Terence Moore-on

[spongey]

http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/epa...be1e410f0.html

Hornets move into a pothole
Terence Moore - Staff
Wednesday, May 15, 2002


Blame it on smugness. Either that, or the desire to protect the guilty in the NBA from verbal snipers in the future. Whatever the case, league bosses won't discuss the silly vote that sent the Hornets dribbling from Charlotte to New Orleans.

Here's the inside word: With a majority of the 29 owners needed to approve the deal, there was just one dissenter. Who? Well, it likely was the Dallas Mavericks' Mark Cuban. That's because he told the truth last week by saying he doubted New Orleans' ability to support another pro franchise in Louisiana's brutal economy.

New Orleans has one Fortune 500 company, and that company is on the verge of moving to Florida. Despite all of that stifling humidity, the public schools lacked funds for air conditioning until this year. Then you have the potholes. They are nearly as prevalent around New Orleans as crawfish. And now, with the Hornets coming to an area that lacks a significant middle class, you're asking many of its citizens to choose between attending an NBA game and purchasing bread for a month.

You also have that foreigner's thing. If you aren't from within a bayou or three, you are considered a foreigner in this city that loves its own thing. See Mardi Gras, along with New Orleans' special brand of funerals and music. In the midst of that, you have the defiance of George Shinn and Ray Wooldridge, natives of North Carolina and Tennessee, respectfully, refusing as co-owners of the Hornets to change the team's name and colors to something more indigenous to New Orleans.

Speaking of Shinn and Wooldridge, let's move to that Tom Benson thing. Benson is the 75-year-old owner of the Saints and the most despised sports personality in New Orleans. He'll have to share the latter tag after those in New Orleans get more of Shinn and Wooldridge.

Benson infuriated the Saints' dwindling fan base even more last week by firing popular general manager Randy Mueller during a rambling press conference. This is the same Benson who has spent the recent part of his 18 years with the Saints whining about the need to leave the mostly adequate Superdome for a publicly financed stadium filled with luxury boxes. After threats to move the Saints to San Antonio, to Los Angeles or to any other place that could stuff his pockets, Benson finally relented near the end of last season, but not without a price to Louisiana taxpayers.

The same politicians who can't fix those potholes agreed to renovate the Superdome. They also gave Benson $18 million for each of the next 10 years, and New Orleans fumed. In other words, New Orleans resembled Charlotte after Shinn and Wooldridge held that city hostage in search of a publicly financed arena with luxury boxes. Shinn also was involved in a highly publicized sex scandal that really turned Charlotte against the supposedly Bible-toting owner and his team.

Those in the Carolinas tired so much of Shinn and Wooldridge that they ceased attending Hornets games after helping the expansion team lead the NBA in attendance eight times. Then Shinn and Wooldridge saw that New Orleans' state-of-the-art arena was vacant. After NBA commissioner David Stern told New Orleans what it had to do in the short run to get the Hornets, New Orleans responded. It ranged from selling a slew of luxury boxes and club seats to acquiring a television deal.

Now the NBA, the Hornets and New Orleans must deal with the long run. In the long run, bringing the Hornets to New Orleans will be as successful as placing a curfew on Bourbon Street.

tlmoore@ajc.com

[Whodat32]

Another reporter who hasn't been to New Orleans and is currently in...

LOSER DENIAL

Yeah Atlanta is sweet, Nice and clean last time I went there for the SEC Championship between LSU and Tennessee. The only decent people were the LSU and Tennessee fans.

I was scared to death walking to the Underground, not to mention walking in it.

[GrandAdmiral-x]

Ok,

Before I go and email this idiot, I have to say...

WHAT A BOGUS PIECE OF CRAP!!!

Where do these people come from? Did they just release this guy from an insane asylum? Who are his sources? The Absurder? Clt.com?

In the entire "article" there was one statement that I could see as being true:

Benson is the 75-year-old owner of the Saints and the most despised sports personality in New Orleans.

But who deosn't know that already. This is just another example of the lack of respect that the city has received from the media. But if there's one thing that I've noticed, and correct me if I'm wrong, it's all been the southern media. I have friends in Phoenix and they told me they've heard nothing but good things about the move. Talk about southern brotherhood. Maybe this is why the South lost the war.

Maybe he's jealous. Of course, Atlanta has the Hawks. And we know what they've done in the past couple of years. That's right... nothing.

I'm going to end this now so I can go and email this guy.

[Harvey Hornet-x]

Cuban? It has been reported since Friday that Heisley was the dissenter. This guy should work for the Absurder. He is not concenred with the truth, just his opinion.

[Adam the Legend]

You guys should save your e-mails for someone who is worth the effort. Let's all just keep an eye on our attendance numbers over the next 5 seasons and then we can compare them to the Hawks.

[say-what-x]

This guy obviously is qualified to work for the Obscurer. He makes up facts with the best of them.

I still don't understand why people outside New Orleans and Charlotte feel the need to stick their noses in this. What difference does it make to them whether the Hornets play in Charlotte or New Orleans.

But none of the naysayers opinions matter because - WE GOT 'EM!

[Whodat32]

Originally posted by Adam the Legend
You guys should save your e-mails for someone who is worth the effort. Let's all just keep an eye on our attendance numbers over the next 5 seasons and then we can compare them to the Hawks.

No doubt Adam, They had a Hawks game start at the same time as the SEC Championship last year, I believe the attendance was under 10,000, not sure who the opponent was but the Hawks attendance could not have been much better than the Hornets, Was it?

[West Coast Hornet]

Gee, I didn't know that ATL carried an inferiority complex against New Orleans.

I actually sent the guy a nice, short email on the subject. There was no need to even argue with him. He clearly does not have his pulse on New Orleans sports. He also doesn't know anything about how the hotel/motel tax works. You'd think he would know something about that as such tax works similarly in most cities. The guy does nothing but further embarasses the ATL newspaper. You will never see such crap printed in the NY Times or the LA Times.

and correct me if I'm wrong, it's all been the southern media. I have friends in Phoenix and they told me they've heard nothing but good things about the move. Talk about southern brotherhood.

That's true, GA, I have heard barely a word on the matter out here. I don't know if the folks here are just disinterested in the subject, or are just too far removed from the south to even concern themselves. I think New Orleans has as much name recognition out here as ATL and MIA, but no one cares about pro sports in any southern city.

[Ellis Hugh]

you have the defiance of George Shinn and Ray Wooldridge, natives of North Carolina and Tennessee, respectfully, refusing as co-owners of the Hornets to change the team's name and colors to something more indigenous to New Orleans.

This guy is just stupid. "REFUSING" to change?
1. They couldn't change yet if they wanted to.
2. They have NOT ruled out possible future changes.

[RENFO]

Originally posted by Grandadmiral
Of course, Atlanta has the Hawks. And we know what they've done in the past couple of years. That's right... nothing.

The Hawks have done NOTHING in the past couple of years + 30.

[PELICANSFAN]

Atlanta supports none of their sports teams well for a city its size. For him to criticize our city and our fans is ludicrous! He also has almost ALL of his "facts" wrong. Do you guys know of any Fortune 500 company "on the verge" of moving to FLorida?

[Primetime]

Y'all may not e-mail him, but I will. Atlanta and Miami are 2 of the worst freakin cities in the world. They sit there and criticize other cities teams, but they don't support their teams at all. They are the worst sports towns in the United States of America.

[alon504]

I got a good laugh off the reading. I e-mailed him and told him that I'd had a rough day and needed a good laugh. It's true. It's so ridiculous I had to laugh.

[COCajun]

Originally posted by Whodat32

I was scared to death walking to the Underground, not to mention walking in it.

That's saying something, considering that WD isn't exactly a 90-pound weakling.

Originally posted by Grandadmiral
But who deosn't know that already. This is just another example of the lack of respect that the city has received from the media. But if there's one thing that I've noticed, and correct me if I'm wrong, it's all been the southern media. I have friends in Phoenix and they told me they've heard nothing but good things about the move. Talk about southern brotherhood. Maybe this is why the South lost the war.

Even the Nuggets/NBA beat writer for Denver's Rocky Mountain News hopes the Hornets do well in NOLA. Nary a negative word here about the team or about New Orleans, so it's obviously a Southern thing.

Moore's clearly jealous that NOLA will re-enter the NBA with a team already closer to the title than the Hawks will ever be. Time for him to go back to old tapes of the Pistol and the "Human Highlight Reel" and think about what could've been.

BT&P
Brad

[HornetDJ377]

screw t moore. Atlanta isnt that much better, he shouldnt be downing ANYBODYS fan base......last i checked Atlanta was the worst city besides Los Angeles for fan base. That guy is a loser anyway and shouldnt be allowed to cover biddy basketball much less the NBA. he should do us all a favor and shoot himself at halftime of a hornets hawks game.

[NYKF Hornet]

Don't take it too personally Primetime. That writer is out of touch, one of the many small time writers who are trying to cash in on this sympathy play to CHT, basically to get the story linked to other articles about this matter (we all read it, so it worked). If you, Primetime, wrote something similar (to a newspaper as an opinion piece) then every CHT poster would link it to their posts, and then it would show up in an article by CHT claiming other people outside of CHT know this move is wrong. WCH is correct, out here (I live on the West Coast) this hasn't been get much attention. People I work with know of the move (and they have nothing but good things to say about NO, and CHT for that matter), but it isn't as a big deal out here. On my news, I hear that CHT isn't going to the games and they didn't want to build an arena so they are moving. Noting more, no long pieces about the owners screwing over CHT, nothing about 8 years of sellouts (although true) and how the team has been run into the ground, and certainly nothing comparing the two markets. I will tell you this, for Mardi Gras and the Super Bowl, the local (NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX) LA TV stations had reporters do reports from NO. Not that it is not a big deal, but NO does get exposure. The reports showed the city in a positive light and never once during this move have they reported that NO was some kind of quick fix, or that they are subsidizing the team. When the Saints saga happened last summer, Benson wanting a new retrackable roof stadium, that was questioned out here. People wondered why the stadium was fine for the Super Bowl, but not the owner. It got some exposure out here because of the threat of moving to LA. However concerning that, it is a given that the Chargers will play here before anyone gets the chance to move. Let it go, in 4 months you will be reading all those "good" articles about NO returning to the NBA. the excitment of the first game, first national broadcast, and the one eveyone is waiting for: Jazz v. Hornets in NO!!!

HornetDJ377, you are rightabout LA's sports fans. Nobody goes to college football games (unless it is UCLA v USC, or UCLA v CAL), they do support the Dodgers (through thick and thin); but only follow the Lakers when the are a playoff team (the regular season games against anyone but the big boys are sad in terms of attendance). I believe it is because it is a city made up of transplants. All my friends in this town come from somewhere else, and follow their own home teams. And every time a stadium vote (using public money) comes up it loses bad. They do have good fans out here, but it is just not the same. During football, I go to a bar that plays LSU games and you can usually find about 30 to 35 other LSU grads there.