November 19
L.A. Daily News
columnist Ramona Shelburn
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It happens to all of us at some point, usually on a schoolyard, and usually during recess or lunch. A boy or a girl, whichever applies to you, starts picking on you for seemingly no reason. Only there is a reason, but it doesn't become evident to you until you're in your mid-20 s. Jest, infinite or otherwise, generally means exactly the opposite as what it seems, indicating affection rather than derision. In team sports, it is something of a rite of passage. The butt of everyone's jokes often tends to be the most popular guy on the team. All of which means congratulations are in order for Lakers forward Pau Gasol, and not simply because he is set to make his season debut tonight against ..."
November 9
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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When Hornets Coach Byron Scott met with shooting guard Morris Peterson following Saturday afternoon's practice to tell Peterson he'd been inactive for Sunday night's game against the Los Angeles Lakers, it wasn't as if Peterson hadn't heard such news before. A year ago, though troubled by injuries, Peterson lost his starting job to Rasual Butler and even when he regained his health, Peterson could not work his way back into Scott's rotation. Sunday night's start, and a defensive matchup against the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, went to veteran Devin Brown. Peterson watched in street clothes. "I guess Coach is doing what he feels is best for the team," Peterson said in the dressing room at the ..."
November 9
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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Hornets Coach Byron Scott and guard Devin Brown are frequent golfing companions, sparking the obvious question to both Sunday night. Was Brown beating Scott on the links? Why else would Scott choose this, of all nights, to toss Brown into a potential inferno, making him the starting two guard against the Los Angeles Lakers and their other-worldly shooting guard Kobe Bryant. The query elicited laughs from both. But by game's end, Brown and the rest of the unsmiling Hornets had been torched by Bryant's 28 points -- 26 in the first half -- as the Lakers ran away to a 104-88 victory at the Staples Center, where the Hornets will play the Los Angeles Clippers tonight. Scott made the move to ..."