CHRONICLING EAST
CAROLINA & CONFERENCE USA
SPORTS
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View from the East
Thursday, November 15, 2012
By Al Myatt |
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Checking the mail/texts
By
Al Myatt
©2012 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
View the Mobile Alpha version of this page.
After East Carolina
visits Tulane on Saturday, the Pirates will be back in Greenville
for a Friday football game with Marshall on the day after
Thanksgiving.
Yes, the holiday season is
upon us and that means a proliferation of mail. Like Christmas cards.
What if you could discern
the contents of envelopes like Carnak the Magnificent, the old character
on the Johnny Carson Show?
Or, contemporarily
speaking, if you had total access to texts.
You never know. Sometimes
you can only imagine.
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To: Ruffin McNeill
ECU football coach
Hey, Ruff:
Been watching game tapes.
Hope you bring the team
that showed up against Navy, not the one that dusted Houston.
See you soon,
Curtis Johnson
Tulane football
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To: Ruffin McNeill
Hey, Coach:
What did you do to get
your team turned around in one week from the Navy game to Houston?
You see, we just went to
N.C. State and lost 37-6. We go to Notre Dame this week.
Thanks for any
suggestions,
Jim Grobe
Wake Forest football
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To: Ruffin McNeill
Hey, Ruff:
What's up? Congratulations
on becoming bowl eligible.
I should have listened
when you tried to talk me out of leaving for Kentucky.
I thought the grass was
greener up here. Doggone if it ain't blue grass.
I guess I'll have a blue
Christmas without you.
Maybe I'll see you at the
coaches convention.
Regards,
Pat Washington
Kentucky football
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To: Shane Carden
ECU quarterback
Hey, Shane:
We've been checking you
out.
Your upside is like the
Empire State Building — from the bottom floor.
Have you thought about
transferring to a BCS school?
Sincerely,
Conference USA defensive coordinators
P.S. Feel free to take
'Ta' Cooper and Justin Hardy with you.
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To: Lou Holtz
Coaching legend and college football analyst
Hey, Dad:
Just wondering.
Could you check with some
of the ESPN brass and see if I could possibly do some games next year?
You know. Just in case.
Thanks,
Skip
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To: Larry Fedora
UNC football
Hey, Larry:
Saw where Georgia Tech
hung 68 points on you guys.
What goes around, comes
around.
Seeya,
Elon Nation
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To: Larry Fedora
Yeah, Larry:
What Elon said.
— Idaho
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To: David Cutcliffe
Duke football
Hey, Coach:
Nice job this season.
I mean that's a really
nice job.
See you at the staff
Christmas party.
Go Duke,
Mike
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To: Mack Brown
Texas football
Hey, Mack:
I haven't been a big fan
over the years.
But running a play from
the wishbone in memory of Darrell Royal to start the Iowa State game?
Awesome.
A pitch-back reverse pass
for 47 yards. A divine moment.
All right.
Take care,
Al Myatt
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To: Santa Claus
North Pole
St. Nick:
I'm asking for a little
bit more this year but I've been a real good boy.
Instead of just getting to
an NCAA regional, could we host one again? Then could we host a Super
Regional?
I feel good about getting
to Omaha from our place.
Let me know of any
prospects you see on your travels.
Milk and cookies in the
usual place.
Thanks,
Billy Godwin
ECU baseball
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To: Tom O'Brien
N.C. State football
Hey, Coach:
Sorry about the meltdown
after the losses to UNC and Virginia.
Nice win over Wake.
We're behind you. All
week.
— Pack Nation
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To: T.J. Logan
Northern Guilford football
Hey, T.J.:
Well, the Nighthawks are
still rolling, aren't they?
Hey, you know good players
can get lost in the numbers game at Chapel Hill.
Give ECU some thought.
It's not too late.
4 real, dude.
Your old high school
teammate,
Rocco Scarfone
No. 39, ECU
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To: Terry Holland
ECU AD
cc: Steve Ballard
ECU chancellor
Hey, guys:
#&*! ^&#%
OK? Got that?
Bah, humbug.
Tracey Kee
Former ECU softball coach
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To: Roy Williams
UNC basketball
Hey, Coach:
Thanks for scheduling us.
Maybe y'all could return
the trip to Greenville some time.
Just a word of caution.
Don't sleep on us. See you Dec. 15.
Your buddy,
Jeff Lebo
ECU basketball
P.S. Football lasts a lot
longer here than when I was in college.
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To: Pirate Nation
Hey, Guys:
I'll be back next week.
Remember everything I did
for you.
Sorry about how that John
Thompson thing went down.
Can't believe we're
playing you guys on a Friday during the high school playoffs.
Wow. That brings back some
memories.
Good thing for Terry that
he pushed for an early kickoff.
My best,
Mike Hamrick
Marshall AD
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To: Jeff Hammond
Southern Miss AD
Hey, Jeff:
Give me a call, ASAP.
I mean it.
— Jeff Bower
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To: Lincoln Riley
ECU offensive coordinator
Hey, Linc:
I'm sending you the
diagram for the Gamecock play, my compliments.
We scored on it a bunch of
times. You have to sell the flow and it should be there.
Hope you can use it. Maybe
against Marshall.
Good luck against those
guys,
Steve Logan
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And now, back to reality...
After an open date that
allowed the players a few days off and gave coaches some time to do some
recruiting, East Carolina turned its full attention to preparing for
Saturday's 3:30 p.m. game at Tulane with its regular game week routine.
Receiver Justin Hardy and
running back Michael Dobson have been getting limited repetitions in
practice as they return from ailments. Center Taylor Hudson also has
gotten better. Offensive tackle Grant Harner is improving but still may
not play this week. Inside linebacker Brandon Williams is another player
who has advanced in the recovery process.
"It was definitely
beneficial," said ECU coach Ruffin McNeill of the break. " ... We wanted
to make sure we caught up on our classroom work, that we took advantage
of treatment with our sports medicine and that we continued our lifting
with Coach (Jeff) Connors. ... We wanted to stay sharp on the field. We
had shorter practices. We got our work done and got off the field so we
could accomplish those things."
Tuesday's practice went on
despite chilly, rainy conditions but that won't be a problem this week
in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.
"The ball became slippery
at the end, but they went about it in really business-like fashion,"
McNeill said of Tuesday's workout. "That's one thing about this week —
we will have a controlled environment and I'm looking forward to that."
The Superdome has a
capacity of 72,000. The Green Wave has averaged 18,759 in attendance for
its home games this season, making for a situation comparable to UAB at
Legion Field in terms of crowd energy.
McNeill said the Pirates
have to concentrate on the task at hand.
"The game versus Tulane is
the only important thing right now on our docket," said the ECU coach.
"We need to make sure we practice well and have great, great focus. We
have to have great, great focus, knowing that we'll catch Tulane's best
shot."
The Pirates provide an
opportunity for the Green Wave (2-8, 2-4 C-USA) to gain additional
credibility under first-year coach Curtis Johnson.
"That's where the coaches
and myself, we come into play," McNeill said. "Our leaders have to come
into play. We have to realize that we have a great opportunity in front
of us to play another game this week. We have to make sure that we're
better than the last time out versus Houston. We must play better on all
three sides of the ball."
Tulane quarterback Ryan
Griffin has completed 173 of 271 passes for 2,132 yards with 16
touchdowns and seven interceptions in seven games. His favorite receiver
has been Ryan Grant, who has 53 catches for 947 yards with six scores
this season.
"Their defense is similar
to Houston's," McNeill said. "They blitz quite a bit. They play man
coverage, some zone."
The movie situation
The open date allowed
McNeill a chance to get up to speed in some areas unrelated to football.
"I caught up with my shows
that I DVR, like 'Last Resort,' and I've been reading, 'Character:
Profiles in Presidential Courage' by Chris Wallace," said the Pirates
coach. "One of my friends and coaches at Arkansas sent me a book that
Tony Dungy is a part of. I caught up with my shows. Most of them deal
with drama and action."
The Pirates will take in
the new James Bond movie, "Skyfall," on Friday night before playing
Tulane.
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11/15/2012 12:53 AM
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