Tom Talks

Florida Gulf Coast, you're beautiful, don't ever change

    How do you not love this NCAA basketball tournament?

    If you're a fan of Georgetown or New Mexico you probably don't love it. If you are a Davidson fan you probably don't love it.

     But the rest of us do. We especially like it if our brackets are reasonably intact and our school is still in it.

     About Davidson: I admire those players and coaches tremendously. 

      I'm in Philadelphia, and watched the Davidson's heart-wrenching loss to Marquette on my computer because the hotel does not offer Tru TV. I stayed on the computer after the game and ended up on a message board.

     I avoid message boards because, more than alcohol and drugs combined, they kill brain cells. Message boards are where the anonymous and underappreciated gather to criticize and complain about the government, employers, basketball officials, the media and spouses whose phone numbers begin 1-800.

     Davidson was ripped by these un-achievers. Great program, class program, and the bottomfeeders latch on and attempt to drag it down.

      The Wildcats will be back, even without the tremendous senior leaders they lose to the world outside campus.

     For the rest of us, this tournament is a collection of shining moments.

    Consider:

      The unabated and spontaneous joy of Florida Gulf Coast University, FGCU now a national catchphrase; Harvard beating the Lobos, the latter a trendy and unfortunate Final Four pick; gutsy victories by Temple and La Salle, La Salle winning back to back tournament games for the first time since 1955; Western Kentucky almost beating top-seeded Kansas and Southern almost beating top-seeded Gonzaga.

      It's national treasure, this tournament. Thank you, Harvard. Thank you FGCU.

      If you're a high school student uncertain of what comes next, consider FGCU. Their dormitories are on the Gulf of Mexico.

      The dormitories were on the Gulf before the tournament. But we didn't know. We do now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carolina Panthers probably have lost their Captain

   The signing of free-agent cornerback D.J. Moore means cornerback Captain Munnerlyn is unlikely to remain with the Carolina Panthers, and that's unfortunate.

     Munnerlyn, a free agent for the first time, was never supposed to be a starter, and he probably wasn't supposed to make the roster. He was a seventh-round pick in the 2009 draft. At 5-8, he's undersized. He was never a great cover corner.

     But, man, did he play hard. At training camp last summer Carolina coach Ron Rivera compared him to Steve Smith. He was small but under no circumstances would he be pushed around.

      Munnerlyn, who is from Mobile, Ala., and played at South Carolina,went hard -- in camp, in practice, in games. Once he had his hands on a football, and a little momentum, he was tough to stop. He returned three interceptions for touchdowns, second all-time on the Panthers to former safety Mike Minte, who had four.

     A source told the Observer's Joe Person that Munnerlyn turned down a three-year $5 million offer from the Panthers.

      He was like a permanent NCAA bubble team. Every season the Panthers brought in a new corner presumably to replace Munnerlyn and Munnerlyn outlasted them -- until, presumably, now.

        One quaility I admire about Munnerlyn is that no matter how tough the loss, or how severely the media criticized him, Munnerlyn never hid. Of course he took losses hard, and he might have taken criticism hard, too. Athletes tend to. So do the rest of us.

       But he was always gracious, always accountable and always had something to say.

        And as the South Carolina-Clemson game approached, he was a one-man Gamecock Nation.

        If Munnerlyn is gone, I hope its to a team where he can compete for a job as a starter.

 

 

 

 

 

Don't forget about LeBron and Kemba and the NBA.

    The NCAA men's basketball tournament is consuming. But I saw compelling basketball Monday night that had nothing to do with seeds or brackets.

     The Charlotte Bobcats beat Washington 119-114 in an old school up and down back and forth NBA game. Gerald Henderson was outstanding for Charlotte, and Josh McRoberts again was good. McRoberts can pass, score and rebound, and he understands.

      But it was Kemba Walker who made the game his. As the Bobcats made their game-clinching run Walker took a charge, was knocked to the court and jumped up smiling. He stole the ball. He hit a pretty jumper off the glass. He twice went to the basket like a crazed pinball, bouncing around bigger defenders for layups.

      Leading the Bobcats to a home victory against the Wizards is not the same as leading Connecticut to the national championship. But for a Monday night it's not bad.

       Later Monday, Miami rallied for a 105-103 road victory against Boston. I watched Jeff Green play for Georgetown in the NCAA tournament and thought, this guy is going to be good. He was Monday. He scored a career high 43 points for Boston and he scored them efficiently, taking only 21 field goal attempts.

      But Dwayne Wade turned humble for Miami, looking for LeBron rather than looking to score. James, in turn, made his usual array of dazzling passes and scored when he needed to, which in the last couple minutes was almost every time he had the ball. He scored 37 and had a game-high 12 assists.

     Miami has now won 23 straight. The streak generates considerable attention and lets fans know that, even in March, the NBA is still here.

 

 

Great opportunity for the Charlotte 49ers

    Until Thursday, the Charlotte 49ers had not had much of a season. They won a lot of games but played a schedule so soft they probably should be embarrassed. If there's a flow offensively, I haven't found it. Fans haven't. They don't show up.

     The 49ers prolonged the season with an amazing comeback victory in their A-10 opener against Richmond Thursday. Maybe they got a break from officials. But the 49ers took advantage of the breaks, hit the free throws, won the game.

      Their reward is a game today against top-seeded St. Louis, and the opportunity is tremendous. They didn't expect to beat Richmond, couldn't have, trailing as they did Thursday. Yet they did.

     So today is free. The 49ers aren't supposed to be on the court again in Brooklyn. All the pressure is on St. Louis. If you can come back the way Charlotte did Thursday, you ought to believe you can do anything -- including beating the top seed today.

 

 

 

 

Finally a free agent I've heard of comes to Charlotte

    The free agent wait has ended. A Charlotte team has finally signed one.

     The Charlotte Bobcats signed Jannero Pargo.

      Those of you who expect the Panthers to play the free agent game aren't paying attention. It's not what they do. The philosophy also is practiced by Pittsburgh and Green Bay.

        For fans, it's boring. For sportswriters, it's boring. It's like a draft -- except the local team doesn't pick until the 14th round.

         The Panthers will add a piece here and a piece there. They let a good linebacker, James Anderson, leave. They signed a cornerback, Drayton Florence. If Florence starts, it says more about the state of the cornerback position than it does him.

           The Panthers off-season has been a steady-as-she-goes salute to the status quo.

            If you want excitement, watch basketball.

 

Like to see Panthers get active and sign a free-agent cornerback

   Be interesting to see how the Panthers approach free agency. Their philosophy has long been to reward their draft picks, as opposed to draft picks from other teams. They'll undoubtedly sign peripheral players they think have a chance to thrive, or at least play, in their system.

    Their moves since the end of the 2012 season suggest they like what they have. They hired a general manager who has not shaken up the organization by bringing in new people. They retained head coach Ron Rivera. They promoted their quarterbacks coach, Mike Shula, to offensive coordinator.

     So the team we see in 2013 will look like the team we saw in '12.

      But an infusion of talent is required. To compete, the Panthers need: an interior offensive lineman, an interior defensive lineman, a cornerback and a safety.They also could use a wide receiver, a player with speed who could complement Steve Smith.

      Maybe they acquire these players in the draft and off the waiver wire. But free-agent talent is dangling out there, especially at cornerback.

        Atlanta's Dunta Robinson apparently will sign with Kansas City.

        But there's a good young corner out there, and he is Rivera's kind of player -- he played at San Diego.

        Antoine Cason, as ESPN's Pat Yasinskas reported, would be a fine fit.

        Cason is 26 and played in college at Arizona. He's big enough at 6-1 and 195 pounds, and has intercepted at least two passes in each of his five seasons in the league.

         Cason is being courted by other teams; cornerbacks always are.

         The Panthers probably will sit this one out. But love to see them break protocol and make a run at him.

 

 

NASCAR wrong to fine Denny Hamlin

    How does NASCAR justify fining Denny Hamlin $25,000 for honest criticism of the new Gen 6 cars that have been used for only two races?

     In no other major sport would Hamlin have taken such a hit for saying only that the cars drivers previously raced were -- thus far -- superior.

     "Right now you just run single file and you cannot get around the guy in front," Hamlin said.

     NASCAR is big business but, as the fine attests, it also is family business.

      Media and fans want personalities, want feuds, want drivers who are independent and controversial.

      And then, when Hamlin says something mildly controversial, he's fined.

      Hamlin says he won't pay.

       Regardless of the outcome, the issue says much more about the sport than the driver.