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| Wednesday, December 19 Updated: December 20, 10:55 AM ET Time for some holiday wishes By David Aldridge Special to ESPN.com |
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I tried to come up with something profound for the Holiday Column. Something about how sports don't really matter in the larger context of everything that's happened to our country and to the world since Sept. 11, observations that would make us all stop and think. You know, Important Words Normally Reserved for Columnists and Other Important People.
You know how Sept. 11 affected you and your family better than anyone else ever will. Thank God, or Yahweh, or Allah, or Buddha, or whatever Supreme Being you do (or don't) thank for such things, that you're here to appreciate the people you care about. Peace and blessings to all of you this holiday season, and the best for 2002. And special holiday tidings to ...
The Hill fallout Then I asked him if he thought he'd been sold a bill of goods when he gave Grant Hill $93 million two years ago. "No," he said. "Our doctor spoke to the Cleveland doctor who performed the (first) surgery. (Hill) was on schedule. The X-rays were as pristine as they could be at the time. And 28 other teams stood in line to sign the guy, just like us." But the first surgery didn't work. At all. And while the second surgery did work, Hill is still probably going to miss the rest of the season after developing bone spurs that have put stress on his left ankle. The bottom line is that if Hill doesn't play anymore this season, that'll be 18 games in two years. The dreams of Hill, Tracy McGrady and Tim Duncan playing together in two years seem very far away. How confident Magic fans must feel now, hearing management cite Zydrunas Ilgauskas's claws as an example of ankle surgery recovery! What began with Hill quietly telling Doc Rivers, "my foot hurts," in the third quarter of Orlando's game against Detroit on Nov. 26, now has major ramifications for a franchise that thought it had struck gold in the summer of 2000. There will be no sympathy for the Magic, who many teams feel is too clever by half when it comes to wooing free agents. There is only Hill in a cast, and McGrady with a balky back, and Bo Outlaw is in Phoenix, and Brendan Haywood is in Washington. Orlando amassed extra first-round picks years ago to use as sweetners in deals. Now, there are only three of those left. The Magic may have to use them to replenish a team that has been slowly stripped away to provide cover for the team's two superstars. The future is, at best, cloudy in the Land of the Mouse. "We're trying not to sound stupid on this," Gabriel said, "and promise smooth sailing (after) three tries at this ... this group's been through it before, unfortunately. We'll just worry about this year."
Chaney's last shot But what can Chaney do? He's 55 years old and this is probably the last shot he gets at being a head coach, after two previous tries in Detroit and Houston, after getting Coach of the Year honors in '93-and being fired in '94-after spending seven years on New York's bench and getting exactly one head coach interview during those seven years. "I interviewed with the Celtics after M.L. (Carr) got fired," Chaney recalled. "But that was it." So even though Van Gundy had, according to Chaney, threatened to quit several times over the last couple of seasons, it was nonetheless a shock ("I was speechless") when Van Gundy called Chaney two weeks ago and told him he really was going through with it this time. Chaney figured he'd get the call, which he did. But he also is a realist about what he's got to work with in New York: a short, rudderless squad that has stumbled through the first six weeks of the season. "My attitude is to make the best of it," he says. "If the team goes down, I go down. I know that."
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