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History
Does Repeat Itself You better know your history....because it does repeat itself. All you have to do is check out the results from this weekend's biggest sporting events. Back in 2002, the South Carolina Gamecock baseball team had to beat their arch-rival Clemson Tigers twice to reach the national title game....and they did it in convincing style. Fast-forward to 2010, where the Gamecocks faced the same situation, and once again they closed the deal with a 4-3 thriller at Rosenblatt Stadium. The win moved South Carolina into the national title series with UCLA and put their Palmetto state rivals on the road back to Tigertown. The Tigers are now "Omaha-and-4" vs. the Cocks in the CWS. The loss also continued another history lesson for Clemson and the rest of the ACC....another year without any hardware from Omaha. Wake Forest won the conference's last national title in baseball back in 1955. That's simply amazing. Hopefully for the Gamecocks, history won't repeat itself in the title series....USC has been the national runner-up three times without winning the championship. Personally, I'd love to see Ray Tanner win it all...he's a big-time coach and has established a terrific baseball program in Columbia. History does repeat itself. In 2006, the US soccer team was tormented and kicked out of the World Cup by losing to Ghana. I still remember doing Ghana jokes and comparisons on the air four years ago.....how can a country of our size not find a dozen guys to beat Ghana in soccer - or anything else, for that matter? Now, here we are in 2010, and the bandwagon was filling up surrounding the USA's first group win in the World Cup since 1930. It was entertaining, watching this squad fall behind, only to rally in nearly every match...throw in some controversial calls, plays, and the next thing you know everyone loves soccer in the US. Surely President Bill Clinton, Katie Couric, Wolff Blitzer and Mick Jagger can't all be wrong....they were all sitting together, watching the US's last match in South Africa. As the team advanced to the "knockout round", it was ironic that the first match was to be played against Ghana. The small African nation was in the way of the red, white and blue bandwagon that had fans looking ahead to bigger things. US Soccer had finally arrived on the big stage, and payback was a given against Ghana. Wrong. Once again, the US fell behind, rallied, but this time the Americans fell short....just like they did four years ago against the same team in the same tourney. USA soccer playing Ghana in the World Cup is like Clemson playing USC in the CWS in Omaha. It might look good on paper, but getting over the hump is another thing. But the Tigers and USA soccer team will have to take a step back and try to pick up the pieces and figure out where it all went wrong. Sometimes you don't have to go back years to find a repeat performance. Danica Patrick returned to the Nationwide series after a four-month departure from her real job in the IRL. Needless to say, the NASCAR suits continued the hype of her return despite her abysmal performance in the first three races she entered. If you've already forgotten her NASCAR debut, I'll let you know she finished 31st, 35th and 36th while wrecking in two of the three races. It took all of 7 laps in New Hampshire for Patrick to make her presence known on the circuit. She wrecked with Morgan Shepherd and before you knew it, she was a complete non-factor. Despite finishing five laps behind the winner, Kyle Busch, ESPN continued with their promotion of a driver that has absolutely no clue what she's doing behind the wheel of a stock car. I wasn't surprised by ESPN's coverage; what was shocking was that Morgan Shepherd is still alive...much less driving, at the age of 68. But congrats to Danica for finishing 30th....it's her career best finish in the series. History does repeat itself.....four races....four finishes in the 30s......and more hype. The Bobcats were really busy during last week's NBA Draft.....they didn't do a single thing. No picks, no trades, no interest. I guess that works perfect for Michael Jordan's summer schedule.....it allows for more time on the links. I couldn't help but laugh, watching some of the NBA Draft on the tube. I guess Jay Bilas' infatuation with a player's length and wingspan continues to be the driving force of success in the NBA. If there is a drinking game surrounding his "wingspan" mentions, then the rate of alcoholism in this country is about to sky-rocket. What was also apparent is that LeBron James' "recruitment" is more important than any player picked in the Draft. Just let me know when the 2003 Ohio High School champ decides on his next NBA home....I have no interest in his play-by-play, daily reports and leans. Pick a team...any team...and let's be done with it. The Panthers' Steve Smith broke his arm last week, when he inexplicably decided to play in an adult flag football league. Smith was ripped for his decision, and it was well-deserved. Smith took responsibility for the mistake, but not without taking a shot at his critics - stating that he could lose a finger while mowing his yard or come up lame playing with his kids.....come on, Steve....this one is all on you....not the media. The good news for Smith and the Panthers is that he should be ready to go for the season-opener in the Meadowlands. Unfortunately, his injury will be a hindrance to quarterback Matt Moore, who could use the time to click with the All-Pro wide receiver in Spartanburg and in the pre-season. Smith's absence puts even more pressure on the Panthers' wide-receiver unit to step up and become dependable. Dwayne Jarrett, Armanti Edwards, Brandan LaFell, Kenny Moore....the list goes on and on....each one of them will have the opportunity to show off their skills and talents during the Panthers' pre-season schedule. This is going to be a fascinating year with the Carolina Panthers. I can't remember a time with so many unknowns surrounding the team. I just hope history repeats itself....every even number year, the Panthers have a good season. That means 2010 should be a good one. Finally, I would like to welcome a new affiliate to the PrimeTime Radio Network. Beginning this week, you can catch "PrimeTime with the Packman" on WGVL, ESPN 1440, in Greenville, SC beginning at 3pm each day. The good news is that ESPN 1440 will cover more of the UpState for us, and that will be a perfect complement to the WFNZ 610 signal out of Charlotte and WCCP 104.9 in Clemson/Anderson. There will be some new stations joining us in July, as well....stay tuned for details. |
Packman
on Sports Commentary
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