Duke WR Holliday Critically Injured In Boating Accident

Duke wide receiver Blair Holliday is in critical condition after a jet ski accident Wednesday at Lake Tillery about one hour outside of Charlotte, NC.

North Carolina Wildlife officials told the News and Observer on Thursday that Holliday unintentionally collided with an unidentified Blue Devil teammate while riding on the lake.  

The school issued a statement Thursday to confirm the injury. He was transported to the UNC Trauma Center in Chapel Hill and is listed in critical condition.

"First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with Blair, his parents, Leslie and Rick, and the entire Holliday family," said Duke coach David Cutcliffe. "The Holliday family is one of tremendous character and strength, and is truly an inspiration for all of us. Secondly, we could not be more appreciative of the care and support Blair has received here at UNC Hospitals. The doctors, nurses and support staff have been truly outstanding."

"We ask that you continue to keep Blair and his family in your thoughts, and also respect their privacy in this time of concern."

The sophomore wide receiver has recorded just three catches for 30 yards, but is expected to start this fall for the Blue Devils. At the conclusion of spring practice, he was named Duke's Most Improved Offensive Player.

Video Of The Day

On a much much lighter note, there’s this. Sit back relax and enjoy the show…Props to T.A.H. Pop Culture Editor Young A.T. for the heads up!

Former ACC Commish Corrigan Thinks Notre Dame Is Perfect For ACC

Former Virginia and Notre Dame Athletic Director Gene Corrigan thinks the Golden Domers would be a perfect fit both academically and athletically in the ever-expanding ACC because, among other reasons, the Irish feature all the “preppy sports” that Duke, Virginia and North Carolina have…

To read more, including the former ACC Commissioner’s role in league expansion, click here.

Pictures Of The Day

Switzerland's Roger Federer shakes hand swith Serbia's Novak Djokovic (L) after his men's singles semi-final victory on day 11 of the 2012 Wimbledon Championships tennis tournament at the All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 6, 2012.  For Federer, it's Wimbledon final No. 8, while Andy Murray will become the first native son in a final at the All England Club since 1938. Feder is the only male player in tennis history to have reached the title match of each Grand Slam tournament at least 5 times. (Getty Images)

Thankfully, the Olympics are in London so we can get more of this.  Here, fans enjoy the atmosphere on Murray Mount on day eleven of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 6, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Happy July 4th and 5th (And Maybe 6th, Who Knows?)

(Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

R.I.P. Andy Griffith 1926 - 2012

Like it or not, the ACC wouldn’t be what it is without the state of North Carolina, and North Carolina wouldn’t be what it is without Andy Griffith.

Griffith, the actor who played folksy Sheriff Andy Taylor in the fictional town of Mayberry, died today at the age of 86.

Griffith died at about 7 a.m. at his home on Roanoke Island, according to Dare County, North Carolina, Sheriff J.D. "Doug" Doughtie.

Best known for his role on "The Andy Griffith Show," the University of North Carolina music graduate also starred as a murder-solving Southern attorney in the television series "Matlock" during the 1980s and 1990s. He was also known for his roles in movies and on the stage, as a producer and as a Grammy Award-winning gospel singer.

"North Carolina has lost its favorite son," Gov. Beverly Perdue said.

"Throughout his career, he represented everything that was good about North Carolina: a small town boy and UNC graduate who took a light-hearted approach to some of the attributes he grew up with and turned them into a spectacularly successful career," she said. "And regardless of where that career took him, he always came back to North Carolina and spent his final years here."

Actor and director Ron Howard, who played Griffith's son, Opie Taylor, on "The Andy Griffith Show," said he is "forever grateful" to the actor.

"His pursuit of excellence and the joy he took in creating served generations & shaped my life," Howard said on Twitter.

Air Jordan’s Son Arrested

Central Florida basketball player Marcus Jordan, the son of former NBA great Michael Jordan, was arrested in Omaha early Sunday following a disturbance outside a downtown hotel.

According to a news release, police responding to a call at the Embassy Suites found hotel security trying to subdue Marcus Jordan, who was having an argument with two women in the hotel driveway at 2:11 a.m.

The release said Jordan was ''very animated, intoxicated and uncooperative,'' and it took multiple officers to control and handcuff him.

Jordan was booked at the Douglas County Department of Corrections for resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and obstructing. He had been released by Sunday night.

Jordan, a rising senior, averaged 13.7 points for UCF last season.

FSU Running Back Out Of The Slammer

ESPN -  Florida State running back James Wilder Jr. was released from the Leon County Jail at 9 a.m. on Saturday after spending more than a week behind bars.

Wilder admitted to violating his probation during a plea hearing Thursday and was sentenced to 11 days in jail, with credit for eight already served.

That put his expected release date as Sunday, but by Saturday afternoon the rising sophomore was out of jail and already had taken to Twitter, saying, "It feel good to be known as james wilder jr again instead of a number."

Wilder was in jail after failing a breathalyzer test before a court-mandated work-camp day earlier this month. He had previously been sentenced to probation and work camp after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest in April.

His lawyer, Tim Jansen, said the player had hoped to fight the most recent charge in court, but a trial would have required several more weeks of jail time after Wilder's bond was revoked, potentially jeopardizing his chances of playing football this season.

Wilder still must complete two additional anger management classes -- he's finished three already -- and is to remain on probation until October.

Florida State has not issued an official statement regarding potential punishments for Wilder, but because the charge was only classified as a misdemeanor, coach Jimbo Fisher is not required to issue a suspension. Jansen said he has remained in close contact with Fisher throughout the past two weeks and said he was led to believe Fisher was unlikely to hand down any harsh punishment.

ACC, Orange Bowl Set 12-Year Deal

The Discover Orange Bowl will be played on New Year's Day at 1 p.m. ET and annually feature a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference beginning after 2014 as a result of a 12-year agreement announced Tuesday by the ACC and the bowl's committee.

The game will feature the champion of the ACC, unless the conference's top team is chosen as one of the nation's top four teams to play in the newly announced playoffs. In that case, a replacement team from the ACC would play in the Orange Bowl.

"The ACC and Discover Orange Bowl have a terrific relationship and, as we look ahead to the future of postseason college football, this will further an already beneficial partnership for both organizations," ACC commissioner John Swofford said in a statement. "The Discover Orange Bowl has a rich history of prestige, is located within the league's footprint and is a great destination for our student-athletes, alumni and fans. In addition to our continued partnership, we are very pleased to be playing annually on New Year's Day."

In addition, the Orange Bowl said it anticipates that it will host at least four semifinal games in the new playoff system.

The ACC has sent its champion to the South Florida-based bowl every year since 2006, and this announcement means that relationship will continue when the Bowl Subdivision makes the switch to a four-team playoff in two years.

"The Orange Bowl is extremely pleased to continue its relationship with the Atlantic Coast Conference," O. Ford Gibson, president and chair of the Orange Bowl Committee said in the statement. "We are looking forward to entering this new era of postseason collegiate football with a valued partner and its historically successful member institutions."

The ACC becomes the fifth major conference to announce a tie with a bowl that expects to be part of the pool of six bowls from which two semifinal sites will rotate. The Big 12 and Southeastern Conference are creating the Champions Bowl for their representatives, while the Big Ten and Pac-12 are committed to the Rose Bowl.

Rodney Hood To Transfer To Duke

By Dave Telep | ESPN.com

Former Mississippi State standout Rodney Hood decided Saturday to transfer to Duke.

Hood must sit out next season under NCAA transfer rules but will have three years of eligibility remaining.

"I feel like coach (Mike Krzyzewski) and the staff can get the most out of me as a player and academically," Hood said. "I liked the teammates and felt like we have a good chance to compete for a championship."

Hood narrowed his transfer options to Ohio State, Memphis, Florida State and Duke. As a freshman last season for Mississippi State, Hood averaged 10 points and 4.8 rebounds in 32 minutes of action. He shot 36 percent behind the three-point arc.

Mississippi State, under former coach Rick Stansbury, won a contested recruiting battle to land Hood, an all-state player two years ago. Hood finished ranked No. 31 in the 2011 ESPN 100.

Stansbury retired in March.

Georgia Tech’s Corey Heyward To Miss 2012-13 Season With Knee Injury

Georgia Tech coach Brian Gregory says guard Corey Heyward is expected to miss the 2012-13 season after tearing a ligament in his left knee in a pickup game.

Heyward, a former standout at Peachtree Ridge High School in the Atlanta area, signed with Georgia Tech after spending one year at Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia.

Gregory on Monday said Heyward tore his left anterior cruciate ligament on Thursday and will have surgery in the next two weeks. The recovery period usually takes up to a year.

Heyward enrolled at Georgia Tech for summer semester.

Gregory says Heyward's injury is "a temporary setback."

Pictures Of The Day

Multiple exposures were combined in camera to produce this image.) Kennedy Baker practices on the beam before the start of competition on day 4 of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team Trials at HP Pavilion on July 1, 2012 in San Jose, California. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images North America)

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Dover White Chevrolet, and Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&Ms Red-White-Blue Toyota, lead the field pastr the green flag to start the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway on June 30, 2012 in Sparta, Kentucky. (Geoff Burke/Getty Images North America)

Groupama Sailing Team, skippered by Franck Cammas from France chase the fleet, at the start of leg 9 of the Volvo Ocean Race July 1, 2012 from Lorient, France to Galway, Ireland. (Volvo Ocean Race/Getty Images Europe)

Luigi Bruschelli della contrada Onda (parrocchia di onda) ha vinto la corsa del Palio a Siena, 2 luglio 2012. (Stefano Rellandini/Reuters)

Spain left no doubt who is still the best team in the world, beating Italy in the biggest final rout in championship history (4-0). David Silva, Jordi Alba, Fernando Torres and Juan Mata scored, and Iker Casillas pitched a fifth straight shutout. Spain became the first nation to notch the international treble -- two straight European championships with a World Cup in between. (Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images)

Doug O'Neill, trainer of Kentucky Derby winner "I'll Have Another", displays his betting ticket before cashing the 200-to-1 future bet on the horse at the Primm Valley Casino in Primm, Nevada June 25, 2012. O'Neill won $20,000 for his $100 bet, which he made in February, that the horse would win the Kentucky Derby. (Reuters)