Category: Charlotte, North Carolina Local News

The Charlotte Hornets looked like a team that didn’t have any gas in the tank as they lost a low socring game to the Warriors, 97-84.

Summary

The game had some college basketball vibes to start. Both teams played very physically and the refs mostly swallowed their whistles. The physicality begot a lot of turnovers from both teams. It was very clear that both teams were gassed after playing on Thursday night. They were grabby defensively and weren’t sharp enough offensively to counteract that. There was a two minute spell where neither team scored a single point. The Hornets took it even further and didn’t score for the final 3:50 of the quarter. The teams combined for 12 turnovers and 14 made shots in the first.

The Hornets started the second quarter trailing 22-15. You may think that surely it can’t get worse than that, but you’d be wrong. The Hornets bettered their futility in the second quarter by scoring 14 points. Tre Mann made a three on the Hornets first possession, but no one on the visitors scored a point for nearly four minutes after that. The Warriors weren’t any better and also took over four minutes between their first and second made shots of the quarter. They ended up going on a run once Stephen Curry broke the seal with an 18 foot bank shot and pull-up three. The Hornets didn’t score after Bridges hit a right handed floater with 2:59 left in the half. They trailed by 14 at the break.

The Warriors game out the locker room and looked more like their normal selves to start the second half. The Hornets continued to look like their first half selves. There was lots of aimless dribbling that resulted in turnovers and bad shots late in the shot clock. They watched the Warriors slowly create distance over the course of the third quarter. The local kids Grant Williams and Seth Curry briefly gave the Hornets life, but a small run by the Warriors to end the quarter put them up 73-52 heading into the fourth.

The big goal for the first quarter was to score 26 points as to not be the owner of the lowest scoring game in the league this season. Brandon Miller hit back to back threes to start the quarter to send the Hornets well on their way to that mark. He and Miles Bridges helped the Hornets fly through that mark relatively early in the fourth. The Hornets even briefly made it a 10 point game, but it was too late for it to matter.

The game ended with some fireworks. The Hornets called off the dogs with about 30 seconds left. Instead of taking the shot clock violation like teams normally do, Brandin Podziemski passed it ahead to Lester Quinones, who attempted to flip in a last second layup. Miles Bridges took exception and gave Quinones a light shove and some words. Quinones got into his face, which prompted Grant Williams to rush the situation and create a full scuffle. Bridges and Quinones each got a tech for their exchange of words, Grant Williams got a technical and ejection for escalating the situation, and Quinones got a second technical and ejection for his exchange with Williams. After about five minutes of sorting all of that out, the Hornets inbounded the ball and let the final 12 seconds run out.

The Good

The defense was good. Despite the wretched offense that fed the Warriors transition opportunities, the Hornets did a good job of limiting the Warriors offense. They forced the Warriors into 21 turnovers and were generally very disruptive to the Warriors offense.

Miles Bridges was probably the best player for the Hornets again. He ended up with a respectable 19 points and 11 rebounds and his shooting percentages look stellar in relation to the overall offensive futility across the rest of the game.

The Bad

I think it’s pretty obvious. The Hornets simply had no life on the second night of a back to back with travel and time zone changes and such. A lot of their turnovers were just symptom of lack of focus. Guys were throwing passes where no one was or forcing passes into traffic they didn’t need to throw. The jump shooting was scattershot.

Vasilije Micic has had a really rough return from the All Star break. He was just 1-of-9 from the field against the Jazz on Thursday and was just 4-of-13 from the field in this one. He played like a player lacking confidence. He struggled to pick his spots to try to score and to pass. He had quite a few open threes that he missed badly and a few attempts around the basket that had absolutely no chance of going in.

What’s Next

The Hornets will rest up on Saturday in preparation for a visit to the Portland Trail Blazers and a much anticipated matchup between Scoot Henderson and Brandon Miller (Scoot might not play).

What happened at UGA? What we know.

Latest updates from Athens

More questions relating to the case 

Latest press conference from UGA police 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Year 3 in the QC. A new MLS season brings a new coach to Charlotte FC, but Dean Smith hopes to pick up where last year’s wild-card-earning team left off.

“I’m really looking forward to it. I can feel the fever gripping in the Uptown areas of Charlotte. People talking about the game and lots of people going. I’ve got to get 20-odd tickets myself. So, there’s an excitement growing and I’m looking forward to it.”

And that excitement is reaching a fever pitch in North End.

“Hey, look what we helped grow,” exclaims Matt Swift, Vice President of Mint City Collective, Charlotte F.C.’s premier supporters’ group.

You might say soccer runs in his blood – he showed us multiple Charlotte F.C. tattoos on his wrist and arms – and his group wants to share that passion with the fans at NoDa Brewing as they ring in the night before kickoff.

“It’s a good way for the community to get together and have some fun, and just celebrate again what we’ve built, and what we’re passionate about.”

For some, that passion is something to die for.

“We’re a soccer city,” a fan who identified himself as “La Muerte D.O.T. says, dressed in a Charlotte F.C.-theme calavera outfit.

“We’ve been waiting for a team for a while now, this is our third season. Last year we made playoffs, and for sure, this year we’re top 5.”

It’s a sentiment shared by most tonight – and by all come tomorrow.

“Football is life, and it’s awesome,” says Hector Cortes, affectionately known as “Sombrero Man” among his fellow fans.

“Every time we score a goal, it feels like we’re winning the World Cup. It’s that electric.”

“It’s electric,” Swift agrees.

“I mean, you can really feel the rhythm of it. Especially when the supporter groups get in there behind the goal in that section, they start drumming and singing.  It starts building and building and building. I’m a fan of other sports, but there’s nothing like soccer.”

Charlotte FC begins its third season Saturday night at Bank of America as they take on New York City FC at 7:30.

{Read the first six episode recap here.}

The Love is Blind Season 6 cast members have shed their blankets and, after a quick jaunt to the Dominican Republic, are back home in Charlotte. This is when the reality show delivers on the reality of relationships.

Here are six things that made me yell at my TV, and four relationship mirrors from the recently released episodes from this reality TV-embracing, former marriage-resistant, married mother of two:

Things That Made Me Yell  

1 – Gold stainless steel stemware: Gold cups have replaced blankets as the overused relic of the show. I just want to ask production: Why? Why are we carting these glasses from the pods, to the Dominican Republic, back to their homes in Charlotte, and out to every bar and restaurant? I’m no sommelier, but I imagine this distorts the taste of wine. Is it an attempt to conceal what is in the glass? Or is it some sort of product integration deal with the stainless-steel industry? Why is no one allowed a real glass?! Margaux’s, Goodyear House, and Queen Park Social—please call me. I need to know why they insisted on using their own glassware in your establishments.

2 – Cell phones as pacifiers: We are all addicted to our phones. But I hope everyone sees how infantile and mindless we look. I almost broke my TV when Brittany stood in front of Kenneth crying, and the camera pulls back to show he is scrolling through his phone. The moment Laura storms out of the room after her confrontation with Jeramey, he immediately picked up his phone and began scrolling. It is the adult version of thumb sucking. STOP IT.

3 – Jeramey wants his lawyer: When Laura confronts Jeramey about his whereabouts the night before, he shows himself as guilty. When she corners him with the fact that his location showed he was not at Lost & Found as he claimed but north of Uptown, where Sarah Ann resides, his response that he didn’t want to discuss it right then was the equivalent of stopping a police interrogation and asking for a lawyer.

4 – “Obsessed” is the new “journey”: Girls, stop. You can just say “I like that,” or “Your top is pretty,” or some other complimentary adjective. The word “obsessed” means “to have an intrusive preoccupation to a troubling extent.” If you were actually obsessed with the litany of things you claim obsession over, you would need to be institutionalized. If you really want to fawn over something, become obsessed with vocabulary expansion.

5 – Birth control options: Condoms, IUDs, diaphragms, spermicide, cervical caps, the morning-after pill for broken condoms or pull-outs without precision—we have lots of birth control options that don’t involve hormonal or surgical measures. I cannot understand why Johnny and Amy are talking in extremes, as if the only options are birth control pills or a vasectomy. Again, as the other young couple, they are so wise to be thoughtfully discussing these things, but the fact that they have yet to consummate their relationship over this issue is mind-blowing. In fact, there’s a place to start while you figure this out.

6 – How OCD can you be? Help me understand how Jeramey can be so meticulous about labels facing the same direction yet have massive holes in the crotch and thigh of his shorts. Did anyone else catch that when he and Laura were cuddling on his bed?

Love Is Blind Relationship Mirrors

1 – Courtroom arguments: Reality TV can be mindless, but it can also be really helpful if you watch it with a willingness to see yourself. In these Love is Blind episodes, we’re seeing the couples argue for the first time. And many of their arguments play out just as ours do. Rather than hear what a person has to say and try to understand, many of us, like Jimmy, Chelsea, Clay, and AD, interrupt with objections to the court, then present our own countercases to the jury. But in relationships, there are no judges, juries, or verdicts. No one loses anything by listening and conveying that the other person has been heard. Just like no one wins by trying to convince the other person that what they are feeling is wrong.

2 – Truth prevention: AD and Chelsea (as well as Jess in earlier episodes) offer wonderful case studies in how to disincentivize honesty in relationships. When someone is being open and honest with you, and you respond in panic, defensiveness, or interrogation, you are giving the message that you are not safe and secure enough to hear the truth. A lot of us parents do this with children, then wonder why they don’t feel comfortable coming to us when something bad has happened or they’ve made a mistake. If you’re unable to reward honesty with gratitude and understanding (like Brittany and Kenneth), you might want to consider if you actually really want it. If you’re lucky enough to have someone tell you the truth, you better fix your face and take a deep breath to receive it. When men/children say she/my parents do(es)n’t understand me, this is where that starts.

3 – Roadkill vs. Hunting: I’m going to spare myself angry reader mail by taking gender roles out of this. But for the sake of the show parallels, Chelsea and AD offered us a glimpse of how we sabotage desire in relationships. We tend to value only what we have to work for. It is in our nature to have to hunt and gather for our food. So when someone in a relationship is unbusy, sitting around, waiting to be eaten, it is akin to prehistoric man having roadkill dropped right outside the cave. It’s a welcome surprise on occasion, but it is unappealing for regular feedings. This can be confusing for women, as we assume that being ready and willing for sex or desirous of affection would be attractive for men. But if the bounty is always there waiting to be consumed, and worse, complains and criticizes over the lack of appetite, mealtime loses the thrill of pursuit and becomes more of an obligation. This doesn’t mean we should play games or withhold. It just underscores the importance of having full and active individual lives that seek opportunities to connect, not actively seeking to connect because our own lives lack fullness. Today, I know that, absent a serious issue, if the tickertape of my own thoughts is full of what my husband is or isn’t doing, I don’t have enough going on in my own life.

4 – Let’s talk about OCD: We tend to overuse the OCD diagnosis, and I’m not equipped to determine whether any of the cast has it. But it’s fair to say Jeramey exhibits extreme tidiness and rigid order. He admits that this standard of living is a necessity, and a person who does not adhere to his standard would produce feelings of rage, intolerance, and disgust. This is a relationship killer, and not because of the high bar most people would struggle to clear. It’s because it is a control-based coping mechanism that values order over people. And any coping mechanism—whether maniacal order, booze, food, sex, etc.—is an attempt to avoid something within. What’s being avoided is what must be cleaned up to have a healthy, functioning, and fulfilling relationship, not the kitchen sink.

Lastly, on Brittany and Kenneth: This was a sad one to see end. As one of the youngest couples on the show, they also seemed to approach their relationship with the most maturity. They were able to have honest conversations with respect and with the emotional fortitude not to personalize and be defensive. Brittany, like many well-meaning white people, could not fully appreciate what an interracial relationship would mean for Kenneth and their future children. She thought if she just doused them in enough positivity and sunshine, they would be fine, not understanding that Kenneth is not afforded the same privilege, as the potential consequences he faces are far more complex and even dangerous. Once it was clear to him that she didn’t fully understand that, the switch was flipped, and he went cold. It was sad to watch their breakup and made me sad for us as a society.

Love is Blind Episodes 10-11 release on February 28, and they look spicy.