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NBA General

Around the Rim: Welcome Back, Carter


1. Vinsanity
Vince Carter is chugging along, full steam ahead, and he’s not looking back. In fact, Carter has created a new season high in points for every game he has played this year, including 38 last night in a loss to Seattle. His 31.2 points per game is second in the league to Michael Redd’s 32.4. Besides his scoring output, Carter has increased his accuracy. He’s shooting 50 percent from the field, 43.9 percent from behind the three point line, and 84.1 percent from the free throw stripe, all career highs. To go along with his breakout shooting year, Carter is grabbing five rebounds, dishing out five assists and poking free a steal per game. Unfortunately, the Nets have alternated wins and loses all year and currently only have a 3-3 record. Carter’s numbers are impressive but if New Jersey doesn’t improve as a team then his shot at becoming an MVP will come up well short.

2. I’m Sorry Mrs. Jackson
Indiana Pacer Stephen Jackson pleaded not guilty on Monday to a charge that accuses him of violating his probation during an incident last month outside of a strip club in Indiana. Jackson allegedly fired his gun at least five times into the air, in what he describes as self defense during a fight that occurred outside the club. His probation stems from his role in the altercation between himself and several fans during the melee that occurred last year in Detroit. Jackson’s attorneys claim that he could not have violated his probation during the early October episode because he had already completed his probationary terms and therefore did not violate any of its conditions. Jackson could face three months in jail if found guilty. Furthermore, Jackson is charged with criminal recklessness, a felony, and misdemeanor counts of battery and disorderly conduct. The felony charge carries a prison term of six months to three years.

3. Malpractice
Doc Rivers’ coaching career could be coming to a close in Boston. Why? The team’s GM, Danny Ainge, recently gave Rivers the notoriously dreaded vote of confidence, saying that the team’s poor record would not result in a coaching change. In most cases, that means the team’s acceptance of applications for replacements has already begun. The Celtics are currently 1-6 on the year; this follows a dismal 33-49 2006 season. This season was supposed to be a dedication to the late Red Auerbach, but at this point it is becoming an embarrassment to the organization. Rivers was fired from Orlando eleven games into the 2004 season when the Magic started off by going 1-10. But if Rivers is indeed fired, you could still expect to seem him on the sidelines. Rumor has it that he very well could be the third man in the booth on ABC’s lead broadcast team with Mike Breen and Mark Jackson.

4. The Journeyman
The Charlotte Bobcats are in their third year as a franchise and they are struggling to simply be 1-5. And what’s the first thing to happen when a young team can’t find a way to win? That’s right, the coach gets fired. It certainly appears that Bernie Bickerstaff is not the answer for this club. If so, the logical fit would be to bring in Larry Brown who is free to job hunt, now that his settlement with the Knicks is final. Michael Jordan would love to have a fellow North Carolina alum sitting on the bench and, to his credit, Brown is considered to be one of the best teachers in the game. With a franchise that is still in its infancy, the young Bobcats sure could use some fundamental education from a coach know for “playing the right way.” Brown always said he would like to coach a high school team after his retirement. While the pay won’t indicate it, this would definitely be a step in that direction.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Vince Carter vs. Seattle 43 min, 38 pts (FG: 13-26, 3FG: 5-9, FT: 7-8), 4 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: San Antonio (5-1) @ Houston (5-2) It’s a Texas sized showdown and a division shootout as the Rockets hope their undefeated home record remains intact after the Spurs, 3-0 on the road, pay a visit to Houston. Tracy McGrady’s point production has been down this season, but he still must be considered as one of the most explosive scorers in the NBA. The Spurs learned this firsthand in 2004 when T-Mac lit them up for 13 points in 33 seconds, including the game winning three-pointer.

Categories
NHL General

Crashing the Zamboni: Welcome to the Hall


1. Newest members of the Hockey Hall of Fame
On Monday, Patrick Roy, Herb Brooks, Harley Hotchkiss, and Dick Duff were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Patrick Roy
-NHL’s all-time winningest goaltender (holds records for most playoff and regular season wins) with Canadeins and Avalanche
-Won three Conn Smythe Trophies (playoff MVP)
-Won three Vezina Trophies (NHL’s best goalie)

Herb Brooks
-Coached Team USA to Olympic Gold in 1980
-Won three NCAA titles at Minnesota
-Coached four NHL teams
Harley Hotchkiss
-Key cog in Flames’ move to Calgary
-Co-owner of Calgary Flames franchise
Dick Duff
-Played on five NHL teams
-Won six Stanley Cups

2. Future of the NHL
The Penguins showed off their potential and talent on Monday night in Pittsburgh. A trio of first-round draft picks scored goals against the Philadelphia Flyers, snapping a five game losing streak with a 3-2 win. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jordan Staal all netted goals for the Penguins, who helped themselves at keeping up to par in a busy Atlantic Division. The three kids, whose combined age is only 57 years, sent Philly to its sixth straight loss and proved that they’re the new generation of hockey. At 18, 19, and 20, no member of the tremendous trio is even old enough to drink yet (legally, at least. Guess you can’t blame them for pounding a few with the way they’ve been playing, but that’s beside the point…). Even though they’re currently sitting in third in their division, the Pens look to be setting themselves up quite nicely for the immediate future in Pittsburgh.

3. Gallant Out in Columbus
The Columbus Blue Jackets are hungry for a winner, and they attempted to move one step closer to relieving their starvation on Monday night. The firing of head coach Gerard Gallant was the first step in what could be a tedious process of turning the club’s fortunes around. Gallant was hired as coach in the summer of 2004, and had a record well below .500 in his tenure as head honcho.

In five seasons of existence, Columbus has yet to come close to the playoffs–but star left wing Rick Nash has shown some serious potential at only 22 years old. As featured in yesterday’s “Check It Out”, he needs to start putting up some numbers in order for his club to make any type of impact this year. As of now, Columbus is dead last in the league with only 33 goals scored.

Check It Out
Offwing.com’s Eric Mcerlain takes an interesting look at the hockey afterlife, including the post-hockey troubles of former NHLer Darren McCarty. McCarty couldn’t stay out of financial troubles, and was forced to file for bankruptcy… sad occurrence for someone who happened to be a very good hockey player in his time.

Game of the Night: Minnesota at Phoenix
Coyotes: 5-2 in last seven games against Wild

The Last Shot
Washington’s Olaf Kolzig stopped 44 shots against the Florida Panthers on Monday night, getting the win in a 4-1 effort. The Panthers’ 45 shots were a season high–you know things are going awry when you put up a season high for shots and still lose by three… ouch!

Categories
NFL General

The Denver Broncos have the best logo

According to Logodesign.com and a panel of 25 design experts, the Denver Broncos have the best logo in the NFL. Here are the top 10:

1.        6.
2.        7.
3.        8.
4.        9.
5.        10.

It’s hard to disagree with something so subjective but the Jaguars logo is kinda lame. It’s like the designers just latched on to whatever was new when something classic like the Bears’ logo is much better. At least they didn’t put the ugly Ravens logo in the Top 10.

Categories
Dallas Cowboys

Matt Leinart needs to save us


Where are you Matt? You become a father and all of the sudden you’re too good to make headlines banging a starlet or two? (And in the Paris Hilton case, starlet is a real stretch.) We’ve been reduced to rumors about Tony Romo going on a date with Jessica Simpson — which is based solely on his MNF getting to know Tony Romo segment where he lists Jessica Simpson as his celebrity crush.

It’s pretty interesting how these rumors get started. Bob Sturm from Dallas’ The Ticket 1310AM republishes an email from a reader and all of the sudden, he is linked to a “source” that says Romo and Simpson went on a date. Kind of like how the rumor got started that Chris Pronger got a television reporter pregant and had to move out of Edmonton. Is that how easy it is to start a rumor? He’s a rumor for you: Jessica Simpson looks like a man. Or is that kind of just an opinion? We never understood the fascination with JS. Yeah, she’s got huge cans but if you wanted to look at a man face with huge cans, there’s always Bill Parcells, who’d be a lot more fun to talk to. Here’s a pic of Simpson with her new colagen lips.

Speaking of Matt Leinart, ever since his breakout game vs the Bears on MNF, he’s thrown 5 INTs and only 1 TD.

Links:
[The Big Lead]: Checking in on Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Milwaukee’s Best


1. Redd Hot
Despite losing to the Utah Jazz on Saturday by a score of 113-111, thanks to a shot with less than two seconds remaining, the Bucks front office is feeling much better about giving Michael Redd a truly unprecedented contract last year. Redd’s six-year, $91 million contract was the most lucrative in Bucks’ history and proved to be a valuable investment after Redd dropped a franchise record 57 on the Jazz. It was the most points in a game by a losing player since some guy named Jordan scored 64 in an overtime loss to Orlando in 1993. Redd also became only the third player in the last 40 years to score 57 or more without an assist. Sure, it’s pretty selfish, but when you’re stroking it like he was, why pass? Redd had 39 in the second half to erase a 24 point deficit and ended the night with an incredible shooting performance to boast; 18 of 32 field goals, 6 of 12 from behind the arc and 15 of 17 at the charity stripe.

2. Don’t Quit Your Day Job
Ron Artest might want to reconsider his future career in the hip-hop industry. That’s because according to SoundScan, Artest’s debut album sold a paltry 343 copies during its first week on the shelves. Apparently, the “Malice in the Palace” did nothing to help his street cred. While it’s obvious that Artest’s record, entitled “My World”, is an utter flop; it takes a rapping white boy known for leeching his way to success to prove it. That’s right, Kevin Federline, Britney Spears’ soon to be ex-husband, released his new album on Halloween and it, somehow, managed to move 6,000 units during its first week. And that’s after getting body slammed by WWE Champion John Cena on national television. Maybe Artest could compete if Hulk Hogan were to deliver a boot to his face during halftime of the next Kings home game.

3. If You Don’t Have Anything Nice To Say

New York and San Antonio continued a bitter rivalry on Saturday. Lots of current bad blood resides within these teams for one another, luckily they only play twice a year. A bit of a squabble broke out when Bruce Bowen and Isiah Thomas both received technical fouls during the first quarter. The incident occurred after Thomas yelled something to Bowen. Gregg Popovich was also involved in the verbal altercation but did not receive a technical for his part. Several factors contributed toward this outburst between the teams. Earlier in the season, Bruce Bowen upset many Knick players when his foot slid underneath Steve Francis on a jumper, leading to a sprained ankle. Apparently, Thomas felt Bowen was attempting to do the same to guard Jamal Crawford. Popovich’s interjection probably had to do with, not only Thomas accusing his player of being dirty, but with the role Thomas played, as GM of the Knicks, in what Popovich believes has been poor treatment of his good friend Larry Brown. Another not-so-memorable moment between these two 1999 Finals teams occurred in 2001 when, then Knick, Marcus Camby threw a blindsided punch at Danny Ferry which eventually led to his coach, Jeff van Gundy, receiving a cut over his eye.

4. Multidimensional
Jason Kidd recorded his second triple-double of the early season on Sunday versus Washington. Kidd racked up his 77th career triple-dip by scoring 15 points, grabbing 11 boards and dishing out an astounding 18 assists. In the midst of all those assists, Kidd leapfrogged over Rod Strickland for seventh all-time. Kidd has been king of the triple-double since Magic Johnson retired and now sits one behind Wilt Chamberlain for third all-time. Kidd will eventually pass Chamberlain, however he will have to be content with third because he will never catch Magic (138) or Oscar Robertson (181). While Kidd is the current face of the triple-double, he never averaged one over an entire season as Robertson did in 1961-62. In what many believe is the greatest accomplishment in the history of the NBA, Robertson averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists. The closest Kidd came was in 1999-2000 when he had 14.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 10.1 assists. Many believe that the mark set by Robertson will never be matched. Ahem, are you listening LeBron?

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Vince Carter @ Washington 42 min, 34 pts (FG: 10-22, 3FG: 5-8, FT: 9-10), 2 reb, 7 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk

Monday’s Game to Watch: Seattle (3-4) @ New Jersey (3-2) Seattle is bringing a two game winning streak with them to New Jersey where the Nets are 2-1. The Sonics are hoping that Ray Allen, who is averaging 26 points a game, packed enough of his sharp shooting skills to help wrap up a five game, east coast road trip. New Jersey has firepower of its own in “Half-Man, Half-Amazing” Vince Carter and his 29.8 points per game. It looks like the Nets might have to play without Richard Jefferson who missed Sunday’s game due to an ankle sprain.

Categories
NHL General

Crashing the Zamboni: Weekend Recap



Check out my ugly uni!

1. Awesome in OT
The Buffalo Sabres continue to take care of business, and look to be a Stanley Cup contender come playoff time. They racked up another win on Saturday night, drowning the already dead Philadelphia Flyers. The 5-4 overtime victory was the third straight win for Buffalo in the extra period. Daniel Briere had an outstanding game, scoring two goals–one to tie it, and another to win it. While the Sabres continue to roll along, the Flyers continue to fall to the pit of the NHL. The giant wing on their jerseys has been clipped this year; at 3-11-2, Philly is dead last in the Eastern Conference. Even Flyers fans are having a hard time remembering the times when team was actually good. That’s an unfortunate thing, since it really wasn’t that long ago. It doesn’t help that they’ve been without captain Peter Forsberg, who has been battling a nagging ankle injury and is listed as day-to-day.

2. Jinxed
Friday’s post on Crashing the Zamboni featured the Anaheim Ducks and their emergence to begin the season. With their 12-0-4 mark, they set a record for most games without a regulation loss to start a season. On the same night of the post, the Ducks suffered a 3-0 loss at the hands of the Calgary Flames–and it didn’t come in overtime or a shootout. Our apologies go out to the Ducks and their fans, who we’re sure were hoping to see their team go without a regulation loss this year. But don’t just blame us: Mikka Kiprusoff had a stellar performance, stopping all 37 shots that came his direction on the way to a shutout victory.
Anaheim would avenge the loss with another victory on Sunday night over the Wild, 3-2. Currently, their record stands at 13-1-2, by far the best in the Western Conference.

3. Preds Victorious
The Nashville Predator skated to a 1-0 victory on Saturday night, attempting to keep up with the Red Wings in the Central. Chris Mason was a brick wall between the pipes, saving his way to a shutout win with a career-high 42 saves. As a backup to Tomas Vokoun, it was his first shutout in the four games he’s started on the year. Scott Upshall scored the only goal of the game in the first period, but it was enough to fend off the Avalanche, who have slipped into last in the Northwest Division. This was the third 1-0 game in the NHL in the past week, which is exactly what the league is trying to stay away from with the rule changes put in effect last year (the other two games were a Dallas victory over Phoenix on Thursday and a Chicago win over Columbus last night).

Check It Out
SI.com’s Allan Muir looks into the struggles of the Columbus Blue Jackets, perhaps the most irrelevant team in the league. He suggests sniper Rick Nash is the problem, and if the Columbus Blue Jackets want to get rolling, then that is the guy that needs to put up numbers. Playing in the same division as Detroit and Nashville, it may be quite a while before the Blue Jackets actually have an impact on this league.

Game of the Night: Buffalo at Carolina
Rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference finals (Hurricanes won in seven games)

The Last Shot
The Chicago Blackhawks actually won a game on Sunday night. Oh, wait… they faced Columbus. Does that really count?

Categories
College Football

Nov 13 in Sports History: College Football’s Game of the Century


In 1993: In a college football “Game of the Century” that actually lived up to the hype, no. 2 Notre Dame defeated top-ranked Florida State 31-24 in South Bend. The Irish dominated the Seminoles on the ground, racking up 239 yards rushing with Adrian Jarrell and Lee Becton leading the way to a 31-17 fourth quarter lead. Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward rallied the Seminoles to within seven and drove to the Notre Dame 15 in the final seconds, but a fourth down desperation passed was batted away at the goal line, sealing the win for Notre Dame and touching off a wild celebration. It was the eighth time Notre Dame defeated an opponent ranked first in the country. Florida State won the war, however, and ended up claiming the national championship after Notre Dame was upset by Boston College the following week. (nd.cstv.com)

(Here’s video of the final play.)

In 1995: Dan Marino became the NFL’s all-time leading passer with 47,003 yards, passing Fran Tarkenton in a 34-17 home loss to the New England Patriots. Marino would go on to break just about every significant passing record in the NFL, including over 60,000 yards, 420 touchdowns, most 3,000-plus yard seasons (13) and most seasons throwing for 4,000-plus yards (six). He also broke the record for most career 300-yard passing games (51) against the Patriots (he ended up with 63). (miamidolphins.com/history)

In 1993: On the same night Notre Dame and Florida State were writing their names in the history books for greatness, the Dallas Mavericks were writing their own story of ineptitude. The (very) pre-Cuban Mavs dropped a tight game to the Jazz 101-100. Dallas would not win again until two days before Christmas, dropping 20 in a row. Right after that win against Minnesota, the Mavs suffered 16 straight letdowns, resulting in 36 losses in 37 games. After a 6-7 stretch, they proceeded to drop another 17 straight games. At 9-66, they flirted with the 1973 Philadelphia Sixers as the worst-ever team, but they “rebounded” to win four of their last seven to end up 13-69. Funny thing was, it was an actual improvement over their 1992-1993 season, when they won a whopping 11 games. (basketball-reference.com)

Categories
Detroit Red Wings

Nov 10 in Sports History: Hockey’s Ironman

In 1962: If baseball has Cal Ripken and football has Brett Favre, then hockey has Glenn Hall as its resident Iron Man. The Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks goaltender holds the NHL record for playing 502 straight games in goal (not counting 50 in the playoffs). During the seven seasons where he didn’t miss a game, he was named an All Star five times and helped Chicago win the Stanley Cup in 1961. Amazingly, he played every single game during the streak without a mask, made more dangerous as he was not strictly a stand-up goalie. Hall was one of the innovators of the “butterfly” style of goaltending in which the goalie flops to the ice to cover the ground with his pads (he estimated had needed over 300 stitches throughout his career). More amazingly, Hall admittedly threw up due to nervousness before every single game, and former teammates joked that his bucket should be in the Hall of Fame as well. Sadly, however, the streak ended with a Sammy Sosa-esque moment in which Hall injured his back while tying a strap right before playing in his 503rd game. (legendsofhockey.net)

In 1990: The Phoenix Suns shattered an NBA record by scoring 107 points in the first half. The Suns jumped out to a 107-70 lead over the Denver Nuggets and won 173-143. The victory also set an NBA record for most points scored in a non-overtime game. Phoenix rookie Cedric Ceballos scored a team-high 32 points off the bench, including 20 in a span of five minutes in the second quarter. The win was also the 700th of Suns coach Cotton Fitzsimmons’ career.

In 1945: Led by the tandem of Doc Blanchard and Junior Davis, top-ranked Army crushed no. 2 Notre Dame 48-0 at Yankee Stadium. Army’s 1945 team is considered one of the greatest in college football history. Not only did they defeat the Irish, they also beat Navy, who moved into the no. 2 spot after Notre Dame, marking the only time in college football where two games featuring the top-ranked teams were played in the same season (excluding bowl games).

Categories
College Football

Tidbits From The Tailgate: The Case For Rutgers

I have heard a lot of talk about Rutgers not having a chance at getting into a BCS Title game and I think that is complete horsesh*t.  Here are four reasons why Rutgers should be involved.

1.  The Second Half Of Thursday Night’s Game

If Louisville’s offense is the second best in the country then Rutgers defense has to be considered an elite unit.  They bottled up the Cardinals in the second half of that game.  Under 100 yards of offense.  It was more than just that though.  They were in Brian Brohm’s kitchen on every single play.  Brohm didn’t look like a guy who is going to play on Sunday last night.  He looked scared and it was for good reason as he was taking a lick on every single play.

2.  They didn’t make up the schedule or the rules

All Rutgers can do is win the games that are their slate.  They have done that.  In their defense, I am sure when they scheduled North Carolina and Illinois in the nonconference that they expected them to be better than what they were.  If Louisville was considered a BCS Title Game contender then Rutgers deserves the same consideration.  

3.  Greg Schiano might be the biggest up and coming name in college football

After last night’s victory I can already see the Athletic Director at the University of Miami putting together their offer letter.  The way Rutgers plays football is a reflection of their coach.  They line up, they run the football and they play defense.  Doing those things might not be pretty, but they win football games.  I think Schiano is one of those coaches that if you give him two weeks to prepare, he will come up with a way to beat you.

4.  It’s always more compelling if a Cinderella is involved

Let’s face it.  What would bring in bigger ratings.  Ohio State versus Florida or Texas OR Ohio State versus Rutgers.  Option 2 gives you the NCAA Tournament style David versus Goliath matchup.  It would be like when George Mason made the Final Four.

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Suns Burned

1. Arizona Heat
Coach Mike D’Antoni had some harsh word for his Suns team after falling to
1-5. “We’re soft as freaking cupcakes out there,” said D’Antoni. The
coach’s frustrations boiled over after a 119-112 loss to the Dallas
Mavericks but they had been simmering for quite some time. The Suns are on
a four game losing streak and have blown substantial lead in all of the
losses. What’s worse is that all have been conference loses, a conference
that Phoenix has made it to the finals in for the past two seasons.
Obviously, D’Antoni is upset with the defensive effort of his team. The
coach went on to say, “”We’re done messing around and we’re going to play
guys that are going to play hard.” Unfortunately, when you look at the box
scores, the Suns are hot on offense but seem to fear an overexposure from
defensive plays.

2. Cav Quitter?
LeBron James has been criticized since Tuesday night for walking off of the
court during the final moments of an overtime loss to Atlanta. According to
some, James quit on his team and showed poor sportsmanship. The incident
happened in the last ten seconds of the game with his team down by nine
points. James said that he never left the court although the television
footage doesn’t show it that way. He also questions whether this would be
an issue if it happened during a victory. Was he frustrated? Of course,
his team lost to one of the doormats of the NBA over the last eight years or
so. Should he have stuck around to shake hands with the other team?
Probably so, but I wouldn’t consider 34 points, seven rebounds and six
assists as quitting on your team. Following the controversy, the Cavs went
on to dominate the Bulls behind the efforts of James who had 19 points and
12 assists. Most would consider that to be a pretty good teammate.

3. C’mon Down!
Charles Barkley put up a new career high last night. And it didn’t involve
the gobbling up of rebounds or baked goods. On TNT’s Inside the NBA,
Barkley stunned the world when he proved to be somewhat knowledgeable on the
league’s players. The studio crew brought back its annual game show parody
named, “Who He Play For?” where Barkley attempts to name the team of a
player that has recently relocated. The Chuckster has been notoriously
awful over the past few years; however, this year he smashed his previous
best by correctly answering three out of five. Barkley knew that Raef
LaFrentz played for Portland, Theo Ratliff was on Boston and Darrell
Armstrong now resides in Indiana. Sir Charles was unaware that Alan Houston
played for Philadelphia or that Othella Harrington went to Charlotte.
Barkley’s playful excuse was that he only keeps up with the players that
actually get into the games.

4. So You’re Telling Me There’s A Chance
Joe Johnson is beginning to spread his wings as he has the Atlanta Hawks
soaring to the best record in the eastern conference. As unbelievable as it
may sound, Atlanta has a 3-1 record and is riding a three game winning
streak. Credit has to be given to Johnson as he is putting up some MVP type
numbers early on in the season. Johnson is averaging 40 minutes, 27.8
points, four rebounds, five assists and 1.5 steals per game. In addition,
his shooting numbers are terrific. Currently he sits at 48 percent on field
goals and 50 percent from behind the three point line, both are career
highs. While Atlanta has a few good, young players on their roster, at 25,
Johnson is the only diamond out of the batch. Johnson leads the team in
minutes, points and assists, and ranks 5th in rebounds, 3rd in blocks, and
3rd in steals. With Johnson, Atlanta has an outside shot of cracking the
top eight in the conference but without him, this team is guaranteed to
repeat their past performances as division cellar dwellers.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Baron Davis vs. New Orleans 44 min, 36 pts
(FG: 11-17, 3FG: 1-4, FT: 13-17), 4 reb, 9 ast, 3 stl

Friday’s Game to Watch: New Orleans (4-1) @ Portland (3-2) Doesn’t look
right on paper, does it? But Portland is undefeated at home behind the
impressive efforts of power forward Zach Randolph who is averaging 28 points
on 52 percent shooting to go along with 10 rebounds, a steal and a block per
game. The Hornets are off to their best start in franchise history and tied
for the western conference’s best record. Second year point guard Chris
Paul is leading the way for the team as he comes off a career high night,
scoring 34 points against Golden State.