Francis suspended one game for missed flight

JVG is supposed to schedule the flight to Phoenix later so that Steve can attend the Super Bowl? Now that'd be a nice job...

 

They were never going to win because not enough young black NBA players wanted to be there. Now with the influx of European talent, a city like that might have a chance.

 

He's not practicing or playing Sunday evening; they just expect him to travel. He could do that after the game. Maybe he'd be a little sleepy the next day. Big deal. Should Van Gundy go ahead and forfeit the game if his team watches the Super Bowl? Really, I doubt it would have any affect on how they play against the Suns. That's not what it is about anyway.

Van Gundy wanted to send a message to the team by depriving them of something so they can demonstrate their priorities. He's doing it to show that he can, not because he should. And, this ruse backfired because Francis didn't show up. Because of Francis' rebellion, the fly-during-the-Super-Bowl thing has just caused dissension.

You can blame Francis for not complying or Van Gundy for making the decision in the first place. Looking at it, you can sympathize with Van Gundy or with Francis. I tend to lean toward Francis because I consider this ridiculous flight schedule to be a company-imposed indignity comparable to making me wear a paper hat around the office. If I had tickets to the Super Bowl and my boss told me I had to be traveling that night, I would have told her too bad, I'd take a later flight. And she would have lumped it because she really wouldn't have any other choice. And consider that Francis is way more important to his company than I am to mine.

He could have been accomodating of people's schedule (since you know all the Rockets would have liked to have stayed in Houston for the game), but he chose to be a jerk to show that he can. OK, he can do that. I hope his little mind game works out for him and it gets the team playing better. A jerk can probably keep his job as long as he is successful. If no one likes him and he's not winning either, he'll be in some trouble.

 

You should post more often .

 

The Oilers were lucky to draw more than 35k a game in 1997, and were already pretty much bound to Nashville.

Also, Francis was a ROOKIE who forced a trade.

You make it seem like the Oilers were a thriving franchise. The Oilers were on the backburner in the city from 1994 until they left in 1998.

Also, since Francis had such ESP and vision (something he has none of on the court) about Van moving, wouldn't that be a good thing? That Francis would only be in Canada for 1-2 years? Also, Francis is a little punk if he's going to enter the NBA draft after his Jr year, and then cry about being selected #2 overall to Vancouver.

Cry me a river. Sympathy is really the last thing Francis deserves.

 

If Rudy was still coach I bet Steve Francis gets off scot-free. He wouldn't be suspended. And none of this would be made public. So props to JVG for having the balls to suspend the supposed Franchise and make this public. Now this makes me wonder how many times Francis did these type of things under Rudy and we just never heard about it because Rudy kept these kinds of things behind close doors, never took any disciplinarian action, and therefore was never made public.

 

If it was really such a bad thing that Van Gundy, why hasn't the NBAPA come out in full force against Van Gundy and his slave labor practices? Where is Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton when you really need them!?

I sure hope that the Better Business Bureau lays the law down on the Rockets as well.

It is a God-given right to watch the Super Bowl!!!

 

Not just Francis, but every player.

I sometimes wonder how Eddie would be if Van Gundy was our coach, instead of Rudy. I'm not talking about on-the-court, but off of it.

I love Rudy, but he was way too lax with his players. He had as much power as Saddam Hussein has over Iraq right now.

 

This is possible signature material...

 

Exactly, they were already bound for another city, so your point is ridiculous. Who's going to go watch a lame duck team. The Oilers drew decently in the bad years and sold out in the good years. Its not a good comparison.

As far as Steve's ESP, I didn't say he knew Vancouver was going to leave when it did, he knew no one wanted to play there. The NBA left there and isn't going back. That's the point.

 

You are contridicting yourself. He was voted on the Allstar game by fans across the country, yet if he didnt play for our team you say we would hate his guts?

 

Is JVG in charge of the travel plans or something? Surely, they have someone who has planned all this out far ahead of time?

 

If the rest of the team makes the sacrifice and gets on the plane, then so should Steve Francis. He has no right to feel superior to the other players who are prioritizing the Houston Rockets over the Super Bowl. How can he call himself a team leader?

The rest of the league really views Steve Francis as an immature thug. I have always resisted the temptation to do the same. This resistance is being tested by selfish acts like what he did last night. His on-court behavior and his behavior after being drafted certainly are not working in his favor in this argument.

 

To attend the Super Bowl instead of getting on the team plane points out the obvious - Steve Francis puts his own stakes above the team.

He will NEVER get a ring. NEVER. And as long as he's on the Rockets, we will never get another 94-96. Find him a new home where he can be the "leader" on that team.

 

which of course explains all the people voting him into the all star game. oh, and why those same people should apparently now hate him for making it.

 

The 1994 Oilers drew around 45k a game, when the lame duck status was not there.

Does that justify refusing to play for a team, when you are 21 or 22 years old? Because he can jump 40 inches, that gives him the right to be a Grade A pain in the ass?

 

Something I saw in the LA Times earlier this week that I don't remember anyone discussing here:

In their weekly NBA rankings feature, they had the Rockets at the #8 spot, with this note: "Oops. Francis, Mobley and coach Ewing spotted out after 3:00 a.m. the night before the Miami game."

No wonder they were dragging ass in the 4th quarter of that one. In addition to coaching Yao, looks like Ewing is also trying to give Steve and Cat some tips on how an NBA star behaves.

 

I would think Stevie would be very happy in Toronto...maybe the Rockets should be discussing a trade with the Raptors.

 

I don't know why we ever hired Ewing. His main motivation to be in Houston is to go to Treasure's, rather than really teaching Yao anything positive.

It's really pathetic if a supposed coach is hanging out with players until 3 AM in the morning before a basketball game.

 

How is he a thug? Does he get caught with weed or anything? Does he break the law or shoot at people? Does he treat rookies by throwing balls at them and walking away laughing about it? No, so how is he a thug?