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No Cheering in the Press Box This might be a difficult thing for many media members of the Charlotte sports community. I hate to break the news to some of you, but the Carolina Panthers are probably not going to win the Super Bowl this year. I know you are disappointed; I can tell by some of the things that are said and written. But a team that has all of 9 wins in their last 35 regular season games, and one that sports a defense that is apparently afraid to tackle or defend...is probably going to come up a little short of that Super Bowl title this year. It doesn't mean that the guys can't win a bunch of games and entertain the masses for the rest of the season. Who knows? If everything falls just right, they could even go into December with an outside chance for a playoff spot. But the next time a fan hears a media member say or write "Super Bowl" and attach it to this Carolina Panther team, you should have every right to call them a complete dumbass. If you are employed by Jerry Richardson, that's one thing...but any objective sports journalist or talking head should know better. Ever since Ryan Kalil's goofy full-page ad declaring the Panthers this year's world champs....somehow the locals grabbed their pom-poms and started drinking the Kool-Aid.....it was, and still is embarrassing. This is all about being realistic. You can go from worst to first in your division in the NFL....it has happened many times before. But you don't go from being a consistent sub .500 team to a Super Bowl winner overnight. It takes time, and I believe the Panthers are much better off now than they were a few years ago....but the Super Bowl babble in Charlotte only makes it worse. The franchise has now embarked on its 18th NFL season.....there have been some fantastic highs and some terrible lows, but this is also a franchise that hasn't won a playoff game since January of 2006 and has yet to ever produce back-to-back winning seasons. So some of you hand in your megaphones and pom-poms...and take a look at the big picture. Are the Panthers entertaining? Yes...most of the time. Are they a championship caliber team? Not yet...but they are making strides, despite their last performance. The debacle that took place on Thursday night in prime-time was unfortunate. It was a chance for the team to showcase their offensive stars and perhaps beat the defending world champs. What it turned out to be was the Panthers' version of Clemson's Orange Bowl performance. The lights were too bright, and the execution of the game plan was lacking. It was an awful night for the local franchise. But it will get better for the Panthers, their fans...and for some in the local media. Unfortunately for Carolina, that same defense will be on the field all season long....and that is precisely why the words "Super Bowl" should be eliminated from everybody's lips in the Queen City. It was another awesome Saturday of college football. The ACC grabbed the national spotlight with the Clemson-Florida State showdown in prime-time. It was the first meeting of Top 10 teams in the ACC in 5 years....and it showcased great athletes and players on both sides. The Noles prevailed with a dynamic second half comeback, and sped by the Tigers 49-37. The game was loaded with big plays, and it also provided the ACC with a team that could play itself into the BCS national championship discussion. I know there is a long ways to go in the season, and it will be one that is filled with surprises every weekend....but the Noles have everything in place for a deep run....the schedule, the talent and the motivation. Before the season, I picked them to make it to the BCS title game, and their win on Saturday night just confirmed my premonition. When I visited their camp in August on our SiriusXM Camp Tours, there was something about the vibe and attitude in Tallahassee.....the players and coaches were not cocky, but they felt like it was their time. Despite a number of disappointments the past few years, this FSU team has a different mind-set. I know people will beat up on Clemson and their inability to stop a cold....and the the Tigers' defense is average at best.....but Clemson is without a doubt a legit Top 20 team. The Tigers are easily the 2nd best team in the ACC...and their young defensive line will get better...very few teams have more offensive weapons than Dabo Swinney's club. But FSU is a legit Top 5 (if not better) club, and the schedule in front of them gives them and the ACC a chance to be in the title discussion when it matters, in late November and early December. The ACC has been ripped, and rightfully so, for its ineptitude in the BCS (2-13) and in big prime-time games....the Noles and Tigers put on a very entertaining game Saturday night, which can only elevate the league's exposure and reputation....not to mention Florida State's title hopes. The FSU-Clemson game doesn't signal that the ACC has arrived as a legitimate football power, but the league certainly will be relieved to know that they are not the worst power league in the sport....just ask Jim Delany of the Big Ten. In NASCAR news, the two biggest stories surrounded items that have nothing to do with the sport's Chase for the Cup....and that should tell you something. One goof-ball story dealt with Tony Stewart being caught on camera grabbing the ass of DeLana Harvick...the wife of driver Kevin Harvick. I thought it was funny....and apparently so did all the parties involved with the inside-joke....but the fact it received so much play this week in the media was really embarrassing to the sport. Here we have the most important time of the year....the "playoffs" in NASCAR, and this is a story? That can't be a good sign. Maybe Mike Helton should grab DeLana's ass for good luck? It's just a thought. The other story that did catch my attention was in the Nationwide series, where my favorite crash-test dummy, Danica Patrick, was back in the headlines with the announcement that JR Motorsports was making some changes to her crew. Obviously there needed to be a change with the crew chief....it was all Tony Eury, Jr's fault that the "Face of NASCAR" has been an epic flop. What a joke...even with a brand new crew chief this weekend, the "Face" finished a couple of laps down and out of the Top 10 again....in fact, Danica wasn't even the highest finishing lady on the track...that belonged to Johanna Long. I doubt anybody will write about that one. Maybe Danica should grab Tony Stewart's ass and see if that changes her fortunes. Something tells me that it just might be a lack of talent that is keeping her down. UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp announced that he plans on resigning at the end of the 2012-13 school year. Now some of the Board of Trustees want him to reconsider and stay on as the leader of the University of North Carolina. That's all you need to know about the problems at UNC....there is no direction or leadership, and that is precisely why the school finds itself in the middle of major scandals in sports, academics and fundraising. It always starts at the top. If you haven't figured out by now, I am a huge San Francisco Giants baseball fan. My guys clinched another National League West title over the weekend and put the finishing touches on a great 6-week stretch that saw them catch and bury the LA Dodgers, and they did it while losing their top hitter as their rivals spent 260 million bucks trying to add talent to their roster. It doesn't get much better than that.....the only thing missing is knocking LA out of the playoffs entirely, and that could happen when the Giants head to LA to close out the regular season. The fact that Melky Cabrera has taken his name out of the race for the NL batting title while serving a 50-game suspension for cheating is good for baseball. Bud Selig and the sport should make it a mandatory rule that when any player that is dumb enough to cheat gets caught, all of their rights to win any title should be automatically removed. How could you defend the other side of the argument? I had a stupid Dodger fan email me and claim the Giants would have been toast if they had to play without Melky Cabrera this season. I had to remind the poorly educated LA Dodger fan that since Cabrera's removal from the team, the Giants posted a 25-10 record before clinching the West on Saturday night...the Giants had a better winning % without him in the lineup. I can't confirm if that email was sent by Magic Johnson, one of LA's new owners, but I doubt that he sent the email. He's probably too busy working up another great trade for the Dodgers. You know it's all about the "star power" in Los Angeles. Like I said many times down the stretch, the biggest difference between SF and LA in baseball is that the Giants have a "Magic Number" and the Dodgers have "Magic Johnson". Beat LA. |
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