Bandit2981
05-27-2005, 01:02 PM
http://www.woai.com/spurs/story.aspx?content_id=18AA2DA8-28F9-4AB5-B213-114B548B273D (link)
By Steve Czaban
The Ticket 760AM
Weekdays, 5-6am
I think - without a doubt - the most loathed player in the playoffs right now is one Manu Ginobili.
Why? Well, because it’s easy to just “hate the foreigner.” And unlike Darko (who sucks and never plays) it’s easy to hate a guy who has mad game like Manu. He shouldn’t be so hard to cover. He shouldn’t be able to slash the lane and throw down like he does. He shouldn’t be such a clutch shooter. He shouldn’t flop as much as he does. He should get a haircut.
There are lots of things that drive American hoop fans nuts, but I sense most of it comes from pure envy. He’s a damn good player. Period. That’s hard to accept for some. He’s like Drazen Petrovic who can take it to the hole.
Count me as one of the few Manu fans. I know he flails like a soccer player on contact, but be honest: so does every smart NBA veteran (note Horry throwing himself airborne when Stoudamire just LET GO of the ball the other night. Please!) NBA refs are so utterly reactionary, it’s amazing. They issue potential game changing technicals FIRST, and then try to sort out what REALLY happened afterward – at which time you can’t pull the T back off the table. We saw it with Paul Pierce earlier in the playoffs. We’ll see it again.
But back to Ginobili for a second. American hoop supremacists should view a Ginobili with pride. He’s a product of this uniquely American game that is taking root all over the globe.
Don’t hate. Appreciate.
Stupid A. Smith
I was dumbfounded when I heard the comments come blabbering across my TV screen, but since it was ‘Screamin’ A. Smith, I guess I didn’t think twice. Here was Screamin’ Idiot, yelling about how San Antonio needs to “keep Big Dog on the bench tonight” because he’s “terrible.” (Idiot A’s favorite word).
Well, the sheer incompetence of that statement didn’t hit home for me until I was reminded by the announcers that Glenn Robinson had been absent – at coach Popovich’s request! – to attend to his mother’s funeral.
Now, I ask you who saw this…
A) Was I missing something, or did Steven A. really say what I think he said?
B) If he did, then his colossal gaffe was either because he was blissfully ignorant of Robinson’s situation (an ignorance that should have earned him an instant pink slip as one of the “World Wide Leader’s” so called “NBA experts”), or a pre-meditated punking that totally disrespected Robinson’s personal situation. (another just cause you would think, for firing him).
It amazes me that not only does Screamin’ A. have a job with ESPN, but that the network is actually PUSHING him by increasing his exposure across various day parts.
By Steve Czaban
The Ticket 760AM
Weekdays, 5-6am
I think - without a doubt - the most loathed player in the playoffs right now is one Manu Ginobili.
Why? Well, because it’s easy to just “hate the foreigner.” And unlike Darko (who sucks and never plays) it’s easy to hate a guy who has mad game like Manu. He shouldn’t be so hard to cover. He shouldn’t be able to slash the lane and throw down like he does. He shouldn’t be such a clutch shooter. He shouldn’t flop as much as he does. He should get a haircut.
There are lots of things that drive American hoop fans nuts, but I sense most of it comes from pure envy. He’s a damn good player. Period. That’s hard to accept for some. He’s like Drazen Petrovic who can take it to the hole.
Count me as one of the few Manu fans. I know he flails like a soccer player on contact, but be honest: so does every smart NBA veteran (note Horry throwing himself airborne when Stoudamire just LET GO of the ball the other night. Please!) NBA refs are so utterly reactionary, it’s amazing. They issue potential game changing technicals FIRST, and then try to sort out what REALLY happened afterward – at which time you can’t pull the T back off the table. We saw it with Paul Pierce earlier in the playoffs. We’ll see it again.
But back to Ginobili for a second. American hoop supremacists should view a Ginobili with pride. He’s a product of this uniquely American game that is taking root all over the globe.
Don’t hate. Appreciate.
Stupid A. Smith
I was dumbfounded when I heard the comments come blabbering across my TV screen, but since it was ‘Screamin’ A. Smith, I guess I didn’t think twice. Here was Screamin’ Idiot, yelling about how San Antonio needs to “keep Big Dog on the bench tonight” because he’s “terrible.” (Idiot A’s favorite word).
Well, the sheer incompetence of that statement didn’t hit home for me until I was reminded by the announcers that Glenn Robinson had been absent – at coach Popovich’s request! – to attend to his mother’s funeral.
Now, I ask you who saw this…
A) Was I missing something, or did Steven A. really say what I think he said?
B) If he did, then his colossal gaffe was either because he was blissfully ignorant of Robinson’s situation (an ignorance that should have earned him an instant pink slip as one of the “World Wide Leader’s” so called “NBA experts”), or a pre-meditated punking that totally disrespected Robinson’s personal situation. (another just cause you would think, for firing him).
It amazes me that not only does Screamin’ A. have a job with ESPN, but that the network is actually PUSHING him by increasing his exposure across various day parts.