Edit: I felt kind of bad about being mean, so I delete my comment. MacBeth, please feel free to do the same and delete your quote of my post... Apologies.
Wrong. That's not how their (lucrative) contracts work. Please stop trying to deflect the blame here.
Unbelievable to blame this on JVG.. I personally want the team in their hotel resting not arriving really late at night and getting little rest... if they were allowed to go to game.. the time they get out of the game (ended 930ish)... out of stadium.... through traffic.. to airport.. you are looking at leaving midnight or so... I dont know how long the flight is .. probably 2.5 hrs or so.. but as backed up as the airports were with private planes leaving etc.. that would have delayed them even more.. I dont see them possibly arrinvg in arizona until 230am at the earliest.. hotel at 3am or so.... What is better for the team.. hotel in the afternoon or past 3am...?
Francis suspended for one game By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle PHOENIX -- If everyone who was anyone in Houston on Sunday seemed be at the Super Bowl, Rockets guard Steve Francis was not supposed to be among them. And depending on who is to be believed, perhaps he wasn't. The Rockets, however, were certain he was not on the team flight to Phoenix and suspended him for Monday night's game against the Suns. After that, the story gets hazy. Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said he chose the suspension after Francis told him he skipped the trip to attend the Super Bowl, even passionately arguing that he could not resist the chance to attend the game. A day later, however, Francis' agent, Jeff Fried, said Francis did not attend the game and stayed in Houston to attend "to an urgent personal family matter." Fried said Francis had made arrangements to fly to Phoenix on Sunday evening until Van Gundy suspended him. Van Gundy seemed incredulous with that explanation, sounding as if Francis -- through Fried -- was denying breaking into the cookie jar with his mouth full of chocolate chips. "I talked to Steve," Van Gundy said. "He was in the parking lot of the Super Bowl. We had a long discussion about him thinking it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and me talking about the commitment to the team. "I know what the truth is. Steve knows what the truth is. Everyone involved knows what the truth is. That's up to them if they want to try to spin it a certain way. Everyone knows what happened. What agents say doesn't have any bearing. "I talked to him last night. He disagreed with the (suspension) decision vehemently. He just thinks it was the wrong decision." Francis did not return messages Monday. Fried said he had begun an appeal of the suspension and automatic fine but preferred to wait until the team returned to Houston today to discuss the matter with Rockets management. "There obviously is a misunderstanding, since Steve was dealing with some fairly urgent personal family matters, which have now been resolved," Fried said. "He will be at practice with his team and his coaches (today). Steve was dealing with these family circumstances and was not at the Super Bowl. "I was on the phone with Steve last evening from his home during the Super Bowl. We were dealing with this issue. If the decision was based upon the belief that Steve attended the Super Bowl as opposed to these serious family matters, that's something we would want to address with the coach and the team." The suspension would indicate the Rockets considered Francis' absence willful, rather than unavoidable. Fried would not elaborate on the family matters Francis had to address. "He had family in town," Fried said. "There were issues to be dealt with. He had every intention of going to Phoenix and was in fact arranging a private plane to get there late last night (Sunday) when he received word of the team's decision. Misunderstandings happen. But it's something that needs to be addressed." Van Gundy seemed to believe it had already been addressed. Francis' teammates had little to say, as if unwilling to chastise Francis for skipping the flight but unable to defend him, either. "It was a decision he made," forward Jim Jackson said. "He has to deal with the consequences. As a team, we have to play hard. It's not something that happens all the time. Hopefully, it is a one-time thing, and he accepts the punishment from Jeff, and we move on." Francis, voted to start a third consecutive All-Star Game, leads the Rockets with averages of 16.6 points and 5.9 assists per game. Although Francis had one of his better offensive games of the season against the Nets on Saturday, the Rockets went into Monday's game at Phoenix with a three-game losing streak amid charges from Van Gundy that they had lost their heart in Saturday's second half. Without Francis, the Rockets were beaten 99-79 by the Suns. Rockets players, however, refused to be critical of Francis' decision to skip the flight. "It's one of those things that happened," forward Maurice Taylor said. "You obviously want him here instead of there. But he's a grown man. He makes his own decisions, and the repercussions and consequences of those decisions he has to live with." Given the public disagreement about why Francis was missing, it is unlikely the issue ended with Monday's game. But Van Gundy said this issue had not created a rift between them. "Everyone involved -- me and him, in particular -- knows exactly what happened, and that's it," Van Gundy said. "In those situations, it is never an easy conversation. He was upset about my decision about his decision. It's not the first time a coach and player had a disagreement about decision-making, and it won't be the last. "When you get a situation like this, you deal with it, you say you were wrong, and you move on. Steve has obviously been our best player. He's a reason I came (to Houston). There's not a problem between me and him." http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2384673
The freaking agent should just shut the hell up, he is just making things worse by his lying and spin doctoring. I hate weasels like that. Bet he is a lawyer by training. What a freaking dumbass moron.
so when jvg says there's not a rift, does that mean there's not a rift or is that like a vote of confidence? if francis reacts right, maybe this can be diffused fairly quickly and painlessly. if he doesn't it could all blow up quite nicely and jvg would then have to heed my sig. let go for choice #1 steve.
I think that either way the Rockets management will not show that there is too big a rift between the two sides to the public. They have already been through a hard enough time with the Eddie Griffin nightmare. Bringing the important details of how Stevie Franchise takes this slap on the wrist in the national spotlight will only hurt his trade value, so they will sweep it under the rug. Maybe... But it is all about damage control at this point.
please guys, i know steve was immature yesterday, but lets give him the benfit of the doubt. Im sure he isnt the only player who has done this. Im sure mj and dream have done worse. This is his first time hes had this type of off the court problem. And its not like he skipped practice or the game for weed or something. Hopefully he will never do it again, and lets forgt about it and move along. We dont want him to miss anymore games, because we saw today what happens when he is gone.
larry brown never seemed to shy about it with AI. i mean they covered their tracks a lot, but it wasn't like brown hid the frustration too much. so were you saying it's obvious there's a rift or just pointing out a coach would never say it (b/c i know the latter). i mean there's obviously something going on, whether we're at rift "you have to be traded" status remains to be seen. jvg seemed pretty firm in his "yao and steve are the cornerstone" comments when he got here and he's known for being loyal to his players. maybe he actually wants it to work. he's also known for being a jerk, so maybe he wants steve gone as soon as his BYC status is gone.
I would have gone to the game just like Steve. It's the biggest game of the year...and they could have flown out the day after or even a really late flight. He should have invited Van Gundy to the game...that would have made things ok.
Before this I was completely ignorant that there was any kind of tension at all, so I'm certainly not gonna try and come off all sage here and say how obvious it is that there's a rift. I think that this move makes it obvious that there's something now, but whether this is the first of it, or just the first we've seen of it is a matter of speculation. But this kind of open insubordination...I don't know many coaches who would take this, and JVG certainly doesn't seem like one of them. What it says to the team...what it says about Steve's priorities, self-image, and respect for JVG's rules...too depressing to think about. But my meaning was that, whether there is a rift or not, JVG would say exactly what he said.
WHO IS A TRUE PT GUARD THESE DAYS????? Ya'll need to chill out...the SuperBowl comes only one time. We'll have to wait until 2009 to party like that again!!!! TRADE FRANCIS FOR WHO????????????????? C'mon...our coach is whack, we have an inconsistent and soft Center, our Guards party more than play (and shoot more bricks than Acme), and our best player is a journeyman. This team sucks. I wonder how Phil Jackson would do with this team? I hate Phil Jackson and think he is overrated, but I am curious if someone of his "epic" coaching talent could turn this ship around. We need a motivating coach...JVG is not the right guy for us!!!!
No matter how this ends up... your "star" player misses your game for the superbowl. It doesnt matter how you spin it.. the team is losing respect. I think so are the fans. when we pay good money.. to watch games.. pay for merchandise.. we want a good product. (this is not good) J
How about this team MacBeth? Wow! I'm sure we both know this team lost much of the respect they had for Steve. Every player on that team knows that he turn his back on them.
Warning:Thread Contains pure speculation about Francis' suspension now that the warning is there.....I personally think its possible...keyword being possible...that Steve Francis skipped the team plane on purpose. There is no other explanation for skipping a Team chartered plane..He has given up on the Rockets and is basically saying trade me.....that might be a stretch but I honestly believe he is acting the same way he acted when he came into the NBA, where he refused to play for Vancouver. I think it shows his true character and who Steve Francis really cares about, himself. Feel free to lock the thread if u think its pointless, but I honestly believe "The Franchise" is hoping to get traded...what better way to do it? piss off JVG and miss the team flight.....just my thoughts take them as u will....
