Jim Szoke's Sports Blog

Bracket Business

The only thing better than watching the NCAA Tournament Selection Show is the hours and then days of analyzing the brackets.  But by the time you're done watching Jay Bilas, Dick Vitale and most every expert pick four number-1 seeds to reach the Final Four, it seems a little disappointing.  Of course, last year for the first time all of the top seeds did actually advance to the Final Four.  Come on, give me a George Mason or Davidson type pick.  What makes the tournament memorable is that team that breaks though and goes much further than a first-round exit.  

Sometimes I spend more time filling out my brackets than I did studying for college exams.  I couldn't stomach picking all top seeds for my brackets, so here goes...a pair of number-1's in Louisville and North Carolina, a number-2 in Memphis, and 3rd seed Villanova beating Pittsburgh.  Louisville beats Memphis, and North Carolina over Villanova.  Then it's Carolina finally over Louisville, despite the Cardinals being the best team from the best conference, the Big East.  A healthy and rested Ty Lawson can help UNC wear down opponents as they are a terrific second-half team when they can push tempo.  Their focus from the beginning of this season is a national championship, and only the loss of Marcus Ginyard has diminished the belief that they can follow through.

Even though their record is not very impressive, it's good to see the Bobcats in the hunt for a playoff spot. The only thing that can warm Charlotte up to this NBA team is winning.  It's a team that plays hard under Larry Brown, who has brought credibility to the team and tweaked the roster closer to his style of player. It would be nice to put behind the numerous mistakes made by the Bobcats organization since arriving in town and just give area basketball fans a team they can get behind.  It would have been nice if the NBA had at least reserved the Hornets name and logo for Charlotte's return to the league.  It's hard watching Chris Paul in those colors playing for New Orleans instead of here.

Wonder what colors Julius Peppers will be wearing next season?  If not black, blue and silver, then New England makes the most sense.  They were reportedly on his list of four teams that he would accept a trade from Carolina.  The Patriots have the cap space and draft picks to trade with the Panthers.  The Panthers would also gain nearly $17-million in deleted salary for 2009 by trading Peppers, but most of this year's free agency class has already made their moves.  Speaking of which, it's been one of the least intriguing off-seasons in regard to the quality and depth of this season's free agent potentials.

Hope A-Rod and his cousin Yuri are enjoying their downtime from baseball.  Maybe passing the time enjoying a video at home, like Dumb and Dumber....then there is Roger Clemens and his former trainer Brian McNamee, who saved a used steroids needle in a Miller Light beer can in 2001 to save as evidence..."builds muscle mass, less filling!"

  

         

 

A-Roid Not A-lone in Steroids Blame

Yankees star Alex Rodriguez is grabbing the headlines this week for his admission that he used performance enhancing drugs.  Of course his sudden, heroic apology comes days after Sports Illustrated broke the story that he was on a list of known users.  Rodriguez will only admit to using steroids during a three-year period with the Texas Rangers.  Of course, the sports leagues have yet to come to an agreement for testing athletes for HGH, so we can only wonder how many are taking human growth hormone.

A-Rod is just the flavor of the month, as Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens and others have already been rung through the ringer.  The difference this time is that Rodriguez was going to be the savior to lead baseball out of the supposed post-steroid era.  Instead, we now know he was right there with them all the time.

His lack of apparent sincerity is dripping all over his lame apology.  First, he handpicks softball tossing interviewer and baseball apologist Peter Gammons of ESPN for his disclosure.  Rodriguez claims he did not know he had tested positive until the story was leaked last week by Sports Illustrated.  However, the Mitchell Report says all of the 104 players who tested positive were told in 2004.  ARod deftly claims SI reporter Serena Roberts stalked him for the story despite her being able to refute each step. 

After watching Barry Bonds tarnished pursuit of baseball's all-time home run record, this latest saga will hang over the sport as Rodriguez is tracking to eventually surpass Bonds.  Bonds and Rodriguez would likely have gone down in history as two of baseball's all-time greats, but now they will be on the government's most wanted poster as steroid offenders.

Michael Phelps should be sending a thank you card to ARod for taking him off the front page of sports.  If anything, bong smoking and beer pong should slow him down in the pool.  

NFL free agency begins later this month, and it will be interesting to see how the Panthers deal with the Julius Peppers possible departure.  The team of course holds the cards, meaning his rights, but Peppers again made it very clear during the Pro Bowl broadcast on ESPN that he has no desire to remain in Carolina.

This past season, Panthers fan and Panther Talk regular attender Jimmy Powell and his family were guests at Panthers practice at the invitation of coach John Fox.  The Powell's 20-month old son Jackson suffers from SMA which is the number-1 killer of children before they reach age two.  For Jimmy and Gina it is obviously a very traumatic situation to deal with and our hearts go out to them.  For anyone who has dealt with severe medical situations, you know it is also financially challenging.  To read more about Jackson and SMA, or if you feel touched enough to offer support, visit their website at www.our-sma-angels.com/jackson/      

Super Bowl and a Dash of Peppers

Have to admit it took just a little bit of the sting out of the Panthers losing to Arizona in the playoffs to see the Cardinals continue to roll by beating Philadelphia.  And don't forget, they began their playoff run by eliminating the red-hot Atlanta Falcons. 

It's hard not to like nice-guy, Kurt Warner.  At the age of 37 he's playing as well as he did with the old St. Louis Rams "fun-and-gun" days and is the only other quarterback besides Craig Morton to lead two different teams to a Super Bowl.  Warner also is a free agent and increases his value with each passing week.  The Cardinals have an interesting dilemma with former number-1 overall pick Matt Leinart riding the bench and looking for playing time.

The Cardinals are also again showing that it's not the best team, but the team that is playing the best in January that reaches the Super Bowl.  Arizona finished the regular season with a (9-7) record. In addition to blowing a 14-point lead in losing to the Panthers in week-8, check out a sampling of some of Arizona's lowlights from the regular season with losses to the Jets (56-35), the Eagles (48-20), the Vikings (35-14) and the Patriots (47-7).

I'm trying to understand the bargaining philosophy of Julius Peppers and his agent Carl Carey.  They not only announced that Peppers no longer want to play for the Panthers, but that his preference is to play for a team that employs a 3-4 defensive scheme.  They've now narrowed their field of potential suitors to about seven NFL teams, since the vast majority play a 4-3 defense.  Wouldn't they welcome the most possible teams bidding against each other, in theory?  Plus the garbage about how he has not been able to reach his full potential by playing for the Panthers.  Really, four trips to the Pro Bowl and a career best 14.5 sacks last season isn't featuring Peppers enough?  Even before this, I felt the price tag would be too much to stomach for a new contract.  Now, I hope Carolina can franchise Peppers and then trade him for some draft picks, maybe he'd like winters in Detroit.

At least the Peppers news has taken the target off Jake Delhomme, at least for now.  No doubt the Panthers quarterback had a terrible game.  But let's not go overboard and forget (12-4) and a division title with perhaps the Panthers best offensive season in their 14-year history.  The defense sputtered miserably down the stretch run beginning with the Giants rushing for 300 yards, followed by the Saints 20-point 4th quarter comeback, and finally Larry Fitzgerald running free through the secondary.  I'm not absolving the quarterback play, but it's a team game, and there definitely were mulitple issues plaguing the Panthers when the season came to an abrupt end against the Cardinals.     

    

Playoff Preview

Now that the Panthers know where they are seeded in the playoffs, where they will play and when, the remaining question is whom they will play.  If Minnesota beats Philadelphia, the Vikings will be the opponent here in the second round.  If the Eagles win that game, then the Panthers get the winner of the Falcons/Cardinals game.  Of the three, Atlanta is the probably the one that would create the most excitement with a regional division rival.  However, the Falcons are also playing the best football of the three.  Arizona and Minnesota are both more one-dimensional, with the Cardinals a throwing team with Kurt Warner and the Vikings a running team with league rushing leader Adrian Peterson.  The Falcons can do both with the second leading rusher in Michael Turner and talented rookie quarterback Matt Ryan, along with a strong defense up front, led by John Abraham.

The Panthers have also faced all three possible opponents in the regular season.  Minnesota handed the Panthers their first loss (20-10), holding Carolina to 40 yards rushing.  The Panthers rallied to beat the Cardinals (27-23) as the teams combined for 776 yards of offense.  Against Atlanta, the Panthers split two games with the home team winning each time.

With a (12-4) record, you would think the Panthers fans would be satisfied.  It's surprising how many continue to use the word conservative in regard to Coach John Fox' offensive philosophy.  They scored more points than any Panthers team in history and scored 28 or more points in each of the final seven games.  If using the NFL's most dangerous rushing attack is conservative, than so be it.  You can only use the Steve Smith out-jumping two defenders play so many times in a game, and get away with it. 

How is Deangelo Williams not an All-Pro?  As an alternate, he could still make it to Hawaii if somebody in front of him bows out.  Williams was third in the NFL with 1,515 yards rushing averaging an amazing 5.5 yards per carry and scoring 20 touchdowns, also a team record.  If anything, Deangelo should be getting some MVP votes with his production and what he has meant to the Panthers improvement.  The upside for Deangelo is huge with this being just his third NFL season, and first year as a full-time starter.        

I would write something here about Bill Cowher, but it will be outdated before I hit "send."  Yesterday he was not, then was, then was not going to interview for the Jets coaching job.  He's turned down Cleveland and now the Denver job is open.  I'm assuming Detroit is not what he's looking for.  Mike Shanahan will be out of work for about a minute and I'm not sure that he didn't do one of his better coaching jobs this past season after all the injuries the Broncos had.  

Prime Time Panthers

Not that they have clinched anything, but here's an idea of how big the Panthers' win over Tampa Bay was on the NFC playoff race.  Carolina went from being a 5-seed playing in the first round at Arizona, to being a 2-seed, getting the first round off with a bye, and then hosting a second round game.  That works both ways of course, so no time for a letdown against Denver.  The Broncos are (8-5) and will be the AFC West champions.  Then it's the (11-2) New York Giants at the Meadowlands, followed by the (7-6) New Orleans Saints who could be fighting for a playoff spot. 

    

Of course, the Giants game is the biggie, big enough that the league has "flexed" it into primetime.  At stake could very well be home field advantage throughout the playoffs, which is huge for the Panthers.  Carolina is (7-0) at home and (3-3) on the road.  Although, under John Fox they have a nice history as road warriors in winning at St. Louis and Philadelphia in the 2003 season playoffs and winning at the NY Giants and Chicago in the 2005 post-season.

The primetime showing over Tampa Bay has made the Panthers media darlings now.  ESPN called me on to talk about the Panthers on Outside the Lines with Bob Ley.  Half of the conversation was about that upcoming Giants game since that's what most of the nation is interested in.  At least I didn't have to chime in on Plaxico Burress.

Kudos to Marty Hurney, Mark Koncz and the entire personnel staff for the job they've done in structuring the roster, in particular through the draft.  Watching first round picks Jonathan Stewart and Jeff Otah steamroll through the vaunted Buccaneers defense was impressive.  Wait til they get some experience.  Third round pick, Charles Godfrey immediately shored up the other safety position.  I think last year's second round pick, Dwayne Jarrett has earned a full-time receivers spot over DJ Hackett.  His Southern Cal teammate, Ryan Kalil has solidified the middle of the offensive line.

  Not a fan of the BCS system for picking the national champion, but at least they got it right with Florida versus Oklahoma.  Still the bottom line is that the best team does not always win, so not having a playoff format not only hurts schools like Texas, but robs us of the potential Cinderella stories of Boise State, Utah, etc that could pull off the upsets ala the NCAA basketball tournament.  The rest of the world would never know who Stephan Curry is if they ran college hoops the way they do it for football.  

        

November Reign

At (8-2) the Panthers control their own fate and have done exactly what they set out to do.  They've improved their running game, including a team record 264 yards rushing versus Detroit.  The defense and special teams are greatly improved from last season.  They take care of business, beating the teams they are supposed to beat like the combined (2-18) Raiders and Lions.  Of course, it gets tougher the rest of the way with four of the remaining six games on the road.  Each opponent is .500 or better and they have another game with each team in the division.

I asked ESPN's Mel Kiper which was more likely...(0-10) Detroit going winless for the entire season or (10-0) Tennessee staying undefeated.  Kiper says he thinks the Titans will trip up somewhere along the way with the Jets, Steelers and Colts all capable.  The Lions could actually go oh-for-the-season, but in an interesting note they could kill two streaks at one time when they host the Titans on Thanksgiving.  Even in their worst seasons (and this would pretty well qualify), Detroit seems to play their best game at home on Turkey Day.

Why do I think we haven't heard the end of the Butch Davis to the University of Tennessee coaching rumors.  Not that he would necessarily take it, but call it the Nick Saban Rule.  No doesn't always mean "no" from coaches who are being swayed by major programs waving around $3 million contracts.   Davis has been given everything he asked for, including a pay raise by UNC, but SEC teams now think they have to buy a conference title like Alabama is in position for by out-spending each other.  

It was a no-brainer that UNCC's board would approve the go-ahead to pursue a football program.  Now, there's just the sticky little job of raising $45 million in a down economy to make it a reality.  Hopefully there are enough die-hards and wealthy alums that can make it happen.  An eventual on-campus stadium needs to be part of it though to really make it feel like their team.  I used to do play-by-play for the 49ers basketball team when they played at what is now Cricket Arena, and it felt more like doing a minor league pro team than a college team in that atmosphere. 

Former Atlanta Falcons star Michael Vick is due to be released from prison in eight months.  His debts outweigh his assets by over four million dollars, so Vick's agent is already talking about the quarterbacks return to the NFL.  Sounds right up the alley of Oakland and Dallas, so we'll see what team might be willing to take the PR beating of hiring a convicted dog killer.  It could happen and commissioner Roger Goodell will have an interesting decision to make on reinstatement.

    

  

The Thinking Man's Football Analysis

There is a common theme in the Panthers wins (beyond the fact they scored more points than their opponent, Einstein) and that is the ability to run the football.  In their five victories, the Panthers are averaging 143 yards on the ground.  In the two losses, the number drops to 43 yards rushing.  Yes, being behind means more passing than running in trying to catch up, but the Panthers struggled to run from the beginning of the two losses at Minnesota and Tampa Bay.  That ability to run the ball keeps the opponents offense on the bench and that was never more evident than against the Saints, as the Panthers clicked off a nine-and-a-half minute drive in the fourth quarter to salt the game away.

This is a tough stretch for New Orleans as they will spend 43 days between home games at the Superdome.  This weekend's game in London against the Chargers is technically one of their home games.  So, the Saints played at Carolina, next in London, then following the bye week have road games at Kansas City and Atlanta.  They won't play another game in New Orleans until November 24th vs. Green Bay on a Monday night.  After that, it's back on the road for three of their next four games before closing out the regular season at home against the Panthers December 28th.  By then, their uniforms may not even match with lost luggage and dirty laundry.

NY Jets quarterback Brett Favre reportedly shared the Green Bay Packers playbook with the Detroit Lions back in week-2 of the regular season.  If it's true, it's not illegal, but would really turn a lot of his former Packers fans against him.  Of course the punchline is that nothing could help the Lions, as they got blistered that day and still have not won a game this season. 

Panthers Coach John Fox told us Monday that there is some sharing of information when a current player goes against his former team (i.e. backup QB Josh McCown played five seasons for Arizona).  However, he says the advantage is minimal and there is enough preparation and available tape that it's not a big deal.  Again, reference the Lions outcome against Green Bay.

My longtime broadcast partner, Mick Mixon, reminded me that I've been there for every play of every Panthers football game for 14 years.  It never really dawns on me what a small number of people that now includes, although there are two more in our radio booth with producer David Langton and engineer Bob White.  I actually don't remember a lot of those plays, and even a few of the years, like 2001 which I've completely forgotten.  I think we're somewhere around 280 games counting pre-season and post-season, but for me it is seasonal work like being a lifeguard.  I've yet to help win a game, so don't blame me for any of the losses. 

Nobody Breathe...

One quarter of the Panthers season is in the books and all is well.  With a (3-1) record, they have survived some of the NFL's toughest running backs and defenses already.  The Panthers defense is playing at a high level, having kept the likes of Ladainian Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson and Michael Turner well under their averages.  And now continues to be their best opportunity to pad the record with four out of five games at home and three out of four games within the NFC South. 

The Panthers broadcast network is off to a good start on the road portion of the schedule, budgeting per diem to it's most efficient level.  In the pre-season, we found awesome roast beef at Shanks & Evelyn's in Philadelphia, then french fries on the sandwiches at Primanti's in Pittsburgh.  Then got into regular season form staying at La Jolla with the beautiful people in San Diego, and taking in the Ryder Cup at Brit's Pub in Minneapolis, which features lawn bowling on the roof.  Oh, and the team is playing well too. 

It's been a busy week or so in the NFL with a general manager (Matt Millen) and two head coaches (Scott Lineham and Lane Kiffin) getting the boot.  Obviously, there was carry over from last season(s) that led to their dismissals, but it's ridiculous to be blowing people out in September.  I think the era of 24-hour all-sports radio and television, along with internet speculation creates itchy trigger fingers.  Millen was an exception getting seven years (way too many!) to straighten out the Lions, but Lineham and Kiffin were both just hired last season with no real prospects of a permanent replacement.

Speaking of internet speculation, how about Rusty Wallace being rumored to return to Sprint Series racing in a blog by his brother Kenny Wallace.  Turns out Kenny was wrong, and these are brothers who actually are close to one another!  I'm sure Kenny would not have blogged it if there were not some serious discussion, so maybe he got thrown under the bus, or chevrolet in this case.    

It should be an interesting baseball post-season with some new story lines.  Tampa Bay is in for the first time ever after being a team that could be counted on for 100 losses a season.  Maybe Kevin Costner's catchy little generic song of "dusting yourself off" and "giving it your all, cuz only you can make your dreams come true" inspired the Rays.   Or maybe it was better pitching and hitting.

A Cubs/White Sox series would be awesome considering it's been 102 years since the last opportunity for that to happen.  The Brewers are in for the first time in 26 years, Manny Ramirez has made the Dodgers fun to watch, while the Red Sox now can't stop winning titles after so many decades of trying.  And for the first time in 13 years, no Yankees in the post-season despite having by far the highest payroll in the majors.  Can't fire the manager, already did that last year when they were actually contenders.

Sweet Caroline

The Panthers (2-0) start is impressive considering the caliber of competition they have faced and that they won without their top playmaker.  It says a lot about the defense that the win over Chicago came with just 217 yards of total offense.  Rookie Jonathan Stewart saved the day with his ability to break tackles and score two touchdowns.  Now, with Steve Smith returning this week against Minnesota, defenses will no longer be able to stack the line of scrimmage with 10 defenders as the Bears did.   

Jon Beason and Chris Harris have given the Panthers defense the rough edge they need to be intimidating over the middle.  Both should get Pro Bowl consideration if they keep up the pace.  Harris has forced fumbles in the first two games after leading the NFL in that category last season.  Chris Gamble recovered both fumbles this year and quietly has become the best of the Panthers talented cornerback trio.   

The Panthers have taken a song page from Davidson, playing "Sweet Caroline" at the end of their home victory over the Bears.  Might need to book Neil Diamond to sing the national anthem if this keeps up.  Darius Rucker, formerly of Hootie and the Blowfish had the honors on Sunday, keeping the Panthers undefeated when he performs.   

One of the nice stories early in the NFL season has been Packers QB Aaron Rodgers.  After riding out the Brett Favre retirement saga in the off-season, he took his first "Lambeau Leap" with a touchdown in their opener, then threw three more touchdowns in their blow-out of the Lions....I guess the Patriots do have a few more players beside Tom Brady.  It will be interesting to see how smart Bill Belichick looks as a coach without Brady over the long haul though...the Chargers are going to need professional counseling after getting beat on a walk-off touchdown by the Panthers, then the referees robbing them on two crucial calls in a 39-38 loss to Denver...wonder if the Browns will ever beat the Steelers after dropping their 10th consecutive game against Pittsburgh.

Appalachian State made headlines last year, and now it's East Carolina's turn off to a (3-0) start and ranked 15th in the AP poll this week...Georgia must have made somebody mad as they win each week and drop in the rankings again, now from first to third... Southern Cal looks like they can punch their ticket to the BCS title game even though it's only mid-September...Ohio State wasn't even in the same class as USC.  In fact, the Big 10 and ACC may need to petition the NCAA to keep their Division 1-A football status if they don't pick up the pace....Charlie Weis didn't sell his soul, but did give up a knee ligament for Notre Dame to beat Michigan.   

Season's Greetings

The Panthers will find out immediately where they stand this season when they open at San Diego.  Carolina looks like a playoff team to me.  Once Steve Smith returns in week-3 the offense can operate at full capacity, and without him will have to pound it with the one-two punch of Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart.  Jake's arm looks stronger than ever, Julius Peppers has the "pep" back in his step, and Jon Beason may supplant Brian Urlacher as the top middle linebacker in the NFC.    

The Chargers are the trendy AFC pick to reach the Super Bowl pick for those tired of penciling in Tom Brady's Patriots and Peyton Manning's Colts.  Of course, injuries to those two could actually slow them down to say 40 touchdown passes each this year.  We seldom travel out more than one day before a game for a roadtrip, but we will get an early jump out to San Diego.  Tough assignment, as we stay around the corner from Torrey Pines, where the US Open was held.  To balance it out, we get two days in Oakland later this season.

Important NFL notes to start your season...Bengals WR Chad Johnson is to officially be referred to by his new legal name, Chad Ocho Cinco.  Ocho Cinco actually means "8-5" in Spanish, not "85," but too much trouble to change it again.  I guess he didn't take coach Marvin Lewis' suggestion of Ocho Psycho.

While Detroit Lions new running back, Rudi Johnson was meeting with team coaches and management, out-going running back Tatum Bell stole his luggage.  This was actually caught by surveillance video cameras at the Lions complex.  A woman later returned the Gucci bags, minus Rudi's credit cards, ID and underwear.  I guess Tatum is not planning on playing for another team in the NFL and was looking for some parting gifts.

Nice start to the NBA by former Kansas stars Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur.  The league throws a four-day transition symposium to acclimate the incoming college stars to the NBA.  But Chalmers and Arthur got evicted by commissioner David Stern after being busted for having marijuana and women in their room.  Security had to break into their room since the players wouldn't let them in, and one person was in the bathroom repeatedly flushing the toilet.  Guess they had to miss the Dennis Rodman lecture by leaving early.