Franchise Relocations

Apparently the New Orleans Hornets are considering changing their name to the Pelicans. And because of this possibility, Michael Jordan has stated that he wants to change the Bobcats back to the Charlotte Hornets. (I assume there was no interest in Utah to allow New Orleans to have the "Jazz" back.)


Image Source

Now all we need is the Arizona Cardinals to create a new name, so St. Louis can have the Cardinals back. Then this will allow the new team in Los Angeles to be the Rams, like they used to be. By the way, those Rams also used to be in Cleveland, and the Cardinals used to be in Chicago.. Thank goodness St. Louis still has its baseball Cardinals!

As far as the Colts go, they moved from Baltimore to Indianapolis, keeping their name. Then the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens. Then when the new team was created in Cleveland, they jumped at the chance be the Browns again! That Cleveland team is the only one in all of this who had any sense! And remember the Houston Texans had every opportunity to become the Oilers, since that team changed its name to the Titans when they moved to Tennessee. It's also important to note that probably 99% of all Houston Texans fans don't even know the Kansas City Chiefs used to be the Dallas Texans.

Speaking of Kansas City, the origin of the Royals has some crazy history too, but it's actually an original franchise. However, there was once a team in Philadelphia called the Athletics, who moved to KC and were the Kansas City Athletics for 13 seasons. But that team is now in Oakland.

No wonder the Athletics decided to move in the first place. Philly also had the Phillies. What on earth could be the significance of baseball's Philadelphia Phillies? They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. (Source)

But what sucks about the New Orleans Hornets is that they were forced to play a season in Oklahoma City before the Seattle Supersonics came to town. So lots of OKC basketball fans, who became attached to the Hornets, suddenly had no team again. Very soon, however, they would be rewarded, to the chagrin of everyone in the city of Seattle, with the Supersonics - and called themselves the Oklahoma City Thunder. Had the Hornets simply decided to just stay in OKC, the Supersonics could've gone to New Orleans, and then we'd have the New Orleans __?___ Thunder? But then, the Charlotte Hornets (being in OKC instead of New Orleans) may have not wanted to change their name to the Pelicans, and I wouldn't have written this blog post in the first place.

But wait.. We all know that Salt Lake City is not known for its jazz music. But are there any Grizzlies in Memphis? I presume there must be at least one.. at their zoo. Same with the lakes of Minnesota. Once upon a time, Minneapolis had a basketball team called the Lakers, formerly the Detroit Gems, who are now in Los Angeles, and the rest is history.

Now that the New Jersey (formerly New York) Nets are in Brooklyn, I assume New Jersey is just flat-out screwed.

But at least you're not a D.C. baseball fan. The original Washington Senators decided to move to Minnesota, and became the Twins. Then after being granted a new franchise (also called the Senators), 11 years after the original Senators moved to Minnesota, the second Senators moved to Arlington, TX, and became the Texas Rangers.

Oddly enough though, I don't think any teams have anything on the Sacramento Kings. They began in Rochester, NY as the Rochester Royals. After 37 years, they moved to Cincinnati, and were the Cincinnati Royals for 15 years. Then they moved to Kansas City and changed their name to the Kings to avoid confusion with their baseball Royals.
Image Source

(What! Why?? Two St. Louis organizations obviously didn't have a problem both being the Cardinals in both baseball and football!)

Anyway, thirteen years later they moved to California, and became the Sacramento Kings. Now this Sacramento Kings team is seriously considering moving to Norfolk, VA to become either the Virginia Kings or the NorfolkKings. I seriously hope they choose the former rather than the latter. Yeah I intentionally left no space. That pronunciation is just not nice at all.

I won't even get into hockey or soccer. Nor will I mention any of these:

∙ Buffalo Braves - San Diego Clippers - L.A. Clippers
∙ Baltimore Orioles - New York Highlanders - New York Yankees
∙ Milwaukee Brewers - St. Louis Brewers - St. Louis Browns - Baltimore Orioles
∙ Boston Braves - Milwaukee Braves - Atlanta Braves
∙ Seattle Pilots - Milwaukee Brewers ..(Seattle Mariners)
∙ [Brooklyn Dodgers --> L.A. Dodgers ~&~New York Giants --> San Francisco Giants]
∙ The Redskins used to be in Boston. Hmm...

I know one thing. If Tottenham ever decides to move its soccer team to San Antonio, we might be in trouble!

Sources: Wikipedia's "Relocation of Professional Sports Teams", and Philly's, and Cincy's

Well done ESPN! Are You kidding me?

Source

Spurs Update

Friday night at the AT&T Center the Spurs welcomed the New Orleans Hornets for the 4th time this season. All three of the previous ones were pretty close (2 were very close). This time, however, I expected something a little more impressive, the way we've been playing (9 straight wins).

Once again we were active inside early, as Tony had a several lay-ups, and Blair and Duncan both were pretty much scoring at will. The three combined for our first 16 points. It wasn't long before the game would take its shape. Manu would 7 of his own and the Spurs had a 34-24 1st-Q lead. Neal, Jack, and Diaw would chip in as well, while Carl Landry was carrying the Hornets. Ever since the score was 29-23 late in the 1st-Q, we would go on a 16-5 run (45-28), followed by another non-stop run that began with the score 48-36. Only 5½ minutes later the halftime score was 72-45 - so yeah,
Image Source (AP Photo/Darren Abate) - Pop proving his worth for CoY tonight

that's a 24-9 run, and our highest half of the season. By this point the Spurs were shooting a CRAZY 70+%.

Eric Gordon came out strong, and within 3 minutes our 27-pt. lead had shrunk to 20. We would again respond inside for possession after possession, but Gordon, Chris Kaman, and Greivis Vasquez would have a different plan. Our lead was now just 16 (85-69). Our second group was doing the most damage this game, so Pop put in Patty Mills with them, and things took off again. A 16-4 run later the 3rd-Q would end with the score 99-73 in our favor. Again - our largest 3Q output of the season.

Whatever lineup Pop put out there continued to dominate, so the rest of the game was pretty much a formality, as I would've bet the farm they wouldn't come back. They didn't. Tiago Splitter, Neal, and James Anderson carried us the rest of the way - with a little help from our new diamond in the rough, Patty Mills. The dominating 128-103 WIN was our highest point total of the season.

Not only that, but the Thunder lost in Indiana. And Miami lost at home to Memphis, snapping their 17-game home winning streak. And Houston beat the Lakers in LA. And Portland beat the Mavs in Dallas. So good things are upon us this night! The Spurs are now in first place, and the standings will follow. Here is the incredible boxscore.. Do notice how the points, rebounds, assists, and minutes are ALL spread-out. Yeah - that's how deep we are. We are now 27-5 since Jan. 30!

Here are the current NBA standings:

Click to enlarge!!                                                                                           Source

Spurs Update

Saturday and Sunday nights finished off the Spurs' 1st back-to-back-to-back of the season. Saturday was a quick trip to New Orleans for a bout with the shorthanded Hornets. Spurs were also very shorthanded, as Manu didn't make the trip in order to rest an aching body. Splitter is still dealing with back spasms, and Gary Neal would also sit due to a sore foot from Friday night's game. Hornets were down Okafor (knee), Kaman (illness), Ariza (ankle), and Jason Smith due to his suspension related to the cheap shot against Blake Griffin.

The good news is Tony Parker is back. I expected this to be the game somewhat like the game @ Portland a few weeks back (a 40-pt. loss), when Pop sat Tony & Tim while Manu & Splitter were hurt. But to my surprise, Duncan would also play. The contest began OK for the Spurs, as DeJuan Blair came out like a monster possessed, but then again, he tends to have good games vs. NO. He would total 23 & 7 for this one. It remained close throughout the first half, but we trailed by a handful for most of the late 2nd-Q. Up by 1 after 1-Q, but down by 1 at half.. 23-22, and 48-47 respectively.

Image Source (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)

Neither team were shot very well throughout, in fact Spurs finished with a lowly 2 of 19 from three range (ouch!), and totaled 40% overall. Hornets did better at 46%, but was 1 of 5 from three. And if it weren't for 16 NO TO's (compared with our 7), this one would've probably been much worse.

Defenses tightened up for the 4th-Q, and only 30 total points were scored. We would take a 5-pt. lead with 5 min.s to go, but Belinelli would give the Hornets the 84-83 lead with 2:06 left. Duncan would hit two clutch FTs before Belinelli put them ahead once again 86-85. But after Duncan made a tip-in (87-86), followed by a great defensive stop on Jarrett Jack (who led all scorers with 27), it was Danny Green's clutch baseline jumper that put us ahead 87-84. Green would then miss the only two FTs the Spurs would miss all night in an attempt to seal it, giving the Hornets the last shot with :02 left. It was defended well, and Belinelli came up short - we snuck out of the hive with the 89-86 WIN. Whew!

_______________________________________________________________


Sunday night back at home vs. the Philadelphia 76ers, Manu would return to the lineup, but Timmy would sit. With Tiago & Neal both still out, we would obviously have to "go small" for most of this one. Here is the way NBA.com described Timmy's absence in their boxscore:

So, I guess as long as they don't play Hawes & Vucevic together, we should be OK. Holiday and Meeks came out hot, combining for 12 of the first 16 Sixers' points. Kawhi and Bonner were, however, making their presence known as well, as we jumped out to a 29-22 1st-Q lead.
Image Source

Heck, newly acquired PG Justin Dentmon even scored his first Spurs' points for the home crowd early on.

After falling behind 29-18 late in the 1st-Q, the Sixers would then go on an 18-1 run to take the lead 36-30. Sam Young and Lou Williams were key contributors. This sparked a 10-0 run of our own, led by 6 from Blair, and a three from Danny Green. The score at the half was 52-49, San Antonio.

In comparison with the previous game in New Orleans, this contest saw 26 steals and 39 turnovers! So obviously play looked a little sloppy, but both these teams are super on defense. Nevertheless, it was mid-3rd-Q when we turned on the gas. Tony & Manu came to life, while rarely playing together. We started sharing the basketball better, and ran out to an 11-pt. lead after 3-Qs (76-65). We didn't stop, though. A lot of the scoring "wave" was tempered, but we kept the pressure on defensively to the tone of a 21-pt. lead with just under 6 min. left (88-67). SO yeah, that's another 20-4 run since late third-Q.

They would close to within 14, but didn't have enough, as we held on for the impressive 93-76 WIN against the team who allows the fewest points per game in the NBA. Six guys in double-figures.. Responded to the terrible 3-pt. shooting the night
Image Source (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

before by hitting 7 (of 28, so more work to do), and we hung with them on the boards. Kawhi Leonard had a super game with 11 points and 10 boards. Tony had 21 & 7 assists, and Blair had 19 & 6 boards..

Yeah we just went W-W-W in 3 nights, like only 4 teams have done during this compacted season! Spurs have now won 7 of 8, improving to a 33-14 record, still 2nd in the West, 2 losses behind the Thunder. Now we have to go on the road again to Phoenix & Sacramento back-to-back Tues. & Wed. to complete our 5 games in 6 days (and 6 in 8), before coming home for some rest and a meeting with a good Indiana team (and George Hill) Saturday.

Spurs Update

Monday night the Spurs were in New Orleans to face the 3-13 Hornets, who were riding a 7-game losing streak. Spurs are coming off an OT win @Orlando, and two last-minute losses at home vs. the Kings, and in Houston.

Unlike most games recently, we didn't get off to a hot start, and trailed 12-5 almost 4 minutes in, before a Spurs' timeout, Image Source                                                                   followed by an RJ three.

It still took some time before we began seeing the familiar Tony-to-Timmy pick and roll time and time again. We led 30-28 after 1 Q.

With Duncan resting, Tiago makes the most of his playing time. Along with Tony, Gary Neal, and later Duncan, himself, he kept us in the game in which both teams were finding success on the offensive end. We led 56-55 at the half - 2 quarters of basketball in which Tony already has 11 assists.

The game continued to be close throughout the 3rd Q, as the Spurs' biggest lead was 3, but also fell behind by 6 at one point. Another RJ three and a Parker layup closed out the 3rd at 80-79 Hornets.

Jarret Jack continues his hot night (26), as he & Vasquez erase our early 4-pt. lead. Coming down the stretch, defense is prevailing, but so is Tony & Tim. Spurs led by 4 twice before two Hornets' timeouts, only to see the score tied on a Cerl Landry tip-in with 5 seconds left. So then we drew up a play, and this happened:


Video Source ..sorry, I couldn't find a clip with Bill Land and Sean Elliott.

Timmy finished with a season-high 28pts. 7rebs. on 11 of 19 shooting, turning back the clock yet again, and making all of us who were upset about him being held out of the Houston game eat our words. Tony Parker recorded a career-high 17 assists, and added 20 points. He's the first player this season to score 20 and record as many as 17 assists. A great Spurs WIN 104-102, although this is the only time this season that the Hornets (1-8, and now 1-9 on their home floor) have scored 100+ pts. Yeah, that's another serious concern!


Obviously focusing on their defense at home vs. the Atlanta Hawks, the Spurs take a quick 1st Q timeout down 13-9. From that point on, (6:54 left in the 1st), we would hold them scoreless for 5min. 42sec. (19-13 SA). A Green 3, and a Tiago layup ends the 1st Q at 24-18 SA.


Image Source (D. Clarke Evans/NBAE via Getty Images)

Our lead of 6 became 9 in a few minutes, and for the first time in many games, we have finally find ourselves in a game where we are apparently going to hold a lead throughout. Leading 30-26, Spurs went on a 16-6 run --> 46-32. Jeff Teague then scores 7 in the final 2 minutes, to our 2. Our halftime lead is 48-44.

One minute into the 3rd, and Pop pulls Tony, Blair, and Leonard. A minute later our lead was 50-48, and Matt Bonner & the second team, for the most part, decides to pull away and never look back. It's the first time in 5 games that the excitement has surfaced. Already 2 of 3 from three, and 3 of 4 overall, Matt Bonner decides to ride his hot hand. Bonner hits two more threes, and several buckets by Tony and DeJuan help increase the lead to 15. 76-61 after 3 Q. Yeah the D has stepped it up, and we hold them to 17 in the 3rd.

Our D holds strong as we complete a 14-2 run and lead 84-63 with 8:33 left. With Duncan now done on the bench, Tony & Tiago carry us with the pick 'n' roll again, as Blair and Kawhi begin to take over. Cory Joseph sealed the win with a left-handed break-away dunk. And as our old guys rested, we get the 105-83 WIN in our best overall team game in more than a week. For this one, the box score says a lot. 29 assists on 42 made baskets is exactly what you want. We also out-rebounded Atlanta by 10, 44-34, a stat that when in reverse fashion, has no doubt contributed to many losses lately. Shooting percentage wasn't really a factor here (51% - 44%), but going 11 of 23 from three certainly helps. Thank you Matt Bonner (5-7 from three, RJ, Green, and even Tony also hit 2 each).

Tony Parker now has 37 assists in his last 3 games. I like this. And one other thing: It's about time we finally beat a team badly who didn't have "an off-night shooting". Hawks shot 43.8%. No argument can be made that "they had a bad shooting night". And we only shot 51.2%.

Next is a 3-game road trip to Minnesota (Fri.), @Dallas (Sun. the 29th), and the next night at Memphis on Monday the 30th.

Phil Jackson Questions NBA Owning Hornets

...foreshadowing at its best.

An article written almost a year ago.

From the Orange Country Register dated 12/29/2010: NEW ORLEANS — Phil Jackson has said it before, so he said it again: He isn’t confident about the Hornets’ long-term viability in New Orleans.

Image Source

"I don’t know if New Orleans can support a team," Jackson said.

The Hornets had their second sellout of the season Wednesday with the Lakers in town, drawing a season-high 18,018 in New Orleans’ 17th home game of the season (13-4). The franchise was recently bought by the NBA, which prompted Jackson to say: "Not happy about that."

Jackson put forth a scenario where Hornets star Chris Paul might revive his demand for a trade, and Jackson wondered how the league could manage being the one deciding which other franchise would get Paul.

"Who’s going to pull the button on it?" Jackson asked. "When Chris says he has to be traded, how’s that going to go? ... Someone’s going to have to make a very nonjudgmental decision on that part that’s not going to irritate anyone else in the league."

The Article Itself

Source / Via