This is a post by N&O restaurant critic Greg Cox:

A July opening is targeted for the opening of Jimmy V’s Osteria + Bar (420 Fayetteville St.; 919-256-1451; jimmyvsraleigh.com) in downtown Raleigh. Located adjacent to the Sheraton Hotel, the restaurant will offer a menu inspired by the hearty Italian-American fare favored by its namesake, the late NC State basketball coach Jim Valvano.

But the offering won’t be limited to steaks and spaghetti with oversize meatballs. Executive chef Scott Chatterton’s menu will cover a broad spectrum of options, from appetizer pork belly bites to seafood risotto to wood-fired pizzas with quail egg and duck confit among the topping options.

Burger aficionados will be tempted by - and Wolfpack fans will no doubt wax nostalgic over - the Whittenburger, whose topping options include Nueske bacon, fried egg, avocado and aged cheddar.

Jimmy V’s will have a full bar, and because of its connection with the Sheraton, will serve three meals a day.

The restaurant (which is not affiliated with Jimmy V’s Steakhouse in Cary) will further honor its namesake by donating 2.5% of proceeds to the V Foundation, the cancer research organization Valvano helped to found in 1993.

Send restaurant news to Greg at ggcox@bellsouth.net. Be sure to tune in to Greg's radio show at 11 a.m. Saturdays on WPTF.

RALEIGH It took 17 innings, and more than 7 hours, but N.C. State is going to the College World Series.

Senior center fielder Brett Williams drove in Tarran Senay in the 17th inning to lift N.C. State to a 5-4 win over Rice and clinch a spot in Omaha, Neb. for the Wolfpack for the first time since 1968.

N.C. State (49-14) needed another ninth-inning rally and nine pitchers, but it out-lasted the Owls in a classic college baseball game.

RALEIGH Wayne Graham, with almost 1,000 wins at Rice, knows what a win looks like.

With a one-run lead in the ninth, and his best relief pitcher on the mound, the Owls coach thought Saturday's Super Regional game at N.C. State looked like another winner.

"We had the game," the veteran Rice coach said.

Rice had it right up until N.C. State walked off with it. Jake Fincher's clutch single and Brett Williams' hustle gave the Wolfpack a 4-3 win over Rice and moved N.C. State to within one win of the College World Series.

RALEIGH N.C. State needed everything from star pitcher Carlos Rodon to beat William & Mary once.

The Wolfpack got a little bit of everything from everybody else on Sunday to knock out the Tribe and advance to the Super Regional for the second straight year.

Senior first baseman Tarran Senay drove in five runs to help N.C. State eliminate William & Mary 9-2 on Sunday night and win the NCAA regional at Doak Field.

Coach: Mark Gottfried (third season, 48-24 at N.C. State; 327-178 overall)

2012-13 record: 24-11 (11-7 ACC, fifth)

Postseason: NCAA tournament, 0-1 (lost to Temple)

Projected starting lineup: PG Cat Barber, G Desmond Lee, G Ralston Turner, F T.J. Warren, F Kyle Washington

Plus

• A fresh start. Mark Gottfried gets to start over in Year 3 at N.C. State and he does so with two NCAA tournament appearances under his belt and a trip to the Sweet 16.

Gottfried said after the NCAA tournament loss to Temple he could never get all the players to buy in last season. With a new season, new roster, he gets to push the reset button and try again with a group of players he recruited.

Mason Plumlee is one of several local players who will participate in the NBA Combine. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

All three Duke players eligible for this year's draft—seniors Mason Plumlee , Seth Curry and Ryan Kelly —have received invitations to the NBA Combine, the league announced Thursday night. Curry and Kelly, both recovering from offseason surgeries, will not participate in workouts.

Here is a list of all the ACC alumni headed to the May 15-19 workout in Chicago:

N.C. State will visit all three ACC newcomers next basketball season. The Wolfpack will have to travel to Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Notre Dame, according to the schedule information released by the ACC on Tuesday.

The league announced the conference opponents for the 2013-14 basketball season, but not the dates or the order of the games, and the Wolfpack will face North Carolina, Wake Forest, Miami and Pitt twice.

Three points to watch in today's Kay Yow Spring Game, the first under coach Dave Doeren:

1) Tempo and variety

N.C. State will move faster between plays and huddle less. The actual plays will also develop more quickly, to get the ball out of quarterback's hands and give the offensive line a break.

Doeren and coordinator Matt Canada have been clear that they won't always go fast, but they want the ability to push tempo and take advantage of a tired defense (and limit personnel substitutions.)

With his new single released to radio and iTunes this week, Scotty McCreery will return to the show that made him famous to perform the song Thursday night.

McCreery, the Garner native who won the 10th season of "American Idol," will sing "See You Tonight" on the results show, which airs at 8 p.m. Thursday on Fox.

McCreery wrote the song with Ashley Gorley and Zach Crowell. It ranked 47th on the iTunes singles charts Wednesday. It's one of several songs on his upcoming album that he played a part in writing.

Rodney Purvis has decided to transfer to Connecticut, he said Friday.

Purvis, a McDonald's All-American from Raleigh, averaged 8.3 points and 2.4 rebounds this past season at N.C. State. He made the decision to leave N.C. State on Monday.

UConn is coming off of a 20-10 season in coach Kevin Ollie's first season. The Huskies were banned from postseason play by the NCAA for previous academic issues under former coach Jim Calhoun.