Sports

Dozens Of Olympic Swimmers Compete In Charlotte

Michael Tomsic — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:25:14 +0000

There are 22 Olympic medal winners diving into the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center this weekend – and that's only counting the Americans.

Some of the fastest swimmers in the world begin competing in Charlotte Thursday. Hundreds of swimmers are coming to town for the Charlotte UltraSwim, including dozens of Olympians from the U.S. and abroad. The competition has taken place here since 1986.

Sports, Ethics And Society

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Athletes have long been seen as societal role models, whether they like it or not. But in recent years, there's been a push in the sports community to use sports and athletes as agents for change, acceptance and for athletes to be leaders in matters of moral influence. We'll talk with representatives from both collegiate and professional sports programs who will discuss the ways they are pushing athletes in their organizations to use their position to better society and improve the communities in which they live, and more, when Charlotte Talks.

Enlisting Coaches In The Effort To Prevent Domestic Violence

Lisa Miller — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 21:20:32 +0000

Coaches can have a big impact on kids on and off the field. With that in mind, a group working to prevent domestic violence gathered together a couple hundred coaches in Charlotte Thursday. They discussed how to grow players into respectful, young men.

The group A Call To Men knows how to get coaches to listen up. Call in Carolina Panthers Coach Ron Rivera.

“When I started here, the very first thing I put up on my first PowerPoint: be a man,” Rivera told the coaches.

York County Looks At The Future Of Knights Stadium Property

Duncan McFadyen — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 16:14:41 +0000

The Charlotte Knights are gearing up for their last season of baseball in Fort Mill, South Carolina---their home since 1990. Construction is underway Uptown on the new BB&T Field. That will leave York County with an empty stadium that could become a liability to taxpayers. So the county is looking at what to do with it, come 2014. Duncan McFadyen spoke to Mark Farris, Director of Economic Development for York county. He says a Charlotte company is interested in buying the stadium property, but the county is considering all of its options.

Ron Green Jr. On Sports Writing

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 05:00:00 +0000

For the past three decades Ron Green Jr. has chased two elusive goals. One is to get a hole-in-one playing golf and the other is to write the perfect golf story. He has come far closer to the second goal and many times over. Green Jr. followed in his father's footsteps into the offices of the Charlotte Observer and after 22 years at the paper he is moving on. Ron Green Jr. joins us to talk about writing for sports, specifically golf, journalism at the Observer and about the next chapter in his career as a journalist, when Charlotte Talks.

The Business Of Sports

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Sports have become big business in Charlotte, but the financial aspects of at least two of our local teams have been the source of controversy. Jerry Richardson, Owner of the Carolina Panthers, has asked the city - which means taxpayers - to fund $125 million in stadium renovations. Meanwhile the Charlotte Knights are set to build an uptown baseball stadium; also a move met with mixed reactions. We'll look at that latest coaching moves, the likely economic costs of these most recent proposals and more when Charlotte Talks.

New Panthers' GM's Job Is 'To Fix Things'

Michael Tomsic — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 14:25:02 +0000

The Carolina Panthers new general manager says if he does his job right, the team will win a Super Bowl. Those were among Dave Gettleman’s comments at his introductory press conference Tuesday at the Panther’s stadium.

Panthers’ owner Jerry Richardson laid it out simply for his newest hire:

"One of the things a general manager has to do, is he has to be able to fix things," Richardson said.

Dave Gettleman has a lot to fix. He’s taking over a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in four years and hasn’t won a playoff game since 2006.

Cleveland Browns Hire Carolina Panthers Assistant Rob Chudzinski

Joseph Person/Charlotte Observer — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 14:53:40 +0000

The most eventful week in recent Panthers history took an unexpected turn Thursday night when offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski was hired as head coach of the Cleveland Browns.

Art Forgery And The Charlotte Hornets 2.0

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Part One: Art Forgery and Alberto Giacometti. Counterfeits and forgeries plague the art world. Google "Pablo Picasso" or surf over to eBay and you can own your very own Picasso fake. It's something museums, galleries and artists foundations themselves are dedicated to fighting. And there's a lot of money at stake. The most expensive sculpture ever sold at auction was by a Swiss artist named Alberto Giacometti - it sold for $104 million in 2010. Because the artist's work is so valuable, it's ripe for forgeries. We'll meet the person who spends time fighting fraud and counterfeiting for the Alberto and Annette Giacometti Foundation and hear about the Giacometti exhibit now on display at the Bechtler.

Sporting News Ends Print Run, Goes All-Digital

Greg Collard — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 22:27:12 +0000

After 126 years, the nation’s oldest sports magazine, Sporting News, is ending its print edition. The Charlotte-based magazine is going all-digital.

Before Sports Illustrated, there was The Sporting News. It was the national authority on baseball. In fact, it was commonly called the Bible of Baseball in the early 20^th century.

The Sporting News evolved into more than a baseball publication, but it couldn’t keep up with Sports Illustrated, or ESPN The Magazine.