Miami
Saban titles challenge wrong Alabama legacy
Tom Shanahan Aug 17 2020By TOM SHANAHAN Everybody loved the late Bum Phillips -- a Hall-of-Fame quipster and folksy NFL head coach with the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints. Here’s quintessential Phillips, enshrined in college football lore, explaining Alabama legend Paul “Bear” Bryant’s coaching...
KJ Osborn and his many moves lands in NFL
Tom Shanahan Apr 26 2020My story from Sept. 21, 2019 in the Detroit Free Press. I don't usually like stories about athletes jumping around between schools, but it paid off for K.J. Osborn. The Minnesota Vikings took Osborn in the fifth round with the 176th overall pick.By TOM SHANAHANYpsilanti Lincoln...
The more things change more they stay same
Tom Shanahan Jan 28 2020Expect reporters to encircle Eric Bieniemy this week at Super Bowl LIV. The Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive coordinator can trust media sessions to include queries on NFL owners and general managers overlooking him as a black candidate for five vacant head coaching positions.This...
Miami win matters more than passing Dean
Tom Shanahan Jan 25 2020CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina’s injury-riddled basketball team finally secured the victory coach Roy Williams never really wanted to claim if he had his wishes.When the Tar Heels beat Yale on Dec. 30, Williams moved into a tie for fourth with Dean Smith on the NCAA...
Williams has one disagreement with Smith
Tom Shanahan Jan 24 2020CHAPEL HILL – Roy Williams lives by unwritten philosophies he began learning from Dean Smith upon arrival in Chapel Hill 51 years ago to play on North Carolina’s freshman team. He never disagrees with his mentor. Until now. “I am mad at Coach Smith right now, to be honest with...
Duke notebook on football and basketball
Tom Shanahan Jan 24 2020By Tom Shanahan Special to the Wilson TimesDaniel Jones proved he was a better quarterback than NFL fans judged him at Duke upon taking over the New York Giants’ starting role as the sixth pick of the NFL draft.Quentin Harris, a fifth-year senior who succeeded Jones, showed...
Duke finds three point range and magic margin
Tom Shanahan Jan 21 2020DURHAM – The 30-point Blue Devils are back, ending their two-game losing streak with their fourth 30-point romp in their last five victories. Eighth-ranked Duke (16-3, 6-2 ACC) won 89-59 over Miami (10-8, 2-6 ACC) on Tuesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium 19 days after a...
Duke is less Miami and more Golden State
Tom Shanahan Jan 12 2020DURHAM – Duke basketball this year is less Miami Heat circa LaBron James with stacked talent and more Golden State Warriors pre-Kevin Durant. The Blue Devils are a younger Steph Curry version of the Warriors with meshed teamwork, and that makes them more intriguing to watch as...
More to ACC Saturday than Virginia at Duke
Tom Shanahan Jan 18 2019Virginia and ESPN’s College GameDay crew are at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday for an ACC first-place showdown. The unbeaten Cavaliers (16-0) are 4-0 in conference play and the Blue Devils 14-2 and 3-1.But what about the other 3-1 teams in range of a first-place tie if...
Georgia pressure finds Richt again in Miami
Tom Shanahan May 3 2018Now that Georgia coach Kirby Smart has guided Mark Richt’s former players to a College Football Playoff berth, Richt must prove Thomas Wolfe wrong. He’s gone home to Miami to show he can indeed win big games and thus guide his alma mater to a CFP berth. The Hurricanes are happy...