👋 Mike Krzyzewski’s Last Dance

Mike Krzyzewski will coach his final home game at Duke on Saturday, fittingly against his rival, North Carolina. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider with Martin Rogers: Coach K is set to coach his final home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium ... NASCAR’s challenge in the gambling space is growth, and it has seemed to be more of a challenge than expected ... and more! Mike Krzyzewski, just like you would expect, has tried to keep everything the same this week. The same practices, the same routine. Many of the same processes that have greeted the end of the previous 41 Duke basketball regular seasons have also been in place for this, his final one. Ahead of Krzyzewski's final home game, against rival North Carolina on Saturday, he has said he doesn’t want it to be just about him. There’s no way that’s going to happen. However, doing things the same way as normal was how he came to be congregated with his assistant coaches a couple of days ago, going over typical pregame matters, when the reality of it all suddenly kicked in. “Who would have ever thought?” he said to them. “It’s my senior day.” [STORY IMAGE 1] Krzyzewski has tried to avoid a situation where his farewell season became a farewell tour, but it has become that way for a simple, unavoidable reason – because of what he means to the game. Everywhere he has traveled for Duke road contests, he has been lauded and celebrated and at times it all got to be a bit too much. Yet on the court he has mostly gotten what he wanted, with the Blue Devils having already secured the ACC regular season title and in a position where a high seed looms in just over a week’s time. “I’m talking to myself right now,” Krzyzewski said. “Just let it happen. See what the hell happens. But try not to let it negatively influence anything from my players. It’s their game.” So much has changed since the day in March 1980 when Duke athletic director Tom Butters announced the arrival of what he described as the “brightest young coaching mind in America,” a 33-year-old Chicagoan via West Point who would become known as Coach K. [STORY IMAGE 2] The sport is drastically different now, from the way it looks and feels to how it is played. Krzyzewski was at Durham before the 3-point line, sure, but also prior to the college shot clock and the possession arrow. His college coaching career at Army started when dunks were still illegal. For most of his time in charge, players stuck around long enough that one-and-done wasn’t even a term and hoops transfers had to jump through bureaucratic hoops if they wanted to move programs. No longer. For years, he has used the press conference before the final regular-season game as a sort of State of the Union address, a chance to look at where the sport is situated. It wasn’t anything like that this time, on Thursday, because how could it be when no one wanted to talk about anything other than this being his last game at Cameron Indoor Stadium? But he did speak of a small sadness, and if it’s not worth listening to Coach K about such matters, then whose opinion could possibly be worthy? [STORY IMAGE 3] He loves college basketball as much as ever but that doesn’t mean he loves everything about the ways in which it has changed. He laments the lessened opportunities to build and grow relationships with players, especially elite ones, over four years. He’d have loved for there to be an ongoing think tank of all the sport’s vested interests, with agents and shoe companies and coaches and programs talking to figure out a better way forward. We don’t get everything we want in life. Krzyzewski knows he’s been blessed to get what he has. He’s barely had time to think this week, anyways. Countless former players have been in contact and he texted with Kyrie Irving on Thursday morning. All 208 of his former players were invited to the Tar Heels game and around 80 are expected to attend. Krzyzewski’s wife and daughters are coordinating how to meet with different groups of them to make sure everyone gets their time. He’s looking forward to a new life outside basketball but he knows it will be a massive change, He is keen to get a new dog to take for walks to help pass some of the time, because he won’t be around the program as much and won’t be coming to all the games, specifically to let incoming replacement Jon Scheyer have his space and a chance to thrive without interference. [STORY IMAGE 4] He’s got a lot of things to figure out but for now, despite all the pomp of this week, there’s a familiar feeling – a game to win against Duke’s fiercest rival of all. His final game will be either a defeat, or see him clinch a sixth national title and will truly be the end. This is the end before the end and he’d love to win this one, even more than ever, if that’s possible. Occasionally during the week, he’s found his voice cracking. Sometimes the magnitude of never doing this again, here, starts to creep in. Krzyzewski's response to it all is the same as it would be for any player – he’s going to give himself some of the old Coach K wisdom. “(I did) a little bit of thinking yesterday,” he added. “It’s your last game, at Cameron, it’s crazy. How did that happen? It’s here. I’ll have to spend some time, have a meeting with me. Maybe a few tough talks about keeping my eyes on the road so to speak.” What a road. What an adventure. What a journey. What a coach. [STORY IMAGE 5] [IN OTHER WORDS] - [FOX Sports NFL Writer Eric D. Williams looks at the start of Josh McDaniels' tenure in Las Vegas]( and what it will take to build a winning tradition. - NASCAR’s challenge in the gambling space is growth, and it has seemed to be more of a challenge than expected. [Bob Pockrass has the story](. - Who is the player of the year in men’s college basketball this season? Johnny Davis and Oscar Tshiebwe stand atop [Andy Katz’s latest player of the year rankings](. [VIEWER'S GUIDE] WWE Friday Night SmackDown (FOX, 8 p.m. ET) Ronda Rousey competes on SmackDown for the first time against Sonya Deville. Villanova at Butler (Saturday, FOX, 12 p.m. ET) Collin Gillespie and the No. 11-ranked Villanova Wildcats take on Bryce Golden and the Butler Bulldogs. North Carolina at Duke (Saturday ESPN, 6 p.m. ET) Mike Krzyzewski coaches his final home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium as the No. 4-ranked Duke Blue Devils take on Armando Bacot and rival North Carolina. USC at UCLA (Saturday, ESPN, 10 p.m. ET) Boogie Ellis and the No. 16-ranked USC Trojans take on Jaime Jaquez Jr. and the No. 17-ranked UCLA Bruins. Michigan at Ohio State (Sunday, FOX, 12:30 p.m. ET) Hunter Dickinson and the Michigan Wolverines go up against E.J. Liddell and the No. 23-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in a Big Ten clash. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( MLS Cup Winner: New England Revolution: +700 Seattle Sounders: +700 LAFC: +800 From FOX Sports soccer writer Doug McIntyre: The parity in MLS compared to European leagues always makes it wildly unpredictable. Other than that, most teams tend to fare much better at home than on the road. I still think the top teams in the league — Seattle and Kansas City in the West, New England and Philadelphia in the East — will stay near the top of the standings. The West has been stronger in recent years, but I do really like Philly and New England this season. 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