Two Dukies Pick the ACC, 03/02/00
Rob Mac K
TWO DUKIES PICK THE ACC
Volume III, no. XXXVII - March 2, 2000
Welcome to this edition of Two Dukies Pick the ACC.
Guest Dukie Dave Clark returns as the Dukies check out the
titanic tilt between the Cavs and the Deacs.
The TWO DUKIES Web Site can be reached at http://www.dukies.com
# - denotes Rob Mac K's comments.
% - denotes Matt Norris's comments.
$ - denotes Guest Dukie Dave Clark's comments.
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WAKE FOREST (15-13, 6-9) @ VIRGINIA (18-9, 8-6)
% Before I analyze this game, which is a bit more interesting
% than some of the matchups we've had recently (all of
% which are helping me stay within reach of that stellar 70%
% picking accuracy on the year), I learned some information
% tonight that will be of interest to Duke fans. Has anyone,
% either via a Duke Radio Networks affiliate or the Internet,
% heard the Duke radio broadcasts this season? I've been
% relying on them alsmost exclusively lately, because I get
% very animated watching my team, and I need dudes on my side,
% who are down with my rap, dig? Bob Harris and Jon Roth over
% Musburger/Vitale? Yes. Over Nantz and Packer? Uh, yeah.
% Over my mother and Packer? Sorry, mom! (A little training,
% and she'd be better than Nantz, too.) Over ESPN guys I like,
% such as Nessler or Barnett, or the JP crews with Bob Rathbun
% and Bucky or Boner (not a sex pun)? Enh . . . game-by-game
% determination. If I think the game will be tough, I'll go
% with Bob and Jon, because they generally see the game the way
% I do, and Harris, unlike many "voices of" college sports radio
% guys, is not a homer. (See, Durham, Woody, q.v.) Anyway, Bob
% and Jon + the mute button on the TV = less stress chez Matt.
% Anyway, there have been a couple of interesting changes
% on the radio this season. First, Roth, who is also the
% editor of Blue Devil Weekly, has improved dramatically
% over last season, which (to my recollection) was his first
% on the job. He's insightful, he works well to complement
% Harris' active call, and he does an excellent job focusing
% on what needs to be discussed during the short spaces when
% Harris is quiet. The second development is the addition of
% a guy named "Matthew Laurance" as the sideline reporter,
% the role Wojciechowski filled last year (and well). Now,
% I have to be honest. When I first heard this guy's name
% (I didn't see it spelled, which would have given it away),
% I thought about the fact that there is an actor by that name
% who is chiefly noted for his role as David Silver's dad on
% "Beverly Hills 90210." It occurred to me for about five
% seconds that this guy's voice sounded a bit like that guy's,
% and then I dismissed the connection as too silly.
% Sorry if everyone else has been aware of this all season long
% or anything, while I go on for 42 paragraphs, but I found out
% tonight through an article in the Greensbozo paper (linked
% by our good friends aat DukeUpdate.com) that, in fact, this
% *is* the same guy who plays David's dad on 90210. Yep - -
% he's done the acting thing, made his money, and now he wants
% to do something involving basketball, one of his hobbies.
% He met Coach K last year at the Jimmy V golf tourney, and
% made some inquiries about the radio job when Wojo was chosen
% to be an assistant this year.
% Anyway, the guy is really terrific; he adds a lot to the Duke
% broadcasts, and he obviously knows what he's talking about.
% I have even more respect for him now that I know that
% he's doing this out of love for the game, despite a pretty
% successful Hollywood gig - - he's been in tons of movies,
% including "St. Elmo's Fire," and he's been on 90210 for about
% six or seven years. Of course, this also opens the floodgates
% for tons of 90210 and Aaron Spelling references from me,
% one of the world's top Jennie Garth and Laura Leighton fans,
% and Rob, who's actually joked around about 90210 several
% times over our three seasons of biting, mordant analysis,
% such as this piece so far. In fact, I bet Rob's not even
% aware of this information himself. We'll see. Anyway,
% shout out to Matthew Laurence - - glad to have you on board.
% Nice job this year.
% Gosh, we have a game to talk about. Can't I go on about
% Laura Leighton? Two Dukies Discuss Laura Leighton, BAY-BEE?
% HAHAHAHAHAH. No, no, no. We must collect ourselves and
% focus on the matter at hand, which is a fascinating matchup
% with no national-scale ramifications whatsoever.
% Wake fans think they can play spoiler in this one, but
% since I think the Cavs are going to be the crown jewel of
% the NIT field, I'm not sure what there is to spoil, other
% than another assuredly awesome performance from ACC refs.
% The local Clownish Attorneys' Basketball League tipped off
% tonight, and let me tell you, the officiating was better
% than the ACC's, which just gets worse and worse. Like the
% bar league, felonies can be committed in the post, resulting
% in thousands of improper no-calls, but of course the tiniest
% hand check on the dribbler gets whistled. They don't call
% hand checks in the bar league. Perhaps elbow checks. To the
% head or groin. Charges v. blocks? Forget it. Traveling?
% Zelton, Larry and company don't have a clue. White ball?
% Red ball? Fuchsia ball? Uh, no guess! At least they
% apparently banished rulebook wizard Rick Hartzell and his
% weird, cartoonish hand movements back to his AD duties
% at Bucknell.
% Argh. Anyhoo, I just think Virginia is done. Their RPI is
% really rather high. Their strength of sked is horrible,
% mostly because they didn't play anybody OOC. Their main
% claim to fame, frankly, is having swept UNC, but what does
% that really prove this season? I mean, can you believe that
% those doofi were taken to OT by Tech tonight??? IN THEIR OWN
% BUILDING?? PS, UNC committed at least three hilariously bad
% fouls on Tech's final possession, but - - let me surprise you
% here - - Zelton, Larry, and total zero Bryan Kersey choked
% on the whistle. Sigh. All I'm trying to say is this: if
% UVa has to point to UNC to get them into the tournament,
% it's not good. The UNC name may go far enough to get UNC
% in, but I doubt that it will operate one level removed and
% boost Virginia.
% Virginia and Wake last met in Winston the day before the Super
% Bowl, with the Cavs prevailing, 76-67. The Deacs outboarded
% the Cavs, but committed 19 giveaways and never got closer than
% five, struggling as always to uncover that elusive 70th point.
% This game figures to be little different; Virginia has the
% size and the manpower to capitalize on weak Wake post defense
% (it's usually not a matter of if Songaila and Vidaurreta
% will foul out, but when), and Wake will have no answer for
% Virginia's scoring machine, which is typically well-oiled
% at UFO Hall. This won't be senior day - - that's Saturday
% against the Terps, and the only Hoo senior is unwanted scrub
% Willie Dersch in any event - - but with a perceived NCAA
% bid hanging in the balance, emotions will run high.
% Duke fans, incidentally, should probably root for UVa to
% drop this one, which, coupled with a weekend loss to the
% Terps, would give UNC the #3 seed in the league tourney and
% prevent Duke from having to play those jerks in the semis.
% I don't mean to suggest terror over the Tar Heels, just
% that for me at least, playing them is never pleasant, and
% I'd rather see them have to beat Maryland. In any event,
% don't count on this Wake team to do anything positive.
% Virginia 87, Wake Forest 71.
# I tell ya, the best thing about this season drawing to a
# merciful end will be that there will be no more Wake Forest
# games to try and predict!
# The Deacs bus up US 29 to Charlottesville to pay a call on
# the Cavs, who need a win to keep pace with UNC, who just
# managed to push aside - literally - a Tech upset bid in the
# Tomb last night.
# It's seems like I've been saying this an awful lot lately,
# but geez, I just have no idea. Virginia has certainly had
# the better season up to this point, and already won at Wake
# earlier this season, yet I get the feeling all is not well
# in Hooville. Could the proverbial wall, so plainly smacked
# into down in Durham, be taking the toll on the young Cavs
# as well? Yes, Virginia, I think so.
# The freaky Deacs, on the other hand, seem to have emerged
# from the death spiral (my favorite new cliche of the season,
# by the way, props to JFK Jr. for bringing the term to my
# attention) and are wobbling in more-or-less stable flight.
# Of course, it's a case of too little, too late, at least
# as far as the NCAA's are concerned, though a trip to the
# glamorous NIT could still be in the offing if the Wake can
# keep its collective head above water for another couple of
# days. The Deacon Express has the beach in sight; can Dave
# Odom guide his crew into a relatively soft landing on shore,
# or is a deep-six down to Davy Odom's Locker in the offing?
# Stay tuned, 'cause I have no freakin' idea.
# Sigh. I'll go with the conventional wisdom, which always
# seems to bite me in the ass when I least expect it.
# Virginia 80, Wake Forest 75.
$ Virginia has been almost as tough to figure as Carolina
$ this season. I had the Hoos heading to the NCAA tournament
$ for sure..especially after stomping the Heels at the Memorex
$ Complex. That was, of course, before the Cavs lost to Florida
$ State in baffling fashion. I honestly didn't see it coming.
$ Pete Gillen did, though, and was vocal before the game about
$ how his team "wasn't there yet." At first, I thought he was
$ just trying to get any jinxes off his squad, but really,
$ he's right. UVA is a tough customer, sure...but they also
$ aren't the best thing since sliced bread in a slower game,
$ can't make a crucial free throw to save their LIFE, and most
$ importantly...Virginia is totally unable to hold the ball
$ and play smarter down the stretch. Sure, running the other
$ guy out of the gym is fun...but as Duke has learned this
$ season, you can also break your back trying to do it. Sure,
$ Gillen's a run/gun type of coach, but his team won't make
$ it to the next level until they learn how to play the game
$ without going 100 mph.
$ This game, of course, is one in which the Hoos could practice
$ playing smarter. As sorry as Wake has been down the stretch,
$ Virginia could very well break out to a big early lead. At
$ that point, they could either choose to keep busting away
$ and make stupid mistakes...or slow it down, wait for a good
$ shot, you know the cliches.
$ Then again, I don't know. As everyone knows Wake is downright
$ impossible to pick. For some reason a voice in my head keeps
$ yelling at me to pick the Deacs. Must be the evil spirit of
$ Randolph Childress. Away with you, Randy, away!
$ Virginia- 88, Wake Forest- 75
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Last Edition:
Rob 3-0 (1.000)
Matt 3-0 (1.000)
Guest 0-0 (0.000)
Season:
Rob 64-22 (0.744)
Matt 60-26 (0.698)
Guests 10-3 (0.769) [TD in same games: 23-3 (0.885)]
--
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** Rob Mac K -- rob[@]dukies.com **
** http://dukies.com **
************************************************
Frank Wright
wrote:
># - denotes Rob Mac K's comments.
>% - denotes Matt Norris's comments.
>$ - denotes Guest Dukie Dave Clark's comments.
>% Virginia 87, Wake Forest 71.
># Virginia 80, Wake Forest 75.
>$ Virginia- 88, Wake Forest- 75
At this point, they're just taunting you.
Ramar Wright
Rob Mac K
>>% - denotes Matt Norris's comments.
>>$ - denotes Guest Dukie Dave Clark's comments.
>
>
If I thought it had anything to do with Dave Odom, I would pick them
to win every damn game, just to get rid of him. Sadly, I don't think
that would improve matters.
- Rob Mac K
Pete Hines
Eerily close if you're dyslexic. :)
Do you want some bactine for that bite? That could get infected.
<snip>
Charles Board
> % In any event,
> % don't count on this Wake team to do anything positive.
>
> % Virginia 87, Wake Forest 71.
Thank you Matt. We owe you one.
>
> # Sigh. I'll go with the conventional wisdom, which always
> # seems to bite me in the ass when I least expect it.
>
> # Virginia 80, Wake Forest 75.
>
Ditto. But a helluva job picking the score....
> $ Then again, I don't know. As everyone knows Wake is downright
> $ impossible to pick. For some reason a voice in my head keeps
> $ yelling at me to pick the Deacs. Must be the evil spirit of
> $ Randolph Childress. Away with you, Randy, away!
>
> $ Virginia- 88, Wake Forest- 75
Never, never, never ignore Randolph Childress. Or even his spirit.
Sigh. 7-9. Again. Oh well - it beats 2-14........
Erik Simpson
: Sigh. 7-9. Again. Oh well - it beats 2-14........
Should have been a lot better, of course, but this Virginia fan got real
scared about Wake's future last night. I knew Josh Howard's numbers were
rising, but I had no idea how smooth a player he has become. Wow. He
reminded me a bit of Chris Williams, but I haven't seen him enough to know
how accurate that impression is. (What a tremendous game Williams had, by
the way, as #$)*ing Donald Hand was throwing it away.) Wake seems to be
learning how to take advantage of its bulk in a new way; if they can
integrate an effective-but-restrained O'Kelley into the mix, it's gonna be
a sight to see.
Erik