1310 the Ticket 1920's reporter Tom Gribble on Popovich

This guy does this a lot from Tom Brady and Mack Brown to Eli Manning and Vince Young, but you just can't fool Popovich.

Spurs mid-season player grades...

From the great poundingtherock.com... great stuff

Manu Ginobili (The Sickness, Opus, etc.) Grade: AA++++

What can be said that has not already been said? How about this? The man's play has given me an erection three different times this season. And one of those times I was wearing my Pope-blessed erection proof Chastity Chaps!

Tim Duncan (The Cornerstone, Timmeh!, etc.) Grade: B+

He's coming along after a lazyish start. Hasn't been hurt all that much.

Tony Parker (The Wee Frenchman, Frenchie McWonderbutt, etc.) Grade: B

He was pretty freaking awesome before he hobbled his ankle. And that shit with him doing Grease with Eva was funny as all hecky-shucks-darn.

Matt Bonner (The Gingerhead Man) Grade: B

Maybe it's been my imagination, but I swear he hasn't sucked. I swear. However, if you consider how little playing time he's gotten, and who Pop's playing in his place, well, he must of sucked the suckiest donkey balls ever sucked.

Pop (Coach Wino) Grade: D-

The only thing saving him from an F is the fact he hasn't physically injured Manu yet.

Robert Horry (Ear Muffs, etc.) Grade: G

Horry's proving it's ok if you suck balls as long as it's the coach's balls your sucking. Sorry. That was gross. Just picture that. Eww.

Michael Finley (Conspicuously Devoid of a Nickname as Far as I Can Remember) Grade: C

He tries hard all the time. His multi-directional fadeaways give me the runs.

Jacque Vaughn () Grade: D

During the RRT I nearly threw my effing shoe at my tv because that horrible color commentator kept going on and on about how well he'd been playing. He sucked balls. Check his stats. They were awful. He just shot the ball a lot out of sheer embarrassment. If Tony Parker played that way he'd be tarred, feathered and shipped out of town.

Fabricio Oberto () Grade: B-

Thoroughly uninspiring but sucks way less than Elson.

Bruce Bowen () Grade: B-

Not shooting all that well lately and takes way too many jump shots. Bruce, just because you practiced your running left hander all summer doesn't mean you get to shoot it every time you're open.

I'm out of time. Sorry Brent. Get well soon. Everyone else hasn't mattered. [Edit: Sorry, Ime, you matter, too.]

"Manu Ginobili is a bad boy"

"Manu Ginobili's a bad boy," Cavs coach Mike Brown said.

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Manu Ginobili is planning a trip to Las Vegas during this weekend's NBA All-Star break. Alert the roulette wheels, blackjack tables and pit bosses.

Watch out. This guy's on a serious roll.

Ginobili made a career-high eight 3-pointers and scored a season-high 46 points as the San Antonio Spurs, back on the floor where they won the NBA title last season, beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-105 on Wednesday night.

Knocking down shots from every corner of the floor, Ginobili made 4-of-4 3-pointers and scored 18 points in the fourth quarter to rally the Spurs, who began the final period down by four.

"I'm just happy he's on my team," Tim Duncan said. "He's unbelievable when he gets rolling like that. The funny part is, I've seen him do it before."

Following Ginobili's hot hand, the Spurs went 7-of-8 on 3s and shot a blistering 78 percent (14-of-18) in the final 12 minutes.

After James misfired on a 3, Ginobili drained his fourth 3 of the quarter to make it 103-95 with 3:10 left, a shot that drew gasps from the sellout crowd.

"It was unbelievable," James said. "There's nothing you can do when a guy get hot like that. He shot step-back 3s. He shot pull-up 3s. It was a great performance by Manu."

Ginobili is indeed a "bad boy," and should have been selected for the 2008 NBA All-Star game. Straight ballin'.

Everyone calm down, Kenny Smith is still an idiot

A recent article posted on Yahoo! Sports by Kenny Smith entitled "Blockbuster trades raise questions" got me thinking a little bit about the 2007-2008 NBA season, the so-called "power shift" in the Western conference, but mostly about how many complete tools there are in the national sports media including Mr. Smith.

Let me just do a short review of Kenny Smith's article and how his nonsensical ideas about the NBA carry over into what the national sports media talking-heads are thinking and saying these days about the power in the NBA.

Smith starts by saying that, "Because of a couple of blockbuster trades, the balance of power in the NBA’s Western Conference has shifted dramatically the past couple of weeks. That’s also raised a few questions that need answering." We'll get to these questions in a moment, but I would like to say that while yes, ONE team has gotten a little better in the west (LA), the balance of power has not changed at all.

I might just be retarded, but it still goes Spurs, Mavs, Suns in the west in any order you want, even though the Suns just got rid of their most versatile player in the NBA in Shawn Marion and won't do anything with Shaq. I'll try to get to this later, but when considering the Spurs and Mavs how many games have Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and Devin Harris missed this year? Maybe 50 all together. Yet the media has already written them off. Look, I know ya'll media love LA and Boston, but last time I checked the Spurs are still the defending champs and were in this exact same position last year that they are this year and it also looks like Avery Johnson has taken some of Greg Popovich's coaching strategies, which is to turn it on when it counts. The Playoffs.

Now lets get to those questions...

#1. "Can Shaquille O’Neal play in the Phoenix Suns’ high-powered, fast-paced offense?"

You can go click the link to the article if you actually want to read Smith's obviously bias answer, but I think I could tell you what it says without even reading it... here it goes... I bet it was something like... Yes... some kind of Shaq suck up... fast-paced something ... and he finishes with a Kareem and "Showtime Lakers" reference. Yeah that's about it.

First off, you know that Kenny is never going to write anything bad about Shaq because they're friends, so it totally ruins this answer's credibility. Smith actually had Shaq as an NBA All-Star reserve this year (Shaq has probably played 10 games right?)... that explains a lot. Second, are you f*cking kidding me? Talking about Shaq running. What? He has been injured for the last year! Look, all that needs to be said here is that the Suns traded the most under-rated player in the NBA in Shawn Marion. He can guard any position one though five, not to mention had better stats in every category on the Suns except Nash in Assists, which Marion came second. As a Spurs fan, I love this trade. Chuuuch.

Question #2. "Are the Lakers for real?"

Let me guess Smith's answer... Pau Gasol is the best player ever... blah blah... Lakers are going to win the West. Oh... what do you know, I was right on. Someone needs to remind me, but what happens in the playoffs to Pau Gasol... oh yeah, he gets straight owned by anyone who plays him.... NEXT!

Question #3. "Can the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks not make substantial changes to their rosters and expect to remain legitimate title contenders?"

Hmmm this one might actually be interesting, lets go see what professor Smith has to say about it... here it is... "No. The Spurs can’t afford to rely on Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili because, even in winning last season’s championship, they weren’t that far ahead of their Western competitors. If Robert Horry doesn’t hip check Nash into the scorer’s table, the Spurs could have been eliminated in the second round."

WHAT! ok ok... I just want to repeat this part for you again.... "The Spurs can’t afford to rely on Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili".... ummm, hmmm... again... "The Spurs can’t afford to rely on Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili" wait, wait, maybe it'll make more sense to me the third time... "The Spurs can’t afford to rely on Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili." Well, you get the picture. And this guy is one of the "top" analysts for the sport. I mean, have you heard him talk? My god... and he seems to forget that YES, THE SPURS CAN RELY ON TIM DUNCAN, TONY PARKER, AND MANU GINOBILI! And you know what happens... they win championships bitch.

Popovich has become NBA's Bill Belichick

Great article by Adrian Wojnarowski from Yahoo! Sports about how Greg Popovich has become NBA's Bill Belichick

His superstar, Tim Duncan, had left $11 million on the negotiating table with his contract extension, passing on max-out money so the Spurs could surround him with championship talent well into his mid-30s. This was a Brady-esque move for the New England Patriots of the NBA, one that reaffirms for basketball's Belichick why he's the most blessed sideline soul in the sport.

By the way, what kind of superstar would you have on your team? The Tim Duncans of the world who get it and put their team before themselves or the greedy A-Rods of the world of who only care about themselves and how much money they earn? That's why the Spurs are champions and why no one can question Tim Duncan's selfless greatness. Chuuuch.

This is why the Timberwolves and Kevin McHale suck...

... and why the San Antonio Spurs are sooo baller...

SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) - The San Antonio Spurs traded point guard Beno Udrih to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for a second-round draft pick in 2008.

Later in that day, Udrih was waived by the Timberwolves.

There must have been some other trade incentives for the Timberwolves to make such a move, but for a team that is trying to rebuild, why wouldn't you keep a promising young point guard or a top second-round draft pick. The move doesn't make any sense to me, even if cash considerations were involved.
Anyways, so long big Beno, it was good while it lasted and at least you have an NBA championship under your belt unlike Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks.

Today in Sports Nonsense

Why do crazy things happen in the hotels the Spurs have been staying in at road playoff games??? [THE SPURS KILLED A MAN (PROBABLY)]

Story in Game four [Frustrated Jazz Fan Throws Spare Wife Onto Court & Suckling at the Power Teat: Spurs Ready for Finals] a lot different than game three [Well, that was predictable]of the NBA Western Conference Finals... Greg Popovich is a mastermind genius, by the way. And a loser Utah Jazz fan's take on the whole deal (stop throwing crap on the court) [http://www.basketballjohn.com/2007/05/29/recap-san-antonio-spurs-utah-jazz-game-4-utah-fans-turn-into-soccer-hooligans/] and the [Salt Lake City news take] and finally a note to the FTT crew... I think you are right " if these guys weren't wearing your laundry, [I'd] pretty much hate them too, right?"... you might have somthing there [30 to 14, Or How The NBA Can't Take Off The Tin Foil Hats]

Come on Mark Jackson... Don't fall in love with Deron Williams yet [Entry Link]

Hancock family is being ridiculous [Hancock Family Sues the Entire City of St. Louis]... check this out really funny Simpson's clip... great

[Lakers' Owner Jerry Buss Goes Paris Hilton, Gets Arrested for DUI]

OVER-RATED [Andy Roddick Bounced Early From French Open Again]

(NOT ABOUT SPORTS)... Jon (from the Daily Show) on Russia's return to form:
"Over the last few months, as we've seen Russia commit political assassinations, suppress its media and rig elections, I can't help but think: they're back, baby! Do you think they'd want to get in the Cold War again with us -- because that war was awesome!"... nice

Ugly scene in Utah due to classless fans

The San Antonio Spurs beat the Utah Jazz on Memorial Day evening (not quite the "Memorial Day Miracle" by Sean Elliot). This pushes the series back to San Antonio with the Spurs a chance to close out the series with their 3-1 lead.

Towards the end of the game, when the Spurs had put the game out of reach for the Jazz, within a one minute span both Derek Fisher and coach Jerry Sloan were ejected for excessive technical fouls. Obviously everyone for the Jazz was frustrated, but in particular were the Utah Jazz fans. Throughout the entire game the Jazz's fans were anything but classy.

Early in the first half, you could hear (on the ESPN broadcast) a fan was yelling offensive obscenities through a microphone at Spurs' players who were shooting free throws. The fans were also on the officials the entire game, yelling "refs, you suck!" at every chance they got. However, nothing compared to how livid they were at the end of the game. As the Spurs were walking off the court, the Utah fans started throwing debris onto the court that was directed at them and the refs. You could see debris being thrown at the Spurs as they were walking through the tunnels and off the court. Greg Popovich actually had to run back onto the court to grab Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili off the court as they were set to do post-game interviews with ESPN and San Antonio radio stations, according to ESPN's Michelle Tafoya.

Way to go Utah. I know that the Jazz are all you have up there, so I understand what die hard fans you guys are because I am from San Antonio and the Spurs are all we have, but you don't need to be classless. Show support for your team by appaulding them for their effort (which I believe was great) and don't "booo" the game and act like maniacs by throwing objects at players and refs.... that is ridiculous. By the way, the Jazz fans sure do have a lot of diversity amound themselves, as you can see by some of these pictures.

Images courtesy: Getty Images