Posted: 23 Mar 2010 12:57 PM PDT

ORLANDO, Fla. -- You've been waiting for the past month or so for the Carolina Panthers to reveal some top-secret plan for re-loading after their offseason purge.

Guess what? There's no big bang coming. The plan already is in place. It's already playing out. No matter how much you want to scream about the departures of Jake Delhomme, Brad Hoover and all the rest and yell for flashy and fresh new troops, this really is nothing out of the ordinary for Carolina.

"Being heroes in March, April and May doesn't matter," general manager Marty Hurney said during a break at the NFL owners meetings. "It's during the season and what you're judged by is winning games. We have to see if we can win games and be successful. But I think we have a lot of confidence in our young players and that's what we're doing in our approach."

There, the hand that Hurney and coach John Fox are playing is on the table. There are no huge free-agency signings coming. There are no blockbuster trades on the horizon and chances are slim the Panthers are going to be jumping up into the first round of the draft.

Like it or not, the Panthers are going with what they have. Seriously. And, really, when you think about it, it's not all that much different than what Fox and Hurney have done throughout their tenure. What happened a few weeks back when Delhomme, Hoover, Maake Kemoeatu, Damione Lewis and Na'il Diggs were released, and Julius Peppers was allowed to walk into free agency, was not the "fire sale" many fans have called it.

"Whatever words you want to use, I think we have a philosophy that's been in place for several years," Hurney said. "I think our nucleus or our identity fits our formula of how we win games and have an identity for our football team. I think the key is to make the necessary changes year in and year out to not lose that identity or that winning formula."

Hurney's got a good point. If you really thought a quarterback who threw way too many interceptions, a couple of ordinary and aging defensive tackles and linebackers and a veteran fullback were the face of the franchise, you're missing the point completely.

The Panthers still have a core in place. It's guys like Steve Smith, Jordan Gross, Jon Beason, Thomas Davis, Chris Gamble, Jeff Otah, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. Since they joined forces in 2002, Hurney and Fox have preached aggressive defense, ball-control offense and building through the draft. Yes, there are some cosmetic changes this offseason, but the big picture really hasn't changed.

"We feel we still possess that identity and that winning formula," Hurney said. "We have good depth on the offensive line. We have good depth at running back. We believe we have one of the best receivers in the National Football League. Yes, we do have a young quarterback. On defense, we lost a very productive defensive end, but we feel like we have young players ready to step in and we feel like our identity on defense still stands."

But Hurney admits there are questions with that young quarterback and at certain spots on defense. Let's start with the quarterback. I specifically asked Hurney if the Panthers really, truly, right hand in the air, are planning on going to training camp with Matt Moore as their starting quarterback.

Even though Hurney admitted the Panthers may do some things to solidify the position in what remains of free agency and the draft, the answer was a strong yes.

"We've seen enough to know he's taken care of the opportunities he's had," Hurney said. "Joe Gibbs always said at the quarterback position, when the lights go on, guys only get a few chances. When a guy gets that chance, he has to step up and take advantage of the opportunities. Matt Moore has done that in the opportunities he's had. That's the gauge for quarterbacks. They have to take advantage of the limited opportunities they have.''

This is Moore's opportunity. It's one the Panthers felt they had no choice but to give him, even if it meant handing Delhomme nearly $13 million to walk out the door.

"I have two sons, and if they grow up to be like Jake Delhomme, I'll be very, very happy," Hurney said. "We just got to a point, with Matt coming on at the end of last season, that it was the right decision to make to go with Matt as the No. 1. He's done everything. He's performed when he's had the chance and he's shown the ability to win football games."

That's pretty much the same philosophy the Panthers are using at the other positions where they let guys go. They have a lot of young players like linebacker Dan Connor and defensive ends Everette Brown and Charles Johnson who they want to get on the field. Hurney said it's as simple as wanting to give the young guys a chance and insisted this isn't about economics or the uncertainty surrounding the NFL's labor situation.

"We just made a decision that we have some young players in those spots that need to play," Hurney said. "They're players we've spent second-, third- and fourth-round draft choices on. You always have to keep an eye a year or two down the road. It's part of the natural cycle to get those guys on the field. Every February and March, you have to make difficult decisions. But we feel like we have the players to step in and fill these roles."

There have been significant traces of this approach throughout the history of Fox and Hurney in Carolina. Aside from Mike Wahle and Ken Lucas, the Panthers never have spent a fortune in free agency. They've built through the draft and sometimes thrown players like Peppers and Gross right into the mix and sometimes brought along guys like Williams and Smith a little more slowly. But the goal usually has been to have draft picks starting by their second or third years.

"This isn't something we just flipped the switch on," Hurney said. "It's been our philosophy. You need to have young players in your system and you need to give them a chance to step up. Hopefully, that's a philosophy that will be in place for years to come."

Ah, there's a can of worms. There probably isn't a coach on a hotter seat than Fox. Instead of giving him a contract extension, the Panthers have decided to let Fox head toward the final year of his contract with no assurances. It's somewhat understandable because Fox never has had back-to-back winning seasons and the Panthers are coming off a disappointing season.

Can Fox and Hurney really afford to sit back and take the same old approach? Can they survive the talk about the hot seat without doing anything desperate or dramatic?

"That comes every year," Hurney said. "I don't think anybody that does this can let that play into your thinking. We're competitive people. You go day to day and you do what you think is best to win. Nobody wants to win more than John Fox and me. But you also have to do it with what you believe in and you have to stick to your principles. I feel very strongly about our philosophy and what we're doing. You're going to take criticism these days. That's part of the business. You always try to listen and evaluate yourself, but you also have to have confidence in your philosophies and what you're doing. There's no sense of panic. We're not going to change what we do. I believe in what we're doing."

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Posted: 23 Mar 2010 05:18 AM PDT

This is a response to William Irwin in The Philosophy Magazine (22nd March 2010), defending Blackwell's ...And Philosophy series, which includes Seinfeld, The Matrix, The Simpsons, The Dark Knight, and will include Avatar. Opponenst feel this dilutes and popularises the erudite nature of this most hallowed of disciplines by applying it to the inappropriate, unworthy subject of mass entertainment.

I think these attackers do far more harm for philosophy than the Philosophy in Culture series that Professor Irwin edits (to which I hope to contribute). The titles in the Blackwell's series are well chosen. If one wants to decry it by saying - you can philosophise anything - then actually you are making a positive statement.

Perhaps I was introduced young to philosophy and that has always helped me appreciate it. One of my A levels and first degree focussed on Philosophy under the guise of religion, although it is very little different to general philosophy. I met the same thinkers, considered most of the great problems - with or without God. And I have taken that mindset to my higher degrees, and I believe, much of my approach to life.

Philosophy has never seemed irrelevant to me, but have seen fellow booksellers dismiss the philosophy section as 'for and by those with too much time on their hands', a kind of babble that is worthless and represents the worst in elitism and otherness, and which most calls academia into question. For those cynical about the worth of university, it is fitting that the highest qualification is named (almost whatever the subject) after the oldest but most esoteric subject, which after all only means 'love of wisdom'. Can only professors be wise? Is this love to be denied to most of us, to be debated in closed forums and effectively secret societies, not touching the lives of the masses and ignoring the changing culture which affects them?

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Oregon basketball: Ducks need excitement, and they need ... - Oregonian

Posted: 23 Mar 2010 02:44 PM PDT

By John Hunt, The Oregonian

March 23, 2010, 2:30PM

EUGENE - Oregon isn't necessarily looking for style over substance in its new basketball coach. The Ducks want a whole lot of both.

We're not talking uniform colors here, but playing style. Fast is good. Fast and smart is better. Fast, smart and defensive-minded? Sign here.

Oregon is ready to throw a lot of money at the right coach, a coach who can fill a big new arena. A coach can do that three ways: He must have a resume that inspires excitement, he must bring an entertaining style of play and - oh yeah - he must win.

Why is playing style so important to Pat Kilkenny, who is interviewing coaching candidates, and to the search firm bringing them in?

"I absolutely think it's ingrained in the culture,'' said Kilkenny, the former athletic director who was in Eugene on Tuesday conducting one interview and has another planned for Wednesday.

Kilkenny and Nike co-founder Phil Knight didn't become enamored of football coach Chip Kelly just for his personality. They saw an innovative style of play - and resultant wins - that attracted the interest not only of fans but also of high school athletes.

It's all about the brand. Take a fun style of play, toss in some sweet gear, and build the slickest facilities of any university, and you have an alluring package that can overcome Oregon's inherent disadvantage of being stuck in a far-off corner of the country away from urban excitement.

"I heard somebody say that if Penn State is the IBM of college athletics, then Oregon is the Google,'' Kilkenny said.

So what basketball coach would Google hire? There is some fiscal restraint here. Oregon won't hand out a salary of googol dollars, but the Ducks are not backing away from Florida's Billy Donovan, who is making $3.3 million.

The nation's best coach stylistically might be Kentucky's John Calipari, who appears to be speeding toward Indianapolis and the Final Four. He also got talented guard John Wall, who visited Eugene two years ago and whom the Ducks coveted.

Donovan's Gators don't push the tempo as hard as some teams, but two national titles more than make up for that. Louisville and Gonzaga, adept at getting shooters open and pushing the ball up court, also look good to the Ducks' coaching searchers.

Pittsburgh, under Oregon coaching candidate Jamie Dixon, is far from speedy - his Panthers play at a pace almost equal to that of Oregon State. Duck fans may be smarting over the Beavers' sweep of their team this season, but they probably aren't eager to adopt OSU's style.

Under Mark Turgeon, Texas A&M is more about defense, with a pace equal to that of UCLA. In keeping with his Kansas pedigree, Turgeon starts with defense and plays as fast as he comfortably can.

Former Oregon coach Ernie Kent often spoke of his up-tempo offense, but the action rarely backed up those words, as the Ducks rarely cracked the top 100 in pace of play.

Kilkenny, who said he admires the basketball philosophy of Oregon women's coach Paul Westhead, said another benefit of an entertaining style is that it earns patience from fans.

"I think you're forgiven when you entertain a lot,'' said Kilkenny, who pointed to Oregon's loss to Stanford in football this season, where the Ducks lost 51-42 but had 570 yards of offense, and fans didn't seem too broken up about it.

Mike Bellotti, who stepped down as athletic director last week, signing his release agreement the day he announced Kent's firing, said he would have been looking for the right "fit'' of coaching style.

"It's got to be the right fit,'' Bellotti said. "I don't have a perfect description right now, but I think we'll know it when we see it.''

It might look something like Kansas State coach Frank Martin's Web site, which has his coaching philosophy right there near the Nike link: "I'm about pressuring people. I'm about intensity, and I'm about passion.''

That would look good to Oregon, but Martin, whose Wildcats are among the nation's leaders in pace and in defense, recently signed an extension with Kansas State through 2014-15.

As Bellotti said, the program needs a jump-start - and preferably an engine that can keep it rolling with a little pizzazz.

"We aspire to be different, yet we really respect the values of college athletics,'' Kilkenny said. "I think they can both walk hand in hand.''

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Philosophy

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

“Hurney: Panthers sticking to philosophy - ESPN.com” plus 2 more

“Hurney: Panthers sticking to philosophy - ESPN.com” plus 2 more

By John Hunt, The Oregonian

March 23, 2010, 2:30PM

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