The Big Firestorm in Charlotte...

DaBassSource · Post #1 » by **DaBassSource** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 7:39 pm

http://www.charlotte.com/bobcats/story/581387.html

This is the big issue in Charlotte Sports today.....
It has been on the radio all day..all you hear is Bitch Bitch Bitch...from all the same people would already disliked the NBA.....

And the thing is, I really do see that many quotes from Bob Johnson... The media in Charlotte uses every chance it can to get the mob together to stone the NBA.....not saying that this was completely fabricated but I would not put it past the local paper....

I really would like to hear what, and the context, Bob Johnson said....

Post #2 » by **fatlever** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 8:41 pm

i wasnt going to stir the pot..... but, since you mentioned it.

bob johnson is truely clueless when it comes to public perception of him and his franchise. he has shown little tact when dealing with the media. at the same time, the observer takes every chance they get to create some negative energy about bob johnson and the bobcats. its a rather toxic relationship. but in this case, one that could have easily been avoided if bob chose his words a little more carefully. i am still waiting for the day that bob johnson impresses me as an astute business mind. so far he has shown me nothing. i dont expect the local rag to impress me, but i do expect bob johnson to impress me. sadly, both suck.

Post #3 » by **fatlever** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 8:42 pm

and for those that dont live in charlotte. dabass is not joking. this has been the top sports story all day long. by far the most bobcats coverage i've heard in a long long time. too bad its all negative.

DaBassSource · Post #4 » by **DaBassSource** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 8:50 pm

fatlever wrote:i wasnt going to stir the pot..... but, since you mentioned it.

bob johnson is truely clueless when it comes to public perception of him and his franchise. he has shown little tact when dealing with the media. at the same time, the observer takes every chance they get to create some negative energy about bob johnson and the bobcats. its a rather toxic relationship. but in this case, one that could have easily been avoided if bob chose his words a little more carefully. i am still waiting for the day that bob johnson impresses me as an astute business mind. so far he has shown me nothing. i dont expect the local rag to impress me, but i do expect bob johnson to impress me. sadly, both suck.

I just received a "Don't miss this! Conference Call with Bob Johnson" tomorrow at noon....If I can get away from work... I will try to attend...I'm sure this will be discussed...

Rich4114 · Post #5 » by **Rich4114** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 12:49 am

I think you hit the nail on the head fats. The problem is the observer really craps the bed on this topic. They are supposed to be the voice of the city and if all they do is find ways to bash this organization, it's one more thing that's going to hold it back from being successful. Ever since the late 90's they've been doing everything they can to run the NBA out. In fact, I'm confident George Shinn wouldn't have been looked on as bad as he did if it weren't for the nonsensical stories constantly about his personal life. Certainly not defending the guy, but from the city's perspective it's certainly not fruitful to run one of your pro sports franchises out of town or turn the town against them. It only hurts the city IMO and does nothing positive for anyone.

Badd_Intentions · Post #6 » by **Badd_Intentions** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:29 am

Here we go........I love having the NBA in Charlotte, hope this isn't the beginning of rocky times. Sadly enough winning = revenue, and us losing more games than we did last year aint good for business at all.

I think it will take a playoff appearance, immense luck in the lottery, or a huge FA signing to sure things up in the short term...sadly I dont see either of those happening.

Post #7 » by **Paydro70** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 3:06 am

A playoff appearance is entirely possible next season with only 3 minor changes: drafting a PF, signing a good PG, and firing Vincent.

Rich4114 · Post #8 » by **Rich4114** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 3:37 am

A playoff appearence would help, but what we really need is a winning season and a playoff appearence. I think J-Rich will be huge next year and if Felton can get full time PG, maybe May or Morrison come back to make an impact (or both!), and we get a good draft pick then we'll be in business. Especially if they replace jackass Vincent with a guy like Larry Brown, Carlisle, Silas, etc. that people around here would like and the players would respect (not 100% sure on Silas though).

Badd_Intentions · Post #9 » by **Badd_Intentions** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 4:07 am

A winning season, im not expecting that for a few years. Hell, if we end up with a .500 record we might have a shot at home court advantage.

Post #10 » by **fatlever** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 4:06 pm

for those that havent seen the latest in the **** hurricane.... sorensen's article from today.

http://www.charlotte.com/bobcats/story/582830.html

brutal!

amcoolio · Post #11 » by **amcoolio** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 4:59 pm

Comeon, that was Sorenson. We all know his opinion generally doesn't count.

Although I agree BJ has put buisness first and team and fans behind it.

Cantgetright · Post #12 » by **Cantgetright** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 5:11 pm

I never agree with Sorenson. Until Now.

Post #13 » by **fatlever** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 5:31 pm

Cantgetright wrote:I never agree with Sorenson. Until Now.

cosigned

bob johnson and mj have yet to show me that that really care about the fans or that they even really care about this team other than from the typical owners POV. i mean, do you guys really think bob and mj were yelling at their tvs watching last nights game? do you even think they actually watched last nights game?

i realize that not every team can have a passionate owner like cuban, but i'd be nice to see that our owners were half that passionate.

name one smart business move bob has made since getting this franchise? name one thing he's done that has made you happy he was our owner? good luck.

unfortunately we are stuck with him because if there's two things we've learned about bob its that he is stubborn and hates losing money.... meaning he wont sell the team until he breaks even or gets close or turns a profit...... if ever. and he cant move. sucks for him, sucks for us.

all we can do is hope and pray that our crack staff of gms and mj can somehow luck ass backwards into a superstar that takes us to the playoffs and gets us some national attention and more fans. until then.... rough roads ahead.

W_HAMILTON · Post #14 » by **W_HAMILTON** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 5:44 pm

Poor Charlotte, getting stuck with the two worst owners in the history of professional sports.

(please note the sarcasm)

At some point, you need to realize you aren't being stuck with the worst owners in the history of sports, but the owners are being stuck with some of the whiniest, fickle fans in the history of sports.

PS - screw Mark Cuban. While he was on Charlotte radio stations having people go goo-goo eyed over him and his declaration that he was going to fight to keep the Hornets in town, and that he was going to vote NO to relocation (he voted yes), Johnson was quietly trying to purchase the team from Shinn, to keep them in Charlotte.

But of course, through the critical eyes of the great fans of Charlotte, he was probably just trying to be cheap and get a discount on an NBA team, right?

Get over yourselves.

DaBassSource · Post #15 » by **DaBassSource** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 6:56 pm

W_HAMILTON wrote:Poor Charlotte, getting stuck with the two worst owners in the history of professional sports.

(please note the sarcasm)

At some point, you need to realize you aren't being stuck with the worst owners in the history of sports, but the owners are being stuck with some of the whiniest, fickle fans in the history of sports.

PS - screw Mark Cuban. While he was on Charlotte radio stations having people go goo-goo eyed over him and his declaration that he was going to fight to keep the Hornets in town, and that he was going to vote NO to relocation (he voted yes), Johnson was quietly trying to purchase the team from Shinn, to keep them in Charlotte.

But of course, through the critical eyes of the great fans of Charlotte, he was probably just trying to be cheap and get a discount on an NBA team, right?

Get over yourselves.

Ham I agree with you... and I have seen your battles with the people of this town who couldn't careless about the NBA. All they do is go on and on about the Arena, taxes, the hornets, Bob hiring blacks and in their opinion no whites..., MJ not living here or sitting courtside, hip-hop music...etc...and then the borderline fans chip in with if Bird owned it ...blah blah blah....

spectre_ · Post #16 » by **spectre_** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:06 pm

What Hamilton said.

Charlotte should just run this team off as well...that'll show 'em.

Post #17 » by **fatlever** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:52 pm

ham,

i am certainly not defending charlotte fans either. as a whole, this city has some of the worst sports fans in the country. they are a crappy bunch. but dont lump me in that group. i supported the hornets to the bitter end. i voted for the arena. i have bought bobcats season tickets for the past two years. i, like many other hardcore fans, have every right to bitch about bob johnson. i put my money where my mouth is.

you cant defend bob johnson in this case. he sucks as an owner. sure there are plenty of other bad owners. charlotte is not alone in that category. but bob has done nothing to make me think he is or ever will be a quality owner. he may be right in his stance that charlotte let him down, but he pretty much brought most of this on himself with the way he has handled things from day one. he has zero tact.

for the record, i despise mark cuban as a person. but i would love to have someone with his enthusiasm owning a team i rooted for.

W_HAMILTON · Post #18 » by **W_HAMILTON** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:21 pm

If it wasn't Johnson, or it wasn't Shinn, you'd be complaining about whatever other owner we have.

Johnson has made his mistakes, and he's tried to fix them.

And that's about all you can ask for, seeing as how I see no way that any other NBA owner could come in here and be so perfect as to not incur the wrath of the almighty, holier-than-thou Charlotte "fans."

Between Shinn and Johnson, you have both sides of the coin.

A white owner, a black owner.
A "poor" owner, a rich owner.
A local owner, an "out-of-town" owner.
An owner that attended every game (until you all booed him at the games so much he had to hide away at home), and an owner that might not attend every game.
An owner that wanted to relocate and move his team, and an owner that wanted to buy that team and keep it in Charlotte, and an owner that spent $300m to buy a team and put it in Charlotte.
A guy that did little else besides focus on his basketball team, and a guy that has a lot more on his plate than just his basketball team.
A guy that had little revenue coming in besides his NBA team, and a guy that has revenue coming in from all of his other business ventures.
A team that put a winning team on the court for a decade, and a team that has yet to have a winning season yet.
A team that had some questionable characters, and a team that is made up mostly of good character guys.

You have one, you whine. You have the other, you whine.

The only constant is the whining. You haven't been stuck with the two worst owners in professional sports, you're just turning them into that with the constant whining, and the constant criticism, and the idea that no matter what they do, it's simply not good enough.

Post #19 » by **fatlever** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 9:52 pm

yes, lump everyone from charlotte, like me, into the same category as the hate mongers on the charlotte.com board. we are all the same and all share the same views in life. nba bad, football and nascar good. arena bad, black owner bad, football and nascar good.

come on man.... obviously both sides share plenty of blame for the general apathy towards this franchise. you say bob johnson is trying to fix his mistakes, yeah maybe, but it surely seems to take him an awful long time to admit when he is wrong. and he seemingly has little to no tact in dealing with the media. going to the paper to bitch about the lack of corporate money, when the team is losing and when the economy is in the trash, and when he is a billionaire who possibly has the sweetest arena deal in the league, thats just awful business. how could he not know that move was going to backfire, especially considering how much venom there is in this market towards the bobcats. it was simply a dumb move on his part and it makes me angry because it pisses me off that he gave the anti NBA crowd another reason to spew hate. how can you even begin to think he didnt make a horribly bad decision by trying to approach his money woes in this manner?

yes, this market sucks for nba, but he damn sure isnt making the situation better with his actions.

DaBassSource · Post #20 » by **DaBassSource** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 11:53 pm

fatlever wrote:yes, lump everyone from charlotte, like me, into the same category as the hate mongers on the charlotte.com board. we are all the same and all share the same views in life. nba bad, football and nascar good. arena bad, black owner bad, football and nascar good.

come on man.... obviously both sides share plenty of blame for the general apathy towards this franchise. you say bob johnson is trying to fix his mistakes, yeah maybe, but it surely seems to take him an awful long time to admit when he is wrong. and he seemingly has little to no tact in dealing with the media. going to the paper to bitch about the lack of corporate money, when the team is losing and when the economy is in the trash, and when he is a billionaire who possibly has the sweetest arena deal in the league, thats just awful business. how could he not know that move was going to backfire, especially considering how much venom there is in this market towards the bobcats. it was simply a dumb move on his part and it makes me angry because it pisses me off that he gave the anti NBA crowd another reason to spew hate. how can you even begin to think he didnt make a horribly bad decision by trying to approach his money woes in this manner?

yes, this market sucks for nba, but he damn sure isnt making the situation better with his actions.

Fat did you call into Bob's confrence call today? I was tied up at work and missed the first 30mins....When I got on he was doing Q&A with the season ticket holders. Not much there more questions about the players and Sam.
I'm not sure what exactly Bob said to the paper...there were not that many quotes... but alot implied...