CHARLOTTE, N. Bob Feller Jersey .C. - Lance Stephenson doesnt want to be known as the guy who blew in LeBron James ear. Stephenson said during his introductory news conference Friday in Charlotte hes "a little upset" that the ear-blowing incident in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals against Miami is how some people have defined him as a player. "I feel like it overshadowed my play on the court," Stephenson said. "I bring more to the table than just blowing in someones ear. Im a great player." Hornets general manager Rich Cho agrees, which is why the club signed Stephenson to a three-year, $27 million contract Friday. The deal includes a team option for the third season. Cho says the 23-year-old Stephenson brings competitiveness, scoring ability, a defensive presence and a wealth of playoff experience — all things the Hornets need to take the next step and become a perennial playoff contender. "I think hell be a great fit," Cho said. The Hornets, who ranked near the bottom of the NBA in 3-point field goal percentage last season, expect Stephenson will help them in that area. Stephenson shot 35 per cent from beyond the arc last season. He also proved versatile in other ways. He led the NBA with five triple-doubles and posted career highs in points (13.6), rebounds (6.9) and assists (4.2). But Stephensons intense competitiveness also has a dark side. He was called for 17 technical fouls last season — third-most in the NBA — and was also involved in a practice scuffle with teammate Evan Turner. Hes been known to talk trash, occasionally taking himself out of the game and hurting his team. Hornets coach Steve Clifford is well aware of that, but after doing some background checks — even going back to talk to his high school coaches — he felt good about bringing Stephenson into a locker room that boasted great chemistry last season. "Whats the old saying? Your greatest strength is also your greatest weakness," Clifford said. "I think those things are a byproduct of the fact that he badly wants to win. To be honest, that is one of the things we all liked about him so much." Clifford said Hornets owner Michael Jordan addressed those issues with Stephenson in a meeting Tuesday night in Las Vegas. "He talked to him about what we can work on — and (Stephenson) knows that," Clifford said. "Lance knows that sometimes he has crossed the line a little bit. But I think he does it out of competitiveness." Stephenson acknowledged he has to mature as a player. But he said after talking to Jordan he knew he wanted to join the Hornets. "He loves my game and what I bring to the table," said Stephenson, who turned down a five-year, $45 million deal to stay in Indiana. "He loves that Im a great passer and I play with my teammates, and he loves the competitive edge that I have." As for the ear-blowing incident, Stephenson stopped short of saying he regretted his actions but explained his intentions. "During the series I was trying to play hard against LeBron and help my team win," Stephenson said. "Im very competitive and I know some of the antics were over the border — but I was just trying to do whatever it takes to win." Stephenson said that off the court, hes funny and likes to fool around with teammates and friends. On the court, hes as intense as they come and says "I have no friends" on the opposing team. For the Hornets, landing Stephenson is a sign the organization is headed in the right direction. This marks the second straight year theyve landed a big-name free agent after agreeing to a three-year, $41 million deal with centre Al Jefferson last summer. "It shows this is a great free agent destination," Cho said. Cleveland Indians Jerseys . Patty Mills had 20 points, Tim Duncan had 11 points and 13 rebounds in limited action, and San Antonio rolled to a 110-82 victory over Milwaukee that kept the Bucks winless in the new year. Yonder Alonso Jersey . On a hot, sweaty day, the Hall of Famer looked cool and comfortable. http://www.indiansteamproshop.com/Indians-Eddie-Robinson-Kids-Jersey/ . The league announced Thursday that Tom Higgins is leaving that post effective immediately.Heading into the second round series between the Boston and Montreal, the favoured Bruins were doing plenty of talking through the media to spur up the hatred. Now with the series tied at one after two exciting games in Boston and headed to what promises to be a raucous Bell Centre, the Canadiens jumped into the fray with some verbal barbs of their own on Monday. After being stonewalled by Canadiens goalie Carey Price in Game 1 - when he made 48 saves to help his team steal one with a 4-3 double overtime win - and then finding themselves down 3-1 halfway through the third period of Game 2, the Bruins scored three goals in 5:32 to take a 4-3 lead en route to a 5-3 win. Following the game, Bruins defenceman Dougie Hamilton and Torey Krug told the media they believed theyve solved the Canadiens gold-medal winning netminder. "I think weve definitely noticed that when hes screened, hes looking low," said Hamilton who scored first in the three-goal outburst late in Game 2. "He gets really low, so it seems like we score a lot of goals up high when we have net front presence. I dont know if were really trying [to do that], but weve definitely noticed that. When we can get our shots through their defenceman – especially the ones trying to block it -- we have a really good chance of getting it in." "It seems like almost all of the goals so far have gone to the upper half of the net," added Krug. Following practice on Monday, the Canadiens were quick to brush the Bruins analysis of Price aside, with head coach Michel Therrien claiming it was just another example of his counterpart Claude Julien and the Bruins trying to get under the skin of an opposing goalie. Early in the 2013 Stanley Cup Final, the Bruins scored frequently on the glove side of Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford and werent shy about telling the media that they were exposing Crawfords weakness. Ironically, Crawfords goalie coach then was current Montreal goalie coach Stephane Waite and Therrien believes the Bruins are playing the same mind games as the series switches to the Bell Centre. "Well we all remember last year and Stephane Waite remember it more than anyone else that they make the same comments when they went into the playoffs and the Stanley Cup final with the Chicago Blackhawks and talking about about Corey Crawford," Therrien pointed out Monday. "Thats part of their game and their thinking. They try to put pressure on the other team with the media." Price seemed to find Hamiltons and Krugs comments almost comical. He pointed out that shooting high through traffic in front of the net is a common objective of most teams and players. "Ive seen a lot of scouting reports on lots of goalies throughout the league and thats pretty much the scouting report on everybody," Price said. "Its the same for Tuukka [Rask], its the same for Ben Bishop and its the same for Corey Crawford. So its a pretty irrelevant comment I thought. Jason Kipnis Jersey. " Price was then asked if this was just another example of the Bruins trying to wage a verbal war through the media. "Sure. I dont know," Price said laughing. "I guess. But like I said, they can try it but its going to be no different. Like I said, thats essentially how most goals are scored this time of year in this league so thats essentially a generic comment." During Game 2, the Bruins took a bench minor due to Julien expressing his displeasure with some calls against his team and what he felt were a lack of calls against the Canadiens. When asked about his teams ability to rally for the win, the Bruins bench boss took what appeared to be a little jab at the officiating. "I think especially the way it happened - we had that tough second period and at the start of the third, they got that other power play goal, but the way we just battled back through, I felt, a lot of crap that we put up with today, was pretty indicative of what our teams all about," Julien said. "It just shows that if you focus on the things you need to focus on, theres a pretty good team that can accomplish a lot." The crap part didnt go unnoticed by Therrien and on Monday he called his counterpart out. "Its the same thing with Claude. Hes not happy with all that ‘crap," he said. "I thought they got away with a lot of things as far as Im concerned, but they try and influence referees. Thats the way they are. Thats not going to change. Thats the way they like to do their things. But for us, were not paying attention to those things. We all know what theyre trying to do but it doesnt affect us at all." Therrien went on to say his team isnt going to focus on more retaliation through the media but rather to stay focused on their game plan on the ice. "We want to play hard and honestly we all understand the discipline is really crucial," he said. "Whatever comments they make on us, Im not a coach thats going to start making comments the other way. Its never been my philosophy. I dont like that. They can say whatever they want. Its their choice. But we know what we have to do to get success." That may very well be true, but the Canadiens made it clear Monday that they also dont plan to let every verbal jab from the Bruins go unheeded. James Murphy is a freelance reporter who also writes for NHL.com, the Boston Herald and XNsports.com. He covered the Boston Bruins/NHL for last 11 seasons writing for ESPNBoston.com, ESPN.com, NHL.com, NESN.com, the Boston Metro, Insidehockey.com and Le Hockey Magazine. Murphy also currently hosts the radio show "Murphys Hockey Law" heard Saturdays 9-11 AM ET on Sirius/XM NHL Network Radio and 4-6 PM ET on Websportsmedia.com. In addition to that, he is a regular guest TSN 690 in Montreal and Sirius/XM NHL Network Radio as well as a hockey analyst on CTV Montreal. 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