Steve Francis - pure class

[Max Power]

Monday, February 2, 2004
ESPN.com news services

HOUSTON -- Houston Rockets guard Steve Francis, the team's leading scorer, was suspended for one game for missing a flight to Phoenix on Sunday night.

The Rockets issued a statement saying Francis would not be with the team for its game against the Suns Monday. Rockets spokesman Nelson Luis said the team would have no additional comment.

A source told ESPN's David Aldridge that Francis was suspended after the Rockets discovered that Francis stayed in Houston in order to attend Sunday's Super Bowl. Francis spoke on Monday with coach Jeff Van Gundy; during the occasionally contentious conversation, Van Gundy told Francis that he, Van Gundy, and many players had given up their Super Bowl tickets in order to make the Sunday evening flight to Phoenix and that Francis should have done the same.

Francis' own public relations firm issued a statement late Monday saying the guard attended an "urgent personal family matter" and would rejoin his teammates at practice Tuesday.

Francis leads the Rockets with a 16.6 scoring average and 5.9 assists per game.