Rick Bonnell, an award-winning sportswriter for more than 33 years at The Charlotte Observer, was found dead in his home Tuesday. He was 63. Bonnell was The Observer’s first beat reporter to cover the Charlotte Hornets during their inaugural season in 1988-89, and he was still breaking stories on the Hornets beat throughout this past season. Jack Bonnell, Rick’s son, confirmed his father’s death Tuesday night and added that police had told him that there was no reason to suspect foul play. Rick Bonnell’s cause of death hadn’t been immediately determined, his son said, but was believed to be natural…
from Rick Bonnell, with the Charlotte Observer: Charlotte Hornets radio play-by-play announcer John Focke issued an apology on Twitter late Monday night for what he said was an accidental use of an offensive word. Focke, who just completed his first season with the Hornets, was tweeting about the Utah Jazz-Denver Nuggets playoff game Monday afternoon. He issued a tweet which two sources confirmed included the N-word before quickly deleting it. The tweet appeared to include the “N-word” instead of “Nuggets.” Focke apologized on Twitter around 10 p.m. Monday night. “Earlier today I made a horrific error while attempting to tweet…