NFL

The Carolina Panthers are preparing to head to the frozen north this weekend to face the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. The Panthers haven’t won a game since early October, but find themselves in an unusual position for their record: They still control their own playoff destiny.

Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy will not play again until his domestic violence case is resolved. The Panthers announced Wednesday that the team, the NFL and Hardy agreed he should take a voluntary leave with pay. In July, a judge found Hardy guilty of two misdemeanor counts of domestic violence. Hardy appealed and is waiting on a jury trial.    

A domestic violence complaint against Carolina Panthers star defensive end Greg Hardy characterizes him as a man in rage in an incident that led to him being arrested on misdemeanor charges of assault and communicating threats. But 911 tapes released by CMPD give conflicting accounts.

NASCAR, the NFL and other pro sports are combining high-tech data analytics with old-school public relations. They've built what are basically tech command centers where employees engage with fans and monitor trends on social media. The centers have been popping up over the past five years or so, and one of the newest ones is in Charlotte.

Panthers veteran offensive tackle Jordan Gross has decided to retire after 11 seasons, the team confirmed Tuesday.

Cam Newton ran the whole game, so the Panthers’ quarterback wasn’t about to stop Sunday after the Panthers clinched their first division title in five years.

After finishing a TV interview minutes after the 21-20 win against the Atlanta Falcons, Newton ran along the wall of the Georgia Dome, slapping hands with some of the thousands of Panthers’ fans who made the drive down Interstate 85.

Newton worked his way to the visitors locker room, where he was greeted by the blaring notes of “I’m a King” by T.I. and by teammates wearing black “division champions” hats.

Nationally, the Panthers aren'’t one of the NFL'’s most popular teams. In fact, try 4th least popular, according to an ESPN Sports Poll taken last year--not too surprising, considering the team is only heading into its 18th season of existence.

The Carolina Panthers, who are seeking more than $200 million in public funds for stadium renovations, said Thursday the team made $66.5 million during the 2010 and 2011 seasons, after an audit of the team was published by the website Deadspin.

  While the Carolina Panthers are in talks to upgrade their stadium, they also need to figure out who will play in it next season. The team is more than $10 million over next year’s league-wide salary cap. That means dropping expensive players and reworking contracts to get below the cap by March 12.

The Charlotte City Council met Monday night behind closed doors with Panthers president Danny Morrison and owner Jerry Richardson. The team is seeking public support for renovation of their 16-year-old stadium. But, Panthers officials won’t talk about it, the mayor won’t talk about it, and (only) a limited number of staff have been let in on it.