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Schedule the Parade The "FSBC" demonstrated their power and might against the lowly Miami Dolphins in week 2 of unwatchable NFL pre-season football. It's performances like this one that have fans talking big and at least one player taking out full-page ads crowning themselves "FSBC". One thing is certain, the team looked 1000% better than in the opening week....and that's a good thing. I'm not sure the Miami Dolphins would have received votes in the recently released AP Poll, but that's not Carolina's concern. I mentioned in last week's "RIpe Gripe" that the Dolphins are so boring and nondescript in the HBO "Hard Knocks" series, and their effort and actions in Charlotte did nothing to change my mind. On the flip-side, the Panthers played well in every phase of the game, and that is the reason there should be cautious optimism for the 2012 season. I'm not buying FSBC for this year, but the chance of making the playoffs and winning a game of importance in January could be obtainable. Unfortunately, it will be a while until the hometown fans see the FSBC at the stadium....the next appearance at home is week 2 of the "real season", when the Saints come marching into Charlotte. Thanks to the Democrats who will be invading the Queen City, the team has worked around President Obama's schedule. The Panthers, excuse me...the "FSBC", will have to get used to being on the road....and that's something that I can certainly relate to, since arriving back in town from the SiriusXM Camp Tours. For the past two weeks, I have traveled the country visiting and broadcasting from the following colleges: (In this order) Oregon, Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Florida State and finally Oklahoma. I met the all coaches, players, athletic directors and legends that make that list of schools so big-time. I loved every day, every school and every mile. All-in-all, I traveled to 7 schools....11,707 miles....and 16 flights. I never lost my baggage....had only one cancelled flight....and I loved it! Every school had their own style and tradition and that's what made it so much fun. Here's a list of some of the highs and lows of the SiriusXM Camp Tour trips:
I can honestly tell you that each one of the seven schools I visited was fantastic....the coaches, players, and staffs at every school were tremendous. I wished that every fan of college football could have experienced the same thing I did over the span of the last two weeks. Thanks again to every school for making us feel right at home.....and the good news is that in less than two weeks, we're talking about the games! I don't know if I should laugh or cry after watching the "Face of NASCAR", Danica Patrick, lose the lead in a race thanks to running over a high-top shoe. You can't make this stuff up....the fact that Patrick had the lead in a race was startling enough. But once she drove right over the shoe, it apparently tore the crap out of her car and she was never the same. The funniest part of the entire episode came in the post-race interview in which she claimed that she has the "worst luck". No, sweetheart, you don't have the "worst luck"....you have average driving skills. When you've got a single victory on your racing resume after all these years of hype...watching you wreck every week becomes the norm. Needless to say, she was disappointed....but not nearly as much as the guy in Montreal headed back home with only one shoe. Julius Peppers' UNC transcript...... I'll let you fill-in the punch-line. The UNC academic woes are so embarrassing that it truly amazes me that Chancellor Holden Thorp still has a job. How many internal investigations do the Heels' head honchos need? If the NCAA is really concerned about carrying a big stick when it comes to cheaters....then the Tar Heels have given President Mark Emmert enough material to bury them for years to come. It's pretty obvious that the academic cheating and shenanigans have been taking place on the UNC campus for a very long time....the News & Observer in Raleigh has done an amazing job uncovering mistake after mistake in the UNC academic system. Maybe the Thorp should hire the N&O to investigate their issues like Penn State did when they hired Louis Freeh? The difference is that UNC really doesn't want to know the truth.....if they did, this would have been uncovered the first time. The best thing to happen to UNC is that this is taking place so close to the football kick-off that most of the national media is concentrating on the games....now, if it turns out the hoops program is involved in some shape, way or form...then all bets are off. The "Carolina Way" is getting kicked to the curb. The AP Pre-season Top 25 has been released and the USC Trojans are the #1 ranked team in all the land. You can hear the snickering in the SEC from here. The SEC of course has won the last 6 BCS titles and the league once again is loaded with 5 teams ranked in the Top 10. I've never been a big fan of pre-season polls....I still contend that the first college football poll should be released the first week of October, after we've had the chance to watch everybody play a few games. But the poll does give us talking heads something to analyze before next week's kick-offs....but when we go to a playoff system in a few years, I hope they can get rid of the pre-season poll nonsense. |
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