In the early, heady days of this basketball season, the T-shirts appeared on North Carolina's campus. On the front, the Carolina blue shirts posed a question that played on the white-lipped dairy industry ads for milk. They asked: "Got Roy?"

The NCAA has declared that recruiting problems now merit a task force.

North Carolina men's basketball coach Roy Williams rose swiftly from a crouch at courtside Saturday and almost fainted. He said afterward that feeling lightheaded is a reaction he has occasionally experienced since boyhood. It happens when he gets up in a hurry. Finally, there's an explanation for why Carolina wobbles when ahead. Teams often reflect their coach's personality. But the Tar Heels also mimic Williams' physiology.

After N.C. State's win over Florida State last week, a hopeful or foolhardy Wolfpack fan held up the sign: "We want Duke." On Sunday, they got Duke. Just barely.

During his radio show this past week, Herb Sendek heard fans urge him to wear his red blazer tonight when N.C. State meets Duke in a battle of the ACC's top two men's basketball teams. Maybe he will. Likely he won't. Sendek has coached the Wolfpack to 8-2 in the ACC wearing dark suits. While fans want him to be more colorful in his attire and his manner, he prefers safe shades in both.

Now it's as clear as Clarett: This is a free country, even for young football players. Ohio State's Maurice Clarett, the Buckeye who eyed the bucks, now is free to pursue them in the NFL.

Going into Wednesday's game against N.C. State, Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser was 57-2 when his team was leading with five minutes to go. Against the Wolfpack, the Deacons led by three points with five minutes to go.

Richmond basketball coach Jerry Wainwright knows about ugly crowds.

Once the most notable Roman in football was Gabriel. More recently, it's been Romanowski. But this week, football's biggest Roman is a numeral. You can't miss it. It's affixed to the game like a tail on a kite -- Super Bowl XXXVIII. For those who slept through Roman numeral class, that means Super Bowl 38.

Going in, it didn't seem to be a big game when N.C. State went to play at North Carolina on Wednesday. Both could have afforded a loss. A win or a loss would barely alter an ACC record in a league season not yet at the halfway point. But when the game ended in a 68-66 North Carolina victory it felt like something big had been avoided by the Tar Heels and something big had slipped away from the Wolfpack.

If you've wondered what kind of team the Carolina Hurricanes are trying to become, look no further than this week's trade of defenseman Danny Markov to the Philadelphia Flyers for forward Justin Williams. Exit Markov, a 27-year-old veteran making $2.7 million a year. Enter Williams, a promising 23-year-old forward who makes just more than $1 million. Net gain: four years and $1.7 million.

While the Carolina Panthers plotted strategy before playing the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, four young men in Panthers gear huddled in a Philadelphia hotel room and made a plan for meeting the Philadelphia Eagles' fans. The Panthers won. The four Panthers fans did not.

As the clock ran down the chant went up in Cameron Indoor Stadium: "Our house! Our house!" On Saturday, that house was a rowdy apartment house ruled by the Duke big man who calls himself "the landlord," Shelden Williams. All afternoon he evicted Wake Forest players from the paint and swatted away their shots with "get outta here" gusto.

It was State that contributed most to Mike Krzyzewski's 300th victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

I keep shaking my crystal basketball, but it keeps giving me the same, confounding prediction about tonight's N.C. State-Duke game. It says: State wins.

When the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers on Thursday night, they tipped their seven-game homestand to a positive finish -- four wins, three losses -- and ended the season's first half on a winning note. In the cold night that followed, something portentous occurred. It began to snow.

What's hard to answer in the Pete Rose debate isn't whether he should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame, but why so many have pushed -- and are pushing -- to keep him out. The first question is no question: Pete Rose had more hits than any major-leaguer in history. He's a Hall of Famer.

This business of lining up sure victories has happened too often and gone on too long.

The puck caromed off the goaltender's stick and floated high in the air like a tennis lob. In front of the goal, players' heads swiveled in a vain search for the puck that disappeared. Into the confused pack came Carolina Hurricanes captain Ron Francis, his eyes fixed on the descending puck. When it landed, he slapped it past Buffalo Sabres goalie Mika Noronen, tying a game the Canes eventually won Monday.