The Hornets, ranked by experts as the third-best NBA team behind the Celtics and Lakers, open their season on Wednesday night against the Warriors at Oracle Arena in Oakland.
In Chris Paul, the Bees have the best point guard (and one of the three or four best players in the league). In David West, they have a go-to-low post force. In Tyson Chandler, they have a big man to clean up the boards and patrol the backboards. In Peja Stojakovic and Morris Peterson, they have shooters to keep defenses honest.
Former Celtics veteran James Posey should be a valuable addition for the Hornets, making their defense much stronger, especially when they run into Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in the postseason. But the Hornets' bench is still thin, so it will be interesting to see if the Hornets, led by Paul, West and Chandler, can make it through a second straight run deep into the playoffs unscathed.
Anthony Randolph, who played at LSU for one season before signing with the Warriors, enjoyed his preseason experience with GoldenState. He is coming along quickly and his future looks bright.
During the preseason, Anthony averaged 4.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in just 14.40 minutes. He showed his defensive skills against Milwaukee by snatching nine rebounds and blocking four shots.
Anthony said he grew up admiring Kevin Garnett. "He has a frame similar to mine, and is so versatile," said Randolph. "He can do so many things both offensively and defensively that I grew up watching and studying his game."
Randolph sees himself in the NBA in five years as an all-star.
"I hope to be a perennial all-star in five years," said Randolph. "That's my goal. Whatever team I'm on I want to win games and be a contender."
Also
Tulane running back Andre Anderson has both a fracture and dislocation of his right shoulder and will miss the rest of the season. Tulane coach Bob Toledo said freshman Nate Austin will start in his place.
SOME HITHER, OTHERS YON: LSU coach Les Miles says he expects the unexpected from Tulane when the meet on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium. "We might expect some fakes and some surprises, but that will be a reflection of what they have to offer. The Green Wave hasn't beaten the Tigers since 1982. Still, Miles is sure they will give LSU their best effort. TU did last season. The Tigers entered the game in the Superdome ranked No. 2 in the nation and won 34-9. The win wasn't sealed until the fourth quarter. For the second straight year, a TU player has been selected a candidate for the Doak Walker Award, given annually to the nation's top Division 1-A back. However, Arthur Anderson left the Rice game in the first quarter with a shoulder injury. "It's a great honor," said TU coach Bob Toledo. "Hopefully, he'll be able to come back and finish the year." Anderson is the third TU player to be named to the watch list in the past six years, joining 2007 candidate and current Bears rookie Matt Forte and 2003 honoree and current Steelers running back Mewelde Moore. ..
You might be a redneck if you think the Florida-Georgia game is bigger than Texas-Texas Tech. Florida-Georgia in Jacksonville may be the "world's biggest cocktail party," but this season's Texas-Texas Tech is the nation;s biggest game so far this season, The only poll that counts is the BCS Poll. And undefeated Texas is No. 1 with undefeated Texas Tech No. 7. Where do you think ESPN College Gameday will be?...CBSsports.com ranks the nation's teams 1-120. LSU is No. 16, Ole Miss is No. 53, Miss.State is No.72, Louisiana-Lafayette is No.83, Louisiana Tech is No. 93, USM is No. 101, Tulane is No. 109 and Louisiana-Monroe is 112...
Dylan Favre grew up around the hype surrounding his famous uncle, a future Hall of Fame quarterback. He watched for years at Brett Favre handled notoriety of being one of the NFL's most popular players. The younger Favre has his own fan base in Bay St. Louis as starting quarterback at St. Stanislaus. He's on the verge of becoming the Rockachaws' career passer. Joked Brett, "Dylan has already broken every every record I held in high school. :I'm excited to see Dylan doing well," said Brett. "His stats are impressive, but you still need to read it, throw it and have guys catch it and block. His arm needs to get a little stronger. You can never have too much arm strength. If you have touch (Dylan has the touch), he needs to keep working what it takes to get io the next level." USM recruited Brett as a cornerback. "I wasn't fast enough to cover the receivers, but I could hit," recalls Brett. "They finally moved me back to quarterback."
The Hornets, ranked by experts as the third-best NBA team behind the Celtics and Lakers, open their season on Wednesday night against the Warriors at Oracle Arena in 
