Purple Shirt Guy Curse

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Let's give them a show. The drive starts now on WSJS. It is a Friday drive right here on WSJS, News Talk Sports for the Triad. I'm Will Dalton. Rocking with ya.

I'm also known as the WD. And there's all types of excitement. Happening. Between It being opening weekend at the Madhouse. Bowman Gray.

The NHL playoffs beginning this weekend. And of course The Charlotte Hornets could break a 10-year curse tonight. Let's start there.

So, I personally think tonight at 7:30 in Orlando. When we see the Hornets take on the magic. For a chance to go play as the eighth seed against the Detroit Pistons in round one of the playoffs. I think we're going to see scary hornets tonight. The little sound they make when they hit a three at spectrum center.

Charlotte? I believe is about to wipe the floor with Orlando. I really believe that. Because Here's why. These are two completely different teams right now.

And they're two teams going completely different directions. Two different vibes, two different energies. And the magic If you if you go and you listen to Like a lot of Orlando magic podcasts out there where they cover them on a daily basis. Like, you might wonder. Do the Magic even want to be here right now?

Like, some of the vibes that I pick up feels like they got one foot in Orlando tonight and they got one foot already in Cancun. It kind of feels that way. The magic They don't exactly play with a lot of pizzazz. They don't play with a ton of excitement, or at least they're not right now. They haven't been for the last little bit here of the season.

Paula Boncaro. If you ask Magic fans, this isn't just me, by the way. If you ask Magic fans, He's been pretty uh Inconsistent offensively, the last month of the year here, he can be a little turnover prone. In fact The the other night We were seeing some moments. against Philly, where he was He Had opportunities to take a shot and he didn't.

And you were starting to see the Ben Simmons memes. pop uh populate out there. I'm not ready to go that far on Paolo Bancaro, but there was a little bit of that kind of like, eh. Indecisiveness.

So Meanwhile, the hornets though. They're one of the most exciting teams and stories in the NBA. And when you listen to A lot of the national media talk about these two teams going into this game tonight. They will tell you straight up: we want the Hornets in the playoffs, not the Magic. We want to see that brand of basketball, not this, what they're doing in Orlando.

And so You just don't get that type of excitement with Orlando. At least it doesn't seem that way. Here was Charles Lee, because he met with the media. Earlier today, they've already had shootaround out there in Orlando. Lamello met with the media as well, but Charles Lee.

He was talking about You know, the Game that was against Miami, back and forth, went down to the wire, took overtime in a Kobe White miracle shot. Lamello coughing up a turnover and an inexplicable foul, then hitting the game winner, and a Miles Bridges block to win the game. That's a lot. What does Charles Lee think? that the Hornets could take into tonight's game from that.

I think that we learned some stuff and like you gotta hold on to some of that and you know when you're down late in the game and you find a way to come back and execute and win and compete and rebound and finish all that good stuff, you gotta take that with you. And so I hope we bring some of that into this game because I think that no matter where the score is, no matter what the flow of the game is, we have the tools and the capability to succeed. Yeah, because somebody asked him there Do you just kind of flush what happened against Miami because it was just so back and forth? Like, do you just completely flush that? And he's like, no, we could actually take some stuff from that.

And I think they could. Here's the other piece of this: why I have the Hornets tonight, and I have the Hornets in a pretty big way. I highly doubt. Con Kniple is going to go 0 for 6 from the field, from 3 again. I highly doubt that.

I highly doubt Lamello Ball is going to go two of 16 from three again.

Now The difference, you know, see Lamello. We already know he's going to keep pulling the trigger. AKA 16 attempts from 3. that there you have it. But there was some question, again, national media, they don't watch the Hornets all year long like we do.

You know, is Khan going to be bothered by his benching? Is he going to maybe stop sh pulling up as much? I don't think so. Cion James met with the media yesterday and he said he's not worried about Khan at all, nor should he be. Duke teammate Cion James.

And He wasn't benched the other night because Charles Lee doesn't believe in him anymore. It's like, oh, there it is. That's all we could get out of you, rookie. No. It has nothing to do with it.

It has everything to do with it. It's a winner-go-home game. Chips are on the table. You don't have it tonight. It's your postseason debut.

It ain't working. We need a better option. Like Kobe White, get in there. And we see how that turned out. But here was Charles Lee echoing some of this on Khan Knipple, what he expects from him tonight, and his belief in Khan.

The scoring or the shooting might not have been there, but I thought his defensive impact was really good, his competitive spirit. He got some great looks that I know Khan will knock down and I'll continue to try to help him, but I also just want him to focus on how can I impact winning. It's not all about shooting. He is much more than just a shooter. He's a hell of a basketball player, and that's why he's the rookie of the year, because he can impact the game in so many different ways.

And so we're going to need him. We need him in every aspect of the game, and he's in a great spot. It's in a great spot. Not Yeah. And shoot or shoot.

as the saying goes, and he's going to keep on shooting. Lastly, in the end, The Hornets, as mentioned yesterday, are 3-1 against the Magic this year. They've beaten the Magic in those three games by an average of 20 points. Two of those three have been in Orlando on their floor. And not only that, but when you go and you dive into some of the numbers of those wins.

The Hornets have really dominated the glass, specifically rebounding against Orlando. They've been pretty good offensively, rebounding as well. Like, for example, And this wasn't Orlando, but just looking at the game against Miami, I noticed this right away. Ion Eagle said something about it on the broadcast pretty early on the other night. The Hornets had 25 second chance points off 17 offensive rebounds.

the other night against Miami. Yeah. That's Musa Diabate's department, Ryan Kalkbrenner, looking at you too.

So like we said up top. The vibes have not been great around Orlando here lately. Their fans will be the first to tell you that. People that cover the team regularly will be the first to tell you that. And over the last three postseasons, Orlando.

They have yet, and this goes all the way, this continued the other night in Philly. They have yet to win a road game in the last three postseason attempts.

So Orlando's inconsistency offensively. It's probably going to have them behind at some point tonight. Probably by the third quarter I would expect. especially and when The Hornets go on one of those Those runs where they're hitting from three. It's just a blitz offensively.

That's where I think the separator is going to be, and that's where I think the Hornets are ultimately going to pull away and put the magic away tonight. But here was Charles Lee. on the mindset of the Hornets going into tonight's game. We are built for this moment. We have earned this moment.

But on every possession, this is all we're guaranteed is this one game, this possession right here in front of us. And it needs all of our focus. It needs all of our competitiveness and togetherness that it requires. And so I look forward to our guys rising to the occasion today. The Hornets, they've handled the magic three or four times this year, and I say they do it once more tonight.

Ending The 10-year playoff drought. The purple shirt guy curse. Whatever you call it. The Hornets will see Detroit in round one. Of the NBA playoffs next week.

And those teams don't like each other. And I'm very excited to see this. 336-777-1600 is the number to call. If you have predictions. For tonight's game between the Hornets and Magic, our guy B-Dot, the six-man of the Tara Heels.

He was a guest on yesterday's show. He's down there in Orlando. Going to see that in person tonight.

So we'll talk to him next week about what he sees. Hopefully good things for Charlotte. Morgan Corson is the executive producer of this show. Are you ready for some basketball? I am so ready for some basketball.

I missed it. Last night, no basketball, but I'm ready for it. Hornet's going to do good. You got him winning? I do have them winning.

I have a little bit of a different prediction for Khan and Camelo, though. All right, what do you got? Khan and Love Mello, not Camelo. Anyway, it's Carmelo you're thinking about there. Different guy.

Different Mellow. But I'm thinking. They're gonna come out slow in the first quarter.

Okay. Right. You don't just come off like a performance like that, and I don't think it turns it doesn't always for rookies turn right up immediately. Sure.

So I think he's gonna have a little bit of a lag behind in the first quarter, maybe the first eight minutes. But look for that intensity to start to rile back up and get him back in it slowly. And I'm looking forward to him to get back into shape in the second quarter. 336-777-1600 is a number to call if you want in. on that game as it looks like we're starting to get some phone calls now.

Gonna talk to Will Pelagic? The voice of Charlotte FC next hour. He was in Charlotte the other night for the Hornets in the heat. Charlotte FC Taking on New York City this weekend.

So. Very excited about what Will Pelagic is going to have to say. Let's go to the phones. We've got DJ on the line.

Well DJ. What's up? Oh, this is DJ DJ, DJ Turner. Ha ha! It it is indeed.

So this is just a thought, just an observation. Wanted to see how you thought about it. Yeah. After watching the past couple of games, I feel like that Kobe White has earned the right to start. I would be curious to have Kobe start and have con Come off the bench.

And have him spell maybe Lamello and keep Kobe and Khan on the floor together. It's an interesting thought. And thank you so much for the call, DJ. You know what I would say? The little dog in our YouTube chat writes: DJ dad jokes.

What up? If you know, you know. I think that's a fascinating question I do expect them to go with the same line up tonight. just for the sake of consistency. But To your point.

If Kobe White Has another game like he just did the other night against Miami? And you're in the playoffs against Detroit? Who's to say? Charles Lee does it maybe make an adjustment now at the same time. you might not want to mess with it.

You know what I mean? It's like if he's doing this and he's giving you this type of production off the bench and Kobe White is cool with coming off the bench and it seems he is and cool with that role, Maybe you don't want to mess with the best starting lineup in the NBA statistically this year. I'd agree. I wouldn't mess with the starting lineup for this game. Yeah.

But if for whatever reason come the second half and Khan still hasn't gotten going, like got going, like sh hitting shots, any of it, I'm bringing in Kobe White, I think. I think for the second half. And if he can't get it going in the first game against the Pistons, if they make it past the Magic. I might have to have that difficult conversation with the two. I do love that question.

Very thoughtful from DJ per usual. Getting to your YouTube comments here. Jay Davis writes in JG's, aka Josh Graham's Orlando Magic. Yeah, that's right. That's funny.

Little Dog also writes, don't forget about WrestleMania this weekend. Oh, we ain't forgot. We haven't forgot. We'll get to some WrestleMania a little later on. But let's talk a little Tarhill basketball.

Because there's a little bit of concern. There's a little bit of um Even panicking. amongst Carolina fans right now, slowly but surely. And what I mean is They're a little concerned. that so far Carolina only has one transfer portal commit since Michael Malone took over as head coach.

Just one. You had Juke Harris visit. This past weekend. No commitment from him. At least not yet.

We'll see what happens. Tennessee and Michigan are still in the mix. You had Terrence Brown visit on Monday. No verbal commitment from him. And according to some people who cover it closely, Carolina thought they had him on Monday.

But he still had visits scheduled for Kansas and Kentucky this week. And also. Let let's just look at it this way. Maybe this will help ease some of the Some of the brains of Carolina and the emotions of Carolina fans right now. Let's look at what some of the other Blue Bloods have done so far in the portal and how many commitments they have.

Kansas won. Keanu Dawes, Utah. Terence Brown's teammate, oddly enough. From Utah. Kentucky.

One. One commitment. Michigan, Morgan, your team. Has only one, JP Estrella, the big one. Uh from Tennessee.

Yukon. One. Duke, none Now, they tend to go. You know, they got a pretty good freshman class coming in again, but they. They don't have a Cameron Boozer or a Cooper flag coming in this year, so they will need to do some stuff in the portal, but zero, none.

So that I say all that to say. Take a chill pill, relax. Sip on some latte or something, or whatever you use to relax. I'll leave it at that. Um The difference between Carolina's situation, at least probably how fans are viewing it, and the way those other teams are.

Is that those teams don't have a brand new head coach that just took over two weeks ago? And so fans are getting a little antsy, like, oh, do something already. They're ready. Carolina fans are ready to step into this new era of Carolina basketball, and they want it now. And I get it.

I'm a Tar Heel fan. I understand. But... Again. Just relax for a second.

Let some of these things play out because You also have to realize these players are weighing their options a little bit. This is significant money that these college kids are looking at here, and they want to make sure they can collect. everything that they can, so they're looking at options. There's also this fifth year thing. I don't think there's some type of rule, the NCAA, or I don't know if this is one of those Trump executive order things that.

Athletes are going to get a fifth year now. Yeah, so you know what I'm talking about? I do. Yeah, I've looked into this.

So it's not confirmed yet. It's still going through all the divisions because D1, two, and three need to have pretty much the same rules.

So it needs to get passed by each one.

So essentially, what they're going to do is get rid of the red shirt here and get rid of all the exemptions. That's right. And you're going to be able to play for five years. Mm-hmm.

So that's a thing. Could you imagine if Seth Trumble was ever to come back a fifth year? That's not ruled out just yet, Tara Hill fans. Just saying. But But because of that fifth-year thing, coaches are weighing their options.

Like, if there's a chance that. They got a guy that they might wanna get back that can come back actually a fifth year.

Well, they're looking at that too in terms of roster space. But also, Carolina fans. Look at what you've done so far. That one commitment, the guy at a Virginia Tech, Nicholas Abdallis. Actually think I did pretty good pronouncing that.

The 6'9 guard that averaged 12 points a game last year for the Hokies. That was your one portal guy that you've landed so far. That's a good one. Maximo Adams, five-star top 20 prospect. He's staying at Carolina.

He's coming in. Malloy Smith, son of Kenny the Jet, he's still coming. You do have Jaron Stevenson coming back. You might get Henry Vesar back. You might.

This doesn't sound too bad. Like, this sounds like a pretty good lineup. That's my point. A 6'9 guard is going to be hard to defend. That's what I'm saying here.

Carolina fans, I get it. You're ready. You're ready for this new era. But just chill out a second. Just let things play out.

That's all I'd say. Glad to have you on on a Friday. What a busy show already, and it's not going to slow down yet. Another segment, another bad take you'll argue about all night. You're on the Triad's longest-running live sports talk show, The Drive.

Back at it on a Friday drive. You are listening to WSJS. Where we like to play a A game, a segment. We call it this or that. Swear Morgan throws two.

Two options of something my way. And I have to pick. This one or that one? Novel concept, I know.

So today With the NFL draft now six days away, We do an NFL draft themed. This or that. It's this or that with Will Dalton. Two choices. One answer.

No offense, sitting. You're in or you're out. This or that. Yeah. Cool.

I have five today. And the first of which Are you going to be taking R. Val Reese or David Bailey with the number two overall pick? Mmm. Those are two very hyped up guys.

I think I go R Val Reese. out of Ohio State. I like him. I think he might have. I mean, these are two great athletes, so it's almost like picking two supermodels here.

But I think Reese might have a bit of a higher ceiling potentially. He's kind of been compared to Micah Parsons a little bit in his style of play. His explosive athleticism. And I don't know. There was a story where apparently David Bailey.

His Pre-draft interview got nixed. With the Jets, right? Yeah, that did happen. Yeah. So Either that means the Jets already have.

I mean, it was reported they got all the information that they think they need on him. That either that's a good thing or a bad thing. I don't know which it is, but. It could mean they decide to go R. Vel Rees.

With that number two pick instead of David Bailey, and I think that's the choice that I would make. Moving on to quarterback, we know who's going number one. Do we have the NFL draft jingle? Oh, yeah. Do we have that one in the system?

I really want to hear that. BAH! There it is. Yeah Cool. We know Fernando Mendoza is going to be the first QB off the board.

Yes. So, who's going to be the second QB off the board? Ty Simpson from Alabama or Garrett Nussmeyer from LSU? I think it's gonna be Ty Simpson. I think that's the pick.

And it is a shame because Garrett Nossmeyer got hurt fairly early on in the year. And you know. If things would have played out where he didn't get hurt like that, and we got to see both guys for a complete season. In their last season in college, maybe Garrett Muskmar gets the nod there, but. I feel like When it comes to the draft, and it comes to teams who are looking for their next quarterback, a la maybe Arizona, who might trade in.

to the bottom part of the front. Maybe they might do that. Ty Simpson, you've got... A full sample of him last year. I think Ty Simpson is going to go late first round.

That's the whole debate. Is he going to go in the first round, or is it just going to be Fernando Mendoza that does? I say Ty Simpson goes late first round and I think Arizona finds a way to get him. Onto some O-linemen here. You taking Spencer Fanoa?

or Francis Mianoa. I think it's Maui Noah. It is Maui Noah. I misread my note here. Yeah.

Yeah, That's a tough one again. I think I go Francis Maui Noah. On the oh, I didn't get my NFO draft jangle in my last pick. Gotta remember that. Francis Maui Noah.

The Miami offensive tackle. 6'6 frame, 335 pounds. They're in that ballpark. He's been scouted as having really high power. And I think a lot of these teams might slightly favor him at OT1 in the draft.

He can move bodies. He can move some people. And While some might go Spencer Fano out of Utah, I. Think I like Francis, because Spencer Fano, the report on him is maybe a little smoother. With what he does, but Frances Maui Noah just has that raw power, and I think I would prefer that.

All right. Going to wide receiver here. Are you taking Jordan Tyson or Makai Lemon as the number two receiver off the board? I think I'm probably gonna go Makai Lemon. I have seen so many mock drafts that have him consistently going 13 to the Rams.

Um That'd be a really nice weapon for LA to get. It really would. Because you don't know how much longer Devontae Adams is going to be there, and... Puka Nakua has Found himself in a little bit of trouble here recently. If that continues, you might need an.

A new guy to step in if anything happens with him where he can't play or isn't there anymore. Mikai Lemon might be able to be that guy out of USC.

So. He's Got the potential to be a really elite slot weapon in the league. He's a Balitnikov winner. He's got some polish. He's very reliable.

I think I like Mikai Lemon. And lastly, let's bring it back to a local story here. If you are the Panthers. With that nineteen overall pick. Are you taking this safety from Toledo?

Emmanuel McNeil Warren? Or if for some reason Kenyon Sadiq is available, the tight end for Morgan. Which one are you going to be taking?

So we're gonna do a mock draft next week. Yeah. Gonna do the first 10 picks. And then the Panthers pick at 19. I think they're going to go Emmanuel McNeil Warren, the safety head of Toledo.

Uh I've got a feeling on that. I would also love Kenyon Sadiq, full disclosure, because I think the Panthers could afford to upgrade at tight end. I do. Come on. And Kenyon Sadiq at Oregon's really good.

Don't know if he's going to be available at 19, but besides the point, I think I might go safety here because think about this. We heard Dan Morgan la Earlier this week. Talking about They don't want to be boxed in. And they would have no problem going a wide receiver in the first round three straight years. Xavier Legette two years ago, T-Mac last year.

And then whoever they would get this year.

However, It just feels a little too... Easy and simple that he said that. What if you go with this mindset? Where you already like what you got receiver-wise, and T-Mac, Jalen Coker. And between Xavier Legette and John Mechie, who has history with Bryce Young at Alabama in 2021.

The crane. The crane game. One of those guys is gonna gonna hit. for that third receiver. You got Chuba Hubbard and Jonathan Brooks in the backfield.

You still got Trevor Etienne. And you've made all these splashes defensively. In free agency. What if you added on top of that? A very solid Safety and Emmanuel McNeil Warren to join.

Trayvon Merig. And Shaw Smith Wade. What if you did that to really secure that defense?

Now you're looking like a real team if you weren't already. That's scary stuff right there. Scary stuff.

Okay. That's been this or that. NFL draft theme. Who do you have um So we're not going to go through a full MBA. Playoffs, bracket prediction.

We're not going to do that because that just would take too much time that we don't have right now. But who do you have in the conference finals? Finals and then who do you have winning it? In the East. I have pistons and Celtics.

As much as I love the Pistons to win this game, I think the Celtics are too much. They're going to be too much to handle for the Pistons. Way too much firepower. And in the West, I mean, it's going to be okay seeing the Nuggets. I don't have the spurs in there.

Wow. I think down the stretch, that rib injury for Wemby is going to really affect him. Hmm. It's not something people are talking about, but I think the rib injury could be something to keep an eye on for him. And I think OKC beats the Nuggets, but I think it goes to seven games.

Think the Joker gives them fits? And OKC Celtics? Celtics can't stop Oklahoma.

So it's going to be Oklahoma City going back to back. It's very fascinating there. The nuggets, you say. I'll tell you what I have here. How far do you have the Hornets getting, by the way, if they win tonight?

Which it sounds like you you said you do. I I think they lose to the Pistons, but I think it goes to six games.

So I like the Hornets. to get past the pistons. That's I think it's going to be a really fun series, assuming the Hornets handle business tonight, that is. I think they get beat in the second round by the Cleveland Cavaliers. I think that's going to happen.

The Cavs have kind of had the Hornets' number this year. And on that. I like The Celtics. And the Cavs to play for the Eastern Conference title. I like that.

And the Cavs beat the Celtics. Yeah, I'm not going chalky. James Harden finally gets some of these playoff woes off his back. Donovan Mitchell. Makes it happen.

They get to the NBA Finals. And they face the San Antonio Spurs because I think the Spurs are going to beat the Thunder. in the Western Conference finals. I think that's going to happen. Wow.

I just think it's Wimby's time. I think this is going to be his moment where he really. Officially pops in a playoff sense. I think he did in a regular season sense already. But this is Different level here.

So I think the Spurs beat the Thunder. Spurs beat the calves. And Wimby gets his first NBA title. That's what I have. I'd love to see James Harden.

and then go on and make it to the finals. Yeah. 336-777-1600. What are your conference finals and NBA finals predictions? We're going to be doing one thing and one thing only.

We make your commute worth it. Welcome to the drive. We had some winners last night. It's been a really solid week for the Bets. Couple of nights worth of play-in bets.

Didn't miss on a single one of those. Only missed on one of three baseball bets placed last night. Let's get into those. And I got a full card to place tonight for both play-in games. We do that.

in Dalton's dollars. Stack it up. Stack a stack, gotta stack it up. Hit the money. Get the money on the time, though.

It's time to cash in. Welcome to Dalton's Dollars. Come in the lineup! Show me the money. Breaking down the board and building the bank roll.

Oh, yeah. We're ready to build. We've been building up the bankroll.

So. Last night. The one that did not cash I had The Astros money line. Against the Colorado Rockies. That was a no bueno.

The Astros lost 3-2. Yeah. One run short of that one. Uh the Astros scored two in the first inning and never scored again. That was yeah, that was how that went.

But to the two that hit The Padres took the money line. I was a little indecisive on this one, but Walker Bueller on the mound. I said, you know what, Padres. Money line over the Mariners. That one hit.

Potteries win 5-2. Strophy Divide! Then I had the Guardians because I always love betting against the Baltimore Orioles, because screw them. Uh The Guardians beating the bird. Morgan's laughing.

Beating the birds 4-2. Guardians Moneylawn. Cash. Throw me the money. Yeah.

Let's get to tonight. This is a nice card. I'm very proud of it. I just placed this one moments ago in the break. Hornets.

Three and a half point favorites. Yeah. On Orlando's floor tonight. We take that. Strong!

Yep. I will also be taking the over. On la melo ball. 23 and a half points. I was able to get that one.

At minus 104 odds. Con Knipple. Over two and a half assists. Show me the lighter! Again, I think Ton Knipple is going to have a bounce back night.

I think he's just wired that way. And So I like the two and a half assists. I was able to get that at minus 130 odds. Getting to the next game though. Warriors, Sons, the Nightcap?

Mm-hmm.

We're on the Warriors to cover three and a half point dogs. Drop me down! Listen, as long as playoff Steph is out there... Not betting against them. Not going to do that.

I'm also gonna If I'm going to put my money where my mouth is, and I think the Warriors win tonight. Therefore covering that three and a half. How are they going to do it? But they're gonna do it one major way, and that's because playoff steph. Uh Over 27 and a half points.

Drop me device! Chips to the table, baby. That's why they call it gambling. Chips to the table. Makes me want to go watch Casino Royale.

Daniel Craig, Bond. Yeah. That's been Dalton's dollars.

So before we get to a racing segment. In the fast lane with Morgan Corson over here. Because We thought it'd be fun to do this. It's opening weekend out at Bowman Gray Stadium. Had Austin Schuford in.

The GM of racing operations over there at Bowman Gray had him on yesterday. That was a lot of fun. Appreciate him for doing that. And If you go out to Bowman Gray and you look, you'll see some WSJS banners out there. We're out there.

We're present and accounted for.

So before we get to that I want to tell you about the why. The YMCA specifically. Because It can be difficult. To You know how it is, you're busy, things are fast-paced sometimes, and sometimes it can be difficult to find motivation, sometimes it can be difficult to stay accountable for what the goals you set. Especially if you're doing it by yourself.

Some people are just like this. They need. And want somebody else to hold, because they want to, they just want somebody else to hold them accountable to help them do this.

So if you go get a personal trainer out at the YMCA. That's what you're gonna get. They're gonna help you build these lasting healthy habits. It's not just a workout. It's a lifestyle transformation.

If you're going to make it actually work, and that's what it has to be. That journey begins at the YMCA. Discover the difference with a community that cares. If you visit YMCANWNC.org, you can learn all about that. Warning: listing may cause yelling at traffic.

Behave. The one doing this here, ain't no debating. Hear me out. The Dry, the Triads Only Live Sports Talk Show. Let's go racing.

It's one of the things we do on this show that our audience really responds to. I remember the first one of the first shows I did. It was the anniversary of Dale Earnhardt's death. In 2001, in Daytona, and we, you know, did a segment kind of talking about him and what he meant to this area and what he meant to that sport and just the void that was left when he was gone. And we got a lot of response from you guys.

Like, hey, we're talking some racing. It's like, yeah, racing, like, that's college basketball, golf, racing. These are things that the triad really cares about.

So, we, and if you care about it, we're going to talk about it. It's quite simple. And it just so happens Morgan The producer of this show is very knowledgeable about racing. I'm a fan of it. Not as knowledgeable about it as maybe I once was when I was like in it, like a nerd about it as a kid.

But Morgan is. And that's why we designed this segment for him to talk racing. And it's opening day tomorrow at Bowman Gray, so we get into that. and in the fast lane. Wow!

Where speed meets the might. Wow, what a move! This is the fast lane on WSJS. Put on your seatbelt, check your mirrors, let's begin. Your fast track to racing talk.

Love this music.

So good.

So, as Will said, it is opening night here at Bowman Gray this weekend. Tomorrow actually. And there's gonna be a lot of good stuff going on. You got a 200-lap modified feature. I think a 40-lap sportsman race as well, and a chance to win a ring, courtesy of Hayes Jewelers.

But let's break that down a little bit. Bowman Gray is a quarter mile track. It's a very small track. For reference, the Cup Series just raced at Bristol. Amazing race.

We'll get into that a touch later. But Bristol's just above a half mile. And that's one of the sh if not the shortest track they race on. And that in Martinsville. both half mile tracks.

So this is a very very small track They got the madhouse. Because the drivers they get mad. It's wild. Because they're constantly bumping in each other, pushing each other out of the way.

So there's a lot of craziness. My madhouse moment. Guy got spun around and he was very angry.

So he went backwards around the track.

Okay. Absolutely. rammed the other guy's car. And then they chased each other down and played tag around the track. They slung the cars into the infield.

started hitting their cars up there, got out of the cars and started fighting. It's an amazing moment. It's about what NASCAR is for: pure emotion and raw talent coming together in one place. You can see that this weekend at Bowman Gray. This 77th season, they're going to run modified sportsmen's street stock and stadium stock divisions.

I'm going to talk about what a modified car is because they look a little different. We have some images along here as well. Yes, we do. They were founded in 1948. It's the only open-wheel division in NASCAR.

So they. Indie cars and Formula One cars are open-wheeled. NAS cars definitely have the fenders. Modifieds look more like the indie car where they don't have a fender. Right.

They originally were the 34 Ford coupe. And they were the premiere series for a year, but NASCAR founder Bill France knew that. Ford would want their newest cars. To be winning races, not their old cars.

So they made the Cup Series. The stock car series, where you had to take a model from the previous three years. and make that your car. And that became the premiere series because Bill France saw if he wants to make the series last, he's gonna have to new cars are gonna be where the money is.

Well, do we have that first picture? Yeah, let's throw that up there while we talk about it. Because you're going to see these cars look a little funky if you're on YouTube in next year. They're roughly 11 inches shorter in height, but they're about two feet wider. They're open wheel, as you can see here, and this is actually.

One of the Bowman Gray drivers.

So, this is a driver at Bowman Gray last year, one of the Meyers. drivers Um And it's a beautiful car you can see here. It's got some rails on the outside. to prevent cars from jumping onto the wheels. Because that happens frequently in Formula One and IndyCar, they'll hit the wheels and the car goes flying.

So NASCAR puts some rails on the cars. You can see the engine sticking out. God, it's so sick. Yeah. The engine sticks out.

That's something you don't see anywhere in racing, but it does here for these modifieds. They're about 2,500 pounds. Use a small block V8 that produces 700 horsepower. For reference, they're running 650 at Daytona in the Cup series.

So these cars produce more horsepower than the Cup cars that do when they drive at Daytona. These cars were faster. At Bristol and Martinsville, than the Cup Series cars were. Jeez.

Now, whose car is this on the screen if you're watching on YouTube and X? That's going to be a Smart Modified Tour car. I don't, I had it in the image name, but I forgot to write it down on my paper here. But I feel like it's Brian. I think it's Brian Lovelock.

It's Brian Lofton. Yeah, Brian Lofton. I saw that car this weekend or last weekend. Went to see the smart mods run, but. That front little white bar in the front, that's called a nerf bar.

And that's actually for bumping other cars. That's the whole, sole purpose. is to bang another car and get it out of your way.

So these cars are interesting. You look at the hood. Right above the hood, you have the window. It's only a half a window, the other part's a screen. Yeah, here's another shot right here.

So that's front on. You can see how massive this engine sticks out all the way. The windshields half on. Like it's These cars are wild. and they're fun to watch.

They're easy to move out of the way. Just amazing cars. And you're gonna see these this weekend in a 200 lap race. At Bowman Gray, the longest race they're going to have there this year.

Now, on to the Cup Series this weekend. Ty Gibbs, congratulations. You win your first race by 0.055 seconds. I said it was going to be an amazing Bristol race, and man, was it his first Career Cup Series victory? but it took him 131 races in the best equipment in NASCAR.

Which brought up the question. Joe Gibbs earlier in the Tw uh late 2010s. Had a driver named Daniel Suarez. And he was in there for 76 races. His average finish, 17.39.

So 17. Was his average finish and some of the best equipment in NASCAR. Through 131 races, Ty Gibbs average finish. 17.81.

So he finished worse, but got two more seasons in Daniel Suarez, which There's been a talking point amongst the NASCAR fans and family. Speaking of family, you want to know who he drives for? I'm just going to guess, Joe Gibbs. Yeah, he drives JGR, Joe Gibbs racing, the best Toyota cars. Figured that might be a good guess.

Yeah, no. He drives for Joe Gibbs.

So Um, he's a great driver this year, he's figured it out. It seems like they've got the equipment for him, too, which is really good for him. Toyota's peaking right now, and that might be bad late in the season. If your cars are peaking now, they generally fall off by the end of the season. But we're gonna see because this is almost unprecedented.

stuff we're seeing. But on to Kansas this week. Yeah. Phenomenal races in this next-gen car. Kyle Larson, looking to three-peat the spring race, has led double the laps of any other driver at Kansas since 2021.

Hamlin, Bell, and Reddick and Larson are my top four to win it. Three Toyotas because they've been on fire. this season. I I haven't seen a performance from a car like this in a long time. I can't wait for this.

I can't wait for just racing this weekend. Bowman Gray. These cars look incredible. Again, like go out to the go get your tickets. $15.

This is a steal of a deal for this. Generally, these tour races and stuff like this, $20, $25. You can go every weekend for $15 a ticket. You know, while we're looking at things, and that's been uh in the fast lane with Morgan. While we're looking at things on our YouTube channel here.

Did you happen to see the Ravens dropping the uniforms last night? I did.

So The commanders dropped some earlier in the week. The Rams dropped some yesterday. Or or two days ago. And Or it was yesterday morning that the Rams did, and last night it was the Ravens that did. If you're watching on our YouTube.

Twitterx. I'll throw uh An image of that up. They didn't tweak him a whole lot. Which I'm fine with. That's still a car there up there.

There's the uniforms. The next flight. It's what they're titling this brand campaign. What do you think of these? They look the same.

Just a few little tweaks. I love the. The gold and purple number all the way to the left there. Yeah, that's my favorite combo I see.

Sometimes that's all you need, it's a little tweak. What are you talking about? What's he talking about? I'm talking about the one and only. Will Dalton has your afternoon sports fix.

You're on the drive. And since it's Friday, you already know what that means. We get to talk to our guy, the voice of Charlotte FC, Will Pelagic, also known as Willie P. Will, how are we doing? What's going on, Willie D?

How are you, pal? I'm doing great. I'm excited. I'm excited for some Hornets basketball tonight in Orlando. And let's actually start there because you were in the building for Hornets heat the other night, that incredible crowd that we saw.

But I'll ask you this straight up because everybody's talking about it. It's continued to be a story even today as Lamello's doing media. How did you interpret and how did you perceive that play on Bam Attabio the other night? I thought it was an incredibly electric building on Tuesday night, just based on the fact that. You know, you had all the confluence of things that was taking place in terms of it being a winner-take-all game, or at least a winner-go-home game.

I wanted, you know, I I kind of knew the stat going in, but the magnitude of it, they had never won. a winner-go-home game. in their franchise history and twelve previous opportunities.

So there was definitely a lot of history up against them two nights ago, three nights ago.

So that part of it, I think, is incredibly prescient. And the other part of this too is the fact that That came from an ebbs and flows standpoint. the horns have to overcome some stuff. I mean, you think about the the poor shooting from downtown. You think about obviously what happened with Bamato Bayo.

That really tilted, I think, the foul count in Miami's direction.

So you really kind of felt that the Hornets were playing five on eight at different times of the game. But also just the fact that you really saw a team that I think came together and and won in a way that required something other than their fastball, which is I think something that is an incredible testament to their resolve and their resiliency. We talk a lot about how young teams need to figure out and learn how to win. I think that was proof positive. What we saw in a game on Tuesday against a tough opponent in Miami.

And the opponent they have tonight, look, I mean, anybody who is. read anything about this matchup. Will tell you that it looks like Orlando's got one foot in Cancun and one foot in Orlando. But I also come back to it and say, look, you know what? it almost it almost feels like there's too much Uh, garbage being talked about, Orlando, to the point where it's like I almost have uh have taken the opposite approach of it.

It's like I feel so good, it's bad.

So, from that perspective, I'm not writing anything off, I'm not counting anything out. I do feel like Charlotte is the better team if I was uh inclined to pick. one way or the other objectively. I'd probably pick the Hornets. There's a reason they're a road favorite in a playoff situation, winner go home scenario.

I think we all saw what Orlando looked like on Wednesday night. They looked like a listless team down the stretch. The reports of Paolo Van Carroll hating his coach and wanting him fired. Jamal Mosley has said on multiple occasions. How much the Hornets have frustrated them.

Even Vancaro said they flat out kicked their butts and he didn't use the word butt. No, he did not. Yeah. It's an intriguing proposition tonight, definitely, from a Hornets perspective. But like I said earlier, I am not counting the chickens before they are hatched.

No, but I do think I'm with you. Of the two options that the Hornets had, Orlando and Philly, And you had to go to one of those two spots, I think Orlando was. The preferred matchup as opposed to going to Philly. And it seems like these are two teams and two franchises perhaps going in opposite directions. Right now.

So that's kind of how I perceive it. Will Pelagic, the voice of Charlotte FC, with us here on WSJS. Let's get to the Carolina Panthers very quickly because before we chat with you again, the first round of the NFL draft will have come. And gone. And, you know, we heard Dave Morgan the other day talking about, you know, we wouldn't, they wouldn't put it past us to go three receivers in a row in the first round, three years in a row, that is.

He doesn't want to be boxed in. That could also be a smokescreen to get maybe a safety, like the guy out of Toledo or, you know, a Kenyon Sadiq at tight end if he's available. There's a lot. All the mod drafts that I've seen, it's kind of mixed, like a lot of different things at that 19 spot for the Panthers. Where does Willie P want to see Carolina go on Thursday night of next week?

I mean, i if if Thieneman's on the board at nineteen and it's finding it's looking like more and more so that he might not be. I'd run that one I'd run that card to the commissioners' table to make that happen. But in lieu of him not being there, I think the Toledo safety might be a little reachy at that point. Sadiq, I wouldn't be totally upset with. Would not be shocked if they try to go line if there's something available there among the guys that's not reachy.

I almost would be more in the neighborhood of wanting to move down. I know that's not sexy. I know that doesn't necessarily make the front page of the Charlotte Observer. And, you know, we, of course, we had Scott Fitterer here in the previous regime who was in on every deal. And dealer Dan is not exactly something that has been a big, big part of his repertoire.

I know he's done it a couple of times, but I do think it's a situation where there's probably more guys who can help the Panthers between 19 and 51 than there are immediately available at 19.

So if you were able to. You know, go back a couple of spots, maybe acquire one in between 29 and 51, or between 19 and 51. Second pick, I should say. To try and get a safety in a linebacker or a safety in a center. Or a defensive tackle potentially in the mix.

Like that, that's kind of where I'm sitting right now because. I just think, not that they can't get somebody of high repute at 19. Look, I mean, they could come back and, you know, you made mention of the wide receiver conversation. If they drafted Casey Concepcion at 19, I'm not going to begrudge them for doing it because, again, there's a situation that people are saying, oh, well, you know, how much help are you going to give Bryce? You can't give your most valuable asset, which is your young rookie quarterback, on a rookie deal for another two years.

You can't give him enough weapons. And I know people will sit here and say, what about the offensive line? You have to take care of the trenches. 100% absolutely. I don't think they come out of this draft without a center, particularly I would say on day two.

But it is a situation where I think they could do a lot of things. That wouldn't make me upset. They could do more things that wouldn't make me upset than things that would make me upset. I just don't I d I don't see an avenue that they could take on it, particularly Thursday, that made me think, What the heck are they doing? Because I just think that they Definitely took care of themselves in freight and see.

to the point where they don't have to force a need, they can truly take best player available. Will Pelagic, the voice of Charlotte FC, with us here on WSJS. And let's get to the Charlotte FC portion of things because they got a road match. With New York City. It's the first time that they have met with New York City since the playoffs in 2025.

So gonna be looking forward to hearing you and Anna Witte on the call. What are some things over the first month of the year? Maybe some concerns or areas of Optimism, one of the two or both that you've seen from Charlotte FC so far this year. I think the biggest thing right now is Dean Smith. has what I would think a bevy of options at this point.

I think He he has options and I think it's a situation where You're wondering how to discern Hot hand versus staying with stability and trying to see something out. And there's a couple of spots in the team right now that are looking like they're up for grabs. Number one, the right central defender position. Look, Morrison Ajabon, I don't think has done anything To lose that job at this point. The one mistake he made against Austin was not punitive, and I think he's been.

Pretty much on par with what you'd expect from somebody who has played his first four or five games in MLS. But you have Henry Kessler breathing down his neck, somebody who you thought was going to be the starter going into the season. Has scored two goals in back-to-back appearances for both Crown Legacy and then for the first team on Wednesday night in the U.S. Open Cup. He can definitely bring a little bit something extra and he has a lot of experience.

I'm wondering if that's a situation where Dean Smith is maybe trying to graduate it a little bit and say, you know what, maybe we've given Morrison a nice run. Let's give some time to the Wiley veteran and potentially use Morrison on the midweek when you have to do some rotation against Orlando City. Another position I'd look at and say is the midfield. He's used to Brill Gianni in the last couple of contests. I think Gianni has done adequate when it comes to midfield defense, but you lose a lot of offense when it comes to his position.

And I'm wondering how Charlotte FC wants to try and couch that part of it. And then you look at the right wing position. Look, Calvin Vargas, I know, scored a goal the other night in the U.S. Open Cup and is somebody who has goals in his locker, but you can't ignore what's happening at the winger position with Rodolfo Iloco. We talked about it last week.

He made his MLS debut, looked very, very good on Wednesday in the U.S. Open Cup. And even in the in his center forward position, Archie Goodwin scored four goals in his last four games in all competitions, and you've got Edon Tokumati who's kind of scuffling at the moment.

So What I would say is it's a deep team. But I think Dean Smith's still trying to discern what his best 11 is and having to go through match congestion and figure those things out. While it's a good problem to have, I think it's also a lot easier to make the wrong decision at times. And so I'm curious to see how he manipulates the lineups through these next couple of contests because you're going to play midweek games basically each of the next couple of weeks. You have one this week.

You're going to have one midweek next Wednesday against Orlando. And you're going to have a Tuesday contest a week from Tuesday in the round of sixteen of the U.S. Open Cup against Atlanta.

So that, I think, is something that I'm very curious to see how he starts to man manage this roster as now match congestion starts to become a thing here in late April and early May. Charlotte FC, New York City. 7:30 tomorrow night. You can listen to it right here on WSJS, Will Pelagic, and Anna Witty on the call. You know, I would make a joke about the Mets having lost eight straight, but the Yankees have only won three of the last 11.

So I'm not going to do that, Willie P. Not going to do it. You are awfully charitable, which I appreciate. Thank you. I do what I can.

I do what I can. Willie P. We always enjoy it. We'll talk to you next week. Thank you, Willie.

Appreciate you.