7-24-23 roundup: Pro football, baseball, basketball and soccer, Legion baseball, College football, NASCAR
By Richard Walker
The Charlotte Hornets are entering a new frontier this week after the NBA’s Board of Governors approved the sale of the Charlotte Hornets to a group led by Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin and ending Michael Jordan’s 13-year run as majority owner.
The vote was reportedly 29-1 with only the New York Knicks’ Jim Dolan voting against the sale.
Earlier this summer, the Hornets granted guard LaMelo Ball the highest-paying contract in franchise history – a 5-year, maximum rookie contract extension worth as much as $260 million.
Last week, Ball talked to reporters about the contract that pays him a base of $205.9 million but could increase to $260 million incentives based on Ball’s performance and the success of the Hornets.
“The decision, it wasn’t really hard,” Ball told The Charlotte Observer. “All my years here I’ve had a good time. Life wasn’t bad. The basketball aspect, that’s not really going well. You kind of want to live your life and just have fun and just be living well. So in Charlotte I was doing that, so it just all felt like a great choice.”
Ball’s deal comes after ankle injuries limited him to 36 games last season while averaging 23.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 8.4 assists.
Ball’s contract can become more than double the previous highest-paying salary in team history of $120 million signed by Nic Batum in 2016 and Gordon Hayward in 2020.
Legion baseball
Full pairings for the N.C. state Legion tournament at Jim Perry Stadium, Campbell University:
(Tuesday, July 25)
Game 1 – Area 1 No. 1 (Pitt County Post 39 – 16-9) vs. Area 4 No. 2 (Cleveland County Post 82-155 – 24-9), 10 a.m.
Game 2 – Area 3 No. 2 (High Point Post 87 – 17-4) vs. Area 2 No. 1 (Wilmington Post 10 – 16-2), 1 p.m.
Game 3 – Area 1 No. 3 (Wayne County Post 11 – 30-6) vs. Area 3 No. 1 (Rowan County Post 342 – 37-5), 4:30 p.m.
Game 4 – Host/Area No. 2 (Fuquay-Varina Post 116 – 23-3) vs. Area 4 No. 1 (Cherryville Post 100 – 22-12), 7:30 p.m.
(Wednesday, July 26)
Game 5 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 10 a.m.
Game 6 – Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 1 p.m.
Game 7 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 4:30 p.m.
Game 8 – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7:30 p.m.
(Thursday, July 27)
Game 9 – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 7, 1 p.m.
Game 10 – Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 8, 4:30 p.m.
Game 11 – Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 7:30 p.m.
(Friday, July 28)
Game 12 – Winner Game 9 vs. Loser Game 11, 4:30 p.m.
Game 13 – Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 10, 7:30 p.m.
(Saturday, July 29)
Game 14 – Winner Game 12 vs. Winner Game 13, Noon
Game 15 – if necessary, 3 p.m.
The full Area IV playoff schedule:
-First round (July 1-5, best of 5)
West No. 1 Cleveland County, West No. 2 Cherryville, East No. 1 Queen City – byes
East No. 4 Matthews vs. West No. 5 Burke (M wins series 3-0)
West No. 3 Asheville vs. East No. 6 Gastonia (A wins series 3-0)
East No. 2 Mint Hill vs. West No. 7 Hickory (H wins series 3-2)
West No. 4 Rutherford vs. East No. 5 Lincoln (R wins series 3-0)
East No. 3 Gaston Braves vs. West No. 6 Caldwell (C wins series 3-1)
-Quarterfinals (July 6-11, best of 5)
West No. 1 Cleveland vs. East No. 4 Matthews (C wins series 3-0)
West No. 3 Asheville vs. West No. 7 Hickory (A wins series 3-0)
East No. 1 Queen City vs. West No. 4 Rutherford (R wins series 3-0)
West No. 6 Caldwell vs. West No. 2 Cherryville (Cherryville wins series 3-0)
-Semifinals (July 12-19, best of 7)
West No. 1 Cleveland vs. West No. 3 Asheville (C wins series 4-0)
West No. 4 Rutherford vs. West No. 2 Cherryville (C wins series 4-1)
-Final (July 20-22, 1 game or best of 3)
West No. 1 Cleveland vs. West No. 2 Cherryville (Cherryville wins series 2-0)
Both opponents for the North Carolina teams in the upcoming American Legion Southeast Regionals in Asheboro were determined on Sunday.
The North Carolina champion, which will be determined in this week’s tournament, will face South Carolina champion Florence; Florence won its 8th state title in history by defeating defending state champion Rock Hill 8-1 on Sunday in the 6-team tournament title game.
The host team, Randolph County Post 45, will face Tennessee champion Columbia Post 19, which won its 13th straight state title over the weekend. Randolph County (23-6) advanced to the Area III semifinals before losing to eventual Area III champion Rowan County.
Here are the pairings for the Aug. 2-6 Southeast Regionals that will be played at McCrary Park in Asheboro:
Southeast (Region 3 at Asheboro NC)
(Wednesday, Aug. 2)
Game 1 – Georgia vs. Kentucky, 9:30 a.m.
Game 2 – Florida vs. Virginia, 12:30 p.m.
Game 3 – South Carolina (Florence) vs. North Carolina, 4:30 p.m.
Game 4 – Tennessee (Columbia) vs. Host (Randolph County NC), 7:30 p.m.
(Thursday, Aug. 3)
Game 5 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3, 9:30 a.m.
Game 6 – Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 4, 12:30 p.m.
Game 7 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 3, 4:30 p.m.
Game 8 – Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 4, 7:30 p.m.
(Friday, Aug. 4)
Game 9 – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 7, 12:30 p.m.
Game 10 – Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 8, 4:30 p.m.
Game 11 – Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 7:30 p.m.
(Saturday, Aug. 5)
Game 12 – Winner Game 9 vs. Loser Game 11, 4:30 p.m.
Game 13 – Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 11, 7:30 p.m.
(Sunday, Aug. 6)
Game 14 – Winner Game 12 vs. Winner Game 13, 1:30 p.m.
Game 15 – If necessary, 4:30 p.m.
College football
College football’s premier pregame show will make an appearance in Charlotte for the Sept. 2 season-opening South Carolina-North Carolina game that will be played at Bank of America Stadium.
ESPN’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot will kick off its 2023 college football season in the Duke’s Mayo Classic with a live appearance at Romare Bearden Park in uptown Charlotte.
The three-hour show will begin at 9 a.m. for GameDay’s 37th season and 30th year of road shows. The game between South Carolina and North Carolina is slated for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff and will be televised nationally on ABC.
This is the third trip to uptown Charlotte for College GameDay in recent years; The show also originated from Romare Bearden Park before the 2017 ACC championship game between Clemson and Miami, Fla., and the 2021 Duke’s Mayo Classic when Georgia met Clemson in Week 1.
Pro soccer
Here is Charlotte FC’s full 2023 schedule with results:
(7-8-8 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 (T 2-2)
June 24 CF Montreal (T 0-0)
July 5 at New York City FC (T 1-1)
July 8 FC Cincinnati (T 2-2)
July 15 at CF Montreal (L 0-2)
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
(Leagues Cup schedule – Group stage)
July 21 at FC Dallas (T 2-2, wins 4-1 on penalty kicks)
July 29 Necaxa, 7:30 p.m.
Pro baseball
Here is the full Charlotte Knights’ 2023 schedule:
Overall record: 38-57
First half record: 35-40
Second half record: 3-17
-First half
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 (3-3)
June 20-25 Louisville (3-3)
-Second half
June 28-July 3 at Norfolk (1-4)
July 4-9 Jacksonville (1-5)
July 14-16 at Lehigh Valley (0-3)
July 18-23 Memphis (1-5)
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
Here is the full Gastonia Honey Hunters’ 2023 schedule:
Overall record: 49-27
First half record: 41-22
Second half record: 8-5
-First half
April (3-0)
28 Spire City (W 10-4)
29 Spire City (W 8-6)
30 Spire City (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 Spire City (W 2-1 in 10)
10 Spire City (W 10-0)
11 Spire City (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 Spire City (W 6-0)
24 at Spire City (W 8-5)
25 at Spire City (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 (19-8)
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 Spire City (W 5-4)
10 at Spire City (W 12-7)
11 at Spire City (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 (W 7-5)
18 Staten Island (W 5-1)
20 at Lancaster (L 0-6)
21 at Lancaster (W 9-7)
22 at Lancaster (W 4-1)
22 at Lancaster (L 2-6)
24 at Staten Island (W 12-3)
25 at Staten Island (L 2-7)
27 High Point (W 8-3)
28 High Point (W 7-3)
29 High Point (L 1-11)
30 So. Maryland (W 15-0)
July (8-9)
1 So. Maryland (L 6-7)
1 So. Maryland (W 8-7)
2 So. Maryland (W 3-2 in 10)
4 at Spire City (L 3-4)
5 at Spire City (L 8-18)
6 at Spire City (L 4-6)
7 at High Point (L 1-8)
-Second half
8 at High Point (W 7-2)
9 at High Point (L 13-14)
11 at Charleston, W.Va. (W 5-3)
12 at Charleston, W.Va. (W 2-1)
13 at Charleston, W.Va. (ppd.)
14 Staten Island (W 7-3)
15 Staten Island (L 10-12 in 10)
16 Staten Island (W 13-8)
18 High Point (W 6-5)
19 High Point (L 5-9)
20 High Point (W 10-5)
21 at So. Maryland (L 9-11)
22 at So. Maryland (W 8-6)
23 at So. Maryland (L 8-12)
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 Spire City
9 Spire City
10 Spire City
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 Spire City
30 Spire City
31 Spire City
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
Pro football
The Carolina Panthers’ training camp schedule:
Practices (at Wofford unless noted):
July 26-27 10:15 a.m.
July 29 11 a.m.
July 31 10:25 a.m.
Aug. 1 10:15 p.m.
Aug. 2 Fan Fest at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium, 7 p.m.
Aug. 4 10:25 a.m.
Aug. 5-6 10:15 a.m.
Aug. 8 10:15 a.m.
Aug. 9 Joint practice with N.Y. Jets, 10:15 a.m.
Aug. 10 Joint practice with N.Y. Jets, 9 a.m.
Here is the 2023 preseason and regular season schedule for the Carolina Panthers:
(Preseason)
Aug. 12 N.Y. Jets, 4 p.m.
Aug. 18 at N.Y. Giants, 7 p.m.
Aug. 25 Detroit, 8 p.m.
(Regular season)
Sept. 10 at Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Sept. 18 New Orleans, 7:15 p.m.
Sept. 24 at Seattle, 4:05 p.m.
Oct. 1 Minnesota, 1 p.m.
Oct. 8 at Detroit, 1 p.m.
Oct. 15 at Miami, 1 p.m.
Oct. 22 OFF WEEK
Oct. 29 Houston, 1 p.m.
Nov. 5 Indianapolis, 4:05 p.m.
Nov. 9 at Chicago, 8:15 p.m.
Nov. 19 Dallas, 1 p.m.
Nov. 26 at Tennessee, 1 p.m.
Dec. 3 at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Dec. 10 at New Orleans, 1 p.m.
Dec. 17-18 Atlanta, TBD
Dec. 24 Green Bay, 1 p.m.
Dec. 31 at Jacksonville, 1 p.m.
Jan. 6-7 Tampa Bay, TBD
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 Truex, Jr.-3)
Jun 25 NASCAR Cup Series at Nashville, Lebanon TN (Ross Chastain)
Jul 2 NASCAR Cup Series at Chicago, Chicago IL (Shane van Gisbergen)
Jul 9 NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta, Hampton GA (William Byron-4)
Jul 17 NASCAR Cup Series at New Hampshire, Loudon NH, noon on USA (Martin Truex, Jr.-4)
Jul 23 NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono, Long Pond PA, 2:30 p.m. on USA (Denny Hamlin-2)
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