Joel Bulkley
With N&O sports columnist Luke DeCock gone, there’s no “sports conscience” in print for the Triangle to rail about honor, integrity, equity–things likeTrump’s “Save College Sports” confab, FIFA’s price gouging for World Cup tickets, parking, NFL Thanksgiving TV expansion, etc. In the meantime, I guess Scott Fowler, the all-everything columnist/ sportswriter for Charlotte, will have to be tasked to assume the role.
DeCock spent 25 years at the N&O. He moved to Chicago last fall, commuted or wrote from home until the end of the year when the job apparently ended. He still posts on Bluesky about Canes hockey and the ACC.
Another change at the N&O, Patrick Stevens, college hoops bracketologist, is now a “correspondent.” He was at WaPo for years.
Credit to the Daily Tar Heel for The Shot special edition on Seth Trimble’s game-winner against Duke in the Smith Center. Pix on the front page was great. The pre-game joint Rivalry Edition with Duke Chronicle, 40 pages, the largest ever, was fun.
I’ve noticed how lightly the N&O and others comment about UNC and other ACC teams underachieving in basketball. Usually they lay it entirely on the head coach. Coach Davis, for example, is in charge but his assistant coaches don’t seem to excel or develop any aspect of the game so little improvement in play is evident as the season winds down. Maybe some new faces, elite coaches, would help.
Davis had a much better year in recruiting and team chemistry and brought more success, silencing some critics for the moment.
Odds and Ends. Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson was knee deep in sports. He was QB at NC A&T in Greensboro and spoke at Jackie Robinson’s funeral. In February Carrboro paused consideration of a 6-month trial closing of E.Weaver St for a pedestrian mall or bikeway for 6 months. U.S. medal winners in the Winter Olympics in Milan were rewarded for success: gold medal $37,500, silver $22,500, bronze $15,000. The ‘28 Olympics, based in LA, will play soccer games in five states–Queens, NY, Columbus, Nashville, St. Louis, San Jose, San Diego. Early voting for the primary in Orange County totaled 15,417 voters. Orange Works, Hillsborough, had the most (4190), Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill, the fewest (964). March 30 is Take a Walk in the Park Day. Banana Ball visits Chapel Hill and Charlotte this spring. Otherwise, you can watch any of 26 Banana ball games on Disney networks (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2). The UNC games are not on the TV schedule. Wallet Hub says Durham is the country’s 24th happiest city, Raleigh 22, I don’t believe it. Fremont, CA was first. NCCU lost 70-63 to Howard in the MEAC tournament final. Too bad there’s nobody writing about it…