Ric Flair and Panthers and Bulls, oh my!

I triple-booked my Thursday night and lived to tell about it.

I started off my evening at the taping of "SportsNight" (Time Warner Cable Channel 18) at Woods on South.

The featured guests for the evening: Ken Walter, a Checkers player, Steve Beuerlein, Ric Flair and Skipper Beck.

Ric Flair (I've never heard the word "woo" so many times in one night. And that's counting my college days) was a lot shorter than I imagined him. But yes, his skin really is that tan and his hair really is that blond. He graciously posed for pictures and autographs with fans throughout the night.



I also ran into some of the now infamous Charlotte Roller Girls just a few days after their first bout of the season. They go by Big Sexy and Sybil Action (below middle and left) and "SportsNight" is hoping to get the ladies and some of their fellow roller girls out for the next taping in March. Big Sexy and Sybil were very sweet in person, but I have no doubt they would crush me in a second out on that roller rink.



My next stop was the season-ending blue-tie party for Panthers tailgating club SBGTMS (Super Bowl Goes Through Morehead Street) at Loft 1523. Okay, so the Panthers didn't get anywhere NEAR the Super Bowl, but it didn't matter to these guys who are all about getting people together for a good time. The club -- in its third year -- has about 130 members, up from single digits in its first year. You might recognize their T-shirts with the paws on the sleeves signifying how many years each person has been a member. The guys who formed the group were so enthusiastic and such unabashed fans of the Panthers, I'm thinking about becoming a member next season. Also spotted at the party: the legendary Catman looking almost unrecognizable without his trademark blue wig and black cape.







My last stop for the night: the mechanical bull at Bar Charlotte (Disclaimer: It's for an upcoming piece the Observer is doing about the rodeo coming to town). Next week, you'll be able to see video of me lasting about 1.5 seconds before biting it onto the air mattress. Truly humiliating, but fun.

This weekend, I'll be hoping to catch a glimpse of Michael Imperioli at The Sopranos party Friday at Forum, and on Saturday, I'll be participating in my first Box Car Bar Crawl on the Lynx train. Hope to see you all out.