Info on Injuries and bowl selection drama?

[budwom]

does anyone (are you there, scribes?) have info on our football injuries besides Perry Simmons who is out for the bowl game?
Sad news, but he's a guy who will make a living with his noodle and not his knees. Wishing the best for him.

Connette, Powell, Duncan and Kelby Brown all seemed to have sustained injuries...can anyone penetrate Cut's Cone of Silence
to find out what their prospects are for New Year's Eve?

Final question on the bowl selection drama: quite a few assertions (founded or not) that Chicken Bowl almost went with
Miami over us, but that "Swofford went to bat" for us. Before I give Commissioner Helmet Hair any undue credit, does anyone
know the real story? I'd prefer to credit Kevin White, but don't claim to know the facts. Not sure how Miami over us would've changed
income to the ACC since we're in the same conference and share revenue...

[alteran]

Final question on the bowl selection drama: quite a few assertions (founded or not) that Chicken Bowl almost went with
Miami over us, but that "Swofford went to bat" for us. Before I give Commissioner Helmet Hair any undue credit, does anyone
know the real story? I'd prefer to credit Kevin White, but don't claim to know the facts. Not sure how Miami over us would've changed
income to the ACC since we're in the same conference and share revenue...

Besides the issue of fairness (we earned a better bowl than Miami) I don't see it either, although I'm grateful. In fact, because I don't see it, I'm even more grateful.

The one thing I see-- and it's a stretch-- is that Duke is just a way better story for the ACC in the Peach bowl than is Miami, and is likely to get the ACC more coverage. Mediocre (by their standards) Miami team makes Peach bowl. Yawn. Duke storms out of a predicted dead last finish to win the Coastal outright, seemingly putting behind more than a generation of football futility? The press will eat that up.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Besides the issue of fairness (we earned a better bowl than Miami) I don't see it either, although I'm grateful. In fact, because I don't see it, I'm even more grateful.

The one thing I see-- and it's a stretch-- is that Duke is just a way better story for the ACC in the Peach bowl than is Miami, and is likely to get the ACC more coverage. Mediocre (by their standards) Miami team makes Peach bowl. Yawn. Duke storms out of a predicted dead last finish to win the Coastal outright, seemingly putting behind more than a generation of football futility? The press will eat that up.
When Duke and Texas A&M play, both teams have a story or two for the media to promote, compare and contrast.

[Olympic Fan]

It will be a while before we learn the injury situation. The best news I can give you is that there is at least a chance that all of the banged up players will be back. I say that because the one exception -- Perry Simmons -- was announced right away. If Kelby or Harding or anyone else was out, they'd let us know.

As for the story of the behind-the-scenes machinations ... I'd love to find out if that was truth or the hysterical blatherings of an unreliable reporter.

Remember, Laura works for the same newspaper that published Joe Giglio's fantasy story about how Joe Alleva fought to hire Cutcliffe.

I'm not saying she's as off-base as Joe was, but the fact is that as of Saturday night, the Chick-fil-a was all over Duke. Bowl director Gary Stokan was following Cut around like a puppy. Duke officials were convinced that they were a lock for Atlanta (as long as Clemson didn't miss the BCS).

Then Sunday afternoon, Duke gets the bid to the Chick-fil-a, exactly as expected.

So was there really n drama in between? Did the bowl flirt with Miami (I can't imagine why?) Did Swofford or Kevin White of President Obama intervene to get Duke back in the picture?

Parts of the story don't ring true. Supposedly, the Chock-fil-a was hoping for a Duke-Texas A&M bowl, but another SEC bowl took A&M to play Iowa ... and the Atlanta bowl didn't want an LSU-Duke matchup. Well, how could the ACC commissioner convince an SEC bowl to switch from Texas A&M back to LSU? And how much clout does Swofford have with the Chick-fil-a bowl anyway? This is the last year of affiliation with the ACC. Next year, it becomes one of the big six playoff bowl.

The only thing that may support Keely's story was a tweet by Jerry Palm with CBS, who said that ESPN was playing games with the matchups with its bowl games.

I honestly don't know what the story is. But have any reliable reporters written about it?

[Duvall]

It will be a while before we learn the injury situation. The best news I can give you is that there is at least a chance that all of the banged up players will be back. I say that because the one exception -- Perry Simmons -- was announced right away. If Kelby or Harding or anyone else was out, they'd let us know.

As for the story of the behind-the-scenes machinations ... I'd love to find out if that was truth or the hysterical blatherings of an unreliable reporter.

Hysterical? Charming.

Keeley wasn't the only one reporting that the Peach Bowl had flipped to Miami on Sunday morning - WRAL reported the same, citing a bowl source. There was clearly some kind of drama, though we may never know exactly what happened.

[Wander]

Hysterical? Charming.

Keeley wasn't the only one reporting that the Peach Bowl had flipped to Miami on Sunday morning - WRAL reported the same, citing a bowl source. There was clearly some kind of drama, though we may never know exactly what happened.

Agreed. Keeley seems good to me. I'm not saying this just to stir things up, but Olympic Fan was consistently misinformed and incorrect about things in the bowl selection thread, and I don't think I caught Laura wrong all season, so I'll take her word over his here. I'd be interested in hearing the full duke miami drama story if it ever comes out.

[Lid]

As for the story of the behind-the-scenes machinations ... I'd love to find out if that was truth or the hysterical blatherings of an unreliable reporter.

Remember, Laura works for the same newspaper that published Joe Giglio's fantasy story about how Joe Alleva fought to hire Cutcliffe.

I have no inside info at all about what went on with the bowl selection, but am confused by your depiction of Laura Keeley's reporting. I generally enjoy her stories, and haven't noticed "hysterical blatherings" -- although the Victorian connotations are certainly fun! As someone works for a top-flight university (www.duke.edu) that has had its own issues with inaccurate reporting (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anil_Potti), maybe I'm overly sensitive to blaming an entire institution for one bad apple. Or perhaps she's truly unfit to wield a keyboard -- I hadn't noticed this previously, so perhaps I've missed something? I'd be curious to hear.

[Olympic Fan]

Agreed. Keeley seems good to me. I'm not saying this just to stir things up, but Olympic Fan was consistently misinformed and incorrect about things in the bowl selection thread, and I don't think I caught Laura wrong all season, so I'll take her word over his here. I'd be interested in hearing the full duke miami drama story if it ever comes out.

If you find Laura Keeley "good", that's great -- after all she broke the Alex Murphy to transfer at midseason story first ... she had it a year early, reporting it in December of 2012.

But since you took a jab at me, I'd love to see some examples where I was "consistently misinformed and incorrect": about things in the bowl selection thread, I know that I didn't nail everything, but I'd argue that I was consistently accurate ... I admit to one major mistake (based on an e-mail from an ACC official, which I attributed to him) when I suggested that the Orange could get Alabama as an at large -- even if the SEC put its champion in the title game. My mistake.

I wasn't perfect on my final pre-announcement prediction of the ACC bowl lineup either:



I talked to a very well-informed Florida writer last night in Charlotte and he laid out the Chick-fil-a lineup in his eyes:

-- He doesn't think they will take LSU ... LSU was there last year and the bowl really likes to avoid repeats. Plus, LSU lost its star QB (Metsinberger?).

-- He doesn't think it will be Georgia. The Gator Bowl is now run by Georgia alums and they really want Georgia (their dream is Georgia Michigan.

-- He thinks Texas A&M is most likely.

Just before the announcements later this after, I'm guessing at the ACC bowl lineup this way:

National title game: FSU-Auburn
Orange Bowl: Clemson-Ohio State
Chuck-fil-a: Duke-Texas A&M
Russell Athletic: Miami-Louisville
Sun: Virginia Tech-UCLA
Music City: Georgia Tech-Vanderbilt
Belk: UNCheat-Cincinnati

after this, my crystal ball gets cloudy -- I had thought that Maryland would claim the Military Bowl, but I'm told that the ACC is trying to put the Terps in a bowl the Big 12 might not be able to fill (the Heart of Dallas Bowl?). BC would get Independence and Syracuse the Military Bowl. Not sure where Pitt lands. The ACC was hoping for a spot in the Pinstripe (which becomes an ACC bowl next year), but looking like Notre Dame was to play in the Big Apple and will meet 6-6 Rutgers.

I missed Georgia Tech's opponent ... and I didn't get the Syracuse-Pitt placements.

But I'll stack my accuracy up against Keeley's.

[budwom]

thanks for the info, and am sorry this kicked off acrimony concerning Keely. I'm just trying to reconcile stuff I had been reading all along (as Olympic noted...Chikin Bowl was loving us all over the place) and
then suddenly we hear Commissioner Hair Helmet is saving our day....I'd hate to feel indebted to him, and would like to know what really transpired.

I do hope we get favorable word at some point about our injuries....I think we can make a game of it if we're near full strength....meaning we'd really miss
Duncan, Powell, Kelby, Harding or Connette. We do have three weeks to heal.

[Bob Green]

...but Olympic Fan was consistently misinformed and incorrect about things in the bowl selection thread...

Perhaps you could provide an example or two because my memory tells me Olympic Fan was his normal informative self in the bowl thread.

As far as Laura Keeley goes, I enjoy her coverage of Duke in the N&O.

[BigWayne]

I would be interested to know how Pitt got in the Pizza Bowl. The bowls that had announced they would take MAC teams as alternates, e.g. Poinsettia Bowl, stuck to those plans. The Pizza bowl had announced a deal with the SunBelt to take one of their teams if the Big Ten couldn't fill their slot, but they dropped them and went with Pitt. Wondering if ESPN bought off the SunBelt or if the deal they had was not really a contract.

[sagegrouse]

I would be interested to know how Pitt got in the Pizza Bowl. The bowls that had announced they would take MAC teams as alternates, e.g. Poinsettia Bowl, stuck to those plans. The Pizza bowl had announced a deal with the SunBelt to take one of their teams if the Big Ten couldn't fill their slot, but they dropped them and went with Pitt. Wondering if ESPN bought off the SunBelt or if the deal they had was not really a contract.

What I wanna know is why it's called the "Pizza Bowl?" Everyone knows it should be the Pizza Plate or Pizza Platter. -- sage

[BigWayne]

What I wanna know is why it's called the "Pizza Bowl?" Everyone knows it should be the Pizza Plate or Pizza Platter. -- sage

Heck if I know, but you bring up a good point. Pizza Bowl sounds like some ill conceived limited time offering from one of Little Caesar's competitors.

[Wander]

Perhaps you could provide an example or two because my memory tells me Olympic Fan was his normal informative self in the bowl thread.


"Just to be clear -- no more than ONE non-BCS team can qualify [for a BCS bowl]"
"There are a couple of bizarre contingencies that would allow two non-BCS teams (for instance, if non-BCS teams finish 1-2 in the BCS standings), but nothing that would happen in the real world."
"If Auburn does wind up No. 2 in the BCS, then the Orange still gets the first at large pick and takes Alabama ... Auburn goes to the title game vs. FSU."

And if you believe these reports, add his assertion that Duke was supposedly a total lock to play in the Atlanta bowl and only Clemson not getting a BCS bid could prevent that from happening.



I wasn't perfect on my final pre-announcement prediction of the ACC bowl lineup either:


Obviously I'm not so petty as to care if someone gets predictions wrong. I'm talking about being misinformed about the actual rules for bowl selection. Which I still wouldn't care enough to even bring up, until you started trashing a 24ish year old reporter who's done a good job covering our school's football team for no reason. There are bad writers out there, but the treatment of journalists by coaches (not that you're a coach, nor I a journalist) is often one of the most embarrassing parts of sports to me.

[blazindw]

What I wanna know is why it's called the "Pizza Bowl?" Everyone knows it should be the Pizza Plate or Pizza Platter. -- sage

It's called the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl, not just the Pizza Bowl. It's just like the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl is not simply the Wings Bowl.

[Reilly]

I've enjoyed Laura Keeley's coverage of Duke sports very much.

I hope she elaborates on the tweets below -- elaborates on what she has learned about bowl politics, why she tweeted earlier about Swofford, etc...

Laura Keeley ‏@laurakeeley 8 Dec
source confirms #Duke to the Chick-fil-A bowl in Atlanta on the 31st. I've learned much about bowl politics today

Laura Keeley ‏@laurakeeley 8 Dec
An ACC spokesperson says the league does not influence the bowl picks its tie-in partners make

[Reilly]

It's called the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl, not just the Pizza Bowl ...

It'd be neat if they called it the Little Caesar's Pizza Pizza Bowl ...

[Gewebe14]

Someone needs to make the Cereal Bowl stat

[OldPhiKap]

Someone needs to make the Cereal Bowl stat

Followed by the Fish Bowl.

[wilson]

The Ty D Bol (http://www.globalpackagegallery.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=17161&g2_serialNumber=2).

[jimsumner]

FWIW, respected football writer Phil Steele was predicting Duke to the Russell Athletic Bowl for several hours Sunday afternoon, before switching to the Peach/CFA.

So, it wasn't just Keely.

[OldPhiKap]

The Ty D Bol (http://www.globalpackagegallery.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=17161&g2_serialNumber=2).

You dp NOT want to play in the Manute Bol. Trust me.

[hurleyfor3]

The Ty D Bol (http://www.globalpackagegallery.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=17161&g2_serialNumber=2).

Brown vs. Ball State. To be played at Flushing Meadows.

[blazindw]

You dp NOT want to play in the Manute Bol. Trust me.

We would have a tall task on our hands in that one. ;-)


Sorry, I had to do it.

[Bob Green]

"Just to be clear -- no more than ONE non-BCS team can qualify [for a BCS bowl]"
"There are a couple of bizarre contingencies that would allow two non-BCS teams (for instance, if non-BCS teams finish 1-2 in the BCS standings), but nothing that would happen in the real world."
"If Auburn does wind up No. 2 in the BCS, then the Orange still gets the first at large pick and takes Alabama ... Auburn goes to the title game vs. FSU."

For the third quote, OF was wrong and admitted he was wrong. For quotes one and two, exactly zero non-BCS teams ended up being selected to play in a BCS Bowl so I'd say while his comments may not represent the strictest interpretation of the actual rules, they do represent reality. Ten teams in five BCS Bowls all selected from the six BCS Conferences:

AAC: Central Florida University
ACC: Florida State, Clemson
Big Ten: Michigan State, Ohio State
Big 12: Baylor, Oklahoma
Pacific 12: Stanford
SEC: Auburn, Alabama

[budwom]

I've enjoyed Laura Keeley's coverage of Duke sports very much.

I hope she elaborates on the tweets below -- elaborates on what she has learned about bowl politics, why she tweeted earlier about Swofford, etc...

Laura Keeley ‏@laurakeeley 8 Dec
source confirms #Duke to the Chick-fil-A bowl in Atlanta on the 31st. I've learned much about bowl politics today

Laura Keeley ‏@laurakeeley 8 Dec
An ACC spokesperson says the league does not influence the bowl picks its tie-in partners make

Indeed, that was my original question when I started the thread. The second tweet shown above seems to imply
some sort of ACC wrist slap perhaps? Swofford went to bat for us.....but the ACC has no influence on bowl picks?

[TruBlu]

The Ty D Bol (http://www.globalpackagegallery.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=17161&g2_serialNumber=2).

With UNC-CH as the host team, regardless of their record or eligibility.

[Wander]

For quotes one and two, exactly zero non-BCS teams ended up being selected to play in a BCS Bowl so I'd say while his comments may not represent the strictest interpretation of the actual rules, they do represent reality.

No, they don't. Again, this is not just hypothetical or a "strict interpretation" - we've already had a season under the current rules where two non-BCS teams played in BCS bowls. We all agreed that it was very unlikely to happen this season, but the claim was that it couldn't happen according to the current rules except in some bizarre 1 vs 2 scenario, which is misinformed. And I think we have enough evidence by respected people by this point to say that the "Duke was a lock for Atlanta and only Clemson could change that" claim was misinformed too. Again, I wouldn't even bother bringing any of this up if it wasn't for the unnecessary trashing of a young reporter who's done a good job covering our team this season.

[Indoor66]

With UNC-CH as the host team, regardless of their record or eligibility.

Nah, they go to the Toilet Bowl.