Panthers look good…

After my disasterous predictions in the baseball playoffs, I’m not about to try and guess who is going to win in the NFL.  But I’ll say this much:  The Panthers look really good.

Take away their defensive meltdown in the fourth quarter today, and they’ve played great lately.  Even their loss to the Giants is a game they could have won.  The running backs are playing like two of the best in the league, Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith are clicking again, and the defense is just good enough.

The playoffs seem to be pretty wide open this year – and I really see no reason the Panthers can’t march through and end up in the Super Bowl.  We’ll see…

    kevin

throwing your vote away…

The Associted Press “Male Athlete of the Year” was announced earlier this week.  Not shocking at all that Michael Phelps won – he should.  Here’s the voting:

Michael Phelps 172
Usain Bolt 5
Eli Manning 4
Cristiano Ronaldo 1
Michael Beasley 1
Bode Miller 1
Kobe Bryant 1
Tiger Woods 1
Kerry Collins 1

WHO VOTES FOR KERRY COLLINS!?!?!  Are you serious??  How could someone possibly look at the entire year – and think, “yes…Kerry Collins is the Male Athlete of the Year”.

Makes me think someone either doesn’t care – or wasn’t paying attention.

kevin

I loved Starting Lineup guys when I was a kid.  Strangely enough – I got my first one here in Wilmington.  I was visiting my grandparents and went home with a Dale Murphy figure. 

A HR for WRH

It didn’t take Wallace-Rose Hill officials long to put this past season’s 2-10 record behind them.

They fired the head coach within weeks of the end of the season, and moved quickly to find a replacement.

They needed to make a splash to re-energize the fan base, and they did just that by hiring one of the most successful coaches in our area.  Joey Price is heading to Wallace-Rose Hill.

There’s no other way to put it: this is a 100% home run for the Bulldogs.  I’ve been thinking all afternoon – and I don’t think they could have come up with a better hire.  He’s a “big name” high school football coach – is well respected in Wallace – and most importantly is a winner.

I wrote after the Jamboree press conference in August that I was worried about Glenn Sellers switching to the spread offense.  Turns out I was right – it was a disaster.  WRH went 2-10 – and Sellers was quickly fired after the season.

Expect Price to quickly scrap the spread, and get Wallace-Rose Hill back to being a state powerhouse.   Great hire.

when are you moving back?

People ask me all the time where I’m from.  I tell them I’m from Upstate NY, and they almost always ask – do you hope to move back there someday?

NO.

The picture above is from my mother.  She took it on Sunday.  That’s her backyard – and that snow is from one day.

Forget it.

    kevin

Sorry about the lack of blog posts lately.  I had a bunch of days off – and didn’t feel like writing then.  I’ll be better about it.

the perfect ornament

When your favorite baseball player of all-time has his own Christmas ornament, you don’t ask questions.  You just buy it.  Immediately.  Don’t think about it.  Just buy it.  That’s the Nomar Garciaparra ornament above.  I saw it today when I was shopping and – obviously – I now own it.

But it really got me thinking later.  Why Nomar?  I mean – he’s my favorite player, and even I can admit he hasn’t been relevent for years.  He’s really the best guy they could come up with? 

Its the 13th in the Hallmark “At the Ballpark” series. (I will admit, I also bought the David Ortiz last year).  Its kinda comical to look back – it could easily be renamed the Hallmark “Balco” series.  Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire have all had ornaments.

But – like I said – better not to ask questions like “why Nomar?”.  Frankly – who cares?  At least one shopper is thrilled (while Chuck James fans have to wait until next year, hoping he’s #14).

Now the real question is – does Bob own the 2002 George Brett version?

    kevin

You know you want one…