UNC vs. NC State NCAA 2009 Simulation

In a battle between one of the nation’s best secondaries and most efficient quarterbacks, the Carolina defense prevailed, picking off Russell Wilson four times and returning two for touchdowns as the Heels stormed through the Wolfpack 38-17.

Wilson entered the game with only one pick, but pressure from UNC’s front four forced several uncharacteristic throws from the freshman.

On the other side of the field, TJ Yates started after missing most of the season. Yates finished 18-19 for 185 yards and a touchdown. 

Despite the margin of victory, NC State moved the ball at will and out gained the Heels, marking the eighth time the Heel have been out gained offensively and still won this season.

The Wolfpack shredded the Carolina defense on the ground, using running back Jamelle Eugene who finished with 142 yards on only 17 carries.

TJ Yates started for the Heels instead of Cam Sexton after Butch Davis opened the quarterback position this week in practice. Yates started the game with a 10-play drive, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Ryan Houston.

The Heels defense limited the Wolfpack early, shutting them down on a three-and-out on the first possession. The Heels then led by 14 points after Yates completed seven passes on the next drive. Yates scrambled for a 9-yard rushing touchdown, demonstrating a full recovery from breaking his ankle against Virginia Tech earlier in the season.

The teams exchanged punts before Carolina marched down the field and Casey Barth narrowly missed a 56-yard field goal as it fell short in the endzone.

The Wolfpack then drove to the 2-yard line where Eugene was stopped short of the endzone, setting up for a 19-yard field goal.

The Heels led 14-3, and Yates completed four passes of 15 yards or greater, scoring on a on a 14-yard pass to Brooks Foster as the half expired.

On State’s opening possession of the second half, Bruce Carter picked off Wilson and returned the ball to midfield. Shaun Draughn carried Carolina to the 9-yard line, rushing for 35 yards on the drive. Casey Barth kicked a 26-yard field goal, pushing the lead to 24-3. Draughn finished with 74 yards on 18 carries.

Charles Brown then picked off Wilson for his third interception of the day. Brown returned the interception for a score, which gave Carolina a 31-3 advantage as the third quarter came to an end.   

State’s woes continued when Wilson threw his fourth interception, which Kendric Burney returned for a touchdown. 

The Wolfpack’s Eugene rushed for a 70-yard touchdown on the ensuing drive. The Heels led 38-10 with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. 

EA SPORTS World: NCAA Football 09 Video

After recovering an onside kick, Wilson completed a 38-yard touchdown pass to Eugene, which closed the Heels advantage to three touchdowns with just under two minutes to play. 
Draughn and Houston ran out the clock as they combined for 43 yards rushing on the final UNC drive, giving the Heels a 38-17 win over the Wolfpack.

Carolina moved to 8-3 on the season, keeping their ACC Coastal Division hopes alive as Georgia Tech defeated Miami Thursday night 41-23. The Tar Heels need Virginia and Virginia Tech to each lose a game in order to win the division.

The Heels face a resurgent Duke team next week in Chapel Hill.

NC State fell to 4-7 on the season and cannot reach bowl eligibility with only one game remaining against Miami.

According to New York Times’ Lynn Zinser on her Slapshot blog, the booing was much louder than is apparent in this video. She wrote:

[W]hen Palin came out onto the Wachovia Center ice Saturday night - greeted by resounding (almost deafening) boos from the Flyers crowd - the two hockey players who had no choice but to appear with her in that photo op were turned into props in a political campaign. If Rangers center Scott Gomez or Flyers center Mike Richards wanted to make some sort of political statement, that would be fine, but in this case, they were thrust into a situation not of their choosing.

The Rangers happen to have two native Alaskans: Gomez, seen in the video, and Brandon Dubinsky. Neither has shown any inclination to comment publicly on the Alaska governor.

Kimbo Slice

If you don’t follow mixed martial arts fighting, you probably haven’t heard of Kevin Ferguson, aka Kimbo Slice.

According the hype, Ferguson-or Slice, if you prefer-was going to rule the MMA (mixed martial arts) circuit for years to come.  The buzz was enough that I noticed it, and I watch MMA only in the rare case that I have nothing better to do and there’s not a thing else worth watching.

But Kimbo? I noticed him.

First of all, the guy is 6′ 2″, 240 pounds, insanely ripped and has a huge black beard.  He looks great on a poster, bad in a dark alley.

Kimbo got his “rep” from a series of YouTube videos that showed him, among other things, beating up bums and full-tilt tackling people for money.  No, I’m not making this up. 

Kimbo Slice videos were the sorts of schlock your brother-in-law e-mailed you on his lunch break.  Everyone agreed the guy looked mean, and videos of big guys beating each other up are nothing if not entertaining.  But nobody mistook Slice for a real, trained fighter.

That is, nobody mistook him for a real fighter until EliteXC, a promotional company, tried to make Kimbo Slice into the George Foreman of MMA.  I guess it was worth a shot.  MMA is tiny business compared to most pro sports, and it desperately needed a bankable, recognizable star to put it on the map.  Kimbo Slice looked intimidating, talked a big game, and already had a big following from his YouTube videos.

So EliteXC put all their eggs in the Slice basket.  They put him up for some MMA fights in 2007 and 2008, all against exceptionally weak fighters whom Slice easily beat.

But this past weekend was supposed to be proof positive that Slice was for real. Slice was slated to fight aging MMA titan Ken Shamrock on primetime CBS.  Endorsements flowed in.  Money rained down from the sky.  MMA finally had its star.

Slice had a somewhat dramatic life story.  He was a talented high school football player, but wasn’t recruited for college.  Slice blames a hurricane that shortened his season on the setback.  He bounced around before finally being handed a golden opportunity to cash in.  And, like I imagine most of us would, he took it.

Alas, Slice’s 15 minutes were short.

Ken Shamrock hurt himself in training shortly before the scheduled bout.  A replacement was disqualified for having a previous injury, and on the very day of the fight, a no-name, undercard fighter named Seth Petruzelli was informed he’d be taking on Kimbo Slice in the main event.

Petruzelli has since alleged that EliteXC offered him money to trade punches with Slice instead of taking him to the ground.  As a largely unschooled fighter, Slice’s weakness-or so it was believed-was grappling.

As it turned out, Petruzelli probably could have beaten Slice with one hand tied behind his back.  The fight lasted all of 14 seconds, most of them with Kimbo Slice on the ground, being pounded in the face by a guy two inches shorter and 25 or so pounds lighter than him.

Everything about the fight was a sham, except for Kimbo himself.  In the post-fight press conference, he joked with Petruzelli.  Despite his penchant for making videos of himself beating people up, he seems more like a hard-luck guy than a nasty brute.  He actually comes across as a pretty personable fellow. 

But people tried to make money off him, and they almost certainly didn’t have his best interest in mind. Good MMA fighters are heavily trained.  They aren’t street brawlers - they’re karate-chopping, kung-fu fighting badasses who are a whole lot tougher than they look (and a lot of them don’t exactly look like weenies). Kimbo Slice, as big and mean as he looks, just wasn’t a match for even an average MMA fighter like Petruzelli.  He’s lucky he wasn’t hurt.

This may not be last we see of Kimbo Slice.  EliteXC, according to industry rumors, has banked its existence on Slice.  He draws huge numbers (for MMA) in the TV ratings war.  Somebody, somewhere, may yet find another way to squeeze another dime out of this man.

But I hope they don’t, for his sake.