The Dean

For this week's Salute, I decided to honor Dean Smith. The legendary coach turns 81 today and he will always be, in my book, the greatest basketball coach of all time! Now, I know that some of you would disagree with that statement but it's not all just about the wins and national titles. No, it's also about the legacy you leave as a coach. Coach Smith didn't just coach his players. He prepared them to become leaders. He also emphasized the word team and held his players accountable for this.

In addition, he made many contributions to the game of basketball. I mean, just think, if it wasn't for his Four Corners play, we would've never known what a shot clock was. I always chuckle when I think about that because that was the only way the NCAA could stop Coach Smith's teams (and others I'm sure) from doing that play. Another thing that stood out to me about Coach Smith was his passion about desegregation. He was the first to integrate Carolina's team by recruiting Charlie Scott as the university's first black scholarship athlete. Just in case you're interested, here are some quick facts:

• 96.6% graduation rate among players
• Recruited 26 All-Americas at North Carolina (including Michael Jordan)
• 879 wins in 36 years of coaching (Adolph Rupp had 879 in 41 years)
• 9th highest winning percentage with 77.6%
• Most Division I 20-win seasons with 27 consecutive 20-win seasons from 1970–1997 (30 total)
• 17 regular-season ACC titles, plus 33 straight years finishing in the conference's top three and 20 years in the top two
• 13 ACC tournament titles
• 27 NCAA tournament appearances, including 23 consecutive
• 11 Final Fours
• 2 National Titles
• 8-time ACC Coach of the Year and 4-Time National Coach of the Year
• Member of the National Basketball and North Carolina Sports Hall of Fames as well as a member of the founding class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame

 So here's to Coach Dean Smith who will always be the Dean of College Basketball!

Info Gathered From
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Smith

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2012 Oscar Predictions

As a movie fan, I figured I would make some predictions for this year's Academy Awards. Enjoy!

Best Supporting Actress

Bérénice Bejo, The Artist

Jessica Chastain, The Help

Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids

Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs

Octavia Spencer, The Help

Prediction: It'll be interesting to see how this one turns out as two actresses from The Help are nominated. However, I'm pulling for Bérénice Bejo to win for The Artist.

Best Supporting Actor

Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn

Jonah Hill, Moneyball

Nick Nolte, Warriors

Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Prediction: I'm really pulling for Jonah Hill and Moneyball. He did a tremendous job!

Best Actress

Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs 

Viola Davis, The Help

Rooney Mara, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Michele Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Prediction: Honestly, I didn't see any of the movies in this category. That said, I'm betting on Viola Davis to win on what could be a big night for The Help.

Best Actor

Demián Bichir, A Better Life

George Clooney, The Descendants

Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Gary Oldman, Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy

Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Prediction: I really think either Jean Dujardin or Brad Pitt will win. On a tangent, I had not heard of Demián Bichir or A Better Life until seeing this category and, after looking at the trailer, I think I'm going to have to see this film!

Best Picture

The Artist

The Descendants

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

The Help

Hugo

Midnight In Paris

Moneyball

The Tree Of Life

Warhorse

Prediction: I'm really pulling for either The Artist, Moneyball, or (even though I haven't seen it yet) Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close to win. However, it could be a record night for The Help so I think it's the favorite.

So, there you have it! You may have noticed that one of my favorite films, Super 8, was not a nominee this year which is a bummer, but I'll still be watching to see who wins!

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Church

This is one of those "more personal" posts that I will write from time to time. This is also going to be one of the only posts where I am not allowing comments. I think everyone just needs to read this and take it all in! A little disclaimer first: I hope eveyone who knows what I'm talking about here will understand and repsect my opinions.

That said, what is church? Webster's Dictionary defines it as "a building for public and especially Christian worship." I find church to mean more than just that. I think a real church should not only be a place of worship, but a place where you can go and not feel isolated, ashamed, or angry. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world, so this cannot actually happen. This week, a situation arose (not involving me directly) that prompted myself to ask this very question.

For the sake of privacy, I am not going to say what that issue was, but I will say that it has been upsetting to see the events play out the way they have. I will only say the situation involves people basically having to give up something they love to do and having to change their "church lifestyles" so to speak. It hurts you to stop something you love to do. Take my grandma for instance. Due to a condition called macualr degeneration, she got to the point where she could not drive. Several years later, health issues made it too hard for her to work demos (handing out samples in stores) so she had to stop that. After stopping the demo job, she went into a decline both physically and emotionally. The same could be said about my grandpa who became unable to do the one thing he loved the most: gardening. My grandpa loved working out in the yard more than any person I knew! He, like my grandma, went into a decline physically and emotionally after this.

My whole point is this: why take away something that somebody loves if they are still reasonably able to do it? When I saw how my grandparents acted after they had to stop their loves, I could immediately tell a difference in them. It doesn't even have to be an age thing. Just think if you had some kind of condition and someone told you that you had to stop doing something you loved. How would you feel? For me, if I had some kind of ailment that forced me to either alter the way I play clarinet or not play at all, I would be devastated.

So that brings me back to my original point: what is church? In my mind, it should be a place where people from any background or with any ailment is surrounded with loving people who care for them. I feel this is happening in this case but I think there could be some more love displayed. The church should not be a place where people are judged, isolated, or humiliated. It should also be a place of equal opportunity for everyone regardless of age or physical condition.

I'm not trying to insult or offend anyone but, this is simply how I believe the church should be. I've already heard "the facts" regarding the issue at hand and I wish to hear no more. I simply want to communicate to everyone my opinions on this issue and I hope a sensible conclusion will soon be reached to satisfy all involved.

Please pray that this will happen!

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Ready To...Fall?

In the spirit of the season, why don't we have a little college basketball oops? This week's winner is a good one. A commentator for the Dayton/Xavier game, James Bates, had a little problem while doing an intro for the game: his stool broke! Amazingly, after being helped up, Bates continues with his intro spot!

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Power Trip

I've cooled off enough to write sensibly about this but I'm still fuming from what happened during the NC State/Florida State game Saturday. If you don't know what happened game referee, Karl Hess, walked over and motioned at two fans sitting behind the scorers table. Hess then takes it upon himself to eject the fans from the game.

Those "fans" were Wolfpack greats, Tom Gugliotta and Chris Corchiani, who played for the Pack in 1989 and have their jerseys hanging in the rafters. This has created a firestorm from all ACC basketball fans and neither Hess nor the ACC have provided any real response to the incident. John Clougherty, the Director of Officials for the conference, released this statement as his apparent "response" to what happened:

"Under Rule 10, when circumstances warrant, an official has the authority to request home game management to eject fans when the behavior, in the officials' judgement, is extreme or excessive. It's unfortunate in this instance that ACC protocol of communicating directly with the home game management was not followed, and instead, a building security officer was solicited. We will re-communicate this policy with all officials to ensure proper protocol is followed." 

I'm appalled by what happened. I had thought about going to the game but I'm glad I didn't because I lost my cool big time. I was even more upset over this than the game itself. Traditionally, if there are raucous home team fans, the referees will give a warning to the home bench. If, after the warning, the behavior continues or gets worst, the referees will assess a technical foul to the home bench. I have never seen something like what Karl Hess did before in my entire life! To be honest, I've never liked Hess in the first place. He's always come across as an egotistical jerk to me for a long time and his actions in this game just solidified my opinion of him.

Now, on to the ACC itself. John Swofford, John Clougherty, and the rest of the conference "big wigs" should all be ashamed of how these events played out. In my opinion, the ACC showed a tremendous lack of leadership, integrity, and character while handling this situation. I think the conference, in order to "redeem" themselves in a sense, should force Hess to make a public apology for his actions and then suspend him. The ACC is in a downward spiral and, with incidents like this, it's quickly becoming the worst conference in America!

UPDATE: The ACC released a so-called "public reprimand" of Karl Hess Monday via their website. You can read it here but it's not really worth your time. Still no punishment, still no answers, and still the same opinion of the ACC!

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NC State/Duke Game Response

You know, I thought I wouldn't have to do another one of these this quickly but, here I am again with a response to the NC State/Duke game. First off, congrats to the Wolfpack! They played their hearts out and the score was no joke in the first half and most of the second half as well. However, foul trouble and some questionable calls caused huge problems for them. I'm not going to sit here and complain as much as I already have about the officiating but I do want to complain about the reaction after. 

ESPN posted a story on Facebook saying: "'It’s not how you start, but how you finish.' Thank you for the lesson, Duke" Okay, yes I know, it was a big deficit but I don't think Duke is the only team in NCAA history to make a comeback. And let's not forget that this comeback took place at Cameron. It would have been more impressive on the road.

Another knock I have on ESPN was apparently they said "NC State Wildcats" in their story but later changed it. I know people make mistakes but, come on. "Wolfpack" has been the monkier of NC State probably since the school's formation in 1887. So far, I've seen absolutely zero credit to State for what they did leading up to Duke's comeback. Let me put it this way: Duke didn't deserve to win neither this game nor the UNC game last week. Enjoy it now because Duke is going nowhere in the NCAA Tournament!

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Roadside Assistance

Okay, this is just flat out dumb. A 59-year-old fugitive is back behind bars after make a pretty idiotic move. The man, who was wanted in Georgia for violating parole on murder and escape convictions, was traveling down a Wyoming highway when he ran out of gas. Now, let's pause for a second. What would you do if you were in his situation? One thing you probably wouldn't do would be call the sheriff for roadside assistance, right? Well, that's exactly what he did! When the highway patrol found out about his outstanding warrant, they took the man into custody where he is now awaiting extradition to Georgia.

Just like some of my other Oops Awards involving criminals, all I have to say is: wow!

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Whitney Houston

I had just gotten home from eating dinner and turned on ESPN College Gameday of all things. Rece Davis and the Gameday crew were at Vanderbilt for the Coomodores' game against Kentucky. Since the team was in Nashville, Rece talked about how music was a big part of the city and, with that, told everyone the tragic news of Whitney Houston's death. My jaw dropped. I was stunned just like the day Michael Jackson died. Such a powerful voice in music was gone, taken from this world, just like that. 

Houston has had an up-and-down career after being discovered by legendary music producer, Clive Davis. According to Wikipedia, Whitney earned 415 awards in her career including: 2 Emmys, 6 Grammys, 30 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 American Music Awards; making her the most awarded female artist of all time. She was the only one I knew of who could make the National Anthem a chart topper. Over her career, she sold over 200 million albums and singles worldwide. Houston always had some personal struggles that were very much public (including drug and alcohol abuse) but was staging a comeback before she died.

Without a doubt, my Weekly Salute goes to the one, the only, Whitney Houston. My prayers go out to all of her friends and family as well. That powerful voice which downright gave you chills everytime you listened to it and that beautiful smile will be missed by all of us.

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UNC/Duke Game Response

I know it's pretty late but I finally cooled off enough to actually write something on here without anything being offensive. I'll start off by saying that, of all of UNC's losses this season, this one hurts. I mean, at least with the UNLV and FSU games, it was a forgone conclusion that UNC was going to lose. This one just hurt, period.

First, let me talk about Austin Rivers. I'll give it to him, he had a great game. However, I do not like him at all, and it's not totally because he's at Duke. The first reason is back before he came to Duke, he said in a video that the UNC/Duke rivalry was not a rivalry.

The second reason I don't like him is he's a ball hog. All through the game the other night, he would basically take it upon himself to carry his team back. It may have worked for that game but one person cannot carry a team. It takes a team effort and, if he doesn't learn that, he'll have a long road ahead of him. Finally, I don't like his attitude. He's the cockiest player I've ever seen at Duke. Plus, have you ever seen him when a call doesn't go his way? He gets this creepy frown-like expression on his face like nothing is his fault. Well, I've got some news for you Austin: you're human. You will make mistakes. Live with them!

Third, the trash talking. I don't mind it, especially in a rivalry. However, when I see pictures like this...

That's where I draw the line. These kind of pictures are not funny. In fact, this makes me sick to my stomach! I would say that even if another team was in the picture. It's never a laughing matter when you joke about death and, whoever created this picture, should be ashamed. Not to mention, that this is a direct insult on UNC and the memory of Jason Ray, who was the Ramses mascot who lost his life a few years ago!

Finally, even though I'm a State student, I have a message for all of you Wolfpack fans: until you guys have won as many games, NCAA Titles, ACC Championships, and have gone to as many Final Fours as UNC and Duke, stay out of the rivalry. There's no room for trash talking about the UNC/Duke rivalry from NC State fans, period!

Revenge is coming March 3!

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Think Twice

If you live in or visit Los Angeles, you may want to think twice before you head out to one of the beaches with a football or Frisbee in hand. LA County officials have given the green light to a new ordinance that will dish out a $1,000 fine to anyone who throws a football or Frisbee on any beach in the county. The only exceptions will be if the ball throwing takes place in a "predesignated area," the person has a permit, or when playing water polo. The rules will be "relaxed" during the winter (off) season.

I can understand the idea behind this ordinance but, come on, $1,000? I think it's ridiculous to take away a beach going tradition from people. It just astounds me how governments can pass silly laws like this but can't get the important things done!

Read the full story here.

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Top UNC/Duke Moments

With part one of the big rivalry tonight, I decided to post my top five favorite UNC/Duke moments. Enjoy and GO HEELS!

5. The Comeback
This happened before I was born but I've heard about this game a lot. Carolina was down eight points to Duke with just seventeen seconds left in the game. The Heels came all the way back to send the game into overtime and, eventually, win it. What made this so great was this was before the three point shot came into play!

4. Getting Heated
Two (feisty) former players-turned coaches for UNC and Duke get into it. Matt Doherty and Chris Collins exchange words after Doherty sees Collins talking to Rashad McCants.

3. Posertized
UNC's Danny Green dunks on Duke's Greg Paulus at Cameron. Gotta love it!

2. The Strut
One of the greatest moments ever. UNC's Jerry Stackhouse dunks on Duke...and does a little strut to match!

1. Game Winner
UNC's Marvin Williams completes a Tar Heel comeback to beat Duke in 2005.

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Review: The Grey

I'm a big fan of Liam Neeson, so I knew his new film, The Grey, would be a good one. It definitely was but it had a few drawbacks.

What To Know

Stars: Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulroney, and Frank Grillo

Director: Joe Carnahan

Writers: Joe Carnahan and Ian Mackenzie Jeffers

Rating: R for violence, disturbing content, and pervasive language. Parents Guide

Plot: Based on the short story, "Ghost Walker," an oil drilling team in Alaska struggle to survive after a plane crash strands them in the wild. Hunting them are a pack of wolves who see them as intruders. 

My Review: Overall, I liked the movie. It keeps you on the edge of your seat throughtout because you never really know when the wolves will attack. Liam Neeson and his fellow actors give great performances throughout the film and the creative team does a tremendous job with the writing, special effects, etc. 

The end is very interesting as (SPOILER ALERT!) Liam Neeson's character finds himself in the wolves' den after thinking he was getting further away from it. As you'll see below, The Grey could've had a lot less language in it but I kind of knew that would be a theme of the movie due to its rating.

Family Friendly? Well, it's kind of obvious that I would say "no" to this question because it's rated R. Where do I begin? First off, all of the main characters curse like sailors. I think I heard every curse word in the book at least once in the film. Not only that, but there are numerous lewd comments from a couple of the characters. 

When you make a movie about a plane crash and wolves attacking humans, you know there's going to be a lot of violence and blood. For instance, we see multiple scenes where the wolves attack the men, one man severing the head of a wolf after they kill it, and even some gushing blood from wounds.

Should You See It? If your in the mood for a story of survival that will, honestly, leave you kind of depressed at the end then I would recommend it. The Grey is definitely not for the faint of heart or those with weak stomaches. 

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Letter Of Encouragement

This week's salute goes to Owen Shure, a kid from L.A., who wrote an encouraging letter to San Francisco 49ers punt returner, Kyle Williams, after the team lossed the NFC Championship game. During the game, Williams fumbled a return which ended up costing his team the championship. While some fans sent constant death threats and other hateful comments to Williams, Shure put everything into perspective.

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