns at such an insane rate, but it makes complete sense to me now.

Just take a look at this highlight reel from Samuels’ senior season in high school. This video makes it hard to believe he has ever been tackled.

The only thing missing from the above reel is an audition for quarterback. I found one, though.

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First Published Opinion From New Business Court Judge Conrad

Business Court Judges don't have to issue written Opinions in cases granting Preliminary Injunctions.  (G.S. § 7A-45.3 limits the obligation to issue a written Opinion to rulings rendered per NCRCP 12, 56, 59, and 60).  But even so, new Business Court Judge Conrad chose a case granting a Preliminary injunction (Addison Whitney, LLC v. Cashion, 2017 NCBC 23) to be his first published (numbered) Opinion.

The Plaintiff, Addison Whitney, is a branding company.  Among other things, it creates product names, and has done so for a number of famous companies,  It came up with "Outlook" for Microsoft and "Escalade" for Cadillac.  It has a specialty in creating names for new drugs from pharmaceutical companies. 

Addison Whitney sued the Defendants -- all of whom had formerly held top positions at Addison Whitney -- after they left en masse and started a competing company.  Several of the Defendants had signed "Confidential Information and Unauthorized Disclosure Agreements" and "Employee Confidentiality Agreements."  One Defendant had signed an Employee Confidentiality Agreement which contained a non-compete provision.  The other Defendants had not signed any document containing a non-compete.

What Were The Trade Secrets?

Addison Whitney argued that it had three separate categories of trade secret information. 

First, it said that it had "created a database that contains information regarding drug product characteristics for nearly 4,000 drug products on the market.”   This was a mix of publicly accessible information and of information that was "not publicly available and chosen based on the 'professional judgment' of Addison Whitney employees." Op. ¶18.  This database was password-protected.

Second, Addison Whitney maintained 246 case studies of work it had done for particular clients which contained non-public information regarding its work and sometimes the confidential information of clients.  These were also password protected. 

Finally, Addison Whitney kept its client and prospective client information on SalesForce, a "customer relationship management program."  Addison Whitney put non-public information about clients’ buying habits and upcoming product into SalesForce.  Only a limited number of Addison Whitney employees had access to its SalesForce platform.

Addison Whitney said that each of these three categories of trade secret information gave it a "competitive advantage."  Judge Conrad ruled that all of these types of information are entitled to trade secret protection..  As to the client information, he said that North Carolina courts "routinely hold that such information is protectable as a trade secret".  Op. ¶35 (citing Drouillard v. Keister Williams Newspaper Servs., Inc., 108 N.C. App. 169, 174, 423 S.E.2d 324, 327 (1992); Computer Design & Integration, LLC v. Brown, 2017 NCBC LEXIS 8 at *27–28).

Establishing Misappropriation Of A Trade Secret

Since the Defendants, as former employees, had legitimate access to the Plaintiff's trade secrets, the existence of access and opportunity to acquire them was insufficient to establish misappropriation.

Relying on Judge Bledsoe's recent opinion in Am. Air Filter Co. v. Price, 2017 NCBC LEXIS 9, at *23, Judge Conrad held that:

there must be substantial evidence (1) that the wrongdoer accessed the trade secret without consent, or (2) of misappropriation resulting in an inference of actual acquisition or use of the trade secret.

Op. ¶38.

Access without consent can be shown by "showing that an employee continued to access trade secrets after receiving a job offer from a competitor and then later accepted the offer"  Op. ¶39.

The "relevant inquiry," per Judge Conrad, was "when Defendants’ plan to resign and to open their own competing business became sufficiently concrete to render continued access to trade secrets unauthorized."  Op. ¶39.

Since the Defendants told others at the company in December 2016 that they were planning to resign, Judge Conrad ruled that was the point after which their trade secret access became unauthorized.

After that point, they obtained copies of the case studies, a list of clients with open opportunities, and a list of prospective clients.  They also accessed a number of other documents both before and after resigning.  These included accessed "client brand guidelines, market research, linguistic reports, naming strategy briefs, and client strategy presentations.”  Op. ¶25. 

Plaintiff Didn't Show That All of Its Trade Secrets had Been Misappropriated

Judge Conrad Said that Addison Whitney had not shown that the Defendants had accessed the drug information database after December 2016.

On the other trade secret categories, however, there was "substantial evidence that Defendants accessed protected client information and case studies just prior to resigning."  Op. ¶43.  One Defendant had obtained a list of prospective clients and printouts of all of the case studies just before resigning. Other Defendants had logged in to SalesForce after stating to other employees their intentions to resign and to start a competing business.

Non-Solicitation Agreements Ruled Invalid

The Employee Confidentiality Agreements signed by all of the individual Defendants except one, contained a non-solicitation provision.

The validity of those agreements depended on a question of whether consideration was provided for them.Addison Whitney contended that the employment relationship itself constituted adequate consideration.

But the Defendants did not sign the Employee Confidentiality Agreements until September 2007, which was roughly 90 days after Addison Whitney's assets were acquired by a company called Ventiv.  Ventiv then terminated the Defendants' employment with "old" Addison Whitney and the Defendants entered into new employment with the acquired Addison Whitney.

Addison Whitney's explanation for the three month delay in securing signatures on the Agreements was that "the 90-day gap “was simply a result of [Defendants’] receiving a reasonable amount to sign the agreements ."  Op. ¶55.

The Defendants presented Affidavits testifying that they had not received the Agreements until September 2007.  Judge Conrad, doubtful on Addison Whitney's explanation for the delay in procuring signed agreements, said that it "does not hold water."  Op. ¶55.

Fiduciary Duty Claims

Addison Whitney argued that the Defendants had breached their fiduciary duties to it "by soliciting employees to leave the company, conspiring to resign on the same day, and planning to form a competing business."  Addison Whitney  requested that the Defendants be enjoined for competing against it for one year as a result.

Putting aside the question whether its former employees owed it a fiduciary duty (which Judge Conrad did not address, Op. ¶69), Judge Conrad noted that Addison Whitney had not shown any irreparable harm from the alleged breach of fiduciary duty.  He said that he was "not convinced that “compensation in money cannot atone for” any harm caused by the alleged breach of fiduciary duty. Op. ¶70 (quoting Hodge v. NC DOT, 137 N.C. App. 247, 252, 528 S.E.2d 22, 26 (2000), rev’d on other grounds, 352 N.C. 664, 535 S.E.2d 32 (2000).

Judge Conrad also commented on Addison Whitney's failure to obtain a non-compete from  the Defendants.  He said: By attempting to enjoin Defendants’ new competing business, Addison Whitney’s “requested relief seeks to provide [it] the benefit of a bargain [it] did not make without adequate basis or justification.” (quoting Computer Design & Integration, LLC v. Brown, 2017 NCBC LEXIS 8, at *36).

                                                                   *        *        *

For some reason, Judge Conrad has attracted several injunction motions lately which were dealt with in unpublished Orders.  He denied one last week in Guardian GC, LLC v. GCP Apartment Investors, LLC and granted one yesterday in Sterimed Technologies Int'l, Ltd. v. Innovative Healthcare Distribution, LLC.

But don't think that Judge Conrad is limiting himself to injunction cases.  Just yesterday, he published Kerry Bodenhamer Farms, LLC v. Nature's Pearl Corp., 2017 NCBC 27, which has nothing to do with injunctions (looks like tortious interference with contract and unfair trade practices).  Once upon a time I would have promised that I would write a post about that case tomorrow, but now?  I know that I would be overpromising and underdelivering if I said that. . . .

 

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NC State tweaking spring game format in 2017

That’s a good sign in this case.

NC State’s spring games have been pretty standard exhibition contests during Dave Doeren’s tenure in Raleigh, but that will change a bit this year. Doeren was on the David Glenn Show on Tuesday to discuss Saturday’s game and mentioned that the fourth quarter will be a freshman-only scrimmage.

Doeren: We know what several of our key players can do, so 3/4 of the game is going to be competitive and contact-oriented but scripted.

— David Glenn Show (@DavidGlennShow) March 29, 2017

Doeren: The 4th quarter on Saturday, we're going to let our freshmen play in a full-on scrimmage.

— David Glenn Show (@DavidGlennShow) March 29, 2017

The Double Deezy hasn’t had this luxury in the past, but this season he has an experienced roster that is settled at most positions, so there’s not much reason to run those guys for four quarters. Letting the freshmen scrimmage for a quarter should be beneficial for the program down the road, and who knows, maybe it will help someone emerge as a contributor this fall.

It’s nice to kinda be able to relax like this about your roster. Doeren knows what the veterans on the roster can do and he knows they’ll be good, so he might as well let the freshmen get as many reps as we can.

Man, is this how elite programs feel all the time? I could get used to it.

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Will HB2 Help the Democrats?

Many Republicans are terrified that the HB2 issue will bury them in the 2018 midterms. More specifically, they fear that they will lose their veto-proof majorities in the legislature. There is little room for error. Hence the constant talk of a compromise on the law that will put the issue behind them. There are drawbacks […]
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Coal Ash Wednesday: The legal battle over cleanup costs begins

Duke Energy is hoping to fleece ratepayers, but the AG's office is watching:

The coal ash costs that Duke Energy seeks to recover are out-of-the-ordinary and very concerning because they may result in large rate increases for consumers. There are important questions that need to be addressed regarding whether all of the costs that Duke Energy seeks to recover were reasonably and prudentially incurred. It would not be appropriate to make important, binding, substantive determinations regarding recovery of these costs in a procedural, accounting-related docket. The Commission should ensure that all of the issues regarding coal ash cost recovery will not be resolved or prejudged until there is a complete evidentiary record in the upcoming rate cases.

Just to bring you up to speed: After the dam failure that allowed a massive amount of toxic coal ash into the Dan River, Duke Energy's other coal ash impoundments have fallen under close scrutiny, and a number of them have been designated for removal and relocation of the ash to a safer storage place. Duke Energy has estimated these various projects could end up costing as much as ten billion, although many experts say that is wildly inflated. The bottom line is, Duke wants to recoup as much of that cost as it can from customers, shielding its stockholders from shouldering the burden. The Attorney General feels otherwise:

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Wednesday News: BergerMoore puts on another show

HB2 DEAL THAT WASN'T REALLY A DEAL FALLS APART, GOP BLAMES COOPER: Tell me if you're heard this one before: "Hey, we have a deal to repeal House Bill 2." That's what Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore announced late Tuesday, only minutes later to admit they only thought they had a deal because Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper flatly denied ever offering some of the provisions the two Republican lawmakers had outlined. House Minority Leader Darren Jackson went so far as to call the Berger/Moore news conference a stunt that was designed to appeal to their conservative base and later lay the blame for any failed repeal on Cooper.
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NC State among 4 finalists for blue chip PG Blake Harris

crootin’!

Blake Harris has been a coveted recruit since he received his release from Washington and returned to the recruiting market. Harris, who is from North Carolina, has already taken one visit to NC State. Kevin Keatts would love to have him on board for 2017.

The four-star prospect got plenty of interest after opening things back up, but he is down to four schools at this point, per Adam Zagoria: Michigan State, NC State, Missouri, and Rutgers (?!).

The Missouri connection might prove difficult to beat: Michael Porter Sr. was an assistant at UW and his son had been committed to play there before Lorenzo Romar was fired. New Mizzou coach Cuonzo Martin made a shrewd if short-sighted decision to hire Porter the elder, bringing his one-and-done son to Missouri in the process.

If Harris still wants to play with Michael Porter Jr. and play for Michael Porter Sr., he’ll be able to do that at Missouri, which Cuonzo has turned into a sort of midwest Frankenstein.

Harris told Zagoria he plans to visit all four schools next month and a decision should come near the end of the month.

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NC State outslugs Charlotte, 15-10

That escalated quickly.

NC State got into the soft underbelly of the UNC-Charlotte bullpen in a midweek game at BB&T Ballpark, staking itself to a 14-0 lead. Then, things got all too interesting, but the Pack held on for a 15-10 win. The 49ers are just outside the RPI top 30, so not only did the Pack avenge an earlier loss to Charlotte, they picked up a résumé-building win in the process.

Joe Dunand has not hit for average in his junior season, but there’s been no shortage of power. Dunand, who came into the game batting .218, homered twice to help stake the Pack to a two-touchdown lead. Nine of his 21 hits on the season have left the yard. Freshman Brad Debo hit his second career homer as part of a 3-for-4 day. Debo also doubled and drove in a career-high six runs.

Josh McLain had a pair of hits, including a double, and drove in a couple. Jack Conley, who got the start over slumping Brock Deatherage in right field, also had a pair of hits.

Michael Bienlien cruised through four shutout innings but ran into all sorts of trouble in the fifth, when it appeared Elliott Avent exercised a bit too much patience in trying to get the freshman trough five so he could qualify for the win. Bienlien was charged with seven runs before the inning mercifully came to a close.

Joe O’Donnell was credited with the win but pitched poorly, surrendering three runs (two earned) in 2.1 innings. He had struck out 15 over his previous three outings, spanning 8.2 shutout innings, but fanned just one Tuesday.

Austin Staley pitched a pair of shutout frames to finish it off, getting a 6-4-3 double play after allowing a couple of hits to open the ninth before ending the game with a strikeout.

State’s road trip continues as it returns to ACC play this weekend at Notre Dame. The Irish are just 8-15 overall and 2-7 in league play, so the Pack really needs to come home with at least two wins on the weekend.

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NC State recruiting former Washington commit Mamoudou Diarra

Kevin Keatts has reached out to a second member of UW’s now-imploded 2017 recruiting class.

An elite recruiting class at Washington has evaporated since head coach Lorenzo Romar was fired, with four players opening their recruitment back up, including two guys targeted by NC State. The most prominent of those is guard Blake Harris, a consensus four-star recruit. But now NC State is also after big man Mamoudou Diarra, per Julius Kim of Elevate Sports.

Since reopening his recruitment, Mamoudou Diarra has heard from Mizzou, Wichita St, SMU, Cincinnati, Mississippi St, & NC State, per source.

— Julius Kim (@JKimElevate) March 28, 2017

Diarra is listed at 6’9 and 205 pounds by 247Sports, and he is a consensus three-star prospect. He played for an Adidas-sponsored AAU team in St. Louis, which is perhaps something to bear in mind going forward, though he did end up signing with a Nike school initially, so maybe not.

Diarra has the potential to be a versatile player in college, someone that could be plugged into the three or four spot and serve as a threat from the perimeter. He also has a 7’2 wingspan. His AAU coach certainly loves the heck out of him:

"Michael Porter has a very similar game, but his game is a little bit more polished than Mamoudou's, but I'll take Mamoudou's motor and intensity level over Porter's. The difference with Mamoudou is it doesn't matter if it's with Michael Porter or in an empty gym, he's competitive. He's tooth and nail. He'll fight you for every rebound. He's that competitive. That's going to be a great asset to them. He'll try to be everything he can be. There's no doubt about that.”

Diarra had a solid offer sheet out of high school despite a career hampered by injuries. Missouri and Cincinnati both recruited him the first time around; NC State did not.

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A Law About Nothing

Even though both parties seem committed to keeping HB2 in the news, this time they got a little help from the Associated Press, in the form of an exclusive! news story. (A curiously high number of these exclusive! or BREAKING: news stories tend to involve HB2.) The AP conducted an analysis and determined that the […]
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Preview for RAFI-USA's film "Under Contract"

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The Death of Pro-Growth Conservatism

If there was one thing that used to unite Republicans, it was economic growth. Conservatives of all stripes–led by politicians like Dick Armey and groups like, well, the Club for Growth–agreed that growing the economy would drive wide-ranging social improvements. This would be accomplished by free markets. One may have disagreed with the policies they […]
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Ideological bankruptcy

Republicans rolled into power in North Carolina touting the slogan “North Carolina is open for business.” The small print said “as long as you’re straight, white and Christian.” Since they’ve taken power in the state, the GOP has passed a series of bills that clearly discriminate against the LGBT community and discourage voting among minorities. […]
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Tuesday News: "But her e-mails!"

TRUMP TWEETS IN EFFORT TO DRAG CLINTONS INTO RUSSIA PROBE: President Donald Trump, in a series of tweets Monday evening, asked why former President Bill Clinton and wife Hillary Clinton, who Trump defeated in the 2016 election, are not being investigated for their ties to Russia. Trump concluded his tweets by saying, “Trump Russia story is a hoax.” The House Intelligence Committee, the Senate Intelligence Committee and the FBI have ongoing investigations into Russia’s influence on the 2016 election and the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia. FBI Director James Comey told the House Intelligence Committee last week that it has been investigating possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia since June.
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Tuesday Twitter roundup

When you have "tens" of supporters show up:

Rally held in Waynesville, NC to thank @RepMarkMeadows by @FreedomWorks via: @WLOS_13 #ncpol #ACHA https://t.co/tJfKHwwLv9

— Wayne King (@TheWayneKing) March 28, 2017

I recognize at least two of these guys from activities they took part in around the Triad/Triangle area, so I'd be surprised if any of these folks actually live in Meadows' District.

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Dennis Smith Jr. expected to announce decision to turn pro on Tuesday

Surprise! Dennis Smith is going pro. No, wait, I meant the opposite of “surprise.”

Dennis Smith Jr. has not made a formal announcement about his future at NC State, but that will change on Tuesday when he goes live on SportsCenter to discuss his plans. Smith, who is a certain NBA lottery pick, will be taking his dunktastic dunkery to the next level, obviously.

This just in! N.C State's Dennis Smith Jr. will discuss his future tomorrow on @SportsCenter at 11:30 a.m. A top 10 pick per Chad Ford

— Paul Biancardi (@PaulBiancardi) March 27, 2017

Still it is funny to watch certain national media members treat DSJ’s decision this week as some sort of scoop, which it most certainly is not. Gotta keep up those insider appearances, though, right? If you’re a sports journalist and you can’t actually write good, being well-connected is all you have.

Ahem. What was I talking about? Oh, that’s right.

All the best to Dennis Smith, who provided countless highlights during an otherwise unwatchable season. I look forward to watching him put dudes on a poster for years to come. We’ll always have that win in Cameron, and that insane victory dunk. I’m just going to dwell on that this week.

Go get paid, son, you’ve earned it. And thanks.

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Kevin Keatts will add UNC-Wilmington assistant Takayo Siddle to NC State staff, per report

Takayo Siddle has played for Kevin Keatts and worked on his staff at UNC-Wilmington. Siddle had been serving as the interim head coach in Wilmington, but now it appears he’ll be following his mentor to Raleigh, per Scout’s Evan Daniels.

Siddle has removed his name from consideration for the head coaching job at UNCW.

Siddle played for Keatts at Hargrave, and finished his career at Gardner-Webb. And here’s an extra note, if you wanna feel extra old today: Siddle finished his college hoops career in 2009. He started his coaching career at his alma-mater, then joined Keatts at UNCW when Keatts got that job.

I know some commenters have expressed concern regarding NC State’s elite all-name-team status, and this is a clear statement from Kevin Keatts that he’s heard you and he’s got your back. Also, an anagram for Takayo Siddle is Dadaist Yokel. I feel great about this hire already, even though it hasn’t happened yet.

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On the Record: One year with HB2

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Observations from a Congressional staffer on phone calls

At least somebody is paying attention:

It’s not even noon, and I’ve already answered dozens of phone calls from angry constituents. A single mother demanded answers as to where her family could turn for health-care services if Republicans repeal the Affordable Care Act. An older gentleman had to take a breath as he used some choice words to describe House Speaker Paul D. Ryan’s proposals to cut Medicare benefits. The resentment and anger are palpable. Seconds after I hang up, the phone rings again. And again. And again.

Democratic and Republican congressional offices have been inundated with calls, letters, tweets, posts and visits from impassioned people upset and outraged by the president’s actions, Cabinet nominations and executive orders. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer’s office reported an average of 1.5 million daily calls to the Senate in the first week of February alone. Phone lines are so gridlocked that lawmakers are nervously taking to social media to apologize that constituents can’t get through and reassure them that we hear them on Capitol Hill.

Before you start punching in numbers to say your piece, keep in mind the author works for a House Democrat. It's a good bet many Republicans have been seriously filtering their incoming correspondence, and then just making shit up to show evidence of support. But here are some examples of the effectiveness of issue-based advocacy:

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Monday News: Counting the costs of HB2

AP ESTIMATES 3.76 BILLION IN LOST BUSINESS OVER CONTROVERSIAL LAW: Despite Republican assurances that North Carolina's "bathroom bill" isn't hurting the economy, the law limiting LGBT protections will cost the state more than $3.76 billion in lost business over a dozen years, according to an Associated Press analysis. The AP analysis — compiled through interviews and public records requests — represents the largest reckoning yet of how much the law, passed one year ago, could cost the state. The law excludes gender identity and sexual orientation from statewide antidiscrimination protections, and requires transgender people to use restrooms corresponding to the sex on their birth certificates in many public buildings. Still, AP's tally is likely an underestimation of the law's true costs. The count includes only data obtained from businesses and state or local officials regarding projects that canceled or relocated because of HB2. A business project was counted only if AP determined through public records or interviews that HB2 was why it pulled out. Some projects that left, such as a Lionsgate television production that backed out of plans in Charlotte, weren't included because of a lack of data on their economic impact.
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NC State baseball loses final two games of Louisville series

A weekend that began so promisingly ended in a whimper.

After beating Louisville 3-1 on Friday night, NC State had a golden opportunity to take a series against the nation’s top-ranked team. Unfortunately, the Wolfpack couldn’t make it happen, dropping a 7-6 result in extras on Saturday and an 8-1 game Sunday.

State got going early again on Saturday, putting itself ahead early, but the Cards didn’t need long to get to Brian Brown, who allowed four earned runs in 2-2/3 innings. Needless to say, if State’s going to somehow turn this season around, Brown is going to have to be a whole lot better than that.

The Wolfpack went into the bottom of the ninth down 6-3 but put a couple of guys on for Joe Dunand, who came up with two outs. Louisville reliever Lincoln Henzman had allowed neither an extra base hit nor a run up to that point in the season, but he made a mistake to Dunand, who crushed it for a game-tying three-run shot.

But Louisville got one right back in the top of the 10th, Henzman shut the Pack down in order, and Louisville claimed the 7-6 win.

Sunday’s rubber match was far less dramatic, as the Cards claimed the lead early and were never much threatened on the way to a series-clinching 8-1 victory. NC State starter Cory Wilder was a typical model of inconsistency, fanning five in three innings while surrendering four runs on five hits.

The Pack Nine had not rally in them this afternoon, however. Louisville’s superb pitching staff scattered seven hits across nine innings, and State didn’t break the shutout until the final frame.

With the weekend losses, NC State is now 13-12 (4-5), and that league record wouldn’t be a big deal of the Pack hadn’t been so awful during the pre-conference schedule. But they can’t just tread water in league play after the rocky start to the season. If they can’t put together an extended winning streak soon, time’s gonna run out on them. State’s RPI situation (51) ain’t terrible, but you do actually need a decent record to make the postseason.

Next up: a road game at UNC-C on Tuesday, then a weekend series at Notre Dame.

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Archie Miller’s dad says his son passed on NC State because of trust issues

I guess the whole Miller dealio couldn’t possibly end quietly.

Less than a week after NC State hired Kevin Keatts, Archie Miller accepted the job at Indiana. I thought perhaps we could begin to turn the page on the Miller saga after that news, but no, here’s Archie’s old man, John, keeping the matter alive.

Tom Archdeacon of the Dayton Daily News caught up with the elder Miller for a piece on Archie’s transition to Indiana. When asked about the NC State job, John Miller said this:

“Yeah, everyone thought N.C. State, but I knew that wasn’t gonna happen,” John said. “He knows that place too well. You gotta have trust in the people above you that they’ll stand by you.”

And hoo buddy, there’s about 10 different ways you can interpret that remark, though it’s natural to first read this as a shot at Debbie Yow. Which it may well be, but that’s not the extent of the story here by any means, if I had to guess. Miller does know NC State well—including both current and former administrators, coaches, and players. So there’s a wide variety of people who could be in his ear about all sorts of things.

I doubt we’ll ever know the complete story here beyond: 1.) Archie had some interest in NCSU; 2.) Archie never became a serious candidate for the job. The rest is mostly speculation, fueled by comments like the ones Archie’s dad made.

My advice would be not to sweat it, since history isn’t changing and therefore it doesn’t matter.

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Go ahead and gloat

As the Republican bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act died at the hands of Speaker Paul Ryan and Donald Trump, progressive leaders warned, “Now is not the time to gloat.” DNC Deputy Chair Rep. Keith Ellison tweeted, “Don’t gloat; get ready for round 2. Organize!” Don’t listen to them. Gloat! Enjoy this victory. It’s […]
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Nunes cancels Monday open hearing on Trump/Russia

The cover-up is not going very well:

Nunes explained that the hearing would be postponed, so as to allow FBI director James Comey and NSA director Mike Rogers to address the committee in closed session. Schiff believes Nunes’s true motive is to spare the president a bad news cycle. And he isn’t afraid to say so.

“I think that there must have been a very strong pushback from the White House about the nature of Monday’s hearing,” Schiff said. “It’s hard for me to come to any other conclusion about why an agreed-upon hearing would be suddenly canceled.”

This is turning into a big, hot mess for the Trump administration. I've seen a few reports from dubious news sites that Nunes has a great deal (if not all) of his personal finances tied up in Russian ventures, but I'll wait for that to pan out in the mainstream news media before linking. There are also rumors that Michael Flynn has decided to snitch in order to save his skin, but Congressional interest in his previous behavior is not a rumor:

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Sunday News: From the Editorial pages

All about Donald

The Republican’s bill to repeal and replace Obamacare is supposed to come up for a vote today. It was also supposed to come up yesterday. As of late last night, Republicans didn’t have the votes to pass the bill. Donald Trump has been on Capitol Hill urging members of the House Freedom Caucus to get […]
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Greenhorns getting in the way

For six years, the 2010 midterm sweep has looked like the NCGOP’s seminal moment of success. It left them with full control of the legislature for the first time in a century, and gave them a chance to revolutionize state government. But now that thunderous victory is echoing back at a pitch the leadership does […]
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A date Republicans might remember

Today is the anniversary of both the Affordable Care Act and HB2. For Republicans, today may become a day that lives in infamy. House Bill 2 sunk their Governor and later today, Republicans in the U. S. House will vote to repeal and replace Obamacare with a program that takes insurance away from more than 24 […]
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Friday fracking video

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VETO

.@NC_Governor Roy Cooper's first veto is a bill seeking to add partisan labels to some judicial races https://t.co/HENIC0p9jM #ncpol #ncga

— The News & Observer (@newsobserver) March 16, 2017

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NCAA Tournament 2017: Thursday game times and TV schedule

Commence the madness!

First Round (Round of 64), Thursday, March 16

Games (Round of 64)	Date	Game Site	Time (ET)	Network
(5) Notre Dame vs. (12) Princeton	March 16	Buffalo	12:15 p.m.	CBS
(5) Virginia vs. (12) UNCW	March 16	Orlando	12:40 p.m.	truTV
(4) Butler vs. (13) Winthrop	March 16	Milwaukee	1:30 p.m.	TNT
(1) Gonzaga vs. (16) S. Dakota St.	March 16	Salt Lake City	2:00 p.m.	TBS
(4) West Virginia vs. (13) Bucknell	March 16	Buffalo	2:45 p.m.	CBS
(4) Florida vs. (13) E. Tennessee St.	March 16	Orlando	3:10 p.m.	truTV
(5) Minnesota vs. (12) MTSU	March 16	Milwaukee	4:00 p.m.	TNT
(8) Northwestern vs. (9) Vanderbilt	March 16	Salt Lake City	4:30 p.m.	TBS
(6) Maryland vs. (11) Xavier	March 16	Orlando	6:50 p.m.	TNT
(1) Villanova vs. (16) Mt. St Mary's	March 16	Buffalo	7:10 p.m.	CBS
(7) St. Mary's (CA) vs. (10) VCU	March 16	Salt Lake City	7:20 p.m.	TBS
(4) Purdue vs. (13) Vermont	March 16	Milwaukee	7:27 p.m.	truTV
(3) FSU vs. (14) Florida Gulf Coast	March 16	Orlando	9:20 p.m.	TNT
(8) Wisconsin vs. (9) Virginia Tech	March 16	Buffalo	9:40 p.m.	CBS
(2) Arizona vs. (15) North Dakota	March 16	Salt Lake City	9:50 p.m.	TBS
(5) Iowa State vs. (12) Nevada	March 16	Milwaukee	9:57 p.m.	truTV

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Profile of a possible savior: Chris Collins

I mean (other than that one thing) what’s not to like?

In a previous POAPS, y’all let me know in no uncertain terms your thoughts about hiring a UNC “alum” to coach basketball at NC State. I hear you. But what about a Dookie? Specifically, I’m talking about Chris Collins, who, as you’ve no doubt heard, will pilot Northwestern in the NCAA tournament this afternoon for the first time in the program’s history. Will Collins parlay the rare success for the normally moribund Wildcats to a position at a program with greater likelihood for sustained success?

Important Questions, In Rough Order Of Importance:

1. Has he coached teams that have won a national title, made multiple deep NCAA tournament runs, and/or consistently been highly ranked?

As noted in the intro, Northwestern is making its first trip to The Dance in program history. In his four years with the Wildcats, they’ve been ranked for a total of one week, which came in January of this season. They were 25^th.

2. Has he built a program from the ground up?

Collins followed Bill Carmody at Northwestern. Carmody’s club won 20 games in 2010 for the first time in program history and also achieved a short-lived ranking of 25^th. He won 20 again in 2011 and 19 in 2012 before getting canned after a 13-19 mark in ’13. Northwestern was actually in one of its best stretches of basketball, 2013 notwithstanding, when Collins took the gig. Remember, this is a program that has won less than 42% of its games all time.

3. Has he substantially improved the program from when he took over?

Given the Wildcats’ at-large bid to the tournament, you would have to say yes. Getting there for the first time is the very definition of a substantial improvement. Their 23 wins so far this season are the most ever for the school, and last year’s 20-win season was then just the third in school history. It took some time, as Collins’ club made just a one-win improvement over Carmody in his first season, 2014, and then just a one-win improvement the following year.

From a more advanced perspective, Northwestern was 132^nd in Kenneth Pomeroy’s rankings in Carmody’s last season. The progression under Collins: 134^th, 122^nd, 68^th, 37^th. That’s a nice trend.

4. Has he succeeded at more than one head coaching job?

Northwestern is his first head coaching job.

5. Does he have significant high-major experience as either a head coach or an assistant?

Most certainly. Collins was Coach K’s assistant for 13 seasons, including associate head coach for much of that span. The Blue Devils won eight ACC championships and two national titles during Collins’ time as an assistant.

6. Is his team one of the best in its conference right now?

Northwestern finished tied for fifth in the B1G; it’s also the fifth best team in terms of KenPom’s rankings. So, no, not really, but given Northwestern’s historical ineptitude, fifth ain’t bad.

7. Do his teams actually play, what is this thing called, "defense"?

To some extent, the jury is still out in this regard, but it would appear that defense will be a strength for Collins-coached clubs. Remarkably, the Wildcats jumped over 100 points in the AdjD rankings in his first season and checked in at 23^rd overall. However, they backslid the next two years before taking strides to get back to an elite defensive team this year, coming in at 34^th. The Wildcats are not exactly loaded with athleticism, so methinks Collins deserves some credit for scouting and game planning Northwestern to optimize its defensive prowess.

8. So how about offense?

While his defenses have been a bit all over the place, Collins’ offenses have enjoyed a steady, linear rise from deplorable to solidly above average. The KenPom ranks: 288^th, 101^st, 72^nd, 59^th. Phew. Carmody’s Princeton offense was apparently a tough thing to uninstall that first year.

Alas, don’t think that the Wildcats have completely shed their plodding identity. The team is 303^rd in pace of play this season, though that’s likely due more to Collins trying to shorten games due to a talent gap than an actual preference to grind things out. Collins also understands the value of the heave from the bonusphere; his team is 31^st in three-point rate (and fifth among major conference schools. Vanderbilt is first among major conference schools, so expect plenty of long looks this afternoon).

9. Any indication that he can recruit McDonald’s All-American-type players?

Collins was a Burger Boy himself and of course had a hand in drawing countless Mickey D’s All-American-type players to Duke. He’s only got a couple of top 100 recruits on the roster at Northwestern, but he has certainly improved the school’s recruiting over his predecessor.

10. Does he have any connection to NC State, North Carolina, or the ACC?

Played at Duke. Coached at Duke.

11. Any other random red flags or positives?

Collins has been a college assistant or head coach since 1998, but he’s still just 42 years old. He has the potential to be around for a long, long time. That’s a positive.

Collins is an absolute basketball junkie whose idea of unwinding after a long day of recruiting, watching film in his office, running practice, etc. is to come home and…watch basketball. WNBA, high school, whatever. He’s hoops 24/7, and, while he definitely wants to pattern his teams after Duke, he picks up plays and approaches from all of the hoops he constantly consumes and should continually evolve as a coach. That’s a positive.

The only red flag, if you insist on it being one, is the whole Duke thing.

Summary:

Would he be better than Gottfried?

I get in trouble on this question for ignoring Gott’s feats back in the salad days. I have no doubt that Collins would immediately elevate the program from where it is now, but that’s a low bar. Would he make the tournament four times in his first six seasons? My guess would be yes, and that things would be trending upward in year six rather than coming completely off the rails. But I’ve got no crystal ball. The fact that, even in his worst seasons, Northwestern’s defenses have been better than Gott’s defenses, and, in Collins’ best seasons, Nothwestern’s defenses have been elite would lead me to believe that it’s a pretty safe bet.

OK, so what is his ceiling?

The results of K’s disciples have been mixed. Jeff Capel looked like he was going to be successful until he wasn’t. Johnny Dawkins could never quite get off the bubble at Stanford (though he’s had a nice debut at UCF). Tommy Amaker failed at Michigan but has had a helluva run at Harvard. Wojo is off to a solid start. It’s probably too soon to tell on Bobby Hurley.

Mike Brey’s Irish have been ranked at some point in 15 of his 17 seasons and finished ranked eight times. My gut tells me that Collins is going to be Brey 2.0 but with a little bit better defense most seasons.

Would he take the job if offered?

When you look at that paragraph above you see a lot of potential heirs to the Duke throne. It’s interesting to me, in fact, how comparatively well off Duke is when compared to UNC on the replace your aging coach stocks. Collins is from Illinois, and his wife is a NYC native who quite possibly likes being near the bright lights of a big city (in this case, Chicago). If he thinks he can turn Northwestern into the next Duke, he’s not going anywhere.

If he thinks he’s the frontrunner to replace K at Duke, he’s waiting for that. But, he’ll have a lot of competition.

His total package at Northwestern, from what I can glean from the tubes, is less than two million a year and middle of the pack by B1G standards. The cost of living is a lot lower in Raleigh, and NC State could afford to pay him more. So, from a financial standpoint, advantage Wolfpack.

From a competitive standpoint, NC State is certainly historically a better gig than Northwestern, and the ACC is a better basketball league (some recent ACC-B1G challenge results notwithstanding). I think Collins’ career has a higher ceiling at NC State, but that job also carries more risk. He can get away with 19-14 and the NIT at Northwestern, but not here.

Bottom line: I think he’d listen.

How would I feel if he were hired?

Gregg Marshall is the only candidate profiled so far that I would prefer. That’s strong praise (especially considering how much I like Archie, which is tons). Played at Duke, coached for over a decade at Duke, and breaking Northwestern’s streak of futility—it was the only major conference school never to make the NCAAs—is a helluva résumé.

How would the fan base as a whole feel if he were hired?

There will be some that will freak due to the Duke connection. Personally, I don’t have the Duke hatred. V and K were tight. That’s good enough for me. I think most fans would support the hire initially. The problem in the long run would be expectations. If it’s a K disciple, fans will want K results. Collins could be great and still not come close to measuring up to his predecessor, and that could create a tough climate over time. Can you imagine the media outcry if the “lunatic fringe” wasn’t satisfied with basketball royalty on their sideline?

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Conservatives have lost the big argument over healthcare

Nothing lays bare the ideological divide between conservatives and liberals like a healthcare debate. We are now in the third major debate in my lifetime. The first happened when Bill and Hillary Clinton failed to implement healthcare reform in 1993. The second occurred just eight years ago when Barack Obama pushed through his Affordable Care […]
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Joel Ford's battles with LGBT activists turns ludicrous

But the truth is, he's been dropping turds on his own party for some time:

On Tuesday N.C. Sen Joel Ford (D-Charlotte) had a strange, tense exchange with LGBT activists who criticized his record on LGBT issues. He responded to the activists with a GIF of a dog defecating in the snow. This led Matt Comer, a Charlotte-based LGBT activist, to ask if that was appropriate behavior for a state senator.

Ford, a more conservative Democrat, is used to criticism from the LGBT community. Last year he was one of the few Democrats to support a Republican bill to allow magistrates to recuse themselves from performing same-sex marriages. This session he has been one of the few Democrats to support a repeal of HB2 that would put LGBT protections to local referendum votes. But the criticism has turned up to 11 since Ford announced he’d be running against Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts, a fellow Democrat, as she seeks re-election.

Joel Ford is so full of himself he doesn't get the symbolism of posting that GIF, that he himself is the turd in that particular scenario, not the creature dropping it. Purely speculation on my part, but I believe he is trying to carve out a niche for himself as a "maverick," not one to follow the lead of others. Which is fine to a certain point. But I also believe he is trying to benefit from and maybe even exacerbate the confusion and conflicting beliefs in the African-American community over LGBT issues. At its core, this is the politics of division, not inclusion, and all parties will emerge in a weaker position because of it.

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Thursday News: And yet, we still have Berger

NC CITIZENS GIVE THEMSELVES HIGH MARKS FOR DETECTING FAKE NEWS: North Carolinians think fake news is a problem, report that they see it frequently and think they’re good at spotting it, a poll finds. Meredith College polled 876 registered voters Feb. 19-28 by phone and email and found that more than 88 percent say they think fake news confuses Americans about politics and government. All groups believed in the effect of fake news roughly equally – there were no significant differences in the results regardless of participants’ political affiliation, age, race or ethnic group, or where a person is from, according to the poll released by Meredith this week.
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It’s been a big week for UNC State sports

NC State takes a pair of midweek games

State improves to 10-8 on the campaign.

Joe Dunand powered the Pack Nine to a pair of midweek wins in front of this weekend’s ACC home opening series against Miami. Dunand had a grand slam in today’s 7-3 win over George Mason; he hit a solo shot in Tuesday’s 6-2 win at Elon.

Pack pitching, particularly the pen, was also instrumental in the midweek wins. After Cory Wilder got yet another chance to overcome Steve Blass disease, only to get yanked after walking the bases loaded while only recording one out against the Patriots, Evan Braband, Michael Bienlien, and Ken Klyman combined to allow just two runs in 8.2 innings of relief. Though Braband did give up a pair of runs of his own, he did well to get out of Wilder’s mess with only one run scoring. Bienlien didn’t allow a run in 4.2 innings while striking out six.

Against Elon, Christian Demby rebounded from taking the loss in the extra inning affair with Wake Forest on Saturday to give State 4.1 solid innings with just one run scored. Joe O’Donnell is making a bid for a return to starting with his impressive work in the pen; he allowed a run in 3.1 innings and was credited with the win. O’Donnell struck out four. Austin Staley continued to grow into the closer’s role, fanning thee of the four batters he faced to notch his third save.

Evan Mendoza had the only multi-hit game against the Patriots, going 2-for-5 with an RBI. Dunand’s grand slam came in the first and staked his mates to a 5-1 lead. Andy Cosgrove got the start behind the dish in both games—that’s four straight—and drew a pair of walks. He hit a solo shot as part of a 2-for-4 afternoon against Elon. Brett Kinneman also had a pair of hits and drew a walk against the Phoenix.

There was all kinds of ugly in the Elon game, as the teams combined for seven errors, though somehow State’s hurlers escaped without allowing an unearned run. Speaking of ugly, despite the comfortable winning margins, the Pack managed just 13 hits in the two games. It was cold. They were coming off an emotional weekend series. But it’s gonna take more than that going forward.

It gets serious on Friday. Another 1-2 series (or worse) for the Pack and they’ll be fighting an uphill battle to make the ACC tournament, much less the NCAA tournament.

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Missouri hires Cuonzo Martin; Washington fires Lorenzo Romar

As the coaching carousel turns ...

Good news, everyone! I mean, probably. It’s probably good news. Missouri is hiring Cuonzo Martin, who’ll be returning to the SEC after a brief foray at Cal. Mizzou could potentially have been a competitor with NC State for a number of candidates, including Gregg Marshall (still not happening) and Kevin Keatts.

Martin is getting a seven-year deal worth about $21 million from Missouri, per ESPN. Good for them, that may all work out well for the Tigers, but it’s also a bit of a relief to have them out of the way. Mizzou is a good job, with good facilities and proximity to St. Louis.

Washington fired Lorenzo Romar today, which now leaves both that job and Cal open on the west coast, along with Illinois, NC State, and LSU. Those are your power-conference vacancies at this point, and I think that plays pretty favorably if you’re NC State.

Especially if Illinois may be ready to throw its entire kitchen sink-full of money at Tony Bennett. I feel like that whole thing is probably bogus since UVA is a better job but then again that’s a whole lot of that Big Ten Network cash money and Tony Bennett is probably better suited for the Big Ten. More than that, I’d just like Tony Bennett to leave and be some other league’s problem since his style of play is awful and effective at the same time.

Every coaching change is a ripple that affects everyone to some degree, so we’ll see what happens, but so far these don’t seem like discouraging developments.

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NC Business Court On Conflicting Rules Of Civil Procedure: Do You Need Leave Of Court To Amend Your Answer To Add A Counterclaim?

If I asked you if you were familiar with Rule 13(f) of the NC Rules of Civil Procedure, I'm betting that you would respond with a glassy stare and a slack jaw.  That Rule deals with a counterclaim that you should have made in your Answer, but which you left out.  It says that "[w]hen a pleader fails to set up a counterclaim through oversight, inadvertence, or excusable neglect, or when justice requires, he may by leave of court set up the counterclaim by amendment."

Leave of Court?  Asking permission?  Well, how does that square up with NCRCP 15, which deals with "amended pleadings?" That Rule says that you can amend your Complaint "as a matter of course" (i.e. without "leave of the Court") at any time before a "responsive pleading is served."  But Rule 13(f) seems to contemplate that the permission of the Court is needed before amending an Answer to raise an overlooked counterclaim. 

Judge Robinson dealt with these apparently conflicting Rules last week in Recurrent Energy Development Holdings, LLC v. Sunenergy1, LLC, 2017 NCBC 18.  Defendant Sunenergy1 had amended its Answer to add a counterclaim.  It did so within thirty days of filing its original, counterclaim-less Answer, but without asking for the permission of the Business Court.

The Plaintiff moved to strike the Answer, contending that NCRCP 13(f) required leave of Court  to add the counterclaim.

Judge Robinson, finding no North Carolina appellate authority on the point, looked to federal court decisions, though he found the federal case law to be "scant."  The majority of federal courts looking at the federal version of the Rule had decided that:

a party may amend its answer to add a counterclaim as a matter of course under Federal Rule 15(a), and that leave of court under Federal Rule 13(f) was only required after the period for amendment under Federal Rule 15(a) had expired.

Op. ¶87.

Judge Robinson observed that "a few other courts" had found otherwise.  Op. ¶88.

There really wasn't any need to decide which line of federal cases to follow because the Federal Rules were amended in 2009 to delete Rule 13(f).  The reason for the deletion was that the Rule was "largely redundant and potentially misleading."  Op. ¶93 (quoting Notes of Advisory Committee on 2009 amendments).  The Notes to Rule 15 state that the deletion of Rule 13(f) "establishes Rule 15 as the sole rule governing amendment of a pleading to add a counterclaim."

Judge Robinson interpreted the deletion of FRCP 13(f) to confirm that FRCP 15(a) "was always intended to apply to amendments to add counterclaims."

So, you do not need lo file a Motion asking the Court to permit you to add a counterclaim to your Answer if you add that counterclaim within 30 days of your original Answer.  You can do that as "a matter of course."

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Learn to compromise

After four years of controlling every branch of state government, Republicans in North Carolina are having a hard time understanding compromise and bipartisanship. They’ve passed legislation at will with very little successful resistance. That power led to overreach on bills like their voter suppression law and HB2. As voters tire of hyper-partisan rhetoric and gridlock, […]
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Wednesday News: The height of irresponsibility

NC SENATE APPROVES CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM FOR INCOME TAX CAP: Senate Bill 75 would ban lawmakers from raising the income tax rate higher than 5.5 percent – if voters approve the constitutional amendment in a ballot referendum, which would be held during the November 2018 election. Currently, the constitution caps income tax rates at 10 percent. Lawmakers have set the personal income tax rate at 5.499 percent – so the amendment would prevent any future tax hikes. The Senate voted 36-13 Tuesday in favor of the bill, which now goes to the House. Republican Sen. Tamara Barringer of Cary broke ranks with her party and voted no, while Sen. Joel Ford of Charlotte and Sen. Ben Clark of Raeford were the only Democrats who supported the measure.
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NC State coach Wes Moore not pleased with Wolfpack Women’s NCAA tournament seed

Yeah, he’s got good reason to be not pleased about this.

NC State’s women’s basketball team is in the NCAA tournament, but the Wolfpack is going to have to travel to Texas as the No. 6 seed in a pod hosted by No. 3 Texas. There’s an argument you could make for State getting a top-four seed in a region, which would have allowed State to host during the first weekend.

Wolfpack head coach Wes Moore was about as baffled as the rest of us about the selection committee’s seeding choices on Monday night, lamenting how Miami somehow got a host spot (i.e., a top-4 seed in its region) and State didn’t. “Not real sure about how a team that finishes seventh in the league gets to host,” he told the News & Observer’s Jonathan Alexander. NC State finished fourth.

Moore had a lot more to say on the subject, too, and I would as well after being snubbed completely from the tournament last season and being underseeded the year following. I don’t think the NCAA women’s tournament selection committee is real popular in the athletics department offices these days.

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Omer Yurtseven will declare for NBA Draft, won’t hire an agent

There’s a pretty good chance Yurtseven will be back for his sophomore year in college.

NC State freshman center Omer Yurtseven plans to declare for the 2017 NBA Draft but won’t hire an agent, according to a report from Evan Daniels at Scout.com. Yurtseven was seen as a potential first-round draft pick prior to his first year of college basketball but has seen his draft stock dip significantly.

Both Abdul-Malik Abu and BeeJay Anya declared for the draft last offseason in order to get the free feedback that comes with the draft workout process. Both also came back to NC State. (In case you missed that, somehow.)

Yurtseven is doing the same thing—and it’s a prudent move since you might as well get the evaluation from NBA scouts and front office people while you can. He can both work out for teams and participate in the NBA Combine without losing his eligibility.

Yurtseven also told Daniels that he is not planning to return to Turkey and play professionally, and since he’s pretty committed to his academics, the odds of a return to NC State seem pretty good.

I mean, you know, as long as he feels like he’s a good fit with the new coach.

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NC GOP rejects clean HB2 Repeal Amendment

Today, we offered a path to a clean repeal of #hb2. The GOP voted not to take it. #ncpol

— Rep. Grier Martin (@GrierMartin) March 14, 2017

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BTP’s Power of Positivity- Herb Sendek

He Who Shall Be Named

“AHHHHHHH Backing The Pack...don’t you dare be sour...say something good about Herb Sendek and feeeeeeeel the POWER...”

Primer

• Herb Sendek coached NC State for 10 years from 1996-97 to 2005-06
• During that time he coached State to 9 post-season appearances including 5 NCAA Tourneys and 1 Sweet Sixteen
• He was named ACC Coach of the Year in 2004
• At the end of the 2006 season, Sendek left NC State to take the open job at Arizona State

Remember limit the negatives, limit the snark and say something positive...

As always h/t Cageside Seats for the idea

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A tale of two speeches

In his state of the state address last night, Governor Roy Cooper laid out a hopeful vision for the state, mixing Democratic policy proposals for the base while offering conciliatory language aimed at building a working relationship with Republicans. He irked GOP legislators when he called the state of the state “promising” and led off […]
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Tuesday News: Put up or shut up

HOUSE COMMITTEE DEMANDS EVIDENCE TO BACK UP TRUMP'S WIRETAPPING CLAIM: The Trump administration asked Monday for more time to submit evidence to the House Intelligence Committee to back up President Donald Trump’s claim that President Barack Obama had wiretapped him in the waning days of last year’s presidential campaign. Jack Langer, the House committee’s spokesman, said the panel had agreed to extend its Monday deadline but asked that whatever evidence the administration had be submitted before the committee’s first open hearing on Russian election meddling, now set for next Monday. “If the committee does not receive a response by then,” Langer said, “the committee will ask for this information during the March 20 hearing and may resort to a compulsory process if our questions continue to go unanswered.”
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BTP The Podcast Vol. 27: Tourney time edition (the women’s team was badly disrespected)

Seriously, the women’s tournament selection committee did poorly.

The Wolfpack Women earned a No. 6 seed in the NCAAs on Monday night, which is probably a seed line or two below what they have actually earned. This is the second year in a row the Pack’s been undervalued, but last year that meant missing the field entirely—at least this time around they have something to say about it.

And the men’s team’s season is obviously finished, so we’re on to watching potential future NC State coaches in the NCAA tournament. This has worked out well overall for the Pack’s coaching search, since several possible candidates are likely to be free by the end of this weekend. We’ll take the good breaks where we can get them.

That stuff and more in this week’s podcast, which you can stream below. Or find on iTunes. Or not listen to at all; what am I, the boss of you?

(Rating: PG-13 for some swears.)

(“Blatant Doom Trip,” Guided By Voices, Same Place The Fly Got Smashed)

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Tuesday Twitter roundup

Filed under "Aww, bless his heart."

LOL. https://t.co/MuwcojUxyg #ncpol

— Gavin O'Hara (@gavinohara) March 14, 2017

Not sure it's the HB2 thing as much as, you know. The fact you're a blithering idiot. More headscratching:

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NC State women’s team shown little respect by NCAA tournament committee, given No. 6 seed

Well at least they got in this time, I guess.

NC State is the No. 6 seed in the Lexington Region and will face No. 11 Auburn on Friday. Here’s the good news: not only did the Wolfpack Women avoid UConn’s region, they avoided UConn’s side of the bracket. Avoiding UConn for as long as possible is always preferred.

Now for the bad: State has to travel to Austin, Texas, where third-seeded Texas is the host. Most likely State will have to win a road game as an underdog to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. That is a bummer, and there’s a good argument to be made that NC State deserved a better seed.

The Wolfpack have wins over Notre Dame (1-seed), Duke (2-seed), FSU (3-seed), and Louisville (4-seed). Two of those four wins came on the road. You’d be hard pressed to find schools with a better pair of true road wins than State’s wins over FSU and Louisville. The Pack also finished 12-4 in ACC play, good for fourth place, and a full two games ahead of Miami (10-6), which received a 4-seed from the selection committee.

The Hurricanes were a combined 1-6 against UND/Duke/FSU/Louisville, but their RPI (15) is much better than the Pack’s (39), and they do hold the head-to-head edge. Still it’s hard to justify the difference in seeding here when looking at the overall picture. State finished 4-5 against the RPI, while Miami was 3-8.

And Miami is just one example—there are several different cases of inconsistent logic when it comes to the seeding in this field. Only thing I can figure is the committee wasn’t impressed with NC State’s RPI or its performance outside of the ACC (which, admittedly, was unremarkable). But who knows, really.

Anyway, congrats to the ladies for a well-earned spot in the field this season, and best of luck to them out in Texas. They get to make their own argument on the court.

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Richmond County public comment policy unconstitutional, expert says

Hat-tip to Lisa Sorg, who put the "T" in Tenacity:

Reached by email, Jonathan Jones, director of the Open Government Coalition at Elon University, said the county’s policy “clearly violates the First Amendment.”

Under North Carolina law, counties and cities are required allocated time in their meetings for public comment at least monthly. This time is known as a “limited public forum,” said Jones, who is a First Amendment scholar. And in limited public forums, officials can’t single out a category of class or speech to prohibit. “There’s almost no getting around that,” Jones added.

Thank God. I almost thought I was losing my mind, or losing my grasp of Constitutional principles. When I first read that "No comments about items on the Agenda" thing, I went back and re-read it outloud, to see if it sounded less crazy when vocalized. Sounded crazier. In case you're not up to snuff on this, Enviva is building a wood pellet plant in a predominantly African-American neighborhood, and said neighbors have been trying to express their concern and outrage for months:

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Wolfpack Women learn their NCAA tournament destination Monday night

It’s selection time for the ladies.

On a more positive basketball note, the NC State women’s team is going to be playing in the NCAAs this year, the only question is where the Wolfpack gets seeded. Each school that earns a top-4 seed gets to host the first weekend of games, and while State has been right on that line, the Pack most likely will have to hit the road.

ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme has the Pack slotted in as a No. 5 seed in the Stockton Regional opening against No. 12 Western Illinois. A win in the opener would likely see NC State face host UCLA in the second round.

But that fate is hardly set in stone—the only opinion that matters is the selection committee’s. At the very least let’s hope that State does not get sent all the way out to the dang west coast.

ESPN will air the NCAA women’s tournament selection show Monday night at 7 p.m. ET. NC State is also hosting a watch party at Reynolds this evening.

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Our deteriorating democracy

Republicans in North Carolina have already tried to rig the electoral system to maintain power through gerrymandering and voter suppression laws. Now, they’re trying to reduce the checks and balances in our government by reducing the power of the executive branch and judicial branch. They’ve been stripping powers from the governor ever since Roy Cooper […]
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NC's hair-raising dam safety issues not being addressed

When the levee breaks, I'll have no place to stay:

To help local and state official save lives in the event of a breach, the N.C. General Assembly included a provision in the Coal Ash Management Act of 2014 requiring some dam owners to file emergency actions plans (EAPs) with the state. The plans use modeling software to help decision makers understand where water will flow should the dam breach and when to warn or evacuate homeowners who, like Fraser, often don't know a dam is nearby.

Now, more than a year after those plans were required to be in place, 1,309 of the 2,011 dams that are supposed to have them don't. Only dams defined as high-hazard or intermediate-hazard potential -- designations based on the threat and property should the dam fail -- are required to have completed documents. In counties east of or contiguous to Interstate 95, 160 of the 217 dams supposed to have an EAP do not. The 73.7 percent lacking plans in eastern North Carolina is slightly outpacing the state's 60.6 percent.

Bolding mine. As is often the case when stories like this break, there's a handy expert standing by to tell us there's really nothing to worry about. And yet, not a rainy season goes by where several dams nationwide don't lose structural integrity and fail, and North Carolina has had its share. These emergency action plans do more than tell us what we should do in case of a failure, they help us figure out what other infrastructure needs we have by modeling the flow of flood waters in the event of a dam failure. And the fact we're still below 40% compliance is outrageous. A monumental failure to serve the people, that *will* result in the loss of life and property if not rectified.

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Monday News: New meaning to the term "Bully Pulpit"

There’s still time to join BTP’s NCAA tourney pool

The field is out, so get to pickin’.

Now that the NCAA tournament field is out, we can get to making some picks, and you might as well make those picks as a member of BTP The NCAA Tournament Pool. There’s no cost to enter, and heck, the prize is free too. (Very, very free.)

Yahoo! group ID: 32515
Password: macrowave

You do not have to worry about picking the First Four games, which is to say that your final bracket submission is due by the start of the games on Thursday afternoon (12:15 p.m. ET). But you may want to revise your picks following the results of Tuesday/Wednesday before that Thursday deadline, depending on which teams survive those opening games. (Go Deacs!)

I just did a quick run through the bracket and with little firm belief about any of my picks, I ended up with UNC winning the title. Brain’s screwing with me again, I’ll have to stab it with a q-tip later. Anyway, go join the pool.

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