Josh M.

Late last week, it was announced that J.J. Jansen will be the Panthers long snapper yet again as he signed a 1-year extension. The longest-tenured Carolina Panther joined Kyle Bailey to discuss a wide array of topics from the upcoming offseason, to his thoughts on the NBA All-Star Game struggles. After the Panthers season, many […]

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 world will be focused on Indianapolis next week, for the annual NFL Draft Scouting Combine, with the Super Bowl now two weeks in the rearview mirror. While it's an important week for the college athletes in attendance looking to impress the various scouts, GMs, and head coaches, the week will also be filled with many closed-door conversations ahead of free agency, which starts in March, once the new league year begins. 

The NBA doesn't return to action until Thursday, but after the weekend the league just experienced, it's still dominating the headlines, no matter the sports medium. After almost a year of vowing to produce a better product during the annual All-Star weekend, the NBA witnessed another lifeless dunk contest, and a record-setting All-Star Game, as the East scored over 200 points, and both teams put on a glorified three-point shooting contest for 48 minutes. 

The 2024 Great American Race was delayed until Monday, after a weekend filled with non-stop rain, but the fans who piled into the stands earlier today were treated to a great start to the season. After a rather clean 500, 'The Big One" struck with less than 10 laps to go, taking out a handful of drivers that were legit contenders to win the race. After a short red flag, there were only four laps, with Ross Chastain and Williams Byron at the front of the field. Byron would lead the first lap back under green, and every lap the rest of the way, as the caution came out on the final lap, but with Byron having already seen the white flag, he earned his first ever Daytona 500 victory, etching his name in stock car racing lore forever. 

When the calendar turns to March, it'll be a sign that the new league year is close, and free agency will soon be upon us. In the coming days, many teams around the NFL will begin to designate certain players for the franchise tag, in hopes of reaching a long-term deal as the off-season moves along. A position that will dominate the free agency period, will be the wide receiver position, with many stars potentially being available on the open market. 

With March a few weeks away, college basketball takes center stage in the state of North Carolina, as we close down the ACC regular season. With Duke and North Carolina at the top of the standings, it feels like old times in the league, even though it's not getting the respect nationally. 

With football season officially over, many sports fans are gearing their attention toward the NBA, NHL, and college basketball, or are waiting for the start of the baseball season. Lost in all the other sports, is the start of the MLS season, which gets underway next weekend, with Charlotte FC starting their third season of MLS play.

The Super Bowl is in the books, which means the focus for most sports fans turns to the NBA, the upcoming NCAA Tournament, and baseball, as spring training opened on Monday. NASCAR also gets their season started this upcoming weekend, and as always, they begin their season with their version of the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500. 

With the Super Bowl officially in the books, the next item on the NFL's agenda will be the NFL Combine, followed by free agency, once the new league year begins in March. After a 2-15 season, the Panthers desperately need upgrading their roster if they want to compete in 2024. In today's NFL, teams can change overnight with their ability to sign players, but Carolina will be handicapped by having just $31 million in cap space and having to resign some of their players, including Brian Burns and Frankie Luvu. 

It was a busy day for the Charlotte Hornets, who were active at the trade deadline, trading away veteran Gordon Hayward, and PJ Washington, who resigned with the Hornets earlier this summer. Those moves were expected given Charlotte's standing in the Eastern Conference, as it made sense to trade for the future. The moves may make it even harder for the Hornets to compete down the stretch, but it opens the door for more growth for Brandon Miller, who is enjoying a historic rookie season in the NBA. 

It may be another lost season for the Charlotte Hornets, but a bright spot, outside of the star Brandon Miller is destined to become, has been fellow first-round pick, Nick Smith Jr, who has made the most of his opportunities, and currently leads all rookies in three-point shooting percentage. Smith was taken out of Arkansas late in the first round last June after injuries derailed his NBA Draft stock, which at one point projected him to be a top-5 draft selection.