Hickson gets nasty on Emeka Okafor for his first two points in the Association

J.J. picked a hell of a way to get his first two points in the NBA...a nasty dunk over Emeka Okafor.

Doubly sweet since it came against the Bobcats (note the stellar help defense from Sean May).

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Irving, James and Williams not practicing this week

Per N&O, Nate Irving, Geron James and Julian Williams will not practice this week

A good move on O'Brien's part, of course, as the Pack tries to warp-speed the healing of these three key players.

Irving's value is understood, of course, but having another big receiver (James) gives Russell Wilson another big-play, I'll-throw-it-up-and-you-go-get-it-big-fella threat, and the return of Williams would further bolster an improving offensive line that's still trying to overpower defensive fronts enough to free up a struggling running game that's lacked firepower all season.

We'll talk about it more as next weekend approaches, but the Duke game may be the most critical game of the season. Win it and you avoid the 0-fer in-conference and build momentum heading into games two and three of the Big 4 tourney...lose to Duke and A) you get stuck with the stigma of losing to historically--if not for this season--one of the worst college football programs in America and B) you stand a good chance that you go 0-8 in-conference. Ugh.

But let's not even talk about that. For now, just pray that these three weapons are back come November 8th.

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Random Rant: College football should only be played on Thursdays and Saturdays

I heard on the radio this morning that two--count 'em, TWO--college football games were played last night. Marshall defeated Houston 37-23 and the mighty college of Buffalo took down the Bobcats of Ohio 32-19.

Is anyone else surprised or (like me) irritated that they're playing college football (FBS Division, mind you) on Tuesdays?

Maybe I'm getting old or set in my ways, but when the hell did this start happening?

(Continues)

And it's not just Tuesdays...Fridays, Wednesdays and even Sundays are fair game these days for college football, apparently.

According to the schedule at www.espn.com, for week 6 of the FBS Division schedule, running from Monday, September 29th-Sunday, October 5th, there were games played on Tuesday, Wednesday, three games on Thursday, Friday and then the remaining slate was played on Saturday. The kicker? While technically not in "Week 6," there was a game played the previous Sunday, September 28th, meaning that in a one-week span, there was an FBS Division game played on every day of the week except Monday.

This is madness.

It wasn't long ago that it was a big deal to play on Thursday night. You were the only show in town and the whole college football world was watching. Now folks have other options.

Here's my feeling on the matter: College football should go back to 99% of its games being played on Saturday, with one game played on Thursday night. That's it. When you cram a week full of college football, the appeal of the sport is kind of lost. College football is a weekend event, something to look forward to. Your team plays and you keep an eye and ear out for how the other teams are faring throughout Saturday. And if your team is lucky enough to play on Thursday night, then by God it's a big deal, because there truly isn't any other team out there playing.

There are other implications for sprinkling games across the week, as well. Football, as a physically demanding sport, requires time in between games for rest and healing. These mid-week games are typically scheduled with an accompanying bye week either before or after, but not always, and compressed timeframes between games for these schools can throw the bodies of these players out of rhythm, or possibly lead to an increased risk of injury.

The NCAA, the conferences and college football as a whole are all running the risk of killing the goose that laid the golden egg, so to speak. In the ever-expanding chase for more dollars, they risk damaging the appeal of college football to the average sports fan. Yeah, the football junkies, the gamblers and the fans of the two teams playing a Tuesday-night tilt may care, but do the rest of us? Moreover, if college football is on every night, will we really want to tune in on Thursday night or at any point on Saturday?

Too much of a good thing is bad news.

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Three reasons why you shouldn't feel that bad following the Maryland loss

On Saturday, the Wolfpack football team lost to Maryland. It was the team's sixth loss on the year, the fourth in a row. With the score tied at 24, the Terrapins marched the length of the field in the final minutes to kick a game-winning field goal, the third time in as many weeks the Pack let a game get away in the final moments.

So, as a State fan, you should be pissed right now about the state of the football team. Right?

I don't think so. Here are three reasons why.

(Continues)

1. The Pack fought tough as significant underdogs: State entered the game 10.5-point underdogs, according to the degenerates in Vegas. While betting lines are more a function of betting patterns than legitimate predictive analysis, they do offer an idea on the public sentiment of how a game will play out and, as we've all seen plenty of times, betting lines can be eerily accurate (how many times have you seen a pick-six in the final minute help the favored team cover by one point?). In a game a lot of folks (including a large number of State fans) expected to go Maryland's way in a huge fashion, it was tied at the half and right up to the end. Not bad on a drenched day on the road.
   
2. The continued growth of Russell Wilson as a quarterback: Quite simply, folks, this is the first legitimate quarterback to suit up in Red and White since Philip Rivers. Going for 3-for-3 passing and rushing for 13 more yards, Wilson led the team on an opening drive that consumed 7:48 and set a tone for the rest of the game. He'd finish the game 18-of-28 for 187 yards and two rain-soaked scores. After years of watching quarterback futility over the last five years, it's nice to see finally a quarterback who looks in command of the offense.
3. The improvement of the offensive line is keeping pace with Wilson's growth: Just as Russell Wilson continued his maturation process with a solid game in College Park, the offensive line that looked so horrible to start the season is now giving Wilson plenty of time to operate. Case in point: on one play in the fourth quarter, Wilson took the snap and stood in the pocket 11 seconds before taking off for a 20-yard rush. Now, if that doesn't seem that impressive, take a moment to count off One Mississippi, Two Mississippi, etc., all the way to 11. In football time, that's an ETERNITY. The line continued to block that entire time, chipping rushers here, stoning rushers there. After Wilson went through his entire read progression about four times, I guess he just got bored and decided to take off.
   

Are things going swimmingly in Wolfpack Land? Hell no! Russell is far from perfect, taking two key sacks that took the Pack out of field goal range and fumbling the ball three times. The defense continues to be an exercise in frustration at the end of games, and given that State won the time of possession battle 36:00-24:00, it's tough to say it was another case of fatigue setting in.

But the Maryland game highlighted positives for the Pack, particularly on offense, when kept in the larger frame of the rebuilding project that continues on in year two.

For me, it's not so much about wins and losses at this point; it's about development, teaching and depth-building. If we're in this boat in year five after all the teaching, development and depth has been (hopefully) built, then we've got serious problems, but put away the pitchforks for now and keep your chin up. The close losses now should translate into close wins soon enough.

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So I guess we have to talk about basketball now...State picked 9th in preseason poll

Preseason "awards," polls at TheACC.com

Well, ninth is a hell of a lot better than 12th.

It's also a lot better than third, in a sense, given how State performed when the weight of great expectations and stupid preseason boasts (Four games? Seriously, Gavin?) helped to drive the wedge between members of the team with one another and the coaching staff.

Coach Lowe says the issues that occurred last season won't be a factor again this year, and given the fact that Ben McCauley stayed home on the team's trip to Canada in late summer, it looks like Nice Guy Sidney isn't playing around any more.

Good.

I think ninth is a good spot for State to be in right at the moment. I think they'll finish higher than that, and given that Ben's attitude seems re-adjusted for the time being and Costner's back down to fighting weight, there's reason enough to believe that State can be much improved this season over last.

I think a more accurate slot for State--assuming Degand stays healthy and Costner, McCauley and Fells play to their potentials--would be somewhere in the 4-6 range. Miami is ranked in the top tier and given that this is new territory for them, they're ripe for a disappointing finish under heavy expectations. Clemson has shown strength in spurts, but they--like their football counterparts--have a tough time excelling for a full season. I've not taken a look at how imbalanced either of those two school's schedules are, so it's tough to say if a presumed weaker schedule is what's boosting their slotting. Maybe so.

Nevertheless, I expect State to finish somewhere near the middle with a chance to surprise if guard play returns to its 2006-07 level.

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I hope Sidney wins enough in his career here at State that...

...he can get away with dressing like THIS and no one think twice about it:

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Nice article on Adrian Wilson from the WS Journal

Adrian Wilson reaches a new "High Point" in his life.

A good read from John Delong about the career of Adrian Wilson. Posting it also gives me an opportunity to post a couple of badass clips from Adrian: the hit that put him on the map in Wolfpack lore, and the leap that made him a YouTube celebrity.

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