Jim Szoke's Sports Blog

Tebow Time

The Panthers Cam Newton is a much better quarterback than Denver's Tim Tebow.  Just ask WR Steve Smith. But it has been amazing to watch the Tebowmania that surrounds the Broncos second-year QB.  It is a phenomenon that exceeds the boundaries of a football field and perhaps even this world.  For a guy who has done essentially nothing wrong, who in fact would seem to be an outstanding role model, Tebow stirs emotions and conversations like no other player this season in the NFL.

The Broncos started their season with Kyle Orton at QB and were floundering at (1-4) as Coach John Fox's first season in Denver looked headed for disaster.  Whether it was desperation, or just to get the Tebow followers off his back, Fox turned the controls over the former Florida star.  Tebow responded by playing horribly for the first 55 minutes of the game before Denver rallied to win in overtime against Miami. 

With a combination that included good defense, an outstanding kicker, and Tebow's late game leadership, Denver would go on a 6-game winning streak before losing to New England this past weekend.  Along the way, Tebow made more ugly passes than quality ones, but something about him has inspired Denver to an (8-6) record and the brink of the playoffs with two games to go in the regular season.  If you ask Tebow, the thanks goes to a higher power.  Jesus Christ.

"Tebowing" has become all the rage.  It used to be called praying or giving thanks until the mainstream media felt compelled to call it something other than what it is.  His story has become part of the newscast as much as the sportscast.  And once you've hit Saturday Night Live, it doesn't get any bigger than that.  And with apologies to Pat Robertson, I believe he is wrong.  SNL wasn't attacking the Bible, they "attack" all things controversial or newsworthy from political candidates to Justin Bieber.

As Broncos executive and former QB great John Elway said, Tebow is here to stay.  Christianity is too, so maybe Tebow's message will reach his intended audience especially this Christmas season.  Either way, for believers and non-believers, and every religion practiced around the country, Tebow has become a polarizing figure more for his openess on his beliefs than for his ability to throw a football.  And watch out, because he's starting to get the NFL passing game down too. 

 

 

NFL Thoughts at the Midway Point

The Panthers will hit the midway point of their season when they host the Minnesota Vikings this weekend.  Their 2011 season can mostly be summed up in one word...Cam.  The rookie from Auburn became the face of the franchise with his first pass in Arizona and has not slowed down since then.  He is on pace to throw for well over 4,000 yards, rush for about 600 yards and account for about 35 TD's.  But it is of course the way he does it, with a skill set of size, agility, speed, savvy, arm strength, pocket presence and so much more that makes him a headliner.  He is the kind of player that the nation will want to see on Monday Night Football, Sunday Night Football and in London.  With that, Steve Smith is having an all-world type season and once Ron Rivera and Sean McDermott get their hands on some more frontline defenders this team has the potential to be special by as soon as next season

The Green Bay Packers went on the road as the number-6 seed in the NFC playoffs last year, rattling off one victory after another on their way to winning the Super Bowl.  And now, they are really good.  The only undefeated team in the NFL has been challenged a few times including by Carolina, but are so deep on offense that it is scary.  Anytime they lose will be an upset, and odds are they will eventually, but they remain the most complete team and the team to beat in the NFL.

Along with Green Bay, the most upper crust of the league is New England and New Orleans.  Those three teams are in the A+ class as long as they stay healthy.  After bursting out of the game, Buffalo and Detroit are looking beatable again.  Especially bad news for the Lions is the injury to RB Jahvid Best which makes them a one-dimensional running team.  Getting on track after slow starts are the Jets, Steelers and Falcons.  San Francisco is intriguing at (5-1), but you have to wonder if they can sustain that in the playoffs as they play in the ridiculously easy NFC West where the other three teams have combined for 3 wins.

Storylines to follow in second half of the season will include Tim Tebow as a starting QB in Denver.  Yes, he led the Broncos to an overtime victory in his first NFL start, but it was against winless Miami and they were trailing 15-0 until the final three minutes.  Carson Palmer will get a bye week and hopefully for him a healthy Darren McFadden as he tries to resurrect his career in Oakland.  And then there is Dallas rookie RB DeMarco Murray bursting on the scene with a team record 253 yards rushing in his first NFL start.

The other bit of intrigue will be the Andrew Luck Lottery, where some "lucky" team will win the right by losing the most to take the Stanford QB with the first pick of the 2012 NFL Draft.  Miami, Indianapolis and St. Louis are currently winless.  The Rams don't need him, so they would be looking to deal.  Minnesota, Jacksonville and Arizona are very much alive with only one win a piece, but they better dial it down if they want the next great pro quarterback.

What Have They Done to College Football?

 
As if it wasn't enough that we can't remember what conferences traditional college programs are playing in these days, now you can't even figure out which teams are playing when you turn on the TV.  Thanks Oregon!  With the Ducks dozen or so NIKE football uniform ensembles, now it seems that nearly every college team is on the marketing bandwagon.  The most absurd is the Maryland uni pictured above, which is some sort of patchwork quilt of their state flag.  And worse than the way it looks it what it has done, create buzz for Maryland football.  Not that that is in itself bad, but that the social and mainstream chatter the uniform created is bound to lead to even more copy-cats universities trying to top that in their offseason marketing meetings.

 
Like Maryland's deal with Under Armor, Georgia says their opening day uniforms were a one game deal with NIKE.  Still, with the tradition of "between the hedges" and Uga the mascot, is it worth smudging the iconic Georgia look?  The fact the Bulldogs lost the game (to another uniform scrambler Boise State) and have been in a downward descent for the past few seasons does not help either.  

Forget wardrobes for a minute though.  The continuation of the Super Conferences process is more disturbing as it blows up geographical rivalries as the NCAA will eventually be comprised of four giant leagues.  Texas A&M is set to join the SEC which will open the door for further dismantling of the Big-12 and more entries into the SEC.  With that means even more football seasons where conference teams don't have enough games to schedule each other.  Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri and others will be put into play based on their television market size and fan base.  I still have to remind myself that Boston College and Miami play in the ACC.

Yet despite all of these unwanted changes, the one major thing that needs to be changed on the field contines to not change.  There is still no post-season playoff system to determine the national champion.  From the sound of it, that will continue to be the case for years to come as the polls dictate the rankings instead of determing the outcome with a post-season tournament of some sort. 

Add in the slew of major NCAA investigations and sanctions involving the likes of Southern Cal, Ohio State, North Carolina and others and college football is an utter mess.  Still a great game, but as ugly as a Terrapins uniform to decipher right now.

 

The Core of the Matter

 

The Panthers said that resigning their core players to long-term contracts would be their focus, and they have put their money where their mouth is coming out of the lockout.  DeAngelo Williams, Charles Johnson, James Anderson and Thomas Davis all have shiny new five to six year deals.  That commitment along with the addition of rookie quarterback Cam Newton were apparently enough to make star wide receiver Steve Smith want to stick around and be a part of what will hopefully be a Carolina revival.

The Panthers were a league-worst (2-14) last season, but the talent level says otherwise.  The dumpster fire that was their QB position and overall passing attack ruined whatever chance they had to be competitive.  Add the significant injuries to DeAngelo Williams, Jeff Otah, and Thomas Davis to name a few and it was a recipe for disaster.  A lame-duck coaching staff with a foot out the door was not interested in building somebody else's team of the future (Brian St. Pierre plays, while Armanti Edwards sits?).

Now with a coaching staff led by Ron Rivera on the same page as management, there is a synergy to the operation as a whole.  The Panthers who lived through last season figure to be fired up to erase what happened and get back to competing in the ultra-tough NFC South.  This will not be a one-year fix, and Cam Newton can't be an NFL franchise savior overnight, but for the first time in a long while there is excitement again about Panthers football.  The Panthers won July.  Soon we will see if they can win September and October.

 

Endless Summer

With the ongoing NFL lockout, it remains unclear as to when football season will begin.  When the biggest story of the spring is which players showed up for voluntary workouts at a high school, you know it's getting a little tedious.  Normally, July signals the beginning of training camp and the end of vacation season in the NFL.  That could still happen on time of course, and hopefully it will so that we have a full season.  Plus I've used up my vacation days, traveled the world, and need a paycheck.  Here's a vacation slideshow of how we spent some of our down time since the Panthers closed out their (2-14) season in Atlanta...

 

Sandra and I visited our friends Stefan and Jennifer in February in Munich, Germany.  Sports we covered while there included touring the '72 Olympic site, skiing in the German Alps and drinking at beer gardens.  Everyday brought a different kind of sausage or bratwurst.  Sometimes when I asked what was in it, I was told not to ask but I'm pretty sure I heard the words calf brains at breakfast.  Their son Joshua took me on a tour of a German radio station he works at, and their daughter Hannah taught me how to speak german (avalanche=lawine, exit ramp=ausfahrt) be careful with that second one.

 

We ate and drank too much, and found our skiing skill level was better suited to the Appalachian Mountains than the Alps.  Here is Sandra getting smothered by Jennifer and Stefan in Garmisch, site of the Alpine World Ski Championships. 

 

From Germany, we took the train to Italy to visit Venice and Verona.  We ate and walked our way through northern Italy where gelato should be a banned substance.  Venice was incredible and Verona was an awesome mix of history including what they call the Verona Arena, which was built in 30 AD and is still used today as an ampitheater.  Here we are avoiding the lions in the third largest colosseum in Italy. 

 
In April, I took my son Andy for a college visit to NC State and four days of touring Washington DC.  He is interested in the ROTC program at State, so we wandered throughout Reynolds Coliseum which houses those programs.  It was good to see the old building being used for a basketball tournament, as I hadn't been in there since calling a Davidson game against the Wolfpack in the early 90's.  In DC, the highlights were of course the monuments, along with the Capitol Rotunda, the changing of the guard at Arlington Cemetary and sitting inside the Supreme Court.  Here we are at Nationals Park, taking in a game against the Brewers. 

 

June was a family cruise to the Bahamas, where our only sports-related activities were snorkeling and the all-you-can-eat buffet on the boat.  I did enjoy seeing LeBron and the Miami Heat lose Game-6 and the championship to Dallas in the cigar lounge on board. Ah, but that reminds me of the NBA lockout...which reminds me of the NFL lockout and reminds me it's time to get back to work.  Hopefully sooner rather than later.

 

 

In Search of Football

The next best thing to football, is off-season football.  Unfortunately, with the NFL lockout the fun and drama of player trades and free agency are on hold.  There is no rookie/veteran OTA's to get a glimpse of Panthers first-round pick Cameron Newton throwing a football.  No knowing where Eagles QB Kevin Kolb or Saints RB Reggie Bush may land...or possibly Panthers WR Steve Smith for that matter.  What next, fantasy football league drafts being put on hold?  It's close to a national crisis.

 
I emceed the Charlotte Touchdown Club last week with guest speaker former Colts and Bucs head coach Tony Dungy, now with NBC.  Dungy believes a deal will be worked out at "the 11th-and-a-half hour" for the NFL season to start on time.  I've also heard the absolute drop-dead date for a deal is a plan that would allow the regular season to begin two weeks late, prior to the first round of bye-weeks in week-3.  The bye week and the week between the championship game and Super Bowl would be absorbed to finish the season on time.

I also played golf and emceed a Panthers event in Asheville last week.  Coach Ron Rivera and GM Marty Hurney were on hand for a Q&A session after dinner.  When Rivera was asked who his starting quarterback would be, he had a great answer..."Number-2."  That would be either last year's number-2 Jimmy Clausen or Auburn's number-2 Cam Newton.  

 
Football and other sports celebrities will be on hand for Dell and Stephen Curry's "Curry Celebrity Classic" at River Run on June 20th.  The golf tournament benefits the Ada Jenkins Center, which helps under priviledged kids in the Davidson area.  If you would like to join us, there is more information at curryclassic.com

 

Lights, Cam, Action

 
It was a risk, but a worthwhile risk that the Panthers selected Cam Newton with the first pick in the NFL Draft.  It was certainly no more of a reach than the Titans taking Jake Locker at number-8, the Jaguars with Blaine Gabbert at number-10, or the Vikings with Christian Ponder at number-12.  The Panthers didn't have what appears to be an NFL starting quarterback, let alone a top-tier starting quarterback on their roster with second-year players Jimmy Clausen and Tony Pike, or free agent Matt Moore.

As we sit here today, it's practically a coin toss as to whether Newton becomes a great pro QB.  He has all the physical tools at 6'5" and 250 lbs.  He's agile and has the arm strength to make every type of throw.  The questions will be accuracy, ability to run a sophisticated offense and leadership.  I'm less concerned that he stole a laptop at Florida State than I am that Auburn used flip cards to signal plays from the sidelines.  Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel lied about his players selling memorabilia for tattoos, so who knows how much Cam Newton knew about his father soliciting money for his son's playing services?

This I know, the Panthers desperately need to get the QB position right, and Newton provides legitimate hope.  Not as sure-fire as Stanford's Andrew Luck would have, but more so than any other prospect available.  Newton won a national championship, a Heisman Trophy and by all accounts had one of the greatest single seasons in college football history.  I'd say that deserves a look for a Panthers team that had nine passing touchdowns in 16 games last season.

As for the other major issues on the roster, another wide receiver, a pair of defensive tackles and a cornerback were needed and among those selected.  But like Newton, only time will tell how big of a factor they will be.  Arriving in the midst of a lockout with a first year head coach pushes the learning curve way back for all of the rookies.  A tough spot to be in for sure, but with potential at the quarterback position, hope springs eternal this spring.

 

Final Four About Coaching

 
 
College basketball is about a lot of things, but mostly it is about the coaching.  The Final Four is proof of that.  Admit it, you never heard of Shaka Smart when you were filling out your tournament brackets.  In fact, VCU wasn't even in the bracket, because they were on a different line item vs. Southern Cal in the "First Four."  Now they are in the Final Four after adding wins over Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State and number-1 seed Kansas.  Now, the 33-year-old Smart is so smart that he will have his pick of bigger programs to coach.  How much has your job status improved over the past three weeks?

 

Butler's Brad Stevens seems so young, that he looks like he needs a note for missing class.  Last year, his Bulldogs came within two points of Duke in the national championship game, and now he has them back in the Final Four as an 8-seed playing VCU in Houston on Saturday.  Admit it, you didn't even think about putting Butler back in after last year's upstart run.  What's even more refreshing about Stevens is that the Indiana native seems as happy as a clam, or a corn cobb in the Hoosier state and may be staying put again after this season.

Admit it, you hate John Calipari.  He is taking his third different program to the Final Four, but the Memphis team he took to the title game a few years ago had to vacate their entire season for NCAA violations and so did his UMass team because of Marcus Camby's dealings with an agent.  When those programs got in trouble, he hightailed it to New Jersey and Kentucky so the stink wouldn't get on him.  But here he is again with the chance again at the national title.  As Charlie Sheen would say, winning...duh.

And then there is Jim Calhoun and Connecticut, which will play Kentucky in the semi-finals.  Admit it, you didn't have UConn in your Final Four because it's not 1999.  That's when Calhoun won the first of his two national titles, but he also had his team in the Final Four just two years ago and is already in the Basketball Hall of Fame with 853 victories.  The 68-year-old has overcome some serious health issues over the past few years, and the wily veteran should not be overlooked in Houston while the younger and flashier coaches get the media attention.  His guard Kemba Walker is playing the best of any player in the entire tournament.

Like your brackets, mine have been incinerated to the point where I don't have a single dog in the Final Four for the first time ever.  Don't even have a regional or hometown interest to root for.  So, I can watch the games for what they are, and only wish VCU and Butler would have had the chance to meet for the title.  It's been the most surprising tournament in memory and we haven't even gotten to the end yet.  May the best coach win.

 

The Office Pool

 
Yes office pools are technically illegal as a misdemeanor because the term office implies wagering outside of the home, a class-C violation.  Seldom enforced however, so roll the legal dice at your own risk and hope Dwight from "The Office" doesn't bust you.  I don't think Michael will care since he's leaving the show. 

Here then is my annual selection survey intended merely for entertainment and not profit.  In most years, it has definitely been non-profit, but I have topped a few basketball surveys thanks to the likes of the Florida Gators, UCLA Bruins and even North Carolina Tar Heels. Which brings me to my first point.  While you do want to pick the best teams, it's not always the best strategy.  Locally for example, many folks will have Duke or North Carolina sticking around for a long time in their brackets because they are either familiar with, or rooting for those teams to advance.  While those are solid high-seed choices, if your goal is to win the survey then you may want to consider picking another team that is good but not as popular since they won't get the amount of selections by your competitors. 

As for upsets, they are fine to pick but don't kill yourself and your bracket simultaneously with them.  It's ok to gamble on that 14-seed knocking off the 3-seed in the first round, but is the risk/reward worth it for one-point in your standings?  Typically, the points go up each round to say 25 points for picking the right national champion.  That's worth being right 25 times on the first Thursday/Friday of the tournament.  So have fun and take those upset shots, but don't live with them to reach the Final Four unless you just have some rock-solid inside information that will blow the doors off your bracket.  I'm guessing not many people even in the state of Indiana would have thought Butler could come within two points of winning it all last year, and in most seasons they don't.  So, since nobody in your local pool did either, nothing lost by laying off that Cinderella story.

On to my picks which I am posting on St. Patrick's Day less than two hours before brackets are due.  My Final Four is (3) Syracuse, (1) Duke, (1) Kansas and (2) Florida. It pains me to take Syracuse over Ohio State in the Elite Eight, but I will never go "chalk" on my picks and something about the Buckeyes late season losses and close calls is still bothering me despite my Ohio roots.  I actually don't think much of Florida in terms of being Final Four worthy, but their bracket is much easier than Ohio State's so I am pushing them through out of lack of options.

I have Duke beating Kansas in the title game because I think they are the two most complete teams.  I'm leary of one-man shows like Jimmer Fredette at BYU because it's too easy for a good defense to shut down one player for one game, and out they go.  The bottom line is to have fun and filling out a bracket gives us a reason to watch and care about the Bucknell and Morehead States of the tournament.  And for the guy who brags about correctly picking St. Peters to knock off Purdue, just ask him who the coach is and what conference they play in.  Right, I don't know either.

Draft Dodger

The Carolina Panthers have their entire new coaching staff in place.  Now, all they need are some players. With the entire league in a holding pattern as we await progress on a collective bargaining agreement, there is little to discuss since free agency and player trades will have to wait until that pesky issued is hammered out.  What will go on, rain or shine, is the NFL Draft on April 28-30.

The Panthers have the first pick and had hoped to use that on once-in-a-lifetime quarterback Andrew Luck of Stanford.  But Luck dodged the draft and remained in college, leaving the Panthers still holding the first pick but without a quarterback-worthy candidate projected to be the top overall player.  Thus the dilemma, will the Panthers roll the dice on another QB prospect in the first round or go the safe route and select a defensive player to rebuild around under new head coach Ron Rivera?

 
In terms of overall rating, Clemson DE Da'Quan Bowers or Auburn DT Nick Fairley are the safe, rational and worthy candidates to be top pick in the draft.  Bowers led the nation in sacks, won the Bronko Nagurski Award and would be reminiscent of the selection of Julius Peppers in 2002 that helped relaunch the Panthers from a (1-15) disaster the previous year.  Fairley was a big part of Auburn's national championship run, won the Lombardi Tropy as the best defensive lineman, and could be the next Warren Sapp.

 
The QB crop of prospects took a big hit with Luck sitting out the draft, but the player viewed as the most NFL-ready is Missouri's Blaine Gabbert.  He's got size at 6'5" and mobility, with a good arm and smarts.  The intriguing prospect again comes from Auburn in 6"6" QB Cameron Newton.  He's more raw, but has dynamic physical tools, can make all of the throws, but would require patience.  He would be a gamble, but both of these QBs will be selected in the top-10 picks because of the premium put on that position.

One way or another, the Panthers know they will have to find a QB as nobody is confident is the current collection on the roster which consists of 2nd year players Jimmy Clausen and Tony Pike.  The Panthers also are without the top pick in the draft's 2nd round after last year's trade with New England which netted Armanti Edwards.