HeelsBlog.Com: Read. Recap. React.

Prayers to the family of Eve Carson

jtw3 — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 12:52:00 -0500

Sometimes these silly things we devote our time and energy to, talk, brag and blog about, are put into perspective. That's true today, too. A shooting victim near the UNC campus was identified as student body president Eve Carson. I didn't know Eve, but in keeping an eye on the happenings around campus, I certainly knew of her. I just wanted to take this little space I have devoted to UNC and send some prayers to her family.

Chancellor's letter

Oh what a night

jtw3 — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 14:54:00 -0400

Last night I made one of the most difficult decisions I've ever made about television. It was either watch The Sopranos finale when it first aired at 9 and miss the Diamond Heels' elimination game against South Carolina, or watch the game live, wait til midnight and catch the west coast feed of the Sopranos.

I watched the game. And what a game. Chad Flack came through again like he did a year ago in Tuscaloosa, and Andrew Carignan pitched four strong innings to close out the Gamecocks. What a series it was. The Heels trailed 6-0 in game one before striking it rich late in the game, and came back again to win Sunday. Best of luck to them against Mississsippi State in Omaha.

And what a show. The Sopranos ended in a way that no one expected. I had to live in a cone of silence from 10 p.m. to midnight, but it was worth it. I hated the ending at first, but, the more I think about it, the more I like it. The show didn't wrap things up in a neat little package. Life doesn't work that way either. All of life's storylines don't wrap up in an hour, so a show attempting to depict real life shouldn't do that either.

Now what will I do with Sundays at 9? Wait for Entourage, I guess.

You'll notice that watching Game 2 of the NBA Finals was not one of the options I considered.

Warren Perry, swimming announcer

jtw3 — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:25:00 -0500

Just a quick shout-out to my friend Warren Perry. I wasn't aware that he would be announcing the ACC Swimming championships at Koury Natatorium last weekend, but he did a great job. Warren is a credit to his alma mater.

Back again

jtw3 — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 00:58:00 -0500

Well . . . I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Presidents Day, Happy Groundhog Day, and Happy Valentine's Day!

Yes, it's been that long since I updated, and I must apologize. Again.

It's just that graduate school, working two or three jobs and trying to help plan a wedding (I did say help, honey) take priority over blogging. That's part of it.

The other part is there are excellent sites like Carolina Water Cooler that sort of do the same thing I did. There are hundreds of people on the Internet talking about the Tar Heels, and I'm just one guy. Adam Lucas is a much better writer than me, with much better access. All I can offer you is my opinion from my seats in the stands, or on the couch. If you wanted my opinion on what's going on, you'd ask for it. So I'm not going to try to do that. I simply don't have the access that some of the other sites do. My whole idea in starting this site was to give you how I felt about what was going on in Carolina athletics. Not that I was going to get the exclusive interviews or get to attend the press conferences. I certainly wasn't going to call high school kids at home and get their top three choices for what school they'll be attending. I was just going to tell you my reaction.

I've fallen down on the job. There are so many things I had to put ahead of blogging, and there are many things I chose to put ahead of blogging. Like the Carolina Hurricanes. I've become a huge hockey fan over the past eight or nine months. It's silly how much I enjoy it, all of a sudden. But anyway. . .

So now I'm just going to give you my experiences as a Tar Heel fan. I'm not going to try to recap every game. I can't. But I can tell you about what I'm thinking as a fan. I'm just an alum who likes (or liked, at least) to write about my team. So instead of being a Tar Heel writer, I'm going to be a writer who loves the Tar Heels. Some of you will like the new direction. Some of you will hate it. That's okay. Like I said, there are plenty of places to go to get someone's opinion. But I hope some of you will stay, if you come back in the first place after the long sabbatical.

So, without getting too deep, let's get to a little Tar Heel talk.

I didn't get to see the win over BC. I heard the last minute or so on the radio. HBG (you remember her? She's now my fiancee, by the way) sprained her foot badly playing racquetball Saturday morning. We went to a bar in Greenville to watch the Canes game and the Tar Heels, but the pain was too much for her. We went to the ER, and spent several hours getting her taken care of.
I hope the win over BC inspires the team to greater heights. Marcus Ginyard recognized that this team needs a leader, and needs to be confident in its potential. What it is capable of is great things, and they need to recognize that.
I'm disappointed in the recent play of the Tar Heel women. In the loss at State, it seemed they were content to pass the ball around the perimeter or simply dump it inside to Erlana Larkins. That's an okay strategy, if you're hitting shots. They weren't. It was a nice comeback attempt, but it still goes down as an 'L.'
I'm excited about baseball season, and hope I get to go to some games. But not at sub-45 degree temperatures.
There are some great YouTube videos that Tar Heel fans will enjoy. Particularly this musical tribute to everyone's least-favorite announcer.
I'm pumped to get to see Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Carolina Hurricanes on March 2. I told you I was a hockey fan.
Not one person has signed our 'The Knot' page.

So there you have it. Welcome back.

Turner

Psycho T shirt, as promised

UNChotdog — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 14:52:00 -0400

Here's a picture of the Psycho T shirt that I mentioned in an earlier post. As you can see, anyone who owns one really should wear it with pride. It's too bad they had to stop making them.

Did I mention I can't wait for basketball season?

‘Psycho T’ shirts out; Jackie once again sole possessor of a posse

UNChotdog — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 16:36:00 -0400

I realize that not everyone that reads this blog lives in close proximity to Chapel Hill or even gets to visit too often, but if you do chances are you have seen the brilliant “Jackie Manuel Has a Posse” t-shirts (see picture below) paraded around by a bevy of UNC students. The shirt was the brainchild of Chapel Hill printing company The Merch, which unveiled a new bit of genius over the summer in the form of their “Psycho T” shirt. Unfortunately, I cannot for the life of me find a picture of one to post on Heelsblog, because it’s probably the best t-shirt related to Carolina athletics that I have ever seen.

Sadly, members of the UNC staff took action this past week and shut down the Merch’s “Psycho T” shirt because NCAA rules state that a commercial business can’t sell the likeness or image of a college athlete, so unfortunately they got the axe. Apparently the Jackie Manuel t-shirts are still allowed to sell because he’s no longer an NCAA athlete and he appears to be fine with them selling his image, actually signing several shirts for them and buying a bundle for himself.

So, I’ve been lamenting the fact that I never got myself down to Schoolkids Records on Franklin Street to pick up a “Psycho T” special, but in the mean time I was curious if anyone else had an opinion as to the most clever UNC slogan/phrase/image they had ever seen put on a shirt was.

Also, so as not to be rude, it’s nice to meet everyone. My name’s Zeke and I’ll be blogging on a regular basis for Heelsblog, so I hope you enjoy.

From A to Zeke

jtw3 — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 14:54:00 -0400

I'd like to welcome a new writer to HeelsBlog. Zeke Smith, a 2005 UNC graduate, emailed me last week to inquire about writing for the site. He'd noticed, like I'm sure a lot of you have, that I haven't been writing much and offered to help. I jumped at the chance, because graduate school has me busy, and the football team doesn't exactly have me inspired to write.

So look for Zeke to start writing soon. I'll continue to update when I can, hopefully more often than I have been lately. As always, thanks for reading.

- Turner

Heels in the Championship Series

jtw3 — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 21:32:00 -0400
Hockey's done (Congrats Canes!), but we're not quite done with this season of local sports. The Diamond Heels face the winner of tonight's Rice - Oregon State matchup on Saturday, the first game of a best of three series for the NCAA Championship.

Andrew Miller, the 6th overall pick in the MLB draft, will head to the mound for the Heels. He earned a save last night with three pitches to preserve a win over a feisty Cal State-Fullerton team last night. Robert Woodard, masterful in a win over Clemson this week, will likely go game two. And Daniel Bard, the season's #2 guy and also a first round pick, would start game three if necessary.

Go Heels!

Hockey Fever

jtw3 — Mon, 08 May 2006 23:52:00 -0400
Okay, so I know this isn't 'CanesBlog,' but let's face it, other than the baseball team's run toward Omaha, there's not a whole lot going on with Carolina athletics. And I've got thoughts on the State coaching hire, but I'll get to those later.

How about them Canes? In case you missed it, on Saturday, they defeated the New Jersey Devils and goalie legend Martin Brodeur 6-0 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at RBC. Tonight, they were tied with 25 seconds left, 1-1, in Game 2. The Devils scored with 20 ticks to go, and it looked like they'd go back to New Jersey with a series knotted at a game apiece. But no. Eric Staal scored with three seconds left to send the game to OT. Then, Niclas Wallin scored three minutes in to give the Hurricanes the sudden-death win. Raleigh is buzzed with hockey fever, much like 2002, when the Canes made their improbable run to the Stanley Cup Finals.

About two months ago, I couldn't stand hockey. Didn't get it. Didn't see the attraction in the game. But HBG and I went to a game in March, and I was hooked. The Canes sputtered down the stretch in the regular season, but they have been on fire ever since dropping the first two games of the opening playoff series to Montreal. On fire as in won six in a row. With a rookie goalie.

They say about hockey, 'You'll know when you go.' Well, we went, and now we know. We've got tickets for Sunday night's game 5, but it may not even come to that (knock on wood), if the Canes take care of business in New Jersey.

Next game is on OLN Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Here's to the Carolina team that we can all pull for.

Women carrying the torch

jtw3 — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 13:52:00 -0500
No, I haven't been under a rock for a week. Just busy. It's about 45 minutes until the women tip off against Purdue in the Sweet Sixteen in Cleveland. I'm very excited about the game, even though the seeding in the women's NCAA tournament is a joke.

This is the year for the Tar Heels, much like last year was for the men. This was the year for Duke's men, but they didn't get it done. The Tar Heel women have the stars on the perimeter and inside, the senior leadership, and the depth to get this done this year. But the tournament committee didn't make it easy.

I'm watching Tennessee-Rutgers right now, and Tennessee has been able to neutralize Rutgers' Cappie Pondexter. The winner of this game will take on the Purdue-North Carolina winner, so it's definitely interesting. This game is in high definition on ESPNHD, but the Tar Heels will play on ESPN2HD. I don't get that channel, so I'll have to watch the game in crappy standard definition. Thanks, Time Warner.

Last night, HBG and I went to see the Carolina Hurricanes at RBC. I'd never been to a hockey game, and I have to say, the phrase "You'll know when you go" couldn't be more appropriate. It was a blast. The Canes lost, but being there in person was amazing. I'd never been a hockey person, but last night was a lot of fun. I realize I'm not the first person in the world to discover hockey, but if you haven't been, go. I'm hoping to make it back for the playoffs.

In the meantime, one more Tar Heel team has a chance to bring back a trophy. Let's go Tar Heels!

A HeelsBlog birthday!

jtw3 — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 23:44:00 -0500
December 8 is HeelsBlog's first birthday. Here's a link to the very first HeelsBlog post.

I started the site as a forum for me to express my ideas and opinions on all things having to do with Tar Heel athletics.

It's been a whole lot of fun, even if I haven't been able to write as much as I'd have liked in the first year. There were a lot of posts that first month, as the basketball Heels were showing what kind of force they were going to be, and the football Heels were preparing for the Continental Tire Bowl. It's slowed down considerably since, but 244 articles is pretty good.

I want to thank you for making HeelsBlog a stop during your web surfing to check out one fan's opinion. Also many thanks to the contributors I've enlisted at various points along the way. A special note of appreciation has to go to HeelsBlogGirl, who's been right beside me at countless Tar Heel games. Football, basketball, volleyball, whatever. We've had a blast supporting our alma mater. She's also been great about throwing her two cents in on the topic of the day.

Last week, I renewed the domain for another year. I've had too much fun to stop now. Here's to a great first year, and more to come.

In celebration of HeelsBlog's birthday, I'd like everyone - EVERYONE - who has ever signed up for an account to comment on this thread with your favorite Tar Heel moment from the past year. It could be something you experienced personally (running into Rashad McCants at Barnes & Noble), or something we all experienced with the Heels.

But if you're going to say the NCAA Championship, tell me something specific about the game or season. The moment you knew this was special. A block, steal, dunk or shot that told you how much fun this was going to be.

I've had a lot of fun HeelsBlogging. Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to your comments.

Putting a face on hurricane damage

jtw3 — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 17:54:00 -0400

Adam Lucas has written a terrific article about Byron Sanders' situation given recent events. Byron's family is from Gulfport, Mississippi. They had some damage to the home and cars, but seem to be safe.
Check this out:
How you can help: Sanders said Thursday he is not aware of any Gulfport-specific relief efforts and suggested Tar Heel fans who want to help should give to the Red Cross (800-HELP-NOW). A group of concerned Carolina fans have suggested "$41 for 41," with the idea that every Tar Heel fan who wants to help can give $41 (or some multiple thereof) in honor of Byron and his family.
You might want to visit www.41for41.com, now officially on the web.

The Dog Days

jtw3 — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 23:03:00 -0400
So there's not a whole lot going on nowadays. Not a whole lot of news. Not a whole lot to read, recap and react to. Readership is down, but I expected that.

Right now I'm watching Game 3 of the NBA Finals, hoping Larry and Rasheed can get this thing together. It's interesting to think about the degrees of separation and how Carolina basketball permeates professional basketball. I bet you could connect any NBA player to a Carolina guy in less than two degrees. Either a) is an alum, b) has been coached by an alum, or c) has played with an alum. The next degree would be has played with someone who has played with or been coached by an alum. I haven't tried it, but I bet you could do it.

Russ Adams is mentioned in an article in the current ESPN the Magazine about young shortstops. Congrats to another Carolina guy.

The first student-athletes were recognized by the Carolina Leadership Academy in its first season.

Nine Tar Heels received the Carolina Leadership Academy's highest honor, the Three Dimensional Leader (3DL) Award. Winners of the 3DL Award for the 2004-05 school year were Darian Durant and Jason Brown (football), Emily Glunz and Julie Domina (rowing), Carey Fetting-Smith (field hockey), Alice Schmidt (cross country), Lindsey Stover and Gina Allen (women's lacrosse) and Katie Wright (volleyball).

The 3DL Award is determined by the ratings given to captains and team leaders by UNC coaches and teammates using the Team Leadership Evaluation, which measures a leader's ability to be an effective leader vocally and by example.

Congratulations to those folks.

Email me with tips. Thanks for readiong.

Tar Heel Times

jtw3 — Wed, 18 May 2005 22:01:00 -0400
I came across this link via Google today. Tar Heel Times is a daily (it appears) collection of UNC stories from all over the net. Check it out if you're interested in things happening regarding Carolina athletics that may fall through the cracks.
http://www.tarheeltimes.com

The Weekend Wrap 3/7

jtw3 — Mon, 07 Mar 2005 18:02:00 -0500

Alright, alright. I know I didn’t write enough about yesterday’s game. I was exhausted. Emotionally and physically. The Tar Heels were on the ropes and got up to knock the Blue Devils on the canvas.
With three minutes to go, you were probably thinking the same thing I was. “How can we lose to Duke again? Why can’t we beat them?” I was resigned to driving home mad, depressed, and upset. All set to pay Carolina Alehouse for the chair I was ready to throw against the wall.
And then, it happened. The time was now, and the Heels got it done. Shut-down defense. Fearlessness. Drive. And clinching the ACC Championship in the biggest rivalry in sports. This is Carolina.
Sean May, Ladies and Gentlemen, is your ACC Player of the Year, and first team All-American. A combined 50 points/rebounds (26 and 24) is ridiculous against Shelden Williams and Duke.
I don’t know what else to say about that game, except that it feels great to get that monkey off our back.
I would be able to talk just about that game, if not for Chris Paul. He’s been suspended for one game, but that, quite simply, is not enough. For three reasons: 1) It was Julius Hodge’s senior night. I’m no Hodge fan, but he has meant a whole hell of a lot to N.C. State, and the ACC. Certainly he gave up a year of the NBA to come back, and for what? Not to get hit in the nether-regions. 2) Paul sent Hodge to the locker room, taking him out of the most important game in his team’s season. The game meant a whole lot more to State than it did to Wake, and Paul denied Hodge the opportunity to play a full game for his team. And 3) You just don’t do that to another man. You just don’t.
The Lady Tar Heels face Duke tonight at 7:30 on Fox Sports Net for the ACC Tournament crown. They’ll have to bring their AAA game if they want to take it from the Lady Blue Devils. Sylvia made the runner-ups watch Duke celebrate last year’s title. Here’s hoping that’s the needed motivation for the girls. They are very lucky to be in tonight’s game. Win tonight, and wrap up a number-one NCAA seed. Go Heels!
Later this week I’ll give my preview of the ACC Tournament match-ups. If only I could be there….

A Childhood Landmark Up in Smoke

jtw3 — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 22:35:00 -0500

This is not a sports entry. It is about something important to me, and HeelsBlog is my forum.
On the morning of Saturday, February 19th, the Paramount Theater in downtown Goldsboro caught fire. The 123–year-old building was the only real arts center in Goldsboro and the hub of downtown. Local restaurants would give horse carriage rides to the theater after dinner. There were plans for a Wayne County ‘walk of fame’ to go in front of the theater.
Growing up, I was involved with a youth theatre group called StageStruck. The company performs a premiere show each spring with performers aged 6–18. I performed in 5 productions with StageStruck. During the first three years of the company, the productions were held at the Wayne Community College Auditorium. In the early 1990s, the Paramount was renovated, and Stagestruck moved its productions there. The Paramount held almost 500 people, whereas Wayne Community holds about 350 (I think). On the Paramount stage, I performed in Bye Bye Birdie, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Guys and Dolls with StageStruck. I also starred in Eastern Wayne High School Drama Club productions of Grease and Jackie Lantern’s Halloween Revenge. I didn’t say they were all great productions.
During my last-ever show, as a senior in high school, I decided to steal the show. Literally. When a windowed room set piece came down for an indoor scene, I (as Lt. Brannigan) chased gangster Glen Smith on ‘the street’ and could be seen through the windows. I inserted myself at a table at ‘The Hot Box.’ Just for fun. One of the producers chided me backstage, but I had my fun.
I remember having to run down a list of gangsters I ran into in one scene. Since they weren’t referred to by name in other scenes, I made their names up. One of the gangsters that night was ‘Jersey Mike.’
If you’ve ever been involved in community theatre, or if you’ve ever seen Waiting for Guffman, you know that local theatre can takes itself too seriously. In fact, youth theatre often becomes a contest between Starstruck Moms vicariously living through their children.
But youth theatre gives children and teenagers a taste of drama, comedy, and live performance. A lot of the Stagestruck alumni I know went on to pursue dramatic arts or music. I probably would not have majored in Communications with a concentration in Performance were it not for the Paramount Theatre.
All in all, rehearsals and performances, I probably spent six months of my life in that building.
One day, Goldsboro will have its encore performance.
The stage is gone, but the memories live on.

HeelsBlog viewership from December - March

jtw3 — Wed, 02 Feb 2005 23:47:00 -0500

Updated to include February and March. I'll be really interested in the spike following the championship, but I'll have those numbers in early May.

As you can see, the site is still growing. Tell your friends about us, and thanks for reading, as always!

HeelsBlog's viewership has increased every week since its inception in early December. Thanks for reading and commenting, and keep telling your friends! January's numbers were almost twice as much as December's. Hopefully the ball will keep rolling.

December 04

Distinct hosts served - 1,671

Total Page Views - 2,937

January 05

Distinct hosts served - 3,318

Total Page Views - 5,337

February 05

Distinct hosts served - 3,983

Total Page Views - 5,561

March 05

Distinct hosts served - 5,343

Total Page Views - 6,752

Your HeelsBlog

jtw3 — Thu, 06 Jan 2005 09:57:00 -0500

First of all, I'd like to thank each and every one of you that makes HeelsBlog a daily stop for perspective on Carolina athletics. I love Carolina and have enjoyed the feedback and comments on the web site that you have left. The site is changing every day and the readership is growing as well.

If you would like to go beyond comments and actually write articles of your own, whether it's a one-shot or a regular thing, please send them to me. I'm not going to give you an assignment, as I'm more interested in what you are thinking about. I'd like HeelsBlog to be a place for more than one side of an issue.

Also, you may notice on the left side of the page that I've added a category of links called 'Tar Heel Products.' This connects you to some great Carolina books, DVDs, and more. All endorsed by yours truly. I'll get around to writing my reaction to these eventually.

If you've got a recommendation for me, a picture you think I'd like, a comment, or an article to submit, drop me an email at jtw3unc@gmail.com. As always, thanks for reading.

Christmas exams

jtw3 — Thu, 23 Dec 2004 10:56:00 -0500
HeelsBlog will be taking a little break here to enjoy the holidays at home. But I thought I'd take a shot at summing up the fall semester. We've got a men's basketball team that is playing like world-beaters, a women's team hanging around the top 5, a football team headed back to a bowl and recruiting well, and a baseball team that is ranked #7 in the preseason. I will be back sometime around the UNCW game on the 28th, though I may be posting incidental articles here and there. Hopefully in the new year I can see the Lady Tar Heels in person. Also, I'll be making the road trip to see the football Heels play in Charlotte on the 30th and come back for the basketball game against Cleveland State that night. We've got a lot to look forward to as Tar Heel fans, and a lot to be thankful for. Merry Christmas from HeelsBlog!

State Fans and The Star-Spangled Banner

jtw3 — Wed, 15 Dec 2004 19:58:00 -0500

Sorry for the delay in posting - I've been out of town today.
Big story on the sports page of the N&O and on sports radio is some people writing to the chancellor of NCSU and saying they feel what State fans do during the national anthem (they yell "RED!" during in rockets' red glare, and scream home of the "PACK!" at the end of the song).

I understand what the complaint is. If you were listening to 1090 this morning, you might have heard me on the air. I said that State fans showed up to Kenan this year, and they should be proud of their numbers, but I felt that their yelling during the anthem took away from the song, and there was a fly-over after the anthem, which is a very powerful thing.

I also understand fans wanting to be supportive of their team, and we shouldn't single out State, as there are many other schools and organizations have their own twist on the national anthem. But that's what it is: the national anthem. Not your school's anthem. Your school has a fight song. Yell, scream, shout, and cheer during that. Not during the national anthem. Free speech is one thing, but I think Ben Alexander said it best this morning: It's better to do the right thing than to do the thing you have the right to do.

Check the article linked above. I'd be interested to hear your comments.

New Feature - Random Quote Generator

jtw3 — Fri, 10 Dec 2004 00:33:00 -0500
Check out the new random quote generator on the right side of the page. Every time you log on to HeelsBlog, there is a different quote by or about the Tar Heels. Hit refresh if you want to see a new one. Let me know what you think, and if you have a quote or two for me to add, email me at jtw3unc@gmail.com. Enjoy!