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
May 22, 2013
For once, the Charlotte Bobcats got something right.
The team that drafted Adam Morrison and fired Larry Brown finally made the right move at the right time.
In the ultimate admission of "this isn't working," the Bobcats are going away, at least in name, to be replaced by something that DID work - for a while at least - the Charlotte Hornets.
The move has been expected, even demanded by fans. But it's now official. In 2014, the NBA team in Charlotte will be the Hornets again.
This is not to say that all is well for the BobHornetCats. Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning won't be in the starting lineup on opening night in 2014. But it does signal the franchise is listening to objective criticism.
The Bobcats simply didn't work – that's the whole thing: on-court performance, off-the-court marketing, you name it. Changing the name back to the sentimental favorite "Hornets" at least draws upon the good feelings from an era when fans in the Carolinas were just happy to have a team, period.
But it can't stop there. The soon-to-be Hornets have to go all-in with this. I'm talking about teal, green and purple plastered everywhere. Draw up another cartoon bug for the logo.
Get Alexander Julian to design the new uniforms. Call the Time-Warner Cable Arena "The Hive." And, by all means, blast out that buzzing noise at games.
In short, keep getting it right. Oh, and winning a few games would be nice, too.
By Ken Medlin
May 10, 2013
Larry Fedora (left) and the Tar Heels run out of the tunnel before the North Carolina Tar Heels vs. N.C. State Wolfpack NCAA football game, Saturday, October 27, 2012 in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Confirming one of the worst-kept secrets in recent memory, North Carolina and South Carolina announced they will open up the 2015 college football season against each other in Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium.
Smart move, Carolina(s).
It's the kind of match-up that has been overdue, the kind of forward-thinking move necessary in today's college football landscape.
Season-opening games of this sort tend to create a buzz of their own, and the bigger the stage the bigger the buzz. Playing this game in an NFL stadium will only stoke the off-season fires in 2015 and the match-up of the two Carolinas in a city which embraces both, makes perfect sense.
The stadium will be packed and the game will be an "event." Let's face it, if the Tar Heels and Gamecocks were opening up against FCS opponents the buzz would be a bit more - well, subdued. But an old-fashioned border war in a border city? On an NFL stage?
There's an added bonus for both schools. Charlotte has become a college football recruiting battleground. Carolina - and by this I mean North Carolina, my apologies to my friends from the Palmetto State - has been trying to make inroads in the Charlotte area for years. But many of the city's best high school football players leave the area to play college football. Just this spring, the Tar Heels held a scrimmage in the Charlotte area - so playing a regular-season game in the Queen City is the next logical step to building a greater presence
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By Ken Medlin
Apr 23, 2013
It's over.
The ACC has finally put an end to any speculation of the SEC, Big Ten – or even the Big 12 – poaching its teams. The solution? A grant of media rights agreement, signed by all 15 ACC schools, effective immediately.
Translation: If any ACC school leaves the conference, the ACC retains that school's media rights and revenue.
So unless a school like Florida State wants to play in a conference like the SEC or Big 12 for free, the ACC will be a stable entity for a long time to come.
“I am thrilled with today’s announcement by the Atlantic Coast Conference," said Duke head basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski. "It is one of the great days in the history of our conference as it shows the highest level of commitment – not by words, but by actions."
University of North Carolina Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham said in a statement, “These are strong and definitive moves by the ACC and its member schools to further announce our desire to stay together and position ourselves among the top conferences in the country."
The deal also points to the much-discussed possibility of an ACC Network a la the one raking in dough for the Big Ten.
North Carolina State University Director of Athletics Debbie Yow acknowledged as much Monday in a statement.
"The assignment of media rights to the ACC by each member guarantees stability in the league, of course. But, it also opens the door
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By Ken Medlin
Apr 18, 2013
There are times when sports can bring people together. Sports can unify communities, cities, states and even nations. We are living in one of the more unfortunate examples of those times.
Boston's pro teams were right to postpone games in the horrifying aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing. Now they are right to begin playing again, giving the people of that embattled city a chance to return to normalcy.
The scene at Boston's TD Garden Wednesday night was one of the most powerful we'll ever see in sports. The Boston crowd simply took over the national anthem, delivering a thunderous rendition that would bring chills to even the most cynical among us.
That moment had to be cathartic for a city in pain - a chance to let raw emotion take over in a release of tensions too great for any community to bear. It was both angry and hopeful, simultaneously proud and reverent.
And it was real.
The crowd at the Garden - if not an entire city - needed that moment. And then they needed to escape for a few hours, to get away from the grim reality still so fresh in the nation's mind.
At their best, sports allow us that chance, the chance to immerse ourselves - whether as players or spectators - in the thrill and drama of the spectacle unfolding. We play for the fun of it. We watch for the thrill of it. And for a few short moments, we slip away from whatever problems this short life can bring us.
Sometimes we lose sight of this - falling
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By Ken Medlin
Apr 2, 2013
Lorenzo Brown (2) and C.J. Leslie (5) during quarterfinal action of the 2013 ACC Men's Basketball Conference Tournament between NC State and Virginia at the Greensboro Coliseum on March 15, 2013 in Greensboro, NC.
NC State is now dealing with life in the fast lane.
Back in the 1970's, the Eagles suggested such a life would “surely make you lose your mind.” But for NC State, I’ll propose a different reaction: This is the standard initiation fee when you try to join college basketball’s best.
In less than a week, State has lost five of their top six players: Richard Howell and Scott Wood to graduation, CJ Leslie and Lorenzo Brown to the NBA draft, and Rodney Purvis to transfer. That’s a devastating set of losses for a team that dropped its opening-round game in the NCAA tournament.
But it comes with the territory… Just ask the folks in Durham and Chapel Hill.
After all, that’s the level the Pack is aiming for – and talented players tend not to stay in school for four years. The nation’s top programs have been dealing with this phenomena for more than a decade now, and NC State is now getting their taste.
State has more talent on the way for next season - Scout.com ranks the Wolfpack’s recruiting class as the 9th best nationally. Incorporating that talent alongside returning players like TJ Warren and Tyler Lewis will be the challenge for Mark Gottfried, and the level to which he succeeds with a mostly-clean slate next season will likely give us much insight into State’s future.
Like a lot of people, I miss the days when top players stayed in college. Teams had more clearly-defined identities back then. But those days are gone –
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By Ken Medlin
Mar 25, 2013
It's March, and the seasons have ended for North Carolina and NC State... So naturally, we're asking players about going to the NBA.
It's one of the less pleasant parts of the job - asking a kid minutes after a defeat which ended his season if he has made the most important decision of his young life. But people want to know...
The vast majority of the time, players say they've made no decisions - James Michael McAdoo, PJ Hairston and Reggie Bullock all said this after Carolina's loss to Kansas, and Lorenzo Brown and CJ Leslie said basically the same after NC State's loss to Temple.
For all of these players, the decision to go or not to go pro early will be challenging. None of them are slam-dunk lottery picks. NBADraft.net projects McAdoo to go at pick #16, while Brown and Leslie are listed as early second-rounders at #35 and #37. Bullock and Hairston are not listed. Another site, draftexpress.com, projects McAdoo and Brown as first-rounders (#19 and #29, respectively) with Bullock and Leslie listed as early second-round picks (#33 and #35).
Based purely on basketball, I think all five players can benefit from returning for another year at the college level. But no decision in life is that cut-and-dried. Would any of us turn down that kind of money for playing a game?
The NBA's wage scale puts the #19 pick at around $1.2 million, and the contract is guaranteed for two years. Second-round contracts do not carry the same guarantee. So if you're
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By Ken Medlin
Mar 22, 2013
North Carolina's Marcus Paige during the Tar Heels' 87-77 title game loss to Miami in the 60th ACC Tournament on Sunday, March 17, 2013 in Greensboro, NC (Photo by Jack Morton).
If I had to choose one word to describe North Carolina's basketball team going into their NCAA second-round matchup with Villanova, I would probably go for "loose."
Every team is different. Some teams head into the tournament tense and tight; others seem to be having fun. Carolina falls into the second category.
By now, JP Tokoto's dunk OVER Joel James has made the Internet rounds. Check it out if you haven't seen it.
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By Ken Medlin
Mar 15, 2013
Tuomo Ruutu (15) skates with the puck during the Carolina Hurricanes vs. Winnipeg Jets NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C. Friday, March 30, 2012.
Reinforcements are on the way for the Carolina Hurricanes.
Defenseman Joni Pitkanen is expected to be back in the lineup this weekend, and forward Tuomo Ruutu is expected back by the end of the month. That's a top-pairing defenseman and a top-6 forward both returning to the action – de facto trade deadline acquisitions without the need of actual trades.
The NHL's trade deadline is April 3, and the Canes – like most playoff contenders – will likely survey the landscape for options to improve their team for the postseason run. But in getting two veteran, playoff-tested performers like Ruutu and Pitkanen back on the ice, the Canes' roster will already be bolstered.
Pitkanen's presence should improve the Canes' struggling power play and strengthen the Canes' defensive pairings as well. Ruutu, once he's back up to speed, could be slotted on the 2nd line alongside Jordan Staal and Jeff Skinner or on a beefed-up third line with Jussi Jokinen and Riley Nash. Any way you cut it, the Canes will be deeper and more talented with the two injured Finns back on the ice.
And there's another possibility – the return of Ruutu and Pitkanen might free the Canes up to make a deal for a missing piece of the equation – perhaps a stay-at-home defenseman – at the deadline.
Either way, the Canes have options, and they're more likely to be buyers rather than sellers at the deadline for the first time in several years.
Injuries
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By Ken Medlin
Mar 10, 2013
Seth Curry (30) during the North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Duke Blue Devils NCAA basketball game, Saturday, March 9, 2013 in Chapel Hill, NC.
It was a blue bloodbath.
Duke out-shot, out-rebounded, out-hustled and thoroughly out-played Carolina on Senior Night in Chapel Hill.
I'll admit I've been skeptical about this Duke team for most of the season. I've tended to think Duke didn't have enough of an inside game to make a run for it all, and that their dependence on three-point shooting would ultimately be their downfall. But the past two Saturdays – and wins against the No. 1 and No. 3 teams in the ACC – have changed my mind.
Duke trounces North Carolina, 69-53
The Devils space themselves so well on offense that a lack of what most of us consider to be a dominating front-court – beyond Mason Plumlee – really doesn't matter. Ryan
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By Ken Medlin
Mar 7, 2013
Richard Howell (1) shoots against Tyler Cavanaugh (34) during the Wake Forest vs. NC State game on March 6, 2013 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
There's an often-quoted phrase about leaving a place better than you found it. Scott Wood and Richard Howell have certainly done that.
Wood and Howell went out winners on Senior Night at North Carolina State University Wednesday, but the impact their careers have had on the Wolfpack basketball program goes a lot deeper than simply one game.
NC State takes 81-66 win over Wake Forest
These two seniors signed with State during lean times in West Raleigh, and they endured back-to-back 5-11 ACC seasons as freshmen and sophomores.
But during their upper-class years, Wood and Howell became leaders on a team that underwent a resurgence – winning 24 games and making a Sweet Sixteen
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