For twenty minutes of last Saturday’s regular-season-ending contest at Cameron Indoor, a weird pall hung over the proceedings. In Grayson Allen’s final home game, the Blue Devils frequently looked slow on defense, tentative on offense, and overmatched on the boards. When a late run at the end of the first half sent the Tar Heels […]
Timothy Bracy
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The Week in Duke Hoops: Why Does the Blue Devils’ Offense Stall When Both Grayson Allen and Marvin Bagley Are on the Floor?
The Skinny Over the course of a recent five-game stretch and deep into the late stages of a sixth one, the Blue Devils appeared capable of doing very little wrong. Following their February 8 loss at UNC, Duke ran off a string of impressive performances during which they vanquished worthy foes with relative ease and […]
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Final Four or Bust: The Week in Duke Hoops
The Skinny In what has been a wild ride of a 2018 season, the Blue Devils capped off arguably their most impressive weeklong stretch of the campaign with convincing victories over pesky Virginia Tech and eleventh-ranked Clemson. The Hokies rolled into Cameron last Wednesday fresh off a stunning road win at No. 1 Virginia, and […]
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After a Loss at the Dean Dome, the Blue Devils’ Season Is in the Balance: The Week in Duke Hoops
The Skinny An ugly stretch got uglier for the Blue Devils on Thursday, as the team lost again in their first start since a stunning defeat at St. John’s, this time to the suddenly surging UNC at the Dean Dome. A crisp early pace and a visible advantage in natural playmakers seemed to foretell a […]
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Losing to the Unranked St. John’s? Damn: The Week in Duke Hoops
The Skinny In a season that’s seen the young Blue Devils make progress in fits and starts, this past Saturday’s shocking loss at St. John’s represents a nadir for this powerfully gifted, maddeningly inconsistent team to overcome. How did this happen? Duke had looked sharp in its previous start against Notre Dame, and a loss […]
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Sure, the Blue Devils Lost to the Cavs. No, It Doesn’t Really Matter: The Week in Duke Hoops
The Skinny The No. 4 Blue Devils and the No. 2 Virginia Cavaliers finally crossed paths in Durham this past Saturday in arguably the most anticipated college game of the season to date. While by no means an instant classic, the battle for ACC supremacy evolved from an early showcase of the Cavs’ dominance into […]
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Damn Good and Getting Better: The Week in Blue Devil Hoops
Stop The Presses! Next things first! Before we discuss the entirely viable national championship aspirations of this current iteration of the Blue Devils, I suppose we’d better have a little chat about Zion Williamson, the latest addition to the blockbuster, net-cutting, rim-rattling recruiting class that will take the floor next year at Cameron. When it […]
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James “Bonecrusher” Smith Could Still Kick Your Ass
Over the course of a nearly two-decade-long career in professional boxing, Magnolia native James “Bonecrusher” Smith fought the cream of the heavyweight-division crop in the 1980s and ’90s, including the legendary figures Larry Holmes and Mike Tyson. In 1986, Smith became WBA heavyweight champion with a shocking first-round knockout of Tim Witherspoon (see above), the […]
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Panthers Recap: For the Love of God, Give Cam Newton Some Help
With twelve seconds remaining in yesterday’s wild-card game, with Carolina trailing by five points and facing a 3rd-and-23 from the Saints’ 35-yard line, Cam Newton lofted a dangerous-looking pass into the New Orleans end zone. Devin Funchess, ostensibly the Panthers’ number one wide receiver, engaged in some hand fighting with Saints strong safety Vonn Bell […]
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Twice This Year, New Orleans Has Dominated the Carolina Panthers. Can the Third Time Possibly Be the Charm? Our Playoff Preview.
As the 11–5 Carolina Panthers embark on their playoff campaign this coming Sunday, much about the team will look familiar from previous postseason runs. The offense still functions almost entirely on the boom-or-bust proposition of Cam Newton’s bulldozer scrambling and scattershot arm, and the defense remains a disciplined and formidable unit with mainstay linebackers Luke […]