Change nickname from Bobcats to Hornets? Sure

Change the Bobcats’ nickname to “Hornets”?

I’d be fine with that.

Contrary to my colleague Tom Sorensen, who wrote in Sunday’s newspaper that the team shouldn’t change nicknames but should simply win more, I have long advocated a name change for the Bobcats. Two years ago, I wrote in The Observer that since Michael Jordan had now become the Bobcats’ majority owner that he should wipe the slate clean and claim another nickname.

As I wrote in March 2010:

“The ‘Bobcats’ name has been irreversibly tainted by its association with [former owner Bob] Johnson, who more or less named the team for himself. Or at least that’s what most people think. In this case it’s the perception that matters.”

Back then the “Hornets” nickname – the one that the original Charlotte NBA franchise had before it moved to New Orleans – wasn’t available. It still isn’t, but could be soon. Once new owners buy the New Orleans franchise from the NBA (which runs it now in an obvious conflict of interest), it’s likely they will change the nickname to wipe their own slate clean.

And then the name that makes everyone nostalgic for the good ol’ days (although the good ol’ days weren’t always good, as Billy Joel once sang) could be on the open market.

There is a grassroots movement to change the nickname back to “Hornets,” although it is easy to advocate spending other people’s money (in this case it would cost an estimated $3 million to $5 million to “rebrand” the team, say the Bobcats -- who don't currently have this item high on their agenda).

But I thought it would be worth it in 2010, and I think so today. The Bobcats’ current team is horrid – it has the worst record in the NBA at 4-28. The team is trying to restructure itself in many ways – caring more about its own community, getting better players and on and on.

A name change would symbolize a lot. And the “Hornets” choice makes sense. I still hear people mistakenly refer to the Bobcats by that name, for it became so embedded in the Carolinas’ psyche.

And I still believe what I wrote in 2010 about the “Bobcats” issue:

“That name never has sounded very fierce. It has always sounded like the name of a middle-school team whose high school varsity is known as some type of bigger cat.

And now, with Johnson out of the picture, there’s just no reason to bob along in the water anymore.

Jordan should seize this chance to stamp his team with a new nickname. It would be powerful symbolism of Jordan literally taking ownership of the club -- well worth both the money and time invested."

10 classic NBA commercials (MJ, Grandmama and Bird)

This one's just for fun -- I ran across this link with 10 of the best commercials ever featuring NBA stars. Check it out.

Michael Jordan is in four of these, including one with Mars Blackmon, one with Larry Bird (the famous H-O-R-S-E game, check out the sweater MJ wears in it) and my favorite, which is the "Jordan vs. Jordan" ad. The reason I like that one so much is that it's the most authentic -- Jordan's trash-talking in it is far more genuine than the cuddly persona he presents in some of his other ads.

The Larry Johnson "Grandmama" ad seems a bit dated now, but still fun.

No.9, No.9, No.9 -- Panthers lose coin flip but it's OK, really

That old Beatles song with the disturbing "No.9, No.9" refrain is running through my head this morning after the Panthers lost a coin flip in Indianapolis with the Miami Dolphins, meaning Carolina will draft No.9 in the first round of the 2012 NFL draft (which begins on Thursday, April 26). They will then pick No.8 in the second round, ahead of Miami.

But hey, it's OK to lose a coin flip, as I wrote about in my last column. Previous recent No.9 picks have included Chicago linebacker Brian Urlacher, Jacksonville running back Fred Taylor and Minnesota defensive tackle Kevin Williams, and they all turned out all right.

The difference between No.8 and No.9 is ultimately pretty negligible -- you should be able to get a starter either way. The Bobcats had the No.9 pick in the 2011 NBA draft, incidentally, and ended up with Kemba Walker.

Now I haven't studied the draft to any great length, but I sure liked Boston College inside linebacker Luke Kuechly when I saw him play on TV. He'd be a great possibility, as would LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers. While defense is the huge need for the Panthers, you'd also have to consider Oklahoma State WR Justin Blackmon if he fell that far (I don't think he will).

Two other random notes on a Friday:

-- My friend, the talented sportswriter Bethany Bradsher, will be at the Barnes and Noble Arboretum to sign copies of her book "The Classic" from 1-3 p.m. Saturday. Bradsher's book is a rollicking history of the old Dixie Classic, which was a fantastic college basketball tournament in Raleigh 50 years ago that included all of the Big Four ACC teams until it was brought down by a gambling scandal. It's well worth your time and money.

-- My parents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary today. In this day and age, that's quite a number. Congrats to them!!

5 best coin flips ever as Panthers prepare for flip vs Miami

I wrote a column today about the Panthers' upcoming coin flip with the Miami Dolphins, which will happen Friday morning and decide who will pick No.8 in the 2012 NFL draft and who will pick No.9.

One example I didn't have room for in the story as to how it may not matter much which place the Panthers pick: OT Jordan Gross was No.8 overall in 2003 when Carolina picked him. Then Minnesota went for DT Kevin Williams at No.9. Both have been NFL studs for most of their careers.

Not to be too flippant regarding flips, but I also researched coin flips as a whole and came up with this list of my favorite 5 coin flips ever:

5. HAKEEM THE DREAM: In 1984, the NBA conducted a coin flip between Houston and Portland to decide which team got the No.1 overall pick. Houston won and picked Hakeem Olajuwon. Portland lost and picked Sam Bowie. But Chicago, who wasn’t involved in the flip at all, really won by picking Michael Jordan at No.3.

4. THAT'S NOT QUITE WHAT I MEANT: Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck once correctly called an overtime coin flip in a playoff game, then brashly declared, “We want the ball and we’re going to score!” Hasselbeck then threw an interception that Green Bay returned for a touchdown.

3. HEADS-TAILS: On Thanksgiving Day in 1998, Pittsburgh’s Jerome Bettis called “heads-tails” while the coin was in the air to decide whether the Steelers or Detroit would get the ball in overtime. The coin landed on “tails,” referee Phil Luckett declared Bettis had called “heads” and a controversy ensued. Detroit won the game. That flip led to the NFL rewriting its coin-flip rule – you now have to call the flip before the coin is tossed.

2. TALE OF TWO CITIES: In 1851, two men founded a large city in Oregon together. One was from Maine and wanted to name it “Portland.” The other was from Massachusetts and wanted to name it “Boston.” A coin flip decided “Portland” as the winner.

1. THE WRIGHT STUFF: In December 1903, the Wright brothers were oh-so-close to flying. Their aircraft had room for only the pilot, so Orville and Wilbur conducted a coin flip.

Wilbur won. But his attempt on Dec.14, 1903, stalled out, lasted barely over three seconds and wasn’t successful. Orville, the coin-flip loser, ended up going for 12 seconds and 120 feet in Kitty Hawk, N.C., three days later to begin the aviation era with the historic “first flight.”

So I believe whether the Panthers win or lose the coin flip Friday, it won’t matter much. Because as Wilbur Wright could have told you, fate can be as fickle as a flying machine.

Thomas Davis must be cut or restructured; what about Clausen?

The Observer's Joseph Person wrote an eye-opening look at the Panthers' salary-cap issues in today's newspaper, including the fact that the team is a reported $9.6 million over the cap and must drop that number by the start of the new NFL fiscal year on March 13th.

The first thing the Panthers must do: Figure out Thomas Davis's contract, because it absolutely won't work in the current scenario. The Panthers have a club option to pay Davis $8 million for next season by March 14th, and if you think they're going to do that, I've got a bridge in New York I'd like to sell you.

Davis is rehabbing hard and is one of the great guys in the Panthers' locker room. But the fact remains that he has torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee three times in the past 22 months. That knee is, quite literally, damaged goods until proven otherwise.

The scenario that makes the most sense is the Panthers releasing Davis and then re-signing him later for an enormous discount compared to that $8 million. They are going to have to do something like that, because as much as everyone in the organization wants Davis to succeed, there's no way to say that he will. And it's a safe maneuver, too, because what other NFL team wants to pick up a linebacker who has had three ACL tears in the same knee?

The other really interesting decision: Will the Panthers pay Jimmy Clausen a $923,000 roster bonus or cut him to save almost a million dollars?

This one is not as cut-and-dried as the Davis scenario. Cam Newton spoiled the Panthers last season by starting all 16 games, but you can't count on that every year, especially the way Newton plays. Is Clausen a viable backup? Or will the Panthers go with a veteran like Derek Anderson and cut bait with Clausen, who was pretty horrible in 2010 (going 1-9 as a starter)?

Ultimately, I think this one isn't as simple as it may seem. Because if you're not going to pay Clausen money to stay, you're going to invest similar or more money in someone else. I would imagine that coach Ron Rivera and general manager Marty Hurney will have to huddle up closely about this one.

But the Davis deal? That one is a no-brainer -- it has to be radically modified for Davis to ever play for Carolina again.

Gottfried jumps into the Karl Hess officiating fray

N.C. State basketball coach Mark Gottfried won't make any friends among basketball officials or ACC higher-ups with his comments at a student rally prior to the N.C. State-UNC basketball game tonight, but he certainly has made some among the Wolfpack faithful.

Gottfried had played it fairly straight in the aftermath of former N.C. State stars Chris Corchiani and Tom Gugliotta getting thrown out of their seats Saturday for protesting calls as the Wolfpack got hammered by Florida State.

But then Gottfried got taped, apparently by a student, saying this about official Karl Hess's decision and the ACC's reprimand of Hess for not following the correct protocol:

"I think it was weak. It was bad and I thought the official was completely out of line 100 percent. I'm disappointed, quite frankly, in the ACC, because not only did he throw out two of N.C. State's greats, he threw out two of the ACC's greats, and the league is supporting an official rather than supporting former great players.

"The former great players, in my opinion, were embarrassed and wronged when they shouldn't have been. I don't think you can have rabbit ears like that if you're a referee and start throwing people out. I was disappointed in the whole thing. So they gave a reprimand tonight to the official, but it was pretty weak in my opinion."

The ACC did reprimand Hess on Monday night for his failure to follow the proper protocol in ejecting fans, but that was about it. Hess also wrote in an email that Corchiani and Gugliotta were ejected for "excessive demonstration on several calls as they came right up to the scorer’s table."

Meanwhile, N.C. State AD Deborah Yow has seized upon this moment to the utmost, effectively meaning the run-up to the UNC-NCSU game has been about this moment and not the fact N.C. State has lost two huge games in the past five days. It's a wise decision by Yow, and Gottfried would be well-advised to let her handle this from now on.

So now Corchiani and Gugliotta will be honored, with the 1988-89 N.C. State team before tonight's game against the Tar Heels. Think that will throw the crowd into a frenzy? You're right. If there was ever a night where the crowd in Raleigh will be primed for an upset, this is it.

As for tonight's officials, I feel a little sorry for them. They'll get the blowback from the Hess incident big-time. I hope that the game itself is clean and well-played, because the night also has the potential to turn ugly with this much emotion seething on all sides.

Jon Beason's Super Bowl prediction

The Observer's Joseph Person wrote an excellent, comprehensive story in Sunday's newspaper about the rehab work of Panther linebackers Jon Beason and Thomas Davis, who were both lost in an eight-day span last season due to injury.

You had to read all the way to the end to see the quote that really jumped out at me, though, when Beason said of the Panthers: "The pieces are in place to win the whole thing."

Now Beason and Davis are both incurable optimists -- a good trait in athletics, where believing is often half the battle. Davis thinks he's going to come back from a third ACL surgery on the very same knee -- something no football player has apparently done before.

And Beason? He thinks the Panthers would have a "weak year" if they don't make the Super Bowl a year from now. Check out the whole quote, reprinted below:

Said Beason: "It just feels good to know that I'm off the shelf. I'm back a part of the team and I'm in the equation of getting to the top. That's what it's geared for. No more playing for winning seasons or playing to make the playoffs or to go deep in the playoffs. The pieces are in place to win the whole thing, and that's really how I feel about it. Anything less than at least an appearance (in the Super Bowl) is a weak year."

Whoa. Really?? A 6-10 team one year, a Super Bowl team the next?

Of course, the Panthers of 2002 were 7-9 and they went to the Super Bowl in 2003. But the defense will have to get a whole lot better for the Panthers to make a serious run -- without Beason and Davis, the team allowed franchise highs in points and yards in 2011.