My Bobcats prediction and some notes

A couple of notes and my Bobcats prediction:

1) The Bobcats open their NBA season this week with relatively high hopes (point guard Kemba Walker is pictured above in a portrait by our photographer Jeff Siner). My colleague Tom Sorensen predicts the team will go 33-49, which would give them a dozen more wins than last year's 21-61 record. I am not far off from what Tom thinks in this case, although I don't think they will be quite that good. Put me down for 29-53.

2) Was glad to see Armanti Edwards land with the Cleveland Browns, where head coach Rob Chudzinski has some familiarity with him from the duo's time together in Charlotte. Edwards deserves another chance, although I still don't think he will ever be a starting NFL receiver.

3) You should read Rick Bonnell's story on Al Jefferson and the two grandmothers that made him tick -- it really gives you insight into the character of the new Bobcat big man.

4) Our Joseph Person has a good story on Mike Shula, the Panthers' offensive coordinator who has been part of the team's three-game winning streak. And here's my column in Wednesday's newspaper on how important it is for the Panthers to deal with their modest dose of prosperity -- they are very used to dealing with adversity, but haven't been on this side of the coin very often.

Charles Johnson says he will play Sunday for Panthers

Panther standout defensive end Charles Johnson said Monday he believes he is "definitely" going to play Sunday despite a right groin strain.

Johnson (shown above, sacking St. Louis quarterback Sam Bradford) told reporters Monday that he had had treatment on the injury "all weekend," which he suffered with 1:08 left against Tampa Bay In Carolina's Thursday night win.

"I feel like 100 percent I'm going to be on the field," Johnson said. Of course, 100 percent to a player doesn't automatically mean 100 percent to doctors or trainers, but coach Ron Rivera said he was optimistic Johnson would play.

The Panthers did not have a real practice Monday, but Johnson participated in the walk-through. He said of his weekend: "I wasn't hobbling, but it was sore."

Johnson, who grew up in Georgia and went to the University of Georgia, has always said the Panthers' two games every year against the Falcons are special to him.

"You always get up for anybody," Johnson said. "But Atlanta? There's just a little extra sauce on it."

Johnson's best individual game came against the Falcons in 2012, when he sacked Matt Ryan a team-record 3.5 times in a game the Panthers ended up losing on a last-second field goal. Johnson leads the Panthers in sacks this year with six.

Why I will never forget Bill Sharman

Bill Sharman died Friday at age 87. He was a basketball hall of famer as both a player and a coach in the NBA (here's a link to his obituary). But a lot of that was so long ago that you may not know much about Sharman (who is pictured above as he looked in 1971).

So in his memory, let me tell you one story to let you know what kind of man he was.

When I was seven years old, living in Austin, Texas, I wrote a letter and sent it off with an eight-cent stamp, to a place I had never been and a man I had never met.

The first word was “Congratulations,” which I had to ask my Mom how to spell.

It went on for a few sentences, in a second-grader’s painstaking print. It praised the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers for his team’s victory in the 1972 NBA Finals. I liked the Lakers mostly because of their uniforms.

The coach – and the letter’s recipient -- was Bill Sharman.

That team turned out to be legendary. It included Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Gail Goodrich and my own personal favorite player, Harold Hairston. I liked Hairston mainly because his nickname was “Happy,” and I knew if I ever became a pro athlete that’s what I would be.

I didn’t ask for anything in the letter and expected no reply. But a few weeks later, an envelope from California graced our mailbox.

I opened it. There was a sweet, handwritten letter from Sharman.

And a single sheet of white typing paper that contained the autographs of every Laker player on the squad.

Wilt the Stilt. Goodrich. West. Hairston. A mustachioed reserve named Pat Riley. All of them.

I loved that sheet of paper.

I studied it to see which player had the best handwriting and which ones included their jersey number. I showed it around. I marveled over it.

And, of course, I lost it.

I told that story in The Charlotte Observer in 2002 -- 30 years later -- as part of a column about the power of autographs. Sharman’s son-in-law in Florida saw the column. He told Sharman about it.

Sharman, by then a special consultant to the Lakers in California, dug through his files. He found a picture of that 1971-72 team and signed it. He found a copy of the original set of team autographs from that season, which he Xeroxed for me.

Then Sharman stuffed all that in an envelope and sent it to me along with another handwritten note that concluded, “Thanks for bringing back some very nice, exciting memories!”

I didn't lose that one.

RIP to Bill Sharman -- who cared enough to make the day of someone he had never met.

Twice.

5 things I liked as Carolina blasts Tampa Bay

The Panthers took care of business very efficiently on Thursday night, moving to 4-3 on the season by whipping Tampa Bay, 31-13, on national television (although undoubtedly a lot of national viewers were watching the World Series instead of NFL Network). Five things I liked in particular:

-- Cam Newton. The third-year quarterback (shown above in a photo by The Observer's Jeff Siner) is on what may be the best three-game run of his career. He's making smart decisions, he's running and he's throwing with extreme accuracy. The Panthers are 3-0 over their past three for many reasons -- including a favorable schedule -- but no reason is bigger than No.1. He has six TD passes, zero INTs and a completion pct. of 77 over those three games.

-- Ron Rivera. Give the coach credit -- he's become a real disciple of going for it on fourth-and-1 after two-plus years of conservatism. Rivera went for it again Thursday -- up 14-6, disdaining a field goal -- and was rewarded when the Panthers eventually scored a touchdown on the drive. And a tip of the hat to offensive coordinator Mike Shula, too -- he mixed it up nicely Thursday.

-- Colin Jones. He doesn't make this list often, but what an impressive play in the third quarter by the special-teamer. Jones first forced a fair catch by beating his man as a "gunner" going downfield. Then, when the punt was dropped, Jones outmuscled two other Buccaneers for the ball and a fumble recovery. That recovery resulted in the TD that truly put the game away for Carolina.

-- Team defense. The team's bedrock, the Panther D was tough again, allowing field goals instead of TDs when it mattered (the Bucs' lone TD came with 2:53 left and Carolina already ahead 31-6). They will continue to be ranked very high in all relevant categories after this week. One cautionary note: Charles Johnson limped off the field with 1:08 to go, obviously in pain. Losing No.95 for any length of time would be a huge blow (UPDATE: It's a groin injury, likely a strain. Johnson hopes to play in the next game but it's too early to tell). Captain Munnerlyn was also furious with himself for getting his hands on four footballs and catching none of them. "Gotta get on the JUGS machine," he said.

-- .500 phobia is over. The Panthers haven't been over the .500 mark during an NFL regular season since late December 2008. Now, finally they are at 4-3, with 10 days to get ready for a visit from the struggling Atlanta Falcons (2-4) on Nov.3. All in all, after that nasty 1-3 start, it's not a bad place to be at all. "We haven't been in a spot like this for a really long time," offensive tackle Jordan Gross said.

Meanwhile, the Bucs are in a freefall -- like the Panthers back in 2001 (at 1-15) or 2010 (at 2-14). I can't imagine coach Greg Schiano will last for too much longer -- not with an 0-7 record and stuff like this picture below going on in the stands.

Panthers to beat Bucs Thursday night

The Carolina Panthers continue their tour of the NFL's worst teams on Thursday night (kickoff 8:25 pm) -- a fortuitous bit of scheduling that could only be luckier if the Panthers next played Jacksonville.

Alas, they don't have the Jaguars on their schedule. But there are only three other NFL teams at the moment who have won one game or less in 2013. The Panthers have already played two of them -- the New York Giants and Minnesota -- and they get Tampa Bay twice, starting Thursday night (with rookie quarterback Mike Glennon, pictured above).

So this should be easy, right? The Buccaneers are 0-6. Carolina is 3-3, but has won three of its last four and has one of the NFL's top defenses.

Well, no. I don't think it will be that easy.

The Bucs are going to beat somebody this season -- the Panthers just can't let it be them. Tampa Bay has a few things going for it, including Glennon and wide receiver Vincent Jackson.

Glennon threw at Jackson 22 times last week and 14 the week before. Four of those throws went for touchdowns.

If the Panthers don't double Jackson on most every play Thursday night, they are nuts. Jackson, if you remember, was also the guy who made the great touchdown catch that helped the Bucs come back from 11 points down in the final 4:03 in 2012 in Charlotte to tie the game in regulation and win it in overtime.

-- When Carolina runs plays inside the Tampa Bay 5, don't be surprised to see a fake to Mike Tolbert and then a play-action pass. Tampa Bay has proved its mettle on goal-line run defense. The Bucs have only given up one rushing TD all season, tied for the best in the NFL with Baltimore.

-- I've been to almost all of the NFL stadiums and I can tell you that Tampa Bay's homefield "advantage" is among the league's absolute worst at the moment. Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano is only 3-8 at home, although one of those wins was against Carolina in 2012 (the Bucs swept the Panthers last year).

-- When you watch the NFL Network telecast Thursday, see what you think about TV analyst Mike Mayock. He's wordy, but I like him -- his depth and breadth of knowledge about the sport is impressive.

-- Tampa Bay rookie quarterback Mike Glennon basically does two things when he drops back -- he either throws the ball to Jackson or he dumps it short. There are a whole lot of quick checkdowns in the former N.C. State quarterback's repertoire, and there will be a few chances for the Panthers in pass coverage to jump one of those routes and grab an interception.

-- I've correctly predicted the Panthers' outcome four weeks in a row. To go for five straight, my pick is: Carolina 30, Tampa Bay 17.

Regrets? Yeah, Panthers and Rams have a few

There were several things that never should have happened in the game Sunday. You can see one of them above, where Robert Quinn is screaming at Cam Newton while Newton wanders off the field in a semi-daze after being hit by the St. Louis defensive end.

The previous blog item talks about six of the things I liked most in Carolina's 30-15 win over the St. Louis Rams Sunday. But there were also more things than usual in a Panther win that I found distressing in both teams' behavior. Here's a short list of four -- feel free to add or comment to it.

1) The picture above shows Robert Quinn, the Rams' defensive end, yelling what Newton would later refer to as "explicits" following Quinn's hit of Newton. Listen, I know football is an emotional game, but there's something wrong with this. You hurt a guy, you know he's hurt -- and then you yell at him?!

Newton said this was what prompted the ensuing brawl -- not that Quinn hit him (it was legal), but what he said later. It made the normally mild-mannered Jordan Gross go after Quinn, and then the fracas started.

And what the heck is wrong with Quinn anyway?

I used to really like the guy. I went down to South Carolina five years ago to write about him when he was in high school -- he had survived a brain tumor and was about to make his collegiate choice. I liked him and his parents, both of whom I met.

Quinn ultimately chose North Carolina, but the Tar Heels certainly wish he didn't now. Quinn was heavily involved in the agent scandal that has brought the football program to his knees. Now he's a great NFL defensive end, but he's doing needless stuff like this.

(After the game I didn't have a chance to talk to Quinn, but he didn't say much to other reporters besides noting that his hit on Newton was legal, which it was).

2) Chris Long (see picture at end of this blog). I know Long regrets throwing the punch that led to his ejection -- he said so after the game. But video shows at least two Panther fans throwing things at Long while he made his "walk of shame" to the locker room.

Long didn't get hurt, but c'mon, man -- those Panther fans should be as ashamed as Long. The actions of a couple of knuckleheads made everyone in the stands look bad. As Fox Sports' Dick Stockton correctly called those fans' behaviors on the telecast: "Inexcusable."

3) Sam Bradford/Mike Mitchell play. On a fourth-quarter play in which Bradford scrambled for a one-yard gain, Mitchell pushed him out of bounds. Then he lifted his arms to the sky and celebrated. Mitchell said later he didn't know Bradford was hurt -- "Absolutely not man, c'mon. I'm not that type of guy," he said. And he thought he had gotten a sack on the play (one yard earlier on the push-out, and he would have). And he avoided any personal-foul penalty then or at any other time in the game.

Still, I'm sure Mitchell regrets so dramatically celebrating the play that ended up putting Bradford out for the season with a torn ACL. Certainly, it didn't look good on TV. And I personally regret Bradford getting hurt (which was not Mitchell's fault, just bad luck). I think he's a classy guy and enjoy watching him.

4) One last regret, and this is just a personal preference. Can we ban the use of the word "chippy" to describe incidents like these? What does that even mean? It is becoming as prevalent as "it is what it is" as a catch-all phrase.



Chris Long walks off the field after being ejected. Fans threw at least two items at him during this walk.

Six things I liked in Panther win over Rams

Six things I liked about Carolina's 30-15 win over St. Louis, which pulled the Panthers up to 3-3 this season with a game against 0-6 Tampa Bay Thursday night (one of the things is pictured above -- Captain Munnerlyn's pick-6 interception return on the Rams' first play from scrimmage.)

1) Cam Newton. The quarterback had his second straight extremely accurate game. He went 15 for 17 for 204 yards with one TD and zero INTs, and one of the two incompletions was a drop. When Newton is throwing it like that, very few teams will beat Carolina. Now he needs to get a few more short-yardage carries, as the Mike Tolbert handoff is getting too predictable and had bad results twice Sunday (a safety and a personal foul penalty on Tolbert).

2) Steve Smith. His 800th career reception was a memorable one, as he scored on a 19-yard TD and left two Rams defenders grabbing air. The biggest star of the Rams/Panthers double OT playoff game from 10 years ago looked like he was 24 again on that play.

3) Captain Munnerlyn. The game's first play from scrimmage resulted in a pick-six for Munnerlyn. It was a heck of a play by No.41, who had to make a diving catch of Sam Bradford. Bradford's weirdly off-target throw (it was apparently tipped) and then weaved his way down the left sideline for a 45-yard TD. Munnerlyn later had a nice fumble recovery, too, on a fumble caused by Mike Mitchell, who was the subject of my Sunday column and was very active in the game (drawing a personal-foul penalty and making a sack among other things). He also hit Bradford going out of bounds, knocking the Rams quarterback from the game.

4) Graham Gano. Has this kicker been huge this year or what? Gano hasn't missed all season and hit three more on Sunday. His 50-yarder Sunday with 11:32 to go put the Panthers three possessions clear of the Rams (making the score 30-12) and basically clinched the game. Gano has been having a Pro Bowl-type season through six games.

5) The crowd. On a beautiful blue-sky day, Panther fans had a lot of things to cheer about and did so (with a side helping of fights that further inflamed them). The pink-themed halftime celebration was also well done.

6) Quintin Mikell. The former Ram didn't get suckered in when St. Louis went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 1 in the first quarter, guarding perfectly against the play-action pass and forcing an incompletion. Mikell also came on a safety blitz and bothered Bradford on Munnerlyn's pick-six.