The University of South Carolina is set to implement a new bill that has banned all tobacco products from the school's campus.
The ban was heavily backed and pushed for by Healthy Carolina, with the goal of eliminating the amount of second-hand smoke student and faculty are exposed to on campus.
This new "Tobacco Free USC" policy will extend to all campus owned property, including Greek Village and even Williams Brice Stadium.
Outlawing a legal substance has caused a stir among some students, but Healthy Carolina's Natalie Kerns insists the policy was passed with the best interest of everyone's health in mind.
USC is not the first school to pass this type of legislation - in fact, far from it.
The Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights activist group states that over 1,100 college campuses have already imposed similar legislation.
Penalties for not adhering to the university's ban will start with a few warnings before violators will start to be fined, with amounts gradually increasing based on the number of previous violations. Further action may be taken on those who routinely don't adhere to the policy.
The University of South Carolina's men's basketball team has - to put it nicely - struggled in recent years.
Since the turn of the century, the Gamecocks have made only five postseason appearances, four in the NIT (winning in 2005 and 2006), and one NCAA Tournament appearance in 2004. Most of that success was under former head coach Dave Odom, who was at the helm from 2002-2008.
He was replaced by Darrin Horn, who, quite frankly, gradually ran the program into the ground. After posting a 21-10 mark in his first season - USC's one winning season under his leadership, Horn's teams gradually got worse until they posted a 10-21 record in the 2011-2012 season. Horn was fired upon the season's conclusion.
Worse than the losing was the irrelevancy the Gamecock basketball program slipped into under Horn, which resulted in a steep drop in attendance.
Frank Martin has been tasked with turning South Carolina's program around
South Carolina was averaging 11,776 fans per game when Horn took over the program (still only a fraction of Colonial Life Arena's 18,000 person capacity), but that mark stooped to 8,868 in his last season.
USC addressed the problem by hiring the fiery Frank Martin from Kansas State, where he made the postseason in all five of seasons (4 NCAA Tournament appearances, 1 NIT).
The Wildcat program had historically struggled, but the team won over 20 games in every one of Martin's five seasons and posted a cumulative record of 117-54.
South Carolina's hope was that Martin would be able to rejuvenate the program and the distancing fan base the same way he did at Kansas State.
Last year in his first season, the Gamecocks posted a measly 14-18 record, and attendance was just over 8,600 fans per game.
However, Martin appears to have the program on the upswing, bringing in one of the best freshman classes in school history.
The team is expected to be better on the court in the 2013-14 season, and the university is taking measures off the court to try and get fans, particularly students, back into the arena. Giveaways and incentives, such as double loyalty points towards football tickets given to students, have been introduced to try and energize the fan base.
But will it work? Two USC seniors debate with some input from Frank Martin on the problem.
The Gamecocks opened their season with a 82-44 victory over Longwood in front of 8,536 fans before losing 66-64 on the road to a Baylor team ranked No. 23 in the country.
Only time will tell if the measures taken by the university will work, but one thing that is sure to get fans back into seats is for the Gamecocks to start winning again.
My friends, we have a logjam at the top of the college football world.
When the BCS was put into place in the late 90's, it was created with the purpose of putting the two best teams in college football on the field together to play for a national championship.
Well, that's all fine and dandy, but what if we can't figure out who the two best teams are?
Let's look at the top. If the season were to end right now, Alabama and Florida State would play for the national title in the BCS Championship Game, and it would be a great game featuring two great teams worthy of that honor. Alabama is the two-time defending champs who have yet to lose in 2013, and the Seminoles have absolutely dismantled everyone they've played, including two top ten victories by 37 and 27 points.
But that'd leave Oregon out, even though they started the year ranking No. 2 and are beating opponents by an average of 38.7 points per game. It'd also leave out Ohio State, who hasn't lost a game in two years.
This scenario seems more fitted for next year, when the BCS is scrapped and the "plus-1" formatting, or 4-team playoff, comes into effect.
However, that 4-team playoff would still leave many deserving teams out.
Take Baylor for instance. They're No. 6 in the country, undefeated, and are averaging over 63 points and over 700 yards per game - and they're not even remotely in the BCS championship picture, and would be out of the 4-team playoff.
The only way to go wrong in the
Oregon-FSU debate is to
only pick one
So would an undefeated Northern Illinois team, who's only loss last year was the very Florida State team mentioned above (with the exception of the Seminole's starting quarterback against NIU being the Buffalo Bills current starter instead of this year's freshman sensation).
Fresno State would also fall into this category, as they're trying to be the 2013 version of conference rival Boise State.
And none of that seems fair to me. Baylor is obviously the most compelling case being from a major conference, but how are the Northern Illinois' and Fresno State's not even given a chance? You can't tell those kids every game matters, because when they go out and win them all, they'll still end up playing in some shit bowl game in front of 20,000 people at 2:00 p.m. on Christmas Day on ESPNU.
In case you didn't know, today is our last day without basketball until mid-July. What a glorious, glorious feeling.
This NBA season is shaping up to be the most intriguing in league history with so many teams that have a legitimate shot a championship, and just as many who are trying to bottom out to try and get a piece of Andrew Wiggins & Company.
If you missed it, I wrote about my current NBA fan drifter status - and since I have no team to root for, here are some storylines and things to watch out for this season.
Can somebody finally beat the Heat this year?
In short, yes. This is the most wide open the NBA has been in a really long time, and quite possible ever. Five or six teams could legitimately win the West, and the same holds true in the East.
The Heat had to scrap and claw their way back against the Pacers to even make the Finals last year, and won the title because of a couple minor miracles - Ray Allen's corner three and Tim Duncan missing TWO chip shots over Shane Battier (I'm pretty sure that's the only time in Timmy's life he's missed those shots).
For them to three-peat, Miami's going to have to make the Finals in four consecutive years, something that hasn't been done since the Celtics won 11 titles in 13 years in the 50's and 60's.
The East is loaded with teams who are designed to beat them and got better in the offseason, plus Derrick Rose is back. The fact that the Bulls-Heat, which is quietly becoming the most awesome rivalry in the sports, kicks off the season tomorrow night is absolutely perfect.
Tankapalooza is going to be just as much fun as watching teams compete for the playoffs
Everyone wants Wiggins!
A majority of NBA front offices have adopted a boom-or-bust strategy - either have a team that can compete for a championship, or totally blow it up to try and rebuild a contender. It's actually very smart (there's no real reason to play for a 7-seed every year and never make it out of the first round, Milwaukee), and has created a bipolar atmosphere in the league.
The NBA tried to discourage tanking by implementing a lottery system to determine first round drafting order, but that hasn't really worked. Teams are full out COMMITTING to losing as many games as possible, trying to get one of the 5 to 10 franchise-saving players in this draft class.
The Sixers basically told their top draft pick not to play this season and their coach said they only have 6 NBA-caliber players on their roster. The Suns just traded their second-best player away for someone who has a herniated disk in his neck. The mighty Celtics let almost every staple and good thing about their franchise go (But they did get Brad Stevens, dark horse coach of the year candidate. No one does more with less!!). Utah let their top two players leave in free agency. Orlando is just plain terrible. And the Kings and the Bobcats/Unborn Hornets are, well, the Kings and the Bobcats.
Watching this many teams fight to lose is going to be so terrible, but so entertaining.
Jun Ki Kim's international status has been an obstacle in his educational pursuit
When Jun Ki Kim came to America with his mother and brother from Seoul, South Korea, he was only 11 years old and didn't know a word of English.
"I spent most of my first years here in the U.S. trying to figure out the culture and how to communicate with people," Kim explained.
It wasn't until his high school years when he started to really focus on academics, and performed exceptionally well by getting the grades and test scores necessary to get into some of the best schools in the country.
The problem he had with North Carolina was the same difficulty he found most places - he could go there, but he would not receive any scholarship money to do so, despite having the qualifications necessary if he was a citizen. His brother had similar high school accolades and attended Cornell, but had to pay full price because of his international status.
It's a problem among many that foreign students encounter all across the country, no matter how long they have been living in the United States. There are some schools that are very rewarding to students that are not American citizens, but they tend to be among the most prestigious and toughest to get into.
Kim is now set to graduate from the University of South Carolina in May 2014, the school that really gave him a chance.
"I liked the school a lot, but the fact they offered me a lot of scholarship money is why I ended up at USC," he explained.
Now in the process of applying to dental schools, Kim hasn't run into as many problems when dealing with his international status.
"I was nervous after dealing with the undergrad application process, but I haven't felt as limited, which is nice," he said. "I decided I wanted to be a dentist during my last few years in high school. I just think it's something that matches up well with my personality and academic interests. It's something I think will be fun."
The NBA season is about a month away, and it's the most intriguing one in recent memory. You have five or six legitimate contenders in each conference with an abundance of superstars going into free agency after the year ends. As a basketball fan, this year should be euphoria.
Except for one thing - I don't have a team to cheer for.
What do you do when your team skips town?
Growing up in Cary, North Carolina, a Raleigh suburb, college basketball ran my sports world. I was right in the middle of Duke, UNC, NC State, and the rest of the ACC, and my brain could not take in professional sports because in my mind, it didn't match up.
One thing I did have time for, however, was to check the Charlotte Hornets score in the paper each morning. If they won, who played well, where they were in the standings, how other division teams fared. With no professional sports teams close by (yet - the Carolina Hurricanes came to Raleigh a little bit later), the Hornets were the only franchise I felt a connection with that felt like my team.
Then they left for New Orleans.
They were no longer my team. I could still follow them in the paper, but they were halfway across the country. They were no longer my Charlotte Hornets.
Thursday night's Broncos-Ravens game kicked off the 2013 NFL season, and it did so in grand fashion. Peyton Manning reminded everyone that he's one of the best ever, and it became blatantly obviously the Ravens will in fact miss everyone they lost in the offseason.
Sean Payton is back, RGIII is in fact playing week 1, and this is finally going to be the year your team pulls through and competes for a Super Bowl - unguided optimism tends to be the most infectious in the first 2 weeks of the season.
As another exciting NFL season gets into full affect, I'm here to give you some insight on what the upcoming year will hold, as well as my playoff picks.
People will realize Joe Flacco isn't worth his huge contract
In case you missed it, the Baltimore Ravens signed their quarterback to an NFL-record 6 year, $120.6 million contract. That's more than Brees, Brady, Manning, Rodgers, anybody. So in order to live up to his contract, he's going to have to play like the best quarterback in the league (or at least one of the best). But that's just not going to happen.
In winning the Super Bowl last season, Flacco had one of the greatest postseasons in NFL history. While that is a good sign, that's still just four games - and he doesn't have the nickname Joe Flaccid for nothing. The guy accounted for the two worst quarterback ratings in the NFL last season, and was flirting with the amazingly terrible Rex Grossman for the worst in NFL history.
However, the Ravens made things tougher on him this year, too, and that may be the biggest reason for his struggles. His best receiver is no longer with the team and his starting tight end is hurt, so now his starting receiving core consists of a secondary receiver in Torrey Smith, an undrafted rookie, and a tight end who was retired a month ago. Not very good when you're trying to turn an average NFL quarterback into a superstar.
You think Joe Flacco is more than average? In 2012, he threw for 3,817 yards and 22 touchdowns. Peyton Manning had 4,659 and 37. Tom Brady? 4,827 and 34. Eli Manning? 3,948 and 26. Cam Newton? 3,869 and 19. Josh Freeman, you know, the guy in danger of losing his job in Tampa? 4,065 and 27.
Lets just pump the brakes a little bit. He had a fantastic postseason and now he's a Super Bowl champion, but those four games are more likely to be outliers than to be his new norm.
*Side rant* - Can we PLEASE stop with this whole 'our quarterback needs a new contract so lets pay him more than anyone ever' thing? Does anyone really believe Flacco is better than two of the best to ever do it in Peyton and Brady? And the Falcons are probably going to pay Matt Ryan more than Flacco's contract because he's the next competent guy up. Drew Brees, who is the Saints whole team essentially, makes about $20 mil a year. What if Baltimore pay Flacco 16 mil a year and Ryan gets about the same? What's wrong with that 6 year, $96 million contract - especially when that might be the most you're worth?
By now, you've probably heard that the New England Patriots cut Tim Tebow.
You might not have heard that the Green Bay Packers cut Vince Young.
Now, if you follow football, you're probably not surprised by either of these. Tebow was almost out of the league until the Patriots gave him a chance to try and be a backup, but they went with the guy they already had. Young was out of the league and was brought in to Green Bay to be Aaron Rodgers' backup, but they changed their minds.
Tebow experienced playoff success in Denver
Both guys are mobile quarterbacks that are arguably the two greatest college quarterbacks from the past decade. Both guys aren't the greatest passers, and Tebow's struggles have been well documented. But both guys boast winning records in their now-dormant NFL careers.
The last time we saw Tim Tebow as a starter, he took over a 1-4 team and led them to the playoffs, where he beat the league's top defense that year. He has a career record of 9-7 as a starter in the NFL, but has never started a full season.
Young had a promising start to his career, gracing video game covers
The last time we saw Vince Young as a starter, he took over a team that started 0-6 and led them to the playoffs - which, by the way, is the only time in NFL history a team made the playoffs after starting out that poorly. He has a 30-17 career record which gives him a 63.8 career winning percentage - only Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, and Ben Roethlisberger have a better one. He's also been to a few Pro Bowls.
As we get ready to kickoff another college football season, it's important to know where teams stand coming into the year. I will be leading you through each of the Big 5 conferences - along with the best of the rest - to get you ready and to let you know where I think your team will end up.
Our second preview takes a look at a conference trying to change the way they are perceived - the ACC.
Atlantic Division
Clemson 10-2 (8-0 in conference)
Wins: South Carolina State, at NC State, Wake Forest, at Syracuse, Boston College, Florida State, at Maryland, at Virginia, Georgia Tech, the Citadel
Losses: Georgia, at South Carolina Clemson boasts one of the most talented offenses in the country, returning almost everyone from last year's unit that was among the most prolific in the country. Reigning ACC Player of the Year Tajh Boyd is back at quarterback, and star receiver Sammy Watkins is hoping to get back his outstanding form from his freshman year. Offensive coordinator Chad Morris runs an up-tempo style of offense to get the most plays he can out of this group, so expect the Tigers to be near the top of the country in total offense again in 2013.
Tajh Boyd
The only question marks surrounding Clemson, whom many "experts" have as a dark horse national championship contender, is their defense and mental make up. They were terrible defensively two years ago, but got better as the season progressed under new coordinator Brent Venebles. That progression will be tested right off the bat as Georgia will visit Clemson Memorial Stadium to kick off the season.
However, the thing that has really plagued head coach Dabo Swinney's squad has been their mental toughness. Clemson has had high aspirations the past few years, but always seemed to get beaten soundly when they finally played good competition (including a 70-33 thrashing at the hands of West Virginia in the 2012 Orange Bowl and losing 4 straight to in-state rival South Carolina - you didn't think I was going to leave that out, did you?). But the Tigers appeared to turn the corner after pulling off a late comeback against LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl last year, and we'll see if they can maintain that momentum.
Clemson bookends their season with their two toughest opponents - Georgia and South Carolina - the former coming at home. That game will feature two high-scoring offenses, but I trust Georgia's defense more than Clemson's. Then to close the season, the Tigers have to play the Gamecocks in Columbia, where South Carolina has won 11 in a row. The good news is they should breeze through their ACC schedule and be in prime position to return to the Orange Bowl in 2014.
As we get ready to kickoff another college football season, it's important to know where teams stand coming into the year. I will be leading you through each of the Big 5 conferences - along with the best of the rest - to get you ready and to let you know where I think your team will end up.
First up, the conference that is dominating everyone else - the SEC.
SEC West
1) Alabama 12-0 (8-0 in conference)
Wins: Virginia Tech (in Atlanta), at Texas A&M, Colorado State, Ole Miss, Georgia State, at Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, LSU, at Mississippi State, Chattanooga, at Auburn
Losses: none
The Tide have won two straight national championships, racking up three in the last four seasons for head coach Nick Saban, and are the favorites again in 2013. That vaunted 'Bama defense returns 8 starters, and the offense returns all their key stars including senior quarterback A.J. McCarron, sophomore running back T.J. Yeldon, and wideout Amari Cooper.
Championships have become a right of passage at Alabama
Their schedule is favorable - but then again, you're favored to win every game if you're Alabama - but features two big showdowns against Texas A&M in College Station and at home against LSU. Beating Texas A&M is really the only thing the Tide haven't done under Saban (mostly because they've only played once), and you know he has this game circled as a big time revenge game against Johnny Manziel & company (Saban has the tape of last year's game on loop in the weight room). Alabama is coming off of a bye week as well, and the more time Saban has to prepare for you, the less likely you are to beat them.
I really, really think Alabama might lose one along the way because they've been too good for too long and they'll start to think they can take games lightly - if only for one game. However, McCarron and Saban provide extremely strong leadership for this squad and I'm sure this year's group will want to differentiate themselves from last years team, even if they do have most of the same players. The talent is there to make another title run, and the level of play at the skill positions is the highest its been in Tuscaloosa since Julio Jones and Mark Ingram. The line play on both sides of the ball will be solid again - because it always is - with a big part due to their recruiting efforts (by the way, how awesome of a recruiting tool is this?), massive weight room, and some deer antler spray.
When all is said and done, Alabama will be where they always are - playing for both an SEC and National Championship. They're just too good.
We are one month away from the start of another college football season, and quite frankly I can't wait. The first game is between my South Carolina Gamecocks and the UNC Tar Heels on August 29, which will kick off a year filled with the intriguing story lines of Johnny Football, Teddy Bridgewater, Alabama trying to win their 3rd straight national championship (and 4th in 5 years) and the yearly "Is this the year someone else besides the SEC wins a national championship?" - which, of course, the answer is NO.
But that's the kind of stuff that everyone else is writing about. Not here.
This year is the last year (thankfully) of the BCS as we have known it since its inception in 1998 before major college football switches to the "plus-1" format, meaning there is a 4 team playoff to decide the national champion.
Which means there will be so many "what-if" scenarios discussed on television networks and various articles written about it, all of which will inevitable praise the "plus-1" system and express their anxiousness awaiting its arrival. It will fix college football!
And then there will be people writing and discussing how an 8-team playoff will be better than a 4-team playoff because it would allow for a true champion to emerge and not rely as much on the rankings - but a 16-team playoff would be allowing way too many teams in, because you still want to preserve the BCS' shoddy defense of "it makes every game in the regular season matter!"
FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision - formerly known as Division 1-A or as you probably know it, just regular college football) football is broken. We know this, which is why the playoff formatting is coming into place. But it won't fix it.
The way to make college football the best it can be, for everyone involved with the sport - players, fans, schools, conferences, coaches, sponsors, the NCAA - is to have a 32-team playoff. College basketball style.
This is the worst time of the year to be a sports fan - we go from having the NBA and NHL playoffs on every night to only having midseason baseball to tune in to. Nothing against baseball, but there are much more exciting things than watching game 75 of a team's 162 game schedule. Seinfeld reruns, anyone?
I realize this is somewhat turning into a NBA blog, but this is really the only thing of note that's going on right now (and basketball is my expertise). I could rave about how Chris Davis hits 800 homers every game or how Josh Hamilton is sucking or how the Pirates have the best record in baseball and they only win 63% of their games. But that all is gonna change in the next 2 weeks anyway.
So here we are, the first day of NBA free agency. The next few days will be littered with reports on who's offering what to whom and so on and so on. I'm here to tell you where the top NBA free agents should go and where they'll have the best chance to be successful. If they end up somewhere else, that's on them - and I'll be here to write about it after.
*Note: Official decisions can't be made and contracts can't be signed til July 10*
1) Chris Paul
Captain Waffle can never make up his mind
He's gonna go back to the Clippers. They've offered him a 5-year/$107 million deal to play on a contender, have one of the best coaches in the game, and essentially have partial control on anything that franchise does. Plus, he loves LA. He's not going anywhere (I just included him so Dwight Howard aka Captain Waffle wouldn't be number 1).
2) Dwight Howard
Ideally, D12 would end up in Houston. Jeremy Lin, James Harden, Chandler Parsons, Omer Asik, and Dwight form a starting line-up that would be lethal offensively and respectable defensively under coach Kevin McHale. They would turn into instant title contenders, and he wouldn't have all the pressure and expectations he had in Lakerland. And there's the history of Hakeem Olajuwon and Yao Ming to help lure him. A win-win for all involved.
But we all now how much Dwight loves to flip-flop more than summertime and not make decisions, and then make terrible ones when he does. I wouldn't be surprised to see him in Dallas where everything is flashy and have Mark Cuban constantly coddling him. Hopefully, he ends up a Rocket.
The NBA draft was everything you could possibly ask for. Intrigue and anticipation leading up to the start, Cleveland keeping their choice under wraps from literally everyone (Kanye needs to take notes on how to not let something leak), major trades - and so many minor ones you couldn't keep track of, big slides down the draft board (most notably Nerlens Noel and Jamaal Franklin), and David Stern's last hurrah.
In other words, it was awesome.
Now that all the dust has settled and the madness has had time to sink in, lets look at the draft's winners, losers, and some takeaways.
It's been a few days since the Miami Heat won their second of back-to-back championships, officially ending the 2012-13 NBA season. The year featured the rise of many young stars and up-and-coming teams, perhaps signaling the start of the cyclical turnover in the NBA. Perennial bottom-dwellers like Golden State showed they're a force to be reckoned with along with a few jumpstarts, namely the Houston Rockets, that have put the league on notice for future seasons. On top of that, the Lakers, Celtics, and Mavs, teams that ruled the previous decade (minus the Spurs, because who knows what else those ageless wonders are capable of) fell back into NBA mediocrity.
Here's a look back on some things we picked up throughout the course of the season.
1) The Heat are not as invincible as we all thought
Defending champs. 27-game win streak. Best record in the league. Everything seemingly fell into place for Miami this season, annihilating all doubters (at least that's what ESPN will have you believe). But that's just the regular season, and with great teams, all that matters is what they do in the playoffs. The Bucks and Bulls didn't really have a shot - the Bucks aren't good enough and the Bulls can't score without Derrick Rose.
Then came those pesky Pacers. The Heat's foil in terms of their style of play - going big instead of small - exposed Miami's softness on the interior, limited everyone other than LeBron, and contributed to many easy baskets. But the Pacers had seemingly no bench and turned it over a bajillion times a game, yet were only a few breaks away from pulling off the biggest upset in recent memory.
The Spurs had the Heat BEAT until they somehow managed to fumble away Game 6 and had Tim Duncan missing chippies over Shane Battier with seconds left (which reminds me...how in the world did Duncan miss those?!?).
Bottom line is the Heat caught a few breaks against a Pacers team completely overachieving, but needed huge breaks against an "old" Spurs team that proved to be just as good as Miami. The Heat are definitely deserving champions, just don't be surprised if their reign doesn't last much longer. In saying that...
Ever since The Decision, since the infamous pep rally, and since LeBron went on his "Not 1, Not 2..." rant, the Miami Heat have become one of the most polarizing teams in sports history. As San Antonio heads to South Beach with two chances to break the hearts of Miami, most of the country will be watching in hopes of seeing just that.
And it's not because of the Heat.
As any honest basketball fan will tell you, the Heat are capable of playing some of the most beautiful basketball there is to watch. Yes, there are the high flying dunks. But there's also the smothering defense, not to mention their unselfishness and great ball movement on offense. Sure, you can hate their outrageous flopping that makes it seem like they're an Italian soccer team rather than the NBA's most talented squad, or the fact that they can turn it off just as quickly and easily as they can turn it on. They're frustrating because you know they can do better, and they're frustrating because you know no one can stop them. But that's not the reason you want them to lose.
