How the Raleigh IceCaps won over sports fans and helped prove hockey could work in the Triangle

07/13/22 • 74 min

The Raleigh IceCaps played in Dorton Arena from 1991 until 1998. They didn't win any division titles or ECHL championships, but they won the attention of sports fans in the Triangle and helped build inroads for the eventual arrival of the Carolina Hurricanes. Former IceCaps captain Jim Powers and winger Paul Strand joined 99.9FM The Fan's Joe Ovies to discuss their experience playing for a minor league hockey team on Tobacco Road.

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The Greater North Carolina Pro-Am had a brief summer league run, but a massive impact on Triangle basketball

To channel the premise of ESPN's "30 For 30" documentaries, "what if we told you" some of the most anticipated matchups between North Carolina, NC State, and Duke players didn't happen during the ACC basketball season, but in the summer on NC Central's campus? That's exactly what happened at the height of the Greater North Carolina Pro-Am, a summer basketball league with a brief history itself. The Sports Shop's Erroll Reese and Hoop State's Webb Wellman joined 99.9FM The Fan's Joe Ovies discuss the origin of the NC Pro-Am and it's lasting impact on the North Carolina basketball scene.

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How message boards paved the way for modern media coverage, part 1: NC State

In this 2-part season finale to "Brief History of Triangle Sports", Joe Ovies revisits what it was to be part of an online community at the turn of the century and how message boards provided a runway for some websites to become legit coverage outlets for NC State and North Carolina. Part 1 focuses on the Wolfpack's online culture, featuring conversations with the remaining caretaker of The Wolf Web, one of the original contributors to StateFans.com, and one fan who turned his passion for the Pack into a successful podcast.