Pulling for the ACC

Fred Funk wasn't trying to curry favor with the locals when he admitted he had been pulling for North Carolina lately.

The former Maryland golf coach, in Cary to play at the Champions Tour's SAS Championship, has been provoked into cheering for the Tar Heels because of the state of the Maryland football team and the ACC's nonconference record.

His appraisal of the Terrapins, who are 1-2 and face Rutgers on Saturday?

"It's pretty sad," Funk said. "Right now, I'm still a die-hard Maryland fan but I've become more of an ACC fan now because all these other conferences are beating up on us. I'd like to see the ACC start rising back up again. I've even been rooting for Carolina lately, which is killing me."