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DTH SPORTSATURDAY' 1 i/22/08 OUT OF BOUNDS Barth still looking for first college tackle When freshman kicker Casey Barth first stepped on the field in Kenan Stadium this year, it was no surprise to Tar Heel fans they were used to having a kicker with “Barth” on the back of his jersey. But Casey (not Connor) is intent on making a name for himself at North Carolina. And by winning the starting job early in the season and converting 9 of 13 field goals this sea son, he’s begun to do just that. Against N.C. State his week, Barth will look to bounce back from a tough miss off the upright at Maryland that would have extended a second-half lead for the Tar Heels in what ended up being a loss. But first, Sport Saturday Editor Mike Ehrlich caught up with Barth during the week to chat about surfing, making tackles, and Butch Davis’sense of humor. Mike Ehrlich: What does it feel like when you watch one of your kicks sail through the uprights? Casey Barth: It'sa good feeling. It's a feeling of accom plishment, like you did your job, helped the team out. ME: What about when you watch it go wide? CB: It's terrible. It's the worst feeling in the world. ME: Who's the best tackier: you, (kicker) Jay Wooten, or (punter) Terrence Brown? CB: I haven't seen any of us tackle yet, but Terrence has the only hit, so I'm going to say he's the best tackier. ME: What's the best hit you've ever laid on anybody? CB: In high school, we got a field goal blocked, and our holder picked it up. And I was blocking for him, and I pancaked somebody one time. That was pretty cool. ME: Have you hit anybody on this team yet? CB: No, not yet. ME: Are you looking forward to the chance? CB: I don't know, (smiles) Maybe. ME: Growing up with Connor (a four-year starting kick er for UNC and Casey's older brother) did you guys fight a lot? CB: When we were younger, we'd be competitive about everything, so we'd get in arguments and stuff over games, but that's about it. ME: Who would usually win when you competed? CB: Connor. But we played ping pong a lot, and I beat him every now and then in ping pong. ME: Do you ever feel like you're in his shadow here? CB: I've never really had that feel. In high school he kicked before me, and then here. I just kind of do my own thing. ME: Being a freshman, did you have any typical duties to do in the beginning of the year? CB: Not too bad. Just little things, like when we went to the hospital one time, I had to carry all the stuff. And just car rying the ball bag around the field sometimes, they make the freshmen do that. ME: Are you looking forward to passing that on to some one else next year? CB: Yeah, it'll be pretty fun just telling them they have to do it. ME: Name one thing about Butch Davis that most peo ple don't know. CB: He's funny. He just makes random jokes out of the blue. He's a cool guy. ME: If it wasn't football, what sport would you be play ing? CB: Probably soccer. I played on travel soccer teams my whole life. ME: I hear you're a big Subway fan. What's your favorite sub? CB: Chicken bacon ranch. All the time. Every time. ME: Being from Wilmington and growing up with Connor, who made it well known that he loved to surf, did you surf a lot? CB: I didn't get into it as much when I was younger. Connor was more into it, but I did it every now and then. I'm all right at it. I haven't done it in a while, so I'd be pretty rusty. ME: Do you think any of your teammates could pick up surfing? CB: Maybe some of the kickers, just because they have really good balance. Some of the bigger guys, it would probably be tough, just because they weigh too much. ME: Which one of your teammates would look the goofiest on a surfboard? CB: Probably (offensive lineman) Kevin Bryant. Just because he's like 6-foot-6 and 330 pounds. DTH PICKS OF THE WEEK The DTH Sport Saturday staff and one celebrity compete to pick the winners of the biggest ACC and national college football games each week. All season long, we Sport Saturday editors and Daily Tar Heel staffers have claimed to be "experts" at picking games. For most of us, our word has been pretty true. For one picker in particular (see Ullrich, Rachel), it's a bit of a stretch. This week, we'll test just how inept Ullrich is at picking col lege football winners. In six weeks against human opponents, she has fallen 16 games behind the celebrity pickers. So she (and the rest of the so-called experts) will test their mettle against the best of the canine world. Riley, a 1-year-old golden retriever who lives on Caldwell Street, is the celebrity picker this week. Riley enjoys long walks around Chapel Hill, belly-rubs and picking winners. We set two bowls of kibble in front of him, the left bowl representing the visiting team in each matchup and the right bowl representing the home team. Then we set him loose, and whichever bowl he ate from first became his pick. In the final installment of Picks of the Week, Sport Saturday Editor Mike Ehrlich and former Sports Editor David Ely sit one game ahead of Sport Saturday Assistant Editor Louie Horvath Mike David Louie David Powell Rachel Riley Ehrlich Reynolds Horvath Ely Latimer Ullrich the Dog Last Week 7-1 6-2 5-3 7-1 7-1 3-5 6-2 Record to date 35-13 (.729) 32-16 (.667) 34-14 (.708) 35-13 (.729) 33-15 (.687) 17-31 (.354) 33-15 (.687) N.C. State at UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC Texas Tech at Oklahoma Texas Tech Oklahoma Texas Tech Texas Tech Texas Tech Texas Tech Oklahoma BYU at Utah Utah BYU BYU Utah Utah BYU Utah Michigan St. at Penn St. Penn St. Penn St. Penn St. Penn St. Penn St. Michigan St. Penn St. Pittsburgh at Cincinnati Cincinnati Cincinnati Cincinnati Cincinnati Pittsburgh Cincinnati Cincinnati Florida State at Maryland FSU Maryland FSU FSU FSU Maryland Maryland Boston College at Wake Forest WFU WFU BC WFU WFU BC BC Clemson at Virginia Virginia Clemson Virginia Clemson Virginia Clemson Clemson GAMEDAY PREVIEW n "X f jf^ - - ii - iMmSScsW ' r—r.^*. ~ .. " DTH FILE/ANDREW DYE Casey Barth's chicken bacon ranch-fueled kicks have flown through the uprights in nine out of 13 tries this season. for the lead. The pressure is on Horvath, who guaranteed a victory at the begin ning of the year. The other competition, aside from Ullrich, of course, is within striking distance of the leaders. The week's action is highlighted by a top-five showdown between Texas Tech and Oklahoma, a conference battle in the Big Ten and the non-BCS game of the year in Utah. With the unpredictable nature of the ACC this year, four conference match- ups left the staff divided. Results are just a few hours from being final. The celebrities, including a chancellor, a professor and various campus lead ers, have kept up well with the DTH staff, trailing the leaders by two games. Here's how the final week shapes out. 9 ■1 MM Riley golden retriever
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