JAMES EDWARD DILLARD

Sports

Big NCAA sports driven by athletic compliance

By JAMES EDWARD DILLARD | November 14

The No. 1 ranked UNC men's basketball team will open up its season tonight against Davidson. As a basketball fan, I should be beyond excited. The chance to watch a premier team seething with "next-level" talent should have me clearing my schedule to watch each and every game. But it isn't. Instead, I find myself wondering if I can enjoy college basketball at all. What's my problem? The NCAA's insistence that they are an association of amateur athletics.

Sports

Time to ride that NBA wave

By JAMES EDWARD DILLARD | October 31

The NBA season kicked off Tuesday night, and I couldn't be more excited. Most people around here tend to be NCAA-inclined, but I prefer the NBA. The players are faster and more skilled. The egos are bigger and more fragile. Best of all, none of the money is under the table . except when it comes to referees. Forget I said anything. So here's an NBA fan's perspective on the 2007-08 season: three teams to watch, three players to know and three stories to follow. The Favorites

Sports

Open letter to Marion Jones

By JAMES EDWARD DILLARD | October 17

Dear Marion, Sorry it's taken me so long to write you. I hate to see another Tar Heel in trouble and not take the time to send my thoughts. To say you've had a rough time lately would be an understatement. You've admitted to using steroids, lost your medals and fessed up about lying to federal prosecutors. And it's not over yet; the International Olympic Committee, already having agreed to erase you from the record books, is considering banning you for life - never again could you participate in the Olympics in any capacity.

Sports

Cheating across the board

By JAMES EDWARD DILLARD | September 19

Since the Patriots were caught filming the defensive signals of the New York Jets last week, Patriot haters everywhere have been fighting for the chance to pile shame on the New York Yankees of the NFL. Some have invoked comparisons to Dick Nixon and Watergate. Others have said that this incident taints each of the team's three Superbowl seasons. Still others have called on the NFL to ban the Patriots from the NFL playoffs for the next two seasons. From the sound of things, it would seem as if the Patriots invented cheating.

News

Lottery's fate a perilous one

By JAMES EDWARD DILLARD | April 28

While money continues to flow out of North Carolina, the General Assembly is stuck. Stuck balancing a budget. Stuck clinging to morals. Stuck debating a lottery. The debate is nothing new — every legislature since 1983 has voted down a lottery bill. When he was elected governor in 2000, Democrat Mike Easley pushed an education lottery as a main part of his platform.

News

Employees of state may see 5 percent raise

By JAMES EDWARD DILLARD | April 12

Nicole Darnall, a professor of public administration at N.C. State University, is leaving home. After four years at N.C. State, she and her husband, Ashwin Hirani, are leaving their home in Carrboro for George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. For Darnall, the move isn’t about moving to a better institution, gaining a higher position or finding a better place to live. She just wants to get paid. “It is almost exclusively 100 percent about resources,” Darnall said.

News

In budget, echoes of past cuts

By JAMES EDWARD DILLARD | March 31

In 1991, the economy was slow, there was a war in Iraq and the N.C. General Assembly had a $1.2 billion dollar budget gap. Now, 14 years later, the wheel of fortune has come full circle — especially for the General Assembly, which once again is laboring to cover a similar shortfall. The cure was the same then as it is now: Either raise taxes or cut costs. “We don’t know which pill to swallow,” said Sen. Bob Atwater, D-Durham.

News

System faces crunch in wake of Pell changes

By JAMES EDWARD DILLARD | February 16

Annual changes in Pell Grants are expected to place great strain on North Carolina’s need-based student aid program. The changes, which limit the distribution of the federal grant, might cost UNC-system students as much as $3.2 million, and many will look to the state to make up the difference. “Students will have a safety net under them in case of a loss of Pell Grants, but we need the state to put more money into the system,” said Steven Brooks, executive director of the N.C. State Education Assistance Authority.

News

Session's start sees bevy of proposals

By JAMES EDWARD DILLARD | January 31

The nitty-gritty of the political process began last week as the N.C. General Assembly returned to session. After being sworn in Wednesday, legislators began the debate with a discussion on term lengths and legislative salaries. Both the Senate and the House heard proposals to extend term lengths for legislators from two to four years. The proposals met with mixed responses.

News

N.C. farmers 'got milk,' seek stability

By JAMES EDWARD DILLARD | November 24

Milk farmers have been trying to stabilize their industry for years. With national ads featuring celebrities such as Peyton Manning, Lindsay Lohan and Jason Kidd sporting the trademark white mustache, they've hoped to make their product a fixture in the lives of the public. But the government has been in on the act as well. The 2002 farm bill created the Milk Income Loss Contract Program, which provides relief for farmers when milk falls below a certain price.