Panthers will beat beloved Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVIII

I didn’t know who Kevin was but I felt sympathetic. Kevin had the audacity to call a WEEI-AM sports talk show in Boston and try to extol the virtues of the Carolina Panthers’ running game featuring Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster.

He was promptly berated by the sharp-tongued Boston announcers who told him there was no way the Panthers were going to be able to run the ball against the staunch Patriot defense in Super Bowl XXXVIII on Sunday.

He was told he was an idiot. But Kevin is going to have the last laugh.

Davis and Foster are an exceptional one-two punch. Davis is a slashing runner with great balance and Foster is a shifty scatback with exceptional speed.

They won’t tear through the Patriot defense but they will at least open up the passing game for Jake Delhomme and receivers Muhsin Muhammad and Steve Smith.

And New England’s defensive catalyst and inspirational leader, linebacker Tedy Bruschi, won’t be 100 percent due to the calf injury he sustained against Indianapolis.

The fact the Patriots scored just one TD in seven trips into the red zone against Indianapolis is also disturbing.

The Pats get ultra-conservative in the red zone, especially when they get inside the 10. They don’t want to lose the automatic field goal.

They figure five field goals is usually going to be enough points for the Patriot defense.

Here’s hoping they try to be more daring without becoming Bledsoemanic.

Bledsoemanic refers to former Patriot QB Drew Bledsoe’s penchant for trying to force balls into crowded end zones, getting them picked off and winding up with no points.

Just for you, Kevin, I’ll pick the Panthers to upset our beloved Pats.

But I should probably explain something else.

I predicted that the Patriots and Red Sox would not make the playoffs this season.

I am on a non-roll. Things happen in threes. I am sincerely hoping my non-roll continues.

Refs must defuse bad situations

In Saturday’s 1-0 Boston University win over Maine, Hockey East referee Tim Benedetto did an exemplary job defusing a volatile situation.

With two seconds left, a multi-player scuffle occurred behind the BU net.

Benedetto gave the participants a 10-minute misconduct and game misconduct, in addition to their minor or double-minor penalties, and sent them to their respective locker rooms.

He didn’t want to just issue the minor penalties and have them emerge from the penalty boxes two seconds later and renew their battle.

This type of approach would have spared an ugly situation between Houlton-Hodgdon and Foxcroft Academy a few weeks ago. A physical but clean game deteriorated in the final two minutes of Houlton-Hodgdon’s 8-3 win. A puck went out of play with 1.7 seconds left.

When the puck was dropped for the faceoff, a scuffle ensued, the final buzzer went off and the Houlton-Hodgdon team came on the ice to celebrate.

Instead, the melee escalated.

The referees, who had called a good game up to that point, never should have dropped the puck for the faceoff. They should have sensed the bad blood between the teams and called the game at that point since the outcome was already decided.

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or by email at lmahoney@bangordailynews.net.