Venomous criticism of Wolfpack fans ensued from the national basketball world. Sendek’s former boss, Rick Pitino, said, "He’s not Jimmy Valvano, and that’s something N.C. State couldn’t understand," says Louisville coach Rick Pitino, who hired Sendek as an assistant at Providence and Kentucky. "The fans don’t understand how good he is." ESPN analyst Dick Vitale called Sendek "a steal for ASU. He got totally frustrated about never being truly accepted" at North Carolina State. "There you better have a lot of personality. That’s why Jimmy V was such a big success. Personality plays a big part in trying to offset the popularity and strength of Duke and North Carolina.

The comment that stirred the most response, however, was Gregg Doyal of CBSSports.com who wrote:

Wolfpack fans should be ashamed. In a day and age where coaches outright cheat or clandestinely cut so many corners that emergency ethics meetings are called, Sendek was honorable. For a guy as smart as he was, he was too dumb to cheat, too naïve to know that you almost can’t win at a place like N.C. State without looking the other way. But he was such a good coach, he won in spite of himself.  Around the country, coaches know. Sendek was treated shabbily by Wolfpack nation — by sniping fans, reader-pandering media and an administration that never once stood up and said ENOUGH!

So, Sendek left the “unrealistic fanbase” for a happier place. Finally, he would be appreciated for his work, right? After all, it took Arizona State 30 years to make 5 NCAA trips, and they had only had three 20-win seasons in the past 25 years. It stands to reason that a coach that comes in and goes 75-53 in his first four seasons would electrify the fanbase and be regarded as a hero. Right?

Arizona State plays their home games in the 14,000-seat Wells Fargo Arena in Phoenix, the 5th largest city in the United States. These fans, after so many years of bad basketball, should fill the place up after last year’s 25-10 season. This season has been good so far, but not quite as successful. The team is 22-9, has an RPI ranking of #54, and stands a good shot of getting back into the NCAA tournament with a good showing this weekend. Reality, though, is a quite different thing.

Average attendance at Arizona State’s home games was 7,765 (55% capacity) this season, down 17% from last season. In only 36% of the games did they exceed that average. Sendek’s team only drew more than 10,000 fans twice in 19 games. Only 57% of the time was the arena even half full. No wonder Sendek thought the RBC Center would be “an unmitigated disaster” if its capacity exceeded 15,000.

Yes, it is the same old Herb. Put together a schedule with some horrendously awful non-conference nobodies at home, lose to good teams on the road, and never win a game you aren’t supposed to win. It appears that Arizona State fans are voting with their feet. People in Phoenix would rather be doing almost anything else than watching Herb Sendek’s team. In a couple of years they will start to grumble, and the rallying cry from the media and Pitino protégés will start again. Yet nobody will acknowledge that it wasn’t repulsive fans that ended Sendek’s term in Raleigh. It was his repulsive product.

Part II (3/11/2010)

Since the smartypants with an “observer” IP address isn’t satisfied with this analysis, I’ll continue. Let’s look at the attendance and winning percentages for each Arizona State and N.C. State over the past 11 seasons.

Average attendance for the past 11 seasons at Arizona State was 7,957 and they have won 52.2% of the time. As one can see, the team has won much more than average this season, yet attendance is below the 11-year average. Here in Raleigh NCSU has averaged 14,238 over the past seasons and won 58% of the time. This season’s average attendance and winning percentage is below the average. (Though it should be noted that this season there was a snowy day for a game which resulted in attendance of only 2,000 and there was a Reynolds Coliseum game where only about 4,500 people attended. Removing that snowy anomaly attendance was around 13,800, far closer to the 11-year average.)

This year aside, NCSU fans are much less likely to be swayed by the team’s record than Arizona State fans are. If we run a multiple regression analyses on both data tables, we get R-Squared values of 0.327 for Arizona State and 0.002 for NCSU. Both values show that the team’s record is a very poor predictor for attendance. There is something else involved. Certainly factors such as arena age, schedule difficulty, weather, timing of the games (New Years, competing against bowl games, weekend games, television coverage, etc) play roles into fans choices to attend.

As a 37-year fan of basketball in the area, with intense study of each fanbase, my conclusion is that the the brand of basketball on the court and the perception of the team’s ability to win games both play overwhelming roles over long periods of time. Heralded recruits, coaches who talk positively about winning, and teams that surprise fans with wins over higher-ranked teams are the chief causes for higher attendance.

In the six years preceding Herb Sendek’s arrival at Arizona State, the program won 49.7% of its games. Sendek has won 56.9% of his games, yet average attendance has only risen by 89 fans (between the two periods), a 1% increase. Keep in mind that that “increase” includes the period when Pendergraph as well as a host of other inherited ASU players were on the court. This is Herb’s ship now, and it’s headed in a course that is all too familiar.

Now, isn’t that a little more in-depth analysis than we get from something like Rimshots? Journalists aren’t losing their jobs because of the failure to compare trends across the PAC-10, they are losing their jobs because of their failure to present a compelling product. Circulation is down for a reason, and it isn’t because people with “observer” in their email addresses are doing such wonderful, in-depth analyses when they write articles like Rimshots and articles implying that the RBC Center is too big for N.C. State’s basketball program. Also, I don’t mind criticism and tactful disagreement, but I respect it a lot more when someone has the guts to use their real name.

• Download ACCGuide2010.pdf
• Print the guide on front and back (duplex along short edge)
• Stack the pages in the following manner:
• Position Virginia in the upper left
• On top of that, add the next page so Va. Tech is in the upper left.
• On top of that, add the next page so that Miami is in the upper left.
• Finally, place the page with UNC in the upper left.
• Fold into a booklet, and staple to bind. (If you do not have a long stapler, just do your best near the top and bottom of the fold.

The final product shows the UVA/BC, WFU/Miami, GT/UNC, and Clemson/NCSU game information on facing pages.

• Red carpet arrival with paparazzi photo.

• Catered buffet dinner provided by The Angus Barn.

• Open bar provided by Mutual Distributing Company and Carolina Brewing Company.

• Watch the Academy Awards on one of Raleigh’s biggest screens.

• Take home a copy of the official Oscar Night program.

• Participate in a silent auction that includes a number of rarely available autographed Hollywood, Broadway and Sports items.

• Dress for the red carpet or come as your favorite movie star. Black Tie Optional.

• All proceeds benefit the theatre’s community arts and education programs.

Silent Auction Items Include:

Twilight Saga: New Moon Poster autographed by Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner

Celebrities from “The Full Monty” are expected to attend.

The guys who made the famous treadmill video are back. With a staggering number of cascading mechanisms featured, OK Go’s “This Too Shall Pass” video is rightfully the internet’s newest viral sensation. The band will be in Raleigh May 11 at the Lincoln Theatre. Earl Greyhound and Robert Francis open.

When the TV runs its new channel scan, it will find the hidden channel to which Time Warner has newly assigned WNCN’s HD channel. (Periodically Time Warner will reassign the actual location in the bandwidth where some channels exist in order to get more efficient transmission. The cable boxes and CableCARDs do a fine job of detecting these new addresses, but QAM tuners, which people use when they tune in to 17.1, need to be manually remapped).

It is a very interesting move that says nothing more than 99.9’s coveted afternoon drive-time ratings must have been extremely disappointing. Mark and Mike are pretty knowledgeable about football and hockey, but their talent in the basketball is extremely inappropriate for this market. Adam Gold, on the other hand, is extremely knowledgeable, but is only slightly less annoying than Billy Ray Cyrus.

The boys are only about 8 points out of being in the conversation. Had they just won 1 game every month, we’d be right about where the team is in the standings most seasons. Perhaps the playoff cutoff will be lower than the typical 93 points, because the current 8th place team is going to have to go 14-3-1 to get to 93.

So maybe the cutoff isn’t 93 this season. With around 20 games to go, and with a playoff-level team winning 60% of the time and, therefore, earning 24 more points, I’m thinking the cutoff will around 87 for the East this season.

In order to get 87 standings points, the Canes will have to get 32 points in the remaining 21 games. So, they will have to close out the season with a 16-5 (76%) record. So really, Rutherford should trade every unrestricted free agent, limit practices, and perhaps have the team meals at the Raleigh Convention Center to assure that this team tanks  and gets at least a decent draft pick for putting the fans through that horrible first third of the season. There sure are some nice draft picks to get this year.

Band Together NC

Last year’s Band Together NC concert featuring Rusted Root, the Rosebuds, Chatham County Line and HOBEX attracted more than 2,700 music lovers and raised more than $141,000 for the Lucy Daniels Center for Early Childhood. Supporting acts and activities for 2010 will be announced as the event date approaches.

Throughout his musical career spanning nearly 25 years, Franti has combined political and social themes with diverse musical influences such as hip hop, funk, reggae, jazz, folk and rock. After playing with the Beatnigs and Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, Franti formed Spearhead in 1994. The band has released numerous albums including “Home,” “Chocolate Supa Highway,” “Stay Human,” “Yell Fire!” and the recent “All Rebel Rockers,” which marked their highest Billboard Top 200 Album Chart debut ever. The band’s song “Say Hey (I Love You)” was a hit in multiple formats last year. It was one of the most added recordings on multiple radio formats (Top 40, Hot AC and Alternative) and its music video has already exceeded 1 million views on YouTube.

Known for energetic live shows and Franti’s penchant for going shoeless, the band has gained a passionate worldwide audience through extensive touring and appearances in alternative media. As advocates for peace and social justice, Michael Franti & Spearhead have played numerous benefit concerts worldwide, including their own Power to the Peaceful Festivals in San Francisco that have recently drawn more than 50,000 attendees.

“As a musician and a man, I more than anything else want to be a unifier,” Franti explains. “I want to bring people together through music and its unique power. And I hope that somehow that sense of unity extends beyond the music.”

In October 2009, Band Together NC’s Board of Directors announced that the charity recipient for 2010 would be StepUP Ministry, an interfaith nonprofit organization that teaches low-income and homeless people to become self-sufficient. Founded in 1988, StepUP annually helps empower nearly 600 individuals in Wake County through two life-giving programs: job training/placement and life skills training.

“Our goal this year is to raise $150,000 for our charity partner,” said Danny Rosin, president and co-founder of Band Together NC. “But that’s not all. Amazingly, StepUP Ministry has pledged to match our fundraising efforts dollar for dollar, so there is a potential that we could generate up to $300,000 for this wonderful and deserving organization.”

Through corporate and individual donations, Band Together has already raised more than $70,000. Commitments have come from Cargill, S&A Cherokee, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Davenport Investments, Duke Realty Corporation, Lincoln Theatre, Synergy Commercial Advisors, RPG Solutions, Brand Fuel, Trisure, Capstrat, Prometheus, Hosted Solutions and Manning, Fulton & Skinner, PA.

Tickets for the event will be $22 in advance or $25 day of the show. VIP tickets are $150. Sponsorships begin at the $150 level. Event attendees must be 21 years or older.

In order to fertilize, one needs to evenly put the adequate amounts of fertilizer down. The rules of thumb around here are 75 lbs of limestone per 1000 feet (to bring pH around these pines and azaleas up), 1 lb of nitrogen per 1000 feet, and 6lbs of tall fescue see per 1000 feet (if seeding, but remember that seed placed in the spring never has the chance to grow downward, and will therefore have to be watered all summer).

In order to fertilize correctly, measure the square footage of the lawn. Then look at the fertilizer offered in the store. There are three numbers XX-YY-ZZ, and the first (XX) is the nitrogen. Divide 100 by this amount, and multiply that resulting number by the number of thousands of the lawn’s square feet. This will result in the correct number of pounds of fertilizer to use.

For example:

• 18-24-6 fertilizer is available, and the lawn is 12K square feet.
• 100/18=5.5 lbs per 1,000 sq ft x 12 = 67 lbs of this fertilizer is appropriate for a 12K foot lawn.

Fertilizers with pre-emergent weed killer are most useful for this application during the year, unless one is also seeding (the pre-emergent will kill the budding grass plants).

Hint: Remember that not many pre-emergents will kill the Chickweed that appears for the month of March. Don’t worry about it, as it will die off as April rolls around.

Finally, this is the time to start thinking about getting the lawnmower’s annual service. Spark plugs should be replaced and blades should be sharpened so as to create a clean cut that minimizes grass plant damage. Injured lawns require more water, so it helps to have a well-running mower.

By following these recommendations that were originally set forth by turf grass researchers in Wake County, one should be able to sustain a beautiful, year-round Tall Fescue lawn that only needs minor supplemental watering during a two week period in September, and most importantly, none during the summer’s hottest months.

To be fair Harris Teeter has done an outstanding job stocking the new store. Along with their full compliment of non-perishables from their distribution centers, the store also stocks an impressive array of fresh food. The produce section is outstanding, and stocks some exotic fruits and vegetables that aren’t typically seen at even high-end grocery stores. A prepared foods bar and salad bar are positioned to rival that seen at Whole Foods, while fresh pizza and made-to-order sandwiches at a reasonable price add some value to the store over others in the area. The fresh breads are superior to Whole Foods, while the cheese and meat counters pale somewhat, but are still outstanding in their own right. This somewhat to be expected for a new store, and it will be interesting to see how the store is stocked once the constant clientele settles in.

That said, the rest of the store is a complete failure, and it goes back to the design stages. In residential real estate older houses blessed with a charming design and strong foundation, but need some cosmetic work are said to have “good bones”. On the other hand there is this Harris Teeter, which will stand for decades as an example of “bad bones”.

Most notable is the two-story design. I am all for breaking paradigms to find new solutions. We didn’t get where we are today without some people taking some risks, and to that, Harris Teeter and Kane Realty are to be commended. This implementation of the vertical big box concept, though, is horrible at best.

The second story hovers over the left half of the store, and contains aisles of housewares, baking goods, cereals, cosmetics, pet foods, and juices. It essentially is all of the stuff that exists in that 3rd, 1/4th of a normal grocery store. The problem, however, is that in order for one to get their cart upstairs, they must use an elevator, which in this instance, is not a glass elevator and only holds two people and two shopping carts. During fairly busy times, there is a line of people trying to get on at the top and the bottom. The design team did not account for this, and did not allocate an adequate space for the queues.

The aisles feel tight. While the central aisles in a store like the Cameron Village store are also tight, the end aisles are wide, and there is a high ceiling. Not so at North Hills. The end aisles are just as narrow as the grocery aisles, the ceiling is low, and there is no natural light entering the space, creating a nightmare for claustrophobic people.

The store did a poor job with signage inside the store. Brown aisle makers with small, beige type are hard to read from the end aisles.

The upstairs section consists of about 7,500 square feet of stock space. One has to wonder of the store would have been better served by a North Hills design that just implemented 8,000 more square feet of space on their footprint. It isn’t like there is a scarcity of land that required this usual design. It would have made an enormous difference in the convenience level for this store.

Second to the disastrous 2-story design is the store’s strange parking-deck-only entrance. The only way to access the store is from the parking garage. Did I mention claustrophobia? While I tend to favor parking garages for their relatively constant temperature and always dry settings, this parking garage design is horribly inefficient and dangerous. There are two stories of the garage that are designated for Harris Teeter shoppers. Cars coming from Six Forks enter the upper level, which is a simple ring with a downramp in the middle. The bombastic lower level is accessed also by the St. Alban’s Drive traffic. All traffic entering the lower level moves in a counterclockwise direction, and there is only one way, one lane out of the deck’s lower level. What happens when some big SUV wants to back out of a space? The entire line of traffic leaving has to wait. What happens when a second car backs out? Urge to kill rises.

To top it all off, before reaching the garage’s exit, this steady stream of exiting traffic makes one final sweep, right by the store’s front doors where the pedestrian concentration is highest. It is a design that is so bad and was so preventable, that is makes me wonder if the architect who is responsible for this should be allowed to stay in his/her profession.

Because the store sits on the ground level of a 7-story apartment building, I was only able to get spotty cell phone and internet service on the store’s main floor, and had absolutely no connectivity on the second floor, where all of the cafe seating is. This is a solvable problem, but a big one as while shopping I like to access my recipes and rolling shopping lists in Evernote as well as call home to check on current pantry inventory.

So what is the shopper’s best plan of attack? During hours that are likely to have light traffic, just park in the lower level. It won’t be that dangerous. During times where the store is likely to be crowded (and this morning is an example of that. The store was far more crowded that the old North Hills store ever was), though, I recommend parking in the upper ring and using the parking lot elevator. This upper ring can be accessed two ways: from the main entrance on Six Forks Rd, and from the State Street entrance. (State street is a little one-block long street off St. Albans, parallel to Dartmouth Drive, perpendicular to St. Albans.)

I also don’t like the store’s placement as it pertains to the entire North Hills development. The North Hills master plan would have been better served by putting this store at the Dartmouth/Six Forks corner, facing St. Albans with its back to Six Forks. The store could have been the base for a very functional, attractive building that would join the flow of the existing North Hills to the new East. As it stands now, one of the major advantages to living in The Alexan, an accessible grocery store, is gone.

I fear for the store’s future as I have heard nothing but thumbs down so far. Judging by the people I overheard and talked to in the store, most ITB shoppers will go to the Harris Teeters at Glenwood Village and Cameron Village, as well as the big, nearby Kroger. Those to the north are most likely to use this HT store, but that is not the demographic this particular store aims to reach. It is a BIG problem that the boys in Charlotte will have to address (most likely by eventually removing all of the labor-intensive, short-life fresh-cooked items that make the store special). As it stands now, the architects picked by Kane have done a great disservice to not only the Harris Teeter corporation, but also the residents in the North Hills region of Raleigh.

What this means to the Hurricanes is perhaps a strengthened fan base. As fans in the western part of the state follow the Charlotte team, they are bound to follow the players’ journeys up to Raleigh. It also greatly increases the chances of seeing the Carolina Hurricanes hold an exhibition game each year in Charlotte (after the already-booked 2010 preseason). Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford clearly made the point at the press conference today about this being a part of the franchise’s long term strategy of growing the sport of hockey in the state of North Carolina.

No need to worry about this being Part A of a takeover scheme by the powers that be in Charlotte. For an NHL team to move the Charlotte, a new arena would have to be built. The TWC Arena has a short axis, much like the Dean Smith Center and the U.S. Airways Center (home of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns). The short axis makes for a superior basketball configuration, but results in an unacceptable compromise for hockey. There are several bad options, and the Charlotte Checkers have opted to bizarrely offset the ice such that one of the blue lines runs through the center of the building. The result is that there is absolutely no seating beyond the faceoff circles on one end of the ice.