Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers

So I have been telling friends since the beginning of time that the Carolina Panthers needed to get Michael Vick when he was available. With the run game that they use Vick was the perfect match for the Panthers. They didn't take him. Now the Panthers have the 32nd overall offense in the league.

So if you had a chance to pick first in the draft, what would you do? Well if I was a Panther executive I would look to fix the offense. How do you do that? You find someone to run the plays for you. Someone who can run with your run game, but is also a skilled passer. Someone like Vick. That someone is Cam Newton.

Now I know the experts are saying that Carolina is going to pick defense and not offense. But I am here to say they should, and they will pick Cam Newtown.

C. Newtown NO.1 Overall pick 2011 to the Carolina Panthers.

Steelers cage the Ravens

I am disappointed in the Baltimore Ravens. The playoffs number one defense held Pittsburgh to 7 points in the first half and looked as though they would route the Steelers. In the second half I could find the defense. The Steelers put 24 point on the board in the second half and it looked as though the Panthers were on the field this evening.

However I will give this loss to Joe Flacco. The Ravens were not able to put any offense together in the second half. They scored only 3 points after putting 21 on the board in the first half. After the Steelers scored their final touchdown the Ravens got excellent field position on the kickoff due to a penalty and poor kick.

With 1:38 on the clock and the ball at the 48 yard line in Pittsburgh's territory the Ravens had short field and plenty of time. Flacco overthrew a wide open receiver in the middle of the field, threw an incomplete pass 32 yards down field to a receiver covered by two defenders. Then with 3rd and 10 he took a sack.

Joe Flacco, you Sir, lost the game in Pittsburgh. Good Luck next year!

Oh well, the Pats will beat the Steelers just as they would have the Ravens.

Things on The Mind Today

First of all a no brainer- Cam Newton to the NFL. Who in their right mind thought he would be back? He did everything you possibly could in college and as a junior he is eligible to leave school. He should have chosen the NFL and I am glad no one talked him out of it.

Ron Rivera announced in Charlotte- The Carolina Panthers made a good choice here, but can they continue to make good choices? The Panthers failed to keep Julius Peppers around. Failed to get Michael Vick when he reentered the league. Had a horrible Offense Coach and abandoned their run game in a NFC Championship game and lost to the Cardinals. For about three years now the Panthers' brass have been below average. With a fresh new coach, and one who is a defensive coach, we can expect to see the defense come back to Charlotte. But will they smarten up and get a good O coach? Let's hope so.

New York Jets make it personal; again- The New York Jets, players and coaches, are again running their mouths. The Jets beat the Patriots in their first meeting, however after that loss the Patriots came back and killed the Jets 45-3 in the second matchup. Now the Jets think they can talk trash and get in the mind of the New England players. Shut up and play. Now the Patriots are just annoyed with you; 50-0 this time?

Last but no least The UNC Tarheels- After the week that college basketball has had the Tarheels, with a win this evening, should break into the top 25. The #1 ranked Duke Blue Devils lost to unranked FSU and tonight #8 Purdue fell to #25 Minnesota. The top 25 has begun to falter a bit and this should allow for a rearranging of teams and one or two new teams to break in. With a 12 and 4 record (if the beat VT tonight) the Tarheels should be back in the hunt. And it is about time. They have struggled yes, but Georgetown, Minnesota and Kansas State all have four losses as well. Next week look for North Carolina to have a #24 beside its name.

Eagles Out

To my surprise the Eagles are heading home. I did not expect a blow out from the Eagles but I couldn't even fathom a loss. The Packers, though they won, didn't impress. The Keys to this game were the Eagles defense and the inability for the wide receivers to get open. Only twice did a WR get open and make a big move for Vick. DeSean Jackson may have been injured but the way he was cut and moving should have allowed him to make a play. He was shut out. The Philadelphia defense is the worst in the playoffs and Aaron Rodgers fell apart in the second half. With the type of play we saw from the Packers offense we can expect them to be at home after next week.

So who is the new NFC champion? With the Eagles out the path is clear for the Bears. I hate tosay that but with the defense of the Bears I just can't see Roddy White having a big game and the Falcons being able to win; even at home. The Falcons will bounce the Packers and the Bears will end the Seahawks run. Chicago will now play the Patriots in Super Bowl XLV.

Road to Super Bowl XLV

One week ago I was playing an exhibition game on Madden and had the setting set to Super Bowl XLV. I chose the Philadelphia Eagles and the Sports Girl chose the New England Patriots. Despite the outcome of the video game, we both agreed this years match up will be the Eagles and the Patriots.

Most people expect the Colts to get past the Jets, but beyond that they have to play the Steelers and the Patriots. The Steelers have not done

anything to impress me this year. So despitetheir number two ranking they will be a practice game for the Colts who will then meet the Patriots. New England was incredible this past season and will walk to the AFC championship game. As long as the Patriots play the way they have been all year they will have no trouble blowing out whoever they face. Just look at the last six games of the season.

The real surprise here is choosing the Eagles. The first match up is against the packers. Honestly this is easy for the Eagles. Once Kolb was knocked out of thegame the Eagles outscored the Packers 17 to 14. So now with Vick running things for four quarters the score should be 34 to 28. After round one the Eagles play the Bears. DA BEARS. This is the game to watch. In week 12 the Bears beat the Eagles 31 to 26. The key to the second match up will be Vick's ability to rev up the offense. The Bears won't score enough to win and therefore the defense has to clamp on Vick and have another game where they only allow 14 points(they average 14.1 allowed). After facing the Bears, the Eagles will face the Saints, who will easily beat the Seahawks and the Falcons. It is hard for a national champion to repeat or make it back the the big game. For this reason I give the edge to the Eagles and expect a tight game. Maybe a 28-29 win for the Eagles.

So Super Bowl XLV:

On The Mind

There are two stories today that have my mind spinning. And quite frankly I am angry about them both.

The first story is about Ken Macha. Mr. Macha believes his hitters are being hit too much and that action needs to be taken. Here is what should be done. Macha needs to set down his purse and man up. This is baseball. It always has been, and it always will be. There will be periods of time when the umpires try to crack down on the hit batters, however they will never win the fight. Every pitcher in the major league has hit a batter on purpose. Every batter knows they will be hit on purpose. It's a mind game and a control thing. You hit a homerun off of me, you going to get thrown at. You hit my guy, I will hit your guy. Fear is part of the arsenal of weapons within a pitchers bag. If i knew I couldnt be thrown at, I would make a career out of sitting on the plate and getting hit. Hitters need to know they will be hit and they need to know who owns the plate. Not too mention all the padding batters wear. Might as well have a armoured suit on. Macha relax, at least they arent throwing at you!

The second story getting under my skin today is about Michael Jordan. Basketball's greatest has opened his mouth when he should have kept it shut. When jordan was around he had a supporting cast that helped him win 6 championships. Lebron James had no cast in Cleveland and wasn't going to get one. Jordan wasn't friends with two of the best players of his time, and never had a chance to play with his best friends. James did. Jordan criticized James for his move to Miami, but in all reality Jordan has no room to talk here. Had Jordan been offered a chance to play with his best friends- and had they been the best in the league- he would have jumped on it in a heart beat. No one who plays a game, again a game, for a living would not want to spend their time playing with their friends. Give those friends a chance to dominate the game, and no one would turn it down. Lebron James made the right move, and whether or not Miami will ever be his team, or it remains Wade's team, he doesnt care. Friendship and championships mean more to a player. Lebron will never be Michael, but no one will, no matter what. Stop worrying about others and just play your golf Michael.

Apollo "Oh No" avoids disaster

Today's performance by Apollo Ohno was his best of this Olympic Games. While I still do not understand how he can hang behind for 7 of 9 laps and still come back and medal in a race, I really saw something in him today.

Today's race wasn't any different from the Ohno's other two, except that this time he didn't benefit from someone else's mistake. In race one Apollo couldn't overcome the three Koreans and because of a mistake two fell and slid into the wall. In his second race he won the gold because the Korean in front of him interfered and was disqualified. Not impressive. This is the sport's golden child, yet he can't win or place without assistance.

That was until tonight. As the race began to wind down Apollo had moved into second and was looking to make a pass and earn a top spot. After brief contact Apollo remained in control, and in a situation where most skaters would have lost their feet and wrecked, Ohno remained strong and kept his feet under him. In a situation where he should have lost the race, America's best racer and one of their favorite sons skated into third and earn a bronze medal.

Today I was impressed. Today I saw why he was expected to be the man to beat. Today I saw the record for most medals in a winter games set by the American Apollo Ohno. Congratulations, I was skeptical yet you proved yourself and made me proud!

Olympic update: US leads all countries in Gold, Silver and Bronze medals. 6 gold, 7 silver, 10 bronze. With 23 the US is in the lead by 9 medals.

Saints Win Superbowl XLIV

Well it looks like the Sports Girl knew what she was talking about. The Saints won the Superbowl 31 to 17 over the Colts.

The game started slow for the Saints, however the Colts looked like they were still at home in Idiannapolis for the next three quarters. The Saints seemingly were the only team in Miami tonight.

Congratulations to the Saints. Drew Brees and New Orleans deserve this. Again, congratulations.

Who Dat? Who Dat?!