Another chapter in professional sports history closed last night when the Hornets were eliminated from the playoffs by the New Jersey Nets, their tenure in Charlotte now officially over.  After 14 seasons the organization will be packing up and moving on, destination the Big Easy.

In Charlotte the Hornets did have their good times, the team selling out 364 straight games according to Scott Fowler from the Charlotte Observer before things turned sour.  Charlotte loved the Hornets, there is no doubt about that, but the instability within the team created by management?s unwillingness to commit to the organizations best and most popular players soon had fans turning their backs in droves.

Owners George Shinn and Ray Woolridge petitioned to the league to move the franchise after the City of Charlotte rejected a bonds plan for a new arena in the area, the duo maintaining that without luxury suites their future would be uncertain. The NBA approved the move earlier this week, prompting the team to lose its next two straight games to bail out of the 2002 playoffs.

The way things ended were particularly painful for the team, with All-Star Baron Davis fouling out with five minutes remaining which opened the door for Jason Kidd to show his magic down the stretch.  The Hornets entered the Playoffs with dreams of reaching the NBA Finals, but after only 10 minutes of play in the opening game of their opening round against the Orlando Magic Charlotte lost leading scorer Jamal Mashburn to illness.  At the time it was thought Mashburn would miss one game at worst, and no one predicted that he would miss the remainder of the season.  While the team coasted past the Magic through the brilliance of Davis, things were not so smooth against the stronger Nets who simply had too many weapons for the short-handed Hornets to counter, leading us to the present playoff standings.

"Any time you don't get to the Big Dance, it hurts," forward P.J. Brown said. "No matter if it's the first round, or the Eastern Conference finals or whatever, whenever you lose, it hurts. But this is really tough. I've never been part of a franchise moving, and this is different. This really hurts.?

"I just want to say to the fans of Charlotte that I appreciate all the support of the fans who did come out. The two years I had there were a good two years, a memorable two years, and it's appreciated."

"It hurts," added Baron Davis. "It hurts to leave Charlotte, especially since I was drafted there and it's the only place I've played. But leaving is part of the NBA, and it's part of being professional, so we've got to look forward to new situations. I'm proud of my teammates, proud of my coaches, and proud of the city of Charlotte for the ones who supported us through the worst of times. Now it's on to New Orleans and hopefully we'll get more support there."

There has been talk of Charlotte not going without an NBA team for long, expansion seemingly their best option, but that would not happen for years and certainly not before many hurdles are passed.  But even then things will never be the same again, the new team will not be known as the Charlotte Hornets.  The New Orleans Hornets does not have quite the same ring to it, does it?

Adios Charlotte, the Hornets will not be the same without you.