Major milestones, Canes collapse and a golfing gaffe in the sports moments of the week
The biggest month on the college basketball calendar is off to a roaring start. Plus, the Panthers begin their rebuild, Russell Wilson gets sent packing and more!
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This is March!
Welcome to every college basketball fan's favorite month on the calendar.
March got started with a bang over the weekend, delivering back-to-back-to-back days of rivalry basketball in the Old North State.
NC State grabbed an 8-point halftime lead Saturday in Chapel Hill but was unable to hold off a UNC second half surge. The Tar Heels got double digit points from four of their starters, including Harrison Ingram's 22.
On Sunday, the North Carolina women's team got its chance to shine. Alyssa Ustby and Deja Kelly combined for 35 points on Senior Day for the Tar Heels, as they earned a tight, 4-point victory over Duke to close the regular season.
It was a badly-needed showing for Courtney Banghart's squad, who had lost the previous two coming in.
As the 7-seed, Duke will play the winner of Pitt vs. Georgia Tech in the second round on Thursday. If they win that, they advance to meet No. 2 NC State in Friday's quarterfinal round.
The Blue Devils trailed by one with 12 minutes left, but ended the game on a 34-18 scoring run.
Duke will host North Carolina at the end of the week. The winner of that game should have the No. 1 seed in Washington, D.C., next week for the conference tournament.
LeBron, Caitlin Clark reach historic milestones
If you like records, big numbers, big names and basketball, this weekend was for you.
LeBron James and Caitlin Clark may be the two most recognizable faces in the entire sport, and both just further cemented their special place in history.
Let's say a new player comes into the NBA and immediately averages 30 points per game. Let's say that player maintains that average and never misses a single regular season game for 16 seasons.
If such a mythical player existed, he STILL wouldn't hit the 40,000 point mark. He'd be 640 short.
By the time he's done, I'm not sure his scoring record will ever, ever, ever be broken.
For context, Caitlin Clark's shot attempts per game are just under 20. She also boasts a better career shooting percentage than Maravich (46.5% to 43.8%), as well as three more assists per game.
Clark should also get at least partial credit for ushering in a new era where women's college basketball might be straight up more popular than the men's game. Or at least, it's trending that way.
Sunday's game against No. 2 Ohio State drew an impressive 3.4 million viewers. That's higher than both TNT NBA Opening Night games this season and higher than Victor Wembanyama's NBA debut on ESPN.
Overall, women's college basketball viewership is reportedly up 60% across all networks. This year's tournament could be the most watched in history.
Ladies and gentleman, the Caitlin Clark effect.
Canes collapse, fall to Jets
When you play an 82-game regular season, you're bound to have a few ugly ones, but Saturday afternoon's home loss to the Winnipeg Jets was the worst in a long time for the Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes, almost to a man, called the loss "embarrassing," which could have a sizable impact on the rest of the season.
The Panthers offseason is already off to a busy start
It was always going to be a bumpy ride for the Carolina Panthers this offseason. A 2-15 record, no first round pick and newly revamped front office will do that to you.
But with NFL free agency set to start next week, the harsh reality of where the Panthers truly stand is starting to set in. And it's not pretty.
The biggest piece of news so far dropped on Tuesday afternoon – Carolina franchise tagged star edge rusher Brian Burns. The tag is of the "non-exclusive" variety, meaning Burns is still free to negotiate with other teams starting next week.
If Burns gets an offer from another team, the Panthers can choose to either match that offer and keep Burns. Or they can decline it, let him walk and pick up two first future first round picks for their troubles.
Don't be surprised if Carolina pulls off a tag-and-trade in the coming days, which would surely sting for fans in the moment, but may be in the team's best long-term interest.
The team is also expected to part ways with cornerback Donte Jackson and tight end Hayden Hurst in the coming days. So if you weren't convinced already, you should be by now: a full offseason re-boot is coming.
Russell Wilson makes the wrong kind of history
The Panthers aren't the only NFL team looking for a complete overhaul over the next few months. The Denver Broncos are arguably in an even worse spot than Carolina, as they get set to release quarterback Russell Wilson once the league new year starts next week.
With the move, the former NC State quarterback has blown away the previous league record for biggest dead money hit. In fact, it's more than double the current record set by Matt Ryan and the Falcons ($40.5 million) in 2022.
Wilson went 11-19 in his starts over two seasons with the Broncos and failed to make the playoffs. His tenure in the Mile High City will be best remembered for poor clock management under previous head coach Nathaniel Hackett, "Broncos Country Let's Ride," and now, this historic dead cap figure.
(See? Cheer up Panthers fans! At least it's not this bad!)
Golf pros, they're just like us!
If you've played golf in your life, you've probably seen a good hole turn into a disaster on the putting green.
It's one of the most frustrating parts of any sport and it happens to everyone, even the pros sometimes.
Case-in-point: Belgian pro golfer Thomas Detry made an absolute mess of the 6th hole last Friday at the Cognizant Open in Palm Beach Gardens.
The underrated part here is that most of us would have just quit by the third putt and taken a double bogey. The rules are stricter on the PGA Tour, so Detry was forced to stick it out through each soul-sucking miss.
Here's hoping the 31-year-old can bounce back quickly and never has to live through anything like this again.
We'll see you next week!
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