A couple of sports things

I was listening to the pregame for the Tar Heels game against Winthrop the other night on the radio. They interviewed Winthrop's coach Gregg Marshall and asked him about taking the College of Charleston job and then changing his mind the next day and coming back to Winthrop. He said he realized that it wasn't about money and he and his family were happy in Rock Hill, SC. I understand the part about it's not all about money, but I can't imagine anyone being happy in Rock Hill, SC.

The GD Heels website is really irritating me. I know they are a mouthpiece of the University's athletic department, but that doesn't mean I have to believe the nonsense they write. Here's a quote from the Wake Forest game guide (you might remember this is after being shutout on national television by Virginia and the announcement that the head coach will be fired at the end of the season) "Bunting termed the passing offense last week at Virginia 'anemic' and 'imprecise.' The trouble was, Carolina got down to an early 9-0 deficit and were forced to abandon a successful running game for said passing game." I realize 9 points is more than one score, but if the running game is successful and the passing game is anemic I don't see any reason why you would abandon the running game. Then today reflecting on John Bunting's tenure as coach another commentator cites the Heels difficult schedule during the past few years. Here's another quote "Tar Heel fans wished for a more challenging schedule back in the early 1990s when Army, Navy, Ohio, UTEP, SMU, TCU, Miami (Ohio), Furman and Tulane dotted the schedule. What is they say about being careful what you wish for?" Maybe if you measure a successful program based on wins and not quality wins, this is what you want. However, nobody w/ any sense thinks undefeated Boise St is a threat in the national championship picture and undefeated Rutgers despite playing in a BCS conference is generally regarded as an outsider to the national championship game. I want UNC to build a program that can compete w/ any football team in the country, and you do that by playing quality opponents. I also want UNC's official website to stick to parking updates, game times, and quotes from players and coaches and leave the analysis to people who aren't employees of the athletic department.

Finally, while I'm looking forward to the Ohio St/Michigan game tomorrow and I can even live w/ the hyperbole that calls it "Judgment Day," to call it the biggest rivalry in all of college football is ridiculous. There are any number of games (Army/Navy, Auburn/Alabama, Oklahoma/Texas, Notre Dame/USC, etc.) that mean just as much to the fans of the school as this game does. Sure they may not have national championship implications this year, but that doesn't make it less of a rivalry. I guess I'm asking for the impossible when I say sports media should remember something from more than 10 minutes ago, but next year when another big rivalry has national title implications I won't buy the hype that it somehow has become bigger than any other matchup in the history of college football.