As for the odd penalty (10 days) and possible steroid use, the union is appealing this penalty, saying this punishment hurts any trust in the CBA. (as reported on ESPN). Maybe they always say crap like that.
BAD or Tmo would be kool right now. JVG will sink his teeth even more into this team and you will see even greater focus and intensity. Orlando may not score 40 pts tomorrow. Jeff killed me a couple years ago when I called MoT a punk. This really looks like punkish behaviour. Really sad.
I don't know all the facts yet, but if he was indeed stupid enough to knowingly violate the drug policy and let the team down in this situation, it makes me want to beat him up for his unbelievable stupidity. I think it is not that big a loss to the team on the court, but the way he is letting the team down is unbelievable. So what are we going to do at the PF position? I know Boki is not really a PF, but could this mean more minutes for him? Please get these losers Moron Taylor and Eddie Griffin off our team. By the way, all these hating on the guards when they have never done anything like this and they have been producing...the PFs are a shame to our team.
Actually this is not that bad of news for the Rox bc 1. MoT is a ball hog 2. MoT is a defensive liablity. I love the way T.Braggs plays, he gets a lot of rebounds and will do the dirty work. I really think we will benefit form MoT's absence. I hope Braggs will be the main guy off the bench for the rest of the season.
On our team, PF stands for Puffin' Fatties. I, too, am confused with this 10 game suspension. If it is indeed 10 games, then it can't be weed, unless they changed the CBA policies. It's possible it's roids, seeing that he was in much better shape and all. I think anyone who smokes up knows how to get around drug testing (unless it's hair follicle testing - that's hard to cheat). Especially if you know around when the testing will occur (training camp/start of season). Absolutely r****dED of Mo!!! "Just Say Mo to Drugs" - Now that was funny.
Houston Rockets??? more like the Houston PotHeads The NBA should have tighter drug rules - repeat offenders should be kicked out of the game entirely. There's no excuse. -- droxford
http://www.ibiblio.org/craig/draft/1998_draft/Players/braggs.htm Scouting Report: James Donaldson [jdonalds@direct.ca] So far, almost no players' stock has risen as much as his. Dominated the Portsmouth Invitational, averaging 23 points and 11 boards per game while showing a lot of hustle and desire. Also was one of the top players at the Nike Desert Classic, where he averaged 13 points and 8.3 rebounds. Largely unnoticed at Xavier mainly because he was the 4th option on offense, and their guards did the bulk of the scoring. A bit undersized to play the 4, and he's not a shot-blocker, but comparisons to fellow Xavier alum Brian Grant and Tyrone Hill are already rolling in. Likely a late 1st round pick. Torraye Braggs Let's hope the rookie gets playing time to show the Rockets he can play like he did in college. Who knows, Maurice Taylor actually might be looking for a job when he returns if this guy Braggs can deliver. IF .....
he was until today... put up a big 2-4. plus the man averages 0.000000001 assists a game. if he were here the black hole thread would be about him.
Where did the possible steroid use come from? Ten games sounds right. The first two violation you get a free pass. The third violation resulted in a five game suspension, so for a forth violation, Taylor receiving a suspension of ten games (minimum) just makes sense to me and seems logical. I really don't know for sure. It just seems right to me.
Maybe it was ephedra or amphetemines which is illegal in most sports. That would explain how he lost all the weight.
Nov. 7, 2003, 10:56PM Rockets' Taylor gets second suspension Ten-game penalty to be appealed By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle RESOURCES Schedules: • Rockets schedule • NBA preseason schedule -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- • ROCKETS: Complete coverage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SPORTS POLL How will the Rockets do this season? Deep into playoffs First round of playoffs A losing season Rockets forward Maurice Taylor was hit Friday with his second suspension in the past three seasons for violating the NBA/National Basketball Players' Association Anti-Drug Program. But Taylor immediately appealed the ruling and disputed the findings, an NBA players association spokesman said Friday. Taylor said he was not permitted to comment. But NBA Players Association spokesman Dan Wasserman, when asked if Taylor was appealing the findings and 10-game suspension, said: "Oh absolutely. It's been filed. It's in the process of being filed immediately." An appeal of any kind, and especially one filed so quickly, is extremely rare in such cases but will not allow Taylor to play while waiting for a hearing. The suspension begins with tonight's game against the Orlando Magic at Toyota Center. The NBA collective bargaining agreement allows the union to expedite no more than two suspension appeals per season. But even an expedited appeal would not be heard for 10 days, rather than the customary 30 days, keeping Taylor out for a minimum of six games even if his wins his appeal. "The authority for this discipline does not exist in the collective bargaining agreement," Wasserman said. "We think it's a completely improper application of the drug program. We've asked for an expedited appeal to allow for an arbitrator to conduct a hearing as quickly as is possible under the rules of the collective bargaining agreement." Asked what part of the ruling the players association considered "improper," Wasserman said the ruling that Taylor was in "non-compliance" and that Taylor was given a 10-game suspension. "We don't discuss any part of our anti-drug program publicly," NBA vice president of basketball communications Tim Frank said. A typical suspension would be five games, and a repeat offense does not automatically merit a suspension twice as long. Test results and suspensions are determined by an independent medical director hired by the union and the league. The league's anti-drug policy states "a veteran player's failure to comply with his inpatient or aftercare treatment while in the program will result in substantial fines and suspensions, which will be imposed until that player fully complies with the requirements of the program." Taylor said he could not comment about whether he was ruled to have failed a league drug test, what substance he is accused of using or if he was in violation of another part of the league's substance abuse program. Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson and Wasserman said they were not given that information. But there was speculation that Taylor's appeal could maintain that a medicine he took while rehabilitating his dislocated left shoulder last month triggered the positive test results. The programs bans: amphetamine and its "analogs"; cocaine; LSD; opiates (heroin, codeine and morphine); PCP; mar1juana; and steroids. Taylor's 10-game suspension could increase if he loses his appeal and he fails to comply with the league and Players Association treatment program. Those steps are not made public. Taylor had previously been suspended for the first five games of last season for a violation of the league's substance abuse policy in 2001-02 when he was out with a ruptured left Achilles tendon. His suspension indicated it was his third violation of the anti-drug program. Dawson informed Taylor of the league's ruling but is not given information about how Taylor violated league policy. A suspension can be given out for failing a drug test, failing to take a scheduled test or other violations of aftercare programs. Taylor, the Rockets second-highest paid player, signed a six-year, $48.75 million contract before the 2001-2002 season. He missed that entire season because of the Achilles injury. Overweight and still battling that injury, he averaged a career-low 8.4 points per game last season. He is averaging 9.8 points and 4.5 rebounds, but was coming off his best games since coming back from the shoulder injury, scoring 14 points and grabbing seven rebounds against the Nets. The suspension, if upheld, will cost him $86,666 for each game he misses. When Taylor was found in violation of the league's substance policy in December 2001, he insisted on holding a news conference to announce the suspension and said that he had "experimented with mar1juana." Though he was not obligated to provide any details to the media or the Rockets, he told team officials that he wanted to admit that he had failed a drug test. For the Rockets, losing Taylor on the heels of the indefinite suspension given Eddie Griffin could be a devastating blow. Without Taylor, the Rockets top scorers off the bench are Moochie Norris and Bostjan Nachbar, each averaging 4.3 points per game. Taylor is one of only five Rockets players to have a career scoring average in double figures. With Griffin out since Oct. 16 and seeking treatment for personal problems, Kelvin Cato has been starting at power forward. But with Taylor and Griffin suspended, rookie Torraye Braggs and late free agent pickup Scott Padgett are the only power forwards on the Rockets active roster. The Rockets are permitted to place Taylor on a suspended list and to replace him on the active roster. Dawson said he has not yet discussed making a roster move with Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy about their options. "It's tough," Dawson said. "It's very upsetting. You get a lot of anticipation going into this year, this building, new everything. Things are going well. Looking at it from a coach's perspective, anything that disrupts you when things are going well is not looked upon very well. "Those are two pretty good players we don't have right now. Things are rolling along pretty well. I could see progress lot of levels. The player's are buying into Jeff's philosophy and there are things we still could do better. "It's disheartening to say the least." When speaking about Griffin's suspension, Taylor described how it felt to been suspended himself. "First of all it's an embarrassment," Taylor said. "When something like that happens, your business is all out on the street and things you didn't want people to know come to light." http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/2209321
Interesting article from Feigan. Maybe we all jumped the gun on this one, it could have the medication he used during rehab.
wow, the same 6'8 pf rookie from georgetown, mike sweetney, is already putting numbers EXACTLY like cuttino, in fact, now he's a shooting guard too. you bet id make that trade!
