Charlotte

Rally Near Raleigh


Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services 

The Charlotte Bobcats will be rallying this Thursday in downtown Charlotte. Streets will be closed. Bands will be playing. Dancers will be dancing. Players will be posing.

And Emeka Okafor? Will he be giving a keynote speech as per their Okafor in 2004 campaign?

Are the Bobcats taking the political thing too far? Do basketball fans really care where Okafor comes down on the issues?

The program and agenda (see Team Notes below) does not seem to include time for either political stumping or even a question-and-answer period, though Mayor Pat McCrory will be on hand. It's just a community-building event jointly sponsored by Johnson & Wales University. JWU has just begun classes and the Bobcats are just days away from opening training camp.

Regardless of who speaks and on what topic, it will be an enjoyable time. The Bobcats Dance Team will be there, after all.

TEAM NOTES
Rally/Concert for the Charlotte Bobcats and Johnson & Wales University: On Thursday, September 16, Bob Johnson and Art Gallagher will both be on hand along with their staffs and their teams. Bobcats players will join us along with TV play-by-play announcer Matt Devlin, Rufus Lynx and the Bobcats Dance Team. Every JWU student has also been invited to attend. The event is free and open to the public.

Vote Emeka Okafor in 2004. Check out Charlotte's new webpage at okaforin04.com: Join the Okafor in '04 campaign today and watch this champion and patriot lead his franchise forward. He's a born leader A tireless worker. And he is the people's choice!

Sign up herefor the free, official email newsletter of the Bobcats.

NEWSLINES

Scooby Axson ofThe Oklahoma Dailywrites: St. Louis native Nelly has a lot on his plate these days. He stays busy as a fashion designer with his Vokal line, a co-owner of the NBA’s newest franchise the Charlotte Bobcats and a co-star with Adam Sandler and Chris Rock in a remake of the Burt Reynolds’ film “The Longest Yard.”Now it’s his turn to take a stab at the double CD format that most artists think will translate into guaranteed success.