The curse is broken!

Well, I went to the Bobcats game last night against the Wizards. And it was a highly entertaining, tense game, so I was stressing until the final 1.9 seconds that I might see Charlotte go 0-3 in the games I've attended this year. But at that 1.9 second mark, Raymond Felton hit a beautiful fadeaway shot to put the Bobcats up by two. I feared a 3-point buzzer beater by Washington, but they settled for an Antawn Jamison scoop shot that fell short, sealing the Bobcats' win and snapping their 3-game losing streak.

It was the best of the three games I've been to so far this season, and not just because Charlotte won. The game was close and tightly contested the entire way, with the teams ending each quarter within 3 points of each other. Neither team led by more than 7 points the entire game.

It's good to know I'm not a jinx on my hometown team. Now I can go to games worry-free!

I might be bad luck...

Well, the Bobcats are 0-2 in games I've attended this season. They lost to Charlotte's former team, the Hornets, 104-99 on Saturday night.

The Cats started strong and led by 10 at halftime, but they crumbled in the 3rd quarter, being outscored 36-21. Charlotte's defense, their greatest strength all season, let up a barrage of Hornets buckets down the stretch. Although, some of what hurt the Bobcats was the fact that seemingly every 2nd half shot the Hornets put up was falling. Stephen Jackson gave the crowd some hope with about 30 seconds left when he converted an old fashioned 3-point play, but Charlotte again let New Orleans score and then couldn't deliver another basket at the offensive end.

It was disappointing to see the Bobcats show flashes of the exciting play that has gotten them into the playoff picture but then ultimately limp to a third consecutive loss. But I got extremely cheap tickets (thanks again, eBay!) to tonight's game against the Wizards, so hopefully I can see them turn it around.

On a final note, the Hornets' jerseys were kind of odd looking. And they seem to have at least five team colors: the "creole blue" and white of their warm-ups and standard uniforms, and the green, purple and gold of their "NOLA" jerseys. Strange. It's not like the Cavaliers, who wear throwbacks and alternates from their relatively long history. The Hornets have only been in "NOLA" since 2002! However, I admit to kind of liking the trippy two-sided jerseys.

Weekend of Pro Sports Action: Part Two

The Carolina Hurricanes are no longer in last place in the NHL standings. By handing the Bruins a 5-1 Boston massacre, the Canes moved one point ahead of the Edmonton Oilers, into 29th place in the league. And I was there to see it!

Okay, so being 29th instead of 30th doesn't change the fact that Carolina has still had a very disappointing season and would need a miracle to reach the playoffs. But in a season this bleak - especially after reaching the Conference Finals last season - small victories must be cherished. And there were other reasons to be excited about the win.

It was Cam Ward's 131st career victory, placing him first on the franchise's all-time list, ahead of Artus Irbe. Ward was brilliant, stopping 27 of Boston's 28 shots on goal. He unfortunately missed recording his first shutout of the season when David Krejci scored a power play goal at 8:56 of the 3rd period. The Warden made some beautiful saves to protect the Carolina lead and allow his team to put the hammer down on offense.

The Carolina power play continued its recent success, converting on an Eric Staal goal 4:26 into the 2nd. The goal was Staal's 5th as team captain, as he has scored in each of his first three games wearing the 'C.' The Canes' power play is now 8-for-21 - a 38% clip - over the last 5 games. They've moved up to 18th in the league with a 17.6% success rate. It's really great to see after some really ugly man advantages earlier this season. Carolina has reportedly been working on the power play a lot recently during practice, and it has definitely showed.

Another bright spot of the win is that it pulled the Hurricanes to within one game of .500 at home this season. They've won 3 of their last 5 at the RBC Center and will have a chance to pull even on Thursday against the Islanders. Carolina has also started finding ways to win on the road of late, winning in New York, Toronto and Atlanta this month after going just 2-13-4 previously. With their 6 wins in January against 5 losses, the Canes have posted a winning record in 2010 thus far and have a chance to post their first winning month of the season.

For me, the experience of finally getting up to Raleigh to see the Hurricanes play was amazing. I got there about an hour early and explored the arena in jubilant awe. All of my friends ended up having prior commitments (that's what I get for deciding to go to the game three days beforehand), so I ended up going by myself. However, it's probably for the best. Anyone who had come along would probably have thought I was an idiot for being like a little kid on Christmas and trying on about 37 hats before finally picking out this beauty. My seat was up in the 3rd level on the Carolina offensive end, and I had a pretty great view. Although, being on the Carolina end sort of backfired considering they scored 3 of their 5 goals during the 2nd. But even from the other end of the rink, it was still thrilling to see Ray Whitney show why they call him The Wizard by completely schooling Zdeno Chara to set up Brandon Sutter's goal.

All in all, great weekend!

Weekend of Pro Sports Action: Part One

Well, I took my own advice and went to see the Bobcats play the Magic on Saturday night in Charlotte. And it was one of the best times I've had in a while. They really go all out to keep the crowd entertained and pumped up, and it was an exciting game to watch (well, for 48 minutes, anyway). It was NASCAR Night, which meant there were a lot of drivers in attendance, including Jimmie Johnson, who was presented with his record fourth consecutive Sprint Cup championship trophy at halftime. And while I don't follow racing at all, I actually really dug the Bobcats' checkered flag uniforms.

The 'Cats came all the way back from being down by as many as 16, tying it in the final seconds of regulation on a Stephen Jackson lay-in. Unfortunately, they faded fast in overtime, seemingly out of gas from fighting back the entire 4th quarter. Charlotte only scored 3 points in the extra period, looking completely outmatched. It was kind of depressing to watch, to be honest. They had fought so valiantly, hitting big shot after big shot to send the crowd into frenzies, only to seemingly give up in OT. It's not the NHL, guys. You don't get half a win in the standings for making it to overtime.

But still, the incredibly thrilling 4th quarter softened the blow of the disappointing finish. I still left the Arena feeling like it was $13 very well spent (thanks, eBay!). I'm definitely planning on going to a lot more games this season. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a buzzer-beater win.

Despite the two straight losses (the other being to the 3rd place Hawks on Friday), Charlotte is still in the playoff picture and playing exciting basketball. Hopefully they'll continue to gain more support.