Empty seats, slip 'n' slide football and Caitlin Clark in the sports moments of the week
Posted December 19, 2023 8:24 p.m. EST
Updated December 21, 2023 11:50 a.m. EST
The internet is a big place. Unless you're 100% plugged in all the time (and let's be clear, that is NOT recommended), you're going to miss some stuff.
Let us do that work. You can be a well-adjusted human being and still catch all the best sports moments of the week, with a quick review ...
1. RIP Eric Montross
It's a somber start this week as we say goodbye to a North Carolina legend.
Eric Montross has passed away on Sunday at just 52 years old. He was diagnosed with cancer back in March.
Montross was a tremendous center for the Tar Heels in the early 90's. He was a two-time All-American, a national champion and a first round NBA Draft pick in 1993.
Perhaps his most famous on-court moment came in a 1992 upset over then-undefeated Duke, when he posted 12 points, 9 rebounds and sustained two different gashes that required stitches.
After an 8-year pro career, Montross was the color commentator on the Tar Heel Sports Network's men's basketball broadcasts for 18 seasons.
Most importantly, he was a beloved father, husband and friend. He will be greatly missed.
2. Panthers claw their way to 2nd win
The Panthers didn't lead for a single second of Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons, but somehow still walked away with a win.
Carolina battled through the elements on a soggy and rainy day in Charlotte, and knocked off their hated division rivals with a last-second field goal, 9-7.
Bryce Young certainly didn't have a spectacular day offensively. It was his fourth straight game without a touchdown pass and his seventh straight game throwing for under 200 yards. But with the game on the line, the rookie was 6/6 on a 17-play, 90 yard drive to win it.
You can't ask for much more than that.
The same can be said for the defense who, outside of one 3-play sequence in the 2nd quarter, absolutely smothered the Falcons ... and seemed to enjoy themselves while doing so.
Defensive tackle Derrick Brown (who should be on his way to the Pro Bowl this year) had a one-liner ready to lead off his postgame interview. "The Falcons are going on vacation just like we are."
The Panther defense can also take pride in the fact that they destroyed hundreds -- possibly thousands -- of fantasy football playoff runs because of what they did to Bijan Robinson.
The star rookie was held to just 14 total yards and a lost fumble on Sunday, which sent managers everywhere into despair. Who says there's nothing left to play for?
3. The win was nice... but we need to talk about the crowd
Despite the win, this weekend was an embarrassment for the Panthers. No doubt about it.
Tickets for a rivalry game could be found for 45 cents on the secondary market. Not dollars. Cents. (And yes, I understand that the fees on these ticket sites probably made it more like $15, but it's still a jarring number to see.)
To make matters worse, it was cold and very rainy on Sunday. So even if you bought tickets, there's a very good chance you just stayed home. Most people clearly did.
The announced attendance at Sunday's game was 70,301, which is such a farce, I'm not even going to dignify it with a response. The team has tried to clarify that "that's how many tickets were distributed," but give me a break. We have eyes.
Estimated attendance was more in the ballpark of 5,200. That's far more believable and would be an NFL record for lowest attendance.
Weather or no weather, that's a scathing indictment of the team's current hopelessness and should be an absolute embarrassment to Panthers owner David Tepper.
On the bright side, however, a hearty shout-out to all the people that did show up. Nobody can ever accuse them of being fair weather fans. They stayed with the team in their darkest hour.
This Sunday's crowd against Green Bay probably won't be as sparse, but could be just as damning if it's 80% cheeseheads... let's cross that bridge when we get to it.
4. App State wins the Slip 'n' Slide... I mean, the Cure Bowl
The Panthers weren't the only local football team dealing with the elements this week.
Appalachian State took down Miami (OH) 13-9 in the Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl (in Orlando), where a comical amount of rain soaked the field from start to finish.
The game featured 10 fumbles, six turnovers and looked more like a slip 'n' slide contest than a football game at times.
Social media of course, had jokes.
ESPN's Booger McFarland may have taken things a little too far on the halftime show, though.
I understand what Booger is saying. Nobody is going to notice, but I cannot endorse this behavior.
That's gross, man. This isn't "Billy Madison." Peeing your pants ain't cool.
5. Coach K meets Caitlin Clark
The biggest star in college basketball right now is Iowa's Caitlin Clark, and I'm not sure there's a close second.
The reigning consensus national player of the year is once again leading the nation in scoring this season with 29.5 points per game. She is fifth in assists (7.4 per game) and has the Hawkeyes ranked fourth in the AP women's poll.
We also found out this week that Clark has a huge fan in former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
On his SiriusXM podcast this week, “Basketball & Beyond with Coach K,” the Blue Devil legend had some eye-opening things to say to the Iowa star. Most notably, "I would have loved to coach you."
That's high praise coming from somebody who knows a thing or two about great players. Carlos Boozer, Christian Laettner, Johnny Dawkins, JJ Redick, not to mention LeBron James and Kobe Bryant in the Olympics. I could go on.
Caitlin Clark is likely a shoo-in to be the #1 pick in the WNBA Draft if she declares after this season. She already has local businesses hoping to deal with her if she ends up in their city.
I can't say I've ever seen that before. No question, a she's special talent.
6. Oh the drama!
Back to football, where we were treated to an all-time finish this week, if you knew where to look.
Mizzoula, Montana, was the site, where the Montana Grizzlies battled into double overtime against the North Dakota State Bison.
The Bison, you may be aware, are the all-time dynasty at the FCS level, having won nine of the last 12 national championships.
The Grizzlies are a very good program in their own right, but haven't won it all since 2001.
So there you have the background, now witness the insane two-point conversion play that Montana pulled out in double OT.
Play action, end around wide receiver pass, facemask penalty, tipped ball, catch in the end zone.
North Dakota State scored a touchdown and tried to respond with a similar play to extend the game. It was intercepted instead. Griz win.
Way more main stream, but just as crazy, is what happened at the end of Bears-Browns on Sunday.
Chicago got in position for a hail mary, set up a play to catch it off the rebound, and got this close to pulling off a miraculous road win.
I mean... how???
The ball fell right to Darnell Mooney. It hit him in the chest. And he somehow ended up kicking it away.
Some NFL franchises just can't have nice things. For the Bears, that apparently only applies to their offense.
TAYLOR SWIFT WATCH
Taylor Swift is in her "diehard football fan" era. With every passing week, the pop star seems to get more and more into the action at Chiefs games, and that was the case this Sunday as well.
In the third quarter against the Patriots, Taylor's boo Travis Kelce tried to draw a flag in the end zone (by flopping pretty dramatically) but didn't get the call.
Taylor was not happy, and instantly became an internet meme.
In other news, people are doing Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce themed Christmas lights this year, and it's pretty awesome.
See you next week.
