Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Nov. 10, 2005, edition 1 / Page 19
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3C SPORTS/ttte ClatUnt $ot Thursday, November 10, 2005 C. JEMAL HORTON Franchise has chance to score big with area fans Continued from page 1C actually won the game, marking the first time the team (then 2-1) ever was above .500, made the evening even more spectacular. “WeVe got to become wor thy (as a team) ” Bickerstaff said. “We imderstand that. And we’re willing to do it.” That’s why they’ve got a fighting chance to excel at this. Because they’ve got a coach/general manager will ing to put the onus on him self, on his team. Because, now that the C- SET venture is in the past, more people will get to see the quality product the Bobcats put on the floor. And because that sweet uptown arena, which fea tures a scoreboard with four 16-feet-high by 28-feet-long LED screens, is going to be a magnet for fans, a facility that will become the talk of the state, if not the region. The Bobcats can do this. Charlotte - and cities beyond - can help “The Carolinas, North and South, are a basketball (region),” Ely said. “I think they’re just waiting for a team to come in and take their hearts. Anybody that loves blue-collar basketball, people that work hard, they’re going to love us. And I think North Carolina and South Carolina are both going to do that. Hopefully, if we get a couple more wins. we can get their hearts back.” It will take more than get ting this city excited enough to show up for the first games in the new arena, though. While victories still will come sparingly, there has to be enough appeal to make fans show up on a cold Wednesday night when the Atlanta Hawks are in town. ‘1 think if we keep showing resilience (in Charlotte),” Nelly said, “it’s unlimited to what the players can do and what fans will do in their sup port.” Ib paraphrase another Nelly hit, just maybe the Bobcats and their fans can do it “Errtime”... for a long time. E-mail C. Jemal Horton al sec- jemalwrile@aol.com. Panthers look to run farther Continued from page 1C Foster recovering fix)m injuries, head coach John Fox feels that the running game is stiJl a work in progress. “By no means do I think we have arrived...There’s still room for a lot of improvement and that’s something that we’re going to continue to work at,” Fox said. “I think they are both very talented backs, I think they’ve proved that to everybody I know in this league. I think DeShaun has been steady throughout the season.” Davis, who has 11 touchdowns, is ava*aging 3.1 yards per carry 1.1 yards off his career average. Fox complemented Davis’ perfor mance in last weel^s win against Tampa Bay, whose defense was ranked first in the league against the run. Davis rushed for 48 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. ‘^We did a real good job,” Davis said. “The offensive line did a great job.. .Everybody jtist went out and played hard in aH phases of the game.” Fox said the offensive line did a superb job against the Buccaneers, but feels they have room for improvement. j“It’s probably one of the hardest position groups to gel,” he said. “And we had some new guys, new faces in new positions. It takes a lit tle hdt of time for them to develop and that’s true in both the passing portion in their job description and the run portion...They’ve con tinued to improve and they need to continue to improve moving forward.” Foster, Davis’ backup, has steadily con tributed to the gromid attack when call^ upon. He ran for 51 yards on 12 carries against Minnesota and 48 in the Monday night win over Green Bay The Panthers should control the running game against the Jets’ 3()th-ranked run defense. However, quarterback Jack Delhomme is not taking that for granted. “We have the Jets, a team with a stout defense, offensively they have some issues with iryuries at quarterback,” Delhomme said. “Offensively, we’re going to have to run the ball well next week and be effective throwing it.” Injuries hamper Bulls early Continued from page 1C have to play more.” Parker, a former Butler High star who transferred fix)m Division I Delaware State, is expected to give the Bulls consistent scoring and leadership to go with sopho more Maurice Hooper at point guard. He should be ready to play when Smith opens the regular season next week at the Tip-Off Classic at Brayboy Gym. ‘Prince is a very strong- wflled player,” Joyner said. ‘Players respond differently to iryuries, and I think we’ll see him soon.” ‘We’re still a work in poogress and we have a ways to go,” Joyner said. ‘1 think that resulted in us playing poorly at Clemson.” Bill Lester, the only African American driver in NASCAR’s top series, made his 100th career start last week at the EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200. Keep on Tmekin’: Lester reaches milestone with 100th career start By Herbert L. Write herb .whiled thecharloaepdst^^m Bill Lester added another milestone to his NASCAR career. The Craftsman Thick Series driver started his 100th race Saturday at the EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedvpay Earlier this season, he was the first black driver in NASCAR history to break the $1 million mark in career eam- mgs. “Things have definitely been going in the right direction,” he said. “Working with crew • chief Doug Wolcott and the guys on this 22 team has really been a pleasure. The chem istry has been really strong.” Lester has put together a career season in 2005, with three top-10 finishes, including a career-best fifth place finish at Kansas Speedway in July and has led four laps. He also earned consecutive poles at Kansas and Kentucky “Starting up fixmt is a byproduct of what the guys at BUI Davis Racing have provided me,” Lester said. We still have some really strong races remaining this year and I think we can finish the year on a strong note.” Lester is a racing late-bloomer. A graduate of the University of CaUfomia-Berkeley, Lester earned a degree in electrical engi neering and computer science before landing a job as a project manager at Hewlett- Packard After radng part-time for several years, he went fid! time. “It was not hard to leave high technology to go racing,” he said ‘Racing is what I wanted to do. High technology was a means to an end. It was a way for me to get a paycheck and go racing. The only diflSculty was know ing that I was going fixim having a paycheck every week to not knowing if I was going to have one in racing.” Now Lester is getting paid as a migor league racer. All that’s missing is career win No. 1. “Tm excited to be part of the NASCAR Craftsman Triick Series,” he said “It is a series where there is a lot of exposure and good competition, but I have not gotten the win yet, so I am imfiUed” PROFESSIONAL FLOORING MOBLEY’S Visit Our Showroom 4930 Albemarle Road Charlotte, NC 28205 Residential & Commercial Carpet Cleaning,Sales & Service • New Carpet Sales • VCT • Hardwood Flooring • Ceramic & Marble Tile Thmk^ te^ §ed, thU U AimweU(m Svmd^’ New Carbet Installed >■*’ w fS. Carpet Installed Carpet, Pad & Labor 99 per yard Only $21. Carpet Cleaning “3” Rooms & Hallway Only $105-^ - 400 Sq. ft. Vinyl Floor Congoleum & Armstrong 99 per yard Only $15. 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The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Nov. 10, 2005, edition 1
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