Ben McKeown

Luke is elite. The Triangle has been luckier than we realize to have had a columnist who was truly scheduled reading. Whenever something happened in local sports, I and many many others would think “oh I can’t wait to read what Luke DeCock says about this.” We will miss his voice dearly.

Results mean nothing. Brand values and name recognition are the criteria for the CFP. Such a joke.

With UNC imploding itself from a Belichick bomb and two former assistants winning major conference championships tonight, this may be the greatest football season in NC State history.

Also an unserious NCAA football postseason system. Let’s just make the NCAA championship the SEC championship and stop pretending that anyone else matters to the committee.

Wake me up for the next basketball game.

I’m glad that Duke is going to clarify how truly unserious the NCAA is about merit-based football competition. (Yes I know it was nuts that Duke was in the ACC championship game, but that was based 100% on agreed-upon rules created by the conference before the season).

Yes, it’s insane that Duke was in the ACC championship game, but it’s equally insane that they aren’t automatically in the playoff.

I know it’s old news but I’m just pointing out how insane it is that it’s 12:22am and the first half of an ACC football game just ended. Duke/GA Tech will probably kick kick off less than 10 hours after the end of this game.

North Carolina is really bad at football this year it seems.

That definitely counts. 😂

Impressive, but need to know what game you were playing 😀

Incredible piece by my friend Mitch, including this spectacular paragraph:

Hang on. Bill Belichick’s star quarterback is injured on a big hit, backup comes in and looks great… then?

I think he meant 33rd place.

He meant 33rd place right?

I want a Jumbotron shot of the board of trustees.

I frequently take comfort in the fact that the Universe is vast and beautiful and entirely unaffected by petty human foolishness

Basically what I’m saying is that this frightening to me because the fascia holding our society together seems to be stretched almost to its tearing point already. I have a habit of jumping to worst case scenarios, but today even a short walk down the possible scenario path looks awfully bleak.

I don’t think the vast majority of people in this country understand there is no law of physics that requires war to only happen overseas. When you hear “this is awful because people will die,” remember that you in fact are also a person and the unraveling of this ball of twine is not predictable.

I remember how long the lead up to the Iraq war seemed to be. W’s admin still had some semblance of respect for public/political support, because they worked hard to swindle/manipulate it before attacking! Today it just happened without a smidge of concern for any consequence whatsoever. This sucks.

Remember SignalGate?

(One of Trump's superpowers is being involved in so many scandals all the time that very few of them end up having staying power beyond a news cycle or two.)

The halftime crew on cbs seems hungover. And based on my experience covering the final four in San Antonio in 2008, I’m pretty confident in this diagnosis.

Broadcast saying Duke hasn’t been tested the last 6 weeks. They have. They’ve answered. Guess all they’re seeing is the final score.

I’d like a team to help me develop a Triangle media 101 course so that we don’t end up with graphics that say “Cameron Indoor Arena”

Everything is so stupid.

After Duke’s win tonight, there has been a team from the Triangle in N.C. in the final four 13 out of the last 25 years. We don’t just love basketball around here. We are in charge of it.

Caleb Love def. Duke, 2022/Duke def. Caleb Love, 2025

A game of inches

@tinsnow12.bsky.social photos

Also.

Literally the tournament is created by a committee of people whose job it is to craft a media spectacle. Thats the gig. It’s not a sanctioned election or a mathematical merit-based formula. It’s show business.

I’m gonna use this as precedent to start suing all my other favorite tv writers rooms for casting decisions I disagree with.