If you want to get a good sense of the distance between intelligent argument about the Duke/Clemson game and the sort of argument a lazy writer produces, look no further than what Lenox Rawlings offers vs. the latest from the Mr. Blackwell of college basketball, Gregg Doyel.
Doyel: "No word on whether the clock manager at Duke will be reprimanded or worse, but it's worth nothing [sic] that there is a pattern here."
Rawlings: "Conspiracy hounds are chasing the wrong rabbits, though. The lead referee is supposed to start the clock with an electronic device on his belt called a precision-timing mechanism, according to an ACC spokesman. The home-team clock operator at the scorer's table serves as a backup, alerting the refs when he notices a malfunction."
Anyone who reads this site knows we're no strangers to mistakes (on the other hand, we don't have an editor - you guys are it). But the contrast is pretty clear and revealing: Rawlings took the time to find out how the clock is officially handled and just who is responsible for what. But not Doyel.
Doyel's answer? "This is why people hate Duke."
It's also why people hate Doyel. He didn't do his homework and smeared the clock manager for something which wasn't even remotely his fault (Incidentally, the clock manager is a guy named Tommy Hunt, who is also the coordinator of ACC Football officials. We understand he is a UNC grad as well, which kind of shoots down the whole conspiracy thing all over).
When he was working on his Coach K book, he didn't get much cooperation from Krzyzewski or people affiliated with the program. We didn't understand why at the time, but given this sort of thing, maybe it was a wise decision to keep him at arm's length.