Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers have signed defensive end Everette Brown, the club's second-round pick in the 2009 Draft. In just three seasons at Florida State, Brown ranked fifth on the school's all-time list in sacks (23) and second in tackles for losses (46 1/2). The 43rd overall selection -- Carolina's first pick of the draft -- was runner-up for ACC Player of the Year in 2008, when he recorded 13 1/2 sacks and 21 1/2 tackles for a loss.

Approximately 7,000 tickets for each of the ten home games (eight regular season, two exhibition) are reserved for single game tickets. Prices range from $51 to $90 per ticket, and fans may purchase up to four games with a four-ticket limit per game. The website describes Panthers Search as, "An online portal dedicated to helping you earn digital dollars called "Swag Bucks", which can be redeemed for exclusive Panthers merchandise."

As I was looking around the Carolina Panthers website the other day, I noticed a banner on the screen touting a new feature of their site called Panthers Search. What this is is a way to earn what are called "Swag Bucks" that you can redeem for merchandise online. The prizes range from MP3 downloads all the way to a giant Star Wars action figure set, with plenty of trading cards and autographed memorabilia thrown in. If these things don't interest you, you can trade in your swag bucks for sweepstakes entries.

Observe and Report

Warner Home Video will counter Paul Blart: Mall Copy and release the Seth Rogen comedy Observe and Report on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on September 22. Co-starring with Rogen are Anna Faris, Michael Peña, Celia Weston, Collette Wolfe and Ray Liotta. Ironically (or not), Observe and Report's announcement comes the same day Judd Apatow's Funny People, co-starring Rogen, arrives in theaters. Earlier rumors had Observe and Report scheduled for a July release, not announcement.

On Blu-ray, Observe and Report will be presented in 2.35:1 1080p video and 5.1 Dolby TrueHD audio. Observe and Report on Blu-ray will retail for $35.99. I will pass along Amazon.com pre-order information when available. If it's announced that there will be special features on perhaps a "special edition" DVD version of the film, I will certainly keep you updated.

Warner Home Video has made a few DVD release announcements over the last few days. Leading off these announcements is the dark comedy, Observe and Report starring Seth Rogen. This film will hit shelves on DVD and Blu-ray on September 22. It appears that there actually won't be any special features on the DVD version of the film, but on the Blu-ray there will be a picture in picture commentary track, a few featurettes, and a gag-reel.

Mcmackin Slur

Hawaii football coach Greg McMackin must feel like a victim of the old bait-and-switch routine. On Thursday, he apologized for describing one of Notre Dame's traditions with a gay slur during the Western Athletic Conference media preview. He then dropped the slur a couple of more times as he winked at the media, asking them not to publicize his comment, even though in repeating it multiple times he made it obvious he really didn't have a problem tossing the word around.

In his apology, he said he didn't mean any harm, but that he was just trying to be funny, "and it wasn't funny and it's not funny. Even more, it isn't funny to me." What a bunch of crap. Of course he thought it was funny. You can hear him enjoying his own joke on the audio track. But, more tellingly, you can hear the outburst of laughter from some of the media members in the room each time he drops the slur.

McMackin said it was a wrong choice of words, but that's not really genuine either. It was the right choice of words for the audience he was trying to connect with. He might be a second-year head coach at Hawaii, but the man has been coaching football -- college and pro -- for 40 years. He not only has an understanding of the game and the mentality of the players; he has an understanding of the people who cover the sport as well.