Maye hungry, focused after sting of Pats’ Super Bowl loss

The sting of the Super Bowl loss to the Seattle Seahawks hasn’t gone away for New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, but neither has his hunger and drive to keep getting better. At Patriots training camp on Saturday, Maye talked about last year’s breakout season and what he’s looking for next season, which starts with a national-TV rematch against the Seahawks on Wednesday, Sept. 9.

Belichick, other coaches, call for reforms, but he says fixing tampering ‘above my pay grade’

RALEIGH — Five college football coaches sat side-by-side at the Bill Dooley Pigskin Kickoff on Thursday and covered nearly every corner of a sport in transition: the transfer portal, revenue sharing, the debate over whether Congress should get involved in college athletics and tampering. On the latter, second-year UNC coach Bill Belichick, the highest-paid state employee in North Carolina, said that stopping tampering was above his pay grade.

Tar Heel Tribune Podcast

The “Tar Heel Tribune Podcast,” with hosts Britt Whitmire and R.L. Bynum, gives Tar Heel Tribune readers a conversational companion to the site’s written coverage of Carolina athletics with interviews, opinions and insights.

Malone’s father was architect of the Jordan Rules as Pistons assistant coach

The father of the man who will try to lead the new era of Carolina men’s basketball into greatness was the architect of a plan to stop the greatest player in program history. Michael Malone’s father, Brendan Malone, spent almost 30 seasons coaching in the NBA. As a Detroit Pistons assistant coach under Chuck Daly from 1988 to 1995, he helped devise one of basketball’s most famous defensive schemes.

Faith helped Kelly through tough season; he says stability should make offensive line better

CHARLOTTE — North Carolina’s offensive line rarely trotted out the same five linemen from game to game a year ago, causing a lack of continuity that left the unit searching for stability throughout the season. Center Christo Kelly experienced that instability from an unusual vantage point. The Holy Cross transfer arrived in Chapel Hill expecting to be a fixture up front, only to be limited to two games because of an injury that sidelined him.

Schools began trying to lure Abou Jaoude, Shipp with big money during last season

CHARLOTTE — There were plenty of schools that wanted to flash big money at defensive lineman Melkart Abou Jaoude and wide receiver Jordan Shipp to lure them away from North Carolina. In both cases, the first contact from other schools came during the season, but they decided to remain loyal to UNC and try to turn the program around after a frustrating season.

Lopez talks about transfer decision, says he’s glad he played for Belichick

CHARLOTTE — Gio Lopez decided to move on from North Carolina after one season, but made it clear that he has no ill will toward Coach Bill Belichick. Now at Wake Forest, Lopez lamented that he wishes the Tar Heels had taken more advantage of his running ability during his season in Chapel Hill but said that his decision to transfer involved several factors.

Belichick says culture much better than it was entering last season

CHARLOTTE — It’s too early to tell if North Carolina will be better than last season, but Coach Bill Belichick said Friday morning at ACC Kickoff that the culture has already gotten better. Belichick pointed to the work players have put in since spring practice as the clearest sign of progress.