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http://www,thecharlottepost.com c Section tfflie CJarinttc SPORTS THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 2007 Some new year’s wishes The season for giving may be long gone, but tiiere’s always room to offer up a new year’s helping of best wishes. In this town, that means you have to puU for everybody, unless you’re a North Carolina partisan, which usually means a severe case of myopia. But I’m not bating on you guys. What’s yours is yours, even if the world does n’t revolve around the 'Ikr Heels. So let’s start with the big leagues, which is where so many folks in Charlotte get to puff out the coUective chest. For those of us who go to games, either team or Charlotte’s soft sports image is well-deserved on the pro fessional level, where so- called ‘Tans” wUl walk out in the third quarter of basket ball and football games, anH it’s even filtered down to col leges and high schools. I know. You paid for the ticket or got it at a reduced cost. But hey, stick it out and turn the outing into something memo rable, even if it’s to boo. In essence, be there for the games. 'Ihe posing will wait until the clock winds down. For the Bobcats, a streak of wins that can push this beleaguered franchise to respectability Folks are look ing for a miracle, but there won’t be one. As a smaU-mar- ket team bankrolled by a profits-first owner in Bob Johnson, the only peg these . Cats can put their hats on is patience and persistence. The budding blocks are young but promising, with Emeka Okafor, Sean May and Raymond Felton. If coach/GM Bemie Bickerstaff can keep this group moving forward, the Bobcats may actually be good in a couple of years. Problem is, wdl any one notice by then? For the Carolina Panthers, some smart offseason deci sions. The Panthers were a decidedly below-average 8-8 and exposed a ton of deficien cies on both sides of the bah. What did we learn kids? Dan Morgan is as fragile as he is explosive; Jake Delhorome isn’t a franchise quarterback and neither line was especial ly dominant. Expect some wheeling and dealing in the offseason, especially if coach John Fox wants to stick with his bare-knuckles philosophy of whipping opponents physi cally Fox is the best coach in Panthers history but don’t let Carolina mess around with a subpar 2007. If they do, Dan Henning won’t be the only unpopular coach around Bank of America Stadium. For J.C. Smith, vision. Brayboy Gym is small and intimate, but not the facility to grow a basketball pro gram. A bigger joint - say 4,000 seats - would go a long way toward making the Golden Bulls a more fan- fiiendly option. It also would open JCSU to being a great spot for bringing other games, like high school play offs, to Beatties Ford Road. The same for Belk Complex, which hasn’t even scratched its potential as a football and track facility Just a thought. Calvin Brock lost a heavyweight title fight against Wladimir Klitschko in November, but boxing observers believe the Charlotte native will resurface to challenge for another belt. for Who ’ll be on the rise, or under pressure to perform? Here’s a list of candidates PHOTOC;URTIS WILSON Carolina Panthers cornerback Ken Lucas (right) was hurt most of the 2006 season, which didn’t help Carolina's lofty expectations. By Herbert L. White henb.whffe@fhechar/ottepostcom It’s a new year and time to look ahead. For 2007, there’s no shortage of intrigue on Charlotte’s sports landscape, with professional franchises, high school heroes and college standouts sharing time in the spotlight. After some research and careful consideration, here’s a sample of who and what will have a bearing on headlines this year: • ClAA basketball touma- . ment. The nation’s third- largest tournament had a wild ly successful debut in Charlotte, pumping $15.4 mil lion into the local economy It also overcame shallow think ing; Small-minded white folks feared 155,000 black folks downtown would be a recipe for disaster; small-minded black folks thought Charlotte was too big would make the tournament irrelevant. Wrong on both coxmts. The week went off without a hitch, save com plaints about parking. The show will be even better next month. • Bob Johnson. Only three years into ownership of the Charlotte Bobcats, and the man is already drawing not so flattering comparisons to George Shinn. Johnson has made his share of missteps - overpriced tickets and a regional cable network that Please see SEVEN/2C PHOTOCURTIS WILSON De’Audra Dix had four returns for touch downs in 2006 to help Johnson C. Smith to a 7-4 record. With 16 starters returning in 2007, the Golden Bulls will likely be mentioned as a favorite in the ClAA West Division. In three years, Charlotte Bobcats owner Bob Johnson has drawn unfavor able comparisons to George Shinn, who ultimately moved the Hornets to New Orleans. photoa:urtis wilson More than 155,000 people attended games and events connect ed to the ClAA basketball tournament during its Charlotte debut PHOTO/ED DAVIS Marc Davis, 16, continued his rise up the stock-car racing lad der by leading all drivers with six wins last year at Hickory Speedway. He’s driving for Joe Gibbs Racing with an eye toward racing in one of NASCAR’s top divisions in 2008. Bobcats inworfd of hurt Injuries take toll on mental and physical state of team By Erica Singleton FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST When Sean May landed on the back of Emeka Okafor’s foot on December 16, the sprained ankle seemed like deja vu all over again. Maybe not as serious as the season ending right knee injury that sidelined him in his rookie year, but very reminiscent to the situation. May who’d been averaging 12.4 points at that time, led Charlotte in scoring four times this season and rebounds six. It seemed he was just hitting stride and May getting back into a groove after missing last season’s games, yet, he didn’t get in a funk. “Ankle sprains are a part of the game,” said May “And theyre not a real serious injury The thing is, don’t come back too soon to where they can linger on for the whole season.” Lingering injuries are an experience Brevin Knight was dealing with due to a recurring groin injury until, he suffered a Please see SITTING/2C PHOTO/CURTIS'WILSON With Brevin Knight (middle) sidelined with an abdominal strain, the Bobcats are are weighing alternatives at point guard. Morgan cleared to resume career with Panthers THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Carolina Panthers middle linebacker Dan Morgan said Monday he’s been cleared to return to football next season despite mul tiple concussions. Morgan suffered at least the fifth concus sion of his career in the season opener against Atlanta and missed the rest of the season, putting his playing career in jeop ardy. But Morgan said he was in Pittsburgh . last week, where he took numerous tests and a team of physicians led by concussion expert Dr. Mickey Collins gave him the OK to begin playing again during minicamps in the spring. Collins recommended in October that Morgan not return this sea son ‘Tt was real exciting. That was a great Christmas present, a late Christmas pre sent,” Morgan said Monday after the Please see MORGAN/3C ClAA topped itself in 2006 The year officially began Monday — I know you all were in church - and the saddest folks to see 2006 end should be everybody involved in the recent football season. Just when you thought nothing could top 2005 - six teams vying for a division title in the last weekend of regular season play — 2006 one-ups it one better. North Carolina Central, Johnson C. Smith, Elizabeth City State and Wginia Union kept fans salivating for more. Of course, basketball had its share of shin ing moments as wdl, but it was football that had fans moaning “Is the- season over already?” instead of ‘Isn’t the season over yet?’ Please see CIAA/2C OjiOlZS
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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