Trade show or carnival?

It's sometimes hard to remember that the High Point Market is a large trade show dedicated to the furniture industry-- there's this overall carnival feel to it.

You experience it as soon as you hit downtown. Floats are driven around downtown, my favorite has a Mardi Gras theme, complete with a cut out band playing jazz music.

There's a man who walks around town on stilts, he has to be at least 10 feet tall and right next to him is a long line of people handing out bags filled with pens, water and anything else.

People walk around will large billboards on their backs, free ice cream is handed out by High Point University students and there are people shouting out catchy slogans trying to get your attention.

Market even has its own pair of super heroes dressed in masks and capes.

If you see past all of this, you'll quickly realize that this isn't a normal carnival atmosphere.

The Mardi Gras float is telling people to stop by a furniture showroom that specializes in furniture from New Orleans.

If you look close enough, the man on stilts is handing out brochures to visit another showroom.

The bags handed out carry the logos of various manufacturers, even the water is furniture themed.

The super heroes, well the only heroic thing they are capable of is telling you why the company the work for has the best furniture.

This just isn't an outside thing either.

Inside the showrooms bands line the halls playing music next to large beds and bookcases.

Sometimes I feel like I'm back in college when I walk past blank walls, on them are fliers posted to this and that party. In big bold letters the fliers shout out "live music, open bar!"

Look closer, and you'll realize the party has a certain theme be it bedding or couches.

After you get past your first impressions you realize that this is very much a trade show.

Even the popcorn handed out to you isn't regular popcorn, it's popcorn wrapped in a notice telling you that the company that just handed you the free food has the best mattresses at market.

Going bananas

No I'm not going crazy from working a full shift and then spending my days at market.

I'm talking about furniture going quite literally bananas.

Greensboro-based JT Michael Designs uses banana leaves in their furniture designs. The only thing that I can compare it to is wicker, yet a lot more natural looking and durable.

The collection makes you feel as if you are on the beach.

The furniture is built in China and makes use of one of the largest indigenous trees available in the area, bananas.

The leaves are cut from the trees and set out in the sun to dry naturally. They are then soaked in a solution to make the material flexible. The material is then weaved together to make furniture.

The product can be considered "green" because the product is completely natural and unlike most "green" products the company claims their pieces will last forever.

You can find JT Michael Designs' pieces across the United States and here in the Triad.

Elizabeth Edwards

Sorry for no earlier posts, major technical issues at the press center today.

Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Sen. John Edwards, made an appearance at the High Point Market today.

She wasn't here to talk politics, she spoke about cancer and her book "Saving Graces: Finding Solace and Strength from Friends and Strangers."

She made the appearance at the showroom of a friend of the family.

Before her comments she was presented a a pink ribbon bag from High Point Regional for her efforts in cancer awareness.

Edwards talked about how she receives strength from everyone around her.

She said her book is about getting support during bad times-- she noted that she has gone through some bad times before with her cancer and hinted that she was going through another rough time.

"Get to know the people around you," Edwards implored.

For Edwards, everyone around her weaves a tapestry of support.

Her talk went slightly political only once.

Edwards talked about a time where she went out on a furniture shopping trip with a bunch of strangers. They all met at her house and they carpooled together. When she got back from the trip her husband asked, "why was there a car with a Bush sticker in my driveway?"

Yes, his hair really does look like that

Donald Trump is known for his pomp and circumstance and his visit to the Triad did not disappoint.

Trump is here because he is launching a personal brand of furniture modeled after his lifestyle.

Members of the press arrived at Lexington Home Brands in Thomasville around 3:30 pm. They stashed us off to the side on a second floor landing overlooking the room below and looking straight on the balcony Trump was going to talk on.

We waited and made small talk.

The room smelled like chocolate and strawberries. I looked below me and there was a table filled with strawberries, the centerpiece was a chocolate fountain.

Ice sculptures dotted the room, an open bar was off to the side with a cocktail shrimp display flanking it.

I got the impression that I was on the set of "The Bachelor" instead waiting for the launch of a furniture line.

Several young ladies strolled the room, dressed in black cocktail dresses, they looked like they could have been pulled straight from last weeks Ms. USA pageant (which by the way Trump owns).

Lexington Home Brands associates were dressed in black suit coats with the Trump crest embroidered in gold on their chests.

The only thing missing was the rose ceremony.

The room slowly filled to standing room only. I would guess there were 150-200 industry people standing in front of the indoor balcony waiting for Trump to arrive at the invitation only event.

Then on cue, the theme song to the "Apprentice" came on over the speakers.

Enter Donald.

The room exploded with cheers and applause.

He strolled easily through the barricaded parts of the room to an elevator, riding it up to the level we in the press were on.

Exiting the elevator he spotted our cameras.

He paused and stood still, turning to face us.

Then came his iconic smile, a "v" for victory symbol and a wink.

Reaching the balcony he waited to be introduced by the president and chief executive officer of Lexington Home Brands.

Trump spoke on furniture, on the area-- but I'll cut to the chase.

The one thing he'll more than likely be most remembered for is his comments about Rosie O'Donnell.

Someone from the crowd asked Trump if Rosie would buy a piece of his furniture.

"We build a very high quality bed," replied Trump. "They're not strong enough for her."

Looks like the bad blood between the two isn't going anywhere fast.

Back to serious matters.

Trump praised the area saying, "It's an amazing place to buy furniture. I think it's the best place in the world to buy furniture, if people don't come here they're making a big mistake."

Media, media everywhere!

Despite the small amount of coverage you actually see on our news casts at News 14, there are a lot of representatives from the media covering this event.

Nearly 500 to be somewhat exact.

What are these 500 people doing here?

Well besides eating the free food, we're all here for different reasons.

There is the usual cadre of local news people (like myself) who come from local TV stations, newspapers and radio stations.

We're here covering market as an event, lots of people here, how it's affecting the local people, what this means for the area, etc...

There's also people from the wire services. The Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg and so on and so forth. They're here for a variety of reasons. Business stories, features, trends, style and on and on and on.

Magazine publications are also here. Magazine writers are here for the fashion, they're looking for the new cool thing that everyone is going to want to have.

Then there's the trade magazines folks, and they are well represented-- I had no idea that there were magazines dedicated to things like light fixtures, rugs and upholstery.

The largest of the bunch, Furniture Today, is actually based here in High Point.

This is their shining moment.

They are here in force writing about the industry for the industry. I've overheard people writing stories on entertainment centers, apparently the new thing is designing them with more cable holes and smaller to handle flat screen TVs.

Oh and I can't forget color, warm purples are all the rage. That's according to "The Trend Curve" published by the International Authority on Trend Forecasting for Home Furnishings.

That's a mouthful and a half.

They're writing about fabrics and textures, dovetailing-- it's mind boggling.

Then there's the rogue agents.

Take for example Ivan Cutler, he's a furniture blogger. He writes about the industry just for his personal blog.

There's also a married couple here who operate a rug blog, that's right folks, they blog about rugs and from my understanding, they have a lot of fun doing it.

Speaking of food, it's lunch time and there's already a long line. More later.

Made in the Triad

You hear it on the news all the time, XYZ Corp. is shutting down its local plant to move overseas.

You hardly ever hear of a company bringing its overseas operations back to the United States... until now.

The High Point based company Red Egg used to manufacture its entire furniture line in China. Now the company makes four pieces from its collection here in town and will add another four in the near future.

Owner Carol Gregg said she moved back to North Carolina to tap into the quality talent in the area.

"There's a huge quality difference, said Gregg. "We're making real furniture from manufactures who understand how to make furniture."

What makes this transition back to America all the more interesting is that the Red Egg collection is heavily Asian.

The irony for them was that they weren't able to get the diversity they needed in order to satisfy American costumers.

"We don't need that kind of volume," said Gregg. "We can be fashion forward."

In China production runs need to be large in order for the plants to manufacture them. Setting up shop here in High Point allows Red Egg to cater to each client's individual needs.

There is a lot of buzz here about a company making furniture in America again.

Gregg says that people are stopping by her space just to take a look at the line and see what the company is doing.

She says she gained two clients just because her furniture is made in the USA.

There is a downside to all of this. Gregg says that her prices have risen slightly since she brought the line back to America. She quickly added though that she's still within the same price range as she was when she operated out of China.

A bit of a scare

Oh the irony. An entire event surrounded around things to sit on and you can't.

It's so tempting to sit down on one of the showcase pieces that line the halls of the showrooms here, but sadly you can't.

One scare so far today.

Market affects everyone it seems, even the police and firefighters here in High Point.

I'm told they have to sign up for extra shifts this week.

Walking into one of the showrooms, I hear a siren go by. Naturally as a journalist I'm curious as to what it means. But I resisted the urge because I was going to meet up with a couple of designers to talk about their new line.

Another siren.

Now, my curiosity is getting to me, I walk towards the door and out of the glass window I see the battalion chief's car go by.

Now I knew I had to go.

The incident was only a block up the road. As I got closer I could see a hook-and-ladder and several other emergency vehicles blocking the road.

It was one of those things that looked a lot worse than it really was.

Talking to one of the police officers on site, he said there was nothing newsworthy-- just an electrical outlet in one of the smaller show rooms throwing off sparks.

I asked if such a heavy response was typical, he shrugged and said to me, "It's market."

I think I'm starting to grasp the enormity of this event.

Virtual ribbon cutting

The High Point Market just isn't about the consumer, it's about business-- a lot of business.

I was just speaking with the IT person here (I was having a bit of a problem connecting to the Internet), the amount of bandwidth High Point uses this one week quadruples, he says they can barely keep up with the demand.

Anyone who wants to be someone in the furniture industry is here this week fighting for exposure. I was told by an industry person, if you want to grab the attention of the furniture industry, market is the place to do it.

That's why one Canadian company decided to "go live" today in High Point.

Tucked away in one of the many spots in the large exhibition halls here, 3Dream.net launched its services with a click of a button.

It might not seem like much, but with some 70,000 people here for the week, and all in the industry you are catering to ,I'm told it's a smart move.

The website plays on the theme of consumer products, allowing people to use the Internet to see how furniture would look in their house.

The launchers say the Internet is the future for furniture, and with their product people will be able to walk into a design studio and see exactly how the furniture they picked out would look in their home.

The point is to take away the stress of going store to store, for example if a North Carolina design firm showcased only products from our state, the designer is able to pull up an entire catalog of NC furniture products.

Just another example of how the furniture industry is trying to adapt.

Seeing green

A buzz word here is "green," green as in green energy.

It seems that green is everywhere-- you see it in the High Point logo, you see it on the walls, the press center here even has a green motif.

What is green energy? Well, as Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue put it earlier today, North Carolina is going to convert this initiative into green cold cash.

Or better put, turning green into gold.

"Today much of the buzz surrounds environmentally friendly furniture," said Perdue.

Perdue said the government is going to work with local companies to make our state a leader in this movement.

"It starts in the the home," Perdue said.

That means furniture designers are looking at new ways to light rooms and create furniture from recycled wood products for example.

Here the furniture industry is trying to start a new trend by not relying on the consumer.

A lot is invested in this movement already in our state. State leaders are in the process of creating a new work force educated in all things green.

As Perdue said, "We in North Carolina do it best."

News 14 Carolina reporter Adrianne Flores will have more tomorrow morning on green energy.

High Point Furniture Market kicks off

News 14 Carolina producer John Kunza is covering the High Point Market exclusively on News14.Com. Check in daily for various updates on Market and the events surrounding Market.

Today is the first day of the High Point Furniture Market, or as industry leaders here call it, simply "market."

The day kicked off with a news conference hosted by High Point's Mayor Becky Smothers and Lt. Gov Bev Perdue.

There is a reason why people in the know call this event "market;" North Carolina and the Triad are working hard to make High Point THE capital of the international furniture industry.

Furniture in North Carolina is still big money. North Carolina ranks as a top four furniture manufacturer in the country, and the High Point Market has a yearly economic impact of $1.5 billion on our state.

As Perdue put it, "That's not chump change."

That means everyone from furniture manufacturers to rental car agencies benefit from the bi-annual event. For more information, view News 14 Carolina reporter Stephanie Stilwell story here.

The furniture industry is very consumer-driven and this year everyone here has a hyper awareness about it. Perdue even noted it at the news conference, "I'm a friend of market, maybe it's because I'm a woman and I love to shop."

Industry analysts are noting a slip in retail sales, or as one briefing put it "weakness in retail" and blaming in part "credit anxious consumers."

Perdue says the General Assembly is working hard to keep the High Point Market competitive. Right now, the GA appropriates $1.7 million for the event and that figure is reviewed every year.

There was some talk about the Las Vegas Furniture Market. Some people are concerned that it will take buyers away from High Point.

"Vegas would like to take this away from us," said Perdue. "High Point has to remain the largest and most successful furniture market in the world ... and I will do whatever it takes."

More later.

Tough loss...the road ends here

Well, it all came to an end tonight with a 31-9 run in the final 10 minutes and overtime by Georgetown. The hard thing for Tar Heel Nation to accept is that Georgetown was the better team tonight. If you had just watched the first half, you might think Carolina had this one sewed up. Although they only lead by a few points at the break, I thought scoring 50 points in 20 minutes of basketball almost assured them a win. Here's how I was looking at it, Georgetown only gave up 57 points per game this season and now they had given up 50 points in one half, there was no way they could keep up in a shootout with UNC. Unfortunately in the long run, the Tar Heels couldn't keep up in a shootout with the Hoyas. Carolina shot 33% in the 2nd half and an awful 7% in overtime.

To tell you the truth, while I had enjoyed this weekend getting to know the team and the players of both these schools, I was dreading heading into the locker room after that tough loss. We first made it over to Marcus Ginyard and I basically had to ask him "what went wrong?" These guys are professionals at this point of the season in dealing with the media, but he was surprisingly honest talking about breakdowns that occurred on both sides of the floor. Then I asked him what Coach Williams had to say and he got a little choked up saying that coach had apologized to them after the game because he didn't think he put them in a position to win, meanwhile Marcus said that wasn't the case and the blame laid on the five guys on the floor. We slowly made the rounds to each of the players and a lot of it was the same old questions like "how do you feel?" I am sometimes guilty of asking those questions too, but I'm just waiting for the day when a player just snaps back with "how do you think I feel, we just lost the game you idiot!" But the guys on this Tar Heel team have too much class for that, they just try to answer your questions as best they can. After pretty much talking to the entire roster we made our way back to the interview room to catch the tail end of Coach Williams presser, he was contrite and very congratulatory to Georgetown and Coach Thompson in particular.

Much has been made about the history between these two teams, but in reality none of that affected this game tonight in the Meadowlands. Two teams lead by two totally different coaches took the court and left it all on the floor...I must say that I felt bad for the guys after seeing the looks on their faces, they were sort of in shock, unable to comprehend the fact that they weren't going to Atlanta next weekend to play for a National Championship.

All that aside, the Tar Heels should be proud of their season, they were a damn good team this year and while I know the goal was to win an NCAA title, I have a feeling they'll be back in the mix next March. Terry Brooks asked me about this on the show, but I have the feeling Brandan Wright might leave after this season, I don't know if this tournament loss will leave a good taste in his mouth. But let me follow that up by saying in no way did he tip his hat in either direction after the game. He said he plans to meet with Coach Williams in the next couple weeks to discuss his future, so we'll keep following it for you on News 14. Thanks for checking in this weekend here on news14.com, it's been fun sharing our weekend with you and I look forward to getting back to Charlotte.

-Tim Baier

Late Night, but a Great Night

Wow! That's pretty much all I can say about tonight... that was probably some of the best basketball I've ever seen. It all started off with the Vandy Georgetown game that came down to a last second shot by Jeff Green and then followed up by North Carolina's 18-0 run in the 2nd half to beat Southern Cal and advance.

I thought there was a buzz at the arena on Thursday, but nothing compared to the buildup to Friday night's games. There were people from every media outlet you could imagine chowing down on Lasagna and cold cuts at the media buffet. At one table you had Bob Ryan catching up with Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese, then at another ESPN's Andy Katz was chatting away on his phone undoubtedly doing yet another radio interview. You guess it and they were probably there...it's pretty fun as a member of the media to see all these people you watch on a daily basis grouped together in the same setting as you.

Ok enough about my celeb sightings... the real story from Friday was basketball and how two teams that were expected to win had to dig down deep and pull out a win in tough games. Going into the Georgetown locker room you could sense relief as they were able to hold off Vandy for just long enough to pull out the one point win. Jeff Green talked about his last second shot saying there is no way he walked and later on Billy Packer agreed with him on the CBS broadcast. He said he was blocked out and couldn't even see the rim so he shot for the backboard...the only problem, he didn't call glass! This Georgetown team is confident in their style of play which sort of seems like an updated Big East style with a little bit of the Princeton game thrown in for flavor. The Hoyas can run the court when they need to, but they seem most at home in their half court offense making the game run at their own pace.

As for the Tar Heels, what can I say, it was a tale of two halves. There's a rule that you aren't supposed to cheer in the press area, and I didn't do that, but man was it hard to hold back when UNC went on that run. First of all, the families of most of the players were sitting right behind me for most of the game cheering the team on and at the same time, if Carolina lost I was headed back to Charlotte, but if they won I would get to see another tremendous basketball game. So I had a little something invested in this one.

After the game, a number of players referenced Coach Williams words at half time as the motivator to get them going. He supposedly told them they were embarrassing their state, their school and their peers and that it was now or never. It obviously worked because in the 2nd half they blew the doors off the arena. Hansbrough was pretty reserved after the game seeing as he put up a less than stellar performance, but his teammates stepped up in his place which meant his lack of activity didn't end up hurting the team that bad. The most telling stat of the game was that in the 1st half Carolina went 2 for 12 from three point land (16%), but in the 2nd half they only attempted two threes opting instead to go inside and that was the difference.

Anyway, it should be a classic match up on Sunday between Georgetown and Carolina can't wait to see it and keep you updated on all that's happening up here in East Rutherford.

-Tim Baier

Hello Friends...from Jersey

Well day two is now behind us and I'm going to try and give you a quick recap of a what ended up being a pretty busy afternoon. We headed over to the Continental Airlines Arena around 11:30 this morning trying to get a jump on the day. Maurice (pictured earlier) and I managed to talk to a few fans and get a good feel for what practice had in store for us.

We even pulled Billy Packer aside to do a quick interview and I must say while it was pretty cool to be talking to the guy that's called probably the most incredible college basketball games of all-time, he wasn't too excited about Friday's games. He's a very cerebral person and approaches the game with X's and O's in mind, not like most of us as fans do with a certain anticipation. His reasoning was that he doesn't want to lead the fans down a road expecting something that doesn't come true...actually not a bad reason. But to tell you the truth I was expecting him to give me the classic "I've never lost the excitement for the game" line.

The real highlight of the day though had to be meeting Jim Nance... now I'm not the type of person who gushes over celebrities (especially news celebs), but c'mon this guy has taken me to Augusta National every year as one of his "friends." Of course I'm referring to his classic opening line of "Hello friends," listen tomorrow night to see if he says it at the top of the broadcast. I was pretty impressed at the homework he was knocking out on practice day... while he had an entourage that included a few production assistants, he was doing most of the actual work. He and Billy both sat at the media tables watching each team practice for 50 minutes jotting down various notes that undoubtedly will come across the air tomorrow night.

As for us at News 14, once we shot a few elements for stories to run, we went up to feed them from our sattellite truck that Bill Welch so graciously drove up from Raleigh. The only problem being that the arena staff plugged us in at 220 volts when we only needed 110 volts and so whammy smoke started coming out of the truck. We supposedly blew a circuit and somehow Maurice was able to rewire the panels to make the truck work again, but without AC. Of course, this time of the year, who needs AC in Jersey...well it was actually 67 degrees here today.

Anyway, after that was fixed we were cooking and able to get the stories out and fed down to the station in North Carolina. The only other highlight of the day would have to be doing interviews in the locker rooms with North Carolina and USC. First of all you need to know that the "lockerrooms" are tiny at the CAA...and I was amazed that we all fit in there to do the interviews because you had media from all the markets in NC and also a bunch of stations from Los Angeles. The funniest part of talking to the guys was Marcus Ginyard discussing his need for pedicures because he has "raptor toes." Well we ran with that a little bit and got the low down from his teammates, who continue to make fun of his ugly feet. A pretty light moment in a busy day.

Probably the most interesting conversation I had was with Dwight Lewis, a freshmen for USC. He grew up in New Orleans and when Katrina hit, he was forced to move to Texas to finish his senior year. The adjustment was tough for him because he didn't know anyone, but he said he relied on basketball as an escape. Fortunately, USC had been interested in him before the move and he was able to go onto play at Southern Cal. The amazing thing to me was that his family hasn't been able to move back to the city yet because it is all still a mess down there. I know we've seen the news and heard about the problems that took place in the Big Easy, but to actually meet someone who was affected by the storm and is still dealing with it today really puts it in perspective.

Well, I just finished watching some close games from tonight's NCAA action, so if that is any indication of what Friday brings, then let's get it on. UNC seems pretty confident in their level of play these days and I don't think they are taking USC lightly. Ty Lawson said he spoke to Kevin Durant this morning to get the lowdown on the team and Durant thinks they can beat the Trojans. So I'll agree with Kevin and predict a Heels win tomorrow night over USC. Make sure to keep watching because we'll try to keep you updated on the channel and check back often because I'll be updating the blog everyday we are here...good night.

-Tim Baier

Bada Bing...We're in Jersey

Howdy from the frozen tundra of East Rutherford, New Jersey home of the Sopranos, Bon Jovi and at the moment a lot of melting snow. Actually I can't really complain about the weather because surprisingly it is expected to reach 62 degrees tomorrow, an unseasonably warm day here. I'm going to use this blog this weekend to give you a little insight into our days and also maybe a little behind the scenes stories from the Tar Heels. (by "we" I mean, myself and photographer Maurice Griffin)

So we hit the road today, flying up to Newark from Charlotte...Maurice was nice enough to fly over from Raleigh and then continue on up to Jersey with me. We landed around 2:30, got the luggage and picked up the rental car...and we're off to the Sheraton Meadowlands. Now this is where it got a little interesting, if you ever driven in the New York area, you probably know what I'm talking about, but it is probably only 5 miles from the Newark airport to the Meadowlands but none of the highways are a straight shot, so you spend most of your time wrapping around in circles trying to find the right exit. A little confusing, but managed to make it here to the Sheraton which I must say is a pretty nice spot.

After getting settled in we headed over to the Continental Airlines Arena (where UNC will play Friday night) and tried to get inside to shoot a standup, unfortunately security said we couldn't get in today because they were setting up the floor. Spent some time talking to the guys in there and they showed us there security camera shots of the arena. It was actually pretty cool because they had a joystick that let them control the cameras and zoom in on areas of the floor. One of the crew from the CAA told us they had brought in the floor just for the NCAA regionals and didn't use Seton Hall's usual floor or the one the New Jersey Nets usually use. It's interesting that Seton Hall isn't the host even though they play their games here, this week it's Rutgers who will be welcoming in the teams for the East Regional.

Anyway, without access to the arena we were forced to head out to the parking lots to shoot a couple quick standups to essentially let you, the viewers, know we were here and ready to cover the weekend. It was pretty cool to stand up on the top level of the parking deck looking in one direction at Giants stadium and the other at New York City.

So then we headed back to the hotel to edit the short stories and send them via the internet back to the station in Raleigh. I am still amazed by the technology and how we can send broadcast quality video over the internet for tonight's Sports Night. Anyway, here's a picture of Maurice editing (the camera phone let me down on this one).

So we are off and running...the busy time doesn't get underway til tomorrow with open practices and press conferences with the teams. I'm looking forward to it and I'll try to bring you interesting stories that don't quite make the air on Sports Night or elsewhere. Can't wait for the 60 degree weather to hit tomorrow...until then...good night.

-Tim Baier

Temptation

Basketball during Lent

Last year during the ACC and NCAA tournament, I wrote about the free "all you can eat" popcorn, soda and chocolate ice cream bars for the media . So what was I thinking when this year I decided to give up chocolate for Lent. Lent of course symbolic of the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. ( I had to look it up on the Internet to make sure I was clear). I'm a practicing Catholic not a devout Catholic so sometimes my recollections of Sunday school are a little cloudy. Well, the devil we know as the NCAA upped the temptation this year. They've thrown in "all you can eat" Reese Cups, M&Ms and my all time favorite, Snickers. What's a chocoholic to do. It's bad enough I have to remember to eat fish on Friday, which by the way was overlooked thanks to Jim Connors (another Catholic boy) who talked me into a pork pulled sandwich at "Pig Pickings" across the street from the "Joel". I can hear Father Mark now, "that'll cost ya three Hail Mary's, two Our Father's and an extra contribution to the collection plate. So it's popcorn, potato chips and soda for me. Not so bad considering the fasting endured some 2000 years ago.

See you on Sunday Father Mark. I'm bringing the checkbook.

MB
3/16

Have One for Me

Alcohol Free Tournament

When I signed up for this event, no one said it was alcohol free. No doubt the parking lot at the "Joel" will be overflowing with fans and suds before tonight's game against Michigan State, but unfortuately, the company has an issue with employees working while impaired. And yes, at times my work appears as though I'm under the influence, but that's due more in part to the gray matter between my ears and not the amber ale in a long neck bottle. So what sporting event could a guy throw back a cold one or two and seemingly blend in? You guessed it before I could type out the acronym. NASCAR! Grown men with country twangs, driving a circle at 200 mph, jones'n for a title cup from a cell phone company that no longer exists. (Sprint bought Nextel two years ago). The "600" in Coca-cola 600 doesn't stand for the number of miles driven, it's the number of port-a-johns needed to dispense of all the golden flow. In fact, the aluminum recycling program from the "600" and the UAW 500 is said to be the second largest revenue source for the state of North Carolina after tourism. Talk about your pot of gold, or in this case "pond" of gold.

All kidding aside, please drink and drive responsibly. Keep this in mind tonight after Carolina serves up Michigan State.

Happy St. Patty's Day

MB
3/17

How "Sweet" it is...

The expression "the gloves came off" is now "the mask came off". And when it did, it spelled doom for Michigan State. Tyler Hansbrough, despite the still recovering broken nose, beat the Spartans at their own rough and tumble game Saturday night in Winston-Salem. His 33 points and 9 rebounds pushed the Heels to an 81-67 victory and into the Sweet 16.

Psycho T did have some help. Ty Lawson was spectacular. Feeding Hansbrough off dribble penetration, taking it to the rack himself or knocking down a three. Reyshawn Terry, whose status was up in the air due to illness even up until tipoff, was barely a blip on the radar until exploding late in the 2nd half to hammer the final nails in Michigan State's coffin.

Have to single out the defensive job Marcus Ginyard did on MSU's Drew Neitzel. Ginyard, Wes Miller and Lawson all took turns guarding him. Sure Neitzel shot lights out most of the way, en route to a 26 point night. He was nothing short of spectacular. But midway through the second half, Ginyard took the ball from him, it went back down the floor and Lawson drilled a three. The beginning of the end. Neitzel was worn down, the Heels superior depth finally doing him in.

The Heels are headed to the Meadowlands in New Jersey. How "Sweet" it is.

Jim C.

First round action from Winston-Salem

Bobby Knight's latest visit to Winston-Salem was short and sweet. While combative and entertaining during his Wednesday press conference, Knight seemed rather subdued during his team's NCAA ouster at the hands of Boston College on Thursday. Especially in the latter stages of the game, the General sat relatively motionless, almost resigned to defeat. For some reason, I was expecting fire and brimstone.

After Michigan State made relatively easy work of Marquette, the Tar Heels took the LJVM Coliseum floor and broke out to a 22-3 lead on Eastern Kentucky. Did I mention the game did not tip off until 10:06pm? The only thing worse than having to work a game that won't end until midnight (and won't allow you to finish interviews, writing, editing & blogging until 4am) is having to endure a blowout. Fortunately, the Colonels came to the Joel with the intention of leaving their mark. Their character was revealed as they whittled a 27 point deficit to four. The Heels collected themselves and eventually ran away with it, but at least it was entertaining. Special kudos to Tyler Hansbrough for delivering big in the second half. The new mask seems to agree with him. Reyshawn Terry was superb playing in front of his hometown crowd. And Marcus Ginyard (who turned an ankle during the game) was a calming influence whose 2nd half defense allowed the Heels to finally open up a large lead....and keep it.

Roy Williams informed the team after the game that his sister passed away Wednesday night following a lengthy illness. While not entirely unexpected, the Heels coach was clearly and understandably shaken. He says the funeral will be on Sunday and that he plans to coach the team Saturday night against Michigan State.

Our condolences and best wishes to the Williams family.

VCU vs. Duke: First Half impressions

It's just before tip, I'm in my seat and it seems like everybody from the VCU campus is in there's, too. About 500 VCU fans are sitting right acrooss from me. Game time.... Paulus with a 3, Henderson is fouled first time he touches the ball. Both of those 2 need big games to handle VCU's 3 guard attack. Wow, a big slam by Henderson ties the game 5-5. Big jam by McRoberts now, and VCU is missing a lot of outside J's. They can't stay with Duke if that stays constant. Here's my thing -- they're quicker than Duke, some screen and rolls would open things up for the Rams. Another big alley oop to McRoberts. Duke's rolling, out to a 16-5 lead and it looks like I'll be home on Sunday. Noticing the refs hair, if you're watching the game, he makes Jimmy Johnson's hair seem lively. Ashley the intern just remarked that VCU can't make a basket. It's 18-7, so I'd have to agree. I'm going into my Billy Packer mode -- just harp on one point. VCU's not playing well. At the halfway point of the first half, it's Duke 22, VCU 10. McRoberts just went coast to coast. You know he's done that this season. Did VCU watch any tape? Okay I'm out of Billy Packer mode. Duke's up 9. Maynor, the kid who singlehandedly beat George Mason in the CAA finals hits a floater. If he can wake up, maybe this game won't be as boring in the second half, because if it stays at this pace, Duke will not only win but win by 18 or more. Jesse Pellot-Rosa just nailed a 3. It's back to a 6-point game. Rams showing life. I'm giddy only because no one likes a blowout. Duke's in the bonus, but Paulus misses the front end of a 1-1. There's 6 minutes left in the half. VCU has to keep their hands to themselves the rest of the half. Free throws could push the Devils advantage back above double digits before the break. Maynor fouled makes both -- 3 point game. VCU has clawed back into the game thanks to a stagnant offense and some ugly possesions for the Devils. McRoberts got the ball poked away from behind and there was a phantom foul called. About 75 percent of the building started booing -- so much for this being a pro-Duke crowd. Everyone not wearing a Duke sweatshirt is rooting against the Devils -- Butler fans, ODU fans... Pocius slam AND 1. The first "refs you suck chant of the night"... good times. Under 4 min TV timeout, Duke is up 35-29. Unfortunately I cannot complete the statement that coach K just called the ref, but he called him... well I'll leave it out so they won't pull my blog out, but it's funny to the folks on press row and within earshot. Just trust me. B.A Walker just nailed a 3 making it a 3-point game. The crowd breaks out a V-C-U chant and the Madness has arived. Jamal Shuler just tied it up with a 3 and the building just went berserk. 3 seconds on the clock in the half, shot clock running down, Paulus a desperate 3 pt attempt... poor foul call. Official checks the replay monitor... Paulus makes 1, misses, 1 makes 1. It's Duke 40-38. The inbound play is tipped away with 2.4 seconds left. Coach K yelling at the refs... I mean classic. The half ends with a turnover, and K leaves the court and one of the refs says don't talk to me. It's 40-38 at the half, and we've got a game!

-Terry Brooks

Davidson vs. Maryland final thoughts

The 2nd half looks like a continuation of the first with some GREAT BASKETBALL! Curry opens with a 3, another great reveverse and later an assist. He's directly responsible for 7 of the 'Cats first 9 points in the second half. Maryland's defense and sloppy passes by the Cats are leading to easy dunks. Gist and Jones have one apiece in this half. At the midway point, it's 60-59 'Cats. Maryland's Bambale Osby is crashing the boards and setting some mean picks. He is just everywhere. He just threw an alley to James Gist... awkward but effective. Thanks to a couple of turnovers and made buckets, Maryland is now up 6 points with 6:35 to play. Davidson needs a bucket in the worse way. Curry on cue, 69-66 now. If this article seems like a glowing endorsement of Stephen Curry, it is. The kid just went to the hoop as the defender thought he would pull up from deep. It's 71-68 at the 4:00 TV timeout. Not to sound too contrived, but this is what March Madness is all about -- small schools hanging with big schools. We're into the last four minutes and it's anybody's game. This is a weird observation -- Davidson's band director is actually playing the trombone. This is the kind of stuff you notice during long timeouts. MIKE JONES for 3. It's now 75-68 Terps. Curry with a bad pass leads to a turnoover. That could be it. Curry gets the offensive board and gets fouled. That's 5 fouls on Ibekwe with 1:12 left and the score 75-68. Both free throws good, 75-70 Terps. Gary Williams is sweating but not to an obnoxious degree. It's just a 5 point game. Is there a glass slipper coming??? Big Dave Neal just made 2 clutch freebies for the the Terps. Curry just took 2 big threes and both missed. The 'Cats look done and Maryland fans are on their feet. Davidson fans look dejected. 44 seconds left. Vazquez 1 of 2 free throws. Will, the Canadian, misses a 3. It's all over but the singing. This was a great game to start it all off. Davidson seemed to just run out of gas. As a guy who graduated from a Southern Conference school, I'm more than appreciative of the effort and the guts. Curry just fouled out and the kid got a STANDING OVATION. They have three more years of the kid at Davidson and that should mean three more years of the 'Cats being the team to beat in the SoCon. Props to the freshman. Thoroughly entertaining game. Crowd chants, "He's a freshman." Yes he is. Let's get ready for Duke at 7:10 vs VCU.

-Terry Brooks