Hello ACC Fans!  It has been an honor to be a part of the Raycom family for many years and have the opportunity sit in the best seat in the house and call games in the best college basketball conference in the country. I am really excited about expanding my role and being part of the Raycom on-line experience. I look forward to sharing my views and experiences with you as I travel around the ACC. The video portion is very exciting to me but don’t expect Scorcese! I look forward to interacting with you as another great season of ACC basketball unfolds!

-Mike Gminski

When the ACC expanded a few years ago, adding Miami and Boston College to make it a 12 team league, two major media markets were also added. In the big picture, that made a lot of sense. The ACC would now be reaching two large population bases to promote increased league coverage along the entire east coast. Television plays a big role in this exposure. If you are asking national advertisers for big dollars and can deliver Boston, Miami, Atlanta, Baltimore and Washington, DC, along with the Triangle area of Raleigh and Charlotte, then the advertising rate you charge should increase. That’s a big positive – but there are also negatives. Most of the markets I have just listed have NFL franchises; some are represented by all four major professional sports. That’s a problem when it comes to getting attention from the media, which is the “straw that stirs the drink” for most sports teams.

I recall a few years ago as I was preparing for a broadcast of a Boston College football game, I would go to the Boston Globe website to find stories about the Eagles and then quarterback sensation Matt Ryan. If I found two stories all week I was lucky. That’s because although BC was headed to the ACC Championship game with a great quarterback, they had to deal with the attention given to the Patriots (NFL), Celtics (NBA), Red Sox (MLB) and Bruins (NHL).

The same goes for the Hurricanes down in Miami, But to be honest, in what I have seen, the Miami Herald and other newspapers in South Florida seem to give college sports solid coverage. Georgia Tech in Atlanta has to fight for its own share of attention with the Falcons (NFL), Braves (MLB), Hawks (NBA) and Thrashers (NHL). And let’s not forget the big media darling in Atlanta, the Georgia Bulldogs of the SEC.

When Matt Ryan was guiding BC to the ACC championship, the economy was strong. Today newspapers have fewer writers on staff to cover sporting events due to cutbacks and layoffs. A veteran writer told me a few days ago that the Atlanta Journal Constitution is down seven sportswriters because of the economy. As a result, the editors have to pick and choose which teams they will cover on the road. All this means that the ACC schools I have mentioned in these markets must come up with alternative ways to get the word out about their sports programs. While I can’t imagine not having a morning paper to read over a good cup of coffee, that day might be coming. The internet has become king and those schools that have put time and effort into a good website will have the edge over those that haven’t. There is always sports radio and local television, but that’s not always a positive either. I did a talk show in Charlotte for a couple of years and, trust me, the best shows were those done after the local team got beat. Everyone had a theory on what had gone wrong and wanted to let you know about it. As for local TV sports, put a stopwatch on how much time is given the sports anchor for his or her nightly report. If it’s a minute and a half they are lucky. We have slowly entered a new and challenging era in the coverage of news and sports and how the ACC and its member schools deal with it will help determine their financial success.

I will be in Boston this weekend calling North Carolina at BC for ESPN Radio. The Eagles still have a shot at the Atlantic Division title. I’ll let you know what page the game day story is on in the Boston Globe. I am sure the front page will still have something about Bill Belichick’s fourth and two call from last Sunday’s loss by the Patriots to the Colts. Check your local listings.

The other day I was watching PTI, the ESPN show that features writers Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon. As usual, they were debating the various sports topics of the day when their attention turned to college football. In talking about the BCS and the power conferences this season, Kornheiser observed, “In the ACC, everyone has at least two losses,” – thus dismissing the conference as a whole in the big picture of the nation’s elite.  What?  The last I checked, Georgia Tech is in the ACC and they have an overall record of 9-1.  Yes, Miami has two defeats and everyone else has at least three, but let’s give credit where it is due.  The Yellow Jackets keep inching up the BCS ladder and if they beat Duke this weekend they will clinch the Coastal division title. They also host Georgia before getting ready for the bowl season. Here is the perfect example of the national media already having an image of ACC football without taking a look at the facts. In previous blogs I have written what I think the ACC needs to get back on track in the national picture, but here we have a journalist on a nationally televised show making an assumption – and a false one at that. That TV show is taped in Washington, D.C. and with Maryland part of the sports scene there, the co-hosts should have at least known the numbers of the ACC division leaders.

Kudos to Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson for his gutsy call in overtime, going for it on fourth down and short inside the five, passing up a game tying field goal, and beating Wake Forest with the touchdown that followed. This should be a fun game this week at Duke with the Blue Devils having a good passing game, something the Jackets defense has had trouble with. Will Duke be able to stop the option offense of Georgia Tech?  Against Army, which runs a similar style, the Devils gave up 266 rush yards, 385 total yards and were outgained by 149 yards, yet still won the game 35-19 thanks in part to two Leon Wright interception returns for touchdowns. I think there should be plenty of points scored in this one. The winner of this game will be the team that plays better defense and forces more turnovers.

Speaking of offense, the Clemson-NC State game should be a shootout.  The Tigers control their destiny in the Atlantic Division.  They are tied with BC for first place but have a win over the Eagles which would be the tie breaker.

It was tough news to hear of the season ending injury to Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder.  He did indicate he would return next season, however, which is great news to whomever is head coach.

After a great trip to Tempe, Arizona last week I stay close to home this weekend, broadcasting Florida at South Carolina for ESPN Radio.  It’s my first up close look at the number one Gators.  Check your local listings.

Former New York Yankees great and Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra was once quoted as saying, “It was like déjà vu all over again.”  Yes, it’s redundant, but it provides an accurate assessment of the Atlantic Division standings in the ACC as we head into the final month of the regular football season. A year ago, you might recall, a 5-3 record was good enough to win both divisions in the conference. That might be good if you’re into parity, but not so good if you hope the ACC becomes a player in the national championship picture. I get to travel around the country as the radio voice of ESPN’s College Football Game of the Week and so far I haven’t heard much discussion about the ACC when it comes to the national championship picture and rightfully so. Right now, of the 12 teams in the ACC, only one - Georgia Tech - has lost just one game overall.  One ACC team, Miami, has lost just twice. The rest of the schools have at least three defeats.  The math is easy to do when it comes to college football’s national championship. One loss means you still have a shot; two you are pretty much out of it (LSU did make the title game with two defeats); and three? well, you can forget about it.

This is the problem for the ACC right now.  The conference has a really good team in Georgia Tech, a really good one in Miami, and the remaining ten can certainly win on any given Saturday. But they can also lose as well. What does it tell you that Maryland at 2-6 overall and 1-3 in the ACC still has a mathematical chance of winning the Atlantic Division? Will they? Probably not, but they still have four conference games remaining.  Right now the Coastal Division is Georgia Tech’s to lose. The Yellow Jackets have two conference games left; if they win them both they will be in Tampa the first week of December with a 10-1 overall record. The Jackets host Wake this weekend, then travel to Duke for what could be a game for the division title. The Atlantic Division is not so easy to call. The Clemson-Florida State game this weekend will have a huge effect on the eventual winner. If the Tigers win, they move into the driver’s seat because they already have a win over Boston College (the Eagles are idle this weekend). A Florida State win means if BC wins out they head to the ACC title game again. This is all very exciting for fans of the respective schools to still be in the hunt for a division title this late in the season – but what the ACC needs is have three or four teams with just one loss in this type of situation.  Only then will the rest of college football nation take notice.  Only then will the ACC have a shot at playing for the national championship.

I don’t know if you noticed, but when was the last time Duke had three players of the week in the ACC? They did this past week with Quarterback Thaddeus Lewis sharing offensive honors with Miami Quarterback Jacory Harris. Rookie of the Week was wide receiver Conner Vernon who had seven receptions for 103 yards and special teams player of the week was kicker Will Snyderwine who five field goals in the win over Virginia.

I get the opportunity to see the Pac Ten this week as I call the Southern Cal-Arizona State game for ESPN Radio.  Check your local listings.