Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel fills us in on the specifics of the battle that led to Horace Grant being waived by the Magic. There was a screaming confrontation between Grant and coach Doc Rivers on the team?s charter flight from Chicago after Tuesday?s loss to the Bulls.

While on the flight, Rivers was summoned to another part of the plane to help squash an argument brewing between Grant and Tracy McGrady. McGrady was upset at some disparaging remarks about his laziness on defense that were printed by ESPN.com. They attributed the comments to an "unnamed teammate". MacGrady figured that Grant was the teammate.

When Rivers tried to intercede, the tension that had been mounting since the off-season between him and Grant boiled over in front of the team.

"He [Rivers] stands over me and says, 'You got a problem with me, Horace?" Grant said. "I stood up and said, 'Do you have a problem with me? Tell me, and I'll tell you the problem I have with you.' "

Rivers confirms the confrontation and says Grant?s posture looked as if he was ready to fight. "It looked like Horace was about to do something."

After more than a year of tension between the two, Rivers decided to end the relationship after the mid-air confrontation. He told GM John Gabriel that he had had enough of Grant. The Magic waived Grant the next day.

Peter Vecsey of the New York Post adds this little wrinkle. Rivers stepped into the Grant/McGrady argument after he was accused of making the disparaging remarks regarding McGrady?s defense to the press.

Vecsey?s sources say that when McGrady accused Grant of being the "unnamed player" in the ESPN.com article, Grant spoke up. "That's chicken [bleep]!" Grant responded in a rage. "Don't try to lay off that [bleep] on me. I put my name on what I had to say; Doc's the one who ripped you off the record."

The players continued to yell until team trainer Ted Arzonico arrived to try to calm matters only to become a verbal target instead.

At that point, Rivers stepped in and told Grant, "If you've got something to say, say it to my face. Don't be bad mouthing me to T-Mac or my trainer."

Check out both articles for the full story.