Mount ACCmore - the Elite Eight
OK, we stole the idea from Mike and Mike. We admit it. But we loved the concept and thought we needed to bring it to the ACC.
So here's the deal. If we were creating the Mount Rushmore for the ACC - Mount ACCmore - who would the four figures be on the mountain?
We're down to our Elite Eight - Dean Smith, Frank Howard, David Thompson, Lefty Driesell, Bobby Bowden, Jim Valvano, Norm Sloan and Everett Case.
Vote for the four people you'd like to see on Mount ACCmore. You have until Aug. 9 to cast your votes. The top two vote getters will be the listeners' selections for Mount ACCmore. We'll announce those two on the Aug. 11 show. Chris will also choose one person, as will Patrick, to make it four faces on Mount ACCmore.

Around ACC Nation
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Former UVa. and current New York Gaint running back Tiki Barber considered retiring this past offseason, but wants one more run at the Super Bowl this season.

While we're on the NFL subject, here's a story from the N&O about six former NC State players getting ready for the pro season.

Carolina and Wake both have lost incoming freshmen for the upcoming football season.

Former Boston College basketball player Troy Bell is now boxing as he works toward getting back to the NBA one day. And he won his first bout this past week.

Al Groh and the UVa. admissions department are sometimes at odds over football recruits the Cavalier coach wants in his program.

And Mike Knobler of the AJC takes a look at the college football instant-replay rule.

Be sure to order "Mad About U: Four Decades of Basketball at University Hall" while you can still get a discount off the cover price.

Much ado about nothing
Have you heard the hoopla over the new bowl-selection process that the Atlantic Coast Conference is implementing effective this season?
You'd think that they'd have finally gone and made it so that teams were selected based on their finish in the conference standings - with all the attention the new system is getting.
Don't be fooled - bowls can still reward schools that, ahem, travel well, as long as they're not more than a game behind a not-so-well-traveling team in the final accounting.
So Boston College, which was famously banished to Boise last year after finishing 5-3 in the conference and second in the Atlantic Division, could still end up getting the short end of the stick.
Virginia also comes to mind as a school with a reputation of not traveling well - as if that kind of thing should matter a fig.
Isn't sports supposed to be about winning and losing on the field - that's one question that comes to mind for me.
Oh, wait - I forgot. This is Division I-A college football.
It's not about the games. It's about selling beer.
- Chris Graham

Groh - playing politics?
Interesting tidbit on Virginia football - eight of the 24 players in Al Groh's 2006 signing class failed to qualify academically for admission to the university.
That's right - eight out of 24, fully one-third of the class.
To say that this seems a bit out of whack would be to understate things quite a bit - particularly given that every player in Groh's 22-player class of 2005 qualified.
Groh's response to questions on the topic at last weekend's ACC Football Kickoff - basically that everything is going according to plan - doesn't jibe, either.
Unless ... Groh was trying to make a point.
Go with me on this for a second. Groh has recruited well in his five-plus seasons in Charlottesville - very well - but hasn't seen the success in February translate to wins in months ending in -ber.
What better way to deflect attention from those failures than to start a war with the admissions office - essentially saying, We can't win if you don't let us go out and get the kids that we need to win.
I don't want to start any conspiracy theories here - so let me make it clear that I'm speculating big time on this one.
I will argue, though, that it makes more sense to me to say that Groh is playing politics with school administrators than it does to say that he suddenly forgot what the admissions standards are at his own alma mater.
- Chris Graham

ACC Nation (weekend of July 28)
ACC Nation continues its football previews by taking a look at North Carolina State and North Carolina. Matt Carter of The Wolfpacker.com and Adam Lucas of Tar Heel Monthly join Patrick and Chris.
Also, the guys take a look at some of the news coming out of the 2006 ACC football kickoff in Jacksonville, including a bowl alignment with the Orange Bowl and some new instant replay rules.
Plus, in the Sound and the Fury, Patrick and Chris wonder if Coach K kept the correct 15 players for the World Championships.
That and more on ACC Nation this weekend.
Click here to listen

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The Pac 10 and Big Ten have the Rose Bowl, the SEC has the Sugar Bowl, now the ACC has the Orange Bowl. The ACC football champion will play in the Orange Bowl every year unless they have a chance for the National Championship (or of the Orange Bowl is hosting the National Championship).

The ACC media has announced its picks for this year's football race. Florida State and Miami are the choice to play in Jacksonville this December.

Coach K has his 15 players. Now the question is, are they the right 15?

And the ACC's male and female athletes of the year were announced yesterday.

Purchase "Mad About U" for a limited time and received a $10 discount off the cover price.

More of the same at State
From the Sometimes People Do Really Stupid Things Department - the word out of Raleigh is that North Carolina State appears to be moving to approve a rollover in football coach Chuck Amato's contract that would extend the school's commitment to Amato to five years.
And this is based on ... what, exactly?
It's certainly not success on the gridiron - Amato's teams have compiled a 53-33 record in his seven seasons as head coach.
That might not sound bad on the surface - but it's basically somewhere between 8-4 and 7-5 on an annual basis.
And given the talent that Amato has had at his disposal - from record-setting quarterback Philip Rivers to the three defensive linemen who went in the first round of this year's NFL draft, including the top pick, Mario Williams - Pack fans should be getting a lot more than 8-4 or 7-5.
Instead, it looks like they'll be getting a lot more of 8-4 and 7-5 - at least for the next five years.
- Chris Graham

ACC not expected to contend in '06
Don't expect the Atlantic Coast Conference to play a role in the national-title picture this fall.
"We think very highly of the ACC, but we've got Clemson as our top team in the ACC, and 12th overall," said Mitchell Light, a senior editor at Athlon Sports.
"With their schedule, I think they can win the league, but I just can't see them navigating that schedule without a loss. If they can catch some breaks and run the table in the ACC, of course they can be in the hunt for a national title. But I just don't see that happening this year," Light said.
The league's depth top to bottom is a factor here, Light said.
"Sometimes it's good for a league to have a super super power, and then three or four other good teams. But the ACC doesn't seem to have anybody this year capable of emerging as that super super power," Light said.
Steven Lassan, a senior editor at Football.com, agrees with Light about 2006 - but he thinks the conference will be back in the title picture next year.
"Florida State is a team that can realistically start next season as a top-five team, and the young players on the team will have time to gain valuable experience by then," Lassan said.
"Additionally, Miami and Virginia Tech will always be a player for the title, and Clemson is stockpiling young players for a run as well," Lassan said.
- Chris Graham

Mad About U
Pre-sales are now being accepted for "Mad About U: Four Decades of Basketball at University Hall," written by Chris Graham and Patrick Hite. You may visit www.madaboutu.net to pre-order the book now. For a limited time, discounts are available for early orders. The release date for "Mad About U" is Oct. 5.
Virginia basketball celebrated its last season at University Hall in 2006. We were there. Join us as we look back at the memories from more than forty years in U Hall.
From Barry Parkhill's last-second shot to help Virginia knock off No. 2 South Carolina to the struggles faced by coaches Barbara Kelly and Dan Bonner in the early years of UVa. women's basketball to the excitement of the early 1980s in the House that Ralph Built to the move to JPJ - it's all here.
We've talked to players, coaches and fans, including Terry Holland, Debbie Ryan, Jeff Lamp, Heather and Heidi Burge, Mac McDonald, Wally Walker, Dawn Staley, Jeff Jones, Richard Morgan, Dan Bonner, Bryant Stith, Wendy Palmer, Bobby and Ricky Stokes, Val Ackerman, Gus Gerard, Craig Littlepage and many more. For a complete list of those we talked with, click here.
You may also read some excerpts from the book by clicking here.
Visit www.madaboutu.net to get your copy reserved today.

Around ACC Nation

Marvin Williams is hoping to have a better sophomore NBA season than his first one as a pro, and he is on the right track. The former North Carolina Tar Heel was named the MVP of the NBA's summer Rocky Mountain Revue.

Former Hofstra lacrosse coach John Danowski, the father of a current Duke player, has been named the new Duke men's lacrosse coach.

The Herald-Sun's Frank Dascenzo takes a look at the upcoming ACC football season. Meanwhile, Tony Barnhart of the AJC asks a few questions about the season that is, believe it or not, just a little over a month away.

Joe Surratt, FSU's fullback, talks with the Tallahassee Democrat about what his Seminoles are doing to overcome the lack of a solid running game last season.

And a former UNC women's golfer will be featured on a reality show on The Golf Channel.

My Mount ACCmore, part II
If there was a Mount Rushmore for the Atlantic Coast Conference - Mount ACCmore, if you will - who would be the four faces on the mountain? That is the question being asked by ACC Nation. You can actually vote in our regionals until Wednesday. At that point we'll have our final eight. Eventually, listeners to ACC Nation and visitors to this blog and to our Web site will select two people, Chris will select one and I will select one.
I think John Swofford is deserving of a place on Mount ACCmore. Forget for a moment everything else good for the conference he has done - including some impressive television contracts - and focus on expansion.
Whether you think increasing the ACC to 12 schools was a boon or a bust, you can't deny that it forever changed the landscape of the ACC, as well as college sports in general.
There's a story today in the News and Observer that shows at least one school, N.C. State, has already made more money off conference revenue sharing this year, following expansion, than it did the previous season. And there is one more payment from the conference remaining.
When arguing against expansion, many point to last season's BCS when only one ACC football team, Florida State, was included. That, to me, is more the fault of college football than expansion. Tossing out Duke, the ACC is possibly the best overall conference in college football (I will accept arguments from the SEC and Big Ten, but Pac-10 and Big 12 fans should just realize they can't even be in the discussion).
It's tough for the ACC to get an at-large berth in the BCS simply because a second-place team will have at least two losses and probably more. If there was a college football playoff, then the ACC would be in good shape. Until then, expect more results like last season.
Instead, look women's basketball - three ACC teams in the Final Four - or baseball - four teams in the eight-team College World Series. That's the kind of success the ACC hopes for in the future.
On whether the conference's expansion was a good move or not, I think the jury is still out. But the impact it has already created - good or bad - is reason enough for John Swofford to be placed on Mount ACCmore.
-Patrick Hite

The great schedule debate
It's an interesting question: Would college football teams in rebuilding mode rather play their toughest opponents on the road or at home?
Dan Steinberg, who covers Maryland football for the Washington Post, was on ACC Nation this weekend. Off the air, I told Dan I thought the Terps' schedule was favorable, but he politely disagreed.
While Maryland won't be favored in many games this year, there are games on the schedule the Terrapins could win. In conference, Maryland is on the road against three of those teams - Georgia Tech, Virginia and Boston College. They also travel to Clemson as well as non-conference opponent West Virginia to round out their away schedule.
At home, Maryland opens with three games they should win (William & Mary, Middle Tennessee and Florida International) and then welcomes N.C. State, Florida State, Miami and Wake Forest.
Dan's point is that Maryland would be happy just to reach a bowl this year, and in trying to do that would be better off with those middle-of-the-road teams like UVa., Georgia Tech and BC in College Park. If those games are even matches or one or the other team has a slight advantage, Maryland would have a better shot at home.
He also reasons that Maryland will lose to Florida State and Miami wherever they play, so home-field advantage doesn't mean that much.
In other words, if Maryland only has a few teams on its schedule that it can realistically beat, they'd be better off playing them at home.
Point understood, although I 'm not sure I agree with it.
In the current state of today's college football, I think teams are better off just to shoot for the stars than aim low and hope for a mediocre bowl berth. If there was a playoff, things would be different.
But there's isn't a playoff and reaching, say, the MPC Computers Bowl in Boise, ID, doesn't do much for a team. The biggest advantage is that it gives teams extra practice time. But most money teams make from the lower tier bowls is spent on travel costs for the players, band and cheerleaders. Some teams even end up losing money on the deal, especially when the game isn't within easy driving distance for most of the school's fan base and the school has trouble selling its share of tickets. Meanwhile, teams that don't make a bowl can save on the travel and still make money because of conference revenue sharing.
So, it seems to me, a team should either shoot for a BCS bowl or nothing at all. And that's why Maryland's schedule is favorable. This is a Terps team not too far removed from playing in the Orange Bowl. So it's not an unrealistic goal for the team to get back to that level in the near future.
In order to do that, the Terrapins need to beat the likes of Florida State and Miami, and having them come to College Park makes that task a little easier. The last time FSU came to Maryland, the Terps won. And last year, Florida State lost at Virginia. Beating the Seminoles, especially when FSU hits the road, isn't nearly as tough as it used to be.
As I wrote earlier, it's an interesting question.
- Patrick Hite

ACC Nation (weekend of July 21)
On the show this week, we start our ACC football previews by looking at Maryland and Duke. Stephen Winslow, sitting in for Chris Graham, and Patrick Hite talk with Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post and Bryan Strickland of the Durham Herald Sun.
Also, Stephen gives his thoughts on the best former ACC players to pick for your fantasy football team. The ACC Nation's fantasy football league has a rule that all teams must start a former ACC player every week.
And finally, Patrick and Stephen talk about Mount ACCmore and whether or not John Swofford belongs up there.
Listen to ACC Nation.

Can it get any worse?
It started with Duke men's lacrosse canceling the season after rape allegations were brought against some team members. Then J.J. Redick was charged with a DUI. Then Joe Alleva, Duke's athletics director, was hurt in a boating accident and his son was charged with operating the boat under the influence of alcohol.
Now this.
Duke football coach Ted Roof announced earlier today that Zack Asack, the sophomore quarterback who showed promise last season, has been suspended from school for academic violations and won't play this season.
Asack then let reporters know exactly why he was suspended.
"I am on academic suspension for plagiarism," said Asack, who started six of the team's final seven games last season. "I made a mistake and am remorseful. I take full responsibility for my actions. I wish the team well and look forward to returning next summer. I love it here at Duke."
According to a release from the school, Asack will be eligible to return to Duke in the summer of 2007.
"Sometimes great young men make poor decisions and that is that is the case in this situation," Roof said. "While I certainly don’t condone his actions, I have been impressed with the manner in which Zack has handled this issue. I fully support Zack and am confident that he will grow in many areas as a result of this situation. When you are part of a family and make an uncharacteristic mistake, you are not kicked out of the family. Zack will remain part of the Duke football family and will be supported by everyone in our program."
Duke was facing an uphill battle to begin with. While Roof has had some good recruiting classes, and while the team has many young players who played well last season coming back, the schedule wasn't favorable. Duke could have possible won its opener against Richmond, and would have had a shot in week two at Wake Forest. Now, without Asack, it will be interesting to see if Duke can be ready for those two games.
The thought here is that it won't. So what could have been a two-win, perhaps three-win, season now will most likely be a one-win season, at best. My prediction, Duke goes winless. And fans start wishing for basketball season in late August, if they haven't already.
-Patrick Hite

ACC Nation Fantasy Football
Get in on the fun. ACC Nation is organizing a fantasy football league. It's free to join and first place wins an ACC Nation golf shirt or T-shirt - your choice.
You'll get a chance to match wits with Patrick, Chris and the Evil Q (OK, we know that's not saying much), plus, since this is ACC Nation, we have a rule that we hope will make things both fun and challenging - every team must have a former member of a current ACC school (yes, former VT, BC and Miami players count, even if they didn't play in the ACC) starting for them every week. (It's not as hard as it sounds - there's a list of players on the ACC Nation fantasy football message board).
Space is limited. If you have questions, e-mail patrick@accnation.com.
Have fun and good luck.

Butterfingers
The following is an excerpt from "Mad About U: Four Decades of Basketball at University Hall," by Chris Graham and Patrick Hite. Discounts are available for a limited time. Click on the link above for details.
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As a high-school player, Heather Burge (now Heather Quella) had dreamed of catching a pass from Dawn Staley. That was one of the reasons she and her sister committed to UVa. But dreaming of it and actually living it are two different things. The description Heather used for both Heidi and her that freshman season was “butterfingers.” For anyone who has seen a Dawn Staley pass, they know butterfingers is one thing you shouldn’t be when on the receiving end.
“Coming from high school, we had never had passes like this,” Quella said. “They were super rockets. She would jump, turn and pass it, and we weren’t ready. She got so frustrated because her turnovers kept going up because we kept dropping the ball. After her getting upset a few times and us feeling guilty, we started getting our hands up earlier.”
Quella said playing with Staley offered her a great opportunity for growth as a player, giving her every chance to succeed on the court.
“She was always super humble,” Quella said. “One of the best women’s players I’ve ever seen. By far the best passer in the world.”
After that freshman year, and after dropping countless bullet passes, the twins learned to expect a pass from Staley at any time, in any situation. But the first year playing with Staley was a learning experience for everyone.
“She had to learn patience, and we had to learn to get our hands up earlier, or else it was going to go right through our fingers,” Quella said. “We had a lot of blood, sweat and tears over that.”

"Mad About U: Four Decades of Basketball at University Hall" will be released Oct. 5, but for a limited time you can save $10 off the cover price by pre-ordering. Visit www.madaboutu.net for all of the details.

My Mount ACCmore
ACC Nation is narrowing a list of 32 key figures in the Atlantic Coast Conference down to four. Those four will be our Mount ACCmore, much like the presidents on Mount Rushmore.
So, who do you think should be honored? Vote for a winner in each of our regionals - you have until July 26 - so we can decide the final eight. Listeners and blog readers will choose two of the faces to go on Mount ACCmore, while Chris and I will each choose one as well, making four.
I've come up with the four I would choose. I'll list my choices over the next few days. Let's start with my first selection, Dean Smith.
I wanted to take one coach, and one coach only, and believe me, it wasn't all the easy. I thought about football coaches like Bobby Bowden and Danny Ford, but in the end decided that the ACC is still a basketball conference and, therefore, one of the faces on Mount ACCmore had to be that of a basketball coach. I narrowed it down to Smith, Everett Case, and Mike Krzyzewski.
Case is the father of the ACC basketball tournament and is pretty much responsible for turning college basketball into the most popular sport in North Carolina.
Coach K has led his team to 10 Final Fours, winning three national titles. Duke has also won twelve ACC regular-season titles and ten ACC tournament titles under Krzyzewski.
But it's tough to deny what Smith has done. Not only is he the winningest college coach of all-time, but he won two national titles and is the innovator of several things we still see used today, like the point zone and the run-and-jump defensive sets and the four-corners offense.
So, Dean Smith would be one of the faces on my Mount ACCmore.
-Patrick Hite

Around ACC Nation
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The on-again, off-again sexual harassment suit against North Carolina women's soccer coach Anson Dorrance is back on again. The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has decided to re-hear Jennings appeal and could send it to trial after that.

Ahmad Brooks has had his share of problems as of late, but the former Virginia linebacker will get his shot at the NFL after being selected in the supplemental draft earlier this week. There is concern among some fans of the Cincinnati Bengals - the team which drafted Brooks - that the troubled football player will add to the team's recent woes. The Bengals say that won't be the case.

Clemson reserve guard Troy Mathis is leaving the Tigers.

Carolina's Tim Federowicz is the youngest player on the U.S National Team.

Don't forget, for a limited time you can get a discount on orders for "Mad About U: Four Decades of Basketball at University Hall," written by Chris Graham and Patrick Hite.

Go Lithuania
Call me un-America if you wish, but I will not be rooting for Team USA in the FIBA World Championships that begin next month in Japan. Same goes for the 2008 Olympics.
Maybe I’ll root for New Zealand or Panama. Maybe Angola or Italy. Hey, Qatar has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? But the USA? No thank you.
See, my love of the country isn’t as great as my dislike for Mike Krzyzewski. And Coach K is leading Team USA, which holds its training camp starting July 19.
As co-host of ACC Nation, I try to be objective, but growing up a Carolina fan taught me at least one thing – how to hate Duke. I have a healthy respect for what Krzyzewski has done in his time in Durham, but nothing says I have to like it.
Don’t for a minute think Duke fans will be offended by my statements. Let’s face it – the dislike I, and many others, have for Krzyzewski is reserved for winners only. Do you think anyone out there hates Ted Roof? I doubt if many could pick him out of a lineup (perhaps a bad choice of words considering everything that has transpired over the past few months in Durham), much less work up a good hatred for the guy. He’s the kind of guy you just want to pat on the head and say, “Oh, how cute, he thinks he can win football games at Duke.”
Coach K, on the other hand, is the kind of guy you just want to punch in the mouth (and I really wish someone would).
So, no, I won’t root for Team USA. Here’s hoping Coach K goes winless and gets fired after the Olympics. Go Nigeria. Go Turkey. Go Japan. Go anyone but Krzyzewski.
- Patrick Hite

Mount ACCmore

OK, we stole the idea from Mike and Mike. We admit it. But we loved the concept and thought we needed to bring it to the ACC.
So here's the deal. If we were creating the Mount Rushmore for the ACC - Mount ACCmore - who would the four figures be on the mountain?
Go here and vote for one person in each of the eight regions. We'll keep the polls open until July 26. From there we'll narrow it to four and then two. Those two will be your choices for Mount ACCmore. Chris will also choose one person, as will Patrick, to make it four faces on Mount ACCmore.

ACC Nation (weekend of July 14)
sponsored by "Mad About U"

The guys talk more football this week as Mitchell Light, senior editor with Athlon Sports, drops in to take a look at the upcoming ACC season. Patrick and Chris also give their picks from top to bottom in the ACC this season.
In the Sound and the Fury, they discuss whether or not those who dislike Coach K should root for Team USA. They also go Around the ACC and Inside the Nation, plus give details on their road trip with the Evil Q to Washington, D.C. last weekend.
That and more on ACC Nation.

Don't forget, for a limited time you can get a discount on orders for "Mad About U: Four Decades of Basketball at University Hall," written by Chris Graham and Patrick Hite.

ACC Nation Fantasy Football

Once again this year ACC Nation is organizing a fantasy football league. It's free to join and first place wins an ACC Nation golf shirt or T-shirt - your choice.

(Last place, in case you're wondering, will receive a backrub from the Evil Q - our advice, don't finish last.)

Space is limited (although, if we have enough people interested we may form a second league). If you want to play, click on the link above (you will need a Yahoo ID, but it's free as well). Enter your team name and you'll be ready to go.

Since this is ACC Nation, we have added one rule - every team must have a former ACC player (former Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College players do count, even if they played college ball before their schools joined the ACC) starting for them every week. We will be watching, and teams not obeying this rule will be disqualified from the league (we don't mess around when it comes to rules about the ACC).

If you have questions, e-mail patrick@accnation.com.

Have fun and good luck.

Slick Willie
So Willie Williams is leaving Miami because he didn't immediately crack the starting lineup, eh?
Good riddance.
The troubled top recruit skipped summer school and decided against attending voluntary summer workouts, according to published reports in South Florida.
The reason - his peeps told him he should be playing more.
Interesting - it used to be coaches who made those decisions, and it used to be that PT was given out to players based on how hard they worked on the practice field and in the gym and, yes, in the classroom.
So let Williams go - he had a rap sheet as long as his list of gridiron accolades, and his recruitment was an embarrassment for The U, which is saying a lot, considering the program that we're talking about here.
College football, after all, doesn't need more Willie Williamses - it doesn't even need the one that it has now.
- Chris Graham

Close, but no cigar
The legacy of the Ralph Sampson years at the University of Virginia is that of the unfulfilled promise.
Long-time coach Terry Holland had said it out loud after Sampson signed - I think the national championship is within our reach.
But despite 122 wins and three Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season titles in Sampson's four years on Grounds, the Cavs brought home just one trophy - from the 1980 NIT. No ACC tournament championship banners were added to the one commemorating the improbable 1976 run, and the closest the program got to that national title that Holland had said was within reach was an appearance in the 1981 national semifinals.
"They just had unfortunate things happen at the end of each season. The big guys were a little bit green in Lamp's and Raker's final year, and then Al Wood had a phenomenal game against them in the Final Four. The next year, Othell Wilson got hurt at the end. The next year, it was N.C. State and their magical run. It was always something," long-suffering Virginia fan Bob Moje told me in an interview for Mad About U: Four Decades of Basketball at University Hall, which is on sale now.
There was the memorable upset loss in Hawaii at Chaminade in 1982 - still regarded by many as the biggest single-game upset in sports history. And the equally memorable win two weeks earlier over a Patrick Ewing-led Georgetown team that was followed days later by a victory over a Hakeem Olajuwon-led Houston team. And the aforementioned 28-game winning streak that ended on national TV in a game against giant-killer Notre Dame.
In a lot of ways, it was the best of times and the worst of times for University of Virginia basketball fans - who were thisclose to greatness and yet might as well have been a million miles away.
"They were so good that it's kind of amazing that they never won a national championship in that period - because they clearly were the best team in the country," Moje said.
Pre-orders for Mad About U are being taken now. The book will be in bookstores on Oct. 5.
- Chris Graham

Around ACC Nation
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The accident at Clemson that claimed the life of an assistant track coach apparently involved a football player.

Sidney Lowe vs. Herb Sendek, round one.

Three more football players have commited to Virginia Tech for the 2007 season.

And, Shelden Williams has signed with the Hawks.

Don't forget, for a limited time you can get a discount on orders for "Mad About U: Four Decades of Basketball at University Hall," written by Chris Graham and Patrick Hite.

A real power conference
I have to take issue with something Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel had to say about the Atlantic Coast Conference football scene a little while back.
Mandel argues that the ACC is suffering both because Florida State and Miami have regressed and because the mid-tier programs at Virginia, North Carolina State, Maryland and Clemson have made only slight improvements in terms of moving to catch up with them.
Which is an interesting way to look at it. After all, for starters, didn't both FSU and Miami - along with Virginia Tech - spend a significant chunk of the 2005 season ranked in the top 10 nationally?
All three spent several weeks in the top five - before FSU dropped games to Virginia, N.C. State and Clemson, Miami lost a nailbiter to Georgia Tech, and Virginia Tech came up short against the Seminoles in the ACC title game in Jacksonville.
And then the 'Noles went to the Orange Bowl and played #3 Penn State to three overtimes before succumbing.
So to say that the powers have regressed is off base. And based on the performances of UVa., State, Clemson and the rest against the big boys, it isn't fair to say that they have only improved slightly, either.
The problem that the ACC has isn't that its teams aren't as good as teams from other conferences - it's that there are too many of them that are good.
Basically every week, except for the one in which you get to line up against Duke, your team has a chance to win or lose. Can fans of the Pac 10 or Big 10 or Big 12 say the same thing - with a straight face, anyway - about their conferences?
The best college football in the country is played week in and week out in the South - in the ACC and the Southeastern Conference.
The only reason we have a hard time getting teams into the BCS title picture is because it rewards conferences that are top-heavy at the expense of real power conferences.
- Chris Graham

ACC watching Big Ten TV developments
The Big Ten is putting together its own TV network - and the Atlantic Coast Conference will be watching how it works out.
"It's one of those things where the Big Ten will be a trailblazer, and that's to their credit," ACC commissioner John Swofford told the Landmark News Service for a story published over the weekend.
Swofford said the ACC won't be able to consider making the move that the Big Ten did because its television contracts don't run out until 2010-2011.
"The rest of us will get to learn a bit from what they do because of the timing," Swofford said.
The risk involved in setting up a conference-specific cable channel will be what Swofford and others in college sports will be paying the closest attention to.
"Obviously, the Big Ten isn't moving away from their ESPN and ABC contracts. They're even expanding them. But they will have some events on the Big Ten channel. They'll have some things on there that were on cable or in syndication that will no longer be there. But they'll also have events that weren't getting any exposure," Swofford said.
- Chris Graham

Around ACC Nation
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North Carolina State's Sidney Lowe is out on the recruiting trail. The new Wolfpack coach learns high school players are smaller and less talented than NBA players. Wow, he's sharp.

Florida State is facing several challenges, including getting its basketball team to the NCAA tournament. Good luck with that one.

A back injury will keep former Duke player J.J. Redick out of the NBA's summer league.

Frank Dascenzo gives us a few things to ponder this football season.

The Edgewater Boys - which is not a bluegrass group - have found their way to FSU.

Virginia's new JPJ offers a lot of positives for both the men's and women's basketball programs.

Finally, Clemson has received a commitment from a 6-1 guard out of Tennessee. He's the No. 115 prospect in the country. Clemson basketball is on the rise. Or maybe not.

Don't forget, for a limited time you can get a discount on orders for "Mad About U: Four Decades of Basketball at University Hall," written by Chris Graham and Patrick Hite.

Around the ACC Nation
Sponsored by "Mad About U"

Something, or rather, someone, is missing from this list. The N&O's Caulton Tudor writes about the ACC football coaches on the hot seat this coming season. He gets most of them, but where the heck is Al Groh?

The NCAA is cracking down on high schools which it thinks simply churn out high school diplomas to get athletes into colleges. A couple of Virginia schools are on the watch list and a North Carolina high school is stunned that it is on the NCAA's list of schools from which transcripts won't be accepted. Friend of the Nation Josh Centor over at the Double-A Zone gives his thoughts on the NCAA's actions.

Virginia has a replacement for Gene Cross on its basketball staff.

We missed this a couple of days ago, but Raleigh will be the site of a women's NCAA regional in 2009.

The search for a Duke men's lacrosse coach has been reduced to four.

Finally, Clemson reported that seven of its athletes failed drug tests this past year. All seven were for marijuana.

Don't forget, for a limited time you can get a discount on orders for "Mad About U: Four Decades of Basketball at University Hall," written by Chris Graham and Patrick Hite.

ACC Nation (weekend of July 7)

On ACC Nation this week, the guys say it's never too early to talk football. Steven Lassan of Football.com joins Patrick and Chris to preview the ACC season, plus Darian Durant, former North Carolina and current Saskatchewan Roughrider quarterback, talks about his move to the CFL.

As always, there's Around the ACC, Sound and Fury and much more. Click on the ACC Nation link above to listen.

And don't forget, "Mad About U" is available at a discount if you pre-order, but it's only for a limited time. Visit www.madaboutu.net for more information.

The Way It Was
I don't know what made me want to call musician Bruce Hornsby for an interview for Mad About U - the book that I am cowriting with "ACC Nation" cohost Patrick Hite on the history of University Hall and University of Virginia basketball that is on sale now (www.madaboutu.net).
OK, so I should admit it - it's because, one, he sang "The Way It Is," and two, he has long been UVa. basketball's SuperFan, our Ashley Judd, as it were.
(Which reminds me - when we do our treatise on Kentucky basketball, I've got dibs on calling Ashley Judd.)
Ahem - back to Bruce Hornsby, who was gracious with his time in answering a line of silly questions from me on the subjects of, among other things, his appearances as a celebrity coach in Virginia's annual Blue-Orange scrimmages.
His first appearance on the sidelines came in 1989, when he squared off with a team coached by Boston Celtics' legend John Havlicek - and challenged the Hall of Famer to a game of H-O-R-S-E at halftime.
"He beat me H-O-R-S-E to H-O-R. Of course, he was cheating his ass off on some of the shots," Hornsby said.
"He wouldn't shoot double-clutches. He would just shoot it from the spot. That's my whining version of it, anyway," Hornsby said.
Hornsby coached in the Blue-Orange game several times thereafter. The most memorable was the 1990 game that featured actor Woody Harrelson on the opposing sideline.
"We played one-on-one at halftime, and I waxed his hind parts - 11-2. Coming straight over from a Grateful Dead tour in Europe. I took the red-eye back from London after we played Wembley Stadium the night before with the Dead and played Woody at halftime," Hornsby said.
- Chris Graham

Around the ACC Nation

Caulton Tudor thinks J.J. Redick should be the ACC male athlete of the year. What do you think? Visit ACC Nation and click on Sound and Fury to vote for both the male and female athlete of the year in the ACC.

Duke gets a quarterback. He chose the Devils because he liked their style of offense. I believe the official name of Duke's offensive style is "crappy."

While we're on the subject of Duke, the school's basketball fans will feel the heat as officials continue to react to the lacrosse scandal.

Former Georgia Tech basketball coach will have a difficult job at the College of Charleston - and it doesn't have to all do with what is happening on the court.

Don forget, pre-orders are under way for "Mad About U."

Finally, here's a nice story on Hubert Davis' basketball camp held at the Smith Center.

Another rebuilding effort
Good news for Atlantic Coast Conference basketball fans - you won't have to listen to Bobby Cremins try to offer color commentary on hoops broadcasts this winter.
Cremins is back on the sidelines as the new head coach at the College of Charleston - replacing former Virginia assistant Tommy Herrion, who was let go this spring after posting an 80-38 record in four seasons in the Palmetto State.
How Cremins will be able to improve on what Herrion was able to do in Charleston is anybody's guess. The former Georgia Tech coach - who put the Ramblin' Wreck on college-basketball radar in the 1980s and 1990s with three ACC titles and one Final Four appearance - was never known as a strict X's and O's guy.
Cremins' magic, such as it was, came in his penchant for making recruiting pitches - he lured future NBA stars Mark Price, Kenny Anderson and Stephon Marbury, among many others, to Atlanta in his tenure at Tech.
One would think that it would be difficult for him to repeat that kind of success at Charleston - which went to four NCAA tournaments under Herrion's predecessor, John Kresse, and did, after all, decide to fire Herrion after he averaged 20 wins a year in his stint there.
But hey, if anybody can get this generation's Price or Anderson or Marbury to play small ball, it's Cremins - even if his gift for gab didn't appeal to television viewers.
(And it didn't. Not at all.)
- Chris Graham

Mad About U
Pre-sales are now being accepted for "Mad About U: Four Decades of Basketball at University Hall," written by Chris Graham and Patrick Hite. You may visit www.madaboutu.net to pre-order the book now. Discounts are available for early orders, with the best discounts available for orders placed by Aug. 5. The release date for "Mad About U" is Oct. 5.
Virginia basketball celebrated its last season at University Hall in 2006. We were there. Join us as we look back at the memories from more than forty years in U Hall.
From Barry Parkhill's last-second shot to help Virginia knock off No. 2 South Carolina to the struggles faced by coaches Barbara Kelly and Dan Bonner in the early years of UVa. women's basketball to the excitement of the early 1980s in the House that Ralph Built to the move to JPJ - it's all here.
We've talked to players, coaches and fans, including Terry Holland, Debbie Ryan, Jeff Lamp, Heather and Heidi Burge, Mac McDonald, Wally Walker, Dawn Staley, Jeff Jones, Richard Morgan, Dan Bonner, Bryant Stith, Wendy Palmer, Bobby and Ricky Stokes, Val Ackerman, Gus Gerard, Craig Littlepage and many more. For a complete list of those we talked with, click here.
You may also read some excerpts from the book by clicking here.
Visit www.madaboutu.net to get your copy reserved today.

ACC athlete of the year, part I

I'm enlisting your input. The Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association, of which I am a member, annual votes on the winner of both the Anthony J. McKelvin Award for the ACC's outstanding male athlete and the Mary Garber Award for the conference's outstanding female athlete.

There's a poll up at ACC Nation and you can vote for one male and one female athlete. I have to have my votes in by July 16. A bio of each athlete, as sent by the ACSMA, is listed on the ACC Nation Web site as well. So visit the Sound and Fury section of www.accnation.com and vote.

The ACC Nation Morning Edition

I know, I know. It's been a few days since the Morning Edition has appeared. I'll try to do better, but make no promises in the summer. Come fall, that's a different story.

Alexander Johnson was drafted earlier this week, but as this notes column points out his work of making the NBA is far from over.

The NACDA Directors' Cup standings were announced this week. The only ACC team in the top five was North Carolina.

Andy D'Alessio chose one more year at Clemson over professional baseball. That's good news for Tiger fans.

Former Maryland basketball player Travis Garrison pleaded guilty to assault and sex-offense charges stemming from an incident at a bar in College Park.

Five Virginia Tech wrestlers are taking legal action in their dispute with the school.

The ACC will have to wait for their own TV network like the Big Ten.

Another big-name prospect has decided to play his college football for Al Groh and Virginia. The question, of course, is when will Groh produce a product on the field that comes close to matching his great recruiting classes? It's beginning to look like the answer is never.

Finally, you can pre-order "Mad About U: Four Decades of Basketball at University Hall" starting Wednesday.