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Tar Heel born, bred, and working on that third thing
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The Stanley Cup visits UNC
Back when the Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup, I pointed out the several connections that the Hurricanes had to UNC, and how there wasn’t a shortage of representation in the organization. This is despite the close ties the team seemingly has to the team they share the building with, including the head coach marrying […]
The UNC Sports Week Ahead: September 7th-13th
If there were any question about whether or not college sports have started, just look at the week ahead and you’ll find your answer. Nine teams compete this week wearing Carolina Blue, some in some really high profile matches. We also have the opening of Kenan Stadium’s 100th season. Here’s a look at the week […]
UNC field hockey blows out Penn, outlasts Princeton
The #10 UNC field hockey team bounced back from an 0-2 start by sweeping the Conference Crossover in Chapel Hill this weekend, culminating in a shootout win over #2 Princeton on Sunday. The Tar Heels opened the event with a 7-0 win over Penn on Friday that saw goals from five different players, including redshirt […]
Leaks show some in athletics are done with Bill Belichick
If there’s one thing I’ve noticed over the past few days when it comes to the reporting of the Michael Lombardi investigation, it’s how quickly some want to dismiss what is being investigated. There is truth to the feeling that just because a lawyer asks a question doesn’t mean the activity actually happened. They are […]
Where should UNC look for Michael Lombardi’s replacement?
One game into the season, the Carolina football program has a new job opening. In case you missed it, general manager Michael Lombardi resigned on Thursday, a little more than a month after he was put on paid leave following a human resources complaint by a former employee. While new reporting indicates the program may […]
From Chapel Hill to the NFL: Tracking the Tar Heels in 2026
Are you ready for some football? Yes, the college season started this past weekend, but the NFL season is now less than a week away (the Seahawks and Patriots face off on Wednesday) and with rosters and practice squads set, it’s time to do a roundup where all the former Tar Heel professionals have landed. […]
With UNC off, what games will you be watching this weekend?
Last week went about as well as it could have for UNC football. Their trip to Ireland saw them upset TCU 15-10, getting their season off to a vastly better start than what happened in the opener against the Horned Frogs in 2025. There’s obviously still a lot of season left and a lot of […]
UNC continues investigation into football program allegations
With the news earlier this evening that Michael Lombardi has resigned as General Manager, WRAL has reported that UNC is still looking into a number of allegations surrounding the football program. The allegations are quite serious, and would almost certainly be enough for several more people to lose their jobs. According to WRAL, lawyers are […]
North Carolina football GM Michael Lombardi has resigned
ESPN college football senior writer Pete Thamel tweeted today that UNC football’s general manager Michael Lombardi has resigned from his position. Lombardi was put on paid leave in late July, and now the ongoing saga has come to a merciful end. We still do not have all the details of what led to Lombardi being […]
Two individual sport Tar Heels reach notable milestones
A lot of focus, including my own, has been centered on UNC football and their season-opening win over TCU in Dublin last Saturday. While that was a pretty big event in Tar Heel land, there’s been plenty going on elsewhere too. Most of the other fall college sports are underway, but there are also Heels […]
Examining UNC football’s running back usage against TCU
Heading into this season, it seemed safe to presume that Demon June would be the starting running back for UNC. June had about the only season to note on offense last time out, when the then-freshman gained 623 rushing and receiving combined yards and scored three touchdowns. I even wrote about what expectations should be […]
What is the proper way to evaluate UNC’s basketball’s $20 million roster?
Now that we are solidly in the NIL/transfer portal era, one thing that fans get to deal with each offseason is determining the worth of a roster based off how much any given school has paid for their players. It’s not a new concept — NBA and MLB fans love playing this game— but for […]
2027 Five-star Nasir Anderson schedules official visit with UNC
Over the weekend it was announced that 2027 five-star point guard Nasir Anderson has scheduled eight official visits in hopes of figuring out where he will play college ball for the 2027-28 season. Among the teams listed was North Carolina, who has a loaded recruiting board thanks to the aggressiveness of Michael Malone. According to […]
ACC Power Rankings: Post Week 0
As has become common place in recent years, the college football season began over the weekend with “Week 0,” a smaller slate of games that had special dispensation to take place earlier than normal. This year, one of them involved our very own North Carolina Tar Heels, who downed TCU 15-10 in Ireland. The win […]
What did you think of Billy Edwards’ Tar Heel debut?
Fall camp generated a lot of speculation about who might win the QB battle. Many fans got excited about Miles O’Neill’s big arm and recruiting connection to Bobby Petrino via Texas A&M. Others dreamed about Travis Burgess, suggesting the talented freshman reminded them of Lamar Jackson. And others waxed poetic about Billy Ewdards Jr…. Nope. […]
UNC Football: Choose Your Illusion
In the early 1990’s, popular hard rock band Guns N’ Roses released two albums on the same day: Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. While overall both were considered solid releases, the band was criticized for releasing two albums at once; the thinking was that if the band had axed some of […]
The ESPN article on Bill Belichick that buries Michael Lombardi
ESPN reporter and social media gadfly David Hale lives in Charlotte. He’s always had deep connections with college sports programs in the state of North Carolina, and that includes UNC. On the Friday prior to the opener against TCU, Hale and ESPN published an article titled Is the Bill Belichick era at North Carolina already […]
UNC Football: Flipping the Narrative against TCU
The game of football is often measured by wins and losses and usually that tends to color the views of others on how well a team did or didn’t do (good in the wins, bad in the losses). However, when one does that, they can miss the other side of the coin and not see […]
Get the best of Tar Heel Blog on the new SB Nation app
It’s a big day for Tar Heel Blog. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Tar Heels. You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android. A year ago we made some big changes to our community, including offering fewer ads and the addition […]
Slept on it: Day-after impressions from the UNC-TCU game
The first game in a football season always inspires overreactions. Wins inflate unreasonable expectations, especially when the opponent is a traditionally solid P4 program getting some votes for top 25. Add the emotional reactions immediately following any game result. Winning always feels great, and this one feels amazing, a cool drink of water for a […]
UNC field hockey drops first two games
The season got off to a rough start for the #2-ranked UNC field hockey team this weekend. The Tar Heels dropped both of their games at the ACC-Big Ten Challenge in Winston-Salem, losing 2-1 in overtime to #14 Michigan on Friday before #11 Iowa handed them a 3-2 defeat on Sunday. It’s the first 0-2 […]
The UNC Sports Week Ahead: August 31-September 6
This week/weekend is usually seen as the traditional start of the college sports season. Sure, there are events that happen before now but really, when football gets going it’s when everyone really buckles in and pays attention. The good news for UNC fans is that even though football is recovering from their Irish Hangover this […]
UNC vs. TCU: Winners, Losers, and Honorable Mentions
When the bar is set so low that the entrance to hell is staring down at it, it doesn’t take a lot to step over it. That said, to not acknowledge that the 2026 season has started out night and day different than 2025 is really sticking your head in the sand. It wasn’t pretty, […]
Does UNC’s win over TCU change your outlook for the 2026 season?
First impressions matter. Most expected UNC football 2026 to shuffle in the 2026 door 10 minutes late, a touch disheveled, a bit breathless. “Sorry, traffic was wild for some reason.” A coordinator has been out since fall camp began. The general manager, on leave while being investigated, was the target of some calculated leaks the […]
Xavier Lewis’s dominant performance led the UNC defense in their win over TCU
UNC’s win over TCU on Saturday afternoon could hardly be considered a masterpiece. The weather was messy, and both offenses ground to a halt after the first quarter. Both teams also made a fair number of mistakes; TCU, in particular, was exceedingly mistake prone. The Horned Frogs racked up 11 penalties for a whopping 89 […]
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