Stealing signs

Elon University took down the Davidson Wildcats 10-5 on Thursday afternoon and successfully finished its regular-season league campaign.

Elon (38-16, 19-8) is in prime position for postseason play. I think the Phoenix will earn an at-large bid no matter what happens the rest of the way, but Elon has a good chance at winning an automatic bid at the Southern Conference Tournament in two weeks.

The Phoenix also has a strong chance at capturing the regular-season league crown, but it needs a few things to go its way.

First, Elon needs Furman to lose to of its six remaining league games. The Paladins are currently in first place and have three games with Appalachian State and Georgia Southern remaining. Elon swept Furman this year so it would win a tie-breaker.

Second, if Furman loses the two games, Elon needs UNC Greensboro to lose one of its six games. UNCG has three games against Georgia Southern and three against last-place Davidson. Then Elon would also win a tiebreaker, having beaten the Spartans two out of three a few weeks ago.

If it wins out, College of Charleston has a slim chance to tie Elon for the league crown if those other two factors happen.

Bottom line, it’s all possible and Elon needs to pull for Georgia Southern to play well to end the season. The Eagles control Elon’s chances at winning another Southern Conference title.

So, I’ve gotten a few e-mails about my blogging absence and I apologize. I’ve been back on the campaign trail the last week with former president Bill Clinton visiting Elon last Wednesday and Sen. Hillary Clinton making a stop in Graham this morning.

To be honest, these campaign stops are wearing me out. I can only imagine how tried both the Clinton family and Barack Obama must be after countless hours, days and weeks straight of campaigning for the democratic presidential nomination.

Both Bill and Hillary have been in and out of North Carolina the last few weekends with the May 6 primary approaching quickly. North Carolina’s primary will matter for the first time in a long time and could be the deciding factor in who takes home the party’s nominee and continues their campaign for the White House.

But back on the sports front. I won’t touch on a whole lot today, but I’ll mention a few things from the weekend.

First off, Elon University took two of three on the road against UNC Greensboro to stay close in the battle for the regular season Southern Conference title.

After losing the first game with ace Steven Hensley on the mound, Elon bounced back and took two close ones against the Spartans. Elon has six conference games remaining, three against Appalachian State and three against Davidson. Both are much lesser teams and Elon should sweep the six games, but of course that’s easier said than done.

The College of Charleston holds a slim winning percentage points advantage over Elon for first place.

For some weird reason, both those remaining conference series take place during the week with doubleheaders.

The NFL Draft took place Saturday and Sunday and as promised I didn’t tune in. I did check the paper Sunday morning to see who went where, caring only for who the Patriots and Panthers drafted and where my boy Matt Ryan of Boston College ended up. Ryan went to the Atlanta Falcons officially ending the Michael Vick era in ATL. Finally.

I heard a funny skit on the radio on the way to work last week about Vick. The radio host pretended to interview Vick from jail, but it was obviously someone impersonating him on the phone. The interview took place with the sound of inmates lifting weights in the background and was pretty hilarious.

Vick talked about how he’s been lifting and staying strong. He said he feels stronger and tougher than ever. He also added that he’d been playing and dominating on the prison football team. The fake Vick also said he’d been writing Falcons owner Arthur Blank a latter a day, trying to show his continued commitment to the Falcons. He said he asked in some letters for Blank to purchase equipment such as a shovel and a garden hose so Vick could escape “Shawshank Redemption” style.

The interview was funny and further pushes Vick’s life into humor than seriousness. I doubt Vick will ever be as successful as he once was.

I’m boycotting the NFL Draft this year. Well, kind of.

Of course I’m interested in the draft and who my favorite team the New England Patriots draft, but I don’t care for the ridiculous amount coverage.

This time of year ESPN dedicates its network to the NFL Draft even though the NBA and NHL playoffs are in full swing. I’d also much rather watch a college baseball game on ESPN than 20 some odd hours of the draft.

The network will be airing every round and pick of the draft with pregame, postgame analysis. Everything you need to know, don’t need to know and wouldn’t even care to know will be covered this weekend.

I don’t care for the product I just want to see the end result. I’ll glance when it’s all over at who went where.

This weekend I’ll be keeping a close eye on Elon’s baseball team. The Phoenix has a three-game series against UNC Greensboro on the road. The Spartans are hungry to stay in the conference championship race. Right now, Elon, College of Charleston and UNCG all have five losses in the league. Elon is in first because it has more league wins because it has played more games.

This weekend is a big series for the Phoenix. Last weekend Elon dropped two of three from the Cougars which hurt Elon a little bit, but it still controls its own destiny.

Another thing I’m excited for this weekend is Elon’s spring football game. Usually I don’t care for this stuff and prefer to wait until August, but after attending Elon’s road tour in Greensboro last night, I’m excited for the upcoming season.

I’m not sure I’ll be able to attend Saturday’s game at 3 p.m. in Rhodes Stadium, but I’m going to try. Coach Pete Lembo spoke at the event and seemed extremely positive about the team he has for the upcoming season.

Elon returns its two best and most explosive players, QB Scott Riddle and wide receiver Terrell Hudgins. I can’t wait to watch these two go off again this season.

After taking over the top spot in the Southern Conference last weekend, Elon University has lost three straight games.

The Phoenix (28-11 overall, 12-3 conference) lost to Western Carolina, High Point and Coastal Carolina, matching its longest losing streak of the season.

This isn’t the best time for Elon to be entering what might its toughest three-game set of the year with a trip to Charleston, SC on tap. Elon begins a series with College of Charleston on Friday.

The Cougars have owned the SoCon in recent years except in 2006 when the Phoenix claimed the regular season crown. College of Charleston did go on to win the conference tournament.

College of Charleston (25-12, 8-4) is coming off a three-game sweep last weekend against Furman and for the first time in a long time, it was the Cougars doing the sweeping. The Paladins took three straight in a major upset. Elon swept Furman earlier this year.

The rest of the season has a lot of road work for the Phoenix, but the competition isn’t all that stiff after College of Charleston. Leaving with a series victory this weekend is crucial for Elon’s hopes at winning another regular season conference title.

Elon plays host to Wake Forest next week at Latham Park in non-conference action which would indeed be a resume builder after taking a hit with the loss to 14-22 High Point on Tuesday.

If Elon can finish strong, an at-large big in the NCAA Tournament is a strong possibility.

While on the subject of baseball, my favorite sport, I should mention Thursday night’s marathon. The Colorado Rockies defeated the San Diego Padres in 22 innings. What a long game, but the more impressive part is the score, especially since neither team scored a run until the 14^th inning.

The game didn’t end until 1:21 a.m. and was the longest game in the majors in 15 years. Petco Park was nearly empty when the game finally ended after 6 hours and 16 minutes.

I can only imagine how horrible it must feel to lose a game after 22 innings. But it must feel just as good to win.

With North Carolina fans still suffering from an earlier than expected exit in the Final Four on Saturday and Roy Williams’ love for Kansas, they took another hit Tuesday.

Elon University shutout the No. 4 ranked Tar Heels in college baseball. The win is huge for the Phoenix (26-7) because it’s by far its best victory of the season. Elon has had strong wins against East Carolina and UNC Wilmington already this year, but against a top 5 team is huge.

Elon returns home tonight to take on No. 28 East Carolina. I think if Elon wins and sweeps its weekend series against Western Carolina, I think it should earn a national ranking.

The Phoenix is hot this season and I have high hopes for a NCAA Tournament bid.

Every year the same thing happens around this time. People go crazy and are unproductive at work as a result of college basketball.

March Madness is a special time of the year that everyone seems to enjoy. Filling out your bracket is fun even for those who don’t follow the sport, it becomes a religion.

I’m going to keep today’s blog short and sweet since I’m busy putting together our first online newscast which will air at 4 p.m. today on TheTimesNews.com. Make sure and check it out for updates on the killing of UNC student body president Eve Carson and a preview of the ACC Tournament.

Speaking of, the ACC tips off today in Charlotte. Our poll question on the homepage is where do you think the ACC Tournament should be held?

So far, Greensboro is the overwhelming favorite, followed by Raleigh and Charlotte. I voted for Charlotte which is where this year’s teams are gathering for the big event.

Wake Forest plays Florida State in the early game at noon. It’s guaranteed to be a great tournament with the likely matchup of Duke facing North Carolina for the second time in a week for the championship.

Likely matchup? Yeah right. In these tournaments, nothing is likely. Anything can happen, hence Wake Forest and N.C. State’s recent success despite poor records. Teams become sleepers and then they wake everyone up when they least expect.

I love having big games on during the day too. There’s nothing better than being at work and being able to check for live updates from college hoops games. Our city editor, Brent Lancaster is an N.C. State fan. He told everyone at our morning budet meeting to leave him along between 2-4 p.m. today when the Wolfpack take on Miami.

Our sports reports, Stephen Schramm, Bob Sutton and Adam Smith will be blogging live from the Charlotte Bobcats Arena all weekend, so make sure to check that out. Our sports staff will always does a great job at events like this. Also, photographer Sam Roberts will have photo slideshows every day of fan and game action.

Elon University’s magical and improbable Southern Conference Tournament run came to an end Monday night as Davidson halted the Phoenix with a 65-49 victory in the championship.

Elon stood one win away from earning its first ever berth into the NCAA Tournament, but with the loss it wasn’t meant to be. The Phoenix fought hard, but it just looked like it ran out of gas at the end.

Shooting just above 35 percent wasn’t going to get it done and unfortunately Elon wasn’t able to crack 50 points in front of a nationally televised audience on ESPN2. Despite the loss, Elon fans got what they’ve been waiting for a long time.

We got to see our small private university play on a big stage when it counts. Even though it would’ve been a lot better if Elon had won, we still got there, to the end and almost did the unthinkable. Elon’s run was special and always will be. Winning three games in three days, a fourth in four days was just too much to ask.

I guess I didn’t realize how big a deal it was until last night. I watched the game on Elon’s campus and was amazed at the school spirit for the Phoenix, a pride that the university always lacked. Where students chose shirts and ties over maroon and gold at many sporting events. Where girls wore sunglasses and fancy sun dresses instead of an Elon t-shirt and some face paint.

But not Monday night. Fans were proud of Elon and hung onto their seat after every shot, block and rebound. The crowd erupted after every 3. It was great. The mood after the game wasn’t of disappointment, but of satisfaction and pride. It didn’t matter that Elon had lost because now, for the first time ever, we felt that we belonged there on that national stage. The feeling was of hope that we would get there again some day soon.

The only sad sight was looking at pictures of Elon players after the game. I felt really bad for them and even sad for them, knowing how close they came to reaching their goal. You can see the sadness in their eyes and hearts, feeling their pain.

But looking forward with a positive attitude is the way to go. As I wrote Monday, things are on the way up at Elon. The football team is a contender, the baseball team is consistently good and every other team is falling in line. It’s a good time to be an Phoenix fan.

There is only one thing to write about today and that’s the Elon University men’s basketball team.

The Phoenix defeated the College of Charleston 75-61 in the semifinals of the Southern Conference Tournament on Sunday night to advance to tonight’s championship game at the North Charleston Coliseum.

Elon will take on Davidson at 9 p.m. on ESPN2 for the Southern Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. That’s right; Elon has a shot to go to the big dance. I never thought I would actually see the day.

I spent four years as a student and a few as an alumnus, monitoring Elon’s Southern Conference Tournament results, hoping that it could somehow get to the tournament final which is always on ESPN or ESPN2.

I always thought to myself, if it can just get there, to the final, anything can happen. Well, Elon is there and who knows what will come out of tonight’s game. (Check out photos from the tournament)

The university is planning a bus trip to Charleston, SC for Phoenix fans to attend the game and hopefully there will be a good showing. The bus leaves from the Mosley Center parking lot at 2 p.m.

After talking to my friend Dom on Sunday night, the Elon faithful didn’t have much of a presence. He attended the game with some other Elon alumni friends. There were sightings of former Elon players Colin Wyatt, Scottie Rice and Mike Brandon. It’s good to see those guys coming back to support the troops, but other than that not much a showing existed outside of cheerleaders and parents.

On paper, Elon doesn’t stand a chance. The Wildcats (25-6 overall, 20-0 Southern Conference) are ranked No. 25 in the nation. They’re no joke. Their 21-game winning streak is tops in the country and three of their six losses came to top 10 teams, with defeats against North Carolina, Duke and UCLA.

Led by Stephen Curry’s 25.2 points per game, Davidson is the clear favorite. The Wildcats have won the last two Southern Conference Tournament titles and have been impressive in the NCAA Tournament. Last year Davidson gave Maryland a scare before the Terrapins were able to hang on.

How big of a deal is this game? It’s huge. If Elon is able to somehow win, it will be one of the biggest national stories this week. With Elon’s record, 14-18, the Phoenix will probably be the worst team in the bracket of 65 teams; the extra team is included in the play-in-game, where Elon will probably be seeded.

The talk of the country will be if Elon is deserving of a postseason berth seeing that it will bump a team sitting on the bubble with a better record out of the tournament. We’ll save that debate for Tuesday if Elon is to somehow pull off a miracle.

If anyone can beat Davidson though it’s Elon. The Phoenix and Wildcats met earlier in the season at Alumni Gym and Davidson scraped out a 59-57 victory. Elon had the lead down the wire, but Curry came on strong after struggling earlier in the game and sank back-to-back 3-pointers. Davidson rallied from a six-point deficit with 2 1/2 minutes to play.

The Wildcats beat Elon again at home 74-64, led by Curry’s 36. Maybe the third time’s a charm for Elon tonight. We’ll have to wait and see, but after watching Sunday night’s game Elon is riding a wave of emotion. Senior Montel Watson is playing with a ton of heart and energy and seems untouchable on the court.

His energy was fun to watch and I really enjoyed his postgame interview. Knowing Watson personally, it’s great to see him do great things for my alma mater at this late stage in his basketball career. He’s really coming alive and keeping the dream alive for Elon.

Win or lose tonight, it’s a great step in the right direction for Elon. Its women’s basketball team also had a good tournament run, losing to Western Carolina in the semifinals Sunday night. The baseball team swept a home series against North Carolina A&T and improved to 13-1. Things are looking up for Phoenix athletics and it’s an exciting time to be an Elon fan. Go Elon!

What could be the biggest game of the college basketball season takes place Saturday night.

Who will win the Tobacco Road showdown between North Carolina and Duke?

I’m picking the Tar Heels and here’s why. The last time around North Carolina was without point guard Ty Lawson and even though Lawson isn’t 100 percent, the Heels are in much better shape with him on the court.

When Duke beat the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, North Carolina was struggling to find offensive rhythm. It was pretty much the first game the Heels had to play with Quentin Thomas at point guard. Thomas looked sloppy at times and although he had some nice drives to the lane for baskets, he got away from what North Carolina does best and that’s give it to Psycho T, Tyler Hansbrough.

Look for North Carolina to learn from its mistakes and feed the ball into the paint to exploit the mismatch. The Blue Devils have no one to cover Hansbrough and he went off last time around. I wouldn’t be surprised if Hansbrough scored 40 points Saturday night because he’s just that good.

 Also, the tragedy that hit the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this week will only inspire the players. The student body president was killed and the entire campus has been mourning the last few days. It’s an unfortunate event, but I think the Tar Heels will give the students something to cheer about.

For Duke to win, it will need to get hot from 3-point range, something it was able to do in Chapel Hill. Greg Paulus needs to find his shooting touch and make those lucky 3’s that always tick me off if Duke wants to have a chance.

Kyle Singler also needs to shoot well and prove why he’s one of the top freshmen in the country.

No matter who wins, it’s going to be a great game and the energy will be insane. The winner will also take home the regular season ACC crown. We might get lucky to see these two powerhouses square off again next weekend in Charlotte for the ACC Tournament final. Now wouldn’t that be special.

It appears my post a few weeks ago was totally inaccurate. I wrote off the Houston Rockets after center Yao Ming went down for the season.

The Rockets have done nothing but win since the injury. Winners of 17 straight games, the Rockets are getting production from everyone on their roster and I’m shocked.

With help from Bobby Jackson and Carl Landry, Tracy McGrady has his team in fifth place in the Western Conference and just 2 ½ games out of first.

Dikembe Mutombo has filled in nicely for Yao and the team chemistry has really made a difference. The Rockets are playing together and that’s made a huge impact on their success. I just wanted to say that it looks like I was wrong. Good work Rockets.

What is the deal with Greg Paulus’ black eyes?

I watched Duke whip up on Virginia Wednesday night, but all I could take from the game was a lingering question to why in the world Paulus always has at least one black eye. Always.

Every Duke game I watch he has a black eye. Are his teammates beating him up? I don’t like him and I don’t even know him, so I wouldn’t doubt it if after each game Gerald Henderson and Demarcus Nelson were taking shots at the scrawny white kid. I know he got slugged against N.C. State, but it seems to always be there and on both eyes.

I’ll give him credit though for keeping a smile. In a postgame interview with the lovely Stacey Dales, Paulus had that punch me in the eye grin on his face and I was praying that Stacy would pop him for me, but she didn’t. So who is lining Paulus up against the wall and delivering blows?

After listening to my least favorite broadcaster in the world Mike Patrick call the game, I knew it wasn’t him who was clocking Paulus. Patrick feels the need to get excited and go wild for a 3-pointer two minutes into every game. It’s really sad. Doesn’t he have better things in his life to get excited about? Probably not, seeing that he looks like a turtle. I’m surprised he hasn’t quit broadcasting and become the mascot for Maryland. It’d be a good fit for him.

I seem to be very pro-Carolina this week. That should get my Tar Heel readers excited. It kind of surprises me because North Carolina beat Boston College on Saturday. You’d think I’d be bitter. I guess I was having such a good time in Charleston, S.C. that I shrugged off the loss.

But as our editor Madison Taylor pointed out in our daily budget meeting this morning, Alex is a pro sports guy. And he’s exactly right. With the Celtics winners of six straight, including a win against the second-best team in the Eastern Conference, the Detroiut Pistons, I’ve got nothing else on my mind.

UNC Wilmington handed Elon University its first loss of the season in baseball Wednesday, what a shame. I was hoping the Phoenix could keep its undefeated streak alive a bit longer. It didn’t give up though. Trailing 18-8 heading into the bottom of the ninth, Elon put up eight runs to make things interesting.

I almost went to the game after work Wednesday, but declined. I’m glad I did, only because then I would’ve felt responsible for the loss, seeing that the only game I would have attended would have been the only loss. I’m a baseball guy, therefore I’m very superstitious.