The greatest rivalry in sports resumes at 9 pm tonight on ESPN when Duke visits North Carolina for the first of their two regular season meetings this year. It may look like a mismatch on paper, with Duke ranked #2 and Carolina on the edge of the top 25, but forget about records in this game. Duke hasn't played well lately, allowing Boston College to come back on them after being up almost 20 points and then having to go to overtime to beat Florida State at home, and this is a young and talented Tar Heel team that is capable of beating anyone on any given night. This game could be a 25 point blowout for Duke; it could also be a tough game or even a loss for them.
The key for Carolina will be taking care of the ball. They've been turning the ball over a lot lately and that's one thing you simply can't do against Duke. They pressure the ball and play the passing lanes so well that if you don't take care of the ball, it'll turn into a layup drill for Duke on the fast break. But if they can play smart basketball, limit turnovers and stay in the game late, the home court just might make it a game.
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Greatest Rivalry?
I guess it comes down to a matter of preference, but a great rivalry would be between the All Blacks and the Wallabies or the Springboks.
I guess I'll be able to tell whether Duke won or lost by how long my colleagues faces are tomorrow...
Thanks for the heads-up, not to drive to the store at the wrong time when the roads are all clogged with fans from two local teams.
I'm a Tar Heel through and through, and I have student riser tickets. Couldn't be more excited. I might even break out the facepaint tonight, and should probably plop in the ear plugs.
Now I just need to think of taunts for JJ...
cquammen wrote:
Ha! He's heard them all by now, I'm sure. I'll be curious to see how they play him. I would think they'd put Noel on him, and Noel has a couple inches on him and is also quick and strong. That could cause problems for JJ. Then again, no one has managed to stop him yet this year. It's gotten so that 25 points is a bad game for him. I'm jealous that you get to see the game live. One of my goals is to see a game at Cameron before I die.
Greatest rivalry in sports? Pah! That's pathetic. Don't make me laugh. I might just believe: in all of North Carolina, perhaps.
Most American sports fans are far too parochial for their own good. Perhaps once every couple of years they stick their head above the parapet (the Olympics) and notice the rest of the world, but to most the term "World Champions" simply means the winner of the domestic league of a sport nobody else plays (well, save a few Canadians).
Only in such a county could a lowly amateur basketball game between teenagers be called the "greatest rivalry in sports". Billions of people would beg to differ...
I'm sure there are people in other nations who have their own favorite rivalries that they consider the greatest. And I'm sure if they were to offer them up, someone could offer a sneering reply just like yours that would be just as compelling. In the meantime, I'll just continue thinking that this is the greatest rivalry in sports as far as I'm concerned.
No offense, Ed. I'm a Brit living in Texas and I sometimes get a bit annoyed at Sportscenter's (and others) myopic US-centric view of the world of sports. I can't say I'm looking forward to NBC's Olypmic coverage either (not just for the US-focus, which is understandable). At least the (real) World Cup is being shown in full this coming June :)
'Tis good to rant now and then.
Won't debate the "greatest rivalry" aspect except to say i spent 13 years as and undergraduate and graduate student at UCLA, nuf said! However, UNC suffers from the nearly fatal disease of turnoveritis this season averaging 25/ game w/ a -7 ration. Against Duke that is 14 pts, well that plus freethrows, call it 18pts. Hard to play like that and win.
That Boston College/Duke game ended up being really good, didn't it? BC only has themselves to blame for that loss. Don't forget, at half time it was neck and neck, and then for most of the second half, BC's defense completely collapsed. Oh well, the Eagles are still doing very well this year.
That said, tonight's game will be on both ESPN and UPN here in the D.C. area. I'll be watching for good. Go Tar Heels.
Tacotus: Is sports coverage different in Europe? Do they also focus on U.S. sports? I'm not trying to argue, I honestly don't know. I just assumed it was the same there as it is here. I, for one, wish certain European sports were more popular here, and not just soccor. Being a huge fan of baseball, I'm pretty sure that I could get really into cricket, (although I've tried reading up on it and my god is that game confusing).
ESPN sells what people want to buy, and what US sports consumers want is to follow the teams they grew up watching in the sports they grew up playing in the cities where they're living. If most of your market is interested in US sports, guess what -- you're going to broadcast and follow mostly US sports.
All of which is beside the point because the greatest rivalry in sports is anyone vs. Texas. I've asked everyone that lives around me and they all agree, so nyah.
JJ Reddick is flat out balls nasty, to quote Frank Miller.
That is all.
Funny.
From my own limited perspective I always thought it was anyone playing Auckland.
If only they were interested in real sports.....
Get a satellite TV and watch Eurosport ;-)