According to Panthers spokesman Charlie Dayton, HBO has not contacted the team about appearing on Hard Knocks.

In addition, a team official said it would be “highly unlikely” the organization would agree to let the network document their training camp.

Kalil started the rumors last week after sending out the following tweet: “Reliable source telling me possible reality sports doc TV series coming to NC after today’s media presence covering Panther POTA’s.”

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Last week, Serbian hooligans forced the cancellation of a soccer match between their countrymates and Italy. Seventeen people were detained by authorities. Serbian president Boris Tadic blamed organized crime and anti-gay groups for giving orders.

“Not for a moment should we forget that organized crime uses extremist fan groups to destabilize the state, which sends mafia bosses into prison. In this fight, Serbia will prevail,” he said.

Slate’s Brian Phillips takes stock of the whole situation, noting that Italian officials should have seen this coming.

“Earlier in the day, ultra-nationalist Serbs had fought with Italian police in the streets and attacked their own team bus, yet the same group was able to enter the stadium with unconfiscated knives, clubs, and explosives,” he writes.

Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Phillips’ take revolves around the resurgence of the historical ties between right-wing radicals and soccer hooliganism. (He smartly points to Bill Buford‘s seminal and awesome book, Among The Thugs, as the best guide for the heyday 30 years ago.) The nationalists were acting on instructions from higher up, “it’s not clear that the rioters themselves all had the same objective or that they even knew what their objective was.”

Hence, the disorganized, chaotic riots that managed to do nothing other than piss the rest of the world off and stop a game.

Sweden, on the other hand, has a very different hooligan problem. continued…

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Of the three former players on the announcing crew, two (John Smoltz and Ron Darling) have the Philadelphia Phillies winning the World Series.

“I think that Philadelphia is going to make it through,” Darling said. “I sense that Minnesota or Texas is going to get through this year. The Yankees and Rays have great front-line pitching and question marks after that. I think they are more vulnerable this year so Minnesota or Texas can get through but whoever plays Philadelphia is going to lose.”

Cal Ripken, staying true to his American League roots, predicted Tampa Bay over the Phillies.

“I’ll take the same two teams (as Smoltz) but reverse it … Tampa over Philadelphia,” Ripken said.

Below are the television and ESPN radio announcers for the division series: continued…

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