Well duh...
It's becoming more and more clear that we've got a big matchup on our hands this week. Here are some of the headlines:
Head football coach Jim Grobe spent Tuesday in Bristol, CT interviewing with multiple ESPN outlets, including ESPN2's First Take, ESPN's College Football Live, ESPN Radio's Scott van Pelt Show, ESPN News' Overdrive and a chat on ESPN.com. Dan Collins writes about Grobe's experience here.
This whole concept of spending a day at Bristol is an interesting one, and it speaks to the power of ESPN these days. Not only is this one of the best ways for Wake Forest to get exposure, but according to the article, it's incredibly beneficial for Grobe to "make friends" with the ESPN talent and personalities so that they'll be more likely to cover Grobe and Wake in the future.
When you step back and think about it, that's really a pretty crazy concept. ESPN has so much power these days that the best way for a team to get relevant national media exposure is to send it's coaches and/or players to Bristol and buddy up to their talent.
We all know ESPN has what nearly equates to a monopoly on the sports TV market, but the whole thing just doesn't sound quite right to me. It's one of those things where you'd like to think that performance on the field is all that matters. I'm not saying I blame Grobe or the media relations staff for having him go up there and do it - you've go to cater to what works - I just wish it didn't have to be that way.
I've read Grobe's ESPN.com chat and look forward to seeing some of his other segments later in the week - it should be fun to see him in-studio at ESPN - but I look forward to the day where Wake can get the coverage it deserves just by performing on the field.
I think I'll have to stick to dreaming; that day is unlikely to ever come.
Another week, another blogpoll ballot. To be honest, I don't quite know what to do with this right now - just not enough data, so fill free to give me a piece of your mind. Except for Oklahoma at #1. It's not changing until they lose or I have an incredibly compelling reason to change it. So basically, until they lose. Let it go (Kyle).
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma | -- |
| 2 | Southern Cal | -- |
| 3 | Georgia | -- |
| 4 | Florida | -- |
| 5 | Ohio State | -- |
| 6 | Missouri | -- |
| 7 | LSU | -- |
| 8 | Auburn | -- |
| 9 | Texas | -- |
| 10 | Alabama | -- |
| 11 | East Carolina |  14 |
| 12 | Wisconsin |  1 |
| 13 | Oregon | 1 |
| 14 | Wake Forest | -- |
| 15 | Texas Tech | -- |
| 16 | Kansas | 2 |
| 17 | Arizona State | -- |
| 18 | South Florida | 1 |
| 19 | Utah | 1 |
| 20 | Florida State | 1 |
| 21 | Brigham Young | 5 |
| 22 | California | 1 |
| 23 | Penn State | 3 |
| 24 | UCLA | -- |
| 25 | Fresno State | 1 |
Today ESPN.com's Heather Dinnich ranked the 12 ACC football schedules for 2008, and had this to say about Wake Forest:
10. Wake Forest -- If these guys can get through the first half of their schedule, look out. Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Georgia Tech are off the schedule. A road trip to Baylor, followed by a home game against Ole Miss and a trip to FSU make for a tough start to the season.At first glance I thought this was way too low, but the more I think about it I realize it's probably only a little bit too low.
I originially hoped to get out to the women's soccer opener last night, but due to the lateness of football practice and some other things going on it never happened. The Deacs won 2-1 and overtime, and the Journal has a bit of a report here.
I am almost positive I'll be at tonight's men's soccer scrimmage and will probably do some live blogging. Game starts at seven so stop by and check it out.
Elsewhere, Heather Dinnich at ESPN.com posted several Wake-related items, including this video (with Lou Holtz and Mark May showing the Deacs some love) and this post about Trey Bailey.
I'm headed to football practice in a couple hours. I should have a report up around noon. Enjoy your Saturday!
As promised, ESPN's Heather Dinich spent the day in Winston-Salem covering the Deacons. She definitely posts a lot wherever she is, and it was no different yesterday. Scrimmage report, Grobe report, true freshman report - she got it all. Say what you want about some of her analysis/opinions, but she definitely reports whats going on.
Dan Collins wasn't going to be left out, of course. Here's his scrimmage report.
If you read this early in the morning, make sure to check back later this morning for the opportunity to help me out with my preseason ballot... it probably needs it.
The Demon Deacons will scrimmage this afternoon at 3:30, so check the blog this evening for a report. ESPN.com's Heather Dinich will be in attendance; I'm interested to see what she thinks of the team and the scrimmage.
Men's soccer had it's first practice yesterday, and not surprisingly coach Jay Vidovich says there's work to be done. It's going to be a couple of weeks, and I'm going to miss the first one on the 19th, but I should definitely be at the August 23rd scrimmage to give everyone an early look at this year's team.
Want cheap tickets to see Wake Forest play Baylor on the 28th? As long as you can bring yourself to type "beatwake" into a website and have seats that aren't in the Wake section, it will only cost you 20 bucks.
We knew Grobe would not be hugely impressed by what he saw offensively from Saturday's scrimmage, but I was slightly surprised to see him mention Riley Skinner specifically.
Some basketball coverage from ESPN yesterday, including a variety of positive Wake Forest mentions.
Look for practice coverage this evening, although depending upon some timing issues it may go up pretty late - I've got a lot going on this afternoon/evening. My apologies if it gets put on a back burner for awhile.
As Old Gold & Blog enters its second school year covering Wake Forest athletics, it seemed a fitting time to update the look and layout of things. Hopefully you like the new design and don't have any problems using it, but if any issues arises please let me know. Don't worry, the header images will change on a seasonal basis; other sports will have their chance in the spotlight later in the year.
I also recognize that many of you have become new followers of Old Gold & Blog in the last few months, and I want to point you towards the subscription options over to the right. If you subscribe via RSS you'll be updated every time there's a new post. Subscribing via email puts Old Gold & Blog in your inbox once per day. There's no better way to keep track of the latest Wake Forest news and analysis.
On to the news...
Yesterday was the first day of practice for the Demon Deacons. Besides my report, the Nenon report, and this report from the official website there wasn't a whole lot of specific practice coverage.
Still, yesterday produced plenty of other Wake Forest links. I asked my three questions a couple days ago, but Heather Dinnich finally asks hers. The Raleigh News & Observer has a few questions as well. Dinnich also names Alphonso Smith and Sam Swank as two of the top five clutch players in the conference, and Swank makes it into the nation's top ten.
The previews keep pouring in, this time Dan Collins for the Sporting News.
Want to take a look inside Deacon Tower? Done.
Want to be amazed by Aaron Curry? He can power clean a lot of weight. 374 pounds to be exact. Check it out:
I'd be lying if I said I didn't steal the idea for this post from ESPN's Heather Dinnich, but she hasn't covered Wake yet so the content is definitely original. The premise is pretty simple: what questions need to be answered during the next month of practices?
1. Will someone step up and be a reliable long snapper?
The fact that this is the first question that comes to my mind has to be a very good sign for the Demon Deacons this season. The fact is, this is the only glaring hole at a starting position anywhere on the team. I'm pretty sure we'll ultimately get a positive answer to this question.
Ryan McManus has been expected to take this job from the very beginning, but unfortunately he never quite got the it done in the spring. I know McManus is a competitive guy who badly wants to be on the football field, so I'm guessing he's worked his butt off this summer and has a pretty good looking snap by now. Obviously time will tell, but I'm feeling pretty good about this one.
2. Will the offensive line get the job done?
Since the end of the 2007 season this has probably been the question most Deacon fans have been asking. Based on what I saw in the spring, I think the starting five will be a successful group. They won't be as good as last year's line right away, but we'll see them continue improving and ultimately I don't think fans will be complaining too much.
The biggest concern here is depth. What happens if a couple of starters go down? Joe Looney would probably be ready to step in for a guard, but if a tackle or center were to go down I think there might be a pretty big problem. During these preseason practices we need to see how these younger guys develop.
3. Is there a depth issue in the secondary?
Dan Collins touched on this today, and it might be a slight concern. Channing Schofield, who would have seen significant playing time as a backup and in nickel/dime coverages is no longer with the team. There are still seven cornerbacks on the roster, but two are redshirt freshmen and one is a true freshmen, so an injury or two could open up some major issues here.
I think this question could be answered pretty easily if young guys like Josh Bush step up and show that they're ready to play on Saturday.
Now to put a bit of a different spin on this, here's one question people are asking that I don't think is an issue:
With Kenny Moore gone, who will step up and lead the receiving corps?
I'm convinced this will not be a problem. There are plenty of talented receivers on the roster, not to mention tight end Ben Wooster who is clearly ready to step up and play. I think the Demon Deacons can be just fine without that one go-to receiver. We know Chip Brinkman can catch passes, and the same goes for Jordan Williams and D.J. Boldin. Devon "Y'lou" Brown is ready to step up as well.
Wake doesn't need someone to be Kenny Moore and carry the entire load himself; it doesn't have to be a one man job. The talent is there for this group to get it done as a unit, and I think they will.
Wake's 2008 basketball recruiting class has received plenty of praise. ESPN's Andy Katz continues that trend with this article about the trio Al-Farouq Aminu, Ty Walker, and Tony Woods.
He definitely has high praise for them and their decision to keep their commitments to Wake after Skip Prosser's passing, but more than that I love to see how complimentary the guys are of each other.
It's going to be a good year for Wake Forest basketball.
Apparently Alphonso Smith (along with Wake's other Florida players from the area) got their speed from chasing rabbits. Go figure.
Wasn't exactly what I expected when I checked Heather Dinnich's ACC Blog today, but its a fun story and Wake gets some coverage.
I'm guessing this will be the last post to talk about Skip Prosser for awhile, but this video from MyFox WGHP from the Quad at midnight is a must see for any Wake fan. It's great to see what went on, plus it's a well edited piece. The bells at the end had me tearing up. Over at ESPN.com Andy Katz talks about Skip, Dino Gaudio, and the program as a whole one year later.
Speaking of ESPN, ACC bowl projections from Heather Dinnich - Wake to the Gator Bowl, which sounds about right if there's no ACC Championship game for the Deacs. Hopefully there is...
ACC coaches rankings with Grobe at the top, although I'm not sure I'm in too much agreement with the list as a whole.
Big article on the front page of ESPN's college basketball page right now.
Andy Katz - ESPN
I've got to run to class and haven't read it in its entirety yet, but check it out and let me know.
I know I’m biased, but come on ESPN… LSU for last weekend’s game changing performance? I realize that this comes down to voters and the fact of the matter is we don’t have nearly the voting fan base needed to outgun three big state schools, but this is the type of things that just begs for at least a little bit of a rant.
I’ll put some of the blame on ESPN; when the highlights of a game don’t even make SportsCenter on Saturday night, the chances of winning are incredibly slim. If we were going to win this thing we needed at least a little bit of hype on SC to generate just a little bit of word-of-mouth interest.
According to the results presented during
Right? Right.
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