It was only a little cut, but it would appear nothing is little when it comes to the fortunes of Vince Carter these days.
The Toronto Raptors' leading scorer, voted to a starting position by the fans for Sunday's National Basketball Association all-star game in Oakland, Calif., cut the middle finger of his left hand while lifting weights after practice yesterday.
The accident sent the Raptors' media relations department into a frenzy of activity "because he's Vince Carter," a Raptor employee said. The Raptors issued a news release on Carter's finger, entitled Carter Injury Update, and the item was picked up by The Canadian Press.
Not since Alan Eagleson's histrionics in Moscow during the 1972 Canada-Russia hockey series has so much attention been paid to a middle finger in this country. Even Carter's promotions company in Columbia, S.C., PMI Sports Marketing, was alerted to the situation.
"I get notified when anything happens," said Misty Heacox, Carter's publicist at PMI. "Anything like that, they just call me and let me know."
Carter was taken to hospital for X-rays, which revealed the finger was not fractured. But three stitches were required to close the "1.5-centimetre laceration." Carter, who is right-handed, was sent home to rest, presumably with a big box of Band-Aids.
He is listed as questionable for tonight's game against the Atlanta Hawks at the Air Canada Centre. The boo-boo is not expected to sideline him for the all-star game.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks officially released veteran guard Haywoode Workman yesterday. He could become a member of the Raptors within 48 hours, provided no other team with a record worse than Toronto's record claims him off the waiver wire.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Workman broke into the NBA in 1989 with the Hawks and has also had stops in Washington and Indiana before hooking up with the Bucks last year.
Workman has played in only 23 of Milwaukee's 48 games this season, averaging 2.9 points a game along with 1.9 assists.