It was easy to fantasize about what this team could become. A friend even texted me afterward saying we should book tickets to Phoenix for the Final Four. That reaction is exactly what fans should guard against following Saturday's showcase. It was just that—a showcase.
Fans who think the regular season has been ruined by the creation of superteams might be surprised when they find themselves glued to their television sets starting Tuesday.
Once again, another team has been victimized by the NFL’s system for calling penalties—more specifically, by its rule that does not allow instant replay to apply to pass interference.
When Duke hired Ben Albert as the team’s defensive line coach last February, it was the start of an evolution for the Blue Devil defense.
It is possible and maybe even probable that the Blue Devils are the best team in the nation this year, and a national championship is a legitimate goal. But it should not be an expectation.
If there was ever a weekend that encapsulated the roller coaster that sports can take us on, this was it.
Instead of looking like a team on its way to another bowl, the Blue Devils find their season teetering and the progress they have made to get to this point is in jeopardy.
Regardless of whether Tebow actually makes it to the MLB, the former Heisman trophy winner will probably make Alderson’s $100,000 gamble pay off.
Through just eight Wild Card games, baseball fans have already seen the wide range of dramatic moments that a winner-take-all game can bring.
Although athletes often voice their opinions on relevant social and political issues, few do so as dramatically as Kaepernick.
In its solo act, the younger sibling stole the show and may have even lived up to the hype with its “best opening weekend ever.”
Duke has its hardest schedule in years and lost its best playmakers on offense, defense and special teams, both factors that do not bode well for a fifth straight bowl appearance.
Duke is too talented and too well-coached to win fewer than six games in 2016 and miss a bowl for the first time in five years.
Although some teams may certainly be in favor of making football safer, others like Duke—with an elite kickoff return specialist in defensive back DeVon Edwards—will be penalized if a play that has worked to their advantage in recent years is removed.
ACC officials robbed Duke of a win in last year’s controversial finish against Miami, but some might say the league owed the Blue Devils a few more obstacles than most teams. The reason why? The conference has also gifted head coach David Cutcliffe and company several victories in recent years at the expense of the Hurricanes with its current scheduling format.
With the rule changes, players are provided greater flexibility because they are allowed to wait 10 days after the combine—held this year from May 10 to May 15—to withdraw from the draft pool and return to college as long as they don’t hire an agent.
They say college is where you create the best memories of your life. For the most part, all of mine revolve around the work I did for The Chronicle.
The final buzzer is sounding. The game is over. It is time to pack up and go home. Unlike in the sports that I have had the privilege of covering for The Chronicle, there is no overtime in life.
When my father took me to a soccer stadium for the first time in Lima, I was just two or three years old. Although I did not become a soccer player, my very first childhood memories are associated with a green pitch, 22 guys kicking a white and black ball and a referee. My father never imagined the way the beautiful game would shape my life.
If you had told me when I stepped on East Campus as a freshman that I would be pursuing sports media and journalism after graduation, I would have looked at you like you were crazy. Sometimes life throws you curves.
