East Carolina may have smuggled a good one out of  in 6-foot, 260-pound Terry Williams of Grayson High in Loganville, Ga., who has committed to the Pirates.

"He’s probably the best player I’ve ever coached,” said Grayson coach Mickey Conn moments ago. “Not too many kids I’ve ever coached have his leadership abilities; the kids just follow him. He’s a winner, and he takes it personal when he or the team doesn’t do well.”

East Carolina takes an early lead, then holds off a furious ASU rally to beat the Mountaineers 29-24 in Greenville on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009.

First Look: Staff photojournalist Shawn Rocco's raw edit from the game between Appalachian State and East Carolina in Greenville on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009.

A Pac-10 proposal designed to save athletic departments tens of thousands of dollars each football season is bound to encounter resistance from coaches.

The NCAA’s Division I Legislative Council has been asked to vote on banning schools from housing their football teams in hotel rooms on the night before a home game, the NCAA News reports.

North Carolina's special teams have taken a big hit, Duke has been feeling ill and N.C. State's tweeting has become more benign.

Here are some points to ponder as college football training camps arrive near their midpoints:

South Stanly quarterback Desi Brown committed to East Carolina this morning, his coach said today.

"
They are going to let him play quarterback, and that meant a lot to him," South Stanly coach Luke Little said. "Most of the other schools recruiting him wanted him as a linebacker or a safety."

BURLINGTON — Ryan Wood, who only a few weeks ago was playing second base for East Carolina, has hardly had any time off.

Wood, of Woodbridge, Va., was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 11th round, reported to rookie camp in Arizona and was assigned to the Burlington Royals, the major league affiliate’s rookie league team.

Staff photo by Robert Willett

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina celebrated like a team on its way to its first College World Series, not its fourth straight.

The Tar Heels slung their hats and gloves skyward and jumped into a celebratory dogpile after Sunday's 9-3 win over East Carolina in the Super Regional sent them back to Omaha and the CWS for the fourth straight year.

CHAPEL HILL — East Carolina’s 10-1 loss to North Carolina in the first of a best-of-three Super Regional Saturday was eerily similar to last Saturday’s 12-2 loss to South Carolina in the Greenville Regional.

Pirates ace Seth Maness started and lost both games, and gave up six earned runs in both, though in this game, more than last week, he didn’t get much defensive help. In the sixth inning, there was an error, but the scorekeepers could have called at least one more of North Carolina’s seven hits an error instead.

Not that it mattered. If the Pirates can’t come up with clutch hits, they’re chances diminish. Their strength is their offense, after all.

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina's Alex White earned his sixth career NCAA Tournament victory, a school record, in a 10-1 win over East Carolina in the first game of a best-of-three Super Regional series at Boshamer Stadium Saturday.

White actually started out shaky, giving up a solo home run in the second inning, before he settled in and threw a career-high 12 strikeouts.

The North Carolina bats bursted for seven runs, six earned, in the sixth inning, as East Carolina's Seth Maness took the loss, allowing six earned runs on 13 hits.

Game 2 is at noon Sunday at Boshamer. If East Carolina can rebound, it would set up a third and final game Monday at Boshamer.