As for the Phil Ford comment, yeah, as I said, wasn't very funny. I was just taking a shot at Jeff McInnis (for whatever reason I felt compelled to do this haha). Personally, I thought the Dean Smith comment was somewhat humorous, but that's only because I enjoy dark humor.

It may only be November, but I can already feel it. I am so excited for this season to get underway.

Lol. Don't worry, rec. I wasn't really offended. I knew you were at least half joking.

However, I will only truly forgive you if Carolina stomps Duke's ass two or three times this season. Yeah, all will be forgotten then.

Lol. Fair enough (except for the stomping of Duke's ass two or three times part). There is no doubt that Carolina will have the upper hand heading into each match-up, but I think we're in store for at least a couple of classic duels. Duke-Carolina is meant to be played when each is in the top five nationally. This is why it's the best rivalry in college sports.

Blue Devil Nation is reporting that the first annual "Kings of Tobacco Road" clash between Duke and North Carolina alumni will be played on November 17th at 8:30 p.m. inside of the McDougald Gym on the North Carolina Central University campus, immediately following an NCCU women's contest. So, for those planning to attend, it would seem that the best way to ensure a good seat for the Duke-UNC alumni game event would be to buy a (I'm sure cheap) ticket to the NCCU women's contest and get there early. This replaces earlier information that the game might be hosted inside of Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham.

From what I've read, the teams thus far are believed to be at least tentatively set. Duke's squad, coached by Jason Williams, will feature Kyrie Irving, Nolan Smith, Corey Maggette, Chris Duhon, Elton Brand, Gerald Henderson and maybe J.J. Redick (why J.J. Redick is a banned word here is stupid but whatever) and Carlos Boozer. (I know Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer are both playing overseas, so they're definitely out of the discussion, but I am surprised that Shane Battier and Mike Dunleavy aren't in the mix.) At any rate, I'm excited to see that Chris Duhon will once again be back in Duke Blue. He's my favorite Blue Devil of all-time and I would kill someone to be at this event and see him play one final time as a Dukie. I mean it, I would cause the death of a person, animal or plant to see this happen. Alas, I am some 10 hours away and can't escape work.

The UNC team, coached by Phil Ford, is expected to comprise more of an old school feel, and will feature Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace, Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, Ray Felton, Donald Williams and Shammond Williams, among a few others. No Makhtar Ndiaye.

Jason Williams denied involvement on his twitter this morning. Much of what I have seen and read seems premature and unsubstantiated up to this point.

Also, when searching Duke Carolina alumni game, this thread comes up on google at #4 or 5 in the search.

I would tend to agree with that. There is, of course, also the chance that this game will in fact never happen. If the NBA and the players come to some sort of an agreement this week like some suggest may happen, this mid-November alumni affair will most certainly be cancelled I would think.