While Wake Forest’s upset of Duke on Sunday changed the complexion of the ACC basketball race, it shouldn’t be a surprise to see the Blue Devils get as much positive mileage out of that game as the Deacons.If there is a master of motivation in the backwash of defeat, it is Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. The 2007 season, when the Blue Devils went 8-9 against the league and were a quick out in the NCAA Tournament, was an exception. But as a rule, Krzyzewski’s teams recycle losses into periods of recommitment.

Most coaches don’t buy the theory that there can be “good losses.” But there can be timely losses, and the timing of this one should provide Krzyzewski with a perfect opportunity to adjust the players’ focus for a difficult remaining schedule.

This is not meant to detract from Wake’s achievement. In handing Duke its first ACC loss of the season, the Deacons positioned themselves to contend for an NCAA Tournament bid while thrusting Dino Gaudio squarely into the conference coach-of-the-year race.

At 6-5 in the league and 16-8 overall, Wake already has overachieved in Gaudio’s first season. The team was picked to finish 11th in the preseason poll.

Even before the trip to Wake, Krzyzewski said he had some concern about the way his team responded to emotionally charged wins at Maryland and North Carolina. “But we were at home for the following games, and I think our crowd helped us fight through it,” he said.

At Wake, there was no Cameron factor to help offset the letdown that followed a second victory over Maryland last Wednesday in Durham. Krzyzewski said it was important that his team find a way to create its own energy — home or away, ahead or behind on the scoreboard.

The schedule just ahead will provide the Devils a reading on that front. Duke must play on the road against ACC opponents Miami, N.C. State and Virginia. Between the Miami and State road games are home dates against St. John’s and Georgia Tech.

There is no strong reason to think Duke will lose any of those road games. But no one expected a loss at Wake, and opposing teams are more likely to see Duke as at least somewhat vulnerable.

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CARY, N.C. — Sam DiFranco, CEO of Triangle Commercial, Inc., a full-service commercial real estate company based in Cary, announces today that Peter Pessetto, real estate advisor with the firm, will represent Triangle Soccer Development, Inc. (TSD Inc.) and Triangle Adult Soccer League (TASL) in acquiring land for a recreational athletic complex.

About Triangle Commercial:
Formed in 2001 by Sam DiFranco and Ed Hoel, Triangle Commercial, Inc. specializes in consulting with buyers and tenants, providing them with creative and effective solutions for managing their space requirements. Based in Cary, N.C., Triangle Commercial offers services in investment property sales, tenant representation, buyer representation, 1031 exchange advisement, development property, dispositions and land selection, acquisition and development. Triangle Commercial’s in-depth understanding of market trends and expertise in analyzing real property proformas enables clients to make secure, educated decisions about the acquisition and disposition of property. For more information, visit TriangleCommercial.com.

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CHAPEL HILL – The big battle in Chapel Hill between Duke and Carolina ended up with Duke as the victor by a score of 89-78.

Although Ray-Com announcer Billy Packer had already written off the Tar Heels earlier in the second half, the UNC-Duke game went down to the wire with only a five point lead by Duke with one minute left in the game. In the end though the Blue Devils were too much for the Heels.

The much touted game pitted the two rivals who are only separated by eight miles against each other in a game that drew wide attention in NC and beyond.

UNC players seemed to have problems scoring throughout the game, as Tyler Hansbrough was the only hot player on offense for Carolina. Although he ended up with 28 points, Hansbrough was often double or even triple-teamed down in the paint and drew few foul calls when he was going up with the ball. As a result, other UNC players tried to sink shots from the field but didn’t seem to find their rythm.

UNC’s Marcus Ginyard scored 16 points but was 3-10 from the field, while Deon Thompson was 4-5 with 14 points.

Duke, on the other hand, saw its points spread widely among its starters and had multiple offensive weapons. Greg Paulus scored 18 points, Jon Scheyer scored 17, Kyle Singler had 14, DeMarcus Nelson came away with 13, and Gerald Henderson scored 12 points.

The Tarheels also seemed to have problems rebounding the ball, even on their own offensive boards.

The Heels did well on free-throws, but the big difference in the game was three point shots as Duke rained down three pointers at precisely the right moments in the game to keep its momentum going.

Duke scored well, sinking 13 out of 28 three point attempts, while Carolina sank only 3 out of 15 attempts.

Duke led for most of the game, but the Tarheels often came to within a few points of their lead. However, both teams experienced dry spells on offense. Duke saw a dry spell at the end of the first half, when they saw a Carolina run while UNC had problems scoring late in the game.

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CHAPEL HILL – Moments after the final buzzer at Florida State on Sunday, North Carolina forward Tyler Hansbrough’s thoughts immediately turned to tonight’s game against Duke.Not because of Blue Devil swingman Gerald Henderson’s foul last March. Not because of Hansbrough’s resulting broken nose. Not because of the face mask he had to don for 4 1/2 games as a result.

But because, well, it’s Duke. For him, that’s enough.

“There is some added hype this year by you guys because of the incident,” Hansbrough told a flock of reporters Tuesday. “But to me, it’s still the expected Duke-North Carolina game, and the big-time rivalry.”

He admits he still thinks about the flying forearm that left blood gushing out of his nose with 14.5 seconds left.

“But it’s over,” he said, “and we have more things we’re trying to concentrate on than that one incident.”

Like how to get up to speed without point guard Ty Lawson, who may not play in tonight’s game. He participated only in solo light shooting during Tuesday’s practice, an air cast on his left sprained ankle.

Like how to protect the ball from the No. 2 Blue Devils, who force the most turnovers in the ACC.

And perhaps most important, how to get the ball to Hansbrough, who is averaging a league-leading 21.8 points and 10.4 rebounds and whom perimeter-oriented Duke will have trouble defending if he has his way in the lane.

“It’s going to be real important to get good spacing, run our offense, get the ball inside — by pass or dribble,” said shooting guard Wayne Ellington. “It’s going to be important to emphasize that they don’t have a low-post presence as good as we do.”

That in itself could be a challenge, though. After Lawson was sidelined roughly four minutes into UNC’s overtime win at FSU, Hansbrough didn’t score a field goal until midway through the second half — partially because his teammates had a hard time getting him the ball.

Hansbrough took some of the blame.

“Sometimes my movement was poor and some of my positions were bad,” he said.

But senior Quentin Thomas, who played a career-high 36 minutes against FSU and will make only his second career start if Lawson doesn’t play, said it took a while for him and Hansbrough to get used to each other’s positioning.

Eventually, Hansbrough finished with 22 points and 21 rebounds.

“Hopefully, it doesn’t take as long this next game,” Thomas said. “It’s all about adjustment and communication, so me and Tyler, we’re working on it.”

One of the Blue Devils trying to disrupt that communication, though, will be Henderson, who called Hansbrough to apologize after the bloody incident last March.

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Cid Cardoso, Owner of Inside Out Sports triathlon shop in Cary & Charlotte, NC, announced today that Raleigh native and two time Ironman, Edde Burgess, has been promoted to run the e-Commerce division. Ed has extensive knowledge and experience in bike fitting and sales and is excited to meet the challenge of increasing online sales for the company. He attends the annual Interbike Expo each year in Las Vegas to meet with vendors and manufacturers of the latest in triathlon cycling technology. He also travels to several of the Ironman competitions in the US to represent the company at various Expo events.

Following great success as the exclusive multi-sport retailer at Ironman USA and Ironman Florida, Inside-Out Sports expanded its relationship with Ironman North America to include all four U.S. Events in 2002 and 2003, including the inaugural Ironman Idaho and Ironman Wisconsin

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RALEIGH, N.C. — McConnell Golf LLC (MCG) announces an impressive 2008 schedule of statewide tournaments hosted by its family of courses, most notably both State Amateur Championship events for the Carolinas. MCG continues its long-standing “love of the game” tradition of supporting the game of golf by hosting prominent amateur and professional events.

Beginning in April, Treyburn Country Club in Durham, N.C., Raleigh Country Club, in Raleigh, N.C., Cardinal Golf & Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., and Musgrove Mill Golf Club in Clinton, S.C., will be the center of attention for many of the region’s most prominent junior and amateur golfers. The 2008 schedule includes:

• Treyburn Country Club: North Carolina High School State Invitational, April 14
• Raleigh Country Club: McConnell Challenge, April 25-27; North Carolina Amateur Championship, June 12-15
• Cardinal Golf & Country Club: Cardinal Amateur, August 7-10
• Musgrove Mill Country Club: South Carolina Amateur Stroke-Play, August 7-10

“John McConnell has injected a new brand of excitement for golf in the Carolinas,” said Jack Nance, Executive Director of the Carolinas Golf Association. “His commitment to host the North Carolina Amateur at Raleigh Country Club is just one of the many examples of his dedication and commitment to making golf in the Carolinas even better. We are lucky to have an organization like McConnell Golf because they clearly demonstrate their love of the game by making such fine private courses available for amateur tournament play.”

The upcoming events add to an impressive competition lineage at McConnell Golf’s outstanding stable of courses. From 1966 through 1973, Raleigh Country Club was a popular annual stop on the LPGA Tour with legends like Peggy Kirk Bell, Kathy Whitworth, Patty Berg, and Mickey Wright all playing the course.

More recently, Raleigh Country Club hosted a Nationwide Tour event from 1998 to 2000, followed by a U.S. Amateur qualifier in 2002, U.S. Junior Amateur qualifying in 2005, and the North Carolina Open in 2006 and 2007.

Likewise, The Cardinal Golf & Country Club has hosted the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Championship (1979), two North Carolina Amateur Championships (1981, 1982), two North Carolina Opens (1983, 1984), the North Carolina PGA Junior Championship (1987), two North Carolina Women’s State Open Championships (1993, 1998), the Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Championship (1988), seven AJGA events (1990, 1998-2003), and 10 Carolinas PGA Pro-Junior Championships (1990-1999).

Treyburn Country Club has an impressive resume of its own that includes hosting the Carolinas Amateur (1993), North Carolina State Open (1997), Carolinas PGA Section Championship (2001), Tarheel Tour Treyburn Open (2005, 2006), two AJGA events (2006, 2007), USGA Junior Girls qualifier (2007) and PGA Tour Q-School stage 1 (2006-2007).

Musgrove Mill has also hosted the Carolinas Mid-Amateur (2006), and has been the site of numerous Carolinas Golf Association and South Carolina Golf Association amateur events

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A 17-0 run to end the first half is pivotal for N.C. State in its second ACC victory

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. – After the game, after N.C. State had beaten Florida State 69-66, there was much talk of Courtney Fells’ banked 3-pointer, of J.J. Hickson’s big block and winning free throws, and the Pack’s startling 17-0 run to end the first half.

To be sure, all of that figured prominently Saturday in the Wolfpack’s first ACC road win of the season. Fells’ 3 tied the score with 41.7 seconds to play, Hickson’s two foul shots pushed the Wolfpack ahead with 9.6 seconds left, and his reject of a Toney Douglas shot then sealed it.

But Hickson said the difference in the game at the Tucker Center was more elementary than any of the X’s and O’s designed by Pack coach Sidney Lowe or FSU coach Leonard Hamilton.

“It was just wanting to win,” Hickson said. “That’s the biggest thing.

“You can draw up all the plays you want, but if you don’t have the will to win you’re not going to win. That’s something we had.”

And that coming from a freshman.

“J.J. was right on the money,” Lowe said. “It wasn’t so much just about execution. It was about being tough and playing hard.”

The Pack (13-6, 2-3 ACC) wasn’t tough enough in its last game, against Georgia Tech, losing 77-74 Wednesday night.

“That was a big loss at home,” Hickson said. “Not to take anything away from Georgia Tech, but we should have won that game. This kind of makes up for that loss.”

Fells’ excuse-me banker — his fourth 3-pointer of the game — came on a designed play. The junior guard, who had a team-high 16 points, slipped around a screen and took the shot from the top of the key, the ball banging in off the glass.

“It felt good,” a smiling Fells said, “but I didn’t expect it to bank.”

The Seminoles (13-8, 2-4) ran the clock down after Fells’ basket and their strategy was simple: isolate Douglas, a junior, on State freshman Javi Gonzalez. Douglas had drained a 3 with 2:52 to play to give FSU a 62-59 lead and later zipped past Gonzalez on a drive to push the Noles ahead 66-63 with 58.7 seconds left.

But during a timeout before Fells’ 3, Lowe told Hickson he had wandered too far out defensively, allowing Douglas a clear path through the lane.

“Coach said to stay in there and protect the basket,” Hickson said.

Douglas again made a move on Gonzalez but missed the shot with 12 seconds to play as Hickson rose high for the rebound. He was slung to floor by FSU’s Ryan Reid, who was whistled for a foul.

“I got [Gonzazlez] in the air, and I thought he fouled me,” said Douglas, who had a game-high 17 points.

Hamilton called a timeout, looking to ice Hickson. But with FSU students madly waving their arms, stomping their feet, Hickson stepped to the line and swished both free throws for a 68-66 lead

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RALEIGH – Khadijah Whittington recorded her 15th double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds Sunday as N.C. State beat Wake Forest 63-38.Megan Zullo also had 12 points for the Wolfpack (14-7, 2-4), which won its second straight Atlantic Coast Conference game.

Chanita Jordan and Gloria Brown combined for 13 points in the first 15 minutes, with a three-point play by Jordan giving N.C. State a 27-10 lead with 4:16 left until halftime.

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ATLANTA – The NHL All-Star Game is only six hours away from the Triangle this weekend. It should be only four years away from coming to Raleigh.With the pace of hotel development in the Triangle quickening, the time has come for the NHL to live up to the pledge commissioner Gary Bettman made in 2001, even if it’s six years late.

The Montreal Canadiens will host the event next year, and there’s no game in 2010 because of the Winter Olympics. The Phoenix Coyotes, who were scheduled to host in 2006 before that game was canceled because of NHL’s involvement at the Olympics, are likely to get the 2011 game — although no announcement is expected this weekend.

That leaves 2012 for the Hurricanes, and all indications are they’re first in line for that date, although an NHL spokesman said any speculation for 2011 or beyond is “way premature in terms of prospective cities.”

Bettman offered the Hurricanes a giant carrot for a sales campaign in the spring of 2001: Get the season-ticket base to 12,000, and the league would bring an All-Star Game to Raleigh within five years. (A draft was awarded, without conditions, and duly held in 2004.)

Fans bought tickets — lots of them. While there was some debate over whether the final numbers were fudged to meet the goal, the league was thrilled with the response, and as far as Bettman was concerned, the goal was met.

Since then, the league has awarded All-Star Games to St. Paul, Minn.; Atlanta; Phoenix; Dallas and Montreal.

Raleigh, meanwhile, continues to wait. The team acknowledged in an August 2002 letter to the league that the market wasn’t ready, primarily because of a lack of high-end hotel space that forced unhappy teams to be spread out over too far an area at the 2004 draft.

But that landscape has changed dramatically. With The Umstead open in Cary, high-rise hotels going up downtown, at North Hills and at Crabtree Valley, and the convention center on the verge of completion, Raleigh is not only ready to host an All-Star Game, it’s overdue.

With more than 5,000 deep-pocketed visitors, an All-Star Game would add more than $10 million to the Triangle economy — more than an NCAA basketball regional, an NHL draft and a U.S. Open in the Sandhills combined.

The league entertains its most valued sponsors and dignitaries with a whirlwind of fan events, galas and, sometimes almost lost in the shuffle, the game itself, broadcast to an international audience.

It’s a substantial logistical commitment to host the event, but it offers untold rewards. While the 2002 and 2006 Stanley Cup finals put the Triangle on a world stage, the All-Star Game takes that exposure to another level.

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N.C. State guards learning on the job

The scene has become increasingly familiar, especially to N.C. State fans, perhaps maddeningly so: Point guard Javier Gonzalez dribbling and dribbling, straining to shake a defender.

Point guard Marques Johnson dribbling and dribbling, a defender locked on, poking at the ball, making life miserable.

In State’s 77-74 loss to Georgia Tech on Wednesday, Johnson had the ball knocked off him by Yellow Jackets guard Matt Causey for a turnover. Later, Causey did it again, sending NCSU coach Sidney Lowe flying down the bench to get Gonzalez back in.

Since starting point guard Farnold Degand went down with a season-ending knee injury on Dec. 23 against Cincinnati, in the Pack’s 10th game, Lowe has had to turn to Gonzalez, a freshman, and Johnson, a sophomore and transfer from Tennessee who played in four games for the Vols last season before leaving after the first semester.

The result has been at times excruciating on-the-job training for the two guards and almost a labor of love for Lowe, one of State’s all-time best point guards — Gonzalez and Johnson laboring to handle the ball and run the Pack’s offense, Lowe continuing to publicly show them some love.

“Javi definitely is getting some great experience. He’s growing,” Lowe said Friday. “Marques is doing a good job for us.”

Asked if he might consider using wing players Courtney Fells or Gavin Grant at the point in spots, Lowe said he wanted the veterans to remain at their normal positions. For now, his plans are to stick with his younger players, and Lowe said Johnson will start today at Florida State.

“We have to let them grow, gain confidence, fall on their face a little bit, get back up and do it again,” Lowe said. “I thought [Javi] played an excellent game [against Georgia Tech]. He read the defense when we ran a certain play. He kept getting to the basket. He ran the show for us.

“I think we have to stick with that. Especially with the way Courtney is playing right now, we don’t want to take him out of his rhythm. And Gavin has been doing a nice job for us. We’ll stay with those guys.”

A year ago, the Pack relied on a senior — Engin Atsur — to orchestrate the offense. Even playing with an injured hamstring, he had 101 assists and 57 turnovers and was State’s cool head in the backcourt.

Degand, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, redshirted as a freshman at Iowa State before transferring to NCSU. Despite a lack of college experience, he had 29 assists and 19 turnovers before his injury. In contrast, Gonzalez has 20 assists and 26 turnovers in 18 games; Johnson, who became eligible after the first semester, has 12 assists and 11 turnovers in eight games.

“That’s obviously an area that they’re struggling,” Clemson coach Oliver Purnell said. “Losing a player to a season-ending injury is never easy. Not many teams can lose a point guard. That’s something they’re going to have to solve in order to get this going.”

In State’s 70-54 loss at Clemson, the Tigers turned 23 Pack turnovers into 29 points.

Degand had the quickness to separate himself from defenders and prevent five-second, closely guarded violations. Gonzalez has had some problems shaking off guys and getting the Pack’s half-court offense started.

Gonzalez, reluctant to shoot at times, hit two 3-pointers in the second half of State’s 79-77 overtime win over Miami. Lowe later praised his composure.

“What he has learned is that he can get it done,” Lowe said. “He went into that atmosphere at Carolina and Clemson and realized he was still alive.”

That was said before the Georgia Tech game. The Jackets used a zone press in the backcourt to slow the Pack, then heavily pressured Gonzalez or Johnson when they had the ball trying to run the Pack’s halfcourt sets.

Gonzalez had one turnover in 22 minutes and Johnson three turnovers in 18. Defensively, neither could corral Causey, a crafty senior who scored 18 points.

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