How bullish is ESPN on Carolina's chances of cutting down the nets this season? They've hired Robbie Pickeral away from the News & Observer to write a blog solely devoted to UNC Basketball. And while I'm happy to see anyone think the Heels' chances of winning the championship are as a good as I believe, the thought of writing that much about any one basketball team (it looks to be five or more posts a weekday) gives me hives. I don't think a group of twenty-or-so people can generate that much news in a day, and journalism goes south really quick when you have more save to fill than news to fill it. I'm curious as to whether this is a one-off or the beginning of a lot of hyperfocused basketball coverage.
The worst things I've ever written for this blog have come more out of a sense of obligation than of actual interest, so this summer I made a concerted effort to stop writing that type of post, at the cost of less content overall. It's the exact opposite of the way to build an audience – must write more now and feed the gaping of maw – but it's the only way I can do this and be happy with anything I write. I may have swung too far to the other extreme, however, so look for things to pick up in the next few weeks.
In the meantime, here's a piece on why UNC might not win the championship, also from ESPN – a young point guard. Only six teams have won the championship with a freshman or sophomore point guard in the art twenty years, a ratio that, well, probably matches the number of teams starting a freshman or sophomore at the point overall. It is 30% you know, and coaches typically start upperclassmen more regularly than the youngsters. But ignore that. Young! Different! Watch out!