MillionDollarCam

Why do you keep asking me what options there are? It’s not my job to do what Tepper should have done in the first place and that’s finance his own playground in a location of his choosing. Or at the very least don’t promise Rock Hill a bunch of new jobs and concerts and the NFL Draft when in reality you are building a practice facility with some nice amenities in what is overall a underwhelming city.

Do you continue to go down the same path when it’s full of snakes and poison ivy and poo just because you’ve already been hiking that same path for a few hours? Probably not and neither does Rock Hill… they realized that Tepper’s playground wasn’t going to bring them what was promised.

Or the city realized that half of the promises that Tepper gave them weren’t going to come to fruition? Rock Hill hosting the NFL Draft, get lost with that poo. Tepper promised all these things to Rock Hill and it was all smoke in mirrors. But hey, keep believing in Tepper. Only five more years until Jay Z and the Panthers are competitive again.

I don’t fault him for protecting assets. I fault him for swindling Rock Hill to begin with… I mean did he really convince them that they were going get to host the NFL draft? He conned South Carolina so he wouldn’t have to foot the bill for his new playground and when South Carolina couldn’t afford it he bailed, I get that. But as I mentioned previously, this should have never happened to begin with. The richest owner in the NFL shouldn’t be looking for handouts and help for his real life Madden GM Mode. If Kroenke can foot his bill for his stadium which is nearly six times more expensive than the Rock Hill project, Tepper can foot his. He has no interest in the Carolina’s, he has interest in money.

The project doesn’t seemed to have been thought out very well, if it was there would have been contingencies in place for completing it regardless of if Rock Hill backed out or not. Tepper tried to make a deal with Rock Hill promising them jobs and exposure and all these things when in reality if he wanted his version of Jerry’s world he should have picked the location where he wanted it to be and finance it himself.

You mean filing for bankruptcy to avoid taking the hit on a project that he half assed? If he really cared about the Rock Hill project he’d have found a way to make it work with or without the city. And before some jack wagon fires back that he shouldn’t have to finance the project by himself… 1) He bought the team, so in fact any and all upgrades should fall on him and a plan should have been in place before he started digging random holes in the middle of South Carolina. 2) If Stan Kroenke can afford to privately finance SoFi (one of the most expensive NFL stadiums in history), then I’m sure the supposed “richest” owner in the NFL can afford to build his pleasure palace with his own money.

No wonder Tepper won’t fire Rhule, they are birds of a feather. The sleaziness between the both of them is astounding and it’s clear that they are always looking for shortcuts instead of going about things the right way.

No argument from me there, Bettman sucks.

As for tonight, I think Wright and Scally really helped themselves.

Injuries are definitely a concern, luckily McKennie, Turner, and Aaronson seem to be fine. Hopefully Reyna, Dest, and Richards are healthy come Cup time. It would have been nice to see Mihailovic tonight but he got hurt earlier in the week. And obviously the big one is Miles Robinson who I don’t think has a snowballs chance in hell at being ready. I believe Terrell Suggs has the quickest return from an achilles tear in NFL history at 5 months and Wesley Matthews has the quickest return from an achilles tear in NBA history at 7.5 months. Robinson would need to return at 6 months which I just don’t see happening.

Coming back to eat my crow, apparently the Rangers are good.

Good win for the Yanks tonight.

Not sure if there are any fans of the USMNT and international soccer in general on here; but the U.S. is currently playing a friendly against Morocco in one of their few tune up matches before the World Cup begins in November. Overall, the team is playing decent and though the game has been pretty even, the U.S. has capitalized on their scoring chances. At the half, the USMNT leads Morocco 2-0. Berhalter went with a 4-3-3 GK - Matt Turner LB - Antonee Robinson LCB - Aaron Long RCB - Walker Zimmerman RB - Reggie Cannon LM - Yunus Musah CM - Tyler Adams RM - Brenden Aaronson LW - Christian Pulisic ST - Jesus Ferreira RW - Timothy Weah The bench consists of Weston McKennie, Paul Arriola, DeAndre Yedlin, Luca de la Torre, George Bello, Cristian Roldon, Erik Palmer-Brown, and Sean Johnson. There are also some really interesting guys on the bench today that I hope to see: Joe Scally, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Haji Wright, and Malik Tillman.

Staal has been great for us and it’s been a privilege watching him play over the last decade. With that said, it’ll be time to move on after next year. One player that will be an unrestricted free agent when Staal’s contract is up is Dylan Larkin and I absolutely love Larkin and think he’d be great in Rod’s system. I could get onboard with Aho, Larkin, Kotkaniemi, and Drury down the middle.

Summary of The Athletic’s article from a poster on Reddit… what a clusterfug. Highly encourage reading the whole article, because it brings into clear focus how incompetent Krneta is, but I’ll share a few key quotes: “Multiple sources told The Athletic on Tuesday that Ramirez wasn’t fired for results, which have been acceptable by any reasonable measure, but for his management style and inability to mesh with Krneta.” “Sources said that a group of Charlotte players had issues with what they considered to be an abrasive, stubborn demeanor from Ramirez, with The Athletic’s John Hayes reporting on Tuesday that one of the club’s designated players let it be known that he would refuse to play for the club after they returned from the ongoing international break if Ramirez remained head coach. Multiple sources elaborated on that account, saying that the player in question was Polish striker Karol Swiderski, and that he delivered his message to Krneta.” “Other Charlotte players, they said, were in Ramirez’s corner, with several going to his residence on Tuesday to speak with him following the announcement.” “Regardless of whether they liked or disliked Ramirez, the sources said many Charlotte players understood that there was tension between him and Krneta.” “Others pointed out that Charlotte failed to hit the goals that had been outlined to Ramirez during the interview process. The club still has not announced a plan for a training facility; the team continues to train at the practice fields of the Carolina Panthers, which, like Charlotte FC, are owned by David Tepper. One source said that Ramirez was also made to expect big-name, big-money signings that, apart from Swiderski, have not yet come to pass.” “There is also a perception from sources at other MLS clubs that Ramirez was doing an excellent job with what he was given. That likely contributed to Ramirez’s surprise at Tuesday’s move, which was delivered by Krneta in a swift meeting, said multiple sources familiar with the situation. Those sources also suggested that prior to that discussion, Ramirez had not had any conversations with the front office about his performance. Krneta told reporters that the decision to fire Ramirez was unrelated to Charlotte’s 2-1 loss to Seattle on Sunday. The players were also surprised by the decision, according to sources.” “Multiple sources confirmed a report that Krneta had directed the players to not comment about Ramirez’s dismissal or offer the coach support on social media. This was a demand that wasn’t well received by some of the players, and one that underscores Krneta’s own approach to governance at the club.” “But the fact that personality conflicts were the main cause for the dismissal raises questions. If the club wasn’t up for his attitude or if the organization thought he would clash with the players they were targeting, then he probably shouldn’t have been hired in the first place. He’s a young coach, but this wasn’t Ramirez’s first job. There was a book out on what he was like as a manager before he came to MLS. It was on the club to ensure that his style and preferences matched what they were trying to build.”

USA takes on Morocco tonight in a friendly, we are closing in on the World Cup.

I for one loved how honest MAR was and his quotes were hilarious. A nice change of pace from Rhule.

I think Necas is a case of a player just not fitting the system. He’s a lot like Elias Lindholm in my opinion in that he’s a good skater who likes to get up and down the ice. Ideally, you’d play him with two other forwards who are good skaters (Aho and Jarvis) but even then, I’m just not sure if he can play a strong forechecking game. If we can acquire a top four defenseman for him without adding to much (i.e. Drury, Morrow, or Kochetkov) then I’d go ahead and make the trade. I’d only sign Necas to a bridge contract (2x$4.25M) and even then if he doesn’t bounce back next year then he holds no value whatsoever which makes it really tough to keep him this year as you want to at least get something out of him.

This 100%. Nino is a Rod guy and I think eventually he and Drury could form a hell of a third line with some other winger in a couple of years. I like Trocheck but he’s getting older and I don’t think there is room to keep him for what he provides. As far as Necas, he either takes a bridge or you trade his rights. Worst case, someone offer sheets him and you get compensated. A mistake would be giving him a 5x$5M.

So Swiderski got MAR sacked… if he doesn’t impress when he gets back from Poland then I’m going to be pissed… this isn’t the EPL for fug sake… MLS players should have no control over the front office moves.

Have to buy AHL TV.

Kochetkov is headed back to Chicago to help the Wolves win the Calder Cup.

Now it will definitely take more… it would have to be Necas, Raanta (for cap reasons), a first round pick, a second round pick, and probably B+ prospect (Suzuki, Rees, or Koivunen).

Forwards are definitely a concern but I think the Canes made their bed when they elected to give Kotkaniemi an eight year extension. He’s getting paid like a good 3C which he probably will be, but because of additional needs, he might need to play 2C next year. An elite goal scorer is a need for this team so Gaudreau or Forsberg should be on our short list but if we add them and then resign Nino to a team friendly discount ($5.25) and then sign TDA to a team friendly discount ($4.5M) then we’ve exhausted all our cap depending on what we do with Necas.

Well RBA isn’t going to come out and grill his own players, he’s not that type of coach and never has been. Bear could hardly crack the lineup during the regular season and didn’t even sniff the lineup during the playoffs. Using Lorentz as an example just furthers my point, he played him when he had to… he never had to play Bear and he still doesn’t as we can upgrade that position. Cole was horrible and Smith was meh and yet Bear still couldn’t get a shot. Bear’s QO would be $2.5M and I can damn well guarantee you that the Canes won’t pay that in the current situation they are in regarding the cap. Chatfield showed that he’s ready and can play in the league so he should be up next year and at the very least Keane can serve an extra. However, you don’t want to set Chatfield up to fail by pairing him with a poor line mate. It’s time to upgrade the defense again with a top four defenseman. Slavin - Pesce ??? - TDA Skjei - Chatfield Personally I think we should have traded Necas for Chychrun during the season and I definitely think we need to revisit now.