Joe Bear

He's not a presumptive draft pick. He's OK to join.

Ranked third in the ESPN MLS Power Rankings after that 4-1 thrashing of SJ: https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/44384421/mls-power-rankings-charlotte-fc-sneaking-league-best

He's not in the top three, let alone No. 1.

Holding both hands up while still being in a three-point stance.

Charlie has the Panthers picking three Texas players. Carolina Longhorns?

I'm not saying he's the right pick or the worst pick, I'm just saying he's the pick.

Who's making the "Round 1, Panthers Select Mykel Williams" thread?

I remember when Mykel Williams’ name was Everette Brown.

I say he was dogshit. Keeping things on track, 2021 was a decent-to-good draft. The ones immediately preceding it and every one after it were ass, so that also inflates it a bit.

Kicked Cincinnati's ass 2-0 yesterday. Patrick Agyemang might be Him.

If McMillan played for Purdue, no one on here would be interested in him.

What would you have paid?

I reacted in much the same way when Rob Hunt was paid a lot of cash to come here last year. Then he made the Pro Bowl. Nearly every deal by every team today has been an overpay of some sort. Either you spend money from a rising cap to get better players, or you don't.

Not sure how I feel about it yet. The endless optimists in this thread love it, and the endless pessimists hate it, so nothing to sway me yet.

Sports Illustrated picked the Panthers to finish last in the NFC South in 2003 and 2015. The Panthers went to the Super Bowl both years.

Yeah, yesterday was as trash as the home opener was awesome. Pick up some points this weekend and all is well.

Week 1: at Seattle, 2-2 draw Week 2: vs. Atlanta, 2-0 win Off to a strong start. Discuss.

Raiders fans called him "Dropvante" last year. Pass.

I don't think you know the difference between sports columnists and sports reporters.

Probably also like Velus Jones.

I don't work in media. I'm just not blind to the pitfalls of handcuffing it.

Another thing about press conferences: if you're a young reporter who doesn't work for a local TV outlet, the O, ESPN or NFLN, there's a decent chance you may not even get to ask a question. "Big deal. Just write whatever they said," you probably think. But if you're a young reporter, writing what everyone else wrote doesn't make you stand out. It keeps you on the bottom rung of the totem pole, it doesn't allow for different spins on topics, and a lot of the younger folks in there are the ones who take it most seriously, anyway. It's the same concept as drafting a guy in the sixth or seventh round, or signing a UDFA, then letting them play no more than one or two snaps a year, because they weren't a Day 1 starter. Well how the hell do you know how good they are, then?

Nothing Austin Corbett said is inaccurate. David Newton wants that access for nefarious purposes, and removing it removes his value entirely. However, there are good reporters in the locker room who actually value their careers, work hard at developing a rapport with players and coaches, and have the players' respect.

Players don't want to come back to the building when they don't have to, and they absolutely have no interest in spending what little bit of free time they have during the week talking to one reporter who wants to do a story. You might get that if you work for NFLN or ESPN (and aren't a moron like Newton), but the odds still aren't in your favor. It's far more trouble on the reporter's, players's and PR guy's time to try that method instead of letting the guy be open to media for three minutes after the player's already showered and changed following a game.

Removing access from media only gives platforms like X even greater importance. Then, all the stories are written about what some idiot said to a player and what that player said in return, and people will complain about how bad journalism’s gotten even more. Removing access won’t make it better.