Milwaukee Bucks' coach George Karl was uncharacteristically contrite prior to Tuesday's game against the Orlando Magic and proposed to meet with Doc Rivers this offseason in hopes of smoothing out their differences.

Karl and Rivers have sparred verbally the past three seasons. Karl breathed new life into the spat recently with his comments in Esquire magazine that Rivers was "anointed" and by implying that Rivers got his job merely because of his race. On Tuesday, Karl apologized for those comments and pressed for a meeting.

"I hope the opportunity (to meet) brings itself to fruition, but I don't want it to be a politically correct meeting. I want it to be a genuine meeting," Karl said. "We've had a few years of trash and fun and competition and we've built a nice little rivalry.

"But I'm sorry for what has happened because of my comments. I should have been smarter in handling the situation. . . . I made a mistake. I'm sorry if I hurt the game of basketball. I had no desire to hurt the game that's been so great and very nice to me."

Where Karl did not back down was on his theory that coaches should have to "do their dues" first before landing head jobs in the NBA. Karl is still irked that Rivers became the Magic's coach without any prior coaching experience.

"If I was a G.M., I'd probably hire an ex-player," Karl said. "I wasn't a very good player, but I played and I feel players have an advantage. I still feel there's a bridge to cross from being player to coach. The comparison I make is I don't think players should go from high school to pro ball. But kids like Tracy McGrady, Kobe (Bryant) and Kevin Garnett are examples of not only great players but also good ambassadors for this game. I still don't like it and it'll never feel good to me."

Rivers, who walked over and shook Karl's hand prior to the pregame introductions, said he resents Karl's ex-player theory and stressed that he paid plenty of dues during his 13 seasons as a point guard under head coaches Pat Riley, Larry Brown and Mike Fratello.

"I was in the league 13 years running the pick-and-roll, not reading about it," Rivers said. "That theory is disrespectful to every guy who has ever played the game. Guys who didn't play in this league shouldn't gripe about us paying dues. That is an old-school theory that's been proven to be wrong."

Angry Armstrong: Magic point guard Darrell Armstrong admitted Magic players were extremely upset by Karl's comments and said from now on they would be even more motivated when they face the Bucks.
"We fight hard for each other and we'll fight for Doc," Armstrong said. "He's always had our back and we've got his back. We want to win even more for Doc now."

Armstrong said Karl has picked a fight he can't win because Rivers has already proven he not only belongs in the NBA, but also is one of the game's brightest young coaches. Armstrong said jealousy is at the heart of Karl's contention with Rivers.

"If Doc couldn't coach or was just here because it had been handed to him, we wouldn't be in the situation we're in now," Armstrong added. "Doc's the only one he keeps going after, and it's kind of sad, really. Jealousy is a disease. That's why everybody in the NBA calls (Karl) a player hater. Now, he's a coach hater too I guess."

Miller Time?: Magic forward Mike Miller, who has missed the past five games with a deep bone bruise in his sprained left ankle, said there's a chance he could return for Friday's home game against Charlotte.
If Miller can return Friday it would be 13 days since his injury -- much shorter than the three weeks of rest and rehabilitation doctors originally projected. Miller has progressed ahead of schedule and has been off his crutches for a week.

"It's getting there and I feel a lot better," Miller said. "For some reason the coloring in the ankle is just now coming. It was a high ankle sprain so the tightening is really more in my calf now than anything else."

Etc.: Tracy McGrady was named the NBA's Eastern Conference's player of the week, but he said his vote would have gone to teammate Troy Hudson. Hudson scored 34, 24 and 19 points in the past three wins. "I was hoping he would have gotten it because he really deserved it," McGrady said. McGrady has averaged 33.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.4 assists the past five games, and he's one of three of the NBA's leading scorers -- Allen Iverson and Shaquille O'Neal are the others -- to raise his scoring average since the all-star break. Said Rivers: "He's focused and engaged right now. But the biggest adjustment he's made in the year-and-a-half he's been here is he doesn't get down when we're struggling. He stays the course now and when he stays up so does our team. He's our leader. His body language is all positive now and that means a lot to our team."
On another note, Rockledge High's football team was honored at half-time.