OK, first things first. I found a much bigger and better cache of TopCats pics from Fan Fest than the ones I took, although I still like mine. You are welcome.
Meanwhile, suspended WR Steve Smith talked to Pro Football Weekly yesterday morning about the fight with CB Ken Lucas, thus keeping alive the tradition of the Panthers turning to out-of-town outlets to break news.
“I lost my cool. It started with words and escalated from there,” Smith told PFW. No kidding.
And that’s about all I need to hear from Smith one the incident. I don’t need a full-on presser to beat (!) this thing into the ground. He did a dumb thing for a dumb reason, been punished — let’s move on. In other words, of all the stories in Charlotte that need more digging around, this ain’t one of them.
Now watch the Uptown paper of record refuse to let it go.
Bonus Observation: Check out Reebok’s excellent timing in rolling out Steve Smith ads with pics of him throwing a punch, hands taped and ready to rock. I bet some will say the company might 
consider pulling the ads, but the added attention looks like bonus money to me.
Another NFL player was punched, this is not the end of the world. No one died. However, a bigger problem for Reebok is that the tagline “Are you as cool as Steve Smith?” sounds positively stupid in light of recent events.
Update: Smith and Lucas both spoke to reporters after the Panthers’ morning practice. Lucas said he had forgiven Smith and Smith said the incident was totally his fault. Sounds like everyone is saying the right thing in order to move on.
