Ben DeSantis

Sports

Irish Want Good Time For Cup

By Ben DeSantis | April 29

Jet lag. A medical condition associated with air travel, the symptoms of which include disorientation, swelling of the feet and, most notably, extreme fatigue. A long flight, which might or might not include the changing from one time zone to another, can make a person lethargic for days, even weeks, after landing. Some compare the fatigue from jet lag to that of mononucleosis. And that's basically something a group of Irish soccer fans are asking the government for.

Sports

UNC Dogs Retrievers To Snap Losing Streak

By Ben DeSantis | April 15

After three consecutive losses, all to top-five opponents, the North Carolina men's lacrosse team was searching for anything that could get it back onto the winning side of the scoreboard. Looking at the schedule, UNC coach John Haus' squad probably thought the Senior Day game against Maryland-Baltimore County on Saturday would be just what it needed to cure its losing ways. And yet, with 12 minutes left at Kenan Stadium, the Retrievers only trailed the No. 7 Tar Heels 10-8.

Sports

Greenberg Slams Wildcats

By Ben DeSantis | April 11

It seemed like a harmless foul ball. But with the way Adam Greenberg had been hitting recently, it was huge. With the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the second inning of Wednesday's game against Davidson, the North Carolina center fielder popped up Wildcat starter Mark Wells' first pitch behind the plate. Wildcat catcher James Marino drifted toward the Boshamer Stadium backstop and camped under the ball, only to have it brush the screen and drop to the ground.

Sports

Coastal Drops Bal In UNC Baseball Win

By Ben DeSantis | April 4

It was the laziest of fly balls, and Coastal Carolina coach Gary Gilmore was glad to see it headed toward Chanticleer right fielder Chad Felty. But what should've been an inning-ending popup by North Carolina's Ryan Blake turned disastrous for Gilmore's squad as Felty misplayed the ball in the swirling wind at Boshamer Stadium. And it sent UNC to an 11-7 victory, its second too-close-for-comfort win in two nights. "We battled back to tie it and thought we had squeezed out of the inning," Gilmore said.

Sports

Lacrosse Struggles in Season's 1st Loss

By Ben DeSantis | March 25

Even after the final horn sounded Saturday, tempers flared. Only this time the spat was between teammates. After a rough-and-tumble 7-5 loss against Maryland, in which the two teams traded trash talk and cheap shots, the emotion spilled over into North Carolina's post-game huddle. Several UNC players began yelling at one another, and after several assistant coaches diffused the situation, Coach John Haus put the loss in perspective.

Sports

Can't Blame Weak Picks On Mother

By Ben DeSantis | March 25

Every year, March Madness does crazy things to people. For the 64 ... er, 65 teams in the NCAA tournament, the Madness works in mysterious ways. As fast as it makes heroes out of no-name players with hard-to-spell names (Wally Szczerbiak, c'mon in; Harold Arceneaux, nice to see you), it makes goats out of the game's best (Chris Webber, how are you? Jason Williams, we reserved your spot Thursday). And it can make a coach age years within a matter of hours. After Duke's loss to Indiana, the oft-eloquent Mike Krzyzewski seemed a bit out of it in the post-game press conference.

Sports

Baptist Rebounds to Help Seal Victory

By Ben DeSantis | March 19

Chrystal Baptist weaved among her North Carolina teammates and Minnesota opponents underneath the Golden Gophers' basket. She wasn't paying much attention to Nikki Teasley, who was holding the ball and working the shot clock with less than 30 seconds left in the second half of Monday's second-round NCAA Tournament game at Carmichael Auditorium. And she was doing exactly what UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell wanted her to do. Hatchell wanted Teasley isolated against her defender to get the best possible shot with the Tar Heels holding onto a precarious 70-69 lead.

Sports

Tar Heels Withstand Denver 2nd-Half Rally to Win

By Ben DeSantis | March 18

At halftime of Sunday's lacrosse game between Denver and No. 10 North Carolina, Denver coach Jamie Munro was happy with his team's effort. He just wasn't happy with its results. Munro's Pioneers had been dominated by the Tar Heels in almost every aspect of the game and trailed 6-1. In fact, the only category in which Denver was UNC's equal was saves. The Pioneers' Jeff Nunziato and the Tar Heels' Paul Spellman stopped six shots. "We were playing hard, but we weren't playing smart," Munro said. "We came out in the second half and did everything smart."

Sports

Game Defies Stats, Slips Away From UNC

By Ben DeSantis | March 5

GREENSBORO -- Sylvia Hatchell looked at the post-game statistics sheet Monday and could do little more than shake her head. Her North Carolina team had taken 30 more shots than Duke, forced 21 turnovers and grabbed 22 offensive rebounds compared to Duke's six. The No. 2 seed Tar Heels even led the top-ranked Blue Devils 59-47 with 13:22 to play in the second half of the ACC Tournament championship game. And Duke somehow still found a way to win. "We had a lead and we were moving along pretty good," Hatchell said.

Sports

Hatchell Wins No. 600; UNC Focuses on Blue Devils

By Ben DeSantis | March 4

GREENSBORO -- North Carolina forward Kenya McBee said UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell was almost completely unaware of the historical context of Sunday's 58-52 win against N.C.