11/15 Sport thoughts over the last two weeks

Sorry for not posting last week must have gotten too busy and mid week I got a virus from Facebook that forced me to reformat. The Panthers played well in New Orleans head a 17-6 halftime but after a quick TD by the Saints to the second half. The Panthers had a 1 & goal at the 2 and only managed a field goal. When you play the Saints youy need every point possible especially when the Saints tie at the end of the 3rd quarter it's over. The Williams fumble returned for a TD to maske it 30-20 wasn't not indictive of the way the Panthers played. Today they got lucky as they almost squandered another 11 point halftime lead over the Falcons but thanks to a miss FG by Elam, Marshall INT and a Stewart TD run it turned out to be a 28-19 win. The Falcons coach has bugged teams by the number of challenges and 4th down attempts against the Panthers this year. Short week to get ready for Miami on Thursday with ex Panther offensive coordinator Dan Henning so expect a heavy dose of "Wildcat". Delhomme has been turnover free for the past three games though I thought he was credited with a fumble at the Saints.

Anahem Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller may replaced Delhomme as the player on my favorite teams that I worry about the most. He could not make a save when needed last night at Detriot. How does a 2-1 game going into the 3rd period end up 7-4 in regulation with the Ducks tying it up 3 times? Hiller let Getzlaf, who had a point (1 G, 3 A) on all 4 Duck goals last night, and his other teammates down. I expect Giguere to play Monday at Pittsburgh. This team is capable of a 5 game winning streak without Pronger they just need to show it. 6-9-3 is not getting it done.

The Lakers are the ones I should least worry about and should bounce back versus Ariza and Houston tonight. Denver will get a sense of realatiy when they compe to Staples.

11/1-11/6 Panthers, Ducks and Lakers

First off that was an unexpected win for the Carolina Panthers over the Arizona Cardinals to get a measure of revenge for the playoff defeat. Even better was Delhomme having no turnovers although he did not finish the game either due to injury. Finally Steve Smith got a touchdown. I doubt they can do it Sunday at the Saints but one way they can is by having Williams and Stewart just average 4 yards a run over the big run. This will help keep the Saints defense on the field where Brees can not hurt them.

For the Ducks the Wisnewski suspension was a joke. I went to the Ducks-Penguins game on Tuesday. It was a good game despite the lost but the Ducks just let Pittsburgh do whatever they want in their offensive zone in the 3rd. On the first Pittsburgh goal in the period they could have cleared the puck. On the game winning goal they put no pressure on Pittsburgh and were kind of lost since Marchant was stickless. They got a 4-0 shutout over the Nashville Predators last night which I only hope is the beginning of a winning streak to get back to .500 or better. I have been to 5 Duck games and these were my best seats in section 312 right in front of the Jack Daniels bar before I was stuck in the 400s.

Boy the Lakers had a tough road trip in Oklahoma City and Houston. I worry about their lineup tonight vs Memphis with the Bynum elbow injury and Gasol not back yet Odom may be the starting center.