6-16-23 roundup: Pro basketball, baseball and soccer, College baseball, Legion baseball, NASCAR

By Richard Walker

The Charlotte Hornets announced only the fourth major ownership change in the city’s NBA history on Friday.

In a move that had been previously reported in March, Michael Jordan’s 13-year tenure as majority owner has come to an end as he has sold the majority stake in the franchise to a group of led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall for a reported $3 billion.

The reported sale price indicates just how much the franchise value has increased since the NBA first granted an expansion franchise to original Hornets owner George Shinn on April 5, 1987.

Back then, Shinn paid an expansion fee of $32.5 million.

After Shinn moved the Hornets to New Orleans following the 2001-02 season, the owner Bob Johnson paid a $300 million expansion fee for the Charlotte Bobcats.

Johnson sold majority ownership to Jordan on Feb. 26, 2010 for $275 million with Jordan’s ownership group inheriting $150 million of debt from Johnson’s ownership group.

In his 14 seasons as NBA majority owner, Jordan’s teams have made three playoff appearances two NBA play-in tournament appearances without ever winning a series.

The Hornets, who along with the New Orleans Pelicans are the only two existing franchises without a NBA conference finals appearance, have gone a league-long 7 seasons without advancing to the playoffs and are tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the longest streak of seasons without a playoff victory at 19.

Jordan’s 2015-16 Hornets were the best in his tenure with a 48-34 overall record and a 4-3 first round playoff loss to the Miami Heat.

In Jordan’s third season as a majority owner (2011-12), the franchise went 7-59 for the worst single-season winning percentage in NBA history.

As part of the transaction, Jordan will remain a minority owner for the franchise.

And the transaction is subject to the approval of the NBA Board of Governors. In addition to the team, Hornets Sports & Entertainment includes the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League and Hornets Venom GT of the NBA 2K League as well as operation of Charlotte’s Spectrum Center.

Plotkin, who acquired a minority stake in the Hornets in 2019, has been an alternate governor on the NBA Board of Governors since 2019 and is the founder and chief investment officer of Tallwoods Capital LLC.

Schnall is co-president of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice LLC, where he has worked for 27 years, and has been a significant minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks and an alternate governor on the NBA Board of Governors since 2015. Schnall is in the process of selling his investment in the Hawks, which is expected to be completed in the next several weeks.

The ownership will also include Chris Shumway, Dan Sundheim, Ian Loring, Dyal HomeCourt Partners, North Carolina natives and recording artists J. Cole and Eric Church and several local investors among them Gastonia’s Andy Warlick and Charlotte’s Amy Levine Dawson and Damian Mills.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Legion baseball

(Friday’s games)
Cleveland County 7, Caldwell County 4

Mint Hill 6, Gaston Braves 4

(North-South Challenge at Fort Mill, S.C.)
Florence, S.C. 15, Cherryville 4 (5 innings)
Fort Mill, S.C. 8, Cherryville 3

Cherryville Junior Legion 20, Belmont 5

East Rutherford Junior Legion 13, Bessemer City 0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

College baseball

The College World Series schedule:

(Friday, June 16)
Game 1: Oral Roberts (51-11) vs. TCU (42-22) – Oral Roberts 6-5
Game 2: Virginia (50-13) vs. Florida (50-15) – Florida 6-5
(Saturday, June 17)
Game 3: Stanford (44-18) vs. Wake Forest (52-10), 2 p.m.
Game 4: Tennessee (43-20) vs. LSU (48-15), 7 p.m.
(Sunday, June 18)
Game 5: TCU vs. Virginia, 2 p.m.
Game 6: Oral Roberts vs. Florida, 7 p.m.
(Monday, June 19)
Game 7: June 17 losers, 2 p.m.
Game 8: June 17 winners, 7 p.m.
(Tuesday, June 20)
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 loser, 2 p.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 loser, 7 p.m.
(Wednesday, June 21)
Game 11: Game 6 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 2 p.m.
Game 12: Game 8 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 7 p.m.
(Thursday, June 22)
Game 13: Game 11 loser (if 1st loss) vs. Game 11 winner, 2 or 7 p.m.
Game 14: Game 12 loser (if 1st loss) vs. Game 12 winner, 7 p.m.

Best-of-3 finals: June 16 bracket winner vs. June 17 bracket winner
Game 1: June 24, 7 p.m.
Game 2: June 25, 3 p.m.
Game 3 (if necessary): June 26, 7 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pro soccer

Here is Charlotte FC’s full 2023 schedule with results:

(7-7-4 record)
Feb. 25 New England Revolution (L 0-1)
March 4 at St. Louis City SC (L 1-3)
March 11 Atlanta United FC (L 0-3)
March 18 at Orlando City SC (W 2-1)
March 25 New York Red Bulls (T 1-1)
April 1 at Toronto FC (T 2-2)
April 8 at Real Salt Lake (L 1-3)
April 15 Colorado Rapids (T 2-2)
April 22 Columbus Crew (W 1-0)
April 29 at D.C. United (L 0-3)
May 6 New York City FC (W 3-2)
May 13 at Atlanta United FC (W 3-1)
May 17 Chicago Fire FC (W 2-1)
May 20 Nashville SC (L 1-2)
May 27 at L.A. Galaxy (W 1-0)
May 31 at Philadelphia Union (L 0-1)
June 3 at Columbus Crew (W 4-2)
June 10 Seattle Sounders FC (T 3-3)
June 21 at New York Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.
June 24 CF Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
July 5 at New York City FC, 7:30 p.m.
July 8 FC Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.
July 15 at CF Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 20 at Inter Miami CF, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 26 L.A. FC, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 30 Orlando City SC, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 2 at Nashville SC, 8:30 p.m.
Sept. 16 D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 20 Philadelphia Union, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 23 at FC Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 30 at New England Revolution, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 4 Toronto FC, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 7 at Chicago Fire FC, 8:30 p.m.
Oct. 21 Inter Miami CF, TBD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pro baseball

Durham 9, Charlotte 2: The Bulls scored five runs in 4 2/3 innings off first-time Knights starter Chase Solesky, who was promoted from Class AA Birmingham earlier in the day, to take the 4th game of the 6-game series at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The 5th game of the series is 6:35 p.m. on Saturday.

Here is the full Charlotte Knights’ 2023 schedule:

Overall record: 31-36
March 31-April 2 Louisville (2-1)
April 4-9 at Columbus (3-3)
April 11-16 Jacksonville (3-3)
April 18-23 at Louisville (2-4)
April 25-30 Norfolk (2-4)
May 2-7 at Gwinnett (4-2)
May 9-14 Durham (3-3)
May 16-21 Scranton-Wilkes Barre (2-4)
May 23-28 at Jacksonville (4-2)
May 30-June 4 Nashville (3-3)
June 6-11 at Gwinnett (1-5)
June 13-18 at Durham (2-2)
June 20-25 Louisville
June 28-July 3 at Norfolk
July 4-9 Jacksonville
July 14-16 at Lehigh Valley
July 18-23 Memphis
July 25-30 at Durham
Aug. 1-6 at Norfolk
Aug. 8-13 Gwinnett
Aug. 15-20 at Nashville
Aug. 22-24, 26-27 Memphis
Aug. 28-Sept. 3 at Jacksonville
Sept. 5-10 Durham
Sept. 12-17 Nashville
Sept. 18-24 at Memphis

Gastonia 5, Staten Island 4: Curtis Terry’s RBI groundout in the bottom of the 7th snapped a 4-all tie and gave the Honey Hunters the victory. Earlier Friday, Gastonia pitcher/coach Ian McKinney signed with Kiwomm Heroes of the Korean Baseball League.

Here is the full Gastonia Honey Hunters’ 2023 schedule:

Overall record: 30-13
April (3-0)
28 Frederick (W 10-4)
29 Frederick (W 8-6)
30 Frederick (W 7-4)

May (17-9)
2 at So. Maryland (W 8-6)
3 at So. Maryland (W 11-6)
4 at So. Maryland (L 2-4)
5 at Long Island (W 3-2)
6 at Long Island (L 1-3)
7 at Long Island (L 4-6)
9 Frederick (W 2-1 in 10)
10 Frederick (W 10-0)
11 Frederick (W 9-7)
12 at High Point (L 5-8)
13 at High Point (W 12-5)
14 at High Point (L 3-4)
16 Charleston, W.Va. (W 13-4)
17 Charleston, W.Va. (W 4-2)
18 Charleston, W.Va. (L 4-6)
19 at Lexington (W 15-2)
20 at Lexington (W 8-0)
21 at Lexington (W 5-3)
23 at Frederick (W 6-0)
24 at Frederick (W 8-5)
25 at Frederick (W 8-3)
26 Lancaster (L 3-4 in 11)
27 Lancaster (ppd., rain)
28 Lancaster (ppd., rain)
29 Lancaster (W 9-1)
29 Lancaster (L 3-4)
30 High Point (L 8-10)
31 High Point (W 14-10)

June (9-4)
1 High Point (W 7-4)
2 Lexington (W 3-2)
3 Lexington (W 10-1)
4 Lexington (W 4-1)
6 at Charleston, W.Va. (W 4-1)
7 at Charleston, W.Va. (L 1-13)
8 at Charleston, W.Va. (L 2-4)
9 at Frederick (W 5-4)
10 at Frederick (W 12-7)
11 at Frederick (L 6-9)
13 So. Maryland (W 5-0)
14 So. Maryland (L 9-10)
15 So. Maryland (W 11-6)
16 Staten Island (W 5-4)
17 Staten Island
18 Staten Island
20 at Lancaster
21 at Lancaster
22 at Lancaster
23 at Staten Island
24 at Staten Island
25 at Staten Island
27 High Point
28 High Point
29 High Point
30 So. Maryland

July
1 So. Maryland
2 So. Maryland
4 at Frederick
5 at Frederick
6 at Frederick
7 at High Point
8 at High Point
9 at High Point
11 at Charleston, W.Va.
12 at Charleston, W.Va.
13 at Charleston, W.Va.
14 Staten Island
15 Staten Island
16 Staten Island
18 High Point
19 High Point
20 High Point
21 at So. Maryland
22 at So. Maryland
23 at So. Maryland
25 at Staten Island
26 at Staten Island
27 at Staten Island
28 at Long Island
29 at Long Island
30 at Long Island

August
1 High Point
2 High Point
3 High Point
4 Lexington
5 Lexington
6 Lexington
8 Frederick
9 Frederick
10 Frederick
11 at Long Island
12 at Long Island
13 at Long Island
15 York
16 York
17 York
18 Lexington
19 Lexington
20 Lexington
22 at Long Island
23 at Long Island
24 at Long Island
25 at Lancaster
26 at Lancaster
27 at Lancaster
29 Frederick
30 Frederick
31 Frederick

September
1 So. Maryland
2 So. Maryland
3 So. Maryland
4 So. Maryland
5 at High Point
6 at High Point
7 at High Point
8 Charleston, W.Va.
9 Charleston, W.Va.
10 Charleston, W.Va.
12 So. Maryland
13 So. Maryland
14 So. Maryland
15 at Lexington
16 at Lexington
17 at Lexington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Auto racing

The 2023 NASCAR schedule (with winners in parentheses):

Feb 5 Clash at The Coliseum, Los Angeles CA (Martin Truex, Jr.)
Feb 16 Duel No. 1, Daytona Beach FL (Joey Logano)
Feb 16 Duel No. 2, Daytona Beach FL (Aric Almirola)
Feb 19 Daytona 500, Daytona Beach FL (Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.)
Feb 26 NASCAR Cup Series at California, Fontana CA (Kyle Busch)
Mar 5 NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas, Las Vegas NV (William Byron)
Mar 12 NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix, Avondale AZ (William Byron-2)
Mar 19 NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta, Hampton GA (Joey Logano-2)
Mar 26 NASCAR Cup Series at Circuit of the Americas, Austin TX (Tyler Reddick)
Apr 2 NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond, Richmond VA (Kyle Larson)
Apr 9 NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol, Bristol TN (Christopher Bell)
Apr 16 NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville, Martinsville VA (Kyle Larson-2)
Apr 23 NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega, Lincoln AL (Kyle Busch-2)
May 1 NASCAR Cup Series at Dover, Dover DE (Martin Truex, Jr.-2)
May 7 NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas, Kansas City KS (Denny Hamlin)
May 14 NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington, Darlington SC (William Byron-3)
May 21 NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Open Race, North Wilkesboro NC (Josh Berry)
May 21 NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race, North Wilkesboro NC (Kyle Larson-3)
May 29 NASCAR Cup Series at Charlotte, Concord NC (Ryan Blaney)
Jun 4 NASCAR Cup Series at World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison IL (Kyle Busch-3)
Jun 11 NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma, Sonoma CA (Martin Trues, Jr.-3)
Jun 25 NASCAR Cup Series at Nashville, Lebanon TN, 7 p.m. on NBC
Jul 2 NASCAR Cup Series at Chicago, Chicago IL, 5:30 p.m. on NBC
Jul 9 NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta, Hampton GA, 7 p.m. on USA
Jul 16 NASCAR Cup Series at New Hampshire, Loudon NH, 2:30 p.m. on USA
Jul 23 NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono, Long Pond PA, 2:30 p.m. on USA
Jul 30 NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond, Richmond VA, 3 p.m. on USA
Aug 6 NASCAR Cup Series at Michigan, Brooklyn MI, 2:30 p.m. on USA
Aug 13 NASCAR Cup Series at Indianapolis Road Course, Speedway IN, 2:30 p.m. on NBC
Aug 20 NASCAR Cup Series at Watkins Glen, Watkins Glen NY, 3 p.m. on USA
Aug 26 NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona, Daytona Beach FL, 7 p.m. on NBC

(Cup Playoffs)
Sep 3 NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington, Darlington SC, 6 p.m. on USA
Sep 10 NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas, Kansas City KS, 3 p.m. on USA
Sep 16 NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol, Bristol TN, 7:30 p.m. on USA
Sep 24 NASCAR Cup Series at Texas, Fort Worth TX, 3:30 p.m. on USA
Oct 1 NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega, Lincoln AL, 2 p.m. on NBC
Oct 8 NASCAR Cup Series at Charlotte, Concord NC, 2 p.m. on NBC
Oct 15 NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas, Las Vegas NV, 2:30 p.m. on NBC
Oct 22 NASCAR Cup Series at Miami, Homestead FL, 2:30 p.m. on NBC
Oct 29 NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville, Martinsville, 2 p.m. on NBC
Nov 5 NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix, Avondale AZ, 3 p.m. on NBC