By Dave Kirk

Sometimes, even the best-laid plans will get derailed and when that happens, a little music and texting can make it all better…

My real job took me to Raleigh Tuesday night, so I gleefully planned on a relaxed evening in the comforts of my spacious Embassy Suite along with my faithful computer, Mac and trusty adult beverage, Woodford.

As the clock struck 9:10 pm, I began jabbing the remote clicking through the various cable offerings in search of those beloved road Carolina Blue uniforms, but seeing only Arkansas red and Vanderbilt gold, a cold realization began gripping me and I concluded, in horror, that neither of my televisions (yes, I had two! Did I mention it was in a suite?) came equipped with the “U” (“ESPNU” for those not as hip as me.)

Quickly assessing the situation, I snatched my car keys, raced downstairs, and hopped into my super cool, white Malibu (aka “the rental chick mobile”) equipped with premium sounds of Sirius radio and Tar Heel basketball. As I white knuckled my way to my targeted sports bar destination, I could sense from the cautious tones of Jones and Eric that the Heels were cold, the crowd was hostile, and it could be a long, rough night.

Pulling into the jammed parking lot of the sports bar as halftime neared, I thought to myself…”wow, this will be great, I can watch a Carolina game with dozens of fellow diehards. Am I lucky to be in Raleigh!”

As I walked in, however, something seemed amiss. True, more than a few of the TVs were tuned to the Carolina/Wake game, but I noticed how so few patrons appeared interested in basketball. It was Tuesday night, the place was jammed, and all these thirty- and forty-somethings were drinking, laughing, and carrying on as if they really didn’t care that the Heels were hitting the front of the rim with annoying regularity.

What’s wrong with these people? I thought to myself. I soon realized the source of such a high degree of basketball apathy: Karaoke starting at 10 pm; these patrons seemed dead-set on: a) building up enough liquid courage to sing, b) drinking enough so that the music wouldn’t sound so bad, and/or c) getting lucky.

Realizing that I wasn’t going to be high fiving these Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken wannabes over the second half, I knew I could only relieve the anticipated vexing through texting my pal, Larry Mann, back in Chicago…

DK: OK, here at sports bar. No sound. I think it is some kind of singles night. NOTE: Heels finish strong; up by 12 at half

LM: Bilas says Heels are good, not great, but could win it all. Says there is not one guy who would start on the ‘09 team. Bullock playing great D. Wake is awful.

DK: No sound is necessary. This is not a great Wake team, BTW. Hmmm…I would say that the ’09 team would have found some place for Barnes and maybe Henson…Hey! Karaoke night…“Kings of Leon” to open things. This guy has some big ones. NOTE: the first “singer” took one for the team and his “Use Somebody” was off and running. This guy was missing as bad as a Wake Forest guard. Second half starting.

LM: Love that band. Let’s get off to a good start. Why does Henson put the ball on floor? I even know not to do that. NOTE: Larry is maybe 5’8”, over 40, and a prolific shooter

DK: Lionel Ritchie...now we are getting it going…All Night Long. Nice shot by Zeller. Bottom of rim blocked him. NOTE: this was one of only one or two gaffes by our big man, who was playing another solid game; the most consistent Heel of late

LM: Why do we suck so bad on the road? NOTE: early into the second half, the Heels had bumbled their way into leading by six or seven; our frustration was building.

DK: Well, I think we play to the level of our competition. Would you describe that game in Champaign as a "thriller"? NOTE: ESPN had just teased “Sportscenter” about the earlier game, in which Michigan State shot 25% and had at least 2-3 chances to win, only to fall to Illinois 42-41 in a classic Big Ten smash mouth slugfest. And we thought this Wake game was bad? Time to reassess.

DK: Does ESPN need to come up with something other than “Super Tuesday?” How about "Tedious Tuesday?” Seems more apropos tonight.

LM: Like it.

DK: Nice shot by McAdoo. WTF? NOTE: in this sequence, James Michael somehow managed to bounce an innocent looking dribble on a wide-open breakaway that awoke moths from the rafters.

LM: Did you see the shooting stats? (NOTE: stat had flashed on screen in which the two teams had shot a combined 3 for 25 from beyond the arc)

DK: Name the two artists who covered Blinded by the Light (NOTE: this was not an explanation, but an appropriate response to pitiful shooting and the current song)

LM: Um. . .

DK: HAH! Manfred Mann & The Boss. How did we get up 20? (NOTE: we had about five minutes left to go in the second half and Carolina had kept Wake from scoring for about six straight possessions, hit a few 3’s, and generally exerted its will.)

LM: I am going to bed

DK: Wasn’t pretty, but a win; just remember Larry: You Can’t Always Get What You Want (NOTE: this really was the song and you know what? Not bad.)

All told, a pretty good night (and week) for the Heels. Our shooting was horrible, but took good shots, passed well, and didn’t seem too careless. While I couldn’t get too excited about our defense given the competition, I did sense a higher level of intensity and commitment.

Hey…road wins, no matter how painful to watch, are always enjoyable. Mix in a little music…even better.