Alex Smith has a sports recovery story like no other. Did you see where the Washington Football Team, nee Redskins, ruined the Pittsburgh Steelers’ undefeated season last night? Do you remember Alex Smith, the first pick in the 2005 NFL draft from Utah (who beat the Tar Heels by 30 as a senior) and former […]

Looks like the Tar Heels will go bowling in Florida, somewhere. Since 10 bowl games have been cancelled due to COVID, 31 are still scheduled to be played, according to the latest ESPN.com roundup. And eight of those bowls are in Florida. They begin with the Boca Bowl and end with the Orange Bowl, and […]

Mack Brown delivered on promising to make Carolina cool again. Through nine games this season, the football Tar Heels have worn seven different color combinations for helmets, jerseys and pants. They range from light blue, light blue and white to white, Navy and white. Sometime today, the players will meet and the seniors will unveil […]

A tough first loss to watch – and to endure. What was worse in the first half, seeing the 14th-ranked Tar Heels stumble again against No. 17 Texas in the finals of the Asheville/Maui Classic or listening to Bill Walton as the remote analyst from his tiki hut in San Diego? Full disclosure. I also […]

Dean Smith used to say he’ll be happy with a one-point win. The legendary UNC basketball coach struggled spiritually between playing well according to his teachings, regardless of outcome, and winning no matter how poorly you play. Since his job was to win and he was so competitive, he chose the latter. If he was […]

Ol’ Roy can have a quicker trigger finger this season. Remember last year, when Roy Williams got furious at his starters for playing bad basketball? He would jump off his chair and walk down the bench, looking for someone to put in. Usually, he didn’t find anyone and got over the impulse. In the first […]

Ben Kiernan was UNC’s MVP of the Notre Dame game. When Mack Brown went over the 31-17 loss, he gave mixed reviews to the two main branches of his Tar Heels’ play. He said the offense was good in the first half and then “went dead” in a scoreless second half. He praised the Tar […]

If you think COVID football is weird, you should witness basketball under these conditions. How much of this could you see on TV? From the isolated press seats in the upper deck, I couldn’t decide if I was watching a uniformed scrimmage of antmen or visiting some gigantic gymnasium at a deserted Disneyland. Eight minutes before […]

Notre Dame’s No. 1 goal: Keep Sam Howell off the field. The second-ranked Irish probably figure they cannot beat No. 23 Carolina in a shootout Friday on national TV (ABC) in Kenan Stadium. That is not their game, anyway, but it certainly can’t be against the high-scoring Tar Heels if they hope to win. So […]

Garrison Brooks has both opportunity and pressure. On paper, the ACC looks as weak as it has been in some time due to widespread losses to graduation and early departures to the NBA, and no sure-shot superstars in the incoming recruiting classes. A beneficiary of this development is Brooks, the Carolina senior who was second-team All-ACC last year and earned the league’s […]