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Countdown
to Kick-Off The college football season officially gets underway this week, and not a moment too soon. It has been the most unsettling off-season in college football history...expansion rumors, arrests, probations, firings, investigations....you name it. But this time, it has involved some of the country's most recognizable schools. The games can't get here fast enough. I would like to tell all of my followers and fans that this will be a big week for me, too. When I left WFNZ last November, I was in search of some new challenges and adventures. I loved the thirteen-plus years at the Charlotte AM station, but I wanted to accomplish something new. Well, starting this upcoming weekend, I will be hosting two new national shows on SiriusXM. Every Saturday morning during the college football season, I will be hosting the "SiriusXM College Football Tailgate Show". I will be joined by 1995 Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George, and we'll break down the big games of the day as we set the stage for a full-day of college football. The show will air from 9-noon, eastern time, on SiriusXM 91. Every Sunday morning during the season, I will host "SiriusXM College Football Sunday". The show will take place from 9am-1pm, and I'll be taking calls, conducting interviews, giving opinions and recapping the action from Saturday. If you know anything about me after all these years, you know how much I love college football...and this was something that appealed to me for a long, long time. Now, I have the chance to do it on the big stage and I'm excited about it. If you've been following the blog and my twitter account you also know that this has been a year of transition for me and my family. We started construction on a new house in January and we're almost to the end of the building phase....it looks like we'll be moving-in sometime in September. It appears that the builders are about 6 weeks ahead of schedule. Thank God....and Heard Ratzlaff Construction! During this crazy nine months, we've lived like gypsies with some of our stuff in storage, some of it in the short term apartment, etc.....it has not been the easiest of times for any of us. We knew what we were signing up for when we decided to make this change, and it has been filled with ups and downs. In the end it will be worth it. Because of the unknown...living conditions and the possibility that I could be moving the family to a new market due to work, I had to make a tough (but smart) decision to hold off on another passion of mine....the Southern Fried Football™ Tour. The Tour has been operation since 1998, and it will feel a bit strange this season not loading up the RV and hitting the Dixie Highway and partying with all my Southern Fried Football™ brethren, but it was the right call for everyone involved....including my great, loyal sponsors. Given the circumstances, I thank everyone for their support and understanding. Once life gets back to normal (assuming that's possible with me), I look forward to continuing the Southern Fried Football™ Tour and all the wacky traditions associated with it. But in the meantime, I also look forward to creating and exploring new opportunities and challenges....which is precisely what I set out do, when I departed the Charlotte radio station last November. This is just the start of new ventures, and I look forward to sharing it with you on-air, in-person and on the website. I still get asked every day by email, twitter or on the street if I plan on returning to local Charlotte radio. All I can tell you is if the right opportunity and offer comes my way, I'd be more than happy to take a look. I have no idea what the future will hold, but I do know that I'm excited about the new shows on SiriusXM...and who knows what that is going to lead to, down the road? All you can do is maximize today, and that's precisely what I plan on doing. So let the games...and new shows begin! I tried to limit my viewing of the Hurricane Irene coverage....but there's something about a TV talking hairdo standing outside, braving the hurricane force winds that keeps you glued to the set. I really don't care about their reports unless it directly concerns a family member or property, and I don't want to see anybody get seriously hurt, but I want to see how damn stupid these morons are, in trying to convey that they are standing outside during a hurricane! We get it.....it's a hurricane. Heavy winds + heavy rain = trouble. Now get out of the way....or better yet, go stand in the ocean and get the real effect of the tide crashing up against you. Somehow, TV executives think this stuff is necessary. What's next...a forest fire....so go stand out in the middle of the flames and tell me that it's hot? While the TV talking heads were getting pounded by Mother Nature, apparently there was no "rubbing" taking place at Bristol Motor Speedway. Only 6 cautions at Thunder Valley? Before the track decided to pave the surface, the racing at Bristol was legendary. Drivers and cars were banging on every lap.....you could always count on the blood pressures of the drivers going through the roof during and after the race. The cars looked like demolition derby entrants when the race ended. Not anymore. It's changed....I think for the worse. The world's greatest half-mile track is now home of multiple grooves and a dose of "follow the leader". I still love Bristol and the facility.....but the racing has taken a backseat. And this year, I saw more crashes during the Hurricane Irene coverage than I did at the high-banks of BMS. And that's too bad. The Carolina Panthers are back for their final pre-season game on Thursday night, when the Pittsburgh Steelers come to town. The team has been dreadful the past two games, and hopefully they can get something positive to build on, heading into the regular season. Right now, the team has a bunch of problems and issues....and more importantly, they need to find out if the answers can be found with this roster. Everybody is talking about Cam Newton, and everyone has an opinion about his development or his flaws heading into September. I haven't been surprised by anything yet, when it comes to Newton. He is a great athlete....he's also a kid that is trying to absorb everything thrown at a rookie under the brightest lights. It's tough for anyone that plays QB in the NFL. I have been disappointed in the Panthers at the point of attack....both lines have been bloodied up the past two games. That has to change ASAP, or it's going to be another long, ugly season in Charlotte. The defensive line has been non-existent....and if you can't stop the other guy, then you have no chance on Sundays. The linebackers are solid, and Jon Beason is still hoping to return for the opener.....but the defensive backs are a serious problem. Offensively, everybody knows the RBs are good, and so is the immediate upgrade at the TE position. Getting Steve Smith back is mandatory, but so is finding another WR to accompany #89. The OL has been off, and hopefully Jeff Otah will eventually return....the team hasn't seen him in the huddle since December of 2009. The Panthers have big issues to address, and it's more than just the play and development of Cam Newton. |
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