Jan 10th 2009 10:45PM by Will Brinson (author feed)

Jake Delhomme hasn’t had that fantastic a season, at least in the second half of the year, so expecting him to totally dominant the Cardinals tonight would have been just a flat-out mistake. But at the very least, you would think that the term “halftime adjustment” might mean something to the Panthers’ coaching staff.

Apparently it didn’t, because on second and 16, after Kurt Warner gave the Panthers a free red zone opportunity, Delhomme again forced a pass into tight coverage that got double-tipped and resulted in his third interception (fourth turnover) of the evening, as well as a 41-yard interception return that set up a Neil Rackers field goal and set the score at 30-7.

Delhomme just overthrew his receiver on fourth and five at the 40 in a fashion that could best be described as “embarrassing,” and a good number of Panthers fans — at least the ones not leaving the stadium — started booing him. Or perhaps booing the coaching staff. Both have been completely ineffective tonight.

Bonus: Matthew Stafford can’t fall far enough to land in Carolina at the draft.

Jan 10th 2009 11:00PM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Annika Sorenstam retired last month because, well, she’s dominated the LPGA for more than a decade. Since joining the tour in 1994, she’s racked up 72 career victories, including 10 major titles, and now she’s ready to get on with the rest of her life. Can’t say that I blame her.

Back in May, Sorenstam hinted at wanting to devote more time to her growing business ventures and perhaps start a family. In this Nov. 2008 interview with Portfolio.com, it sounds like she will be plenty busy with the former. She has a foundation, a fragrance line, a clothing line and is in designing her sixth golf course. She also launching a wine label and will host golf tournaments.

As for the later, Sorenstam just got hitched to her boyfriend of three years, Mike McGee. Conveniently, McGee is the managing director for the ANNIKA business brand, which means they’ll be spending every minute of every day together. Woo hoo, nuptials!Continue Reading

Jan 10th 2009 11:04PM by Will Brinson (author feed)

I’ve had some great birthdays in my 27 years on this planet. And I’ve had some bad ones. And I’ve had some bad ones (which I won’t discuss you with you, sorry). But I’m pretty sure that none of them will compare with how Jake Delhomme spent his 34th birthday.

Because, yes, Delhomme’s birthday is in fact January 10, 1975. Meaning that on his birthday, with the Panthers seeking a berth in the NFC Championship Game, he threw five interceptions (the NFL playoff record is six) and coughed up a fumble, leaving him as the biggest goat in the 2008 Carolina Panthers season.

I’ve always been a Delhomme apologist, and while I think that he’s still a good quarterback, it’s pretty tough at this point to justify what on Earth he was doing on the field tonight. Happy birthday, Jake.

Jan 10th 2009 11:20PM by Will Brinson (author feed)

Keyshawn Johnson said, as the Panthers were closing out their season, that he didn’t trust Jake Delhomme as a quarterback. Well, after Delhomme’s performance tonight against the Cardinals, it’s pretty hard to argue that he’s wrong.

Delhomme threw five interceptions and fumbled once — ALL ON HIS FREAKING BIRTHDAY, NO LESS — and generally stunk up the joint in Carolina. With three minutes remaining (and very few fans left), he’s actually being forced to take the field again with the possibility of matching an NFL playoff-record six interceptions 34 years to the day after he was born.
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Jan 11th 2009 12:30AM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Julius Peppers is one of the most well-known and popular players on the Carolina Panthers. There are many reasons for this, his 2007 season aside.

First of all, he’s a former North Carolina Tar Heel star. Secondly, he’s repped the Panthers in the Pro Bowl four times. And finally, because — and this is true even if you refuse to pull for Tar Heels — he just feels like a significant part of the Carolina Panthers franchise.

However, it’s pretty odd that the Panthers made no effort to re-sign Julius at any point this year, considering his improved play (it’s no shock at all that they wanted to make sure he wasn’t totally fading before giving him a huge contract). And that makes Peppers’ statement to the media after the game about his future in Carolina:
Q: Do you want to be [in Carolina], Julius?
A: Do I want to be here? I want to be in the best situation possible for me.
Peppers also mentioned that he had no interest in discussing the upcoming offseason.
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Jan 11th 2009 12:45AM by Will Brinson (author feed)

Darnell Dockett’s had a pretty pricey week; you most likely recall the $20,000.00 fine the NFL stuck him with after his celebratory actions against the Atlanta Falcons. Surely, he would come into this Panthers game a with a little more humility this week, right?

Um, wrong. Dockett not only decided the post-game presser was a perfect time to call out Warren Sapp (as well as everyone at FanHouse except Shane Bacon, technically), but he also decided to “give Carolina all the credit” for the Cardinals win today. Continue Reading

Jan 11th 2009 1:10AM by Will Brinson (author feed)

Jake Delhomme just had a pretty rough birthday. You would excuse him if he didn’t want to talk to the media after the game and just decided to take off for whatever the hell he’s planning on doing for the next week, simply in order to try and forget that the past 60 minutes of football just happened.

But he didn’t do that, of course, because, as bad as Jake was tonight, he’s still the type of guy to own up for his mistakes.
I’m at a loss for words. For one reason or another, I didn’t give us a chance tonight.

[…] We’d get something going, we ran the bootleg and I throw a pick there. It just started snowballing.
Continue Reading

Jan 11th 2009 1:30AM by Adam Gretz (author feed)
Nikita Filatov, the No. 5 overall pick in this year’s Entry Draft, entered play on Saturday night for Columbus with one goal in his first five NHL games. During the Blue Jackets win over Minnesota, the 18-year-old rookie notched his first career hat trick — and recorded an assist — helping lead Columbus to its second straight win and sixth in its past eight games.

Steve Mason continued his strong play in net for the Blue Jackets, turning aside 21-of-23 shots to pick up his 15th win of the season. It’s a big win for Columbus, as it entered the game trailing the Wild by one point in the Western Conference standings.

Mason is still leading the league in goals against average and save percentage, and he is still not an all-star. Crazy.Continue Reading

Jan 11th 2009 1:45AM by Will Brinson (author feed)

It’s an easily arguable point that Larry Fitzgerald was the main reason why the Arizona Cardinals are headed to their first NFC Championship game in franchise history. (You could also say “Jake Delhomme is the real answer, but there’s no need to be a jerkstore.) Fitzy put on a masterful first half show, compiling a franchise record for receiving yards before the Panthers even had time to make adjustments.

Usually he compiles these stats quietly. But the word from he and his teammates is that Larry changed his normal behavior on the sidelines and amped up his attitude.Continue Reading

Jan 11th 2009 3:25AM by Will Brinson (author feed)

It’s pretty rare when a sports montage doesn’t result in some sort of super-human level of energy and performance boosting. (See: Darch, Stan.) But there’s somehow already a montage relating to Jake Delhomme’s performance against the Cardinals on Saturday night. And it’s awkwardly set to Beck’s “Loser”.

I suppose “thanks” goes to Black Sports Online for putting this together, although I reckon Jake might have a different reaction. Like, say, “Soy un perdador”?