"we're gonna need a bigger boat"

http://angryalien.com/

this is the funniest shite since homestarrunner!

crazies give it up for JJ

AP Top 10 (Feb. 22 - Feb. 29)

1. Illinois (72)
2. North Carolina
3. Boston Coll.
4. Oklahoma St.
5. Kentucky
6. Wake Forest
7. Duke
8. Kansas
9. Arizona
10. Michigan St.

Duke, Redick, Take Down Wake Forest 102-92

Duke's DeMarcus Nelson, right, shoots as Wake Forest's Eric Williams defends during the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C. Sunday, Feb. 20, 2005. Duke defeated Wake Forest 102-92.

Duke's J.J. Redick reacts after a 3-point basket in the second half against Wake Forest at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C. Sunday, Feb. 20, 2005. Redick scored a team-high 38 points as the Blue Devils defeated the Demon Deacons, 102-92.

Duke, Accepted Everywhere ...

Heinikens at Proof: $18
Cab uptown to Brother Jimmy's Bait Shack: $10
Coronas at Brother Jimmy's: $20

Duke upsetting #2 North Carolina 71-70: Priceless.

But whatever. Duke is in a tremendous situation, and after being picked to finish fourth in the ACC, and then suffering all the injuries and having no bench...what can you say? Well, Nate James said it best: It's all about heart. Duke has more heart.

Daniel Ewing (top) weaves through the UNC defense to put up an acrobatic layup. Sean Dockery, Ewing and Duke's other perimeter defenders limited UNC to 33.3 percent shooting in the first half.

All-ACC PG Raymond Felton gets a warm welcome from the Cameron Crazies.

Crazies Bring Devils Home!

Every once in awhile, you go to a game that reminds you just what is so great about college basketball. The fact that UNC usually is on the losing end is purely coincidental.

Cameron was electric Wednesday night. The Crazies were in rare form, the noise was overwhelming, the carnival was in full force. And then the game started.

Cameron Classic! Duke Edges Carolina 71-70

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- Rashad McCants drove for a layup in the final minute and brought North Carolina within a point. The basket was significant for another reason -- it was the only fast break points of the game for either team. "We were fortunate that we were able to get back and not commit too many turnovers where they had runs," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We committed turnovers, but they didn't have runs where they had the numerical advantage." By keeping the game almost entirely in the halfcourt, the Blue Devils and their vaunted defense simply were too much for North Carolina. J.J. Redick scored 18 points, freshman DeMarcus Nelson added 16 and Duke forced 23 turnovers to hold off the second-ranked Tar Heels 71-70 Wednesday night.

North Carolina squandered a chance to win in the final seconds, never getting a shot off after inbounding with 18 seconds left. David Noel dribbled the ball out of bounds just as the buzzer sounded and the Cameron Crazies raced onto the court, celebrating the Blue Devils' 15th victory in the past 18 games in this Tobacco Road rivalry. "It seemed like a long time, and I was just hoping that that clock went down before they got a shot off," Nelson said. "We played some great defense, and we made them try to do something that they weren't ready for." Ewing finished with 15 points and helped the Blue Devils (18-2, 8-2) move into a first-place tie with North Carolina in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Wake Forest trails both by one-half game. Duke (No. 8 ESPN/USA Today; No. 7 AP) finished 21-of-22 from the free throw line and made 10 3-pointers. All but one of the Blue Devils' baskets in the second half were 3s -- only a layup by Nelson with about 10 minutes left came from inside the arc.

Instead of running with the Tar Heels, Duke held the ball on many possessions, milking time and letting Redick, Nelson or Daniel Ewing drive in the waning seconds of the shot clock. The strategy worked perfectly. "They slowed us down when they got the job done on offense," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "I mean, they spread the floor and controlled the tempo that way. And in their pressure defense, there's no question that bothered us, too." Sean May had 23 points and 18 rebounds for the Tar Heels (19-3, 8-2), who couldn't overcome their shoddy ball control. Point guard Raymond Felton had eight turnovers and May added five, and the top assist team in Division I finished with only 10, 11 below its average. They were held to their lowest point total since also scoring 70 in a victory at Indiana in December.

"They're good, they're solid," May said. "They don't run many traps or scrambles, they're just solid man-to-man pressure. They play better D at home just because of the fans the atmosphere they bring. They're almost as solid as you can get." Felton scored 13 points and freshman Marvin Williams had 12 for North Carolina. But Nelson was the better first-year player in this one. He had a career-high four steals and came up big offensively when it counted, swishing two 3-pointers in a span of about 90 seconds in the second half to help Duke take a 49-42 lead. "It was obvious that DeMarcus just played at a level, or even a couple of levels, higher than he's played," Krzyzewski said. "We really needed that. To win a game like this, at times you need something that's different from what you normally do. DeMarcus did that."

Judgement Day (t minus 1)

North Carolina(#2) vs Duke(#7)

(Wednesday, ESPN, 9 ET)

In case you've been entombed for the past 20 years or so, I'll quickly fill in the details. Conference rivals. Eight miles apart. State school vs. private. Locals vs. invaders from the Northeast. About a billion Final Four appearances combined. Legendary coaches. Great players. Two shades of blue. ...

OK, on to this year's game, which most people expected to be somewhat lopsided before the season started. Duke's healthier now, but still could wear down under the relentless North Carolina attack. Best bet for the Devils -- slow it down a bit, force the Heels to defend in the half-court, have Shelden Williams outplay Sean May and get a healthy dose of J.J. Redick from the perimeter. For Carolina, this is a statement game as well, because people want to see this core deliver in a hostile road situation.

There are rivalries ... and there's Duke / Carolina

Cameron Indoor Stadium - Feb. 2, 1995 -- UNC 102, Duke 100 (OT)
In what may be the greatest game in the history of this rivalry -- the 202 total points remain the most ever scored in a Duke-UNC game -- the Tar Heels outlasted a severely undermanned Blue Devil team. Jerry Stackhouse's dunk over two Blue Devils and the ensuing free throw capped a 26-9 Carolina run to open the game. Duke used 3-point shooting to get within five points at halftime and eventually lead by 12 midway through the second half. The Tar Heels mounted a surge of their own and came back from nine points down with 6:18 to play to force overtime. UNC took a nine-point lead in the first overtime, but four Duke 3-pointers, including Jeff Capel's running 30-footer as time expired, tied the score at 95 and sent the game to a second overtime. Clutch jumpers by Donald Williams and a steal and basket by Jeff McInnis with under a minute to go sealed the 102-100 win for UNC.

Duke - Carolina | #2 Tar Heels take on #6 Devils in Cameron Indoor (Feb. 9, 2005)

This Wednesday will mark the renewal of pleasantries between the blue-clad lads of Durham, and the somewhat less-than-blue-clad lads of Chapel Hill. Around these parts, folks start talking about this game in, oh, mid-April or so. Fans from both sides have great stories from this rivalry, some from on the court, some off.

During the 50 seasons since they last met unranked, Duke and UNC have combined to win six national titles (three each) and to play in 28 Final Fours (14 each). Actually, since both were in the 1991 Final Four, that means that either Duke or UNC has played in 27 of the last 50 Final Fours -- over half!

Bad omen for UNC ... In the last 20 matchups when both have been ranked in the top 10 (as this one will be), the lower ranked team has won 13 times.

Wake Survives Duke 92-89

If we really thought hard about it, we might be able to find a time when we were prouder of a Duke team, but we'd have to work at that. Wake Forest won the game, but Duke won everything else, and you could tell that by the look you saw in the eyes of Wake's players. They saw a championship-caliber team tonight at the end of this game, and after the way the rest of the game went, they were not nearly prepared for that. (DBR)

Next up: Georgia Tech @ Cameron - Sat. Feb. 5, 1pm | CBS

Countdown to Carolina - 6 days, 4 hours, 37 mins

alexander 'livin' la vida loca' poh

... and when Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer.

http://alexanderpoh17.blogspot.com/

ode to the goose

so ahren was up this weekend for some fun and games in the city. before i continue, props to the W Hotel lounge on 48th & Lex. it is, quite simply, the foshizzle for your nizzle. anyways, it was a frigid friday evening, we had some spicy dumplings and noodles before hustling over to forbidden city on the lower east side where we promptly got reacquainted with an old friend, the goose.

now here's the thing about the goose - its Ultra-premium vodka produced and bottled in France. Made with water from the Gente Springs where the water cascades over porous limestone, a natural purifier through champagne limestone from the Genté Springs of Cognac, France. The grains used are from the breadbasket region of France. Grey Goose is column distilled in small batches. Winner of the prestigious World Spirits Championship. Recently rated the number 1 vodka, 96 points by the Beverage Tasting Institute, and awarded the only Platinum medal. Grey Goose is created under the watchful eye of a master distiller.

long story short, its real smooth and goes down really really nice. so 1 monster tab later, we jump into a cab (bad idea) and head back for the happy home. i'm not the sharpest knife in the kitchen after an evening with the goose so i didn't notice the hoffer lean halfway out of the cab window right before commencing emergency ejection procedures (the now famous hoffman-hurl) on the fly. bellissima! his initiation to new york is now complete, having done the deed while in a NYC yellow cab.

*gulp*

TIME magazine's coverage of Black Tuesday, November 2, 2004