The Carolina Panthers have a ritual when they score touchdowns: Instead of keeping the football for themselves, they give it to a lucky kid sitting near the end zone.
The kids get a memento from the game and a memory they'll never forget, and the players get the joy of knowing they've made some kid's day. It's a win-win situation, right?
One Panthers fan wants this habit to stop, not because he has anything against the kids, but because he believes there's a better use for the footballs.
Mike Daisley of Charlotte, N.C., sent a letter to the editor to the Charlotte Observer addressing Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, who is often giving footballs away. He wants Newton and the Panthers to keep the balls used to score touchdowns in the Super Bowl and auction them off for charity.
"One of the things I love most about Cam Newton is the boyish exuberance he displays when he gives a game ball to a young child after the Panthers score a touchdown," Daisley wrote. "And yet, I hope he stops that practice for the Super Bowl.
"After each of his many touchdowns against Denver, I'd like him to hand the ball to someone for safe-keeping so it can be auctioned off online in support of deserving children's charities in the Carolinas."
"That's a great suggestion, and it definitely makes sense, although there is also value in creating a moment of pure joy for these young fans getting the TD balls," Teddy Mitrosilis of FoxSports.com wrote. "Another solution: The kids get the TD balls and other game-worn gear from Newton and the Panthers is auctioned off after Super Bowl 50. Everyone wins."
Shoving off again
The New England Patriots' loss to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game meant an end to the season, but for long snapper Joe Cardona, it meant going right back to work.
After being drafted in the fifth round of last year's NFL Draft, Cardona split time between the Patriots and the U.S. Navy.
"This year was great, being on the field," Cardona told Tim Healey of The Boston Globe. "I obviously have a higher priority than being here. It's different. It's important to me that I'm doing my job on both ends the best I can."
The Navy allowed Cardona to work one day each week at the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, R.I., while playing for the Patriots. For now, he'll go to Norfolk, Va., for more training before reporting to his post aboard the USS Zumwalt in Bath, Maine.
"I have a lot of support at high levels," Cardona said. "So just like this year, working a schedule that everything comes together, I'll be able to make my requirements for each. There's a lot of specifics to work out. Things can always change."
Cardona isn't too worried, though, since he made it work the first time around.
"It's just navigating the waters on both ends," Cardona said. "No pun intended."
Sports quiz
How many players from the U.S. service academies have won the Heisman Trophy?
Answer
Four: Army fullback Doc Blanchard in 1945, Army halfback Glenn Davis in 1946, Army halfback Pete Dawkins in 1958 and Navy quarterback Roger Staubach in 1963.
Sports on 01/29/2016