Thought this was a decent apology. He's written a very good article on Francis and this was included. Speaking of the Rockets… I'm a moron. A few weeks ago, I was co-hosting PTI with Tony Kornheiser (or Wilbon, I can't remember), and there was an item about how enthusiastic the Rockets' owner, Leslie Alexander, was about his team. He called it "the greatest team ever assembled," or words to that effect. And being on PTI, I figured I should have something sassy to say about that comment. Of course, I forgot that a) I'm not especially funny, and b) that's not my style. So I go on TV and proceed to say some really silly things about Mr. Alexander, who has never done me any harm. And for that, I apologize to him and his family. All I really know about the man is that he has built a first-rate organization, with solid people up and down in management and on the coaching staff. Tomjanovich continues to be one of the best tacticians and straight-shooters around, and Dawson is as decent a human being as you can know. Their personnel folks and their advance scouts and their trainer are all first-rate people. And the Rockets do have a young quartet of Francis, Mobley, Eddie Griffin and Yao that might soon be the nucleus of the next real challenger in the West. Unless Tim Duncan convinces Jason Kidd to join him in San Antonio next season. The point is, I forgot one of my cardinal rules, which is you can be critical without getting personal. What I said was stupid and mean-spirited. There are plenty of other people who do that in my business. I'll try real hard in the future not to emulate them again. David Aldridge, who covers the NBA for ESPN, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.
