Recipe by Chef Alan Panzer from the Kroger store in Apex, NC.

If you are throwing a Super Bowl party this Sunday, be prepared to satisfy your New York Giants fans with a proper snack. You can’t go wrong with hand-rolled, hand-twisted, fresh-baked pretzels — hey, after all, they are a New York tradition — everybody loves ‘em!

These warm, fragrant pretzels served right out of the oven will make your guests reminisce about the times they enjoyed these treats at sports events or just on the streets of Brooklyn, if they have ever had that wonderful opportunity.

Your guests will never be able to “fuh-get about it!”

Chef Al’s New York Style Soft Pretzel Recipe

Ingredients

for approximately 8 pretzels

• 1 ½ cups warm water (about 105 degrees)
• 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 Teaspoons salt
• 1 Package active dry yeast
• 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tablespoons melted butter
• 1 whole egg, beaten
• 2 Ounces coarse Kosher salt
• Pan spray, as needed

Preparation

You will need a pot of boiling water, with 1 tablespoon baking soda in it, large enough to boil 2-3 pretzels at a time. Also 1 cookie sheet lined with parchment paper on which to bake the pretzels.

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl add the warm water, sugar and salt. Whisk them together to dissolve. Then sprinkle the package of yeast on top. Let stand for a few minutes until the yeast starts to make the solution milky and foamy looking.

2. Add the flour and melted butter. With your hands knead the mixture together to form a dough ball. Remove the dough from the bowl and, working on a floured counter top, knead until smooth and workable. If the dough is really sticky, work a little more flour into it until it is smooth to the touch.

3. Spray a clean bowl with pan spray (Or butter it) and place dough ball in bowl. Spray a little pan spray on top of ball and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside and let the dough double in size. (Approximately 45 min.)

4. Once the dough is ready place on floured countertop and cut strips off. Roll out one at a time to approximately 18 inches long. Make a U shape with the rolled-out strip. Holding each end of the U, cross them over each other, and press onto the bottom of the U in order to make the shape of a pretzel. Pinch to secure the ends.

Cooking the Pretzels

5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

6. Place the prepared pretzels into the boiling water 2 or 3 at a time. They will rise to the top in about 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spatula and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

7. Brush each pretzel with the beaten egg and sprinkle a little Kosher salt on each. Bake in pre-heated 400 degree oven for 12-15 min. or until golden brown.

Serving Suggestions

Serve with spicy brown mustard or a cheese sauce. Keep some un-salted and brush them with melted butter and sprinkle cinnamon sugar. Enjoy!

Watch How It’s Done

Watch this video of Chef Alan rolling the dough Chef Alan rolling the pretzel dough.

Chef Alan Panzer works at the Kroger store in Apex. Kroger, the nation’s largest traditional grocery retailer, has 16 stores throughout the Triangle.

Story by Dean Ogan, owner of Rocky Top Hospitality. Photo by Lynn Gardner.

Cary, NC - Old-fashioned New England style clam “chowda” is sure to score with your guests at your Super Bowl Party no matter who wins the game.

Superbowlicious

An American classic that has been around since the mid-18th century, clam chowder should be thick and hearty enough to stick-to-the-ribs, warming you up on a cold winter evening.

Better yet, serve the chowder with smokey grilled BBQ wings for a meal that will satisfy everyone from your daintiest eaters to the biggest and baddest of those manly men gathered and yelling at the top of their lungs around your television screen!

Here are two recipes from my new restaurant in Cary, Rockwell’s American Grill.

Recipe: Rockwell’s New England Clam Chowder

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow onion diced
• ½ bunch celery diced
• ¼ pound bacon chopped
• ½ pound butter
• ½ pound flour
• 1 16 ounce can chopped clams
• 1 gallon milk
• 1T thyme
• 3T Tabasco
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pound diced and cooked potatoes

Directions:

Sweat celery, onions and bacon in butter until bacon is rendered.  Add flour and stir over medium heat to make a roux.  Add milk and clams and bring to a simmer.  Add seasoning, spice and potatoes.

Make it a Meal and add these wings.

Recipe: Rockwell’s Smokey Grilled BBQ wings

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup butter
• ½ cup chopped yellow onion
• 3T chopped Shallots
• 1-1/2 cups red wine vinegar
• ½ cup molasses
• 4 cups ketchup
• 2T paprika
• 2T cayenne pepper
• 2T chili powder
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 cups tomato juice
• 2T liquid smoke
• ¼ cup chipotle peppers
• 2 cups pineapple juice
• 1 cup whiskey

Directions:

Sweat onion and shallot in butter until soft.  Add remaining ingredients.  Puree.  Chill completely. Toss 4 dozen wings lightly in olive oil and salt & pepper and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.  Toss the wings in the sauce and place on grill until lightly charred.  Toss in sauce again.  Serve.

——————————————————————————————————————

Dean Ogan, owner of Rocky Top Hospitality, has opened a new restaurant, Rockwell’s American Grill, at 1080 Darrington Drive in Cary, NC. 

Panthers Beat written by Matt Young. Photos by Tom Mousseau and Suzie Wolf.

Cary-lina, NC – The Saints, not surprisingly, beat the Carolina Panthers on New Year’s Day 45-17.

While the Panthers were dominated most of the day, the Saints may well be the best team in the NFL right now with their high powered offense and Drew Brees shattering Marino’s once sacred yardage record. Cam Newton was 15 of 25 for 158 yards with a touchdown and a pick.

That said, there is much about which to to be optimistic.

Not Purr-fect But Certainly Not a Cat-astrophe Either

Here’s some fun facts (and a few opinions) on this year for the Carolina Panthers:

• They won 3 times as many games as in 2010 with a 6-10 record.  They were 4-2 in their last 6 games.
• They were ranked 3rd in the NFL in rushing.
• They were ranked 7th in total yardage in the NFL.
• They were ranked 5th in the NFL in points.
• Steve Smith broke Mushin Muhammed’s receiving record as a Panther.
• They had their longest offensive scoring play ever of  91 yards to Brandon Lafell versus the Bucs.
• The Panthers had one of the toughest schedules in the NFL with half the games being played against playoff teams. Their tough division of four teams produced two playoff teams (Saints and Falcons)

Celebrating Cam Newton

• Newton should surely be Rookie of the Year. He had over 4000 yards passing, a QBR of 85 and 21 touchdowns. Many of the records he set were all-time records, not just rookie records.
• Newton broke Peyton Manning’s QB debut yardage  record and was the first rookie ever to throw for over 400 yards in his first game.
• He had the most yards in the air by a quarterback in his first two games – a total of 854 yards.
• He had the most passing yards by a rookie in a game at 432 against the Green Bay Packers.
• Most passing yards by a rookie in a season with 4,051.
• The only quarterback in NFL history to pass for more than 400 yards in first two career starts, and the first rookie in NFL history to pass for more than 400 yards in back to back games
• First player in NFL history with five rushing touchdowns and five passing touchdowns in his first five games. He was also the first rookie to throw for 10 touchdowns and run for 10 touchdowns in a season.
• Only the fourth rookie quarterback to throw for 3,000 yards in a season.
• Most rushing touchdowns in single season by a quarterback with 13.
• Second player in NFL history with more than passing scores and more than 10 rushing TDs in a season.
• Third most pass TDs in a rookie season at 21.
• First player in history with more than 4,000 passing yards and more than 10 rushing TDs in a season and more than 500 yards rushing.

Looking Ahead for the Carolina Panthers

Enjoy the ride fans, this team is a few adjustments to the defense away from being a real contender.

They’ ll be in the playoffs next year. Mark my words. 

Story by Matt Young.

Cary-lina, NC – It was a crazy NFL Sunday. The craziest one so far in 2011.

NFL Upside-Down

The seemingly unbeatable, undefeated and Super Bowl-bound Green Bay Packers lost to the – let’s just say - “less-than-average” Kansas City Chiefs. The game was exciting and touching as newly installed head coach Romeo Crennel could be seen crying on the sidelines. KC had fired their head coach less than a week ago and named Crennel as interim leader. Crennel has had his own ups and downs over the years, being fired while head coach of the Browns and ending up with the Chiefs as defensive coordinator. As the game ended his players hugged him and jumped up and down. The Packers had won an amazing 19 in a row.

The heretofore winless Colts (remember when people always called them the “hapless Colts” instead of “Indianapolis Colts”?) got their first win this season by beating the Titans. By the way, this Colts team has fallen so far since Peyton Manning has endured his season ending injury, that I think the NFL should name Peyton Manning the obvious MVP for 2011!

The first place and already playoff-bound Ravens fell to the perennially disappointing Chargers. Even Tebow lost.

And the Panthers soundly beat the number one seed in the AFC – the Houston Texans. The Texans had already been anointed as a playoff team winning the AFC South this year. The Texans had won 7 in a row. On top of that, the Panthers scored 28 on the top-ranked defense in the NFL.

Carolina Over Texans 28-13

Former UNC Tarheel star, T. J Yates is the starting QB for the Texans as a rookie. He had taken over the reigns due to injuries to the first and second string Houston QBs. Yates is not yet in Newton’s league.

The game started well for Carolina as they picked up a rare Texans fumble from Aryan Foster on the second play and Newton soon threw a long dart in stride to Steve Smith for 6.

The Panthers went on to lead 21-0 at halftime lead. The balance of the game never really tilted too much the other way as the Panthers went on to have a winning record over their last 5 games.

Newton ended up throwing a two touchdown passes and completed 13 of 23 passes for 149 yards. Houston made a bit of a comeback but LB James Anderson picked up a timely interception in the end zone late in the game.

Play of the Week

The play of the week for the Panthers was as crazy as the week in the NFL itself. Carolina had the ball on the Texan’s 7 yard line.

Someone dusted off an old college playbook on the Panthers’ sideline.  The offensive line was standing straight up acting like the refs had blown a whistle or someone had taken a timeout. Not so.

Cam Newton took the ball from center. He in turn centered the ball between his legs to TE Richie Brockel, and with Newton running to the right more than half of the Texans defense followed the QB thinking he had the ball. The TE scored  heading left.

Story by Matt Young. Game photos by Suzie Wolf for CaryCitizen. 

Cary-lina, NC -  The always-underdog Panthers lost to the Falcons 31-23.  Speaking of gratuitous dog references…

Puppies Have Nothing To Do With Football

I told you about my puppy saga a few weeks back  in  Panthers Beat: Who Let the Dogs Out? (every time I hear that song, I wish that the NFL would allow stadiums to play it when Vick gets sacked. No wonder they say NFL stands for No Fun League!)

Anyway, I promised you “more later”. Well,  here goes.

Despite the football gods doing everything in their power this year to keep me from the tube and the NFL on Sundays this fall, I have thus far prevailed. This Sunday was no exception despite the fact that I got 2 hours of sleep Saturday night.

Here’s how: TWO puppies. Two BORDER COLLIE puppies. To those of you that are not familiar with the breed think of the movie “Babe”. They are true servants to humans, clearly wiser than the rest of the animal kingdom – AS ADULTS. As puppies – different story. Raising one border collie puppy is not for the faint of heart. Two requires that the owners act like Lombardi and run like Hester. And padding and the team psychologist would help too.

A Man Among Women

I live amongst women. Many women. I raised three daughters. My childhood did not prepare me for this as I was one of four boys, no sisters.

I entered marital bliss firmly in charge. Now, after a quarter century plus I am  mere putty in all of their little manicured hands. I happily move their furniture to where they tell me. And my family leadership role is this – if a wild, rabid raccoon gets into our house and begins tearing the place up, I am the man. Or if we are on a family hike and we are charged by a grizzly bear, I am to run straight at it flailing my arms so that it can munch on me while the rest of them get away. You guys know what I mean. Heavy lifting and animal control.

Readers’ Digest Version of the Dog Saga Year-To-Date

Here’s the condensed Young Family dog saga, from Dad’s point of view.

- Our dear departed border collie – Daisy – passes away over a year ago.

- “No more dogs!”, I say waving my right arm in the air as if this was a sovereign decree. Nods of agreement from my female subjects.

- Sometime later I am told that this decree is no longer in effect and we are, after all, getting a dog.

- “One, then,” I say. “One dog.” “Maybe something little – a Yorkie.” “AND I AM NOT CLEANING UP AFTER IT!” And there was great rejoicing from the masses agreeing that I am great and good.

- Sometime later I find out I agreed to a border collie. Rumor is I was asked on a Sunday afternoon on a 3rd and 1 from the 10 yard line. Apparently, I also said “‘whatever.” Footnote: “whatever” means “yes”. Unless you are my kid, and then it means “I have no leg to stand on and therefore am no longer arguing with you, dad.”

- Later I actually find myself searching for the “right breeder”. I do. And I call early one morning only to find out that they had a litter hours ago. “Kismet,” I am told. We pick one out immediately (see the CaryCitizen story referenced in the opening paragraph).

- Soon, Kate, the breeder, tells me that our soon-to-be-picked-up puppy has a sister who is now available. The deal on the sister fell through. Something about the potential buyer coming to his senses.

- My family squeals in delight. Once more, I am asked to make a decision. With great aplomb and pomp and circumstance I say “No way”. Silence. Seems this was the wrong decision. Puzzled look on my face.  ”Yes, this makes sense?” I ask, I mean – say. And once more I am told how wise I am by my adoring family.

The two new girls in the house agree.

And Now, Back to Football: Panthers – Falcons

The dog story played in the background of my usual Sunday. Week 14, Panthers vs Falcons. Woof!

The Panthers were hoping for three wins in a row – and revenge on the Falcons who soundly beat them earlier this year. But it would be the 6th time this year they lost after being ahead or tied in the 4th quarter.

Newton was last week’s NFC Offensive Player of the Week. Just another one for the record books being written by this rookie phenom: he is now only one of two rookies to get that honor -   running back Fred Lane (1997) being the other.

He had also gone without an interception in four of his last six games. Cam had a couple picks in this game.

The first half was all Panthers, as Carolina was beating the Dirty Birds by a commanding score of 23-7. But the Cats from Charlotte were held scoreless in the second half to finally succumb 31-23 to the Falcons, who were fighting for their playoff lives.

Next up – the first place Texans.

[Editor's Note: Alternate headlines for this story included "Rulers and Droolers" and "Panthers Leave With Tails Between Their Legs."]

Panthers-Falcons Pictures

Thanks to photographer Suzie Wolf  for making the trip down to Charlotte over the weekend and filing these photos from the Panthers-Falcons contest.

Cary-lina, NC – The Panthers were the better team this Sunday, routing the Bucs 38-19. Tampa Bay wore their throwback “Dreamsicle Swashbuckler” uniforms from the ’70′s. You would think that they would have learned their lesson from those forgettable days in Bucs history when they wore those awful unis. Aurgh! 

That’s TWO IN A ROW for our Panthers.

Brunch

My weekend was going just fine until late Saturday night when my bride “reminded” me that we were invited to “brunch” at a neighbor’s house on Sunday.

BRUNCH!

I informed her that she never told me this before. And she informed me that she most certainly did - and once more – I, like all men, listen to every third word.

Brunch! You cannot even say this word and sound manly. “I am going hunting after I rebuild my carburetor. But first we gotta eat brunch.” Pffft.

Breakfast would be fine, that’s at like what – 9 am? Brunch is at like – noon. Am I the only guy around that is working on perfecting the butt scoop in my couch cushion watching football on Sunday at 1 pm?

So I showered, Chris made cookies and we walked down the street, me whining and moving my limp arms up and down like a child not getting his way. “Honey, you can leave early if you want, they’ll understand, they know you“. They know I am WHAT? Immature? Why yes, they do.

Well we chatted, and ate and drank and wiped the corners of our little mouths with matching cloth napkins (I swear!) and held our little fingers in the air as we drank our coffee.

One o’clock came and we were done eating. Two o’clock came around and my wife  could see my growing discomfort. I could tell by the sheepish grin on her face. We finished all the civilized chit-chat at about 3 pm. We exchanged good-byes and I ran down the street  home and plopped into my butt scoop after switching on my Mongo-sized TV hooked to both DirectTV and Cable.

Chris had set the DVR for me. She makes me eat brunch, but she always has my back.

Cam Sets Another Record

Wunderkind Cam Newton ran 3 balls into the end zone breaking the Steve Grogan (Patriots) record for QB TDs in a year. A record that stood for 35 years.

The Carolina QB went 12 of 21 passes for 204 yards. He also ran for 54 yards on 14 attempts.

Newton got a reception of his own after a throw behind the line of scrimmage to Legedu Naanee, which Naanee in turn threw back to a streaking Newton for a catch and run for 27 yards. Sweet.

In Command

By the end of the first half, Carolina was leading 24-12.

Jonathan Stewart had another nice day gaining 80 yards on the ground. WRs Brandon LaFell got 64 yards from Newton passes and Naanee 38 yards.

Carolina’s defense stifled the Bucs’ running game allowing only 78 total yards. Tampa Bay QB  Josh Johnson completed 16 of his 27 passes for 229 yards. WR Mike Williams had a respectable 93 yards for Tampa Bay from aerial connections with Johnson.

They will be playing another division rival, the Falcons next week. This will be one of the toughest tests for the Panthers this year, but I like their chances.

Question: How much is corn in Tampa Bay? Answer:  About a  buck-an-ear!

Cary-lina, NC – Saturday, I hope you weren’t rooting for any college teams that I was. They ALL lost. Sunday was better.

Thanksgiving JUST Ended!

After a nice but busy few days of college football and cooking and eating and house guests and Canes )-:) games and porch sittin’ and yard work, I was looking forward to resting on the old couch.

My wife Chris woke me up to the idea of hanging outside Christmas lights. Say what?

I have never been one of those people who rushes the holidays. Especially Christmas. I have to work a full day Monday, I’m exhausted, Thanksgiving was just over, the guests just left…etc.  That, and for nearly 20 years I have given my neighbors a hard time about it. Well, this morning with the temperature being 75 degrees it was hard to argue. Plus she was going to help me. With her help, we were done by kickoff.

Maybe if I don’t plug them in my neighbors won’t know.

Pressure.

Normally, we Carolina fans have gone into every Sunday rooting for the Panthers but not feeling that “we must win” at game time.  A good performance is enough.

But this morning it was a different feeling.

Pressure. Pressure to beat the winless/hapless/Manningless Colts on their way to the first 2012 draft pick.

If the Colts were to be 1 and 15 this season, Carolina did not want the “1 and ” to be the Panthers.

These are two teams headed in opposite directions.

Right?

The First Half – Like Kissin’ Yer Own Sister

The Panthers need to fix their 3rd down efficiency problems (near the league basement – statistically). And the offensive line was not able to hold back Colts’ defensive linemen Freeney and Mathis from punching Newton in the punkin’ pie hole every few plays.

Tied 10-10, the Panthers had a nice drive in the final minute of the first half – thanks to an amazing catch by Brad LaFell that ended with a blocked field goal as time expired.

Great Second Half

Cam Newton had surpassed 3,000 yards already for the year by the third quarter. This is an amazing statistic, folks. In his 11th game, no less.

Newton is on his way to breaking several rookie records by the time 16 games are played this year. If he plays them all, his rookie year will almost certainly surpass Peyton Manning’s in yardage and scoring.

In the third quarter, the Panthers led 17-10 after DeAngelo Williams scored on a nice 25 yard run at 4:16 of the quarter after a 7 play, 64 yard drive. Williams added another TD with a 1 yard run after an 80 yard drive as the Panthers took a 24-13 lead.

Earlier in the year I had mentioned the importance of an adequate running game (I am aware that was as obvious as it was brilliant). In this game the Panthers’ running game seemed to have come of age. Of course we all know that Cam Newton has broken the all-time rookie QB rushing TD record.

It was 24-19 at the mid-point of the 4th quarter when Carolina’s Kealoha Pilares got a 76 yard kickoff return from the back of the end zone to the 33 yard line after the Colts scored (the Colts had missed a 2-pointer after the TD) .

The Panthers got 3 out of it going ahead 27-19.

There was 3:17 left and the Panthers were punting. Carolina got uncharacteristically great punt coverage giving the Colts the ball on the Colts’ 28.

The game took on a frenzied pace as the Colts went without the huddle and the Cats seemed tired. At the 2 minute mark, the Colts had the ball at the Panthers’ 37 yard line. Curtis Painter looked like Peyton Manning in this drive. And the Panthers have given up far too many 4th quarter leads.

4th down.  15 yard line. Painter throws a pass to the Panthers’ 1 yard line. 40 seconds left. First down at the 1. Colts down by 8.

It seems like this game may be going onto overtime. Another 4th quarter Carolina breakdown?

WOW - Sherrod Martin INT!

The ball is thrown by Painter  to the back of the end zone, intercepted by Carolina with an in bounds two-toe-tap by Sherrod Martin.  Game over.

NOT the “1″.

Thanksgiving dinners take 18 hours to prepare. They are consumed in 12 minutes. Half-times take 12 minutes. This is not coincidence. - Erma Bombeck

Story by Matt Young.

Cary-lina, NC – My son-in-law is a long-suffering Clemson fan (what fan isn’t “long-suffering”?). It’s birthday time for him and the Tigers were playing the Wolfpack. So we packed up a van with a grill, various pork products, salty snacks, cold beverages from Milwaukee and a handful of grown boys. We headed to the outskirts of Cary (is that really Raleigh?) at a ridiculously early hour for a game starting at 3:30 pm to “tailgate”.

The game was a joy for the NC State Wolfpack and a disaster for the 7th ranked Clemson team from South Carolina as NC State annihilated Clemson 37-13.

State needed this game for sure to have any chance of postseason play, and it didn’t mean much to Clemson, and it showed.

Until 5 minutes after the opening whistle it looked like a sparse crowd, but the stands eventually filled up. State put on a great performance and Clemson continued its sloppy play from the past few games. We were wearing orange and purple and were not harassed at all, until we headed to our car after the game - by three drunken spastic wanna-be-athletes-that-think-they-actually-are wolves as evidenced by their howling in our ears.

All in all a great Saturday. For those of you that have never lived anywhere else you can’t imagine what a great place this area is for family spectator sports, be they pro or college.

On to the pros…

Feline Fracas

The Panthers would need to stop the Lions passing attack and get their own aerial game back after getting a whoopin’ from the Titans last week. They did both of these things in the first 30 minutes nearly flawlessly.

The Panthers still lost 35-49. The game was a lot closer than the score would indicate with the Panthers crumbling in the second half.

The last time these two teams played 3 years ago, the Panthers (2-7) dominated the hapless Lions. This years’ Lions (6-3) team is for real, though. In fact, I’ll say something I never thought I’d say. This may be a preview of an NFC Championship one day. One day soon.

Panthers Dominate First Half

The Panthers defense was terrific in the first half.

Carolina had a nifty drive at the end of the first quarter punctuated by a pass to Steve Smith to get to the red zone. The drive ended with a Panthers field goal.

Later in the first, the Panthers took advantage of the third turnover by the Lions.  Newton made a nice fake to the left and then tossed the ball to the right in a screen to Jonathan Stewart bringing the Panthers to the 15. Newton then threw a rope to Smith for a TD and our Cats led 10-0.

Detroit fans were booing the Lions early in the first half shortly following 101 yard kickoff return to the house by Kealoha Pilares.

Deangelo Williams had a great run for Carolina to the 10 yard line at 9:42 of the second quarter. Newton called his own number on the next play for his 8th rushing touchdown of 2011. The Panthers led 24-7.

Toward the end of the first half, the Lions literally sent 11 men on a blitz leading to a big Panthers offensive pickup that led to 3 more as the time expired in the first half. The Panthers were up on the Lions 27-14.

Lions Run Wild

The Panthers defense looked tired in the second half as Lions running back Kevin Smith pounded the Panthers. The score was 35-27 Lions before you knew it.

Cam Newton then threw a pass to Williams for a big gain and Newton topped it off for a 9th rushing TD on the year with 5 minutes left. The Panthers tied it by going for 2 successfully with a pass to Smith. 35-35.

The Lions quickly answered with a TD at 2:32 of the final quarter. The game ended on a Newton tipped pass that led to another quick Lions score.

Newton was 22 of 38 for 280 yards but threw 4 interceptions in the barn burner. Matthew Stafford threw for a gaudy five touchdowns.

Story by Matt Young and photos by Tom Mousseau for CaryCitizen.

Cary-lina, NC – The bye last week gave Panthers fans time to build up their hopes only to be disappointed as the Tennessee Titans crushed them 30-3. Indeed this was an opportunity for the Panthers, since the Titans had been struggling of late. Even Vegas had the Panthers as favorites in this game.

This was a Carolina team that had been in every game so far this year, but never had a sign of life in this one at all.

Cam Newton expressed his disappointment that Carolina was so outplayed Sunday. The Titans had a spy harangue Newton for 3 hours which left him frustrated. The rookie was sacked 5 times and intercepted once and Steve Smith was also kept at bay by the Titans.

Running Wild Versus Running Mild

It was a beautiful day for football in Charlotte, but a miserable day for the Panthers’ run defense, as the Titans pounded them for 172 yards rushing while also stonewalling the Panthers’ offense.

Titans star running back Chris Johnson ran for a season-high 130 yards and one touchdown in contrast to the Panthers who had to punt on 7 of their 13 possessions.

Often Newton’s WRs were tightly covered and he resorted to tucking the ball away and running. The good news: he gained 55 yards that way; the bad news: he was the Panthers’ leading rusher.

Notes

Titans’ QB Matt Hasselbeck was 15 of 27 for 219 yards and 1 interception that led to a Carolina field goal.

Carolina QB Newton completed 23 of 40 passes for 212 yards.

Mare again missed a key field goal on the final play of the first half.

Chris Gamble’s third quarter interception was the 26th of his career, the Panthers all-time franchise record.

Next week the Panthers will face a darn good Lions team in Detroit.

Story by Matt Young. Photo by Ed Yourdon.

Cary-lina, NC – As you know, the Panthers had a bye this weekend. I still need to watch football on Sundays though. I am writing this from a hotel room in the wee hours of the morning while watching football on my laptop from Bangalore.  Bangalore. In India.

Sunday: The Best Day of the Week Even If It’s On Monday

There’s a 10 1/2 hour time difference. By the time the “second game” (4:00 pm EST) begins in the USA, it’s Monday here.

The past month my travel plans to Asia/Pacific countries on business have entailed careful calculations so that I could plan my sleep breaks along the way, in hopes that I would not be useless after watching football till 6:00 AM Monday in India (I have to be “at work” Monday morning!).

A couple weeks ago one of my colleagues in India, Faraz, decided to give me a hand.

Our “IM” conversation is accurately cut/pasted (not really, but it is a reasonable facsimile) below.

“Faraz!  Hi!”
“Hello, Matt, how are you?”
“Good! Hey I need a favor.”
“Sure. Shoot.”
“Big games while I am visiting in Bangalore.”
“Ah yes. India versus West Indies is on the 6th.”

A pause.

I am literally scratching my head, confused. Then it hits me.

“Ohhh. No, not cricket, football.”

Pause for 5 minutes.

“Sorry, Matt. Yes Motherwell is playing Celtic on Sunday.”
“No…not “soccer” football, “American” football.”

Awkward pause.

I now assumed the first pause was him checking to see who was playing. People from India follow cricket much more closely than soccer. And the national sport is field hockey.

“Ok – do you want me to make sure that American Football is on at your hotel? What station is it on?” This was actually typed in tentative font. I swear.

By now I assume he is wishing he had faked that he didn’t see my IM in the first place. We’ve had this technical problem with the windows not popping up prominently on our laptop screens lately. Too bad for him, things were working fine.

“Would you?”
I give him the vitals.

30 minutes goes by.

“Hi.Matt.”
“Hey Faraz.”
“Good news sir. I called the hotel. They get Fox Channel”. I was doing a butter-churn dance. Faraz was, I am sure, rolling his eyes and relieved to be rid of me.

I thought for a second…

Uh – oh.

“OH. It can’t be Fox NEWS. I should have said that.”
Fraz HAD to be fuming. “You darn right you should have, do you have any idea what time it is here and how tired I am?”, Faraz I am sure – said.

Of course I really have no way of knowing what he said that because we were IM’ing each other and were 8000 miles apart.

“I will be glad to call the hotel, Matt.” Sarcastic font used there.
“Thanks a million!” Genuinely grateful font used there. 

30 minutes goes by.

“Yo. Matt.”
“Faraz?”
“Right.I contacted the hotel and have further good news on your request. It is NOT Fox News that they have.”
“Aweome! Thanks so much!”
“So write this down, Matt. They carry Fox Travel Channel on station 37.”

“Oh no. It has to be the network station, not Fox Travel.”

No response.

I send an “LOL smiley face”. Still nothing.

Even tried “LMAO”.

“Faraz?”

Still nothing.

“Faraz?”

It had to be that he was not seeing my IM’s anymore.

I decided to find a way to watch on my laptop.