Wes & Walker
While many sports fans will be focused on the NCAA Tournament, which officially gets underway starting tomorrow, in the Queen City, that doesn't mean that the sports world will come to a complete stop, as the NBA and MLS will continue their regular season play during over the weekend. The Crown finally return home, after a three-game road trip, that saw the club only earn a point, with two tough losses overlooking a draw. As Charlotte FC returns to The Bank on Saturday, they will meet last year's champion, followed the next week by last year's regular season champion, as the schedule doesn't lighten up for a club that's struggling to put the ball in the back of the net.
Whenever you think of the glory days of the Charlotte Hornets, one of the first players that you think about is Jamal Mashburn, who arrived in Charlotte after being included in a trade for Eddie Jones and Anthony Mason. In Mashburn's two seasons with the Hornets, before they left for New Orleans, he averaged over 20 points per game and helped guide the team to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs in 2001. Despite playing just two seasons in Charlotte, he's still among the all-time best players to ever play in the Queen City.
It's been an up-and-down start to free agency for the Carolina Panthers, headlined by trading away Brian Burns and seeing Frankie Luvu sign with Washington Commanders, but they responded by signing two interior offensive linemen, adding a linebacker that has experience playing in Ejiro Evero's scheme, followed by the addition of a pass rusher, to hopefully replace the loss of Burns.
Monday was a rough day for Panther fans, as they saw Brian Burns get traded away to the Giants, and not get a first-round pick in return, and they saw Frankie Luvu leave the team in free agency, signing with Washington. While Carolina added two offensive linemen to help protect Bryce Young, it didn't do enough to help overcome the loss of two of the better defensive players on the team. Yesterday though, Dan Morgan was active, looking to get Brycec Young a weapon in the passing game, and he found one in the form of Diontae Johnson, striking a trade that involved a pick swap, along with sending Donte Jackson in Pittsburgh, finding a willing trade partner, before outright cutting him.
It wasn't the best day in Panther land yesterday, as Carolina traded away Brian Burns and saw Frankie Luvu sign with the Washington Commanders, as the legal tampering period is underway, ahead of the new league year, which officially begins on Friday. Those moves leave Carolina's defensive line depleted, which isn't ideal for a defense that figures to be the strength of the team next season. With that being said, it wasn't all bad moves, as Carolina was aggressive in adding to their offensive line, and Dan Morgan was able to ink a deal with Robert Hunt, formerly of the Miami Dolphins, for five years, 100 million dollars. That was the first, of two offensive line signings Morgan made, in an effort to better protect Bryce Young, as he gets ready for his second season in the NFL.
After a long wait, sports betting is finally legal in North Carolina, after a long battle to get it legalized. The Tar Heel State is the 38th state in the United States, to have legal sports gambling, meaning that sports fans can place bets on pro, and amateur sports, just in time for the ACC Tournament, and the NCAA Tournament.
Tonight, the greatest rivalry in sports renews itself, as Duke hosts North Carolina, in the second top-10 matchup between the two rivals this season. Carolina has already earned a share of the ACC regular season title, but with a win over Duke, they'd outright with the league for the first time since 2017. As for Duke, they are looking to earn a share of the regular season title, and with various different tiebreakers, they could end up being the #1 seed in the ACC Tournament next week.
Tomorrow night, the greatest rivalry in sports will renew itself, as Duke hosts North Carolina, in the regular season finale, with ACC implications on the line for both teams. Carolina earned at least a share of the ACC regular season title on Tuesday night when they blew out Notre Dame in Chapel Hill. A win over Duke would secure their first outright ACC title, since 2017, when they last won the national championship. As for Duke, with a win they'd also earn a share of the ACC regular season title, and with various different tiebreakers, have the inside track to be the #1 seed in the next week's ACC Tournament, in Washington, D.C. Carolina won the first matchup back in February, 93-84, and if tomorrow night is anything like the first matchup, college basketball fans will be in for a treat.
The MLS season is already two weeks old, and Charlotte FC is off to their best start in club history. The Crown opened their season with a win over NCYFC at home, and followed that up with a draw last week in Vancouver, to start the current three-game road trip with a point. That means Charlotte has earned four points in the first two weeks of the season, for context, it took them to their fourth match last season, to even register a point. Dean Smith arrived, poised to take this club to the next level in the MLS, and if the first two weeks are any indication, he was the right man for the job.
The NFL Scouting Combine is winding down, as we get closer to the start of a new league year and the 2024 NFL Draft. Of course, the Panthers don't currently own a first-round pick, after trading it away to Chicago last year, when they traded up to #1 to draft Bryce Young. While some coaches opt not to speak during their time in Indy, Canales made sure to get behind the podium, to talk about what his staff has worked on since being put together, and what they are looking for and hoping to achieve in the Draft, despite having limited draft capital.