 |
||||||||||||||||
Cheers
& Jeers The Carolina Panthers' latest performance at home, this time against the Atlanta Falcons, falls into both categories. The first half was beautiful....the second half was unwatchable. In the end, it was more of the same....Cam Newton makes some spectacular plays...he also throws a couple of picks....the defense can't stop a cold....and the team blows a fourth quarter lead. Stop me, if you've seen this one before. The Panthers have lost 6 games this season in which they have been in the lead or tied in the fourth quarter. Chalk it up to growing pains....and another guaranteed losing season in Carolina. In the 17 years of Panther football, the club has only produced four seasons of finishing above .500. Despite the heartbreak, better things are coming their way.....I hope. Speaking of cheers, how about the class presented by all of the Heisman Trophy finalists? RG3 claimed the hardware and then charmed the socks off everyone in the audience with his congratulatory speech. He was wearing his Superman socks, and somewhere Cam Newton had to be wondering where he could pick up a pair. RG3 was deserving of the honor, and you could make the case that another three or four players could have joined the crew in New York City. Last week, a number of Alabama callers on the SiriusXM show were making noise about some type of conspiracy against Bama and Trent Richardson. It was comical, to listen to the noise. There's no conspiracy against the Tide or their players. Bama has one of....if not the...best college football program in the country. Trent Richardson is a great player, and he was awarded the Doak Walker Award last week as the best RB in the country. Alabama won the "sweepstakes" over OK State to play LSU in the national title game. No conspiracy. Perhaps some jealousy....but Bama fans need to chill out and realize that the media is not "out to get" them. They have an awesome program....so just enjoy the journey and another possible championship in January. The brawl involving Xavier and Cincinnati was an embarrassment to college athletics. It was unruly, unjustified, and unwarranted. The comments made by Xavier's All-World guard Tu Holloway afterwards were as embarrassing as the brawl that marred the end of the game. Holloway was trying to justify that he and his team were disrespected before the game. He claimed that they have grown men in his locker room...gangsters (not thugs) and that they were going to take care of business by "zipping them up".....the team's motto. How impressive. Holloway even mentioned that people need to understand that the game with Cincy is like Duke-Carolina. That's actually funny.....perhaps it feels that way in the metro area surrounding the Cincinnati area, but nobody outside of that city would ever confuse the game, the rivalry or the teams with Duke or UNC. What they would confuse Xavier and Cincy with is an event at the UFC. The suspensions and punishments from this garbage will be interesting. What else is worth noting is how each school takes the conference rulings and expands upon the punishment. Cincy coach Mick Cronin was emotional and disgusted during his post-game press conference. His words were crystal clear in their meaning....we'll see what he does next. As ugly as the Xavier/Cincy game was.....go to the other end of the spectrum, and you'll find the Kentucky-Indiana game. It was spectacular. #1 Kentucky was beaten on a 3-point buzzer-beater as Bloomington, Indiana erupted like it used to back in the days of Bobby Knight. It was great theater and television. I'm not ready to declare that the Hoosiers are back....but there is no doubt that Tom Crean has them on the fast track to respectability.....and it's good to see. IU is one of those special places in college hoops. Given the fact that #2 Ohio State also lost (@ Kansas), that means Syracuse should be the new #1 team in college hoops. Finally, Jim Boeheim gets some news that can put a smile on his face....because it certainly beats the alternative from the last few weeks, when his program stole the headlines. The Tar Heels found their new football coach in Larry Fedora. He arrives from Southern Miss, where his Golden Eagles are fresh off a CUSA title compliments of their upset win against Houston. It was a solid hire and I think he'll do a good job in Chapel Hill. It's not the flashy hire of Butch Davis....but considering the state of the program, I don't think most reasonable UNC football fans thought a "big name" was headed their way. UNC has always been able to land top-flight talent, and I think Fedora will be able to coach 'em up on gameday. Some of the other coaching hires around the country have been interesting. It's hard for me to believe that UCLA, Washington State and Arizona can all fill jobs in the Pac 12 before Arizona State gets a plan for their next coach. A&M will join the SEC with Kevin Sumlin as their new man...the Aggies will find out pretty quickly that defense wins in the SEC. Charlie Weis takes his cane, cooler, over-hyped reputation and inflated ego to Lawrence, Kansas....as I pointed out on twitter: that hire just confirms that Kansas will remain one of the great basketball schools in America. Urban Meyer to Ohio State is a natural fit. The rivalry between the Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines should go to another level.....both men will do a great job at those schools. Nothing gets you in the mood for 35 upcoming bowl games more than the constant discussion of the coaching carousel. Merry Christmas, Albert Pujols. A quarter of a billion bucks for a player in his 30's? Pujols is great...he deserves everything that comes his way, in terms of awards and riches.....but there's not a player on Earth worth that kind of cash. I'm just glad he's left the National League and gone over to the AL West. Now, all we have to worry about is the juiced-up Ryan Braun. Cheers and jeers, indeed. |
|
|||||||||||||||
