An excerpt from my live chat

Here's an excerpt from my live chat today with Observer readers, where I answer questions for an hour. Tom Sorensen or I usually do this on Tuesdays from noon to 1 p.m., although today I did it on Thursday. The whole transcript can be found (for now anyway) at the following link:

Q: Would you rather spend big money on a big name coach for the Panthers or go under the radar with a previously unmentioned coordinator and use that cash to load up on free agents? Or will Jerry just go cheap and keep the money for himself?

A: The coach and the quarterback are the two most important components on an NFL team. So I think you get the right guy at the top, whatever that takes. Do that first. Then hit a home run in 2011 draft. And then, suddenly, the players who look so bad this year may not look so bad anymore.

Q: Scott, what do you make of Coach Fox's comment of "I have no idea what you are talking about" in regards to JR's letter to the PSL holders yesterday. Is the lack of communication and their relationship really THAT bad at this point?

A: I thought it was great evidence of the disconnect between Fox and Richardson -- amazing, really, that a letter would go out to 60,000 PSL holders and Fox would never know that it happened.

Q: Scott, I just saw an NBA mock draft for 2011 showing Harrison Barnes the #2 overall pick, is he really considered to go that high?

A: Ridiculous. Just like putting Barnes on the first-team preseason All-American team was ridiculous. Does a lot of things pretty well, but does nothing unbelievably well at this point. If anyone took Barnes at No.2 right now, that'd be a mistake.

Q: Scott, why does your partner Tom [Sorensen] seem to always disagree with the popular opinion of any sporting issue in Charlotte....the most recent example being his article on the Hornets naming issue this morning.

A: Tom likes to be a contrarian. It is his nature and we love him for it. For instance, he
predicted the Panthers would go 9-7 this season in the newspaper.