Get tipsy a lil early in Charlotte

A provision expected in the final state budget would allow fans at Carolina Panthers games to buy alcohol one hour earlier than the law now allows on Sundays. North Carolina alcoholic beverage control laws prohibit Sunday sales before noon. But lawmakers wrapping up their negotiations agreed to allow beer to be sold starting at 11 a.m. The change appears to apply only to sales in the stands of Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, where the Panthers play.

Sad news on Tobacco Road today

Wake Forest basketball coach Skip Prosser died on Thursday morning of an apparent heart attack shortly after jogging. Prosser was rushed to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

Prosser, 56, was one of the most well-liked coaches in the industry and known for his witty and sarcastic sense of humor.

He grew up in Pittsburgh and went to high school at Carnegie before attending the United States Merchant Marine Academy.

Prosser has spent the past seven seasons at Wake Forest after spending one year at Loyola (Md.) and seven at Xavier. He has a career record of 291-146.

Prosser led Wake Forest to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first four seasons and the Demon Deacons won the ACC regular-season in 2003. The Demon Deacons have struggled recently — missing the tournament in each of the past two years.

"My thoughts and prayers are with Coach Prosser's family and Wake Forest University. I have gained a lot of respect for Coach Prosser both as a person and as a coach. It is a tremendous loss for our conference and for college basketball." -- N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe.

ESPN: NC State #40 over past decade

ESPN is ranking all 119 D-1 football teams from the '97-'06 span. Just a few minutes ago numbers 26-50 was published. NC State comes in at a respectable #40 given last years horrid season. State ranks ahead of ACC counterparts: Duke, WF, UNC, and Virginia.

Says ESPN's Mark Schlabach:

The Wolfpack had nearly two dozen NFL draft picks during former coach Chuck Amato's tenure, but won only 23 games in his last four seasons combined. After losing quarterback Phillip Rivers to the NFL draft, the Wolfpack endured losing seasons in two of Amato's last three seasons. Former Boston College coach Tom O'Brien was hired to bring stability and discipline to the program.

Panthers Pre-Camp Post

The Carolina Panthers start camp tomorrow. Here are some things to keep in mind going into the pre-season scramble:

- How will our secondary look? Other than Mike Minter, there's little experience or stability. We need someone to step up and claim a position.
- Who will step up and compliment Steve Smith? The Panthers have a stable of young talented receivers, but talent alone doesn't make a team successful. Who will show what it takes to make the big catch, or more importantly, make the easy catch! I'm looking for Dwayne Jarrett to impress.
- RUN THE BALL! DeAngelo and DeShaun need to be utilized this season. We only had 7 rushing TDs last season. Pathetic.
- Conditioning: The Panthers were pummeled by injuries last season. Kris Jenkins and Mike Rucker are the keys to the defense. Let's pray that they are fully recovered and in the best shapes of their careers.

Panthers Pre-season Schedule and Notes

PRESEASON SCHEDULE:
8/11 at NY Giants
8/17 at Philadelphia
8/24 vs. New England
8/30 vs. Pittsburgh

*Players report for camp on July 27th

Take note: Dan Henning is out, Jeff Davidson is in. Davidson was Offensive Coordinator for the Browns. the main change will be a zone-blocking philosophy. And watch to see who takes the #2 WR spot with Meshawn gone.

Niners Nation on Panthers Offseason Adds

While David Carr will not be a starter (at least in the near future), he was definitely a high profile free agent pickup. Carr has spent most of his NFL career flat on his ass in Houston. If Delhomme were to get hurt or prove ineffective, Carr could very well get a legit shot to run with things. While it might be easy to declare Carr a bust and be done with it, you could just as easily argue for extenuating circumstances in Houston. While I like Jake Delhomme and hope he does not get hurt, I can't help but be mighty curious to see how Carr would look at the helm of the Panthers offense.

While the Panthers did not make a huge impact in free agency, I think they did a very solid job in the draft. I was one of those here on the Dwayne Jarrett bandwagon and think that he could make an impact in year 1, especially without the pressure of being a starter right off the bat. Jon Beason is going to get a chance to start at OLB right away, while Ryan Kalil looks to be groomed as the center of the future. While I'm clearly a big fan of the 49ers draft, I am impressed with Carolina's haul.

SMQ's outlook on ACC football '07

NC State
- - -
We Know: The Wolfpack have two big, positively hunky juniors, Toney Baker (6-0, 232) and Andre Brown (5-10, 225) who were top ten running back recruits and have methodically slogged their way to 2,500 yards in two years.

We Think: New coordinator Dana Bible - late of the bran-infused B.C. attack - will fix whatever hitch in the playcalling mechanism led NC State to skew passward with ex-walk-on Daniel Evans and a group of receivers led by a tight end with one career touchdown catch. Evans threw nine interceptions to one touchdown in his last seven starts (all defeats) while heaving up, at various times, 37, 35, 53 and 41 passes in games eventually decided by one score. The Pack passed more often than it handed off six times last year, but it was never better off for it.

We Have No Clue: How Tom O'Brien's stoicism will mesh with players recruited by the fiery, raspy Amato, or, more importantly, whether Evans has enough physically for the new coach's lauded motivational/disciplinary side to matter.

Who's Better in Football? Big East? ACC?

"Today, Big East football is better than ACC football" says DICK JERARDI of Philly.com
*see full article here*

Just as a reminder (since it's hard to differentiate which team play basketball, which teams play football, and what few teams do both!) here are the Big East teams... in football:

	Team	Over-All W-L	Conf. W-L	Nat'l Rank	Power Rating	Sched. Rank
1.	West Virginia	12-0	7-0	4	83.01	24
2.	Louisville	11-1	6-1	8	83.52	50
3.	Rutgers	10-2	5-2	18	77.88	71
4.	South Florida	8-4	4-3	35	76.27	48
5.	Pitt	7-5	3-4	55	67.30	49
6.	Cincinnati	6-6	2-5	65	69.59	46
7.	Connecticut	4-8	1-6	91	57.84	54
8.	Syracuse	1-11	0-7	111	54.50	22

Please weigh in with your thoughts.

Atsur will wear Benetton Colours

I was scouring rosters at www.eurobasket.com and found our boy Engin Atsur as a STARTER for BENETTON TREVISO.

Details: Benetton Treviso signed Atsur to a three-year contract. He played for Turkey last summer at the World Championships in Japan, where he posted 6.1 points and 1.2 assists per game in nearly 16 minutes during 9 appearances as his team placed sixth. Atsur is the second guard to join Benetton this week after Lionel Chalmers also signed.

Sidney Lowe - Watered Down

Two weeks after the start of Raleigh's lawn irrigation restrictions, inspectors are continuing to cite unexpectedly large numbers of residents, many of them in four large residential developments.

More people were caught Monday for breaking the alternate-day rules than on the first day of the water restrictions, July 2. On that first day, enforcement officers issued warning notices to 31 offenders. Monday, they cited 33.

Among those breaking the rules was Sidney Lowe, N.C. State University basketball coach. A citation was issued Saturday for improper watering at the 9,500-square-foot house he and his wife own on a half-acre lot in Brier Creek. A spokeswoman for the NCSU basketball team said Lowe would have no comment.

Former FB coach charged with Assault

Rutgers top assistant football coach Chris Demarest was charged with assault after an altercation in a bar at the New Jersey shore.

Demarest has been the defensive secondary coach at Rutgers for three years. In March, he was promoted to assistant head coach. Before coming to Rutgers, he was defensive backs coach at N.C. State from 2000-2003 and a graduate assistant at Florida State from 1998-99.

ECU gets all 12 games on TV

All 12 of ECU's football games this year will be on tv. Coupled with the five previously announced on-air listings by ESPN and CSTV, the Pirates' remaining seven games were picked up by the local NBC affiliate and regional sports network.

Yeah, I'm pissed off too!

TOB comments from DailyPress.com

Here are some highlites from an article TOB's first year here at State:

N.C. State boasts premium facilities and rabid fans, essential elements (TOB) hadn't previously inherited; the Wolfpack has a natural in-state recruiting base that he, a proven Division I-A head coach with regional ties and a veteran staff, can use to establish the consistency that was his hallmark at Boston College.

Offensive coordinator Dana Bible was a Wolfpack assistant during the 1980s; tight ends coach Jim Bridge worked at The Citadel; O'Brien and defensive coordinator Mike Archer were staff mates at

Virginia; offensive-line coach Don Horton was Norfolk Catholic's head coach during the late 1980s, and secondary coach Mike Reed has a stop at the University of Richmond on his r�sum�.

Can TOB take State to a bowl in his first year?

Maybe not this season but soon. O'Brien brings a new level of discipline to the program after Chuck Amato's departure. But is there enough talent to win six games?

First, the Wolfpack must find a quarterback. Daniel Evans threw six touchdowns and 11 interceptions last season. Nebraska transfer Harrison Beck will push him.

The defense will be stout under new coordinator Mike Archer, who has a star in end DeMario Pressley.

-from Tony Barnhart's article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution