They were much more aggressive at the glass, they did a much better job guarding D. West in the low post, who had one of his worst games of the season, Tim Duncan was more aggressive getting his share of the scoring, Ginobili and the bench did what they could, the result; pretty much the same as Saturday night, a 102-84 thumping of the defending Champs to push the Hornets to a 2-0 lead over San Antonio. D. West only racked up 10 points with the Spurs being more aggressive with him. So what do the Bees do? Give the ball to Peja who is very conveniently having the stroke on this particular calm D. West night, who hit 5 out of 7 three pointers and shot 8-13 from the field. The Hornets pin point shooting in the 3rd quarter made it difficult for the Spurs, who on a number of occasions tried to build a run, to come back and helped to keep that cushion over the Spurs. The series will now shift to San Antonio where the Hornets won one game and lost one in the regular season. The key is whether the energy level and shooting percentage can travel with the team.

NEW ORLEANS, May 5 (AP) - Chris Paul’s surgical drive past the San Antonio defense ended with a high, razzle-dazzle dribble and a soft, floating shot off the glass as a packed crowd broke into a thunderous frenzy.

“These are some of the best moments, I think, of my life that we’re experiencing right now,” Paul said. “We’re just riding a wave right now.”

It’s a wave that wiped out the Dallas Mavericks and is now crashing hard on the defending champion Spurs.

Paul had 30 points and 12 assists, leading the New Orleans Hornets to a 102-84 victory Monday night and a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven, second-round series.

Peja Stojakovic made five 3-pointers and scored 25 points for the Hornets, who’ve won both games by wide margins in becoming the first team to put San Antonio in an 0-2 playoff hole since 2001, when the Spurs were swept by the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals.

“We’re definitely a little shocked,” Spurs forward Kurt Thomas said. “You can’t take anything away from them. They are playing extremely well. If one person’s not going, someone else is stepping up.”

Game 3 is Thursday in San Antonio.

After allowing David West to score a career playoff-high 30 points in the series opener, the Spurs held the All-Star power forward to 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting. But West remained active under the basket with 10 rebounds.

“We’re trying to make sure our defense is where we want to start. We don’t worry about what we’re doing on the offensive end,” West said. “We stuck to what we do.”

Tyson Chandler had 11 rebounds and all of his five points, including an alley-oop dunk of Paul’s lob, during a key stretch midway through the fourth quarter when the Hornets prevented San Antonio from getting within single digits.

Tim Duncan led San Antonio with 18 points and eight rebounds, far better than his miserable Game 1, when he tied a career playoff low with five points and three rebounds. But by the final minutes, Duncan was on the bench, resting his cheek on his hand with a dejected 100-yard stare.

“It’s just frustrating losing. That’s the biggest thing,” Duncan said. “They’ve obviously done an excellent job defensively, frustrating all of us with their double-teaming, with their shifting. … It seems like they come the other way and they’re not missing shots. That stacked on top of each other just makes the whole game very frustrating.”

“Paul Powers Hornets to Another Easy Win over Spurs.” NBA.com. May 6, 2008. “http://www.nba.com/games/20080505/SASNOH/recap.html”.

After trailing by 4 at halftime, which was encouraging to the Hornets after being down by as many as 11, they were able to turn up their intensity defensively and shut down Tim Duncan, a key big-man for the Spurs, in the second half. That was the biggest highlight of the game; the Hornets defensive job against Tim Duncan. He’s so good in the paint when he receives a pass from Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, or any of the other San Antonio shooters. He can really hit those key hook shots and muscle his way to the basket; much like a David West (pictured beasting on the left). However, he was limited to just 5 points, whereas the Hornets muscle-man tallied 30. The turnaround to the game was mostly because of Chris Paul running his “organized playground” (courtesy of Gregg Popovich, Spurs Head Coach) and transforming the game into a Hornets tempo game. He was able to find Peja for his step back 3and D. West, the 17-foot assassin, as CP3 likes to refer to him, for just that; 17 footers. New Orleans would pull away from there and San Antonio never threatened. The final was a convincing 101-82 win and the Hornets take a 1-0 lead back here Monday night for game 2.

NEW ORLEANS, May 3 (AP) — Hornets coach Byron Scott showed off the three championship rings he won as a player during his pregame speech.

The message? This is what the San Antonio Spurs have, and you want.

He certainly got through to All-Stars David West and Chris Paul.

West scored a career playoff-high 30 points to lead New Orleans to a 101-82 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Saturday night.

Paul added 17 points, 13 assists and four steals for New Orleans, which trailed by as much as 11 in the first half but stormed into the lead for good in the third quarter.

“It sort of gives you goose bumps,” Paul said of seeing Scott’s rings, won in the 1980s with the Los Angeles Lakers. “We understand right now we’re on that same journey and we feel like we can get there.”

One reason they’re off to such a good start against San Antonio is the way they played defense on Spurs center Tim Duncan.

Duncan had what he considered one of the worst games of his stellar career, going 1-of-9 from the field for a career playoff-low five points and only three rebounds.

“Things just didn’t go my way,” said Duncan, who offered only a few terse comments in the locker room. “They did a great job. … I played badly, so credit to them.”

Tyson Chandler was Duncan’s primary defender, but the Hornets also swarmed Duncan with double teams throughout the game, forcing San Antonio to look for points from outside.

The Spurs hit 12 3-pointers in the game, but also missed 19.

The Hornets dominated the inside, outrebounding San Antonio 50-34 and outscoring the Spurs 46-26 in the paint. The Hornets also shot 50 percent, while the Spurs finished at 40.8 percent.

Chandler had 10 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots for New Orleans. Peja Stojakovic added 22 points for the Hornets on 9-of-15 shooting, while reserve Bonzi Wells added 10 points, all but two in the fourth quarter.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 23 points and Manu Ginobili had 19. Bruce Bowen added 17 points and Michael Finley 13, but San Antonio needed more help inside from Duncan and Kurt Thomas, who had only two points and two rebounds.

“They took away our inside game. Timmy had a rough night,” Parker said. “We need to do a better job to get him the ball and try to get him some shots, basically. Tonight, New Orleans did a good job to take that away from us. That’s not Timmy.”

After trailing most of the first half, the Hornets surged into the lead for good with a 13-0 run in the third quarter that opened with Chandler’s driving layup and ended with Stojakovic’s second 3-pointer of the game, giving New Orleans a 61-54 lead.

West scored four points during the run and 11 in the quarter, often hitting midrange jumpers, sometimes while fading away from a defender in his face.

“David West is the one that really, really hurt us tonight,” Parker said. “He made outside shots, and once he made his outside shots he was having the drive, so we can’t all focus on Chris Paul.”

The Hornets led 74-66 heading into the fourth quarter.

Jacque Vaughn’s driving layup got the Spurs as close as 76-71 early in the period, but the Hornets, despite being in the playoffs for the first time in four years, were not rattled.

They pushed the lead back up to double digits before turning it into a blowout during the last 5 minutes, with Paul scoring seemingly at will.

“We’ve been in that position where everyone is kind of waiting for the wheels to fall off of this thing, feeling like we are overachieving,” West said. “But we’re a hungry group of guys, we’re going to go out and compete.”

“West, Hornets Sting Spurs In Game 1″. NBA.com. May 4, 2008. “http://www.nba.com/games/20080503/SASNOH/recap.html”.

If the Saints couldn’t get LSU Defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, then they got the next best player, probably a DT just as good as Dosey. Although he never was mentioned as a best available player, nor is getting much recognition, people have told me he’s just as good.

At USC:

Ellis arrived at USC in 2003 but took a medical redshirt year after suffering a midseason left ankle fracture that required surgery. In his first three active seasons (2004-’06), he appeared in 34 games and made 86 tackles (16 for losses) and nine sacks. As a senior in 2007, he started all 13 games at nose guard and collected 58 tackles (12.5 for losses), 8.5 sacks and seven pass breakups on his way to first team All-America honors. Ellis missed three games in ‘06 after tearing cartilage in his right knee, which required arthroscopic surgery. He also had fluid drained from the knee in ‘07 and missed several practices but no games. Ellis did not time out well at the combine but he is a great football player, nonetheless. He has bulked up to 309 pounds and can play NT and/or DT at the next level.  ESPN.com

High School:

Attended Chino (Calif.) High School, playing football for head coach John Mesner…Earned Super Prep and Prep Star All-American honors, in addition to garnering Super Prep Elite 50, Prep Star Top 100 Dream Team, The Sporting News Hot 100, Super Prep All-Farwest, Prep Star All-West, Tom Lemming All-West, Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West first-team and Tacoma News Tribune Western 100 honors…Also named to the Orange County Register Fab 15, Cal-Hi Sports All-State, All-CIF Southern Section, All-CIF Division II first-teams and was chosen Los Angeles Times All-Star Lineman MVP…The Los Angeles Times All-Inland Empire Lineman MVP selection as a senior offensive and defensive lineman, he recorded 122 tackles (35 solo), including 19 for losses (with 6.5 sacks), plus a blocked punt, a forced fumble and a pair of fumble recoveries in 2002…As a junior in 2001, he made the Cal-Hi Sports All-State Underclass, All-CIF Southern Section, All-CIF Division II and Los Angeles Times All-Inland Empire first-teams…Posted 108 tackles, including 16 for losses (with 10 sacks), in 2001…As a sophomore, he picked up Cal-Hi Sports All-State first-team recognition…Also competed on the school’s track team in the weights.

NFL.com

New Orleans Saints:

Sedrick Ellis was picked 7th overall after the Saints traded up to get him. Hopefully he can fill the problems on the Defensive line and improve the Saints pass rush. He better, unless the Defensive back proves they can stop one play from developing, just one, I know it’s possible.

Facing the League’s highest scoring offense in the Blaze, the Voodoo would need to play good defense and the offense would have to carry the load, which was a reasonable, but challenging task. Coach Mike Neu gave his grades for his offensive and defensive units, B for Offense, A for Defense. The offense did step up and scored 70 points which helped out matters as the Blaze scored 56. Their offense was so good, they managed to score league average, one of the few, against our defense.

The Voodoo are 7-2 and sit atop the Southern Division.

It hasn’t happened this decade, the last time it happened was when the Charlotte Hornets walked out of Big D with a 94-92 victory over the Mavs in 1998. After an 0-12 run at American Airlines Center, the Hornets Finally get a win in Dallas. Dallas, by the way, is winless this year at the Hive, however, they have gotten many victories in the New Orleans Arena in the past. Dallas shot very poorly in this game, much like the Hornets did in their loss Friday night. The Bees will take a 3-1 lead back to the Big Easy Tuesday night which could be the last time the Hornets will have to deal with the Mavericks this season.

DALLAS, April 27 (AP) - David West and Chris Paul were on the bench, smiling as they watched thousands of fans headed to their cars.

They were soaking it all in because it might be their last glimpse of Dallas for a while.

West bounced back from a miserable Game 3 with a determined effort in Game 4, scoring 10 points in an early second half rally that sent the Hornets surging past the Mavericks 97-84 on Sunday night, giving them a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.

West had 24 points and nine rebounds, Paul had 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds and the Hornets ended an 0-for-14 drought in Dallas that dated to January 1998. Now they’re headed to New Orleans, hoping to win Game 5 on Tuesday night and avoid coming back to Big D until next season. The Mavericks are on the brink of a second straight first-round exit.

“It’s a great feeling to be up 3-1, but it doesn’t mean too much right now,” Paul said. “It’s tough to close out a team, to get that fourth win. That’s what coach has been preaching to us. We feel pretty confident going back in front of our fans.”

Dirk Nowitzki had 22 points and 13 rebounds and Jason Terry scored 20 points, but they didn’t get much help. Josh Howard was 3-for-16 and Jason Kidd had only three points, three assists and four rebounds before getting ejected with 7:16 left for a flagrant foul on Jannero Pargo. The exodus in the aisles came soon after, even before Hornets coach Byron Scott pulled his starters.

“At that point, we’d done close to what we needed to get the result we wanted,” West said.

The Mavs went from scoring 30 points in the first quarter to 14 in the second quarter, then 40 in the entire second half.

Dallas’ meltdown - in this game, in this series and since being up 2-0 on Miami in the finals two years ago - might end up costing coach Avery Johnson his job. Nowitzki already was using the past tense in his postgame comments, saying they just didn’t have enough offense in the series.

“I don’t really have an answer for it,” said Nowitzki, exhaling loudly and running a hand through his hair in frustration. “All season long, we’ve lost leads way too quick. … Everybody has to be in attack mode. You have to make shots to win in this league.”

New Orleans did, hitting 50 percent. Peja Stojakovic scored 19 points and Julian Wright added 11, including a tremendous dunk off a midcourt steal of Jerry Stackhouse, a play that emphasized the difference in the age and agility of these teams.

“West Powers Hornets Past Mavs For a 3-1 Lead”. NBA.com. April 28, 2008. “http://www.nba.com/games/20080427/NOHDAL/recap.html”.

It was never even close. The Hornets had a comfortable 10 point lead at the end of the first quarter, an even more comfortable 16 point lead at halftime, and ultimately won the game by 24, 127-103. This domination was largely due to stellar, lights out defense and shooting percentage through the roof. It seemed like everyone was making shots out there for the Hornets. They were 60.8% on field goals, 55.6 on 3 pointers, and 75% at the line. The Bees also broke numerous playoff records including points in a playoff game (127), Points at the half (67), and points at the end of he first quarter (39).

Paul also got the team record for assists in a playoff game with 17; and if that wasn’t enough, he also became the first player in NBA history to record at least 30 points, 10 assists, and 3 steals in 2 consecutive playoff games, oh and by the way, these are the first two playoff games he’s played in his career!

The series will shift to Dallas on Friday wwhere the Hornets are 0-11 this decade.

NEW ORLEANS, April 22 (AP) — Dirk Nowitzki skipped out to the perimeter, joining Jason Kidd as they attempted to trap Chris Paul.

Paul promptly let them know they were in for long night, knifing into the lane on the dribble and dropping in a pretty floater.

As brilliant as Paul was in his playoff debut last weekend, his encore was better.

Paul had 32 points and a franchise playoff-record 17 assists, leading New Orleans to a 127-103 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night that gave the Hornets a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.

The old record was 15 assists, set by Muggsy Bogues in 1993.

“Sitting there watching Chris really develop into the best point guard in this league, it’s amazing to watch how he’s really (taken) his game to another level,” Hornets coach Byron Scott said. “But that’s what great players do. He’s definitely one of the best on this league right now.”

David West scored 27 points and Peja Stojakovic 22 for New Orleans, which took a double-digit lead in the second quarter, led by as much as 25 in the third and never looked back.

Tyson Chandler had his second double-double of the series with 10 points and 11 rebounds, despite playing with foul trouble. Morris Peterson added 12 points and reserve guard Jannero Pargo had 10 for New Orleans, which was 10-of-18 on 3-pointers, with Stojakovic hitting 5-of-7.

“They were going to try some gimmick stuff” against Paul, West said. “It was key that we had the confidence with the ball out of his hands for us to make plays. Peja hit shots, Mo was able to hit some shots. It really disrupted what they were trying to do.”

The series now moves to Dallas, where the Hornets have not won since January 1998. But that streak will end if the Mavericks don’t figure out how to slow down Paul and a supporting cast that has been playing with enormous confidence since the Hornets stormed back from a 12-point hole to win the series opener.

“We’ll take a look at some things, but we’ve got to have a better effort,” Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. “We’ve got to go home and get some home cooking. … They protected their home court; we have a chance to go home and do the same thing. Like I’ve been saying all along, they are a No. 2 seed that deserves to be No. 2 and we’ve got to play much better.”

Nowitzki led Dallas with 27 points, but spent most of the night looking frustrated, yelling at no one in particular after he threw one pass out of bounds. Brandon Bass was a bright spot for Dallas, muscling inside for 19 points. Reserve Jason Terry added 16 points and Josh Howard scored 10.

“We just got outplayed and outfought. They outworked us on both ends of the floor,” Terry said. “We have to play a lot harder and just fight. We have a lot of guys with pride in this locker room. When you take a butt-kicking like that, you can only dig deep and come out swinging.”

The Mavs hoped Kidd would be a bigger factor in this game, but he finished with only seven points and eight assists. Johnson, however, declined to single out Kidd or anyone else.

“It’s not one person,” he said “It’s a team game, and collectively the team has to do a better job on both ends.”

After Paul’s dazzling 35-point, 10-assist performance in Game 1, Johnson said the Mavs would throw more double-teams at Paul, hoping to get the ball out of the star point guard’s hands.

The strategy backfired badly from the start. Paul easily split or dribbled around double-teams, scoring six points and assisting on eight baskets in the first quarter.

His crossover, between-the-legs and behind-the-back dribbles set up an array of running floaters, fades and jumpers. He found West for several open jumpers and a dunk. He twice found Chandler for alley-oop dunks. The Hornets shot a whopping 71 percent and set a franchise playoff record with 39 first-quarter points.

“They put the ball in Paul’s hands. We tried to trap him some early, but if West is going to be wide open at the top of the key, he’s making the shot,” Nowitzki said. “It’s tough to get the ball out of his hands if the shooters are shooting like that.”

Dallas got its deficit briefly back to single digits behind 16 first-half points from Nowitzki and 10 from Howard.

But the Mavs hurt themselves with seven turnovers in the second period, which the Hornets converted into 10 points, often in transition, as they widened their lead to 67-51 by halftime.

Whatever adjustments the Mavs made at the break, their plight only got worse.

Paul scored six quick points on two free throws, a driving layup and a running floater, then Stojakovic hit two jumpers, the second for his fourth 3 of the game, giving New Orleans an 80-58 lead.

Peterson then got involved with two 3s and jumper, and the Hornets, who shot 64 percent through three quarters, led 90-66 after West scored while backing in on Bass.

Bass, a force inside during this game, responded with nine points during the remainder of the period, making it 99-79 heading into the final period.

Early in the fourth, Paul scored six quick points on a runner in the lane, an off-balance floater off the glass and a pull-up jumper, putting the Hornets in the clear.

When asked if there was a way for Dallas to stop him, Paul replied, “I’m sure there is, but to me, I hope not.”

“Paul Tallies 32 Points and Team Playoff-Record 17 Dimes.” NBA.com. April 23, 2008. “http://www.nba.com/games/20080422/DALNOH/recap.html.”

The Dallas Mavericks had a 12 point lead at halftime due to poor shooting from the Hornets and less than impressive defense. In the second half, the Bees came out and cut the lead from 12 to 6. From there, the defense improved considerably and the Hornets shooting percentage improved. The Hornets went up by 6 and the Mavs offense suddenly shut down and nobody was making shots. That allowed the Hornets to open up as much as a 15 point lead on the Mavs and later, leading by 12, Peja knocked down a three pointer with under 2 minutes to go to seal the game. The Hornets now lead the series 1-0 with Game 2 right back here Tuesday night, start time 6:30pm on TNT.

NEW ORLEANS, April 19 (AP) — So much for playoff experience.

Chris Paul had 35 points and 10 assists in his first career playoff game Saturday night, lifting the New Orleans Hornets to a 104-92 come-from-behind victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of their first-round series.

David West, in his first playoff game since he was a rookie reserve, scored 23 points, and Tyson Chandler had 10 points and 15 rebounds to help New Orleans storm back from a 12-point halftime deficit to win going away.

Dirk Nowitzki had his way with New Orleans early and finished with 31 points, but scored only four during Dallas’ fourth-quarter collapse. Josh Howard added 17 points for the Mavericks, a team that hasn’t missed the playoffs in eight seasons and was in the finals two years ago.

Jason Kidd, the All-Star point guard the Mavericks were hoping would be the missing piece to a championship run when they traded for him midseason, finished with 11 points and nine assists.

But the Mavericks had only nine field goals in the second half and no answer for Paul, whose third year in the NBA has included a maiden All-Star game nod and serious consideration for league MVP.

The Hornets also got 14 points from Peja Stojakovic, one of their few grizzled playoff vets, who hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final period to help squelch any notion of a Dallas comeback.

Dallas, which lost, stunningly, in the first round of last year’s playoffs to eighth-seeded Golden State, won’t go down without a struggle. With this game out of reach, the Mavs seemed to be already psyching themselves up for the next contest with physical play.

Nowitzki and West were assessed double technicals after exchanging words, nose-to-nose, with West holding his hand up to the edge of Nowitzki’s cheek.

New Orleans, a young team making its first playoff appearance in four years, looked like a tight group in the first half, missing open jumpers, free throws, even a layup. The Hornets were 9-of-27 shooting in the first quarter, when Dallas took a 26-19 lead behind 11 points from Nowitzki.

Hustling defense kept the Hornets within single digits most of the first half, but Dallas, which missed its first nine 3-point attempts, went ahead 49-38 on Kidd’s open 3 late in the second period. Howard added another in the final seconds, putting the Mavs ahead 52-40 at halftime.

The Hornets desperately needed a player to rise to the occasion on offense in the third quarter, and Paul did so, scoring 15 points in the period.

He had a 7-0 run by himself on a jumper, driving floater and fast-break layup as he was fouled to pull New Orleans to 65-63. The Hornets tied it at 68 on Bonzi Wells’ jumper with 2:20 to go in the third period, then Wells’ steal led to Paul’s fast-break layup for a 70-68 lead.

Chandler’s follow-up dunk made it 76-72 at the end of the third, during which New Orleans outscored Dallas 36-20.

Paul then hit a floater, set up Chandler’s alley-oop and West’s layup during a 10-0 run early in the fourth quarter to put New Orleans up 86-74.

Notes: Before tipoff, the Hornets hung their Southwest Division championship banner from the rafters after a brief comment from team owner George Shinn. “Many people didn’t think would come back; they were wrong,” Shinn began. “Many people didn’t think we’d have fan support; they were wrong. Many people didn’t think we’d make the playoffs; they were wrong again.” … The Hornets missed five of their seven free throws in the first half, while Dallas made 16-of-19 during that span.

“Paul Lifts Hornets Over Mavs For Game 1 Win”. NBA.com. April 19, 2008. “http://www.nba.com/games/20080419/DALNOH/recap.html”.

After a little set back against Dallas, the Hornets finish the season 56-26 and earn a series with the Mavs in the first round beginning this Saturday. The Hornets had a 12 point lead in the third quarter before Jason Kidd got crazy with the three pointers and helped the Mavs pull away from the Hornets late. The Mavs were at bay most of the game. The Bees just purposely let JK get wide open 3 point shots which also got Dirk Nowitzky going after previously shooting for a very low shooting percentage.

Here’s a look at the series:

Sat Apr 19 vs. Mavericks 6:00pm ESPN

Tue Apr 22 vs. Mavericks 6:00pm TNT

Fri Apr 25 @Mavericks 7:00pm ESPN

Sun Apr 27 @Mavericks 8:30pm TNT

Tue Apr 29 vs. Mavericks (if necessary) TBD

Thurs May 1 @Mavericks (if necessary) TBD

Sat May 3 vs. Mavericks (if necessary) TNT Start time: TBD

HORNETS vs. Mavs 4/16

Dallas 111, New Orleans 98

DALLAS, April 16 (AP) - Dirk Nowitzki came right out and said it: The Dallas Mavericks did not want to open the playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers.

They’d much rather take their chances against the New Orleans Hornets - especially after the way things went Wednesday night.

Jason Kidd and Jason Terry outplayed Hornets star Chris Paul, with Kidd racking up the 100th triple-double of his career and Terry scoring 13 of his 30 points during a 32-8 stretch that took Dallas from down by 11 to leading by 13. The Mavericks wound up winning 111-98 to set up a first-round series between these teams.

“This was definitely a win we wanted to get,” Nowitzki said. “The Lakers are probably the hottest team in the West. We definitely didn’t want to face them in the first round. … (New Orleans) had a great year, but I think we match up pretty well.”

The Hornets came in locked into the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. To avoid the Mavericks, New Orleans had to win and have Denver win later Wednesday.

Coach Byron Scott decided to go for it, sticking with his starters after taking a 50-48 lead at halftime and even after they’d stretched it to 70-59. He could’ve pulled them at that point, comfortable in knowing his best handled Dallas’ best, and hoped his backups could finish it off.

But he didn’t. And it backfired.

Kidd and Terry began either scoring or setting up easy shots every time on offense. A few minutes into the fourth quarter, the Mavericks were ahead 91-78.

Although New Orleans got to 100-96, Dallas pulled away again - just like the playoff-experienced Mavericks hope to do to the young, playoff-novice Hornets over the next two weeks.

“They played harder and we got a little rattled,” Scott said. “They played with a little more purpose. We were a little lackadaisical. In the playoffs, you can’t do that.”

Paul agreed, even if he can’t speak from experience. The closest he’s gotten to the postseason is attending the last two NBA finals as a spectator.

“The playoffs are a whole different game,” he said. “Tonight they came out with a lot to prove, whether they played us or the Lakers. We definitely wanted to win but we also knew we also had the second seed.”

“Kid Collects 100th Triple Doble, Mavs Win.” NBA.com. April 16, 2008. http://www.nba.com/games/20080416/NOHDAL/recap.html.”

The Hornets clinched their first division title in franchise history with a 114-92 win over the L.A. Clippers Tuesday night. They also completed a four game sweep against the Clippers, all of those games being blowouts. The Hornets, however will not be able to clinch the top seed in the West after being there much of the second half of the year thanks to a 1-3 cold streak that let the L.A. Lakers back in. It didn’t help that one of those games was against the Lakers, either. The Hornets needed the Lakers to lose their season finale to take the spot back, but right now, even though the game is still being played, they have a 25+ point lead over the Sacramento Kings in the 4th quarter. The Hornets will, however, be guaranteed the #2 spot in the West win or lose in Dallas tomorrow night. The Bees are 56-25 and will look to finish with #57 tomorrow.

The Hornets will decide who they play in the playoffs tomorrow by winning or losing. They can knock Dallas down a seed or keep them where they are. The Hornets will play whoever is the #7 seed in the West in the first round.

NEW ORLEANS, April 15 (AP) — The New Orleans Hornets gathered in front of their bench, wearing ball caps and T-shirts commemorating the first division championship in the franchise’s 20-year history.

While the latest sellout crowd roared its approval, they stayed on the court for almost a half-hour to celebrate the moment.

David West scored 32 points and Chris Paul had 12 during a decisive run in the third quarter as the Hornets beat the Los Angeles Clippers 114-92 on Tuesday night. New Orleans will have at least the No. 2 seed in the playoffs in the rugged Western Conference.

Three seasons after going 18-64, the Hornets clinched the rugged Southwest division, which has four 50-win teams.

“A lot of people had us not even getting in the playoffs,” New Orleans center Tyson Chandler said. “I don’t think any of us believed that. We all believed that we’re one of the better teams in the conference. If you win this division it says a lot about the team because this is the best division in basketball.”

After losing three of its last four, New Orleans struggled for a half against the reeling Clippers before putting them away with 26-6 spurt in the third quarter. The Clippers have lost six in a row and are 4-25 in their last 29 games.

Hornets coach Byron Scott earned his 300th career victory. The Hornets finished 30-11 at home for the third time in franchise history. The club record is 32-9, set in 1997-98, but all those seasons came in Charlotte, their original home.

This was their most significant victory in New Orleans, where they moved for the 2002-03 season and played for three years before Hurricane Katrina forced them to Oklahoma City for all but 10 games during the previous two seasons.

“It’s a big step for us,” West said. “We just talked about wanting to improve and being one of the elite teams, and I think we kind of validated ourselves with the ability to come into a tough season and win the toughest division in basketball.”

Trailing 56-51 after Cuttino Mobley’s 3-pointer early in the third quarter, the Hornets scored 12 of the next 14 points to take the lead for good, then pulled away quickly.

Paul started the run with a lay-up off a Clippers turnover. Peja Stojakovic, who missed his first six 3-pointers, hit two in a row to give New Orleans a 63-58 lead. Paul followed with four consecutive baskets to extend the advantage to 71-62, and Morris Peterson gave the Hornets their first double-digit lead, 74-62, on a 3-pointer with 3:11 left in the quarter.

Sixteen seconds later, Chandler was fouled on a dunk and hit the free throw, making the score 77-62.

“We definitely came out in the third quarter and picked up the intensity defensively,” Paul said. “We can do that every night if we really put our mind to it. That’s the only way we’re going to be successful in the playoffs.”

“Hornets Sink Clippers To Clinch Southwest Division Title”. NBA.com. April 16, 2008. “http://www.nba.com/games/20080415/LACNOH/recap.html”.

The 2008 Saints Schedule was released today. It features one late after noon game, two Monday Night games, and one Thursday Night NFL Network game, that one being against the Chicago Bears. All other games are at regular time. My theory proves true. Sunday Night games are for real bad ass teams, Monday Night games are for teams with potenntial, and NFL Network games are for teams that were supposed to be good, but sucked like hell. Last year, we didn’t get an NFL Network game, the sucky teams got them over us. But now, we get the goods from NFL Network, and 2 Monday Night’s, the price, no Sunday Night. We had one last year, but our 7-9 record screwed our chances this year. There’s always flexible scheduling. If we can manage not to screw that up again, we have a chance to be moved into a Sunday Night time slot. Any game on Thursday or Monday Night is not subject to the move.

Break Down:

I’ll keep the division opponents short, because the NFC South stinks more than a dead skunk left furmentating in a garbage truck parked out by the sewer.

Tampa Bay: Do the Same thing you did last time, then kneel.

San Francisco: Keep doin’ what you’re doin’

Minnesota: WIN!!!! It’s primetime!!

San Diego: Don’t make me continue to hate the fact that the NFL is trying to change things up. (The International Series)

Atlanta, Carolina, Tampa Bay: Whoop their sorry asses.

Detroit: That one is going to be a mulligan.

I gotta say, this year’s schedule wasn’t done nearly as well as past years. The Bears have 5 primetime games and they didn’t even make the playoffs. Green Bay and New York made the Conference Championship and won the Super Bowl respectively and have as many prime time games as we do. I won’t complain though. Once again, we have one of the better schedules in the league as far as primetime. Looks like the schedulers were a lot nicer than the last time we finished 7-9.

You can check the 2008 Saints page for the complete schedule.

CP3, D-West, and the Hornets rebounded from a 77-66 loss to the Utah Jazz, who have beaten the Hornets 3 of 4 times this season, and took it to the Timberwolves Wednesday night 122-90. Early on, the game was close when it shouldn’t have been mostly from the Hornets continuing to shoot poorly. They finally found their range, though,  hitting big three pointers in the third, and went absolutely crazy scoring 41 points in the third quarter alone. The Bees were able to pull away, way away from Minnesota down the stretch in the fourth quarter. With that, the Hornets pick up win #55, a franchise best. They beat their New Orleans record earlier this year which was previously 47 wins.

They have a 2 game lead on both the Spurs and the Lakers for top spot in the West. They will need to beat the Lakers on Friday night to maintain that mini cushion they have on both teams, which is important with only 4 games to go before the playoffs begin. The Hornets have sat on top the West for so long that a deep desire to win it has firmly sunk in. Winning it would give the Hornets home court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs.

Field Goals				Rebounds
	pos	min	fgm-a	3pm-a	ftm-a	+/-	off	def	tot	ast	pf	st	to	bs	ba	pts
P.Stojakovic	F	34:31	9-15	5-8	1-2	+25	2	3	5	0	2	0	1	0	0	24
D.West	F	36:46	10-13	0-1	2-2	+19	1	5	6	3	2	1	2	1	0	22
T.Chandler	C	31:19	6-7	0-0	2-5	+32	3	4	7	1	1	0	1	1	1	14
M.Peterson	G	19:20	2-4	1-2	2-3	+13	0	3	3	2	0	2	0	0	0	7
C.Paul	G	33:07	6-11	2-4	5-5	+27	1	4	5	16	3	1	1	0	0	19
B.Wells		17:35	3-7	0-3	0-0	+5	0	2	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	6
H.Armstrong		12:39	1-2	0-0	0-2	-6	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	2
R.Bowen		09:47	2-2	0-0	1-2	+8	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	5
J.Pargo		17:55	4-12	3-5	1-2	+18	0	2	2	2	1	0	0	0	0	12
J.Wright		19:42	3-8	0-3	3-4	+9	2	5	7	2	2	1	0	0	0	9
M.Ely		04:03	1-1	0-0	0-0	+6	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2
M.James		03:17	0-2	0-0	0-0	+4	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total		240	47-84	11-26	17-27		11	29	40	27	12	8	5	3	1	122
			56.0%	42.3%	63.0%	Team Rebs: 5				Total TO: 5

MINNEAPOLIS, April 9 (AP) - Chris Paul helped the New Orleans Hornets stay atop the Western Conference and set a team record for wins, too.

Paul had 19 points and 16 assists, and the New Orleans Hornets bounced back to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 122-90 Wednesday night.

Peja Stojakovic scored 24 points and David West had 22 for the Hornets, who scored just 66 points in a loss to Utah on Tuesday and looked sluggish through the first half against Minnesota.

But a 41-point third quarter, capped by Paul’s 3-pointer at the buzzer was too much for the woeful Timberwolves.

“I thought in the third and fourth quarter he started to find his rhythm. He started making shots, getting to the basket and being Chris Paul,” coach Byron Scott said. “He snapped back well tonight, as did David, as did Peja, as did Tyson (Chandler), as did the whole team.”

Chandler finished with 14 points. In the second half, Paul scored 17 points and had nine of his assists.

“We’ve got to come out early in the game and impose our will. I think about that going into every game, and I think that starts with me.” Paul said. “Defensively and offensively it starts with me and I got to start doing a better job.”

Rashad McCants had 23 for the Timberwolves, who have lost six straight. Randy Foye scored 20 points for Minnesota, but just four of those came in the final three quarters.

The win gave the Hornets a franchise-best 55 wins, beating the record set in 1996-97.

The Hornets led just 48-46 lead at intermission but Stojakovic - who finished with five 3-pointers - sparked a third-quarter surge that put New Orleans in front to stay.

“Hornets Rout Wolves, Set Franchise Record For Wins”. NBA.com. April 10, 2008. “http://www.nba.com/games/20080409/NOHMIN/recap.html”.

Apparantly Ryan Perrilloux needs a big time shout out, a shot out to tell him to cut the crap out. Well, JWD to the rescue. Hey Ryan, cut the crap out. We don’t need you off the team. Without Perrilloux, LSU is no better than a 15th ranked school and that’s being nice. What other quarterback do we have that can step in and lead the national powerhouse, I’m thinking no one. But if the bonehead doesn’t quick his antics, I’m afraid we’re gonna have to come up with one…..eventually. And to all you boneheads who say you don’t want him because of his behavior, get your head out of the freakin’ sand, run to Starbucks, and drown in caffeine. He’s all we have at quarterback. He can pass the ball like it just came out of a cannon, he’s accurate, and he can run. Remember what Tim Tebow was doing for Chris Leak before he became the starter, he was his run specialist, much like what Perrilloux was for Matt Flynn. He could be another Tim Tebow!!!!!

Now I’ll be the first to say, I don’t think his April Fools Day trouble was that serious, but was made to be serious because of his previous troubles. But nonetheless, Ryan Perrilloux, cut the crap!!!!!!

The Bees started with relatively soft defense and gave the Warriors an early 36-24 lead. But these Bees wouldn’t have much more of that, would they? No they wouldn’t. They tightened up on defense and Jannero Pargo became a 3-pt assassin shooting three of them and getting 15 total points all in the second quarter; lets throw in a 3 pointer from Julian Wright, shall we? All this helped the Hornets take a 56-51 into the half, oh but wait, with under 3 seconds to go, CP3 dishes out an assisst to Peja Stojakovic and he bangs in a 3 at the buzzer. The Bees led 59-51 at the half. They would eventually take this one 108-96. The Hornets are one of just two teams in Golden State’s last 40 games to keep them under 100 points. With that win, the Hornets are 54-22 keeping them at the top of the West even with the Spurs win tonight. They also tie their best basketball season in franchise history and need just 1 win in their final 6 games for their best season ever. They won 54 back in the late 90’s in Charlotte and their previous New Orleans best was 47 wins back in 2003.

In front of a rowdy sellout crowd, Chris Paul did not choose a bad time to get his first triple double of the season (16 pts. 13 asts. 10 rbs.). He was in front of a national audience on ABC, his last chance to make a strong case for MVP. D. West and Peja Stojakovic shared the scoring lead with 25 a piece.

NEW ORLEANS, April 6 (AP) — Chris Paul’s third season in the NBA is turning into a historic one for the New Orleans Hornets.

Paul had 16 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds and New Orleans tied a franchise record for single-season victories with 54 in a 108-96 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday.

It was the fourth career triple-double for Paul, who also had five steals and inspired boisterous chants of “M-V-P! M-V-P!” from a sellout crowd that watched the Hornets (54-22) win their 11th straight home game and fourth straight overall.

“Every record it seemed like the franchise had has gotten broken this year or is on the verge of it,” said Paul, who set a franchise record for single-season steals in a win over New York a game earlier and now has 199. “I feel like my team is the MVP. We are having an outstanding year.”

Certainly, Paul had help against Golden State and didn’t need to score his average of 21.5 points.

Peja Stojakovic and David West each scored 25 points, helping New Orleans close the game on an 18-6 run after Golden State had rallied to tie the game at 90 early in the fourth quarter.

“That’s when good players show up and this team is full of them,” said Hornets center Tyson Chandler, who had 11 points and 12 rebounds to help New Orleans remain atop the Western Conference with six games remaining.

“That’s the one thing about our team I’m comfortable with going into a playoff-type atmosphere - we don’t rely on one scorer,” Chandler said. “I love the balance of this team and I think you’re going to need that if you want to go deep into the playoffs.”

“Paul’s Triple-Double Lifts Hornets Past Warriors”. NBA.com. April 6, 2008. “http://www.nba.com/games/20080406/GSWNOH/recap.html”.

Behind their new starting quarterback Danny Wimprine, the Voodoo used their trademark defense and stuffed the San Jose Sabercats in the arena on Saturday 72-43. Wimprine now has 29 TD’s and 2 INT’s, both of those coming in last week’s game. The win takes the Voodoo to 5-1 on the season as they go to Dallas next week to take on the 6-0 Dallas Desperados. If the Voodoo can hand Dallas their first loss of the season, it will not only tie them with Dallas, who currently shares the conference lead with 6-0 Philadelphia, but will also establish them as the best team in the conference. Kick-off is at 6:00 pm cst. on April 12.

Yeah, CP3 and D-West helped out a little, but it wasn’t a walk in the park Friday night at the arena. The Knicks gave the Hornets the game of their lives and it wasn’t until about 4 minutes left in the game that the Hornets could pull away from New York (final score 118-110). Well, we won. This is another one of those games where we really don’t need to go into the details. With a record of 53-22, the Hornets finally officially clinch a playoff spot. They are the first team to do that in the Western Conference. With San Antonio finally losing, the Hornets are also no longer percentage points ahead of them in the standings; they are a whole game and a half ahead. The Bees have reached the post-season for the first time since 2004, their third trip to the post-season out of 4 years full time in NOLA. The Hornets, however will be looking to do more, for instance, win the West and get home court advantage for the first round of the playoffs. For those of you who are new, home court advantage means that you get 4 home games out of the 7 game series, the other team gets 3. Attendance tonight was 17,779, another sellout.