CDTalent Enterprises

While being a “content creation person” is my bill-paying persona, there has always been a sportswriter who has to get opinions out there. The straight up question Panther fans will be asking for the next ten days is, “What is really wrong with Cam?” because he was all over the lot throwing the ball – Olsen’s grab of a pass behind him was one of several made by receivers – and while his running ability was always a major benefit, he certainly doesn’t seem willing to get hit, nor does team seem willing to ask him to run over a D-back any more.

Maybe its too personal to mention his haberdashery, but the multi-colored scarf atop his wild hairdo and granny shades at the post-game didn’t score any points either.

Cam Newton came out with the right answer for Thursday nights 20-14 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that fingers get pointed at an offense that doesn’t score touchdowns. That he is the most visible reason for the 0-2 record, and its his job to make plays is Part 2 to that truth, and there are already boo-birds in Charlotte regarding that play making.

Newton’s stat line was 25/51 passes for 333 yards, two rushes for zero yards. He didn’t get a yard on 4th down on the Panther’s initial drive, just before a 27-minute game delay for lightening, and he was a decoy on the final play, when Panthers needed *HALF* a yard for a first down, and barely more than ONE for a winning TD.

Is it too early to be mad or discouraged?

The question of whether its too early to be mad or discouraged is almost less important than WHY they couldn’t beat the Bucs, and whether this will be a truly LONG year. 

On Monday I had concerns about being a ‘homer’ – someone who always tries to put a happy face on events – after the season-opening 30-27 loss to LA Rams, which was a light-years difference from what came through last night. Certainly there was no “C-Mac (McCaffrey) the Mighty” cranking out yardage. He had a miserable night (37 yds. rushing, two receptions for 16 yards, no TDs), including not getting close to gaining the yard needed at the end of the game.

Was it that long ago that Newton would have handled that last bit himself, stretching his 6’5, 250 pounds over the goal line? The O-line handled the Rams, getting three short TD runs, can’t they go straight ahead two weeks in a row? Yes, Newton threw downfield a number of times in that 333, although Olsen’s big night (6 catches/110 yards, including a 41-yard gain), involved lugging the ball most of the way. Curtis Samuel had a 44-yard gain, but he had to turn around and wait vs. catching the ball in stride, zero yards after the catch.

The only Panther who had a great night was kicker Joey Slye, who was 4-4 on field goals, two of them over 50-yards, one of which clonged off the right post and through, and his kickoffs weren’t returned. (Enjoy that game check, Joe, but if you lead the league in scoring, we’ll probably have had a lousy year).

Okay, Luke Kuechly had 17 tackles, including one for a safety that got Panthers within one score, and provided a short field for their final unsuccessful drive. The Bucs suffocated C-Mac all game, and DE Shaqil Barrett had three sacks of Newton, who never looked in sync.

Olsen looked a little stiff while running (a back problem left him a game time decision), and there seemed to be enough production (Samuel- five catches/91 yards; DJ Moore- nine catches/89 yards) to spend a lot of time in Tampa’s end of the field, but an offense that’s only making field goals needs 3 to beat a TD by the other team. That’s a fact Panther fans will recognize from many games against the Seahawks, when both D’s slugged it out.

The Panthers now have road games against Phoenix and the Jaguars, and while the Cardinals Heisman-winning QB (Kyler Murray, 2018) didn’t look good for most of their 27-all tie with the Lions last week, mobile QBs always seem to torture the Panthers. Winston started 11/14 in the first half and ended up 16/25 for 208 yards and a TD, and while that was considerably better than last weeks performance, unfortunately,  the Panthers can’t say the same.

One thing that’s guaranteed – Panthers won’t give Newton a seat and play Kyle Allen, certainly not after just two games, because it just doesn’t pay to bench your top QB to see if he gets super motivated. The defense can also work on actually stopping runners (Tampa had 100 yards on the ground, the Panthers 39) vs. letting them churn for a couple more after contact.

In what winds up the same short week for bloggers of NFL football as everyone else, and to bring balance to what happened in the Panthers 30-27 loss to the LA Rams, “Winning cures a lot of that,” is the attitude pointed towards Thursday night against Tampa Bay.

Starting with the most obvious thought: Noowwwww how are you liking those ten pounds of new, useful, and still 4.4 fast, muscles McCaffrey is sporting?  Watching replays, and what plenty of game stats seem to show, is numerous factors WILL win a bunch of ball games for the Panthers this year. Still,  his working through tackles for 23, 18 yard gains on that last nine-play, 69 yard drive? That’s Big Boy stuff.

As important as C-Mac proved to be  last year, Panther fans anticipate cheering their faces off for him after this first effort – that *was* supposed to be a pretty good Rams defense. Based on production,  that offensive line should be feeling positive – the difference between the Rams and Panthers offense (349-343) was a half-dozen yards.

19 carries, 128 yards, two TDs, plus ten catches for 81 yards for C-Mac.

Why do I get a vision of Cap’n America, with the dukes up, that “I can go like this all day” line just a statement of fact?

Two bigger questions about the season, defense and lacking Graham Gano’s crucial field goal kicking, were answered adequately. Although the Rams did dominate ball time by seven-plus minutes, holding Todd Gurley to a 14 carries, 97 yards and no TD day should be considered holding a stud runner in check. Both teams had three rushing TDs.

Rams quarterback Jared Goff was a mild 23/38 for 186 yards, one each on TD-INTs, so this was not a high-powered trampling. Yes, the difference seemed to be specific Panther let downs, but not defensive inadequacies. Shaq Thompson and Tre Boston both had 7 solo tackles, Shaq’s mobility in the 3-4 defense being the first dividend Panthers were expecting.

The Panthers Joe Slye hit two-of-three field goal attempts, including a 52-yarder, and while its only one game, yay! for Gano’s replacement. Kickers can lose at least as many games as they win, just ask last years kicker for the Bears how that works out.

Without whining, I might have been “balled out” after gorging on major college games all Labor Day weekend, so I was actually on the Catawba tubing for five hours Sunday, but what I watched on the replay, yes, Newton (25/38 for 239 yards and a pick) has to make “those throws.”

Newton only tried one throw over twenty yards, and I haven’t read or heard anything recently about a supposed new motion. Everyone says there are no physical problems, just “rusty,” which is the alternative to minimal ‘live’ playing during preseason. The interception, when he had Olsen clear and didn’t deliver, was a timing difference that should be clear now.

There were actually a lot of offensive contributions: Olsen, 4/36 yards; Samuel, 3/32; Jarius Wright, 1/14. DJ Moore had an overall  seven catch -76 yard day, but was involved in a pair of miscues – especially a first drive fumble, and a tipped pass that wound up being ruled a lateral – recovered on the Panthers ten.

Tale of two games

One doesn’t have to be a total ‘Homer’ to be positive about the Panthers first effort, and  there’s no need to overthink the loss on this short week, just be glad it’s the Bucs on Thursday. They were rawhided by San Fran 31-7, with Tampa Bay QB Jameis Winston a pedestrian 20/36, 194 yards with three interceptions – two of which were returned for touchdowns – three sacks, and an overall 8.6 QBR.

There’s an old, obvious cliché about not beating good teams – especially when you make a number of turnovers in crucial situations – and in any year not following last season, this would be the godsend for a short week. Twelve years with no playoffs for the Buccaneers is not a coincidence.

The wheels would have to come off (like in Miami, where the Dolphins were humiliated 59-10 by the Ravens) for the Panthers to be 0-2 on Friday morning. We’d all like to see Newton throw a 55-yard rainbow or a touch pass in the red zone, McCaffrey – just keep telling people its all about the O-line…

As a storm of epic proportions sloooowly approaches the US coast, most of life continued in the Carolinas, something you can’t imagine saying about the devastating pictures we’ve seen from the Abacos Islands. To the ex-Canadian PM who suggested the hurricane find Mar-a-Lago and force Trump to see a Cat-5 up close for a whole day like those islands did, Nature didn’t lay that thought or any bigly global warming rhythms on him.

After flipping a quantity of very satisfying ‘bigger’ cheeseburgers for a local men’s shelter on Friday, I book-ended my weekend by enjoying one myself late Sunday, while taking in live music and a considerable amount of people-watching at the White Water Center. Yes, America, that “huge hunk of meat” was as delightful as Jimmy Buffett always painted it, and I accept it as an exclamation point to a hot and exciting summer.

I plead guilty to unknowing concern at the devastation in the Bahamas, am stunned by a lack of coordinated response, though not by Prez who defends playing “18 quick holes” during a colossal disaster. The juxtaposition of my cheeseburger to how dramatic two entire days of what 180 mph churn would do to any “Why me?” perspective a survivor would have to have, is humbling.

As a sports writer, my current concern is –

How the local Panthers will look against a Rams team that lost in the Super Bowl, and an almost unblockable Aaron Donald on defense this Sunday. That’s a home opener where Panthers should suck every bit of motivation from the crowd possible, a team that needs to show it – and its leader, Cam Newton – is markedly better than what their finishing 7-9, with a seven-game losing streak the second half of 2018, looked.

The Carolina Panthers and I both start our 25^th year in Charlotte, and like many, I’m still happy to root for them. Being from upstate NY, I was never a Giants or Jets (ugh!) fan after suffering with regional double-headers in college.  My first Panther memory was a COLD game at Clemson, catching a great image of Sam Mills about to meet Steve Young on a goal line sneak.

As a blogger last year, the changes seem legitimate, as is 9-7

I’m going to agree with “new guy” on Observer staff, Matt Stephens, about Panthers showing me they actually have an offense and defense that’s markedly better than last year. Matt feels optimistic, has worries that maybe he’s just not beaten down yet. I think 50 blogs gave me a grip on things, and there’s no problem with his thinking last year is fixable.

There wasn’t a lot of pre-season viewing of Olsen, Newton, Kuechly, but what Rivera and D-Coach Eric Washington saw in speed rushers – Brian Burns (FSU) and another year with Marquis Haynes – have made the switch to 3-4 as base defense more reasonable. Shaq Thompson figures to be coming off the wing more regularly now, while playing behind Thomas Davis for years, his possibilities always seemed greater.

OLB is kind of the glory spot in 3-4 defense, and Burns looks like a beast there, Shaq *should* be. If Kuechly doesn’t have to patrol all the way to sidelines, his All-Pro nose for plays directly in front could be maximized. Yes, there will always be a concern about his concussion history. Yes, 33 sacks was a pitiful statement for the 2018 defense, and that will be regarded as an aberration by mid- season.

Welcome to Gerald McCoy, thank you for your long service, Mr. Peppers.

All interior D-line starters have been All-Pros, especially McCoy, who always gave Newton fits when he was with the Buccaneers (8 years). Kwann Short can still take up blocks, and even with Kuechly patrolling less territory with four backers, he’ll be off the leash with recognition of plays and going downhill after them. Last year, the Panthers defense was absolutely torched by, well, about everybody. If the Saints hadn’t already clinched the division, Brees could have set some personal records in final game last season, and Panthers would already have an eight-game loss skein coming in against loaded LA.

You rarely get that lucky against divisional people.

Dontari Poe didn’t play himself into the hearts of fans in 2018, with opposing running backs frequently getting the yardage they needed – plus a couple more – to keep drives alive. Frankly, “run-stuffer” means actual tackling at point of attack.

A primary question, especially regarding Newton’s fixed-again shoulder, is whether he, with a modified motion, and other key players (Olsen – back as a regular target after two fractured foot seasons; Kuechly – concussions; McCaffrey – because he gets all those touches) will all be good for 16 games. Sportswriting history shows winning big almost always includes having less bad injuries to key personnel, so “Lucky Breaks” is probably a toss-up.

Green Bay won a memorable title (vs. Steelers) while starters were dropping like flies, but over the long grind, people won’t always be available. Curtis Samuel, in his third season after a pair of injuries delayed his new role as a primary receiver, and seeing how dangerous he could be last season – especially the after catch elusiveness he and DJ Moore have shown as a runners  – is encouraging.

With a steady diet of “even a little bigger than last year, still pretty fast” McCaffrey, the Panthers shouldn’t be lacking offensively.

If Turner’s offense uses other backs this year, will they be as effective as using C-MC as a decoy?  The O-LINE seemed to gel coming into last season, and one certainly can’t put down a crew that sprung C-MC (McCaffrey) so regularly. The Panthers have always had linemen that switched all over the place, and the biggest change is who Newton gets the ball from. After eight years of Ryan Kalil, who retired (and then signed with the Jets), the Panthers replaced him at center with former Bronco Matt Paradis.

BIG QUESTION of JOE SLYE vs. (no) Gano – Why the Panther’s $4 million kicker didn’t get himself fixed after last season, who knows, but this change is going to be a factor to discuss until it isn’t. While they use the word ‘mythical’ regarding Gano’s game-winning poke against the Giants, you don’t usually give a new guy like Slye the benefit of doubt until he makes a couple clutch ones.

I fear the New Orleans Saints the most, because they’ve been jobbed out of final games the last two years, and if *I* was on Drew Brees’ team, playing with a GOAT quarterback, being on a mission to get another ring with him would be incredible. ATL – I don’t care about them except as rivals. The Bucs, who I watched for three years when living in Tampa – we called them the Suckaneers – have a new sheriff in town with Bruce Ariens. As a writer, I had easy access to players – Doug Williams was a class guy, I doubt Jameis Winston is.

Season splits with the Saints and Falcons would be fine overall going into the season, and yes, playing the NFC West this year means renewing things with the Seahawks, in Charlotte. If you have to have a standard, the ‘Hawks and Falcons are undeniably ours. Seeing what they cook up in Phoenix this year, we shall indeed see. That opener against the Rams will be rough, because outscoring them (Rams 32.9 ppg, Panthers 23.5 ppg in 2018) won’t come easily, nor does going on 14-15 play drives if Aaron Donald is drawing breath.

As for Panthers SECONDARY, outside of Donte Jackson and James Bradberry, its good to have a safety of Eric Reid’s quality, and congrats to Panthers owner David Tepper for making a business decision on the former All-Pro. Reid will benefit from a full preseason to get into mix versus being added mid-season. Safety-nickel guy Gaulden, like several second year players, is being counted on to fill necessary roles in the secondary.

Forget about any spillover from MSL talk about Tepper, even if does look like he’s moved Charlotte up in pecking order there. This Panther organization has made multiple changes in barely over a year. As of Year 25, the Panthers have a first-rate indoor practice bubble, and what figures to be a substantial Rock Hill complex vs. those wicked Spartanburg camps – both solid, necessary decisions. Charlotte has added another outstanding citizen in Mr. Tepper, not “just another Yankee.”

“A year that needs to be”

Yes, this looks like “A Year that Needs to Be” for all the reasons everybody probably understands, including Tepper and Rivera and the Big 2-5. FYI – Rivera is only a few games from becoming the winning-est coach in Carolina history (currently 71, John Fox has 73).

Yes, physically this is Newton’s team, although the expectation is he’d gladly offer whatever chunk McCaffrey demands while tearing yardage out of the league in his Year 3 development. Yes, “that nice young man” has put on even more muscles. Since the extra five last year worked so well, apparently another ten pounds.  That and a tweak or two better than 362 touches – is a fine standard to go forward from.

Trust Norv Turner’s offense – Its put people in the Hall of Fame, and CMC is nothing but a Classic Worker-Achiever. How many yards short of 1,000-1,000 was he in 2018? Remember that number, he will.

How often Newton goes long to Moore and Samuel – or Mr. Third Down, Jarius Wright – and two tight-end sets with Greg Olsen-Ian Thomas to spread the love and make defenses pay for loading up to stop McCaffrey, should keep the sticks moving like he did early last year.

With Kyle Allen and Will Grier (#3 pick, Maryland) at QB, the cupboard is sort of stocked in case Newton’s arm falls off. Neither was astonishing in pre-season, Grier threw some terrible picks.

While its doubtful Charlotte fans will consider a 9-7 season any real triumph, and where such a record leaves playoff considerations (or Rivera’s future), is a long time to think about situation for Mr. Tepper.

Calling it an improved team starting this week, sure, that’s legit – even if I’ll go with chalk and consider the Rams the team to beat. Along with their new 3-4 defense, would the Panthers sporting a 5-2 record after the game in London (Bucs), an off week, and then in San Fran vs. 49ers be okay? I’ll say yes.

If McCaffrey gets less but close to 100 yards this week against Rams, can we still be optimistic? Sure. For both football watching and the political grind, it seems like 9-7 is at least above water, and we’ll see what that brings.

We’re not expecting any hurricane’s taking a left to be here for the weekend, so stay for the whole game. Your friends who don’t have tickets should understand.

Okay, I’m going to walk that title back. Nothing here about Trump at the G-7, and sure, I could have edited that out of title. Hey, maybe somebody reads this because that word was in here, and it’s not like stock markets will go up and down radically because I lied…

After ten days of watching the Little League World Series – for the third year in a row – it would be fair and accurate to state that everything happening on the field, in the stands, and on that hillside where *everybody* was having a ball, communicated a message of joy for the playing and camaraderie between people from around the world.

Congrats communication-wise to ESPN for their “Kidcast” featuring two-16 year old announcers and 2014 LLWS sensation Mo’ne Davis – the first girl to throw a shutout in LLWS history – and two-15 year old sideline correspondents.  Booth guys were truly interesting, and drew out Mo’ne’s background and expertise as well as any regular broadcast crew. Their enthusiasm was terrific, the journalism great, including how they interviewed their regular ESPN counterparts.

Yes, only one true winner could emerge from the competition , but I’m sure a LOT of TVs were tuned in during these times of stress, for what is always a testament to skill and determination by everyone involved.

The umpires work for FREE, cancer survivors who made it to watch brothers and friends play were interviewed by soccer star Judy Foudy, and GEEZ! could the champs – those Southwest kids, hit – especially Reece Roussel, who whacked a LLWS record 17 hits, including seven doubles, tying teammate Marshall Louque for tops in the tournament.

“I don’t want to hear it.” – Southwest Coach Scott Frazier

That quote has zero to do with Trump, who was essentially shut out in France, but good, straight-up communication cuts though the fog and often brings results. While Coach Frazier’s often-used quote might seem harsh when dealing with kids, as the ESPN crew noted, there was no denying his methods were effective.

In Southwest’s 9-5 semi-final win over Hawai’i – which no-hit them in the tournament opener, forcing them to come all the way back through the losers bracket – Frazier trooped to the mound to get pitcher Connor Perrot back on track.

His first raspy-voiced comment were about Perrot’s body language (“Shoulders back, head up!”) as he moped about having walked two runs in. When Perrot tried to explain his worries (bases still loaded), Frazier cut him off with the “I don’t want to hear it” line.

“You’ve got a five run lead (at the time) – throw strikes and let this good defense help you if they hit it.” His exit line was simply, “Get this guy out,” and Perrot zipped three fastballs in to finish the inning. Communication, result. Great coaching.

How much coaching it took to have LLWS star Reece Roussel whack those 17 hits wasn’t really a matter of debate. As the guys in the ESPN booth (Kyle Peterson, David Ross, Tim Kurkjian, and Karl Ravech) said often, “This kid *always* gets the barrel of the bat on the ball.”

Ravech has done the LLWS since 2006, and while few could ever aspire to the smoothness of long time (67 years) LA Dodger announcer Vince Scully, or the down-home commentary of college football legend Keith Jackson, Ravech’s crew communicated the incredible experience these 11-12 year-olds were living in a way that anyone and everyone could enjoy for hours.

Ross did miss one *perfect* opportunity, when it was opined that the winning pitcher for Southwest – Egan Prather – might be over-excited when only one out left in the finale vs. Curacao. When the Chicago Cubs were leading by four runs in 5th inning of their own World Series win (2016), first baseman Anthony Rizzo told Ross he was so excited – the Cubbies hadn’t won a World Series since 1908 (108 years) – he couldn’t stand it.

Ross said, “Wait until the 9th inning.” The Cleveland Indians tied the game, and there was a rain delay before the Cubbies finally pulled it out. I would have pulled that story up immediately.

As for Trump, I used a real whistle for my dog

Communication of misinformation – lying if you will – produces almost the exact opposite effect of the joyfulness that the baseball did. The openness about everything happening in Williamsport, PA was soooo much clearer and fun – America at its best, if you will – nothing like the intensely partisan political scene America finds itself in.

As for dog whistling, its been repeatedly noted about the tone and “qualities” of Trump’s rhetoric are a signal to others of a similar and negative bent, a sub-textual tone that only those who are philosophically on the same wave will hear.

When my beagle managed to slip his collar and get out of the back yard Sunday, the only thing he responded to was my shrill whistle. It didn’t make him come back, but at least he stopped and looked. The difference between the two was when the dog finished romping the neighborhood for an hour, his tongue was dragging, and he kind of let himself be brought back – no texting, too tired to howl – so he could get a drink of water.

If it was that easy to get Trump back to reality… As for his getting dissed at the G-7, I don’t want to hear about it.

Congrats to absolutely everyone who raised $$$ so their kids could have this experience. It wasn’t a surprise that if you wanted the kids to go and compete, hitting the bank or selling tee shirts, but definitely many, many others pitching in for the cash, was the only way something desirable like that would happen. Remember it long and fondly.

“Seriously, Often Butt-heads” was what I was going for with the acronym, but if you want to take offense, this is still ‘Merica, and you can say things others might not like without diving to (or past) the lowest possible rung of civil discourse before “Yo’ mama!”

Yes, Harvey mocked Louis Litt’s teeth before, but that’s a far cry from Trump personally savaging every person of color that criticized him, his constituency, and home.

After dropping something large on Spiderman in Avengers ‘Civil War’ flick, Cap’n America didn’t rank out Spidey because he was from Queens, just said, “Brooklyn,” with a smile about his own growing up, and jogged away.

That’s class.

The analogy between a popular television character – Harvey, not Trump, who was considered an SOB as a reality show bozo (sorry, boss) – is fairly obvious if you take a few choice pieces from the bigger picture.

Starting with the primary negative, Harvey took in Mike Ross, someone who was unqualified (not a Harvard educated lawyer, even if he could out-trivia Harvey), causing a serious problem for his firm. At NO point has Trump put ANYONE worth spit in a role that fit their lousy qualifications, except Mattis and Kelley.

DeVos (Education), Pruitt, the grifter from Oklahoma, desecrating our national environment, and Perry (from Texas) were all put in charge of departments where they *hated* what they were supposed to manage. Together they lack the brains of Ross, who was an actual genius (who could read).

Current count on idjits Trump has put up that even Repubs couldn’t vote for: 39.

Harvey has gotten a slew of others involved in keeping that single fact a secret, a willful malpractice that would have precipitated serious blow back (think Paris accords) every case unqualified Mike had been involved in with the firm. Only Nikki Haley as UN Ambassador escaped the Trump administration with her reputation intact.

It took what – seven seasons – for Ross to wind up in jail, even after there was relative blood in the water about him not being a real lawyer? (Think Mueller report, day in front of cameras) Multiple innocent people got jammed up by Harvey along the way, and outsiders who got close to the truth were routinely pounded into submission with legal threats by the high-powered Specter regarding unrelated subjects.

Are you with me?

In fact, Harvey has done nothing but pound people, often to cover up malfeasance by clients and himself, usually 2-3 times an episode. Okay, that’s part of the hook or ‘charm’ of the show, miles from a President who signs papers with a fat magic marker whenever he’s ready to screw another segment of the country.

Anybody remember the Dakota Pipeline? Wasn’t that a done deal, win for environmentalists and Native Americans? Denying scientists the right to publish their findings, or world (Iran and six other nuclear program signees, plus every long term US ally), he regularly tosses someone under the proverbial bus with a stroke.

Neither has started an actual shooting war, but Harvey is only a lawyer, not someone whose whack-a-doodle temperament could accomplish that.

And yeah, they’ve deservedly been in a jillion lawsuits through their actions.

Does Harvey HATE women, or exhibit misogynistic behavior and excuse it in others?

He finally made peace with his mother about how she asked eight-year old him to not tell his father about an affair he’d seen as a child, although he’s basically used his power over a string of women into this ninth and final season. Give him credit for finally recognizing his long-time super-star assistant, Donna, was the one he should give his love and loyalty to, but at no point did he grab them by the crotch or otherwise assault them. He just walked away, knowing he’d usually been the bad person.

Finally, while Harvey has a temper, he’s been willing (literally at times) to step into the ring and duke it out with someone, not snake them by text or send someone else to clean up his mess. (Okay, that “not sending someone else” is kind of a lie, but you know, everybody does it.)  He doesn’t – usually – chortle in glee about whacking someone.

He’s also willing to change his mind when told a damn good reason to, which isn’t in Trump’s skill set whatsoever. Several people have drawn the line with him, told him “this is the last time EVER, Harvey” that they would do what he needed. Unfortunately, Trump has what used to be the Republican Party in his pocket, and they can be relied on to save his bacon whenever he needs it.

Many say its not a good idea to post political thoughts like this, but at this point, with  right at 500 LinkedIn connections, I’m not concerned about losing a great quantity of  those by not mentioning causing a useless and expensive to Americans trade war, pauperizing a wide swath of American farmers, or saying neo-Nazis are fine people.

As for Harvey Specter, he can’t hurt you either, he’s just a TV SOB.

 

Tying two disparate bits of history together, it’s easy to admit being immensely proud of the 50th anniversary of an AMERICAN (no hyphens or political qualifiers needed) setting foot on the moon. Nothing about our current run of nationwide negativity seems legitimate in comparison, although chanting USA! USA! – or “Equal pay!” – for the US Women’s National Team after taking its fourth World Cup is going to be heard loud and proud while they tour the country.

There’s been plenty of documentary material to watch about the overall space program, but every time  ‘Apollo 13’ comes on, the humanity of the space program clicks inside me, and I have to watch how they overcome serious, multiple problems, like gerry-rigging a CO2 scrubber or cold-starting the computers.

Chief Flight Director Gene Krantz said that the rescued mission (Apollo 13) was NASA’s finest hour, and except for the momentous nature of  EVER having put people on the surface of what was always considered unreachable, who could argue that?

We prayed for those Apollo 13 astronauts in Catholic grade school, as close to a moment of true world caring as imaginable, and through the miracle of television, I was kind of there, sharing it with a hunk of humanity.

When 13’s parachutes appeared – almost on top of the rescue carrier, deep into a radio silence that might have meant their capsule burned up on reentry – such a wow! of relief, and pretty much the only good luck they’d had all flight. Gene Krantz said that the Apollo 13 rescue mission was NASA’s finest hour, and except for the momentous nature of  EVER having put people on the surface of that orb in the night, who could argue that?

Fifty years ago, Walter Cronkite was wiping his eyes on live TV at the fact of Neil Armstrong walking on the moon, the whole world kind of celebrated, and that’s a source of national pride that cannot be erased by presidential ignorance or disdain.

Yes, USWNT was a bad-ass TEAM, but for absolute intensity of mission, the crew of professionals at the banks of computers, analyzing every aspect of mechanical and human performance, up to and beyond “One small step…” was serious as hell.

America, whether we’re still worthy of “…shed His light on thee,” we KNOW there are higher things to reach for as a nation. “Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for ALL?” Not sure about that all the time.

READ Charlotte – A Booster shot of Positives

The second piece of history involves something recent, a gratifyingly solid email update that READ Charlotte sent out to all literacy volunteers. Without posting the entire piece here, letting volunteers in on how things are working out is a great way to keep them engaged.

That 155 third-graders literally took one small, incredibly necessary step forward with reading in this past scholastic year is the story, and we need to build on that going forward.

Research finds strong parallels between reading fluency, comprehension, and overall reading achievement (testing). If you didn’t already know this, Charlotte has the lowest rating (4.4%) of the 50 largest US cities regarding economic mobility, essentially how many children rise from the bottom of one economic quadrille to top of it as an adult.

Its not *just* DeVos’ reign of ignorance and funding terror for public education that brought these programs to the front, but students not reading to grade level by fourth grade are almost destined to fall further behind…

HELPS (Helping Early Literacy with Practice Strategies), is a reading fluency program, part of a larger initiative by READ Charlotte to bring the community focus around a set of programs to improve third grade reading proficiency rates. READ Charlotte estimates that 20-25% of CMS third graders can sound out individual words (phonics), but don’t read fast or accurately enough (fluency) to understand what they are reading.

The Task Force goal, to have 80% of Char-Meck students reading at that level is lofty – its currently only 39%, with Afro-American (22%) and Hispanic boys (18%) lagging significantly. One specific and very relevant fact from the often-quoted Chetty Study, a Harvard/UC Berkeley project, is that students not reading to grade level by fourth grade are almost destined to fall further behind as reading-writing material become more difficult.

Reading fluency is a student’s ability to read with speed, accuracy and proper expression.

The average CMS third grader who received HELPS one-on-one tutoring starting in the Fall of 2018 was a full year behind in oral reading fluency. During the 2018-2019 school year, nearly half the students who received HELPS tutoring exceeded national norms for expected growth in oral reading fluency.

Although extra work moving metric needles more positively wouldn’t be a drastic new revelation, on average, the more HELPS sessions students received the more they improved their reading fluency. Students who had 50-plus HELPS sessions gained the most, closing an average 75% of the gap to end of year benchmarks for 3rd grade reading fluency. According to the literature, that’s the equivalent of growing just over 1.5 grade levels in reading fluency in a single year.

The HELPS program, developed by Professor John Begeny of North Carolina State University, was used by community partners and individual volunteers in Charlotte to tutor those 155 CMS third graders in the 2018-2019 school year. “Only 155” isn’t the way to look at such results, only that more in Year 2,3,4,5 is better. Its attainable, no less genuine a “small step” as walking on the moon seemed from the bottom of a long-ago spaceship’s ladder.

Having considered myself a writer from the very early days, its impossible to consider becoming a content creator, blogger, or professional without the reading skills from early on, especially the vocabulary and comprehension. I’ll bring my talents to Rama Road Elementary this coming year, and if you want to be a part of this necessary program, perhaps taking one small-ish step here makes a giant leap possible soon.

Tommy Hudnall,  Volunteer & Donor Coordinator, www.freedomschoolpartners.org

Office: 704-371-4922     PO Box 37363 Charlotte, NC 28237