The ?ght rages on against Duke for the Carlyle Cup

Unless one lives in a cave, a North Carolina student is well-acquainted with the thrills of the biggest stages in college sports.

Nationally televised football and basketball games draw the big crowds, and anyone in attendance knows that some historic happening is always within the realm of possibility.

But Kenan Stadium and the Smith Center aren’t the only venues where legends are made — especially when summer rolls around.

Anyone who has taken in a baseball game at Boshamer Stadium can attest to the park’s novelties. Renovations prior to the start of the 2009 season have made the stadium one of the nation’s best baseball facilities, a fitting home to one of the nation’s best baseball teams.

The Tar Heels have ended their season at the College World Series  four years running.

And if you’re like me, you woke up last Tuesday in a bad mood.

Seeing the Duke Blue Devils win the 2010 NCAA men’s basketball national championship makes about as much sense as a Tiger Woods text message.

Ray Charles could have led a team to the Final Four via the South Region.

But I digress.

Not to worry, though. Here at UNC, there are reminders everywhere of the schools’ supremacy over its sheltered counterpart.

So while Brian Zoubek is prancing around Durham showing off his pinky ring and re-enacting that not-so-stealth forearm shiver (that did not result in his fifth foul), the beleaguered UNC fan will have plenty of opportunities to wash away that bad taste with a swig from its seventh Carlyle Cup in the event’s nine-year history.

North Carolina currently holds a comfortable 11-7.5 lead with seven games left to play.

Before a Duke fan can spell Krzyzewski, one can enjoy the friendly confines of Boshamer Stadium, as the No. 22 North Carolina baseball team hosts Coastal Carolina on Wednesday.

Men’s tennis and women’s lacrosse and men’s tennis will face off with the Blue Devils on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, providing the possibility for UNC to wrap up at least a share of the Cup within a week.

And with Cup points also yet to be determined in men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s track and field and women’s rowing, UNC still has plenty of opportunities to assert its presence on the playing field.

So, despite the ill feelings you may harbor in regard to Zoubek, it’s OK to take a page out of his book.

Go ahead, do yourself a favor and take a few extra steps; travel on over to see the Tar Heels as they aim to continue the tradition of success in all sports.



Contact Brandon Staton at bkstaton@gmail.com.