The Panthers good cop/bad cop routine continued Sunday with their 20-7 loss to Tampa Bay. It only felt like 40-0. Part of that was due to the Panthers getting no deeper than the Bucs' 47-yard line until their final scoring drive with 23 seconds remaining to avoid the shutout. Keep in mind that the main team captains on offense and defense were out with Jake Delhomme and Dan Morgan sidelined. That doesn't cover all of it, but the back-up play at those two positions was dismal.
It will be interesting to see if the Panthers pull together or pull apart after this one. Kris Jenkins gave a five minute long monlogue on the team's lack of energy and heart. Steve Smith was seen on the sideline telephone barking his displeasure to the offensive coaching staff. The Panthers have followed last year's 8-8 record with a 2-2 start. There's plenty of time to go , and if these two players would like to elevate their status into being team leaders, now is the time.
Jenkins said he would be as upset as the fans were "if I had to sit in the stands for four hours and look at that garbage." Wow, I haven't seen a team get called out like that since Hope Solo called out her US Women's World Cup coach and teammate Briana Scurry following last week's loss to Brazil. Football is no longer just a girls' sport.
The Panthers do play better on the road for whatever reason, now 0-2 at home and 2-0 on the road. The Carolina fans did their part Sunday by booing the Panthers frequently, sort of creating that "on the road" flavor.
What a collapse by the New York Mets to blow a seven game with 17 games left in the regular season. Still, gotta be happy for the Phillies who are finally back in the post-season for the first time since 1993. And my beloved Cleveland Indians return for the first time in six years. The bad news is they lost every game against the Yankees this season, which is their opponent in the playoffs.
Competitive eating has become a major sport, with the top "athletes" earning $50,000 a year or so. It's much more than just hot dogs now though, as Chicago chef Pat Bertoletti won the Louisiana Downs Grits Eating Championship. He out-ate the likes of hot dog champ, Joey Chestnut and Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas for the $10,000 prize by downing 21 pounds of grits in 10 minutes. Not to be confused with Valerie Bertinelli, Bertoletti on his stategy says, "I just try to get familiar with the food by studying it and seeing what's the quickest way to eat it." Now, let's go back upstairs, Jim...
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