Hornets Will Be Moved to Western Conference

The New Orleans Hornets will move to the NBA’s Western Conference by the 2004-05 season at the latest.

The league’s owners approved the shift Tuesday, which will allow an expansion team in Charlotte to be in the Eastern Conference when it begins play in 2004. The Hornets left Charlotte after last season and moved to New Orleans.

Deputy commissioner Russ Granik said the Hornets have the option to switch to the West next season. The team will have to let the league know before the schedule is drawn up.

The Hornets’ conference change will mean that two Western Conference teams will be east of the Mississippi -- the Memphis Grizzlies and the Hornets, who play in an arena about a mile from the river.

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A Philadelphia judge dismissed a lawsuit by a man who said he gave Allen Iverson the nickname “The Answer” and was seeking royalties for its use on merchandise.

Jamil Blackmon said the Philadelphia 76er star reneged on a promise that Blackmon would receive 25% of the proceeds from use of “The Answer.” The nickname is on a line of Reebok basketball shoes and other products.

U.S. District Judge Mary McLaughlin ruled Blackmon and Iverson never entered a valid contract and the nickname wasn’t novel enough to support a legal argument that Iverson misappropriated it.

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The Memphis Grizzlies put Mike Miller and Lorenzen Wright on the injured list, ending their seasons with five games left.

From Associated Press