Kori Ellis
01-01-2006, 05:45 AM
Spurs notebook: Weather threatens New Year's Eve plans
Web Posted: 01/01/2006 12:25 AM CST
Mike Monroe
Express-News Staff Writer
DENVER — The Spurs made a literal fast break from Denver after their 98-88 victory over the Nuggets on Saturday.
The game ended at 9:38 p.m., Mountain Time.
By 9:53 all the Spurs had boarded their bus and were en route to Denver International Airport, where their charter aircraft awaited, jet engines fired up and ready for takeoff.
Does that mean they departed without postgame showers?
You bet your aerosol spray, it does.
"Sorry, guys, this is going to be nasty, what I have to do," Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said to reporters scrambling for postgame quotes as he reached under his sweatshirt to apply some much-needed deodorant, "but I've got to do this."
There were no complaints from the assembled media types.
The reason for the Spurs' sprint to the airport: Reports of a weather front hitting the San Antonio area that threatened to fog in the airport. Team officials were told that unless their plane departed by 10:30 p.m., MST, they would likely have to divert to a different airport, or else remain in Denver overnight.
The Spurs' support staff had scrambled before the game to find emergency hotel rooms in Denver in case they had to stay over. Rooms at deluxe hotels in downtown Denver were in scarce supply on New Year's Eve, and the hotel at which the team had stayed Friday night was unable to accommodate them after they checked out Saturday afternoon.
"We don't mind getting back to San Antonio late after the game," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said before the game. "But the prospect of spending New Year's Eve night on our bus isn't too appealing."
Van Exel on the mend: Veteran point guard Nick Van Exel sat out Saturday's game but reported his inflamed left elbow was feeling much better after he received a cortisone injection Friday.
In his absence, second-year point guard Beno Udrih came off the bench behind Tony Parker.
Van Exel's elbow flared up late in the first half of the Spurs' victory Thursday night over the Hornets, and he sat out the second half. He expects to be in the lineup when the Spurs play the Trail Blazers on Wednesday at the SBC Center.
Not playing on Saturday spared Van Exel the usual round of boos from fans who have never forgiven him for asking the Nuggets to trade him.
Van Exel has had problems with his elbow since the 1998-99 season, when he played for the Nuggets.
"I've got bone spurs in there, and they just flare up now and then," he said.
Proud Popovich: A former captain of the Air Force Academy basketball team who also counts former Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik as a good friend, Popovich has been doubly happy for Bzdelik and the Air Force Falcons, 12-1 in Bzdelik's first season as head coach.
Air Force has beaten Georgia Tech and Miami, Fla., for the school's first victories over Atlantic Coast Conference opponents.
"I think it's great for Jeff," Popovich said off Bzdelik, fired by the Nuggets on Dec. 26 last season. "He went through Hell when he was here. He's a hell of a coach, and his colleagues all knew he was a hell of a coach. Sometimes, circumstances don't allow that to be seen."
Popovich always admired Bzdelik's no-nonsense approach to basketball and recommended him for the Air Force job when it opened after the last college season.
"For us grads, it's fun to want to pick up the paper and see how they did and see if they actually might be on some ESPN2 game we might be able to watch," Popovich said.
Camby frustrated: Denver's Marcus Camby, the NBA's rebounding leader, won't know until next week how long he is going to be sidelined after undergoing surgery to repair the broken pinkie on his right hand. His hand is in a hard cast, but will be placed in a softer splint and be re-examined.
"It's frustrating," said Camby, 31, who has been plagued by injuries for much of his career. "I'm just disappointed I'm not out there with my teammates. We're going through a trying time right now, and I'm one of the leaders of this team."
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA010106.10C.BKNspurs.notebook.2d342cf.html
Web Posted: 01/01/2006 12:25 AM CST
Mike Monroe
Express-News Staff Writer
DENVER — The Spurs made a literal fast break from Denver after their 98-88 victory over the Nuggets on Saturday.
The game ended at 9:38 p.m., Mountain Time.
By 9:53 all the Spurs had boarded their bus and were en route to Denver International Airport, where their charter aircraft awaited, jet engines fired up and ready for takeoff.
Does that mean they departed without postgame showers?
You bet your aerosol spray, it does.
"Sorry, guys, this is going to be nasty, what I have to do," Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said to reporters scrambling for postgame quotes as he reached under his sweatshirt to apply some much-needed deodorant, "but I've got to do this."
There were no complaints from the assembled media types.
The reason for the Spurs' sprint to the airport: Reports of a weather front hitting the San Antonio area that threatened to fog in the airport. Team officials were told that unless their plane departed by 10:30 p.m., MST, they would likely have to divert to a different airport, or else remain in Denver overnight.
The Spurs' support staff had scrambled before the game to find emergency hotel rooms in Denver in case they had to stay over. Rooms at deluxe hotels in downtown Denver were in scarce supply on New Year's Eve, and the hotel at which the team had stayed Friday night was unable to accommodate them after they checked out Saturday afternoon.
"We don't mind getting back to San Antonio late after the game," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said before the game. "But the prospect of spending New Year's Eve night on our bus isn't too appealing."
Van Exel on the mend: Veteran point guard Nick Van Exel sat out Saturday's game but reported his inflamed left elbow was feeling much better after he received a cortisone injection Friday.
In his absence, second-year point guard Beno Udrih came off the bench behind Tony Parker.
Van Exel's elbow flared up late in the first half of the Spurs' victory Thursday night over the Hornets, and he sat out the second half. He expects to be in the lineup when the Spurs play the Trail Blazers on Wednesday at the SBC Center.
Not playing on Saturday spared Van Exel the usual round of boos from fans who have never forgiven him for asking the Nuggets to trade him.
Van Exel has had problems with his elbow since the 1998-99 season, when he played for the Nuggets.
"I've got bone spurs in there, and they just flare up now and then," he said.
Proud Popovich: A former captain of the Air Force Academy basketball team who also counts former Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik as a good friend, Popovich has been doubly happy for Bzdelik and the Air Force Falcons, 12-1 in Bzdelik's first season as head coach.
Air Force has beaten Georgia Tech and Miami, Fla., for the school's first victories over Atlantic Coast Conference opponents.
"I think it's great for Jeff," Popovich said off Bzdelik, fired by the Nuggets on Dec. 26 last season. "He went through Hell when he was here. He's a hell of a coach, and his colleagues all knew he was a hell of a coach. Sometimes, circumstances don't allow that to be seen."
Popovich always admired Bzdelik's no-nonsense approach to basketball and recommended him for the Air Force job when it opened after the last college season.
"For us grads, it's fun to want to pick up the paper and see how they did and see if they actually might be on some ESPN2 game we might be able to watch," Popovich said.
Camby frustrated: Denver's Marcus Camby, the NBA's rebounding leader, won't know until next week how long he is going to be sidelined after undergoing surgery to repair the broken pinkie on his right hand. His hand is in a hard cast, but will be placed in a softer splint and be re-examined.
"It's frustrating," said Camby, 31, who has been plagued by injuries for much of his career. "I'm just disappointed I'm not out there with my teammates. We're going through a trying time right now, and I'm one of the leaders of this team."
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA010106.10C.BKNspurs.notebook.2d342cf.html