Rainy forecast, sunny outlook for Panthers

(Updated, 12:35 p.m.) Happy game day, Panther fans.

Your team is a 9.5-point home favorite against Arizona tonight.

Game time weather in Charlotte is likely to be rain, possibly dampening the potent Cardinals passing game.

The only person you know who's picking against the Panthers is ESPN analyst and possibly embittered Keyshawn Johnson.

All in all, a good start to your day.

Let's go into detail:

The weather: Forecast calls for likely showers at game time, probably developing into rain by 9 p.m. Temperature: 52 degrees. Historically, rain hampers passing games, but it needs to fall at a decent rate to impact a game.

The hamstring watch: (UPDATE) NFL.com's Scott Hanson reports that two Cardinals sources say that Anquan Boldin will be active tonight and will attempt to play. Boldin injured his hamstring in last weekend's win over Atlanta. He was limited in practice Friday after not practicing all week.

The picks: The more prominent predictions have rolled in at week's end. For early and midweek picks, click here and here. Also, click on available links below to see how experts picked the weekend's other games.

Peter King, Sports Illustrated: Carolina 26, Arizona 17. Go back to draft day. Remember the deal Panthers GM Marty Hurney made in the middle of round one? He dealt second- and fourth-round picks in the 2008 draft, and a first-rounder in 2009, for the Eagles' first-round choice (19th overall). Was right tackle Jeff Otah really worth that kind of quarterback-ish ransom? Apparently he was because the Panthers rushed for 30 touchdowns this year. Thirty! John Fox wanted an offense that was more slug-it-out than throw-it-deep. Luckily for him, the Panthers are blessed with the ability to do both, and I don't trust Arizona's running game to be as good this week as it was last week against Atlanta, when Edgerrin James swam in the Ponce de Leon pool. I think Carolina controls the clock and the game.

Sporting News football staff:

Vinnie Iyer - Carolina , 30-27
Arnie Spanier - Carolina, 31-20
Dennis Dillon - Carolina, 21-16
Greg Cosell - Carolina, 27-20
Clifton Brown - Carolina, 27-18
Albert Breer - Carolina, 31-13
Real Scouts - Carolina, 27-24
Brian Baldinger - Carolina, 24-23

ESPN football staff: Carolina wins - Seth Wickersham, David Fleming, Merrill Hoge, Ron Jaworski, Mark Schlereth, Marcus Allen, Chris Mortensen, Mike Golic, Mike Ditka, Cris Carter, Tom Jackson. Arizona wins - Keyshawn Johnson.

Madden NFL 09 Simulation: Carolina 23, Arizona 13.

Finally, some NFL odds:

Odds to win the 2009 Super Bowl XLIII:

New York Giants 13/4
Carolina Panthers 4/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 17/4
Tennessee Titans 6/1
Philadelphia Eagles 6/1
Baltimore Ravens 15/2
San Diego Chargers 9/1
Arizona Cardinals 20/1

Odds to win the 2009 NFC Championship

New York Giants 7/5
Carolina Panthers 3/2
Philadelphia Eagles 8/3
Arizona Cardinals 10/1

Odds to win the 2009 AFC Championship

Pittsburgh Steelers 8/5
Tennessee Titans 9/4
Baltimore Ravens 10/3
San Diego Chargers 7/2

Which team will score the most points this weekend?

Carolina Panthers 5/2
New York Giants 4/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 4/1
Arizona Cardinals 5/1
Philadelphia Eagles 5/1
Tennessee Titans 5/1
Baltimore Ravens 6/1
San Diego Chargers 6/1

source: bodoglife.com via NFLGridironGab

How the Panthers got a Saturday game

Uptown bars, restaurants and hotels may be pumped about the Panthers playing Saturday night, but it's not like the team had a choice.

Remember a few weeks ago when the road game against the New York Giants was moved from 1 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Sunday? That was a decision by NFL, which used its “flexible scheduling” in the season's final weeks to shift big matchups to primetime.

With the Panthers again slated for a night game, we wondered if the NFL liked what they saw in that Giants game and made sure that Carolina again took the field after dark. Nope, said Mark Washburn, the Observer's resident media expert.

The NFL schedules its playoff games well in advance, he said, slotting certain seeds at certain times. This year, that means the AFC No. 1 (Titans) Saturday afternoon, the NFC No. 2 (Panthers) Saturday night, the NFC No. 1 (Giants) early Sunday afternoon and the AFC No. 2 (Steelers) late Sunday afternoon. So if the Panthers had beaten the Giants in that Dec. 21 game, they'd be playing this Sunday, not Saturday.

After locking the seeds and times in place, Washburn said, the NFL doesn't look at moving games around based on who's playing. The Cowboys and Redskins could be adding another chapter to their blood feud, he said, and the league wouldn't try to shift that game to the best time slot.

But what is the best time slot? We know that local tourism and hospitality folks love the Saturday night game. Fans will pre-party in bars and eat in restaurants before the game, they say, while others will stay in hotels afterward.

What about the rest of you fans -- either going to the game or watching at home? Is Saturday night the best of the four time slots available this weekend? Or were you hoping for a Sunday game, and if so, early or late?

Skyline to light up Saturday

Doing it for Monday Night Football was easy. After all, almost everyone was at work just a few hours before the game. But how big a pain will it be to turn on all those lights in all those skyscrapers in uptown Charlotte on Saturday night?

Not much, as it turns out.

"Most of these buildings have security guards who can go through and make sure the lights are on," said Moira Quinn of Charlotte Center City Partners, which is helping coordinate the effort. "Also, most of them have computers, and they computerize the lighting."

Yes, the uptown crowd plans to light up the skyline once again for the latest primetime Panthers game. Besides giving fans headed to the stadium a reason to oooh and ahhh, glittering towers play well on TV, they say.

Center City Partners has spent the past few days reminding companies and building owners to leave lights on Saturday, especially in windows facing west, toward the stadium. Most plan to do it, Quinn said, and those who can also will light the tops of towers in Panther blue.

"It should not be a problem," she said. "Everybody has jumped right in."

Fan of the Week: Pantless Panther-watching mom?

We've had the opportunity to meet many, um, passionate fans in our years covering sports. Folks with shrines to their teams. Folks who paint their faces and bodies, not necessarily on game days. One fan I met was a short order cook outside Fenway Park in Boston, and if a customer dared wear Yankees garb on the weekend the teams were playing next door, well, he'd be smart to check his eggs twice.

Then there is Julie Maloney of Fort Mill.










Julie writes on MomsCharlotte today about a superstition she has regarding the Carolina Panthers. It began when she was watching football with her husband-to-be. We'll let her explain.

In the beginning, we’d get beer, chips and salsa and start off the afternoon. The staples of a football game in our house. Without getting into too much detail, one thing led to another. And then we started to notice that the days I was without pants, Carolina would win. That year, we went to the Superbowl. The night of the big game I wore jeans because my friend watched the game with us. Carolina lost.

Now, Julie does her best not to wear pants for Panthers games. It's not always easy. For the details, go to her story here.


To answer the two questions we know you have:


1) Yes, we think this is real. (Would you confess to it if it weren't true?)


2) No, there aren't more pictures.


Tell us about your Panthers superstition - or offer up your candidate for Panthers Fan of the Week.

Morning Buzz: Special ties to the Panthers' home

More than 70,000 people are expected to pack Bank of America Stadium on Saturday when the Carolina Panthers take on the Arizona Cardinals. Hundreds of thousands more have filled the stands for Panthers games in the stadium's 13 years.


Then there are Panthers fans who have never seen their team play in person. This recent story featured some, but others also haven't been to game yet still have a special connection to the monolith on Mint Street.


People like Johnnie Hill of Charlotte, who spent hundreds of hours in the winter chill and summer heat helping build what was first named Ericsson Stadium.


In the 1990s, Hill was a supervisor at the company that provided much of the concrete for the $187 million stadium -- the big black and gray panels, seat panels and the stair-like sections that support the seats. A Vietnam veteran, Hill managed the crew that repaired damage to panels, ensuring the concrete would be flawless for the stadium's first game Sept. 22, 1996.


Now 66, Hill said recently that he retired in May and passes by the stadium a few times a week but has never been inside to see the Panthers play.


Neither has Joe Young of Lenoir, who previously lived in Charlotte and worked for the company that set up the four-day Billy Graham crusade at the stadium in 1996. Still, Young can brag about something most other fans haven't done.


"In the middle of the night, I walked out to the midfield area where the NFL logo is now," he said. "There was not a person in the stadium except a few more (set-up) guys somewhere."


Sandra Miller of Charlotte enjoyed a similar experience before the stadium opened. She was a receptionist for the irrigation company that worked on the stadium's turf, she said, and had a few chances to visit while the venue was empty -- sitting one time on the 50-yard line, and another time in the very top row on a beautiful summer day.


Miller also admitted that she checked out the private suites, opening a window and imagining what it would be like to watch a game from there. Another amenity also didn't escape notice.
"I even used the toilet," she said, "just so I can say I did."


Does anyone else have a special link to Bank of America Stadium or a unique experience to share? Post your stadium connections below.


Your Morning Buzz:


The Rock Hill Herald's Darin Gantt writes that the Panthers may not have Super Bowl rings, but they have significant playoff experience.


Faith, not football, defines Kurt Warner, writes the Arizona Republic's Paola Boivin.


The Arizona Republic's game prediction (and breakdown) : Panthers 27, Cardinals 24.


ESPN.com's Mike Sando says the nation is learning what Arizona opponents already know about Cards WR Larry Fitzgerald's talent.


The Sporting News writer Greg Cosell says the remaining playoff teams, including the Panthers, are utilizing a potent defensive weapon, the zone blitz.

I knew Kurt Warner way back when

With the Cardinals and their star quarterback coming to town this weekend, there's been a lot of talk about Kurt Warner's ties to Panthers QB Jake Delhomme and their time as teammates in NFL Europe. Warner talked about it Tuesday, and our own Scott Fowler blogged about it today and will have more Friday.

But another chapter in The Amazing Kurt Warner Story -- supermarket bagger-turned-Super Bowl hero -- hasn't gotten as much ink (or bytes, I guess). Before Warner and Delhomme battled for the starting spot in Amsterdam, Warner cut his teeth on another pro team: the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League.

I know, because I was there.

Before Warner won NFL MVP awards in 1999 and 2001, and before he was even named to All-Arena first teams in 1996 and 1997, he was a rookie quarterback for the 1995 Barnstormers -- a team otherwise known for their distinctive helmets. Seriously, how can you not like the aviator goggles painted above the facemask?

As opposed to the media horde Warner faced at Super Bowls, his first Arena League playoff game -- on the road against the Arizona Rattlers -- featured a handful of local reporters, including a lowly newspaper intern. That intern was me.

Yes, this game was so big that The Phoenix Gazette dispatched a 22-year-old kid fresh out of college to cover it. And thanks to a very helpful person at The Arizona Republic, we now offer this look back at Warner's first-ever pro playoff victory on Aug. 13, 1995, complete with rearview mirror comments from the reporter.

The Rattlers had Sherdrick Bonner, the quarterback who orchestrated last year's drive to the ArenaBowl. They also had Hunkie Cooper, the Rattlers' ''Mr. Everything,'' who rushed for two touchdowns and caught one more Sunday night.

(Yes, not only did Warner face a team with a player named "Hunkie," but that guy was a stud.)

But in the end it was a huge performance by rookie quarterback Kurt Warner that sealed the win for the Iowa Barnstormers over the Rattlers ...

Warner ... threw for a career-record 428 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions as the Barnstormers defeated the defending champion Rattlers 56-52.

(Ahhhh, those were the days. I remember sitting in the press box in the final minutes and switching my story angle every time a team scored -- which was every 45 seconds. I'm not lying.)

... Warner had to deal Sunday with deafening noise, an Iowa rushing game that netted negative yardage and a late Rattlers comeback.

''It's just the adversity you have to deal with on the road,'' an excited Warner said after the game. ''That's kind of how the ball bounces in this league.''

(And he really was excited. I barely had to ask any questions, he was just rambling on and on. Still, note his Bull Durham-esque use of nothing phrases. Is that really how the ball bounces, Kurt?)

... When it counted, the rookie came through with a scrambling, 36-yard bomb to wide receiver Tony Young with just two seconds left.

''We were just trying to get in field-goal range,'' Warner said. After he saw Young behind two Rattlers defenders, he decided to go for the win. ''I just tried to put as much on it as I could.''

("With just two seconds left." I'm telling you, no lead was safe in these games. No lead.)

... Warner may not have been rock solid all the time, but he showed a maturity beyond his years. When a fight broke out after the last Iowa score, Warner tried to soothe the battling players and even congratulated the Rattlers on their season.

''There's no part for (fighting) in this game,'' Warner said. ''I don't know who started it and who finished it, but I'm out here to play and have fun.''

(By most accounts, Warner's a good guy, and was back then. And yes, I actually wrote "maturity beyond his years." Ouch.)

... For Warner, who said he has had his ups and downs in his first season, the victory followed the regular-season pattern: If he played well, the Barnstormers usually won.

''The team goes as I go,'' he said. ''A lot is riding on my shoulders, and I'm happy to take all the blame.''

(Happy to take all the blame? I know some Panthers fans who hope he feels that way Saturday.)

PSL owners banking on Panthers' success

The logic is simple: More wins equals more buyers, and hopefully more money.

That's why some Carolina Panthers fans – despite their team winning 12 games and hosting a playoff tilt Saturday – are willing to give up their chance to see every home game next season.

After two years of mediocrity, the Panthers' success this season has some permanent seat license (PSL) owners trying to sell their rights to buy season tickets, and in some cases asking premium prices. Despite the sour economy, sellers hope Panthers pride will prevail, netting them a profit on what they paid for seats.

“People tend to buy – and at a higher price – when the team is doing well,” said Steven Youngblood of Cornelius, who paid $6,000 for two lower-level PSLs several years ago and is now asking $12,000. That's $3,000 less than what the Panthers would charge – if those seats weren't sold out.

“I don't need to sell them and don't really want to sell them,” said Youngblood, 35, a support technician at a public utility. “I just wanted to test the market, and if I can get a couple thousand less than what the Panthers would sell them for, I would probably do it.”

Unlike previous winning seasons, though, PSL sellers face a troubled economy in which many consumers have clamped down on optional spending, including sporting events.

Still, one ticket broker has seen an increase in people trying to sell PSLs. Greg Carl of PanthersPSLs.com said the company is still selling more seats than buying, but that the number of people trying to sell seats is at least double that of each of the last two seasons, when the Panthers didn't have winning records.

“We buy more seats during mediocre seasons,” when prices are lower, Carl said. “Right now we're seeing lots of people wanting to sell their seats, and they want to sell at a premium.”

We'll have more on this story later on charlotteobserver.com and in the print edition. Meanwhile, what are you seeing when it comes to the Panthers success this season and people selling PSLs?