Are today's MYSA columns gonna be posted soon?

[aaronstampler]

Ludden, Harvey, whoever covered the game please. Thanks.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/storyindex.html

[ShoogarBear]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/storyindex.htmlApparently they don't post them until the rookie brings in the doughnuts.

[aaronstampler]

The links don't work for me, for some reason the MYSA stuff doesn't work with my browser. I was hoping for a cut & paste like Kori usually does.

[Bruno]

I will do it, please hold.

[Bruno]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA111506.07C.BKNspurs.notebook.88b40e0.html

Spurs notebook: NBA warns Bowen to watch his step when he guards shooters

Web Posted: 11/15/2006 12:20 AM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer

HOUSTON — When Bruce Bowen's phone rang Sunday afternoon, he didn't need to look at caller ID to know who was on the other end of the line: Stu Jackson, the NBA's executive vice president of basketball operations — otherwise known as the league's czar of discipline.

"With him," Bowen said, "I have a bat line."

Jackson told Bowen he wasn't going to be fined for last week's play involving New York's Steve Francis. But he told Bowen a foul should have been called and he warned Bowen to watch his feet in the future.

Francis sprained his left ankle when he landed on Bowen's foot. The incident drew greater attention when the teams played again Saturday and Knicks coach Isiah Thomas accused Bowen of stepping under players — a complaint Bowen has heard a handful of times in recent seasons.

The league has instructed officials this season to make sure players are allowed to "alight" or land after they shoot.

Jackson "said because of the things that have happened with me, I really need to be aware of the space I'm giving guys to come down," Bowen said. "I said, 'So, if they come down close to me, is that still an infraction on my behalf?' He said no, but it's a foul if they come down on top of you.

"I have no problem with that, but my only concern is if somebody comes close. What if somebody says, 'Owww!' Now do I get a foul?"

Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy said he doesn't think the plays in question were committed with malice.

"If he says that's unintentional, who am I to question him?" Van Gundy said. "Some players, any time a guy competes hard against him, the first word they use is 'dirty'. Because you know they don't want to put as much effort into the game as a guy who competes hard.

"John Stockton, I always heard, was dirty. And I thought he just out-competes people. You have the little whiners who are running for cover anytime the game gets tough."

Rockets guard Tracy McGrady also said he has never had a problem facing Bowen.

"I always accepted the challenge of going up against him because he is the best perimeter (defender) in this league," McGrady said.

Looking out for the big men: While the league has cracked down on perimeter contact by defenders, Van Gundy thinks something needs to be done about the punishment big men are taking under the basket.

He wasn't happy when a foul wasn't called after Rockets center Yao Ming was hit in the head Sunday in Miami.

"If we're really concerned about injury prevention," Van Gundy said, "I don't think 'alighting' is the only thing we should be concerned with. Full-force swings to the head are also something."

Thomas misquoted: During its investigation of Bowen and Thomas, the league determined the Knicks coach was misquoted by New York's Newsday newspaper when discussing how he would deal with a player who stepped under him.

The paper reported Thomas as saying, "I'd beat the (expletive) out of somebody. Really, I would (expletive) murder them." A league official, however, said transcripts showed Thomas to have said, "I'd beat the (expletive) out of somebody. That's (expletive) murder."

Fighting words: Van Gundy was talking to reporters outside Houston's locker room early Tuesday evening when he heard someone yell "Bull... !" He turned to see Spurs coach Gregg Popovich smiling at him from down the hall.

"Watch out," Van Gundy yelled back. "I'll fight you."

Retorted Popovich: "You stay on your own bench."

[Bruno]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/specials/weblogs/courtside/archives/2006/11/johnny_ludden_a.html

November 14, 2006
Johnny Ludden: All things Isiah and Bruce

So, the NBA finally decided to close the case on Footgate. The bigger question: Was it ever open?

When Steve Francis sprained his ankle after landing on Bruce Bowen's foot last week, I put in the obligatory call/email to the league office the following day. (You cover Bruce for five years and these things become standard operating procedure.)

The league said nothing was going to come of it because Bruce had his back turned on the play. Sounded fair enough to me, so I turned my attention to fixing Timmy's free-throw problems.

Anyway, Saturday comes along, and I get an email from the league saying they are indeed looking into the incident. Understand this: The league almost never takes that long to handle disciplinary matters. The turnaround for these things is usually a day or two. If a guy is getting fined/suspended he usually knows by the next game.

So, the Knicks come to town, Isiah Thomas flips out, threatens to break Bowen's bleepin' feet, Pop shouts at Isiah, Isiah shouts back, and I've pretty much got my story done by the end of the first quarter. Good times for everyone.
The next day, I put in another call/email to the league office. (I should have a form letter for this stuff by now.)

League says Isiah's cool, Bruce is still under review for the Francis incident.

Still under review? Six days after the fact? What was Stu Jackson doing? Subpoenaing the Zapruder film?
Here's what I think happened: The league looked at the play the day after the game, decided it didn't have enough to charge Bruce and moved on. Until that is, the Knicks complained. To appease them, Stu said he was continuing to review the incident.

Through it all, the Spurs never got a call from the league. (Didn't get to talk to Bruce yesterday, but as of the weekend, he hadn't heard from anyone.)

Judging from the number of emails I've received, there are quite a few locals upset Isiah didn't get reprimanded. But fining a millionaire coach $10,000 wouldn't have qualified as much of a penalty anyway. Neither would suspending him for a game. Want to punish Isiah? Make him keep coaching the dysfunctional team he put together.

Where does all this leave Bruce? Same place as always. He'll be on the court for his 361st consecutive game tonight.

Bruce, however, is going to have to watch his feet. If his legs weren't splayed so far apart after jumping, we wouldn't be blogging about this. But they were, and the league has made it clear it wants defenders to give shooters a "landing space." This isn't the first time someone has publicly complained about Bruce stepping under a shooter. When Vince Carter was in Toronto, he sprained his ankle after landing on him. Bruce had another run-in with Carter a year later.

Bruce isn't trying to hurt someone. I'm sure of that. But at some point intent doesn't matter. I'm also sure the officials will be keeping a close on him. As if they weren't already.

Was I the only one disappointed Pop shook Isiah's hand after the game? I was hoping for a East Chicago/West Chicago cage match. Which raises an interesting question: Who would win a fight between Pop and Isiah?
"(Pop's) giving him like 20 years, right?" Manu said. "That would be tough."

But wasn't Pop in the CIA?

"He has some tricks," Manu said. "But he's a gentleman, so nothing would happen.

One last thing about Isiah. I think he was looking to get ejected all along. But if Isiah really wanted "to stoke a little fire" in his team, as he said he did, he should have considered burning a timeout after Tony Parker twice drove down the gut of the Knicks' defense, untouched, for a layup.

[Bruno]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA111506.01C.BKNspurs.rockets.gamer.8268d2d.html

Spurs' Udrih keys 37-10 run to top Rockets

Web Posted: 11/15/2006 12:20 AM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer

HOUSTON — As Rafer Alston buried one more 3-pointer over the Spurs, Gregg Popovich turned on his heels, looked down his bench and ran his hand through his hair.

With Houston having widened its lead to 19 points and the Spurs well on their way to their second loss of the season late Tuesday, Popovich had seen enough. He sent Beno Udrih to the scorer's table. Robert Horry and Francisco Elson soon followed.

What transpired next left both teams shaking their heads.

Udrih and Horry started dropping in 3-pointers. Tim Duncan bodied up Yao Ming. Bruce Bowen clamped down on Tracy McGrady. Manu Ginobili found the lift in his legs, then his confidence.

As the Toyota Center sellout crowd looked on in disbelief, the Spurs roared back for a 92-84 victory McGrady later called "unbelievable."

Said Popovich: "We just hung in."

The Spurs did a little more than that, holding the Rockets to only two baskets over the game's final 17 minutes. McGrady and Yao, having overwhelmed the Spurs for much of the evening, combined for just three points in the final quarter.

As a result, the Spurs left with their seventh consecutive victory over Houston.

"There was a lot of give to us," said Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy. "That's the difference in the two teams right now."

Duncan totaled 19 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks, and Ginobili also scored 19, but the Spurs have their bench to thank for the comeback. After Alston's 3-pointer pushed the Rockets' lead to 74-55 with 4:57 left in the third quarter, Popovich looked to his reserves for help.

On this night, they were more than happy to oblige. Horry knocked down a 3-pointer. Udrih followed with one of his own, then poked away the ball near midcourt and drove for a layup.

The next time down the floor, Udrih buried another 3-pointer. Just like that, the Spurs went into the fourth quarter with their deficit reduced to 75-71, en route to a game-ending 37-10 run.

"That was crazy," Ginobili said. "We were expecting for them to get it down to 10, eight maybe.

"What the bench did for us was huge. We felt relieved."

After Michael Finley hit a turnaround jumper and Horry turned a steal into a dunk, the game was tied. Ginobili's 3-pointer with 5:45 left gave the Spurs their first lead since early in the second quarter.

Udrih made all three of his 3-pointers, one more than he totaled in the first six games. Horry entered the evening having made only one shot, then scored 10 points.

"It's been a very frustrating, five, six, seven — however many — games we've played," Horry said. "I've been telling everybody how much I hate the (new) basketball, so I'm just happy I was able to make a shot."

Elson made a few as well. With Fabricio Oberto limited to only five minutes because of foul trouble, Elson provided 12 points and seven rebounds.

"Our bench did one heck of a job to get us back in the game," Duncan said.

Duncan and Ginobili took over from there. Frustrated by the length of the 7-foot-6 Yao and 7-2 Dikembe Mutombo, Duncan finally settled into a rhythm, even throwing in a high, arcing fadeaway over Yao at the shot-clock buzzer.

"I just had to try to find a way," Duncan said, "to get a little distance and make a shot over them."

Popovich was most impressed with how Duncan played at the other end of the floor. After fronting Yao for much of the first three quarters, Popovich stuck Duncan on him down the stretch. Yao didn't make a shot in the final quarter and had one attempt thrown back by Duncan.

"It was one of his best defensive games I've ever seen in the second half," Popovich said. "He was just awesome."

Bowen wasn't half-bad, either. Of the 26 points McGrady scored, only five came in the second half.

McGrady had spent the past few days talking about how he's embraced his new role as Yao's sidekick. His job isn't to score, he said, as much as it is to distribute.

He almost sounded believable, too. At least until he erupted for 14 points in the first quarter. His 3-pointer with .1 seconds left in the first half staked Houston to a 56-43 lead.

"He distributed the ball very well in the first half," Popovich said. "He distributed it right in the hole and killed us. He looked like the usual Spur killer he's been in the past."

The Spurs, however, answered down the stretch. Ginobili blocked Yao from behind. Duncan banked in a shot, then found Ginobili cutting to the basket for a layup.

"They didn't panic," McGrady said. "They just took their time and executed their offense. They knew who they wanted to get the ball to, and that's the sign of a great team."

[Bruno]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/mmonroe/stories/MYSA111506.07C.COL.BKNmonroe.ball.88b4070.html

Mike Monroe: Way the ball bounces sure is different these days

Web Posted: 11/15/2006 12:20 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News

Monroe DALLAS — One of James Naismith's grandchildren recently discovered a cache of notebooks and diaries in her basement that shed new light on the origins of basketball.

I have it on good authority that in a diary entry after his first loss as a coach, the good doctor wrote: "That's the way the ball bounces."

Doc, you ought to see how the NBA's new ball bounces now.

Vince Carter's 3-point launch at the end of regulation against the Wizards on Sunday night hit the back of the rim and bounced straight up before settling into the net to send the game into overtime. So dispirited were the Wizards by what seemed a physical impossibility, they were dominated in the extra session.

(Why the Wizards allowed Carter to get free for the only shot that could have tied the game, on a play triggered with 2.6 seconds left, is a story or column for another day.)

I have seen some strange bounces off the rim thus far in the regular season, but don't take my word for it. Check out this report from Bulls coach Scott Skiles, whose team was in Dallas to meet the Mavericks on Tuesday night.

"You (media) guys and the fans don't get to see practice every day," Skiles said. "The things that happen in practice can be very odd. The ball spinning around, pausing (on the rim), taking off again.

"We actually had a guy shoot the ball from the right side that almost got caught in the corner between the rim and the backboard on the left side. A long shot that almost got caught, not a short shot. It eventually rolled out, but it stuck there for a split second before it rolled out."

Someone suggested to Skiles that this was not possible — I'm sure the league office would call it an anomaly — and he just arched his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders.

We're assured by the league the new, composite balls are better. They're more consistent. Each one is identical to the other.

I don't think we've been assured they are more durable than the old leather balls, and that's a good thing. According to Skiles, some of the balls teams are practicing with every day are beginning to disintegrate.

"They say all the balls are the same and don't get worn," Skiles said before Tuesday's game, "but we have some balls that we've been playing with for a while that are almost coming apart, disintegrating right in your hands almost. Plus, I've seen some very odd bounces already and things happen on the rim that are kind of hard to understand."

Skiles doesn't like the ball but doesn't think it affects games. They are the same balls for both teams, after all.

Like a lot of us, he didn't think there was anything wrong with the old balls.

"As a matter of fact," he said, "the good thing about the other ball is it does get broken in and absorbs moisture. Every year, we'd get, say, 20 balls brand new. We'd get them out in September. They're slippery and feel terrible, and after a few days, they start to feel good. In a couple months, they're great, then they get too old, and you throw them out.

"I understand the premise, that this is supposed to be the same all the time and not get worn out and all that. We haven't found that to be true yet."

Of course, nobody from the league or Spalding, the balls' manufacturer, consulted Skiles or the players before the decision was made to make the change.

"Well, I can't name any issue where there is any consultation," the outspoken Bulls coach said. "Nothing that comes to mind.

"Even though I don't care for it personally, I don't think it's manifested itself in lower shooting percentages, and you can't really point to anything. It's probably just a lot of people like me, overreacting."

The Wizards might disagree.

I'm sure Doc Naismith would.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Apparently they don't post them until the rookie brings in the doughnuts.

Touche, Bear.

[conqueso]

"If he says that's unintentional, who am I to question him?" Van Gundy said. "Some players, any time a guy competes hard against him, the first word they use is 'dirty'. Because you know they don't want to put as much effort into the game as a guy who competes hard."Maybe it's just me, but I really like JVG. I have ever since the NY-MIA brawl when he got flailed around like a little chihuahua. I respected him as an opposing coach in the '99 Finals, and I love his committment to defense.

He's like a poor man's Gregg Popovich.

[aaronstampler]

thanks for all the cutting and pasting, I appreciate it.