Conference hbahba::cam_sports

    The Hornets beat the Dallas Mavericks lasted night 132-113.
    After building a 12 point 1st quarter lead, they basically coasted
    to the finish being up by as much as twenty-seven or so.
    
    This was a homecoming for Larry Johnson who is from the Dallas area.
    
    The L'ster (LJ) finished with 24 points, 8 rb, 8 assists.
    
    Kendall Gill finished with 20 points, and appears to be breaking
    out of his shooting slump.
    
    Alonzo had 20 points, 10 boards, and at least 4 blocks.
    
    I believe the Hornets are now at 17-14 for the season.  They still
    have two stops left in the Texas triangle; at Houston and at San Anton.
    
    Pat
    

    IMO, the Hornets are still at least two quality players away from 
    being a contender.  They need a third guard, someone who could swing
    between the off guard and the point, someone like McCaffery at
    Vanderbilt (Duke transfer) or Justis Thigpen at Iowa State.
    
    That's what I would draft this year.  They could also use one more
    power forward.  Eventually, Charlotte should move Grandmama to small
    forward, where he could be an unstoppable force.
    
    NAZZ

    Good insight Nazz.  If the Hornets can pick up a point guard
    who can play good perimeter defense, they'll see a significant
    improvement as a team.  I think LJ will always swing between
    SF and PF, but that's an advantage as he has the skills to play
    both positions ABOVE AVERAGE.  Gattison is playing backup PF/C
    these days.  Not the flashiest or quickest, but fair and steady.
    
    I would like to see them pick up the point guard in a trade.  Get
    someone that already has some experience.  It takes too long to develop
    a good point guard from a rookie.  Then, maybe add another PF through
    the draft.
    
    In the next 1-2 years, they'll be relieved of the contracts of
    Mike Giminski ($1+ mil/yr) and Tom Hammonds ($800k/yr), so they
    may have some room to make a deal (or sign their 1st rounder).
    
    The Hornets got creamed in Houston Thursday night.  No O, no D,
    no ball movement, NO SHOW.  Just plain flat.  Rockets won by a dozen 
    or so.
    
    The Hornets lost at San Antonio Saturday night.  Mr. Robinson had
    52 as he was hitting everything - even a couple 3 pointers.
    The Hornets did show up this game though.  The played decent, got
    to the line a bunch, just shot turrrible.  Don't know what their
    FG% was, but it was low.  Lost this one by a dozen or so also.
    
    The Hornets play Atlanta at home tonight.  Rumor has it that
    Wingate will start (for Newman) tonight as Bristow is looking
    for more defense and better chemistry.  Newman has been silent,
    but cain't be happy.  
    
    The bugs are at 17-16.
    
    Pat

    I'd trade ya Negele Knight for Gattison in a heartbeat.  Suns need
    another decent center who can defend in the post.
    
    Mike

What the Suns definitely need are more ex-Hornets. I had to laugh seeing
Sir Charles try to take on the refs and who was there? Tim Kempton.

As for Knight for Gattison, I'd have to say no thanks to that one. Throw
in Dumas and we might be getting a little warm. Sorry, not interested in
Oliver Miller. I could be totally wrong about him, though, but for now
y'all can keep him.

Minor shake up for tonight's game against Atlanta: David Wingate will be
starting instead of Johnny Newman. In several of the latest losses, the
other team has been abusing Charlotte by going to whomever Newman was
trying to cover. They take him deep to the inside and he won't fight for
position or to deny the pass in. I know that the Hornets don't really
match up well with some teams but having Newman trying to guard the X-man
or Antoine Carr is ridiculous.

In any case, Bristow is starting Wingate, leaving Newman pouting on the
pine. Better watch out Johnny. Mike Gminski who can't be traded because
of his salary is practicing and getting ready to come back. Someone has
got to go and there are some feelers out there for some compensation for
Newman.

TTom

    No way.  Dumas is already better than Gattison.

Hey Mike, it doesn't hurt to ask...

Nazz, back to the question of Shinn's involvement, he is still active in
the business parts of the team but is pretty much letting Bristow do all
the coaching. About the only significant thing Shinn's done lately that
has anything to do with the players was intervening when his henchman
Stolpen couldn't shed the weight of his desire to be the baddest
negotiator in the NBA and as a result reached a major impasse with
signing Mourning. Shinn jumped in and within a week Zo was signed.

Other than that, Shinn has been in the background working such issues as
rent for the Coliseum and the like. One can only hope that this
continues. 

TTom

    Re. Shinn in the background:
    
    That's the best possible news for the development of the Hornets.
    Shinn is a wacko who, if allowed to meddle in the daily operation
    of the club, could have ruined them.  They are much better off with
    him as low profile as possible.
    
    A question about Bristow.  Is he the right man to coach this team, or
    should they move him upstairs to GM and hire a college guy, perhaps
    Bobby Cremmins or Roy WIllams?
    
    NAZZ

    IMO, Bristow is doing an adequate job.  I like his spirit and 
    fire a helluva lot better than mild mannered Gene Littles.
    He gets along well with the players, and focuses more on defense
    the previous coaches.
    
    He is still learning though.  In a game the other night against
    the Hawks, we were tied with a few seconds left.  Atlanta had
    the ball.  During a dead ball, Bristow could have brought in
    Wingate for DEFENSE but tumored and left Curry on the floor.
    Atlanta missed the jumper, but Koncheck tipped in the rebound
    for the winner at the buzzer.  May not have made a difference,
    but he clearly forgot about situational substitions then.
    
    I like the Bristow/Hanzlik/Dunn team.  They're a bit yellow, but
    learning.
    
    Pat

I'm not that big a fan of Bristow.

In the plus column is that he's the best that the Hornets have had yet.
Clearly the players and about everyone else employed by the Hornets seem
to like him. And the players respond to his coaching.

In the minus column is that he loses his concetration during the game and
the players reflect that. He has absolutely no clout with the refs who
generally ignore most if not all of what he says to them. About the only
way he gets noticed is when he get a T or 2 - like the episode where he
took his coat off and kicked it and got the boot.

I think that one of the major mistakes he and the Hornets made was in
choosing the assistant coaches. Here you have a head coach who never did
that before and he hired a couple of people who had never coached in the
NBA (or any other place as far as I know). TR Dunn and Bill Hanzlik seem
competent enough but IMO they should have brought in someone who actually
has some experience in the job. 

I don't see Bristow as capable of being the whole front office. I think
it's good to keep him as coach and keep the player personell up to
someone else - Dave Twardzik - and let the other people worry about the
GM type stuff.

>    I like the Bristow/Hanzlik/Dunn team.  They're a bit yellow, but
>    learning.

Yellow? Maybe this explains why the refs turn their back and walk away
from these guys. I think the color that really matters here is green.

TTom

    The Hornets take their 4 game slide into Chicago tonight.
    The Bulls should have no problem as the Bugs are playing
    terrible.  I mean, these guys are playing so bad, they look like...
    an expansion team.
    
    Kendall is still struggling.  Is this a slump or is this the way
    things are gonna be?
    
    Later,
    Pat

The Kendall Gill situation doesn't look good. For those not in the know,
Gill has a_escape clause in his contract wherein he can declare himself a
restricted free agent at the end of this year. The Hornets would have to
match the offers to keep him.

This seems to be dominating what is happening. From his standpoint, he
wants to profile and star as much as possible in hopes of getting big
bucks after this year. $3 mil is said to be about the range he's looking
for. The Hornets look like they're trying to overtly state their
commitment to him by letting him continue to start and play a lot even
though he is clearly struggling. We're not talking about a shot here or
there not going in. He's not shooting a lick this year. The latest stats
sho him at about 42% which puts him behind most starters in the league
and hardly the Best in Class that he says he is.

Worse than that, he's doing a lot of standing around looking at what's
happening. Consintently, Dell Curry is out shooting him and out hustling
him. And on defense, where everyone says he's sooo good, Gill doesn't
justify his minutes.

Personally, I'd like to see him settle back into being good and continue
his development. But until the contract is worked out I wouldn't be too
surpised to see him trying hard on offense and the Hornets trying hard to
please him.

TTom

In the best tradition of Chris Knorr, here's a pat to my back on calling
the Kendall Gill situation.

Very big spreads in the paper this weekend. First on Saturday, after
Kendall had finally had at least a_average game as the Hornets beat da
Bulls, his agent announced the big plan. BARRY BOND NUMBERS! The way Gill
and this guy have it figured, they'll declare for restricted free agency
in July. They'll only look at 1 year deals and next July he'll be a free
agency. Gill and his manager figure state that they fell like Gill is,
now get this, one of the top 5 players in the NBA! Based on that and free
agency, they figure he'll be worth who knows how much.

On Sunday, the Hornets start their campaign to show how much they care
for dear Kendall and there's a major piece gushing over how great Gill
is. However, buried in the article were a couple of issues. First,
Kendall plans to use all the money he's going to get to build a new home
in Illinois (I guess he's already starting to move outta Charlotte).
Also, the Hornets' prez, Spencer Stolpen, stepped right up and said no
way would he be any part of any one year deal that helps Gill become a
free agent in 94.

Should be fun to watch. 

One more thing about Kendall's inflated opinion of himself. He's set up a
Kendall Gill fan club and all you gotta do to belong is send money to
Kendall. That's right, you gotta pay him to join his fan club. 

TTom

    I heard KG was getting a little big in the head.  Not good.  Too bad
    he is getting the NBA glory and not KB(Kenny "will play 10 days for
    food" Battle).
    
    Murph

    BTW, Kendall did have a half-dozen or so BILLBOARDS in the Charlotte
    area promoting the Kendall Gill fan club.  Most have been up for
    a year or two.
    
    As a result of his recent slump and his efforts to "focus more
    on basketball" Kendall has had all of these billboards taken down.
    
    Kendall is a good defender and rebounder for a 2 guard.  His shooting
    is in the toilet though.  One of the top five PLAYERS in the NBA?
    Not today, not ever.  Maybe an all-star one day, but not top five.
    
    By the way, what dubious statistical honor does Kendall hold from
    last year?
    
    
    Player who had the most shots blocked.
    
    
    Pat

    Hornets beat the Kings last night in Charlotte, 117-107.
    
    An ugly win is better than a pretty loss, so we'll take it.
    The bench held us up as Newman had 21 and Curry 19.
    Alonzo had an uneventful 23.  LJ had another solid night with
    15 points and 16 boards.  If we didn't have LJ, we'd be in
    deep ca-ca.
    
    Good to see Rambis back in Charlotte.  He didn't play much though.
    
    This game had fourth quarter choke (the pattern of late) all over
    it.  Fortunately, the Kings were unequal to the task and let us 
    keep it.
    
    Pat

Kendall Gill made a big deal of taking down the billboards but he's not
out of the Kendall Gill Fan Club scam. He has a_ad in the Hornets
magazine telling of all the benefits of joining his fan club - highlights
of Gill's basketball history, etc. - for a mere $23.50. Meanwhile he was
a torrid 4-fer-12 against Sacramento. 

Here's hoping the Lakers show up tonight like looking like the Kings.
Should be fun wathching Zo versus Divac and Sam Perkins will probably
hear some cheers from Tar Heel fans. If'n the Hornets play like they have
for the lasted couple of home games, the Lakers will be given a good
chance to win.

Maybe the Hornets should review film of the win at da Bulls...

TTom

    The Hornheads lost to the Lakers at home on Friday night.  Wasn't at 
    the game, but it sounded like the old Hornets showed up.
    
    The Hornheads won at Washington in OT on Saturday.  Curry was the hero, 
    and finished with a career high 33 points.  Curry has had a great 
    year, and should get some consideration for 6th man award.
    
    Last night it was a rematch with the Sonics at our joint.
    By the way, we beat them in Seattle earler in the season.
    The Hornets prevailed again, beating the Sonics surprisingly
    handily, 112-100.  Six Hornets scored in double figures, and, get
    this, the Hornets had eleven blocked shots (Mourning 3, Gattison 3,
    Gill 3, Curry 2).
    
    The Hornets home record is now 10-10.
    
    Their road record has to be among the best in the NBA at 11-10.  This
    includes wins at Seattle, New York, and Chicago.
    
    Tommy Hammonds got cut last week as Giminski returned from IR.
    This frees up a $400k salary slot for the Hornets next season (half
    of Hammonds' salary).  Most expected Lynch to get axed, but nogo.
    No big loss with Hammonds - except on paper it translates to getting
    nothing for Rex Chapman.  He's worth slightly more than that.
    
    Nuf for now,
    Pat

Good win lasted night. Basically a defensive win, among other stats, a
team total of 11 blocked shots. 

Peter Vecsey's article today is about Kendall Gill and his efforts to
make multi-millions using a free agency clause. According to Vecsey Gill
is now complaining that Muggsy Bogues won't pass to him. Apparently,
that's hurting his recovery from his slump. So he wants out. Supposedly
the Hornets are looking for someone who wants to risk losing Gill if not
this year than certainly next year when he would be free agent. 

Meanwhile, Gill was a torrid 5 fer 16 from the field which should ensure
that his FG% for the season remain in the very low 40s.

TTom

    Gill's fan club must be working.  He garnered quite a few All Star
    votes.

I noticed that Gill isn't quite in the top 5 NBA fan vote getter. Give
him some time and he'll work that out.

Seriously, anybody need a shooting guard and I use that word charitably?

TTom

Sonics slept through  last night. How else can you explain getting out 
rebounded by the Hornets? With some decent free throw shooting this could
have been a good game...Sonics need a wake up call big time and hopefully this
one will do it...


Metz

re: Sonics.

The sleep continues with another road loss at Atlanta lasted night.

re: Hornets road record

I believe the relatively unique status is that the Hornets record is
better on the road than at home. The Lakers share this stat.

Up next: at Philadelphia

TTom

    WON - at Philly
    WON - at home vs Bucs
    
    Hornets are now 23-20, way ahead of last year's pace.  These guys
    go from playing a few games flat to playing a few games solid.
    
    Larry made the All-Star team.  Good for him.  He truly deserves it.
    
    Johnny Newman is adapting to life on the bench at tip-off time.
    He's getting more excited about being on the bench brigade.
    He and Dell Curry have been coming in and giving the second unit
    consistently good offense.  Hope it lasts.
    
    Pat

Big game tonight as the Cavs come to town. To win, Charlotte must play
a better game than they have in the last couple of weeks. Either the
Hornets lose their concentration and let the other team come back - and
often win - or they fail to show up completely.

The win at Chicago was the major exception.

The Hornets come into the game relatively free of controversy and
injuries. Kendall Gill's agent is still trying to tell the Hornets what
they should do for Gill but all this is something that the rest of the
team wil have to get used to. No major injuries and the player rotations
are about set with Dell Curry, Kenny Gattison, and Johnny Newman coming
off the bench in about that order.

The Hornets are in a unique position given their history in the NBA. For
the first time I can remember they have winning records: on the home, on
the road, against the East and against the West. At 23-20, a win over
Cleveland will really help. The Cavs are playing to stay close to if not
pass the Bulls. 

TTom

    Hornets lost to the Cavs Tuesday, but had a nice win last night
    against the Orlando Magic.  The Hornets beat the Magic earlier
    in the season before Alonzo signed.  This was the first battle
    of the young giants.
    
    Zo and Shaq both played great games.  Don't have their stats but
    they were very similar.  Zo saved his stuff for the second half
    and helped lead Charlotte to the victory.  Good play also from
    Larry, Kendall, Mugsey, and Dell Curry.
    
    Tommy "former Hornet" Tolbert had an unbelieveable first half -
    9-10 shooting for 18 pts.  He was silenced in the second half
    and pulled the big goose egg.
    
    The Hornets are now 24-21 and would like to finish strong before
    the break as March looks to be a tough month fer em.
    
    Let's see, what are some of the latest Kendall Gill trade rumors:
    	- Danny Manning straight up for Gill
    	- Greg Anthony and John Starks for Gill.
    
    IMO, they won't trade him.  
    
    I wouldn't mind seeing them trade a first round draft pick 
    for someone like Bimbo Coles, Nate McMillan, or Greg Anthony
    to give Mugsey a break.
    
    Pat

    Gill for Starks and Anthony?  HAHAHAHAHA Waht a joke... Charlotte
    must have Bob Ryan as a consultant... Gill AIN'T that good....
    
    REK

Is Gill a point guard? The Sonics don't need any more power forwards or 
shooting guard but they are still in dire need of a playmaker. While Peyton
has improved his offense and defense he's still not a playmaker and I doubt
he ever will be...

Metz

    If Gill wants to make his living as a point guard then he will starve
    to death. He is best an avg. 2 guard... Does not have quickness and can
    not play team defense of any defense...
    
    REK
    

    Let's see here, what's the latest...
    
    Miami
    -----
    Hornets beat Miami Friday night at Miami, score was something like
    115-107.  The Heat played great and lead for three quarters.
    Harol_ Miner had some dazzling moves, Grant Long, and most of the
    rest did well - for three quarters.  The fourth quarter was the
    deciding factor.  
    
    Basically, the Heat faded, and the Hornets got in a groove to 
    finish strong.  Kendall had a good game.  Wonder if he played that
    much better or if it was Miner's defense?????
    
    Hornets are 25-21.
    
    Detroit
    -------
    Sunday, Detroit came to town.  The last time they played, Lame-beer
    and Mourning were both ejected for scuffling.  This time it was
    different - sort of.  Only Lame-beer was ejected.  It wasn't for
    scuffling, but for arguing a call.
    
    The Hornets jumped to an early double digit lead and carried it 
    comfortably to the fourth.  Detroit started making a game of it
    partly due to Lamebeers shooting, rebounding, and hacking.
    The 19 point lead was whittled down to 8 when Lamebeer fouled
    Gill driving to the hoop.
    
    Lamebeer got tossed (2 T's), Rothstein got a T for leaving the bench,
    plus Kendall got 2 free throw for the personal foul.  The Hornets made
    all five free throws to stretch their edge back to 13.  They coasted
    the rest of the way.
    
    Mourning is still nursing a fractured left thumb.  He's been wearing
    a soft wrap on it for over a month.  Local media call it a "corn dog."
    He got torqued at Lamebeer Sunday, cuz the first thing Billy boy does
    is whack Alonzo on the left thumb (no foul).  Zo finished with
    27 pts, 13 rebs, 6 blocks.
    
    Hornets are 26-21.
    
    Question of the day/week/year - How did Ron Rothstein ever get
    a(nother) head coaching job?  I'm not impressed.  Kath - Miami's
    better off with Loughery.
    
    Milwaukee
    ---------
    Monday it was off to cheese (and beer) town to play the Bucks.
    Fourth game in five nights for the Hornets.  They should've
    stayed home as the Bucks punished the Hornets early and often.
    It got so bad, that John "the svelte non-Celt" Barry was 
    talking trash to Kendall Gill (and backing it up)!
    
    This was a classic horse race, with little or no D.  Just what the
    Hornets don't need after playing Cleveland, Orlando, Miami, and
    Detroit in the last seven days.  Gill and Johnson we're shooting
    J's instead of going to the hole.  Alonzo had his normal game:
    29 pts, 12 rebs, half-dozen blocks.  Not enough.  The Hornets lost,
    128-122.
    
    Hornets are 26-22.
    
    Other
    -----
    Larry Johnson was named the NBA Player of the Week.  He averaged
    25.3 pts, 11.5 rebs, and 4.5 assists as the Hornets went 3-1 last
    week.
    
    The Charlotte Observer reported over the weekend that Kendall Gill
    has turned down a multi-year contract extension worth $3 mil/yr.
    
    
    Pat

    Rothstein was a Daly assistant.  he was in the organization lasted year
    as an announcer.  He's not held with high esteem by some of the
    players.
    

 Where the *#!@ is ::B_Celts?

 Pat, what you said about the Heat-Hornets game.  In Q4, the entire Miami team
 scored 17 points; Muggsey scored 10 pts.  I understand Ron Culp, the Heat's
 trainer, is brushing up on the Heimlich Maneuver.  :^(

 Ya know, Rothstein won no personality contests in Miami but he *did* teach
 the team the fundamentals.  I don't remember them putting up the soft effort
 games that I've seen this year when Ron was on board.  On the other hand,
 Walt, from what I read he's not held in high esteem by *any* of the Pistons.

 Kath

    Steve Smith is looking pretty good these days, Kath....and the
    team appears to be playing better now that he's back.  Maybe they
    can turn it around the second half of the season.  
    
    Idunno what happened to the Celtics conference.   Maybe it got
    TFSO's last week.
    
    Pat

    Andy, the host of B_CELTICS, is moving to another floor in ZKO. 
    Estimated boot time is tomorrow or Friday.
    
    Mike

    
    pssst...that's andy, Mike.  Andy is someone else.
    
    handy tip from the Capitalization Squad,
    Kath

    Personally, I think we've got that backwards.  The host should be
    capitalized and any Pistons' fan should be in lowercase.

Oh Well. Another loss at home. New York wins 124-116.

Basically this looked a whole lot like John Starks and Parick Ewing (39
and 43 pts, respectively) against LJ and Zo (31 and 36 pts). The Hornets
continued to look tired as in the Milwaukee game. All in all, it's about
time for a break.

Currently this leaves the Hornets at 26-23, the first time the Hornets
have ever had a .500+ record at All Star break. LJ heads to the big show,
Muggsy and Dell get the rest they desparately need and Zo will have a
chance to let his thumb heal. It's now been broken twice but the hardest
shot was inflicted by Bill Laimbeer in Sunday's Detroit win. The doctors
may recommend missing the first game after the break, as well.

Meanwhile, Kendall Gill has finally worked his way into the top 5 of the
NBA. Several All Stars were profiled in USA Today today. Kevin Willis has
his own cloths company and apparenlty he rated the other players. His
best dressed All NBA: Michael Jordan, Hakeem, Gerald Wilkins, Kendall
Gill and himself. Bob Hill of the Pacers was the best dressed coach.

TTom

    Yeah, but how many titles have the Suns won?
    

    Why? The answer will still be ZERO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    RE

    RE: Knicks loss
    
    Knicks #2 guard production:  > 40 pts.
    Hornets #2 guard production: < 10 pts.
    
    Nice to see Gill made someone's top 5 list (other than his agent's).
    
    Pat

    Good week so far for the Hornets.  They beat New Jersey Tuesday and
    San Antonio last night.  Both games were at home.
    
    The script was the same for both games:
    	1st quarter - solid play, good defense; Hornet up by a few.
    	2nd quarter - massive run by the Hornets; build a 20 point lead.
    	3rd quarter - come out smoking; pressure defense; maintain lead;
    		      2nd team begins to fade middle/late in the quarter;
    		      up by a dozen.
    	4th quarter - squander some more of the lead; put LJ and Alonzo
    		      back in; tease the opponents by letting them get 
    		      it to single digits; then put it away.
    
    The Hornets still can't hold a lead to save their lives.  The book
    on them's gotta be "Don't show up until the fourth quarter, then
    hit 'em hard."
    
    Still, two nice wins before March's tortuous road trip - 13 road
    games from now until the end of March...with a bunch being back to
    back or three in four nights.
    
    TTom, you statistical mountaineer, how did our buddy Kendall shoot
    last night?
    
    Gill did not get traded before the deadline.  Static was in the air
    before game time of a three way deal with the Clippers and the Mavs.
    Something along the lines of 
    		Gill to LA 
    		Vaught or Norman + Woods or Grant to Dallas
    		Harper to Charlotte.
    
    Did not happen.
    
    WBT also reported that Gill was this close (||) to being traded
    on Tuesday to PORTLAND!  Gill for Porter straight up.  The axe
    was a call from Gill's agent telling Portland that at the end of
    Gill's option year (next year), he would still become an unrestricted
    free agent and would entertain all offers before deciding.  He was NOT
    willing to discuss a long term contract with the Trailblazers if the
    trade went through.  The trade did not go through.
    
    Caint believe the Mavericks didn't trade Harper and the rights to
    Jimmy Jackson.  The Hornets offered 'em Gill for Harper straight
    up and they wanted more.  What a bunch of losers.
    
    Also caint believe Rodman wasn't dealt.  Sounds like Detroit had
    several interesting offers.  Curious to see how Dennis plays (or
    refuses to play) the rest of the season.
    
    The Hornets are 28-23.
    
    Pat

    Two road games down...and two losses.
    
    Got blown out at Indiana Friday night by thirty sumthn.  Lost last
    night at Denver by seven (110-103).  Alonzo had 24 pts, 12 rebs;
    LJ had 18 pts, 15 rebs.  Tonight, at Utah.  Which Hornet team will 
    show up?
    
    Heard a Kendall Gill interview Friday night.  He was told before
    Thursdays game (trading deadline) by his agent that he was in the
    process of being traded to LA, and that he could get yanked at any
    time.  When he arrived at the coliseum that afternoon, Hornets
    management told him the same thing. 
    
    He went through warm-ups and played the whole game repeatedly
    looking to the bench for "the signal" that he had gotten traded.
    It never happened.  Five minutes before the trading deadline, the
    Mavs owner changed his mind, and nixed the trade.
    
    The Hornets strategy for Gill the off-season appears to be:
    	- continue offering a new contract.  Maybe Gill will change his
    	  mind and want to stay.
    	- listen to all trade offers.  If you get a good/great one, take it.
    	- keep Gill through the end of his option year (next year).  When
    	  he leaves, the Hornets will have a $2.3+ salary slot available.
    	  Use the salary slot to sign another free agent.  Coincidentally,
    	  Danny Manning will become a free agent at that time.
    
    Pat

Gill shot 3-15 and 5-12 the last 2 games.

The biggest change on the whole situation is Bristow no longer willing to
field questions about what he plans to do about Gill. Bristow let it be
known that this was started by Gill and the Hornets have made their case
plainly: the want Gill to stay in Charlotte. Any change to that is Gill's
doing and Bristow is going to refer all questions about Gill to Gill.

Gill, for his part, says that he won't answer any more questions about
his wanting to leave the Hornets. He says he's going to focus on playing
the game. After the last couple of games, one wonders when this might
start.

TTom

    Wholly snappin garter belts!  Pulled one out in Utah last night,
    110-107.  This game was down to the wire, as the Hornets built
    a 10 point late-fourth quarter lead and watched it fade.
    
    Alonzo almost had a triple double:
    	17 points,  22 rebounds,  9 blocked shots!!!!!
    
    Larry added 28 points, and Johnny Bench Newman added 23.
    
    Good road win for the bugs....as they had lost their last two road
    games, and their last ten against Utah.
    
    At Seattle on Thursday, at Portland on Friday, and at LA Lakers on
    Sunday.
    
    Pat

    What was goin' on between LJ and the Mailman?  Every highlight had
    LJ barkin' at him...
    

    Utah has sure gone down the crapper since the All Star game...

From the opening buzzer/bell/whistle, LJ and Zo did a job on the Mailman.
When Zo wasn't blocking Malone, LJ was muscling in and around him at the
other end.

The net effect of all this really paid off at the very end of the game.
Down 2 Malone got a rebound and instead of a normal put back which he
makes 90%+ of the time, he put up a rainbow outta respect for Zo. It
missed, Zo got the rebound and Malone fouled out reaching in. Malone
didn't even go the bench but went right for the dressing room.

This has to be one of the Hornets better efforts in a while. They were
up, like a lot of games, couldn't hold on, like a lot of games, and came
back to take the lead and hold on, like they generally don't do. In fact,
this was basically the Denver scenario that they lost.

Johnny Newman provided a lot of the scoring punch, shooting 9-10 from the
field for 23 points. Kendall Gill shot his usual not-quite-top-5
7-fer-16. Gill has now got his season FG% down to a cool .415. To put
this in perspective, Dallas as a team shoots .426.

TTom

    Da buggers lost at Seattle on Thursday, then won at Portland on Friday,
    and won at LA Lakers on Sunday.
    
    Their victory at Portland was the first ever win against the Blazers.
    The Hornets are the first of the four expansion teams to beat each
    of the other teams in the NBA.
    
    The win at LA was the first ever win in the Forum.  Hornets came
    from behind to win this one.  Alonzo finished with 29 pts, 11 reb,
    and 6 blocks.
    
    The Hornets return from the 6 game road trip 3 and 3.  Good wins 
    against the Jazz, Blazers, and Lakers.
    
    Alonzo still gets some schooling by the vets and the officials, but he's
    really developing into a decent NBA player.  
    
    On an unrelated note - can't believe the 76'ers canned Doug Moe.
    His only mistake was telling it like it is - his team stinks.
    If they want someone to turn this team around and win a bunch
    of games they better call God or that guy in Waco, Tx about
    the position.
    
    Pat

    The Hornets eeked one out against the Bullettes last night, 124-104.
    The starters got a lot of rest in the fourth quarter while the
    scrubs mopped up.
    
    LJ finished with 23 pts, 13 rebs on 9-10 shooting from the field.
    Alonzo had four blocks.
    
    Not much of a game, but was expected as Chapman, Overton, and Purvis
    are all on IR for Washington.
    
    Most wins in franchise history (32).
    First time ever 6 games above .500.
    
    Back on the road with games AT CLEVELAND, CHICAGO, and BOSTON this
    weekend.
    
    Pat

    Thats a rough stretch for an eastern team, the Top 2 teams, Chicago
    and Cleveland and A boston team that has been playing very well.  Good
    luck, charlotte will need luck to come out with some wins this weekend.
    We all know how they will fair against chicago, but I will be rooting
    for them against Cleveland...:-)
    							M_Air_B

The Hornets got back on track with a very easy win over Minnesota,
113-85. It was mostly a 30 point game after the mid way point of the 2nd
quarter.

Highlights included a resound boo when Christian Laettner was introduced.
His Attitude drew the unenviable assignment of covering LJ who responded
with his, and the Hornets', first triple double (11 pts, 12 rbs, 10
assists - in 32 minutes). Poor ol' Laettner got the raspberries only
every time he or LJ touched the ball.

Zo added 23 points and otherwise did about what he wanted. Minnesota
looks particularly bad in the inside. In fact about the only thing that
worked for the T'wolves was getting the ball to Doug West, especially
when he was supposed to have been covered by Kendall Gill. Gill had to
leave the game when he reinjured his ankle and West's performance dropped
off considerably when David Wingate moved to cover him.

The Hornets got a lot of rest, some more than others. Muggsy didn't even
dress, recouperating from a couple of bumps and bruises. Everybody else
played, a first in a long time.

Nexted game: at Indiana tonight.

TTom

Charlotte pulls out another first: first victory at Minnesota. I know
that's not much of a first but it goes well with a bunch of others like
winning at Boston, Portland and Utah.

This was a rematch with the Wolves who were pasted at Charlotte. For this
game, the Wolves played slo mo but still lost, 99-95.

The Hornets welcomed back Muggsy Bogues, who's been sick and injured, to
the starting lineup. With Muggsy running the show, LJ had 24 points and
13 rebounds while Zo had 24 points and 14 rebounds. I think that with
this game both LJ and Zo are now averaging 20+ points and 10+ rebounds a
game. 

I know that most have already handed the ROY to Shaq but Zo should be
winning some votes lately. For one thing, the Magic are folding while the
Hornets are keeping going. The statistical difference for rebounds and
scoring is closing and Zo is leading in blocked shots. Shaq had a
tendency to wear out within a game and it looks like he's feeling the
wall effect more than Zo. Losing Scott Skiles for a while won't help. Zo
is playing again with a healthy Muggsy.

In any case, Zo and Shaq are separating from the rest of the rookie
class. Tom Gugliotta has been forced to play center after Pervis Ellison
went down and his stats have suffered. Laettner had a big game yesterday
against the Hornets - 27 points, 18 boards - but he has a definite image
problem. Richard Dumas has been injured and Walt Williams hasn't returned
to his early form before his injury. Robert Horry has been playing well
for the Rockets and Jimmy Jackson seems to be catching on in Dallas.

TTom

While I agree with ya TTom that Zo deserves it more than Shaq, the NBA marketing
folks will just never let it be...Zo has too much of an attitude problem while
Shaq's all cute and smiley....

mike

Well in any case, this here Hornets's' fan is plenty pleased to have Zo.
And speaking of his attitude, I think that after a while people/fans will
be able to separate his intensity, which is almost always present, from
his attitude, which has cost Zo some technicals and some money.

TTom

    Back from an extended road trip - not hoops, but dinero for Digital.
    
    Wow, what happened to the Hornets?  They were comfortably in
    the playoffs fighting for the fifth or sixth spot.  Now they're
    in the seventh spot, a game away from elimination!
    
    Wins against Atlanta, Indiana, Joisey, Miami, and Detroit COULD HAVE
    really solidified their position, but the Hornets lost all
    of these games.  We won a few, but it was only Minnesota.
    We're on a five game slide.
    
    We play at Orlando tonight and at home tomorrow against Cleveland.
    
    The Orlando game is a MUST WIN for Charlotte.  If they lose tonight,
    they'll continue to slide right out of the play-offs.  (You heard
    it here first.)  The Shaq ain't playin' but that don't help us much.
    Our guys are plum wore out and tired.  Everybody's having career
    nights against us.  Look for Greg Kite to have 40...okay, 15 tonight.
    
    I have heard that LJ leads the league in minutes played...and it's
    definitely taking its toll on him.  Alonzo played better with that
    corn dog on his thumb - maybe he'll refracture it.  Ahhhh, and then
    there's the back court.  Bogues/Gill can't hit the open J.  Teams
    have learned to double down on Larry and Alonzo as soon as they
    touch the ball, leaving Bogues/Gill open to shoot or slash.  They
    are doing neither.  This is killing us.
    
    Newman will start tonight in place of Wingate in hopes of generating
    more offense.
    
    Here's to rejuvenation!
    Pat
    
    

    It wasn't purdy, but it was a win.  And yes, Greg Kite had
    10 pts, 10 reb (season high).  Final score was something like
    102-93, Hornets.
    
    Shaq didn't play, and Nick Anderson sat out the second half
    with the flu.
    
    Don't have the boxes, but Larry had 15 pts, 15 rb, and Alonzo
    had around 30 pts, 10 rb.  Newman, Gill, and Wingate also
    chipped in.  
    
    Brian Williams scares me.  The guy hustles and can play.  If he 
    continues to get his head together, he could really help this
    Orlando team.
    
    Other local news:
    	- Charlotte resident and Wisconsin native Alan Kulwicki died
    	  last night in a plane crash.  He was in Tenn for Sunday's
    	  NASCAR race in Bristol.  Bummer.
    
    Pat
    

    The Hornets beat the Cav's Friday by a point.
    
    The Cav's had the ball, up by one with about 20 seconds left.
    They couldn't inbounds the ball, so they called timeout.
    Their last timeout.  They had trouble getting the ball in again,
    but finally tossed it into play.  Kendall Gill tipped away the
    pass, drove half of the court and layed it in.  Hornets up by 1,
    about 10 seconds left.
    
    Cleveland (no timeouts), passes the ball upcourt to Brandon who
    goes in for the layup.  Mourning blocks the shot, grabs the ball
    and hangs on as time expires.
    
    Great game by both teams.  Am not a Ferry fan, but was surprised
    that he didn't play a lick.  I thought he was getting some decent PT
    this year.
    
    Two in a row for the Hornets who now play Orlando Wednesday night
    at the hive.
    
    Coming down the homestretch towards the playoffs....
    
    

    BTW - Alonzo Mourning was named Rookie of the Month for March.
    
    He's averaging over 20 pts, and 10 rb a game.
    He's second in the NBA in blocked shots.
    
    Not bad for a rookie who missed all of training camp.
    
    Shaq has ROY wrapped up per NBA marketing and hype.  Zo's the silent
    yoeman who show's up everynight to play (and learn).  Glad we got him.
    
    Pat

    Mourning destroyed by Shaq, Hornets humiliated at home as their
    slide toward the lottery continues.  Spontaneous combustion claims
    Allan Bristow as he turns into a smoldering pile of ashes during 
    the third quarter.
    
    NAZZ

 What game were you watching Nazz? When I fell asleep in the 3rd quarter
 Mourning already had 20 + points a few blocks and 7 or 8 boards. Hardly
 what I'd called destroyed. Mourning is/was and shall forever be the better
 player....

 mike

    You shoulda stayed awake!  Unfortunately for the Hornets, Mourning
    pulled a complete disappearing act in the 4th quarter.  Didn't score
    a point as Orlando pulled away.
    
    NAZZ

    Nice article in SI this week about Muggsy.
    
    Lee

    The reason for the Hornets decline varies - depending on who
    you ask.  Here's a sampling of reasons/excuses:
    
    LJ has played too many minutes all season and is wore out.
    
    ZO has played a lot of minutes and is hitting the rookie brick wall.
    
    The book on Charlotte is easy - double off of Mugsey down on LJ or
    Alonzo.  Make Bogues hit the open J - which he ain't doing.
    It's basically 5-on-4 basketball.  
    
    Lack of depth and experience.
    
    We want back in the lottery again this year.
    
    Even with Alonzo, we've still got the smallest front-court AND
    starting line-up IN THE LEAGUE.  (True!)
    
    Bristow runs a passing game when he should be running set plays in
    a half-court set.  (I disagree with this one, but some people claim
    it's the problem.)
    
    No bench - Curry and Gattison are invisible.
    
    No outside game to go with the inside game - Gill inconsistent offensively.
    
    
    Get the picture?
    Pat

    The Hornets have destiny in their own hands.  Wins tonight against
    Detroit and tomorrow against Atlanta would put them in great position
    for the 7th (or possibly 6th) playoff spot.  Two losses would put
    them on the edge of missing the playoffs.
    
    The Hornets played the Knicks pretty well the other night.  The
    Hornets lead a lot of the game, then Ewing took over in the fourth
    to nudge ahead for the W.  I think the Hornets match up better
    against the Knicks than either Chicago or Cleveland.  The Hornets
    have beaten all three of these teams this year, but have played
    better consistently against the Knicks (the first team to beat
    the Knicks in MSG this year).
    
    The keys to this weekends games are interior scoring and rebounding
    and bench play.
    
    Pat

    Just when you (I) thought these guys were washed up, they come
    back and beat Cleveland, play NYKnicks tough, and beat
    Detroit and Atlanta.
    
    Nice to see the Hornets punish somebody....and no team is more
    deserving of the act than the Detroit Pistons.  The Hornets
    basically shut them down on defense and took it to the hole
    early and often.
    
    Mourning's stats were phenomenal.  Something along the lines of
    	28 min		36 points	22 reb		3 blocks
    
    Whoever had him on their rotis team - hope they played 'em.
    
    The Atlanta game was down to the wire.  The difference was Atlanta
    (i.e. Dominique) missing six straight free throws in the closing
    minutes of the fourth quarter.  Thank you very much - we'll take it.
    
    The Hornets might be able to squeak out that 6th playoff spot.
    
    How's the harmonica Tommy?  Know any camp tunes yet?
    
    Pat

>    How's the harmonica Tommy?  Know any camp tunes yet?

It's coming along. While wailing on a couple of tunes Friday night, in
celebration of drubbing Detroit, I was rudely harrassed by the help. That
means that the fans, the police and now the help have complained about
the cacophony at the Beer Can.

Right now, I'm stuck in the key o D (onliest harp) but I'll be working on
the camp ditties...

TTom

    Alonzo Mourning was named NBA Player of the Week last week as the
    Hornets went 3-1.  Don't have his stats.
    
    Great year for this guy who missed all of training camp, and was
    strongly overshadowed by Shaquille O'Neal.  He's the blue collar
    quiet type who should have a great career - hopefully with Charlotte.
    (Also remember that he played most of the season with a fractured thumb
    on his left hand.)
    
    Shaq will get NBA ROY - he's awesome, and the NBA has hyped him BIG
    TIME.  Too bad for Zo cause in many ways he deserves it.
    
    Pat

    How has Charlotte play against Cleveland (and Chicago) this year.
    Seeing if they hold onto the #6 spot they will matchup with cleveland
    and then more then likely chicago in the 2nd round.  (ALso on a related
    note) does anyone know who holds the tie breaker between Ind and Atl.
    Thanks in advance, should be an intresting playoff run.  Charlotte  VS
    Cleveland sounds like it could be a great one :-)
    
    								M.air.B

	Indiana holds the tie-breaker vs Atlanta.

Charlotte hasn't beaten Cleveland this year. The Cavs are a terrible
matchup for the Hornets. LJ has a real hard time with Larry Nance. Lately
Sidney Green has been getting some PT so I'd expect to see the Hornets in
a big lineup with Green or Kenny Gattison playing with Zo and moving LJ
to the 3.

Their sole win against the Bulls was at Chicago. As unbelievable as it
seems, they're a better matchup for the Hornets. Always have been. If'n
the Bulls really turn it on, Charlotte can't hang. But the Bulls have to
show up.

The other possible mathcup would be Charlotte against the Knicks. Again,
I'd rather see the Hornets vs the Knicks than the Cavs. Charlotte won at
MSG and played them well the other night at home before losing at the end
by 4.

The only other possible matchup would be if'n NJ really fades and the
Hornets win the rest - 3 - of their games. The Hornets finally won at The
Gahden.

In any case, a win at home Wednesday and it looks like the Hornets are
in. That would also give them winning records for home and away. Not too
shabby!

TTom

    TTom,
    
    Where you been?  The Hornets beat the Cavs a few weeks ago here
    in Charlotte.  (Unless I've lost my mind...which is entirely possible.)
    
    Nance (and Price) are the big matchup problems for the Hornets.
    Going big (w/Gattison or Green) is our only hope.
    
    Pat

Re: beating Cleveland

How soon we forget. That's right, we beat Cleveland. A steal in the last
seconds, if'n I recollect correctly.

TTom

Imagine as Ernie Johnson so astutely pointed out last night 3 teams are
beatin' one another upside the head for the right to play Boston. dam!
Never used to be like this....of the three I fear the Hornets the most.

Oh well I think in 69 the Celts also finished 4 th best in the East....

mike

    Good to see the Hornets clinch it.  It was a hoot after the
    game to see Larry Johnson and Johnny Newman line dancin' with the
    Honeybees (waiting for an interview).  Of course they had their
    playoff hats and T's on.  These guys are psyched.
    
    Even if the Hornets are ousted in three, they'll definitely learn
    from their experience (particularly Larry and Alonzo) in the playoffs.
    
    Johnny and Alonzo had excellent games against the bucks.  Former
    starter David Wingate is nursing a sore knee which could impact
    his PT during the playoffs.  Sidney Green has some type of hand
    injury - I don't think it's as serious.
    
    I wonder what impact this "down to the wire" race will have on
    New York and Chicago come play-off time?
    
    The Gill/Jordan matchup tonight will be a fun one to watch.  Gill
    prides himself on defense.  But he also talks trash to Jordan when
    they play.  Jordan usually gets the last laugh though. 
    
    Pat

    The Hornets continued their impressive play with wins (Friday)
    at home against the Bulls, and (Saturday) at Milwaukee.  Both
    were nailbiters.  
    
    The Hornets lead the Bulls for most of the game, then fell behind
    by a few in the fourth quarter - due totally to Michael Jordan.
    The Hornets battled back and nipped the Bulls at the end on some
    key free throws by Larry Johnson.  The Bulls inbounds pass with a
    few seconds left was intercepted by _ell Curry.  The Hornets have
    beaten the Bulls once in Chicago and once in Charlotte this season.
    
    The Bucks game was a see-saw battle.  It was their home season
    finale.  They retired the jersey of Kareem before the game so they
    were psyched.  In the end, the Hornets were up 3 with 18 seconds
    left.  Lohaus hit a trey with 9 seconds left.  The Hornets inbounded
    the ball to Gill who juke and dribbled past the Bucks team and
    layed it in with 2 seconds left.
    
    Gill has been playing great ball the last 15 games or so.  
    
    Due to a combination of luck and skill, the Hornets moved into
    the fifth playoff spot.  They will face the Celtics in the first
    round.  The Hornet players are pumped and appear to be ready for the
    challenge.
    
    If Zo and Larry can remain focused and out of foul trouble, the Hornets
    should do well.
    
    Pat

Larry Johnson has been named Player O' the Week for the NBA lasted week.
In that time, Charlotte won 3 games and finished 5th in the East, earning
the right to play Boston.

Also, locally they're reporting that LJ was one of 2 NBA players
contacted by Rodney Rogers before Rogers decided to skip his last year at
Wake and go pro. The other? Michael Jordan.

TTom

Bob Hunt sent me a note and asked me to post for him that

the Hornets are going to kick the butts of the Green men onto
the golf course.

The Crazy Met

    LJ averaged 22 pts, 11 rebounds, and 4+ assists per game last
    week.  He shot a cool 74% from the field (yes, seventy-four percent).
    
    Larry and Zo - back to back winners; a good way to end the regular
    season.  Now on to bigger and better things.
    
    Pat

    
    
              TCC tell Bob H to get a clue.
    
    
    
    Chap

Hate to be the first Celtic fan to say it but...

The match up with the Bugs scares me.  They are very athletic and emotional.
Last time I watched them play, the Hornets seemed to have some mental lapses
that cost them the game.  If they can master those, Mr. BobHunt may well be 
correct...

=Bob=

    As someone previously noted, the Celtics finished 4th in the East in 
    1969, and went on to win the NBA title.  Their record that year? 
    48-34!  Just a coincidence?  I THINK NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    NAZZ

NAZZ put your p_name where your mouth is??

The Crazy Met

    What does the Boston Shootout have to do with anything???????
    
    NAZZ

    
        And what does ABP mean?
    
    Chappy

Already answered elsewhere Chappy, but since as a Yankees fan 
you are obviously missing some cells I'll repeat the answer for you :-) 

ABP == Anyone But the Penguins

The Crazy Met

    
    Yabbut it  means
    
    Jim McMahon's been traded
    
    
    snort.....
    

	All Bow to the Penguins

	hth,
	billl

3-way notes collision - impressive. Tommy must have something to say
about this.

The Crazy Met

    
    Yabbut that *IS* the right position for expelling flatulence billl!
    
    Ya want squirts too?
    
    I remain,
    willing to eat some beans and cabbage doncha know!
    
    Kev
    

    I thought it was:
    
    Anyone But Phoenix
    
    
    8^)

    	NAZZ that 1969 Championship was the swan song for the GREATEST
    WINNER IN THE HISTORY OF SPORTS!  No such thing this time, they
    aren't even getting by the Bugs (who'll take the Knickerbockers
    to 6 games).
    
    				/Don

    Only here folks, can you get sports and flatulence in the same 
    discussion!
    
    Was surprised to hear last night that Alonzo Mourning was named
    NBA Rookie of the Month for April.  This is two months in a row for
    Zo.  Still won't be enough to outdo the super-hyped Shaq for
    Rookie of the Year.
    
    The Hornets went to Boone, NC (home of Appalachian State University)
    for a few days of mini-camp to prepare for the playoffs.  The players
    weren't too excited about this working vacation - but they'll get over it.  
    
    Bogues and Wingate have been shooting around, but not participating
    in the practices.  Bogues's groin pull isn't as serious as they
    initially thought, but still bothersome.  Wingate has cartilage damage
    in one knee.  He will need off-season surgery to repair.  No one knows
    how much or how hard he will be able to play in the playoffs.  This is
    a major bummer as David is our defensive specialist.  
    
    The bench play of Gattison, Curry, Bennett, and even Sidney Green has
    been pretty decent as of late.  They will need to maintain this level
    of intensity in order to beat the Celtics.
    
    Pat

    Tough Decision here, the Celts cant get by NY and I dont think
    charlotte can either.  The big Question is who will wear them down
    the most.  Who matches up better and who can bring NY to 6 or 7 games.
    
    If Chicago makes it to the eastern finals (:-)) how much punch power
    will the knicks have, im not too woried about there shooting,
    rebounding or anything like that just there Killer Bangup Defense.
    The bulls have no Bench and cant take a beeting like they did in last
    year's finals. (No Three Peat).  So how about if you Horn's sting
    boston, NY and Chicago X (x = :-) * 1000 )
    
    							MairB

Charlotte probably matches up against the Knicks better than the Celts do.
Charlotte got a win at MSG earlier this year. Knicks won 4 of 5 from Boston 
this year, but Celts could be dangerous and take them 6 or 7 games. Difference
is that Hornets would be a much more physical challenge to the Knicks, and
that is what can really wear down a team.

Bulls better hope that they don't have a grueling series against the Cavs,
but I see that ine going 6 or 7 games.

The Crazy Met

Article: 8802
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (Bruce Martin)
Newsgroups: clari.sports.basketball,clari.sports.top
Subject: Shaquille who? Hornets' Mourning makes rookie impact
Date: Wed, 28 Apr 93 17:07:57 PDT
 
                     United Press International
	CHARLOTTE, N.C. (UPI) -- In almost any other season, Alonzo Mourning
would be the NBA's Rookie of the Year. And it probably wouldn't even be
close.
	But in the season of Shaquille O'Neal, Mourning may become one of the
best players in the NBA who missed out on the award. Perhaps no player
since Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers in 1980 has had as great
an opening season as Mourning, but did not have an individual trophy to
show for it. After all, when Johnson was a rookie, Larry Bird of the
Boston Celtics was voted the league's top rookie.
	If it wasn't for O'Neal, the NBA's wonderchild with the Orlando
Magic, Mourning would probably be the NBA's first-year center of
attention.
	Mourning provides a scowling, intimidating presence at center for the
Hornets as they prepare for their first appearance in the NBA Playoffs.
The second player chosen in last June's NBA Draft has a confrontational
attitude and won't back down from anyone.
	Bill Laimbeer, the NBA's resident bully, discovered that the first
two times the Hornets played the Detroit Pistons.
	``To tell you the truth, I don't think Bill Laimbeer is intimidating
at all,'' Mourning said after their first meeting last November. ``From
watching him on TV, you might think he's intimidating, but when I played
against him, I wasn't intimidated.''
	However, when the two players met for the second time a month later
in Charlotte, Laimbeer figured it was time to test the rookie's
patience. After dominating the NBA veteran for most of the game,
Mourning walked back to the Hornets bench during a timeout late in the
game. Laimbeer decided to put his shoulder into the rookie as he walked
past. Mourning glared at Laimbeer, then punched him in the side of the
face, starting a brawl.
	Both players were ejected, but Mourning believes he got his message
across to Laimbeer, and the other players in the NBA who used to come in
and bully the Hornets.
	``Every time I hit the floor, I look at it as a challenge,'' Mourning
said. ``I look at it as somebody coming into my house trying to take
something from me. I try to stop them from doing whatever they want in
my house.
	``And I don't like anybody coming in my house being rude.''
	Alonzo Mourning has come a long way from the awkward seventh grader
who tried to play basketball in Chesapeake, Va.
	``I've always had the attitude that I could prove somebody wrong and
I could do what people said I couldn't do,'' Mourning said. ``I tried to
work as hard as I could to achieve those personal goals of mine. That is
what pushed me and gave me that extra incentive to work harder.
	``You can use the intimidation factor to your advantage, but I just
try to go out and play. If I have an intimidating presence, that is
fine.
	``If it works, what the heck?''
	That is just the type of attitude the Hornets were looking for when
they selected Mourning last year. Along with Larry Johnson, last
season's NBA Rookie of the Year, and third-year shooting guard Kendall
Gill, the Hornets have strung together the best three first-round picks
of any NBA team over that period of time.
	It also gave Charlotte its first dominating center.
	With Mourning in the middle, it has given the Hornets a true shot-
blocker for the first time in team history, which has helped improve the
overall team.
	Mourning's statistics have been extremely impressive for a first-year
player. In 78 games, Mourning averaged 21.0 points, 10.3 rebounds and
finished second in the NBA with 3.47 blocks a game. Those numbers
compare favorably to O'Neal's.
	Additionally, Mourning and Larry Johnson (22.1 points, 10.5 rebounds
in 82 games) have become the first players on the same team to average
20 points and 10 rebounds a game since Moses Malone and Charles Barkley
for the Philadelphia 76ers in 1985-86.
	Mourning's inside dominance has drawn rave reviews from around the
NBA.
	``Alonzo gives them a great presence in the middle,'' Michael Jordan
said. ``Defensively, he rebounds very well and adjusts a lot of shots
that he may not actually block. Offensively, he's learning. It's a
different game than the college game he played last year, but he'll get
better.''
	The prospect of Mourning getting better has to put the fear into the
rest of the NBA.
	``Mourning is a great player,'' said Utah Coach Jerry Sloan. ``Here
is a young man that the future of this franchise has to be outstanding.
It's got to be fun for them. They've done it right and they deserve all
the credit for it.''
	With Mourning, Johnson and Gill, the Hornets have all the ingredients
to become a team of the future.
	``I definitely feel that we have the key pieces to the future and I
feel good about the future,'' Mourning said. ``We can look at the big
picture, but right now we have to concentrate on the playoffs. I think
what we are doing now is establishing the future for the next 10 years.''
	While Denver Nuggets center Dikembe Mutombo, Mourning's teammate at
Georgetown, is known to smile and laugh on the court, Mourning uses
intimidation and a constant scowl on his face. He plays as if he has a
chip on his shoulder.
	``You know why Alonzo is like that? Because the man is hungry,''
Mutombo said. ``He wants something and he wants to get it done. There
are so many good rookies in the league who are doing really well. Alonzo
is trying to be one of them, too. Everybody is talking about Shaquille
O'Neal, but Alonzo wants to be considered rookie of the year, too.
	``He wants to put his name on the blackboard.''

From: clarinews@clarinet.com (Bruce Martin, United Press International)
Newsgroups: clari.sports.basketball,clari.sports.top
Subject: Hornets create buzz with first playoff appearance

	CHARLOTTE, N.C. (UPI) -- As the Charlotte Hornets prepare to meet the
Boston Celtics in their first-ever appearance in the NBA Playoffs, the
Hornets aren't entering Thursday night's game at the Boston Garden
satisfied in just making the playoffs.
	In fact, many NBA coaches and writers give the fifth-year Hornets a
good chance of eliminating Boston in the best-of-five series.
	Unlike last year, when the Miami Heat entered the playoffs in their
fourth season as the eighth and final seed in the Eastern Conference and
were swept in three straight by the Chicago Bulls, the Hornets arrive as
a 44-win team and a No. 5 seed.
	This is a team that has improved by 13 wins over last season and with
Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning and Kendall Gill leading the Hornets,
Charlotte is capable of advancing to the second-round.
	``Our goal was to make the playoffs, now we want to make some noise
in it,'' said Hornets Coach Allan Bristow, who took his team to Boone,
N.C., Sunday through Tuesday to prepare for the Celtics. ``Our guys are
relaxed and look at this as an opportunity because we are playing so
well.
	``It would be a different situation if we were slumping right now and
we could say, 'It's our first year in the playoffs and everything was
accomplished.'
	``The next couple of years, we could be in the playoffs and not be on
an upswing, yet be a better team. But I would like to take our chances
now because we had our dead spot in the season back in March and we came
out of it. We feel like let's give it our best shot this season and not
miss our opportunity because we are playing our best basketball.''
	The Hornets enter the playoffs having won their last five regular-
season games, including a 104-103 win over the two-time defending
champion Bulls last Friday night.
	``They are a very dangerous team,'' said Michael Jordan. ``They have
a lot of weapons to work with. They have a lot of hunger on that team
and they have players who work really hard. They lay their skills on the
basketball court and you never know what can happen to a young team that
is starving for some recognition and some success.
	``I see some comparisons between the Hornets and where we were when
we made the playoffs for the first time with this group. When you make
the playoffs, you get very energetic, very motivated to improve. They
are still building around the nucleus of their team. Larry Johnson,
Alonzo Mourning and Kendall Gill, all of those guys, they are going to
continue to build and I think they are a lot better than we were at that
time.
	``The three of them are a good combination because one player could
have a bad night and the other two players can carry them. I think the
Hornets have a very good trio with Mourning, Johnson and Gill. And don't
forget Johnny Newman can have big nights.''
	Newman knows what it takes to beat the Celtics. He was on the New
York Knicks squad that lost the first two games of the first-round
series against the Celtics in 1989-90 -- including a 157-128 loss in the
second game -- but stormed back to win the final three games and the
series.
	``I've had some success in the Boston Garden, but they still have
some good older players,'' said Newman, whose installation in the
starting lineup helped lead the Hornets surge after a near-disastrous
stretch that began in mid-March. ``We hope to run on the Celtics, crash
the boards, and if we do that, we will have some success. It's going to
be a little tougher.
	``We need to keep moving and keep it from becoming a bump-and-run
game. We need to play loose, play hard and the team that attacks the
other team usually wins the series.''
	The Hornets were 1-3 against Boston this season, but won the final
meeting between the two teams, 96-93 on March 14 at Boston. In that
contest, Johnson scored 23 points and pulled down 16 rebounds.
	``I think we will be all right because we match up pretty well
against Boston,'' said Johnson, who averaged 22.1 points and 10.5
rebounds in his second NBA season. ``This is playoff time and we have to
go out and leave it on the floor. This is a time for everybody to pick
it up.
	``We were right there on the bubble of playing Chicago or New York or
Cleveland and we would have much rather played Boston. Not to put those
guys down because they have a great tradition and a great ball club, but
we just match up better against them than Cleveland or Chicago.''
	When the Hornets started a horrendous slump in mid-March that knocked
them from a solid hold on the fifth playoff spot to an eighth-place tie
with the Indiana Pacers that would have knocked Charlotte out of
playoffs on the tie-breaker, the Hornets were fighting for their
postseason existence.
	But the five-game winning streak came just at the right time, and
when it was over, the Hornets had finished the season in fifth-place --
right where they were before the slump.
	``That just shows you not to shoot yourself when things get real bad,
'' Bristow said. ``I can't speak for the other team, but we feel good
about ourselves and that is the only thing that counts from our side. If
we play the way we are capable of playing, we will see what happens.
	``But Boston will see a true Charlotte Hornets team because they are
getting us at full-force and you can't ask for anything other than that.''

    The Celtics win the first one at the Gahden, 112-101.
    
    The first half was tight.  The second half was all Boston.  The
    Hornets had a turrible 3rd quarter, rallied somewhat in the 4th
    to make it interesting, but nary enough.
    
    The Xman looked great for Boston.  His toughness seems to rub off
    on the rest of the team.  Sherman Douglas also was impressive.  He's
    slimmed down a bit and does an excellent job running the point.
    Dee Brown had some bright flashes - especially in the first half.
    
    The Hornets were lead by Alonzo and Gill with 30 pts each.  Larry
    was pretty silent - but then again he was double teamed all night.
    The Achilles heal for the Hornets was lack of outside scoring.
    Curry, Bogues, and Newman would do a mason proud.  Haven't seen
    the stats, but these guys must have shot a combined 6-or-8 for twenty
    something.  Bogues was left wide open most of the night, yet failed
    to convert (or even attempt).  This resulted in basically 4-on-5
    basketball.  The C's did a good job of exploiting this weakness
    on our team.  Hopefully this will reinforce the message to Hornet
    management: GET US A DECENT POINT GUARD IN THE OFF-SEASON!
    
    If the shooting trend continues for Bogues, and the bench can't 
    pick up the slack, it will be a quick, painful series for Charlotte.
    
    On the other hand, things can't get much worse.  This was a game that
    Boston HAD to win!  Charlotte is capable of playing much better ball,
    hopefully we'll see that Saturday.
    
    Alonzo did look good for a rookie in his first playoff game -
    especially against the Chief.  
    
    Hope we see a better performance by Charlotte on Saturday.
    
    Pat

    Hornets win game 2 ins double OT 99-98. McHale scored 30. This is the
    kind of game that 4-5 years ago Celts would have found a way to win.
    Back to Charlotte for games 3 and 4.
    
    The Crazy Met
    

Boston did find a two ways to win the game unfortunately , either Oscar threw
the pass too high or Dee jumped to soon. At the end od double OT if Brown
had been Bird the ball would have swished....

If I was Chris Ford I would have punched Alal Abdublewthegame in the face
for the cheap shot on Grandmama. The Hornets were sleepwalking till that
joker pulled that BS.

Great Series so far, hopefully the Celts can recover. Too bad all the votes
for ROY are already in......

mike 

re: .107


what cheap shot on Grandmama??

The Crazy Met

 LJ was drivin' the lane and was already by Alah when he gave him a shove in
 the back...not viscous but uncalled for and if LJ had lost his balance he
 could have gotten hurt...

 mike

    The first two were at Boston's place, and at Boston's pace.
    
    It was nice to see the Hornets come out last night and play their
    style of ball as they knocked off the Celtics 119-89.  This is the
    Hornet team that we saw down the stretch of the regular season.
    
    Dell Curry had the hot hand.  Larry played a decent game and picked
    up quite a few garbage buckets.  It was interesting to see Bristow
    go deep to the bench in the second quarter with the game very much
    up for grabs.  Bennett, Gattison, and Sidney Green all played
    respectable and helped the Hornets build a moderate lead.
    The Hornets blew it open in the second half by forcing mucho turnovers
    and scoring on the majority.
    
    McHale had another decent game for the Celtics.  Dee Brown had a
    few nice blocks.  That's about it for Boston highlights.
    
    IMO, LJ and Alonzo still have not gotten on track yet.  They are
    playing fair and doing SOME of the little things, but it would be
    nice to see them have big inside games like they are capable of doing.
    
    Game four Wednesday night in Charlotte.  
    
    Pat

    >Dell Curry had the hot hand.
    
    Ah, the power of understatement :^)
    
    Pat, you're showing superhuman powers of self-control here.  The
    Hornets just plain blew the Celts away lasted night.  Up til now, I
    really believed the Celtics' years of playoff wiles would tip the
    series in their favor.  Not any more.  Watching them press, rebound and
    slide inside on Boston -- and Curry hit outside whenever necessary --
    well, I will be surprised if the Hornets don't win it in Game 4.
    
    Muggsy is just amazing :^)  What do you suppose Grandmama was
    whispering in his ear as they watched Garbage Time?
    
    Kath

    
       Of course I can't speak for the Celtics themselves but 
      I know that for most Celtics fans a pall has been cast 
      over this series and any enthusiasm that we had has been 
      dampened by concerns over the health of Reggie Lewis. Not 
      just because he was the team's captain and highest scorer, 
      but because of the way Reggie, a guy who attended college 
      here in Boston, comported himself always with a quiet dignity 
      and grace. Everyone who has had even the slightest contact 
      with Reggie echoes the same sentiment "a really nice person". 
      I'd just as soon this series was over one way or the other. 
      It all seem so unimportant right now.

Excellent point, Tommy.

It just goes to show you that there are far more important things in life
than basketball and sports.....


'Saw

thoughts so far:

o Hornets subduedom is understandable. There still is the matter of
someone has to win a third game. Remember Yogi.

o Not enough can be said for the effort that Xavier McDaniel at
motivating the Hornets in general and LJ in particular. After game 1, he
ran his mouth about how intimdating he is. Since then, the Hornets and LJ
stepped up to the occasion and X has been a no show. Ever notice that
every team he leaves gets better (see Seattle, Phoenix, New York).

o Another Kudo is desevered for Abdelnaby motivating LJ. Thank you, AA.

o I've never heard as much noise inside as lasted night's game at the
Coliseum. You couldn't even hear the P.A. guy over the crowd.

o The Hornets should watch the film of Game 1 in preparation for
Wednesday's game. They should remember how bad they can play and forget
about how easy Monday night was.

TTom

This years Hornets remind me of the Milwaukee Bucks in Alcindor/Jabbar's
rookie season. Eventually they will win a championship, unlikely they
will win it this year. Between LJ and Mourning they have 2 players that
can dominate, toss in one or two players into the mix via trades or the
draft and this could be an awesome team.

The Crazy Met

    Understand your point Tommy.  Still, life must go on.  Remember, Muggsy
    and Reggie were HS teammates at Dunbar, so he's going through the same
    thing.

    When Reggie collapsed one of the Hornets reached down to him ignoring
    the game - in fact Parrish scored an easy layup as a result, turned
    around and didn't even see Reggie on the floor.

    Johnny Newwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwman!

>    Muggsy is just amazing :^)  What do you suppose Grandmama was
>    whispering in his ear as they watched Garbage Time?
    
    "What do you want to be when you grow up?"  or
    
    "Time for that bikini wax special!"

Rick (I'm my favorite basketball player) Barry on Roy's show yesterday
 "Alonzo Mourning deserves rookie of the year" ....basically said Shaq's
great but Alonzo brings more to the table.....

 Awesome game by the Hornets. I wonder if Red still thinks Rick Fox is a
 great pick? Just another "Fool's Gold" player from UNC.....

 Reggie, my prayers are with ya buddy....

 Will we see the end of the Chris Ford era? One can only hope.....

 mike

Article: 8899
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (BRUCE MARTIN)
Newsgroups: clari.sports.basketball
Subject: Hornets 119, Celtics 89
Date: Mon, 3 May 93 21:34:04 PDT
 
	CHARLOTTE, N.C. (UPI) -- Dell Curry has gained a reputation as one of
the best streak shooters in the NBA.
	He showed why Monday night when he scored 10 of his 27 points in a
run of 15 unanswered points, helping the Charlotte Hornets run away with
a 119-89 win over Boston that gave them a 2-1 edge over the Celtics in
their best-of-five Eastern Conference playoff series.
	Game Four in the series is scheduled for Wednesday night in
Charlotte. If Boston loses on Wednesday, it would be the Celtics' third
first-round elimination in the last five years.
	``Our confidence level is very high, but I expect a different game on
Wednesday,'' Hornets Coach Allen Bristow said. ``We did a real good job
of scoring and running the break, but it's still only one game.
	``We are playing with confidence, but the Celtics will not quit.''
	The 30-point drubbing was the Celtics' worst playoff loss on the
road, surpassing the 116-94 beating by the New York Knicks on April 13,
1972.
	Curry finished with 27 points and Larry Johnson had 29 for Charlotte.
Boston was led by Kevin Gamble with 19 points and Kevin McHale with 15.
	``Dell had a terrific game,'' Bristow said. ``He was on fire. He was
unbelievable and he produced. Our inside-outside game was working
tonight and that was because of our level of intensity.''
	During the 15-0 run, the Hornets turned a 35-34 edge into a 50-34
bulge. Charlotte held Boston scoreless from the 8:48 mark of the second
quarter until Sherman Douglas scored underneath with 3:50 to go in the
half.
	``When he is in the zone like that, Dell is very difficult to to
stop,'' Hornets point guard Muggsy Bogues said. ``He came off the
screens and he felt a little pressure, but that didn't bother him at
all.''
	Curry was coming off two games at Boston where he struggled, but he
came back with a spectacular peformance.
	``I was more relaxed and I was in the shooter's groove,'' Curry said.
``When things are going bad, the one thing you never do is stop
shooting. I've never done that.
	``It's always good when you get that first shot because it gives you
confidence.''
	Charlotte shot 61 percent from the field and used a fast-paced,
running game in which they capitalized on Boston turnovers for 33
points. The Celtics scored just 3 points off Hornets turnovers.
	Boston is without leading scorer Reggie Lewis, who collapsed Thursday
night in the first game of the series at the Boston Garden. Lewis has
been diagnosed with a cardiac abnormality known as ventricular
tachycardia, which may be a career-ending health problem.
	The Celtics led 28-27 after the first quarter, but Charlotte
outscored Boston 32-16 in the second period to take charge of the
contest.
	Curry scored 14 points during the period, including two 3-pointers.
Boston's last lead came after Xavier McDaniel connected from the corner
with 10:28 remaining to make it 32-31.
	The Celtics scored 27 points in the third quarter, including 3-
pointers from Rick Fox, Dee Brown and Kevin Gamble, but Charlotte scored
29 points in the period to lead 88-71.
	Curry continued the onslaught in the fourth quarter as the Hornets
built a 119-86 lead -- the largest of the game -- with :38 seconds
remaining.
	``I've been thinking about this game as long as I've been playing
basketball,'' Johnson said. ``You can feel the atmosphere and it's extra
special to feel it tonight.''
	While it was a special night for the Hornets, several members of the
Celtics thought the Hornets rubbed it in by running up the score late in
the game.
	``They should be celebrating the way they played, but I hope their
celebration will motivate us for Wednesday night's game,'' Celtics
center Robert Parish said. ``We stunk up the place tonight. We played
poor defense, offense, shot selection and turnovers. It was a complete
inability to get everything going.''
	The Hornets are playing in their first playoff series and by winning
one more game, will meet the winner of the New York-Indiana series,
which the Knicks lead two games to none.
	``The Hornets embarrassed us tonight,'' Ford said. ``But nothing has
been decided. Things like this happen. We've got something to prove.
	``We kept leaving Dell open. He was never meant to be the open man,
but no matter who picked him up, they just couldn't stay with Dell.''
	Bristow is more concerned with his team's ability to execute the
break. That is why he had a terse answer when he was told the margin of
victory was the third worst in Celtics history.
	``Really?'' Bristow said. ``That's their problem.''

    Re: .117
    
    The ball was on the opposite side of the court from Reggie.  Reggie's
    man had no chance of preventing the basket.  Of course i may be
    mistaken.
    
    John "D Cowboys" R.

    I don't think Chris Ford is the problem.  I don't believe there's a
    coach in the NBA that would make much of a difference with the same
    cast.

    I bet Chuck Daly would...

Pat Riley would.

The Crazy Met

Mike Ditka would!

=bob= so tell us how do you REALLY feel about Pat Riley.
heh, heh

The Crazy Met

Good for you =bob=, get those feelings out of
your system, express yourself :-)

The Crazy Met

Tonight's the night! The biggest game in franchise history to date!

On one hand you have the theory of overconfidence, complacency,
celebrating too early and about a dozen variations of the theme that
predicts that the Hornets won't show up for game 4 after the rout in game
3.

On the other hand you have every one of the Hornets, from Bristow to LJ
to Muggsy, saying that game 3 was one game in a series and you can't let
up especially in the playoffs. The fack that the opponent is the Celtics
is a factor since they're almost synonymous with playoffs.

So all the Hornets are talking about the dangers of the first scenario.
They all know that the worse thing that could happen here is to have to
go back to Boston and play game 5 at the Gahden.

Personally, I don't think that the mindset of the Hornets is the biggest
factor here. IMHO, the Celtics were outta gas for game 3. They had just
lost a very hard game in double overtime. They had just lost their
captain, Reggie Lewis. They were tired and *ALMOST* beaten before the
game started.

Now it becomes a matter of predicting how the Celtics show up. If McHale
and the Chief can get the rest of the team up then we can talk about the
value of the bench, who's got the better coach, and all that other good
stuff. If'n they show up like game 3, TNT will be looking to go to
another game.

TTom

    
      These Hornets would be a hell of a lot easier to like if they
     weren't grinning and high-fiving and generally rubbing their
     opponents faces in it when things are going Charlotte's way.
     As it is, I hope someone, even if it's not the Celtics, shows
     them what it's like when the shoe is on the other foot.

Yes, Charlotte - both the players and the fans - celebrated loudly and
openly on Monday but none of it was directed toward Boston. Nobody got in
anybody's face. Nobody ran by the bench. Nobody taunted anyone. All that
happened was that a very young Charlotte team celebrated their first
playoff victory at home.

If'n you want to see examples of what it looks like, watch clips from
lasted night's Indian-Knicks game. Reggie Miller did all of the above.

As for knowning what it's like to lose, Charlotte has done plenty of
that. Did you forget about Game 1 at Boston? 

And if'n you're looking for disrespect, consult the ::CELTICS and read
the playoff note.

TTom

    >> Nobody got in anybody's face. Nobody ran by the bench. Nobody 
    >> taunted anyone. All that happened was that a very young Charlotte 
    >> team celebrated their first playoff victory at home.
 
       Tom, what I was referring to was mainly Curry and Johnson yukking
       it up and getting over exuberant every time the Hornets scored -
       once they were comfortably ahead. Even the normally quiet Robert
       Parish said they ought to be careful because all that stuff does
       is piss the other team off.
       
    >> As for knowning what it's like to lose, Charlotte has done plenty 
    >> of that. Did you forget about Game 1 at Boston? 

       I'm fully aware that Charlotte has done plenty of losing. After all,
       this is their first year in the playoffs. And alot of what happened
       in Game 3 can be chocked up to youthful enthusiasm, but that kind
       of stuff can come back to haunt you. Especially when you aren't
       really good enough to get away with it.
    

I agree with what you and Parish are saying about watch out cause what
goes around comes around. I know that if'n the Hornets management and
coaches had their way, this wouldn't have been a_issue. 

But such is life, especially with a team as young as Charlotte.

What this seemed like was much more like a college - or maybe even high
school - atmosphere. 

TTom

Yeah, you better get used to losing because that's what you going to do in the
next round....  Unless of course, you don't make it that far...  Beating this
Celtic team is not THAT much of an accomplishment.

Fancy a Celtics fan complaining about teams wooping it up. Hah!

The Crazy Met

      >>  -< thanks, I needed the laugh >-
    
          If I were a Mets fan I'd need one, too.
       

> ...get used to losing...

I think we got the first part down having produced one winning season in
5 years and that included 38 losses.

>not THAT much of an accomplishment

This is more a slur against the Celtics than any thing else.

TTom

From:	[BobHunt]
To:	"Chris Knorr (DEC)" <rhett::knorr>
CC:	
Subj:	Worst "mistake" in sports history

Sorry, Soup, but I gotta bust ya again ... Larry Johnson is the next 
mega-superstar in the NBA and there more than just a few of us who are 
*damn* glad the Hornets picked him instead of Deke back in '91.

The Hornets put a huge hurting on the aged Celtics last night.  That's the 
best game they've played all year long ... perhaps in their entire 5-year 
history.   What a joy to watch.   Especially since it was the hated Celtics 
taking the loss.

Lovin' every minute of this ...

Bob Hunt
    =====================================================================
From:	RHETT::KNORR        "Graphics Workstations Support"  5-MAY-1993 09:42:02.87
To:	[BobHunt]
CC:	KNORR
Subj:	RE: Worst "mistake" in sports history

My LJ "mistake" quote has been taken so far outof context by U that it borders
on the absurd.  Remember: I was on the LJ bandwagon long before the draft,
and even suggested he should be the number 1 pick.  Only when the objective
evidence was pouring in that Mutombo > LJ did I admit our mistake and
state that, while Johnson certainly is a solid player, Mutombo appears to
be better at the moment.  Hence our "mistake".

HTH.


Chris
    

I'll give Chris one: he did somehow manage to get BobHunt to use the G
word about Dean. BobHunt did a quick recanting but there is was in print
if'n only for a day or so.

Course BobHunt's got a significantly better position here on LJ. And no
one can doubt that BobHunt was the First Cause of the LJ Bandwagon.

TTom

    > I'll give Chris one: he did somehow manage to get BobHunt to use the
    > G word about Dean.
    
    Yea, and that to was before Title #2, too!  Haw haw!!1
    
    I've taken a bum wrap on this LJ thang and it really disturbs me.  I
    publicly documented the fack that he was the clear #1 pick, then get
    chastised cause I tried to hold myself to the highest standards.  (i.e.
    admitting I might be wrong, even though as it turns out I wasn't.)
    
    Sheesh, ...
    
    
    - ACC Chris

I'm not saying the Hornets shouldn't enjoy themselves.  Go right ahead. enjoy.

but, really, the Celtics ARE in kind of a mess right now.  And the next round
just looks much tougher to me for either team.

Geesh...

    Is today really Teal Day in Charlotte?
    

    Charlotte 104 Boston 103
    
    Unfortunately I missed the game but understand that Boston was doewn by
    18 going into the 4th. I did see the final 2 shots. Wow what an
    ending. 
    
    Anyone care to bet that in 1981-1988 the Celtics get the call of
    goaltending on the last shot??
    
    The Crazy Met
    

    >>Anyone care to bet that in 1981-1988 the Celtics get the call of
    >>goaltending on the last shot??
    
    How would ya settle a bet like this, jump in the ol Ronco time machine
    and set it back to the '80s and see which way the call goes?????
    
    Inquiring minds and all that shit
    
    
    JaKe
    

    > Anyone care to bet that in 1981-1988 the Celtics get the call of
    > goaltending on the last shot??
    
    Are you implying that back in those days the officials had the guts to
    make a big, correct call?  You're not helping the anti-Jihad crowd
    here, TCM...
    
    glenn
    

    Hat's off to the Celtics for making a game of it....and for giving
    me an ulcer as big as a Twinkie in a half-hours time!  
    
    We saw a classic exposition of youth (and inexperience) in action.  
    The Hornets played a solid, and sometimes spectacular 3 quarters of 
    basketball.  Then came lethargy...a sight we Hornet fans know all 
    too well.  No lead is too large for the Hornets.  We've seen'em blow 
    many a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter.
    
    The Chief played an outstanding game!  He kept the Celtics in it
    single-handedly - hitting those jumpers OVER Mourning.  McHale also
    played a respectable game.  Seemed like the rest of the Celtics 
    whined a lot through the first three quarters.  Haven't seen that
    much crying since the Danny Ainge days.
    
    Half-way through the fourth the refs put their whistles in their
    pockets and let 'em play.  The result: in your britches defense by
    Boston resulting in several turnovers and poor shot selection
    by Charlotte.  A lot of physical play inside that went uncalled.
    
    Mourning's shot with a second left was amazing.  Couldn't have
    happened to a harder worker.  Nice way to cap off a BIG GAME
    33 pts, 6 blocks, ?? rebounds.
    
    The alley-oop was predictable.  Gill did have excellent position in front
    of Dee Brown (between Dee and the rim), forcing Boston to execute to
    perfection.  In fact, Gill may have actually gotten a piece of the ball
    before it touched Dee's hand (only saw the replay once).  Nonetheless,
    the NOCALL was consistent with how the refs were calling the game.
    Dee should have slammed it home to avoid any and all controversy.
    Didn't happen.  Shot didn't fall.  End of game.
    
    The Hornets worked hard most of the game, and got lucky at the end.
    We'll take it.  Charlotte's a long shot against the Knicks.  But
    it ain't all bad caus only 3-4 weeks ago, it was looking like
    the Knicks were who we were gonna play in the FIRST round of the
    playoffs.
    
    Great game.
    
    Pat

 Congrats to the Hornets and their fans. They wanted it more and deserved it.
 Glad the Celts were able to make them work for it. Would love to see the
 Hornets in the finals against the Cavs or Shytown....

 Got to feel bad for Shaq, it obvious he's the new Wilt and Zo's the new
 Russell......

 mike 

    Hats off to the Hornets. Good win as they deserved to win the series.
    
    Now about this LJ thang. I too believe LJ is a solid player, but I
    don't
    see him at this point in his career as a "next mega-player". I've seen
    nothing to indicate that he can rise to the next level. Not to say
    that he can't but I just don't see it at this point. And as far as
    this "Sir Mistake" bidness, hail without Mourning, the Hornets would
    be where they were lasted year wifout 'Zo and with LJ, outta the
    playoffs. 'Zo's the "next mega-player" on the Hornets, not LJ.
    The REAL question is, did Charlotte do the right thang in waiting for
    'Zo ( risky!) instead of going for Motumbo. My opionion, luckily yes.
    For LJ or no LJ, Charlotte wifout a big C is nowherseville.
    
    MikeL
    

    
      re .152
    
       I was thinking the same thing last night as I was watching 
      the game. LJ is a good/great player but he's no "franchise"
      player. Zo is. Zo can control the game from either end of
      the floor. Larry can't. And the comparisons between Zo and 
      Shaq and Russell and Wilt seem valid except for one thing - 
      Zo will be a much better offensive player than Russell ever 
      was. This Charlotte bunch is scary. With a decent draft this 
      year and some maturity, they could be next team to carry on 
      the legacy of eastern dominance.

    
    Mournings shot was a real killer.  Whether Johnson is a franchise 
    player alone is a moot point, together Charlotte has a very potent front
    line.   Their inexperience showed in the last quarter last night,
    but their is no question they are a franchise on the move.

    Hornets have two #1 picks in next month's draft - theirs at #17 and San
    Antonio's at #20.  Obvious needs are more size up front at both forward
    and center, and a defensive stopper.
    
    I still don't expect Charlotte to go very far with Bristow as their
    coach.  Unfortunately for the Hornets Riley will coach circles around
    him and lead the Knicks to a 4-1 series win.
    
    NAZZ

   >> I still don't expect Charlotte to go very far with Bristow as their
   >> coach.  
    
      Yup, real smart move to go completely away from the game plan in the
      4th quarter last night in a vain attempt to give the game to the 'Tics 
      and set up an exciting fifth game at the Garden.

Glenn,

Simply implying that the refs would not have had the guts to not
make a call that would have helped the Celtics in the years I mentioned.

I look forward to the day when there will be no need for an anti-Jihad.



re:slam dunk If Dee caught the ball and tried a slam dunk the clock
could have run out. Thre were only 4/10 of a second left.

The Crazy Met

    Sounds like the Hornets could use Rodman...  imagine them with LJ at
    small forward and Rodman and 'Zo cleaning up the boards...  don't think
    the Pistons would want Gill though, and they have 2 #'1 (higher)
    already.  Maybe they could package them for another player...
    

    As for the Mutombo-LJ debate, the point is moot now that they have Zo,
    who is arguably better than Mutombo.
    
    I think Charlotte's biggest need is for a true point guard with decent
    size.  An off-guard with a decent outcourt shot would help too.
    
    Sorry to see McHale's career end like this.  Maybe this is the next
    changing of the guard with the rising Hornets.
    
    Mike

    Nice P_Name /er,
    
    17 banners? Did the Broons piece together all those 30 divisional
    banners into one giant quilt?
    
    Think it's too early to cast Shaq away as Wilted. He's young, had a
    woeful college coach. But 'Zo is a force, even if he claims Gougetown
    roots. 8^)
    
    MikeL
    

Nope not taking SnideAir's stance that the 16 banners (I think it is 16 not
17) are because of the Refs. Celtics have had some awesome teams, any 
semi-rational baseketball fan would agree to that.  My statement about 
calls/non-calls stands on its own. One could say the same thing about the
Lakers 1981-1989 or 1990.

The Crazy Met

celebrating: Yup /er I seem to recall quite a in-your-face celebration
when Bird hit a 3 pointer late in game 6 of the 1986 Finals that closed
out the series against Houston.

The Crazy Met

    
    >> Come on TommyB, the Celtics did their share of celebrating when
    >> they were young.  
    
       In the 3rd quarter of the 3rd game of a 5 game series with the
       series tied 1-1? Charlotte's lucky it didn't come back to haunt
       'em which it almost did. They seemed much more subdued last night.
       I bet word came down from management.
    
    >> Call it the exuberance of youth. 
    
       I thought I did.

    This just in, via the FAX machine....
    
    Walt (et. al. in SPORTS, my beloved SPORTS)
    
    In talking with Bob Hunt lasted night after the game, both of us agree
    that we have gone on to bigger and better things in our post-Digital
    lives, but we'd have given our left testicular units to be in SPORTS
    today.  Sweet.
    
    I'm kind of inconclusive on the goaltend.  I don't think it's clearly
    a goaltend.  Then again, I don't think it clearly isn't.  Tough call.
    Dee Brown called the refs "gutless".  Excuse me, Dee, but if the Celts 
    play better in the second and third quarters, it doesn't come down to
    a ref's call.  Bottom line, the Hornets were the better team.
    
    Now what's the opinion in Boston of the Charlotte fans: Lively bunch,
    no?
    
    Thanks for your support, Walt, calling in on WEEI (Doyle and Mustard
    got on my nerves this week so I asked them this morning if they were
    going to call those hick Charlotte fans they harrased Tuesday that they
    were going to call back today after the Celtics won... they said no...)
    If y'all are thinking in terms of Charlotte as a hick town, then I
    guess it's about time to experience it for yourselves.  Believe me,
    boys, the Great Charlotte Sports Bonding Weekend is on our future. 
    First stop, the Charlotte Coliseum so you can bow and pay proper
    respects to the Celt's death.  Though I too am sorry to see McHale go
    out that way.
    
    Go Hornets, and let's not forget those Pens!
    
    -dan'l
    

    They also mentioned the role the Fox Brickade (tm) had in choking the
    game away to Boston and the ever popular, typical Dean bashing
    associated with it...
    

    And I didn't even know dan'l was a basketball fan...

    I'll drag this one out for Bob...one from dan'l too... he was in here
    a lot... (see sports_91)
    
    
    
    Note 50.815                     Charlotte Hornets          815 of 1191
    SHALOT::HUNT "Go Lady 'Hoos !!!"                     59 lines 20-MAR-1992 11:29
                                    -< Awesome !!! >-
    
     Date:  20-Mar-1992
     To:    SPORTS Bandwagon Wannabes
     From:  Charlotte Hornets Faithful
     Re:    Bandwagon Opportunities
    
     Tired of those dreary, end-of-winter,my-NBA-team-is-going-nowhere-fast
     blues ???   Has your NBA team packed it in for the year and all you
    have left now is trying to figure out how many ping-pong balls you'll get
    in the draft lottery ???   Sigh ...
    
     Are you counting the long slow days 'til baseball season ???   Could
    you use a rip-roaring *HOT*, fan-damn-tastic, shiny new SPORTS bandwagon
    with plenty of room available and lots of slammin' fun guaranteed at
    absolutely no cost ???
    
     I thought you looked like the smart type.   'Cause do we have the answer
    to all your prayers, ladies and gentlemen.   Oh, yes, we do ...
    
    Note 50.820                     Charlotte Hornets          820 of 1191
    SHALOT::HUNT "Go Lady 'Hoos !!!"                      7 lines 20-MAR-1992 12:19
                        -< Pray it and all is forgiven, Soup. >-
    
    
            LARRY IS THE MAIN MAIN.
                    IT NEVER WAS A MISTAKE.
                            I SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO BOB HUNT.
                                    HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT.
    
     Bob Hunt
    
      
    Note 50.521                     Charlotte Hornets         521 of 1191
    SHALOT::MEDVID "Kooler than Jesus"                   18 lines 
    30-DEC-1991 16:08
             -< We've made the bigtime now...got our own billboard sitter>-
    
        Sometime around mid-December, some jerk of a Hornets fan vowed to do
        the now-trite billboard sit.  He promised to sit on this billboard
        until the Hornets won two games in a row.
    
        Needless to say, he hasn't had much opportunity to come down.  The
        Hornets have lost something like six in a row and do not play again
        until Thursday (Clippers).
    
        Though we do live in the south, it can still get pretty chilly in the
        evenings here...sometimes it even drops into the 20's.  January and
        February are the coldest months.
    
        I saw him on an interview the other day and he looked quite
        disheartened as he muttered, "I thought I'd be down by Christmas."
    
        For all I care, he can rot for making such a dumb vow.
    

    	So does this mean that BobH has abandoned his Sixers for the
    johnnycomelatelytealwearing Bugs?
    
    				/Don

    How about Dee Brown for our two first round picks (#17 and #20)?
    (Maybe too much...)
    
    The C's could package the picks with theirs and possibly move up
    into the top 10 picks....maybe get someone like a Rodney Rogers
    to bang on the front line.
    
    Just a thought.
    
    Pat

Talk in the Globe today says that Brown may be available.  Although 
he plays there, he's really not a point guard by nature.  He  looked his 
best thised year playing at the two guard, just doing his athletic thing.

Dee for two #1s, hmmm interesting.

BTW, I had to send mail to BobHunt yesterday, to give him the chance to gloat, 
which indeed he did...




Date:	 6-MAY-1993 12:33:11.92
From:	US1RMC::"71251.2074@CompuServe.COM" "Robert E Hunt Jr"
Subj:	big day for BobHunt
To:	"Bob - TAY2; dtn 227-3983  06-May-1993 1043" <cthq::mccullough>
CC:	

Thanks for the note, =Bob=.   Yes, it sure does feel pretty good to knock 
off the hated Celtics.   Felt a *lot* better before the Celts put on that 
amazing 4th quarter rush.  Brought the Hornets and their faithful (me 
included) back down to Earth in a hurry.  Celts woulda been a Game 5 lock.

Thank God for Alonzo Mourning.

Take care.

Bob Hunt

           <<< Note 55.169 by ROYALT::ASHE "That's the way love goes..."
    >>>
    
    <    They also mentioned the role the Fox Brickade (tm) had in choking the
    <    game away to Boston and the ever popular, typical Dean bashing
    <    associated with it...
    
    Well I got the urge last night and couldn't help myself so I penned the
    following doggerel inspired by our estimable bard and moderator's
    earlier work, untitled by him but could be called "Snuffy takes the
    Pipe".  Actually, I like Rick Fox and have to give ol's Snuffy Smith
    credit for his team's performance this year.
    
The outlook wasn't brilliant last night in Charlotte's zoo.
Reggie's heart was ailing, Boston's seemed so too.
And so when 18 points was the deficit after three,
Despair was on the Celt's face, on hornets only glee.

Where were the men of iron from salad days of yore;
Where was 14, 33; number six or 24?
Only double zero and the limping 32
Could we hope rekindle Celtic pride anew.

Sure there was the Xman, wearing his New York frown,
Oscar Gamble, Alaa A; "Shoeless" Douglas and Dee Brown.
Surely this group never would take a championship ride.
But all we asked these humble men was, "Save some Celtic pride".

And there beyond all hope our team had closed the gap.
And Kevin McHale and Parrish had shut the hornets yaps.
And lo the general stole the ball and when he layed it in.
The Celts had slipped a point ahead, 40 seconds from the win.

The Hornets throats had tightened with another missed opportunity.
The seconds on the clock had dwindled to twenty three.
Another trip down the court and this game would be a lock.
But alas the ball was in the grasp of Rick, the Brickyard, Fox.

Rick had played for Snuffy Smith up the road at Chapel Hill.
Where when all would go just right the heels could score at will.
The system hardly ever failed the pretty boys in blue.
Hell, hadn't Snuffy managed out of 30 tries to win a ring or two?

Rick wandered on up the court and wondered what to do.
The ol' tarheel system always worked, 'cept when faced with something new.
Rick looked into the grandstand,  into Snuffy's face sublime,
His folded hands a call of prayer, which the ref thought signalled time.

But this reprieve was to be short lived, for when they took the court again.
Into whose hands was the ball entrusted, but this cursed tarheel man.
By the time Rick had looked back for help on Snuffy's face divine,
Three more seconds had elapsed, Rick was still behind the line.

Oh Celtic Pride will never die, we'll never lose those memories.
Never forget 1984, and we salvaged 93.
Nor will we ever forget that when the going is really hot,
Never ever, ever again, put a TarHeel on the spot.
    
    (Dedicated in all good fun to Acc-Chris)
    
    Bill 

    Who would want to give up 2 #1's for Dee?  I wouldn't.  You've got
    guys like Manning, Rodman, Horace Grant and Dominique that you could
    get for the right price...  The Pistons has Dumars and Thomas, and I
    think they'd want Dee, so there's 2 of your top 10 down the drain.
    

  >  Who would want to give up 2 #1's for Dee?  I wouldn't.
    
    For a #17 and a #20?  I'd keep Dee, just the same, thanks.  Players from 
    those slots might not even make the team.  And a team like Charlotte is 
    no longer looking for quantity...
    
    I guess our friends dan'l and BobHunt are hard up for satisfaction if
    they'd give up their you-know-whats to gloat about a first-round
    playoff win over a sagging soon-to-be lottery team, which many of us
    expected and predicted right up front.  What ever happened to standards
    in SPROTS?  ;-)  This thing appears to be bigger in Carolina than a
    Tarheels' national champeenship...
    
    glenn
      

Slashermain, tell Denny that JR's butt has moved on to San Anton' and
remind him that the real reason we liked JR was cause all them Tar Heels
don't. BTW, JR played quite well the other night as the Spurs beat
Portland.

I was surprised to see that Nazz expects us to win a game from the
Knicks. If'n the Bugs won 3 while predicted to win none then 1 win must
make 'em a mortal lock in this series ;-).

As for LJ and Zo, this Hornets fan is grateful for both.

TTom

    They would make the team... this year's draft should be as deep as last
    years and that would include the likes of Oliver Miller or Doug
    Christie.

    Bottom line is - Celtics sweep with a healthy Reggie.  Don't ever
    forget that fact, Hornet fans.  It took a cruel twist of fate to
    allow your team to sneak in to the second round.  And if the Celtics
    could force your team to look so disorganized with their minimal
    defensive pressure, what the Knicks do to you won't be pretty.
    
    NAZZ

    Oh come on Nazz, give them their moment in the sun.  They've never
    done this before...
    

    
         I think it's great that Charlotte is no longer *just* the 
        Polyester Capital Of The World now that they've beaten a
        Reggie Lewis-less Boston Celtics. I bet this is almost as
        big down there as when Boxcar Willie's tour bus stopped at 
        Charlie's Sunoco for directions to Nashville.

>   How about Dee Brown for our two first round picks (#17 and #20)?
>    (Maybe too much...)
    
  In a flash.  I like Dee Brown but the Celtics need to rebuild badly.
Two picks in the first round will only help.

    Celts need to use that extra cash on free agents too.  Draft picks
    won't turn things around too quickly.

Nazz, Nazz, Nazz, how about getting rid of those green colored glasses
for a minute or two. With Reggie healthy the Celtics very well could
have won the series - a sweep well that is not clear. No question that
the Hornets could have won at least 1, if not 2 games in Charlotte. Then
when it comes to a game 5 all bets are off - remember those dejected looks
on the Celtics bench at the end of game 5 in round 1 of the 1990 playoffs???
Celtics would have had a good chance of beating Charlotte with Reggie, but a
sweep????

I also don't believe the Knicks will sweep Charlotte. Sure the Knicks have
personnel on their team that Charlotte does not yet have, especially bench
strength. I still think this series will go 6.

The Crazy Met

I ain't beelieving this trash:


from .180
>    Bottom line is - Celtics sweep with a healthy Reggie.  Don't ever
>    forget that fact, Hornet fans.  It took a cruel twist of fate to
>    allow your team to sneak in to the second round.  

What fack!?!. Looks a whole lot like opinion, with or without a twist of
fate. Sour grapes part the current.

from .182

>         I think it's great that Charlotte is no longer *just* the 
>        Polyester Capital Of The World now that they've beaten a
>        Reggie Lewis-less Boston Celtics. I bet this is almost as
>        big down there as when Boxcar Willie's tour bus stopped at 
>        Charlie's Sunoco for directions to Nashville.

Well folks so this is how it's gonna be. You're dam tooting this is a big
deal down this way. I guess it woulda been much better for you if'n the
Hornets had just taken a powder in the finest Broon tradition.

While we're on it, this reads like a MrT Geography Primer. And I have no
idea how Willie got the train to stop at the gas station.

TTom

    o  Don't know who's projected yet at the #17 and #20 pick in
       the first round.  Dee would definitely benefit by playing in
       an up-tempo offense like Charlotte's.
    
    o  As expected, Shaq locked up ROY.  The suprising thing to me was
       that it was virtually a landslide getting 96 of the 98 votes.
       Zo picked up the other two votes.
    
    o  A local sports talk radio station performed an informal poll
       calling the front-offices of the Mavs, Clippers, Kings, and
       two other teams.  When asked if they would take Shaq or Zo 
       four of the five took Zo.  The most common comment was that he
       would complement their current roster and system better than Shaq.
    
    o  The Hornets play-off tickets were printed 2-3 weeks before the
       end of the season (back when we were battling for the 7 or 8
       spot).  Coincidentally, the ticket for Game 4 of the first round
       features a great picture (NBA Hoops trading card) of Alonzo Mourning
       guarded by Robert Parish!  How appropriate.
    
    o  The Knicks in 5.
    
    o  The Lakers have celebrities like Jack Nicholson and Diane Cannon.
       We get Dean Smith, Lefty Driesell, and "Nature Boy" Rick Flare.
       Jim Bakker's still in jail, and Tammy Fae split town.
    
    o  If'n any of you beaners want to road trip to Charlotte, let
       me or TTom know.  We'd be glad to recommend accomodations, etc.
       If it happens to be hoops season, we might could scour around
       and try to find some tickets.  BTW, the DEC office is right
       across from the (new) coliseum.
    
    Pat

>>While we're on it, this reads like a MrT Geography Primer. And I have no
>>idea how Willie got the train to stop at the gas station.

>>TTom
    
    good point, TTom.  Maybe we should axe that profeesor in the Bulls note
    whether this is really possible.

    
    As I stated earlier, even with Reggie Lewis, the Celts would have
    gotten trashed on the road in Charlotte just as they did in Game 3 and
    three-fourths of Game 4 (whether Charlotte would have woke up in time
    to prevent the slide that occurred is a matter of speculation, but
    Charlotte was the superior team on the floor before they let down and
    got sloppy).  Reggie Lewis' presence hasn't been enough to prevent 
    these playoff road blowouts in the past.
    
    glenn
    

    >> While we're on it, this reads like a MrT Geography Primer. And 
    >> I have no idea how Willie got the train to stop at the gas station.
    
       If you read my note again it says "tour bus" not "train". I realize
       that you live in an area where they think asphalt is rectum trouble
       so I'll try and explain it to you. You see a bus is like a REAL big
       car and it goes along a route and picks up people who pay to ride.
       On Monday, I'll explain subways for ya. [isfh]
    
      re .189
    
       No one really knows what may or may not have happened in Charlotte
       with Reggie and no one ever will.

    	Come on NAZZ, you're just mad because now you have no excuse
    for not making the GitTogether next Thursday.  Matter of fact you
    should buy me a few pitchers for correctly predicting the Celtics
    going down in 4.
    
    				/Don

    Just a quick question, if a team has a real need for say a Point Guard
    why not use all your lottery picks too stockpile on PointGuards and
    work on them and choice the best ones ?????  The seem to have a great
    frontLine in ZO/LJ/?? but a point guard would greatly improve them.
    
    								MairB

re: .190

>>      re .189
>    
>       No one really knows what may or may not have happened in Charlotte
>       with Reggie and no one ever will.

Jeez, this aint what's been said. It's been reported that it's a fact
that Charlotte woulda been swept if'n Reggie played.

And thanks for the explanation about the vehicles.  Now I understand
everything except for what the hail Willie was doing on a bus. Is a bus
like a REAL big boxcar? 

I do so much like it when things are put into perspective.

TTom

    
    I still think that if you look at actual draft results, picks like #17
    and #20 almost always yield nothing.  This isn't like with the NFL
    where if you stockpile you can come out ahead.  Maybe Dee Brown's stock
    has fallen that far, but no one is going to trade a lottery selection
    to move down to #17 and #20.
    
    glenn
    

MairB,

There's no way for the next couple of years for the Hornets to build
using the draft. They're over the cap at least through nexted year.
They're going to have a hard time signing any first round draft choice
and would very much like to trade them in some package form to get what
they need. 

After nexted year, things get a little better mostly due the number of
contracts that are expiring then. The main one is Gminski who's making
around $2M a year. Also gone by that time will be Kevin Lynch (~500K) and
probably Sidney Green (~1M+).

TTom

 It kills me how you folks can think of Muggsy Bogues as a weakness. He's got
 twos flaws an inconsistant outside shot and his height. The main job of the
 PG as I see it is to get the ball upcourt, make the proper decisions and 
 get the ball to the right guys in their places and at this he's obviously
 one of the best as he has lead the league the last two years in assists to
 TO ratio. They got instand offense in Curry and decent 7th and 8th man in
 Gattison and Sidney Green. Where they hut is at small forward where they
 really wouldn't hurt if they had a PF so LJ could slide down to SF. Then
 put Newman on the bench and watch out. They should have went for Rodman.
 Not only for rebounding but also cause they still don't have a real
 defensive stopper. Mourning can clog the middle and help but when they need
 somebody to shut sowebody down they ain't real got the player. Wingate
 maybe against certain players...

 mike

    Isn't Orlando in a bind due to Shaq's contract?  They might not
    be in a position to afford a lottery pick.
    
    Mike

    Who can Muggys guard on D against the Knicks?
    Starks? Rivers? Anthony? (Maybe a little) Blackmon?
    Can you say POST_UP!!!!???!!!!????
    
    REK

If only it was that easy hey REK. Let's just measure one area of a guys
ability and declare ourselves the winner of the argument....

Muggsy sure did pester Doc yesterday. Sure he can get posted but they
can and do help him out. 

tough loss yesterday. I sure do wish when I play ball, I could keep walking
till I had an open shot like Pat...

if only Muggsy could have stuck that 15 ft yesterday. No colaspe on Mourning
no W for the Knicks....

Is it just me or is Mourning really the best center in the league this side
of Akeem?

mike

    Bottom line is - Hornets sweep with a healthy LJ.  Don't ever
    forget that fact, Knick fans.  It took a cruel twist of fate to
    allow your team to sneak in to the conference finals.  And if the
    Hornets could force your team to look so disorganized with their minimal
    defensive pressure, what the Cavs/Bulls do to you won't be pretty.
    


    

Walt, you card you...

Back to Muggsy: the problem is not The Little Man. I wish the rest of the
organization performed that well. 

For starters, I wish Bristow could coach half as well as Muggsy plays.
That's how close this Hornets team is. The suggestion of another power
forward is almost moot. Considering that Bristow has Sidney Green and
Kenny Gattison to play that position and he doesn't suggests that Bristow
may not know what to do. 

But to put this in perspective, the Knicks held service. 1-0 home team
wins. As Zo said yesterday after the loss, this Knicks team can be beat
and it can be beat by this Hornets team.

TTom

    I always get confused with this salary cap/trade/free agent what money
    can and cant be used, what the cap is and what it really is etc, etc,
    etc.  But can they trade giminski, would anyone want him, is he worth
    2Million over whatever they can get in the first round ??? If he is
    released (or Retires :-) ..) How much of his salary can be used to sign
    a rookie next year,  do they have to pay him if they release him, how
    much etc...
    
    It seems like some teams work miracles and get around the Cap etc and
    other's are stuck until a player's contract expire's.  I think
    charlotte will be in the top 1/2 of the east for years to come.  Maybe
    even home court next year :-)
    
    Good luck against the Knicks, I still with Miami had squeaked into the
    first round...
    								MairB

I can't imagine anyone taking Gminski in a trade or otherwise. Also, he
signed a restucturing deal when the Hornets were trying to get under the
cap to sign Zo. He'll play nexted year, after which he'll retire as
a-active player and head to the front office.

In any case, the main emphasis of the cap is to resign your own players
at the end of their current contract. If'n a team does that, only the
previous salary counts. Or in other words, they're allowed to go over the
cap in this instance.

A team gets back half the salary when they trade someone or the player
retires. At least in the first year. The second year the team gets the
other half back.

TTom

    Let's not forget TTommy HHammonds.  The Hornets will have a slot
    with half of his salary (about $400k) to sign someone.  Wingate is
    an unrestricted.
    
    No talent at #17 or #20 in the draft?  Am not sure, but didn't guys
    like Rick Fox, Oliver Miller, Bimbo Coles, Anthony Peeler, Stanley
    Roberts, Dana Barros, etc fall into the mid-first round or later?
    Sure, no *locks* with these picks, but you could make that argument
    for half of the lottery picks as well.  Haven't seen the complete
    list of talent available for the '93 draft, but I suspect someone
    like George Lynch or Nick VanExel(sp?) could be there.
    
    The Hornets lost the fourth quarter to the Knicks 31-15.  Decent game.
    Good to see the Hornets come out hustling in the first half.  They
    proved that they could dictate the tempo of the game and play well
    enough to beat New York in the playoffs.
    
    Zo had a great game against Patrick.  Couple of nice blocks in the
    second half.  For those who think Mourning's game has peaked and
    he won't get any better, I'd hafta disagree.  With experience, he'll
    learn to make better moves around the basket.  The result will be
    a variety of offensive moves and fewer offensve fouls.  He's 
    improved steadily since the first month of the season...a trend that
    I think you will see continue.
    
    Jackie McMullen had a nice quote in the paper.  Something along the
    lines of wishing she had her ROY ballet back, as she did not give
    Alonzo the consideration that he deserved.
    
    I missed Mugsey on the Today show this morning. Did anybody catch it?
    
    Pat

    re: GeorgeLynch
    
    Anybody heard where the "experts" predict Lynch will be taken?  My gut
    says late 1st/early 2nd.
    
    When picking down there teams'd be advised to remind themselves that
    Lynch is the #1 offensive rebounder in UNC history (more even than
    Perkins, who's still light years ahead of the pack in total boards)
    instead of the questions around his "tweener" height.  (i.e. too small
    for PF; too bad a shooter/ball handler for SF)
    
    
    - ACC Chris

re: .206

> Jackie McMullen had a nice quote in the paper.  Something along the
> lines of wishing she had her ROY ballet back
                                   ^^^^^^

Is this a new kind of dance??? :-)

The Crazy Met

    RE: ROY ballet
            ^^^^^^
    
    Hay, they nevir taut us howe to spell in West Virgynia.
    
    Pat

    How'd y'all West Virginnyites (Haas and Hymes) get lost in Charlotte?
    
    Is LJ gonna play tonight?
    
    MikeL
    

    
    >> Is LJ gonna play tonight?
    
       Nope.
    
    
    
       The series continues tomorrow night not tonight.    
    

Charlotte is the largest city in West by Gawd Virginee ;-)

Matter o factory, you can't turn around without bumping into a_ex
Mountaineer. The joke is that the guy left WVa and moved to NC and
lowered the IQ of both states.

Yeah, LJ is gonna play, wouldn't miss it for anything. All X-rays were
negative, not even a sprain. They're calling it a strain with possible
ligament damage. The injury is just above the ankle.

TTom

    How do ya tell a wealthy West Virginia family from a poor one?
    
    The rich ones got TWO cars up on blocks!
    
    
    LJ was reexamined yesterday.  He's got a badly bruised shin bone.
    He didn't practice much and didn't know if he would be able to play.
    Kenny Gattison sat out of practice with back spasms.  Wingate
    practiced, but his knee is still bothering him.  That's it for 
    the M*A*S*H report.
    
    Pat
    
    

  Is there still room on this bandwagon?  :^)

  Kath

    Major Bummer, Game 1 there right in there untill late in the 3rd, and
    in game 2 they were in it to the very end of the 4rth.  Theyve let too
    many chances slip past them.  They should have and COULD have took
    either game but let them both slip away.  Things mow look bleak, they
    needed to take one in NY to have a shot at it.
    
    Glad to see there hanging in there to the very end,  ZO IS GAWD :-)
    Ill trade you paxson/pippen/cartwright/king for ZO :-)
    
    Good Luck in Charlotte
    							MairB

 After the home cookin' last night I'll bet the Hornets can't wait to
 get home and get some of their own...No sour grapes here home cookin's
 a fact of life in the NBA. All the Hornets have to do is remember to
 play a full 48. They've out played the Knicks but bad coaching (nice
 call Nazz) and youth have done them in as much as the HC...

 All they have to do is hold serve this weekend, off of what I've seen
 I say that's possible....

 mike 

    It is so predictable to hear Charlotte fans cry about getting jobbed
    last night. Charlotte blew the game just like they did against Boston
    in game 4,by not doing the things that had gotten them the lead.
    
    Hubert Davis helped awaken the Knicks from their sleepwalk last night
    and Pat Ewing couldn't miss when the game was on the line. Letting
    Mourning take a three-pointer in OT(He hasn't made one all year) shows
    a team that hasn't learned how to win yet. They are very talented and
    may take a game or two from the Knicks but don't blame last night's
    result on anything except the Hornets' ineptitude and the Knicks'
    courage.

Actually Dave it was Larry Johnson who took the three pointer. The Knicks
had the game handed to them. Don't call it courage, call it luck....

mike 

    Mourning took a three in OT-down by 4 with 8 seconds left. Us Celtic
    haters called them lucky so often,too. If the ability to run your
    offense at crunch time,while stopping the other team is luck then
    ,yes,the Knicks are lucky. I hope they're lucky all the way to an NBA
    title.

    >  yes,the Knicks are lucky. I hope they're lucky all the way to an NBA
    >  title.
    
       Dave,
    
        With a comment like that how can you claim to be unbiased in
    reflecting on the NY-Charlotte series ?
    
    Just wond'ring
    
    John "D Cowboys" R.

    Lets see Indiana stretch the series farther then anyone expected and
    Charlotte (an expansion team) could have easily won either game in NY.
    If Indiana and Charlotte are capable of this Id Say Chicago still has
    a great shot at taking out NY.  They need to Keep Grant healthy.
    
    Charlotte has made some mistakes down the stretch in games 1, and 2.
    These have to be blamed on 2 things, Youth and Coaching.  I dont really
    see enough Charlotte games to know how good bristowl (sp) is but it
    sounds like a good coach could make alot of difference for this young
    team.  How do charlotte fan's feel about this ?
    
    Charlotte will only get better, they remind me of the bulls 5 or 6
    years ago.  They will have there day in the Lime Light.
    
    							MairB

Dave,

It is clear that Mike C lives in a non-Euclidean parallel universe.
Its intersection with our universe is obviously ::SPORTS (yes folks in 
non-Euclidean geometry parallel lines can intersect). I caome to this 
conclusion since Mike and the rest of us obviously watched completely
different games last night; since it is the same series that we are
talking about he must be living in a parallele universe.

As .221 put it. Once Charlotte learns to win during crunch time, to
hold leads, to have that killer instinct they will go a long
way in the playoffs. So far they have not shown these things against
the Knicks. They remind me of the Bucks in Alcindor's rookie season.
They did well but couldn't quite match up against the Knicks, Boston,
or Baltimore. A year or 2 later they swept the Bullets to win the Championship.

The Crazy Met

    TCM:
    
    The Milwaukee parallel is a good one. The Bucks ascended to the next
    level by trading for Oscar robertson between the 69-70 & 70-71 seasons.
    
    Charlotte is definitely a team on the rise. They need some experienced
    leadership. Mourning may be better than Shaq.
    
    To John R: I root for the Knicks but it's not going to affect me one way
    or another if they don't  win the title this year. Of course it's still
    possible that some bias could cloud my opinions.
    

 I've always been in my own world TCM.....I see only what I want to see and
 hear only what I want to hear....makes life much easier...

 mike

 

 

    Charlotte lost by 16 in Game 1.  Even their most ardest supporters
    in here haven't said they could havr easily won game 1.
    
    Poor coaching and lack of experience clearly cost them down the
    stretch.  Mourning's 3-pt attempt near the end of OT was a stunner to
    me, too.  I can't believe Bristow used his last time out to set up
    THAT!?!?!
    
    Knicks need a healthy Doc Rivers this weekend if they are to sweep.
    
    NAZZ

    Bristow has to go.  He became too conservative and slowed them down. 
    He was playing not to lose in the end instead of playing the way that
    got them the big lead.

If the p_name the /er has in mind is what I have seen I concur. You get
that beautiful p_name for 2 weeks.

The Crazy Met

    .222
    
    Yo TCM, you been watching too much of Data on Star Trek !!!  You're
    getting to sound just like him/it.
    
    John "D Cowboys" R.

Yep, Charlotte is looking much better than I thought.  These playoffs are very 
good experience for them.

The Knicks are a deceptive team.  Good defensive teams often make the games look 
closer than they are.  Contrast them with the ease with which the Bulls are dispatching
a "superior" Cleveland team.  Still the Knicks have won both.

One thing going in the Knicks favor is that the Bulls are slowly getting bruised and
battered...

    Bruised and battered: yeah history could be repeating itself.
    
    In 1989 the Lakers had already won 2 straight and swept every team in
    the 1990 playoffs. They were playing Detroit in the finals and Scott
    and Magic both got injured in practice before game 1. Detroit sweeps.
    
    In 1991 Detroit had won 2 straight titles. They play Chicago in the
    Eastern finals with a bunch of players injured (I think Thomas was?)
    and the Bulls massacred them.
    
    The Crazy Met
    

If they aren't battered by the time they start the series they will be when
the NY thugs get through with them.


Metz

    heh heh
    
    The Crazy Met
    

 Sorry TTom, I promise not to watch the next game. I missed friday's nite
 victory so maybe if I miss the next the Hornets will win? 

 ;^(

 

    
        Cotton Fitzsimmons said that he stepped aside as Suns coach
       because he felt that Westphal was the guy to take the team to
       the next level. Obviously, he was wrong but you have to wonder 
       if Bristow may have been fine as coach of a young team but not 
       a championship one because his team has played well enough to 
       win in just about every game so far in the playoffs. It's the
       strategy that he's employed in crunch time that been suspect
       not the team's talent level.

Mike, the Hornets need all the help they can get.

This one just didn't happen. The play of the game came early in the
first quarter when Patrick Ewing got his second personal, followed
closely by a technical. Starks was already on the bench with 2 fouls and
the entire Hornets team relaxed, lost their concentration and never did
pick it back up.

So Herb Williams and Rolando Blackman beat Charlotte. Williams came in
for Ewing after the above incident and proceded to hit 4 straight. And
anybody who anything about the game knows that Blackman hit the game
winner.

In between, the Hornets played poorly. Zo had a very hard time of it,
going 4-16 from the field. Dell Curry continued his post season slump
with a 5-13 effort. And the coup de grace was at the very end with
seconds remaining, Muggsy, who led the league in assists to turn over
ratio, turned it over as Charlotte failed to get a shot off.

A special mention of the referees is in order here. To be clear on this
complaint, let me say that they did not determine the winner or loser of
this game. They were equally horrible at both ends. One of the "rules" in
effect was that if you quit punching the guy you're guarding before he
gets the ball, it's OK. But then you can't even look like you're going to
touch him after he gets it. Except other times when they didn't call it
like that. The refs had the players standing around waiting for calls
that didn't happen and getting technicals for fouls that didn't happen.
And they continued a recent trend in NBA officiating. They wait until the
shot misses before calling the foul. On one play, Muggsy almost had the
ball back across the midcourt line before the foul was called on the
missed shot. Whoever these guys were, they should be fined, suspended and
sent to the Global Basketball League.

In any case, I can't get really down after this one. It's all been gravy.
First getting into the playoffs and then winning the first series and
still be playing in the Final Eight. Not too shabby!

TTom

> In any case, I can't get really down after this one.

Of course you also don't have a p_name bet riding on the series.
/er get ready to give MikeC the "good" news.

The Crazy Met

Tommy,

There's been a lot of talk about Bristow's performance, or lack therein,
as the Hornets coach. One the positive side of things, he's the guy that
did coach them into the playoffs and successfully through the Celtics
series. On the negative side, he's taking a lot of flak over not being
able to hold the leads (Charlotte has led in every game at one point or
another).

On the NBC pregame hype, both Peter Vescey and Bill Walton were very
critical of Bristow. Walton went so far as to say that as long as Bristow
continued his coaching, the Knicks were a lock to win the series.

My biggest criticism of that he seems to coach without regard to what is
happening on the court. When he gets it in his mind that he's gonna make
a certain move, he'll do it even if it means putting someone cold in for
someone hot. A classical Bristow move is to take Muggsy out for the
offensive sets. He'll bring in Curry, who's in a bad slump, or Rookie
Tony Bennett who is playing fairly well but he's no Muggsy.

I'd love to see what Chuck Daly might do with this team. Move Bristow
back to the front office where he belongs. He was the one that got the
talent here. He's good at it. But not at coaching.

I think there'll be a lot of pressure on Bristow nexted year. Everyone
will expect next season to be at least as successful as this year. That
means winning in the playoffs. If the Hornets don't do it, a lot of the
blame will be focused on Bristow.

TTom

TTom,

I only saw  game 4 from the middle of the 3rd quarter. Did Charlotte
ever have a real lead in yesterdays game?? In the 4th they tied it twice
but never led.

The Crazy Met

    
    The reason Bristow is getting heat is that it's becoming obvious that
    the Hornets have a lot of the talent needed to play at this level, but
    the experience factor is limiting them.  The needed level of experience 
    isn't just for the players, coaches need it too.  It has been said 
    (somewhere) that coaching may make the difference in 5-6 games a year.
    Well, if a coach makes a difference in 1-2 playoff games, he's earned
    his pay.  (Unless you're lucky like K.C. Jones or Phil Jackson and just
    need to be a emotional lighting rod for your superstars).  Bristow
    hasn't shown to me, anyway, that's he's added anything to the Hornet's
    wins.
    
    			Bob 

	I wouldn't be too critical of Bristow.  He isn't exactly a veteran of
the NBA playoffs - either as a player or a coach.  He is making a couple of
mistakes, IMO.

	First is his rotation of players.  Most teams in most playoff games go
with an 8-man rotation, and you see #s 9 and 10 only when foul trouble or
garbage time dictate.  There's a reason those guys are #9 and 10 on the team, 
and they've had all year to prove it.  He should be learning this, for next year.

	Second, he lets the other team dictate the matchups most of the time. 
Again, I think it's lack of experience more than anything else. 

	As a Knick fan, seeing this team, and it's possibility of gaining 2
more decent players in what is now a deep draft, it's scary.  Of course, they
could get big heads and take a step back next year, but that remains to be seen.

	Jim M.

One other factor in this series is the Knicks have had role players
step up and make an impact. Hubert Davis in game 2; Herb Williams in
game 4, and of course Blackman calmly sinking that jumper with time running
out on the 24 second clock to win the game. Even Greg Anthony has played
well, especially game 2 against Indiana.

Sure, Ewing, Rivers, Oakley, Mason, Starks are the main people, but that
is expected. It is the role players that can make the difference and so far
the Knicks bench has been coming through.

The Crazy Met

Certainly Bristow's - and the rest of the coaches' - lack of experience
is showing. No one on the bench has any previous coaching experience.
Period.

TTom

    	Hey TTom, set those Charlotte folks straight on some facks.  It is
    entomologically incorrect to call the home of the Hornets a BeeHive!
    
    				/Don

Slashermain, I don't think many of 'em down here know what
"entomologically" means much less be correct in its domain.

But whilest were on straight facks, it ain't no "BeeHive", just "Hive."

And "Bugs" makes me think of spiders or ants.

In any case, I'll pass this on to owner George Shinn who's known for
changing terminology. He transformed the term "respected businessman" to
include ripping the tax payers off for millions by setting up bogus
technical schools, arranging for student loans to unqualified students,
and pocketing the money.

TTom

    Congrats to the Hornets for having a wonderful season.  I would
    think that it's going to come to an end tomorrow evening, but they have
    nothing to be disappointed about.  Reaching the second round of the
    playoffs and taking a game from the Knicks was quite an accomplishment.
    
    I'm afraid Zo hit the wall yesterday, and that's the one thing that
    worries me about him.  He plays so hard all the time that he'll be
    totally burned out by the time he's 30.  Bristow or whoever is going
    to be his coach has got to find a backup center and use him extensively
    so that Mourning can keep that hunger for success alive for many more
    seasons.
    
    Here are the stats for the two centers yesterday:
    
    		MIN	FG	FT	PTS	REB	AST  BLK   TO
    Ewing	35	13-21	2-2	28	2-8 10   1    3     3
    Mourning	38	 4-16	4-4	12 	3-5  8   0    0     6
    
    NAZZ

Zo did looke like he finally hit the wall. However, after the game, they
reported that he was having back problems which may have contributed.
Except for yesterday, he's held his own with Patrick Ewing who's one of
the 4 best players in the league.

Zo should be concerned about how Bristow uses him. Bristow has managed to
minimize any contribution from Sidney Green, especially when the Hornets
badly need a banger.

I think nexted year will be pivotal for Zo. First, he'll have to be at
least as good as he was this year which means 20 and 10 (pts and rbs).
And if'n he doesn't get it done, don't look for the Hornets to return to
the playoffs much less make the second round.

TTom

    
    
         No worries TTom. Zo is the real thing and with a better and bigger
    shooting/point guard the Hornets will remain in the playoffs for the
    forseeable future.
    
       This team has a great nucleus.
    
    
    Chappy

    I think Rodman would fit this team like a glove.

How old is Muggsy??

The Crazy Met

    28 or so?
    

28 seems about right. We can back this out: this is his fifth season with
the Hornets after one season with the Bullets. Amazingly, when he first
came to Charlotte, Dick Harter, then head coach, current Knicks assistant
coach didn't think he could play.

If anything has been accomplished, it shoulda been that Muggsy can play
in this league. Yet there seems to be a chronic background of doubters.
Personally, I give him the MVP for the Hornets playoffs.

As to Dennis Rodman, this is not what the Hornets need. First of all,
they can never sign him unless he'd be willing to play for around $500K.
The only shot the Hornets would have is be if'n Detroit would take Mike
Gminski on a trade. Anyone think that they're that stupid?

In the local paper, there's a big article on Bristow. It raised the
questions about his coaching experience and ability and proceded to
explain to us that he's just a_average joe and didn't address any of the
complaints. This seems to be a trend around the media in Charlotte. First
George Shinn who bilked millions outta the public is Mr. Nice Guy
businessman. No mention of how he got his money. Now Bristow is neat
without addressing whether or not he can coach.

It gets worse than that. The Hornets have hired almost every sports
announcer in this region. Like everywhere else, radio talk shows have
really taken off around here and you know the Hornets is a major topic.
Well every show is hosted by a_employee of the Hornets. Needless to say,
the tough questions never get answered. Even the guy who writes for the
paper is subsidized by the Hornets to make sure he attends every game.

Even if the Hornets make it big[ger] time, the media has already sold
out.

TTom

    Did you say the guy who writes for the paper is subsidized by the
    Hornets?!?!?!?!?  Talk about an incestuous relationship!!!!!!
    
    NAZZ

Sort of like WEEI being owned by the Celtics??

The Crazy Met

That's how it works. Ain't it a deal.

He works for the paper and he travels with the team. The team picks up
the tab on the road. To the paper's credit they do cover the games with
other reporters. 

Having the sports talk guys be direct employees of the team is a real
drag and pretty much keeps things content free on the air.

TTom

    Mugsy came out the same year as Reggie Lewis, so they ought to be about
    the same age.  I remember all the discussion in the olde version of the 
    Celtics notesfile about who was more ready to play in the NBA.
    
    brews

  Wore my teal suit into the office today :^)

  In the first half of Q1, I was thinking we were seeing the difference that
  playoff experience makes:  the Knicks having adjusted, the Hornets not knowing
  how to fine-tune through a series. Foolish Me.

  They kept coming back as if they didn't know they were supposed to lose.
  Kenny Gattison did a real fine job of steadying the Hornets down after
  Grandmama had to sit with those early fouls, imo.  And then to come back
  from 12 or 13 down in the second half -- the Hornets have a lot of heart
  to go along with that talent.  (They obviously won Doug Collins over, too :^)

  In the "Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery" department, *I* thought
  Doc was doing a great larger_than_life Muggsy imitation with those steals -
  especially the one he took from Kendall Gill.

  Congrats, Charlotte!  (would you take Salley & Miner for Mourning?)
  Kath

    Jeez, working for a livin is a bitch - no time for Notes.  
    
    Thought the Hornets had a decent series against the Knicks -
    considering their lack of experience!  A few free throws here, a
    break there, and it could have been a seven game series.
    
    Interesting to see the Hornets play so well with LJ out of the
    game in foul trouble (Game 5).  When he came back in, he seemed
    to disrupt the momentum that Charlotte had.
    
    Bristow's taken some heat, but lemme defend him to SOME degree.
    First of all, when he took the job, he made it clear that he was
    not god'o coaching...in fact he even hinted that it was a temporary
    kind of thing.  He HAS defined a "style of play" or system that he
    wants to use.  It may not sound like much, but it's more than Harter
    or Littles did in their stints.  He is committed to teaching and playing
    DEFENSE.  In the preseason, his "pressure defense" was a joke.  Players
    gambled only to leave an opponent wide open for a layup (consistently).
    This team has developed into a decent (not great) defense team. 
    Yessir, some of this is due to Zo, but one area that we've seen
    improvement is perimeter defense and trapping - due largely to
    Bristow and staff.
    
    Coach as a teacher - Bristow okay.
    Game prep - Bristow okay (road wins at Chicago, NY, Portland, etc.)
    Situational/strategy - Bristow needs help.
    
    I like the fact that he'll take a T.  Previous coach (Littles) was
    so calm, you often couldn't tell whether he gave a damn about ball
    games.  
    
    So Bristow ain't the greatest, granted.  But who you gonna call?
    I don't see Chuck Daley or Pat Riley on the unemployment list.
    Doug Collins maybe.  Mike Fratello - NOT.  Rick Pitino - think he'd
    do GREAT with this young team.
    
    Dick Versaice?  Bob Weiss?  Ron Rothstein?  Hale no.
    
    If'n a lunker coach was willing and available, I agree with TTom to
    move Bristow back to the front office, and make the change.  In the
    mean time, I don't think you yank Bristow for the sake of trying some
    other unknown or unproven Joe.
    
    Bill Walton's a joke.  Almost as unbelieveable as Peter Vecsey.
    
    Can't believe the Magic got the #1 pick again.  Will be interesting
    to see what develops.
    
    The Hornets exploited a few weaknesses in the Knicks series which should
    help Chicago.  The only thing that Chicago ain't got is a center to
    contain Ewing.  (Although they've got 24 fouls to share among
    Cartwright, Perdue, King, and Williams.)  
    
    Curry's inconsistent season (not just playoffs) has me pondering his
    value.  
    
    Gotta run.  On the road for a few more weeks (Q4 revenue + vacation!!).
    
    Pat

    The Hornet front-office is in Chicago this week scoutin' out talent.
    The word is they asked their trainer and physician to perform
    physicals on twelve players who may be available for the number 17
    and 20 picks.
    
    I don't remember all of the names, but the list included
    Malcom Mackey, Nick Van Exel, Rex Walters, Earvin Johnson,
    Greg Graham, and Luther Wright.
    
    It turns out that the Hornets can probably afford both first rounders
    if they stick.  They have a $425k slot from Tommy Hammonds, and a
    $700k slot (or so) from the NBA (raising salary cap).
    
    The Hornet honchos are also scheduled to meet with Kendall Gill
    and his agent (Arn Tellam) on FRIDAY.  The topic: Does Kendall
    Gill want to remain a Charlotte Hornet?
    
    Tellam says Kendall wants out.  Kendall his implied otherwise.
    They want the straight skinny.  This will be good to know BEFORE
    the draft and free agency declarations to give the front-office
    maximum flexibility.
    
    How about this plan:
    	- Kendall declares himself a restricted free agent.
    	- he gets an offer sheet that the Hornets DO NOT match.
    	- the Hornets use his slot ($2 mil and change) to sign Robert
    	  Parrish to a two year deal.
    	- the Hornets package a draft pick and player and send to ? for a
    	  backup (or starting) guard (Dumars, Knight, Coles, Hawkins, Robinson).
    	- the Hornets use their remaining draft pick to sign the best
    	  available front-court player.
    
    On an unrelated note, the Charlotte Checkers, the newest addition
    to the East Coast Hockey League, will be affiliated with Boston
    Bruins.
    
    Pat

    Dumars won't work.  1) he's untouchable  2) Pistons already have 2
    #1 draft picks...
    

only an idiot would trade Dumars and Mckloskey already left town...

Mourning would play big forward and Parish center?I thought Mourning really 
disliked playing forward at Gerogetown which is where he was until Mutambo
left.

The Crazy Met

    Leave Morning where he is.  Parish could be usefull but to another 
    team.  If charlotte has extra money and can swing a trade a center
    is not what they should be looking at.
    							MairB

Any move that takes Mourning away from center is stupid.

JD

    Parish - backup center - limit his minutes to extend his career another
    	year; one of the greatest centers of this era mentoring a hard
    	working young stud like Alonzo; adds playoff experience and mental
    	toughness.
    Gattison - backup PF
    
    RE: Dumars - does Detroit have room under the cap to sign both first
    rounders without making a trade?  They may have to dump a salary for
    a future first round pick or give away a player ala the Hawks and
    Kenny Smith a few years back.  If Detroit has picks 9 and 10, we're
    probably talking about guaranteed money to get 'em into camp, maybe
    in the neighborhood of $1mil each.  What did the 9 and 10 picks sign
    for last year?
    
    My other thought about the Pistons is how long do they go with their
    veterans?  I distinctly remember serious trade talk 2-3 years back
    between the Timberwolves and the C's for McHale.  The C's refused to
    trade McHale while he had value.  Now he retires and they have a huge
    void.  The same principle applies to the Pistons.  Do they trade one
    or two of their veterans while they still have value in an attempt
    to positions themselves to rebuild nicely in the next year or two?
    Trading Rodman will gettem sumthin...but is that enough...
    
    Pat
    
    Pat
    
    
    

Charlotte needs a big-ass rebounder before anything else.  And if you
don't re-sign Gill, you'll need a 2G.  After those 2 spots, a quality
backup PG.

Today's the day, supposedly.

The Hornets are talking with Kendall Gill today. They first want to know
what Gill will be doing about his free agency.

The Hornets will make a_offer if'n Gill wants to stay or wants to find
out what the Hornets will pay to have him stay.

As soon as Gill says that he wants to go free agent, either by shopping
around with other teams or by using his option clause to resign with
Charlotte for 1 more year so he can go totally free nexted year, the
Hornets will take the "Do what's best for the Hornets" course in planning
what to do with Gill.

A very popular suggestion being made to the local sports talk shows is
if'n Gill opts for 1 year with Charlotte then freedom, then the Hornets
should show him to seat #12 on the bench and move on without him.

TTom

    Rodman would fit in nicely...
    

    I disagree that the #1 need is rebounding.  Mourning and Johnson
    each averaged more than 10 reb per game.  Not bad when you consider
    it was Zo's first year in the league (and Larry's second).  Don't
    know how many RPG Gill averaged, but he's got to be one of the
    better rebounding 2guards in the league.
    
    A rebounding small forward might help - especially if Gill is TFSO'd.
    
    A consistent outside shot, definitely.  Curry's not bad, but so streaky 
    and slow on defense that he'll always be a bench/role player - which is 
    okay cuz we need a few of them.  
    
    The ultimate pickup would be guy a who could play the point, drive and
    dish, AND shoot the ball.  A consistent outside shot allows Charlotte
    to work the two man game (inside/out) effectively, and would help 
    prevent the opponents defense from collapsing down on Zo or LJ when 
    they punch the ball inside.
    
    With that said, I would take Rodman in a heartbeat if the price
    weren't too high (Newman + pick...or *maybe* Gill straight up).  
    
    Pat

  >>  Charlotte needs a big-ass rebounder before anything else. 
    
    Rodman doesn't have a big_ass but anybody who can rebound 15 and 20
    rebounds a game has my vote.                              

    Neither the Hornets camp nor the Gill camp are commenting on last
    Friday's meeting in Chicago.
    
    The meeting lasted less than one hour....which leads to speculation
    that they surely weren't negotiating for a new contract.  Kendall
    probably confirmed that he'll pursue free agency.  THE MEDIA are 
    saying that Gill won't even think about a long term contract with
    the Hornets unless the offer is in the $3-$5mil/year range.
    
    All of this talk leads to even more discussion about trading Gill.  
    Earlier in the year, Gill's agent indicated that the only teams that 
    Gill would even consider signing a long term contract with (in lieue
    of free agency) are LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Chicago Bulls, NY Knicks.
    He wants to play in a large market.
    
    Rumors are that all four teams have indicated some interest, but that
    only the Clippers have some salary cap room to make a move...and they
    are definitely interested.  
    
    One local station reports that there is already a standing three
    way offer/deal on the table between the Hornets, Clippers, and an 
    undisclosed team that involves Gill.
    
    Anyhoot, don't be surprised if the Hornets make a move or two
    in the next two weeks involving Gill and one (or both) of their draft
    picks.
    
    Pat

Gill is supposedly asking to be the highest paid Hornet and will
entertain no offer from Charlotte that pays him less than LJ or Zo.

I say let him go, give him away, let him be someone else's headache. The
guy has some talent. If'n he ever gets half as good as he thinks he is he
could be a star. A major head case! 

Not only is he not worth as much as LJ or Zo, after the Knicks playoff
series he's fallen below Muggsy in terms of value to the team. 

TTom

    The Hornets will begin interviewing players today, when Lindsey Hunter
    comes to town.  In addition to Hunter, the Hornets expect to see
    Nick Van Exel, Lucius Harris, Luther Wright, Doug Edwards, Scott
    Burrell, Ervin Johnson, and possibly Greg Graham and Malcolm Mackey.
    
    None of these guys played at the Chicago rookie camp, so the Hornets
    will be looking at a lot of tape the next two weeks.
    
    Director of Player Personnel, Dave Twardziak, was asked about the
    Kendall Gill situation yesterday.  He commented that the Hornets
    basically have the same options available to them now that they had 
    before the trade deadline, but not as many.  Geez, I wonder what
    that means!
    
    Pat

    In other sports... the Albany Firebirds manhandle the Charlotte Rage
    63-34 Saturday night in the Knickerbocker Arena.  Both teams are now
    3-3.

    CINCINNATI GUARD...
    Nick Van Exel (sp) pulled a no-show for his interview and workout
    Tuesday with the Hornets.  He called later that day and said his
    travel plans were mixed up.  
    
    They rescheduled for Wednesday (yesterday) morning.
    
    Van Exel pulls another no-show.  Didn't even call.  He evidently was
    quoted late yesterday as saying he didn't want to interview with 
    Charlotte cuz he wasn't going to be available when the Hornets
    picked at the #17 spot.
    
    Ego?  Business savvy?  What a clown!
    
    Sounds like the Hornets really like guards Lindsay Hunter and Greg
    Graham (in that order).  Haven't heard any feedback on the big guys
    yet.
    
    Gill has been given his qualifying offer by the Hornets.  The Hornets
    would like him to sign it NOW (vs soliciting offers from other teams)
    so that they have him locked up for the year.  This will enable the
    Hornets to continue shopping Gill.  
    
    Gill's agent is eager to help him get out of Charlotte and has started 
    talking with other teams/players.  He evidently has asked Danny Manning
    to consider restructuring his contract so that a Gill for Manning trade
    can happen.
    
    Gill claims he'll only accept a trade to NY or LA.  The Hornets have
    asked him to expand the list by a few teams to give them more
    flexibility.  They claim they've had some nibbles from non-NY/LA teams.
    
    One rumor is that the Bullets have offered Michael Adams and their
    first round pick (#6) for Gill.  Adams doesn't excite me, but
    Rodney Rogers sure does!  The guy's got an NBA body and the skeels
    to match.  He was surrounded by mediocre/poor players at Wake Forest,
    and didn't get much national press.  
    
    Draft day approaching....
    Pat

A front line of ALonzo, Larryand Rodney would be downright scary.

JD

    Would NJ be interested in Gill?
    

    
      That would be a monumentally stupid move by Washington. I just can't
     see it happening. As far as Van Exel goes, he may not be there when 
     Charlotte picks but his attitude can't be endearing him to many GM's.
    

    I agree that it would be a stupid move by Washington...UNLESS they
    can get a committment from Gill to sit down and pound out a long-term
    contract.  Washington is a team with a bunch of players but no leader.
    Kendall wants to be a leader.  Whether he has the skills to command
    respect is questionable...but maybe he's ready to step up to the
    next level.
    
    It would be funny to see Gill and Chapman back on the same team.
    If the Bullets could move Chapman (to Houston?) maybe it makes sense.
    
    NJ seems like a logical choice for Gill.  They desperately need a 
    shooting guard.  NJ is not on Kendall's "list."  They are, however,
    close to NY, and could get Gill the exposure he's looking for.
    
    Pat

Well NJ is as close to NY as Gill will get. I just don't see the Knicks 
going after him.

The Crazy Met

Sure Rogers is a special player but both he and Larry should be small
forwards. Charlotte needs a power forward and should have gone for
Rodman. Maybe they can package Gill and a pick to move down and grap
Webber. I think Zo, Grandmama and TO would make one heck of a scary
frontline.......

mike

    Gill has expanded his list of teams to include Seattle and Atlanta.
    
    It is reported that the Hornets have been offered the following
    for Kendall Gill:
    
    	LA Lakers - Doug Christie and the #12 pick (tempting...)
    	Seattle   - Dana Barros and Eddie Johnson (Hornets want McKey+Barros)
    	Atlanta   - Stacey Augmon (tempting...)
    
    Keep those phones a ringin'....
    
    Pat

    If Charlotte can get a #12 for a guy who is becoming nothing but a
   headache they'd be crazy not to take it. Despite his excellent defense
   and constant hustle, Muggsy Bogues is not the PG that's gonna take
   Charlotte to the promised land. He doesn't really see the floor that 
   well and he's easily swarmed once he penetrates leaving him unable to
   dish. This team is a player and a little experience away from being a 
   monster. They could get that player at #12.

    Is his last name Hurley?
    

   >> Is his last name Hurley?
    
      I'm not a big Hurley fan but if he's there at #12, and he probably 
      will be, then Charlotte has to take him. That's if they decide to 
      draft for need rather than the best available athlete.

    
  >> >> Is his last name Hurley?
    
    
    If I drinks too much Whiskey, I normally Hurley all over the bathroom.
    
    JaKe
    
    

    I thought you didn't want to talk cycle talk...
    
    Hurley would be the popular local pick around then...
    

    Hurley won't be there.
    
    However...Lindsay Hunter is a guy the Hornets *LOVE*.  They are
    afraid he won't be there at #17.  I wouldn't be too surprised if
    they traded up to pick him up earlier.
    
    If the Lakers pick him up with the #12 pick, they may be drafting him
    for another team.
    
    Pat

Regarding the rumored offer of Christie plus the #12 for Gill, I'd
be very surprised if the Lakers did in fact make this offer.  According
to Peter Vescey, the Lakers offered the #12 plus James Worthy for
Gill and one of the Hornets' first round picks, with the understanding
that the Lakers would pay approximately half of Worthy's remaining
contract.  Charlotte then countered by asking that Christie be
thrown in.  Vescey did not say if the Lakers agreed to this.

The reason I don't believe we'll see Christie plus #12 for Gill is
because it leaves the Lakers with two shooting guards and no point
guard.  No thanks.  I'd rather take my chances with a Peeler/Christie
backcourt.

Ken

    What was reported locally was
    	LA: 	Elden Campbell and the #12 for Gill?
    	Cha:	Naw.
    
    	LA: 	Christie and the #12?
    	Cha:    Hmmm............................no, thank you (for now)...
    
    No way the Hornets make the Worthy trade (even though he's a home boy).
    
    Jerry West and the Lakers have recently indicated that they covet
    Jackson State's Lindsay Hunter.  Is it really true...or are they
    faking out teams around them in the draft, or possibly trying to lure 
    a deal with the Hornets?
    
    Let's see, if the Lakers draft Hunter that gives'em the following
    guards:
    	Hunter
    	Peeler
    	Christie
    	Threatt (did they re-sign him?)
    	Scott (is he a goner?)
    	Smith
    	?  (I thought they had another 1st/2nd year guard on the roster)
    
    Will be interesting to see what unfolds!
    
    Pat

I wouldn't make either of those trades.  Again, I don't see where 
Gill fits into the picture.  Gill only makes sense if the Lakers
then turn around and deal Anthony Peeler.  Both guys deserve to be
starting 2 guards.  Keeping the two of them on the same team just
won't work.

The Lakers guard situation looks like this:

Anthony Peeler sg
Doug Christie pg
Sedale Threatt pg/sg
Tony Smith sg
Duane Cooper pg

Byron Scott - Here's your hat, what's your hurry.

Since Seattle has been added to the list, why not a deal for McKey?
Surely the Sonics would do it in a second.  That fills their small
forward slot, and they can then use their draft picks on guards --
perhaps Greg Graham and Scott Burrell.

Ken

I think Seattle would deal McKey. He's been too inconsistant the past 2 years
to justify any great expectations. Some games he's great, many games he
disappears. However I don't know if the Sonics want Gill. They currently don't
have anybody with superstar head case problems and I don't think they want one. 

Karl and Gill sounds like mixing gunpowder and lit matches...

A good shooting small forward would be nice but not at the expense of taking
the players minds off the game.

Metz

    >> What was reported locally was
    >> LA: 	Elden Campbell and the #12 for Gill?
    >> Cha:	Naw.
    
       What more could Charlotte possibly expect to get for Gill?
       With this deal they add a big, young player who is ony going to
       get better with experience, they get a chance to draft the point
       guard that they need and they get rid of a headache. I hope for
       Charlotte's sake that this deal is still their later because I 
       can't imagine that they'll do much better than this.
     

    As far as I can see it the scenario is this..
    
    Gill:	If you cannot pay me big bucks and feature me here then
    		I'll be glad to play somewhere else, else what you see 
    		is what you get
    Hornets:	Sorry you have a contract that binds you to us and we'll do
    		to you whatever we want.  But to show you what splendid
    		fellows we are we'll dangle you around and if we can rip
    		someone off then fine.
    
    Now if Charlotte chooses not to deal and make Gill play then it's as
    much their problem as his.  If they let Christie deal go then it sounds
    like they are simply greedy.
    
    Sounds like shades of the Jon Barry fiasco when Gavitt et co tried to
    blame Barry for not signing which was Barry's complete right.  If the
    celtics in that situation don't have the money to sign a first round
    choice then they should have passed in the draft not weep about cap
    limiting their offer.

I see it this way:

Gill: I want to be a star and I want to be payed star money even though I 
	haven't shown superstar ability yet.

Hornets: We are limited by the salary cap and we place some other players 
	higher than you on the priority list. We'll shop you around but if we
	don't get a deal that benefits us we'll hold you to the remainder
	of your contract.

Gill: Boo-hoo-hoo. I'm so deprived...




Metz

    re-1
    
      Sounds more accurate.  What 8 or so games that I saw the Hornets
    play,  Gill looked just like an average player.  If he's playing
    average outta spite,  then he is still the one with the problem.  If
    you want the big bucks and star status,  then play like it!
    
      JMO,
    
     Tim

    What ever team gets Gill will regret it BIGTIME....Ih was was only half
    as good as he tthinks he is he would be an allstar...
    
    REK

    .296 is pretty close to accurate.  Gill's looking for top money on
    the team - about $20mil over 4 (or 5 - depending on the source) years.
    
    The Hornets organization has definitely made some bonehead mistakes,
    but hopefully have learned from them.
    
    With Gill, they basically have a lot of options.
    	- if they can get MAXIMUM value for him in a trade to one of
    	  his "favored" teams, they'll do it.
    
    	- come July 1, Gill can sign an offer sheet from any team.
    	  What does he do if one of his "unfavored" teams makes him
    	  a good offer?  He could sign it, hoping that the Hornets
    	  match it.  But that could be risky, because...
    
    	- the Hornets have already stated publicly that if Gill gets
    	  an unreasonabl offer sheet, that they will not match it.
    	  For the Hornets, this would give them a $2.1 (or $2.4)mil
    	  salary slot to fill this year.  A pretty nice slot for a free agent.
    
    	- if Gill signs the Hornets qualifying offer and plays out his
    	  last year, the Hornets could trade him later in the season or
    	  let him go after the season...which would give them the open salary
    	  slot mentioned above (next year).
    
    Gill has shown some potential and proved a lot of his critics wrong.
    When he was drafted #5 in the '91 draft, many said he was an okay
    player, but not good enough offensively or defensively to make an
    impact in the NBA.  His defensive and rebounding skills are above
    average for a young 2 guard.  His offense is inconsistent.  Gill
    claims it's because the Hornets don't run plays for him, etc.
    
    The frustrating thing for the Hornets is that they basically gave
    away Rex Chapman (for Tommy Hammonds) to give Gill sole possession
    of the 2 guard spot.  
    
    In other news, 
    	George Lynch, 
    	James Robinson, and 
    	Nick "better late than never" Van Exel 
    will work out in Charlotte today and tomorrow to round out the Hornets 
    predraft stuff.
    
    It's basically a crap shoot cause so many players have moved up
    in the draft, it's hard to tell who's going to be left when the
    Hornets pick.
    
    Pat

    .299 clears it up.  Metz etco maybe entirely right and now it looks
    like the Gill question will be answered eventually on the court.
    
    His size and apparent ability to defend and rebound is potentially
    special since the number 1 priority of any team wanting a flag is to
    have someone who can defend mj.
    
    Having watched celtics organization over the years I am very wary of
    automatically taking the team's side of an argument.  If it had been
    Red Auerbach in charge of those Huns instead of the relative mr nice
    guy Attila western civ books would read a little differently.
    
    b

    The Hornets fared well in the draft.
    
    With the #17 pick, they chose Greg Graham of Indiana who can swing
    between the 1 and 2 guard position.
    
    With the #20 pick, they added Scott Burrell of Connecticut (I think?)
    who is targetted primarily as a small forward.
    
    Both players interviewed and tested well in Charlotte.  Both players
    are very athletic, agressive, tough, and were DEFENSIVE players of the
    year in their respective conferences.  They should fit in well with
    the Charlotte system.  This also gives the Hornets a bit of depth at
    the 2 and 3 spots should they trade/lose Newman or Gill.
    
    It was revealed after the draft that the Hornets were very near an
    agreement with Detroit for the 10th or 11th pick (in return for
    Charlotte's #17 and #20).  The Hornets wanted Lindsay Hunter in a
    bad way, and Detroit had interest in Luther Wright and Scott Burrell.
    The Pistons were open to the idea but wanted to wait until draft time
    to make sure said players were available.  At the last minute, Detroit,
    who didn't even interview Hunter before the draft, changed their minds
    and decided to draft Hunter for themselves with no intentions of
    trading.
    
    The Hornets passed on Acie Earl with the #17 pick cuz of his slow feet.
    He'll probably be okay in a half-court set offense.
    
    The Hornets did interview and test Nick Van Exel yesterday morning.
    Nick, who blew off his two prior scheduled interviews with the Hornets
    without bothering to call, showed up this time.  Bristow told Van Exel 
    "you have the skills to go between 10 and 15, but you'll probably go 
    after 20" because of attitude, etc.  Van Exel went in the thirties to LA.
    
    Mills sure slipped.  I thought for a second there that Boston was
    going to take him cuz of Nazz's kiss of death.
    
    Pat

    Can somebody please explain to me the attraction of Lindsay Hunter?
    
    Here is a guy who measured out at 6-0 3/4" in Chicago, has never played
    point guard in his life, and in his four years in college shot .393,
    .409, .412. and .412 from the floor.  He barely shot 70% from the line!
    He averaged only 3.5 assists/game in his career.  Shot only 34% from
    three point range.  He did take over 23 shots per game in his senior
    season, so he's definitely not shy.
    
    He might be another Jon Barry type, in that he had a great workout, so
    that takes the place of four years of less than mediocre shooting.
    
    NAZZ

re: Linday Hunter.

Can't explain how his star rose except what everyone is saying about his
performance in the mini camps. His stats - or lack therein - are
explained by the fact that he played outta position with point guard
being his "natural" position - he played it in high school.

In pursuing him, the Hornets definitely overplayed their hand. They about
had Detroit talked into a trade swapping the 10th pick for Charlotte's
17th and 20th. The Pistons were curious about why the Hornets wanted to
do this and the answer was given as they wanted Hunter. Almost
immediately Detroit went for him, despite assuring everyone that they
wouldn't draft anyone who hadn't payed a visit.

TTom

    Unrestricted free agent David Wingate inked a four year deal
    with the Hornets rumored to be worth about $500k per year.
    
    He said he never considered taking offers from any other team.  
    He likes Charlotte (city), team mates, coaching staff, and the 
    future potential of the team.  He appreciated the Hornets taking a 
    chance on him last year when other teams were afraid of his off-court 
    problems.
    
    Great move by the Hornets...and they got him at a very cheap price.
    
    Gill trade rumors still active....some type of multi-player trade
    to the Clippers for Manning (as primary) still being discussed.
    
    Evidently the Clippers asked Manning last week if he would take a 
    half-million dollar pay cut to make the deal work, and Manning responded 
    "YES" without hesitation.   He indicated that he would not have a problem 
    playing in the shadows of Larry J and LJ...and that getting the assist 
    is just as important to him as getting the bucket, blah, blah, blah....
    and sign a long term contract to stay here, blah, blah, blah.
    
    His agent was on a local sports talk radio show Friday night and
    confirmed everything.  
    
    Still, no trade yet.  I like the thought...but I'll believe it when
    I see it.
    
    
    Pat
    

One of the problems with the Manning-Gill trade is that it has to involve
other players. So what they're talking about is 2 from Charlotte for
Manning and 2 from the Clippers for Gill and that's where the rub seems
to be. The Clippers want Kenny Gattison as one of the players and the
Hornets are against that.

Stay tuned for more. In the meanwhile, rookie camp has opened. Burrell is
here but Graham isn't. Apparently, Burrell has to play well to get any
offer and then he'd have to make the team. The only veteran in this camp
is Kevin Lynch who is the most likely to get waived if Graham - or
Burrell - make the team. With the signing of David Wingate, the Hornets
now have 12 guaranteed contracts so somebody has to go if the rookies
stay.

TTom

Today's Kendall Gill Rumor:

Gill to the Knicks, Oakley to the 76ers, Hornacek or Dawkins to
Charlotte. Plus or minus draft choices. 

If'n you look at it like Gill for Hornacek it looks good to me but Philly
would be giving Hornacek to get Oakley. Must be something else in this
for them.

Of course, that's why they call these rumors.

TTom

Nooooooooooo! geez I hope this stays a rumor. Gill on the Knicks - great
just what they need a real headcase!

The Crazy Met

Hail, all you gotta due is pay him more than Ewing and he'll be happy. He
said he'd sign with the Hornets if'n he got more than anyone else.

TTom

    Whats up with this gil character, does he really beleive he's as good
    or better then Alonzo and/or Grandmama ?  How much money is he looking
    for ???  Would he be consider one of the top 5 at his position (or even
    top 10)...????  Just curious, I see alot of talk about him but nobody
    seems all that intrested ?
    
    								MairB

Nooooooooooo! geez I hope this stays a rumor. Gill on the Knicks - great
just what they need *ANOTHER* real headcase!

Knicks have one REAL headcase in Greg Anthony; a number of psuedo headcases.

The Crazy Met

    Dear Hornets:
    
    We ain't picky.  We'll take Manning, Hornacek, or even Hersey Hawkins.
    We'd even consider Augmon/Willis plus future considerations.
    Whatever you do, trade Gill before camp starts to get this stuff
    behind us.
    
    
    Dear Tom:
    
    What's this "Lower Melvin" crap?  Do you go to the library to find
    unusual p-names....or just listen to Kevin talk in his sleep?
    Any chance you'll be in the RTP area this week or next?
    
    Respectfully,
    Upper Melvin

Gill is a genuine all star head case. And that's about the only aspect of
his game that qualifies for that status.

There is no doubts that he has the talent. If'n he'd shut up and take it
to the basket everyone would be better off. But as he currently plays the
2 guard, he has a less than average jump shot and his defense fluctuates
between looking good and letting the other guy score 50, like the 57 he
gave up to Reggie Williams.

At this point, the Hornets would be better off dumping him, waiving him
or otherwise assisting him outta town. The idea of actually getting
anything for him much less Manning, Hornacek, Augmon, etc., would be
gravy.

TTom

Re.

> At this point, the Hornets would be better off dumping him, waiving him
> or otherwise assisting him outta town. The idea of actually getting
> anything for him much less Manning, Hornacek, Augmon, etc., would be
> gravy.

Wait a second.  Two seasons ago, this guy was a 20 ppg scorer and was 
considered one of the best young guards in the league.  You don't just
waive that kind of talent.  The Hornets are being smart in trying to get
the best deal they can, rather than letting their emotions dictate their
actions.  I still think that some kind of deal involving Manning will
come together in the end.  It's too good of a fit not to happen.

Ken

I hear you, Ken. There's no doubt that Gill has the talent and the
Hornets should get something for him.

Unfortunately, the way it's going, Gill will most likely end up with a 1
year contract in Charlotte and his only motivation for playing well will
be his nexted contract. The guy is a major jerk. And this situation will
affect the Hornets throughout the season.

In the meanwhile, the Hornets being the business people they are, you can
rest assured that they won't take my suggestion to dump Gill.

TTom

    	Gill could be just the offensive player (on the court), that the
    Knickerbockers need to put them over the top.  The window of
    opportunity for New York is 1-2 more years at most.
    
    				/Don

But will Gill be able to do what is needed on the court given the NY
spotlight??


The Crazy Met

I think NY could be good for Gill. He wants to be a major star in a major
city. The onliest problem with the Knicks is what about Starks.

TTom

    	I think that with less of the offensive burden on his shoulders
    Starks would be an even better player.
    
    				/Don

    Let's say the Knicks trade Charles Smith for Gill.  That would
    probably work under the salary cap.  The question then becomes
    where do you play him?  Gill has had brief, unsuccessful attempts
    to play the point.  Starks is not a PG.  Hubert Davis is not a PG.
    Rolando Blackman is not a point guard.  I think you get my drift.
    
    Shooting guard is the Knicks strongest position; adding Gill would
    only create problems for them, not solve any.
    
    NAZZ

Nazz,

Ignore for a minute whether or not a particular trade could be made,
exactly what would you say Gill's market value is? Who's he compare with
really? 

My take is that he's got talent but because of his head and who's on this
team - LJ and Zo - he compares to the other 3rd most important players.
And that's not a salary of $4 million.

Just Curious.

TTom

    	Hey NAZZ, the trade you mention is addition by subtraction because
    the Knickerbockers get rid of one of the biggest wusses in the league
    in Smith.
    
    				/Don

    Kendall Gill is a good but not great shooting guard.  He lacks
    consistency on his outside shot, but can create well.  He runs the
    floor well and handles the ball adequately for a shooting guard.
    He is not a very good passer, and would be a below average point guard. 
    Although he has good size, he is not a very good rebounder.  His
    defense needs some work, although he is quick and can come up with 
    some steals.
    
    I would say he is not as good as the following shooting guards:
    	1) Michael Jordan
    	2) Clyde Drexler
    	3) Reggie Lewis (if he's healthy!)
    	4) Ron Harper
    	5) Dan Majerle
    	6) Mitch Richmond
    	7) Joe Dumars
    	8) Jimmy Jackson (potentially)
    
    I would say he is on a par with the following shooting guards:
    
    	9) Jeff Hornacek
    	10) Reggie Miller
    	11) Hersey Hawkins
    	12) Ricky Pierce (only because he's getting old)
    	13) Latrell Sprewell
    	14) John Starks
    	
    I would say he's slightly better than these shooting guards:
    
    	15) Blue Edwards
    	16) Stacey Augmon
    	17) Dennis Scott
    	18) Doug West
    
    And he's much better than the rest of the shooting guards in the
    league.
    
    NAZZ

Nazz, you listed 18 guards; there are 28(?) teams. So that puts Gill
right in the middle of the pack of shooting guards (starters that is). 
Not real impressive; add in being a headcase and I can't imagine why the
Knicks would want him.

The Crazy Met

Thanks for the "ratings", Nazz.

Meanwhile, Gill and his agent Arn Tellem met with the Knicks to discuss
possible trade scenarios. The Knicks are actively pursuing A.C. Green. If
that happens, they not only would willingly deal Oakley but something
would have to give: the Knicks are over the salary cap. They can't afford
to go after Green and Gill.

The main question that everyone is asking is why would Gill want to leave
a team who's status is rising. The Hornets expect to improve after lasted
years showing in the playoffs. Why leave Charlotte for the Clippers?

Speaking of L.A., the multi-player deal with the Clippers is still being
discussed. This is the 2 Hornets for Manning, 2 Clippers for Gill trade.

And just to keep the options open, Tellem and Gill are supposedly heading
to Seattle to meet with the Sonics in a continuing effort to determine
the market value of Gill.

TTom

at this point, I'd take a burnt grilled cheese sandwich and a copy of Johnny
Most's memoirs for Charles Smif.

JD

... which is about the way I feel about Gill.

The Hornets lost lasted night to Orlando at the Southern Summer Review,
107-86. Sounds like it was some ugly ball: 77 personal fouls, 83 foul
shots, 33 turnovers.

Looking good for Charlotte were Scott Burrell, who's expected to look
good and Stevie Thompson and Matt Nover who are making the Hornets take
second looks. Thompson scored 20 to lead the team while Nover scored 16.

Orlando dominated the game with a couple of big men, Brian Williams and
second round pick Geert Hammink, and a couple of point guards, Litterial
Green and Greg Grant.

Kevin Lynch struggled and remains clearly on the bubble in terms of
staying with the team. The Hornets have 12 guaranteed contracts,
including Lynsh's, Burrell and top pick Greg Graham will come to camp,
and the Hornets have indicated that they'll invite a couple of free
agents who at this point look like Thompson and Nover.

Charlotte plays Miami tonight. The Heat defeated the Hawks 86-76
yesterday.

TTom

Knicks going after Green?  Knicks possibly going after Gill?  None
of this addresses their biggest need -- a legitimate point guard.

Ken

    I heard one rumor of Skiles to the Spurs for JR Reid.

    So Gill is around 12-15th in terms of starters.  So if Im correct hs
    Young,Inexperienced, playing in the shadow of 2 great scores and a
    very unhappy head case, all this and still closing in on the top 10.
    So if he gets the $$$ and Status he wants from a team and becomes more
    of a leader what is his potential ?  Sound like he could be worth it
    for some young team.  Could someone like dallas or minny aford/use him.
    
    I think someone will pick him up and be very happy with him, well have
    to wait and see.  I hope he doesnt get stuck staying where he wont give
    100%, nobody wins in that situation...
    
    								MaB
    

Totally agree about the no win opinion.

Gill set the rules about which teams he would be willing to go to. He has
a trade approval clause in his contract and has let it be known that at
this time he is willing to consider New York and Los Angeles as
metropolitan areas in which he'd play and recently added Seattle Sonics
to the list of teams. Right now he's on record as saying he would veto
any other team or area.

>    ... Sound like he could be worth it
>   for some young team.  

You mean like the Hornets? Remember that when LJ and later Zo came along,
Gill was already here. Had Gill continued to develop instead of running
his mouth, he wouldn't be in any one's shadow. Consensus was much higher
on Gill a year ago than it is now. Not a good sign for someone trying to
be a Top 10 player. Actually he claims he's Top 5.

In the meanwhile, the Southern Summer camp thang ended over the weekend
with the Hornets finally winning one. They beat Atlanta 95-90. From this
crop of players, 4 maybe 5 will be invited to the real camp. Kevin Lynch
has a contract so he'll show up. Scott Burrell will show up. Others
mentioned as being invited include Stevie Thompson and Matt Nover both of
whom played well throughout this camp. 

Greg Graham who wasn't there will also be in camp if'n he signs by then.
That gives the Hornets about 17 players with 12 guaranteed contracts to
sort through.

TTom

    Dallas wouldn't want him - they expect Jimmy Jackson to be THE man
    for them.  Besides, Gill wants to go to a high-profile city, in a
    situation where he can be THE man.  Perhaps New Jersey or the Clippers
    could feed his ego, but I cain't think of anywhere else.
    
    NAZZ

Although the Clippers make sense, strictly because of the rock-and-a-hard-
place spot they find themselves in with Manning, it wouldn't necessarily
be the best place for Gill shine.  The Clips already have Ron Harper as
their starting shooting guard, and they drafted Terry Dehere for the same
spot.  That looks kind of crowded to me.  Of the teams he listed, Seattle
might be his best location, with Ricky Pierce getting up there in years
and no younger guard ready to take his place.

Ken

    Aim I the only noter tired of hearing about Kendall Gill?  I mean,
    every day we must trudge our way thru another dozen or so notes, which
    wouldn't be so bad, 'sept it's been this way for the last six (6)
    months or so!
    
    Let's move this discussion forward and talk about something
    interesting, like the new cleaning solution the Hornets janitorial
    service is switching to or somethin'.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    It's more interesting that the Dean Smith stuff...

    Stand-by for the obligatory anti-Carolina notes sayin' how boring
    the ACC/UNC/Dean discussions are.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    True to form, Mac logs in.
    
    Haw haw!!
    
    
    - ACC Chris

packet collision.

The Crazy Met

    Pretty good prediction there ACChris.  You hit it right on the nose
    even after I entered it.

There was some minor progress on the potential Clippers-Hornets trade
over the weekend. 

The Clippers had been demanding Kenny Gattison but now are talking like
they'd be willing to negotiate for terms involving Johnny Newman and
Sidney Green for Manning.
	
TTom 

    The holdup in the Newman and Green for Manning talks is that the
    Clippers are asking Charlotte to pay for Elgin Baylor's lobotomy
    if he makes that deal.
    
    NAZZ

Nazz, this went along with another too one-sided deal of John Williams
and some other stiff for Kendall Gill.

Basically it's Manning for Gill and two stiffs for two stiffs but they
can't do it that way because of the cap rules on trades.

TTom

    I think it was like John "Hot Plate" Williams and Randy Wittman(?)
    for Kendall Gill....then, Newman and Green for Manning.
    
    Baylor made need a lobotomy...but he better get something for Manning
    while he can.  Come mid-February (trading deadline), the Clips
    get nada for him.  There won't be many other teams knockin cuz
    of trade limitations 1)from salary cap  2) from Danny Manning.
    
    Gill and agent Arn Tellam were in NY last week to meet with Knicks
    blue-suits to discuss potential deals.  Gill and Tellam are supposedly
    in Seattle this week doing the same thing.  Gill wants outta Charlotte
    so bad, he's pounding the pavement.  
    
    What is Dean Smith doing this summer?

    
    >>Baylor made need a lobotomy...
    
    Dunno about you, but I'd rather have a bottle in front of me tha a
    frontal lobotomy.
    
    Schnortt Schitt Schlepps
    
    JaKe
    

ESPN had a_interview with Manning and he said in no uncertain terms he
wants out. 

The Clippers could be a good place for Gill. They don't have a real star.
They don't like management and they don't like each other. Gill could
really fit in there. 

Of course, if'n the money's right. 

TTom

    JaKe,
    
    I'd rather have a bottle of Iron City in front of me, than
    ...well...maybe a warm Rolling Rock.  Was in the steel city
    over July 4th and had a large time.  Things won't be the same
    without Brister around.  Was hoping he'd sign with an AFC team
    so the Steeler fans could still boo him once or twice a year.
    
    
    The Manning interview was nice.  Had to make the head (coach)-less
    Clippers feel real good.
    
    Pat

    Heard that LJ has a ruptured disk in his back.  They hope to
    treat without surgery.  Don't know any more details, but it
    sounds kinda serious to me.

    Gill finished his West Coast tour last week with meetings in
    LA (Clippers) and Seattle.  With this comes increased anticipation
    that Gill is outta here.
    
    Sources from both above teams said that they were impressed with Gill
    and interested in obtaining him.  A Sonics official confirmed that
    Seattle would indeed be willing to give up Dana Barros, Eddie Johnson,
    and next years #1 (that they obtained from Philly) for Gill...but that
    they don't think the deal will go through cause they think Charlotte
    will cut a deal with the Clippers to get Manning.
    
    The Clippers supposedly now want Gattison as part of the package.
    I.e. Gill, Gattison, and Newman for Manning, Williams, and Woods.
    If this deal goes down, there is another report that Williams would
    then be dealt to Indiana...to reunite with coach Larry Brown...and
    that Charlotte would get...probably Dale Davis.
    
    I'd hate to give up Gatt; but getting Manning and Davis would greatly
    enhance the front-line.
    
    Manning was in near-by Greensboro last week and made several public
    comments about wanting to become a Hornet.  He even brought a suit
    with him...just in case there was a press conference.
    
    All kinds of other rumors flying about the Knicks and Sixers.
    Scenario is this:
    	The Sixers sign free agent A.C. Green
    	The Sixers then trade A.C. Green to the Knicks for Tony Campbell
    		and the infamous Tim McCormick contract (i.e. Houston's
    		#1 pick in next years NBA draft)
    	The Sixers then send Hornacek to NY for Oakley
    	The Knicks then send Hornacek to Charlotte for Gill.
    
    Sounds pretty wild.
    
    For some reason, the local media folks think that Gill will be
    moved by the middle of August.
    
    No more news on LJ's herniated disk...except that he'll continue
    to treat with physical therapy.
    
    Zo's shooting some Nike commercials somewhere.
    
    Pat

Seattle must be crazy to give up the #1 from Philly next year. Even with
Bradley the Sixers are going to stink this year and that pick will most likely
be a lottery pick. 

If Charlotte got another lottery pick they'd be unstoppable for the next 5-7
years. They could grab somebody like Jason Kidd (if he comes out) and be a tour
de force for 10 years.

I'll be bummed if the Sonics give up that much for a head case without a
contract. 

Metz

    WOW, He's useless to the Hornets to the Philly's #1 Pick would be
    immense.  Philly should go down hill this season.... That would be
    an awsome move for charlotte...
    							MairB

$!    Command format:   
$!    
$!    $ @Hornets p1 p2 p3
$!
$!    p1 = item to search for, such as opponent's name, TV station, day of week)
$!    p2 = forecasting switch; enter Y to enable; N or blank to disable
$!    p3 = if p2 is Y, enter a number from 1-31; 7 is the default
$!    
$ Save_Message = F$Environment("Message")
$ Set Message/Nosever/Noid/Notext/Nofac
$ Say :== Write sys$output
$ dow = "''f$cvtime(""today"",,""weekday"")'"
$ td = "''f$time()'"
$ day= "''f$extract(0,2,td)'"
$ month=f$extract(3,3,td)
$ year=f$extract(7,4,td)
$ file = f$environment("procedure")
$ gametoday = f$extract(3,4,f$time())+f$extract(8,2,f$cvtime("today"))
$ P1 = f$edit(P1,"collapse")
$ If P1 .eqs. "" 
$ then 
$ lookingfortoday = "TRUE"
$ p1 = gametoday
$ Say "Today's Charlotte Hornets' basketball game: "
$ else
$ Say "Selected Charlotte Hornets' basketball game(s): "
$ lookingfortoday = "FALSE"
$ endif
$ search 'file' 'p1'
$ is_there = $status
$ if is_there .eqs. "%X08D78053" 
$ then 
$ if lookingfortoday then Say "No game today."
$ if .not. lookingfortoday then Say "No such game."
$ endif
$next_n_days:
$ if P2 .eqs. "" .or. P2 .eqs. " " then goto done
$ if P2 .eqs. "Y" 
$ then
$      at_a_glance = 7
$      if P3 .eqs. "" .or. P3 .eqs. " " then P3 = at_a_glance
$      if P3 .lt. 1 .or. P3 .gt. 31 then goto bad_reply
$ else
$      if P2 .nes. "N" then goto bad_reply
$      goto done
$ endif
$ Say "Charlotte Celtic games in next "+"''P3'"+" days:"
$ month = f$edit(f$extract(0,3,"''p1'"),"UPCASE")
$ n_day = f$extract(4,2,"''p1'")
$ count = 1
$next_day:
$ n_day = n_day + 1
$ if month .eqs. "OCT" .AND. n_day .gt. 31 
$ then 
$ month = "NOV" 
$ goto new_month 
$ endif
$ if month .eqs. "NOV" .AND. n_day .gt. 30 
$ then 
$ month = "DEC" 
$ goto new_month 
$ endif
$ if month .eqs. "DEC" .AND. n_day .gt. 31 
$ then 
$ month = "JAN" 
$ goto new_month 
$ endif
$ if month .eqs. "JAN" .AND. n_day .gt. 31 
$ then 
$ month = "FEB" 
$ goto new_month 
$ endif
$ if month .eqs. "FEB" .AND. n_day .gt. 28 
$ then 
$ month = "MAR" 
$ goto new_month 
$ endif
$ if month .eqs. "MAR" .AND. n_day .gt. 31 
$ then 
$ month = "APR" 
$ goto new_month 
$ endif
$ if month .eqs. "APR" .AND. n_day .gt. 23 then goto say_playoffs
$ goto test_for_game
$new_month:
$ n_day = "1"
$test_for_game:
$ if n_day .lt. 10 then n_day = "0" + f$edit("''n_day'","collapse")
$ p1 = "''month'" + "-" + "''n_day'"
$ search 'file' 'p1'
$ count = count + 1
$ if count .le. P3 then goto next_day
$ goto done
$say_playoffs:
$ SAY "Playoffs due to start... schedule is TBD!!!"
$ goto done
$bad_reply:
$ Say "Invalid reply."
$ goto done
$ done:
$ set mess'Save_Message'
$ EXIT
NOV-05     Chicago       8:05   TNT
NOV-06  at Milwaukee     9:00
NOV-09  at Cleveland     7:30
NOV-11     Orlando       7:35
NOV-12  at Boston        7:30
NOV-16  at Indiana       7:30
NOV-17     Sacramento    7:35
NOV-19     Washington    8:05   TNT
NOV-20  at Atlanta       7:30
NOV-23  at Washington    7:30
NOV-24     LA Lakers     7:35
NOV-26     Milwaukee     7:35
NOV-27  at Miami         7:30
DEC-01     San Antonio   7:35
DEC-03  at Denver       10:30   TNT
DEC-04  at Utah          9:00
DEC-07  at Houston       8:30
DEC-09     Cleveland     7:35
DEC-11     New Jersey    7:35
DEC-14     Minnesota     7:35
DEC-16  at New Jersey    7:30
DEC-17     Denver        7:35
DEC-20  at Chicago       8:30
DEC-21  at Detroit       7:30
DEC-23     Boston        7:35
DEC-27     Detroit       7:35
DEC-28  at Cleveland     7:30
DEC-30     Chicago       7:35
JAN-02  at New York      6:00
JAN-04  at Atlanta       7:30
JAN-06     Portland      7:35
JAN-08     New York      7:35
JAN-11  at Phoenix       9:00
JAN-13  at Sacramento   10:30
JAN-14  at LA Lakers    10:30
JAN-16  at Portland      8:00
JAN-19     Philadelphia  7:35
JAN-21  at Milwaukee     9:00
JAN-22     Milwaukee     7:35
JAN-25  at Miami         7:30
JAN-26     Orlando       7:35
JAN-28     Atlanta       7:35
FEB-02     Indiana       7:35
FEB-04     Miami         7:35
FEB-05  at Indiana       7:30
FEB-07  at Philadelphia  7:30
FEB-09     Golden State  8:05   TNT
FEB-16     Houston       7:35
FEB-18     Milwaukee     7:35
FEB-20     Cleveland     4:05
FEB-21  at Chicago       3:30
FEB-24     Dallas        7:35
FEB-27  at Orlando      12:30   NBC
MAR-01  at Seattle      10:00
MAR-02  at LA Clippers  10:30
MAR-05  at Golden State 10:30
MAR-08     Phoenix       7:35
MAR-11  at Minnesota     8:00
MAR-12  at New Jersey    7:30
MAR-14     Boston        7:35
MAR-16     Atlanta       7:35
MAR-18     Utah          7:35
MAR-20     Seattle      12:00   NBC
MAR-22     Philadelphia  7:35
MAR-23  at Atlanta       7:30
MAR-25  at Detroit       8:00
MAR-26     LA Clippers   7:35
MAR-29  at New York      8:00   TNT
APR-01  at Dallas        8:30
APR-02  at San Antonio   8:30
APR-05  at Cleveland     7:30
APR-06     Indiana       7:35
APR-08     New Jersey    7:35
APR-09  at Philadelphia  7:30
APR-11     Miami         7:35
APR-14  at Orlando       8:00   TNT
APR-15     Chicago       8:05   TNT
APR-17     New York      3:00   NBC
APR-20     Washington    7:35
APR-21  at Boston        7:30
APR-23     Detroit       3:30   NBC
APR-24  at Washington    1:00

    Was there a TM?

    You're not implying that Tommy stole your code, are you?
    
    If you run @HORNETS and pass it a P2 parameter for forecast, it'll
    tell you the "upcoming games" for the...
    		
    	Charlotte Celtics!
    
    Naw, couldn't have been your code....

    The Charlotte Celtics?!  

Hail, I stole if from Nazz! 

And today's update on Kendall Gill:

Kendall's agent implied yesterday that Gill would be willing to sign back
on with the Hornets, on his terms I would assume. Big George Shinn says
he'd rather keep going for Danny Manning. The word on that deal is that
it's almost set to happen except the Clippers appear to be brain dead and
otherwise incapable of making a decision. New coach - Weiss - entertains
the fantasy that he can talk Manning into staying.

More to follow...

TTom

Hi,

As an English "fan" of the Hornets, I get to hear very little about what's going
on, so could someone answer the following questions for me?

Is there any more news on Kendall Gill?

What are the Hornets chances like for next season?

Who's on the squad?

Where would be the best place to write for more info. or merchandise?

Cheers very much,

Mike

    Haven't heard anything on Gill.
    
    Hornets have a good chance to compete for the division next year, from
    what I can tell.  Depends on where Gill ends up and who they get for
    him.
    
    Squad remains the same except they've drafted Greg Graham from Indiana
    and Scott Burrell from UConn.  Pat or Tom could tell you who they're
    probably replacing.
    
    I think the arena is what?  5 Hive Drive, Charlotte NC.  I don't have
    a Zip code for you.  

Mike,

Here's a_attempt:

>Is there any more news on Kendall Gill?

The latest on Gill is that he's trying to appeal to the Hornets fans and
convince them that he really isn't such a bad guy. He says he's
misunderstood just because he's trying to get outta Charlotte. When asked
why he wants to leave he says it's not about money and it's not about
ego.

To date the hottest rumor is that Gill will go to the LA Clippers for a
couple of their stiffs and Danny Manning will come to Charlotte for a
couple of theirs.

>What are the Hornets chances like for next season?

The Hornets will have the problem of being recognized as a good team. So
it will be much harder to sneak up on anyone. I think those days are gone
for as long as LJ and Zo are around. Also, the Hornets will have to avoid
what happened to Miami after they made the playoffs and sank into
oblivion the next year. Assuming the no Gill trade goes through and
he's around, the prospects look good. The immediate goal would be to host
the first round of playoffs.

>Who's on the squad?

There are 12 guaranteed contracts on the Hornets: guards Muggsy Bogues,
Dell Curry, Kendall Gill, Tony Bennett, and Kevin Lynch; forwards Larry
Johnson, Johnny Newman, Sidney Green and David Wingate; centers Alonzo
Mourning, Kenny Gattison and Mike Gminski. 

The Hornets drafted guard Greg Graham from Indiana and Scott Burrell
from Connecticut. The Hornets are very hopeful that both can make the
team. That leaves 14 people for 12 slots.

Charlotte may have got a break this week. Tony Bennett suffered a knee
injury and will have to have it scoped. There may be a chance that he
will start the season out on the injured list.

Of the current roster, the most likely to go is Kevin Lynch. However,
there are talks of trading Johnny Newman and/or talking Gminski into
retiring and moving upstairs. The ones mentioned in the possible Clippers
trade are Newman and Sidney Green. LA really would rather have Kenny
Gattison but the Hornets said no.

>Where would be the best place to write for more info. or merchandise?

Here's the Hornets info:

		Charlotte Hornets
		One Hive Drive
		Charlotte, NC 28217
		704-357-0252.

TTom

Great, thanks very much.

Would there be any chance of getting the results and main scorers posted during
the season, because the news is slow out here unless you've got satellite telly
(which I haven't)?

Once again, cheers,

Mike

Mike,

Drop me a line and let's set you up for Internet access. That way you can
read the box scores, standings and news on all the teams.

Unfortunately, I'm in and outta the office a lot and can't ::SPORT around
daily. You can be sure that I'll be active in this topic, though.

TTom

    The chances for the Hornets are *outstanding* for next season.  They
    picked up two *great* picks in the draft to complement a second-round
    playoff team already.  Orlando, Charlotte and New York are going to be
    neck and neck in the east.
    
    Steve 

More Kendall Gill rumors:

The Hornets and Gill's agent have set a deadline of settling Gill's
status with the Hornets by the end of this week. 

Charlotte is going all out to close what they think is the best deal
right now: Danny Manning for 2 Hornets and Gill for 2 Clippers. Their
second choice is Manning for Gill and another player. 2-for-1 deals are
now OK under the cap deals.

Outside of dealing with the Clippers, the Hornets next best hope of
dumping Gill is a trade with Seattle. Supposedly a deal has been
discussed that would send Dana Barros, Eddie Johnson and a #1 pick
(acquired from Philly) to Charlotte for Gill.

Meanwhile, back at the camp, people are starting to notice that none of
the players has spoken up for Gill. The thinking amongst the players is
that Gill is hurting the team chemistry and none have said anything
positivie about Gill. He's on his own as far as the team goes.

The question that begs is what happens to the team if'n it's stuck with
Gill for one more season. I know that the fans have shifted their
attention to Gill as the one they most love to hate. Since JR was shipped
outta town, the crowd hasn't latched onto another player to boo. Kelly
Tripucka played this role for a while. Kendall Gill certainly will be
booed loudly if and when he's introduced.

TTom

    YAKGN.
    
    
    - ACC Chris
    
    Yet
    Another
    Kendall
    Gill
    Note

    Seattle would be dumb for giving up all that for a an allstar
    wanna-be...
    
     Tim
      

  Pretty easy to understand, though, why Gill's teammates aren't backing
 him up on this. The Hornets gave the Knicks all they could handle before
 bowing out. These guys know just how good they can be. Gill has become an
 unnecessary ditraction a team with obvious championship potential. The sooner
 Charlotte ships him out the better for all involved.

    I think they would take the seattle deal first ?  2 players and a
    sure to be lottery pick from Seattle Via Philly ?  This would get
    rid of Gill add 2 decent players and give them a Real early pick
    in the first rnd draft next year.  If anything they should be
    overconfident with there drafting abilities after nailing Grandmama
    and Zo....?????
    
    Id take the seattle deal and continue to BUILD with AWSOME YOUTH :-)
    Theyve made the best move's out of the expansion teams (ya some luck)
    but they seem to keep getting better, now well have to see if they
    take the 2 steps forward one step back like Miami ????  but looking at
    there talant I wouldnt think so...
    
    Now I have to rething the East, I use to want to see Chicago and
    Atlanta in the eastern finals, now I guess I'll have to root for a
    Chicago VS Charlotte Finals, oh wait the winner would have to play
    some exhibition games against some west team before there the official
    Finals winners, just a formalaty.  (of course we now its 4peat time
    next june :-)..)

I see no reason why the Bulls won't win it all again. As long as Jordan
plays they're the team to beat.

The rest of the league is jockying for position. In the West, it's who's
gonna lose to Mike in the Finals. In the East, it's who's gonna lose to
Mike in the Eastern Conference finals. If'n lasted year's Knicks team,
with home court advantage can't do it, I don't see any other team doing
it this year in the East. Similarly, Phoenix with home court couldn't do
it either.

What is worth looking at is who's gonna be next, when Jordan quits. 

In the East, the league seems to want Charlotte and Orlando to duke it
out. With the acquisition of Penny Hardaway, Shaq should be able to
shoulder the load to take the Magic to the next level. Certainly
Orlando's fortunes should be on the rise.

Charlotte should be in a similar position: expected to get better. And
this is the rub with the Kendall Gill situation. Gill is one of the
ingredients to the team success. Deals that look attractive, such as the
rumored Seattle one with Barros-EJ-draft pick, really would be
a_immediate step back. 

But, risking crow cafe, I see Da Bulls winning it all, again.

TTom

    True to form, TTom cainnot enter a note in here without mentioning
    whats_his_name.
    
    Ugh,
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    Jordan recently said he needs a challenge to push the 4-peat attempt.  
    He probably has it now if he dedicates the season to his Dad.  Of
    course, he might also retire.  Something tells me he is pretty strong
    emotionally though.

If'n Jordan retires, all bets are off. The field would be wide open with
the likely nod going Phoenix. Based simply on the facts that they added
Joe Klien and got rid of Tommy Gun, they should be a better team. The big
question mark would be whether KJ concentrates on playing or continues to
spend energy on developing his thug image.

The East is even more wide open. The Knicks, with this current
assortment, have peaked in terms of what they can get out of this team.
The glaring weakness, Point Guard, has not been addressed. Doc Rivers
overachieved lasted year. Without improving this spot, it will be hard
for Ewing, Starks and the rest of the Knicks to improve.

As stated previously, Charlotte doesn't seem to quite ready to take the
leap. The Hornets biggest need for improvement is one of concentration.
They can't continue to lose to the Pacers while beating the Bulls or the
Knicks. Certainly, the distraction of the Kendall Gill situation hasn't
help. Orlando is a at least a couple of years away. They have yet to
prove that Penny and the Shaq really can work together and no one fades
any better late in a close game than the Latest New Coming, Shaq hisself.

Cleveland has shown they can't do it and Brad Duagherty's knees are
noticeably degenerating.

Any body see who might win it?

TTom

    Why would the charlotte to Seattle trade be a bad trade... Weather they
    have immediate use for either player the added bonus of another lottery
    pick has to be tempting.  Ok even if they trade for manning with the
    clippers can they beat the bulls ?  So with the seattle trade how much
    better do they get next year and then with the Philly pick and there
    own in next years draft just what can they add ?  Next year wont bring
    them the whole thing but if they look at over the next 2-3 yrs they
    could be the next Dynasty in the east.
    
    I guess Id need to know the entire team and where all there needs are
    and what Manning would add... Could then actually contend with the
    bulls for the east with the addition of Manning ? Or at least get to
    the eastern finals (weather they get swept out or not) ?  What would
    the seattle trade add this year (and lose this year) ?
    
    I think charlotte is in the best position of any of the young teams.
    They have a legitimate shot at there division, if they can overtake
    NY :-)  When's preseason start :-)
    
    								MaB

Camp starts early October. Preseason starts around the 15th.

I'm sure the Hornets would be glad to finish second to the Bulls in the
East.

TTom

    Where does Kendall Gill play in Seattle?  Will he back up Ricky Pierce?
    Will he take the starting PG job away from Gary Payton?  The answer to
    the last two questions is, of course, I don't think so!!!  I can't for
    the life of me understand why Seattle would want to take on this
    headache when it appears to me they just need to play together for 
    one more year and mature as a team to reach the NBA Finals.  They could
    use a scorer at SF if Eddie Johnson can't cut it anymore, but that's
    about it.
    
    And to give up potentially the #1 pick in the draft next year with
    Philly's #1 choice would be absurd.
    
    NAZZ

    TTom - thanks for the update.  Hope they make some type of deal
    this week.
    
    IMO, they prefer the LA trade
    	cuz Manning is a proven PT player...even on a crappy team.  
    	cuz they can get a stiff they can cut to make room for	
    		Graham/Burrell.
    	cuz Gill deserves the Clippers.
    
    The Seattle trade sounds very tempting...one big down side is it
    would bring yet another body in for contention of the last seat on
    the pine.
    
    Another thing to keep in mind is that LJ does have a ruptured disk
    that he's treating with therapy, etc.  If he has chronic back problems,
    the Hornets could be in deep sneakers and could easily fall to a
    fringe play-off team.  Manning gives them some depth and insurance
    at the big forward spot.
    
    Later,
    Pat

The Seattle deal seems almost too good in terms of helping the Hornets. 
Like Nazz, I don't see how it helps the Sonics.

As far as KJ goes, I used to be a big fan. That ended when I saw him
blind side and cheap shot other players coming down the court after
having positioned himself behind the refs. But more than not liking it, 
I think it takes away from the focus required for the PG position. 

Just like Kendall Gill, it's obvious to anyone that KJ can play. At times
he's all star level. But now that he's out to prove his testosterone
level he's only added to a_existing problem with concentration.

TTom

      I agree with Nazz on the Gill trade.  Good for Hornets, but bad for
    Sonics.
    
      As to Kj,  unless he gets that chip off his shoulder and focuses on
    being a PG,  he will not help win the chumpionchip for the Suns, 
    unless Jordan gets hurt, etc..
    
      Tim

    If the Suns get rid of Kempton, they won't get their ring!
    
    

    WBT radio and the Charlotte Observer are reporting that Kendall
    Gill is in the process of signing a seven year contract with the
    Hornets worth about $3.6 mil per year.
    
    The contract could be signed as early as Friday, but likely early
    next week.
    
    Once signed, the Hornets will trade Gill.
    
    The most likely scenario is Gill going to Seattle for Dana Barros,
    Eddie Johnson, and Philly's first round draft pick next year (which
    Seattle owns).
    
    Danny Manning's agent is aware of the pending Seattle deal and is
    working desperately to revive the deal with the Clippers that
    would bring Manning to Charlotte.  The hangup appears to be the
    seven year contract which is what Gill wanted.  The owner of the
    Clips (so far) has refused to consider signing any player to a 
    seven year deal.
    
    The Seattle deal would create a log jam at the guard and small
    forward spots.  If it happens, look for the Hornets to make another
    move.
    
    Stay tuned
    
    Pat

    I don't understand why Seattle wants Gill so badly to give up a lottery
    pick.

  It sounds like Seattle just wants that "final piece" that they feel 
 will enable them to go all the way. Charlottle will really make out like 
 fat rats on this deal. They'll probably keep Johnson and the pick and 
 ship Barros to whoever wants him. They might even package Johnson and 
 Barros to fill a more pressing need and keep the number one pick. Either
 way these guys are starting to look as wise and lucky as the Cowboys 
 look(ed) putting together their Super Bowl Champ.

    Gill will hardly be a final piece for Seattle though.  He's no better
    than what they have at both guard slots.

    I can kinda see Seattle's logic (but that don't mean I agree with it):
    
    	- Pierce and Johnson are both getting old.
    
    	- They have some (potential) young studs in Gary Peyton, Derrick
    	  McKey, Shawn Kemp to go along with Sam Perkins. 
    
    	- They don't want to hassle with signing and accomodating an
    	  early first round pick.  Could disrupt what they've got.
    
    Gill gives them a young, defensive minded 2-guard to go along 
    with what they got.  A change a scenery may be all he needs to
    get to the next level (like shooting 45% from the floor - oops, I'm
    sorry...couldn't resist).
    
    Pat

    Bottom line:  who would you rather have on your team, Kendall Gill or 
    Grant Hill?  Kendall Gill or Glenn Robinson?  Kendall Gill or Lawrence
    Moten (who I think will come out next spring)?  Heck, even Kendall Gill
    or Eric Montross?!?!?!?
    
    If I were the Sonics, I would think long and hard about this deal.
    
    NAZZ
    

    Nazz, take this to the bank: Lawrence Moten will do nothing in the
    pros.  Repeat, zilch.
    
    
    - ACC Chris
    

    Moten>Hurley
    
    Jimbo

    If Lawrence Moten were in the ACC he'd be considered an average guard,
    but in the talent-depleted BigLeast he's suddenly a lottery pick.
    
    Haw haw!!
    
    
    - ACC Chris

  I think a change of scenery may do Kendall Gill a world of good. He's
 going to a legit championship contender where he'll be able to make a
 significant contribution both as a defensive player on the best defen-
 sive team in the west (faint praise, I know) and he's also going to get
 what he feels are his share of shots which he felt he wasn't getting in
 Charlotte. As for whether or not he's worth a lottery pick, I don't know
 of any juniors, including the ones Nazz listed, that's a lead pipe cinch
 to be star especially not Montross.

    Grant Hill will be a star - take that to the bank.  Montross will have
    a very long NBA career and will probably be the first player taken in
    next years draft.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

If I werer the GM of seattle I'd peddle the pick for another pick until Jason
Kidd comes out. fat chance..I know...

Pierce is getting old but I don't see Gill being the shooting guard or the
playmaker that Seattle needs. 

They really need an outside bomber like Glenn Rice or a pure point guard like
John Stockton. They don't need another defensive player that can't throw a
brick in the ocean or create for the rest of the team (we've already got payton
to toss the inbounds pass to any number of forwards and stand back and watch
them).

I can't see making the trade...unless they are going to have real trouble
signing a lottery pick player..


Metz
 

> significant contribution both as a defensive player on the best defen-
> sive team in the west (faint praise, I know) and he's also going to get
    
    thought you could slip this by, you varmint.  Actually this defies
    logic.  If defense wins championships, Seattle can't be the best
    defensive team in the west.

why not?

Nobody in the west won the championship ergo you can defend the statement that
any team has the best defense in the west...


Metz

ain't no such thing...

There is champion and losers....Bulls fall into the first category, suns and
everybody else into the latter...


Metz

    No losers are Dallas, Sacramento, Minnesota, etc.  The Suns, Sonics,
    and Knicks are challengers.

    If only Gill was as half as good as he thinks he is....
    
    
    REK

Spencer Stolpen, the Hornets President, is being very public about how
everyone might have the wrong idea of what is happening with regard to
the signing and trading of Gill.

First off, as of this morning, Gill has not signed the contract. Only if
and when he signs will Charlotte be able to wheel and deal. The supposed
contract is 7 years for 26.6 mil.

Gill is now saying that once he signs this deal, he wants to stay in
Charlotte. He says this is really what he wants to do but he's being
misunderstood. Gill would not commit to what he'd do if'n he's traded
after he signs. 

The Hornets then stressed that they will consider any and all options
about Gill and about what happens with what they get for Gill. Stolpen
mentioned the Seattle deal, Danny Manning and even some deal with Philly
for Jeff Hornacek.

As for the supposed Seattle deal, I like it! Who wouldn't except for the
Seattle fans ;-). I like the idea of Barros at back up point. Eddie
Johnson hopefully will take some pressure off Dell Curry by giving us
another gun. It would also mean that Johnny Newmans' days with the
Hornets are numbered.

Now the real bonus is the probable lottery pick which used to belong to
Philly. This is the last year of contracts for Mike Gminski, Sidney Green
and Newman. That frees up somewhere between 2.5 and 3 mil which puts
Charlotte in a_excellent position to sign a top pick.

As for who this pick might be I'd rather have Grant Hill than Eric
Montross both because of the current makeup of the Hornets. Also Grant
has the potential to be a real star. I agree with the assessment that
Montross could have a long career but hey we got NBA teams arguing over
Chris Dudley. At 7 feet, Montross is a commodity no matter how slow he
is, which he is. Moten is a ways away from the NBA.

But remember, all of this is still somewhat speculation.

TTom

    Lawrence Moten will be a star in the NBA.  He'll become what Gill
    wishes he could be:  an off guard with can shoot, penetrate, rebound,
    and play defense, and do it all with in a team concept.
    
    I'm no fan of Syracuse or the Big East, but it's easy to recognize the
    real thaing, and Moten is it.
    
    NAZZ

I'll admit that I am a very poor judge of predicting how college players
will do in the NBA. About the classic example is that I gave Mark Price
little or no chance to make it at all, much less start or be a star.

In terms of what Moten might be, I'll adopt a wait and see. 

TTom

    Fortunately TTom I usually have a sixth sense where NBA talent
    evaluation is concerned.
    
    Take it from me: Moten is overachieving in an underachieving league.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

Chris, your second sentence didn't address your first or the issue at
hand, which is Moten in the NBA.

We all know that you go outta you're way to bad mouth the Big East at any
and all opportunities but stick to the point.

But how's Moten gonna do in the NBA?

TTom

    Beg to differ TTom.  My first sentence established myself as the solid
    talent evaluator that I am.  The 2nd sentence was a fancy way of
    saying:
    
    "Moten's NBA Career Projection?  *WHAT* NBA Career???"
    
    
    - ACC Chris

>    ... My first sentence established myself as the solid
>    talent evaluator that I am.  

How appropriate that this comment comes in the Topic wherein our inerrant
friend cautioned the Hornets to not draft Larry Johnson. 

I can do that good.

TTom

    re: .406
    
    > cautioned the Hornets to not draft Larry Johnson
    
    TTom you oughta audition for a spot on 60 minutes, yer so good at
    editing and cutting and pasting and obfuscating.
    
    The FACT of the matter is, I predicted Larry Johnson would be a
    big-time pro who'd bring his lunch pail to work with him in the NBA 
    for a very long time.  
    
    I did suggest Mutombo might be the better choice given the rarity of
    quality big men, but the Hornets incompetence and sheer luck allowed
    them to get another Gougetown big main and they look like geniuses.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    The Hornets held a 6:00 pm press conference Saturday to announce
    that Gill had signed a 7 yr contract worth a rumored $26 mil.
    There were no balloons, no live reports, no Gill.  Just a 
    quiet announcement ('cuz he won't be here long.)
    
    One clause in the contract gives the Hornets the right to cut
    Gill by September 15 with no money owed.
    
    The contract is expected to be approved by the league today clearing
    the path for a trade.
    
    Two clubs reportedly called the Hornets Saturday to discuss Gill's
    availability.  More calls are expected today.
    
    Sounds like the Seattle deal is the fallback if the Hornets can't
    get anything better (like Manning, Hawkins, or Hornacek).
    
    Pat

    Ok which deal gives the hornets a legitmate shot at the Eastern Finals
    and asuming chicago is there foe do any of these deals give them a 
    shot at overtaking Chicago's Reign on the East.
    
    I just think if none of these trades give them enough this year they
    should consider the Seattle trade (Because of the pick).  I just dont
    see philly doing anything this year other then winning alot of balls
    :-)....
    
    I havnt heard any future news on Kukoc or (portland's new center)'s
    contracts ????
    							MaB

No deal will put Charlotte into a position to overtake the Bulls this
season, but the right deal could put them into a position to have a
dominant team for the rest of the decade.  I still think their best
bet is the Seattle deal.  Johnson and Barros help them replace Gill's
offense this season, and then you hope you get lucky with the lottery
pick.

Ken

 Since when did the lottery become a matter of luck????

 mike

    > Since when did the lottery become a matter of luck????
    
    These are the kinds of statements we've come to expect and love from
    you mike.
    
    Keep it up!
    
    Haw haw haw ................
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    The Hornets future is riding on LJ's (sore) back.

Updates on Kendall Gill:

The Hornets and Gill have signed the contract and it's been sent to the
league for approval. Neither side expects any problems. It's a standard
resigning of a current player.

Next, it looks more and more like the Seattle deal is coming down.
Barros, EJ and the probable lottery pick comes to town for Gill.

Then the fun begins. Today's local paper is reporting that the 76ers and
the Hornets are close to a_agreement that would send Barros, either
Sidney Green or Johnny Newman, and the #1 pick that originally belonged
to them for Hersey Hawkins. This is legal under the salary cap this year
in that it swaps 2 slots for 1 and the result is close to a wash in terms
of the cap. Philly had been working with Seattle on a trade to get this
pick back but were unable to close anything.

I'd like to see Barros stay. He'd make the team easily ahead of backup
PG Tony Bennett and really help out resting Mugssy. It looks like EJ will
be gone as soon as the dust clears. There's a clause that allows the
Hornets to cut him and have Seattle pick up half of his guaranteed
contract. His problem is too many guaranteed contracts. He won't be the
only one in camp who gets gone, though.

More as it happens.

TTom

>    The Hornets future is riding on LJ's (sore) back.
    
    Makes you wonder if there is some sort of conspiracy involving Larrys,
    bad backs, and hotel room doors.

    I dont like the Hawkins deal either, I hope if Charlotte gets Philly's
    pick they hold onto it....
    
    Again the other thing to remeber is that Charlotte doesnt really want
    gill....... They have nothing to lose.... Take the best deal and run,
    and with the way theyve drafted the thought of having a lottery pick
    has to be extremly inviting... Of course, lets say the get Phillys
    pick, now lets just say it lands them the #1 pick in the draft, can
    they afford to Pay that player ??? With ALonzo and LJ's salaries ???
    Just curious... The cap has to always be in the back of there minds.
    
    								MaB

    I like the idea of bringing in Hawkins.  The Hornets desperately
    need an outside shot.  Bogues isn't the answer, and Curry is
    streaky and somewhat of a defensive liability.  (Curry is a great
    guy to come in off of the bench though.)
    
    Until the Hornets get a good outside shooter, teams will continue to
    collapse on LJ and Alonzo and limit their effectiveness. 
    
    Hawkins will force the other guys to play more honest D.  He is
    a legitimate outside shooter that doesn't demand a lot of attention.
    
    Giving up that Philly draft pick hurts a little, but the Hornets 
    will have Graham and Burrell to develop.  It also positions them
    better for the Danny Manning sweepstakes (with a likely bump in
    the salay cap, and Giminski/Newman/E.Johnson contract expirations).
    
    Pat

    So they could make the seattle trade, then make the Philly trade
    (get a excellent outside shooter) and then next year still go after
    Manning Via Free Agency....Wooo this is scary.  If that all worked
    out they would definatly be picking up where chicago leaves off.
    
    When does Jordan Retire anyways ;-)
    
    Maybe there's a better deal in the works after the seattle trade that
    we dont know about :-)
    
    								MairB

    
    >> When does Jordan retire?????
    
    I heard on Jimmy Meyers a couple o' nights ago that Mikey's "hinted"
    (to a few close friends) that thisted might be his lasted year.  The
    death of his father and the inuendoes the press made as to the cause of
    death really upset him and he's getting tired of living in the
    spotlight and under a microscope.  JM said that MJ won't be as
    accessable to the press as he used to be (post-game stuff I guess) and
    he might just want to chuck it all.
    
    Soooooo,  maybe he could be gone nexted July?
    
    I remain,
    yer speculative reporter
    Kev
    

    I beleive his current contract does indeed expire after the 94-95 
    season, not sure if there's any legal reason's why he couldnt retire.
    But his original plan was to retire after the 94-95 season, buy his
    own team and play a few years for his own team (I beleive a european
    team).
    
    I guess he could retire after next season and still buy a team and play
    as long as it wasnt an NBA team ?????
    
    The bulls will be in a rebuild situation again if he retire's.  Look at
    the first Championship team, after next year most of them could be
    gone.
    
    Cartwirght, has to retire soon... Paxson not as effective as he use to
    be and has already been replaced in the starting lineup.  Grant Free
    Agent (who knows), jordan retire's ??? Would leave Only Pippen from the
    first championship team ...Could be a series drop in the standings for
    the Bulls...
    
    								MairB

	I think Charlotte should keep the 1st round pick from Philly. Use
this pick for the best PG available in that slot. Since its Philly's pick
if they finish in the bottom 3, the worst the pick would be #5. Maybe
someone like a Jason Kidd would be available at #5.
	Muggsy is a good PG, but I think his lack of height hurts the
Hornets in the half court offense. When trying to dish the ball to LJ or
Mourning in the low post. He has to put a lot of arc on the passes, to get
them over the defenders head.  This extra time for the pass to get there
gives the defence more time to setup the double team. It works vise-versa
when Muggsy is on defence. The other team can dump down in the low post
easier because of his height. They get the pass inside over his head
easier, then on someone who his 6' 2".

Ron

The trade talks to get rid of Kendall Gill continue but nothing has been
closed. Seattle remains almost a lock as do the talks with the Sixers
concerning Hersey Hawkins.

The big event today comes from L.A. Danny Manning, through his agent, Ron
Grinker, has lambasted the Clippers for not trading him to Charlotte for
Gill. Grinker told the Clippers in no uncertain terms that he would
actively block any and all trades they pursued with Manning. Grinker
further stated that he hopes to be in Charlotte next July 1 to open and
close a deal for becoming a Hornet. In fact, Manning won't even take
other offers from other teams until talking with the Hornets.

TTom

  The Globe has reported the Gill to Seattle deal has already consummated.
 It's Johnson, Barros and the '94 no.1 to Charlotte for Gill. I hope for
 Seattle's sake that they didn't just do basketball's version of the Herschel
 Walker trade. I also agree with the noter a couple of notes back that Muggsy
 is a scrapper but not a great PG. He's too small and virtually no threat
 to score going to the basket. If Charlotte can fill that PG spot they're 
 gonna cause some serious agita around the league.

    Saw the article in the Observer today.  Nice comments by Grinker
    trashing the Clippers.  Also good to see that Manning will be
    on the Hornets doorstep come July 1 looking for a contract.
    
    I wonder if his comments will pursuade the Clippers to rethink
    their decision ASAP and change their mind?  
    Naa, I don't think so either.
    
    Pat

    Would the Bugs rather have Hawkins instead of Hornacek?  Since both can
    only shoot off a screen, I'd rather have Hornacek.  He's much more
    consistent.  
    
    Mike

    In other local news
    
    	o  The Charlotte Knights (AAA farm club of the Cleveland Indians)
    	   won the International League (Western division) pennant
    	   finishing a few games ahead of the Richmond Braves.
    
    	o  About 48,000 "personal seat licenses" have been sold for
    	   the Carolina Panthers.  The money will be used to finance
    	   most of the new stadium WHEN Charlotte is awarded an NFL 
    	   franchise this fall.
    
    	o  That the Charlotte Checkers will begin play soon as a
    	   member of the East Coast Hockey League.  They are affiliated
    	   with the Boston Bruins.
    
    	Pat

At this point there is still no deal. Doesn't mean it's not forthcoming,
just that it ain't happened yet.

And I got me one of them "personal seat licenses". 

TTom

Interesting threat from Grinker, but does Manning have a no-trade
clause in his contract?  If not, there's nothing Grinker can do to
block a trade.

Also, if his motivation was in trying to get Manning traded for
Gill, he didn't do himself any favors.  After all, if you're telling
the world that Manning will give Charlotte first crack at signing
him as an unrestricted free agent next July, then why the hell should
Charlotte trade something for him now when they can get him for
free in nine months?  After all, isn't Hawkins (or lottery pick)
plus Manning greater than just Manning?

Ken

Manning is in the driver position here because of the qualifying offer
between him and the Clippers. In terms of trades this means is equivalent
to not having a contract. As was shown in the Gill situation, you can't
trade without a current contract.

I agree with the logic from the Hornets' perspective and maybe that
factored into their decision to not deal with the Clippers, if indeed
they had any say in the matter. From reports, I infer that the failure of
the Manning-Gill trade was caused by the Clippers and not the Hornets.

Right now, assuming that Gill is gone, the Hornets need some outside
scoring. Hawkins or Hornacek would fill the bill. Adding Manning next
year would be even more gravy.

TTom

      I thought St.Louis and Baltimore were the locks for NFL teams?
    
      Tim

From what I've heard, St. Louis is the lock. According to the "rules"
that would eliminate Memphis cause they be too close.

Jacksonville has fallen on troubled times in its pursuit and looks like
they've eliminated themselves, assuming they were ever in contention.

That leaves Charlotte without a stadium up against Baltimore which should
not be considered cause they're too close to Washington but are anyway.

The best thing Charlotte has is this competition is that they've sold out
the luxury boxes on which the NFL has placed a premium. And of course
they still benefit from the banking largesse shown to the league a couple
of years ago during the strike.

TTom

    Hornacek's gotta be 30 or 31. 
    Hawkins 26 or 27.
    
    I think Hornacek's the better player, but age could be a
    differentiating factor.
    
    Hornacek may not be available....or not available at the same asking price.
    
    Just one man's opinion.

    DOBs:
    
    Hawkins - 9/29/65
    Hornacek - 5/6/63
    
    NAZZ

    The Charlotte - Seattle deal went down yesterday afternoon.
    
    Charlotte gets Seattle's top draft pick next year, Dana Barros, 
    Eddie Johnson, and future considerations.
    
    Seattle gets Kendall Gill and Charlotte's first round pick next year.
    
    Charlotte is indeed talking to Philly about acquiring Hawkins (or 
    Hornacek).   The deal was rumored to include Barros, Sidney Green,
    and the Seattle pick for Hawkins.  Sources close to the Hornets
    say that Philly is now asking that Charlotte throw in Greg Graham
    as part of the deal.
    
    IMO, Philly is now asking for too much.  Both sides are apparently
    still talking, so something may still get worked out (as early as
    today).
    
    Charlotte now has 13 guaranteed contracts and 2 unsigned picks:
    	Guards: 	Bogues, Bennett, Curry, Barros, E.Johnson, Lynch
    	Forwards:	Newman, Wingate, LJ, Green
    	Centers:	Zo, Gattison, Giminski
    
    Unsigned:	Graham, Burrell
    
    
    Lynch is history.
    
    Doing a 2-for-1 deal would free up another slot.
    
    Doing a 3-for-1 deal would free two slots and basically set the roster
    at 12.

    Did Charlotte aquire *Seattle's* firsted round draft choice, or was it
    *Philly's*, as the rumors reported?  Whichever it was, it seems like a
    pretty even deal, much more so than the Gill for Barros, Johnson and
    Phlly's #1, which was the earlier rumor.
    
    =Bob=

    Charlotte has the right to swap their '94 first round draft choice
    with Seattle's BEST first round draft choice.
    
    Right now, Seattle owns their own '94 pick, plus Phoenix's or
    Philly's (whichever is better).  In all likelihood, they will
    end up with Philly's pick.
    
    Charlotte will then swap picks with Seatlle, picking up that
    Philly pick, but giving up their own.
    
    A bit complicated.
    
    Basically, Charlotte had to give up their first round pick - which
    will probably be a mid-late first rounder.  They also pick up
    some insurance in case Philly wins the title and/or Seattle or
    Phoenix sucks.  Not likely, but I guess you never say never.
    
    We're swapping picks, but at this stage, we're not sure which one
    we're swapping for.
    
    Pat

>    some insurance in case Philly wins the title and/or Seattle or
>    Phoenix sucks.  Not likely, but I guess you never say never.
    
    yeah Phoenix will suck.  Shoot, they were lucky last year.  NBA teams
    rolled over for them 62 times.  Sir Charles didn't deserve the MVP. 
    They never play defense and didn't belong in the playoffs, let alone
    the finals.  They won't even make the playoffs this year.

 That there entry answers the question, "why is there still a 'Whining
 Sore Loser' note?". Get over it, Mike.

    That question will never be answered.  I'm over it and was totally
    honest in that note.  

The seattle paper today says that the Sonics view the trade for Gill as a
lottery pick for a lottery player with 3 years experience. They were looking to
shorten their bench because there aren't enough minutes to go around.

EJ was already told he would have a diminished role and he voiced his
displeasure. Later eddie....
Charlotte supposedly didn't even want Eddie but seattle made them take him.
They might just end up releasing him. 

Barros had lost his shot last season and was a defensive liability in the karl
system. He's pretty sure he won't end up in charlotte. Good Luck Dana..Does his
mother still work for DEC?

I can't say that I'm enthralled with the trade but Karl wanted another player
to run the wing because Johnson and Pierce couldn't keep up over an entire
game. Pierce is supposedly excited about moving back into the 6th man slot
where he won 6th man of the year twice.

Seattle knows that are getting a scorere with Gill but not a shooter. They'll
have to rely on Pierce and Perkins for the outside bomb and hope that Payton
will continue to expand his range.

The Sonics won't score a ton of points this season and it will be very crowded
in the paint but they'll be the best defensive team in teh West (faint praise I
know) and one of the top 2-3 defensive teams in the league and will have to win
on transition...

I just hope nobody gets hurt and makes them rue the decreased depth....

Metz

  At least Seattle was wise enough to keep a first round pick for 1994.
 They may get lucky in what figures to be a weak draft and find a diamond
 in the rough. Unless the pick that they traded is in the top four or so,
 I don't think the player taken will be of the quality of Kendall Gill and
 even if it is it's a crapshoot. I like this trade from the Sonics stand
  point. All Seattle needs now is for Sean Kemp to take the (for him) in-
 evitable step from all-star to superstar and this team will take the West
 this year asnd give that conference it's best shot at a title in years.

Actually I think the Sonics have 2 first round picks next year. Theirs and the
philly one which will probably end up being the Charlotte one because they
swapped picks on this deal not traded one...

At least that's how I read it in the paper but it was outside and the sun was
shining and I was thinking about other things at the time, like getting a hair
cut, picking up supplies to paint the house over labor day weeknd, I mean
that's why they call it labor day right? I could go into the city for
Bumbershoot and see the violent femmes and a bunch of other cool bands but I'd
rather be at home painting the house, sure I would, just like I enjoyed moving
2 yards of drain rock and 5 yards of bark mulch last weekend instead of going
waterskiing or playing golf or going on a picnic......

SNAP...

Don't mind me it's finally summer out here and I'm trying to cram a summer
worth of projects into 2 weekends...I won't even get into having to fence in
teh back yard in order for my wife to get her daycare license....


Metz

    I think Charlotte will almost definatly end up with a top 4 pick. 
    Philly is in total rebuild mold, shawn bradley hasnt played in 2+
    years... I cant see 4 teams finishing with a record lower then
    Philly, a few of last years celler dwellers appeared to have improved
    in the off season, so it will become luck of the lotto game to see
    wher PHilly ends up pickin... I hope charlotte turns it into the #2
    or #3 pick (It cost too much for a #1, and C+F spots are looking good)
    
    They will be a very intresting team in the near (NEAR) future...
    Now if jordan stays around for a few years they could be the classic
    eastern finals battle for a few years :-)
    
    							MairB

    Go Sonics!  Claim your birthright to the West!
    
    Metz, my wife is getting her license today.

According to this morning's papers, Charlotte has agreed to throw Greg
Graham into the mix.  So it comes down to Hawkins for Dana Barros, Sidney
Green, Greg Graham, and the lottery pick!  That's giving up too much for
one good shooting guard.

Ken

    All of this just to get Manning Next year ???? I hope it works out for
    them, I wouldnt give up the Pick....
    								MaB

    Scott Burrell signed today.
    

Hail, you leave town for a couple of days and all manner of it happens.

So let's see what we've got here now that the dust has settled at least
temporarily.

First, Kendall Gill is now the property and problem of George Karl
and the Sonics.

Next the first, plus or minus draft picks and players, Hersey Hawkins is
now in Charlotte.

Next the next, Scott Burrell signs with the Hornets.

The roster now includes 13 guaranteed contracts: 

	G	Muggsy, Hawkins, Dell Curry, Tony Bennett, David Wingate
	F	LJ, Burrell, Johnny Newman, EJ, Kevin Lynch
	C	Zo, Kenny Gattison, Mike Gminski

This should put the Hornets back to looking at setting Lynch free.
However, the extent of knee injury to Tony Bennett hasn't been determined
so he might start the season on the injured list.

The net of all this is that Charlotte lost Gill and Sidney Green from
last year's squad and added Hawkins and EJ, from trades, and Burrell,
from the draft.

The possible holes in this scenario include who can really back up Bogues
at the point (Bennett played adequately but never showed he could really
run the team) and who goes in a bangs with the big guys a la Sidney
Green.

Personally, I'll take a "maybe" and a "what if" to get rid of Kendall
Gill.

TTom

Some local news:

The Hornets have started construction of a practice facility south o' the
border. York County, SC, made a few concessions about owner George
Shinn's baseball field (AAA Charlotte Knights) and Shinn promised to
build a gym down there. In the finest of American traditions, the county
had to threaten to sue before Shinn would start.

Speaking of the Knights, they went up 2-1 in the International League
finals.

And in football, the Panthers have negotiated a_agreement with Clemson to
use their Death Valley stadium for 95, which would be the first year of
play if'n they get the franchise. This, of course, limits the fan
"participation" in that you can't sell alceehol in SC on Sundays. No way,
no how.

TTom

Thump, thump, thump...

Those bible thumpers sure rule politics down that-a-way, eh?

I'm sure that new Bocho R-rated cop show is going to garner all sorts of
attention.

Metz

>I'm sure that new Bocho R-rated cop show is going to garner all sorts of
>attention.

There's a girl from my hometown who's going to have a part in that show.
Her name is Amy Brennaman.

I used to play in the pit for summer shows in town, and she was a few
years behind me in school.  She had quite a few of the leads....

So anyway, there was this article about her in the local paper.

I'm going to watch it to see if I can recognize her....


'Saw

Right you are Metz.

I found out about the no likker thang when I went down to see a Knights
game on a Sunday and tried to get a beer. They said no beer. I said no
way and left. Ain't been back on a Sunday since. How can I exercise my
right to CHOOSE to drink beer if'n I don't have not choice ;-).

And about NYPD Blue, the local affiliate was caved in and announced they
wouldn't show it. Last week, for some reason, they reversed this and said
they were going to show it with the new warnings. Now, the local
religious right is organizing pickets, boycotts and all manner of
threats.

Reminds me of the George Carlin routine about a radio [or a TV] being a
great gadget cause it's got two knobs on it: one turns the channel and
the other turns if off.

TTom

    FWIW, the Dallas Cowboys homegames are played in a dry county, thus no
    beer is sold inside the stadium.  The fans still show up.

Are there clubs in Dallas Stadium?

One minor concession the locals (NC) have made is to allow alcohol sales
on Sunday beginnng at noon instead of 1pm. The NFL is petitioning the
city, county and state to move that to 11 am so they can offer pre-game
events.

TTom

    Hmm, JJ could lower ticket prices, then revenue from food would be a
    higher percentage of total revenue.
    
    The Crazy Met
    

Tha's one of the anlges that can be worked in SC. It's my understanding
that when the Knights field was built, they had a_opportunity to get a
private club license which would both exempt them from dealing with
food-to-likker type constraints, as well as allowing for beer on Sunday.

I don't think the NFL team will be allowed to do this since Clemson is a
state school and the stadium is state property.

TTom

      No beer at a football game?  How un-a-merican!!!  And thats americas
    team?  Is the government in charge of this?
    
      Take in pints or something like that.  A pint of Jack Daniels and go
    buy one of their colas and you have chaser!
    
      HTH,
    
      Tim

    How many college stadiums serve alcoholic beverages?  Last I heard,
    Sun Devil Stadium didn't for ASU's games.  The Cards had to get a
    special exemption a couple years ago to serve the stuff for their
    games.

I think the ACC bans it for everyone in the league. 

I enquired into the NCAA about this when the regionals were here and they
say it's up to the host school to make the determination. Here in
Charlotte, the regionals are hosted by UNC-Charlotte and they adopted the
ban on alcohol as a local decision.

About the onliest place to get beer and college hoops are in the big
arenas like Madison Square Gardens, etc. I think Thomas & Mack servers
beer for UNLV.

TTom

    Now what all this string has to do wif the Harlotte Shorenuts I'll
    never know but......
    
    I've ben to several college football and BBall games and have never
    seen alcoholic beverages served. Makes the tailgaiting that mo' sweet.
    And besides, y'all ever been to a college tailgate??  Why neither
    alums nor students could pronounce their own name, never mind order
    a beer.
    
    And do what we do in lonely cold South Bend... Buy sveral Garcia Vega
    cigar packages, throw out(or smoke quickly) the ceegars and fill
    the plastic containers wif the poison of your choice.
    
    HTH and works every time,
    MikeL
    

    
    	You can buy beahs at Folsom Field (CU Buffs) until the
    	end of the 3rd quarter.
    
    Claybone

>                 -< thumping bibles has nothing to do with it >-

Actually, back to the point that I brought up originally, it has a lot to
do with it, namely SC won't let you serve alcohol on Sunday.

The issue of beer at college games, as mentioned previously, is mostly
controlled by the school or conference.

TTom

    Hornets gave up a bunch for Hersey Hawkins (Bristow calls him
    "Hershey"...maybe he knows something we don't).
    
    In the long run, it could be a good move as it should leave
    the Hornets in great financial position next summer to grab
    at least one free agent.
    
    We all know that Manning's name is at the top of the list.
    But what if he goes elsewhar or gets injured?
    
    Other names that I've heard as being unrestricted free agents 
    (next year) include
    	Horace Grant
    	Harvey Grant
    	Detlef Schrempf.
    
    Detlef in teal sounds real intriguing to me!
    
    We're about 3 weeks away from training camp, right?
    
    Pat

    How's Grandmama's back?

    Haven't heard much about granny's back lately.  LJ hosted a
    charity hoop game a few weeks back and didn't play (because of
    his back).  I think everyone's hoping for the best...but won't
    know fer sur until camp starts.
    
    Pat

    If LJ's bad back turns out to be career threatening, cain I assume
    everyone will start singing my accolades 'bout how they should've
    taken Mutombo?  (After all, bad luck should be weighed equally with
    good.)
    
    Just wonderin'.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

Chris, 

>    If LJ's bad back turns out to be career threatening, cain I assume
>    everyone will start singing my accolades 'bout how they should've
>    taken Mutombo?  

No.

> (After all, bad luck should be weighed equally with
>    good.)

Chapter 1, Excuse Bible. I concede that you're a_expert on this writ of
whining.

TTom

The "Dream Team 2" has been mostly picked. Heading the team will be LJ
and Zo. 

USA Basketball has announced the team to play in next summer's World
Championshiops.

Also on the team: Shaq, 'Nique, Derrick Coleman, Joe Dumars, Mark Price,
Steve Smith, Dan Majerle and Tim Hardaway.

TTom

    What?! Slumber Dan is on Dream Team II?!  What do the experts know that
    folks in here don't know?!

   That the team needed another American born white guy for ultimate 
  marketability. You really don't think those are the best ten players
  in the league do you?

    So you're saying that the NBA marketing folks are racists?  If you
    subtract Dream Team I, those are pretty close to being the next top 10.

    As long as we're gonna give Majerle a chance for redemption why not put
    Hershey Hawkins on the team as well.
    
    Neither one of 'em could hit the broad side of a barn from the
    perimeter, which is the singular reason the '88 team embarassed all of
    us.
    
    :^(
    
    
    - ACC Chris

>    What?! Slumber Dan is on Dream Team II?!  What do the experts know that
>    folks in here don't know?!

If'n you mean this Topic, this noter is pretty big on Dan. Always have
been. The problem with Dan is not with Dan but with some of the hype. I
think it's a little ironic that KJ didn't make the team. He was one of
the ones mentioned most for being left off of the Olympic squad.

The choice that I didn't care much for was Dominique. It looks like this
is a reward for past efforts in the NBA. Personally, I'd rather see
Horace Grant or Nick Anderson.

TTom

>        -< Where were Dan's long range 3's in 1988 when we needed 'em? >-
    
    the same place they were his first 2 seasons as a pro.

    KJ refused because of his tender hams.  He doesn't need the extra
    mileage.

  >> So you're saying that the NBA marketing folks are racists?  If you
  >> subtract Dream Team I, those are pretty close to being the next top 10.

     Marketing played as large a part in picking this team as DT 1. You're 
     not going to tell me Dennis Rodman is more marketable than all-american 
     boy Dan Majerle are you? Even if he *is* ten times the player. Majerle's 
     more deserving than Isaiah? Or Clyde Drexler? Or Sean Kemp? Or anyone of 
     ten other players that were passed over. Don't get me wrong, Majerle
     isn't the only player who doesn't deserve to be on that team just the
     most glaring example of marketing over basketball acumen. Dominique is
     a close second.

yabbut, Dominique has done a lot in his time in the league, far more than
Majele ever has.

The Crazy Met

>     not going to tell me Dennis Rodman is more marketable than all-american 
>     boy Dan Majerle are you? Even if he *is* ten times the player. Majerle's 
    
    Well I thing you need to remember in the marketing mode:  these folks
    are representing the product of the NBA to the world.  Those that will
    best reflect the product will be selected.  We're talking a combination
    of image and talent here.  There's no denying that Rodman is a
    headcase, despite his talents.  His off-court actions over the last couple
    seasons and the Larry Bird incident sealed his own non-selection.
    
>     more deserving than Isaiah? Or Clyde Drexler? Or Sean Kemp? Or anyone of 
    
    Isiah was passed over for Dream Team I for the same reasons that Rodman
    will never be selected.  Clyde was on Dream Team I.  Sean Kemp doesn't
    even play the same position as Majerle so that is irrelevant.  I agree
    that Kemp deserves a chance.  'Nique is probably a sentimental selection
    (age factor) as Bird was last time.  Kemp will be on the next team for
    sure.
    
    Mike

I believe they're going to parallel the Olympic team and have tryouts to
pick one more pro and one college hoopster.

TTom

    Think Dan would be there if Reggie were still alive?
    

    I don't know if anyone can answer that, if Reggie were alive + healthy
    + cleared to play.  He certainly would be deserving of the selection.

    Re. 55.484:
    
    Hey Mike - are you tryin' to tell us somebody really axed KJ to play,
    and he turned them down?????????????
    
    Yeah, right!
    
    NAZZ
    
    

Too busy working on his next 'Mr. Goody Two Shoes' commercial.

Ken

    The Happiest Man In Charlotte Today - Larry Johnson.
    	Yesterday he signed a new, 12 year contract worth a reported
    	$84 mil.  LJ made it known last year that he loved the city
    	and wanted to play his whole career here - a refreshing 
    	attitude in a time of mass player movement for the sake
    	of making an extra buck.  The Hornets accomodated.
    
    The Second Happiest Man In Charlotte Today - Alonzo Mourning.
    	He knows his day is coming!
    
    More later,
    Pat

 Obviously the reports of LJ's bad back were just a bad rumor. I heard
 that the whole contract is quaranteed. WOW! Then again in this day and
 age they'll probably be ripping it up in two years to do another one
 cause somehow LJ won't be able to live on 7 mil.....

 mike

    re-1
    
      I didn't know they quaranteed contracts;^)

    >> ...ton of money.
    
    Yes, but he's made a commitment to one city, one team.  He'll retire
    here and not ever be eligible for free agency.
    
    A few other notes:
    	o  Johnson (herniated disk) was cleared to play by physicians
    	   last week
    
    	o  The contract is insured against a career-ending injury.
    
    	o  It is not a continuously escalating contract.  It goes up
    	   for several years, then decreases in the late years - allowing
    	   the Hornets more flexibility in signing players as LJ's talent
    	   declines.
    
    	o  Shawn Bradley's contract, as the #2 overall pick in the '93
    	   draft is more than double what Johnson signed for as the #1 pick
    	   in the '91 draft.  (Keep that in mind as you project market
    	   values 6-8 years out.)
    
    	o  The fee George Shinn paid for the Hornets franchise was $32 mil.
    
    	o  "What he should do is immediately go feed India or Somalia or
    	    something"...Frank Layden.
    
    	o  The contract extension does not affect team payroll for the
    	   next two years still allowing the Hornets to (hopefully) sign a 
    	   premier free agent next summer (Manning, Schrempf, Grant).
    
    Definitely a gamble.  Time will tell if this was a good business 
    decision by the Hornets.  No guts, no glory.
    
    Pat

    	If he plays like he should Grandmama's contract will be
    renegotiated upward before the 12 years are up.  Guaranteed.
    
    				/Don

      Do they really think that Lj can play 12 more years?  Char-lott
    (whomever signed him) must be on some ludes.
    
      Tim

  Larry Johnson is a solid player and perennial all-star but if you pay him
 that kind of dough what do you pay Alonzo who *really* is the franchise? It
 was Alonzo who ate us (Celtics) alive last year and Alonzo who gave Patrick
 Ewing all he could handle and may have even outplayed Ewing in last year's
 playoffs. It's Alonzo who will be the driving force behind any Hornet run 
 at a title. Johnson is a fine player but like Charles Barkley he's incapable
 of carrying a team to a title. Alonzo's shoulders are much bigger though.
 They could have gotten Johnson or a reasonable facsimile for a lot less than 
 they did.

 but with IDGAFF attitude you can't market Alonzo like LJ. Get with it
 Tommy, marketing is everything in the NBA......

 Given Ewing makes 9.4 mil and Zo ate him up Zo should be a 10 million
 dollar man soon............

 mike

    The Hornets are already talking about offering Zo a similar
    contract extension.  It'll probably be next summer at the earliest
    before any serious talks begin.
    
    Zo is definitely a big contributor, however he doesn't have
    the leadership qualities that Larry has (yet).  IMO, Larry is
    helping to push these guys to the next level - Alonzo included.
    
    He's the guy that calls the team meetings when times are tough
    and tells his boys when they're doing good and bad.  He stood
    up for Gattison (Chief, Jr) when trade rumors circulated; he
    (supposedly) cleared the air privately with the team and Gill
    last year about the his (Gill's) situation.
    
    While we're on the subject of LJ, we better find some more front
    court help cuz if he or Zo go down with an injury, we're in DEEP
    sneakers with only Gatt and Giminski on the bench.
    
    Pat

    I think there looking a little to far into the future... Ok your
    set at forward (so they think), if they can get a GREAT/Allstar
    type Guard and a good PG they can resign everyone for anything
    they want ?? (Is that correct).  They cant let Alonzo get away,
    so next year (or whenever they have to) theyll give him a huge
    contract as well... This could come back to BITE THEM BIG TIME.
    
    Of they could end up with the next BIG-3 to carry them for a 
    decade or so and bring them 2 or 3 titles... :-)
    
    Whats there starting 5 look like today (and there current age's) ?
    
    							MairB

Pat,

	I have hard time believing that Alonzo listen to anybody but Alonzo...

 mike

   re LJ as a leader


    Last year when the Hornets were beating the Celtics in the playoffs,
   Larry and a couple of the other Hornets were yukking it up and many
   (myself included) thought he was rubbing it in and celebrating a
   bit early. When the Hornets went to play the Knicks, Johnson played
   with the same type of enthusiasm and after the Hornets lost a tough
   series Johnson showed a lot of class by congradulating the Knicks 
   in the tunnel after the game and urging them on to their confrontation
   with the Bulls. He does seem to have the qualities of a leader. BUT
   Alonzo is the best player the Hornets have. The kid is just immense.
   He has a zest for playing the defensive intimidator in the middle that 
   you don't see very often anymore and he's developed a very  sweet off-
   ensive game. He's already one of the top five centers in the game and 
   well on his way to being the best. He's a one of those mythical "fran-
   chise" players, a guy good enough to completely dominate a game at 
   both  ends and win it virtually by himself. When it comes time to re-
   negotiate, Charlotte is really going to have to open up the checkbook.
   I can't remember the league having this many good young centers since
   the early '70s.

By giving LJ $84 mil, the Hornets have said that he's the main main.
Good, bad or indifferent it's his team.

The heirachy they have is that LJ is the leader, which is fine with Zo.
And Zo ain't taking the back seat to nobody on the court which is more
than fine with everyone.

Neither the Hornets nor LJ are stupid enough to let Zo get outta town.
Everyone is expecting a_LJ-type deal about this time nexted year.

TTom

    o  LJ will not travel with the team to their first round of
       preseason games.  I believe the first one is Friday in Portland.
       The official report is that his back is healed, but that his leg
       strength still isn't up to par (because of his back injury).
       Sounds strange to me....
    
    o  Alonzo will be on an upcoming cover of SI...probably with Bill
       Russell - who he's most often compared to.  Word from camp is that
       Zo hit the weights hard in the off-season and bulked up a bit.
       Zo Nike commercials are also expected to air soon (don't know date).
    
    o  Since the Hornets coaches are so yellow, they invited (i.e. PAID)
       several former coaches to consult with the team during the
       preseason.  Jack Ramsey was in town this week to work on post play
       and defense.  Dick Motta will join the team somewhere along the
       way and so will Doug Moe.
    
    o  Sounds like the Hornets are content to go with Mugsey at PG,
       with Bennett as his backup...AND David Wingate helping out.
       Evindently Wingate has played some point in the past and has
       done an adequate job playing the point in some of the scrimmages
       so far.  (BTW, heard and interview with Ramsey Monday night.
       He's really high on Tony Bennett as a PG and agrees that Wingate
       is a decent alternative.)
    
    o  The Hornets are admittedly looking for help on the front line (in
       a sub role).  The Bucks were contacted, but Frank Brickowski was
       not available.  Sidney Green was cut by the 76'ers yesterday.  He
       may be invited to camp when he clears waivers.
    	
    o  If the Hornets do bring in another big man, who gets cut or traded?
       Most likely candidates for a trade are Johnny Newman, Eddie Johnson
       or Dell Curry (for the right price).  Giminski could get the axe,
       but he's got a guaranteed contract (and is a big body).
    
    Pat

>       Zo hit the weights hard in the off-season and bulked up a bit.

It seems that with the retirement of Michael Jordan and the general
disdain for some reason of the Knicks, the Hornets are fast becoming
almost everyone's next best team in the East. I suppose this is based
mainly on their showing lasted year.

One can expect the 2 Main Men, Zo and LJ, to improve their games. LJ
seems to be recovering from his back problems, although he hasn't played
any in the preseason. Zo certainly has worked hard in the off season.
BTW, there was a pretty good article in Sports Illustrated about the
Georgetown center connection that mentions several times Zo's fondness
for the weight room.

But there is a fair amount of uncertainty as well as areas that haven't
been addressed. At the two extremes nothing was done to help out with at
the point or on the boards. In fact, Sidney Green who was underutilized
last season is gone. Kenny Gattison is the only serious backup. One can
only hope the Mike Gminski quits and the Hornets can add some tall beef.

The other uncertainty is the play of Hersey Hawkins. From all accounts
he's already blended into the team and his scoring ability speaks for
itself. By all accounts he's not the defender that Kendall Gill is so
that may present some problems. The obvious plus is that Charlotte was
able to get rid of that Megalomaniac and get something for him. Team
chemistry is more intact than ever.

At the small forward, the Hornets have about everyone else competing.
Newman started most of last year and should get some minutes. David
Wingate can add defensive help while Dell Curry can help with the
scoring. Local media have been downplaying EJ's value to the team, almost
expecting him not to be on the 12 man roster. Scott Burrell looks good
but who knows how he'll do when up against starting NBA type quality
players.

So out of all this, it's hard to say how much better the Hornets will be
than the 92-93 edition, if any. Evidently, everyone seems to be getting
worse. And I'm surprised not many are jumping on the Magic bandwagon.

Barring major disasters and injuries the Hornets should make the playoffs
and that's when the fun will begin.

TTom

 If nothing else Burell will give them some decent defense. He could play
 big guards as well as small forwards. His ball handling skills aren't
 exceptionally bad either. Without the presure of being Mr. Everything
 (like last year for UCoon) he should be better. He certainly played better
 for UCoon when Smith and Co. where there to help carry the load...

 mike

Scott's preseason efforts have kept him in Charlotte. Being the second of
two first round picks, he decided to come to camp without a contract
really impressed the Hornest management with the shape he was in and how
he played.

After seeing him while Greg Graham had yet to show, it made it easy for
the Hornets to move Graham in the deal to get Hawkins.

Certainly Burrell and Hawkins have both endeared themselves to the fans.
Burrell was not that well known in these here parts where most of the
basketball fans are really Hornets and Tar Heel fans. Hawkins, for his
part, came in and brought out in the public that playing second fiddle to
LJ and Zo was My-T-Fine with him.

TTom

    I saw where hornets were thinking of picking up ol' bc star michael
    adams, to 'back up [muggsy]'.
    
    I would like that move only I would start adams or play him 60% mb 40%.
    
    I like bogues but don't see hornets moving to next level with him.
    
    I would like to see them try for skiles.  Scott Skiles I would like to
    see in playoffs.

I'm a little surprised that the Magic haven't moved Skiles already. Penny
looks to be starting a little slow but there's no doubt he's the point
guard of the future for Orlando.

The Adams rumor was part of a general set of rumors that predicted the
Hornets would do something to help out at the point. None of them have
come true as the Hornets have done nothing to add to that position. In
fact, they'll start the season down a little since backup Tony Bennett
was scoped this summer and may not be back to full strength come Nov 5
when the real thang starts.

I may have not mentioned this but David Wingate also was scoped in the
knee this week and will miss the first couple of weeks or the regular
season. This improves EJ's chance of staying on but that looks to be
about the only way he'll be here when the season starts.

Behind the scenes, one can only hope that the Hornets are trying to shop
EJ around for any help at the point or the front line. And the best move
might be to talk Gminski into retiring.

Also, I heard that Sidney Green like Philly so much he retired.

TTom

    Vecsey said in his column recently that the Spurs and Magic were pretty
    much set to do a Reid-Skiles swap (as I said they should) when Orlando
    backed out and decided to keep Skiles for insurance (until Penny
    settles in).

    Skiles has been averaging about 40 min. / game of orlando.  If they
    reduce him to 15 they will have one unhappy camper and ss is not person
    to have around unhappy.
    
    	Problem is ss needs to move to contending team as a main man. 
    Mike, I see him as pg of suns as excellent move in place of kj who is
    not best fit there.
    
    where is there a backup pg who will accept that role and perform it
    well - Adams?
    
    of course 3 player swaps under cap are almost impossible

Orlando's problem with Skiles, any attitude issues notwithstanding, is
that they pretty much told everyone that they didn't think Skiles was a
guy who could get them to the next level.

Then they try to shop him around the league. At one time, it was being
reported that Indiana was looking to make a deal with him but apparently
whatever Orlando wanted was too much. 

Does anyone want him?

TTom

he's a perfect fit for the Celtics  ;^(

What's this "UCoon" stuff?

Dem's fighting words, Mikey......


8^)

    Since the Suns never let Negele Knight get any PT, he would be one
    to consider...although I don't know what they'd want.
    
    o  Sounds like David Wingate's knee may keep him out for up to
       2 months. 
    
    0  Tony Bennett's knees have also been bothering him.  Both of
       these guys had off-season (minor) knee surgery.  Makes me wonder
       if the doc knew what he was doing...
    
       If Bennett continues to have problems, the Hornets will need
       to find some help at PG quick.
    
    o  Hawkins has been struggling in the preseason.  Hope he settles in
       soon.
    
    o  Newman has been playing well.  I think the Hornets would've
       considered cutting him if he had a mediocre preseason.  After
       all, Eddie Johnson can provide just as much offense, misses
       very few games (to injury - unlike Newman), and plays defense
       just as bad as Newman.  Plus, keeping E.Johnson til his contract
       expires (next year) gives 'em a $1.8 (?) mil salary slot next year.
       Word is that Newman has very little/no trade value.
    
    o  Scott Burrell has also had a good preseason.  He's played mostly
       small forward, but some at power forward (6'7", 220lbs).  Mediocre
       offensive skills, but very active defensively and on the glass.
       Intruguing situation for the coaches...as they must now think
       about how he fits into the rotation.  
    
    Pat

In all fairness to Hawkins, lasted night was the first game that he got
to play with all the other starters. Zo played in his second pre-season
game and LJ his first. The result was a_easy 123-105 win over the Hawks.

Newman's points also reflect the lack of playing time by the other
Hornets starters. 

And on other local fronts, LJ has had his locker retired. The basketball
Hall of Fame has set up his locker in Springfield. LJ is one of 11 active
players to have his locker on display. One can only wonder where LJ can
hang his hat. I guess it'll give him something to spend the 84 mil on.

TTom

      If Charlotte added Micheal Adams,  they would be in the east finals
    barring injury to LJ or Zo.  He's great at assists, shooting &
    stealing.
    
      Tim

As long as Muggsy is around, this Hornet fan would rather see someone
over 6' as a backup point guard. Someone like Michael Williams who
actually was a member of the Hornets but left cause the powers that be
didn't want to spring for a 200K gauranteed contract.

No offense to Adams who still can play a role with some teams. 

TTom

    Doesnt Adams nail the 3 ptr at will or am I thinking of someone else.
    AH the smell of Basketball is in the air, Baseball is coming to an end
    (Thank God) and foot ball is nearing the 1/2 way mark.  Basketball
    will soon be on nightly in place of baseball I love the Fall...
    
    								MairB
    Eastern Finals
    Charllotte VS Chicago (7games)

>    Doesnt Adams nail the 3 ptr at will or am I thinking of someone else.
 
    Michael Jordan????


 mike

Adams at one point in his career set some record for either 3 point
attempts or goals. That was back a few years I think when he was out West
(Denver maybe?).

But everyone plays better out West where there's more talent ;-).

TTom

    Ok Ive been trying to figure out who's who on the Hornets and who will
    make the team and who will get cut.  Too many moves to follow right now
    but this is what it looks like, could someone correct it if need and
    put the players in the right spots if there wrong ???? Thanks in
    advance..
    
    Point Guards  Shooting Guards Centers         Small Forward  Power Forward
    Muggsy Boges  Hershey Hawkins Alonzo Morning  Johnny Newman  Larry  Johnson
    Tony Bennett  Dell Curry      Kenny Gattison  Scott Burrell  Eddie Johnson
    Michael Adams David Wingate   Mike Giminski   Kevin Lynch
    
    14 total ?  Is Newman the starting small forward, Im assuming Hawkins
    will definatly be starting along with Bogues, ZO and LJ.  Looks like
    a very good starting 5, and a decent bench...
    
    							MairB

With the exception of Adams, all of the above have contracts. That's 13
if'n I count em correctly. 

The ones on the bubble are Kevin Lynch who is probably out, EJ who is
maybe out/maybe traded, and Gminski who's in if'n he's not traded.

The only other one in camp who's getting attention is LeRon Ellis but
that sounds mostly like a hope and a prayer. The team would love to dump
Gminski but he's guaranteed just like the rest of them.

Newman has the starting small forward job right now but the Hornets have
previously shuffled others through there. They're trying to work Burrell
into the lineup.

TTom

    What he said.....Adams ain't on the roster.
    
    Newman currently the starting SF, but subject to change (and hopefully
    will).
    
    I think the bugs play Boston tonight up north (Hartford?).  Maybe
    some of you beaners can give us an update tomorrow on the game.
    
    Pat

    Anyone know if this game is on TV, id like to take a looksie if
    possible..??
    								mab
    
    So there just giving adams alook at this point..
    
    

MairB,

Dunno about the New England area, but this is only a radio game locally.

I'll pick up a local paper tomorrow and try to catch up on who's all
playing, how they did, etc. The local paper is marginal at best about
most things but if'n this games gets over before 11 pm or so, they'll
have a box score.

TTom

    
    
    >> "...blow by blow coverage..."
    
    
    WOW, Ya mean that they're still covering Linda Lovelace???????
    
    
    I remain,
    still searching for the fireworks
    ;^)
    Kev
    

Charlotte managed to pull the Celtics game out, winning 101-98 on 2 late
3 pointers by Dell Curry.

LJ had 16 which is good news. He had some physical problems as he
continues to rehab from his back injury. After the game he complained of
fatigue in both legs.

Zo added 13 points and 10 rebounds and generally seemed to enjoy the
challenge and opportunity of playing against the Chief.

Hersey Hawkins missed the game - minor back strain - so Bristow started
Scott Burrell in front of the hometown crowd in Hartford. Burrell
finished with 6 points in 26 minutes.

Tony Bennett did not make the trip. He remained in Charlotte to get his
knee examined. He complained about pain so they did a follow up examine.
Tests were negative.

The star for the Celtics was Dino Radja with 20 points and 17 rebounds.

For the Honnet hopefuls, Kelsey Weems had 6 points, LeRon Ellis had 5
poinhts and was ejected on a flagrant foul, and Shawn McDaniel had 3
points and 2 assists.

In the pregame, they were hyping Ellis. It seems that ol' Mike Gminski is
having some troubles getting up and down the court. Never gifted with
much speed, things seem to be going even slower this year.  From all
accounts, the Hornets are hoping to see Ellis make the team. They have a
$400K+ slot available under the cap and are trying to get him to sign a
one year deal. If'n it works out, they would be able under the rules to
re-sign him with a raise. 

The issue of the cap slots are further complicated by the fact that the
Hornets want to be able to bid on Danny Manning nexted year. Gminski,
Newman and one or two others are in their lasted year of their contract.
Collectively there's about 2.5-3 Million that they're looking to use in
the free agency quest.

TTom

    Hornets had 18 (yes, that number is correct) shots blocked by the
    Celtics last night.  Charlotte aggressively attacked the boards but
    often simply couldn't put the basketball away.  Mourning must have
    gotten blocked a half dozen times himself.
    
    Their lack of size will prevent Charlotte from moving beyond the
    second round of the playoffs.  If the Celtics can block 18 shots
    on them, Larry Nance and Co. will get 30!  Cleveland is just as 
    athletic as Charlotte with the addition of Tyrone Hill.  John Battle
    will play for Mike Fratello and negate the loss of Craig Ehlo.
    
    The Cleveland-Boston Eastern Conference Final should be a classic!
    
    NAZZ

Nazz

I was witcha up till that last part about Celtics going to the conference
finals.

But other than that what is reported points to one of the 2 areas of
concern for the Hornets: size on the front line. I'll reserve judgement
until LJ is fully recovered but in any case this will continue to be
a_issue as it should be as long as the front line support includes people
like Mike Gminski. 

As previously mentioned, the other area is support at the point.

TTom

    Nazz,
    
    I'll be the first to agree that the Hornets are a small team.
    <See previous notes in this topic.>
    
    However I do have a problem with you're shot blocking assessment cuz:
    	o  geez, this is preseason
    	o  a bunch of our fellas are hurt
    	o  blocks don't win ball games (aka. last night's ball game).
    
    Pat
    

    Cleveland is still soft.  Fratello can't perform heart transplants.

Even though Charlotte lost to the Nets, some decisions are starting to
be made about this year's version of the Hornets.

Bristow made it clear that EJ has earned a spot on the roster on the
basis that he's shown he can still light it up when called upon. EJ was
considered a throw-in on the deals that basically traded Gill for Hersey
Hawkins. As camp started every one was talking like he would be the odd
man out but he impressed those same people enough to make the team.

Meanwhile, there's not much hope on the horizon for the Hornets' main
needs. At the point, they're still looking at Kelsey Weems and Shawn
McDaniel. The Hornets are "not totally disappointed" in them but the
search is still on for some help here. Tony Bennett meanwhile has at
least a couple of more weeks of rehab before he can give it a go.

By default, LeRon Ellis may also make the squad. David Wingate will
start the season on IR opening up one roster slot and it seems as though
the Hornest are going to give Ellis a chance. 

TTom

    I like the idea of adding EJ...both for scoring and experience.
    Having Dell Curry and EJ coming off the bench is an intriguing
    thought.  IMO, Burrell is playing good/tough enough that he'll 
    either start at SF or get legitimate PT.
    
    I think they'll keep Ellis until/unless a more experienced
    big man is waived by another club.  
    
    BTW, TTom, I picked you up a souvenir from the big city of Durham -
    a Kelly Tripucka mini-poster!  Mint condition...sure to be a collectors
    item.
    
    Pat

My Main main Kelly!

Hail with JR gone we aint got no one to rag on. Even Johnny Newman is
playing hard. I don't think Gminski will play enough but he sure be slow
in his old age so you'd have a lot of time to bust his chops as he mosies
down the court.

Lasted night results: Charlotte won the game and a_NFL franchise. I'm
detected the lingering smell of a fix. Coicindentally - yeah, right - and
conveniently, they waited until five minutes after the Hornets game to
announce the Panthers selection. Needless to say the Coliseum faithful
went nuts. 

About the biggest impression of the basketball game was that Shawn
Bradley actually showed some moves. What seems to have developed first
for him is his footwork. He's quick and at 7'6" he's gonna be quicker
than most centers. Even Zo had some problems with his moves, getting into
a bit of a foul problem. Bradley still lacks any kinda shot and on D he's
mostly in the way. He did manage to get 9 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.

Charlotte started the real stating 5: Bogues, LJ, Zo, Newman and Hersey
Hawkins. In the second half, Bristow worked Kevin Lynch at point where he
was almost adequate. Most interpretted that as good bye to the other
point guard hopefuls who probably had little chance to begin with.
LJ looked as good as he has all preseason. 

After the game Bristow declared that LeRon Ellis will make the team at
least until David Wingate comes back. That pretty much settles things
plus or minus Tony Bennett's physical status. If he's active, Lynch is
gone. What will be interesting would be if Ellis impresses will the
Hornets eat Gminski's contract and let him go. He's not going to
contribute while Ellis at least has potential.

Oh yeah, one more thing: Go Panthers!

TTom

>Lasted night results: Charlotte won the game and a_NFL franchise. I'm
>detected the lingering smell of a fix. Coicindentally - yeah, right - and
>conveniently, they waited until five minutes after the Hornets game to
>announce the Panthers selection. Needless to say the Coliseum faithful
>went nuts. 

From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Newsgroups: clari.sports.basketball,clari.sports.top
Subject: They have had a policy of allowing woman sportswriters in locker 
    rooms since their inaugural season in 1988.

Woman charges she was denied access to locker room
	But Harold Kaufman, director of media relations for the Hornets, said
the team had to allow reporters in on a shift basis Sunday because the
dressing room was so crowded.
	Melissa Ogden wrote in Tuesday's Daily Beacon that when she tried to
enter the locker room after the game, ``I was denied access by a member
of the Hornets organization. He firmly stated that there was no more
room left in the locker room for journalists and that I'd have to wait.
	``I thought what he said was peculiar, seeing that other male
journalists freely entered as I was being denied,'' she said. She said
three other women also had to wait and a woman who earlier had been
allowed into the locker room was escorted out at that time.
	Ogden said about 20 to 25 minutes later she was allowed inside.
	``All the relevant questions had already been asked by my male
cohorts, all the answers stale by now,'' she said.
	Ogden said she had to borrow interview tapes from a male reporter to
do the story.
	``I'm really thankful we had a male writer there. Otherwise I
wouldn't have had a story,'' she said.
	Kaufman said there was no discrimination against women writers after
the game with the New Jersey Nets on the University of Tennessee campus.
	``There was no deal where women weren't allowed in the locker room,''
Kaufman said. ``The locker room was so small that once the first herd of
media had gotten in there there was no room, so we did it in two shifts.
	``One reason why locker room was so packed there were some high
school people and some other people who didn't belong,'' Kaufman said. 
``They were given credentials by the building. That's what happens when
when you go to someone else's building.
	``Our policy is that the locker room is open to men and women
sportswriters. Ever since 1988, women always have been allowed equal
access. Many beat writers in the NBA are women,'' he said.
	Ogden isn't convinced.
	``Sunday night gave me a bitter dose of what to expect in my future
as a sportswriter,'' she said. ``All I ask from my male, as well as
female counterparts, is not to be viewed or labeled as a female
journalist -- but simply as a journalist.''

>>	``One reason why locker room was so packed there were some high
>>school people and some other people who didn't belong,'' Kaufman said. 

	Yeah like reporters of either gender.  Fer Chrisakes, they are afraid
	to even let the sweat stop pouring before getting THE story.  Poor
	slobs can't even take a shower in peace.


	billl

I'm not saying they aint but this is obviously a_isolated incident. Had
the Hornets been consistently denying reporters access on the basis of
gender, this woulda been a story a long time ago.

I'm sure it steams Shinn's clams to have to let female reporters into the
locker room but ol' George is pretty careful about them PC matters.

FWIW, this hasn't even made the local papers. I'll check around and see
if there's more to this story.

TTom

    maybe she's related to Ms. Olsen.

Actually, there are several women among the local media that cover the
Hornets. And assuming that they're not on the take you would think that
at least one of them would have complained by now if this really was
a_issue.

This whole thing of the locker room interviews is stupid anyway. Why
don't they just usher all the players into some room beside the locker
room and let the media have at them. Then after some designated time they
can all go take a shower, a dump, or whatever in relative privacy.

TTom

    >> "a dump"
    
    You mean logs, dirt? 
    
    
    Hey lady reporter with an attitude - TAKE A PILL!
    
    
    	Pat

>    You mean logs, ...

Or a loaf.

TTom

As the woim toins...

It now looks like the Hornets are gonna sandbag with Tony Bennett.
They're in the process of setting it up so they can start the season out
with him joining David Wingate on the IR. And lo and behold it looks like
Kevin Lynch will stick for the beginning of the season.

Lynch started at point lasted night in the Hornets' loss to Indiana,
121-113. Zo didn't make the trip as Charlotte announced that he will not
play again until opening night nexted Friday. Zo's have a bout with
tendinitis and everyone hopes the lack of stress will speed the healing
process. LJ and Dale Davis for the Pacers continued their battles. It
seems that when these 2 play, if'n you didn't know better, you'd figger
Davis was the all-pro. Davis had 20 pts, 12 Rbs to LJ's 12 and 2 (!) for
the same 28 minutes. Overall, Indiana outrebounded the Hornets, 41-33.

But back to Lynch, he didn't look too bad as it looks like his only hope
for sticking is Bennett on IR and Philadelphia not waiving Dana Barros.
It turns out that Charlotte is already paying some of Barros' salary.
They laundered him from Seattle to Philly in the Hersey Hawkins deal.
Lynch ran things adequately and scored well but apparently forgot that
the point guy is supposed to deal out assists. Kevin had 1.

Gminski looked terrible as he started at Center. Charlotte charitably
left him in for only a dozen minutes.

TTom

    Good game Friday as the Hornets beat the Celts by 17 or so.
    The Celts got out early, but the Hornets made a game of it.
    
    C's:  Dee brown looked good...often spectacular on offense.  Can't
    remember who he covered on D....if it was Curry, he got smoked.
    Earl looked slow of foot; Radja fair; Chief fair.  Dee was red
    hot in the third quarter....then the C's stopped getting him the
    ball. 
    
    Hornets:  Giminski started and played fair against the Chief and Acie.
    He ended up with a dozen or so rebounds and points.  Curry was on fire.
    E.Johnsons stats don't show it, but I thought he played a good game.
    On one drive to the hoop, he went behind the back and to the rim only
    to have the ball roll out.
    
    
    LJ's starting to get back to his old bump-and-grind self.  No Burrell,
    Ellis, or ZO (or Wingate or Bennett).  Newman, Gatt, and Lynch looked 
    good.  Hawk was there, but nearly invisible.  
    
    The passing impressed me the most by the Hornets.  A lot of good 
    movement and passing resulted in some open or easy shots.  Also decent
    D.  The munchkin scrubs were entertaining - driving O and swarming D -
    during mop-up.
    
    The Hornets open at home on Friday against the Chicago Bulls.
    This week the Hornets will be 
    	o  hoping several injuries heal
    	o  watching the waiver wire for a big man or point guard to be
    	   released.
    
    Rumors out of Philly that Dana Barros might not make the squad -
    although I have a hard time believing that one.  
    
    Pat

Today's the day for making the decision on Tony Bennett's status. Bennett
had knee surgery and seems to be coming along very slowly.

What the Hornets are trying to determine is how many games he'll need
before he can start playing. He will definitely miss the first couple of
games no matter what. The team is talking about making do without a
backup to Muggsy if Bennett has to miss only a couple of games. If'n the
Hornets place him on IR, he has to sit out 5 games. 

Meanwhile, the Hornets have cut Kelsey Weems but have made some kinda
statement by keeping Shawn McDaniel. The local interpretation is that the
Hornets feel that McDaniel has a better chance than Kevin Lynch to
possibly contribute at the point. 

In any case, the Hornets will make this decision today.

And Lo! It's Zo! On the cover of Sports Illustrated with none other than
Bill Russell. I'm gonna pick me up a copy, fer sure.

TTom

So what do the Hornets do about Bennett? They put Scott Burrell on the
IR, along with David Wingate which was expected.

The net effect here is that Kevin Lynch is on the team for the time
being, at least 5 games, and the Hornets are willing to make due while
Bennett heals. 

Bristow is talking like he might be going after a backup point outta the
pool of those just cut. 

This morning, team prez Spencer Stolpein, was interviewed about the
Hornets chances. During this he was asked who might be good in the West.
He said that the Suns were good but fragile. He thought Seattle had
enough talent. But he wondered "How long will it be before Kendall Gill
screws up the chemistry? In 5 or 6 weeks into the season, look for agent
Arn Tellem to send a letter to the Sonics demanding that they play or
trade Gill!". No love loss there.

TTom

News as it's coming in:

Supposedly the Hornets are on the verge of signing Steve Henson who was
cut by the Hawks. The local media is reporting that this will be done by
game time. Odd mad out: Kevin Lynch.

Also, there's a_update on Zo's knees. It's been reported that he had
tendinitis. The Hornets are saying that this aint the case. Supposedly he
and Mutombo were working out and banged knees. Now they're saying he has
tenderness in the knee that was injured, but not tendinitis. Good news
cause bumps and bruised go away.

Season starts tonight, 8 pm against the defending champions Bulls,
without that guy from No Carolina. The chant of this season is "The Bugs
Are Back", which remains to be seen.

Looking forward to seeing Kukoc.

TTom

    Henson was signed; Lynch waived.
    
    The Bulls beat the Bugs by 1 in OT.  A tip in by Horace Grant with
    1 second left did the trick.  The Bulls looked good, the Hornets
    not so good.  
    
    Saturday night, the Bugs beat Milwaukee at their home opener.  The
    game was close through three quarters...with the Bucks actually leading
    most of the way.  In the fourth, the Hornets took over and pounded
    'em 120-103.
    
    The developing story line so far is the outstanding play at 2G by
    Hersey Hawkins and at SF by Johnny Newman.  Hawk had a turrible
    preseason - glad to see him emerge from that funk!
    
    More later,
    Pat

The Hornets finally got their act together in the 4th quarter of the
Bucks game.

Zo had something like 6 rebounds in the quarter while Dell Curry and EJ
played bombs away from 3 point land. LJ had by far his best outing in a
long time. He was one of the goats in the loss to the Bulls. His turnover
very late in OT gave the ball back to Chicago setting up the last second
tip-in heroics by Harvey Grant.

It looks like everyone is going to come at LJ. In the Bulls game, Scottie
Pippen and LJ were face to face, doing some serious jawing. LJ got the T.
In the Bucks game, it was LJ and Kenny Norman squaring off. At least this
time, they both got a T.

Another pleasant surprise was the performance of LeRon Ellis who has
worked his way not only onto the team but into the rotation. Not only did
he play well but he was on the court in the 4th to contribute size and
effort. He finished with only 3 points but had 6 rebounds and a blocked
shot.

Johnny Newman has played these first 2 games like he's an all-star.

TTom

That could be it.

Maybe they just want to see if'n LJ is gonna step up and fill the void
left by Jordan's early exit and still not filled from Magic and Larry
leaving.

In any case, it's good to see LJ back cause the Hornets aren't going to
do much without him. Zo is showing a lot, fer sure, but in Charlotte,
LJ's the Main Main.

TTom

I see they ran that Dallas play again towards the end of the game Friday
night.  Same results as always.  Has that play ever worked?

Ken

No Ken, they really didn't run the Dallas. They simple got LJ the ball
and he proceeded to dribble it inside and turn it over.

I think the Dallas play, where they isolate LJ at the top of the key and
hope something happens, worked once and why they even consider it is
beyond me. Especially now that Zo can do his thing on the inside and EJ,
Dell Curry, Johnny Newman and/or Hersey Hawkins can pop it from the
outside. 

As it is, the crowd groans whenever the Hornets go to it cause it just
doesn't work.

TTom

Cmon TTom, LJ used to be the main man....

mike

Shshshsh!

Let's keep this down a little bit until Zo signs his new contract.

But in many ways, I agree, but thank goodness that for now, at least, the
Hornets have both of 'em.

TTom

    EJ sure isn't getting much PT.  How long before he starts complaining
    that its affecting his shot like he did here?

    
    
       In other related news Steve Urkel and Grandmama won the NY 2 on 2
    tournament Friday night on NBC.
    
    
    Chap

EJ is very grateful to even be on this team. He won't ever get that many
minutes but the fans and the team are letting him know their appreciation
of the quality efforts he's giving.

Also, there's at least a couple of cuts coming up pretty soon. Scott
Burrell is coming back soon (after the minimum 5 games) and David Wingate
will be back within a month or so. I don't think EJ or anyone else wants
to start crying about lack of playing time, at least not for a little
while.

What this fan is hoping for, is that one of those cuts is Mike Gminski.

TTom

    So, How did that script go - that show has some interesting writing...
    
    I assume se couldn't get anyone to play with him except some
    grand(mama)... and the rest was history

    
    
      His best Friend (his wanna be girlfriends brother) was suppose to be
    his partner. But some playground legend asked him to play with him so
    urkel needed a new partner......
    
    
    
    
    Chap

    RE: LJ and Pippen - the local TV broadcast showed LJ catching an elbow
    	from Pippen in the jaw shortly before LJ pursued and was T'd up.
    	Too hard to tell if'n it was accidental or intentional.
    
    RE: EJ - From what I've seen so far, he's enjoying his time here.
    	He's commented a few times that he's never seen so many good
    	looks at the basket (cuz other team drops to double LJ/Zo).
    	I think he'll be a contributor in the long run.
    
    RE: Giminski - TTom, what would work better would be a not-so-serious
    	injury that keeps him sidelined indefinitely.  That'll save us his
    	full salary slot for next year (from the way I understand it).
    	Howzabout Mensamonia or something like that?  Tendonitis of the
    	earlobe? 
    
    RE: Urkel - that dude can play!  The Kings oughta sign him!
    
    Bugs at Cleveland Tuesday night.  Should be a good'en.
    
    Pat

    re Erkel can play; I noticed the Hollywood Marky Mark (*) playing and he's
    pretty good; 
    
    
    
    
    
    (*)don't know about sprot's "Pentium" Mark

    Only if Marky Mark wears his trowsers down to his knees.
    Urkel could sneak up and give him a wedgey.

    
    
        I saw MM play in a couple of those MTV BBall jams. He can play.
    Flea from Red hot Chili Peppers is a good player too.
    
    
    
    Chappy

Shaq comes to town tonight!

Orlando has to be one of the big surprises this year, so far. Shaq looks
like he's trying to win the scoring title, MVP and the Air Heir Apparent.

Meanwhile, Zo, LJ and the rest of the Hornets have been inconsistent to
say the least. They played fairly well against the Bulls until LJ turned
it over and gave Chicago the chance to win - which they did. They looked
lethargic against the Bucks and then exploded in the 4th quarter and
looked like the contender that they're supposed to be. They played well
in the first half against the Cavs only to return to one of the franchise
favorite - the dreaded 3rd quarter fold.

Tonight would be a good time to turn it around.

TTom

yup would be nice to see Charlotte beat Orlando.

The Crazy Met

    
    
          Would be even better to see Zo stop Shaq. I'm sick of all the
    hype about thisguy already and the season isn't even a week old.
    
    
    
    Chappy

Better get used to it, Chappy.

After all, his career isn't even a year and a week old.

TTom

    
    
       Charlotte 120 Orlando 87
        :-)
    
           Didn't see the game but looks Like Zo somewhat contained Sir
    Shaqness (tm). He only had 19 pts 8 Rebs.
    
    
    Chappy