shock

dont let this fool you. Chipper is going to get his money. He is restructuring his contract so that he gets paid some of this money later. Chipper is not taking a paycut. But it is nice to see him do this, i think it just shows how far our standards have dropped for these athletes, that we think so highly of them to do something like this.

Quote: Why draft a guy that will take 2-3 yrs to be at the level of the guy you pass over?? Doesn't that just sound stupid?? Because Marvins potential was projected to eclipse chris paul's. You may have expected paul to immediately contribute the way he is now, but i certainly didnt. If Paul was the obvious better choice, then hang that on billy knight. Just please dont try to compare them yet.

Quote: What is Marvin bringing to the table again? Last night it was 0 points! If he had just contributed 4 pts in the 20 minutes he played, we would have won. I hate seeing this type of bullshit. How about if this guy had hit his free throws, how about if that guy hadnt committed so many turnovers that led to points, how about guys who were missing their defensive assignments, etc.... What a cheap statement and weak argument against marvin. Last time i checked, wasnt marvin supposed to have been given a window of two or three years to be at the level we see in chris paul? Get off his back and show him the same respect you show complete losers like darko.

the hawks really never "woke up". Salim single handedly brought us back into that game. I give him and only him the credit, no one else is deserving of it.

i'd give them harrington/childress/1st rd pick

Quote: Darko- Risky move but what have we got to loose. He is at least 7ft. tall. yea so is john edwards

I most certainly would rack his brain. Not be annoying or anything, just engage in conversation like he's just another fan. Most of these guys are personable, and are willing to allow you to slip in a little "contructive criticism" without being offended. Ive spoke with Stan Kasten and Pete Babcock at games before and they were pretty cool. Im sure guys like bruce, mikey jr, and the rest of 'em are very sociable.

Flightless BirdsBy John Hollinger ESPN Insider ATLANTA -- It hasn't been hard for Atlanta Hawks observers to find bad news in recent times, and Tuesday night was no exception. After a moving tribute to fallen teammate Jason Collier, the Hawks stayed winless by losing their "home" debut in front of a mostly pro-Laker crowd, blowing a double-digit lead by giving up "at least 20 layups" in the estimation of coach Mike Woodson. The 103-97 final score was pure window dressing -- L.A. went up by 16 in the fourth before the Zen Master called off the dogs. Plus, adding insult to injury, the scoreboard stopped working early in the second quarter and the P.A. announcer spent most of the night calling out the time left on the shot clock. Want more? I've got plenty. No. 2 overall pick Marvin Williams looks so lost he's been named an honorary passenger on Oceanic Airways flight 815, and needed a post-game pep talk from Roy Williams. Second-year forwards Josh Childress and Josh Smith both seem to have taken a step back from promising rookie seasons -- they combined for five field goals and six turnovers. And with the death of Collier and an injury to Tony Delk, the club is stretched so thin that Al Harrington had to play center in the first half when Zaza Pachulia encountered early foul trouble ... and then guard Kobe Bryant in the second half while Joe Johnson and Childress grabbed a breather. But we knew this team had problems from the get-go -- it didn't lose 69 games last year for nothing. So instead, let's focus on the one piece of good news -- the play of Joe Johnson. Now that Woodson has mothballed the idea of playing Johnson at the point, Atlanta is finally getting some return on its $70 million investment. On Tuesday, Johnson delivered his best game as a Hawk, scoring a season-high 26 points on 11-of-20 shooting. It was a far cry from the preseason and the first two regular-season games, when Johnson labored to get the ball across halfcourt against quicker point guards. Matched up against players his own size, Johnson looked much more comfortable. "The two gives me more freelance opportunities," said Johnson. "I can make more plays not just for my teammates, but for myself too." He should get plenty more opportunities to do so. With the struggles of the two Joshes and Williams, the Hawks' need at off guard is much greater than it is at the point. Thus, for the few Hawks fans in the Philips Arena crowd, Johnson's play at the shooting guard spot was the one silver lining in an otherwise dreary home opener.

I really feel like we should give him more playing time. If the jj at pg experiment ends up sour, i would like to see IVEY START AT PG, and have jj at sg. Ivey is alot bigger than Lue(6'3", 200), can handle the ball as well as Lue, is young and quick, and damn sure can play better defense. I just feel like Royal has alot of untapped potential, and just hasnt been given the opportunities to shine. I think if woody would try this combo out on the floor it would work. Anybody agree or am i crazy?

Dave Feschuk, of the Toronto Star, recently tracked down NBA journeyman Keon Clark to find out what he?s up to. 'I'm just trying to live my life without nobody telling me what I gotta wear. When we work, we wear jerseys. We're not working in an office. We're working at 94 feet,' he said. 'I do know how to play. But I don't know how to play those other games that go along with the NBA. I'm non-conformist,' he replied." This is unintentional comedy at its best.

Quote: Lastly, I've never seen a free agent (except Herb Williams) Be traded then come back to his same team... Gary Payton last year with the Celtics

i missed the game tonight, but the box score showed that he fouled out in only 16 minutes of play?! whats the story on this game?

Quote: Thanks for the stats bro...they mean nothing at all...but, thanks anyway.... These games can be won and I believe they will be won....just like the Giants on Sunday put that spanking on the Skins...those guys had something to play for that you cannot measure...We lost Collier and our guys are going to be jacked up playing for him this season...and I wouldn't be that surprised if we rolled off 5 or 6 in a row to start the season. When emotions come into play you can throw stats out of the window...those teams can and will be had...don't under estimate the power of emotion!!! 122-97....what were you thinking?

row 22, sec g, seats 2,3

yea i got the same call last week. just trying to sell more tickets.

we bought 575 tickets on hawksquawk? wow...but im still not worried. A homecourt advantage would make it slightly easier to accomplish, but until the Hawks prove to me that they are a contender, im not going to make outrageous claims that they will start the season 3-0. How many three game winning streaks have we had the past 5 years? any at all?

Quote: 3-0 is reaching, but not unrealisticly. I actually could see this team being 4 and 1, with our only deafeat against the Lakers. 0-3: very possible 1-2:most likely 2-1:reaching 3-0: scientific impossibilty But if we do go 3-0, ill be everyone a beer at the Nov 10th game!

last year we couldnt win back to back games, and now were going to come out and win three straight on the road? Im not trying to kill anyones buzz but lets be realistic.

does beer count as a "snack"?

sec 122. row g, seats 2,3

Quote: lol Is there anybody in the US that doesn't dislike the French? tom cruise, ted kennedy, steve belkin

Ive read some pretty entertaining posts from some of you guys. I wanted to post a few times, but chillzatl pretty much hammered out everything i wanted to say. chillz... you have a good head on your shoulders. I think Cuttino Mobley should have a school where players go to learn how to dress. Have you ever seen this guy sitting on the bench in his suits? He could easily have his own show on MTV or ESPN where a guy like Ricky Davis comes over and is turned into Colin Powell. The unintentional comedy would be paralyzing.

or maybe they are saving that opening for royal or donta

Quote: Face the facts, we still need backups... I thought we paid batista and edwards a million bucks apiece to be the backups.