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It doesn't seem that long ago that the Southeast was an afterthought. I'm aware that sounds stupid as this division attempts to rise to serious L-bound prominence, but it's true -- before Dwight Howard and before Dwyane Wade and before Josh Smith and before Jeff McInnis ... what was there?

It doesn't particularly matter now; the division is still only an erstwhile powerhouse; you would never see a prediction coming that any one of these teams can contend for the NBA title right now, and that's what matters in these sort of things.

Of course, Orlando is a different story of sorts. Maybe. At least we have to wonder: Does Hedo Turkoglu Still Have the Special Sauce?

The AP is reporting that the Charlotte Bobcats will announce the hiring of Larry Brown as their new head coach in a press conference tomorrow, according to a source close to the situation. Brown will replace Sam Vincent, who was fired last weekend after only one year with the club. The Bobcats' job will be Brown's ninth NBA team to run, and will likely prove to be a significant challenge. Of course, Brown knows something about challenges, as his last head coaching position was with the New York Knicks in 2006.

Brown said last week after resigning from the 76ers organization that he had to get back into coaching because he was "bored." He certainly won't be bored now, with a major reclamation project to accomplish with a team that has struggled since it's inception in 2004. Brown has often been criticized for his inability to develop young talent, and now he takes over a team that features seven players with 3 years or less NBA experience. While the Bobcats have pursued more veteran players recently at the request of minority owner Michael Jordan (Jason Richardson), the Bobcats are still a very young squad. If Brown is going to find success in Charlotte, he's going to have to either develop the young assets this team possesses, or blow the whole thing up and start over. Either way, one of the game's most prolific coaches is back behind the clipboard.

With Sam Vincent mercifully gone from the coaching ranks already, all eyes in the Carolinas turned to Larry Brown to fill the vacancy with the Charlotte Bobcats. And he is probably still the number one candidate -- although I'm not sure how much Michael Jordan needing to request biographical information on him helps his case.

Paul Silas, though, would also like to be in the running. Badly. Actually, it would be the perfect landing spot for the former Charlotte Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers coach; he not only lives in Lake Norman (a few miles away) but also dropped the phrase "dream job" regarding the opening.

'They need someone who knows how to handle people, get the most out of them,' Silas told the [Charlotte] Observer. 'My teams have always been really good defensive teams. This team has that potential" in terms of personnel.

'They need to be in a system. I have a system offensively that has proven to work.'

Silas's self promotional style is a tad bit aggressive, but if you're running a campaign against LB, that's probably the angle you have to play. Also, I would tend to agree that Silas is not only a good candidate for the position, but was th better candidate a year ago when the Bobcats wasted a year on Vincent.

However, if Michael Jordan has his Tarheel-riddled heart set on Brown, and LB is reciprocating the love, you better believe this job is all but sewn up.

Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star knows what makes Primoz Brezec happy.

Brezec, Toronto's end-of-the-bench centre, walked into the locker room the other day and pumped a fist in celebration, expressing happiness in news that one of the banes of his existence as an NBAer, a coach named Sam, had just been fired.

"Sam Vincent!" Brezec kept repeating, rather excitedly.

Brezec's disdain for Coach Vincent, whom he spent all of three months with in Charlotte this season, has been documented previously. In fact, here's what Brezec said about the guy in February.

"I was like, you know what Sam? You don't need me, you don't like me and I don't like you, so get me out of here. And see how they're doing this year?"

Players and coaches feud all the time; it's not even necessary that one moves on for it to occur. But taunting a guy who just got the axe? That's a bit harsh, yes?

But hey, Primoz is a gangsta. He can't help it.

Hey look, Charlotte rookie coach Sam Vincent got fired this morning ... a few hours after the Charlotte Observer published a rumor coaching legend Larry Brown was interested in the job, and only a couple days after Brown resigned his executive post with the 76ers. How about that?

The Observer reported that Charlotte had requested biographical information on Brown from Philadelphia earlier this week ... which is really weird, actually. Did they need to check LB's zodiac sign in order to make sure he'd be compatible with Emeka Okafor? Hey MJ, we have this thing called Wikipedia now. It's not an academic source, but it's cool for figuring out stuff like birthdays.

Most considered the Vincent hire another MJ crony bid, one which flew out of nowhere and was not likely to end well. Even a month ago, Vincent's eventual visit to the gallows was called an "inevitability" by ESPN.com's Marc Stein. The interesting part, though: Brown lobbied for the Charlotte job last year. Jordan didn't give him much of a gander (no one did); did MJ realize his mistake? Was Vincent so bad the Cats wouldn't touch another first-time head coach? Will Memphis suddenly get itchy with Marc Iavaroni if they see Brown disappearing from the cupboard? (Not likely, but it's fun to project the domino effect.)

It didn't take long for Larry Brown to start rumor mills flowing, shock of all shocks. Even though the Charlotte Bobcats have not made a decision regarding the return of head coach Sam Vincent, a report in the Charlotte observer stated today that a source close to Brown indicated he would be interested in discussing the head coaching position.

The report goes on to say that shortly after Brown resigned from the 76ers, Charlotte contaced the Sixers for biographical information on Brown.

Brown has heavy ties to the area, including having played for the University of North Carolina and family ties to the area.

Given Brown's notoriously low patience for developing younger players, it would have to be assumed that F/C Emeka Okafor would be sign-and-trade-bait if Brown were hired.

Evaluations of Vincent's performance are ongoing, a source for the team said.

ESPN's Marc Stein has drops at least one or two bits of breaking news in his Weekend Dime, and today's no exception. Stein confirms Charlotte coach Sam Vincent is on the chopping block after a highly disappointing season at the helm of the Cats.

Bobcats president Michael Jordan would surely prefer not to fire Sam Vincent after just one season. Yet one plugged-in source describes it as an inevitability, with any hit that Jordan might take for the growing perception that the former teammate he hired can't reach Charlotte's players sure to be softened if he can convince a coach of [Larry] Brown's stature to take over.

A-yep, that's a Larry Brown rumor in Charlotte. Vincent's clearly been overmatched this season, much moreso than fellow rookie Reggie Theus, and on a level likely worse than Marc Iavaroni. The Kings are bad, but that was expected. The Griz are bad, but that was predetermined by science. The Bobcats? No reason they shouldn't be in this playoff sprint with the Nets, Pacers, and Hawks.

Of course, the coaching position is about the least of Charlotte's concerns. It seems to me MJ needs to first decide whether he wants to keep Emeka Okafor as his stud power forward, and whether Raymond Felton will ever be a top-flight point guard.

If we don't care about the scourge of the NBA, who will? The Bleaker Rankings will assess the grotesque each Tuesday.

1. The Bucks. Is it still considered tanking if you play all your best players (40+ minutes for Michael Redd, Mo Williams, and Andrew Bogut) and still manage to lose to the Heat, who played only three guys who haven't played in the D-League this year? I think so.

2. The Jim Boylan regime. Boylan could very well get jumped in the middle of a game by half his team, and I wouldn't be surprised. What could possibly be so revolting about his style to illicit such anger from his charges?

3. The Knicks. Signs of life in James Dolan's skull!

4. The Bobcats. March has been loads better than the season-killing 1-11 Ferbuary Charlotte had. But the franchise-high 5-game win streak led to another 5-game losing streak. Charlotte will probably not clear the 30-win mark, after a promising run last year (33 wins). Sam Vincent might be the first rookie coach firing this summer.

5. The Mavericks. Dallas, of course, could still very well win a title this summer. But watching Dirk Nowitzki go down and watching Jason Kidd be so ineffective in late-game situations ... it's got to be a nervous in Big D. And don't forget how old this team is -- they were the 5th oldest before trading 26-year-old Devin Harris for 35-year-old Kidd.)

Others receiving votes: The Kings; The Clippers; The Nets, who should in these playoffs with that much talent.

If we don't care about the scourge of the NBA, who will? The Bleaker Rankings will assess the grotesque each Tuesday.

1. The Miami Heat. No more do the Boy Wonder and his not-so-superfriends get a Bleakers pass. Clearing carcasses and cap space can only do so much for you -- at some point, you must win a freaking game. The Heat have only one victory since Christmas. No one expected Shawn Marion to save the season, but you expected Dwyane Wade -- a player folks mistakenly placed on higher ground than LeBron James a year ago -- to be able to will his team into the win column once this month.

2. The New York Knicks. You can do it, Knicks! Just one more 40-point loss to break the franchise record! You don't want the Isiah Thomas era to pass without at least one notable achievement, do you? DO YOU?

3. Seattle basketball. One week from today, Oklahoma City voters will approve public funding to renovate an arena which has seen roughly 70 NBA games. Seattle has hosted 41 years of NBA basketball and cannot get help on an arena. And David Stern is eulogizing who? Yep. This world is awesome and fair.

4. Gerald Wallace's skull. After Crash got clubbed in the head by an inadvertent Mikki Moore elbow, news came out that Wallace has suffered four concussions in the past few years. While it fits as a perfect definition of Gerald, it's worrisome and sad to we, his fans. Get well, Crash.

5. Sam Vincent. He has reportedly lost his team, he has Primoz Brezec talking smack about him across international borders, and he's deciding now is the right time to tell Wallace he needs to change the way he plays to save his career? Dude is laid up recovering for AMNESIA and you're laying this on him? Go away, Sam. He was freaking doubling down onto a guy with the ball two feet from the rim. Should he not play defense any more? Is playing with a vibrant motor not what NBA players are supposed to do? Is there an Anti-Coach of the Year Award? Sam's campaigning hard.

Also receiving votes:
The 2008-09 Los Angeles Clippers; Portland's playoff chances; the Larry Krystowiak Fan Club group on Facebook.

New Raptor Primoz Brezec got in front of the media and let his hair down a little. Michael Grange of Toronto's Globe & Mail first got Rasho Nesterovic to explain why Primoz speaks in 'almost perfect gangsta slang' -- "[H]e started in Indiana. That's a pretty tough organization to pick up English." But the salvo to take from this comes from Primoz himself:

"Sam Vincent, he changed it up. He wanted to go more run-and-gun. I have no problem with that, I can run three days in a row. But I think I set a record in the NBA: out of 50 games I started I didn't get the ball, I didn't get a shot off. So I was like, you know what Sam? You don't need me, you don't like me and I don't like you, so get me out of here. And see how they're doing this year?"

Did a player who has been traded twice this year and has played a total of 365 minutes in 2007-08 just call 'scoreboard' on a former employer? Touche, Primoz.

(On the impact of your first franchise on non-native English speakers: The next time you listen to a Hedo Turkoglu interview, do so with the knowledge Jason Williams taught the man English.)