Best Of New Orleans Blog

by Alejandro de los Rios

So I have no idea how I missed this — probably because I was too busy musing self-indulgently on other Hornets fans — but this ingenious Hornets fan made and incredibly attractive sign that psyched out Tony Parker at the free throw line during Game 5 in New Orleans on Tuesday. And, deservedly so, this guy made it on a segment on ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption.”

So there you have it, if you want to make opposing players miss free throws, and possibly make it onto ESPN, just hold up a picture of that player’s wife. Seeing as how Hornets fans have gone above and beyond in terms of signs lately, I expect everyone to go all out for Game 7 Monday night. With that said though, I looked through the internet and found some possible sign fodder that could be used in Game 7:

• Tim Duncan: TIMMMMAAAAYYYYYY!!!!!!
• Robert Horry: Cheap Shot Rob
• Brent Barry: Not as Good as Rick or Can you sign my card? (That would be Brent Barry at the 30-second mark)
• Bruce Bowen: Kicking and screaming
• Manu Ginobili: We need a quick brisket
• Michael Finley: Lost to Brent Barry in the ‘96 Slam Dunk competition
• Kurt Thomas: Accomplished Gymnast

Do as you please, Hornets fans.

by Alejandro de los Rios

Since moving down here back in August (still can’t believe it hasn’t been a year yet) I’ve been completely enthralled with New Orlenians and their passion for their sports teams. From LSU and Saints football to the recent emergence of the Hornets, it’s a contagious atmosphere to say the least. Anyone who’s paid attention to my entries on this blog knows how much attention I’ve given the fans. And I’d say it’s been deservedly so.

Before moving down here I heard many people worry on my behalf about moving to a city that’s still viewed in the rest of the country as a recovery zone. I had my own worries as well, as would be expected when you pick up and decided to move to a completely new city on a whim. But all of my trepidation was quickly assuaged the first night I spent here and it’s been smooth sailing ever since. (more…)

by Alejandro de los Rios

I could come up with a million excuses as to why it took me so long to post this, but really, it all comes down to laziness.

Regardless, the Saints held their rookie camp this past weekend and invited media folks on Saturday to talk to players and head coach Sean Payton. For those of you who aren’t familiar, rookie camp is a place were draft picks, un-drafted free-agents and general NFL hangers ons get a chance to show their chops to NFL head coaches. Forget that, out of the more than 60 players invited, less than half a dozen will make the team (including the practice squad). Also, forget that, aside from the Saints six draft picks, media members didn’t know or talk to the majority of the players. Just know that rookie camp is just a big, humid opportunity to ask NFL greenhorns pressing questions. Like, what’s up with the IHOP tatoo? (more…)

by Alejandro de los Rios

From ESPN.com comes this fantastic profile about Chris “Birdman” Andersen that sheds incredible light on the player, his past and his estranged relationship with his mother. It’s actually a pretty heart-wrenching story — published on mother’s day, no less — about how Andersen hasn’t seen his mother since a fight they had while he was on the Denver Nuggets three years ago.

It certainly shes new light on Birdman, a long-time fan favorite, and his struggles coping with his father’s abandonment when he was young and living rough-shot in rural Texas. Linda Holubec, Andersen’s mom, had to feed her three children diamond-head snakes and worked three jobs to pay for bills. She also ran in a biker gang and shot her first gun when she was 10. It is a must read for any Hornets fan or if you’re looking for a reminder to show some love to all the moms out there today.

by Alejandro de los Rios

If you didn’t see this last night you better have been dead or in jail (and even in jail I hear they have televisions, though this might have been after lights out…I digress). Anyway, I got to see this game at Cooter Brown’s last night with some local media folk and a completely packed bar. Though Kobe Bryant got the MVP this year, I think it’s safe to say Chris Paul has one (likely more) in the future. For now, he’ll just have to settle for 1st team All-NBA.

And if you think that I wasn’t just a little bit excited that the Hornets lost last night and thus assured they’d return here for a Game 5, then I’ve done a terrible job of portraying how fun it is to cover these guys.

by Alejandro de los Rios

So today is Chris Paul’s birthday and, accordingly, local blogs are marking the event with Chris Paul blog day (read the roundup here). Though this isn’t technically a Hornets blog and I’m not technically a blogger (I prefer the term “online journalist” because, well, I’m a tool) I still thought it appropriate to post my thoughts.

First, some disclosure: A couple of years ago, I used to hate Chris Paul. Not on any personal level — how could I considering I only first met him a couple of months ago — but on a crazy fanatical level. See, I grew up outside D.C. in Maryland and, thusly, became a die-hard Maryland basketball fan. Paul played for Wake Forest. Anyone who knows anything about ACC basketball knows that if you’re a fan of one team, you hate all the rest. It also didn’t help that Paul consistently killed my Terps, a team I thought (and still think) should be in the ACC’s top-3 every year (along with Duke and UNC). (more…)

by Alejandro de los Rios

It’s not my job to compare how approachable celebrities are at sporting games. I’m out their reporting.

I didn’t notice that Danny Glover could spare only a couple of seconds after halftime while Glenn Dorsey gave me a solid two minutes. I didn’t notice Forrest Whitaker or Isaiah Washington or Deuce McCallister.

They didn’t talk to me, it’s not their job. I was out reporting.

I didn’t notice how large of a man Glenn Dorsey is in real life. It’s not my job to measure a man’s size.

Dorsey said that this was the second Hornets’ game he’s been to and that he was at the Boston game earlier in the year (didn’t notice him then). He said the Hornets crowd compares well with LSU football crowds (I’ve seen both, but didn’t notice that). (more…)

by Alejandro de los Rios

Some context: Seeing as how I rarely have anything to ask about the actual games being played, I try to limit myself in press conferences to just one question towards the end. My reasoning is that other people who get paid much more money than me to do this every day certainly deserve priority. The playoffs magnify this self-imposed restriction thanks to the policy that every reporter must ask their question into a microphone for television purposes.

But after Saturday night’s game, I casually raised my hand after Greg Popovich’s opening remarks and found myself first in line. A bit nervous, I asked what a kind of broad — and maybe a bit naive — question about the crowd and how they compared to the rest of the league and to games earlier in the season.

“That’s not part of my job,” he said about comparing fans. (more…)

by Alejandro de los Rios

Well, the AP might consider the Hornets’ Mardis Gras gold jerseys fashion-backwards (scroll to the bottom of the link, under “Game Notes”), but that isn’t stopping the Hornets from going all gold tonight at the Hive Nest. George Shinn ws kind enough to pose for this picture pre-game and said that it was Chris Paul’s idea to give out the shirts.

“He asked and we delivered,” Shinn said.

The shirts would have been delivered earlier — namely, for Game 5 against the Mavericks — but they couldn’t all be printed in time. If y’all remember Game 1 of that series (it seems so long ago, doesn’t it) I interviewed Melvin Ely about being back in the playoffs a year after winning a title with the Spurs. Ely had mentioned that he thought about bringing his championship ring in, but forgot. Did he bring it tonight?

“Naw, I didn’t think it was necessary,” he said.

How so?

“Today in shoot around, everyone was real focused,” he said. “Players were really vocal. I’ve been here a year and that’s only happened a few times. I didn’t want to bring in any distractions.”

The team still isn’t tense, though. While they might not be playing dodgeball in the locker room, they are loose, laughing and joking around. Ely, for example, had to deal with in the form of Hilton Armstrong, who was making faces and saying “like little baby toes, like mini vienna sausages” (quotes from the movies “Superbad”) behind the reporter and cameraman. How is it that Ely was able to keep his focus?

“Years of practice,” he said.

Tip-off is at 9:10 so, if you’re reading this, put on some gold and get to a television. Now.

By Alejandro de los Rios

UPDATE: ticktock6 pointed out that I never clarified on Jannero’s name. For the record, he has never changed the spelling of his name. Anytime it’s been spelled differently has been a typo on the part of whoever wrote it that way, be it media guides, programs, box scores or Wikipedia entries. Apologies for not making that clear earlier.
This is a subject that has been nagging me for a while now. While some are looking at Jannero Pargo’s emergence as one of the league’s premiere sixth man, I’ve been fixated on this passage from his Wikipedia entry:

When Pargo first entered the NBA as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers, his first name was spelled with a single N —”Janero”. He was released by the Lakers during the 2003-2004 season and, when he was signed by the Toronto Raptors, his name had gained the extra N that is now reflected in his name.

I finally approached Pargo about it yesterday and it led to this exchange.

Me: You ever look at your Wikipedia page?

JP: Who?

Me: Your Wikipedia.

JP: Uh-uhn. What’s that? (more…)

Ryan Perrilloux, a reserve quarterback for the defending national champion LSU Tigers, today was kicked off the team for a breach of contract, sources revealed, after the university’s math department deduced that the sophomore’s remaining eligibility will not allow for the four Heisman trophies Perrilloux promised the school as an incoming freshman. 

“A deal’s a deal,” head coach Les Miles said at Friday morning’s spring practice. “He can go win those other three Heismans for somebody else.”

Perrilloux, for once, had no comment.

by Alejandro de los Rios

FULL DISCLOSURE: That picture above is of Morris Peterson being interviewed yesterday after his miracle bank shot — the one that made it to SportsCenters Top Plays. But I’m using it now because it has a lot to do with what went on with practice today (including at the end when he kept me hostage for 15 minutes as he looked into my camera, said “SportsCenter, this is for you” and proceeded to miss a dozen full-court heaves).

When they let the reporters in, the team was wrapping up a full-court 5-0n-5 scrimmage, the most noteworthy aspect of which was the players’ jovial nature about it all — you’d a thought these players were getting ready for a mid-January game, not Game 1 against the defending champs. When practice ended, players scattered about with a handful heading to the far basket to repeat Mo Pete’s bank shot. (more…)

by Alejandro de los Rios

UPDATE: ZOMG!!! I found the commercial!

I’ve posted at length about the Hornets and their extensive trick shot abilities. But no Chris Paul half-court shot and no Jannero Pargo behind-the-backboard shot will ever top this shot by Morris Peterson during Hornets practice this morning. (And for those of you who think the Hornets are still lacking in media love, note that this video is scheduled to air tonight on SportsCenter and on ESPNews.)

Some things that don’t appear in the video or ESPN article:

• It can’t be emphasized enough, but the players took what seemed like 1-2 thousand shots. Don’t believe me? If you count, there are 15 shots that are taken in that video, which is around 40 seconds long. That’s around 20 shots taken every minute over what was about 30-40 minutes. I’m not math major, but that tops out at close to the 1,000 shot mark. (more…)

by Alejandro de los Rios

It really only makes sense: after three consecutive losing seasons — including a debut with only 18 wins — Byron Scott led the Hornets to a franchise-best 56 wins and a division title. Now, Scott has been honored with the Association’s Coach of the Year award.

David West and Chris “Birdman” Andersen are the only two players that remain from Scott’s first year. On several occasions, I’ve asked West how or if Scott has changed since that miserable first season. (more…)

by Alejandro de los Rios

And what better way to get pumped up for the big game than by checking out this video of Byron Scott’s son’s Hornets rap song (video via: Deadspin). Or, maybe you could go read about how Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban’s legal troubles thanks to one crazy inmate. Of course, the best pre- and post-game analysis can be found over at Hornets247.com (plus you can check out some cautious optimism over at HornetsHype). Although, I’m not so sure how, um, sober the Hornets247 analysis will be tonight considering there are watch parties at Gordon Bierch downtown AND ACME Oyster House in Covington featuring the Honeybees and free swag.

by Alejandro de los Rios

So the good folks over at ESPN the Magazine just can’t seem to give the Crescent City enough love. First their was the Tyson Chandler/Jannero Pargo video (/cough/shamless plug!/cough/) and now there’s two completely (?) unrelated rankings that put New Orleans in the top three of U.S. cities and pro sports teams.

The first, TheMag.com’s All-World Power Rankings put up yesterday puts New Orleans in first place above angry bears and referee morality, which is always nice.

The second is from the print edition of the Magazine (on newsstands now!) which features the New Orleans Hornets as No. 3 in its annual “Ultimate Standings: Fan Satisfaction Rankings.” From the Web site:

Budding star Chris Paul and his ‘mates sure help. And so do promotions like Guys Night Out Wednesdays ($44 for two tix, two beers, postgame photo with a pair of Honeybees) and Friends and Family Weekend Packs ($77 for four tix, four hot dogs, four chips, four 7-Ups). And while New Orleans Arena has a blah color scheme and mediocre amenities, management makes up for it with bobbleheads, free jerseys and the occasional $1 brewski. “The people of New Orleans don’t really need an excuse to party so you know we get into it,” says Hitley.

And yes, that Hitley they quote is none other than Ron Hitley over at Hornets247.com, making this all the more sweeter. Now if the Hornets would only give Hitley and other bloggers (that don’t contribute for ESPN the Magazine) a press pass, it might catapult them to No. 1 in next year’s rankings.