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Please
Make It Stop The Charlotte Bobcats are 3-18, thanks to being swept by the near equally-inept Washington Wizards...and now, they take their ball and head out West. Hey, Michael Jordan...you call this a "real" NBA team? If Michael Jordan's upcoming wedding looks like his semi-pro hoops team, he'll be serving food on paper plates and asking attendees for cold-hard cash as a gift. It is an embarrassing time to be a Bobcats fan, these days....and, let's face it: there haven't been many instances in the team's history where it has been safe to leave the house wearing your Bobcat gear. The club announced that they were giving away team jerseys to the first 10,000 fans that showed up for the Wizards game on Saturday night. I wonder what the team plans to do with the 6,000 extras? The announced attendance was listed over 17,000....the Bobcats must use the same company that tries to estimate second-tier bowl game attendance. Judging by the TV broadcast, it looked like the lower bowl was almost half-filled...of course, Jordan wasn't one of those people sitting in the stands and wasting time watching this garbage. It's so bad for the Bobcats, that as I was driving home on Saturday night listening to the game, a commercial aired during the broadcast on their AM flagship station that promoted an inexpensive 3-game ticket package....for the first 3 games of the season! "Hello, anybody home?" The season started over a month ago. My friend, columnist Tom Sorensen, wrote in the local paper this weekend that the team should be called the "Young Bobcats". I mentioned to Tom that "young" must be code for "Michael Jordan doesn't know what the ^&&*&% he's doing". That's like saying the Young Duke football team....let's face it: in pro sports, you can either play or you can't. I think this is the worst, individual pro sports team to ever grace the Charlotte sports scene. The Bobcats take an 8-game losing streak on the road to face the Lakers, Blazers, Suns and Celtics. They'll return home to face the Bulls, Clippers and Sixers. It is safe to say that they have a real chance to reach Valentine's Day without sniffing another win....and if that happens, Michael Jordan's team can be sporting a snappy 3-25 record. The best thing that has happened to the Bobcats is that the NBA has reduced the schedule this year to only 66 games. This team is so bad that they make the Carolina Panthers look like the New England Patriots. The Bobcats are getting so ridiculously inept that even the local media might have to take a shot at Michael Jordan's club. Somewhere Bob Johnson has to be smiling, and that's what really makes it tough to accept in the Queen City. Wednesday is National Signing Day for college football. It is one of my favorite days of the year, and I don't even follow the recruiting process. I know it's vitally important for every school to load up on talented kids....I totally understand that concept. But what I love the most about Signing Day is listening to the "recruiting experts" and the fans that live and die with the decisions made by these 17 year-old kids.....it's absolutely hilarious and sad at the same time. The expert recruiting rankings kill me. Why so many people put so much emotion into this Top 25 list is beyond me? It is such an inexact science, and nobody knows how these kids will pan out in the next few years. The same old teams are always ranked in the Top 15....ironically, you never see Boise State or TCU listed, but somehow those teams manage to produce big-time teams. Bama, USC, Florida State, Texas, LSU, etc....they will load up on 5-star kids and their margin for error is increased because they will sign more of them than just about everybody else combined. I love the day, though....the experts get so pumped.....the fans can't believe that their favorite school stole a 4-star running back from their arch-rival and that kid has the potential to be the next "(fill-in the blank)". Somebody asked me if National Signing Day was Christmas Day for college football fanatics? I replied, "No....it is more like Halloween.....it is all about trick or treats on Wednesday". Either way, National Signing Day is a blast. The Super Bowl is this week....Pats & Giants. It has all the makings of a very entertaining game....and I hope the game is nearly as exciting as their 2008 Super Bowl classic. I don't know if I'm getting older, or maybe I'm distracted by more important things in life....but the game is flying low on my sports radar. Don't get me wrong; I'm looking forward to watching the game and all the hoopla surrounding the game, but this match-up hasn't consumed me like some of the past Super Bowl match-ups. I suspect I'll feel differently, as we get closer to the weekend....but being a week out from kick-off.....it just doesn't quite feel right. Maybe it has something to do with the 60-degree temps in late January and early February? Maybe watching a pair of Bobcats-Wizards NBA games in a span of 3 days has taken all the sports joy out of my life? Perhaps the hype between New York and Boston is so over-played that unless you live in the region, you simply don't care? I love Phil Knight. The Nike head-honcho stole the show, during last week's Joe Paterno Memorial Service. His speech highlighting his "hero", JoePa, was absolutely out-of-sight. Even if you don't agree with Knight, you've got to give the guy credit for taking the stance that he did in that setting. In front of the PSU Trustees, he called them out and went on the attack. Phil Knight.....Just Do It. I've never spoken to or met Phil Knight, but when I do I'm looking forward to thanking him for his gumption and his words celebrating Joe Paterno. If you didn't see, read or hear the speech...find it. You can thank me later. (link) It was fantastic....and given all the dignitaries that spoke at the classy send-off for the legendary Penn State football coach....there was no doubt that Phil Knight brought the house down. Tiger Woods was tied for the lead, heading into the final round of the European Tour event in Dubai. He was tied with somebody named "Robert Rock". In the good old days, it was a forgone conclusion that "Rock" had absolutely no chance to stay close to the man in the red shirt. Times have changed. The Englishman not only stayed close, he beat him straight-up. Robert Rock can now claim that he played with Tiger for the first time and took care of business. Tiger eventually finished 3rd....and watched the "Robert Rock" guy celebrate his 2nd European title. I guess you could be encouraged with his steady play on the course over four days....even though he struggled a bit in the final round....but the claim that "Tiger is back" seems a bit premature. It doesn't mean that he'll go winless in real events in 2012.....to the contrary; I think he will win again. But the running scoreboard shows that Tiger hasn't won an official event in 26 months, and counting. However, the days of dominance are over. The assumption that he would catch Nicklaus with ease is now completely on the back burner. Tiger is still an amazing player, but he's no longer feared. But it is good to see that he's slowly starting to put back all the pieces....but the Tiger of old is a distant memory. |
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