Pack's Davis filling his role

DeCock: Anyone trying to follow N.C. State's game online Saturday may not have known Josh Davis was ever in the game. He didn't score, so his appearance wasn't acknowledged until the official box score hit the Internet.
Modified: 11/21/09 11:36:32 PM

Wolfpack is enjoying its trip to the beach

DeCock: The arcades and souvenir shops along the water are either covered with a layer of dust, closed or offering six-for-one T-shirt deals.
Modified: 11/21/09 12:11:27 AM

Only move for Canes is to wait

DeCock: The other worst team in the NHL visits the RBC Center tonight, with the Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs each stuck on 11 points.
Modified: 11/19/09 06:48:54 AM

Belichick decision one for the books

DeCock: Bill Belichick's decision to go for it on fourth-and-2 inside his own 30-yard line in Sunday night's New England Patriots-Indianapolis Colts game was as reckless as it was disastrous.
Modified: 11/17/09 12:44:36 AM

Defense is doing the job

DeCock: With one interception return for a touchdown already, North Carolina cornerback Kendric Burney was just trying to be generous. He made it 46 yards before he started to tire and decided to lateral the ball to someone.
Modified: 11/14/09 11:19:44 PM

Rennie offers some stability

DeCock: Instability is the background music to minor league soccer, and it is a winter of uncertainty for the Carolina RailHawks, who in essence led a revolution against their league.
Modified: 11/10/09 11:31:24 PM

Legace a part of legacy

DeCock: Though Manny Legace never played an NHL game for the Carolina Hurricanes or Hartford Whalers - not yet, anyway - he was the Whalers' eighth-round draft pick in 1993, a draft that also brought Chris Pronger, Marek Malik and Nolan Pratt to the organization.
Modified: 11/09/09 11:18:36 PM

Process begins for UNC

DeCock: The inevitable soul-searching that this North Carolina team will go through, as is only natural given the volume of the post-championship exodus, was always going to last longer than one game.
Modified: 11/10/09 12:07:32 AM

Ginyard ready to lead

DeCock: This is the one piece of advice Marcus Ginyard wishes someone had given him before his freshman year at North Carolina: "Coach Williams is right 100 percent of the time, no matter what," Ginyard said. "Even when you know you're right, he's still right."
Modified: 11/09/09 09:26:04 AM

A role reversal for Houston

DeCock: If the North Carolina bench hadn't called time out, Ryan Houston might have. After carrying the ball on 10 out of 11 plays to get the Tar Heels within 3 yards of the goal line, he was gassed.
Modified: 11/08/09 03:56:16 AM

Bennett prefers defense

DeCock: It isn't often Tony Bennett shows off his shooting skills to his new Virginia team - just enough to show he still has it.
Modified: 11/06/09 08:44:04 AM

Hurricanes go back to the basics

DeCock: The players stood in their spots and listened, and Paul Maurice lectured, and then they would try to do what he was telling them to do. Then he would correct them, and the players would switch places, and they would start again.
Modified: 11/04/09 08:58:59 AM

Time to produce a spark

DeCock: Now sporting the worst 13-game record in franchise history at 2-8-3, the Carolina Hurricanes need some help. Fortunately, the franchise also has a history of big turnaround games, single games that sparked streaks and changed seasons.
Modified: 11/03/09 06:22:11 AM

Hurricanes have fallen far real fast

DeCock: In the winter of 2003, after a dismal six-goal loss to the Los Angeles Kings, the Carolina Hurricanes reached the inevitable conclusion that no matter how hard anyone tried or what anyone did, their season was only getting worse.
Modified: 11/02/09 06:08:47 AM

Yates finds measure of redemption

DeCock: Just when it looked like North Carolina's experience on Thursday night was not only the worst kind of rerun but a series headed for cancellation, the Tar Heels did something they couldn't do a week ago.
Modified: 10/30/09 12:31:50 AM

Duke best in the state? Believe it

DeCock: It has been a tough year for college football in North Carolina, no doubt about it. At this point, it's conceivable that not a single team will make a bowl game. It's also unlikely.
Modified: 10/27/09 03:50:58 AM

It's a different ballgame at Duke now

DeCock: The list of Duke's errors, miscues and self-inflicted wounds went on and on. It's an old story at Wallace Wade, one told all too often in recent years.
Modified: 10/24/09 11:54:37 PM

Paulus is short on time

DeCock: Time is not on his side. Greg Paulus' football experiment is an exercise in the now, in the immediate. The one thing he doesn't have is time.
Modified: 10/23/09 08:31:30 PM

A night to remember with chagrin

DeCock: The stage was set for a magnificent night, the first-ever Thursday night football game at Kenan Stadium ushered in with appropriate ceremony.
Modified: 10/23/09 01:19:37 AM

Reflective Bowden just wants win

DeCock: Only Bobby Bowden could take a question about his 0-3 record in the ACC and address the controversy swirling around his team with an anecdote about a bowl game in 1986.
Modified: 10/22/09 12:32:31 AM

Players will have new roles in ACC basketball

DeCock: With basketball season officially under way, most of the attention is on the returning men's stars and highly touted recruits. Some of the ACC's impact players, though, are already around.
Modified: 10/20/09 04:02:46 AM

Pack ready for a new look

DeCock: It didn't take a magnifying glass to see the cracks in N.C. State's basketball team last year. The visible lack of chemistry on the court was only one manifestation of a team divided.
Modified: 10/19/09 06:18:56 AM

'It's a game to build on'

DeCock: To the extent that a hockey game played before the first candy bar hits the fryer across the street at the State Fair can be a litmus test, Wednesday's game was just that for the Carolina Hurricanes.
Modified: 10/15/09 06:15:54 AM

Playoff loss needs to be avenged

DeCock: When it comes to motivating his teammates, Rod Brind'Amour is not interested in using revenge as a lever.
Modified: 10/14/09 08:00:31 AM

O'Brien lacks BC progress

DeCock: There isn't a hint of nostalgia in Tom O'Brien's voice when he discusses this week's return to Boston College, where he spent a decade building the Eagles into a perennial powerhouse.
Modified: 10/13/09 12:15:24 AM

Injuries' effects linger

DeCock: Only Joni Pitkanen knows if his knee will have recovered enough for the Carolina Hurricanes defenseman to play Wednesday. (He did not practice with the team Monday.)
Modified: 10/13/09 12:32:26 AM

Game made financial sense, didn't help Heels

DeCock: The students made their feelings clear. Faced with other options on the North Carolina campus on a warm, if cloudy, fall day, many fewer than usual found their way to Kenan Stadium.
Modified: 10/11/09 05:56:50 AM

Hurricanes stare down expectations

DeCock: It's hard to believe the hockey season is just five days old.
Modified: 10/07/09 11:35:04 AM

Keep an eye on these

DeCock: Four weeks in, Brett Favre is still unretired, from football and the endorsement game, which answers one of the annual burning questions about the NFL.
Modified: 10/06/09 05:54:32 AM

Ward ready to carry load

DeCock: There's nothing in Paul Maurice's coaching résumé to indicate he's ever hesitant to play his No. 1 goalie, which is good news for Cam Ward, who would just as soon play as not.
Modified: 10/01/09 10:46:28 PM