Relocation of NBA's Hornets almost done
NEW YORK, May 2 (UPI) -- The National Basketball Association Thursday announced that the league's Relocation Committee has unanimously recommended that the Board of Governors approve the application of the Hornets to move from Charlotte to New Orleans, beginning next season.
"The support shown by the fans, civic leaders and the business community in the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana has been quite impressive," said Committee Chairman Jerry Colangelo, owner of the Phoenix Suns. "We think the Hornets have laid the necessary groundwork for the successful operation of the team in New Orleans."
The Board of Governors will hold a meeting by teleconference on May 10, 2002 to vote on the proposed move. Approval of the relocation requires a majority vote (15 votes) of the 29-member Board of Governors.
"The support shown by the fans, civic leaders and the business community in the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana has been quite impressive," said Relocation Committee chairman and Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo. Colangelo said the Hornets have laid the groundwork necessary for the "successful operation" of the team in New Orleans, which they once did in Charlotte, leading the NBA in attendance a decade ago before falling to last in 2000-01. Woolridge told ESPN that the club lost $15 million last season and could lost up to $20 million this season. The Hornets, who have reached the Eastern Conference semifinals, would be the second NBA team in two years to move, following the Vancouver Grizzlies' exodus to Memphis. New Orleans has not had a team in the NBA since the Jazz relocated to Salt Lake City, Utah in 1979.
The six team owners joining Colangelo on the Relocation Committee are Gordon Gund of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Herb Simon of the Indiana Pacers, Jerry Buss of the Los Angeles Lakers, Lewis Katz of the New Jersey Nets, Ed Snider of the Philadelphia 76ers and Peter Holt of the San Antonio Spurs.
Nets try to win playoff series for just the second time
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., May 2 (UPI) -- The Indiana Pacers hope to become just the third eighth-seeded team in NBA history to eliminate a top seed when they take on the homestanding New Jersey Nets Thursday night in Game Five of their first-round NBA Eastern Conference series.
The Denver Nuggets became the first eighth seed to beat a number one when they took out the Seattle SuperSonics in 1994, and the 1999 New York Knicks matched the feat when they ousted the Miami Heat.
On Tuesday, the Pacers forced a decisive fifth game with a 97-74 blowout of the Nets at Conseco
Fieldhouse.
With Jermaine O'Neal plagued by foul trouble, Austin Croshere, who had not played in an 85-84 loss in Game Three, scored 18 points off the bench, including nine in the third quarter, when the Pacers pulled away.
Croshere made a three-pointer to trigger a 17-1 burst. Brad Miller ended the run with a pair of free throws to make it 64-46 with 3:14 remaining, and the Nets got no closer than 14 points thereafter.
New Jersey, which beat Philadelphia in the first round in 1984 for its only playoff series victory, had the league's third-best home record during the regular season at 33-8.
The winner will face the fourth-seeded Charlotte Hornets in the semifinals. Charlotte ousted Orlando in the first round.
Elsewhere, the Detroit Pistons and the Toronto Raptors meet in a decisive Game Five in their Eastern Conference series at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The winner will advance to the conference semifinals against either the Boston Celtics or the Philadelphia 76ers, who will play a fifth game at the Fleet Center on Friday.
Toronto is 5-1 in elimination games over the last two seasons.
The seventh-seeded Raptors are trying to become the sixth team to rally from an 0-2 deficit to win a best-of-five series.
Two NHL semifinals commence
DETROIT, May 2 (UPI) -- The St. Louis Blues visit the top-seeded Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Ottawa Senators Thursday night as two of the NHL's conference semifinal series get underway.
Over the past several seasons, St. Louis has played second fiddle to a handful of Western Conference teams, including Detroit, which was tabbed as a Stanley Cup favorite even before
the season began.
The Red Wings coasted to the Presidents' Trophy and overcame two losses at home to open their conference quarterfinal series before taking four straight from the Vancouver Canucks.
Although it boasts a slew of aging stars, Detroit seems to be rejuvenated as it seeks its third Stanley Cup title in six years. It won back-to-back crowns in 1997 and '98.
The fourth-seeded Blues, on the other hand, have never won the Stanley Cup. They advanced to the Western Conference finals last year before losing in five games to the Colorado Avalanche.
St. Louis has been in the playoffs each year since 1980, but has ran into its share of powerhouses, losing to four of the five eventual Stanley Cup winners from 1997-2001, including the Red Wings twice and the Avalanche last year.
The Blues made it to the second round by bouncing the Chicago Blackhawks in five games, winning the last four. Goaltender Brent Johnson had shutouts in Games Two, Three and Four -- a record for consecutive shutouts in the playoffs -- for his first career postseason victories.
It didn't take long for someone to tie Johnson's record as Patrick Lalime accomplished the feat against the Philadelphia Flyers, leading the Senators into the second round for the second time in six postseason appearances.
They will face the Maple Leafs, who still might be thinking about their first-round opponent after needing seven hard-fought games to eliminate the New York Islanders.
The series cost the fourth-seeded Maple Leafs their captain, Mats Sundin, who missed the last three games against the Islanders because of a broken wrist. He could return late in this series.
Although the seventh-seeded Senators are rested and ready, there is no clear-cut favorite in the East, giving the Maple Leafs
possibly their best chance of reaching the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1967.
The Western Conference semifinal series between the Avalanche and San Jose Sharks started Wednesday. Teemu Selanne scored twice for the Sharks, who surprised the reigning Stanley Cup champions, 6-3.
Tigers put Anderson on DL
DETROIT, May 2 (UPI) -- Detroit Tigers closer Matt Anderson, who does not have a save this season, Thursday was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 27, with a strained muscle in his right shoulder.
Anderson, 25, is 2-1 with a 5.63 ERA and has had only one save opportunity. The 6-4 righthander is among the hardest throwers in the major leagues, but has given up 10 hits and four walks with six strikeouts in eight innings this season.
In his last outing, Anderson gave up two hits in two scoreless innings and got the win in a 3-2, 10-inning victory April 26 over the Minnesota Twins.
Detroit, which has won nine of 15 games after an 0-11 start, recalled reliever Fernando Rodney from Double-A Erie of the Eastern League to take Anderson's place.
Rodney has not allowed a run in eight appearances at Erie. The 25-year-old righthander has allowed just three hits and three walks with six strikeouts in eight innings. He originally was signed by the Tigers as a non-drafted free agent on Nov. 1, 1997.
The Tigers, who fired manager Phil Garner after an 0-6 start and replaced him with Luis Pujols, start a four-game series Friday at Minnesota.
NCAA adds three more bowl games
INDIANAPOLIS, May 2 (UPI) -- San Francisco, Hawaii and Charlotte were given college football bowl games Thursday by the NCAA.
The San Francisco Bowl will be on New Year's Eve at Pacific Bell Park and feature teams from the Mountain West and Big East Conferences.
The Hawaii Bowl will be Christmas Day at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. It will pit a team from Conference USA against one from the Western Athletic Conference.
Charlotte, N.C., will host the Queen City Bowl at Ericsson Stadium on a date to be determined. It will include teams from the Big East and Atlantic Coast Conference.
The NCAA also recertified 25 other bowl games for 2002, bringing the total to 28. It recently lifted a two-year moratorium allowing no more than 26 bowl games at Division I-A.
While approving the new games and recertifying the old ones, the NCAA Football Certification Subcommittee also said that approximately $155 million was distributed to participating teams and conferences in last year's bowl games.
Eight preseason games also were approved for 2002.
