If you are a North Carolina fan, you had to think in the back of your mind that what has unfolded this season could happen. When you have a commitment from your players to come back for one more season to try and win a Championship (which they did last season) and there is a mass exodus of those players,then it is more likely than not that you will struggle. If those players from last seasons Championship team had trickled into the NBA instead of all departing at once, then you would have a more subtle rebuilding process. As it turned out, Coach Roy Williams is basically having to bring a huge bulk of his young team along all together. Couple that with key injuries and you have what you have. Given the fact that Williams is averaging a National Championship every 3 years since his return to Chapel Hill, it is a little easier for Carolina fans to take a down year knowing that they will be back in the mix sooner rather than later.

Roy Williams' Tarheels are struggling

What is up with the Atlantic Coast Conference? It is turned upside down. You have Virginia atop the standings at 3-0 and you have North Carolina near the bottom at 1-3 and Duke in the middle of the pack at 3-2. What is surprising is that neither North Carolina or Duke are playing very good basketball and have lineups filled with holes. North Carolina's struggles have been well documented but Duke has been unable to win on the road and again are very weak inside. That and the fact that they still do not have a true point guard and their best scorer is forced to play out of positon, does not spell success for a deep run in post season.

Right now in my mind, Georgia Tech and Clemson look to be the two best teams in the conference. They are both physical and get after you on defense. Both have a lot of components offensively and are hard to defend. If either one of these polish things up, they could make a splash in the
NCAA Tournament. Question is, will they be able to buck history and get it all together when it counts? Until this week, it looked like Duke was the best team in the conference and there was a scramble behind them. Now, not so much. And what about Virginia and NC State? Can Virginia keep
this up or are they a fraud? One thing for certain, they are well coach in Tony Bennett. He coaches a style that can be frustrating for teams who like to get the ball up and down
the court. NC State, looked left for dead a week ago but after the way they played against Duke, it is hard to figure which Wolfpack team will show up down the stretch.

Tony Bennett and the Cavaliers have been surprising

At first glance, the ACC looks weak again as a conference. We should have seen the warning signs when the league lost the Big Ten-ACC Challenge for the first time since it's inception. It will make for an interesting season given the fact that there are so many teams piled up with no clear
cut favorite. You have to believe some teams will find their rhythm and put it together before tournament time, who will it be? Stay tuned.

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Link: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tailgate-sports

I have just created Tailgate Sports on Upstream TV. Stop by and talk sports with me. There is a lot going on in the World of Sports that needs to be discussed. I will keep you up to date when I will be there live. Look forward to chatting!

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I wrote an article on October 17, pointing out the University of Kentucky and their relationship with John Calipari. In it, I wrote that Kentucky had decided to throw away integrity in an attempt to win at all costs and restore the struggling program by hiring Calipari. Well, it appears that former head coach, Bobby Knight agrees. On Thursday, he addressed the Calipari situation and had this to say. Thanks to ESPN for the video coverage.

Bobby Knight

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Believe it or not, Midnight Madness was last night in College Basketball which means the start of practice for the upcoming season. Of course, Kentucky was one of the featured schools on National television, mainly because of the renewal of the program with new coach, John Calipari.

Calipari climbed the elevated stage, in what looked like a Vegas act, to address the Kentucky faithful and assure them that he will lead the storied Wildcat program back to the top of College Basketball, where they belong. He is probably correct in that statement. But at what cost?

In my mind, Kentucky sold their soul in signing Calipari who brings with him a litany of baggage to Lexington. Behind him is a trail of destruction that he has left and has found a way to wade through it unscathed. It is obvious that this was a move by a desperate Alumni and program who will do whatever it takes to become relevant again. Otherwise, why would you bring in a guy who cost the University of Massachusetts a Final Four banner because of recruiting violations. Of course, he was no longer at UMass when that happened. He was counting his millions as a terrible NBA coach, laughing all the way to the bank.

Next stop, Memphis. Where he found himself in a scandal again. This time with former player Derrick Rose and test scores. Sure, he may not have been directly involved but it happened under his watch and as a leader, he is responsible. But of course, he was nowhere near Memphis when the hammer fell. In fact, when the NCAA conducted their investigation, he was somewhere in the Far East, apparently. And he was already hired by the University of Kentucky which had knowledge of the potential investigation. They hired Calipari regardless. This speaks as much or more to the University of Kentucky as it does John Calipari.

John Calipari

Why would you hire a guy with the chequered past that Calipari has? Sure, the guy can recruit and is a good coach. You can hide behind that all day long but the fact of the matter is, Kentucky wanted to win at all cost. North Carolina is on their heels in all time NCAA wins and Kentucky has fallen from the graces of the elite in College basketball since the departure of Tubby Smith. And make no mistake about it, Smith was run out of Lexington. Which brings me to the question, why would you not do anything to keep Tubby Smith? Here is a guy who wins Championships, does it with class and integrity. He was not good enough for Kentucky, so he is off to Minnesota where he is building a solid program there. But Calipari is good enough for Kentucky? You do the math.

I have no doubt that Calipari will restore the program and win a lot of basketball games. He will take them back to the top, much like Rick Pitino did when he turned the program away from one who was on probation to one who was at the top of College Basketball. And I understand the argument that all coaches operate in the gray area in terms of NCAA rules. But not all coaches leave a trail of scandal and violations. If the argument is that all programs cheat, then Calipari must be terrible at it because his name always surfaces. So be careful what you ask for Kentucky. When you sell your soul, at some point repayment is due.

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A look at the new phase of Kenan Stadium Expansion at the University of North Carolina.

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