In the obligatory “hype-up-any-newcomer-who-shows-signs-of-competence” article following Tuesday’s preseason game, the Charlotte Observer’s Tom Sorensen wrote, “Every time (Kemba) Walker had the ball you sat up a little straighter and stopped talking with the people next to you, because you knew something was going to happen and it probably was going to be good.”  Judging by the turnout, I’m surprised Sorensen had anyone sitting next to him.

In front of dozens of fans at Time Warner Arena, a mix of Bobcats and random strangers dressed as Bobcats defeated the Atlanta Hawks, 79-77.  The game and its implications were very much like those of the movie Eraserhead: low-budget, nightmarish, and probably meaningless.  For me, the four most most “wow” moments of the night were as follows:

In the last two seasons of NBA basketball we have witnessed an incredible amount of hype and media attention surrounding the league’s superstars, including LeBron, Howard, Nowitzki, Melo and so on. It seems that a championship recipe these days involves two or three superstars and one full roster of washed up veterans for minimum wages, and it’s done. To some extent, it gets you almost all the way. We all saw the Heat fail to win a championship last year with a roster that included Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, arguably one of the most overpowered big three’s in the history of basketball. At least it should be, and remember, when KG, Allen and Pierce got together, they were past their prime and these guys are just entering theirs. So while all eyes are on Dwight Howard, CP3, and the extremely over-hyped FA pool, I look the other way, knowing I won’t be blinded by this hysteria.

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If you’re wondering why the line is blank, it’s because we don’t really know who the team is going to be just yet. When training camp opened Friday the team didn’t have more than 10 players under contract. Now of course that number stands to grow in the coming days, but then the question remains who the team will actually sign.

It’s pretty much a given that His Airness is not going to sign any big name talent. I could on about this point at length, but I think my fellow Bobcats bloggers have done a good job in their most recent posts. No need for me to rehash their thoughts. That leaves the question of the day being this—who will the team actually sign?

One guy we know they got is Derrick Brown. If you’re asking who, you are not alone. Without the beauty that is the internet I would not have known myself. From what I can see, it is pretty clear that this guy is filler. If we didn’t like him the first time around enough to keep him in 2009, how will this season be any different?

Luckily, it will not be. Head coach Paul Silas says he doesn’t expect Brown to be more than a reserve player.

Negotiations are still on going with starting center Kwame Brown (yes—I said starting). It is still seems a bit strange to call this guy a starting center or to even say his name without cringing. The man may have started his career in the NBA in dreadful fashion, but he wasn’t bad last year down the stretch. He is not a long-term solution—unless he continues to get much, much better. Only time will tell.

After the trades of co-captain Gerald Wallace and Nazr Mohammed yesterday, and the requisite waiving of Sherron Collins, Dominic McGuire and Derrick Brown, the Charlotte Bobcats entered tonight’s game against the Sacramento Kings with eight players in uniform. Stephen Jackson, DJ Augustin and Gerald Henderson made sure that wasn’t a problem.

Sometimes you do things that you aren’t proud of… Remember that fight that you had in 8th grade against the legally blind kid who wore leg braces. Think back, he kicked you in the head with one of those braces opening up a cut on your forehead that needed 15 stitches to close. Yep, You would have lost that fight if not for a very lucky chop to the windpipe. Memories.

Last night’s win against the New Jersey Nets felt kind of like that. It was a win and we’re all thankful for that, but it wasn’t one that you’d want to hang up on your mantle and brag about. This wasn’t beating Kobe in triple overtime, this was defeating a sorry Nets team that was riding a 2 game losing streak, has only won 2 games on the road, was without starting point guard Devin Harris because of injury, was missing Terrence Williams because of behavior issues and to top it all off has a starting center who has a girl’s name.

While it won’t be official until later tommorow, it’s all but a certainty that Larry Brown will be fined $50,000 by the NBA for his comments regarding officiating following a 91-88 loss to the Orlando Magic.

Brown had been asked about Stephen Jackson’s $50,000 fine that day for “verbal abuse” of officials, and responded with a criticism of how officials are taking advantage of the “Respect the Game” rules. When asked about the situation, which came from a loss in Detroit, Brown had this to say:

“I know I went ‘Wow.’ and the referee went bang, ‘gotcha’, and I got a technical for saying ‘Wow.’ And they said they had a lip reader on Stephen. Somebody read lips, I don’t know. This respect for the game goes both ways. Our trainer got cussed at tonight. Yeah. That’s respect for the game.

So it blows me away. For me to say ‘Wow’ and a guy to go ‘gotcha’ and there’s no recourse and that they were lip reading as he was walking away, 50 feet…I don’t know.”

According to a source within the organization, Bobcats majority owner Michael Jordan has already had multiple conversations with NBA Commissioner David Stern regarding both NBA officials and the new rules. Stern views Jordan favorably, and if any owner would be able to convince the commissioner of issues in the system, it would be Jordan, the only owner who played in the league.