GhostofAlfrederickHughes
02-10-2005, 10:53 AM
At least somebody on the East Coast notices!
[Full link at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12462-2005Feb9.html]
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How can you watch the Spurs and not think of the Patriots? Okay, nobody is going to use the word "dynasty" about the Spurs. Two NBA titles in six years don't get you that kind of praise. But the Spurs are cut from the same cloth as the Patriots. Tell me Gregg Popovich, obsessively prepared and a 1970 graduate of the Air Force Academy, doesn't remind you of Bill Belichick, obsessively prepared and whose father coached at the Naval Academy?
Is there anybody in sports who reminds you more of Tom Brady than Tim Duncan, even if they do play different games? Each would rather die than accept credit or do anything to call attention to himself. Both hate the notion of stardom even though Brady, as the quarterback, has no choice but to be the face of his team and Duncan, as the most skilled big man in basketball and his squad's unquestioned star, has no choice but to be the face of his team. Calling each of them "reluctant" is a great understatement.
In an age in which style often trumps substance, both teams are so gray people often mistake the lack of color for a lack of talent, when in fact the Pats and Spurs are both loaded with talent. Ginobili, the Argentine swingman, has every skill a player could ask for and is now an all-star. Parker may be an all-star, too, if Kobe Bryant's injury keeps him out awhile longer.
The Spurs have literally everything: size (Duncan, 7-foot Rasho Nesterovic), defense, quickness (Parker, Ginobili), inside scoring, perimeter scoring, great role players (Bruce Bowen, Brent Barry, Rose), savvy veterans (Robert Horry and Tony Massenburg), and young athletes on the way up (Devin Brown). Popovich and GM R.C. Buford find players nobody else seems overly interested in (such as Beno Udrih of Slovenia) and develop them.
And they don't do knuckleheads, fools and clowns. The Patriots don't want Randy Moss. The Spurs don't want Ron Artest. They don't want drama. They're not entertainers, they're a basketball club. Dopes don't last in the Spurs' locker room. Rarely are they even let in.
Sean Elliott, who played 11 years for the Spurs and now calls the team's games on radio, said before last night's game: "I root for the Patriots because I like real teams. I'm tired of the individual crap in sports. The Patriots are a true team, in the real sense of the word. Do the Patriots remind me of us? I think that's a legit comparison. They don't beat themselves and neither do we. I don't know Tom Brady, but he doesn't seem like a guy looking for the spotlight. Tim isn't wearing medallions. He's not out searching for street cred. He couldn't care less."
Asked before the game about the Patriots, Popovich said, "I think of them the way I used to think, and still think, of the Utah Jazz. They get good people, people with character. They've got class. They've got a good system and they fit people in that system. We use [the Patriots] as an example. We respect everything they do."
Popovich uses the word "we" but his assistant, P.J. Carlesimo says it's "he" as in Popovich who sets the direction of the franchise. "If anything," Carlesimo said, "people don't realize the job he's done for 12 years [as vice president of basketball operations and head coach]. He's made every decision for 12 years, personnel and on the court. Our guys know that it's his way. David [Robinson] empowered him and now Tim empowers him. They let him coach them." And the others follow -- or they are shown the door.
The Spurs actually began their winning ways before the Patriots did. San Antonio won the franchise's first NBA title in 1999, then knocked off the Lakers to win again in 2003. They're the presumptive champs this year. The Spurs aren't presuming that; I am. They're too creative, too tough, too disciplined not to win if they stay healthy, which would give San Antonio three championships in six years, which while not as dominant as the Patriots, is a record just about every team in professional sports would envy.
:elephant :elephant
[Full link at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12462-2005Feb9.html]
------------------
How can you watch the Spurs and not think of the Patriots? Okay, nobody is going to use the word "dynasty" about the Spurs. Two NBA titles in six years don't get you that kind of praise. But the Spurs are cut from the same cloth as the Patriots. Tell me Gregg Popovich, obsessively prepared and a 1970 graduate of the Air Force Academy, doesn't remind you of Bill Belichick, obsessively prepared and whose father coached at the Naval Academy?
Is there anybody in sports who reminds you more of Tom Brady than Tim Duncan, even if they do play different games? Each would rather die than accept credit or do anything to call attention to himself. Both hate the notion of stardom even though Brady, as the quarterback, has no choice but to be the face of his team and Duncan, as the most skilled big man in basketball and his squad's unquestioned star, has no choice but to be the face of his team. Calling each of them "reluctant" is a great understatement.
In an age in which style often trumps substance, both teams are so gray people often mistake the lack of color for a lack of talent, when in fact the Pats and Spurs are both loaded with talent. Ginobili, the Argentine swingman, has every skill a player could ask for and is now an all-star. Parker may be an all-star, too, if Kobe Bryant's injury keeps him out awhile longer.
The Spurs have literally everything: size (Duncan, 7-foot Rasho Nesterovic), defense, quickness (Parker, Ginobili), inside scoring, perimeter scoring, great role players (Bruce Bowen, Brent Barry, Rose), savvy veterans (Robert Horry and Tony Massenburg), and young athletes on the way up (Devin Brown). Popovich and GM R.C. Buford find players nobody else seems overly interested in (such as Beno Udrih of Slovenia) and develop them.
And they don't do knuckleheads, fools and clowns. The Patriots don't want Randy Moss. The Spurs don't want Ron Artest. They don't want drama. They're not entertainers, they're a basketball club. Dopes don't last in the Spurs' locker room. Rarely are they even let in.
Sean Elliott, who played 11 years for the Spurs and now calls the team's games on radio, said before last night's game: "I root for the Patriots because I like real teams. I'm tired of the individual crap in sports. The Patriots are a true team, in the real sense of the word. Do the Patriots remind me of us? I think that's a legit comparison. They don't beat themselves and neither do we. I don't know Tom Brady, but he doesn't seem like a guy looking for the spotlight. Tim isn't wearing medallions. He's not out searching for street cred. He couldn't care less."
Asked before the game about the Patriots, Popovich said, "I think of them the way I used to think, and still think, of the Utah Jazz. They get good people, people with character. They've got class. They've got a good system and they fit people in that system. We use [the Patriots] as an example. We respect everything they do."
Popovich uses the word "we" but his assistant, P.J. Carlesimo says it's "he" as in Popovich who sets the direction of the franchise. "If anything," Carlesimo said, "people don't realize the job he's done for 12 years [as vice president of basketball operations and head coach]. He's made every decision for 12 years, personnel and on the court. Our guys know that it's his way. David [Robinson] empowered him and now Tim empowers him. They let him coach them." And the others follow -- or they are shown the door.
The Spurs actually began their winning ways before the Patriots did. San Antonio won the franchise's first NBA title in 1999, then knocked off the Lakers to win again in 2003. They're the presumptive champs this year. The Spurs aren't presuming that; I am. They're too creative, too tough, too disciplined not to win if they stay healthy, which would give San Antonio three championships in six years, which while not as dominant as the Patriots, is a record just about every team in professional sports would envy.
:elephant :elephant