Jason Cain. I really just wanted two stories on the sports page to start with the words "Jason Cain" today. On to my column.
Tonight, the finest basketball rivalry in the ACC will begin its 218th installment on one of the most hallowed courts in the nation. Florida State versus Virginia at University Hall.
I'm kidding, of course. It's Rivalry Week and I'm talking about the granddaddy of all basketball rivalries, North Carolina and Duke. This is a clear-your-schedule, use-your-one-absence-in-discussion style mid-week basketball game.
I'm not saying abandon the Cavaliers and Seminoles game at U-Hall at 7:30 tonight. The Blue Devils and Tar Heels don't tip off until 9 p.m., so there's plenty of time to support the Cavaliers. Just don't make any post-game plans and settle in for your second ACC tilt of the night.
I admit I'm partial to this game. I grew up a Carolina fan, as I've mentioned many times in this space, and both my parents are Chapel Hill graduates. While my allegiances have shifted to the Cavaliers, Carolina versus Duke is something special for any college basketball fan, no matter where you grew up or who you pull for.
This game hits right at the nature of the word "rivalry." The two teams and fan bases don't just "not like each other" or "want to earn bragging rights." Many of the fans can't even say anything nice about the other squad, even when they are feeling it.
Take my brother, a freshman at North Carolina this year. Last week, Duke coach Mike Kryzyzewski seemed to faint during a game, and my brother begrudgingly admitted that Coach K's reaction -- "I felt like a chump, like someone hit me with an air punch and I'm out"-- was funny. I take that back -- He actually couldn't bring himself to say anything in that vein, only, "I like how he handled it, but
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