It's a nice day in North Carolina: the Hornets are back!
Or will be after next season anyway.
Actually, the team would probably have never left if it weren't for former owner George Shinn, who did his dead-level best to alienate Charlotte and the rest of the Hornet's market.
If you don't know Charlotte, it's a somewhat schizophrenic town, with serious ambition yet rooted pretty firmly in the bible belt: the coliseum is just a few miles from the Billy Graham Parkway.
When you do things in Charlotte that end up in court accused of sexual assault and then the public finds out about your other extramarital relationships, well, it just doesn't fly. The passion for the Hornets fell off the charts and Shinn took his team to New Orleans.
The Panthers took a hint and have been very careful to not have any serious miscreants around for any longer than absolutely necessary.
There was a real giddiness when the Hornets first arrived. It can never be like that again though. For one thing, the Panthers are there and have their own passionate following. It wasn't like that when the Bugs started up; Charlotte was a one-team town.
All that aside, it's good to have the name back.