Roy Williams and Droopy

1 versus 2

No matter how you stack them, Duke and Wake Forest will be number 1 and 2 in the AP and coaches poll after this weekend, possibly setting up another number 1 versus number 2 battle next Wednesday (the 28th) at littlejohn colliseum. Of course Wake might lose to Virginia Tech or Duke might lose to NC State or Maryland, but either way I am already starting to catch that ACC fever.

If UConn loses this week we might have a 1-2-3 Wake-Duke-UNC poll next week. I thought Duke was going to have a much tougher time with G-town than they did. Maybe it was a little Cameron home cooking, but Duke played well. I think the ACC is right now the best conference in the country, and the Big East is going to have to show me something to prove otherwise.

Reanalyzing my dislike of Mike Patrick

Maybe it is a case of absence making the heart grow fonder, but after the debacle of listening to Mike Tirico, Jeff Van Gundy, and Mark Jackson talk amongst themselves while they sat in the broadcast booth of Cameron last night, I yearn for the known quantity of Mike Patrick. Even if Patrick has a tendency to overpraise every ACC player and coach, at least he pays attention to the game and bothers to fill the viewer in on confusing plays.

For example, when Kyle Singler was dribbling at the top of the key and a foul was called to put Scheyer on the line, I don't think Patrick would have given it the Van Gundy treatment, "I thought Singler had the ball there, oh well." Patrick probably would have taken the time to clarify what the call was. Also, I think when the game started getting close between the 8 and 4 minute marks, Patrick would have focused the attention on the game, as opposed to Mike Tirico letting Van Gundy and Jackson add another chapter to their ongoing made for TV feud.

That is the best NBA team that ESPN has? Wow. Mike Patrick, I offer you my apologies: I threw out the baby with the bathwater.

Bees and Acorns

Much has been written about the decline in bees across the United States. Some numbers have the bee population down 60% in the last two years. Bees help pollinate many plants, especially food crops, and there population decline has been in some cases due to disease. Cell phone use has also been speculated to be helping the decline in population.

Recently, field botanists have also noticed a shocking absence of acorns and hickory nuts up and down the east coast. Oak trees are wind pollinated, but based on a sharp drop off to zero acorns, which I also noticed in my yard, the decline in bee population may be related. On the other hand, if acorn production goes back to normal next year, some other factor may be the root cause. If trees such as oaks and other nut trees are pollinated by bees, a domino effect might start to be seen in the food chain.

BCS Playoff system

After a yearlong hiatus, and after becoming Dr. Cooke, I have decided to write down my thoughts on the BCS bowl system. The problem with the current system is two-fold.

1. It doesn't allow the smaller conference teams a fair shot at the title.
2. There is an unsatisfying and inexact method for selecting the two teams that should play for the national championship.

What college football needs is a system that preserves the current bowls, allows the smaller teams to participate, and has a satisfying and undisputed national champion. The best solution is a 16 team playoff, with the first two rounds occurring during the last two weeks of the "regular season," and the final two rounds during the new year. There are 12 Division IA conferences, including the independents, and each of these conferences should be represented with a champion, with some consideration given to Notre Dame. The final four slots should be decided by an NCAA committee much like the NCAA basketball selection committee, and teams should be seeded based on a BCS style ranking system. If this is not feasible than some other means of selection could occur. These games would happen the last weekend in November and the first weekend in December, pushing conference championships back two weeks. This would not matter for the Big 10 and Pac 10, but the Big East, SEC, Big 12, and ACC would be affected.

After the first two rounds, which would be played on neutral fields and tickets sold in advance (and given to the schools participating), there would be three final games: the semifinals, which would occur on New Years Day, and the championship a week later. The Rose, Orange, Cotton, and Fiesta can alternate turns hosting the three big games, and the other can match two of the top losers and still favor the BCS conferences if they so choose.

The real key to this plan is the continuation of the other bowl games. All teams eliminated from the tournament would still be eligible for bowl games, and would still get a chance to end their season with a win. The problem with an eight team playoff is the elimination of the little conferences. Right now there is no room for all three undefeated small conference teams, Ball State, Boise State, and Utah, to be included in the eight. And all three of those teams should have a chance to compete for the national title. A minimum of 16 teams is needed to ensure all undefeated teams a spot.

Response to Terrible Feinstein Article

I think you could write this article every year about any sport besides football and maybe baseball. Will golf be in trouble after Tiger Woods retires? Probably. Is tennis a little down in America because Sampras and Agassi are retired and there isn't a bunch of good Americans that people are fans of such as Jim Courier, David Wheaton, Todd Martin, Michael Chang, Aaron Krickstein? Yes. But to say the money for tennis is drying up when it is the number two sport behind soccer in most of Europe is ridiculous. We celebrate the globalization of the NBA because the US still has the league and the best players, but we don't celebrate the globalization of tennis because now there are more tournaments in Europe than in the US? Not only will tennis continue to thrive, but recreational tennis is expanding as fast as the USTA can create new NTRP leagues. Golf and tennis will always compete for players and fans, but tennis will always be cheaper to play and more accessible to the public.

I think the golden age of tennis was in the mid 70s through the mid 90s, when a string of great players and personalities came through the sport, and in those days the contrasts in style of play were much more pronounced. Much like in basketball the Magic, Bird, Jordan days were the pinnacle of the sport, and the NBA is trying to re-create that aura, the McEnroe, Borg, Conners, Lendl, Becker, Edberg, Agassi, Sampras era was the pinnacle of tennis. Until some new players with big personalities and diverse games come through the sport, that time will remain the golden age of tennis.

Tom Wolfe

It looks like Tom Wolfe is not very good at geography.
'He said that none of the "Charlotte Simmons" characters "lived within 600 miles of Durham, N.C.," Wolfe said Saturday at the North Carolina Festival of the Book.'

I guess the fact that Charlotte Simmons is from North Carolina combined with the fact that there is no point in North Carolina that is 600 miles away from Durham, NC didn't really register for Dr. Wolfe. Well, maybe his PhD in American Studies didn't cover North Carolina geography.

Retaliation

The Minnesota Vikings may now be sorry they opened up this contract loophole, as the Seahawks retaliated nastily. They signed Nate Burleson to a seven year $49 million dollar contract with the following provisions:

"Sources close to the situation confirmed that Burleson's entire deal would be guaranteed if he plays five games in the state of Minnesota during any one year of the deal. Another unrealistic provision is that if Burleson is paid more per year than all of the team's running backs combined in 2006, all of the deal is guaranteed.

"Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander, by himself, averages just under $8 million under his recently signed contract, already more than the $7 million Burleson would average. For Minnesota, however, the highest-paid running back is free-agent acquisition Chester Taylor, who averages $3.5 million, and their other backs' salaries wouldn't add up to Burleson's $7 million."

I guess this second provision won't really hurt the Seahawks, because Alexander won't be cut in 2006, but if he were to be, then they would have to cut Burleson as well, or guarantee him the entire contract. I guess these contracts really give teams an ability to abuse the system, and the NFL will shut them down. It would be great to see Minnesota actually sign Burleson, renegotiate Taylor's contract to give him a bit more money in 2006 to match Burleson, and then hope Burleson gets injured, or if not, sit him for 3 home games or trade him.

Awesome

The Minnesota Viking's deal with Steve Hutchinson to circumvent the NFL's transition player tag is just that, awesome. The article lays it out clearly, but basically the contract guarantees the entire $49 million if Hutchinson is not the highest paid offensive lineman on the team. Because the Vikings don't have a higher priced offensive lineman, they don't have to guarantee the whole contract. However, because Seattle has Walter Jones under contract for 54 million, for them to match the offer they would have to guarantee the entire $49 mil. So Seattle didn't match the offer, and Hutchinson goes to Minnesota.

The best part is the following part of the article:
" The league thought they had closed a loophole in the transition-player process in 1993. The Indianapolis Colts signed Will Wolford, Buffalo's transition player, to an offer sheet that included a clause guaranteeing he be the team's highest-paid offensive player.

"The Bills already had quarterback Jim Kelly as their highest-paid offensive player. They argued the clause violated the collective bargaining agreement. An arbiter said it did not. The Bills declined to match the offer sheet, and Wolford signed with the Colts to become their highest-paid offensive player.

"After that decision, the league and the union amended the CBA. It now states that no team attempting to match an offer sheet for one of its transition players can be required by a Wolford-like clause to pay that player more than what the offering team would pay him."

So basically the contract skirts the loophole that has already been closed because the contract is not forcing Seattle to pay more than Minnesota. But it opens up an entirely new loophole. Tom Condon, Hutchinson's agent, is a genius! However, you wonder if the player really wanted to go to Minnesota, or whether he wanted a guaranteed contract.

Restaurants In Chapel Hill

Here we go again, Ben Cooke's favorite restaurants in Chapel Hill.
1. Allen & Son's What can I say, everytime I go is special. The extra large barbeque plate for the meal, and the peanut butter pie for desert. Make sure to stick with the tea because the water's a little metallic.
2. The Barbeque Joint This place is a great find along Weaver Dairy Rd. The barbeque is very tasty and the variety of dishes is excellent. I need to get back over there.
3. Lime and Basil Mmm, vietnamese food.
4. Hector's There is no better late-night spot than Hector's. The cheeseburger on pita (with ketchup, mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, yellow peppers, and tzaziki sauce) is the way to go.
5. The Flying Burrito James's brother Chris is really into this place, and his enthusiasm has rubbed off. The dishes are excellent and big, and the service is friendly. The only mild problem I have is the black beans. I just don't like the way they cook them.
6. Margaret's Cantina I've only been there once, but the food puts this place on the list.
7. Pepper's Pizza I've only been here once or twice, but the pizza was good, and the gazpacho was delicious.