 |
|||||||||||
Happy
Thanksgiving
It's one of my favorite holidays of the year....food, football and friends.....the perfect combo. I want to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and to make the holidays even better, be sure to do something to help anybody in need or hurting during these tough times. Just a reminder that Street Turkeys takes place on Wednesday in Charlotte and Wilmington on Wednesday....please feel free to make any kind of donation or contribution to this great cause.....all the proceeds go to the local food banks. Speaking of turkeys, the Carolina Panthers unveiled their new "guy-off-the-street" gameplan at quarterback and amazingly, it didn't turn out to be such a good idea. The Brian St. Pierre era officially kicked-off and there were tens of thousands of empty seats to witness the occasion. It's a shame that more Ravens fans didn't want to come down and sellout the place. 37-13 was your final score, and the record slipped to an ugly 1-9 mark. The good news for Carolina is that the Buffalo Bills did the unthinkable and rallied from a 28-7 deficit to knock off the Cincinnati Bengals. By virtue of their second win in a row, the Bills allowed the Carolina Panthers to have the distinction of being the only 1-win team in the league and grab the inside track for the first pick of the 2011 NFL Draft. Thanks, Buffalo. It's important for Carolina to maintain their lead in the race for #1.....in the draft. Up next, a trip to Cleveland to get caught up with Jake Delhomme. I sure hope the team doesn't do something really stupid and actually win a game. Congrats to Jimmie Johnson for capturing his fifth consecutive NASCAR Cup Championship. That's pretty impressive. Five straight championships....I don't care what the sport, anytime you can put together a streak like that, it's a big deal. Many racing fans will probably disagree and whine about Johnson's success being a negative for the sport.....but you need to get over it. He's great....his team is great.....and the organization is great. If you don't like it.....then try to do something about it on the track. And I'm writing this as a guy that admires his skills and talents, but I don't consider myself a huge fan of the 48....but I do appreciate the drive he has to be great and I really love how the organization does whatever it takes to be successful. Some people and companies shy away from such stuff.....it's easy to make cuts and not put forth effort. But a tip of the cap to JJ and the crew and staff of the 48 team. Happy Thanksgiving, to all of my Southern Fried Football™ brethren. As we take some time off to enjoy time with family and friends this holiday season, there are a few items we need to address heading into the festive weekend. Congrats to the Virginia Tech Hokies for clinching the Coastal division and securing their spot in the ACC Championship game on December 4th. In the process, the Gobblers will make their fourth title game appearance since joining the league in 2004. They have been the dominant program and about the only consistent national presence the league has. Virginia Tech also has a chance to become the last ACC team to run the conference schedule without a blemish since the Florida State Seminoles did it back in 2000. I'm still trying to figure out how Tech lost at home to James Madison....a team that is currently 6-5 and tied for 8th place in the Colonial Athletic Association. Speaking of consistency, the league's "other Tech" knocked off Duke in Atlanta and clinched a bowl bid for the 14th consecutive year. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets also extended their conference record streak of finishing .500 or better in league play to 16 years. You probably could win a bar bet with that one. Clemson beat up on hapless Wake Forest and secured another bowl bid.....probably to Charlotte. The Tigers have won 6 or more games for the 12th consecutive year and now they set their sights on trying to upset their arch-rival South Carolina Gamecocks. Last weekend when the Tour stopped in Chapel Hill, there were a number of "I Support Butch" T-shirts being distributed to the baby-blue faithful that were still behind their football leader. This past week also saw the school's chancellor publicly announce that Butch Davis was in good shape within the organization. After watching the NC State Wolfpack defeat Butch and the Heels for the fourth consecutive year, I suspect it's just a matter of time until the "I Support Butch" T-shirts become a best-seller in the Wolfpack's Bookstore. I'll tell you who else is rooting for NC State these days....the Charlotte organizing committee for the ACC Championship game. They are salivating over a possible Virginia Tech-NC State rematch on December 4th in Charlotte. As I've stated from day one, the ACC title game should be in Charlotte permanently. I guess I won't be hearing from Appalachian State fans about how they can play with the big boys after their effort in the Swamp on Saturday. The Gators annihilated the Mountaineers 48-10, and scored touchdowns on 7 of their 10 possessions. This is the same Florida team that has struggled all season on the offensive side of the ball and the same team that was basically shutdown after the opening kick-off against the Gamecocks. The good news for App State is that they finished tied for first in the SoCon for the 6th consecutive year, and they will still be a tough out in the upcoming FCS Playoffs. In fact, I like Jerry Moore's chances to bring another title to the NC mountains. I was sorry to see Bobby Lamb resign as the head coach at Furman. We had the chance to visit the beautiful Greenville, SC campus this year on the Tour and Coach Lamb and the entire Paladin staff could not have been more gracious. Hopefully he lands on his feet....he seems like a great guy. The Iron Bowl is on Friday. Clear the schedule and get a good spot on the couch or your favorite chair. Auburn-Bama....nuf said. While the SEC title game is locked and loaded between the Tigers and USC Gamecocks....this one is going to be B-I-G. The Gamecocks will have a visit to Clemson as they continue their hot streak and try to beat their arch rival for the first time in back-to-back years since the early 70's. It will be interesting to see how Steve Spurrier addresses this game with the SEC title game the following week. This is the exact opposite situation from a year ago, when Clemson rolled into Columbia with an ACC title appearance awaiting them a week later. Clemson played laxed, got beat-up by the Cocks and then proceeded to lose a close one to Georgia Tech a week later. If I'm Spurrier, I play to win....you gotta keep the late season momentum going. |
Packman
on Sports Commentary
|
||||||||||
