Owner Jerry Richardson shared the following story on Tuesday at a luncheon at the Charlotte Conventention Center, where he was honored with a "Jerry Award" from the Charlotte Regional Partnership. Here goes:

   Saying last season "didn't exactly leave me with a warm, wonderful feeling,"  Richardson set out to change the team's karma. Last weekend, he invited five of the team's star players - Jake Delhomme, Steve Smith, Julius Peppers, DeShaun Foster and Jordan Gross -- over to his stately home for what he described as a little "bonding experience."

   The players were a little surprised when Richardson put everyone's name - including his own - into a hat and drew names, splitting the group up into two teams. One team consisted of Foster, Peppers and Gross; the other Smith, Delhomme and Richardson.

   They went on to compete if four events - three-man tennis, basketball, water skiing and eight ball pool.

   Peppers' team won the basketball game 11-9, despite a late rule put in by Richardson.

   "I figured if I'm 40 years older than you then I get to hold (your arms) and not let go," said Richardson.

   It didn't seem to matter.

   "Julius threw me around like a rag doll," Richardson said. "Then I decided, well, I'm not going to mess with Julius for awhile and I would (cover) Jordan Gross. And he dragged me around and ran around like I wasn't even on the court."

   As for the tennis, which lasted about 45 minutes, Richardson said, "If you've ever seen three guys on a side playing tennis, especially guys this size, it's an interesting sight."

   Richardson isn't sure if the bonding experience worked or not.

   But he's sure of one thing -- it won't become a weekly event. By the time the competition was over, he was feeling every bit of 70 years old.

   "I hurt from my jaws to the tip of my toes," he said. "My knees hurt. My shins hurt. My hips hurt. I hurt all over."

   Said his son Jon Richardson, "He needed a masseuse afterward."