So much to be thankful for and that includes Tar Heel sports!

One month until Christmas and about 24 hours until we all give thanks for so much as we celebrate Thanksgiving Day. And while my good health, my children, my family, and my friends head my list of things for which I give thanks, further down on my personal list are the young women and men who participate in sports on one of the 27 Tar Heel athletic teams. I am very thankful for their success, not only in athletics, but also in the classroom at UNC and for the joy I get every time I see them compete.

The next several days give every Tar Heel loyalist a cornucopia of Carolina sports events to watch. You know that the football team will play NC State in Raleigh and that the men's basketball team plays Nevada in Chapel Hill on Sunday evening. A football win may or may not change the bowl venue in which the team will play in late December or early January. A basketball win will be the 7th for the 11th-ranked Tar Heels. The football and basketball games just mentioned are on TV and are likely sell-outs.

But there are other games that are critical to UNC teams, they are not televised, and these two teams badly need our attendance to cheer them on to victories that will send the women to the National Championship round (Final Four) in Women's Soccer at Texas A&M and will send the men to the Quarterfinal round of the men's NCAA Soccer Championship. The women are 20-3-1 and face Wake Forest at 2pm on Friday at Fetzer. Home field advantage? Maybe not, unless you and I are there. This is Thanksgiving break at the University meaning that the students won't be there. It is up to us to be there, to be loud in their support, and to "turn it blue!" By the way, parking will not be a problem and the weather promises to be sunny with temps in the 50's. What a great way to cheer off some of the food that you ate on Thursday!

On Sunday at 2pm at Fetzer, the men host Indiana. Our men carry a 14-2-3 record into the match. A win would send them into a quarterfinal match against either Drake or Boston College the next weekend. A win in the quarterfinal round would send them to the Final Four to be played at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Again, while some of the students might be back in town from Thanksgiving break, it is likely that the support in the seats that the Heels need and deserve will come from you and me and others like us who love the Heels. I'll be there - how about you. Again, parking will not be a problem and the weather should be excellent!

But soccer, football, and men's basketball isn't all that is going on in the next several days. The 4th ranked Carolina Women play two games in that period. Today at 1pm, the women host Presbyterian, and on Sunday their opponent will be Charleston Southern at 12:30. Parking will not be a problem. Tickets will be on sale at the ticket office in the Williamson Building. Seating is fabulous (in the Dean Dome until late December when the games will return to a newly-renovated Carmichael Auditorium). This team also needs your support today and on Sunday. Last Sunday, they beat UNLV in Las Vegas and return home now to play two games before traveling to Michigan State on December 3. Remember, the students are away on break so it is up to us to cheer this team on. If you haven't seen them play this year, you have a real treat ahead of you. If you've never seen them play, you have missed an incredible team and an incredible sport! There is no time like the present to have the Carolina women's basketball experience!

The wrestling team is in action but in Troy, NY. If you, by some chance, are in Troy on the 28th, go by Lehigh University and pull for our Heels! By the way, in case you don't know, the men and the women both had overwhelming victories over the field in the Gamecock Invitational in Columbia last weekend. At this point in the season, the men are undefeated and the women have a single loss. Unfortunately, you will not be able to see these teams compete again in Chapel Hill until January 9 when the Clemson Tigers come to town.

In terms of sports, we Tar Heel fans have much to be thankful for. This fall season has been very good to us so far, and the soccer teams are likely to make it even better. My suggestion - show them how much you appreciate what they are doing for all of us and for our favorite university by being there for them on Friday afternoon (the women play at 2pm) and on Sunday afternoon (the men also play at 2pm). Between now and then, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

The 2009 NCAA Field Hockey National Championship is OURS!

If you have read this blog over the last several weeks, you know that I have long described this year's Tar Heel field hockey team as a very special one with a real chance to win the Division 1 National Championship. Well, today my prediction came to fruition as our Tar Heels beat an undefeated Maryland team (last year's national champion) by a score of 3-2 to win its 6th Championship in the last 20 years!!!!

I hope that you had the chance to see this team play at some point during the season because it was very, very special. It spent most of the season at #2 in the national polls just behind Maryland. On the 24th of October, the Terrapins came to Henry Stadium and beat the Heels 4-1. Two weeks later, the Heels were beaten again by Virginia in the ACC Tournament. Some teams might have quit at that point, but not these women. On Friday, they beat Virginia 3-2 in the semi-finals, and today, against great odds and a terrible first half, they beat Maryland 3-2 with the last goal coming with 11 seconds left in the second half. They finished the season at 20-2. Maryland had a wonderful season and finished at 23-1 - the loss to OUR TAR HEELS!!!!

With no disrespect meant for our men's basketball team, Karen Shelton's teams have won 6 national championships in 20 years while it took the men 85 years to do that. I am not sure that it is appropriate to call this a dynasty, but I am thrilled to have had the chance to watch this team play all season. I cannot wait for next season to begin and invite you to join me in Henry Stadium next August!

Didn't I tell you how great the Field Hockey team is?

As I predicted weeks ago, Karen Shelton's Field Hockey Tar Heels will play for the National Championship on Sunday afternoon! That match with the University of Maryland will be played in Kentner Stadium on the Wake Forest University campus at noon. You'll remember that the Terps beat our Heels in Chapel Hill on October 24th by a score of 4-1. The Terps remain undefeated (they beat Princeton on Friday 7-5), and we owe them a beating! Have you ever watched a national championship game of any kind from the stands? As far as I can tell, this match will NOT be televised, but you can be there tomorrow to support our team and to cheer them to a victory. When we win, it will be our 6th national championship in field hockey. Celebrating after the win is fun, but you cannot imagine the excitement of watching it happen unless you've been there. I hope you can make it! GO HEELS!

And the Tar Heel beat goes on - WOW!

I love those weekends when the Tar Heel teams of all descriptions are performing at their best, and this past weekend was one of those times. You already know that the football team beat Miami on Saturday and that the men's basketball team beat Valparaiso on Sunday, but did you know what else happened this past weekend and the import of those events?

On Saturday, the Tar Heel Field Hockey team beat Ohio State 4-1 and followed that on Sunday by beating Wake Forest on the home field 4-1!!!!! In case you don't know why that is such exciting news, that was the 3rd time this season that we bested the Deamon Deacons, and they are an excellent team. So what you ask - that puts our Tar Heels in the Field Hockey Final Four!!! In case you don't remember, the Heels are now 18-2 and have outscored their opponents 82-11!! Are you excited yet? You should be if you are a true Tar Heel fan. So what's next? On Friday of this week (Nov 20) at 4:30 on the Wake Forest campus in Winston-Salem, the Heels will take on the Wahoos of Virginia in the semi-finals of the NCAA Championship tournament. You'll remember that the two teams met twice during the season up to this point. The Tar Heels won the first match 2-1 in OT in Charlottesville and lost the second match, again in Charlottesville, during the ACC tournament. This match is on a neutral field, and a win here sends us into the championship round where we'll play either Maryland or Princeton on Sunday for the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!!! This has huge ramifications in the competition for the Director's Cup and would be the 6th time we have won it all in this sport! If you have any way to be in Winston-Salem on Friday, do it! These women have worked extremely hard to get to this point and deserve and need the support of Tar Heel fans every where. GO HEELS!

The weekend was also a busy weekend for the women's soccer team. The Tar Heels hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament and beat High Point on Friday 1-0 and also beat Georgia on Sunday 4-0. So far this season, the Heels are 19-3-1, have posted 15 shutouts, and have outscored their opponents 55-9!!! They now advance to the Sweet 16 and will host Maryland this Saturday at 1pm at Fetzer Field. This will be the 3rd match with the Terrapins this season. The women beat Maryland 1-0 in College Park and also won the second match at WakeMed Park in Cary in the ACC tournament 3-0. I know, I know - the football game with Boston College is on Saturday at noon, but if you aren't going to Boston, why not go over to Fetzer Field and cheer on our women as you enjoy the fresh air in Chapel Hill? Again, these women work extremely hard to represent our favorite university and both deserve and need our support! GO HEELS!

And that's not all. Since the beginning of November, our Tar Heels are 4-1! They beat NC State 3-0 on Nov. 3, beat Virginia 3-1 on Nov. 6, beat Virginia Tech 3-2 on Nov. 8, lost to Maryland at College Park 3-1 on Nov. 13, and beat Boston College in Boston on Nov. 14 by a score of 3-0! What a wonderful run for this team! There are 3 games left in the season - at Wake Forest on Friday, at Duke on Saturday, and at State next Wednesday, Nov. 25! We've beaten each of these teams this season and badly need to beat them again. If you are going to Winston-Salem on Friday to pull for the Tar Heels in Field Hockey, you should have something to eat quickly and then pull for the Volleyball team against Wake while you are still there. The game at Duke is at 7pm (well after the football game and women's soccer match), and the Heels would really appreciate you being there to support them against the Blue Devils. You know you are going to eat too much on Thursday so prepare for it by going to NC State on Wednesday at 1pm to pull for our Heels against the Wolfpack! There is no ACC Tournament in Volleyball so the NCAA Tournament is by invitation only. Winning these last 3 games is crucial to our team being invited to play for the NCAA championship. GO HEELS!

I keep posting that if you haven't seen Sylvia Hatchell's team play basketball, you have missed a major treat. On Friday night, the Heels hosted the College of Charleston and beat them 88-57! And that win was without Italee Lucas, Jessica Breland, and Candace Wood being able to play. This team is very special, and you owe it to yourself to see them play. Your first chance is on Wednesday, Nov. 18, when they will play Coastal Carolina at 7pm in the Dean Dome (the move to Carmichael Auditorium should happen in late December). There are lots of seats, there is plenty of parking, and these women need your support as they prepare for their first road trip of the season. On Sunday, they will play UNLV in Las Vegas, and on Wednesday, Nov. 25, they will play Presbyterian here in Chapel Hill at 1pm. Yep, that is a direct overlap with the volleyball team playing at State in Raleigh, but look at it this way. You have two incredible Tar Heel women's teams playing for all of us - take your pick - you'll love either game. On the subject of women's basketball, did I mention that you don't want to miss seeing this team play? Sylvia and her staff have these very gifted athletes running and playing great defense. You'll really enjoy cheering for this team! GO HEELS!

While they didn't compete this past weekend, the Swimming and Diving teams are moving through their respective seasons. As of November 17, the men are undefeated and the women have one loss. Remember, some of these athletes will be swimming for the US in London in the 2012 Summer Olympics. You'll have an easier time getting to see them swim here than you will in London! GO HEELS!

What would you give today to have seen Mia Hamm play at Carolina

The afternoon could not have been more perfect. The sky was Carolina Blue, the temperature was in the mid-70's, the field at WakeMed Park was in perfect condition, and the Heels were ready to play. Florida State had beaten the Heels in Tallahassee a couple of weeks earlier and would have loved to win again in the ACC Championship. As has been case 20 times out of 22 attempts, the Carolina women's soccer team was up to the task and sent the Seminoles back to Florida with a 3-0 loss! What a game and what an afternoon!

The invitations for the NCAA Championship field were published today. Carolina is a #1 seed and will be the host for 4 teams in Chapel Hill on Friday, Nov 13. Besides the Tar Heels, High Point, Georgia, and UNC-Wilmington will play here. Carolina's first round opponent is High Point. After the Heels beat the Panthers, they will play the winner of the Georgia-UNC Wilmington match on Sunday, Nov 15. In the next round, Carolina will face one of the following teams playing in an associated bracket - Monmouth, Maryland, Washington State, and Villanova. That 3rd round game will be played on either Nov 20, 21, or 22. Quarterfinal matches will be played over the Thanksgiving weekend.

So, you and I have at least 2 more chances to watch the Heels play in 2009 in Chapel Hill. That fact reminded me of how many of the past women Tar Heel soccer greats I've missed in years when I didn't have the time to attend Carolina soccer games. Perhaps, you, like I, have marveled at how many former Tar Heels have played for the United States in the Olympics and the World Cup matches in the last couple of decades. I would give a lot to have the chance to watch Mia Hamm play for the Heels on Fetzer Field one more time, but those days are long gone. My point - it is likely that some of the current Tar Heels will be on the field in London in 2012 and/or Rio in 2016 on the US Olympic team and/or on the field in Germany in 2011 for the next Women's World Cup. Perhaps you will be in one or more of those cities to see former Tar Heels play for the United States, but if not, you can see players who could be on those teams in Chapel Hill on November 13 and 15. I doubt that anyone could have predicted that Mia would have gone as far as she has gone in 1993 when she last played for Carolina. Is a future Mia Hamm on this year's team? Won't you be disappointed if you miss the chance to see that Tar Heel play? See you in Chapel Hill this weekend?

A setback in Field Hockey

After an incredible season (16-1) with 12 shutouts, the Heels playing the ACC Field Hockey Championship in Charlottesville, VA, were themselves shutout by the Wahoos of the University of Virginia on Friday! That gives the Wahoos and the Heels identical records at this point of the season. Virginia will play Maryland on Sunday at noon for the ACC Championship.

The Heels outshot the Wahoos 14-6 in the game but could not find the back of the goal during the 2 35-mimute periods. You will remember that these two teams had met once before this season when the Heels went to Charlottesville and beat the Wahoos 2-1 in overtime. As of the start of the ACC Tournament, the Terps were ranked 1st in NCAA Div 1 Field Hockey, the Heels were 2nd, and the Wahoos were 3rd. It appears to this writer that the ACC is the epicenter of college field hockey in NCAA Div 1!!!

Before you get too despondent over the Heels loss, let me remind you that the Tar Heels Men's Basketball team won the NCAA National Championship in 1993, 2005, and 2009. They did NOT win the ACC Tournament in any of those seasons. All true Tar Heels would love to win every ACC Tournament, but failing to win an ACC Championship is no predictor of how a team will perform in the NCAA Tournament. With that said, on Tuesday, the NCAA will announce the Div 1 teams invited to this year's NCAA tourney. I am sure that our Heels will be included and hope that they will host games leading up to the tournament semi-finals and finals scheduled for Wake Forest's stadium on Nov 20 and 22. If that is the case, please join me in attending games at Henry Stadium so that we can help our Heels move on to Wake Forest.

Women's soccer - on the way to another ACC Championship!

In case you missed the first match, the Heels played and beat the Terps of Maryland for the second time in less than a week in the first round of the ACC Championship on Wednesday night in WakeMed Park in Cary! The score last weekend was 1-0, but this time the Heels attacked, attacked, attacked and won the match 3-0 to advance to the semifinals against Boston College. The Eagles played Virginia also on Wednesday night and beat the Wahoos on penalty kicks after two scoreless "sudden victory" overtime periods.

On Friday night, the Heels repeatedly attacked the Eagles goal with no success. Both periods and the first overtime saw the women "attack and miss," "attack and miss," attack and miss," etc. Talk about frustration! One must give the Eagle goalie credit for multiple saves, but many of the Tar Heel shots were just a hair too high or a hair too wide, but the women persisted in attacking. It was women's soccer at its best. For all of us who were there watching, the frustration finally came to an end in the 3rd minute of the second overtime when Casey Nogueira, last year's national player of the year, scored the winning goal. Many of the near misses earlier in the game were Casey's, but she got it done when it mattered most! If you don't know, Casey is one of 6 players from North Carolina on Coach Dorrance's team.

So the Heels advance to the ACC Championship Women's Soccer finals - a place they are very accustomed to being at the end of the regular season. The opponent this year is Florida State. Maybe you'll remember that the Seminoles beat the Heels a couple of weeks ago in Tallahassee. The Seminoles beat the Hokies of Virginia Tech in the first game on Friday. The Hokies also beat the Heels this season. To say that the Heels owe Florida State a whipping is a major understatement.

What are you doing on Sunday afternoon? There is no better place to be than in the seats at WakeMed Park in Cary cheering for the Heels! The match begins at 2pm and will determine the 2009 ACC Women's Soccer Champion. In case you haven't seen the weather forecast, the prediction is for a sunny afternoon with temperatures in the mid-70's - an incredible fall afternoon. The women need you there to cheer them on. Few of us could be in Tallahassee to help them when they played on October 22, but the Seminoles are on our turf this time. Yep, it will cost you a few bucks to see the game, but you'll be very glad that you were there! See you Sunday! GO HEELS!

WOW! You've got to see this new edition of the Women's Basketball Team!!!

In case you missed the exhibition game against Francis Marion on Thursday night, the Tar Heels won 105-64, but that tells you nothing. The score can only tell you how many points each team scored, but it gives you no detail about this very exciting new edition of the Tar Heel Women's Basketball team!!! They are fast, they play great defense, they are very tall, and they are #5 in the country!

All 5 freshmen played in this game. Trust me - we have years of excitement ahead of us. Watch out Connecticut and Tennessee - here come the Heels! As is normally the case, Coach Hatchell has her women RUNNING non-stop. As you would also expect, they play tough, non-stop defense. That's coaching. But coaching can't make players taller. There are 3 players on this team (two freshmen and a sophomore) that are 6'4" or taller. How many women's teams have you seen with players that tall?

The good news? You can see this team play again on Tuesday of next week in the Dean Dome at 7pm - no charge! That night, they'll play Carson-Newman. The regular season starts on Friday, Nov 13, against the College of Charleston in the Dean Dome at 7pm, but you'll pay to see that game. Tuesday is free. Of course, once you've seen these women play, you'll want to see them play every time they are in town!

The fall sports semester draws to a close

It has been a long season for some of the most successful of the Tar Heel sports teams, and ACC championships are in the offing. It is certain that some of these teams will soon be playing in NCAA championships. If you don't know how the NCAA Director's Cup points are awarded, do a web search on NCAA Directors Cup. You'll find that points are awarded for a university's participation in NCAA championships. In case you didn't know, UNC-Chapel Hill finished second last year meaning that, based on points accumulated by its athletic teams (men and women's teams), Carolina had the second most successful athletic program among Division One universities in the United States. Based on their national rankings, the Field Hockey team and both soccer teams should be invited to NCAA championships and could host early rounds in those tournaments. If that happens, it is critical that all of us attend those games to help our Tar Heel teams advance in their respective championships.

Field Hockey closed out a 16-1 season that contained 12 shutouts on Saturday by beating Old Dominion on its home field by a score of 2-0. You'll remember that the Heels scored 74 goals and gave up only 8 during a fantastic fall season. Talk about domination! Their regular season is over now, and the ACC Field Hockey tournament will start on Wednesday. Because of its record (finished second to regular season champion Maryland), Carolina will not play until Friday when it plays the winner of the Duke/Virginia game that will be played on Thursday. The Carolina match is scheduled to begin at 6:30 which follows the Maryland (seeded #1) match with the winner of the Boston College/Wake Forest match also played on Thursday. You should expect the Heels to beat their opponent on Friday to advance to the ACC Tournament Championship match on Sunday at Noon. That game will be broadcast on RSN-TV. If everything goes the way one would expect, the nationally-ranked #1 Terps and the #2 Tar Heels should play in that match. If you have any reason to be in Charlottesville on either Friday or Sunday, be sure to attend the game played that day and cheer for the Heels!

The women's soccer season is also over, but the ACC Tournament starts at WakeMed Park in Cary on Wednesday. The Heels finished the season with a 14-3-1 record by beating Clemson 3-1 on Thursday and Maryland 1-0 on Sunday. Coincidentally, their last opponent will be their next first opponent in the Tournament. Carolina plays Maryland in the last match of the first day at 7:30. After they beat Maryland on Wednesday, they get the day off on Thursday and will play on Friday at 7:30 against the winner of the Boston College/Virginia match which is the 5pm game on Wednesday. The Tar Heels are seeded 3rd in the Tournament with Boston College 2nd and Florida State 1st. By the way, if you can't be at the games in person, the Championship game on Sunday will start at 2pm and will also be televised. That means, depending on your satellite or cable vendor, you could watch our Field Hockey team win the ACC championship at noon and then watch the Tar Heel women win the ACC Women

's Soccer Tournament at 2pm from the comfort of your TV room. GO HEELS!

The men's soccer regular season continues briefly. The Heels beat Stetson 7-0 last Wednesday and will play Elon on Tuesday and Clemson on Friday. Both of those matches are away from Fetzer Field. The ACC Men's Soccer Tournament will begin on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at WakeMed Park in Cary. Bracketing for the Tournament will be done following this weekend's final regular season matches. At this point in their season, the men have a record of 14-2-2 which has been a great season and promises at great ACC Tournament and a long run in the NCAA Tournament that will follow shortly. GO HEELS!

The regular season is also over for the men and women's cross country teams. In fact, the ACC championship is also in the record books. The men finished the ACC championship in 5th place while the women were 6th.

The volleyball season continues. As was posted in this blog last week, the Tar Heels started a 5-game home stand on Friday with a match against Georgia Tech. Unfortunately, the Yellow Jackets handed our Tar Heels a 3-1 loss. On Saturday, Carolina hosted Clemson and lost that match 3-2. You still have 3 chances to see our Heels play - against NC State on Tuesday (11/3), against Virginia on Friday (11/6), and against Virginia Tech on Sunday (11/8). For the record, the Heels are 70-2 against NC State (sounds like our domination over Clemson in basketball in Chapel Hill doesn't it?). I am sure that you know that the men's basketball team has an exhibition game following the volleyball game so go early and catch both games!!! This team needs and deserves our support! See you there?

Our Swimming and Diving teams have started their season as has been reported here. After a great win by the men over Georgia last week (unfortunately our women lost), the Heels hosted the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech on Saturday. The Tar Heel men won their meet 165-128, and the women also won 166-119. The season continues throughout the winter, finishing with the ACC Championship in February.

All of those teams have done and continue to do extremely well, and the winter sports are just about to start. In case you have forgotten, Carolina's Women's basketball team is just about to start its season. You can see that team on Thurday in the Dean Dome when it plays the first of two exhibition games against Francis Marion. The second exhibition opponent is Carson- Newman, and that game is on Tuesday of next week. Both games start at 7pm and both games are FREE. In case you have not heard, the ACC sports writers voted last week and named the Tar Heels the prohibitive favorites to be the #1 team in the conference this season. The AP preseason poll is also out and ranks our Tar Heels #5 in the country at the start of the season!!! This is going to be a very special season for women's basketball at Carolina. If you've never seen our women play, you'll love their style of play, the quality of their play, and the speed at which they play. Their first regular season game in on Friday, Nov 13, in the Dean Dome. The move to the newly-renovated Carmichael Auditorium is expected to occur in early January! You do not want to miss any of their games! GO HEELS!