2C
SPORTS/®f)c CJarlotte
Thursday, December 18, 2003
iWlieR cm finally savor division champtonsliip
Continued from page 1C
date to sit
out against
the Lions.
Linebacker
Dan
Morgan,
who is recov
ering from a
concussion,
is another
candidate,
although
there could be many other
Davis
Panthers who will watch
from the sideline on Sunday.
“There’ll probably be a few
players on our team that
we’ll evaluate and look at, in
terms of what’s going to be in
the best interest of them and
us as we approach these last
two games,” Panthers coach
John Fox said.
The issue is, now that the
Panthers have clinched a
division title and a playoff
spot, do they focus on win
ning more games? Or do
they simply
focus on get-
t i n g
healthy?
“Really, we
want to use
(these last
two games)
to get bet
ter,” Fox
said. We
want “to use
them to have some momen-
Fox
Heisman Trophy hyped, but
empty of real significanee
Continued from page 1C
considered legitimate?
The Heisman’s track record is horrific.
In 1994, the year Rashaan Salaam won the
Heisman and Ki-jana Carter finished second?
That was a farce, too. Alcorn State quarter
back Steve McNair, who finished third,
deserved it. But he wasn’t considered a strong
enough candidate because he played I-AAball
at what also happened to be an historically
black college.
Then, of course, there was 1956, when Jim
Brown finished fifth - fifth! - in the voting.
GRAPPLING ISSUES
PHOTO/WADE NASH
turn going into the playoffs,
as well as give us the best
opportunity (to win).
“It will be kind of a mix and
match. There will be some
guys that we will rest, par
ticularly in practice and very
likely in the game. Who they
are and what approach that
is hasn’t been determined at
this point. We probably won’t
share too much of that, from
a competitive standpoint,
anyway.”
One thing is for certain at
Ericsson Stadium: No mat
ter how the regular season
ends, people associated with
the Panthers wiU be happy
when the playoffs come.
Before last week’s streak-
buster against Arizona, Fox
said his team was struggling
vdth. confidence. Not any
more. The Panthers’ offense,
which hadn’t exactly sizzled
during the losing streak, was
poised enough to put togeth
er scoring drives of 67 and 93
yards Sunday. And, in the
final 1 minute, 9 seconds, the
Panthers drove 49 yards for
the winning score.
Adding extra meaning to
the late score was that kick
er John Kasay provided the
final margin with a 49-yard
field goal. Just two weeks
earlier, Kasay had missed
three field goals and an extra
point in a nine-point loss to
Philadelphia.
“There’s no question that
winning breeds confidence,”
Fox said. ‘Winning in this
league is hard. Having to
win the game is extra hard. I
think (last week’s victory)
was a huge relief for our foot
ball team, as far as that pres
sure off their back. I think
that does affect you, in par
ticular a young football
team.”
That was the biggest Heisman travesty of all.
Yet almost 50 years later, and we’re still
dealing with the same kind of foolishness
from Heisman voters.
They need to start giving the trophy to the
most outstanding player in the United States
every year, or they should just go ahead and
openly admit that the Heisman is awarded
for an altogether different reason.
E-mail C. Jemal Horton at
seejemcilwrite@aol.com.
Johnson C. Smith Univ^sity
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