On Slingin' Sammy, Felton and Vinny

A few random thoughts on the news of the day:

** The Panthers owe Vinny Testaverde a BIG assist on getting DeAngelo Williams in better shape. I thought Testaverde's quotes in Thursday's story by Charles Chandler were extremely interesting. They made you go "Oh, OK, now I get it -- this is partly why DeAngelo is having a breakout season."

Here's what Vinny said: "When I got there last year, it was the first game at Arizona, I handed the ball off to him, he'd run 10 or 12 yards and put his hand up to come out of the game. After a few weeks, I said, ‘You have all the ability to be a great running back, but you need to get in shape and you need not to want to come out of the game.'”

** I was sorry to hear of the passing of "Slingin' Sammy" Baugh, the former Washington Redskins star QB (and punter) who died this week at the age of 94. Baugh was the owner of one of the great nicknames in sports. I remember sitting in Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice's living room for an interview before Choo Choo also passed away. Justice had played alongside Baugh for the Redskins and had great respect for the man's talent.

** So the Bobcats are thinking about shipping Raymond Felton to Golden State for either Brandan Wright or Anthony Randolph? That's interesting -- but not unexpected. I'm lukewarm on the idea.

In my interview with Michael Jordan earlier this season, I realized that MJ really has mixed feelings about Felton as a long-term point guard for Charlotte. It looks like it is a matter of time before D.J. Augustin becomes the full-time point guard for the Bobcats -- he's having a great rookie season. But this is a deal to be made very carefully, and the Bobcats may be able to get someone better. Like NFL teams with two running backs, it's wise to have 2 point guards to get through the rigors of an 82-game season.