Brownlow's Twitter Mailbag: Panthers vs. Commanders, questions for Jim Phillips and more

We're almost done with these off-season Mailbags, and the reason I know that is because ACC Kickoff is this week! That means the season itself is around the corner. Sort of. Is more than a month "around the corner"? I say yes, but some may disagree.

Anyway, you all have continued bringing the heat with your questions, including what would I ask ACC commish Jim Phillips? Will the PAC-12 end up on Roku? (I laughed, but you are WRONG for that question.) Then I get into some specifically local NFL talk when it comes to breaking down the potential for the Panthers compared to the Commanders this season, and I will rank the next ACC venues I'd most like to visit for the first time.

So let's get straight into your questions, shall we?

For the first part of your question, I will be the first to admit that I do not have the most soccer ... expertise. And while I am likelier to watch the women's World Cup than the men's, I'm not super likely to watch either one until the later matches.

But I will say this: although I know the game against the Netherlands won't be easy, I trust our women more than almost any other U.S. team on the international stage and I just adore watching them play when I actually sit down and do it.

OK, now part 2. And what a timely question, with ACC Kickoff on the way and Jim Phillips sure to face plenty of questions, both about the league's finances and his tenure as AD at Northwestern in light of the hazing scandal happening during his tenure.

I don't like to go too inside baseball when it comes to media stuff, but there's a reason you fans are sometimes frustrated with the questions that get asked versus the ones that don't at press conferences.

It's because you fans aren't the ones that have to have an ongoing relationship with this head coach/player/commissioner/whomever. Not to mention an entire school that controls your media access getting upset at you. It's the media's job to figure out tactful ways to ask the tough questions, and we all do our best.

That being said, I'd like to pretend I am asking this question not at a press conference, but instead at a bar after everyone has had a couple of drinks and I'm able to drop in a "hey, let's all be honest here for a second and this won't leave the table".

I think truth serum is either illegal or made-up, so I'm going to pick the most ethical alternative. I'd ask him the question I'm assuming the athletic directors and presidents across the league are asking him: what are the paths forward for the ACC financially to avoid the enormous revenue disparity about to hit college football that will turn this entire league into have-nots?

Asking that at a press conference would only result in a carefully considered non-answer. And maybe asking in the other setting would result in a less carefully-considered but equally non-answer. But it's the question I want the answer to most of all.

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I'd also like to clarify that while I'd love answers about what went on while he was at Northwestern, I don't think either privately or publicly he'd give me a lot of clarity there.

Hey, don't knock the Roku Channel. I would have been right there with you until my kid has become obsessed with watching videos of people playing video games, and Roku has a ton of those channels to choose from.

PAC-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff twisted himself into a bit of a verbal knot the other day when he said that he didn't want to announce a TV deal at the league's media days because it would take the focus off of football, only to add after a follow-up that you shouldn't "read too much" into that statement and a deal wasn't necessarily done. Likeliest thing here is there is no deal and Kliavkoff was trying to save face because it absolutely WOULD have been announced.

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By all accounts, it would seem the PAC-12's media deal is still shrouded in mystery. No one seems to know who, if any, the bidders are. (There are of course bidders, people. I promise there are. It's just a question of how viable the bids are for the league's already-precarious financial future.)

And it's honestly too bad because the PAC-12 is chock full of storylines this year and is a P5 league that is more watchable to me than, say, the Big Ten. (Sorry; I don't like bad offense and I *love* PAC-12 after dark.)

So will they end up on Roku? No. But will they end up where they want to be, both network-wise and financially? I'm almost certain it will be no to both and if Kliavkoff can pull off something else, I'll be awestruck.

This is one of those questions that are probably only applicable in a place like North Carolina, where the Commanders were a common choice for locals without a team before 1995. Honestly, when the Commanders come to Bank of America Stadium is probably the only time I'm not at least slightly annoyed when visiting fans invade. I know they've lived here for awhile, if not forever. And I know they've been loyal to Washington forever. It's not like rooting for the Commanders has been easy on ANY level in the last few decades. I respect it.

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I usually like to go through every team's schedule to predict wins and losses, but that's when I'm asked about COLLEGE football. I promise you for both the Commanders and the Panthers, there will be at least two wins they had no business getting and two of the same kinds of losses.

Six of each team's games will be against their division, though, and that's over a third. So division matters the most to me, and by virtue of that alone, I think the Panthers will have a far easier time in the NFC South than the Commanders will have in the NFC East. (Some of you know how much it pained me to type that sentence, but it's just true.)

So with the easier division, a quarterback with a higher ceiling in Bryce Young (at least, you'd hope so as a top pick) and a new head coach/revamped offense, I have to give a slight nod to the Panthers.

Don't count out Sam Howell and the Commanders, though. While I think as UNC QBs go Drake Maye has the advantage in NFL talent over Howell, I think Howell might be one of the tougher competitors I've seen play quarterback at UNC, second only to maybe Darian Durant or Marquise Williams. And that's no shade on Maye's competitive fire, as he has a ton of it. But Howell is able to bring something great out of his teammates when he has some greatness around him, and even when he doesn't. Will that be enough to overcome the tough opponents he'll be facing? We shall see.

I decided to break this all the way down. I've been to football and basketball games at six of the 14 ACC schools (Clemson, Duke, UNC, NC State, Virginia and Wake Forest). I have been to either football OR basketball at 11 of the 14 with Boston College, Pitt and Syracuse being the lone exceptions.

I'm not including Notre Dame in this discussion because technically, it's not an ACC venue for football and that's probably my biggest bucket list venue that I haven't been to yet.

If we're going solely on venue, I'd love to go to the Carrier Dome (or whatever it is called now) in Syracuse just for the experience of it all, but I also don't know that I'd be willing to do what it took to get there, if that makes sense. I'd jump through the hoops to get to South Bend for a football game, but Syracuse doesn't move me in the same way. (No offense, Orange nation! Y'all know that I love you.)

I've never been to Pittsburgh for any reason and I've never had a super strong desire to visit since half of y'all just move down here anyway. (I'm kidding! Kind of.) And while I want to visit the CITY of Boston, which I have never done, it's the only reason I'd want to go to BC.

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Here's my top three, game-experience wise:

1. Florida State basketball. I've been to a game at Doak Campbell Stadium, and it was awesome. Tallahassee was a neat city, too. Or at least it was based on the bomb Cuban place I had lunch. But FSU has one of the better home court advantages in the league in hoops, and I'd love to be there in person for when one of the locals visit, particularly Duke or Carolina.

2. Louisville basketball. The KFC Yum! Center is a cool venue that I've only seen from the outside, but obviously, Louisville folks LOVE their hoops like few others. I'd love to experience what that's like, but I'd like to add the caveat that I would only do it when the basketball program is not a tire fire.

3. Miami football. Yes, I'm probably the one person on the planet who is not a participant in the events themselves that has only been to a Miami basketball game and not a football game. I know Miami routinely gets roasted for its home attendance and Hard Rock Stadium has its issues, but it's absolutely the highest-profile ACC football venue I have yet to visit.

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Top three, cities (aka: things to do) considered:

1. Boston College, um, football I guess. Would I plan a trip to Boston AROUND a BC sporting event? I mean, I'm not completely opposed to the idea. I do like the thought of checking all of the ACC cities off of my bucket list someday. But Boston is probably on my top-5 list of cities I'd like to visit that I haven't yet, so yeah.

2. Syracuse basketball. I'm not sure which month of the basketball season I'd be least likely to be trapped in a blizzard, but if I could get that part nailed down, I'd love to go up there. I adore how much Syracuse fans love the place, and I'd be happy to try any and all of the wonderful restaurants they've recommended. (Yes, Dinosaur BBQ.)

3. Georgia Tech basketball. I've already been to a football game in Atlanta, but it's a city I don't get to visit very often and a city where I still feel like I have a lot to explore. When you combine that with me knowing some fantastic Georgia Tech fans in the area, I think I"d never lack things to do.