Tuesday, February 7, 2012
The enigmatic Gale Agbossoumonde talks about his soccer odyssey and why he joined the Carolina RailHawks
Even at his young age, Agbossoumonde has already enjoyed and endured enough experiences to fill a lifetime. From fleeing his war-torn native Togo, where his father died when Agbossoumonde was only 7, to settling in upstate New York with his mother and seven siblings (his oldest sister still lives in Africa) to a still-nascent professional soccer career that is already the stuff of lore, the man nicknamed “Boss” has garnered a cult status in the American soccer landscape.
My meeting with Gale Agbossoumonde (pronounced ga-LAY ag-BOOS-ooh-mon-day) comes on the advent of the latest chapter in his professional odyssey. Two days before interviewing him at WakeMed Soccer Park, Agbossoumonde arrived in Cary to begin a season-long loan to the Carolina RailHawks.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Blue Devils demolish UNC to go to 10-0 in ACC
CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM/DURHAM It’s yet another installment in the Battle of the Blues, meaning there’s going to be a near-sellout crowd tonight.
- Photo courtesy Duke athletics
- Duke guard Tricia Liston
Duke (18-3, 9-0 ACC) comes in ranked No. 5 in the nation, hoping to keep alive a chance for the No. 1 seed in the Raleigh Regional. No. 22 UNC (17-5, 7-2) still has an outside chance for the ACC regular-season title if the Tar Heels can claim an upset tonight. Carolina has been walking a tightrope to stay in the Top 25 for six weeks, and saved it again with a 64-56 home-court win over Virginia Friday night.
Both teams are strongest at the center position, where UNC Chay Shegog is cementing her case for first-team All-ACC and the Blue Devils’ freshman Elizabeth Williams is a lock for rookie of the year.
This time the night belongs to Duke, which takes control after the opening minutes and rolls to a 96-56 rout in front of 8,595.
“No,” intoned Coach K, when asked if he knew why Duke lacked energy for the first 20 minutes, and let the silence sit for five long seconds.
“I don’t have an explanation,” explained Ryan Kelly.
“Weak,” said Austin Rivers.
“Some of basketball, a lot of it, just comes from effort,” offered Miami head coach Jim Larranaga.
Down 28-42 after a miserable half, Duke made an effort. After symbolically coming off the bench again, Seth Curry, in one of his best performances as a Blue Devil, might have thought he was back at Liberty University, slashing to the basket and hitting threes, pull-up jumpers and drives on his way to a team-high 22 points in 39 minutes, with four assists, three steals and no turnovers on the side. With the unusually ineffective Mason on the bench, Miles Plumlee poked balls away from the dangerous Mr. Johnson. Rivers rebounded, early and often, coast-to-coasting twice. Quinn Cook pounded his chest and asserted himself on defense, including a forced air-ball from Malcolm Grant after a Miami timeout, with 3:02 left in the game and Duke down by one point, whereupon the home crowd stood up as one body and filled Cameron Indoor Stadium with the feeling of a destiny and a game about to be won.
Everyone—Duke, Miami, the fans, the media—had been waiting for this moment all night, perhaps all season, and for some of the youngest in the crowd, maybe their whole lives. Because the crowd seemed back, after weeks of scolding in the media for lack of volume and verve. Body painted students lined the rows, shaking off some early-game complaints about sore hands and throats unused to weaponized cheering. Miami’s huddle faced some semblance of a shout-down during timeouts. A cameraman nodded in satisfaction. Chants of “please don’t eat me” sailed out towards fat players, and refs were urged to seek alternative professions and consult specialty doctors. Cameron seemed loud again, and Miami had never won here, and it was going to stay that way.
After all, Duke wins these games, at home, despite difficult makes by Johnson over the outstretched hands of Miles, despite a miss at the line by Rivers that might have put Duke up by one, despite miserable first halves. Duke had to win after Miami couldn’t get a shot off and the game went into overtime, with their best three-point shooter fouled out, and the Blue Devils guards about to drive with total ferocity and earn six free throws in the extra period, two by Curry (89 percent), two by Cook (81 percent), two by Rivers (68 percent)?
Zero for six. Lose by four. “You can’t cheat the game,” Krzyzewski zenned. He was pissed off after this one, like a dad that raised 31 children and somehow ended up with a 32nd who didn’t look like any of the others, or him, or the mom, and wrecked the car again and again despite getting straight As and remembering everyone’s birthday. “You got to play that way all the time, and then I think free throws go in at the end. At least most often than not.”
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Wolfpack's road gets tougher with 55-47 home loss to Virginia
- Photo by Chris Baird
- State's Marissa Kastanek corrals a loose ball as Simone Egwu looks on.
And today the Wolfpack women’s team will continue it.
It’s undoubtedly a big one, as the Wolfpack (14-9, 4-6) will take on Virginia (16-7, 4-6) for sole possession of seventh place in the ACC.
The Cavaliers are coached by Duke alumna Joanne Boyle, and have been in town for the weekend after losing a tough battle at No. 23 UNC 64-56 on Friday night.
Five ACC teams — Duke, Miami, Maryland, UNC and Georgia Tech in that order — are fairly certain to get NCAA bids. And there will probably be one more spot coming from among the Wahoos, Wolfpack and Florida State.
The Wolfpack likely needs six wins to get it, and would have to beat every unranked team on the schedule and get one significant upset to get over the hurdle. That makes this one a “must” win.
And it’s Virginia that gets it, leading almost the whole way in a 55-47 victory.
The Terrapins have handed the Heels disappointment and devastation in the past decade, particularly in College Park. The national champion 2009 Tar Heels weren’t able to defeat Maryland there (admittedly, a better version), and thus this year’s Heels definitely accomplished something meaningful prior to Duke.
Carolina again struggled to find the mark offensively. The Heels shot 44 percent for the game, finally raising their percentage down the stretch after absorbing the Terps’ haymakers all day. Tyler Zeller is beginning to separate himself from everyone else on the club, piling up another 22 points (7-for-12 field goals), seven rebounds and two blocks.
Kendall Marshall played horribly early but regained his poise and in the decisive minutes delivered beautiful passes to maximize each UNC possession. He tallied a monstrous 16 assists, and most of his six turnovers occurred early.
John Henson didn’t earn himself any fans by dunking the ball in the closing seconds, but he deserves credit for continuing to work hard against aggressive Maryland defense. He contributed 17 points and 12 rebounds in 36 grueling minutes.
In fact, Roy Williams essentially voted no confidence in his bench. Marshall played 38 minutes while Harrison Barnes logged 35 and Reggie Bullock 34. Carolina’s once-impressive depth has been worn to the nub due to season-ending injuries suffered by Leslie McDonald and Dexter Strickland.
Barnes’ sprained ankle also has begun to toll ominously. He twisted it against Wake Forest and aggravated the injury against the Terps — how healthy will he be when the Devils stroll into the Smith Center? After the game he compared the pain to getting shot, obviously not a promising sign going forward.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
The Ballad of Bzdelik: Scott Wood’s sharpshooting propels N.C. State over Wake Forest 87-76
- Lauren Carroll/Winston-Salem Journal
- Jeff Bzdelik (beneath hands)
Instead, my takeaway from will be something far more mundane and perplexing. In a world where “coach-speak” and “player-speak” are the order of the day, the postgame press conference performance by Wake Forest coach Jeff Bzdelik was an exercise in existentialism. There was no ranting or raving, no wild-eyed lunacy, and no pronounced expressions of madness. Just a slowly simmering attempt to find meaning in athletic existence in the wake of losing one of the few conference games this year that the Wake gaffer thought was there for the taking. I’ve titled it “The Ballad of Bzdelik.”
Shegog, Tar Heels hold off Wahoos to sweep season series
- Photo by Chris Baird
- UNC's Tierra Ruffin-Pratt drives past Virginia's Ariana Moorer.
The No. 23 Tar Heels (16-5, 6-2 ACC) come into tonight’s televised game with Virginia (16-7, 4-5) looking to establish themselves more solidly in the ACC’s upper third with a first-round bye in next month’s tournament.
It won’t likely be a cakewalk, as the Tar Heels won the teams’ first meeting 78-73 in double overtime Jan. 5 in Charlottesville.
Adding spice to the cauldron is that Virginia’s first-season coach Joanne Boyle is a former long-time assistant at her alma mater Duke. The Cavaliers, who are in the Triangle for the weekend and will be at N.C. State on Sunday, are likely on a crowded NCAA bubble.
The Tar Heels have to fight off a spirited comeback before securing the season sweep, coming away with a 64-56 decision for their fifth straight victory.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Hoop Cheese: The Twitter of our discontent, and getting ready for Duke-UNC bonfires
- File photo by D.L. Anderson
- Celebrating victory over Butler. April 5, 2010.
The pagans among us recall that Groundhog Day is a manifestation of the ancient practice of watching the sun go down. Forty-some days after the winter solstice marks the lowest point in meaningless non-conference games, Feb. 2 tells us that spring is on the way, and that we're halfway to the midpoint of March Madness.
But spring is only on the way when Duke and UNC meet in basketball. The women are doing it on Monday, and anticipation is so high for this showdown in Cameron Indoor Stadium that the Duke press office was moved to issue a hopeful memo to the media, alerting us to the possible spontaneous eruption of a bonfire. Duke students "may celebrate afterward with a bonfire in the West Campus residential quad area."
And why, the city fire marshall "has approved plans for a bonfire in front of House P."
The men have a game going on Wednesday, Feb. 8. It's at 9 p.m. in Chapel Hill. If UNC wins, students *may* concoct a daring plan to occupy a street somewhere in town and jump over small bonfire-lets. If Duke wins, we'll be making a beeline for House P.
But, back to the awful winter, the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by the sum of tweets. But now, there will be tweets no more, as our resident anti-Shakespearean Adam Sobsey relates.
The December run of awful blowouts was made tolerable partly by unfiltered frankness from players via their Twitter thingies. But Mike Krzyzewski and his grim-visag'd henchmen with unwrinkled suits have stepped in to save the players from themselves accept the players' wise self-censorship. No more loose tweets leading to defeats.
By the way, basketball may on the march in Raleigh but the point production is suffering. Neil Morris tells us about it after the jump. Potter, Harrington and Sobsey follow.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM/DURHAM With apologies to Warren Harding, Duke faces a return to normalcy tonight in women’s basketball with a home game against Wake Forest.
- Photo courtesy Duke athletics
- Duke forward Haley Peters
Duke has won 26 straight conference games at Cameron and 36 against the Deacons, who have long been in the conference’s middle class under Mike Petersen. The last time the Deacons were really close at the end of a Duke game was a five-point loss in the 2003 ACC Tournament, and Duke won 76-58 on Jan. 6 in Winston-Salem.
This time the Blue Devils dominate more, rolling to a 75-43 rout.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
- File photo by Arianna Hoffmann
- Assists maven Kendall Marshall loves to share
In its past three road games — versus Wake, Virginia Tech and Florida State — Carolina has shot poorly in five of the six halves. Beginning with the second half against the Deacons and counting backward, here are the gruesome percentages: 28, 34, 52, 41, 33 and 41.
Apart from the strong 52 percent the Heels notched against the Hokies to pull away in that game, even the team’s top scorers have struggled outside the Chapel Hill border. The club’s 2-1 record during those contests includes two victories over weak opponents — Wake is now 2-6 against ACC foes, while Tech is 1-5 — and a humiliating blowout loss versus FSU.
A genuine national contender shouldn’t sustain droughts over such a compressed period of time, and Carolina’s title hopes will prove unrealistic unless the Heels bring their offense with them to hostile or neutral court environments.
On the other hand, Carolina played superlative defense against the Deacons. Yes, Wake is a bad team, but the Heels’ effort on that end of the court deserves praise. UNC shut down the interior yet also smothered three-point shooters, limiting the Deacs to just 2-for-18 from deep.
Tyler Zeller continues to shine and has been Carolina’s most complete player. The senior big man missed a few chip shots (like everyone else) but finished with 18 points (5-for-13 field goals) and 18 rebounds. He’s hitting the glass with such tenacity that John Henson’s rebounding numbers have taken a slight hit recently.
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