a lot of good info in this article about the upcoming season, but the last question stood out

http://www.wral.com/sports/story/3308731/

Quote :

"Does it get you down at all to consider that N.C. State was picked to finish sixth in the division, last in the division? "Consider the source.""

I love this guy, TOB just tells em straight just as he sees it.

7/31/2008 1:00:31 PM

ICE.... ICE.... He's got ice in his veins. Just kidding, of course. I agree 100%. It's so refreshing to hear upfront answers to questions and status of the program. He's always positive and looking ahead, but he doesn't bullshit us with "a season of inches."

7/31/2008 2:48:21 PM

he's not all that positive all the time. however he does tend to call it like he sees it, which is nice.

7/31/2008 2:51:03 PM

^agreed. You would much rather have him admit that we have problems than try to gloss over them. That way you know (or at least you would think) he can make an effort to fix them.

7/31/2008 3:03:33 PM

hey now! its a game of inches!

7/31/2008 3:14:32 PM

Stephen Garcia reinstated

South Calina loves dem thugs

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hDGfBeYXMM1vYIneTr7fVMWXbRsQD928VUQ00

7/31/2008 3:21:15 PM

lol

shocking

you know that shit was in the works starting about 5 minutes after their spring game, in which the cocks' QB's combined for like 87 INTs.

7/31/2008 4:14:41 PM

here you go guys, some pics from tonight practice.

7/31/2008 8:40:04 PM

7/31/2008 8:43:20 PM

How did you get those?

7/31/2008 8:49:05 PM

just booked my hotel room today, so I will be at this game


so damn excited

7/31/2008 8:49:24 PM

I took them.

here is another.

7/31/2008 8:53:07 PM

Nice. Do you work for PP, The Wolfpacker, or one of the local news groups? If you work for PP or The Wolfpacker, how would one get a job? Besides being a doctor, I couldn't think of a job I'd enjoy more than being paid to follow Wolfpack sports.

7/31/2008 9:06:29 PM

i shoot for PP. and for wral.com. i sorta stumbled on this job but its awesome.

7/31/2008 9:09:39 PM

Man they should hire me. I could photograph, cover and interview prospects and commits from the Charlotte Metro Area.

7/31/2008 9:22:06 PM

Did you get to watch a lot of the practice? Anything of note to report if you did?

7/31/2008 9:29:28 PM

nice pics Jeff...keep em comin!

7/31/2008 9:31:16 PM

Photos of the offensive players.
http://northcarolinastate.scout.com/2/774207.html

7/31/2008 11:35:27 PM

^ Donald Bowens looks ripped

8/1/2008 12:08:43 AM

nice pics man... I am impressed.


Glennon has a long ass fucking neck

8/1/2008 12:23:46 AM

so are helmets all white now

8/1/2008 12:24:14 AM

those are just for practice

...but i think you're on to something.

8/1/2008 12:27:12 AM

Maybe it's the optimist in me, but looking at those pics, there seems to be a focus in a lot of our players' eyes that I think has been lacking in previous seasons. Hopefully that means we won't come out and lay an egg on national television against South Carolina.

8/1/2008 12:56:48 AM

^lmao. No offense man, but i think you're looking into things a little too much.

oh, and brandon barnes' legs are HUGE

[Edited on August 1, 2008 at 1:06 AM. Reason : ...]

8/1/2008 1:05:51 AM

Quote :

"Maybe it's the optimist in me, but looking at those pics, there seems to be a focus in a lot of our players' eyes that I think has been lacking in previous seasons. Hopefully that means we won't come out and lay an egg on national television against South Carolina."

8/1/2008 1:26:05 AM

Pack takes off the wraps

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/story/1161284.html

Quote :

"N.C. State announced that offensive lineman Mike Golder has been medically disqualified from the team because of a knee injury. Safety Javon Walker, tight end Mario Carter, linebacker Terrell Manning and fullback Colby Jackson missed practice with knee injuries. Defensive back Gary Grant was out with a pelvic stress fracture. Walker in particular is a significant loss because he played well late last season before tearing a knee ligament against Miami."

That sucks about Mike. Hate to lose a lineman.

8/1/2008 5:38:31 AM

Quote :

"oh, and brandon barnes' legs are HUGE"

I didn't pay much attention when I first saw the pic, but then I saw your note and checked it out again. Holy crap! It's like he has some huge tumor in his calf or something. go barnes go!

Also, Glennon is chowin' down on that chin strap, isn't he?

8/1/2008 8:18:33 AM

I thought Walker was healthy, is his knee still keeping him out of practice?

8/1/2008 8:23:52 AM

Classic Harrison Beck: Close your eyes and throw it has hard as possible, pray it's not an INT:


Now notice Glennon's eyes at the same point in his release (and check out Bible in the background, he's happy as a pig in shit):


PS - nice photos

[Edited on August 1, 2008 at 8:35 AM. Reason : -]

8/1/2008 8:33:26 AM

dg, are you referring to the rumor TOB will break out the Red helmets?

8/1/2008 8:36:24 AM

nah I don't know anything, but I was saying that the white helmets would be kind of cool, maybe a red stripe so it's not a PSU ripoff.

in other news tix go on sale on the USC website in 20 minutes.

video from wral on pack pride this morning, I don't have any sound so someone make an assessment.

http://northcarolinastate.scout.com/2/774260.html

[Edited on August 1, 2008 at 8:47 AM. Reason : .]

8/1/2008 8:41:41 AM

nah i'd say keep the block s on the helmets.

we'll see in 27 days, though.

8/1/2008 8:43:03 AM

tickets are going in section 503 right now.

8/1/2008 9:07:28 AM

^^^ are you serious? they are gonna have single game tickets available for this game on their website? why the hell do I have to be at work right now where I can't access the Lamecocks site.

[Edited on August 1, 2008 at 9:07 AM. Reason : ]

8/1/2008 9:07:40 AM

wooooooot tix are on sale

http://www.uscsports.com

just picked up 2 in section 503 for 100 bucks

[Edited on August 1, 2008 at 9:30 AM. Reason : .]

8/1/2008 9:08:08 AM

4 in section 507

8/1/2008 9:26:18 AM

TOB's comments from the first practice: http://northcarolinastate.scout.com/2/774183.html

Quote :

"O'Brien's overall thoughts on the first day “I think they prepared well this summer. We are obviously way ahead of where we were last year at this stage and that's a credit to the fact that we doing the same thing we did a year ago. Everybody is more familiar with everything we are doing, what the drills are, what things are called. You can tell the difference when the freshman get out there and try to get lined up as opposed to the guys that have been around, so its a good first day. A lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm.” On the situation at running back “We like our running backs, we always have. They are quality backs, but you still have to play with a quarterback – he's the most important person on offense. We still have a lot to do there, and we'll see how it works out.” “Jamelle [Eugene] is ahead, because he's played and been around and went through the spring. He's the No. 1 guy and we'll go from there. But nobody has the jersey plastered on their back, anybody can win a job. He's starting off at the top of the heap right now – we'll see how it goes.” On Baker's return “It's been almost a year since Toney has been on the field. I thought he did well, we stopped after about 10 periods just to make sure we don't overdo it. You don't want to rush and have him do something that may injury himself. We are going to gradually work into this and build into it with him, but I'm just happy to have him back out there.” "

8/1/2008 9:37:11 AM

WHOO! WAY TO GO MOM! My mother was off today so I called her up and guided her through the process of ordering tickets online, and paid for it with my card. I orginally was going to go with a friend of mine but he had some kind of staff meeting that day so he couldn't take off to drive down from Raleigh. So instead I decided to treat my parents to a game. They've only been to a few games anyway, so this will be a good treat for them, plus they have a nice GMC Sierra that is absolutely perfect for tailgating. I just wish my brother could have gone. He gets crazy when he goes to Panthers games.

My parents have only gotten to see the 03 WCU game, the 04 @ Clemson game, the 05 @ Wake game, and the 05 Maryland game where we won and got to go bowling afterwards.

I think she said the tickets were in Sec. 508. Hopefully they aren't too high up b/c my father has bad knees, and my mother felt like she was gonna die walking up the upper deck at Clemson.

[Edited on August 1, 2008 at 9:40 AM. Reason : ]

8/1/2008 9:40:03 AM

sexy, looks like I may have 2-3 extra tix.

8/1/2008 9:54:42 AM

Just got 3 tix!! Thanks for the link.......nice knowing there are still tix out there that aren't $150 a ticket

8/1/2008 10:10:55 AM

^^ might take one/two of those

[Edited on August 1, 2008 at 10:12 AM. Reason : d]

8/1/2008 10:12:09 AM

gonna pick up a few tix later on today I think


hopefully they wont be sold out by then

8/1/2008 10:15:57 AM

Today we profile Wisconsin's Camp Randall Stadium, capacity 80,321. Camp Randall Stadium is the oldest stadium in the Big Ten and the 4th largest. The Camp, as some Badger fans like to call it, is one of the more intimidating stadiums in the country. This can be attributed to Wisconsin's student section that are known for being crazy, inventive, and sometimes downright vulgar. They aren't just mean to the opposing team and their fans, but the student section is even mean to each other. One section will chant "FUCK YOU" while the other section will chant "EAT SHIT". This came from when the freshmen and seniors were separated and the seniors would collectively taunt them. Now though the classes are all mixed together, but the chant remains. There are a lot of traditions in this stadium. There is the Fifth Quarter where the band puts on a show after the game. It gained it's name in 1978 although it had been around for the past 9 years.

Quote :

"In 1969, The Badgers had lost 24 straight games, and Michael Leckrone took over the Wisconsin Marching Band. Working with Athletic director, Elroy Hirsch, Leckrone and the Band created a fan event that would take place after the game, the "Fifth Quarter"."

They also do their own renditions of The Wave to make it less boring.

Quote :

"Badger stadium has taken the traditional Wave to a whole new level. This goes beyond standing up and raising your hands in the air. The procedure at Badgers games generally follows a pattern (led by the student section) of sending the wave around clockwise twice, then once in slow-motion, then once at double the original speed, then once around counter-clockwise, and finally, splitting it into two counter-rotational waves."

And of course everyone knows about their Jump Around tradition in between the 3rd and 4th quarters. UNC stole the tradition of playing Jump Around, but used it to start off their basketball games. When the song starts up the entire student section and a good amount of the rest of the stadium begin jumping up and down and dance to the song. The stadium is known to shake b/c of this.

Quote :

"The "Jump Around" Tradition Started on Saturday, October 10, 1998, at the Badger's Homecoming game against the Purdue Boilermakers. After no offensive points in the 3rd quarter, and en route to their second 6-0 start of the modern football era, one of the Badger's Marketing agents, who was in charge of sound, piped the song through the loudspeakers. It riled up fans and players and has become a tradition of the last decade. However on Sept 6, 2003, (the Badger's first Home game of the season) with construction of the Skyboxes surrounding the stadium, UW officials decided to cancel the "Jump Around" tradition that had been a staple for 5 years. Stadium Security and the Local Police Department had been informed of this decision, but no notification was given to the students. As the 4th Quarter began and the students realized there had been no "Jump Around", the precursor to a Riot began stirring. The student section began jumping anyway, the music was there in their heads. Then the entire section sat down in protest, a majority directed their middle finger at the sound booth, and a chant of "F-CK the Sound guy" began. Chanting and booing continued through the majority of the 4th quarter. Luckily, with 6 minutes 29 seconds to go in the game, Lee Evans scored on a 99 yard play and lead the Badgers to a victory, effectively stopping a riot that surely would have ensued. When news surfaced on Monday, Sept 8th that this event was not a technical or human malfuction, but rather a decision by Campus Officials, the Students rose up in protest. Petitions circulated and students pushed back against administration. Structural Engineers confirmed that the stadium would suffer no structural issues by the vibrations created by the jumping. Two days later, Chancellor John D. Wiley announced that the "Jump Around" Tradition would resume."

The Camp Randall Archway. A big tradition at Wisconsin is walking under this as you walk to the stadium. I think it's cool how the two statues look like they are guarding the entrance to the stadium.

8/1/2008 10:43:08 AM

Got 3...sec 508!

8/1/2008 11:22:11 AM

i'm no sports historian, but i would assume the "jump around tradition" started when the song was released. it is no way unique to any specific place. especially for basketball. it's song about jumping. . . not exactly a big leap to use it during basketball games.

8/1/2008 11:24:18 AM

^ it's gay if you see danny green during it.

8/1/2008 11:35:34 AM

Anyone else notice how everyone wears red at Wisconsin? Not just the damn students.

8/1/2008 11:47:15 AM

^^^ Wisconsin were the ones that made it popular to play that song at sporting events. It wasn't as popular until they did it. Plus it is a tradition since they always play it in between the third and fourth quarters. And yes they were the first group of fans that started the whole jumping straight up and down during the song rather than just jumping around every which way. UNC copied them. The Red Sox made it popular at New England sporting events to play Sweet Caroline, and their tradition is to play it during the 7th inning stretch.

^ I was just about to point out how everyone in the stadium is wearing red shirts, except of course the band who are in their uniforms.

8/1/2008 12:22:40 PM

^ it's not during the stretch, it's in the middle of the 8th inning.

8/1/2008 12:31:33 PM

eh whatever. I just know it's toward the end of the game.

8/1/2008 1:04:01 PM