As a sports fan, I am saddened by the death of Joe Paterno on Sunday. I feel extremely bad that his last days were heartbreaking due to an event that occurred at the University he loved and dedicated himself to for over a half century. An event that did not involve him, but one that involved one of his coaches.

Joe Paterno 1926-2012

But with that aside, I will miss Joe Paterno because he is the last of a generation of college coaches from the golden era. An era we will never see again due to the exposure and money that has infiltrated the college game. He came from an era where Bowl games mattered, where rivalries were genuine and not determined by mega-money and television.

We live in a generation where coaches do not typically dedicate themselves to a University for a long period of time. This is the generation of "On to the next best thing". Urban Meyer, Pete Carroll and even Steve Spurrier come to mind. All who made changes after successful runs at top level football schools.

Gone are Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, Tom Osborne, Bobby Bowden, Barry Switzer and Bear Bryant, from the College Game. Men who dedicated themselves to their school for years. It is hard to think of a College Football Coach who has been successful, that has been at a school over a decade, much less many decades. Frank Beamer started at Virginia Tech in 1987 and is the longest tenured, only 5 coaches have started prior to 2000 in Major College Football as of 2011.

Joe Paterno dedicated himself to Penn State as head coach from 1966-2011 but came to the School when he was 23 to become an assistant coach. He was offered a job as Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969 but turned it down. Legendary Coach, Chuck Noll ended up taking that position.

I am not sure we will ever see coaches stay at schools in any major college sport nearly as long as Joe Paterno. In College Basketball there is Jim Boehein who started at Syracuse in 1976. I like to give the Dookies a hard time, but Mike Krzyzewski has dedicated himself to Duke University since 1980. Fans of these schools should embrace their coaches and enjoy every moment they walk the court, there may never be coaches who invest that much time again.

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Americans Struggle at Australian Open

Both the Men and Women are down to the third round at the Australian Open. Only one American Man and 3 American Women remain in the draw.

On the Men's Side, top American Mardy Fish exited early losing in Alejandro Falla in the second round. Sam Querry and Donald Young also lost in the second round. The only American left is John Isner who is fortunate to still be playing after a controversial call went against David Nalbandian in the second round that would have likely sent the American home. Isner served a ball wide which was over ruled by the Chair Umpire and Nalbandian was not allowed to challenge due to waiting too long. Nalbandian would have likely served for the match against a tired Isner who had been cramping. Andy Roddick was forced to withdraw in the round against Lleyton Hewitt due to a leg injury with Hewitt leading 2 sets to 1.

(John Isner is last American Man standing in Melbourne)

On the Women's side, Serena Williams has been solid and two upstart Americans have also advanced. Christina McHale and Vania King hope to make a run. McHale faces 13 seeded Jelena Jankovic in the round of 32 while King faces 21st seed Ana Ivanovic. Williams should be able to advance by Greta Arn before likely meeting 7th seeded Vera Zvonareva.

(Christina McHale)

The Atlantic Coast Conference is currently 2-2 in postseason Bowl game appearances.
North Carolina fell to Missouri while N.C. State defeated Louisville. Florida State won while Wake Forest lost. Up next is Georgia Tech who take on Utah in the Hyundai Sun Bowl on Saturday. Here are the results thus far:

Advocare V100 Independence Bowl

Missouri 41 UNC 24

Belk Bowl



N.C. State 31 Louisville 24

Champs Sports Bowl



Notre Dame 14 Florida State 18

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl



Wake Forest 17 Mississippi State 23

Hyundai Sun Bowl



Georgia Tech 27 Utah 20

Chick-Fil-A Bowl



Virginia 24 Auburn 43

AllState Sugar Bowl



Virginia Tech 20 Michigan 23

Discover Orange Bowl



Clemson 33 West Virginia 70

We are two weeks into the College Basketball season and the Atlantic Coast Conference has already been involved in a number of headliner games. Here is a look at the season thus far:

North Carolina

The Tar Heels (5-1) have been ranked number one since the beginning of the season. They got off to a bang with a win against Michigan State in the Carrier Classic. They defeated South Carolina before taking their first loss of the season against UNLV in the Las Vegas Invitational. Other wins include Mississippi Valley State, Tennessee State and UNC-Asheville. Clearly, North Carolina has not played up to their capabilities in the early going but are one of a few teams who have a legitimate chance to win the National Championship. They face the toughest stretch of their non-conference schedule with games against #11 Wisconsin on Wednesday, followed to a trip to #2 Kentucky on Saturday. The Heels are led by Harrison Barnes who is averaging 17.3 points per game followed by John Henson at 15.8. Henson also leads the team in rebounding at 9.8 while Kendall Marshall is racking up 10.8 assists per game.

(Harrison Barnes)

Duke

It has been a memorable start to the season for the Blue Devils (7-0). Coach Mike Krzyzewski passed Bobby Knight for all time wins and they have some solid wins under their belt. With wins against Michigan State, Tennessee, #15 Michigan and #14 Kansas, the season couldn't have been scripted any better thus far. Other wins include games against Davidson, Belmont and Presbyterian. Duke is currently ranked #6 with a bullet. They will face their toughest test this week with a road game against #3 Ohio State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Seth Curry leads the Blue Devils in scoring at 15.1 a game followed by Ryan Kelly at 14.6. Mason Plumlee is averaging double digit rebounds at 10 a game and highly touted freshman, Austin Rivers has lived up to the hype chipping in 14.4 points per game.

North Carolina State

One of several teams in the league with a new head coach, the Wolfpack have jumped out to a 5-1 record for Mark Gottfried. Their only loss has come at the hands of #20 Vanderbilt. Wins against Texas and Princeton were impressive and the Pack have accrued wins against Elon, UNC-Asheville and Morehead State to give them their 5 on the season. C.J. Leslie has been solid scoring at a 16.7 ppg average. Richard Howell has been impressive with 13.7 points per game and 8.8 rebounds a game. We will have a good idea how good this team is after this week, with games against Indiana followed by a road game at Stanford. In the early going, this team looks to be right there behind Carolina and Duke and have a legitimate chance at making the NCAA Tournament this season.

(C.J. Leslie)

Virginia

The 5-1 Cavaliers will face their toughest test of the young season this week at home against #15 Michigan. Their lone loss came at the hands of TCU. The schedule has not been particularly strong thus far as their victories came against teams with a combined record of 13-15. That includes wins against Winthrop, S.C. State, Green Bay, Drexel and Drake. Mike Scott leads the way with 14.8 points per game and 10 rebounds per game.

Miami

The Hurricanes are another team with a new coach. Jim Larranaga came over from George Mason to replace Frank Heath. His team is off to a 4-1 record which includes wins over Rutgers, Tennessee Tech, North Florida and Florida Gulf Coast. Their sole loss was in tournament action against Mississippi in overtime. The Canes will be tested this week with a game at Purdue, followed by Massachusetts and #8 Memphis next week. Senior, Malcolm Grant leads Miami at 17.8 points per game. Durand Scott is chipping in with 12.6 a game.

Virginia Tech

The Hokies look like one of those teams in the tier just under Carolina and Duke in the conference. They are 4-1 thus far with a solid win against Oklahoma State and their sole loss against #5 Syracuse. Other wins include Monmouth, East Tennessee State and Florida International. They have a tough road game at Minnesota coming up this week after a home game against St. Bonaventure. Dorenzo Hudson leads the Hokies in scoring at 15.6 a game. Dorian Finney-Smith is averaging 10.8 rebounds a game.

(Dorenzo Hudson)

Florida State

The #20th ranked Seminoles are coming off of a successful NCAA Tournament run last season and come into this season as one of the teams competing for the spot behind North Carolina and Duke. They are 5-2 thus far, coming off of back to back losses against Harvard and #4 Connecticut. They have early wins against Central Florida, Jacksonville, Stetson, South Alabama and Massachusetts. They will travel to East Lansing to face Michigan State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge this week. Michael Snaer leads the team in scoring at 13.6 per game. Bernard James is grabbing 8.6 rebounds a game.

Georgia Tech

The Yellow Jackets come into the season with new head coach, Brian Gregory. He has Georgia Tech at 4-2 in the early going. With wins against Florida A&M, Delaware State, Virginia Commonwealth and Siena. Their two losses come at the hands of LSU and St. Joseph's. The Jackets will host Northwestern this week in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Georgia Tech is a good rebounding team (27th in the Country) led by Daniel Miller and Glen Rice Jr. who also leads the team in scoring at 17.7 per game. After the Northwestern game, the Yellow Jackets go on the road for 3 straight games.

(Glen Rice, Jr. - photo courtesy of Getty Images)

Wake Forest

The Deacons are 4-2 with wins against Loyola-Maryland, Georgia Southern, North Carolina Central and Texas Tech. Their two losses were against Dayton and Arizona State. This team has a chance to be pretty good. They are getting great scoring with the tandem of C.J. Harris at 19.4 ppg and Travis McKie at 19.0 ppg. McKie leads the Deacs with 5.4 rebounds a game tied with Carson Desrosiers. The Deacons will have a good test with upcoming games at Nebraska and at home against Richmond coming up.

(C.J. Harris)

Clemson

The Tigers are 3-2 on the season with losses to College of Charleston and Coastal Carolina. Their three victories are against Gardner-Webb, The Citadel and Furman. Andre Young leads Brad Brownell's squad in scoring at 14.4 a game followed by Milton Jennings at 12.8. Jennings leads in rebounding as well at 6.8 a game. The Tigers will travel to Iowa to face the Hawkeyes in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge followed by a game against rival, South Carolina. The Gamecocks will be the 4th in state school the Tigers will have faced this season. They will travel to Arizona in a couple of weeks to face #23 Arizona in a big test for them.

Maryland

Another ACC School with a new head coach. Mark Turgeon replaces long time coach, Gary Williams and the Terps are 3-2 under him thus far. The two losses were ugly, losing to #15 Alabama and Iona by over 20 points each. The wins were against UNC-Wilmington, Colorado and Florida Gulf Coast. Those teams combine for a 5-11 record. Things are not any easier in the near future with games against Illinois in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, followed by Notre Dame. Both of those game are at home this week. Terrell Stoglin leads the ACC in scoring at 20.2 per game. Freshman, Ashton Pankey leads the team in rebounding at 7.6 a game.

(Terrell Stoglin)

Boston College

The Eagles are 2-3 with wins against New Hampshire and UC-Riverside. They have lost to Holy Cross, Massachusetts and Saint Louis. They will host Penn State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge this week. Patrick Heckmann leads the team in scoring at 15.8 a game. Dennis Clifford is averaging 6.0 rebounds a game.

The Atlantic Coast Conference are currently 51-18 combined in the early going this season. No conference games have been played thus far.

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Saturday, October 15, 2011

Miami at North Carolina 12:30pm

Florida State at Duke 3:30pm

12)Georgia Tech at Virginia 3:30pm

19)Virginia Tech at Wake Forest 3:30pm

8)Clemson at Maryland 7pm

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