Remember back last week when UNC Chapel Hill hosted its first Thursday night football game?

Well, some folks got twisted a bit out of joint over it. (Click here and read the story and the comments...)

And to be sure, the UNC-CH faculty has long played a role in the university's decision not to schedule a disruptive Thursday night game on campus.

But UNC-CH made it happen this year. And if it bothered you, you're not alone. You need look no further than Blacksburg, where your Tar Heels will tonight be squaring off against the Virginia Tech Hokies. There, too, classes are being let out early due to the game, though it's being done on less of a formal basis.

And there, too, some faculty say a Thursday football game, broadcast nationally on ESPN, essentially proves that athletics trumps academics.

The Washington Post has this topic covered in some detail in today's paper, and the story ends with this quote from a Virginia Tech prof, proving that not every academic sees the issue the same way.

A football team "does great things for the university, much more so than somebody discovering something in their PhD dissertation, which five people read. That's true, and we're going to have to live with it."

The death Wednesday of Duke historian John Hope Franklin resonated broadly.

You can read our reporting here.

The Washington Post offers an appreciation from Walter Dellinger and a laudatory editorial. 

Here's the New York Times' take. National Public Radio chimes in here. And here's a statement from the NAACP.

This isn't a sports blog, but here's a story I'd like to pass on nevertheless, given the Triangle's infatuation with college basketball.

The Washington Post just concluded a three-part series examining the precipitous decline of the University of Maryland's basketball program since it won a national championship in 2002 under the leadership of longtime coach Gary Williams.

It is a fascinating read. It lays out in specifics many of Williams' supposed deficiencies, most notably his reluctance to play many of the somewhat unseemly recruiting games that have now become the norm in big-time college basketball.

For example, he doesn't want to offer jobs to high school or travel-team coaches who have a huge amount of influence on star players and their college choices.

The core question that comes from this series: Is it worth it for Williams to stand on his moral high ground if his team is no longer winning?

Here's part one. Here's part two, and here's part three.