4 THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2008 Roy’s sticky little situation So you may haw noticed that North Carolina coach Roy Williams donned a garish sticker during the NCAA title game that bore an uncanny resemblance to the Kansas Javhawks' logo. OK. it was a Kansas Javhawks' logo, and you definitely noticed. And you strongly disapproved. In the days following the game, the sticker covering Williams' breast became the subject of almost as much discussion as the one that didn’t cover Janet Jacksons during that Super Bowl halftime show. Take a chill pill. Tar Heel fans. Williams erred, for sure, but cut the man a break. The issue here stems from a Tile MYtll: All the good places to live are always taken. Tile ReaiitY: Cool Blue Rentals has some really GREAT places... and you can lease one NOW for 2008-09! Why deal with the hassle of last minute house hunting when all that’s left are the leftovers? 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Carolina DINING SERVICES 9 SAM ROSENTHAL THE GARDEN STATE OF MIND disconnect between outsiders fans and the media —and insiders coaches and players. Sometimes, we outsiders over dramatize the sentimental side of sports, but sometimes coaches and players regard it too lightly. In this case. Williams made a foolish decision to wear the KU Sports emblem and in no way anticipat ed the potential fallout (let's hope not, at least). While Williams had his reasons we'll get to those later he had no sensitivity to the situation. Had he simply shown up and cheered for Kansas, sans the sticker, people would have cared much less. But his transgression, in fans’ eyes, went beyond the sticker: A broken clock had better timing than Williams on Monday. If UNC had lost to Memphis or UCLA in the semifinals, and Williams supported KU in the finals. Tar Heel fans would have probably been all about their coach rooting against the team that knocked off UNC. But he rooted for the team that did knock off UNC only two days earlier. For many fans, simply look ing at a Jayhawk logo, or watching them win. made them see-sick. Viewing it on their beloved coach's chest must have hit many as hard as Kansas' victory against North Carolina did itself. So yes, Williams goofed. Now forgive and forget. As he failed to understand the fans' perspective, so too did the fans misread the situation. Students: Williams spent almost as much time at Kansas l5 years —as you've been on this planet. He won four National Coach of the Year Awards as a Jayhawk. He took KU to four Final Fours. Uncork the Funj 4 Saturdßy.April 19"' Grapes I Koka Booth Ampitheatre Bl food festival Cary B Over 150 Wines & 1 5 North Carolina Wineries B Over 50 Unique Artists and Crafters B Gourmet Live! Cooking Wine Demos B Continuous Live Music ® A SAVE 52-BUY TICKETS IN ADVA NC Unlinutt&l Kunipkt* and trawnir glass only: 518 Advance 520 Onsite *®^a!re 5 lO Dwdgnnteil Driver FREE Kids 12 and under Tickets are available Online www.uncorkthefun.com j| t f 4E£s> caffof StSx siiSei * “fSb TIME WARNER CABLE Carolina V MTJowfIToVYOO- W W,NC * a"*” COUNCIL •Vase no pets Clws c blankets wtcome Show is i*n or siwe Please rt iesponsh A1 tida: prices sutnecttc tii A MOOREA MARKETING PRODUCTION TOUR CORNERS 175 E. Franklin St. • 919-968-3809 35c Wings $6 Import Pitchers $2.50 Jager Bombs $4 Miller Lite Pitchers 35c Wings $3 * 34 oz. Miller Lite & Yuengling $2 Miller Lite Bottles $5 Moose Juice $2 Bud & Bud Light Bottles $3 • 34 oz. Domestic Drafts $5 • 34 oz. Import Drafts Kitchen open until 2AM every night Specials subject to change on Carolina Home Game Days FREE PLAY on our 2 Beer Pong Tables! And then he left. He abdicated his throne in Lawrence, Kan., in favor of one here in Chapel Hill. Before you blame him for “Sticker gate," remember that fact. Williams is coaching ymtr team, and for one night decided to wear a KU sticker. Would you rather he was coaching their team, and for one night wore a UNC sticker? You'd likely be short a 2005 national championship trophy. Moreover, Williams' action misguided as it was showed his unwavering class. Kansas played a huge role in making him the man who you all go wild for at the Smith Center, and he decided to pay hom age to the years he spent there. Don't question whether he focused enough on the game or whatever other ridiculous claims people have made over the past few days: Williams loves UNC, bleeds Carolina blue and you bet your bum wanted that game as badly as any of you did. But. in defeat, he treated his old program with the same sportsmanship he always exem plifies. That doesn't mean he puts Kansas first, or that he wants to return to Lawrence now. Besides, no way would Kansas replace the coach who brought them a title with the one who never did. Contact Sam Rosenthal at samrose@email.unc.edu Bats awaken for Tar Heels BY DANIEL PRICE ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR CARY For nearly six innings Wednesday night, it looked like more of the same for the North Carolina baseball team. The Tar Heels, who had only scored one run in their last 18 innings, w ere held scoreless by N.C. A&T through 5.1 innings, register ing just three hits and striking out five times along the way. “Our guys just weren't getting much done," UNC coach Mike Fox said. “The thing you've got to fight in that atmo sphere is not to start feeling too much pressure." Thanks to a BASEBALL N.C. A&T 0 UNC 5 stellar performance from starting pitcher Mike Facchinei, the Tar Heel lineup didn't have much of that pressure to consider. Facchinei threw 6.1 shutout innings allowing just two hits while fanning a career-high eight batters. “Michael's really been amazing for us," Fox said. “He gets like one start a month.... You're asking a lot of a kid to stay motivated and stay in there knowing you're probably going to get the ball again for a start at some point in the next two or three weeks." Someone who hadn't been amaz ing for North Carolina (26-7) lately was Dustin Ackley. The sophomore had seen his batting average dip from better than .400 to .357. Ackley broke out of his slump against the Aggies (12-22). With UNC leading 1-0 in the seventh inning, he plated the Tar Heels' first JiiTo- panca *^^l Open Doily Mon-f r> 7om o 2pm • So* 7aw to 2 30pm • Sun Bam to 2 30pm . 173 East franklin Street Chapel Hill • 919-929-9192 Caucasian Non-Menthol Smokers Needed for Research Study Compensation up to S2OO DUKE CNSCR— Charlotte • Durham • Raleigh • Winston-Salem CALL TODAY! 888-525-DUKE (#1011) vteiL www.dukesmoking.com smokieg@ikike.edu ilhr Dailii Car Hrrl Sophomore Dustin Ackley went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in UNC’s 5-0 win against N.C. A&T. two earned runs of the game on a double. “Here lately I haven’t been hit ting that good," Ackley said. “I kinda needed to do something.... I feel 1 needed to get it going and just stop striking out." Ackleys two-bagger was fol lowed by a Garrett Gore walk and another two-run double, this one coming off the bat of Tim Fedroff. And with that inning, the Tar Heel offense appeared to be back. “There's no secret that we need Dustin Ackley to hit for us to be the team we want to be." Fox said. “You have to have a guy in your lineup that everybody’s a little afraid of" And the offensive burst couldn’t have come at a better time. UNC travels to Clemson this weekend for a three-game series with the Tigers. And despite Clemson being in a down year. Fox is glad to see produc tion stepping up before the series. “This game is so mental," he said. “You don't want to go into a big series... not feeling really good about the way you're playing.... We haven't won a series in Clemson in 1 don't know when." Contact the Sports Editor at sports(a unc.edu

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