I have about a million random sports related thoughts banging around in my head. Here are just a few.

Man I hate that the victory bell is in Durham. It just doesn’t seem right to not have the bell on display at its home in Chapel Hill.

Speaking of college football and in state rivalries, does Carolina get credit for two wins last weekend? It appears they broke NC State’s morale so bad the Wolfpack laid down for Virginia the following week. Seems to me State lost to UNC twice.

Notre Dame is playing good football and nobody is happier about it than the president of NBC. It seems that lifetime television contract is finally beginning to pay off again.

As a fan of the ACC, I hope the Fighting Irish continue their winning ways. While Notre Dame isn’t officially joining the league in football they are committed to playing five ACC games a year. Notre Dame’s success is great for the conference.

Good teams sell tickets, even on the road. Notre Dame at UNC, Duke, State or almost any other ACC school will all but guarantee a sellout if the Irish are in the national title chase.

Annually playing a top 15 team may be challenging but it adds credibility to both the league and the strength of schedule of its members. This helps with recruiting, fundraising and marketing… three things big time college football programs do well.

Andrew Luck is a really good football player. This is probably not new information for those reading the sports column, however I felt it warranted repeating because he is just THAT good.

While I am still trying to enjoy as much of the college football season as I can I would be amiss and a terrible Tar Heel if I didn’t mention the start of basketball season. Play begins this week and I am excited.

My beloved Heels will be young and chock full of potential, but I expect they will break my heart several times throughout the year. The talent difference between prep play and ACC basketball is vast. It takes young players some time to transition their game and body to the condition required to be effective in this league.

I hate that we will be young and rebuilding whilst Duke remains talented and NC State appears to be prepared to show off their bi-decennial quality basketball squad. If UNC is going to struggle at all I prefer if the Blue Devils and Wolfpack to struggle more. I can still hope I guess.

The NBA season has begun as well. I want to see what the Lakers will look like healthy. I don’t care how much they lose early in the season, if they stay healthy long enough to build some chemistry together then they can be stupid good.

The Brooklyn Nets uniforms are nice, I dig the black and white unis!

Lane Kiffin may get fired at the end of the year. In separate news… I might point and laugh at Lane Kiffin at the end of the year.

Congratulations to Chowan University for fielding what appears to be a really good football team. I have been a fan of all things Chowan for some time and it is great to see them have so much success on the gridiron. Go Hawks!

 

David Friedman is a long-time contributor to Roanoke-Chowan Publications. A Bertie High School graduate, he and his wife currently reside in Wilmington. David can be reached via e-mail at dave@gate811.net.