Tom Talks

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.

 

 

 

 

 

Tattling on Tiger

     Somebody watching TV saw that Tiger cheated and turned him in.

     I can't fathom turning somebody in. Hey, dad, Tiger cheated, dad. Get him, dad. Get him real good, dad. How you like me now, dad? Are you proud?

     I don't like squealing, and that's what the viewer did.

     Tiger violated Rule 26. The viewer saw the violation and called and, on Saturday morning, Tiger was assessed a two-stroke penalty.

     "The penalty of disqualification was waived by the Committee under Rule 33 as the Committee had previously reviewed the information and made its initial determination prior to the finish of the player's round," said Fred Ridley, chairman of competition committees,  

     If you think the statement is vague, read Rule 26 and Rule 33. Golf rules are written by people for whom language is a second language.

     What Ridely is saying is that golf didn't catch Tiger's infraction. Somebody watching TV, perhaps while wearing skivvies, drinking a cheap domestic beer and eating peanuts, did. Thus the two stroke after-the-fact penalty.

      I don't see a conspiracy, even though Tiger's caddy Friday looked remarkably like Jimmie Johnson crew chief Chad Knaus.

      I see a rule that was fairly applied.

       I do have one question: Why would somebody call Augusta National Golf Club to turn Tiger -- or any other golfer -- in?

      Is it because rules are sacrosanct and the viewer respects them?

      Or is it because the viewer wants to feel important and has nothing better to do?

 

The kid had to be penalized

   I like kids. I support youth. I think the world has too many rules.

    I was happy that Tianglang Guan, the 14-year-old from China, was given the opportunity to play in the Masters.

     But he is slow. He is painfully slow. Idea for a book: 101 things to do while watiing for Guan to select a club.

      He is the slow driver in the left lane of the freeway, the guy who finally gets to the front of the long line in the coffee shop and still doesn't know what he wants to order.

      Guan was penalized a stroke for slow play at the Masters Friday. He might still make the cut. But he will sweat considerably harder than he would have without the penalty.

      As bad as I feel for the kid, the penalty was just. If rules mean anything, you can't twist them to accommodate one player, even a player who is 14. He was warned. And he wouldn't increase his speed.

      True, with an inconsistent wind and difficult pin placements, the course was playing long. But not nearly as long as Guan took to hit.

 

Where past and present and meet

   Followed Tom Watson Thursday morning. Watson is playing with Ryan Moore and Kevin Streelman. All the applause was for Watson, once the best player in the world.

     He's 63-years-old. Streelman is 34, Moore 30. Watson undoubtedly will finish with the highest score in the group. Through nine holes Watson was four over, Moore one over and Streelman even.

     The beauty of the Masters is when past and present come together. There's Watson on No. 8, matching Streelman and Ryan off the tee and walking to the ball with that familiar gait, driver in his hand, tapping the ground, in his hand, on the ground.

       For old-timers who remember Watson, great memories bubble up. For younger fans, there's the player they've read about and seen in black and white video.

       Other sports can't offer this. It would be like watching Walt Frazier bring the ball down the court for the New York Knicks.

        Or Mark Martin whirl around the track with Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch.

 

Repent all ye who enter. And draft Noel.

     A tradition like no other: Loud guy in parking lot across from Augusta National essentially yelling that if we cross the street we'll go to hell. Gonna be crowded.

     If I'm the Charlotte Bobcats, and I can draft any player in college basketball, I take 6-11 Kentucky center Nerlens Noel, Yes, he tore the ACL in his left knee. But he blocks shots, runs, is athletic and instinctive. He won't be good right away. But put him on a team with Kemba Walker and Gerald Henderson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Bismack Biyombo, and Bobcats' future is evident.

     Never been to an event, at any place in any sport, that treats customers -- patrons -- as well as the Masters does.    

 

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.