Alright, lets say 11 years from now, Steve Francis retires, and you have to write an article on his career, write this article now, while predicting what is to come. ------------------ I do not believe in god. And it is nice to know that I am going to hell with Hitler, and McVeigh. Although I do not know why.
12 years ago, a kid named Steve Francis started his career in the NBA. People called him every name imaginable after he demanded a trade from Vancouver. When he arrived in Houston, he ended the period of the dominant yet graceful Dream, and began his own triumphs of the same magnitude. Francis retires with Career stats of 23.2 ppg, 7.8 assists, and 7.1 rebounds. Numbers that should land him in the hall of fame as one of the most well rounded point guards of all time. His career was capped by 4 championships, including 3 in a row and 4 in 5 years. The year they failed to win inbetween this streak, they were stopped in a game 7 in which the Franchise could not play due to injury. They came back the following year though, and dominated the league. They won a record 74 games, as the Franchise averaged 28, 8 and 8. Who could forget the first championship, with Francis and best friend/teamate embracing at half court after a game 7 win, in which Francis recovered a Kelvin Cato fumbled pass, only to slam it home for the win. Who could forget the 2nd championship when Francis dished 25 assists in game 4, to help the Rockets sweep the series. during game 2 of the 3rd championship, Francis scored a career high 68 points, including 14 of 15 from the arc. His career has been truly remarkable and he retires with the likes of Malone, Murphy, Olajuwon, and his best friend Cuttino Mobley, who retired last year. All this writer knows, is that they are gonna have to revamp the top 50 list pretty soon. ------------------ I do not believe in god. And it is nice to know that I am going to hell with Hitler, and McVeigh. Although I do not know why.
I like your post very much, but you lost me when you proposed that Cato will remain a Rocket for years to come. ------------------
He forgot to mention that we signed cato to a 10 day contract right before the playoffs due to a terrible disease killing every center who has played in the NBA for the past 20 years, except for cato, he was immune for some scientifically unknown reason. ------------------
the disease was a virus that affected centers who had the "will give effort" gene. thus cato was in the clear. ------------------
You forgot to mention during the finals against Philly where Francis fouled out and Bull had to come in a save the day. ------------------ Ceo of the Walt Williams and Lisa Malosky fan club. atheistalliance.org
Houston Chronicle - 24 June, 2012 Back in 1999 a cocky young kid named Steve Francis was drafted by the Vancouver Grizzlies with the #2 overall pick in the draft. Francis, immediately asked to be traded from Vancouver due to the teams' horrible record, the disadvantages of playing in Canada and the fact that Vancouver already had a solid young point guard in Mike Bibby, whom they had taken #2 overall in the previous draft. Francis got a lot of attention immediately upon this issue; mostly negative however. Francis ended up being traded to the Houston Rockets in a large 3-team 11 player deal. The key players the Rockets gave up were Michael Dickerson and Othella Harrington, 2 good young players. However, as Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich would say "When you have a chance to get a special player, you don't pass up on it...and I think Steve will be a special player..." Francis joined another cocky young player in Cuttino Mobley in the Rockets backcourt, along with future hall of famers, Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon at PF and center, respectively. Francis strove to erase the memories of the whole Vancouver debacle with his will and determination. Francis' skill and flair drew attention to him immediately as he shared Rookie of the Year honors with Elton Brand his first season. Francis finished his rookie season with averages of 18 points, 6.6 assists and 5.3 rebounds. After just one season he became the leader of the Houston Rockets. The Rockets began to build around Francis. After his second season as a Rocket, in the 2001 NBA Draft Eddie Griffin was added to the Rockets puzzle in a swap with New Jersey that had Rocket fans ecstatic. Rudy gave his "special player" speech again...Maurice Taylor, Moochie Norris, Matt Bullard and Hakeem Olajuwon were all resigned the year. However, Atlanta natives' Kelvin Cato and Shandon Anderson were both traded to the Atlanta Hawks for DerMarr Johnson and Nazr Mohammed that offseason. In the meantime the Rockets were slowly grooming Eddie Griffin into a power forward. The Rockets made the playoffs, but got eliminated in the first round in the 2001-2002 season, and the second round in the 2002-2003 season. Legendary Rocket Hakeem Olajuwon retired that season, along with current announcer Matt Bullard. When that season finished, Francis' averages for the season were 25.6 points, 8.4 assists, 7.2 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 44% shooting on 3-point field goals. By the 2004 season all of the Rocket's young projects had developed quite a bit. Their team looked like this when the season opened: C: Nazr Mohammed/Collier PF: Griffin/Taylor/Thomas SF: Johnson/Morris/Langhi SG: Mobley/Morris PG: Francis/Moochie That season, Francis made his 3rd All-Star appearance. Griffin, Mobley and Johnson were also named to the team for the first time in each of their careers: Western Conference All-Stars 2004: C: O'neal (Lakers)/Yao Ming (Warriors) PF: Garnett (Wolves)/Duncan (Spurs)/Griffin (Rockets) SF: Marion (Suns)/Odom (Clippers)/Johnson (Rockets) SG: Bryant (Lakers)/Mobley (Rockets) PG: Francis (Rockets)/Marbury (Suns) The Rockets went on to finish 1st in the league that season. They defeated the 8th seeded Suns in the first round. They then defeated the 3rd seeded Clippers in the Western semifinals, and the 2nd seeded, 4 time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. After that series Francis was named league MVP. In the Finals the Rockets faced the young Bulls team, whose lineup was: C: Eddy Curry/Dalibor Bagaric PF: Marcus Fizer/Michael Ruffin SF: Tyson Chandler/Ron Artest SG: Ron Mercer/Jamal Crawford/Ron Artest PG: Jason Williams (The Duke one)/Jamal Crawford/Bryce Drew The Rockets swept this cocky young team. It was similar to the 1995 finals. The next season the claimed "Team of the Future" Bulls were blown up just like the Magic as Eddy Curry left for LA via free agency, and the injury prone Jason Williams was traded to the Suns for John Wallace and Jud Buechler...anyways, Francis took home NBA Finals MVP honors that series. Final Finals Stats Francis: 25.7 ppg, 11.0 asst, 8.5 reb Mobley: 20.2 ppg, 2.4 asst, 5.3 reb Johnson: 13.3 ppg, 2.4 asst, 4.2 reb Griffin: 15.3 ppg, 3.7 blk, 11.4 reb Mohammed: 7.6 ppg, 2.1 blk, 9.4 reb Collier: 3.2 ppg, 3.2 reb Taylor: 9.2 ppg, 3.7 reb Thomas: 5.3 ppg, 4.2 reb Morris: 6.1 ppg, 2.1 asst Langhi: 4.8 ppg, 1.0 reb Norris: 4.5 ppg, 6.7 asst The team averaged 115.2 points a game for the series. The seasons went on (translation: i got more tired and decided to stop elaborating) and the Rockets success continued. Now today, June 24th 2013, Steve Francis has officially announced his retirement. What a marvelous career he had. Francis led the Rockets to 7 championships. He was named MVP twice, in 2004 and 2006. He won NBA Finals MVP 5 times. He was named to the All-Star team 11 times, and started 9 of them. He won All-Star game MVP 3 times. He was named to the U.S. Olympic team in 2004, 2008 and 2012. He won the slam dunk title 4 times, in 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2007. He also won the 2-Ball Championship 3 times. Once with Janeth Arcain, and twice with Tina Thompson. He was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated 17 times, throughout his career. Steve Francis has accomplished so many things in his illustrious career, and now he will retire as the greatest player in Rockets Franchise History, and possibly the greatest player ever. Rudy will retire from coaching this offseason, and Steve will take his place as the head coach. Cuttino Mobley, who retired last season will join Francis as the assistant coach. Until then, we say goodbye Steve.
Shhh...he is sleeping right now probably. ------------------ Rarely is the question asked: Guns kill squirrels than REDRUM to fools across the nation?
This is a fun post and some of y'all have great goals for this team. I can only imagine what will happen with this team... ------------------ Stevierebel
Clearly it was some type of heart disease. j ------------------ Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb!
You know what they say. When the nuclear bomb hits, the only things left will be roaches and Kelvin Cato. ------------------ "norm, would you like to buy an indian scalp ? This deal isn't gonna make or break me Norm, so don't jerk me around." Harry Carey "Norm, if I had a mohawk scalp, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you."
Well, if it's the first championship, Cato could be around. We're stuck with him for 5 years, unless he retires. ------------------ "norm, would you like to buy an indian scalp ? This deal isn't gonna make or break me Norm, so don't jerk me around." Harry Carey "Norm, if I had a mohawk scalp, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you."
I'm gonna get killed for this... AP June 2002 Francis admits it After having three successful seasons with teammate Cuttino Mobley, Steve Francis came out and finally admitted it, he and Mobley are homosexuals. "You go girllll!" Mobley said in a press conference directed toward Steve when he finally admitted it. "We knew all along, we just didn't want to say anything," said Rudy Tomjanovich. "It is an honor to be playing alongside others who are like me," said Dan Langhi. There have been negotiations for a three-some in the near future, ivolvin Langhi. Francis and Mobley are engaged and will be married in October. Francis and Mobley will retire and live in the Bahamas with their adopted daughter, Moesha. Congratulations to Mr & Mr Steve Francis. ------------------ RKMAN Proud believer of the 2001 World Champion Houston Astros. [This message has been edited by RKMAN (edited July 07, 2001).]
ill bet phoenix suns fans and minnesota timberwolves fans had high hopes for their point guards too. maybe the difference will be steve is a classier guy and he actually wants to be here. but you neverknow... ------------------ Paranoid, trying to stuff the void.
June 6th, 2012 HOUSTON, Texas-- Today marks the end of a miserable and disappointing career for Rockets guard Steve Francis. "I'm finally giving it up." Francis said, after his fifth consecutive Finals sweep, this time courtesy of the Boston Celtics. "I'm just sick and tired of losing." Francis had been talking about his planned retirement for weeks, but the talk finally turned to action after the 46 point game 4 loss. Francis, who averaged 18 points, five rebounds, and six assists for his career blamed Coach Rudy Tomjanovich for the sweep. "I don't know what he was doing!" Francis said, referring to Tomjanovich's substitution patterns in the fourth quarters in each of the four games. "Why the (expletive) did he (expletive) bench me in the fourth (expletives) quarter? I mean, he was (expletive) putting Maloney and Cato in the (expletive) game, and benching me and (expletive) Cuttino! And I still don't understand why he started Dan Langhi in front of Eddie (expletive) Griffin! I mean, Dan (expletive) averaged four (expletives) points this year! What was (expletive) coach thinking? Francis' frustrations, combined with his severely damaged ankle, finally forced him to do what Karl Malone and John Stockton did just one year ago. Retire from the game. "I'm really gonna miss Steve." Coach Tomjanovich said. "It was a really bad deal for Steve, losing in the finals five times, and not even making the playoffs until 2006. I wish him luck." When asked about Francis' angry comments, Tomjanovich responded by saying that he "didn't know Steve was frustrated" and that he "just wanted to give Matt a chance". The Rockets are expected to conduct a Jersey Retirement ceremony, when the 2012-13 season begins. "I hope they rot in hell!" Francis said when told of the planned retirement ceremonies. "(expletive) the Rockets!" ------------------ Protrolls.com! "I want to be like Olajon." -Sagana Diop has the right idea... Keep the ???? alive!
So, Francis never really was waving off Shandon. He was waving at Cuttino all this time. You Go Girl!
(expletive) ZRB!!!!! You always have to make the (expletive) post negative. L(expletive)O(expletive)L ------------------ I do not believe in god. And it is nice to know that I am going to hell with Hitler, and McVeigh. Although I do not know why.
