Word... article bout them boring Spurs...

[Gobbla2001]

from today's cbssportsline.com.

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Curb the insults: San Antonio is everything a franchise should be
June 8, 2007
By Mike Freeman
CBS SportsLine.com National Columnist


SAN ANTONIO -- You are all full of crap.

The entire country, all sports fans. Full of it. Coming out of the ears.


The Spurs are the ideal franchise; so why don't they get more love? (AP)
Because you constantly scream about wanting to root for a true team, a selfless team, a team with players who do not chest bump or commit grand larceny.

You go into apoplectic shock crowing about how the media only focuses on the negative. You whine and lament the absence of good guys in sports.

Then come the San Antonio Spurs and you phonies yawn.

They are boring, you say. They dumb down the NBA, you chirp. You root for LeBron Jordan because he dunks. You change the channel to The Sopranos because the pick-and-roll Spurs bore you.

Phonies.

I don't want to hear a single complaint about bad-boy athletes from you message board posters and e-mail flamers when most of you are ignoring the Spurs and sleeping by halftime.

San Antonio is truly a model franchise for all of sports. They are on the verge of creating one of the more unique dynasties the NBA has seen in many years. They are the New England Patriots of basketball with Tim Duncan playing the role of Tom Brady (minus all of the pregnant models) yet you hypocrites don't care.

There is a palpable lack of interest in these Finals or at the very least the country seems to be rooting for LeBron Jordan and against the Spurs, the kind of team fans always say they want to succeed in professional sports. The media is even worse than you fans.

How many columnists and talking heads -- particularly after the brawls in Detroit and New York -- lamented the demise of the NBA? How many writers longed for the days when athletes respected the game?

Anyone with a laptop and half a brain, that's who.

Now comes the Spurs and they are being tagged by many in the media as a yawn-inducing, death knell to television ratings and a cancer to the eyeball.

normally highly sensible and talented Denver newspaper columnist wrote recently: "The men in black are back, sucking all the life and beauty from the NBA Finals. Grudgingly, we must admire the Spurs, whose unsightly 85-76 victory in the best-of-seven series put them one victory closer to their fourth league title since 1999. But that doesn't mean we have to like it. Please, somebody. Stop them. How the Spurs play basketball makes ultimate fighting look like ballet by comparison."

So we in the media are a bunch of phonies, too.

The lack of interest in the Spurs is symbolic of where we are as a nation now. We are more fascinated with Paris Hilton's boobs, voting on American Idol and what blonde A-Rod is seen with. In other words, the glossy superficial gooey stuff.

If whatever we are watching isn't violent, sex-filled or constantly stimulating us like a bunch of 12-year-olds, we're bored.

Seriously, on CNN on Friday there was a helicopter following Hilton as she made her way to various court appearances. That is just sad.

Hilton and LeBron Jordan are Xbox and the Spurs are a fine game of chess.

Killing the NBA?

The Spurs are rescuing it.

I watch the Spurs and I see a fine piece of machinery. They are not a detriment to basketball, they are a necessity. They are like the cool, steady pulse of electricity: you do not appreciate it until it is gone.

Do not cover your eyes or turn away when they methodically work their half-court offense or engage their strangling defense. What the Spurs are doing should be committed to memory because in this me-first culture of sports the San Antonio and its selfless, purring style might be the last of its kind as dunks and shirt popping take over the NBA.

But you phonies won't see it because they bore you and you'd rather see gorilla dunks from LeBron Jordan.

"Even though people are picking us, people aren't rooting for us," San Antonio's Robert Horry told reporters prior to the beginning of the series. "We've got San Antonio, maybe Argentina and maybe Paris. But the rest of the world, they're rooting for Cleveland. Everyone wants to see Cleveland win and the new MJ come to life."

I love seeing LeBron Jordan transform into a superstar right before our eyes as much as anyone but there is room for both Dr. Dunk and the San Antonio Bores.

Gregg Popovich could win his fourth title. If Popovich does he should be mentioned in the same breath as Riley and Jackson but because his quotes are about as exciting as the San Antonio phonebook he is the most ignored great coach I have seen in 20 years of sports reporting.

Nobody outside of San Antonio cares about Popovich or his team. Nobody. Many hear the name Popovich and ask: is that Paris Hilton's jailer?

"We are kind of (the) vanilla of the NBA," said guard Manu Ginobili.

What the hell is so wrong with vanilla?

"It's irrelevant how people hold us up or don't hold us up," Popovich said, "talk about us or don't talk about us."

"Character is a big part of it," said Popovich, speaking of one key to San Antonio's success. "Character is a direct reflection of an ability to handle criticism, to be happy for teammate success. People have gotten over themselves and understand we're a group."

A group, a team. A true team.

Do you remember what that is?

You phony.

[Gobbla2001]

again...... WORD

[VanKampen]

no the spurs are boring and no one likes to watch them. read some of this guys other articles before you praise him. he's an idiot.

[Gobbla2001]

aint praising the guy, but I agree with everything he says...

[Gobbla2001]

Originally posted by Gobbla2001
, but I agree with everything he says...

in this article

[Bull Butter]

Originally posted by VanKampen
no the spurs are boring and no one likes to watch them. read some of this guys other articles before you praise him. he's an idiot.

And you're saying he's an idiot because you disagree with him.

[piratebg]

Great article :clap: :clap: :clap:

[GreenMachine]

Originally posted by VanKampen
no the spurs are boring and no one likes to watch them. read some of this guys other articles before you praise him. he's an idiot. No one likes to watch them? On the contrary, I love watching them. I love seeing them snuff out superstars like Carmelo, Nash, and Lebron. I love them because there is not all the chest bumping that goes on with the other teams. However, just once, I would love to see Duncan reject the "king" and get in his face. Of course that would never happen. When the "king" dunked over Duncan in an earlier game and "posterized" him, Duncan just stood there with his arms up and didn't even try to block the shot. The "king" even glared at Duncan after that...bad move. Duncan blocked more of the "king's" shots than he had dunks in game one. The Spurs, yea I love them. They are definitely the class of ANY sports organization out there! ;)

[piratebg]

Taking care of business
By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports
June 7, 2007

Dan Wetzel
Yahoo! Sports

SAN ANTONIO – If they were just another immature team, the San Antonio Spurs would have listened to nine days of talk about the greatness of LeBron James and the excitement of the Cleveland Cavaliers and started yapping about disrespect, reminding everyone about their three championship rings and whining about this or that.

Instead, they admit they are "vanilla," understand that none of it matters and acknowledge that James is, after all, pretty fun to watch.

Then they come out in Game 1 of the NBA finals and, after working off a little rust, systematically dismantle the youthful Cavs 85-76.

"San Antonio," said Cleveland coach Mike Brown, "was terrific."

San Antonio was San Antonio. Brown might as well get used to that. The hype heading into this series might have been about young King James, but the series is going to be about this old championship club, the one seeking its fourth title in nine years, the one that cares little about hype and intent on continuing to secure its place in history.

James was nothing special Thursday (14 points, seven rebounds, four assists) and for the Cavaliers that meant it was over. Cleveland can't win this series – heck, it can't win a game in this series – unless James is superhuman.

The Spurs are just too relentless, too steady and too balanced for anything less.

They dropped a ferocious defense on James and got their offense cranked up in the decisive third quarter. And that was just about that.

"They've got three guys around him," Brown said. "What they're doing is saying, 'Hey, somebody else beat us.' "

Good luck. This was right out of San Antonio's blueprint, nothing special except the execution of the game plan. Tim Duncan had 24 points and 13 rebounds. Tony Parker had 27 points. Manu Ginobili added 16 more. Bruce Bowen took defensive point duty on LeBron and was all over him, with plenty of help from his friends, of course.

And that was it. Any armchair analyst could have drawn that one up.

"All in all I think we did a pretty decent job," Duncan said.

The Spurs are classic. This is why people call them boring. They do what they are supposed to do. The fact that it includes some uptempo play, some aggressive defense and a lot of darting without the ball and flashy passes is lost in the demeanor.

San Antonio isn't boring on the court, just off of it. No chest pounding. No complaining. No worries. Everything is just "pretty decent."

"We are kind of the vanilla of the NBA," Ginobili told reporters before the series.

After a fairly convincing victory – a late Cavs rally made the score closer than it really was – the Spurs' locker room contained about as much excitement as following a preseason scrimmage, only with a lot more media looking for someone to say anything interesting.

Instead, everyone just went about there business. They were earnest, polite and open, just not real enthralling. Not that they care. It wasn't false humility; that's just the way they are.

"We won the game, we held them to 76 points," Duncan said in a flat-line tone. "That's right where we need to be."

For Cleveland, this is the frightening reality of this series. San Antonio is better at four of the five positions, and the Spurs have veterans and great coaching and are absolutely and completely focused on winning this thing.

The Cavaliers don't just have to get a little better in Game 2; they have to get a lot better. San Antonio hardly broke a sweat in winning this one.

The Cavs aren't going to get the emotional roller coaster that was the Pistons. They aren't playing a team that will beat itself. Not even once. Cleveland can bask in all the attention and love it wants, but San Antonio sees this championship as its birthright. The Spurs aren't handing it over without a monster fight.

But it is a fight they won't start. No complaining about a lack of respect, a lack of attention, a lack of praise. No giving the Cavaliers anything to get fired up about.

San Antonio would rather slowly grind Cleveland down, methodically work both ends of the court and squeeze the air right out of the Cavs until this series is over. Because this is the NBA finals and this is business and no one finishes its business as well as the Spurs.

Dan Wetzel is Yahoo! Sports' national columnist. Send Dan a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

Updated on Friday, Jun 8, 2007 2:29 am ED

[piratebg]

Spurs G Ginobili cares about winning, not starting
June 9, 2007

By Chris Bernucca PA SportsTicker Pro Basketball Editor

SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) - Manu Ginobili has been an All-Star. He has two championship rings, a gold medal, a near NBA Finals MVP award and a reputation as a winner that rivals Derek Jeter and Tom Brady.

So in late January, when San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich had the unmitigated nerve to ask a player of Ginobili's stature to give up his starting spot and come off the bench, the Argentine native replied the way any pampered, protective, egotistical player would.

"Sure, Coach."

The way Ginobili sees it - and the way very few other NBA stars do - he would much rather be playing at the end of the game than at the beginning.

"I still play the last five to six minutes, and I feel like I'm a very important player in this franchise," Ginobili said Saturday at the AT&T Center. "So not very big changes for me - only the fact of not playing the first five minutes."

In a league overrun by selfish players who are more concerned with minutes, shots and hearing their name on the PA system, it was an entirely selfless act by Ginobili, an unorthodox player in every sense of the word.

In addition to being lefthanded, Ginobili breaks down structure rather than following it and initiates contact rather than avoiding it. His nickname is "El Contusion," bestowed on him by teammate Brent Barry for his reckless style.

"He's all over the place," teammate Tim Duncan said. "He's great for our team because he brings the style of play where you don't know what he's going to do. He makes it up on the fly.

"He's an incredibly aggressive player. He just finds a way to make things happen. A lot of us play within our system, and he's one of the guys that will step out of that box, can the whole thing and take it in a different direction."

Popovich sensed that he had to take things in a different direction in late January, when the Spurs were completing a pedestrian 9-7 month and hearing the whispers that their time had come and gone.

The coach freely admitted that he had no idea if his plan to bring Ginobili off the bench and start Michael Finley or fellow aging guard Barry would work. The shooting guard position is the deepest in the NBA in terms of talent, and the Spurs needed to match that on a nightly basis.

"It was a seat-of-the-pants sort of a thing at the time," Popovich said. "The bench wasn't really producing a whole lot. I thought maybe it would be easier for Michael or Brent to play with the starting group and get something done, especially since Timmy gets doubled so much and they're shooters, and that would give us more energy and offense and activity off the bench."

At the very least, however, Popovich knew that there would be no grumbling from Ginobili, whose commitment to winning is unimpeachable and among the highest in pro sports, let alone the NBA.

"I'm fortunate in that Manu is the kind of guy that obviously cares more about the team," Popovich said. "Sure, he'd rather start, but he'll do whatever he's got to do for the team and would take it well and not moan and groan about it, so I was able to do it."

"It hasn't been tough," Ginobili said. "I took it very lightly since the first moment he told me. I know that even when I start, I'm not a player that plays 38 to 40 minutes, so my minutes didn't drop (that much)."

The plan worked to perfection. Playing three less minutes per game - and still out there for the last five - Ginobili averaged 16.7 points coming off the bench, a shade more than as a starter.

Popovich initially made Barry the starting shooting guard but later settled on Finley, who has started every playoff game. The Spurs won 25 of 28 games down the stretch and have carried that into the postseason, where they are 13-4.

All of this sits just fine with Ginobili, who two years ago was an All-Star and one media vote away from sharing Finals MVP honors with Duncan. Sometime next week, he may be on the verge of adding another championship ring to his legacy of winning.

And as the game winds down, you can bet he will be on the court.


16 wins. 16 teams. 1 trophy. Tune in to the NBA Playoffs to see who is left standing as NBA champion

Updated on Saturday, Jun 9, 2007 7:09 pm EDT

[piratebg]

'Pop' art
By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports
June 10, 2007

Adrian Wojnarowski
Yahoo! Sports

SAN ANTONIO – They had to install an extra telephone line at the San Antonio Spurs switchboard to process the public outrage. The general manager Gregg Popovich had fired Bob Hill as coach and replaced him with a losing Division III coach: himself. From a sideline soap opera star, to a blunt, ill-attired ex-military intelligence agent, only the timing of the termination had been riskier than the act itself.

"Bob Hill was a bit of a celebrity in San Antonio, and for a city that didn't have great self-esteem, to have somebody that looked pretty walking the sidelines, a lot of people liked (that)," Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said. "Pop fires him the day that David Robinson is supposed to come back (from an injury). Now, this is an ugly scene."

The Spurs had started 3-15 in December of 1996 when Popovich made his move on Hill. Across the next two seasons, Popovich was forever on the brink of ownership shuttling him back into the front office. He won the lottery with Tim Duncan but never popularity contests. The San Antonio Express-News ran a poll after the 1996-97 season in which 93 percent of the respondents wanted Popovich out of the job. There was pressure to make Spurs broadcaster Doc Rivers the coach before he left for the Magic.

And two years into Popovich's coaching run, with a sluggish start in the lockout-shortened season of 1999, owner Peter Holt was on the brink of replacing him as coach until the Spurs won 31 of 36 games, tore through the playoffs and won the NBA title.

"He was public enemy No. 1, maybe through 2003," Buford said. "The '99 championship didn't change a lot of things."

Now, Popovich has worn down his critics, killing them with equal parts indifference and indignation. He's the anti-celebrity, anti-self promoting coach. He doesn't want to be a star, and the city of San Antonio has been a perfect camouflage. There are no Popovich self-helps books, philosophy books, and he doesn't pretend to hold life's secrets by transforming cliches into cash on the speaking circuit. He isn't selling the public on the "Winner Within," nor "Zen," nor anything besides the fact that without Duncan, Popovich says, "I would be coaching a third-grade team somewhere in America."

He can be craggy and contentious. He can be difficult with everyone – his front office, his coaches, his staff. He challenges everyone, every day. Sometimes, you get the idea that Popovich is fighting a war within himself.

"He's even got the Serbo-Croatian conflict going on," Buford said. "His mother was Croatian and his father was Serbian. That's the battle he faces internally."

And for a coach who is on his way to his fourth NBA championship with a 1-0 series lead on the Cavaliers, it's important to remember that he never expected to leave tiny Pomona-Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif., in the 1980's. They were 2-22 in his first season, but slowly, surely, he built a winner there. He taught classes. He lived in a dorm with his wife and children one year, eating meals in the cafeteria. When the frat boys and jocks weren't behaving so well on campus, he volunteered to be a representative on the Women's Committee to see the world through a different prism.

"I would've been fat, dumb and happy to be at Pomona forever," Popovich said Saturday. "I loved it."

It was on a sabbatical after his seventh season in 1987, when he used one of his old Air Force Academy connections with Dean Smith to spend a year shadowing Larry Brown at the University of Kansas. He would drive a borrowed silver Lincoln town car with a sun roof that wouldn't close. "He'd drive back and forth to Kansas City and it snowed in his open roof," Buford, a Kansas assistant, said laughing. "He could never get it shut."

Two years later, Popovich was on the telephone to his old college coach at the Air Force Academy, Hank Egan, asking his advice. Brown had been hired as the Spurs' coach and offered Popovich an assistant's job. From Division III to the NBA? Popovich took a deep breath and wondered whether he belonged there.

"He was torn," said Egan, now a Cavaliers assistant. "He really wrestled with leaving Pomona."

Once he left the security of that small school, Popovich made a most improbable climb onto the Rushmore of the game's greatest coaches. Most of all, he never stops telling everyone that a lot of others could've won with Duncan, that there's no particular genius to his coaching. His peers are mostly so insecure that they have to keep telling you all the things they've done to make a bad team good, or a good team great. "My job here is not to screw it up," Popovich said.

Ultimately, his ability to be tough and demanding of his players is tempered with a trust born out of the fact that they believe he cares about them. This year, he moved Manu Ginobili to the bench and it only worked because Popovich has created a culture where no one bemoans individual slights set against the greater good of championship pursuits. It may have made him the most hated man in Ginobili's home of Argentina – the Spurs have the hate letters and e-mails to prove it – but he has never been afraid to do the unpopular thing.

And that goes back to the beginning, when he fired the George Hamilton of coaching, Bob Hill, and Gregg Popovich declared about those seven-percent approval ratings in the local paper, "It's never been my goal to be king of the prom. It's been my goal to do the right thing and get the job done."

He's on his way to his fourth title, the Hall of Fame, and no, he probably will never be the king of the prom. All along, he just wanted to be a coach. That's always been enough for him.

Adrian Wojnarowski is the national NBA columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Send Adrian a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

Updated on Sunday, Jun 10, 2007 5:07 am EDT

[ASUFrisbeeStud]

Word

[Phil C]

Fantastic article. It probably would have happened to the Packers in the 1960s except they had a coach that loved the lime light.

[VanKampen]

Originally posted by Bull Butter
And you're saying he's an idiot because you disagree with him.
if you read his article on MMA and boxing, you would agree with me. he presents his own opinions as facts. and most of what he says isnt true.

[Maroon87]

That article is right on the money. :thumbsup:

[mustang04]

Originally posted by GreenMachine
No one likes to watch them? On the contrary, I love watching them. I love seeing them snuff out superstars like Carmelo, Nash, and Lebron.

glad even you admit it takes a whole team of good players to beat a superstar;)

[luvhoops34]

:clap: :clap: :clap: WORD:clap: :clap: :clap:

GO SPURS GO!!!!

Eat your hearts out mavs fans!:D

[mustang04]

Originally posted by luvhoops34
:clap: :clap: :clap: WORD:clap: :clap: :clap:

GO SPURS GO!!!!

Eat your hearts out mavs fans!:D

i dislike both teams....i like individual players

I like Lebron, Nash, and Wade (mostly lebron about 1000 X's better than the other 2)

down with the mavs...down with the spurs...down with the rockets!