So did you enjoy Madonna's Super Bowl Halftime show in all its garish glory? Enough to want to truck over to Charlotte to see the expanded version in-person? Because yet another major tour is bypassing the Triangle to play the other end of the state instead. Madonna's world tour has been announced, with a Nov. 15 date in Charlotte.

Tickets go on sale March 5 -- more than eight months ahead of the show date. But it might not be a bad idea to wait. The tour schedule has open dates around Nov. 15, so it's possible that another date closer to the Triangle will pop up.

ADDENDUM: Madonna's Super Bowl show was...a Satanic ritual?...

ABC has no comment yet, but both Entertainment Weekly and People magazine are reporting that Charlotte's Emily Maynard will be the next "Bachelorette" for the ABC franchise. The filming of the dating reality series will reportedly move to Charlotte for Maynard's season, so that she can stay close to her young daughter.

On "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette," single people date on TV and compete for the chance to get engaged. Few of the unions last. Maynard was a constestant on "The Bachelor" in January 2011 and beat out 25 other women for the affections of Texas businessman Brad Womack. The two became engaged in the show's finale, but the relationship off screen was rocky and they soon split.

Maynard is also known as the former fiance of Ricky Hendrick, a member of Charlotte's prominent NASCAR family who was killed in a plane crash in October 2004. Maynard learned a week after Hendrick's death that she was pregnant with his daughter, Ricki. The single mother distinguished herself on the 2011 season of "The Bachelor" for always being remarkably graceful and poised -- something rarely seen of the contestants on that show.

Maynard is well-loved by "Bachelor/Bachelorette" fans, so hopefully ABC will keep the awful Ashley/Bentley-type shenanigans to a minimum for once.

CHARLOTTE -- Shortly after Terrell Manning put a black "Belk Bowl Champions" hat on his head to commemorate N.C. State's 31-24 bowl win over Louisville on Tuesday night, the junior linebacker started talking about next season.

Seven starters on each side of the ball, including defensive stars in Manning and cornerback David Amerson, and quarterback Mike Glennon, are scheduled to return for a Wolfpack team that won six of its final eight games to finish 8-5 in 2011.

“We’ve got a lot of good guys coming back, and we’ve got a big opening game with Tennessee, so we’ve got a lot to look forward to,” said Manning, who had an interception and five tackles against the Cardinals.

CHARLOTTE -- Clemson used a spectacular third quarter to outscore Virginia Tech 21-0 and capture the ACC football championship 38-10 before a record crowd of 73,675 at Bank of America Stadium.

The victory sends Clemson to the Orange Bowl, via the ACC’s automatic bid into a BCS game. It appears likely the Tigers (10-3) will be paired against West Virginia of the Big East when bids are awarded Sunday evening.

This will be Clemson’s first appearance in the Orange Bowl since the Tigers’ national championship in 1981

Avis Budget Car Rental will lay off 165 employees in Raleigh and Charlotte next month and outsource the work to another company.

The company, which operates both the Avis and Budget rental car services, filed notices this week with the N.C. Department of Commerce under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

The Raleigh layoffs are expected to occur by Oct. 31. The Charlotte cuts by Oct. 28.

The jobs involve both car cleaning and shuttle services for the company's vehicles.

Time Warner Cable plans to add 225 jobs at its Charlotte campus over the next three years and invest millions building a data center at the site.

State officials awarded the company nearly $3 million in incentives this morning if it meets hiring and investment goals. The city of Charlotte is also providing $2 million in incentives.

Time Warner employs about 5,000 people in North Carolina, including about 2,500 in the Charlotte area.

This is the third state incentives package the company has received since 2004. The company has thus far met the investment and hiring goals of both the 2004 package and the 2008 package.

Benjamin Griffin of Chapel Hill defeated Elliott Grayson of Shelby, 3 & 2 Thursday afternoon in Charlotte, to advance in golf's 44th N.C. Junior Championship.  Griffin, the 2011 4-A high school champion, was to face Stanhope Johnson Jr. of Greensboro today.

Johnson defeated defending champion Carter Page of Waynesville 5 & 4 in their Thursday morning match.  Johnson, a rising high school senior, then advanced to the semifinals by defeating Tanner Owen of High Point on the 19th hole at Pine Island Country Club.

 Dylan Harris of Southern Pines and Victor Wiggins of Gastonia were in the other semifinal.

In the girls’ division, Emily Brooks of Chapel Hill defeated stroke-play medalist Emily Pagrabs of Wilmington 4 & 3 to reach the quarterfinals.  Brooks was then beaten by Kayla Sciupider of Etowah 6 & 5.

NCHSAA champion Benjamin Griffin of Chapel Hill and Northwood's conference champion, Emily Brooks, both won their opening rounds in match play Wednesday at the 44th N.C. Junior Championship in Charlotte.

Compass Group USA, a food service company, said today it will add 200 jobs in Charlotte over the next four years as it consolidates workers at its offices in Charlotte.

The company was awarded state incentives worth up to $1.7 million if it meets hiring and investment goals.

Average wages for the new jobs will be $52,500 a year, not including benefits. The Mecklenburg County average annual is $51,584.

Compass Group USA is a subsidiary of London-based Compass Group PLC, which employs 420,000 worldwide.

The company provides dining and other support services to corporations, educational and healthcare facilities, and sports and entertainment venues.

Compass Group currently has more than 1,000 people in its Charlotte headquarters.

Senate Republican leaders said today they want to spend much more money on bridge repair and highway maintenance -- and to slash state spending for transit and turnpike projects.

But, while both the House and Senate budgets would reduce other taxes in several areas, Senate leaders said they had not decided whether to take action to prevent a sharp increase in the state gas tax scheduled to take effect in July.

The Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee today received, but was not allowed to vote on, a proposed two-year transportation budget (see documents attached to this post) that would make some big changes in budget proposals offered by Gov. Bev Perdue and the House of Representatives.

The Senate would:

• Kill the $660 million Mid-Currituck Bridge toll project for the Currituck Outer Banks and the $870 million Garden Parkway in Gaston and Mecklenburg counties. [Update: See 5/25/11 story.]... [MORE]