At North Carolina, freshmen basketball players are not allowed to talk to the media until after they’ve played their first game.

It’s an archaic rule that dates back to the days of legendary coach Dean Smith. But the principle on which it’s based is actually a sound one.

Apparently the voters for the Associated Press’ preseason All-America team don’t subscribe to the same thinking. In addition to picking four seniors, including Duke’s Kyle Singler with his national championship ring, they also chose UNC phenom Harrison Barnes as one of the top five college players in the country.

How big a deal is that?

To put it into perspective, neither John Wall, Kevin Durant nor even Carmelo Anthony — who led his Syracuse team to a national championship in his one and only college season — were selected as a preseason All-America. This is the first time in the history of the voting has a freshman been so honored.

Like those others, Barnes may end up being worthy of the recognition by the time the season is over. From all indications, he really is that good. But the fact is that he still hasn’t played his scored his first point, grabbed his first rebound or accomplished anything else as a college basketball player.

So maybe we should wait until the newest Tar Heel plays his first real game before we anoint him the ”next big thing.”

That’s an awful lot of pressure to put on a teenager. Even one that’s used to the hype.

It’s beginning to look more and more like Saturday’s game against Richmond at the Crown Coliseum will be the last one in the Fayetteville Guard’s seven-year history.

Barring an 11th hour surprise or a change of heart by Fayetteville resident and former AIFA owner Barbara Spigner, the Guard will be sold to the league sometime next week and presumably be moved to another city or folded.

As a long-time advocate of our local minor league sports franchises, I would hate to see that happen. Fayetteville needs all the “quality of life” opportunities it can get, and the Guard has been among the best during its successful run here in the All-America City.

Unfortunately, team owner and founder Richard King simply doesn’t have the time, the energy or more importantly, the money, to keep the indoor football team going any longer. It’s a shame, considering all the time and passion he has put into the operation since literally stepping out of the stands to start the Guard
following the departure of Fayetteville’s first indoor team, the Cape Fear Wildcats.

Then again, maybe it’s not such a bad thing after all. You know what they say about absence making the heart grow fonder.

Judging from its dwindling attendance this season, it seems as though people have begun to take the Guard for granted. The novelty has worn off and they’ve started finding other things to do with their hard-earned time and money.

Maybe that will change if we go a year or two without an indoor football team to call our own. That’s the way it worked with hockey. It took the old Force leaving town for a lot of fans to realize what a good thing they had – and how much they missed it.

That realization is one of the reasons why the FireAntz have been so successful since coming along to fill the void. Hopefully, the same thing will happen in football. Until then, you better get out to Saturday’s game, because it may be the last one here in Fayetteville for a long time.

If not ever.

If you’re a fan of indoor football and the Fayetteville Guard, you’d be well-advised to be at the Crown Coliseum for the next two games – Saturday night against Erie and a week later in the season-finale against Richmond.

That’s because they could very well be the last two games in team history.

As we reported Monday night on The Sports Blast, Guard owner Richard King has officially put the franchise he started from scratch in 2003 up for sale. It’s part of a major shakeup that has been confirmed by King, general manager Stephenie Brockish and at least one prospective buyer.

According to Brockish, King has informed the American Indoor Football Association of his intention to sell the team. If he does not find a local buyer and complete the sale by the end of the season on June 26, the league will find one for him.

“If that’s what happens, the new owners will be from out-of-town and will almost certainly move the team,” she said.

The good news is that there is someone in Fayetteville interested in buying the Guard and keeping them at the Crown.

Barbara Spigner, who formerly owned the Florence (S.C.) Phantoms of the AIFA, said Monday that she is interested in getting back into the minor league sports business and has had discussions with King about buying the Guard.

She said she is optimistic that a deal can be worked out within the next few days, but added that nothing is ever certain until the contracts are signed and the handshakes are completed.

“I’m supposed to talk to Richard again in the next couple of days and I’m hopeful it goes well,” Spigner said. “The Guard is a very strong franchise with a great history and fans. The team deserves to stay here in Fayetteville where it belongs.”

This isn’t the first time Spigner has been approached about buying into the Guard.

She said that King offered a minority stake in the team a few years ago, but turned it down because she had an opportunity to take gain full ownership of the team in Florence. The Phantoms won the AIFA championship in 2008 on her watch.

A year later, the Florence team went dark when Spigner encountered some medical problems that required major surgery. She said that her health is now good and she’s excited about owning a team again.

She said she would rather have that happen in Fayetteville rather than Florence, since she is a permanent resident of the All-American City. Spigner owns and operates a nursing home and residential care facility on Mann Street.

“This is my home,” Spigner said of Fayetteville. “It would be a lot easier for me if I owned a team here instead than somewhere else.”

Like Spigner, King also calls Fayetteville home. He was a season ticket holder and an avid fan of the old Cape Fear Wildcats of arenafootball2.

When the Wildcats were sold and relocated to Albany, Ga., following the 2002 season, King led a movement to bring a replacement team to the Crown. He did that by purchasing the financially troubled Carolina Stingrays – which had previously failed in both Myrtle Beach and Florence – and gave the team a fresh start.

The Guard immediately became one of the top teams in the National Indoor Football League. In 2006, it went 13-1 in the regular season and advanced all the way to Indoor Bowl VI before losing to the Billings Outlaws.

A year later, the Guard was off to an even better start when the NIFL collapsed under poor management. Determined to keep his team going, King put together an alliance of the league’s 10 best teams and finished out the season anyway – winning what was billed as the Independent Indoor Football Championship with a win against Wyoming.

The Guard became a member of the AIFA in 2008, but King’s involvement with the team began to wane as he began to spend more time with his primary business – King Electric – and his financial losses began to mount.

He nearly sold the Guard before last season, but Brockish said that a deal with local businessman Franco Webb fell through at the 11th hour for “a chain reaction of reasons.”

Brockish said that King was prepared to fold the team at that time, but he agreed to stay on and keep the Guard operating in Fayetteville for one more season at the league’s urging.

She said that he is not interested in doing that again this year. Brockish said she is also stepping down as general manager at the end of the season, regardless of whether the team is sold to Spigner and stays or to someone else and moves.

Her resignation, however, has nothing to do with the sale of the team.

“My husband got a promotion at work and we’ll be moving to Gainesville, Fla.,” said Brockish, who was contacted by phone while house-hunting in Florida. “I’ve had a great experience with the Guard and Fayetteville and hope to continue in sports management at some point, but this was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up.”

She said she would continue to run the team as usual for the final two weeks of the season before leaving.
The Guard is currently struggling through the worst season in its history with a 2-10 record.

Remember to get all the sports news you won’t find anywhere else in Fayetteville by listening to The Sports Blast, every Monday night from 6-8 p.m. on WFNC (AM 640)!