by Alejandro de los Rios

Anyone who’s been to a Hornets game knows that every time Chris Paul scores or assists, the PA announcer says his name followed by the WWE’s Ric Flair’s tradmark “Wooo!” The practice dates back to when the Hornets were in Charlotte, where The Nature Boy hails from and carried over to New Orleans as Flair and owner George Shinn are good friends. So it only makes sense that, with the Hornets on national television, for Ric Flair to announce the opening lineup and then sign autographs at halftime.

Ironically enough, the “Wooo!” used to be Baron Davis’ sound effect. Now with the Warriors, Davis’ new unofficial sound effect is “Boooooooo!” every time he touches the ball and resounding cheers every time he makes a mistake.

Both teams, however, seem completely unaffected by the extra glitz and glitter put on for this Sunday afternoon affair. Though the crowd isn’t as rowdy as during the Boston game, there is a definite playoff atmosphere in the building. Most likely due to the fact that, if the playoffs were to start today, these two teams would match up in the first round. Luckily for the Hornets, none of the malaise from Friday’s game carried over to today. With the Warriors fighting for their playoff lives, and the Hornets barely clinging to first place in the West, expect this one to come down to the wire.