Ken Medlin
Ken Medlin is a Bailey native whose WRAL reports range from the ACC to the Hurricanes to high school sports.
By Ken Medlin
Nov 16, 2008
Just about everyone I've talked with believes Russell Wilson's professional future lies with baseball. But after watching him pick apart Wake Forest, I can't help but think he's not too shabby on the football field either.
Wilson rarely makes mistakes. His current streak of 175 pass attempts without an interception is the second-longest in school history, and he needs only five more to hold the record outright.
But while that streak certainly qualifies as amazing -- especially for a redshirt freshman -- I'm even more impressed at Wilson's lack of "hidden mistakes."
For example, Wilson seems to have an innate knack for knowing when to tuck the football and run. He is by no means a run-first quarterback, but Wilson can certainly beat a team with his feet. Negative yardage plays are at a minimum with Wilson at the helm. When flushed out of the pocket, he continues to look down field while scrambling but rarely gets sacked.
And that
…
Click here to read the rest of the post and view comments
By Ken Medlin
Nov 8, 2008
It helps to have a backup plan.
Fourteen games into the Carolina Hurricanes’ season, you can make a strong case that the Canes’ early season MVP is none other than… backup goalie Michael Leighton.
Be honest now… Who saw this coming?
Leighton is currently 4-1 (ironically the same number of wins as starting goaltender Cam Ward) and so far he is the most productive backup goaltender the Canes have had in some time.
Just look at the numbers. Last season, John Grahame went 5-7-1 and Leighton 1-1-0 as Ward’s backups. Grahame’s record in ’06-’07 was similar. He posted a 10-13-2 record as the sole backup to Cam Ward that season.
For all intents and purposes, playing the backup goalie has been a losing proposition for the Canes. But not this year...
Leighton’s emergence has come at just the right time for a Canes’ team that has been riddled with injuries. Will it continue?
…
Click here to read the rest of the post and view comments
By Ken Medlin
Nov 2, 2008
The kicking game… Nothing sounds so boring. And all too often, nothing seems more important.
How many times have we heard coaches talk about “the importance of the kicking game?” And how many times have we then – as fans and media members alike – yawned and rolled our eyes at such a boring subject?
Well, no one is rolling any eyes at Duke now.
The Devils fumbled a kickoff, fumbled a punt, had a punt blocked for a safety and (despite all that) missed a potential game-winning field goal against Wake Forest.
Duke’s special teams miscues led directly to sixteen Demon Deacon points, and they cost Duke three more. Yet somehow, the Devils took this game to overtime.
Duke has come a long way under David Cutcliffe. There’s no doubt about that. But until the Devils solve their kicking game riddle – one that is now several years old – they’re not getting over the hump.
…
Click here to read the rest of the post and view comments
By Ken Medlin
Oct 14, 2008
Amazingly, basketball season is just around the corner, and our unofficial tip-off to another year of hoops comes Tuesday with N.C. State’s Basketball Media Day.
A few of the more interesting items from Tuesday’s interview sessions:
Brandon Costner simply looks more relaxed this season. He’s clearly in better shape. Last season Costner battled through a knee injury that clearly affected him on the court. Now fully healthy, Costner reports to training camp 12 pounds lighter than last season. State needs the Brandon Costner of two seasons ago if the Pack plans to make a post-season return, and he at least looks the part.
Don’t be surprised if freshman Julius Mays gets plenty of playing time at point guard for State this season. Pack coach Sidney Lowe calls Mays a “solid, steady” point guard. And given the Pack’s inconsistencies at point last year, solid and steady may be just what the doctor ordered.
As
…
Click here to read the rest of the post and view comments
By Ken Medlin
Oct 7, 2008
Every year at this time, I’m reminded that Major League Baseball has a serious problem. And it has nothing to do with performance-enhancing drugs.
Under the current structure of baseball's post-season playoffs, divisional champions are just not getting their fair share of reward – at least not in terms of home-field advantage. Just ask the Tampa Rays.
Here’s the deal. The Rays won the American League East, finishing with a two-game advantage over Boston. But since both Tampa and Boston won their divisional round series, they will face each other in the American League Championship Series.
So for all that work over the course of a full season, Tampa's only getting one extra game at home in a League Championship Series against the very team the Rays beat out over 162 games.
Of course, that's nothing new -- the standard split for home games in a seven-game series has always been four for Team X and three for Team Y. But what
…
Click here to read the rest of the post and view comments
Older Posts
