During NBA All-Star weekend, Commissioner David Stern announced that he expected the Charlotte Bobcats to be sold within 60 days. For the Commish to throw this out, there has to be strong substance to the story. Now, as more information has surfaced regarding the sale, Michael Jordan is attempting to put a group together to purchase the team. Former Houston Rockets president/CEO George Postolos has expressed interest in buying the team but Jordan has first right of refusal as minority owner and has 30 days to get his offer ready. Now the question begs to be asked, "Will the Bobcats be better with Jordan as owner?". Jordan has one supporter in head coach Larry Brown who said, "I'm hopeful that at the end of the day (after a sale) Michael will be running the Bobcats.''

Will Hall of Famer, Michael Jordan
be the next owner of the Bobcats?

Bob Johnson, who has been an absentee owner of the team and is rarely seen at the arena, never really embraced the Charlotte community. Would Michael Jordan? After the bitter taste left in the community after George Shinn moved the Hornets to New Orleans, Charlotte needs an owner who is active in the community and brings a sense of pride to it. In turn, the City would likely warm back up to the NBA Franchise. But like Johnson, Jordan (who is currently in charge of basketball operations, unofficially) is only at the games occasionally. He has/is building a home in the Miami area, so would this be more of the same for the team? As much as Jordan was loved in the state of North Carolina for many years, a completely different generation is now in play. There is becoming a disconnect from the younger generation as guys like Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird's playing days become further and further in the rear view mirror. We are now in the generation of Lebron James and Kobe Bryant. The heyday of Jordan is now over a decade in history. So is it fair to say that his mere presence as owner will generate a buzz with the fans? Not to the level it once did.

For me, if Jordan doesn't commit himself completely to this franchise then they would be better if he didn't own it. After all, that is exactly what Bob Johnson did and it ended up costing him millions of dollars. I am a huge Jordan fan and would love to see him commit the same type of energy to owning the team as he did as a player. We all know what he is capable of doing when he decides to. However, it may be beneficial purely in regards to keeping Coach Larry Brown in the mix. Make no mistake about it, it has been Brown who has directed the personnel changes that have now put this team enroute to it's first playoff birth. While the Cats have dropped the ball at the NBA Draft, they have made impressive moves bringing in guys like Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw. Give Jordan credit for making these moves possible and give Brown credit for the vision. Together, they have made a good team in a short period of time. Brown appears to like his role with the team and the freedom he is given to put the pieces together to build it. And we all know Brown's history of success in winning. Unlike his stint in New York, Brown seems to like the process of basically building this team from scratch into a contender. Whether he will be here for years or a short stint, he is laying the foundation for this team to be successful in the future, now. So will Brown be here if Jordan is not? After all, it was Jordan who brought Brown here and they have a good working relationship.

Larry Brown has done a nice job with
the Charlotte Bobcats

I realize that it has been aggrevating for fans who see Jordan at casino's and partying with strippers and model's around the world. He has chosen to play golf while other NBA personnel guys were aggresively going after free agents. Could it be that he knew Bob Johnson simply was not going to be proactive and he was playing the cards he was allowed to play? As owner, would he be more aggresive and hands on like a Joe Dumars or Danny Ainge? And who would be in charge of his player personnel? Would he act as owner and head of basketball operations and commit the time and energy to this franchise to do both? These are questions that will be answered soon. Jordan is on the clock. As a player, that is exactly where you wanted him. With the basketball in his hands and time running out.

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Opponents of North Carolina hate it when they play the history card. While it is very easy to jump on the Tarheels when they have a down season, it is not so easy to hear what has been total domination of every ACC School that you want to line up against them. Looking at these statistics, it stands to reason why some of the fans of these schools revel in Carolina's failures. Simply stated, those failures do not happen often and don't remain long. So it is certainly understandable the glee many feel right now given the down year that North Carolina finds themselves in. Maybe these statistics show why the joy is so overflowing. These are North Carolina's all time head to head results against ACC opponents going into this season:

North Carolina 6 Boston College 4
North Carolina 137 Duke 97
North Carolina 122 Clemson 19
North Carolina 40 Florida State 9
North Carolina 114 Maryland 56
North Carolina 59 Georgia Tech 19
North Carolina 13 Miami 2
North Carolina 140 N.C. State 75
North Carolina 124 Virginia 48
North Carolina 59 Virginia Tech 12
North Carolina 151 Wake Forest 64

That is a grand total head to head, all time against current ACC Opponents:

North Carolina 965 Opponents 405

North Carolina has won well over 2-1 games played against all of their ACC Opponents combined. That is total domination. You could almost make a case given the numbers, that there are no rivals. Don't you have to be competitive before it becomes a rivalry?

And for good measure, North Carolina leads the all time series against Kentucky coming into this season 21-10, Syracuse 4-2 and Michigan State 9-2.

Dean Smith is a big reason Carolina has
compiled such dominating numbers

Point being this, North Carolina fans should take comfort in the fact that their opponents are so utterly exuberant in the Tarheels failures this season. It only validates the fact that North Carolina has been so dominant over the years to the point it vehemently brings out their "rivals" celebratory bliss for their lack of success on the occasion that it happens. This season turns out to be one of those rare occasions. And those rivals are taking full advantage of it. Who could blame them? Those numbers listed above can only fuel pent up frustration that can only be exercised during a season similar to this one. All North Carolina fans can do is take it on the chin and realize that one season will not tilt the tradition that accrued the gaudy numbers listed. And for those who are on the opposite side of North Carolina, be careful. You know that the hammer will swing back around heavier and stronger than the one currently pounding the Heels this season.

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If you are a North Carolina fan, you had to think in the back of your mind that what has unfolded this season could happen. When you have a commitment from your players to come back for one more season to try and win a Championship (which they did last season) and there is a mass exodus of those players,then it is more likely than not that you will struggle. If those players from last seasons Championship team had trickled into the NBA instead of all departing at once, then you would have a more subtle rebuilding process. As it turned out, Coach Roy Williams is basically having to bring a huge bulk of his young team along all together. Couple that with key injuries and you have what you have. Given the fact that Williams is averaging a National Championship every 3 years since his return to Chapel Hill, it is a little easier for Carolina fans to take a down year knowing that they will be back in the mix sooner rather than later.

Roy Williams' Tarheels are struggling

What is up with the Atlantic Coast Conference? It is turned upside down. You have Virginia atop the standings at 3-0 and you have North Carolina near the bottom at 1-3 and Duke in the middle of the pack at 3-2. What is surprising is that neither North Carolina or Duke are playing very good basketball and have lineups filled with holes. North Carolina's struggles have been well documented but Duke has been unable to win on the road and again are very weak inside. That and the fact that they still do not have a true point guard and their best scorer is forced to play out of positon, does not spell success for a deep run in post season.

Right now in my mind, Georgia Tech and Clemson look to be the two best teams in the conference. They are both physical and get after you on defense. Both have a lot of components offensively and are hard to defend. If either one of these polish things up, they could make a splash in the
NCAA Tournament. Question is, will they be able to buck history and get it all together when it counts? Until this week, it looked like Duke was the best team in the conference and there was a scramble behind them. Now, not so much. And what about Virginia and NC State? Can Virginia keep
this up or are they a fraud? One thing for certain, they are well coach in Tony Bennett. He coaches a style that can be frustrating for teams who like to get the ball up and down
the court. NC State, looked left for dead a week ago but after the way they played against Duke, it is hard to figure which Wolfpack team will show up down the stretch.

Tony Bennett and the Cavaliers have been surprising

At first glance, the ACC looks weak again as a conference. We should have seen the warning signs when the league lost the Big Ten-ACC Challenge for the first time since it's inception. It will make for an interesting season given the fact that there are so many teams piled up with no clear
cut favorite. You have to believe some teams will find their rhythm and put it together before tournament time, who will it be? Stay tuned.

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