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Hornets to open 2002-03 season against Jazz
By The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS -- When the NBA officially makes its regular season return to the birthplace of Jazz, the Jazz will be on the court.
New Orleans' new NBA team, the Hornets, opens its season by hosting the team that left town 23 years ago.
The Utah Jazz play Oct. 30 at the New Orleans Arena, where eight of the Hornets' first 12 games will be played.
"There's a natural added intrigue and excitement when the team that used to play in New Orleans is going to open in New Orleans against the new team on the block," Hornets spokesman Harold Kaufman said after the schedule was announced Thursday.
The Jazz also got their start in New Orleans. They played five years in the Louisiana Superdome, which stands just yards away from the 3-year-old arena that the Hornets have called home since leaving Charlotte after last season.
When it made the schedule, the NBA did not initially set out to rig it for the Jazz to open in New Orleans, league spokesman Tim Frank said. But scheduling conflicts with the Jazz' home stadium in Salt Lake City forced the team to start the season on the road.
"We can't really change the schedule to accomodate any type of matchups we want," Frank said. "We were put in a situation with Utah being on the road, and if you can make something like that happen, you do it.
"It worked out for us and we think the fans in New Orleans will enjoy it," he said.
The fourth NBA team to visit New Orleans will be the Minnesota Timberwolves, for whom the $110 million, 18,000-seat arena was built in a scandal-ridden unsuccessful effort to move that team to Louisiana.
The Timberwolves play here Nov. 13.
Other highlights of the 2002-2003 home schedule include: the only visit of the three-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 15 and the first of two visits by Michael Jordan and the Wizards on Jan. 22.
The Hornets host Philadelphia, the team of embattled superstar Allen Iverson, only once on Nov. 19. Iverson's ability to play next season is in doubt because of criminal charges against him stemming from an alleged threats he made with a handgun during a family dispute.
The Hornets first trip to Utah as a New Orleans-based team is scheduled Dec. 12, at the beginning of a 12-day road trip that ends in San Antonio Dec. 23.
The Hornets will play in at least six nationally televised games -- four of them in New Orleans.
Hornets to open 2002-03 season against Jazz
By The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS -- When the NBA officially makes its regular season return to the birthplace of Jazz, the Jazz will be on the court.
New Orleans' new NBA team, the Hornets, opens its season by hosting the team that left town 23 years ago.
The Utah Jazz play Oct. 30 at the New Orleans Arena, where eight of the Hornets' first 12 games will be played.
"There's a natural added intrigue and excitement when the team that used to play in New Orleans is going to open in New Orleans against the new team on the block," Hornets spokesman Harold Kaufman said after the schedule was announced Thursday.
The Jazz also got their start in New Orleans. They played five years in the Louisiana Superdome, which stands just yards away from the 3-year-old arena that the Hornets have called home since leaving Charlotte after last season.
When it made the schedule, the NBA did not initially set out to rig it for the Jazz to open in New Orleans, league spokesman Tim Frank said. But scheduling conflicts with the Jazz' home stadium in Salt Lake City forced the team to start the season on the road.
"We can't really change the schedule to accomodate any type of matchups we want," Frank said. "We were put in a situation with Utah being on the road, and if you can make something like that happen, you do it.
"It worked out for us and we think the fans in New Orleans will enjoy it," he said.
The fourth NBA team to visit New Orleans will be the Minnesota Timberwolves, for whom the $110 million, 18,000-seat arena was built in a scandal-ridden unsuccessful effort to move that team to Louisiana.
The Timberwolves play here Nov. 13.
Other highlights of the 2002-2003 home schedule include: the only visit of the three-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 15 and the first of two visits by Michael Jordan and the Wizards on Jan. 22.
The Hornets host Philadelphia, the team of embattled superstar Allen Iverson, only once on Nov. 19. Iverson's ability to play next season is in doubt because of criminal charges against him stemming from an alleged threats he made with a handgun during a family dispute.
The Hornets first trip to Utah as a New Orleans-based team is scheduled Dec. 12, at the beginning of a 12-day road trip that ends in San Antonio Dec. 23.
The Hornets will play in at least six nationally televised games -- four of them in New Orleans.
