Tom Talks

Hope Jason Collins stays in the NBA. But not with the Bobcats.

    If I run the Charlotte Bobcats or any other NBA team, I don't make room on my roster for Jason Collins because he's gay. I don't exclude him from my roster because he's gay.

     If I think he can help my team, and I can afford him, I bring him to camp. If I don't, I don't.

      What Collins did, coming out publicly, required courage. It's a testament to how far society has evolved that support for him, especially from other athletes, has been overwhelming positive.

      But he's a journeyman with a particular basketball skill set. Maybe he makes a good team better.But he'll have little impact on a bad team.

       Some seasons the Bobcats collect journeymen. They don't need any more.

 

Stephen Curry and Golden State are a reason to stay up late

   When sports are their best, there's a did-you-see-that quality about them.

    If you watched Golden State beat Denver Sunday night, you saw it in the Golden State crowd. Stephen Curry would hit another improbable shot and fans would look at each other as if to say, "I didn't imagine that, you saw it too, right?"

     The third quarter was as good as basketball gets. Curry was as good as basketball gets. He scored 22 points in the quarter, 15 of them on threes. He hit one fast-break three from so far out that, even though I was watching on TV, I jumped up, hopefully without waking anybody, and laughed.

     Curry plays with a smile, not a sneer, He hit floaters, he went to the hoop, he found teammates and he lifted his team to a 115-101 victory against a very good Denver team and a three games to one lead.

     His counterpart on the Nuggets, Ty Lawson, is also having a fine series. Most nights Lawson is the second best player on the court.

     Game five is Tuesday. You want to see old-school, free-flowing, losing-team-scores-100-points basketball, don't miss it.

Panthers should go to the Banks.

    There are two players I really like in the second round, and hope one or both are available when the Panthers pick.

     They are, in order: Johnthan Banks, a cornerback out of Mississippi, tall, lean and aggressive; and Keenan Allen, a receiver out of California, who not long ago was considered the best receiver in the draft. He's from Greensboro and coming off an injuries to his knee.

     And if they want to shake things up and take former LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, that would be intriguing.

Gamble for a good cause with Mike Solarte

    Does anybody lose when you gamble for a good cause?

    Mike Solarte, sports director News14, will host a Texas Hold 'Em Tournament Saturday from 2 p.m to 9 p.m. at the All-American Pub, 200 E. Bland St., in Charlotte.

     A seat will cost you $150. If you pay at the door the price is $200. Among the prizes is a seat at the World Series of Poker.

      The event is entitled MS Against MS. Solarte's wife, Tracie, has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

      Money raised will go to the Greater Carolinas Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

      It will be an interesting event -- great cause and good people. Mike Solarte is always entertaining. If you have a chance to participate, please do.

Panthers get their Star

   Dave Gettleman comes across as a nice grandfather, the guy you want to come over because he'll make you laugh and bring presents for your kids.

    He was thrilled to have the opportunity to select Utah defensive tackle Star Lotulelei with the 14th pick in the NFL draft. Here's how thrilled he was. Gettleman had 10 minutes to make the pick. He required only a minute and a half.

      How'd he know?

      Gettleman told the media it was like when we met our wives. We knew in a minute and a half.

       He emphasized that league doctors checked Lotulelei, gave him an MRI and an EKG.

       "Our docs" -- NFL doctors -- "felt very comfortable," says Gettleman. "He's fine."

      Why Lotulelei and not, say, defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd of Florida and the SEC?

       "It really starts with size and power," Gettleman says.

       Be odd to see the Panthers with a big and agile man in the middle. Be interesting.

 

 

If I'm the Bobcats, I pursue Mike Malone

 

    Who should the Charlotte Bobcats hire next? Somebody who will command respect when he enters the locker room for the first time.

    I like Golden State assistant Mike Malone. The Bobcats need to pursue their top choices the way a college coach pursues a top recruit. This one has to be permanent. The next great coach is out there, and he has NBA experience. Charlotte has to find him and commit to him and sell him on the job.

     XXX

     I wrote two days ago that the Carolina Panthers should use their top pick on West Virginia receiver Tavon Austin.There potentially could be a flurry of trades, and Austin could be gone when the Panthers select. I've thought about what I wrote. With other obvious needs, should the Panthers really invest the 14th pick on Austin. Yes.

     XXX

   You see Stephen Curry Tuesday night? He scored 30 points, had 13 assists and five steals. Golden State shot 64.6% from the field, hit 56% of its threes and crushed Denver in Denver 131-117. The Showtime Warriors did this without their all-star, David Lee. Great work. Man, are they fun to watch.

Dunlap gone and forgotten. Bobcats have to stop hiring temps.

    The Bobcats fired head coach Mike Dunlap Tuesday.  He was not popular with veteran players. Why does this matter? It matters because the free agents the Bobcats court will ask their peers if Dunlap is a coach they would want to play for.

     The Dunlap experiment was a mistake. Retaining him would have been another.

    I wrote last week that he was a temp. He was never going to be the man to lead them when (if) they finally become competitive. He had at most one more season as Charlotte's head coach.

      In 2014 the Bobcats likely will have three first-round picks in a draft that will be as deep as 2013's is shallow.

      They'll need a veteran coach whom the players respect and perhaps even like. They'll need a coach who can integrate his young talent.

      The Bobcats can't continue to change coaches as frequently as some sportswriters change shirts. They need a coach who is not a temp.

      Their mission: Hire him now.

 

 

 

Free and helpful advice: Panthers should take Tavon Austin

   Most mock drafts have the Carolina Panthers taking Missouri defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson with the 14th pick in Thursday's NFL draft.

    But most NFL general managers mock mock drafts.

    Carolina's Dave Gettleman strikes me as a general manager who will take a big guy such as the 294-pound Richardson.

     But I hope he gives his first draft as the lead play-caller a jolt by taking West Virginia receiver Tavon Austin.

      Austin is 5-9 and 174 pounds. He's small. So is Panther receiver Steve Smith, although he doesn't play like it.

      I'd love to see the Panthers scare opposing defensive coordinators by lining a fast and elusive receiver (Austin has run a 4.28 40) next to Smith. Put Austin in the slot, put Smith there, it doesn't matter.

     What matters is, in a quarterback's league, giving the quarterback two first-class targets.

      Of course the Panthers need a defensive tackle, and a safety and probably a cornerback. But you have to have the confidence to dare.

       Austin is a daring pick. If he's there -- and he ought to be -- take him.

 

 

Give Panthers the money, go on the road and pet a dog

   Charlotte didn't give the Carolina Panthers $87.5 million to update Bank of America Stadium. Charlotte invested $87.5 million.

     There's a difference.

      The agreement, which still has to be approved by the City Council Monday night, ties the Panthers to Charlotte for at least six years and probably ten.

       Many of you resent giving millions of dollars to a millionaire. But by any quantifiable standard this is a good investment for Charlotte.

        XXX

        An NFL schedule is not as a attractive as an NCAA basketball tournament bracket. But it still looks good.

        Opening the season at home against Russell Wilson and Seattle is a fine way to start. The Panthers were outplayed and outcoached in their opener at Tampa Bay last season and needed months to recover. If they can begin 2013 the way they ended 2012 they'll be golden. Momentum, however, ends when the season does.

     If I'm a fan, and have disposable income to dispose of, I pick a game and go on the road. There are some great destinations. Scott Fowler and I draft road games. Hate to use my first pick on Minnesota, where the ice age has yet to end. But that's the land of my people.

      XXX

      Walked Taz the greyhound last night at 10:30. Woman in an outdoor mall near the house saw the dog, pointed and yelled something in a language I didn't understand.  Lean and dark, she walked hurriedly to a group of friends at a table outside a coffee house and they took turns petting Taz and talking to him.

     He was thrilled. With dogs, there is no language barrier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tiger, rules and a gratuitous reference to your mom's basement

     Augusta National never considered booting Tiger Woods from the Masters. And it would have treated any player the way it treated him.

      This is what Fred Ridley, chairman of the competition committees, says Saturday afternoon shortly before Woods tees off.

      I don't claim to be an expert on golf rules. And after reading the applicable rules, I'm less of an expert.

       But because the club didn' disqualify Woods Friday, it couldn't justify disqualifying him Saturday.

     "In my best judgement I thought at that point in time (Friday) that Tiger had intended, in fact, to comply in accordance with rule 26-1(a)," says Ridley.

       He adds: "I will say that other people may disagree with that, but the point is that our committee looked at the information, we gave it consideration, and we felt that under those circumstances that Tiger had complied with the rules."

       The impetus for Tiger's two-stroke penalty was a comment Tiger made after his round. At about 10 p.m. Friday night Ridley, who won the U.S. Amateur tournament in 1975, received a message from CBS about Tiger's comments. Ridley returned to Augusta National and reviewed the interview Tiger did with ESPN.

     "And during that interview Tiger had indicated that he had taken a couple of extra yards (on the drop)."

      The club did receive a complaint about the drop from a television viewer and investigated it.

      "We get dozens of these calls every Masters," says Ridley. "You don't hear about them because most of them do not amount to anything."

      He was talking about the calls, not the callers.

     It should be noted, however, that %90 of the people who call golf courses to complain about a rules violation live full or part time in the basement of their mothers.

      If anybody asks, "What did you do today?" and your answer is "Tattled," you might want to turn off the TV, walk up the stairs and go outside.