Scott Fowler

Sports columnist. Charlotte Observer since 1994. Proud father of 4. 27x APSE winner. Specialties: 9/11/74; "Sports Legends" series; Carruth; Panthers/Hornets.

[Scott Fowler @scott_fowler]

EXCLUSIVE: The son of former Carolina Panther Rae Carruth is thriving in Charlotte, 25 years after the shooting of Chancellor Lee Adams’ mother shocked America and sent Carruth to prison.
My update on the murder, the miracle and Carruth (now a free man): https://t.co/g7tGgfvRH0

[Scott Fowler @scott_fowler]

Interesting - but a lot easier to get to

[NC State Football @PackFootball]

NC State's season opener vs. Virginia will be relocated to Charlottesville.

https://t.co/wY1w5VcsLk

[Chapel Fowler @chapelfowler]

Nick Saban on the Luke Ferrelli tampering saga: “Clemson had a player who was on campus for a whole week, and they (Ole Miss) came and got him off campus and took him someplace else.” Saban is testifying in support of the Protect College Sports Act in the US Senate this morning

[Mike Kaye @mike_e_kaye]

Trevor Etienne is "stuck on ready, waiting on go."

The #Panthers running back says he wants to be the player he was drafted to be and contribute on offense.

@theobserver chatted with Etienne about his summer competition, his mentor and his last name: https://t.co/znkJVdwRQC

[Langston Wertz Jr. @langstonwertzjr]

Mallard Creek star Nyan Brown, at the center of the controversy around a DQ that initially cost the Mavericks a third straight title, put out a statement on social media Tuesday after an appeal was upheld giving Mallard Creek its crown

[Scott Fowler @scott_fowler]

It never should have gotten to this point, but kudos to those who got it right in the Mallard Creek track controversy decision.
Here's a free gift link to my column about the original call, the appeal and what finally happened today, for @theobserver: https://t.co/FhOFIxH5op

[Alex Zietlow @alexzietlow05]

Jonathon Brooks was held out of team drills/scrimmaging on Tuesday. But the #Panthers aren't worried.

It's part of their plan - one that Brooks himself believes in, and one that prioritizes the second-round pick getting to "100%."

Story in @theobserver: https://t.co/o4nx3V80Pg

[Alex Zietlow @alexzietlow05]

#Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks either doesn’t know what his top speed is or doesn’t want to share that state secret. Either way is cool.

But he makes it clear: “Faster than Chuba, for sure.”

[Scott Fowler @scott_fowler]

It never should have gotten to this point, but kudos to those who got it right in the Mallard Creek track controversy decision.
Here's a free gift link to my column about the original call, the appeal and what finally happened today, for @theobserver: https://t.co/FhOFIxH5op

[Scott Fowler @scott_fowler]

Nic Scourton says he’s been studying tape of new teammate Jaelan Phillips

[Langston Wertz Jr. @langstonwertzjr]

The decision is in for the Mallard Creek boys' track team. A special NC committee heard an appeal from the school after an official's decision took away a third straight state title.

What we know at link below

https://t.co/ZnSZiGX4Bd

[Langston Wertz Jr. @langstonwertzjr]

Observer columnist @scott_fowler felt that Mallard Creek should not have lost its state championship due to a 'bogus' DQ.

His thoughts today after the NCHSAA has reinstalled the Mavericks as state champs.

https://t.co/AWIvqipnxx

[Scott Fowler @scott_fowler]

Kon Knueppel, Korrespondent.

[NBA @NBA]

Introducing the NBA Player Correspondents for the NBA Finals 🎙️

Caleb Wilson (Game 1), Derik Queen (Game 2), Jeremiah Fears (Game 3), AJ Dybantsa (Game 4), and Kon Knueppel (Game 5, if necessary) will be on the ground giving inside access from San Antonio and New York, beginning today for Game 1 Media Day!

[Scott Fowler @scott_fowler]

This makes me happy every time I watch it.

[O’Shea Jackson Jr @OsheaJacksonJr]

I saw it. Now you have to see it. His name is Samuel. And he…is a king.

[Scott Fowler @scott_fowler]

Well put! Was honored to share a seat on press row with Rick for decades, and to still walk through his media entrance at every Hornets game today.

[Hornets Historian @HornetsHistory]

June 1st, 2026

Remembering Rick Bonnell’s Legacy

Today my focus is on someone who deserves a spotlight in the halls of Hornets History all to himself.

If there was ever a *real* Hornets Historian, it was Rick Bonnell.

Encyclopedia may even be more fitting.

The Hornets family lost the scribe of their franchise on this day five years ago, and it’s something I don’t ever want the fans to forget about.

Especially as younger fans continue to pile in. Those fans may not see the Rick Bonnell media entrance, the seat on media row the Hornets still keep empty for him, or the scholarship the Hornets give out in his namesake every year.

And for those people… I don’t want Rick’s name to fade. Because for most who knew of his work, and especially for those who knew him, it never will.

He’s not just synonymous with the Charlotte Hornets. Rick lived and breathed this team as a beat writer for the Charlotte Observer from 1988-2021.

After graduating from the prestigious Newhouse School of Journalism at Syracuse, and after advising Jim Boeheim himself about a job offer to move down to N.C.?

Boeheim told Rick he should take it, and Rick did.

Bonnell moved to Raleigh to work for the News and Observer in 1987, where he mainly covered Duke and North Carolina in the 87-88 season.

He then gave up coverage of Duke, UNC, and triangle basketball to go work for the Charlotte Observer and cover the Hornets full-time as they began offseason prep for their inaugural year.

From what I’ve read, Rick liked to remind people he didn’t cover *everything* in Charlotte Hornets history, because he wasn’t there yet in the city when the team was officially confirmed on April 5th, 1987.

But when the team walked out for its first-ever game against Cleveland in 1988, he was there. Not just there at the game, but like many others for that first-game at the Coliseum, Rick was donning a full tuxedo at the contest.

A game where Charlotte lost by 40, I may add.

But that was Rick. He had an enthusiasm for covering this sport that, let me be VERY clear:

Most sports writers do NOT have. Much less after 30+ years.

He was still excited about good basketball, of which he saw very little at points during his tenure. It never stopped him from delivering A+ coverage of the team.

More importantly, the bad spells never diluted his love for basketball. Even in 2011-2012 when the Bobcats went 7-59, which Rick’s Twitter bio reminded us that he, “survived with some grace and sanity.”

He was always fair in his coverage. Even the GOAT recognized this. He is the only beat writer I’ve ever heard of who had Michael Jordan’s phone number, and could USE it if he deemed it necessary to do so.

I miss listening to Rick talk and write about this team a lot. I looked up to him when I was younger, and while I can’t imagine what his family has been through…

The least I can do is honor the part of Rick I did know. That was his coverage of the Hornets. It was his love for this team, good defense, and the hope he always held for Charlotte basketball’s future.

I hope you’re resting in peace amongst all the late Hornets’ legends where you belong, Rick.

[Scott Fowler @scott_fowler]

A lot of Panthers fans have lost confidence in Xavier Legette. But you know who hasn't?
The Panthers themselves.
I took a deeper look at what one Panthers coach called XL's "complete transformation" this offseason, for @theobserver: https://t.co/m0nTS0XZKl

[Mike Kaye @mike_e_kaye]

The #Panthers mailbag is back for a Monday lunch edition!

Answering questions about Jonathon Brooks, Trevor Etienne, the backup QB job and the center competition: https://t.co/z5YDMibh4k

[Scott Fowler @scott_fowler]

Obviously I’m not Tom Brady, but I think this is a pretty ridiculous take. Every practice player I have ever met - and I’ve met hundreds - feels stuck in limbo.
Their greatest dream is to make the 53. If they fail there, it’s more just a lack of top-level talent, not a lack of motivation.

[Aakash Gupta @aakashgupta]

NFL practice squad players earn $234K a year to never play a game. Brady says a lot of them prefer it that way.

$13,000 a week. Same facilities, same planes, same meals as the active roster. Super Bowl ring if the team wins. And zero risk of failing on national television. Brady watched this for 20 years and realized many practice squad players had already reached the exact outcome they wanted.

The active roster pays $840,000 minimum, three and a half times more. But it comes with something most people underestimate: public, measurable, weekly accountability. Drop a pass in the fourth quarter and 70,000 people watched it happen. When practice squad players got promoted into that pressure, they crumbled. Same arms, same legs, same speed. Their talent survived the jump. Their appetite for judgment didn't.

The $606,000 gap between practice squad and active roster is the annual price of pressure-avoidance. Enough NFL players pay it voluntarily that a seven-time Super Bowl champion noticed a pattern.

Every evaluation system on earth measures people when nothing is on the line.

[Scott Fowler @scott_fowler]

Smart thing to do

[Carolina Hurricanes @Canes]

YOU ASKED, YOU RECEIVE.

We will host Watch Parties for all Stanley Cup Final road games at @LenovoCenter.

More details will be announced in the coming days.

[Alex Zietlow @alexzietlow05]

While he was waiting on the Charlotte skies to clear and his Young 9 Foundation camp to begin, #Panthers QB Bryce Young answered some questions.

About mindfulness, his family and … Russell Westbrook (?). Story in @theobserver: https://t.co/tplXzrqjxX

[Alex Zietlow @alexzietlow05]

Christian Pulisic had a moment of great catharsis. The USMNT earned a narrow victory over a Top 15 opponent.

And as a whole, the team's win in Charlotte inspired confidence everywhere ... including hopefully among the American fan base. In @theobserver: https://t.co/r8f8n8xyVE