Figured this was important since it has to do with Carolina sports. Hurricanes being sold to Texas Rangers former CEO. Will stay in NC.

[UpstatePanther]

3 hours ago, nctarheel0619 said:

Well, I care dammit.  I enjoy going to a Canes game.  But, do you blame them, dude?  They haven't made the Playoffs in 8 damn years.  That's on the Canes.  That's the longest streak in the NHL.  Which is absurd.  

yeah fill in a fan that knows very little about hockey but loves Carolina teams, are the Canes making good moves to start contending again?

[AggieLean]

Just kidding. Yay for you hockey fans..

[Nails]

31 minutes ago, UpstatePanther said:

yeah fill in a fan that knows very little about hockey but loves Carolina teams, are the Canes making good moves to start contending again?

Short and sweet-YES.  Doubtful they lift the Cup next year but even more doubtful they miss the playoffs.

If Sebastian Aho was not from Finland and didn't play in Raleigh he'd already be a household name.  Only 19 years old(!!!), kid can PLAY.

[ichigo1057]

In regards to the MLB team, I wouldn't mind a team that represents both the Carolina's getting placed here in South Carolina. Maybe Greenville (though admittedly the Greenville Drive are currently affiliated with the Red Sox) or one of our other larger cities that are growing could accommodate them. I know a ton of Baseball fans around here, well at least close to my area, though most of them are Atlanta Brave fans since they are the current closest MLB team, should a team be placed for the Carolina's they would love it. Frankly I'd just like a MLB team in general to represent the Carolina's no matter whether it is in North or South Carolina. As the saying still stands, "Two States, One Team."

[USDepartmentOfSavagery]

45 minutes ago, ichigo1057 said:

In regards to the MLB team, I wouldn't mind a team that represents both the Carolina's getting placed here in South Carolina. Maybe Greenville (though admittedly the Greenville Drive are currently affiliated with the Red Sox) or one of our other larger cities that are growing could accommodate them. I know a ton of Baseball fans around here, well at least close to my area, though most of them are Atlanta Brave fans since they are the current closest MLB team, should a team be placed for the Carolina's they would love it. Frankly I'd just like a MLB team in general to represent the Carolina's no matter whether it is in North or South Carolina. As the saying still stands, "Two States, One Team."

The MLB is going to dictate that the stadium be placed in uptown Charlotte as part of the expansion award. The only reason the Braves were able to build their (new) stadium (terrible idea) in suburbia is because their organzization had already fulfilled their lease and promise to the league as a host city. 

I think there is room to renovate the Knights stadium to accommodate a MLB capacity stadium, however I'm pretty sure there are directional guidelines that the MLB enforces in reference to the out field and what cardinal direction the bases run. 

Whoever said the city approving BB&T park was nearsighted is absolutley correct. As nice as the ballpark and the Knights are, Charlotte has been in talks for an expansion team for years. The Knights have led Triple A in attendance for several years now, so the market is there regardless of the elected officials saying Charlotte cannot support an additional professional franchise, which is absurd. 

Still a decade or longer away before this becomes a reality. 

[Jangler]

2 hours ago, USDepartmentOfSavagery said:

The MLB is going to dictate that the stadium be placed in uptown Charlotte as part of the expansion award. The only reason the Braves were able to build their (new) stadium (terrible idea) in suburbia is because their organzization had already fulfilled their lease and promise to the league as a host city. 

I think there is room to renovate the Knights stadium to accommodate a MLB capacity stadium, however I'm pretty sure there are directional guidelines that the MLB enforces in reference to the out field and what cardinal direction the bases run. 

Whoever said the city approving BB&T park was nearsighted is absolutley correct. As nice as the ballpark and the Knights are, Charlotte has been in talks for an expansion team for years. The Knights have led Triple A in attendance for several years now, so the market is there regardless of the elected officials saying Charlotte cannot support an additional professional franchise, which is absurd. 

Still a decade or longer away before this becomes a reality. 

so...Kernersville is out?

[USDepartmentOfSavagery]

47 minutes ago, Jangler said:

so...Kernersville is out?

I'm not an expert. Just relaying information that was told to me. If It were up to me, I would definitely pick uptown Charlotte. Beautiful and growing skyline. 

Any suggestions on mascots or nicknames from anyone? 

[nctarheel0619]

13 hours ago, UpstatePanther said:

yeah fill in a fan that knows very little about hockey but loves Carolina teams, are the Canes making good moves to start contending again?

They sure are man.  I'm ecstatic for this season.  

[Jangler]

3 minutes ago, USDepartmentOfSavagery said:

I'm not an expert. Just relaying information that was told to me. If It were up to me, I would definitely pick uptown Charlotte. Beautiful and growing skyline. 

Any suggestions on mascots or nicknames from anyone? 

The Kernersville Klams?

[Dunn]

The Hurricanes were close last year, if it wasn't for a few losing streaks, they were ending the year on a good run and barely missed the playoffs, they are going heavy in the off-season signing some key players and this move just goes to show they are ready to take that next step.  I love football, but there is NOTHING like playoff hockey in person.  

[nctarheel0619]

13 hours ago, Nails said:

Short and sweet-YES.  Doubtful they lift the Cup next year but even more doubtful they miss the playoffs.

If Sebastian Aho was not from Finland and didn't play in Raleigh he'd already be a household name.  Only 19 years old(!!!), kid can PLAY.

As long as they don't start Ward in goal anymore.  

[backINblack28]

Ward will be fine as a backup.  Darling is a boss and has been great for Chicago.  Ward had way too much weight put on his shoulders last season as Lack was injured a good part of the year and even when healthy was very inconsistent.  Realistically, the Canes had problems scoring, and literally the league worst goaltending.  They added some experience and brought back a veteran 20 goal scorer in Justin Williams, and Darling's backup stats in Chicago would have been good for better than league average.  If a team that barely misses a playoff run with some of the worst goaltending in the league adds someone who can even just be league average....think of it like the Panthers replacing Byron Bell with Oher the SB run.  Everyone thought we were crazy for getting Oher and paying him, but he didn't have to come in and be an all star LT, he just had to come in and NOT BE BYRON BELL.  As long as Darling comes in and doesn't play as trash as the goaltending last year, they'll make the playoffs.  And I think he'll be much, much better than that.  As will Ward, relegated to a backup role.

[backINblack28]

Also, for the people talking about an MLB team uptown, I'm fairly sure that a city cannot host a Triple A AND MLB team at the same time.  So the fact that the Knights just built that stadium and have an agreement in place for a while I think keeps us from it at least for a while.

[Johnny Rockets]

For those that are interested, Tom Sorenson just wrote a piece yesterday on MLB in Charlotte.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/tom-sorensen-blog/article160892494.html

 

Fantasy baseball in Charlotte differs from fantasy baseball in other cities. In other cities, people draft Major League players. In Charlotte, we attempt to draft a Major League team.

The fantasy is that we can support Major League Baseball. We’re not ready. Let the next wave of expansion, if indeed there is such a wave, wash up in Montreal or Mexico City, Nashville or Vancouver.