Fourth Down and Long is going to have to punt

After four months of inactivity and brainstorming, Fourth Down and Long is coming to a close. I apologize for my lack of content, but life has been just a tad crazy since the latter portion of NC State’s basketball season and subsequent coaching search.

That said, I am not planning on not having a blog at all. It is, however, going to be changing. I’ve been brainstorming for some time now in an attempt to come up with a new platform and I think I’ve finally found it. The plan is to talk about ACC athletics while also touching on national topics from time to time. I’ll talk more about that when I publish my first post in the new space.

For now, bear with me. I’m hoping to make the new blog more sustainable than what I’ve had in the past. Stay tuned for more.

QB trick shot videos — my new pastime

Maybe my newfound love of football trick shot videos is a result of my God-given love of football. Maybe it’s the fact that I want it to be football season and I’m just going through my baseball Spring Training time of depression. Whatever the case may be, I can’t get enough of these videos.

The most recent, from Monmouth College’s Alex Tanney, responds to UCONN’s Johnny McEntee, who released his video Feb. 8. Tanney completed nearly 69 percent of his throws for 3,624 yards in 08-09 season before being injured last year. It’s tough to say who’s video is more impressive, but Tanney has gotten it done on the field. McEntee has compiled no statistics in his time at UCONN.

Both videos are below…enjoy.

Alex Tanney

Johnny McEntee

On NC State basketball, its fans and realistic expectations

Everyone comes to a point in their life when they wake up one morning, look in the mirror, and wonder — what the heck happened?

For some, it’s early onset wrinkles or gray hair. Others have to deal with certain places sagging more than they used to. For many, it’s the realization that every PBR and Natural Light they consumed in college has settled somewhere between their sternum and ever-expanding waistline.

Essentially, it’s the moment when folks begin to realize they aren’t young anymore — not the 20-year-old versions of themselves that actually attracted the opposite sex. They are fat, out of shape 30-year-olds who become more unhappy by the day.

But there is hope, yes hope. Sometime right after that initial “I’m old” moment passes, these same people begin to convince themselves they can regain their early-adult glory. Going to the gym will do the trick. Or maybe just a little light surgery. That’ll get the job done.

What those people fail to understand is that they don’t have to be exactly what they were 15, or 30, or even 40 years ago in some cases. They can take what they have, tweak it just a tad and get it to a place they can accept it and move forward. The most important part of this change, however, is not the realization that there is a problem, but developing a realistic plan to change it.

Enter NC State fans — an unhappy, overweight group still praying it can one day return to its mid-twenties glory.

Garner High School > NC State

Now that I’ve taken another one of my month-long breaks from writing, let’s say we jump back into this thing feet first.

Since August, I’ve had two main concerns when it comes to the writing I do for pay — Garner High School Athletics and NC State athletics (namely football and men’s basketball for both). Two very different entities, but both very rewarding ventures. I got to cover all but two of NC State’s football games and have covered several basketball games while not missing any events on the Garner side.

Last night, the two schedules collided for the first time, sort of. Garner played Clayton at 7:30 and NC State took on Clemson at 7 p.m.

I would not have driven to South Carolina to cover the game, but I certainly would have been watching and helping out with Pack Pride’s coverage if not for Garner’s game.

Needless to say, I chose Garner. It may have been the best decision I’ve made in quite some time. Rather than watch the Wolfpack build a 19-point first half lead only to royally blow it in the second half, I got to watch players who actually give a crap. Garner found itself down by 14 in the second quarter, but as good teams do (Garner is undefeated) the Trojans battled back and won by nine, 70-61.

Battling back in the face of adversity, what a novel idea?

Covering high school games might not come with cushy court-side seats, pre-game meals and quickie stats at halftime, but when you leave a high school sporting event there is no doubt everyone who played gave it their best effort. That effort may have been awful to watch in some cases (Garner beat a team by 55 last week), but at least it was their best.

Looking at the calendar, there are no other times when the two schedules collide, at least not right now. Too bad, I’d love to have to choose Garner again.

Hotel room floors, gas stations and NC State football

I’m thinking NC State should cover the $30 trip to Merchant’s that will be coming soon.

As I made the 10-hour drive from Orlando back to Raleigh Wednesday, I allowed myself to reminisce a little about NC State’s football season. Despite covering most of the games and being present for all but one of them, it was tough to remember anything other than long stretches of highway, stops at fast food restaurants and awkward sleeping arrangements.

Once I got back to my apartment, I immediately hopped on Google Maps to total the damage. I decided not to count games within North Carolina (I drove to Chapel Hill and Greenville) and went with just four trips — Georgia Tech, Clemson, Maryland and West Virginia. Let’s do some math. The mileage listed below includes return drives.

Raleigh, NC to Atlanta, GA: 800
Raleigh, NC to Clemson, SC: 580
Raleigh, NC to College Park, MD: 560
Raleigh, NC to Orlando, FL: 1,200

800+
580+
560+
1,200+
3,140 total miles

If you add in the trip to East Carolina, the drives were more negative than positive, at least from the NC State perspective. I watched the Wolfpack blow leads on three different occasions hundreds of miles from home. That said, I also watched State beat the 2009 ACC Champion and the 2010 Co-Big East Champion.

It would be very easy for me to complain about all the hours I spent in my incredibly reliable Honda Accord, but I’m going to venture in the opposite direction for the first time in a while and pull out the positives.

I’d like to thank Pack Pride for the opportunity to continue to do what I love and I’d like to thank family and friends for allowing me to sleep on guest beds, couches and hotel room floors. Looking back, every mile was worth it. Now, about that oil change.

Happy Festivus…and Merry Christmas

I’m all out of material this morning, covering NC State last night drained me. I’ll let Seinfeld take it from here. Stay tuned for more later today and tomorrow.

Wednesday Whine: Things I Hate About Christmas, Part III

With Christmas now less than three days away, today is one of my final chances to discuss all those things I despise so much about this “holiday.” At this point, I’m just ready for it all to be over. The stupid crowds of people, the ridiculously bad music, the pressure of gift buying, and on and on. I’m over it, and I haven’t even gone home yet.

I know I can’t be the only one who experiences the phenomenon of being tired of Christmas before it even arrives, right? That may be my biggest problem with this whole charade, is that by the time the 25th does get here, everyone is so exhausted they can’t even enjoy it. It’s 1:45 p.m. and I’m ready to go to sleep after shopping all morning (I finally finished, by the way). The only logical thing to do at this point is to petition for more hours in the day.

I can’t even imagine what people with kids feel like by now. The whole thing just screams awful. During a time when stress is supposed to be low, it’s always at its height. Doesn’t that just seem off?

Anyway, moving on to a couple of final thoughts about Christmas time and some of the bad things that come along with it. For those of you who plan on going back for seconds or thirds on Saturday, or even those who opt for the grazing approach where you just eat freaking day, you may not want to read the next section.