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Merry Christmas I wanted to wish all my PackSmack readers a Merry Christmas. We have many things to be blessed about this holiday season...given all the turmoil in the world and the recent events in Connecticut, it's comforting to know that you can be safe and sound with family and friends. It's going to be a subdued holiday in our household this year. Our oldest daughter, G.G., had jaw surgery last week and the slow, tedious healing process is one which I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. But it will be nice to slow things down during this hectic time and enjoy each other's company. I'm going to take advantage of it while I can, because my travel schedule gets crazy by the end of the week. Beginning on Friday, I will be in Los Angeles hosting our SiriusXM show with former UCLA coach, Rick Neuheisel. We'll be live from LA this Friday thru next Tuesday with the show and other events, and that includes being live from our remote location January 1st from outside the Rose Bowl. I've never been to the Rose Bowl, and I'm really looking forward to it. Plus, Coach Neuheisel has been selling me on all the virtues of the game, Pasadena, the LA-lifestyle...you name it. I've reminded him on and off the air, that as a devoted San Francisco Giants baseball fan....the LA-thing isn't my style....but I am pumped about the SiriusXM shows and my first Rose Bowl experience. It's a good thing I'll get a taste of that sunny Southern California weather, because as soon as we're done with the Rose Bowl, it's back home to Charlotte for a day and then a trip to South Beach for the BCS title game. We'll be live from Florida for 5 days leading into the Notre Dame-Alabama national championship game. Of course, we'll be broadcasting from the stadium before and after the game hosting our pre- and post-game shows in addition to our daily SiriusXM shows. It's going to be a busy couple of weeks....loaded with fun, great stories and good times on the air. I just hope by the time I get back that GG is feeling better. The Charlotte Bobcats are back! I was a little confused when the team jumped out to an unexpected 7-5 start.....especially considering the club won all of 7 games last season in setting a NBA record for futility. Since picking up that 7th win of the year on November 24th, the Bobcats have gone more than a month without winning a game. As of this Christmas posting, Charlotte has now lost 15 straight games....and their first game back from a West Coast road trip this week is against the defending world champion Miami Heat. Merry Christmas, Michael Jordan.....wherever you are? It should be pointed out that the Bobcats in the past 2 years have losing streaks of 14 or more games on 3 different occasions....nobody else in the NBA has accomplished that feat once. The good news for Charlotte is that this NBA team is much better than last year's record-setting club....but in a market that knows good hoops from bad, the product is still abysmal. I also got a chuckle out of former team owner, George Shinn, expressing a desire to help Charlotte reacquire the name "Hornets". I think somebody needs to remind Mr. Shinn that he's the jackass that caused this problem in the first place. His greed and dishonesty led to the team packing their bags for a greener pasture in New Orleans.....now he wants to help bring "Hornets" back to Charlotte? Wow...that guy has some nerve. The team should have never left in the first place. The University of North Carolina conducted another internal investigation into the academic shenanigans that have rocked the school's reputation. The latest findings were unveiled by former NC Governor, Jim Martin.....According to the 74-page "Martin Report", the fraudulent acts have been taking place on campus since 1997...not 2007, as originally investigated by the inept Holden Thorpe and Co. In addition, there were upwards of 560 changed grades and nearly 216 bogus courses created to harbor the academically challenged "students" at UNC. Governor Martin also claimed that it was an "academic", not "athletic" scandal. Hilarious. Apparently, it was too difficult to look a little deeper into why there were hundreds of courses created for "students" on the UNC campus. By sheer happenstance, football and basketball players were placed in such classes? Come on....who are we kidding, here? What happened at UNC is pathetic....and I'm not naive enough to believe that the same sort of garbage doesn't take place at many other institutions around the country where "student-athletes" find ways to stay afloat academically so they can compete on the field or basketball court for another season. For Governor Martin to claim it was only an "academic" dilemma is downright deceitful. What is worse than Martin's conclusion is that the NCAA has tucked its tail and left town, too. I know the ACC doesn't want to take any action...UNC graduate and ACC Commissioner John Swofford has his hands full trying to make sure there still is an ACC, with all the raiding taking place around the country. UNC's academic and athletic reputation has taken a serious hit....I just hope we're done with the internal investigations. Enough, already. The Carolina Panthers have made it three wins in a row as they head into their season finale against the Saints. The off-season moves will be interesting, as it is with most teams that fall short of expectations and don't make the playoffs. What makes it tougher is the way the team is closing the season, playing its best football of the season. It's the same old story in Charlotte....hot Decembers, once the damage is done. Jerry Richardson has some serious questions to address as he continues to search for the right answers. This is the 18th season of Panther football, and the team has yet to produce back-to-back winning seasons.....and despite the bold prediction by Richardson that his club would win the Super Bowl in the first decade of existence, the Panthers have fallen short of that expectation, too. Back to the drawing board for Carolina and Jerry Richardson. I've seen the ending to this movie so many times that I've become numb....the fast finish will once again produce ridiculous expectations for a franchise that doesn't play or produce well under pressure or in the spotlight. The Panthers are always better when very little is expected or when very little matters. I would suggest the first move in 2013 for Richardson is to mandate that nobody associated with the franchise puts a full page ad in the local rag declaring the team the Super Bowl champions. |
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