Stuff from the weekend

Andre Brown and Anthony Hill both get drafted in the fourth round, to the Giants and Texans, respectively.

Sidney Lowe landed another commitment to the 2009 recruiting class, 7-footer Jordan Vandenberg from Australia. Yay?

The Pack Nine lost another ACC series over the weekend, dropping the first two of a three-game set with the #11 Virginia Cavaliers. They avoided the sweep by winning the final game on a two-homer in the top of the ninth from Pratt Maynard.

View the complete entry of "Stuff from the weekend"

State To Face Northwestern In 2009 ACC/Big 10 Challenge

Link

The good: We're playing in it. And we're at home.
The meh: We're playing Northwestern.

For those trying to get a feel for Northwestern, here's their KenPom.com scouting report from this past season. A very slow, grind it out team that's very efficient on the offensive end and pretty solid defensively (sound like any team you know from, say, the Pac-10?), they finished their regular season pretty strong, winning 3 of their last 4 in the Big 10 including a road upset of Purdue. They stumbled in the post season, however, losing their last two games against Minnesota in the Big 10 tourney and Tulsa in the NIT.

The game is a million miles away at this point and a lot can change between now and then. File it away in the "Oh. ok." file for now.

View the complete entry of "State To Face Northwestern In 2009 ACC/Big 10 Challenge"

Pack Wrestling Locks Up Commitment From Third HS National Champion...In THIS CLASS

And head coach Carter Jordan says he's not done yet.

The Pack landed its third commitment from a high school national champion when it got word from Cary's own Eloheim Palma, the nation's best heavyweight prospect. Earlier this month Palma won the national heavyweight title, defeating state champions from Alabama, California, Michigan and Montana along the way to the title. Palma announced he would be attending State Monday night at Cary High's wrestling banquet. Says coach Jordan:

"That's our third national champion in this signing class, so obviously it's got to be one of the top two or three best classes in the country, if not the best class," Jordan said. "And like I said, we are still not done, we just had a few more kids in [on visits] this weekend and a few more coming this following weekend that are all high school All-Americans."

Palma, who won the national championship at Senior Nationals in Virginia Beach after watching future teammate Dale Shull of Colorado win the title at 130 pounds, said he wanted to wrestle with the Wolfpack to prove he could become a NCAA Champion without leaving the state.

Certainly Darrion Caldwell proved an NCAA title is possible at State, winning one earlier this Spring.

It's been a pretty good year thusfar for Carter and the Pack. His remarkable recruiting effort is coinciding with Caldwell's win, doing wonders to boost the profile of State's wrestling progam nationally to levels not seen since the height of the Bob Guzzo era.

And you've gotta love this quote:

And so his decision boiled down to UNC and N.C. State, and Palma said it was his comfort level with the Wolfpack coaching staff, his lifelong allegiance to the Pack and his interest in the Textiles program that inspired him to follow in the footsteps of his older brother Jainor, a former four-year starter and ACC champion heavyweight wrestler.

"I was talking to both programs and both coaches and I just looked at where I felt more comfortable," Palma said. "And when it came down to it, I'm a Wolfpack fan inside and there is no way of going around it."

Kindly suck it, Tar Heels.

View the complete entry of "Pack Wrestling Locks Up Commitment From Third HS National Champion...In THIS CLASS"

Photos, Recap From The Spring Game

A brief recap:

• O'Brien wasn't just paying lip service last week when he said he had concerns about the offensive lines. They struggled all day to provide adequate pockets for Russell Wilson and Mike Glennon to pass in, and the running game today for both squads was non existent. To be fair, though, Mike Archer threw everything and kitchen sink at them, resulting in 12 touch sacks, a couple of false start penalties and about a half-dozen holding calls.
• Following up on that, the defensive fronts looked very solid. The defensive front seven in April of 2009 looks a HELL of a lot better than it did in April of 2008. Terrell Manning looks as good as advertised in the middle and should see plenty of action this fall.
• The quarterback play from Wilson and Glennon was very strong. This isn't so much remarkable as it is encouraging the two highly touted QBs met or exceeded expectations today -- not an easy thing for an All-ACC quarterback and his five-star backup to do. They did: Wilson's one half of work (prior to leaving to join the baseball team) was a fantastic 10 of 14 for 195 yards and a score. Glennon added a TD of his own on 23 of 38 passing. Both seem poised for the most part; Wilson seemed a bit annoyed at times with the touch sack aspect of the Spring Game. When you earn all conference honors partly on the basis of your shedding contact and making defenders miss, it's frustrating when the play gets blown dead just as you seem to get going. Nevertheless, Wilson showed that his knee injury hasn't slowed him one bit nor impacted his ability to make plays.
• AWESOME crowd today. The announced attendance of 21,075 contributed over $28,000 to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund and the Wolfpack Club’s Kay Yow Memorial Scholarship Fund. Easily the best Spring Game crowd I can recall.

Photos are below. Click on the slideshow to view the photos in the album.

View the complete entry of "Photos, Recap From The Spring Game"

Kay Yow Spring Football Game Reminders

1. Here are the times you need to remember for tomorrow: Parking lot gates will open at 9 a.m. Stadium gates open at noon. Fans are asked to enter at Gates 1-4, and seating will be limited to the West grandstands.

2. Be sure to have some cash on you. You don't want to be THAT GUY (or girl) at the gate when they ask for your $1 donation and you have to sheepishly say that you "forgot," despite every local sports media outlet and State blog reminding you of the fact.

So here's another reminder: bring at least one dollar for everyone in your party. More is preferred, of course, as it goes to a good cause.

3. Russell Wilson will only be playing part of the spring game this year. He'll be leaving early to join the baseball team as they face off against Florida State at 6:30 that evening at The Doak. This means plenty of opportunity to see Mike Glennon in action.

4. Since they're tearing up the turf at Carter Finley after the game, folks will be welcome to go out onto the field after the game to mingle with the players and staff and to get a feel for what it's like to look up into the stands from ground level. So if you're interested in that, be sure to stick around for the entire game.

5. The weather should be good -- sunny and warm -- so bring some sunscreen if you're planning to be there a while.

If you can make it, I encourage you to do so...our attendance level at the spring game speaks volumes about the support State fans have for their football program. Not to mention it will help raise a TON of cash for the Kay Yow memorial. I'll be taking photos, though, for those that can't make it.

View the complete entry of "Kay Yow Spring Football Game Reminders"

Update: Press Conference To Announce Harper As New WBBall Head Coach Set For 4:30 Thursday

WRALsportsfan.com story

Western Carolina head coach Kellie Harper is N.C. State's choice to lead the Wolfpack women's basketball program, WRAL has learned through multiple sources.

The university announced Wednesday that a press conference will take place on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

Asheville Citizen-Times reports that Harper met with her team at 10:45 last night.

Harper will be State's next coach as of 4:30 tomorrow.

I have to say that I'm pretty pleased with the hire. She's a young up-and-comer with a fantastic pedigree (played PG at Tennessee during their Three-peat (check's in the mail, Pat Riley) from '96-'98) and has proven that she can build a team into a winner. Harper built the Catamounts of Western Carolina into two-time Southern Conference champions, taking them to three-straight SoCon title games in five short years; pretty remarkable considering WCU had never won a SoCon title or gone to the NCAA tournament in their school's history.

Harper should be able to recruit at a much higher level here at State, so there's reason to think State could be back in the upper echelon of the ACC in a few years.

Gotta give Fowler a measure of credit here; he took the tough road daring to go against Yow's wishes and has taken some heat from ardent Yow supporters for it. He could've caved and hired Glance and been done with it. In the end, though, I think he made the right choice for State in striking out to find a good coach, and it looks like he's done it. All without the mess of the men's search three years ago. (Granted, there's not a lot of plane tracking that goes on during a WBBall search.)

View the complete entry of "Update: Press Conference To Announce Harper As New WBBall Head Coach Set For 4:30 Thursday"

BasketballScoop.com reporting Kellie Harper To Be Next Women's Basketball Coach

Hat tip to Steven at SectionSix for the find.

BasketballScoop.com report:

N.C. State: BasketballScoop has learned that NC State plans to hire Kellie Harper as their new head coach. We expect an announcement early this week. Harper has been the head coach at Western Carolina for the past 5 seasons, accumulating a 97-65 record over that time. Harper was the point guard at Tennessee during their unprecetented run of three consecutive national championships in 96-98 (known then as Kellie Jolly). During her tenure at Western Carolina, her teams have shown constant improvement and have made the NCAA tournament twice. This past season they won their conference tournament for the second time in school history (both under her watch).

Here's Harper's profile at WCU's athletics page.

View the complete entry of "BasketballScoop.com reporting Kellie Harper To Be Next Women's Basketball Coach"

Second Scrimmage Stats; O'Brien Concerned With OL Play

Stats from PackPride

OFFENSE
PASSING

• Russell Wilson (half a scrimmage; not injury-related): 9-of-11, 78 yards
• Mike Glennon: 16-of-19, 143 yards, 1 touchdown

RUSHING

• Toney Baker: 8 carries, 19 yards
• James Washington: 8 carries, 15 yards

RECEIVING

• Toney Baker: 6 catches, 68 yards
• Jay Smith: 4 catches, 37 yards

KICKING

• Josh Czajkowski: 3 FGs made (52, 43, 23)

DEFENSE

• Audie Cole: 8 tackles, 1 sack for 9 yards
• Nate Irving: 5 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss

Comments from O'Brien

On the overall play
“I think we made progress from the first one. Up front we have a long way to go. The defensive line is a little ahead of the offensive guys right now.”

On the focus for the next week
“We still have to keep working on the offensive line. We've got to get them a lot better. Certainly we are still concerned with the secondary and the safety position. Everybody still has to get better, but those are the areas we have to shore up most right now.”

So it sounds like the offensive line has a ways to go. The rushing stats seem to bear that out; only 34 yards between two ball carriers on 16 carries. No doubt the offensive line will continue to get a good deal of attention leading up to the Spring Game and beyond.

(Continues)

The quarterback play continues to impress. Russell Wilson continued his accurate passing ways before jetting to join the Pack baseball team for a double-header against Duke. Mike Glennon put up some equally impressive stats (84.2 percent completion percentage and a touchdown). Glennon certainly isn't sitting back and ceding the position to Wilson; the QB battle should continue to be a good one.

Finally, how about Josh Czajkowski? Knocking home a 52-yarder, along with a 43 and a 23 chippy. It's been a while since State has had a serious placekicking threat beyond 45 yards. Hopefully Josh has added some yardage to his kicking leg in '09.

This was the final scrimmage before next Saturday's Kay Yow Spring Game.

View the complete entry of "Second Scrimmage Stats; O'Brien Concerned With OL Play"

Stephanie Glance No Longer A Candidate For Women's Coaching Job

WRAL.com

Well, Lee Fowler certainly isn't afraid of some negative attention.

In the same week he had to deflect rumors that he was on the verge of being fired, news has come down the pipe that longtime assistant to Kay Yow, Stephanie Glance, is no longer in the running for the vacant women's basketball job. Glance was Yow's choice to succeed her when she passed.

Talk about going out on a limb. To go against the dying wishes of one of the most beloved figures in N.C. State and women's basketball history is either incredibly gutsy or incredibly stupid. Probably a good bit of both.

In all fairness to a man who probably doesn't deserve it, Fowler was in a lose-lose situation here from the get go.

If he hires Glance, who struggled filling in for Yow over the last few years, he ran the risk of her struggling mightily and then subsequently having to fire her. By going a different direction (as he's apparently done), anything short of a name hire that brings about dramatic improvement in the program will be viewed as snubbing Yow's choice for a candidate of equal or lesser value.

At this point Fowler is already catching flak from this decision, based on the 75 comments on the WRAL story linked above. It seems hard to imagine that he can "win the press conference" from this point forward unless he lands a big name...something that seems highly unlikely given the relative anonymity most women's basketball coaches operate in relative to men's athletics.

The conclusion of this search is already off to an intriguing start.

View the complete entry of "Stephanie Glance No Longer A Candidate For Women's Coaching Job"

Tim Clark Wins Par 3 Tournament At Masters; Four-under After The First Round

Tim Clark Wins Par-3 Tournament



Masters Scoreboard

As of 1:45 on Thursday afternoon, Timmah entered the clubhouse with the early lead after winning the Par-3 competition on Wednesday.

As you've no doubt heard countless times, the Par-3 winner has never won the Masters in the same year, but Clark is certainly a golfer that can break that streak. He finished second in 2006 and 13th last year. Augusta seems to suit him and his game just fine.

If he and Tiger can manage to get to the final round 1-2 and in the final pairing, what a storyline it would make. After all, it was Clark that ousted Woods in the Accenture Matchplay Championship earlier this season in Tiger's return to golf following knee surgery. It would make for an unlikely rematch between the two golfers with much, much higher stakes.

There's a lot of golf yet to be played, but Tim's off to a great start.

View the complete entry of "Tim Clark Wins Par 3 Tournament At Masters; Four-under After The First Round"

Et Tu, Brackman? Former State Star Picks Heels In Bracket

It's tough to knock it, though...he was right.

Dammit.

Actually, this is the kind of stuff that would royally piss me off 10 years ago, but nowadays -- a wife and three kids later -- this barely registers a blip on my "Give a Sh*t-O-Meter." At least he acknowledges it was tough to do:

Andrew Brackman can barely bring himself to say the words out loud.

The former North Carolina State power forward actually picked North Carolina to win the national championship in his NCAA Tournament bracket.

"I hated playing against those guys because we got beat by 25 points every time we went to Chapel Hill," said Brackman, who played baseball and basketball for the Wolfpack in 2005 and '06. "I wasn't surprised that (North) Carolina won it all. I hate to say it, but I picked them in my bracket. It's hard for me to say it having gone to (N.C.) State, but they were the best team in the country."

The good news for Brackman is that he's got bigger fish to fry these days than worrying about bracket pools.

After a successful Tommy John surgery in '08 to repair some damaged ligaments in his throwing arm, Brackman's fastball is back up in the mid 90s and the pain is gone for good. He's also worked on adding some setup pitches to his arsenal that will hopefully land the big man in majors soon.

Says Charleston RiverDogs' manager Torre Tyson, "Andrew has a plus, plus curveball and when you combine that with a 95 mph fastball, he should dominate this league. We're happy to have him and hopefully for his sake he's not here very long. But for my sake I hope he's here for the entire season."

You can track Andrew's stats throughout his time with the RiverDogs here.

View the complete entry of "Et Tu, Brackman? Former State Star Picks Heels In Bracket"

State Students Using Facebook To Woo John Wall; Death Penalty Forthcoming (P.S., John, Run With The Pack, Please!)

According to the story on Technicianonline.com, over 700 students have joined the Facebook group "John Wall PLEASE come to NC STATE!!!"

Whoops. Doing so is technically a minor NCAA violation:

According to NCAA regulations created in 2006, "… communication via message boards, chat rooms, walls, comments, blogs, IM, etc. is not permissible." And, as a student, the NCAA considers Groce a representative of the University.

“That’s kind of stupid and ridiculous,” [Tyler] Groce said. “Most students don’t even know about the regulation.”

In addition to Groce, the 703 other students who joined the group are also guilty of the violation due to the NCAA’s loose definition of representatives of the University, which can include coaches, Athletics staff, boosters, alumni, donors, ticketholders and current students.

School representatives can initiate contact with a recruit a limited number of times, and Facebook messages may undermine these opportunities. Such violations are rarely enforced by the NCAA, but are more often enforced by the host school.

(Continues)

Ah, the internet...the genie that can never be put back in its bottle. Regulating "groups" on Facebook as a potential recruiting tool is a fool's errand. As we saw with Napster in the late 90s and the early part of this decade, trying to cut off the head of this Hydra by neutering it through Congressional hearings only spawned new, bigger and better file-sharing apps.

The same is true of Facebook and other social networking sites. Trying to shut down specific groups on Facebook would take a tremendous amount of effort and diligence on the part of NCAA compliance officers, and ultimately it won't matter in a couple of years. By then, Facebook will have jumped the shark and there will be a new, shinier social networking site (SNS).

Remember MySpace? Exactly.

It won't take long for students, alumni and boosters to create all sorts of new pages, groups or apps in the hopes to lure the next big thing in basketball/football/whatever to their school. If you squelch that one, the cycle just starts over again and the NCAA would have a new rabbit to chase. The NCAA would essentially be creating its own never-ending game of internet recruiting "Whack-A-Mole." They'll never know where the next SNS will pop up, and by the time they swing their unwieldy mallet, it'll be gone and another will have popped up somewhere else.

As student Christopher Pope states in the story, it's a good thing that the NCAA is trying to eliminate as many possible ways for coaches to work around the recruiting rules. The playing field needs to be as level as possible. But if it ever gets to the point where the NCAA is throwing hundreds of minor violations at a school because of a Facebook group, that'll be going too far and ultimately be a tremendous waste of time, money and resources on the NCAA's part.

They're obviously spread incredibly thin as it is, given we haven't heard anything from the NCAA about the Reggie Bush, OJ Mayo and Jim Calhoun major rules violations.

View the complete entry of "State Students Using Facebook To Woo John Wall; Death Penalty Forthcoming (P.S., John, Run With The Pack, Please!)"

Huge OT Prospect Robert Crisp Commits!

PackPride.com Premium Article on Robert Crisp committing.

Some of you don't have Premium Access, so here's the nitty gritty on Crisp:

• 6'8", 290 lbs. tackle from Chapel Hill HS
• Scout.com's 5th rated offensive tackle, and part of Scout's 100 best prospects nationally.
• Had offers from State, Carolina, Clemson, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan and a host of others.
• Regarded by many as the state's best football prospect for 2010.
• His family are huge State fans, and Crisp makes no bones about State being his dream school.
• He also plays basketball for Chapel Hill HS (*cough* Sidney, can you say "added depth along the front line as a walkon?" *cough*)

(Continues)

Crisp joins the Pack with fellow CHHS prospect Pete Singer, a 5'11", 175 lb. cornerback. Singer runs a 4.5 40 and will help add some depth to State's defensive backfield.

The package deal is big for the Pack as it starts to swing the pendulum back in the Pack's favor in the battle with UNC for the state's top football prospects. State edged the Heels in '08; Carolina landed the better class in '09. Crisp is a huge domino that falls in the Pack's favor as it looks to regain a recruiting advantage within the state borders.

More importantly, though, Crisp brings tremendous size and strength to a line that's already turning into one of the top units in the ACC. Tom O'Brien has made line depth, particularly on the offensive line, a top priority. If O'Brien can continue to mine the Robert Crisps in the area each year, it won't be long before State's OL is one of the best in country.

View the complete entry of "Huge OT Prospect Robert Crisp Commits!"

More Smoke? WPC Surveys Its Constituents On Donation Motivation

On Monday evening of this week, the Wolfpack Club sent out a survey being conducted by a grad student to its membership. The survey, sent to members of the WPC and two other university booster clubs, examines the motivation of folks donating to the Wolfpack Club.

Following is the email:



The survey asks each respondent to answer -- on a scale ranging from "Unimportant" to "Very Important" -- the various reasons why Wolfpack Club Members donate. Reasons include, "To obtain priority seating for football (basketball)," "To promote the image of NC State University," and so forth.

(Continues)

Most of the survey is pretty tame, but the final question is what's worth noting: "Are you generally satisfied as a member?" Included is a entry field where WPC fans can voice their praise or criticism in their own words.



Here's where things get interesting. On the heels of some furious rumors last week that members of the NC State administration were tiring of Lee Fowler as athletic director and that the wheels were in motion for his eventual ouster, along comes a survey that provides a gift-wrapped launch pad for disgruntled Wolfpack Club Members -- the financial lifeblood of the athletics department -- to fire off their disappointment.

They have.

Here's a response from a friend of mine that I think pretty succinctly nails what your average donor is feeling these days (no doubt heightened by UNC's basketball title win last night):

I'm generally satisfied with the tangible benefits (tickets, parking, etc...) that I receive from the Wolfpack Club. I am NOT satisfied with the overall performance of the NCSU athletic department (89th in the most recent Sears Cup standings) or its leadership (AD Fowler).

My contribution (and that of my family members) would drastically increase if the school won a championship in a meaningful sport or executed a leadership change at the highest level (AD Fowler). Until then, I will give the minimum level to keep my tickets and parking.

I imagine the inbox for this particular survey is full of responses much like this; some lengthier, some more profane, almost all pretty much echoing the same sentiment -- that Fowler must go, and that his presence is bottling up potential donations that could be flowing into the WPC coffers.

The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if this is just the kind of response the WPC was looking for: Tangible proof that the booster program is not sprinkled with simply a few members of a "Lunatic Fringe," as Lee has dubbed them, but rather a significant number of folks out there dissatisfied with the overall health of the program eager for change and his ouster.

Some ifs:
- If there are folks on the BOT considering a change, and
- If Lee Fowler were the one potentially on the chopping block,

then it stands to reason that these BOT members would need some proof -- beyond simply the cut-and-pasted ramblings of someone on the Monkey Board that can be easily discredited -- to take to the rest of the BOT to say, "Look here. Here are the paying, donating members of our fanbase, vocalizing their displeasure with the direction of the program not only in words but in the suppression of donations."

It's a big leap at this point, but the timing of the survey is certainly interesting. Perhaps this is nothing more than a grad student's project on athletic booster donation motivation, but it comes in the wake of some pretty heady rumors and provides the very organization that stands to effect change some pretty damning ammo to do it.

View the complete entry of "More Smoke? WPC Surveys Its Constituents On Donation Motivation"

Tar Heels Win Title; Fans Suck At Carnage

Can you say "weak?"

Check out the clip above from about the 0:20 mark on...the "bonfire" they're bunny hopping over can't be more than the size of a small campfire, and it's comical how they each take turns hopping over it.

It's like they're saying to themselves, "Yay! This is neat! This is what it must feel like to be a criminal! Whoopee!"

C'mon kids...flip a car. Burn some couches. Act like you WANT it!

In all seriousness, though, begrudgingly I pass along congrats to the Heels for winning another title for the ACC. Now, for the love of God, PLEASE take down that fraudulent 1924 banner, will you?

View the complete entry of "Tar Heels Win Title; Fans Suck At Carnage"

Chicken Soup For The Brain...Check It, For The Soul

Gary Hahn, Voice Of The Wolfpack, has a short story featured in "Chicken Soup For The Soul, Inside Basketball."

Hahn nearly tossed away the opportunity to appear in the book when he was approached through the mail. At first, Hahn thought he had nothing to contribute.

“I was about ready to shove it into the trash and then something flashed into my mind…I thought, well maybe I do,” Hahn said.

Hahn thought of former N.C. State Coach Les Robinson, whose role in the early 1990s was to make the players more students than athletes. As a result, the team’s record tumbled.

“Les is sort of a hero of mine in a way because he really sacrificed…his college basketball coaching career for the good of N.C. State,” Hahn said.

There's no indication how many "check it"s, "running one-handers in the lane" or "yo-yo-ing the basketball between the keys" made it into the story. We can only hope it was a substantial amount to lend it that air of Hahn authenticity.

(j/k Gary. You're good people.)

View the complete entry of "Chicken Soup For The Brain...Check It, For The Soul"

Extinguish The Torches...Fowler Not Going Anywhere For Now

Lee Fowler took time out of his busy schedule to inform the folks over at WRAL/99.9 The Fan on the latest with the women's basketball coaching search. The discussion quickly turned to Lee stating that yes, he'll still be here for a while and that no, there was no late-night meeting with the Board of Trustees to decide his fate Thursday night.

A rumor making the rounds this week had N.C. State on the brink of a major athletics department shakeup. But university spokesman Keith Nichols said there had been no special meeting of the Board of Trustees, and Fowler said he wasn’t on the brink of leaving the school.

“I’m still here,” he said. “I’ve got a contract through October of 2013.”

Fowler said he had heard the rumor, but assumed it was an April Fool’s joke that had taken off on the Internet.

(Continues)

So all you folks that hoped to have a new AD by the E.O.B. today were sorely disappointed, I'm sure.

It was fun while it lasted. I haven't seen the State wing of the internet that ablaze since 2006.

Whether or not there was any truth to the rumors, it's tough to say. The series of events unfolded rather oddly; there was a tremendous deluge of activity, then nothing, then ... Lee Fowler announcing today that he's close to hiring a women's basketball coach.

Huh?

It may very well have been all an internet hoax (if so, well played, whomever you are), but there were enough different sources of "smoke" and enough local media on the hook to make me think there was at least something amiss NOT related to the women's basketball coaching search. The comments in the comments section of the WRAL story are pretty indicative of how most State fans view Fowler; you have to think the BOT and Chancellor have heard their fair share of disdain for him over the years. If Lee Fowler were on the fast track for removal after last night, it wouldn't shock me.

So who knows...we may broach this topic again sometime soon. But for now, back to, um, whatever the hell it is you people do.

View the complete entry of "Extinguish The Torches...Fowler Not Going Anywhere For Now"

Rumors regarding Lee Fowler...

OK, so the Monkey Board and StateFansNation are both ablaze with the rumor that the Board of Trustees had an emergency meeting this evening regarding Lee Fowler.

There's a good chance there's nothing to this...but there's an awful lot of talk for this to be just one random FSB 'tard stirring up trouble. If it's a hoax, it's a good one.

UPDATE, 12:15pm: For all the commotion 12 hours ago, things have gotten very quiet. About all most folks have been able to glean is that there was no secret, backroom BOT meeting after all, but that's about it. SFN is still at full tilt, with commenters left and right tossing out all sorts of theories. The further they diverge from one another, the more it makes this look like a hoax.

We shall see...

View the complete entry of "Rumors regarding Lee Fowler..."

J.J Hickson Gets Nasty, Times Two

(H/T to WolfpackHoops.com)

View the complete entry of "J.J Hickson Gets Nasty, Times Two"

Shameless Alliteration: Pirates Pound Pack 14-4;

Ouch.

The Pack's woes on the diamond continue, losing at home to the 16th-ranked ECU Pirates 14-4.

The loss drops State, coming off a tremendous season in 2008, to a rather ho-hum 15-13 overall.

It's the first win the Pirates have notched against State in six tries, a streak dating back to 2006. ECU jumped all over the Pack's pitching, notching two three-run homers and a two-run homer, with four more RBIs sprinkled in for good measure.

State starter John Lambert lasted just one full inning, relieved by eventual losing pitcher Joey Cutler (0-2). Elliot Avent tried any and every avenue to shut down ECU's offensive showcase, employing another eight pitchers after Cutler's exit for a grand total of 10.

The Pirates improved to 22-5 for the year and are looking every bit like the strong ECU teams of recent memory.

Up next for State is a three-game conference series with Boston College in Chesnut Hill. The Eagles are 5-5 in the conference, just ahead of State (5-7 in-conference) in the Atlantic Division standings. It's a huge series for both clubs, obviously.

Friday's game starts at 2:30 and can be heard online through WKNC 88.1's iTunes feed.

View the complete entry of "Shameless Alliteration: Pirates Pound Pack 14-4;"

One Twitterer (Tweeter?) You Need To Be Following:

THE REAL SHAQ

That's right. Shaq. Shaquille O'Neal.

Lest you doubt that it is, in fact, the Real Shaquille O'Neal, check out his latest "tweet", as of 5:00 ET, http://twitpic.com/2oth6:


There aren't many superstar NBA players, or any celebrities for that matter, that take pictures of themselves at the barber shop and share it with the world. Or talk trash to upcoming opponents via Twitter:

Shaq fu vs. Yao ming let's do it

It's just plain awesome.

His description says it best, in pure Shaq-tastic all-caps:

• Name THE_REAL_SHAQ
• Location PHOENIX/EVERYWERE
• Bio VERY QUOTATIOUS, I PERFORM RANDOM ACTS OF SHAQNESS

490 Following

501,071 Followers

1,051updates

501,000 followers can't be wrong.

(I would be remiss to not mention that you can also follow YANCSSB on Twitter. Click on the upper-right hand portion of the page, click the Twitter link and just click the "Follow" button. I can't claim that I'll perform random acts of Shaqness or anything, but at least you can check in on YANCSSB on the go.)

View the complete entry of "One Twitterer (Tweeter?) You Need To Be Following:"