Last night the NC State Wolfpack defeated the Boston College Eagles 82-64 to win their 20th game of the season. Freshman "Never nervous" Rodney Purvis came off of the bench to score a career high 21 points. That tops his previous best of 19 that he scored on 1/5/13 against the Eagles. Lorenzo Brown scored 6 points, had 11 assists and 3 steals. Scott Wood dropped in 17 points for the Pack hitting 5 3 pointers. One of them he hit after having the initial attempt blocked, regaining control and draining the shot as the buzzer sounded to end the first half. BC had closed the Pack's 16 point lead to 3, and Wood's shot put the pack back up by 6 and proved to be a momentum changer for the 2nd half. NC State held BC to 38.9% shooting from the floor while the pack shot 64.5% in the second half. The next game for the Pack is Sunday in raleigh against Georgia Tech. Winning the last 3 games is very important for State to get a first round bye in the ACC tourney that begins March 14th.

The Carolina Hurricanes take home ice tonight to face the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Canes are coming off of a 3-0 loss to the Caps in Washington on Tuesday.

NFL Combine

I have been paying attention to the NFL combine like most of you. Nothing too spectacular, but a few things of interest.Things  that are probably not good for the particular players' chances of getting a early draft, or a drafted at all. First of all, it is no surprise that players take a few plays off. I watched Julius Peppers take entire weeks off when he was with the Panthers. To be fair, he wasn't taught that hard work gets you ahead in life at UNC. Anyway, during his press conference, LSU DE Sam Montgomery admitted that he took easier games off. He said he brought it hard when they played South Carolina or Alabama. I can't imagine a GM wanting to hear his DE say "The Jets this week? I can take it easy."

Another weight around the neck of Notre Dame LB Manti Te'o may be dragging him closer to the bottom of the NFL draft pool. After the Alabama offense made him look like a high school kid in the BCS Championship game, and the whole fake dead girlfriend, he runs a 4.80 and 4.81 40 yard dash. The aforementioned LSU DE Montgomery, listed at 262 lbs, ran a 4.81(No word on whether or not he took it easy). There are 12 other defensive linemen that ran a 4.81. There were two 300 lb linemen that ran under 4.7! Te'o also measured in at 6'1" 241 lbs, ND had him listed as 6'2" 255 lbs. He is a guy that teams would probably use as a 3 or 4 down player. Is he fast enough for pass coverage? Is he big enough to take on some of the NFL offensive lines?

And the Honey Badger, Tyrann Mathieu, is hoping he can impress some teams with his workout at the combine. He says he went through rehab because he wanted to overcome his issues with addiction. He woke up at 4am on Sunday to take a drug test. He says that right now honesty is his best friend. He wants potential teams to be able to trust him. At 5'9", he is already going to have to prove he can cover recievers that are 6'4" and taller.  The Draft starts Thursday, April 25th and lasts through Sunday the 27th.

Friday was the anniversary of one of the biggest American sports moments of all time. 33 years ago, a team comprised of bunch of college kids beat what was supposed to be the best hockey team in the World. The USA Olympic hockey team, capatined by Mike Eruzione, beat the Russian team in the semi-finals of the Olympic games. Eruzione scored the game winning goal. The Americans went on to defeat Finland for the gold medal. Lake Placid, NY will be forever known for the "Miracle on Ice", and a really bad movie about a giant crocodille.

Over the weekend, Mike Eruzione auctioned off the gear he wore during that monumental game. The gear had been in a bag in his attic. He heard that a jersey worn by Paul Henderson in the 1972 Summit series against the Russians sold for over $1 millon. His "Miracle" jersey sold for about $675,000. The stick that scored the game winner sold for about $265,000. The stick that scored the goal to make the Miracle. The jersey he wore in the gold medal round against the Fins sold for about $287,000. Eruzione said that he gear was just lying around, so it might as well do his family some good. Ken Morrow, a defensemman from the 1980 team, sold his jersey for $104,000. Mark Wells, a forward, sold his gold medal for $310,000 in 2010. Steve Christoph, another forward for team USA, put his gold medal up for sale on Saturday as well. It didn't reach his set mark of $350,000. he is working on a private deal with a buyer now. Eruzione said that he will never sell his medal as long as he is alive. Maybe his kids or grandkids might, but he hoped it would be "for the right reasons".

The Miracle On Ice was basically what got me interested in hockey. I lived in North Carolina, we didn't play much ice hockey here. And we got to see an occassional game on TV, usually during the playoffs. I watched the 1980 games and started enjoying the sport. I was a huge fan of Team USA  goalie, Jim Craig. He played for the Atlanta Flames, who moved to calgary in 1980. I decided that I didn't want to pull for a Candian team, so I just followed the sport not having a real favorite. Then in 1997 another Miracle happened when the Whalers moved to Raleigh. But that is another blog for another time.

It was a rough weekend for me sports-wise. The UNC Tarheels beat my Wolfpack Saturday afternoon in Chapel Hill 76-65. CJ Leslie had more turnovers than points. Scott Wood led all State scorers with, 19 shooting 7-14 (5-12 on 3 pt shots). Richard Howell tallied his 16th double-double of the season scoring 13 points and pulling down 17 rebounds. Lorenzo Brown had 12 points and 12 assists for his 6th double-double, and TJ Warren coming off his career game against FSU had his 2nd double-double in as many games with 10 points and 10 boards. It was the 2nd time this season the Pack had 3 players with double-doubles, both times against the Tarheels. The Pack (19-8 8-6) takes the floor again Wednesday night in Raleigh when the Boston College Eagles (12-15 4-10) visit PNC Arena. The Wolfpack won the earlier meeting between the two in Chestnut Hill 78-73.

After the Carolina-State game, the Canes took the ice in PNC Arena to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. At stake was 1st place in the Southeast division. Dan Ellis started in goal for the Canes. I thought that was what Kirk Muller should have done, based on the luck Cam Ward has had against the Lightning goal scorers in the past. Ellis did well with 31 saves, and had the game close at 1-0 Tampa after 40 minutes of play. When the 3rd period started, the Hurricanes troubles did too. Ellis gave up 4 goals while Drayson Bowman and Chad LaRose tallied in the 3rd for the Canes for a final of 5-2. Not only did the Canes lose the game and 1st place in the division, the 3 game losing streak has dropped them from 3rd to 10th in the Eastern conference. The Canes are once again staring up at the last available playoff spot.  The Canes are 0-4 vs Southeast division foes, with The Caps and Pens up next this week. The team turned things around in Nassau against the NY Islanders. The Isles went up 2-0 but goals from the Staal brothers tied it up at 2. In the 3rd, Bobby Sanguinetti scored his first NHL goal to give the Canes a 3-2 lead. Alexander Semin added an empty netter late to give the Canes a 4-2 victory. The Hurricanes hit the road bound for DC on Tuesday to take on the Capitals. The puck drops at 7pm in the Verizon Center. On Thursday, the Canes close out the month of February with a home game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Puck drops at 7pm in Raleigh. Both games will be seen on FSN Fox Sports Carolinas.

The Wolfpack baseball team scored a total of 43 runs in a double header against Wagner on Sunday.

Tonight the Carolina Hurricanes host the Winnipeg Jets (formerly known as the Atlanta Thrashers) in the friendly confines of PNC Arena. The Jets are 3-3-1 in road contests this season, Carolina is 3-2-0 at home. The Canes are coming off of a 3-0 loss in Montreal on Monday night. Winnipeg is the latest team to beat the Buffalo Sabres winning 2-1 in First Niagra Center on Tuesday. The bad news for Carolina is the loss of Jeff Skinner due to a concussion. This is the 2nd concussion in 2 seasons for Skinner. There is no word on how long he may be out. He missed 16 games last season. The Canes have been bitten by the injury bug lately losing defensemen Joni Pitkanen, Tim Gleason, and Jamie McBain. Tim Brent missed Monday's game and is listed as day to day.

In an attempt to bolster the depleted defensive corps, Carolina has recalled 19 year-old defenseman Ryan Murphy from the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League. Murphy will make his NHL debut paired with Jay Harrison. Drayson Bowman will move up to play with Jordan Staal and Patrick Dwyer to fill in for Skinner.

The Canes are still in 1st place in the Southeast Division  (8-5-1 17 points) and face divisional foes in the next 5 games, including a meeting with the 2nd place Lightning (18-6-1 17 points) on Saturday in Raleigh. Winnipeg is in 3rd place (6-8-1 13 points) 4 points behind Carolina and Tampa Bay.

I would like to appologize to my Sabre fan friends for that little dig earlier. Hopefully the firing of Lindy Ruff will get your team going again.

The NC State Wolfpack beat the Florida State Seminoles 84-66 in PNC Arena last night. TJ Warren got the start over Rodney Purvis and Tyler Lewis. he responded by scoring 31 points, going 5 for 5 from the free throw line and pulling down 13 rebounds. That was TJ's first career double-double. His 31 points tied the most scored by a freshman (Scott Wood also dropped 31 on the Seminoles as a freshman and JJ Hickson scored 31 on the Tribe of William & Mary. Note to the scheduling committee: Play more teams with Native American related mascots.)

CJ Leslie scored 19 points and had 10 rebounds and a few monster dunks. Scott Wood scored 13 points and hit his 300th 3 pointer. He has 302 which makes him 9th all-time in the ACC.The last Wolfpack player to hit 300 was Rodney Monroe who has 322. Chris Corchiani had 127 threes.Terry Gannon (The Gannon Cannon) has no 3 pointers as the 3 point line didn't come into college basketball until the 1986-87 season.  The Pack out rebounded Florida State 45-21.

The next game for the Wolfpack is a road battle with the much hated Tarheels in Chapel Hill. The Tarheels and Wolfpack are tied for 4th place at 8-5 in the ACC. The pack won the last meeting on January 26th in Raleigh. Tip off is slated for 4Pm and coverage will be on ESPN, ESPN2 and the ACC Network.

The NC State Wolfpack beat the Va Tech Hokies in OT on Saturday 90-86. Tonight the Wolfpack (18-7, 7-5) hosts the Florida State Seminoles (14-11, 6-6) in the 2nd of 2 straight home games. The game tips at 7pm. State leads the all-time series 27-21 with  the Seminoles getting the win last year in Tallahassee 76-62. Coverage will be on ESPN2. The next game for the pack will be a trip up Tobacco Road to take on the Tarheels in the Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center in Chapel Hill.  Both of these games are must wins for the Pack who are currently tied for 4th place in the ACC with the Heels.

The Carolina Hurricanes lost to the Canadiens last night at Le Centre' Bell in Montreal. The game was a duel between the pipes, with the score 0-0 late in the 3rd. Both goalies came up with huge saves, but the Habs tallied 3 late goals to beat the Canes. The Canes host the Winnipeg Jets Thursday night in Raleigh. Saturday the Tampa Bay Lightning come to town. Both games are important for the Canes to stay in 1st place in the Southeast Division and 3rd in the Eastern conference. The Canes hold a 2 point lead over the 2nd place Lightning in the Southeast.

The Carolina Hurricanes ended a 6 game 12-day road swing last night with a 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils, the top team in the East, at the Prudential Center. The devils scored 1st on a late first period  power play goal by Ilya Kovalchuk that originally was waved off by the ref. When play stopped, the goal was reviewed and replay showed it had hit the back of the goal and bounced out. New Jersey was awarded the goal and the clock was reset to 4:01. The Devils took the lead into the locker room.

The second period was all Hurricanes. Jussi Jokinen scored his first goal of the season on a power play at 1:36 with assists from Joe Corvo and Joni Pitkanen. At 18:26 Patrick Dwyer tipped in a shot from Jay Harrison on a pass from Justin Faulk.  Dwyer got credit for the goal and Harrison and Faulk picked up points on assists.Joni Pitkanen left the game during the 2nd with an upper body concern. The Canes lead 2-1 as the crowd in Newark headed for the concession stands after the 2nd period.

In the 3rd, Ryan Carter's wrister at 1:34 tied the game at 2-2. But Jiri Tlusty scored on a wrister of his own at 7:25 with the assist going to Eric Staal. Jiri added an empty netter at 19:26 to make the final 4-2, getting assists from Eric Staal and Justun Faulk. This was the second 2 goal game in a row for Tlusty, who scored 2 against the Islanders in New York on Monday. Cam Ward had 26 saves on 28 shots.

The Canes' victory snapped a 5 game win streak for the Devils. The win also put Carolina at 4-1-1 (7-4-1 overall) on the 6 game road trip. Eric Staal is on a 10 game points streak, scoring 8 goals and tallying 8 assists. The Hurricanes are in 3rd place in the East with 15 pts, 3 behind Boston and 4 back of the Devils. Carolina sits atop of the Southeast division, 2 points ahead of the Tampa bay Lightning.

The Hurricanes come back home to face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Valentine's Day. So take your valentine to PNC Arena for a great hockey game!

Superstitions

Recently my fiance' took me to see the movie Silver Linings Playbook. Not a bad movie, but filled with Eagles fans. Part of the movie focused on Robert DeNiro's character's superstitions during the games. The remote had to point a certain way, people had to sit in certain seats, and he held an Eagles bandana throughout the game. I have seen the commercials where fans of some team turn the labels of the bottles toward the field on field goal attempts, the commercial where the 49ers fan returns to his old apartment to reclaim his lucky seat for the Super Bowl, and the one showing fans of  various teams touching signs or crossing their legs in a certain direction to bring their team luck. I was angry that I was not included in these commercials. I am one of the most superstitious and ritualistic people in the world when it comes to my teams. For the Carolina Panthers, I have a toothbrush I use only for home games and another for road games. (I use a different one during the reast of the week.) I will only buy toothpaste, shampoo, anti-perspirant, mouthwash, shaving gel, and body wash that is Panther Blue or at least in packages that have Panthers colors.I have a Panthers edition razor that ONLY gets used on gamedays. Once, my stepdaughter was looking for blades to her razor and couldn't find them She saw my razor and a stack of new blades and took it. I threw it out and got a new one.  I refuse to touch the colors of the opposing team or speak their name in the week prior to the game. I have a special Panthers towel and washcloth that I use on gamedays that have to be laundered and folded by the day prior to the game. I even have a pair of Panthers underwear that I only wear to games. I wear the same outfit each time. Same shorts (in the summer and jeans in the winter) and socks and t-shirt and the jersey has to match what the Panthers wear that day. Again, these items are laundered each week. My superstitions do not involve dirty clothes. On the way to the home games, I stop at the same store and get the same items each time. Which cause me some issue on days we play the Falcons. My favorite drink is Coke Zero, which has a black and red label. So I have somebody else put it on the counter and then pour it into a Panthers Tervis cup with black lid and blue straw (Zaxby's has good ones) so I can drink it. I work in a middle school, and write on a dry erase board daily. I have hoarded all of the blue and black pens so I never have to touch a green or purple one. A few years back, the company we get our pens from changed the color of the blue from a nice Panther Blue to a horrible, more Cowboy-like, blue. I went to every store I could find to buy the old pens. I hunted them down on Amazon and ebay. One year, my ex-wife had decorated the house for Christmas. Someone gave our 2 year old son a stuffed snowman and she sat it in a little rocking chair. The Panthers were playing an away game so I was at home watching on TV. Before the game I put a Panther's hat on the snowman's head. The panthers won, so the snowman sat in that little chair with the Panthers hat on the rest of the season. Even when the other xmas decorations were put away, he stayed. The Panthers went to the NFC Championship that year. (We lost to Seattle.) I have other things I do for my other teams, but there are so many things and sometimes the games overlap...it is a huge deal. My biggest dilemma is when my favorite NHL team, the Carolina Hurricanes play on a day prior to a day the Panthers play Atlanta. The Canes wear red and black. Sometimes the Canes play the Florida Panthers Panthers on the Saturday prior to Panthers/Falcons games. On Saturday I pull for a red and black team playing a team called the Panthers. I turn around Sunday and Pull for the panthers over a red and black team. It gets weird. the worst day was when my step-son to be was playing for a Pop Warner team called the Vikings. One Saturday, we went to his game wearing purple and yelling Go Vikings. The next day the Panthers played, you guessed it, the Minnesota Vikings. I spent the entire day before pulling for a purple team called the vikings, ringing a purple cow bell and waving a purple towel. His team won. SO the next day, you guessedagain, the Minnesota Vikings won. And I caused it! Crazy? Probably. Will I continue to do it? Yes. I even make my family do it. They are only allowed to drink rom a Panther cup on gameday. The week that NC State plays the Tarheels is "Red Week" and I make my family wear NC State, or at least red, clothes every day. Thankfully I am surrounded with supporting, loving people who also love my teams.

The Greatest Rivaly in all of College Basketball

The Duke Blue Devils and the UNC Tarheels. When these 2 teams take the floor records, standings  and stats all go out of the window. The strength of long-term friendships and family bonds are put to the test. The entire nation anticpates the match-ups between those two teams. The dividing lines between the fans are drawn and the hate speech is amped up to 11. There is no question that these 2 teams hate each other. A win over Duke in Cameron, or defeating the Heels in the Dean Dome is almost as sweet as the NCAA crown. The Tarheels and Blue Devils square off Wednesday night in Cameron Indorr Stadium. Duke is on a 5 game win streak, beating NC State last Thursday and squeaking by BC in Chestnut Hill 62-61 on Sunday. The Tarheels come off of a sound butt kicking from the Miami Hurricanes in Chapel Hill.

Tip off will be at 9pm and broadcast nationally on ESPN and locally on the ACC Network. Wednesday's meeting will be the sixth straight in which at least one of the teams was ranked in the AP's top-five. North Carolina leads the all-time series 132-102,but  Duke holds a 22-11 record since 1998-99. But none of that will matter in the intense, searing heat of Cameron Indoor Stadium.

As a Pack fan, I have no love for the Duke Bluedevils. Until they play the Tarheels. As much as I dislike Duke, there is nothing that can compare for my utter disdain for the North Carolina Tarheels. So when the ref lofts the ball for the opening tip-off on Wednesday, I will be pulling for the Bluedevils. To be fair, I would pull for ANY team that faces the Tarheels. If the Tarheels played a team with a starting 5 made up of the most evil people to ever live in the history of time and coached by Hannibal Lecter, I would not pull for the Tarheels. So good luck Duke. Even though I laughed when Miami crushed you and was SO hoping Plumlee would miss those free throws against the Eagles on Sunday, I will be pulling for you at least twice this year.

I have been neglecting the Sports Report for the last few days. I will try to keep up with it better in the future. So This weekend, the Hurricanes lost to the Flyers in OT 4-3. They travel to Long Island to face the NY Islanders tonight. On Sunday, the Wolfpack played the Clemson Tigers in Littlejohn Collesium. Scott Wood hit a 3 pointer with 1.0 on the clock to give the pack a 58-57 lead. The Tigers inbounded the ball and heaved a half court attempt as the buzzer sounded. (I don't think it got out of his hands on time, but even if it did, it never had a chance. If it were a hockey game it would not have been counted as a shot on goal.) Lorenzo Brown came back for his first game since injuring his ankle against UVA. Go to this link and see the shot that won the game. Notice the screen that Richard Howel and CJ Leslie set up to keep Hall away from Wood for the open look.  http://www.gopack.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/021013aaa.html

Road trip to Durham

The NC State Wolfpack travels to the hottest building on the face of our planet, Cameron Indoor Stadium, to take on the Duke Blue Devils tonight. If you recall, NC State beat Duke in January at PNC Arena. The Devils lead the series 138-98. I honestly can't remember the last time State swept the Dukies in a season. Probably been a minute. The game tips at 9pm on the ACC Network and on ESPN3. So far there has been no word on Lorenzo Brown's status for tonight. Coach Gottfried has only said he would not rush Zo back into the line-up. Good luck to the Pack. Coach K will have the heat set on about 104 tonight. Hydration will be a key to the win!

Super Bowl Time

The big game is Sunday. Here are a few facts and figures about the Super Bowl in New Orleans:
It will be February 3, 2013, kick-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET. It will feature the AFC Champion Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers, winners of the NFC. It will be held in the Mercedes Benz Superdome in New Orleans. This is the 10th Super Bowl to be played in New Orleans and the seventh at the Superdome.
 The Vince Lombardi Trophy, is made by high-end jeweler Tiffany & Co and stands almost 21 inches tall and weighs 107 ounces (3 kilograms). It is worth more than $25,000.The winning team gets $88,000 per player, losing team gets $44,000 per player.

The Pittsburgh Steelers hold the record for the most Super Bowl titles, with six. The San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys are tied for second with five each. SO if the 9ers win, it will shut the Steelers fans up at least about that one thing.

Spending in the United States on Super Bowl-related merchandise, apparel and snacks is expected to reach $12.3 billion, or an average of $68.54 per consumer.
Super Bowl XLVII is forecast to have a $434 million economic impact in the New Orleans region, according to a study commissioned by the New Orleans Super Bowl Host Committee.

 The championship game will be broadcast live in more than 180 countries and in more than 30 different languages.
The official broadcaster CBS is charging advertisers an estimated $3.7 million to $3.8 million for 30-second spots in this year's Super Bowl.
Last year's Super Bowl game in which the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots was the most-watched single television program ever in the U.S, averaging an estimated 111.3 million viewers.

Super Bowl Sunday is the second-largest day for consumption of food and drink for Americans, behind Thanksgiving Day. Dips and spreads are the top choice of food to eat during the Super Bowl, followed by chicken wings and pizza. Super Bowl SUnday is the largest beer consumption day in the US. Americans will consume an estimated 50 million cases of beer on the day.

Some of the world's best-known entertainers have performed at the Super Bowl, including Michael Jackson, Madonna, U2 and Paul McCartney.I was lucky enough to be at Super Bowl 38, which featured Diddy, Kid Rock and of course Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson.This year's pre-game national anthem will be sung by Alicia Keys while Beyonce will headline the halftime show.

Tickets for the inaugural Super Bowl were sold for $6 but the price increases have outpaced inflation and the face value for tickets this year range between $850 and $1,250. On the secondary market, ticket prices soar, usually changing hands for an average of between three and four times the original value. My ticket to Super Bowl 38, between the Panthers and a team I hate, had a face value of $500. I paid $1500 for it.