Selfish thoughts on Game 1 of the Western Conference Semis:
1. The Spurs can run--those graybeards are fast. Bowen had a great first quarter, but I don't think he should play 34 minutes if that means Parker or Manu have to sit.
2. As advertised, Paul and West are the show. If they are playing well, the Hornets will always be in the thick of it. Horry, Oberto and Thomas looked like statues trying to guard West.
3. Paul reminded me of Baron Davis the way he drove to the hole. When his outside shot wasn't working, he drove and dished.
4. Parker is unbelievably good. Fast as lightning with a great outside shot. Manu is a great shooter in traffic.
5. Bowen should have been called for all the shoulders he put into Paul during the game.
6. Bonzi is a Spurs killer. If he can produce 10 points a game in twenty minutes, the Hornets will win. I would start him instead of Mo Pete. The fact that he can play both SG and SF gives Scott flexibility.
7. DON'T BLAME HUGO!! Blame the Hornets' organization and the New Orleans Arena staff.
8. I expect a big game from Duncan in game 2. I think he will be guarding West on the defensive end.
9. Chandler's ability as an offensive-zone rebounder was a key factor last night.
10. I was surprised to see the Spurs doing less complaining after each foul called against them.
Since my avatar is a fleur-de-lis, the logo of my favorite team--the NFL's Saints--is the same, and I live in a former colony of France named after Louis XIV (the Sun King), I thought it appropriate to tell my fellow bloggers Happy Bastille Day!! For those of you saying Huh?, this is France's 4th of July.
Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge
I think it's entirely appropriate that we Americans celebrate the important role that France played in our nation's independence from Great Britain just 10 days after our own Independence Day.
The greatest French-American was never even an American during his lifetime. The Marquis de Lafayette came to the American Colonies, volunteered in the American Army, and was arguably George Washington's most trusted and able commander. He used his money, influence and position to further the cause of Independence in America to his fellow Frenchmen. Lafayette was postuhumously made an American citizen in 2002.
From this American, Mercibeaucoup, France
The most popular Frenchman in America, 1777....
.....And the most popular Frenchman in America 2007.
Though I am a life-long Southerner, ice hockey is my game. I was likely the first hockey-specif ic sportswriter in the state of Louisiana when the ECHL arrived in 1995. I was a freelance hockey sportswriter for local fishwraps between 1995-2000.
Being from New Orleans, I follow the Saints, Hornets and LSU in that order. I have been from Los Angeles to New York City to watch Wayne Gretzky play, and I attended my first hockey game at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1985. The greatest hockey ever played was the 1987 Canada Cup Final between Canada and the USSR.
