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UNC will invade Duke on Coach K’s birthday

Olympics Day 14 - Basketball

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 10: Head coach Mike Krzyzewski looks on before taking on Argentina in the Men’s Basketball semifinal match on Day 14 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Basketball Arena on August 10, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

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The Duke/UNC matchup is absolutely ponderous with story lines each and every season. The legend of Tobacco Road and the nation’s hottest hoops rivalry has taken on the patina of living history, to such a point that it’s simultaneously easy to write about (the aforementioned pre-vetted story lines) and very difficult to write about (finding a way to stand out from a long line of near-identical pieces filed by everyone else in the business). This year, the ACC schedule-makers have added an additional hook to hang each byline upon.

UNC and Duke renew their rivalry for 2013 on February 13th, which also happens to be Mike Krzyzewski’s birthday.

With the impending addition of Pitt and Syracuse to the ACC mix, many wonder if the days of guaranteed home-and-home play for Duke and Carolina may be coming to an end. Assuming nobody in the ACC office is dumb enough to kill the goose that lays golden eggs just to make room for a new pair of more pedestrian ova-droppers, such a travesty should not come to pass. Nonetheless, we should all make sure to savor the flavor of what Duke/UNC is next season before it becomes something else.

One amusing side note made by the Charlotte Observer: The decision to move the game to the 13th, making it a potential gift/day ruiner for the gold medal winner, actually robbed us of even more columnist yuks. The game was originally penciled in for February 14th. That’s right, the spectacle of hate, shouting and (often) blood was going to take place on Valentine’s Day.

The Coach K’s birthday coincidence will surely garner its share of predictable headlines, but I think we can all agree that nobody needed to read the tin-eared references to the St. Valentine’s Massacre or love/hate relationships that would have unfolded with queasy ease the day after that narrowly-averted date with destiny.