Tom Talks

Family, Gifts and Tom's Yuletide Blog

   Come on, what would Dec. 25 be without my First Annual Yuletide Blog?

   A few things.

   First, hope your day and your week have been wonderful. We all have traditions. One of ours is to, after the dust and wrapping paper settle, run. The day was ideal, with soft temperatures, clear sunshine and almost no traffic. But I had nothing. Shins were killing me -- I've had shin splints and a stress fracture, the price of being pigeon-toed -- and even though I had to stop three times to stretch, I couldn't get loose. Yet, being out there among the trees and creeks and empty streets felt right. And it means I can eat with impunity the rest of the day.

   Secondly, I did not pass a single bell-ringer in front of a store this month without sticking at least $1 in his bucket. Last year, I skipped one and felt guilty for 12 months. Somebody wrote The Buzz and complained about how aggressive the bell-ringers are. I've yet to see one. They're friendly and some tell jokes and they make you feel part of something. Thanks.

   I felt part of something Tuesday night with Thomas Davis and his wife Kelly. Kelly is the executive director of Thomas' Defending Dreams Foundation. Many athletes have foundations; I admire the work they do.  What impressed me about Davis was how deeply he cared. In little more than a week he and his Carolina Panther teammates raised enough to hand 32 families a turkey and a $400 Wal-Mart gift card.

   When Thomas talked, his passion for giving was such that I handed him a $20. Next Christmas, he promises, he and his foundation will do more.

   I believe him.

   Lastly, please enjoy the day. Let it come to you. Slow down, think about what counts and, no matter how tired you are, smile. We don't get many opportunities like this one.

True Panther Fans

   Jan Tiffany and her husband Chuck decided they needed a road trip, and the Panthers-Giants game provided a destination.

   True, Chuck had lost his job selling building supplies in September. But Chuck and Jan owned a business on the side in Charlotte, Jumpin' Jacks party rental, and they had relatives in New Jersey and they decided that if they were careful with their money, they could afford to go.

   This was November, however, and they didn't have tickets. So Jan, who has one of those voices that makes you want to be nice to her, called the Giants. Can we buy seven tickets? Oh, and we pulled for the Giants in the Super Bowl.

  Sold out.

   Of course they were sold out. This was Sunday night football and the game was going to be big. Jan continued to call. She kept talking to the same woman in the sales office, learned her name, called regularly and continued to be nice. Finally the sales rep told her that season-ticket holders occasionally turn in their tickets, and there's a waiting list, and please submit your name in writing.

   Jan knew there would be many names ahead of hers. Can we buy four? We're in Charlotte. We're so excited about coming up.

   Let me talk to my supervisor. Yes, you can buy four.

   Can we buy seven?

   Let me talk to my supervisor. Yes, you can buy seven, face value, $80 apiece.

   The Tiffanys got into their 2000 Dodge Caravan minivan at midnight Thursday and drove north. The other tickets were for family there. They hit New Jersey and a snowstorm simultaneously, but crawled through the snow to Budd, N.J., the long 10 1/2 hour drive becoming longer.

   But once they arrived, they had a blast. On Saturday they drove to Manhattan, where the rear brakes went out, and stuck the mini-van in gear to reduce their speed and pull into a parking lot. Exxon fixed it for $450. Not in the budget, but what choice did they have?

   They went to Times Square and Chinatown. They were approached by several sellers of designer merchandise at cut-rate prices, but a cousin told Jan the real deals were cut in back alleys. Suddenly her cousin was in a Chinatown back alley. Jan joined her and, in the dim light, bought a Prada bag for $35 and a Tiffany & Company sterling silver ring for $10.

   You think they're real?

   "I don't know," Jan says Tuesday. "They look real. I'm looking at the ring right now. It says Tiffany  & Company with a sterling silver stamp."

   Then came the game. There was good old-fashioned trash talk with New York fans before the game. Once it started there were snowballs to the back, head and neck.

    "It was more than the usual," says Jan. "The people next to us were nice, but the people behind us were drunk and obnoxious. And the security guys and security did nothing."

   She says an official did offer them to come back for a tour of the stadium?

   "You'd have to drag me," she says.

   So they sat on what felt like coolers, their feet on ice, their backs and heads getting pelted with snow. They lost their brakes, drove through snow and might have bought a knock-off purse and jewelry. Oh, and their team lost a game that hurt more than the snowballs.

   Glad you went?

   "Yes," says Jan. "We feel like real fans now. And it feels good."

Take Aways

   Here's what I take away from New Jersey:

   Giants are by far the best team the Panthers have played this season, and the Panthers played by far their best road game. I get the usual email after a loss: Jake must go, Fox must go, Panthers gave the game away, etc. Those emailers and I saw different games.  Fox did become conservative with his play calling as the game wore on. Some of you contend that's because he doesn't believe in his quarterback.  Not true. He didn't want to risk a turnover. He didn't want to risk giving the game away. He wanted to force the Giants to take it. They did.

   New York's offensive line is exceptional. Despite Carolina's three sacks, Eli Manning rarely was pressured.

   Maake Kemoateu might not be thin, but Carolina's defensive line is. I know there were injuries. I also know it was a shock to see pass-rushing specialist Charles Johnson playing tackle on third down.

   I reread what I write about the Panthers and feel like a hopeless optimist, and I've never been that way about this team. But if I believe it, I might as well say it. If I'm wrong, I'll admit it.

   Left Newark Liberty International Airport this morning. Near the gate was Dick Clark's American Bandstand, "a truly rocking' grill" with drinks such as the Purple Haze and burgers such as the Chart Topper. Eating breakfast there were Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick. I'd made a joke about six degrees of separation but I can't think of any.   

Third Down Jake

   Jake Delhomme took some big hits this week, bigger than anything he so far has taken Sunday night, from national commentators, among them Keyshawn Johnson.

   But at a time New York had all the momentum and its fans were making all the noise and Carolina's lead, which was once 11, was down to a point, the Panthers faced third and five. Jake found Muhsin Muhammad for a first down. The Panthers faced third and nine. Jake found Dwayne Jarrett for a first down.

   De Angelo Williams toucdown will get the attention, and he should get most of it. But the third-down passes Jake hit, in this place against this defense, put DeAngelo in position to do what he does.

Mick Mixon, Cold Air Warrior

   Ran into Mick Mixon, Carolina's fine play-by-play man, at halftime. Mick is working out of an open-air booth at Giants Stadium. He's wearing six long-sleeved shirts, a D battery in each electric sock, polyprophelene long underwear, a heating pad for his feet and a leather jacket.

   "If it were 100 degrees, I'd make the all-Madden team," says Mixon. "I'm great with heat. But I do not do cold."

Panther Fans in the Big City, or Near it

   Three quick points.

   I've seen several groups of Panther fans at Giants Stadium, most of them wearing jerseys, most of them making noise. Nobody goes to New Jersey to be meek.

   It is cold here. But it's December in Giants Stadium. It's supposed to be cold. The wind is nasty.

   Heard one conversation here Carolina fans might not hear at Bank of America Stadium. One Giants employee, who obviously was angry at another, walked up and yelled, "I told you! You want it gift-wrapped? Ask Santa Claus!"

   Hey buddy. I'm sorry, hey buddy! Happy holidays!

Just What Everybody Thought

   You knew this was coming, right? Giants score, Panthers score, Giants score. Last one with the ball wins.

   You'll recall that Denver's offense was impressive early against Carolina, as was Tampa Bay's. But the Giants aren't Denver or Tampa Bay. So far it's the big play Panthers versus the grind it out Giants, Steve Smith versus Steve Smith.

   Interesting. But not what I was expecting. Not what you were expecting, either.

   

Key to a Panther victory, Keydrick and Keyshawn

   When you think about New York's upset of New England in the Super Bowl, you think about the winning drive, Eli Manning's remarkable poise and, if you're a New England fan, at least one dropped game-ending interception.

   I think about New York's defensive line. I think about beating it gave Tom Brady and the way it made the  New York blockers look old.

   While several factors will determine tonight's outcome, the biggest is New York's defensive line versus Carolina's offensive line. If Carolina consistently gives DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart room to move and Jake Delhomme time to throw, Panthers will win this game.

   As deep as the line is, the absence of right guard Keydrick Vincent hurts. Vincent might be the team's best run blocker. An unrestricted free agent, he joined the Panthers this season, and until today he was the only lineman to start every game. Because of a groin injury, however, he'll miss the rest of the season.

   Vincent fit immediately. He's a smart guy and a funny guy and he helps keep the locker room loose and the line firm. He will be missed.

   Some of you undoubtedly heard Keyshawn Johnson take a shot at Delhomme before the early games. It's a theme with Johnson, who played with Jake for a season. Keyshawn contends that Jake throws the ball up and hopes his guy catches it. Grenades, Keyshawn calls the passes.

   But watch. Those passes don't go to everybody. They go to Steve Smith. Delhomme believes that if there is a jump ball, a race for the ball or a fight for the ball, Smith will win it, and he tries to put Smith in position to do that.

   It's worked so far.

Jersey

   The weather in this part of New Jersey is about what you'd expect it to be. Put on a coat, walk fast and if the wind is at your back, you're fine. If it's blowing at you, bow your head walk faster. The slush that comes flying at you every time a car passes? Duck, dodge and anticipate.  It's good for the reflexes.

   This is December in New Jersey. That's all this weather is.

   Back at the hotel, a group of Scottish tourists were drinking their pints -- they make the phrase "pint of Budweiser" sound poetic and I never saw anybody in the group drink anything but a pint of something -- and watching New England pound Arizona.

   I asked a guy from Dundee what he thought of the NFL.

   "It's for gurhls," he said.

   A woman working in the restaurant was appalled and hurt.

   The Scot explained that the football players are big and wear so much equipment and take so many breaks, not like rugby players.

   "There are diffrent kinds of football," the hotel employee said in a why can't we all get along, one world is enough for all of us kind of way.

   Under his breath, the guy from Dundee said he was just trying to get a reaction.

   "I watch the Super Bowl every year," he said.   

Jersey

   The weather in this part of New Jersey is about what you'd expect it to be. Put on a coat, walk fast and if the wind is at your back, you're fine. If it's blowing at you, bow your head walk faster. The slush that comes flying at you every time a car passes? Duck, dodge and anticipate.  It's good for the reflexes.

   This is December in New Jersey. That's all this weather is.

   Back at the hotel, a group of Scottish tourists were drinking their pints -- they make the phrase "pint of Budweiser" sound poetic and I never saw anybody in the group drink anything but a pint of something -- and watching New England pound Arizona.

   I asked a guy from Dundee what he thought of the NFL.

   "It's for gurhls," he said.

   A woman working in the restuarant was appalled and hurt.

   The Scot explained that the football players are big and wear so much equipment and take so many breaks, not like rugby players.

   "There are diffrent kinds of football," the hotel employee said in a why can't we all get along, one world is enough for all of us kind of way.

   Under his breath, the guy from Dundee said he was just trying to get a reaction.

   "I watch the Super Bowl every year," he said.