Cam Newton has the chance of his new life – and won’t screw it up. Somewhere Red Auerbach is turning over in his grave with glee. The former Celtics coach and general manager was known for making deals like genius successor Bill Belichick just pulled off with Newton. The Patriots waited through most of the off-season to find out […]

John Swofford was the right man at the right time for the ACC. When the former Carolina athletic director took over as commissioner of the ACC in 1997, he was 48 years old, and before him the league bosses were all caretakers of a basketball-rich conference, with the exception of Gene Corrigan. Swofford followed Corrigan’s […]

The ACC Coastal Division has flipped in two years. A friend of mine from NC State asked the other night who he thinks will last longer, Wolfpack football coach Dave Doeren or basketball coach Kevin Keatts. I said, “That’s easy, Keatts.” He asked me why, and I said Doeren has gone from one of the […]

Now it’s Major League Baseball versus COVID-19. Who do you like? The Baseball Players Association and the owners have reached a decision for the historic playing of the 2020 season, which will join 1972, when a strike canceled 86 games; 1981, when the first 713 games were wiped out; and 1995, which saw the entire […]

What do the latest numbers say about college football, 2020? In the middle of last week, the NCAA announced its plan to allow college football teams to begin practice and training camps once all of their players arrive back on campus and are tested for COVID 19. Two days later, the results of those tests […]

Happy Father’s Day to all you guys who deserve it. My dad has been gone for more than 30 years, but I found myself in deep thought Sunday morning, conjuring up some very old and fond memories. His formal first name was Myer, but everyone knew him as Mike, the funeral supply salesman who spent […]

Is family history repeating itself with Roger Goodell? When Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in 1968, Republican New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller appointed state representative Charles Goodell to RFK’s Senate seat. One of Goodell five sons, Roger, is now the embattled commissioner of the National Football League. But Commissioner Goodell may be following his father, who […]

The praise keeps coming for Carolina football, all with irony dripping. Three major stories came out Wednesday, pumping up the Tar Heels for a 2020 season that very much still hangs in the balance. Larry Brown Sports listed the five programs to watch when and if college football takes the field. No. 5 is Ole […]

You can see what happens when head coaches get out of their lane. Recently, Mack Brown was asked some pointed questions about the process that would eventually allow his players to engage in the furthest thing imaginable from social distancing, such as colliding with each other and opponents on hot summer and autumn afternoons. Brown […]

“60 Minutes” gave us great PR but, unfortunately, few answers. It’s great to have media connections in high places, as UNC graduate and CBS producer Draggan Mihailovich put Carolina’s plan to reopen campus front and center in prime-time Sunday night. There were two features, one on the national TV broadcast and a second online interviewing Bubba Cunningham on sports returning on schedule. […]