By Clark Gerber, WRAL Sports contributor

Raleigh, N.C. — The internet is a big place. Unless you’re 100% plugged in all the time (and let’s be clear, that is NOT recommended), you’re going to miss some stuff.

Let us do that work. You can be a well-adjusted human being and still catch all the best sports moments of the week, with a quick review …

No, you’re not dreaming Wolfpack fans. This is real life!

NC State is having a pretty fantastic March, and last week was their best yet.

Senior swimmer Katharine Berkoff captured her third career national championship in the 100-yard backstroke and set a program record in the process with a time of 48.55.

The women’s gymnastics team captured the ACC Championship, three wrestlers earned All-America honors and the baseball team shocked No. 9 Duke with an improbable walk-off home run that sent Doak Field into a frenzy,

And then of course, there’s the headliners on the hardwood.

The Wolfpack men’s and women’s basketball teams are on to the Sweet Sixteen — the first time both teams have made it this far in the same year since 1989.

The women took care of business at home against Chattanooga on Saturday, despite dealing with a bizarre officiating controversy.

Then, they built a big second quarter lead and hung on to knock off Tennessee. The Wolfpack will take on the No. 2 seed Stanford on Friday night in Portland.

As fate would have it, the men’s team will be playing at almost exactly the same time on Friday, as they try to continue their run against No. 2 seed Marquette.

The Wolfpack absolutely bullied Texas Tech in their round one victory, then outlasted upset-minded Oakland in overtime to win their round two matchup.

Saturday’s game against the Golden Grizzlies pitted two crowd favorites against each other — Oakland’s Jack Gohlke and NC State’s DJ Burns.

Gohlke attempted seventeen 3-pointers against the Wolfpack (and who could blame him after he made ten against Kentucky), but it was Burns who actually outplayed him, posting 24 points, 11 rebounds and unofficially earning the title of America’s Big Man™.

I certainly didn’t see this coming for the men’s team, but given the overall good vibes in Wolfpack Nation right now, I don’t know how you can bet against them.

NC State may be the highest seed remaining in the men’s bracket, but their run to the Sweet Sixteen wasn’t a fluke. They are absolutely playing like one of the top teams in the nation right now.

Seven straight wins with their season on the line is incredibly special. Win or lose on Friday, this will go down as an all-time run in NC State history.

Enjoy the moment, WPN!

Duke men and women still dancing

There are four schools in the country who have both their men’s and women’s teams still playing basketball.

NC State, UConn, Gonzaga… and Duke.

Unlike the Wolfpack, it’s the Blue Devil women who had the most improbable run to get to the second weekend.

Head coach Kara Lawson (who wants you to know she is absolutely still a hooper) saw her group trail at halftime in each of their first two games. But they finished strong to knock off Richmond and then shocked No. 2 Ohio State on the Buckeyes’ home floor.

Junior guard Reigan Richardson has been incredible, scoring 25+ points in each of the two wins. She was especially heroic in the Ohio State game, dominating down the stretch and sucking the life out of the Big Ten regular season champions.

The Blue Devils are going to need Richardson to match buckets with UConn star Paige Bueckers if they want to continue their run on Saturday night. That will be appointment television.

The Duke men, on the other hand, enjoyed a mostly drama-free path through their opening weekend of the tournament.

No. 13 seed Vermont kept pace early, but never really threatened the Blue Devils in a 64-47 decision on Friday.

Then, freshman sharpshooter Jared McCain led an absolute assault on No. 12 seed James Madison on Sunday, nailing eight 3-pointers in a 38-point blowout.

McCain’s shooting will be critical in Duke’s next matchup when they take on one of the best defenses in the country in No. 1 seed Houston.

If McCain (and others) can hit from deep, it should open things up for a potential upset. If not, it could be a long night in Dallas.

Fired up Hubert Davis spurs Tar Heels to the Sweet Sixteen

UNC couldn’t quite complete the Sweet Sixteen six-pack to open March Madness (condolences to the women’s team, who ran into a South Carolina buzzsaw in Round 2). However, the Tar Heels may still have the best chance of winning it all.

The No. 1 seed UNC men’s team is still dancing after they squashed Michigan State (who was a trendy upset pick) on Saturday in Charlotte.

The Spartans seemingly had the Heels on the ropes in the first half, but it seems that a head coach Hubert Davis pushed the right buttons and turned the game around.

Davis was extremely fired up during an in-game interviewed that aired on CBS in the first half. And by all accounts, that wasn’t too far off from his demeanor with his team during the timeout.

Players say Davis challenged the Tar Heels to “join the fight” against the Spartans, who were having their way early on. And that’s exactly what they did.

UNC turned an 8-point deficit into a 9-point halftime lead, and then cruised the rest of the way to a victory.

You can expect a high-scoring game when the Tar Heels take on Alabama this Thursday in Los Angeles. If they’re able to get through that game (as they’re favored to do), it could set up the Caleb Love grudge match that fans have been clamoring for.

Now that would be a Hollywood-worthy script.

Big NFL rule changes are coming and it’s going to be weird

If you’ve been all-in in March Madness (completely understandable), you may have missed some developments at the NFL’s Annual League Meeting that could have a dramatic impact on your Sundays this fall.

For starters, kickoffs are going to look very different, with the coverage and return units lined up just 5 yards from each other at the kick.

Essentially, it will look almost exactly like an XFL kickoff, which I know many of you haven’t seen… so here’s a video (plus a long-form explanation of the new rules for you die-hards).

But while the kickoff changes are certainly jarring, the league’s ban of the so-called “hip drop tackle” is probably an even bigger deal.

The “hip drop tackle,” if you are unfamiliar is an increasingly popular term for when a defender drags down a ball carrier (usually from the side or from behind) by dropping their hips to the ground after wrapping up.

It has been blamed for a number of nasty lower leg injuries, because the runner’s foot or leg can sometimes get pinned under the defender’s hip.

The new ban brings up a pretty reasonable question — what exactly is the defense supposed to do?

Can’t hit high. Can’t hit low. Can’t land on a quarterback. Can’t hit a receiver hard across the middle. And now, they have to figure out a way to tackle a full speed Derrick Henry (for example) without using their body weight to drag him down.

Seems pretty impossible to me.

Defensive players, no surprise, are not amused with the new rule change. Even some offensive players, like former Panthers running back Mike Davis, are dubious.

From a fan perspective, everybody is absolutely convinced that this the new rule will devastate their favorite team and somehow benefit the Kansas City Chiefs in a huge playoff moment.

“I’m sure this won’t be a train wreck at all,” he said sarcastically.

USMNT wins CONCACAF Nations League in spectacular fashion

If you haven’t been following the United States Men’s National Team through the CONCACAF Nations League, you’ve missed a wild ride over the last few days.

The USA trailed Jamaica almost the entire game during the semifinals, but scored a miracle equalizer at the end of regulation, then ended up winning 3-1 in extra time.

That set up a championship matchup against rival Mexico, highlighted by this absolute wonderstrike by Tyler Adams in the 45th minute.

The U.S. won the game and the trophy, 2-0. It’s their third CONCACAF Nations League title in as many tries (it’s a pretty new competition) and will hopefully provide some valuable momentum heading into the Olympics this summer in Paris.

Name That Mascot is “the worst game ever”

Finally this week, for your viewing pleasure, it’s one of my favorite off-court moments from the NCAA Tournament so far.

Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith facing off in one of the more ill-fated games I’ve ever seen (and will probably never see again): Name That Mascot.

Happy March Madness. We’ll see you next week.

Source: wralsportsfan.com