Month: March 2022

By Andrew Gould Todd Bowles’ responsibilities are expanding. Yet in Thursday’s press conference introducing him as the new head coach, the former defensive coordinator said he won’t abandon his play-calling duties. Per Pro Football Talk’s Myles Simmons, Bowles said he will keep calling defensive plays this season. Defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers and inside linebackers coach Larry Foote, meanwhile, will serve as the team’s co-defensive coordinators. “I will still call it this year, but they will run a lot of the defense going forward,” Bowles said Thursday. Tampa Bay finished 20th in total de…

By Pat Forde Before these two meet in the Final Four, we’re looking back at their unmatched history. Sometimes, the hype is justified. The fawning over Duke and North Carolina can, at times, be thick to the point of sickening. The TV talking head panels are rife with alums of both programs. The virtue signaling from both programs is vigorous. ESPN is a willing participant in the overkill. But you know what? There is abundant substance behind the sizzle. The games deliver. The teams win. There is still a big college basketball world outside Tobacco Road, but Carolina-Duke really is the best of …

By Zach Barnett There’s only one college football game that could match the hype of the first Duke-UNC Final Four game in Coach K’s final season. In case you hadn’t heard, Duke and North Carolina will play in the Final Four on Saturday night. It’s kind of a big deal. A Duke-Carolina game is a big deal no matter what form it takes, but this game is the biggest deal ever because of the form this specific game happened to take. Saturday night marks the rivals’ 257th all-time game, and their first in the NCAA Tournament. And then there is the obvious: it could very well be Mike Krzyzewski’s final …

By Aikansh Chaudhary Kobe Bryant was unarguably one of the top players in the history of the league. The Mamba spent 20 years in the NBA and held the title of the best player for an elongated period of time. The biggest reason for his success in the league was his will to be the best version of himself and to surpass everyone around him. As a result, even from a young age Kobe was super competitive and wanted to be better than everyone. Tyronn Lue, the Los Angeles Clippers head coach, recently shared a story about Bryant. Before becoming a full-time NBA coach, Lue used to play in the league. A…

By Andrew Gould North Carolina governor Roy Cooper declared North Carolina “the center of the college basketball universe” ahead of Saturday’s Final Four matchup between North Carolina and Duke. On Thursday morning, the state’s governor posted a proclamation and accompanying hype video on Twitter. He ran through all the bonafides on both sides, as well as shouting out other successful in-state college basketball programs, before issuing his decree. “WHEREAS, Duke and UNC are meeting for the first time ever in the NCAA Tournament, with this game coming in the Final Four; and “WHEREAS, the most …

By Madeline Coleman With the Tar Heels and Blue Devils set to face-off in the Final Four, governor Roy Cooper signed a proclamation, and a few states may want a word. You heard it here, folks—North Carolina has been declared as the “center of the college basketball universe.” Governor Roy Cooper, a UNC graduate, signed a proclamation giving the state this honor as the Tar Heels and Blue Devils prepare to square off in the Final Four, marking the first time the programs will play each other in the men’s NCAA tournament. Along with the proclamation, the governor released a video for the announce…