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Should they?  I say yes.  Attendance needs a boost, and Kobe would certainly bring in fans.  Charlotte can afford him.  Biggest problem is that it would destroy the development of the young team that Bickerstaff was working on…Charlotte would certainly have to trade several good players, probably Gerald Wallace and their #8 draft pick.  I’d throw in Matt Carroll too, even though I like having him off the bench.  And if they act now, they can get Sean May for free!
Can get rid of Okafor, Felton, Brezec, or Morrison, but I could certainly see most anyone available for a Kobe trade.

I don’t see the trade happening, but it’s nice to hope!

Thoughts?

I can’t believe some of the things that have sat in that building for over a year. In 1988-89, the Hornets were the NBA champs in attendance. The banner celebrating that amazing achievement for an expansion team is available for sale now…not really sure what you’d do with a huge (probably 15 feet tall), but you could get it.

And the Inaugural Season banner is still there? I mean, wouldn’t the orange banner didn’t stick out among all the teal and purple?

I’ve love to get our seats from Section 227, Row 2, Seats 9 and 10. They’d be a great memento.

I even heard on the Dan Patrick radio show that it was “Join a Team, Not a Gang” day at the stadium, where the Miami-Dade police brought in kids to watch the game and encourage them to go to college. What a great lesson for those 700 students!

Larry Coker should be fired. He was quoted as saying
“I do have a grip on this program. Don’t ever doubt that. Don’t ever doubt that.” He also said that you can’t control every player all the time.

Coker is right…you can’t control every player all the time, just like I can’t control every one of my students. But every one of my students know that when you break a rule you will be punished. Players at the University of Miami don’t get that same message from their coach.

Only 1 player has been suspended indefinitely as a result of the fight…the one swinging the helmet. 12 others for Miami got 1 suspended, and FIU suspended a few more. Even this is wrong for Miami…they play winless DUKE next week, so it’s not a 1 game suspension, it’s a day off to rest and relax. They’ll be sitting in their posh dorm room, playing XBox, driving around campus, while their team plays a game. I hope Duke beats Miami.

What message does 13 suspensions send to the players, and future players, of the University of Miami? A message that if you don’t behave, we’ll be upset.

What message should be sent? If you don’t behave, you will not walk on our campus. Turn in your jersey and your dorm room key, and go home to live with your parents. Go play for someone else, if they will accept your thug-like behavior. Any university who buys food for players that misbehave like this should rethink their athletic program. Restraining orders should be placed on these players, not jerseys representing any university.

All those suspended for 1 game should be out for the season. If you swung a helmut or a crutch, you should be kicked off campus. Any school that does anything less is saying that this behavior, while bad, isn’t all that bad.

Both schools should forfet any Bowl Eligiblity, and with it the cash payout that comes with it. The players on both teams should have no reason to continue playing this season…no incentive at the end, no light at the end of the tunnel. With the light at the end of the tunnel comes a reason to swing a helmut or throw a punch. Both seasons should be a waste of the players time.

Like it or not, my students (and your children) learn from athletes and others in the news. The big talk the Monday after the Carolina/Clemson fight 2 years ago was about the fight, not the Clemson victory. By punishing the players involved in the fight last weekend, not only are you making sure that neither school does it again, but you’re also educating the future athletes in sportsmanship.

This sort of thing will happen again, somewhere, sometime. Will it take a stretcher on the field, or a death, to send the message that this sort of thing is wrong?

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The article goes on to point to the fact that the Bobcats may have lost money last season,  and Johnson’s TV network C-SET was shut down after 1 year of failure.

My take:  Johnson’s not looking to sell.  The NBA’s first minority owner isn’t cashing out after 2 seasons.  This team is his new plaything, like the equestrian meet he hosts in Charlotte each year.  He and Jordan have been seen together many times before.  Jordan has been interested in working with a NBA team, and he was rumored to be very interested in buying the Hornets from George Shinn back in the ’90s when Shinn was looking to sell.

I hope Johnson isn’t looking to Jordan at President either, though.  He wasn’t successful as President of the Washington Wizards (where he was eventually fired), and I’m not sure that the city of Charlotte would be happy with Jordan as President.  The President position doesn’t need to be a big-name person…they need to be good at what they do.  Look at Isiah Thomas in New York…that team is being run into the ground, and most people point to Thomas for digging the hole.

Buy into the team, Michael, don’t take it over.

Despite having the newest arena in the NBA, the league announced today that the next to-be-scheduled All-Star game in 2008 will be held in New Orleans.

I understand that David Stern (the NBA commissioner) wants to show a committment to New Orleans, and the city certainly needs some hope and another reason to rebuild. However, it is also pretty traditional in the NBA to award the All-Star game to either the newest team or the newest arena, in order to show off one or the other. Charlotte is both, but is taking a backseat to Shinn again. Shinn is back to his old tricks again, demanding a new practice facility or he’ll move the team to Oklahoma City.

Come on, NBA…go ahead and commit the 2009 game to Charlotte, even if it’s ahead of the schedule. Your league’s only minority owner is doing a good job….show Charlotte your committment too!