The Blue Devils feel like a family again in one locker room

PHOTO (Duke Athletics): Gunnar Holmberg in 2021 preseason camp. Visit my website homepage, TomShanahan.Report By TOM SHANAHAN DURHAM – Any season opener is exciting, but 2021 seems brighter and refreshingly new. Gone are the lock-down COVID-19 protocols and empty stadiums necessary to combat the pandemic that nearly canceled the entire season. Back is a sense of normalcy preparing for games – or at least as close to normal as possible with the recent uptick of COVID-19 infections --…

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Duke back on field for spring football that Blue Devils can’t afford to miss after last year

PHOTO: Mataeo Durant one one of his breakaway runs. By TOM SHANAHAN Duke can't afford to miss spring football again. Not after last year when they finished 2-9 overall and 1-9 in ACC play with a reshuffled offensive line and a new quarterback that failed to develop cohesiveness. The Blue Devils face the same challenges this year. Last year's shutdown was nationwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the country emerging, slowly, from pandemic limitations, Duke seemed positioned…

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Alabama native Garrison Brooks and UNC coach Roy Williams on Hank Aaron legacy beyond baseball

By TOM SHANAHAN North Carolina’s Garrison Brooks was recruited from Hank Aaron’s home state of Alabama, so the All-ACC forward knows more about the Baseball Hall of Famer and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient than most people his age. “He was a true Alabama legend on and off the field,” Brooks said. “My granddaddy always spoke of him. He said he was one of the greatest human beings someone could model themselves after.” Aaron’s death Friday at age…

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