The Best of the Sports Shop

Our dear friend of the show Van Eure, owner of the Angus Barn in Raleigh joins the Sports Shop to give her thoughts on the NFL Divisional Round games this weekend and makes her pick on who she thinks will win the NC State and UNC matchup.

Both NC State & UNC earned wins this past Tuesday ahead of their first meeting tomorrow, but the two teams are entering this game with different seasons. NC State is having one of its best years since Kevin Keatts's first season with the Wolfpack, while the Tar Heels have struggled to find their footing all season long. Who needs this win more and what should we expect inside the Dean Smith Center tomorrow?

The Raleigh Firebirds are proud to share that Bob MacKinnon, a veteran leader in the game of professional basketball has accepted the head coaching position for the 2023 season. MacKinnon is no stranger to the team as he has been the interim coach for the past two years during the pandemic. Mackinnon began his coaching career in 1982 and served as a Coach in the NCAA ranks for 25 years as an Assistant, Associate Head Coach, and Head Coach at several prestigious institutions including George Washington University, Marshall University, Niagara University, Notre Dame University and the University of North Carolina. Also, Ian Parks joins the Sports Shop for Always Bet On Black to give his “easy” picks for the NFL Divisional Round games.

Reese, Pam, and Graham preview a big weekend for our local triangle teams. At Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Duke Blue Devils host the 17th-ranked Miami Hurricanes. Over in Chapel Hill, it's the vintage ACC rivalry renewed as NC State takes on North Carolina. Duke is looking to get back on track and avoid a loss at home against a tough Miami team. Down the road, there's a question of who needs this win more between State and Carolina that needs to be answered. Also, the divisional round of the playoffs is upon us. It's a big weekend for these teams as far as finding out what they're really made of.

As always, each and every Thursday the Sports Shop gets a chance to dish it up with Dr. Deborah Stroman. To begin, she touches on our previous segment with chancellor Johnson Akinleye and continues to share the positive impact of the Eagles Celebration Bowl win for the community. She also previews the women's basketball game between #13 Duke and #17 North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Also, she discusses NCAA athletes being threatened recently because of gambling purposes.

North Carolina Central's Chancellor Johnson Akinleye joined the show to discuss how the Eagles winning the Celebration Bowl Championship has created such a positive outcome for the University and community activities planned for this Saturday as the team will be holding a parade to celebrate the win.

Reese was taken by the fine meal he enjoyed last night downtown with K-Mac, but he left Graham stranded in the process. Also, in honor of today's throwback year, Pam explains why she's been a Dallas Cowboys fan for so long.

Reese, K-Mac, & Pam discuss the unfortunate circumstances that took place in Tuscaloosa, Alabama this past Sunday.

Yesterday, Aaron Rodgers joined the Pat Mcafee show to discuss the future of his NFL career in which he said he felt he could win the MVP again, but he wasn't sure if he could do it playing for the Green Bay Packers. This led to a discussion on the Sports Shop of what could appeal to someone like Rodgers, or even Tom Brady to come play for the Carolina Panthers, in regards to the positives of living in North Carolina.

B-CU's new head football coach Ed Reed offered an apology following a video he posted on social media criticizing the university's football facility. The video contained vulgar language in regard to the poor conditions Reed felt he was having to deal with. Reese, K-Mac, & Pam discuss how he could've gotten his point across in a better manner.

We had two of our local teams in action last night as North Carolina defeated Boston College at home by a final of 72-64. NC State was on the road in Atlanta as they defeated Georgia Tech 78-66. Both wins were big for the two teams considering they could've easily been "trap games" before UNC and NC State play each other this Saturday.

Vashti Hurt of the Carolina Blitz joins the Sports Shop to give an update on the Carolina Panthers job fair in Charlotte amongst other coaches and coordinators in the NFL. Also, Terquavion Smith after the Wolfpack's win over 16th Miami had this to say: “I feel like other colleges in NC feel like they're better than us because they wear blue, but I just want people to know that you can come here too…They do the same stuff we do, they just have different courses." His statement sparked a debate on the Sports Shop about if NC State can beat North Carolina this season.

This past Saturday, NC State picked up another win against a top-20 ranked opponent at PNC Arena as they defeated the 16th ranked Miami Hurricanes 83-81 in overtime. The Wolfpack are now on a three-game winning streak as they prepare for a big matchup this upcoming weekend in Chapel Hill against North Carolina. CL Brown from the News & Observer joins the Sports Shop to review their performance along with North Carolina and Duke who were also in action this past weekend.

Pam Thompson Smith might be one of the happiest people on the Sports Shop this morning as she makes her return. Her Dallas Cowboys defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-14 last night in the final game from the Wild Card weekend. Dak Prescott may have had one of his best games all season, while Tom Brady may have played his worst. Did we witness Brady's final game in Tampa, or his final game in the NFL altogether?

The 43rd annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Triangle Interfaith Prayer Breakfast is underway at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Research Triangle Park with The Sports Shop on location. It's always the most exciting time of the NFL season, the postseason. The Wild Card weekend began the playoffs this past weekend with some exciting games taking place. Reese, K-Mac, & Graham recap the entire weekend and discuss the Jaguars impressive comeback, the Bills holding off the Dolphins, the birth of Brock Purdy in the playoffs, and the end of Baltimore season and potentially Lamar Jackson's time as a Raven.

Ahead of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Greear Webb, who is a senior Morehead-Cain Scholar at UNC-Chapel Hill, and the Sports Shop's very own Pam Thompson Smith chime in to discuss MLK Day events around the Triangle and the continued need to support young leaders in our area.

Wade Harris joins The Sports Shop for Firebirds Friday ahead of the team's first practice this Sunday before the start of their season next weekend. The team will be traveling to Canada for a two-game series. Wade is joined by the town manager of Garner, Rodney Dickerson who discussed why it is important for the community to support the Firebirds and what's the latest in the town of Garner. Also, Ian Turner gives us his underdog picks for the NFL Wild Card weekend coming up in Always Bet on Black.

The Carolina Hurricanes who recently were on an eleven-game win streak, all of a sudden found themselves on a four-game losing streak until last night when they defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets by a final of 6-2 on the road. Our producer Graham gives us the recap during his "Hill Hurricane Update." Also, Lamar Jackson tweeted that he will not play Sunday in the Ravens playoff game against the Bengals because his knee injury is more serious than originally thought. How are things going to play out for him moving forward?

Atrayus Goode, the president, and CEO of Youth Mentoring Collaborative joins The Sports Shop ahead of his organization event at the Governor's Mansion this upcoming Tuesday. It's the first annual Champions of Mentoring Awards Ceremony & Reception. It's an evening of celebration as they present the Lifetime Achievement Award to the Honorable Howard N. Lee and the Mentor of the Year Award.

Lamar Jackson's extended absence from practicing creates more issues with the Ravens regarding his contract and their upcoming playoff game against the Bengals. The quarterback has missed 16 straight practices and is uncertain if he'll play Sunday or not. Also, the Miami Dolphins face problems as well ahead of their playoff game against the Bills. Yesterday, the head coach Mike McDaniel announced that Tua Tagovailo was ruled out for the game. Depending on how things end up with Tua in the off-season, could we possibly see Tom Brady in Miami?

Duke returned to Cameron Indoor Stadium last night and picked up a 77-69 win over Pittsburgh. Head coach Jon Scheyer felt as though it was a "vintage" win for his team being back in front of their home crowd. K-Mac gives his observation of the Blue Devils' performance. Also, yesterday it was announced that North Carolina cornerback coach Dre Bly was parting ways with the team. Reese, K-Mac, & Pam discuss how this impact the team for next season and Gameday Charlies shares his thoughts as well.

The NFL coach's carousel continues as teams are beginning the process of who their next hire will be as a head coach. K-Mac believes the process of how certain owners think about the situation is wrong.

As the NFL playoffs approach with Wild Card weekend starting this weekend, there's a lot of diversity amongst the teams who made it in. Some teams earned their spots in the playoffs early on in the season with how well they played all year, while other teams came limping in toward the end of the season. Which overall team has the most to play for once the playoffs begin?

In the Tar Heels game last night against Virginia, Armando Bacot left the game within the first two minutes due to injury. Hubert Davis's team would be able to control the lead for most of the first half, but the Cavaliers rallied back late in the second. Reese, K-Mac, & Pam discuss what went right for North Carolina, and what went wrong in the end.

The coach's carousel continues ahead of next season as teams around the NFL announced the firing of their current head coaches yesterday. Reese & K-Mac share their thoughts on the matter and some of the disappointments they have had with a few organizations.

With the Carolina Panthers season coming to a close, it's time to play game on or game over with Vashti Hurt of the Carolina Blitz to figure out the answers to possible scenarios ahead of next season for the organization. When discussing college basketball, is NC State one of the most dangerous teams in the ACC currently, and does a North Carolina win on the road over a ranked Virginia Cavaliers team get them back in the top 25?

The Georgia Bulldogs crushed the TCU Horned Frogs by a final of 65-7 to win their second consecutive College Football Playoff National Championship. The 58-point margin of victory marks the largest one since the college football playoffs originated and the NCAA started an official championship game during the 1998 season. With everything that Georgia accomplished, Reese & K-mac take offense to Georgia becoming the new quote-on-quote, "dynasty" of college football.

It's the grand finale of the college football season as TCU takes on the defending national champions Georgia. Do the Horn Frogs have what it takes to pull off the upset, or are the Bulldogs looking to make history by winning back-to-back titles?

K-Mac returns to the Sports Shop from vacation and has some things to discuss regarding the Duke Blue Devils. Coach Scheyer's team is coming off a close 64-54 win on the road against Boston College. K-Mac believes that there's still time to figure things out amongst the team and get the season back on track.

The regular season of the NFL concluded yesterday and there were some exciting games to discuss including the Buffalo Bills emotional win over the New England Patriots, Sam Howell in his first career start leading the Commanders to a victory over the Cowboys, and Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers missing the playoffs for the first time since 2018. For the Carolina Panthers, they closed out the season with a 10-7 win over the New Orleans Saints to finish the season with an overall record of 7-10. After taking over as interim head coach for the remainder of the season, did Steve Wilks solidify himself as the next head coach for the team?

Coming off a big night Wednesday of ACC hoops, what does the upcoming weekend look like for our local teams and the rest of the ACC? Also, Reese, Pam, and Graham discuss how Duke will respond to their loss against NC State as they travel to Boston College, and can the Wolfpack keep their momentum going as they travel to Virginia Tech?

It's the return of Firebirds Friday on The Sports Shop as Wade Harris who is the director of player development and managing partner of the Raleigh Firebirds, a semi-pro basketball joins the show. Wade previews the upcoming season and is accompanied by a guest as the Firebirds make an effort to partner with community members and outreach programs.

To begin the week, The Sports Shop shared their thoughts on the scary situation regarding Damar Hamlin's injury on Monday Night Football. To close out the week, they provide an update on his recovery process and share some positive news that's been released. Also, Armando Bacot and Jermey Roach have teamed up for a NIL endorsement deal for a North Carolina-based company.

Famous comedian Donnell Rawlings better known as "Ashy Larry" joins the Sports Shop ahead of his upcoming shows at Goodnights Comedy Club this weekend.

Amazon Prime Video's "Coach Prime," which features Deion Sanders coaching Jackson State through a historic 2022 football season also features The Sports Shop as well. The show is featured in the third episode of the series and is related to the controversial topic of Coach Prime being SWAC or not.

What a night for NC State fans, as the Wolfpack defeated the 16th-ranked Duke Blue Devils by a final score of 84-60 last night at PNC Arena. It was a party on Hillsborough street as members of Wolfpack nation and the men's basketball team gathered at the bell tower to celebrate the victory. The North Carolina Tar Heels also picked up a win over Wake Forest by a final of 88-79 in Chapel Hill.

Reese, Pam, and Graham discuss what is essentially the end of the season for the Carolina Panthers after a loss to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past weekend. It's been reported that David Tepper has had "talks" with Jim Harbaugh about the coaching position. Tepper has to consider Steve Wilks to be the head coach, even though the Panthers didn't make the playoffs.

The first edition of the big four battle between our local teams this basketball tips off tonight as 16th-ranked Duke will travel to NC State, and North Carolina welcomes Wake Forest at home. Reese, Pam, and Graham discuss out of the two games, which result will have the bigger impact on the ACC, and is Duke actaully in danger of an upset at PNC Arena.

As always, every Wednesday we get a chance to speak with James White for his segment, More To The Story. In his first edition of the new year, brother White reminds us that the athletes we watch in sports are humans too. The image of Damar Hamlin's injury remains in our minds and we also witnessed warriors and hero's experiencing the humanity of fears and tears along with it.

The Sports Shop continues to provide updates on the Damar Hamlin injury situation. Yesterday, the NFL announced that the Bills-Bengals game will not resume this week and we may find ourselves in a situation where the game may not be played again at all. Reese and Pam discuss how the player's mental health needs to be a top priority right now, and not the continuation of the game.

The Carolina Panthers controlled their own destiny when it came to winning the NFC South and potentially making the playoffs until they were defeated by the Buccaneers 30-24 this past Sunday. The hopes of the Panthers clinching the division and making it to the playoffs may be over, but what about Steve Wilks being named the full-time head coach? Vashti Hurt of the Carolina Blitz joins the Sports Shop to discuss.

By now, everyone involved in the world of sports is aware of the serious injury Damar Hamlin sustained during the Bills-Bengals game, but not too many people are aware of who Hamlin really is. Pam Thompson shares Hamlin's background on the Sports Sports and gives us some insight on what kind of individual he really is.