"Francis lets teammates down"

[Tammo29@xxxxxxx]

Feb. 2, 2004, 11:45PM

Francis lets teammates down with immature act
By FRAN BLINEBURY
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle 
It seems Janet Jackson wasn't the only one exposed on Super Bowl Sunday. 
There also was much revealed about Steve Francis. 
Immaturity. Irresponsibility. Unprofessionalism. 
This is why the Rockets have not been to the playoffs in nearly five years. 
Because the player who is supposed to be driving their bus couldn't bother to 
show up for a team flight. 
Because their All-Star point guard might have been hanging out with some MTV 
playmates rather than going to work with his teammates. 
Was the choice P. Diddy, Nelly and Kid Rock over Yao, Cuttino and Kelvin? 
The Rockets flew to Phoenix on Sunday afternoon. According to coach Jeff Van 
Gundy, Francis zipped over to watch the Super Bowl at Reliant Stadium. 
Does anyone think Francis would even have noticed the irony of what he was 
watching? A close-knit Carolina Panthers team that had the dedication and 
resolve to get off the floor from a 1-15 record two seasons ago to play its way into 
the biggest spotlight. A committed New England Patriots club that was a model 
of proficiency and consistency in winning 15 consecutive games to close out 
another trophy-raising season. 
Of course, the player's agent claims Francis was not at the game, but instead 
at home attending to personal matters. The agent says he was on the phone in 
the afternoon, making arrangements to fly his client to Phoenix late Sunday 
night. 
What personal matters? They're not saying. But how convenient that it would 
be something that could be tied up soon after Adam Vinatieri kicked his 
game-winning field goal. How incredible that no one from the Rockets would think to 
call Francis' home to check on him. How positively amazing that a veteran coach 
like Van Gundy would make up such a bold lie and go public with it. In short, 
it just doesn't pass the smell test. 
Regardless, from what we have seen to date, the only way Francis is ever 
going to get to a championship game is by riding in a limousine. 
Remember when we used to call him Stevie Franchise? Sadly, that nickname does 
still apply to a flimsy basketball team that long ago used up all of the 
goodwill from the era of Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. The "heart of a 
champion" motto and all it stood for is packed away in mothballs and covered with 
cobwebs. 
Stevie Franchise stands for a team with a winning percentage of merely .471 
since a blockbuster 11-player deal brought him to Houston in August 1999 as the 
symbol of a new age. He stands for a team that has been all flash and no 
substance in 4 1/2 seasons, the very core of a unit that has been full of promise 
and short on results. 
The debate about whether Francis possesses the raw talent or the instincts to 
be a true point guard for a contending team is one for another day. This is 
about being responsible, about fulfilling the most basic duties to an employer 
who is paying you $85 million over six years. This was not a youthful 
indiscretion but blatant insubordination. 
More important, at least on the court, is the message Francis conveyed to his 
supposed brothers-in-arms with this stunt. 
Does Francis believe he was the only member of the Rockets who would have 
liked to stay at home to attend the Super Bowl? Couldn't every one of them -- 
from Yao Ming to Mike Wilks -- have found his way to get a ticket or entry to a 
luxury suite and rub elbows with the stars? 
But all the rest -- from Cuttino Mobley to Kelvin Cato to Jim Jackson to Mark 
Jackson -- were capable of understanding their obligations and showing up for 
the plane. 
Francis told Van Gundy he planned to charter a private jet and fly to Phoenix 
on Monday morning. Van Gundy told him not to bother. Stevie vehemently 
disagreed with Van Gundy's punishment of a one-game suspension, and there is the 
crux of his problem. 
Tom Brady is the 26-year-old quarterback in whom the Patriots have complete 
faith to maintain his poise, to do the right thing, to lead them late in games 
to victory. Would anyone say the same about the 26-year-old quarterback of the 
Rockets? 
This is a time in which his numbers and performance level are down, when he 
hardly deserves the starting spot to which he was voted on the Western 
Conference All-Star team, when a loss at home to the New Jersey Nets on Saturday had 
the head coach questioning the team's heart. 
Francis' response was to miss the team flight. 
Like the Super Bowl streaker at midfield, exposing his shortcomings. 
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2384449