With the end of the last Bobcats game and the beginning of the playoffs every Bobcat fan was waiting with bated breath to see what the next move was. We were all anxious and demanding some form of change after a hugely disappointing but not hugely surprising season. We wanted change, we demanded change, and we got it!

We got our first response from the Bobcats May 21st when over a hundred people filed into Time Warner Cable Arena for the draft lottery party and right before the lottery was to start Michael Jordan held one of his very rare public press conferences. The arena fell silent as we waited for Jordan to speak. He then tells the crowd through the jumbotron as applause and cheers erupted that “this afternoon, we have just submitted our application to the Board of Governors for a name change to the “Charlotte Hornets” starting the 2014-15 season”.

VIDEO OF ANNOUNCEMENT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qecv8zkfsxE

Bobcat Staff immediately runs around the arena handing out pamphlets that ironically say “Back The Buzz ” as the light boards around the ceiling flash in purple to the same familiar phrase. a mob forms in the lobby as people crash to the front of the line desperately hoping they get one of the new “Back The Buzz” shirts. It was one hell of a party out there 🙂

FYI: on THE DAY of the announcement the Bobcats sold over a MILLION dollars worth of season tickets which is more than they did ALL last off season.

Soon after that the rumors of coaches started to flood in. Who were we going to get? Any Bobcat fan can tell you that along with the first round picks our coaching picks have not really panned out properly. We have had 6 head coaches since the 2007 season. The Bobcats made another great announcement, our new head would be Steve Clifford!

Steve has been an assistant coach around the league and has vast amounts of experience having just recently been an assistant coach for the LA Lakers and having been assistant coach under Stan Van Gundy in not just Orlando but in Houston and New York as well. His staff is not too shabby either. If you don’t know who Patrick Ewing is…..well I don’t feel like typing all day so just “Google” him. As for the rest, here is a review of each coaches resume that has been widely circulating the web.

(RtoL: Patrick Ewing, Bob Beyer, Stephen Silas, Bob Weiss and Mark Price)

Beyer

, who spent the 2012-13 season as an assistant with the Warriors, brings 27 years of coaching experience at the NBA and college levels. Along with the Warriors and Magic, he also spent two years with the Raptors, serving as an assistant coach in 2003-04 and an advance scout in 2004-05. Beyer spent three years as head coach at Siena College from 1994-97. His college career also includes assistant coaching stints at Albany (1985-89), Siena (1989-93), Wisconsin (1993-94), Northwestern (1997-2000), Texas Tech (2001-03) and Dayton (2005-07).

Silas

remains with the Bobcats, having spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach for the team. His 12 years of coaching experience also includes three seasons with the Hornets (2000-03), two seasons with the Cavaliers (2003-05) and four and a half seasons with the Warriors (2006-10). Silas also served as an advance and college scout for the Hornets in 1999-2000 and an advance scout for the Wizards in 2005-06. When he was hired as an assistant coach with the Hornets in 2000, he was the youngest assistant in the NBA at the age of 27.

Weiss

has spent 29 of his 32 years as a coach in the NBA, including seven seasons as a head coach for the Spurs (1986-88), Hawks (1990-93), Clippers (1993-94) and SuperSonics (2005-06). His tenure as an assistant coach includes stops with the Clippers (1977-80), Mavericks (1980-86), Magic (1989-90), SuperSonics (1994-2005) and Hawks (2012-13). Weiss was also the first former NBA head coach to be a head coach in China, leading the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons from 2008-10 and the Shandong Lions in 2010-11. The 22nd overall pick in the 1965 NBA Draft, Weiss played in the NBA for 12 seasons, averaging 7.6 points and 3.7 assists in 783 career games and winning the 1967 NBA Championship with the 76ers.

One of the greatest shooters in NBA history, Price has previously served as a player development coach for the Magic in 2011-12, a shooting coach with the Warriors in 2010-11 and a shooting consultant for the Grizzlies (2007-08) and Hawks (2008-10). The four-time NBA All-Star ranks second in league history in career free-throw percentage (.904) and 29th in career three-point percentage (.402). He was named First Team All-NBA in 1992-93 and earned Third Team All-NBA honors three more times during his 12-year career. Price, who was the 25th overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft, averaged 15.2 points and 6.7 assists in 722 career games played.

Now onto the controversial Draft Pick!

with the NBA lottery (Which we have also had the best of luck with) the Bobcats received the 4th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. Immediately rumors surfaced from us trading it for Chris Bosh to Dwight Howard but we will skip over all that an go to what actually happened. Well we ended up picking Cody Zeller from Indiana. Not going to lie and act like my initial reaction was a huge smile but this pick has definitely grown on me.

The thing I have the biggest problem with was the fan’s reaction in the arena to it. Completely uncalled for but…not much can be done for it now. We just have to stifle this culture of fair weather fans. I may have wanted a name change but somebody in my family was at almost every home game and event. We put our money where our mouth is and bought Season Tickets for the next 2 seasons. I think this guy will surprise all of you!

VIDEO REACTION IN ARENA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1sqoxXAr7Y

THEN…Rumors of Bobcats extending qualifying offer to Henderson but not Mullens and Ben Gordon opts-in to return. So a quick synopsis is Geral Henderson will be back in Charlotte (99% sure), Byron Mullens is basically out and we are stuck with Ben Gordon one more year barring a trade (which more than likely will not happen). The Bobcats said Josh McRoberst is in the their future plans and nobody is going to pay him more than the $4-5mil/year so he is staying. Also pray to god on high we Amnesty Tyrus Thomas. Amen.

THEN…The sticky situation of the Free Agency Market. I do not pretend to know anything about the Free Agency and probably never will understand it. I didn’t predict Cody Zeller so how am I going to predict what the Bobcats will do in Free Agency. Won’t happen! What can be said is the Utah Jazz’s Al Jefferson is being talked about a lot for us and he has a scheduled meeting with the Bobcats this Wednesday.

SO…Do what you want with this information all I can say is that the Bobcats are making moves and I for one think they are heading in a great direction. This coaching staff is arguably the best we have ever had, this pick is a very athletic big man, which we sorely needed, and we are finally threatening to use our money! SO have hope Bobcat fans because soon we will be the CHARLOTTE HORNETS again and we might have a TEAM on our hands!

WHAT’S NEXT BOBCATS?

THURSDAY JUNE 27th

After the Bobcats have their Draft Party from 6-9 pm at Time Warner Cable Arena we will be having our own little shindig at “Tilt on Trade” (right down the street from the arena)

You wont want to miss the drink specials listed above, the Hornets gear you can grab AND you definetly do not want to miss the special guest (he asked us not to say his name on the off chance he cant make it)

LETS FINALLY HAVE OUR “BACK THE BUZZ” PARTY!

Always Believe Inc. is a Nonprofit Corporation headed by The Charlotte Hornets legend Muggsy Bogues!

PURPOSE STATEMENT:

Its main focus is to assist at risk youth ages 12 through 18 in the involvement in activities and programs focusing on student athletics, scholarship, leadership development, character building, mentoring, and team building. The main goal is the enhancement of youth, reaching their full potential as well rounded students and productive adult citizens.

VISION:

Provide a place for at risk youth ages 12 to 18 that not only keeps them safe but also motivates them to achieve their dreams.

EVENTS:

-ALWAYS BLIEVE DAY- August 17th

Always Believe Day, Inspired by Muggsy’s story and foundation is a day for the community to come together to support the common belief that with belief in yourself you can over come any odds. The goal of the day is to raise awareness and funds for Always Believe Inc. to build the Always Believe Center.

CONTESTS:

-Always Believe Day Official T-Shirt Design Contest-

See Always-Believe.org for contest description procedures, rules, and how to enter the design the official Always Believe Day 2013! Win the chance to be featured on the official website and $200! SO ENTER TODAY! Must be 18 to enter.

-Anything is Possible Essay Contest-

This is an Essay contest for High School students (9th-12th grade) enrolled in Charlotte, NC High Schools. Tell of a time that you faced and obstacle or hardship and how you overcame. Length 800-1500 words. SUBMIT BY MAY 31, 2013! Submit at Always-Believe.org

GET INVOLVED!!!!

We need as many volunteers as possible so we can help change these children’s lives for the better! this is a chance for you to give back to the community and show what Charlotteans are all about!

Go To Always-Believe.org and go to the Get Involved tab

DONATE!

Donations are key if we want to get the Always Believe Center built to create a better Charlotte for our youth!

Go To The Donations tab at Always-Believe.org

BEELIEVERS WE MADE HISTORY IN THIS CITY, NOW LETS HELP CHANGE THE FUTURE

Follow Always Believe Inc.

TWITTER: @ALWZBelieveinc

FACEBOOK: Always Believe Inc.

WEBSITE: Always-Believe.org

It is now time for those of us who requested the Bobcats to change their name to put our money where our mouth is. We have spoken with the ticket reps and thing the reps wanted us to stress was the benefit of purchasing your season tickets over the phone, as opposed to online. The experience is as personalized and catered to your needs as you could possibly imagine, and if you’ve never dealt with them before, the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets staff is second to none when it comes to customer service. If you haven’t already, give them a call via their general sales line at 704-262-2287, or the number in the photo below…you won’t be sorry!
Anybody else already planning their outfit for next year’s tipoff???

 

The Charlotte Bobcats are in the process of changing their name back to “Hornets,” a source with knowledge of the situation told CBSSports.com’s Will Brinson, including arranging digital assets that would allow a return to their original nickname.

There is no timetable for the switch though NBA commissioner to be Adam Silver told Bobcats season ticket holders in April that such a change would take at least 18 months to implement. Moreover, the change is not unexpected and would likely be popular with the North Carolina fan base.

Bobcats chairman and owner Michael Jordan confirmed in February that the team hired “a national polling group” (previously reported as Harris Interactive) to determine how fans felt about a change back to Hornets. Jordan called the reaction to the poll “very mixed.” Numerous grassroots groups have pushed for a return to Hornets.

Charlotte’s NBA team was known as the Hornets from its 1988 inception through 2002 when then owner George Shinn moved the team — and mascot — to New Orleans. When the New Orleans franchise changed its nickname to Pelicans this past season, it opened the door for “Hornets” to return to Charlotte.

Silver told season ticket holders re-acquiring the name “Hornets” would not be an issue, stating that the NBA and not the Pelicans owned the moniker. Acquiring and rearranging the necessary digital assets would be a major part of any change. Hornets.com and CharlotteHornets.com are owned by NBA Media Ventures, LLC and currently redirect to NBA.com/Pelicans.

However, a WhoIs.net search for the domain name NBAHornets.com shows that the URL was created and registered very recently — on May 15, 2013 to be exact — by NBA Media Ventures, LLC.

NBA Media Ventures, LLC, is the media branch of the NBA and owns NBA.com, Hornets.com and CharlotteHornets.com.

Obviously the first Charlotte Hornets were the Charlotteans who fought in the Battle of Charlotte during the Revolutionary War and received this nickname! Ever since then there have been countless things in Charlotte and the surrounding region adorned with the Hornets name in honor of the fighting spirit of this community!

The first NBA franchise in Charlotte was not the first sports team in the area to have the name. Starting 1901 one of the original Charlotte Hornets was a minor league baseball team which was a feeder team for the Washington Senators. They were on and off until about 1973. Then Jim Crockett Jr. bought the Asheville Orioles (affiliates of the Baltimore Orioles) and they became the Charlotte Orioles. Some names you might recognize from the Major Leagues that played for the O’s at the beginning of their careers were Eddie Murray, Cal Ripken, and Curt Schilling!

In the late 80’s the team was bought by George Shinn ( Yes, the very same George Shinn who founded the Charlotte Hornets NBA team) then renamed them the Charlotte Knights which we know and love today!

Here are some cool pics of the Charlotte Hornets Minor League Baseball Team!

I have been tossing this idea around in my head for quite some time and just dismissed it as me being crazy, until I heard WFNZ discuss the topic for their show this morning and surprisingly …. a lot of other people agreed with me!

Is the NBA, right now,  the best it has ever been?

Initially, it seems almost blasphemous to think that the NBA could be better now than it was during the Jordan era.  After further consideration , I (Scotty…not Evan) have come to believe that it is.

The playoffs underway right now are absolutely amazing!  The play is the best I have seen in a loooooong time and I’ve come to the conclusion that professional basketball is finally beginning to recover from the doldrums of the “post Jordan” era.

I think too often we have people who fell in love with the NBA in the 80s and 90s, then stopped watching it when Jordan left, and refuse to believe that the product on the court could possibly be better. Now there are certain things that will always be better about that time period, like the aggressive physical nature of the big man and the rivalries. However, the athleticism, the finesse, the competitiveness, the defense, the offense and overall quality of the game is better now….in my opinion 😉

As someone with no dog in the fight ( the Charlotte Bobcats are my team), I’ve found myself watching on the edge of my seat during almost every game. I haven’t felt this way since the days when my Charlotte Hornets were in it!

What do you think?

Even if you don’t believe this is the NBS at its best , I think we can agree that playoffs are a lot better than just a few years ago and now is a perfect time for the Hornets to return!