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.

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

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.

Wait! Before you close the tab, curse and stomp off into the other room, hear me out. I’m not here to rip NC State fans. Plenty of people have done that already. I’m just trying to rationally explain the other side of the argument.

Unless you have been under a rock during the last week or so, you know what the national talking heads have to say about the status of NC State basketball. Gary Parrish compared NCSU to Khloe Kardashian, Seth Davis feels very similar, telling Wolfpack fans to be patient. Jeff Goodman, Gregg Doyel and other have taken shots too. You get the point.

While discussing these separate arguments would be fun, that’s not the real reason I’m writing this piece. My focus, and hope, is to steer the conversation away from the past and toward the future (something that would do everyone a lot of good), a future which will very soon include a search for a new head basketball coach. Barring a turnaround of epic proportions, Debbie Yow and Co. will be on the prowl very soon, looking to find the next coach willing to take on the “challenge” of being the head man at NC State.

Back to the analogy.

Fans have to realize what NC State basketball IS during the next coaching search, not what they want it to be or what it was 30 years ago. NC State is the fourth or fifth best job in the country’s premier basketball conference (generally speaking) with a passionate fan base, exceptional facilites, resources and a high ceiling.

I’ll say it again: NC State is the fourth of fifth best job in the country’s premier basketball conference (generally speaking) with a passionate fan base, exceptional facilites and resources and a high ceiling.

For those unwilling to accept this truth, now may be the time to close the tab and move on with your day. For the rational folks still hanging on, let’s talk a little more about what this means, or more importantly, what it doesn’t mean.

It doesn’t mean NC State can’t compete with its two-tone blue rivals down Interstate 40. Wolfpack fans should expect to compete with North Carolina and Duke on an annual basis and any incoming coach has to embrace that fact if he has any chance at long-term success. See Herb Sendek debacle for more.

It doesn’t mean NC State can’t have sustained success in the ACC. Even with all the struggles of the last, oh, 20 years or so, State is still third in the conference in regular season (7) and tournament (10) titles. That is something to be proud of, sure, but it shouldn’t be an expectation to live up to. The occasional regular season crown and deep run in Greensboro should be more than enough for State.

It doesn’t mean NC State can’t be a player on the national level. A baseline expectation for any coach who makes his way to Raleigh is to go to the NCAA Tournament, and often. Once that foundation has been built expectations can expand to include consistent Sweet 16 appearances coupled with deeper runs into the Elite 8 and even Final Four. But to expect anyone to come in and immediately start competing for National Championships just doesn’t make sense, and only further complicates the challenge of coming to Raleigh. Aim for greatness, but don’t require it — at least not right this second.

I’m not sure NC State basketball will ever be what it was in its heyday, but that’s ok. That doesn’t mean it can’t be good — or even great. But it takes time, and based on the product put on the court in recent years, it could take more time than most would like.

Those fans who expect things to magically return to the days of Case, Sloan and Valvano are just as misguided as the guy who woke up this morning, looked in the mirror and wondered if he could get his abs back in a week. Be realistic when looking in the mirror, it’ll help your mental state and make the next month and a half a heck of a lot easier to stomach.

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.

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.

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.

Push back from the table before you kill yourself

Why is it that a holiday that technically lasts just one day gives everyone an excuse to gain 20 lbs. over the course of a month? Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for Pecan pie and Honey Baked Ham on Christmas day, but do we really need four million pounds of fudge every other day of the month too? By the time Christmas presents are opened the size 36 pants purchased on Black Friday from JC Penny’s 75% off rack need to be returned for 38′s or 40′s. Don’t be that person. You know, the one who comes back to the table with his third plate and gets the wide-eyed look from everyone else. The one who gets the “where are you putting all that” comment from Grandma. Save yourself the embarrassment, and cost of a new wardrobe, and just say no to 3,000 calories in one sitting. The buttons on your pants, belts and arteries will thank you later.

Terrible Christmas cards

I got this one from my friend Jim Young over at the ACC Sports Journal. Hadn’t really thought about it, but when I did, I realized how much I despise these things. My apologies, but I don’t give a crap how much your heathen child has grown in the last year. Christmas cards, in a weird way, are sort of a friend barometer. When you sit down to send the cards, it’s a more complicated process than what the NCAA selection committee goes through each March. Who are your last four in? Last four out? On the flip side, the same is true about the cards you receive. If you don’t receive a card from one of your “close friends,” you feel betrayed and begin to question the entire friendship. Give me a break.

To finish this thing out, I’m going to give some 1-2 sentence thoughts on other topics that I don’t have the time (thanks Holiday Season) or energy to write paragraphs about.

Lexus Car Commericals — I know it’s the gift giving season and all, but does anyone really do this? It will be the “December to remember an absurd car payment” event.

Inflatable Christmas Decorations — I’d rather a house have 250,000 twinkling bulbs on it than have one blow up Nascar Santa in the yard.

The people who are done shopping — Screw you and the horse you road in on, you overachieving bunch of jerks. Just because you’re retired and free all day doesn’t mean you’re better than me.

Weathermen who predict snow on Christmas — We’re in North Carolina, where the chances of this are very slim. Quit ruining my chances of buying bread anytime in the next week! Yes, I’m looking at you Greg Fischel.

Assuming I see more absurd things worth posting in the next day or so, which is a given, I’ll have more thoughts tomorrow and Friday. Until then, I hope this holds you over.

One interesting discussion that seems to creep up ever year is the decision of how to greet people during the time period between Black Friday and sometime during the first week or two of January. Is it Merry Christmas, or Happy Holidays or the oh-so-awkward Season’s Greetings? Basically, do you walk the politically correct line or not?

Let’s consider the definition of the word politically correct.

Merriam-Wesbter

Conforming to a belief that language and practices which could offend political sensibilities (as in matters of sex or race) should be eliminated.

Urban Dictionary

A way that we speak in America so we don’t offend whining pussies.

My apologies, but I don’t give a crap about whining pussies. The overwhelming fear people have about offending someone is beyond absurd. It’s almost comical. You have these awkward interactions between people at cash registers and neither person knows what to say. Most company policies go the “Happy Holidays” route, and that is fine. But what if a customer says Merry Christmas first? Then what? Or what if your beliefs are so strong that you prefer to say Merry Christmas? How do you proceed? Would a company fire an employee who won’t stick to the Happy Holidays montra? Sadly, the answer to that is probably yes.

As my good friend Ben pointed out on Twitter, this conversation is more about stupidity than anything else. If people aren’t smart enough to figure out that I don’t mean to offend them when I say “Merry Christmas” I don’t want to talk to them anyway.

I asked my followers about this today and the response was overwhelmingly pro-Merry Christmas. Here are some choice answers.

@benmcneely: Let me revise and extent my remarks: Use whichever greeting you want. If someone gets offended, punch them in the face.

@mccaulpaul28: Neither. Tell store clerks to hurry up and scan my damn items, run my card and bag my stuff. I’m a busy man.

@austin__johnson: Happy Holidays… is what terrorists say; Merry Christmas.

@jeremymoorenc: Merry Christmas sounds heartfelt and personal. Happy Holidays sounds douchey.

@RnR_NCSU: Merry X-Mas. Just ’cause I’m a big fan of the letter X.

Stay tuned for Wednesday’s Whine and much more about Christmas in the next couple of days. As usual, I’ll leave you with an awful Christmas song…

I see she got the matching fingernails...classy.

Happy Monday before Christmas everyone! I’m sure there is no stress in your life today, especially since all of my readers have had their Christmas shopping done for a month. Right?

Today’s topic is a couple of weeks old and could have/maybe should have been discussed in the first or second whine about Christmas, but I waited until today. That said, I have a question: Do you have a Christmas sweater in your closet that shouldn’t see the light of day? How about one with yarn hanging off it representing snow? Or maybe even one with lights? Those are pretty rare, but I’ve seen one within the last 10 days. There could be one with bells? Or glitter? Or a big bow?

While I fully accept that tacky Christmas sweaters are a part of the season (and arguably, one of the least annoying parts), I still don’t understand them. Why would any mother, grandmother or crazy aunt think it’s a good idea to put on something that makes them look like the ugliest present under the tree? There are even web sites out there to help folks find the perfect ugly sweater.

Here’s another question, aimed at the sweaters with very intricate beading, sequins or lights of some sort. When was the last time they were washed? 1992? I’m sure it smells great, especially considering the fact that it’s been worn twice a week every December for the last decade. No way it would be musty or anything. Not a chance.

Last thing on sweaters: why in the heck have they become the reason (in some cases, the only reason) for people to have parties? Is your life — and group of friends — so truly pathetic that the only idea you can come up with for a party during the holidays is to have everyone dress like someone from Who-ville?

Stay tuned in the next couple of days. Since I’m the world’s worst procrastinator I will be braving malls and stores today and Wednesday. At some point I’m going to have to touch on retail. That could get ugly. Until then…I leave you with Band Aid.

I'm surprised there isn't a traffic jam in Crossroads on Google Images

First of all, I apologize to those people not anywhere near the Raleigh area reading this. You won’t have any appreciation for the topic of today’s post, but for your sake, just think of your least favorite shopping center in the area where you live and multiply it by 30 in your head. It should do the trick.

Crossroads Plaza (I thought it was just Crossroads shopping center, but it is in Cary, so Plaza is a lot more appropriate) is an open air shopping center with about 60 different shops and restaurants right at the corner of where U.S. 1, Interstate 40 and the 440 Beltline come together between the main section of Cary and Raleigh. It’s also a place where on Saturday’s, especially the one right before Christmas, you simply cannot turn left. It’s literally impossible.

I made the mistake of venturing inside the plaza yesterday and saw vehicles attempt things I never thought I would. A Honda Civic up on a curb, a Toyota Tundra just hanging out in the middle of a four-way stop for five minutes, I think you get the point. And then the snow started. Snow always helps drivers in North Carolina perform better. At one point, actually at several points, I feared for my life.

The problem with Crossroads, for those who haven’t been there, is that the design of the place doesn’t exactly allow for great traffic flow. In fact, around 3 p.m. Saturday, I’d say there was actually NO traffic flow. Crossroads traffic is the type of traffic that confuses you. It makes you question everything you know about how stop lights should work. And it makes you call your friends so that you can describe the retardedness (I’ll always find a way to sneak this word in my posts).

Here’s some free advice for those of you who haven’t finished with your Christmas shopping. Don’t go to Crossroads this week. Unless you have a two or three hours to spare, save yourself the trouble.