Feeling the Spirit
Posted December 12, 2010, 9:42 AM ET

December is always an interesting sports month.

The NFL regular season is winding down....a handful of interesting college basketball non-conference games....the FCS playoffs....the FBS collection of garbage bowl games.....and a NBA season that already feels too long.

NASCAR has thrown their party in Vegas.....Cam Newton has won the Heisman, but yet the media keeps beating him up for alleged improprieties...the folks in Raleigh are counting down the days to hosting the NHL All-Star game...the folks in Charlotte are counting down the days to the end of the John Fox era....and the San Francisco Giants are still the World Champs (somebody pinch me).

I'm ready for Christmas, and the start of 2011.

The last couple of weeks have been stressful enough, with the transition and the fact that it's the holiday season. A new start is just what I need....and that goes for a number of our local sports teams, too.

The Bobcats have been brutal...and have blown a chance to take advantage of the NFL's worst team. During the off-season, I talked about the team not being able to improve itself, and despite Michael Jordan's claim that the team improved since being swept in the playoffs....the Bobcats are floundering.

I got a kick out of the yard-sale taking place in New Orleans with George Shinn. So, David Stern thinks the Hornets are worth 300 million? That sounds familiar....he said the same thing when he sold the city of Charlotte a bill of goods the second time around, too. The Hornets are broke....the Bobcats appear broken. While some fans have wasted time wanting their old name back....the team needs to make another trade and see if they can jump-start a season that is slowly getting away from them.

The Panthers train-wreck continues and the only question now surrounds the first pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. Can they continue to hold serve and keep the inside track of owning the first pick?

With the remaining schedule, I like their chances.....but as we've seen with John Fox coached teams in the past, they have the ability to hang around and upset some folks down the stretch.

I was surprised to see Appalachian State get pounded at home by Villanova. I know the Wildcats are the defending champs, but usually the Mountaineers are fantastic at home. Given all the team speed, I really thought Jerry Moore's guys could win the title this year. I just wasn't expecting a blowout loss at home to close the season.

I hated to see Duke's Kyrie Irving get injured....man, can that kid play. He looks like Chris Paul and he plays like him, too. The way the Blue Devils have started the season and given what the rest of college basketball looks like in mid-December, I didn't think it was a reach to believe that Duke could run the table.

The Irving injury changes that debate, especially since we don't know how long he'll be out. Duke will still be a tough out without his services, but he was the most dynamic rookie in the country....and there are some terrific young players.

NC State and the UNC are inconsistent....the Pack needs to get healthy and the Heels need to find some outside shooting. The hype placed on Harrison Barnes has been ridiculous and there's no doubt he has struggled with it, too. Just let the kid play....he's going to be a really good player.

Alan Major's UNCC team has some issues...the most glaring one is that he needs better players. I'm glad that the Niners and Davidson Wildcats finally found a way to schedule each other again.....it's a no-brainer and should be the first non-conference game both teams play each year.

The Clemson basketball team looks average.....just like their football team. The Tigers will be bowling in the Queen City when they face-off against Skip Holtz' boys from South Florida. Between Dabo and Skip, the media should have an easy time in the press room.....both guys are gregarious and good interviews.

Don't look now, but the Gamecocks are off to a great start in hoops - though most USC fans can't tell you a single player on the roster....but the Old Ball Coach will hopefully have his guys ready to play the second time they visit the Georgia Dome. I was still surprised that Auburn blew them out in the SEC title game.

I'm still trying to figure out how many of the 35 bowl games I plan on watching from start to finish......right now, the count is up to about 3.

Don't you love the Hot Stove discussions......Red Sox or Yankees.....who is going to spend the most? As I wrote earlier....the San Francisco Giants are still the champs.

I'm still unloading boxes of old show notes.....working on new radio and TV shows.....not to mention Southern Fried Football™....as soon as I have some news on my next gig, I plan on telling you via packsmack or on my twitter account.

I appreciate your interest in my time frame for the next project.....but I want to do this right, and sometimes it takes longer than we all expect. It will be worth the wait.