EVERY SHOT MAKES SOMEBODY HAPPY

SO, THAT’S HOW IT’S GONNA BE…

#1UNC 90, #19 CLEMSON 88 OT

Clemson University police, Clemson city police and Pickens County sheriff deputies surrounded and stopped the bus carrying the 2005 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball National Champions, the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, as they exited the Littlejohn Coliseum parking lot after the Heels’ 90-88 OT victory last night.

The UNC players, coaches and managers were all hauled off the bus and arrested for grand larceny theft as a direct result of stealing – and we do mean STEALING – the ACC opener for both schools.

Clemson controlled much of the game with tough defense before losing a game they simply should have won. Undeterred by his brutal missed last second shot against Georgetown in the NCAA tournament, Tar Heel sophomore sharp shooter Wayne Ellington fired up the winning three pointer which kissed the bottom of the net with just .04 remaining. Ellington had 36 points on the night.

Clemson’s 6-9 double team reduced Tyler Hansbrough’s effectiveness and the rough and tumble style of play led to 11 blocked shots by Clemson with minimal foul trouble. That style, and the refs’ consistency in calling it that way, paid dividends for UNC on the final play of regulation.

Hansbrough ended up with a double/double 12/14 and made a few key plays down the stretch. Clemson’s defensive pressure only allowed the two time All-American 7 shots from the field.

Don’t be fooled, when Stepheson and Thompson aren’t in the game, UNC’s front court isn't very big by major college backetball standards. They measure 6-9 (Hansbrough), 6-5 (Ginyard) and 6-5 (Green). That’s not very big, and teams with big front courts (BYU, Clemson) are going to give UNC trouble. Clemson came at them with 6-9, 6-9 and 6-7 and it made the Tar Heels change their style a bit.

UNC’s fast paced racehorse basketball depends on out rebounding the other guy. Clemson hung with the Tar Heels only losing the rebound battle 44-43.

Clemson's tough defense was instrumental in causing UNC's 19 turnovers.

We’re sure other coaches will notice how this worked.

LITTLE PLAY THAT CHANGED THE GAME: Clemson’s Booker played great (14 points, 11 rebounds) and fouled out late. He was replaced by sophomore David Potter who added six points. Unfortunately, for the Tigers, Potter went for a game saving steal on the last play. He missed, and that gave Ellington a clear look on the winning shot.

Here’s what we learned:

1) The Heels aren’t as good without big man Alex Stepheson (in CA with ailing father) or injured Bobby Frasor. Also semi-injured point guard Quinton Thomas was awful losing the ball on three turnovers on three straight possessions. None of this was lost on Ty Lawson who appeared to be pressing most of the game. Luckily for the Heels, most of the time, his wide open style results in good plays.

2) Clemson is big, strong, fast and athletic. They can run, shoot, defend and rebound with Carolina. They should probably be ranked higher, but no doubt the national media is afraid of another regular ACC season swoon, and (like everyone) both terrified and befuddled by how bad the Tigers are from the charity stripe – 51% last night.

3) Clemson is better than they were last year with the addition of freshmen point guard Demontez Stitt and guard/forward K.C. Rivers can flat play (he had 24 points).

4)The Tigers still are lacking at crunch time – they had two shots to win as time expired in regulation,

and,

5) They are still studying that “Shaq On Free Throw Shooting” DVD.

North Carolina's Wayne Ellington (22) reacts after making the winning three pointer while Clemson's James Mays slams into the wall after trying to block the shot. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

North Carolina coach Roy Williams reacts to the officials' call during the first half. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

North Carolina's Wayne Ellington (22) shoots as Clemson's Demontez Stitt, left, tries to block the shot during the first half. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

Clemson's K.C. Rivers shoots over North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough, right, and Marcus Ginyard, left, as they try to block the shot . (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

SUNDAY HOOPS

#8 DUKE 81, Cornell (Bears, 13,645 students, Ithaca, NY) 67

Passes sailed out of bounds, loose balls went unrecovered, opposing scorers had room to operate, Jon Scheyer made all kinds of crazy faces -- and Duke's players weren't discussing their mistakes with each other. No wonder the Blue Devils (No. 8 ESPN/USA Today, No. 9 AP) had the look of a team that hadn't seen the court in two weeks.

While those miscues ultimately didn't cost them against Cornell on Sunday night, it's clearly a concern for coach Mike Krzyzdlgjbns3ki's team as the Atlantic Coast Conference season approaches.

"I don't know if we're in game shape or game talk yet," Krzyzbnm4ski said. "We just weren't sharp." (We don’t know what “game talk” is, so don’t ask.)

Slow-starting Duke went on to beat Cornell 81-67 behind DeMarcus Nelson's 23 points, which matched a season high. But his big game was overshadowed by those nagging breakdowns that made the Blue Devils look sloppy.

(ABOVE) Duke's Jon “Crazy Face” Scheyer, right, defends as Cornell's Ryan Wittman (20) shoots during the second half. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

(LEFT) Duke's Jon “Crazy Face” Scheyer, left, and Cornell's Adam Gore (23) battle for a rebound during the second half of a college basketball game in Durham, N.C. No doubt, a foul was called on Gore. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

GEORGIA TECH 77, Presbyterian (Blue Hose, 1,300 students, Clinton, SC) 64

Anthony Morrow scored 16 points and freshmen Moe Miller and Gani Lawal in Georgia Tech's 77-64 victory over Presbyterian on Sunday.

The Yellow Jackets (7-6) led by 15 on Morrow's 3-pointer with 17 minutes remaining, but Presbyterian only trailed by two on Josh Johnson's 3 with 3:33 remaining. Tech answered with another 3 by Morrow, a steal and dunk by D'Andre Bell and a basket by Lawal to make it 71-62 with 1:54 left.

The Blue Hose (1-19), playing their first season in Division I before debuting next year in the Big South Conference, have lost 11 straight games, all on the road.

DUKE: MEDIA DARLINGS?

We try not to get caught up in griping about Duke, the media, ESPN, Dickie V, Crazy Faced Jon Scheyer, etc. Mind you we bring it up here and there, but we try not to whine about it. Of course, on a grand scale, we leave the serious Duke-bashing to TruthaboutDuke.com, and they do a masterful job.

Having said that, let’s take a quick look at what appears to be a national media bias toward the Blue Devils at least as it relates to photographs. Last night, Duke played women's polo and lightweight rowing powerhouse Cornell down in Durham. Shockingly unranked in hoop, the Bears lost by fifteen.

Down in Clemson, the #1 team in the country was making its regular season ACC debut against another ranked team and heated rival in the Clemson Tigers.

So, we ask you – which game is more significant and deserves the most national media coverage…Isn’t the answer obvious?

Evidently to some media outlets, it’s not.

Starting with photographs…Here’s how it works. TAH gets the overwhelming majority of its published photos from sports.yahoo.com. Thank you, Yahoo, you’re awesome. Yahoo picks them up primarily from the AP photo wire and the Getty news photo service. Point being, we don’t think Yahoo made the call about how many photographers were at each game – that is up to the assignment editors at AP and Getty.

Yahoo does, however, have control over how many pictures they post of each game. So, let’s count. Number of photos of #1 vs. #19 in a conference game = 8. Number of photos of #8 Duke vs. a non-conference weakling = 25.

Other factors? Yes, there are some such as the location of the game. Were the Duke game played in New York City or some other news media center, it would make sense that there would be more photographers and hence more photos. It wasn’t. Durham, for all its loveliness, is not a media center, nor is Clemson, SC.

ESPN uses the same photo services and their ratio was about the same (4 UNC, 11 Duke). FYI, Each had just one picture of Coach Roy and one of Coach K – both were yelling at the refs as it should be...

Now, to be fair (and believe it or not, we are occasionally accused of not being so), when we Google UNC basketball/News we get 529 stories about last night’s game, etc. The same action for Duke basketball/News generates 250 on one result and 43 more on another. A clear win for the Tar Heels.

Maybe the lighting is just nicer in ultra-modern Cameron Indoor…

(AP Photo/Gerry Broome and Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

ROBIN HOOD HEELS RECRUIT NEW THEIVES

The UNC recruiting bonanza continued last weekend in Chapel Hill where the Heels' basketball program landed two more star Class of 2009 big men, receiving verbal commitments from twins David and Travis Wear out of Mater Dei High School in California. The Wears were also considering UCLA.

The Wears both measure 6-foot-9 and have the ability to play both inside and outside as forwards. Both brothers are said to make good decisions and have the skills to flourish in Roy Williams’ up-tempo offense. Travis is ranked as the No. 19 overall prospect in the junior class by Rivals.com while David is ranked 20th. (Maybe Travis was born first?)

For UNC, this weekend’s score now gives the Tar Heels seven commitments for the future: three in the Class of 2008 (Ed Davis, Tyler Zeller and Larry Drew); three from 2009 (the Wears and John Henson); and one more from 2010 (Kendal Marshall).

PICTURES OF THE DAY

NOW PAY ATTENTION...This is a little difficult to follow.

Because we are a bit provisional and narrow minded about such things, we Americans think we are the most passionate sports fans on the planet. We get a lesson in the fallacy of this each time we check in on World Cup Soccer, the European premier leagues etc.

Of late, cricket seems to have ignited (no pun intended) some serious emotions world wide.

Evidently the Indian cricket team is touring Austrailia and over the weekend they lost a match/game/set/test to the Aussies amid some controversy.

Australian media on Monday urged captains Ricky Ponting and Anil Kumble to pull their teams into line after bitter rows over racism and sportsmanship overshadowed the second Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test. Ah, test, that's it...

Tensions boiled over in the aftermath of the hard-fought Sydney match with Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh banned by the ICC for three Tests for racially abusing Andrew Symonds, while Kumble accused Australia of "unsporting behaviour."

Indian team management said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would also lodge a formal complaint with the International Cricket Council over what they described as the "incompetent" umpiring of the Sydney Test. "The Board will appeal to the International Cricket Council to review the decision of the Match Referee and suspend its operation till the appeal is disposed of," the BCCI said."The Indian Board realises the game of cricket is paramount but so too is the honour of the Indian team and for that matter every Indian."

Yes, they take their sport seriously.

According to Australian media outlets, the match will be a match remembered in infamy rather than for Australia's sensational 122-run win courtesy of three wickets in the penultimate over of the final day, equalling their record of 16 consecutive Test wins. Capiche?

Australia's cricket writers Monday condemned the conduct of the players and the performance of umpires Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson for tainting what they said was an engrossing contest.

"It is shameful this splendid Test match, won in such a remarkable fashion by the indomitable Australians, has left such a bitter taste," The Australian's cricket columnist Mike Coward wrote.

"The standard of play often was outstanding and occasionally exceptional but the standard of player behaviour was questionable and, at times, unacceptable. And the standard of umpiring was poor."

(Above) Cricket fans place effigies of cricket umpires Steve Bucknor, left, and Mark Benson on donkeys and hold placards at a protest in reaction to the results of the second cricket test match between India and Australia. Banners in background translates as "It's not Bucknor, but a Bukasoor (a mythological evil character). For Indians he is cruel'. (AP Photo)

(Other photos by AP Photo/Mahesh kumar A and AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)

PICTURE OF THE DAY 2

CLOUDS WITH SILVER LININGS…Daniel Chopra of Sweden hits a tee shot on the 17th hole during the final round of the Mercedes-Benz Championship on at the Plantation Course January 6, 2008 in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii. Chopra won a playoff against Steve Stricker to win the tourney and its $1.1 million first prize.

Nice, Daniel, NICE!

(Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

SATURDAY HOOP

#3 Kansas (Jayhawks, 21,915 students, Lawrence, KS) 85, BOSTON COLLEGE 60

Obviously, BC is worried about how the NCAA tournament committee views their RPI. Why else would you make Kansas your final non-conference tune-up for a typical brutal ACC schedule?

Darnell Jackson scored 12 of his 25 points during a 33-8 run that turned a tie game into a blowout, adding nine rebounds to lead No. 3 Kansas to an 85-60 victory over Boston College.

Darrell Arthur added 22 points and seven rebounds for Kansas, which won its first 14 games for the sixth time in school history. The Jayhawks remained one of six unbeaten teams in the nation with one game left before next week's Big 12 opener against Nebraska.

Kansas' Sasha Kaun, center, blocks Boston College's Rakim Sanders, bottom, as Boston College's Tyrelle Blair, right, looks on, in the second half of a college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 5, 2008, in Boston. Kansas won 85-60. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

MARYLAND 76, Charlotte (49ers, 16,584 students, Charlotte, NC) 72

James Gist scored 25 points and hit the clinching free throw with 5.6 seconds left as Maryland avoided a stunning collapse by holding off Charlotte 76-72 on Saturday.

Greivis Vasquez added 17 of his 24 points in the first half for the inconsistent Terrapins (9-6), who won their third straight game since embarrassing home losses to Ohio and American, but nearly blew a 21-point second-half lead.

In their first true road game of the season, Maryland stormed to a 53-32 lead on Gist's 3-pointer with 15:31 left.

Then the Terrapins began a meltdown that nearly cost them the game. Turnovers, poor shots, foul trouble and defensive breakdowns allowed Charlotte to outscore Maryland 29-11 over the next 10 minutes.

With only one non-conference game left until starting Atlantic Coast Conference play in earnest, Maryland will face more questions after a horrible second half.

Charlotte's An'Juan Wilderness (21) puts up a shot over Maryland's Cliff Tucker (24) and Landon Milbourne (1) during the first half of a college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 5, 2008, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Rick Havner)

NC STATE 50, Presbyterian (Blue Hose, 1,300 students, Clinton, SC) 43

Gavin Grant had 14 points and Courtney Fells added 10, helping sluggish North Carolina State put away Presbyterian 50-43 Saturday.

Grant finished with seven assists and six rebounds for the Wolfpack (10-3), whose sixth victory in a row came despite a performance coach Sidney Lowe probably would like to forget.

State trailed 20-17 at the half -- going 1-for-11 on 3-pointers against Presbyterian's 2-3 zone -- and held only a three-point lead with less than four minutes left in the game.

It was quite an effort for the first-year Division I program from tiny Clinton, S.C., one in the midst of a brutal schedule. After nearly beating an ACC oopponent on the road, Presbyterian won't have to wait long for another chance -- the Blue Hose travel to Georgia Tech on Sunday, one of 18 away games so far.

(Photo Ethan Hyman/Raleigh News-Observer)

FLORIDA STATE 81, La Salle (Explores, 4,315 students, Philadelphia, PA) 76

Uche Echefu and Ralph Mims scored 19 points each as Florida State beat La Salle (4-8) 81-76 on Saturday night.

Florida State was 20-of-20 from the free-throw line in the second half, and 30-for-32 overall. The Seminoles made 25 straight to end the game.

Echefu was a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line, and Mims made 9-of-11. Echefu added seven rebounds, and an emphatic block with time winding down.

PICTURE OF THE DAY

DUDES, WHAT UP...? Wow, there are bad unis, and there are bad unis...Where to start with these two?

Portuguese riders Joao Rolo (L) and Nuno Santos pose prior to riding off to southern Marocco close to Mauritania border in symbolic start of the Dakar Rally 05 January 2008 in Lisbon, after rally director Etienne Lavigne announced the cancellation of the race. Dakar Rally chiefs insisted today that the marathon race, cancelled for the first time in its colourful 30-year history because of terrorist threats, will survive and return in 2009.

Not if they don't get rid of the white boots and the teal bikes...yuk. That teal color can only be found two other places...the seats at the Sydney Cricket Grounds and on the Bad Uni Hall of Fame threads worn by the New Orleans Hornets.

(Photos Fredercik Florin/AFP/Getty, AP Photo/Rick Rycroft and Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images)

PICTURE OF THE DAY 2

EVER WONDER how they get those close up/same aspect shots of snowboarders? Now you know.

Austrian snowboarder Mone Monsberger (R) is filmed by another snowboarder (C) as he competes in the 6th Red Bull Nanshan Open snowboarding competition at the Nanshan Ski Resort on the outskirts of Beijing, 05 January 2008.

(Photo by Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images)

PICTURE OF THE DAY 3

FOOTBALL? Who needs football? Tonino Benson of the United States competes during the final of the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships at North Narrabeen Beach on January 6, 2008 in Sydney, Australia.

(Photo by Steve Robertson/Covered Images/ASP via Getty Images)

PICTURE OF THE DAY 4

OH WELL, AT LEAST THE STADIUM WAS COOL... Helicopters fly over during the national anthem before the game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Washington Redskins before the NFC Wild Card game at Qwest Field on January 5, 2008 in Seattle, Washington.

(Photo by Maxx Wolfson/Getty Images)

PICTURE OF THE DAY 5

BUBBLE BURST…The Redskins couldn’t keep the Seahawks pass rush off of QB Matt Collins, and an sub par rushing performance led to 50 pass attempts. All bad for the Skins. Collins was 29 for 50 for 266 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions – both of which were returned for TDs.

Season over. Drive home safely.

(Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

ACC UNDEFEATED

Last night, no ACC teams played either football or basketball. Subsequently, no ACC team won a game, but, more importantly of late, none lost a game either.

IT’S NOT TO EARLY FOR 2008 REGULAR SEASON FOOTBALL

Alabama will play Clemson at the Georgia Dome on Aug. 30 in the 2008 season opener for both teams, their first meeting in 33 years.

In making the announcement Friday, Atlanta officials said the game is intended to launch a tradition of season openers at the Georgia Dome. The Alabama-Clemson game will be televised on ESPN or ABC and organized by Atlanta's Chick-fil-A Bowl staff.

The Chick-fil-A Bowl matches teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference, and bowl president Gary Stokan said the plan is to select teams from those conferences for future season-opening games at the Georgia Dome, a neutral site.

Auburn beat Clemson 23-20 in overtime in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on Monday night.

Clemson will return for its second consecutive game in the Georgia Dome and will play three straight games against teams now in the SEC for the first time since 1925. Clemson closed its regular season by beating South Carolina.

The last time Clemson played Alabama was 1975, and the 56-0 rout was the Crimson Tide's 11th straight win in the series.

"Do you happen to have the score from that last game?" Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said Friday. "It's not a rivalry."

(AP Photo/John Bazemore and AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

BOWLING: IT WAS FUN WHILE IT LASTED

(Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

BEAUTY...

(Photos by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

...AND THE BEAST.

Justin Roberts, 12, of Arlington, Va., cheers before the start of the Sugar Bowl at the Superdome. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

(Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images)

(AP Photo/Reinhold Matay)

(AP Photo/Reinhold Matay)

Desmond Reed #23 of the USC Trojans flips into the end zone in celebration of his touchdown as defensive back Justin Harrison #32 of the Illinois Fighting Illini in the first quarter during the Rose Bowl. The hot dog move cost the Trojans 15yards and earned Reed a tounge lashing.

(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

(Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

(Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

It's not as weird as it first looks. Aquatic athletes take a moment out of their practice as they stand on a rooftop at a swimming pool adjacent to the football practice field to watch as Southern California quarterback John David Booty, in yellow, runs a pass play during a practice Friday, Dec. 28, 2007, in Los Angeles.

(AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

ARE YOU KIDDIN'? The band sold out too...The Erath High School marching band from Lafayette, Louisiana performs during half-time of the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

(Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

Fans Jacob Thompson, 6, of Columbia, Mo., and Jack Nibert, 9, of Wichita, Kan., root for Missouri.

(Tim Sharp/Associated Press)

(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

DUDE...


(Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

(Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)

(Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)