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Crazy
Cameron The North Carolina Tar Heels proved that they are indeed the team to beat in the ACC. Just a few weeks ago, the Duke Blue Devils were unbeaten in league play and had a commanding two-game lead over the Heels and everybody else in the conference. Personally, I thought the regular season race was all over...but that's why you play the games. The Blue Devils were cruising until road losses at Wake Forest and Miami, add another loss at home on Senior Night to North Carolina, and now they find themselves looking up to Roy Williams and his road warriors from Chapel Hill. The rivalry showdown looked more like a street fight in the lane as opposed to a basketball game. Despite the physical nature of the game, you couldn't argue that one team gained an advantage by the way the game was called by the refs. They let 'em play, and both teams looked exhausted at the end of regulation. For UNC, they've been playing catch-up for weeks, after the backcourt injuries and early season loss to Duke, but now they've got the #1 seed in the upcoming conference tourney as well as the inside track to the top seed in the East. As we approach the eve of March Madness, North Carolina has proven they are the best team in the ACC. Now they can validate themselves with a few wins in the Queen City. The ACC Tournament makes a return to the Queen City this week, and it very well may be the last time we see it around here for quite some time. The conference has announced future sites for the event through 2015, and Charlotte is nowhere to be found. The new Bobcats Arena is certainly loaded with great amenities, including numerous private suites, but it isn't ideal for the needs of the 12-member conference. When you consider that the arena in Greensboro seats an additional four thousand, it certainly comes in handy for the schools to divide the additional tix for influential boosters. The new Charlotte arena also falls short to the Georgia Dome when it comes to maximizing seats and capacity. The ACC has certainly pulled the PC-card by moving the event to the D.C area and Florida, but it looks like Greensboro is the most ideal home. I've been to tons of ACC Tournaments and Greensboro always feels right to me...the events on the court dominate everything away from the arena in the Triad. I have no doubt that Charlotte will do a great job this week and it certainly has more things for fans to do in the "Uptown area" than most potential sites....but Greensboro should be the permanent home for the ACC Tourney. I feel just as strongly about Charlotte being the ideal host for the ACC football championship game. After a disastrous stay in Jacksonville and a two-year experiment in Tampa, the city of Charlotte will get a chance to dazzle the league in 2010. It won't take long for everybody to realize that it's a no-brainer for the league and for the city of Charlotte...It's a perfect fit for everybody. By the way, people have asked me if I have an extra ticket or two for the tourney this week.....quit asking. There is a reason why the ACC Tournament hasn't sold public tickets to the event since 1966. How about some props to the folks at Toyota? For the first time since 1954, a foreign automaker has won in NASCAR's Sprint Cup series. Thanks to Kyle Busch's win in Atlanta on Sunday, Toyota found victory lane after just 40 races. It is beginning to look like a great move by Joe Gibbs Racing, to pick up the young and talented Busch. He became the youngest driver to win in Atlanta and the future looks bright for one of the sport's hottest young talents. Last year, Hendrick Motorsports cut ties with Busch in order to bring Dale, Jr. into the fold. There is no question that the popular Earnhardt generates more media attention and souvenir sales and that certainly helps Rick Hendrick's bottom line. But there is no doubt that the younger Busch has incredible talent and is driving circles around Dale, Jr. While Busch leads the series points race, Dale, Jr. hasn't won a race since May of 2006. Kyle Busch even has his peers talking about his raw ability and daring driving edge on the track. Sometimes it gets him into trouble, but keep in mind he's 22 years-old....he's only going to get better. Just like Toyota. One more NASCAR tidbit....I started to laugh, when I saw Fox Sports' NASCAR post-race interviews from Atlanta. After Toyota finished 1-2, with Tony Stewart capturing a runner-up finish, "Smoke" was interviewed by the Fox Sports crew. Tony Stewart stated that it was tough on the track due to the type of Goodyear tire that was used by the drivers. His exact quote was..."That was the most pathetic racing tire that I've ever been on in my professional career". I'm assuming that he wasn't talking about the one around his waist. I like Tony Stewart. He's an incredible driver, past champion and he speaks his mind. I'm sure he'll get ripped by some that didn't care for his comments, but I like the fact that he doesn't cater to the PC crowd and if he ruffles some feathers, deal with it. Speaking of ruffling some feathers, how about the moronic move of PGA Tour golfer Tripp Isenhour? According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the PGA golfer was filming a video called "Shoot Like A Pro" back in December. During the taping, a red-shouldered hawk was making enough noise to disrupt the filming. Isenhour got upset and tried to hit the bird with golf shots from 300 yards away. The bird eventually got within 75 yards and Isenhour kept firing away at the hawk. According to the story, Isenhour claimed, "I'll get him now." Eventually he nailed the bird and killed him on the spot. Witnesses said the bird was bleeding from the nostrils and died. The red-shouldered hawk is protected as a migratory species, and the PGA Tour player was charged with cruelty to animals and killing a migratory bird. Isenhour saved the best for last. He issued a statement apologizing for the incident:
What a crock. I love the line about his family adopting three cats, so therefore he's an animal lover....give me a break. And if you're so upset over the incident, how come you wait nearly three months after the fact to issue the lame apology? What a complete joke. |
Packman
on Sports Commentary
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