BL: Name NC State Signature Loss... and Bubba's Big Deal .

Name NC State Signature Loss … & Bubba’s Big Deal

It was touted as THE Biggest Game in NC State / Carter-Finley History since the last “biggest game in NC State / Carter-Finley history” whenever that was. Sports loves to deal in Hyperbole. Everything is an “…est,

In its aftermath, Dabo Versus Dave @ The Carter will likely be Dave Doeren’s “Signature Loss” for awhile.

What I saw from my home theater was two very evenly matched teams trading punches for four quarters with Dabo’s Tigers coming out ahead. It’s second consecutive very narrow nail-biter win over Doeran’s Red-clad Wolfpack.

Considering that Dabo’s Tigers are a legitimate Top Tier Juggernaut program of the past three years, that should be cause for pride among NCSU loyalists. I am sure it is for many.

Is all that separates Clemson and NC State Football a waterslide… a nap room… and a rock?

Ask a college football fan in Jefferson City, Missouri or Fort Collins, CO or Carlsbad CA for word association for North Carolina State Wolfpack. I’m not sure what you get back.

Current cradle of NFL QBs ??… I doubt it. Maybe something about Jim Valvano but “V” died 25 years ago. That literally is a lifetime for a Millennial.

Rightly or wrongly, I maintain that…

The NC State Wolfpack have a “national reputation” comparable to Texas Tech… Minnesota… Oregon State. Viewed in a hazy not-too-specific way.

Yes… TWO National Championships in Basketball… but neither was in the past quarter century.

After 25 years, sports achievements are placed in a cardboard box labeled Who The Hell was “Choo Choo”? That box is placed on a high shelf and rarely peeked into.

Neither Monte Towe nor Terry Gannon get invited to Memorabilia shows outside of West Raleigh. … Along with that national anonymity comes a blessing.

No one other than inhabitants of Planet Wolfpack and it’s adjoining Planet Hated Rivals knows that… Every Wolfpack Loss in FB or MBB in anything remotely labeled “a Big Game” is GUARANTEED to have in common that…

…The Refs Stole It From Us.

Whether under orders from Johnny Swofford… or ESPN… or The NCAA… or simply The Sports Gods. It doesn’t matter who The Head Referee is, be it Jim Knight or Ron Cherry (i.e. “the black one”) or Karl Hess (i.e. the crazy SOB)… or whoever yesterday’s Ref was. The Legacy of Refs Kneecapping The Wolfpack probably goes back to Red Peril days.

It doesn’t matter that no one in Jefferson City, Fort Collins, or Carlsbad know that the Refs ALWAYS screw NC State. Wolfpack fans and every hated rival fan knows it.

The Refs Always Screw The Wolfpack Conspiracy is either (1) True – (2) Not True – (3) Might Be True Sometimes.

My theory on Conspiracy Theories… 50% of’em are bogus… but which 50%?

This time the Irateness Level of Irate Wolfpack fans reached spit at and throw trash at the refs as they left the field. Oh My! Then noted repeatedly in post-game remarks by both NCSU players and Head Coach.

There were some marginal calls / no calls. In the closing minutes of close Big Games EVERY call / no call is “marginal”.

The litmus test I use whenever any fan base complains that it was “done wrong” is…

If the circumstances were totally reversed, how would you react?

I use this for UNCers re: TGU. If Duke had been under investigation for The Greatest Eligibility Scam in NCAA History and been let off scot-free how would you (UNCers) feel?

Can we say that UNC was “Bowe Bergdahled””? Or was Bowe Bergdahl “UNCCHed”.

Somewhat related… was Chubb’s repeated de-toweling of the Clemson QB simply clever gamesmanship or poor sportsmanship? I look forward to The Official Bob Kennel Answer to that one.

Every Big Game in which NCState is “screwed by the refs” gets its own Title for ease of identification. There was TA’s Knee… Gio’s Punt Return… Dudley VS Clyde The Glide… and others I don’t recall. I have a LIfe.

Speaking of Gio’s Punt Return… did you know that Mr Kennel had Abraham Zapruder film that play. His Zapruder Film clearly shows 26 obvious “blocks in the back” on that one punt return. I’ve seen the film and only counted five but BK’s swears there were 26.

Clemson laptop

Will history record yesterday as LapTop-gate? I hope not because I hate “–gates”. Soooo trite.

I’ve read three stories about the mysterious sideline laptop. After the second one I felt like I was watching a Hillary Clinton “Why I Lost” interview with Rachel Maddow. …. Aaaaiiiieeeeee!

I wanted to scream at my IMac …

Coach Doeren STOP… you are better than this! Complain about ½ time pass-outs or whatever. … STOP with the laptop thingy.

There are various mathematical permutations still available but Pack dawbers are down heading to wherever Chestnut Hill is. Then those very pesky Deacons with their own “Coach Dave”. Three weeks between a VERY fine season and simply “we were bowl-eligible and UNCheats wasn’t”.

I’m bored with this. Lets talk about…

Bubba’s Big Bucks Deal…

Bubba Cunningham

I make no secret that UNC AD Bubba Cunningham is a friend of mine. So is Washington University Provost Holden Thorp. So is Norwood Teague… I probably have a few more if I thought long enough.

Last week the UNC BOG approved a “special compensation plan” for Bubba Cunningham that assures him $200,000/year for the next five years in addition to his $800,000-ish salary.

The N&O’s Jane Stancil posted the story to the N&O website literally from the UNC BOG boardroom at 3:00 PM Friday. By 3:25 I had heard from two Triangle-area mover-shakers via e-mails AND a phone call from a member of The UNC BOG.

What’s BobLee gonna think? was the question of the hour. … Under such enormous pressure… I thought about it.

I bet I know some stuff you don’t know. I usually do…

The “special deal” Bubba got is not all that special. The UNC BOG did a similar deal several years ago for NCSU Chancellor Randy Woodson when Chancy Randy was being wooed by, I think, Univ of Florida…. Univ of Somewhere. It convinced Randy to stay put
The BOG then did similar deals for UNCCH’s Chancellor “Chihuahua” Folt for God-knows why… several other UNC chancs… and for “That Bush Woman” Margaret Spellings.

Giving “such a deal” to an AD IS precedent-setting and probably a mistake the BOG will regret. It will not be the BOG’s first mistake nor the first one it will likely regret. It opens up “doing the deal” to assorted academic/athletic senior admins.

In the past 12-15 months, Bubba has turned down at least TWO AD gigs that both offered TWICE his UNC salary. Those two offers were Univ Florida and Univ Tennessee.

He and I have NOT discussed his reasons but, knowing him, I speculate it was a sense of obligation to see TGU through to its conclusion. It has now concluded.

Bubba came to UNC BECAUSE of TGU. He inherited the whole ooey-gooey pile of crap from “Call me Dickie” Baddour… I nicknamed him “Bubba The Real AD” as UNC had not really had “a real AD” for quite some time… like 15+ years.

I also speculate that Bubba is Candidate Numero Uno to replace his mentor Jack Swarbrick as AD at Notre Dame. Swarbrick is slated to retire within the next 12 months.

There are currently 10+ Notre Dame-bred ADs in major college athletics. But Bubba Cunningham is the only one I know personally so he is likely ND’s first choice. That gig would also be in the $1.5M pay range… but has a very short golf season.

Bubba Cunningham is on every AD short-list. Except probably NCSU’s. to replace Frau Yow. This “not-so-special deal” is intended to assuage any thoughts of him leaving UNCCH.

Will it? I don’t have that answer