Scott Fowler
@scott_fowler
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Sports columnist. Charlotte Observer since 1994. Proud father of 4. 24x APSE winner. Specialties: 9/11/74; Sports Legends of Carolinas; Carruth; Panther losses.
Joined December 2008
EXCLUSIVE: The son of former Carolina Panther Rae Carruth is thriving in Charlotte, 25 years after the shooting of Chancellor Lee Adams’ mother shocked America and sent Carruth to prison. My update on the murder, the miracle and Carruth (now a free man):
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Some progress for Panthers QB Bryce Young: In the first half, his very first pass was intercepted. In the second half, he didn't get picked off until his second pass.
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TODAY is the day for Chancellor Lee Adams, the son of Rae Carruth and Cherica Adams. He will graduate from Vance High School in Charlotte today at 5:30 pm. Here's a bonus photo we didn't use in our original @theobserver piece, plus that story ICYMI: .
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Hubert Davis stood beside Withers for Withers’ entire postgame interview.
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What Cam Newton said to @JourdanRodrigue wasn't funny. My column on what happened -- & what didn't but should have:
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David Tepper will soon hire his 7th head coach, probably in Jan. He only bought the Panthers in 2018. Tepper fires almost everybody at some point, but he hasn't fired the one person most responsible for this long run of chaos: .Himself. For @theobserver:
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I'm very unhappy w/ the Panthers for getting frozen out of asking a question at the David Tepper press conference. Sat in front row; raised hand high; wasn't called on; protested to no avail. Felt like it was purposeful. Posting yesterday's column here⬇️.
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Panther owner David Tepper is in crisis. Again. Welcome to Cup-Gate, a perfect example of what I call "InTeptitude." .As a former Panthers employee told me: “Dave ran off all of the people who told him the truth.”.OK then. I'll tell him. For @theobserver:
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The boy Rae Carruth hired a hit man to kill turns 16 today. My update on his life:
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We are all so devastated at The Charlotte Observer but I must report that our beloved colleague Rick Bonnell has suddenly passed away. Rick was a Hornets beat-writing legend, a father, a generous colleague. Honestly, I don’t know what we are going to do.
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Caught up with Chris Paul tonight - he is in his Winston-Salem hometown promoting his new book “Sixty-One.”.Here is CP3 and his reaction on going to the Warriors - he has already talked to Steph Curry.
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CJ Stroud says he is a football player and “not a test taker” in reference to an S2 question.
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Cam Newton among those in attendance today at Jerry Richardson’s service.
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Watching this, I'm struck by 3 facts:.1) Christian McCaffrey was once a Panthers RB. 2) Steve Wilks was once a Panthers head coach. 3) Harrison Butker was once a Panthers kicker.
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Nice touch at Hornets game as they played a little of “Concert for Carolina” (from the opening song with Eric Church, who owns a piece of the Hornets) and also put up a QR code for Hurricane Helene relief.
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If you're @DavidsonWildcat fan, congrats -- you're having a heckuva moment/week/month! @dcbaseball_ @StephenCurry30
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More Greg Olsen: "This is about as rock-bottom as it gets. So many times, guys want to . lie to everybody, and give token cliché talks. That shit’s out the window. We have failed. I failed. Every guy in this locker room has failed, everyone associated (with team) has failed.".
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McCaffrey says in his opinion the NFL shouldn’t have Thursday night games at all.
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Andy Reid says the Panthers made a “nice move” by taking Bryce Young in 2023.
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EXCLUSIVE: The unborn child who former Panther Rae Carruth tried to kill is about to turn 21. His mother, Cherica Adams, saved her baby's life in 1999 despite being shot 4x. I caught up with Chancellor Lee Adams and his beloved grandmom, Saundra Adams:
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Check out bottom right. Been a looong time since I've seen the Panthers logo in one of these graphics.
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Carolina Panthers owner Dave Tepper and I had a testy exchange at Monday's press conference after he fired Matt Rhule, one that went semi-viral since it was live-streamed. So here's what I want from Dave Tepper. And it's not an apology. For @theobserver:
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RIP to Ron Green Sr., a legendary former @theobserver sports columnist who has passed away at age 95. When he was 92, I went to see him in Charlotte and talk about his love for the Masters and Augusta. He pointed out he had spent more than a year of his life there, writing
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The boy Rae Carruth wanted dead plans to be at the prison gates when Carruth -- his father -- is released. My story:
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Pat Mahomes says Bryce Young “played his tail off” and gave the Chiefs a scare.
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RIP to Marty Schottenheimer and prayers to his family. Schottenheimer died Monday at age 77; he was a longtime resident of Charlotte and a legendary NFL coach. From his family:
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All right, I gotta admit that's a good line.
Tepper about to buy the Charlotte Observer just to fire @scott_fowler 🤣.
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EXCLUSIVE: I decided to surprise Rae Carruth at his home in Pennsylvania by ringing his doorbell. I wanted to talk to him for @theobserver. Here's what happened next:.This also resulted in an epilogue to our "Carruth" podcast, now available everywhere.
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PJ Walker took all the 1st-team reps for the Panthers today; Baker Mayfield alternated between the 2s and the scout team. That is a sentence I never thought I'd write during training camp.
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Adam Thielen says Chuba Hubbard told everyone he was gonna “finish the deal” before that last possession.
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Stephon Gilmore says he likely would have signed with the Panthers anyway, had he been released rather than traded. This was his preference in any case -- he was a Carolina fan growing up.
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The floodgates at Cowans Ford dam are open in Denver NC and it’s become quite a tourist attraction. I had to get across bridge to get home and sat in a 2-mile line. Pretty, though. Some people are circling around to see it twice. Cops won’t allow anyone to stop. Probably wise.
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OK, so I'm still not happy about getting frozen out of today's Panthers/Tepper press conference. But I've gotten some of it out of my system here, by writing a column for @theobserver about exactly what I WANTED to ask Tepper -- if I hadn't been ignored.
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Panthers safety Xavier Woods would like you to know it was about time for this.
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Every journalist hopes to find a story that fascinates them for years. This one is mine. “Carruth” is now an online series, a documentary & a 7-part podcast. It’s a murder mystery and a love story, told in a way you’ve never heard it before. Find it here:.
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EXCLUSIVE: Rae Carruth’s son wasn’t supposed to live thru that night in 1999. But Chancellor Lee Adams turns 18 Thursday. His mother? Murdered. His father? Former Panther Carruth gets out of jail 10/22/18. My story on the young man Carruth left behind:.
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If you’ve ever watched the Panthers’ official live press conference feed after games on Twitter, it allows fans to comment in real time about what they are hearing from the head coach. Here are 2 screenshot examples: one from Nov. 2021 and one from today.
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The 2 best players in this NFC championship game so far, for my money, are Christian McCaffrey and Haason Reddick. The Panthers employed them both in 2021. And went 5-12.
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.@DaleJr can't wait for fatherhood; would like his baby daughter to be born exactly 3 days early (@AmyEarnhardt will have a say in that). But why exactly 3 days? .And will he really buy into Panthers? .That & more from a man who doesn't seem "retired":.
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Eric Reid (25) becomes first Panther player to ever kneel during national anthem.
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HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY to Chancellor Lee Adams, born in very traumatic circumstances on this day in 1999. A short thread about one of the most remarkable families I have ever known:
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Bryce Young gets booed even more vociferously after throwing another checkdown on 3rd-and-15. Panthers end first half with 54 total yards, 2 first downs and trailing, 20-0. Panthers leave the field to some of the loudest boos I've ever heard in Charlotte.
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My tribute column on Greg "Catman" Good for @theobserver. Our paths crossed a good bit over 25 years, including when Fox Sports pulled a tasteless joke on the Panthers' most famous fan. Let's remember that story, as well as this kind man who died Friday.
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After traveling to New Orleans and covering the Panthers' latest travesty for @theobserver - this one a 47-10 loss to New Orleans - I'm just not sure Bryce Young is ever going to work out in Carolina.
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Ron and Stephanie Rivera bought a full-page ad in Friday’s @theobserver to say “thank you” to everyone - including Panthers owner David Tepper, who ultimately fired Rivera. I think I speak for everyone in Charlotte when I say: “Can you guys live in CLT permanently?”
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it was Sam Franklin, yelling at Arizona's Naquan Jones.
Microphone just picked up a player yelling: "Hey 96, lose some weight fat ass.".
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Check out the Dilworth Neighborhood Grille's new sign (photo credit @Joshpberg). You may remember one of these signs once got owner David Tepper into the restaurant for a conversation. Well, DNG is still at it. (And Young, meanwhile, is getting benched).
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LaMelo on what he likes to eat at Thanksgiving, just after going for 34-8-13 in a Hornets win.
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EXCLUSIVE: Rae Carruth once tried to orchestrate the murder of his own son. Now that boy has turned into a young man who is graduating from a Charlotte high school. My @theobserver column on Chancellor Lee Adams, his cap and gown, and his beloved G-Mom:
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For those watching Panthers-Cowboys at home, you will hear the guy who I think is the best NFL TV analyst working today. Former Panther Greg Olsen is getting to call his first Panther home game all year and seemed quite pumped about it when I bumped into him pregame.
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Gerald McCoy first left the field and went into the crowd so he could sign more autographs for fans. Then he carried 5 helmets off the field, all of them for fellow veterans. “I want people to know I take care of my teammates - and the fans,” McCoy said. This guy is gonna be fun.
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EXCLUSIVE: In his first and only interview thus far since being fired earlier today, former Panthers head coach Frank Reich talks with me about David Tepper, what happened, how he's feeling and whether he wants to coach again. Only in @theobserver:
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Panthers QBs ranked by wins.(Min. 10 starts). Cam Newton: 68-60-1.Jake Delhomme: 53-37.Steve Beuerlein: 23-28.Kerry Collins: 22-20.Rodney Peete: 8-7.Sam Darnold: 8-9.Matt Moore: 7-6.Kyle Allen: 6-7.Teddy Bridgewater: 4-11.Bryce Young: 2-16.Chris Weinke: 2-17.Jimmy Clausen: 1-9
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My Dad died last month. It was pretty sudden. I haven’t felt up to writing about it until now. But I wanted to tell you about a lesson in kindness that my dad, Steve Fowler, taught me. An angry ostrich was involved.
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Here are a few photos of the real Andre the Giant and "Dewey," who would eventually become @TheRock. For the role on @NBC, former Carolina Panther Matt Willig gained 35 pounds and wore 3-inch lifts in his shoes. More from our interview: .#youngrock .
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Michael Pittman says the hit by Xavier Woods was clean.
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Bryce Young walks off the field as the Panthers drop to 1-11.
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As a healthy Bryce Young watches from the sideline, Chicago's DJ Moore and Caleb Williams are reminding everyone how awful that trade really was for Panthers. Moore has two TDs, and Chicago is up 27-7 on Carolina in the second quarter.
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Unless there's one more FG to be taken in this game, that will likely be the last kick Eddy Pineiro attempts for the Carolina Panthers.
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Former Panthers interim coach Steve Wilks - who interviewed for the permanent job but didn’t get it - will coordinate San Francisco’s defense in the Super Bowl.
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So this will be fun: Former Panther great Greg Olsen will call Sunday’s Carolina-Dallas game in the booth for Fox Sports.
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4th and 18. Bryce Young throws a 10-yard pass. The boos rain down. I feel like I'm stuck in a time loop.
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Cam Newton says "not a lot of guys bought into" what Panthers were trying to do, from a commitment level standpoint.
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You really have to be happy for Christian McCaffrey. He was in purgatory a long time here in Charlotte and was a pro’s pro about it. Now he’s got a very legitimate shot at a Super Bowl ring.
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If I were Dave Canales, I'm starting Andy Dalton in the second half.
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DJ Moore says he’s fine with any of the Panther QBs this week: “Sam, PJ, Baker, uh, what’s his…” .He was referring to Jacob Eason, who may well play this week if the other 3 are still hurt.
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BREAKING on Jerry Richardson statue: Sources tell me it’s GONE forever from B of A stadium. Panthers want it out permanently. And a source says the statue is NOT important to Richardson. He’s turned that page and isn’t going to champion any lawsuits. @theobserver story coming.
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Panthers owner David Tepper meets with Chancellor Lee Adams, the boy who as an unborn baby Rae Carruth was convicted of conspiring to kill. Saundra Adams, Chancellor's grandmother and caregiver, is there too. Kudos to Tepper -- this is symbolically huge.
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Not sure I've ever seen that before: Panthers WR DJ Chark had both hands on 3 straight long completions, all of us 20-plus yards. He dropped all 3 passes. Yes, the coverage was tight. There was hand-fighting. But 0-for-3?! .You just can't do that as an NFL wideout.
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Talk about true blue - Panthers have gone 3-21 over their past 24 games but Steph Curry is still shouting them out at halftime of MNF with SVP.
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I'll go ahead and say it now: I think the next coaching staff will move Ickey Ekwonu to guard. He has a hard time with speed rushers at left tackle, and it frequently ends up in disaster, as it just did. Put Ekwonu at guard instead in 2024, and play to his strengths.
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Armando Bacot on UNC: “I guess really we weren’t that good.”.
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Panthers have run for around 200 yards. But on 4th-and-1, they're in empty backfield and throw the ball?! That's just poorly done in every way. Of course, the receiver slips and ball falls incomplete. Coaching like that, and playing like that, leads to 1-12.
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Wishing the happiest of birthdays to Chancellor Lee Adams, who turns 24 today. Chancellor Lee is the son of Cherica Adams (who saved his life) and former Panther wide receiver Rae Carruth. It's a long story; we told it in the "Carruth" podcast. But today, simply, Happy Birthday!
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Really enjoyed my 1-on-1 interview with @DaleJr yesterday in Charlotte for @theobserver. He will be inducted into the @NASCARHall tonight and spoke honestly about his legacy, his future and, of course, his Dad - a member of the Hall's very 1st class.
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Interviewed @jon_bois about a weirdly fascinating - and free - documentary his team has did on the Charlotte Bobcats' horrid, 7-59 season of 2011-12. Yes, it's 2-plus hours of reliving the worst NBA season ever. And oddly, it's terrific. For @theobserver:
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Steph and Seth Curry have a side bet on tonight’s 3-point contest - whoever loses between the 2 of them has to buy all the family tickets whenever the two of them play against each other. “Considering how many people show up for our games, the stakes are high,” Steph says.
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Panthers with Kelvin Benjamin not on the field over the past four years: 21-3. Panthers with Kelvin Benjamin on the field over the past four years: 18-21-1. I could go on. But the bottom line is that Benjamin is right. It was a bad fit from the get-go -- for the Panthers.
Former #Panthers WR Kelvin Benjamin not holding back on organization, Cam, when talking to the @TheAthletic
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Missed terribly, but never forgotten. Hornets will hold a moment of silence tonight just before season-opening tipoff, in honor of our beloved @theobserver colleague Rick Bonnell.
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Man, if you're not going to bring in Cam there, when are you ever going to use him?.
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Gorgeous setting for some hockey tonight at the first ever Queen City Outdoor Classic. A cool collaboration here between the Charlotte Checkers and Charlotte Knights.
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20 minutes before kickoff and a few brave souls have trickled in to Bank of America Stadium.
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Like so many in this business, Sports Illustrated was my Bible at a certain point in my life. How you can mess up a legacy brand like SI so completely is beyond me. Yet it’s been done. But man, the cover of SI used to be so important, and so cool. Remember any of these?
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Terrible news. Kendrick Norton was the Panthers' seventh-round pick in 2018. He didn't make the regular roster but was on the practice squad for several months before Dolphins signed him in December to their own active roster.
From Kendrick Norton’s agent. .
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Assuming the Hornets can keep LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges (38 points vs. Knicks today) long-term, here's a simple but promising stat:.LaMelo is 20 years old. Miles, who feels like he's been around forever, is only 23.
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Big news for Charlotte!.ACC commish Jim Phillips says that THREE ACC men's basketball tournaments are coming to Charlotte, in 2025, 2026 and 2028. Greensboro gets 2027 and 2029. So after this year's event in DC, the ACC's most well-known event will be in NC for 5 STRAIGHT years.
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I was there and still believe this to be best play in Panthers history -and it’s not close.
First play of the second overtime, and Steve Smith called game. 15 years ago today. (2003 Divisional: Jan. 10, 2004) @Panthers #NFLPlayoffs
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1 play, 1 handoff, and that was it:.Cam Newton deserved a better ending than that. My column on what was likely No.1's final game for the Panthers, and the 4th-down play he should have had:
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What if you are the parents of @CharlotteFTBL QB Chris Reynolds but you can’t get into the Charlotte-App game? .Drive your RV to Boone anyway, park near the stadium and watch from there, hoping your son can hear you yell. I’m road-tripping with them today; story coming.
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I am in LA today - this was Steph Curry's rainbow on last shot of shoot around:
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A cold, rainy stadium that is the home of a 1-12 team. And it’s gonna rain all afternoon, and it’s 8 days before Christmas. The Panthers fans that actually show up today - kudos to you.
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Dave Canales says the Panthers got Bryce Young on speakerphone “right away” to tell him about the pick of WR Tetairoa McMillan at #8.
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