Jeff McDonald can't possibly be paid by the article...

[Solid D]

Story - Blair works on jumper, 'feeling wonderful'
Aug 6, 2010 12:00 AM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_Blair_working_on_jumper_feeling_wonderful_10 0092254.html

Story - Player development tops Spurs’ summer agenda
Aug 31, 2010 11:22 PM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Player_development_tops_Spurs_summer_agenda_101945 028.html

These articles were nice to see, oases in the desert so-to-speak, but there have only been smidgens of investigative discovery going on this summer.

Sure there have been 3 or 4 other Spurs' related articles repackaged from other sources and placed into the Sports Section of the Express-News this summer: Roger Mason Jr. signing with the Knicks, the Spurs reaching out to Danny Ferry, and a couple of FIBA stories relating to Spurs players, etc. With newspaper companies dying in cities all over this land and with very few San Antonio based professional teams, you would think the Express-News would keep its loyal Spurs' fanbase updated on a more frequent basis.

In Little Rock, all you see is Razorback articles. In Boston, even with Red Sox and Patriots playing ball, Celtics fans get their regular summertime fix. The San Antonio Express-News can and should do better.

Word :flag::flag::flag:

[Mel_13]

Valuable resources were shifted to securing legal expertise necessary to protect the newspaper's intellectual property.

[Dex]

The Express News doesn't look kindly upon detractors. Expect angry letters, Solid D.

[Interrohater]

Valuable resources were shifted to securing legal expertise necessary to protect the newspaper's intellectual property.

:lol I see what you did there.

[benefactor]

So they haven't stopped sucking at journalism? Good to see I haven't been missing anything by not going over there.

[Obstructed_View]

Yeah, they might as well not bother paying him. His articles suck, and a lot of Spurs fans don't bother going there anymore because they're such fucking dicks about reprinting.

[Cane]

What else is new? The Spurs are one of the least media friendly organizations around and the SAEN aren't exactly premier journalists.

Not to mention this is a boring part of the NBA offseason and San Antonio's a Dallas Cowboys city to boot.

[TDMVPDPOY]

The Spurs hold things tight to their chests so even if McDonald

nah man this guy is just pathetic at what he does ever since he started writing anything the spurs...his articles arent interesting

[ChuckD]

Story - Blair works on jumper, 'feeling wonderful'
Aug 6, 2010 12:00 AM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_Blair_working_on_jumper_feeling_wonderful_10 0092254.html

Story - Player development tops Spurs’ summer agenda
Aug 31, 2010 11:22 PM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Player_development_tops_Spurs_summer_agenda_101945 028.html

These articles were nice to see, oases in the desert so-to-speak, but there have only been smidgens of investigative discovery going on this summer.

Sure there have been 3 or 4 other Spurs' related articles repackaged from other sources and placed into the Sports Section of the Express-News this summer: Roger Mason Jr. signing with the Knicks, the Spurs reaching out to Danny Ferry, and a couple of FIBA stories relating to Spurs players, etc. With newspaper companies dying in cities all over this land and with very few San Antonio based professional teams, you would think the Express-News would keep its loyal Spurs' fanbase updated on a more frequent basis.

In Little Rock, all you see is Razorback articles. In Boston, even with Red Sox and Patriots playing ball, Celtics fans get their regular summertime fix. The San Antonio Express-News can and should do better.

Word :flag::flag::flag:

Actually, I think he gets paid by the mistake, and he probably can afford a Maserati.

[Solid D]

:lol I always hold out hope for improvement and so I am exhorting the E-N and Mr. McDonald to do better. Spurs fans would appreciate a quality, more proactive approach to all things Spurs. They have seen better.

I am appreciative that the E-N does not stoop to creating news, as some media members have done. I understand that watching the wire, twitter, etc. is an important part of the job. Attending press conferences and community events are too. My rebuke and exhortation is for the E-N to more frequently go beyond what the readers can find on Google News and blogs.

[benefactor]

My rebuke and exhortation is for the E-N to more frequently go beyond what the readers can find on Google News and blogs.
That what we have Ludden for. :)

[duncan228]

That what we have Ludden for. :)

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x282/duncan228/temp/missludden.jpg

[benefactor]

Good to see you old friend. :)

I was starting to wonder if you were still alive.

[ChuckD]

Good to see you old friend. :)

I was starting to wonder if you were still alive.

The right click button on her pointing device was broken.

[SequSpur]

ahhh...an article for solid d to critique...ahh...must be gettin close....

[phyzik]

My rebuke and exhortation is for the E-N to more frequently go beyond what the readers can find on Google News and blogs.

This is exactly how I feel.... I would be able to put up with minor stat errors and such if they would just dig a little deeper than what can be found on Yahoo (Ludden) who really has no more direct contact with the team.

For Christ sakes, these people cover San Antonio exclusively as a living and cant get a single fucking insider scoop on the one professional sports team in town? GMAFB!

Its downright pathetic. I swear McDonald steals most of his "scoops" from posts he see's on Spurstalk and just rewords them in incoherant and annoying articles just to have something to print and extend that paycheck a little bit longer.

[Bruno]

IIRC, even in the Ludden area, there were almost no articles at this time of the year.

[Solid D]

IIRC, even in the Ludden area, there were almost no articles at this time of the year.

Some people are hunters and some are gatherers.

[GrandeDavid]

I guess the well of information dries up over the summer. I mean the Spurs coverage dies during the summer, pretty much. McDonald was probably thrilled that Blair actually gave him the time of day to talk about his jumper. The other guys probably don't even return phone calls in the summer.

[fantasyfootball]

I rarely read anything E-N anymore so I don't know much about the writers other than Buck Harvey. I read Harvey from way back when and it got to the point where I felt like he had a merry go round of 5 templates to write his articles. Then on top of that, he always felt like he had to put a Christmas star on the top of the tree with something that was supposed to bring everything back full circle or have some kind of jerky twist.

Anyways, if I've read 4 articles in the last 2 years, I wouldn't know who they were from so I can't say anything about McDonald other than I believe you guys that he's boring since you're the readers.

However, in defense of MC, Pop owns the media in this town (especially the print). The media - every single outlet - is terrified of Pop and editors will not approve anything beyond vanilla bean flavor when it comes to the Spurs. The only time anything juicy comes out is when it becomes common knowledge that the Spurs can't control. The closest I've seen to any sort of criticism is when Harvey will dance around making an insinuation about the Spurs.

Last guy who actually threw a radish into the caldron was Kevin O'Keefe and he was never seen or heard from again. Oh and Jay Howard. I forgot what he did, but he probably got to thinking he was on higher ground than he was and the Spurs had him removed.

The Spurs prefer people that are boring with little insight so MC probably is in for the long haul.

I can only imagine how much the Spurs hate this place.

[Solid D]

Some very good points, fantasyfootball. While I'm sure the Spurs' beat writers have stories from their travels on the road with the Spurs that they are saving for their "book", there is a reason some writers get offers to perform to a larger audience.

[ChuckD]

I rarely read anything E-N anymore so I don't know much about the writers other than Buck Harvey. I read Harvey from way back when and it got to the point where I felt like he had a merry go round of 5 templates to write his articles. Then on top of that, he always felt like he had to put a Christmas star on the top of the tree with something that was supposed to bring everything back full circle or have some kind of jerky twist.

Anyways, if I've read 4 articles in the last 2 years, I wouldn't know who they were from so I can't say anything about McDonald other than I believe you guys that he's boring since you're the readers.

However, in defense of MC, Pop owns the media in this town (especially the print). The media - every single outlet - is terrified of Pop and editors will not approve anything beyond vanilla bean flavor when it comes to the Spurs. The only time anything juicy comes out is when it becomes common knowledge that the Spurs can't control. The closest I've seen to any sort of criticism is when Harvey will dance around making an insinuation about the Spurs.

Last guy who actually threw a radish into the caldron was Kevin O'Keefe and he was never seen or heard from again. Oh and Jay Howard. I forgot what he did, but he probably got to thinking he was on higher ground than he was and the Spurs had him removed.

The Spurs prefer people that are boring with little insight so MC probably is in for the long haul.

I can only imagine how much the Spurs hate this place.

O'Keefe and Pop hated each other, but once the Spurs won in '99, you KNEW who was leaving town, and it wasn't the newly minted championship coach. Howard, on the other hand, had an expired contract, and turned down an offer the Spurs made him, thinking that would kick off the negotiations. It did, between the Spurs and Bill Schoening.

[fantasyfootball]

O'Keefe and Pop hated each other, but once the Spurs won in '99, you KNEW who was leaving town, and it wasn't the newly minted championship coach. Howard, on the other hand, had an expired contract, and turned down an offer the Spurs made him, thinking that would kick off the negotiations. It did, between the Spurs and Bill Schoening.

Thanks, my memory failed me on Howard. Sounds about right because the guy resented Spurs fans and put himself on a higher pedestal than he deserved. I remember attending the Pop show and watching how insincere he was with the fans. He really could not stand the fan base and it showed.

[fantasyfootball]

Some very good points, fantasyfootball. While I'm sure the Spurs' beat writers have stories from their travels on the road with the Spurs that they are saving for their "book", there is a reason some writers get offers to perform to a larger audience.

Don't know if you were in SA, but do you remember the O'Keefe article that got him fired? I still remember that article. Sounded like it was from a fairy tale.

Del Negro was trying to demand a big contract from the Spurs and the Spurs wouldn't do it (good move). O'Keefe wrote that he had dinner with Vinny in Italy and they had talked it over. I can't remember all the parts but I think he said the Spurs and Vinny agreed to $20m/4 years.

Not sure, but I think he had 2 more articles and he was gone.

I always thought O'Keefe was a snide writer that wrote half truth/made up stories but he was interesting.

[Solid D]

Don't know if you were in SA, but do you remember the O'Keefe article that got him fired? I still remember that article. Sounded like it was from a fairy tale.

Del Negro was trying to demand a big contract from the Spurs and the Spurs wouldn't do it (good move). O'Keefe wrote that he had dinner with Vinny in Italy and they had talked it over. I can't remember all the parts but I think he said the Spurs and Vinny agreed to $20m/4 years.

Not sure, but I think he had 2 more articles and he was gone.

I always thought O'Keefe was a snide writer that wrote half truth/made up stories but he was interesting.

Yes, I remember it. He became pretty bitter. It was difficult to tell truth from fiction.

[will_spurs]

I used to write for a newspaper and cover sports. Really when it comes to these levels and this time of the year a lot of people in the front office are relaxing, players are all over the place and there isn't much going on.

The Spurs hold things tight to their chests so even if McDonald or Monroe did want to ask about off-season processes at the moment they most likely won't get much out of it to make an article.

Yet the guys at 48MoH keep publishing blog entries over the summer, and the quality is much higher than anything from E-N too...

[Solid D]

Somehow, this didn't get posted on 8/31. This is some decent insight on Anderson's hamstring.

http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/courtside/2010/08/at-95-percent-r.html

Courtside with the Spurs
Get a first-person look at the Spurs season, at home and away.

Anderson itching to work
By Jeff McDonald on Aug 31, 10 04:07 PM |

Spurs holdovers and hopefuls were back at it Tuesday morning in the team's practice facility.

Those working out included familiar faces (Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, George Hill), young players hoping to solidify a roster spot (Garrett Temple, Curtis Jerrells) and free agents auditioning for an offer (Jawad Williams, Darius Miles).

One player unable to participate in said activities: First-round draft pick James Anderson.

Anderson was up at the practice facility Tuesday, lifting weights and working on conditioning with the team's strength staff. In the final stages of recovering from a hamstring strain that has plagued him since before draft day, Anderson has yet to join his new teammates for any sort of on-court basketball activities.
"I think I'm getting back to 100 percent," Anderson said Tuesday. "I'm about 95 percent right now. Just working my way back up."

Back in July, Anderson said the injury was minor enough that he could have played had it been the regular season. The Spurs medical staff, seeing no need to push him in August, has approached Anderson's recalcitrant hammy with extreme caution.

The goal has always been to have Anderson ready for a series of high-stakes "open gym" type workouts at the beginning of September. He remains on track to meet that goal.

"I think I'll be on the court soon," Anderson said.

[Solid D]

I believe the above blog entry was posted at the top of the on-line Express-News Spurs section today. Somebody correct me if this is wrong. Anyways, credit due to E-N/McDonald.

[Spurs Brazil]

I believe the above blog entry was posted at the top of the on-line Express-News Spurs section today. Somebody correct me if this is wrong. Anyways, credit due to E-N/McDonald.

Solid D, I saw that blog entry last week and if I'm no wrong it was in the same day that I read the Monroe article about the workouts

[Solid D]

Solid D, I saw that blog entry last week and if I'm no wrong it was in the same day that I read the Monroe article about the workouts

Thanks. It wasn't posted as a thread here and I didn't recall it being listed on the main Spurs page.

[Phenomanul]

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x282/duncan228/temp/missludden.jpg

OMG.. you're back! :wow

Welcome home....

[Mel_13]

Spurs-related programming alert: Splitter vs. Scola in FIBA World Championships. 1 p.m. (SA time) on ESPN.

http://twitter.com/jmcdonald_saen


Maybe someone with a twitter account can tell Jeff that the game is on NBATV.