All Hail the Swiss
Posted November 5, 2006, 2:53 PM ET

Switzerland is throwing a party, and everybody is invited.

In this case, "Switzerland" is Wake Forest...and more specifically, the Demon Deacon football team - which finds itself zooming up in the national rankings and sporting an impressive 8-1 record.

The Sun Drop Southern Fried Football™ Tour made its first stop to Switzerland this past weekend for the Boston College game. It was only the second time in Groves Stadium history that a game involved two teams ranked in the Top 25. The last time it happened was back in 1979 when the Deacs beat up on Auburn. I remember being a high school kid sitting on the grass bank watching in disbelief. I spent most of Saturday evening doing exactly the same thing. It was funny how many times I thought back to that game against Auburn in '79.

The Swiss didn't disappoint on or off the field. The primetime kickoff gave everybody ample opportunity to get juiced for a big game on a chilly November evening. What was fun about this Tour stop was how giddy and excited the Deacon faithful were, heading into the game. In some respects, many of the black and gold fans approached me and stated, "Pack, do we have a chance?"

You're damn right, you have a chance. Jim Grobe continues to do a masterful job out-executing every opponent he plays. Other than a 4th quarter lapse against Clemson, the Deacs could easily be undefeated heading into a showdown with the once-proud Seminoles from Florida State.

I know there are tough games ahead for the Deacs...Florida State, Virginia Tech and also against surprising one-loss Maryland, but it sure is fun to watch the Wake fans thinking and dreaming big. While everybody on Tobacco Road has mailed it in for the 2006 football season, you are hard-pressed to find a better story in college football than what is taking place in Winston-Salem.

Saturday night at Groves Stadium was a blast....from the fireworks, to the black and gold pompoms, to the student body going nuts afterwards celebrating the big win (even though they need some additional practice in tearing down the goalposts)...it is one big bash in Switzerland.

Wake coach Jim Grobe after the game had the perfect quote...."It's time to dream a little bit." Coach, you're all over it. Can you imagine if the Deacs win out? Watch out Orange Bowl, here comes Switzerland.

United States of the Offended
Posted November 5, 2006, 2:53 PM ET

Political Correctness sucks. I mean, it is totally out of control when it comes to the media. We have reached the point that you can't say "hello" anymore without offending somebody who gets their panties in a wad based on something that is said in the media.

Case in point: last week, ESPN-Unavailable suspended an announcer (Brian Kinchen) for his on-air comments during a Northern Illinois-Iowa game. Kinchen talked about wide receivers needing "tender" hands to "caress" balls and later added, "That's kinda gay."

Kinchen later apologized and was then suspended by the PC Police at ESPN. What is more alarming than the Kinchen comments is the fact that a game involving Northern Illinois is being televised by a network.

Later in the week, there was another "PC Alert" that was even better than Kinchen's harmless remarks.

Marty Snider, the outstanding NASCAR reporter for NBC and TNT, had a classic exchange on the SPEED Channel during the Cup qualifying in Texas.

Snider was in the garage area with driver Carl Edwards while the driver was talking on-air with reporter Steve Byrnes. The fascinating banter surrounded Edwards' need for a haircut when Byrnes chirped in that a fan wrote in and said "we were the whitest men on Earth."

Snider mentioned to Edwards, "Can you not dance?"

The 99 Office Depot driver responded, "I'm as truly white as we get. The only whiter guy than me is Steve Byrnes."

NASCAR VP Jim Hunter said "That's just one of those things where someone used poor judgement, and that's all we're going to say about that."

Wow...as a white guy, I'm really offended! This is pathetic....and so is "political correctness".

One More For the Road
Posted November 5, 2006, 2:53 PM ET

Since I'm on the topic of the media, I have a parting shot.

I couldn't help but laugh when I read an article by Stan Olson in the Charlotte Observer about the Carolina Panthers at the halfway point of the season.

The story pointed out that the Panthers have been a disappointment in the first half of the 2006 season. How could you argue against that point? This team was tabbed by every single national magazine as the Super Bowl representative from the NFC.

In the story, Panther coach John Fox states that he paid little attention to the preseason hype surrounding his team. He said, "They've picked a lot of teams in the past and they're usually not right. So that's about what it means. It's worth about as much as the paper it is written on....."

Keyshawn Johnson was quoted as saying, "We didn't ask you to put us on the front of the magazines. We didn't ask you to pick us. That was your decision."

Let me clue the Panthers in on an important fact...the media will make as many tackles this season as Dan Morgan....we won't drop a single pass, and we won't miss a block. We're paid to give an opinion...you're paid to play a game. Right now, the Panthers have been average...and a 4-4 mark proves the point.

Finally, I want to thank Daniel Norwood, the Executive Producer of "PrimeTime with the Packman", for all of his dedication and hard work for all of these many years. He will be leaving the show to take on his biggest challenge ever at Sirius Satellite Radio while overseeing the NASCAR Channel.

I am sorry to see him leave the show, but I am thrilled for him in his newest endeavor. He's been a great producer and a terrific friend. I wish him nothing but the best.