File photo by Chris BairdN.C. State’s C.J. Leslie PNC ARENA/RALEIGH—No matter the sport, the most underrated source of information for a beat writer regularly covering a particular team is the opposing head coach’s post-game press conference. Journalists enjoy the somewhat objective, third-party perspective of a voice beyond the same carousel of home team coach/players they […]
Neil Morris
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Puerto Rico Islanders will not compete in Spring Season of NASL’s 2013 split regular season
UPDATE 3:50 p.m.: The NASL has now released an official statement confirming this announcement. According to high-ranking league sources, the North American Soccer League (NASL) will announce today that the Puerto Rico Islanders will not participate in the Spring Season under the new split regular season format being instituted by the league in 2013. The […]
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Old school, new school: N.C. State downs Dawkins-led Stanford 88-79
Chris BairdRichard Howell faces up the Cardinal’s Dwight Powell during N.C. State’s 88-79 win over Stanford in Raleigh PNC ARENA/RALEIGH—N.C. State’s 88-79 win over the Stanford Cardinal Tuesday night was an impressive result against a game, major conference opponent. The No. 25 Wolfpack led the entire contest, although the margin didn’t reach double-digits until early […]
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Argo, Ben Affleck among 2012’s best by Southeastern Film Critics
Photo by Courtesy Warner Bros. Entertainm — © 2012 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. The Southeastern Film Critics Association has voted Ben Affleck’s period thriller Argo the best motion picture of 2012. The 21-year-old organization, whose 48 members—including this author and INDY Week contributor Craig D. Lindsey—represent electronic and print media outlets in nine Southern states, […]
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Class dismissed: N.C. State conquers the Norfolk State Spartans 84-62
Chris BairdC.J. Leslie slams home two of his 11 points during N.C. State’s 84-62 win over Norfolk State PNC ARENA/RALEIGH—The counterpoint to derision over N.C. State’s yuletide nonconference schedule is that five of the seven teams the Wolfpack play between Thanksgiving and Christmas qualified for last season’s NCAA Tournament. The fourth of that group is […]
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Raucous Reynolds propels N.C. State Wolfpack to 80-63 win over Cleveland State
Chris BairdRodney Purvis scoops in two of his 11 points during N.C. State’s win over Cleveland St. at Reynolds Coliseum REYNOLDS COLISEUM/RALEIGH—Although reared as true-blue Tar Heels while growing up in Eastern North Carolina, my brother and I jumped and screamed just as vociferously as 10 and 12-year-olds, respectively, the night N.C. State won the […]
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Roland down the ACC: Who are the difference makers for Duke, UNC and NC State?
It’s the Christmas cupcake season for ACC basketball fans. With conference play still about a month away, it’s a good time to dust off the Roland Rating (RR), one popular statistic in the field of APBRmetrics, to divine early trends and difference makers among the Triangle schools. For those unfamiliar with the RR, it comprises […]
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What’s up with all these tropical early-season basketball tournaments?
The NCAA basketball season is over three weeks old, and N.C. State has played more games in Puerto Rico than in PNC Arena, while North Carolina has had just as many in Hawaii as in Chapel Hill. And last Saturday’s romp over hapless Delaware finally gave the Cameron Crazies one more chance to see Duke […]
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Indiana Hoosiers defeat Tar Heels 1-0 and advance to men’s soccer College Cup
FETZER FIELD/CHAPEL HILL—Although North Carolina and Indiana played an NCAA men’s soccer tournament quarterfinals match Friday evening in Chapel Hill, another athletic result between the schools from earlier this week cast a long shadow over the Fetzer Field crowd of 4,352 that included a boisterous contingent of Hoosier faithful. It wasn’t long into the first […]
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Carolina RailHawks exercise options on 12 players from 2012 roster
Today, the Carolina RailHawks announced that it was exercising club options on the contracts for 12 members of the 2012 roster for the 2013 NASL season. The players are defenders Austen King and Justin Willis; midfielders Austin da Luz, Floyd Franks, Breiner Ortiz, Tiyi Shipalane, Nick Zimmerman, Nick Millington and Jake Beckford; and forwards Brian […]