Author Andrew Lail

Here We Go Again Hornets Fans

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Depending on how long you’ve been a Charlotte Hornets fan, you may be thinking to yourself, “Here we go again.” We are in the midst of another losing season, the injury bug is sharing the love with the entire team, and we have new ownership, and a new head of basketball operations. Let me give you a rundown of where we were, where we are, and what I think is where we’re going.

It’s tough. I’m not going to lie about it. I’ve been a fan since the original existence of the team. When we started, we were not good (I’m talking about Hornets 1.0). We still were setting attendance records though. The teal and purple became an iconic colorway, and Hornets gear started outselling the Chicago Bulls at one point. The team got better over time, and we saw some playoff appearances. The arena was always loud and packed, and the fans absolutely loved the team. Ownership greed started overshadowing the team and with requests that were not going to gain local support, they moved the team to New Orleans. I actually stopped watching the NBA because my beloved bugs were not in my state anymore. That was a gut punch for the NBA in North Carolina. Then we were blessed with another team, the Charlotte Bobcats.

That Bobcats era showed me exactly where my loyalty lies. I was so happy to have an NBA team in Charlotte again. The problem was that it was different. Finding games on TV was impossible. Going to games, the atmosphere was not the same. It was not the Hornets 1.0 and I was sad but still a fan. I even went to a home game where the Bobcats were playing the Houston Rockets. The Rockets team that had Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady what who we were facing. I had upper deck seats that I had won through Sprite. It was so quiet that from the upper deck, you could hear the players and coaches talking on the bench. Not the experience I remembered from my childhood. At any rate, the Bobcats era was a rough one and to date, we have not seemed to shed that persona that we aren’t the Hornets. We still get “Bobcats” respect, which is very little at all. We have the Hornets name and records back, but the passion has not been there. Writing game recaps for a 7-win team wasn’t easy, but here I still am, cheering these guys on, hoping for a better day.

Fans, take a deep breath. I believe deep down in my heart that this franchise is about to make a turn for the better. We have 2 new owners in Gabe Plotkin and Rich Schnall that are visibly present and active. In their short time as owners here, we have seen solid moves to get the correct personnel in place. The trade deadline moves to free up salaries, to bring in vet presences to help the youth we have on the team, and hiring Jeff Peterson as the new head of basketball are all solid moves.

The owners are active with the fans at the game. That one is huge for me because when I started Trade Street Post with the arrival of the Bobcats, it was to be a fan voice. I had my opinions, but I also listened to fans and shared their thoughts and opinions in what I would write. I saw my site as the spot to bridge the gap between the organization and the fans. I was being invited to Media Day, to “new concessions tastings” and I really felt like I was going to be able to bridge the gap between the organization and the fans. GM Rich Cho was always super supportive of that, and even had luncheons with the blog sites and talked to us like we were part of the family. Family is the right word because we all felt close, and we defended the team and its platers like family. Somewhere along the post-Cho era, some the team decisions started getting worse, the connection to the team got weaker, and the organization pulled the shades down on being open to the blog sites and the fans. Jordan was visible less and less, and we eventually wound up where we are now.

I believe Gabe, Rich, and Jeff know what direction this team needs to go in. I believe that they are the open owners that will continue to talk to fans, who will make the tough moves to make the team better and will be determined to bring a winning team with perennial playoffs being in their DNA. We have talent with the group we have now. Injuries have not been nice. If you watch the vets we picked up at the trade deadline, they are in the rookies’ ears. They are pointing out stuff to them that is happening on the fly while sitting on the bench during games. They are making the youth we have more mature and increasing their basketball IQs much more rapidly than it was in the first half of the season. Are we going to win a championship this season? No. Next season? Probably not. We have to just be patient. Have faith in the organization. Mark Williams is the center we needed and have needed for a long time. Once his back has healed, Melo’s ankle is healed, Bridges is signed to an extension, Miller keeps growing as a superstar, and we get another solid rookie in the next draft, you are going to see something special in Charlotte. Just have faith Hornets fans. Our Day Will Come.

NASCAR at Daytona, and in General: Stop Killing the Sport

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By D.A. Lail, edited by Andrew Lail

Everyone has their own opinions about racing at Daytona. Some love it and some hate it. With this playoff format that is in place, I’m starting to be one of the ones that hate it.

I’m starting to agree it’s a damn miracle no one gets killed. The playoffs format that NASCAR has in place basically only rewards wins. The result that comes from that is that everyone not in the playoffs drives like a maniac to win to make playoffs. This results in drivers having no regard for who they are racing.

I think this the case because after years of drivers talking big and bad saying “I’m gonna get their ass come next weekend”, then not doing anything the following week has given drivers a sense of security. They think, “I’ll drive though him to get this win because he won’t really get me back.” Then, If they actually do get them back and wreck them, NASCAR calls you to the hauler and throws you under the bus for getting revenge. This prompts drivers to stop getting payback, which then prompts drivers to think I’ll drive though him and NASCAR will protect me.

Prime example would be Ross Chastain. No one is going to do anything to get him back because he’s caused so many wrecks, it would be obvious if they retaliated against him. Larson knew that in racing teammates, he knows Chase can’t flat out wreck him because that will piss off Rick Hendrick, their team owner, and make everything worse. He can say he is sorry and will do the same thing the next week.

So how does this get fixed? No more “stages”. No more “overtime”. No more playoffs.

Dominant teams with skilled drivers will win races. They will also be consistent. Drivers and teams will be rewarded for being consistent and will be in the hunt at the end of the year. Basically, do what worked for 70+ years. Also, make the NASCAR rule book public. If you need guidance on this NASCAR, please see Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Richard Petty, and Carl Edwards.

You want the sport to grow? Stop trying to neutralize the field so “everyone can be a winner”.

How to Fix “The Clash” – An Open Letter to Dale Earnhardt Jr.

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Dear Junior,

My son and I were talking about the Clash at the LA Coliseum, and what a shame it was to have them do all the work to the stadium to make a track, only to tear it back up.

From that discussion, I had an idea for the future that my son thought was great, and honestly, so have several others that I’ve shared it with. My son listens to your podcast, watches your Lost Speedways documentary, and he said that if there was 1 person that would listen and possibly champion the idea, it would be you.

So here goes…

This past year, the Busch Clash was at the LA Stadium. This entailed building a speedway, only to tear it all back up. All that work and effort to make a raceway, only to destroy it after it was over. This is where my idea comes into play. On your Lost Speedways, you show the world tracks that have been abandoned and grown over. It’s sad to see. Along with those abandoned tracks, there are also countless small town tracks all over the map where Saturday Night racing is the norm. The NASCAR fan base has been dwindling over the years, and I think I have a way to revitalize it. What if each year, a “local track” was picked to be “revitalized” and refreshed, and then the Bush Clash would be held at that track. When it is over, that revitalized track remains, building more interest in the sport in that area, and nicer facilities remain to help fan that passion for the sport. Profits made from the previous Busch Clash can be invested in the next “local track”, creating another revitalized track, renewed interest in the sport in that area, and new fans.

The Clash itself would bring business to these small towns as well as helping to show the world the sport as well as its origin. For example, we live in Hickory, NC. Hickory Speedway was the birthplace of many NASCAR drivers/legends.

If the proceeds from LA was invested in Hickory, then folks could learn about that track and its history, the venue could get an upgrade while building interest that some folks new to the Hickory area, and inject some business live back into the area. After the “facelift”, some of the profits from the race that the track makes, could go to another track in need of an upgrade. Perhaps North Wilkesboro, then ?…

There’s basically no waste as was in LA, sparks interest in the sport, helps the communities, inspires young drivers to chase their dreams, and it’s a win for EVERYONE involved.

By the way, my son that I was discussing this with is 14…will be 15 in October, and he insisted that I share this with you.

The 2022-2023 Charlotte Hornets Head Coach is…

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Hello Hornets fans. It’s been way too long since I last wrote anything about our beloved Charlotte Hornets, so I think now is as good of time as any to return to the fold of writing about the team that I love and cheer for, no matter what happens. A special thank you to Bring Back the Buzz/The Crown Club, for giving me an outlet to start back writing again.

Since last we talked a lot has happened.  Coach JB increased our wins by 10 each season, getting us to 43 this year and being fired…

I really liked the guy and his track record with our youth was astounding. Combined with Mitch Kupchak, our team has amassed a lot of young talent and developed them beyond what many could have imagined. Best examples of this include the Martin twins and Devonte Graham. Granted Graham and Caleb are no longer with the team, we saw them improve their game and become attractive players that other teams wanted. Caleb has done a great job for the Heat and Devonte did a good job with the Pelicans.  Cody has done a great job with our Hornets as well, becoming a go to defenseman that we could count on to do the dirty work on the floor with great results. In addition to those guys, our primary guys like Miles Bridges, Lamelo Ball, PJ Washington, and even Jalen McDaniels took good steps in improving their game as well, resulting in Ball being an All-Star and Miles being right there in the mix as an all star and certainly a team leader. As for the firing itself, I am somewhat nervous. We have Kai Jones and James Bouknight that I really wanted to see what development would happen with them this summer, but with JB gone, I guess it’s on to the next man, whomever that may be. Basically Borrego’s team got blown out on the national stage, again, in the play-in, and that’s something that Michael Jordan, in my opinion, could not handle a second time. On paper, I fully believed that the play-in was going to be a hard fought game that the end result would have seen us in the playoffs.  Instead, we got embarrassed again, looking like a team that had never played together before. The scapegoat could only be Borrego.  As for who replaces him, that’s the next issue to cover.

With rumors of Mitch pondering retirement, one has to be rather concerned about who could replace him as well as what coach comes in and takes the reins. Do we believe he has pulled in enough talent and we can now just focus on what we have? I don’t think so. Mitch, please stay with us. We need you to find us a few more diamonds in the rough, and solid coach, and a few really good and positive trades. If you need help, give me a call and I’ll help out, though I don’t know how exactly I could help and keep you from retiring…but please don’t retire just yet.

I believe that we are past the point of grabbing an “assistant coach” who is really good at one thing and deserves a shot.  I believe we are at a point that we need an experienced head coach that can take the reigns, get the attention of the locker room and get them to buy into what needs to happen next.  Who will that be? The team is built to run, and with our youth, we can do just that.  In running, however, there has to be defense to get stops, otherwise it’s a game of trading baskets and the highest score wins.  We need stops and defense in the worst way.  We need a balanced coach with forward thinking ideas, who knows how to steer a team like this and motivate them, and get better results than “10 more wins”. Who would that coach be? I’ve seen rumors of Quinn Snyder and Frank Vogel. Do I think they are the guy? I really don’t know.  I know that we are an attractive young team to come and coach, but the results this coach will need to produce will be very high.  While it was said that the team had progressed ahead of schedule, they still aren’t in the playoffs, so, in my opinion, whoever the next coach is, they better have us in the playoffs, not the play-in, and we better be winning games in those playoffs. If we aren’t, well, they won’t be here a 2nd year.

Yes, I believe MJ has expectations that are very high.  Do I think JB needed to go? Honestly, I really don’t know. He did what he was best at and these guys have figured out what their talents are.  Now we need a guy at the helm that is seasoned. We need one that can get us into the playoffs and win.  Do I think they know who that is? Not really.  We aren’t the only team that will be shopping for a coach, but I do hope that we have someone in mind that is of quality and can continue to push us up out of the NBA gutter and gain us some respect. We are not a bad team, but we do not get ANY respect from the league, and by extension, neither do our players.  It’s truly a shame.

Do we need a 1-2 punch type coaching staff where experience and youth meet? Perhaps Alvin Gentry and Sam Cassell? What about Terry Stotts and Steve Clifford? Stan Van Gundy? Mike D’Antoni and an assistant coach that is a defensive specialist? Maybe our best bet is Darvin Ham who hasn’t been a head coach, but is one of the top assistants in the league. That carries a good bit of weight towards giving him the reigns as well.

I truly do not know where we will go with this. I’d love to hear feedback from everyone though. The one thing we can all agree on is that this coach has to be “The One”. If he’s not, ho-hum Hornets will remain…ho-hum.