Chris Jordan Thursday's winners ... 200♦ CALIFORNIA GODLEN BEARS - Not too worried about this long trek across the country, not when the Bears are a real threat in the Pac 10, and not when they're coming into the season with a wealth of talent and slew of experience. Tonight you'll see that on national television, while you'll also see the trouble Jimmy Boeheim is going to have this season, in getting his troops going during non-conference play.
Sure, the Orangemen are 2-0. But they beat up on Albany, 75-43, and Robert Morris, 100-60. Not exactly the competition Boeheim's young guns will see tonight. And since they've been idle since the past eight days, this could get out of hand early.
I'll say this about this year's version of the Golden Bears, if they were a team from Southern California there's a good chance the coaches would have picked it unanimously to win the league title. But the Bears are from Berkeley, and not since Jason Kidd starred inside Haas Pavilion have the Bears received the respect they deserve this season.
Four starters back, a solid bench, more than 90 percent of last year's scoring back and all-conference candidates ... Cal is my choice as the team to beat in the Pacific 10. And without the matched production, experience or backcourt skill, the Orangemen are going to suffer tonight.
100♦ CAROLINA PANTHERS - Call this a must-win for both teams, an elimination game if you will, and at this point I trust the Panthers more than I do a team that just lost to the Buccaneers a couple weeks back. The Dolphins will be without the master of the wildcat, Ronnie Brown, who is gone for the season because of a foot injury. Carolina has a much better chance to balance things out on offense, as quarterback Jake Delhomme has improved tremendously since the start of the season, when he looked like a quarterback who needed his receivers to wear jerseys that read "I'm on your team Jake!" Tonight I expect him to pick apart Miami's rookie cornerbacks, Vontae Davis and Sean Smith, to open up the Dolphins' defense. And when the Panthers turn to the ground game, they'll have the third-ranked rushing offense in the NFL rolling through the trenches. This is going to be simple, as the Panthers get his done.
♦♦♦NOTE - If the Panthers line climbs to 3-1/2, be sure to buy the hook down to a field goal and lay only -3 points. If your bookmaker has a -3 on the game, feel free to go down to 2-1/2 - that's exactly what I did. I think the Panthers win this by at least a touchdown, but better to be safe!
Chris Jordan 11/19
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Going down hard
