boutons_
03-21-2006, 06:57 AM
March 21, 2006
Hornets Wonder How They'll Fit In
By LIZ ROBBINS (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/r/liz_robbins/index.html?inline=nyt-per)
NEW ORLEANS, March 20 — The Hornets' (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/probasketball/nationalbasketballassociation/neworleanshornets/index.html?inline=nyt-org) chartered bus turned tentatively into the narrow debris-lined streets of the Lower Ninth Ward as the rookie point guard Chris Paul put his video camera to the window to record the twisted scenes of destruction.
An empty open banjo case lay on a pile of collapsed houses a few feet from a copy of the New Testament. A Mercury Sable was caught diagonally upended, bearing the bumper sticker, "Faith," while a battered wheelchair sat nearby.
"Take nothing for granted," Paul said somberly as he got off the bus two hours later, the video in his backpack to remind him. "Just to see that's all some people had — and now it's all gone."
The most stirring sight for Speedy Claxton, the Hornets' veteran point guard, was the one word he saw spray-painted on the front of a desolate bungalow. "It said 'Help,' " Claxton said, shaking his head.
One day before the Hornets were to play their third and final game in New Orleans — having relocated for this season and next to Oklahoma City — four players, Coach Byron Scott (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/byron_scott/index.html?inline=nyt-per) and his wife, Anita, and a handful of Hornets employees took a tour of the New Orleans areas that were hit hardest by the floods from Hurricane Katrina.
They saw the dichotomy of their lives and the destroyed ones of their city's fans — scenes that made them question, uncomfortably, how basketball would ever have a place here. Suddenly, their eight-game losing streak did not seem as disconcerting.
"We're fortunate enough to be in a situation where we make good money, and there are some parts of the city where people are living in trailers, tents, parking lots of Wal-Mart," forward David West said. "You don't feel at ease with that situation.
"What we do in terms of our profession isn't that big of a deal when you got major life issues people are dealing with — it's quite a reality check."
Forward Aaron Williams took pictures with his phone to send to his wife as the bus returned to the team's luxury hotel in the French Quarter.
That area of the city is vibrant and almost unchanged, except for "Help Wanted" signs hanging in windows. Workers are scarce. The levies are not rebuilt. Federal, state and city officials are still haggling over how to distribute aid.
The city has far more pressing items on its agenda than making sure the infrastructure, let alone fans, will be ready to embrace the Hornets when they are scheduled to return for the 2007-8 season. And yet, some city officials believe that for now, the Hornets are playing a significant role.
"It means a lot if we have professional sports here," City Council President Oliver Thomas said in an interview Monday. "It shows that we can be a world-class community. It puts us on the map. For us, that first Hornets game, like Mardi Gras, that was all part of our therapy."
When the Hornets played the Los Angeles Lakers (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/probasketball/nationalbasketballassociation/losangeleslakers/index.html?inline=nyt-org) on March 8, they inaugurated a new court at New Orleans Arena. There was a new scoreboard, and fresh paint in the hallways.
But adjacent to the arena, cars streamed into a parking lot set up as a temporary post office for people who no longer have addresses.
The veteran forward P. J. Brown, a native of Slidell, La., said: "There are people who need jobs and housing, there are a lot of important issues that need to be addressed. I think it's a good idea for the team to stay another year in Oklahoma City to see what progresses."
N.B.A. Commissioner David Stern (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/david_stern/index.html?inline=nyt-per) repeated last week that the Hornets would return from Oklahoma City to New Orleans and that the league was planning to have the 2008 All-Star Game in the city — which Thomas said was one of the initiatives in his 10-point plan to rebuild New Orleans. (The Saints are returning for five games next season.)
In Oklahoma City, the team has averaged 18,685 fans in 33 games. The season before Katrina, the Hornets had the worst attendance in the league. The Hornets have averaged 17,827 fans in the two games in New Orleans and, as of Monday night, 1,500 tickets remained for Tuesday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/probasketball/nationalbasketballassociation/losangelesclippers/index.html?inline=nyt-org).
But will they be able to sustain that for a 41-game home season?
George Shinn, the team owner, said he wondered the same thing. "We all have to take the necessary steps with a positive outlook that this is going to work," he said. "If it doesn't, we'll have to deal with it at that time. What happens this summer if another hurricane comes? There are a lot of question marks."
The Hornets are trying to contact their season-ticket holders, many whose whereabouts are unknown.
In the meantime, the Hornets and the N.B.A. have contributed $1 million to Hoops for Homes, the project run by Habitat for Humanity. Renowed retired players like Bill Walton and Willis Reed, the Hornets' vice president, helped active players build the first new home in the city last week.
All around them, the Hornets see conflicting pictures of hope and despair. After the hurricane, their bus driver, Charles Mitchell, had to be rescued by boat from his roof. He had not eaten in two days. After he was flown out of the city, he returned to work with FEMA and disaster relief groups but still cannot rebuild his house. He drove through neighborhoods that were as empty as ghost towns. In the suburb of Chalmette, a child's bicycle lay mangled on a broken windshield of a van. In the house next door, a family could be seen trying to reclaim anything it could.
"Your heart goes out to a lot of folks," West said, "You don't know where they get the courage to stay."
Copyright 2006 (http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/copyright.html)The New York Times Company (http://www.nytco.com/)
Hornets Wonder How They'll Fit In
By LIZ ROBBINS (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/r/liz_robbins/index.html?inline=nyt-per)
NEW ORLEANS, March 20 — The Hornets' (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/probasketball/nationalbasketballassociation/neworleanshornets/index.html?inline=nyt-org) chartered bus turned tentatively into the narrow debris-lined streets of the Lower Ninth Ward as the rookie point guard Chris Paul put his video camera to the window to record the twisted scenes of destruction.
An empty open banjo case lay on a pile of collapsed houses a few feet from a copy of the New Testament. A Mercury Sable was caught diagonally upended, bearing the bumper sticker, "Faith," while a battered wheelchair sat nearby.
"Take nothing for granted," Paul said somberly as he got off the bus two hours later, the video in his backpack to remind him. "Just to see that's all some people had — and now it's all gone."
The most stirring sight for Speedy Claxton, the Hornets' veteran point guard, was the one word he saw spray-painted on the front of a desolate bungalow. "It said 'Help,' " Claxton said, shaking his head.
One day before the Hornets were to play their third and final game in New Orleans — having relocated for this season and next to Oklahoma City — four players, Coach Byron Scott (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/byron_scott/index.html?inline=nyt-per) and his wife, Anita, and a handful of Hornets employees took a tour of the New Orleans areas that were hit hardest by the floods from Hurricane Katrina.
They saw the dichotomy of their lives and the destroyed ones of their city's fans — scenes that made them question, uncomfortably, how basketball would ever have a place here. Suddenly, their eight-game losing streak did not seem as disconcerting.
"We're fortunate enough to be in a situation where we make good money, and there are some parts of the city where people are living in trailers, tents, parking lots of Wal-Mart," forward David West said. "You don't feel at ease with that situation.
"What we do in terms of our profession isn't that big of a deal when you got major life issues people are dealing with — it's quite a reality check."
Forward Aaron Williams took pictures with his phone to send to his wife as the bus returned to the team's luxury hotel in the French Quarter.
That area of the city is vibrant and almost unchanged, except for "Help Wanted" signs hanging in windows. Workers are scarce. The levies are not rebuilt. Federal, state and city officials are still haggling over how to distribute aid.
The city has far more pressing items on its agenda than making sure the infrastructure, let alone fans, will be ready to embrace the Hornets when they are scheduled to return for the 2007-8 season. And yet, some city officials believe that for now, the Hornets are playing a significant role.
"It means a lot if we have professional sports here," City Council President Oliver Thomas said in an interview Monday. "It shows that we can be a world-class community. It puts us on the map. For us, that first Hornets game, like Mardi Gras, that was all part of our therapy."
When the Hornets played the Los Angeles Lakers (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/probasketball/nationalbasketballassociation/losangeleslakers/index.html?inline=nyt-org) on March 8, they inaugurated a new court at New Orleans Arena. There was a new scoreboard, and fresh paint in the hallways.
But adjacent to the arena, cars streamed into a parking lot set up as a temporary post office for people who no longer have addresses.
The veteran forward P. J. Brown, a native of Slidell, La., said: "There are people who need jobs and housing, there are a lot of important issues that need to be addressed. I think it's a good idea for the team to stay another year in Oklahoma City to see what progresses."
N.B.A. Commissioner David Stern (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/david_stern/index.html?inline=nyt-per) repeated last week that the Hornets would return from Oklahoma City to New Orleans and that the league was planning to have the 2008 All-Star Game in the city — which Thomas said was one of the initiatives in his 10-point plan to rebuild New Orleans. (The Saints are returning for five games next season.)
In Oklahoma City, the team has averaged 18,685 fans in 33 games. The season before Katrina, the Hornets had the worst attendance in the league. The Hornets have averaged 17,827 fans in the two games in New Orleans and, as of Monday night, 1,500 tickets remained for Tuesday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/probasketball/nationalbasketballassociation/losangelesclippers/index.html?inline=nyt-org).
But will they be able to sustain that for a 41-game home season?
George Shinn, the team owner, said he wondered the same thing. "We all have to take the necessary steps with a positive outlook that this is going to work," he said. "If it doesn't, we'll have to deal with it at that time. What happens this summer if another hurricane comes? There are a lot of question marks."
The Hornets are trying to contact their season-ticket holders, many whose whereabouts are unknown.
In the meantime, the Hornets and the N.B.A. have contributed $1 million to Hoops for Homes, the project run by Habitat for Humanity. Renowed retired players like Bill Walton and Willis Reed, the Hornets' vice president, helped active players build the first new home in the city last week.
All around them, the Hornets see conflicting pictures of hope and despair. After the hurricane, their bus driver, Charles Mitchell, had to be rescued by boat from his roof. He had not eaten in two days. After he was flown out of the city, he returned to work with FEMA and disaster relief groups but still cannot rebuild his house. He drove through neighborhoods that were as empty as ghost towns. In the suburb of Chalmette, a child's bicycle lay mangled on a broken windshield of a van. In the house next door, a family could be seen trying to reclaim anything it could.
"Your heart goes out to a lot of folks," West said, "You don't know where they get the courage to stay."
Copyright 2006 (http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/copyright.html)The New York Times Company (http://www.nytco.com/)