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Tar Heels, Spartans not only stars at Carrier Classic

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Mike Miller

The Carrier Classic is essentially college basketball’s grand opening. Only a handful of games have been played, making Friday night – along with a plethora of other matchups – the first real night fans will have had of hoops.

That gives the Carrier Classic three stars – No. 1 North Carolina, Michigan State … and the Navy.

The Navy considers it a show on their turf, so it’s doing all it can to showcase the billion-dollar ship in front of President Obama (who’ll be watching) and millions of people watching on TV.

Hey, it’s their venue. Why wouldn’t they promote themselves? Especially when they’re always in search of more money from taxpayers.

“It’s their aircraft carrier, they have paid for it,” Rear Admiral Dennis Moynihan told the AP. “They are the shareholders, and it’s important they understand how we are spending those dollars in the Navy ... it is sort of a report to shareholders.”

Expect plenty of videos and stories about how aircraft carriers are used, how life is spent aboard the ship and more. The Navy already started with this video.

And what to expect for the game? Well, if it rains, they’ll move the game below deck. That won’t do much for the expected crowd of 7,000, but the game must go on. The Heels and Spartans also will sport camo gear.

Not sure it’s gonna do much for the Spartans’ chances though …

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