Jake Delhomme reminds you a little bit of Tom Brady. The Carolina Panthers remind you a little bit of the 2001 New England Patriots.
Beware of these Cinderella stories and these Cinderella teams. The Patriots know firsthand how that works. They were it in 2001. They were the team that performed magic tricks and tucks in the snow to beat Oakland in the AFC divisional game, then turned "The Greatest Show on Turf," the St. Louis Rams, into a slow-motion act to win Super Bowl XXXVI. Two years later, the Patriots are "The Greatest Show Period" and they're again headed to the Super Bowl, this time to play an upstart Carolina team with its own feel-good stories.
The NFC champion Panthers, who embarrassed the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday night at Lincoln Financial Field, 14-3, haven't needed a lot of breaks or funky plays to get this far. They have reached the Big Game with the best defense in the NFC, a potent running attack, a quarterback who rarely turns the ball over, and a very good coaching staff.
John Fox, a former defensive coordinator for the Giants (sound familiar?), inherited a 1-15 team and made it 7-9 in his first season and 11-5 this season. He whipped the Cowboys, 29-10, in a first-round playoff game and patiently beat the Rams, 29-23, to get to the NFC Championship game.
It might not be the sexiest matchup -- the Patriots-Eagles would have been all that -- and it's probably not the Super Bowl you predicted back in September. But it'll make for two weeks' worth of compelling stories.
"It does feel like our Patriots team," said Panthers tight end Jermaine Wiggins, a member of the '01 New England squad. "We didn't get any respect all year, and we had to fight for every ounce of it. I tell guys here all the time that we're just like that team. I have nothing but respect for the Patriots and what they've done, and we know we have our hands full. But like I said, nobody's given us much of a chance all year, and we've proven a lot of people wrong."
This Panthers franchise deserves good things. The glory days of the early expansion teams coached by Dom Capers gave way to tragedy in the form of wide receiver Rae Carruth murdering his pregnant wife and running back Fred Lane being shot to death in a domestic dispute. The dignity of the franchise was at an all-time low before Fox, Delhomme, running back Stephen Davis, receiver Steve Smith, and defensive end Julius Peppers revived it.
A lot of players on this team went through the 1-15 season, in which the Panthers lost 15 straight games. The season was topped off by a finale in which the Patriots throttled them, 38-6.
"That was a beating," recalled Panthers defensive back Mike Minter, "and we'll never forget that. That was our lowest."
The Panthers are one of the few teams that can rush four men and get pressure on the quarterback. They had five sacks and knocked Donovan McNabb out of Sunday night's game. Their secondary, led by rookie corner Ricky Manning (three interceptions), covered the Eagles receivers well.
On offense, the Panthers run the ball effectively with Davis (76 yards Sunday night) and DeShaun Foster (60). Foster's 1-yard TD run in the third quarter was an exercise in perseverance, as the second-year back took a pitch right and fought off five would-be tacklers to reach the end zone.
And Delhomme, who threw only 14 times (completing nine for 101 yards and one touchdown), has big-play receivers in Smith and Muhsin Muhammad.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two