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butch davis firing by the numbers

A fairly prominent, North Carolina-based political polling company I follow and respect did a survey of Carolina fans this week to gauge the level of support for Butch Davis and Holden Thorp after the ugly recent episode at UNC. Judge for yourselves what you think of the poll's accuracy and methodology but it has left me to conclude one thing. I and most other fans I know are among the "hardcore" set and we are the definite outliers when it comes to UNC football.

In the two weeks since Butch Davis' firing as UNC football coach there's been endless debate about what Tar Heel nation really thinks about the decision and the direction of the program. Here are the results of our scientific poll conducted over the weekend of self described UNC fans:

-UNC fans think that Butch Davis did a good job as coach, but they still support his firing. There's no doubt that Davis got the team headed in the right direction on the field after the dark days of the Carl Torbush and John Bunting years and Tar Heel partisans appreciate him for it. 41% approve of the job he did as coach to only 21% disapproving, with 39% not taking a side. Those describing themselves as 'hardcore' UNC fans are particularly supportive of the job Davis did with 65% approving and only 19% disapproving.

Despite the on field success though 36% of fans support Davis' firing with 27% opposed and 37% having no opinion. UNC alumni are particularly supportive of the decision, agreeing with it by a 50/32 margin. There is a significant divide though based on respondents' level of fandom. Those describing themselves as 'hardcore' fans disagree with Davis' firing by a 44/40 margin. They only account for 22% of the fan base though and those describing themselves as moderately big UNC fans (42/27) and casual ones (26/18) both support the firing.

-UNC fans think that Holden Thorp is doing a good job as Chancellor and should stay in the job...but they also think he's done a poor job handling the football team. The voices calling for Thorp's ouster are more loud than they are numerous. 31% of UNC fans think Thorp is doing a good overall to 19% who dissent with 50% offering no opinion. And 32% think he should continue as Chancellor to 23% who think he should resign or be fired with 45% unsure. Alumni are particularly supportive of Thorp. They give him good marks for the job he's doing by a 53/24 margin and believe he should stay on by a 55/20 spread. Even though they disagree with the decision to fire
Davis, even 'hardcore' fans give Thorp a 40/29 overall approval and think he should keep his position 40/34.

Despite the overall support make no mistake though- UNC backers think Thorp has handled the football situation very poorly. Only 20% give positive marks on that front to 35% who think he's done a bad job. Alumni (31/37) and non-Alumni (17/35) alike are unhappy with his football related leadership and 'hardcore' fans (24/56) are particularly displeased. The Athletic Director hire is going to be huge for Thorp given these numbers- he has to hire someone who has credibility in the football arena because right now folks don't trust South Building on that front. ...

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nihilism and dog ownership

Mostly just because it happens so infrequently, I had to share a diamond in the rough found by one Kris Norris. This weekend, he pointed toward a new FX comedy series named Wilfred. The first episode is embedded below and you can catch up on them via Hulu. I recommend you do. Telling you the premise will likely only lessen the possiblity you will actually watch it, but basically, it starts with a guy who feels trapped in his corporate existence but finds meaning in nihilism and dog ownership. And it's kind of a love story. So while A.J. is DVRing Jersey Shore, you can be watching Wilfred and realizing that Kris can't be wrong about everything.

making it: is the hall of fame good or bad for a player's post-career legend?

There is no living writer I read, study, or emulate more than Chuck Klosterman. His contrarian-type thoughts and clever writing style make him the crown jewel of Bill Simmons' new Grantland project. (And, seriously, if you don't have that site bookmarked by now, what are you doing with your life.) Klosterman is the best kind of sports writer because he's not really a sports writer. He's a guy with an interesting perspective on just about every topic who happens to enjoy sports and has opinions on their importance to our culture as a whole. (Plus, he uses footnotes incredibly well.) In his latest piece for Grantland, he discusses the importance of Halls of Fame and what making or not making it means for the post-career relevance of an athlete's accomplishments. It's very much worth reading in its entirety. I've only excerpted the set-up of the discussion below.

(Un)Reality and the Football Hall of Fame
Cris Carter, Shannon Sharpe, and the true meaning of a "snub"
By Chuck Klosterman

Here's the most important thing to realize about the Pro Football Hall of Fame: It does not exist.

The pro Basketball Hall of Fame doesn't exist, either. The Baseball Hall of Fame is equally unreal, in the same way that all Halls of Fame are unreal. There are certainly buildings that house these fabricated facilities in Ohio and Massachusetts and New York, and you can drive to them and buy a ticket and walk inside, and the various rooms are filled with statues and arcane uniforms and officially licensed shot glasses available for purchase in the various gift shops. You can see these things and you can tap your fingers on the glass display cases and you can buy a cup of coffee that will taste and smell and burn like coffee, but this experience is no different than living in The Matrix: It's a construction of the mind. It's multiple layers of symbols and simulation that are meaningless unless we decide a meaning must exist. But because this is what we do (and because we all do it, without even wondering why), the Pro Football Hall of Fame represents the pinnacle achievement within a life in football. Players and coaches love to insist that the most important goal in their professional lives is the winning of championships, but they are all lying when they say that. Either they are lying consciously or they're so socialized by the omnipresence of that childish falsehood that they've actually convinced themselves Jeff Hostetler's career was more fulfilling than Dan Marino's, simply because Scott Norwood missed a field goal in 1991. The Hall of Fame does not exist, so it's unaffected by reality; it matters more than reality, because ideas are more important than actions. ...

And that's what's so weird about the whole Hall of Fame process: The public sees it as an argument, but — within the mind of the elite athlete — it must be one of the most confusing, painfully personal scenarios they'll ever experience. Being inducted into a Hall of Fame is both the greatest thing that can happen to an athlete and the effective end to his or her cultural import; being rejected by a Hall of Fame is a major blow to one's self-image and the single-best thing that can happen to a retired player's legacy. The process is a lose-lose: It's either good (and then bad) or bad (and then good).

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is peyton manning done?

Even the title of this post may send shivers down the spines of many Colts fans and fantasy owners. However, the truth is the fact that Peyton Manning just signed a new contract and has historically been an iron man when it comes to the regular season does not detract from his current residence on the Physically Unable to Perform list. Normally, if a star starts camp on the PUP list everyone will be speculating about his chances to play in regular season games once they begin. (See Gates, Antonio.) But since Manning just signed a new deal and never allows his backups to take snaps in meaningful situations, no one is openly wondering about the chances Manning starts the season anywhere other than under center.

As Adam Schefter of ESPN reported this morning on Mike and Mike, a history neck injuries actually runs in the Manning family. The reason that Cooper Manning didn't follow in the footsteps of his father and brothers to become an NFL player was a condition that led to a career-ending neck injury. Is it possible that there is a chink in the armor of the iron man? Is the injury Manning is nursing back to health now more serious than the Colts have let on? We may not know the answers to those questions for several weeks, but make no mistake, fantasy owners should be tracking this situation closely.

From Rotoworld...
NFL Network's Mike Lombardi believes the Colts will wait until right before the regular season to decide whether to activate Peyton Manning (neck) from the PUP list.

Manning opened camp on active/PUP, making him a tentative candidate to stay on reserve/PUP into the season. "I think that neck injury is severe," said Lombardi. "They really don't know (when Manning will return)." ...

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is randy moss pulling a keyser soze on the nfl?

If you think about it, Randy Moss' decision to retire rather than accept one of the presumably mediocre contract offers he was fielding was genius. He totally changed the conversation about where he was in his career and where he was heading.

Before the last few days, all anyone was focused on was whether or not any team would be willing to take Moss after a disatrous 2010 campaign. All anyone could remember was the mere 80 yards he accumulated as a member of the Tennessee Titans.

Now all people are talking about is where he stands on the list of all-time great receivers. They are replaying his 1998 and 2007 highlights constantly on ESPN and debating his legacy. No we once again see his hand-up calling for the ball against Darrell Revis and remember, "You know what? That wasn't that long ago."

An additional benefit that was now instead of the conversation being what team would be willing to take Moss and his baggage, it has switched to what team can lure Randy and his talent out of retirement. Does he still have the top end speed to be a playmaker in the NFL? Maybe only Moss himself knows that. What he does still have are the brains Bill Belichek raved about during his time in New England and a lot more GMs with their interests suddenly piqued about his ability to change the dynamics of an offense.

From Rotoworld...
The Eagles made a contract offer to Randy Moss after the receiver filed his official retirement papers with the league, according to the Boston Herald.

The Eagles just won't stop. Moss' filing of his retirement papers isn't significant as he can unretire any time he wants. If he is truly intrigued by the Eagles' offer, there's a good chance it will still happen. And based on the way veterans are flocking to Philly to play with Mike Vick, we would no longer be surprised.

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