Busch won't race Sunday in the Daytona 500, and I believe that's a good thing the way things stand now. I am critical of NASCAR pretty frequently -- its championship format still isn't right -- but in the Busch case I thought the organization got it right with this suspension. It waited until there was at least some independent finding of a likely act of domestic violence, and then it acted. You could say that this should have happened sooner, but there was no Ray Rice video in this case. You needed to make sure Patricia Driscoll's story had enough of the ring of truth to act.
Now I hope NASCAR keeps some teeth in this. Busch doesn't need to be back on a racetrack anytime soon, and a quick reversal on appeal would only confuse the process. Busch kept saying he was waiting for answers when myself and some other reporters tried to talk to him in Charlotte, in late January. Now he has gotten some, although not the answers he would want. For now, Kurt Busch is and should be out of the sport. Bravo to NASCAR on this one.
4 thoughts from Daytona in the aftermath of the Budweiser Duels Thursday night:
1) If one of the top three drivers for Hendrick Motorsports does not win the Daytona 500, I will be surprised. Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. sit 1-2-3 on the starting grid, with Gordon winning the pole and Johnson and Earnhardt winning the 150-mile twin Budweiser Duels Thursday night. Hendrick looks like it has figured something out.
2) The most entertaining part about Thursday night was the second incident in two days in which Danica Patrick thought Denny Hamlin wrecked her while Hamlin maintained her car is too loose and that every time he comes close to it, the car loses control. Their heated post-race conversation involved an exasperated Hamlin trying to explain to an angry Patrick that it really wasn't his fault. She wasn't buying it. (I wrote my column today on Patrick and her long winless streak in NASCAR's top two series).
Later, Hamlin said of Patrick: "She deserves her spot here, but you have to be able to run close to somebody on a superspeedway... I'm not going to say, 'It's Danica, so I've got to make sure I just leave some extra room.' If you're out here in the Cup Series, you have to be able to handle those situations."
3) The first line of the pastor's prayer before Thursday night's first race was very appropriate for most of America: "Lord, tonight it is cold." And it was, although most of America was even colder.
It's too bad these races -- which were pretty entertaining, and here's our Jim Utter's quick update about them -- weren't held in the afternoon the way they used to be. Temperatures hovered around freezing all night in Daytona, undoubtedly scaring away many fans but also giving drivers a false sense of security about how well their cars handle. When the race arrives Sunday, with temperatures in the 70s, we will see what those cars are really like.
4) Want a low-profile driver who has a chance to at least make the top 10 Sunday -- and maybe more? Try 21-year-old Ryan Blaney. He finished sixth without even trying too hard in his 150-miler Thursday, and confidently said his car had a lot more left in it than he showed on a night where simply finishing in the top 15 got you into the big race. Blaney's composure also is a major plus.
The Carolina Panthers have raised their ticket prices for the second straight season, The Observer has learned.
Ticket prices for the 2015 season will increase again this year throughout the stadium. For about two-thirds of the seats, the increase will be modest -- $2 to $5 per ticket per game. For the remaining one-third, increases will frequently be larger than that. The Panthers' average ticket price will again rank in the lower half of teams in the NFL.
Non premium ticket prices for Panthers games will now range from $43 to $160. Ticket prices for new Silver Club seats will start at $250. Renewal packages for PSL owners -- who control about 62,000 of the stadium's 74,000 seats -- will be mailed very shortly. The team is again offering a six-month, interest-free payment plan for ticket renewal.
The Panthers have made the playoffs the past two seasons in a row, winning back-to-back NFC South championships. A bit of ticket history: the team raised ticket prices before the 2010 season, then held them firm for the next four years before last year's increase and now this year's increase. The average price of a Panther ticket last season was approximately $72, and that will rise by several dollars for the 2015 season.
Panthers president Danny Morrison said in a statement: "As we celebrate 20 years of Panthers football, back-to-back NFC South Division championships and Thomas Davis' NFL Man of the Year award, there is excitement about the foundation that has been established for the future," Panthers president Danny Morrison said in a statement. "The fan support has been paramount to this success and has contributed to the unifying and family-friendly atmosphere at Bank of America Stadium..... We will continue to work to provide you the finest gameday experience possible."
I was on WFAE, the local public radio station in Charlotte, for an hour today with John Kilgo, David Chadwick, Mick Mixon and Paul Cameron. Mike Collins, the host, was asking us for various Dean Smith stories. Everyone in that room had a pretty deep knowledge of the Carolina basketball program, but no one had heard one of the stories Kilgo told before.
Kilgo, remember, was the co-author of Dean Smith's official memoir , the longtime host of his TV show and was very close to the legendary coach, who died Saturday at the age of 83. We were talking about the cruel irony that Smith -- who had one of the most amazing memories and minds anyone had ever seen -- had slowly deteriorated mentally for many years because of what his family has described as a neurocognitive disorder.
Kilgo said that one of the stories Smith didn't let him publish in his book was this (and I'm paraphrasing a little): In Smith's final game as the Tar Heel coach, in the NCAA Final Four in 1997, UNC was losing to Arizona late in the game. In a huddle, Smith told point guard Ed Cota to commit a quick foul against a certain Arizona player. Cota did, quickly, and before long there was another timeout.
But then Smith, as he told it later to Kilgo, snapped at Cota in the huddle. "What did you do that for?" the coach asked Cota.
"Because you told me to, Coach," came Cota's reply, according to Kilgo.
Kilgo said Smith would later tell him this was the first time his vaunted mind had failed him, and that he knew then that ultimately he would never coach another basketball game.
Now that the domestic violence case against Greg Hardy has been suddenly dismissed, he definitely has an NFL future somewhere.
But I do not believe it should be in Charlotte. I don't think he should ever play for the Carolina Panthers again.
Hardy is a free man, yes, and he will be on the open market March 10th when the NFL's free agency period begins. He is 26, in what should be the prime of his career. And he had 15 sacks in 2013 -- the last time he played a full year in the NFL.
But to me, Hardy is too much of a risk for a big contract, and the emotional baggage he carries is too considerable for the Panthers to lock into any sort of financial agreement with him again as they think about their offseason plan.
Somebody is going to pay him. It shouldn't be the Panthers.
Hardy was supposed to go on trial -- again -- on misdemeanor domestic violence charges Monday. Instead, the case fell apart and was dismissed when the prosecution could not secure the cooperation of Nicole Holder, Hardy's former girlfriend and the woman who originally charged him.
District attorney Andrew Murray said in court that his office believed Holder and Hardy had reached a financial settlement. In a press release, the DA's office also said: "The victim appears to have intentionally made herself unavailable to the State. The DA's Office has also been made aware that the victim has reached a civil settlement with Mr. Hardy."
And, the DA's office said, "Without her testimony, in this particular instance, the State could not proceed." The DA's office had all sorts of trouble finding the elusive Holder, apparently, although it's pretty hard to believe in this day and age she could not be found -- even though she obviously didn't want to be found.
This doesn't mean for sure Hardy won't be suspended by the NFL, but I think it's likely he will not be. Roger Goodell could suspend him for detrimental conduct, I suppose, but legally his record is now clear.
So why not have Hardy apologize to Jerry Richardson and his teammates, fall on whatever type of sword a Kraken carries and then simply come back to Carolina at a reasonable price?
Because I don't think he can be trusted, and ultimately I don't think the price will be that reasonable.
Look at how last year turned out. The Panthers paid Hardy $13.1 million, effectively hijacking their own salary cap, and he played in one game. Not because of an injury he couldn't help, but because of an off-field issue. If this were going to be settled out of court, I am sure every Panther fan is asking why it wasn't settled before the 2014 season rather than after it concluded.
The Panthers' defense did OK without Hardy, finishing No. 10 in total defense last season. As a team, with No.76 on the field, it's undeniable they are better. Carolina could technically use another one-year franchise tag on him, this time at a price of $15.7 million.
But it's not always just about talent. Somebody is going to take a risk on Hardy, because NFL teams are desperate for pass rushers in their prime.
The Panthers, though, already know how that can turn out. After Monday, Hardy is free to go elsewhere. And that is exactly what he should do.
We just saw an amazing Super Bowl, with New England winning 28-24 after scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns and intercepting Russell Wilson at the 1-yard line in the final seconds. Here are three things the Panthers can learn from the game, and one that is too late to change:
1) Don't get too cute. What in the world was Seattle doing trying to throw the ball at the 1 with plenty of time left -- 20 seconds and a timeout -- to give Marshawn Lynch at least one more crack at a TD? He had almost scored from the 5 on the previous play. This is a lesson well worth remembering for Carolina. Just because everyone knows Cam Newton is good on the quarterback sneak from the 1? That doesn't mean you try a pass to the second tight end to "fool people." You run Newton up the gut from the 1. That's why Seattle offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell's Wikipedia page was briefly hacked Sunday night following the game. (That "update" was quickly taken off by the powers that be, but here's a screenshot).
2) There is no such thing as too many pass rushers or too many good cornerbacks. That vaunted Seattle defense could not get to Tom Brady on his two fourth-quarter TD drives. It looked tired. And that's the best defense in the NFL. And once Seattle got one defensive back hurt, it suddenly looked very vulnerable. This is a lesson Panther GM Dave Gettleman understands -- I bet he will draft another pass rusher somewhere in the 2015 draft, because he loves them. Here's a little more advice for Gettleman.
3) Throw the ball short against Seattle. New England scored 28 points by basically ignoring Richard Sherman's third of the field and throwing the ball short constantly for 8-10 yard gains by getting its wide receivers and tight end Rob Gronkowski constantly matched up against Seattle's linebackers. Carolina has lost four straight to the Seahawks and will play them a fifth time in Seattle in the 2015 regular season, and the Panthers have never scored more than 17 points in any of those previous four games. This was the blueprint of how to do it. Investing more in your offensive tackles also helps.
As for the one thing that's too late to change, Carolina should never have let Brandon LaFell get away. He's not a No.1 receiver, but he just won a Super Bowl ring and scored a touchdown in the biggest game he's ever played. He was plenty good enough to have stayed in Charlotte and would have given Newton one more weapon on a team that was offensively challenged all year. LaFell got to share the moment with his son afterward -- see Joseph Person's pic below and also follow all of Joe's excellent work on this game elsewhere on CharlotteObserver.com:
Prediction update: I picked the Patriots to win, 24-20, so I got the point spread right but was slightly off on the final score. This was one of the best Super Bowls I've ever seen, but like every Super Bowl it does leave me somewhat empty. We are now seven months away from seeing another meaningful NFL game.
And incidentally, what about that "Nationwide and the dead kid" ad. Looks like a nice, sweet, kid-friendly ad and then, "Wait, what?? He died in a bathtub? Who green-lighted that one?" Had to be the worst ad Sunday night.
As usual, the Carolina Panthers are not in this Super Bowl. But a couple of Panthers -- one former GM, one current linebacker -- had very big and well-deserved days on the day before the big game.
Bill Polian, who was the Panthers' general manager from 1995-97 and constructed the team that got to the NFC championship in 1996, made the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday. And Thomas Davis won the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which honors exemplary community service by a current NFL player. He is the Panthers' first winner of that award and was also a finalist for it a year ago.
The Panthers have been fortunate that Davis has played his entire career with Carolina. They would have been well-served had Polian stuck around longer than three years. Polian won everywhere he went and had even greater success before Carolina (in Buffalo, where he put together the nucleus of a Bills team that went to four Super Bowls but never won one) and afterward in Indianapolis (where his drafting of Peyton Manning with the No.1 overall pick in 1998 eventually helped the Colts win the Super Bowl). He is the most accomplished GM the Panthers have ever employed, although it wasn't all roses. Polian's last Panther squad, in 1997, got old in a hurry on defense.
There was one other former Panther who didn't have a good Saturday. Kevin Greene, who I believe one day will make the Hall of Fame, missed by an eyelash yet again.
Greene made it to the final cut, but was not selected. Greene only played three of his 15 years in Carolina, but if and when he does get in he will be the first hall of famer who had more than one season in a Panther uniform. He averaged nearly 14 sacks per game in those three seasons. (The late Reggie White, who got in because of his great work in Green Bay and Philadelphia, played one forgettable season in Carolina at the end of his career).
Polian still lives in Cornelius. He and his wife kept an offseason home in the Lake Norman area for years even when he worked in Indianapolis, and now that he is working primarily for ESPN they still make their home only about 20 minutes from the stadium where Davis still does his work.
I have always thought Davis should have made at least one Pro Bowl. Last year and this year he has done the best work of his career -- this after three serious knee operations on the same knee -- and that should be more nationally recognized. But winning the Walter Payton award is a major honor and one that should help Davis do even more good work in this community, as well as in his Georgia hometown. For that, we can all be grateful.
'Scott Says' is the place to get Observer columnist Scott Fowler's opinions on the world of sports. Scott, a general sports columnist for The Observer, has worked for the paper since 1994.
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