Spurs Advance* on espn

[Shaolin-Style]

Horribly unprofessional. Found on the front page.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v337/blahman1/espnaster.jpg

[Strike]

Horribly unprofessional. Found on the front page.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v337/blahman1/espnaster.jpg

Are you surprised? They're a bunch of fucking hacks.

[ChumpDumper]

Wojiwhoski?

[Budkin]

The guy who wrote the article despises the Spurs.... fucking prick.

[sabar]

Translation: San Antonio reached the Western finals Friday night. Congratulations, now ESPN's ratings will be down 47%. Here is the breakdown on our financial losses, read now.

[timvp]

Blame Nash. If the b1tch would have stopped milking it after getting eliminated, he could have ended it. But he had to continue. Memo to Sun Nation, teams lose games all the time in a seven game series due to circumstances out of their control. If you truly are the better team, you find a way to make up for one game.

Steve Nash > Karl Malone

But not by much.

[Kori Ellis]

Wojiwhoski?

At least Fish didn't write it :)

Here's the article, by the way.

For shame! - Series merited better than early fadeaway

By Gene Wojciechowski
ESPN.com
Archive

SAN ANTONIO -- A moment of silence, please, on the premature death of the best playoff series NBA school principal David Stern -- and the rest of us -- will see anytime soon.

The hoops drama that was the San Antonio Spurs vs. the Phoenix Suns should have lasted seven games. And if Maximum Dave and his curiously reasoned form of punishment hadn't made an appearance this past week, we might be counting the nanoseconds until Sunday's series finale between the two best and most compelling teams in the league.

Instead -- and this is going to come out the wrong way -- we get Game 1 of the Western Conference finals with the Utah Jazz. Nothing wrong with that, except that the Spurs-Suns got jobbed. We all did. In fact, I could have watched these two teams play a best-of-17 series.

But Stern's decision to suspend the Suns' Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for the pivotal Game 5 compromised the integrity of a series that deserved better than kneejerk justice. The Spurs beat the roster-challenged Suns that night in Phoenix, and then advanced to the conference finals with Friday evening's 114-106 victory.

The Spurs were the better team Friday, but thanks to Stern, we'll never truly know if they were the better team for the series. This isn't a rip on the Spurs. They did what they had to do, and they did it with cool, heartless efficiency. But this will be forever known as the What-If Series.

What if Robert Horry hadn't temporarily lost his mind, channeled the Hanson Brothers, and thumped Suns' guard Steve Nash into the scorer's table during the waning moments of Game 4? What if Stoudemire and Diaw hadn't left the bench area? What if Stern hadn't turned the series upside down when he suspended Stoudemire and Diaw for one game and Horry for two?

It was a dumb decision then. It's a dumb decision now. It will remain a dumb decision no matter how many times Stern tries to justify it.

"I can sit up here and complain about it after the fact... I guess cry about it after the fact," said Nash. "But it's tough not to just think forever what would have happened if this stupid rule didn't get in the way of this series. There's no guarantees of anything, but to come this far and put this much into a season and for us to be without two key guys for Game 5 for nothing we instigated -- and for not either one of them having a malicious tone in their offense -- will forever haunt us. But I don't want to cry about it after the fact. The Spurs played great."

The Spurs did play great. They led by 20 points early in the fourth quarter. They kept the Suns from stepping on the clutch and shifting their offense into third or fourth gear.

"Frankly, I'm going to try to figure out how we did this," said San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich.

Here's how:

Manu Ginobili filled up the boxscore with 33 ponts, 11 rebounds, six assists, four steals and four three-pointers. Tony Parker had 30 points. Tim Duncan added 24 points, 13 rebounds, nine blocked shots and, when double teamed, always managed to find an open teammate.

And then there was Bruce Bowen, who likely will have to miss Sunday's game after undergoing surgery to remove himself from Nash's hip. A clearly frustrated Nash finished with 18 points, but he only had one field goal through the first three quarters.

"He can't be Superman every night," said Suns coach Mike D'Antoni.

Imagine spending an entire series running into open car doors. That's what Bowen did, caroming off a thousand different screens and picks set for Nash. Sure, Bowen is physical, maybe borderline chippy, but it was a matchup worth staring at.

"Bruce had the toughest job on the team, without a doubt," said Popovich. "I don't know how he does it."

If there was such a thing as a basketball coroner, he would have said the game's time of death came at exactly with 5:23 remaining in the third quarter. That's when Bowen found his usual spot on the baseline, just inches behind the three-point line, and hit a trey that stretched the Spurs' tiny lead to 66-61. Then Ginobili added another three-pointer with 4:58 and that was that.

"There was a stretch where they couldn't miss," said D'Antoni.

It didn't help that the Suns' Raja Bell decided to foul everybody except the Spurs' Silver Dancers. Or that Leandro Barbosa forgot how to make a three pointer (0-5 Friday, 0 for his last 12 attempts). And yet, the Suns actually whittled the Spurs' lead down to five.

But by then, there were only 34 seconds remaining and San Antonio kept making free throws. Meanwhile, I'll have permanent ear damage from the sound of Spurs' fans whacking those thundersticks as the seconds ticked down.

Remember Stoudemire? He scored 38 points and added 12 rebounds in the loss. You think he might have made a difference in Game 5?

This is why it would have been fitting to see the series go seven games. Then Stern's decision would have been sort of rendered moot. America would have rejoiced.

"Absolutely I can understand why people would want to see it go one more," said Duncan. "You also have to understand why we didn't want to see it go one more."

My point exactly.

Of course, Nash is right when he says there are no guarantees. Maybe the Spurs win this thing in six even if Stoudemire had played last Wednesday in Phoenix -- but I doubt it.

"We'll never know," said Nash.

And that's the shame of it all.

Gene Wojciechowski is the senior national columnist for ESPN.com. You can contact him at [email protected].

[Obstructed_View]

Since ESPN was actively rooting for David Stern to cheat to give the Suns any and all advantages, including making me worry that Bowen was going to get suspended for that weak little clear-out that made Nash flop over and have a coronary, I'm hardly surprised. I think making all the potential casual basketball fans too disgusted to even watch any games with the Spurs is brilliant marketing strategy.

[ChumpDumper]

:lmao at sportswriters demanding Stern throw out the rulebook to accomodate a star. That would be great for the integrity of the game.

[Obstructed_View]

Actually in reading the article, I think that their motivation was more an attempt to extend the series. That it never occurred to them whether or not extending the series regardless of the actual rules of basketball was fair to one team or the other. I also think that everyone who says that they would have been okay with the spurs winning in seven but not in six would have used the seven game series to bitch about the nosebleed and the suspensions with extra hysteria.

I just heard on ESPN, Amare's postgame quote about the suspension: "I don't think about it too much."

Understatement of the fuckin' year.

[Strike]

At least Fish didn't write it :)

Here's the article, by the way.

For shame! - Series merited better than early fadeaway

By Gene Wojciechowski
ESPN.com
Archive

SAN ANTONIO -- A moment of silence, please, on the premature death of the best playoff series NBA school principal David Stern -- and the rest of us -- will see anytime soon.

The hoops drama that was the San Antonio Spurs vs. the Phoenix Suns should have lasted seven games. And if Maximum Dave and his curiously reasoned form of punishment hadn't made an appearance this past week, we might be counting the nanoseconds until Sunday's series finale between the two best and most compelling teams in the league.

Instead -- and this is going to come out the wrong way -- we get Game 1 of the Western Conference finals with the Utah Jazz. Nothing wrong with that, except that the Spurs-Suns got jobbed. We all did. In fact, I could have watched these two teams play a best-of-17 series.

But Stern's decision to suspend the Suns' Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for the pivotal Game 5 compromised the integrity of a series that deserved better than kneejerk justice. The Spurs beat the roster-challenged Suns that night in Phoenix, and then advanced to the conference finals with Friday evening's 114-106 victory.

The Spurs were the better team Friday, but thanks to Stern, we'll never truly know if they were the better team for the series. This isn't a rip on the Spurs. They did what they had to do, and they did it with cool, heartless efficiency. But this will be forever known as the What-If Series.

What if Robert Horry hadn't temporarily lost his mind, channeled the Hanson Brothers, and thumped Suns' guard Steve Nash into the scorer's table during the waning moments of Game 4? What if Stoudemire and Diaw hadn't left the bench area? What if Stern hadn't turned the series upside down when he suspended Stoudemire and Diaw for one game and Horry for two?

It was a dumb decision then. It's a dumb decision now. It will remain a dumb decision no matter how many times Stern tries to justify it.

"I can sit up here and complain about it after the fact... I guess cry about it after the fact," said Nash. "But it's tough not to just think forever what would have happened if this stupid rule didn't get in the way of this series. There's no guarantees of anything, but to come this far and put this much into a season and for us to be without two key guys for Game 5 for nothing we instigated -- and for not either one of them having a malicious tone in their offense -- will forever haunt us. But I don't want to cry about it after the fact. The Spurs played great."

The Spurs did play great. They led by 20 points early in the fourth quarter. They kept the Suns from stepping on the clutch and shifting their offense into third or fourth gear.

"Frankly, I'm going to try to figure out how we did this," said San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich.

Here's how:

Manu Ginobili filled up the boxscore with 33 ponts, 11 rebounds, six assists, four steals and four three-pointers. Tony Parker had 30 points. Tim Duncan added 24 points, 13 rebounds, nine blocked shots and, when double teamed, always managed to find an open teammate.

And then there was Bruce Bowen, who likely will have to miss Sunday's game after undergoing surgery to remove himself from Nash's hip. A clearly frustrated Nash finished with 18 points, but he only had one field goal through the first three quarters.

"He can't be Superman every night," said Suns coach Mike D'Antoni.

Imagine spending an entire series running into open car doors. That's what Bowen did, caroming off a thousand different screens and picks set for Nash. Sure, Bowen is physical, maybe borderline chippy, but it was a matchup worth staring at.

"Bruce had the toughest job on the team, without a doubt," said Popovich. "I don't know how he does it."

If there was such a thing as a basketball coroner, he would have said the game's time of death came at exactly with 5:23 remaining in the third quarter. That's when Bowen found his usual spot on the baseline, just inches behind the three-point line, and hit a trey that stretched the Spurs' tiny lead to 66-61. Then Ginobili added another three-pointer with 4:58 and that was that.

"There was a stretch where they couldn't miss," said D'Antoni.

It didn't help that the Suns' Raja Bell decided to foul everybody except the Spurs' Silver Dancers. Or that Leandro Barbosa forgot how to make a three pointer (0-5 Friday, 0 for his last 12 attempts). And yet, the Suns actually whittled the Spurs' lead down to five.

But by then, there were only 34 seconds remaining and San Antonio kept making free throws. Meanwhile, I'll have permanent ear damage from the sound of Spurs' fans whacking those thundersticks as the seconds ticked down.

Remember Stoudemire? He scored 38 points and added 12 rebounds in the loss. You think he might have made a difference in Game 5?

This is why it would have been fitting to see the series go seven games. Then Stern's decision would have been sort of rendered moot. America would have rejoiced.

"Absolutely I can understand why people would want to see it go one more," said Duncan. "You also have to understand why we didn't want to see it go one more."

My point exactly.

Of course, Nash is right when he says there are no guarantees. Maybe the Spurs win this thing in six even if Stoudemire had played last Wednesday in Phoenix -- but I doubt it.

"We'll never know," said Nash.

And that's the shame of it all.

Gene Wojciechowski is the senior national columnist for ESPN.com. You can contact him at [email protected].


"blah blah blah blah blah blah blah I'm a HACK. blah blah blah blah blah blah blah I'm a HACK. blah blah blah blah blah blah blah I'm a HACK. blah blah blah blah blah blah blah I'm a HACK. blah blah blah blah blah blah blah I'm a HACK. blah blah blah blah blah blah blah I'm a HACK. blah blah blah blah blah blah blah I'm a HACK."

And that's the I'm a HACK of it all."

[sabar]

Where was ESPN when the Knicks suspensions happened?

[TryStoppinMe]

The Truth Shall Set You Free

...ouch

[TryStoppinMe]

Where was ESPN when the Knicks suspensions happened?

Howd the knicks do in the playoffs?

ohhhh thats right, they didnt get in and no one cared

next question...

[TDMVPDPOY]

espn are a disgrace for journalism....fuck them

[AlamoSpursFan]

Why does a series have to go 7 games to be a good series?

[sabar]

Howd the knicks do in the playoffs?

ohhhh thats right, they didnt get in and no one cared

next question...You are retarded beyond comprehension.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/MIA19970518.html

[ChumpDumper]

"Rules only matter when we want them to."

[mVp]

Why does a series have to go 7 games to be a good series?

Same question here

[Strike]

Fuck ESPN. That shit ass network lost my respect years ago.

[sabar]

And now the WCF are all on ABC/ESPN... yay.
I figure we'll hear the word "taint" 2816 times in the commentary.

[Obstructed_View]

Howd the knicks do in the playoffs?

ohhhh thats right, they didnt get in and no one cared

next question...
Moron: Your bus is leaving....

http://www.microwaves101.com/content/images/shortbus1.jpg

[TryStoppinMe]

You are retarded beyond comprehension.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/MIA19970518.html


Ha, your the one to talk.

referencing back to a series 10 years ago???

Maybe, just maybe...there might have been a few suspensions that affected a teams outcome in the playoffs since then.

That might be too far out for you though maybe?

[Obstructed_View]

Why does a series have to go 7 games to be a good series?
That's just the excuse they need so they can point to how the Suns got jobbed when they were good enough to extend the series to seven games. They were trying to get the SPurs to feel bad and give the Suns a game.

[sabar]

Ha, your the one to talk.

referencing back to a series 10 years ago???

Maybe, just maybe...there might have been a few suspensions that affected a teams outcome in the playoffs.

That might be too far out for you though maybe?You're so bad at trolling that I can't even identify the insult here. You need some lessons.

[ChumpDumper]

Maybe, just maybe...Amare and Boris could have stay around their bench and not gotten suspended for breaking a rule that had been in force for over a decade.

That would require their not being dumbasses.

That might be too far out for you though definitely.

[Strike]

I still had respect for Steve Nash until hearing him in the post game conference when he said "well not having two of our players taken away for a game, for one."

Fuckin little bitch.

[sabar]

That's just the excuse they need so they can point to how the Suns got jobbed when they were good enough to extend the series to seven games. They were trying to get the SPurs to feel bad and give the Suns a game.We handed the Suns game 5 on a silver platter after the first quarter. I'd like to think that we gave them a 13 point head start (or whatever it was) in exchange for them missing 2 guys.

[boutons_]

ESPN: F*cking B*st*rds

[TryStoppinMe]

You're so bad at trolling that I can't even identify the insult here. You need some lessons.

Ha, your running around your own insult because you have nothing to say back.

Any comment on that pivotal series back in 97??

[whottt]

I love how people keep citing Amare's point total tonight as proof they would have won game 5...how stupid can you get?

[Obstructed_View]

Since Nash added flopping to his game this year in an attempt to be less of a liability on the defensive end, he actually flopped his own team out of the playoffs when he ran into Horry.

[sabar]

Ha, your running around your own insult because you have nothing to say back.

Any comment on that pivotal series back in 97??Where was ESPN kissing New York's ass after that series? I already said this, hence the initial reference.

[whottt]

BTW, here's hoping we get asterisk #4.


I love asterisks...they remind me of the little Spur wheel.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

I love how people keep citing Amare's point total tonight as proof they would have won game 5...how stupid can you get?

seriously, the dude is a foul machine


We may have seen Marion play his last game in a Suns uniform


However, the real culprit of the Suns problems lies in their idiotic coaching staff.

[Obstructed_View]

I love how people keep citing Amare's point total tonight as proof they would have won game 5...how stupid can you get?
Have you not been here the last few days? It's like being in bizarro world. Even I never thought human beings could be so idiotic.

[sabar]

Since Nash added flopping to his game this year in an attempt to be less of a liability on the defensive end, he actually flopped his own team out of the playoffs when he ran into Horry.Biiingo.

Nash doesn't flop = no suspensions = no excuses

[whottt]

We should make some t-shirts...

We love our * ;)

[Kori Ellis]

However, the real culprit of the Suns problems lies in their idiotic coaching staff.

You mean, "Let's go guys, Let's go. Yeah, um yeah. Let's go guys." isn't a good speech when you have to call timeout?

[sabar]

Oh well, I can understand why ESPN is pissed. This is probably the last year the Suns are with a few of their guys, Nash will get older, their record will decline, their playoff chances will decline, and hence, ESPNs POTENTIAL ratings will decline.

[Strike]

I have to say it again...

Fuck ESPN.

[ChumpDumper]

Ha, your running around your own insult because you have nothing to say back.Dude, even my self-deprication and pleas to other posters to help you out couldn't save your call out thread. Not even good enough to be moved to the troll forum.

You really do suck.

Any rational human would quit while he was behind.

[MannyIsGod]

I want this answered:

If the rule is so bad, then why in the past 2 years have there been only 2 violations of the rule? Amare and Diaw.

Why are other players not running out of emotional control off the bench? Surely if the rule is so horrible then on every altercation someone should be violating it seeing as how hard it is to stay on the bench. Suns fan, I was on your side of this until I thought about things and until Nash suprisingly ranted on it for the entire duration of his post game press conference.

So answer the question, if the rule is so difficult to follow why is your team the only one to break it in recent memory?

[Shaolin-Style]

I submitted a spelling error on their main site about the headline adding the asterisk and not denoting the information along with it.

Hope they clear that up soon, will be amusing to see how they spin their bias.

[timvp]

BTW, here's hoping we get asterisk #4.


I love asterisks...they remind me of the little Spur wheel.

:lol


|_|
/
*

[TryStoppinMe]

Dude, even my self-deprication and pleas to other posters to help you out couldn't save your call out thread. Not even good enough to be moved to the troll forum.

You really do suck.

Any rational human would quit while he was behind.

Awww...chumps sad cause he got owned in a previous thread

So now he's tryin ease the convo by dropping some cheesy one liners.

[ChumpDumper]

:lmao I tried hard to make it a classic.

You just had zero game.

[ChumpDumper]

I'm sorry to hijack. sunfan was talking about how the rules shouldn't apply to his team.

Carry on.

[Shaolin-Style]

I'd rather be a fan of an asterisked winner than a non-asterisked loser. That's the way I look at it. I'll take pride in that shit if it sticks.

[Obstructed_View]

Awww...chumps sad cause he got owned in a previous thread

So now he's tryin ease the convo by dropping some cheesy one liners.
You don't even rate high enough to be worth banning, mary. And your dad's going to be pissed when he starts getting propositioned by large black men with torture fetishes via email.

Or maybe he won't. Might explain you.

[MannyIsGod]

Dirty?

http://cimg2.163.com/sports/2006/10/25/200610251147086984c.jpg

[whottt]

* denotes the best era in Spurs history...

[Amuseddaysleeper]

You mean, "Let's go guys, Let's go. Yeah, um yeah. Let's go guys." isn't a good speech when you have to call timeout?


:lol


Suns fans already want him fired and are arguing over what he sucks more at, being a Coach or a GM

[TryStoppinMe]

You don't even rate high enough to be worth banning, mary. And your dad's going to be pissed when he starts getting propositioned by large black men with torture fetishes via email.

Or maybe he won't. Might explain you.


Ha, you had to think REALLY hard about that huh?

[ChumpDumper]

"We gotta go. We gotta go get 'em. Just go."

[TryStoppinMe]

Where was ESPN kissing New York's ass after that series? I already said this, hence the initial reference.

I'm still laughing at the reference back of a series in 97'...

What else do you do in your spare time?

[sabar]

My favorite D'Antoni quote:


In a recent article for ESPN The Magazine Suns head coach Mike D’Antoni told Dan Le Batard that he’d never scream at Steve Nash but “he’s yelled at me a few times though.”

[ChumpDumper]

Judging from his attempts at inflammatory speech, I have concluded TryStoppinMe is indeed Mike D'Antoni.

Better luck next year, coach!

[MannyIsGod]

"We gotta go. We gotta go get 'em. Just go."http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2006-02/07/xin_46020307153707060278.jpg
http://www.naturdetektive.de/2006/dyn/pics/10845-10848-1-hammy.gif

[sabar]

TryStoppinMe doesn't even know what the hell he is trolling about anymore :lol

[polandprzem]

It's a polish name

what a shame

[dg7md]

http://phxsuns.net/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=7645

:lmao

[TryStoppinMe]

TryStoppinMe doesn't even know what the hell he is trolling about anymore :lol

Ha, oh btw....



Where was ESPN kissing New York's ass after that series? I already said this, hence the initial reference.

And what I replied back saying was.

"Maybe, just maybe...there might have been a few suspensions that affected a teams outcome in the playoffs since then."

But apparently that 97 series was the only rational thing you could come up with.....god only knows how you knew about that?

[Obstructed_View]

Mr. Robot Face and Stubby Testicle Head. It has summer blockbuster written all over it. I'm out. For real this time.

[TryStoppinMe]

Sorry, was that too much for you sabar?

[ChumpDumper]

Well, if any sunfan can show me an example of the league overturning a black-letter rule so a good player could avoid a suspension, I'd like a link.

[sabar]

Ha, oh btw....




And what I replied back saying was.

"Maybe, just maybe...there might have been a few suspensions that affected a teams outcome in the playoffs since then."

But apparently that 97 series was the only rational thing you could come up with.....god only knows how you knew about that?Because it's a very clear example that the rule is enforced in the playoffs. Anything else?

And the only people that even care about that series and know about it today? The Knicks. Just like 10 years from now, only sunfan will remember this second round series.

[MannyIsGod]

Ha, oh btw....




And what I replied back saying was.

"Maybe, just maybe...there might have been a few suspensions that affected a teams outcome in the playoffs since then."

But apparently that 97 series was the only rational thing you could come up with.....god only knows how you knew about that?There haven't been suspensions like that because no other players have been stupid enough to break the rule.

WOAH!

[MannyIsGod]

Ha, oh btw....




And what I replied back saying was.

"Maybe, just maybe...there might have been a few suspensions that affected a teams outcome in the playoffs since then."

But apparently that 97 series was the only rational thing you could come up with.....god only knows how you knew about that?And furthermore, I guess you're like 12. You think that some of us have just been watching basketball for 3 years? That series is very well remembered because of just how many Knicks got suspended because of this rule in a very simillar fashion. Whether it happend yesterday or 10 years ago is irrelevant because it shows a precedant. I realize i'm using words you are probably going to have trouble following but whatever.

This doesn't happen to other teams because other players don't break the rules. I know, amazing concept. Don't break the rules and you don't get punished.

WOAH!

[jaffies]

And what I replied back saying was.

"Maybe, just maybe...there might have been a few suspensions that affected a teams outcome in the playoffs since then."




No you didn't.
You edited it to include "since then" at 4:41am
...i'm just saying

[TryStoppinMe]

Riiiight.....and the situation was EXACTLY the same too right?

I mean, Amare and Boris were both throwin punches and really making it a volatile situation.

Your comparing Apples to Oranges

[sabar]

If Patrick Ewing gets suspended, Amare Stoudemire does too. If the league rules the other way on Amare, it's a big "screw you" to the Knicks and Pat.

[TryStoppinMe]

No you didn't.
You edited it to include "since then" at 4:41am
...i'm just saying

because i made a typo, thanks for the update though

[jaffies]

because i made a typo, thanks for the update though


that's a pretty big typo

[ChumpDumper]

Riiiight.....and the situation was EXACTLY the same too right?

I mean, Amare and Boris were both throwin punches and really making it a volatile situation.

Your comparing Apples to OrangesActually, if you knew anything about the situation, you would know that Patrick did much LESS than Amare and Boris did when he got suspended.

But you don't know much of anything.

[TryStoppinMe]

If Patrick Ewing gets suspended, Amare Stoudemire does too. If the league rules the other way on Amare, it's a big "screw you" to the Knicks and Pat.

I think we could have cut to the chase a lot quicker if you would have 'referenced' it to being the 97' series...

You said it yourself, "the only people that remembered about it were the knicks".

[AlamoSpursFan]

If Mike D'Antoni was a good coach he would have done anything humanly possible to keep his star player from leaving the bench in an altercation.

Sincerely,
Jeff Van Gundy

[sabar]

Anyways, thread hijack aside.
Gene Wojciechowski is an ass.

[TryStoppinMe]

Actually, if you knew anything about the situation, you would know that Patrick did much LESS than Amare and Boris did when he got suspended.

But you don't know much of anything.


Ohhh really? So what did Amare and Boris do that was so drastically different from ewing?

[ChumpDumper]

Ohhh really? So what did Amare and Boris do that was so drastically different from ewing?They ran away from the bench. Patrick just stood there with his big-ass feet partially over the sideline. The rule was changed shortly thereafter, making it a bit more lenient.

And Amare and Boris STILL couldn't follow it.

Here endeth the lesson.

[TryStoppinMe]

Anyways, thread hijack aside.
Gene Wojciechowski is an ass.

Ha, yea...kinda double crossed yourself on this

[jaffies]

Ha, yea...kinda double crossed yourself on this

Is that really the word you're looking for?


double cross
–noun 1. a betrayal or swindle of a colleague.
2. an attempt to win a contest that one has agreed beforehand to lose. Compare cross (def. 21).

Still looking for clarification on that so-called typo


typographical error (typo)
–noun an error in printed or typewritten matter resulting from striking the improper key of a keyboard, from mechanical failure, or the like.

[sabar]

TryStoppinMe doesn't even know how to bait people back into a troll-fest :(

[ChumpDumper]

Is it possible to fail at failing?

[TryStoppinMe]

Is that really the word you're looking for?



Still looking for clarification on that so-called typo

Haha, what a homo you are. Clearly you have nothing better to do than ease drop peoples conversations.


About double crossing.....He just didnt know that he was gonna lose

[Melmart1]

Haha, what a homo you are. Clearly you have nothing better to do than ease drop peoples conversations.


About double crossing.....He just didnt know that he was gonna lose
What is ease dropping?

OH, how easy it would be to drop you if I were still a mod.

[ChumpDumper]

Clearly you have nothing better to do than hang out on the board of the team that just kicked your team's ass.

Sad, really.

[sabar]

I'm kinda wondering how you "ease drop" on a conversation in a public forum.

[ChumpDumper]

Quit dropping my ease.

[jaffies]

Haha, what a homo you are. Clearly you have nothing better to do than ease drop peoples conversations.


About double crossing.....He just didnt know that he was gonna lose


Woah, woah...who brought up homos? You brought it out of thin air. Don't get all huffy, it's just a spurs board. Or maybe it is the fact that I referenced the dictionary? I think maybe, just maybe, you have a growing fondness to books that have the word dick in their title. Still waiting for that "typo" explanation.

[TryStoppinMe]

I'm kinda wondering how you "ease drop" on a conversation in a public forum.

Really??

Last time I checked you can ease drop a conversation in more ways than one.

You sure your buddy wasnt saying that you were the one that needed to get on the short bus?

[ChumpDumper]

Cleanup on aisle five.

Ease droppings in aisle five.

Watch your step.

[sabar]

Cleanup on aisle five.

Ease droppings in aisle five.

Watch your step.Quite slippery they are.

[TryStoppinMe]

Woah, woah...who brought up homos? You brought it out of thin air. Don't get all huffy, it's just a spurs board. Or maybe it is the fact that I referenced the dictionary? I think maybe, just maybe, you have a growing fondness to books that have the word dick in their title. Still waiting for that "typo" explanation.

Heres one for you...

SLANG

...not common at all in this country

[MannyIsGod]

You have to explain to him why and how he's being ridiculed because he's too stupid to realize it on his own.

Why hasn't anyone else been suspended for breaking the rule? Anyone? Beular?

[jaffies]

Really??

Last time I checked you can ease drop a conversation in more ways than one.

You sure your buddy wasnt saying that you were the one that needed to get on the short bus?


I'm gonna need clarification on this too. What exactly is ease dropping? I know what eaves dropping is, but what the hell are they teaching you guys over there in Arizona? What's up with that typo from earlier?

[TryStoppinMe]

You have to explain to him why and how he's being ridiculed because he's too stupid to realize it on his own.

Why hasn't anyone else been suspended for breaking the rule? Anyone? Beular?


Haha, you got fristed in the ass?? That sucks

[sabar]

This is painful, go get some damn trolling lessons:
http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67572

[ChumpDumper]

What does Adam's wife have to do with dropping in on my convo, bitch?

[jaffies]

Haha, you got fristed in the ass?? That sucks


Yeeeeeahhhhh, I'm gonna need to talk to you about this one too. What exactly is fristing? Is this another typo? Is it like the one from earlier? What happened with that one anyway?

[TxJudsonRocketTx]

Isnt it eavesdropping? This guy is a fucking idiot

[TryStoppinMe]

Yeeeeeahhhhh, I'm gonna need to talk to you about this one too. What exactly is fristing? Is this another typo? Is it like the one from earlier? What happened with that one anyway?

Ask your buddy manny....apparently he knows

[jaffies]

Heres one for you...

SLANG

...not common at all in this country



= punctuation error. Hey, remember that typo?

[jaffies]

Ask your buddy manny....apparently he knows



Yeeeeeeahhhhhh...the word 'Manny' should be capitalized. What is the deal with typos anyway?

[MannyIsGod]

Haha, you got fristed in the ass?? That sucksIt is not a punctionation error. It is a pun. I lack the patience to explain it to you. I feel this humor is beyond your capabilities you silly little person.

[sabar]

Hmm Fristed?
Better not make a political joke in the presence of TryStoppinMe.

[TryStoppinMe]

Yeeeeeeahhhhhh...the word 'Manny' should be capitalized. What is the deal with typos anyway?

Damn typos...

jaffies, dont you just love slang?

[ChumpDumper]

Well, this has been scintillating. I wish you guys had dropped your eases in this guy's original thread. I was trying to help him insult me, but he just didn't get it.

Anyway, good night.

*

[jaffies]

Damn typos...

jaffies, dont you just love slang?


Yeaaaahhhhhh...that's another punctuation error.

[sabar]

I think it's time to change your favorite team troll-in-training. I suggest the Suns or Mavs.

[TryStoppinMe]

It is not a punctionation error. It is a pun. I lack the patience to explain it to you. I feel this humor is beyond your capabilities you silly little person.

It was actually your 'little' buddy jaffies who made that statement


Yeeeeeahhhhh, I'm gonna need to talk to you about this one too. What exactly is fristing? Is this another typo? Is it like the one from earlier? What happened with that one anyway?

[TryStoppinMe]

This has been great fun though. Can't believe its already this late....

You guys on here quite frequently?

[jaffies]

It was actually your 'little' buddy jaffies who made that statement


Yeeeaaahhhhh, ummmmm...there should be a period at the end of your statement. However, there were no typos.

[TryStoppinMe]

Yeeeaaahhhhh, ummmmm...there should be a period at the end of your statement. However, there were no typos.

Your still on that joke?

WOW.

[jaffies]

Your still on that joke?

WOW.


Yeeeaaahhhh, ummmm...it should be spelled 'you're'.

[TryStoppinMe]

Jaffies, shouldnt you know that "Fristed" is a pun?

I mean, you kinda shot yourself in the foot on that.

Nice try though

[TryStoppinMe]

and apparently your still glued on the fact that I care about my punctuating and spelling right now?

[Texas_Ranger]

This sucks. Fuck ESPN.

[jaffies]

Corrections are marked in red.


Jaffies, shouldn't you know that "Fristed" is a pun?

I mean, you kinda shot yourself in the foot on that.

Nice try though.

[jaffies]

And apparently you're still glued on the fact that I care about my punctuating and spelling right now?

[TryStoppinMe]

....(crickets)

jaffies, we should be myspace friends

I bet you pull a LOT of girls

[mikekim]

i liked tony's expression in the picture on the front page...haha

[TryStoppinMe]

Yeeeaaahhhh, ummmm...it should be spelled 'you're'.

Yes is actually the proper word

[jaffies]

Yes is actually the proper word


Yeeeeaaahhhhh.

http://www.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/2001919/bill-lumbergh-1_Full.jpg

[TryStoppinMe]

hahahahaaaaaaa

Go get those girls for me jaffies, I know you pull them like a pimp does his ho's

[jaffies]

hahahahaaaaaaa

Go get those girls for me jaffies, I know you pull them like a pimp does his ho's


Yeeeaaaahhhh.

http://www.billlumberg.com/lumbergh.jpg

[Marcus Bryant]

In the Fall of 1997, Gene Wojciechowski was a Sports Writer for the Chicago Tribune. At the time, there were rumors that Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves was interested in playing for the Chicago Bulls, who were eventually going to lose Michael Jordan to retirement and Scottie Pippen in a trade to the Houston Rockets in 1998 after their sixth and final championship. Wojciechowski wrote an article describing a hypothetical situation in which Garnett was in the back seat of a Chicago cab driven by someone of Indian or Pakistani decent [1]. Throughout the article, Wojciechowski had the cab driver trying to persuade Garnett to play for the Chicago Bulls. However, the article contained numerous negative ethnic stereotypes in it’s depiction of the foreign cab driver. The Tribune received hundreds of emails and phone calls in regards to the matter. They printed several emails from Indian, Pakistani and Asian groups criticizing both the Tribune and Wojciechowski [2] [3]. Eventually, the Tribune was forced to print an apology [4]. At the time, it was only the 5th apology ever written in the history of the Chicago Tribune which was established in 1847. Although the Tribune offered a formal apology, Wojciechowski has never apologized. He has also never acknowledged or denied that the article was racist in any way.

Sounds like a quality guy. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Wojciechowski)

[Shaolin-Style]

Sounds like the type of journalist who gets his payday from being mostly controversial.

Haven't and don't care to read into more of his articles or books, but it's not hard to come to that conclusion with that Garnett story and the mention of the asterisk.

Maybe ESPN can apologize for him too.

[Vito Corleone]

Spurs 99 NBA Champs*
Spurs 03 NBA Champs**
Spurs 05 NBA Champs***
Spurs 07 NBA Champs****

Keep'em coming if they want to give us the astericks with our parades I'll keep taking them.

[marini martini]

:madrun :madrun This thread should be titled "Meth heads Gone Wild" :madrun :madrun

[G-Nob]

Is everyone forgetting this happened to Jason Terry (suspension)last year and even though the spurs won the next game, Dallas still eventually won the series?

[RobinsontoDuncan]

BTW, here's hoping we get asterisk #4.


I love asterisks...they remind me of the little Spur wheel.


Classic :smokin

[E20]

Fuck Espn

[G-Nob]

For the 40th time in this forum, E S P N sucks.

[Sec24Row7]

Yeah, heh... I dont get it.. Superstar players miss playoff games all the time...

Why do people worry about what might have been?

I mean if this is an *... then the 2000 series where the suns beat us when we were missing duncan... THE WHOLE SERIES due to injury should be an *.

[Gino20]

Yeah, cause the author/espn has control of designating an *....NOT!!! The league did what they NEEDED to do. All the former players say nothing about this being a tainted series. Amare and Diaw broke the rule and they derserved the suspensions. Why should the league ammend the rule just for them? The NBA got it right....

[Fillmoe]

:lol :lol

everyone hates the shitty ass spurs....

[violentkitten]

:lol :lol

everyone hates the shitty ass spurs....


everyone's forgotten about the shitty ass kings

[Fillmoe]

everyone's forgotten about the shitty ass kings


**************************************

[violentkitten]

yeah, that sums up the kings' existence

[SpursFanFirst]

Actually in reading the article, I think that their motivation was more an attempt to extend the series. That it never occurred to them whether or not extending the series regardless of the actual rules of basketball was fair to one team or the other. I also think that everyone who says that they would have been okay with the spurs winning in seven but not in six would have used the seven game series to bitch about the nosebleed and the suspensions with extra hysteria.

I just heard on ESPN, Amare's postgame quote about the suspension: "I don't think about it too much."

Understatement of the fuckin' year.

Actually, did you listen to his whole post game interview? And d'Antoni's? I was pleasantly surprised.
I don't think either one of them complained about the suspensions, but rather, gave credit to the Spurs for winning. Amare said that the suspensions (because he was asked) happened, but that they had opportunities to put those games away, but couldn't do it.
And d'Antoni didn't whine.
Now, Nash, on the other hand...
He was asked about the suspensions, and he whined, but tried to make it look like he wasn't.
It was all kind of backwards.

[Craig]

everyone's forgotten about the shitty ass kings

Kings fan will be gripping HARD when Bibby bolts to play for Adelman in Houston.
:sequ

[florige]

Horribly unprofessional. Found on the front page.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v337/blahman1/espnaster.jpg


The only person on ESPN who ever picks the Spurs is usually Steven A Smith. THe rest of those stupid writer over there always seem to end up eating crow year in and year out after the old Spurs manages to mow through another opponent. ESPN can blow me.... ***** :lol

[nkdlunch]

damn that's cold

[Martin R]

ESPN SUCKS. They are HIGHLY partial on their takes. Depends on who is giving the more money ...

[Spurs Dynasty 21]

I always had little respect for ESPN




but whatever was left is gone

[Fillmoe]

everyone outside of san antonio and spurs fans sees the bullshit that went down and is rooting for anyone other than SA

[florige]

everyone outside of san antonio and spurs fans sees the bullshit that went down and is rooting for anyone other than SA


Mannn would you give it a rest already......

[mavs>spurs2]

everyone outside of san antonio and spurs fans sees the bullshit that went down and is rooting for anyone other than SA

You're absolutely right.

[Rubberducky]

Finally changed the title to "Marching On"

[SRJ]

For shame! - Series merited better than early fadeaway

By Gene Wojciechowski
ESPN.com
Archive

Wojciechowski - the quality goes out before the name goes on.


SAN ANTONIO -- A moment of silence, please, on the premature death of the best playoff series NBA school principal David Stern -- and the rest of us -- will see anytime soon.

Premature indeed, because the Spurs were awarded the series after just three wins.

What's that? They weren't?


The hoops drama that was the San Antonio Spurs vs. the Phoenix Suns should have lasted seven games. And if Maximum Dave and his curiously reasoned form of punishment hadn't made an appearance this past week, we might be counting the nanoseconds until Sunday's series finale between the two best and most compelling teams in the league.

You do know Phoenix was up 79-71 at home in game five right? You do know that the Spurs were a man short in game six, right?

And for the nth freaking time, Wojiecjiesjkcieqkesjeowski - there was no "curious reasoning" involved in determining suspensions for Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw. It's a zero-tolerance rule. The suspension is reflexive, much like the way I automatically gag whenever I read your stupid column.


Instead -- and this is going to come out the wrong way -- we get Game 1 of the Western Conference finals with the Utah Jazz. Nothing wrong with that, except that the Spurs-Suns got jobbed. We all did. In fact, I could have watched these two teams play a best-of-17 series.

When the Spurs played on the road in a hostile environment against a team that was down a man, they responded with a win. Phoenix could not do the same - that's what prevented a seventh game.


But Stern's decision to suspend the Suns' Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for the pivotal Game 5 compromised the integrity of a series that deserved better than kneejerk justice.

I really hope the rule is amended this summer. That way, next year we can have a huge fracas involving 24 players, and not a single sportswriter will complain about it.


The Spurs beat the roster-challenged Suns that night in Phoenix, and then advanced to the conference finals with Friday evening's 114-106 victory.

I don't understand - you mean the series wasn't over after game five??


The Spurs were the better team Friday, but thanks to Stern, we'll never truly know if they were the better team for the series. This isn't a rip on the Spurs. They did what they had to do, and they did it with cool, heartless efficiency. But this will be forever known as the What-If Series.

Yeah - what if they had played the previous five games? Seems stupid to award the Spurs the series after the one win in game six.

Anyway, Little Genie wants to play a little game now. OK, I'm ready:


What if Robert Horry hadn't temporarily lost his mind, channeled the Hanson Brothers, and thumped Suns' guard Steve Nash into the scorer's table during the waning moments of Game 4?

He wouldn't have been suspended for games five and six.


What if Stoudemire and Diaw hadn't left the bench area?

They wouldn't have been suspended for game five.


What if Stern hadn't turned the series upside down when he suspended Stoudemire and Diaw for one game and Horry for two?

Then he wouldn't have properly done his job, and assholes like you would have called him out for not following the rules (in the case of Robert Horry; you would have been death-silent about Stoudemire and Diaw).

Damn. What a boring what-if game, Genie. Why not throw in some questions about Maurice Stokes or Len Bias?


It was a dumb decision then. It's a dumb decision now. It will remain a dumb decision no matter how many times Stern tries to justify it.

What could be stupider than applying a rule in the exact same way it has always been applied? Damn, Stern's a jackass!


"I can sit up here and complain about it after the fact... I guess cry about it after the fact," said Nash. "But it's tough not to just think forever what would have happened if this stupid rule didn't get in the way of this series. There's no guarantees of anything, but to come this far and put this much into a season and for us to be without two key guys for Game 5 for nothing we instigated -- and for not either one of them having a malicious tone in their offense -- will forever haunt us. But I don't want to cry about it after the fact. The Spurs played great."

"Olive Garden sucks. It's terrible, overpriced, microwaved food. The wine is cheap-ass swill, the decor is vintage Wal-Mart, and the waitresses are plump and wear too much make up. But I'm not one to complain about Olive Garden, and they've been a successful franchise."


The Spurs did play great. They led by 20 points early in the fourth quarter. They kept the Suns from stepping on the clutch and shifting their offense into third or fourth gear.

"Honey!"

"Yes, Gene?"

"Could you come in here, please?"

"I'm here, Gene, what is it?"

"Dear, I need to write something nice about the Spurs so I won't look so biased...I just can't do it. I'm ready to put this keyboard through my face. Could you just write up a little nice something about the Spurs' play tonight?"

"Well, Gene...tell you what. Write something nice about the time the Suns beat the Bobcats, and later, when I edit your piece, I'll fix it up good."

"Sweetheart, you're the best!"

"Gene...you're humping my leg."


"Frankly, I'm going to try to figure out how we did this," said San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich.

Here's how:

Manu Ginobili filled up the boxscore with 33 ponts, 11 rebounds, six assists, four steals and four three-pointers. Tony Parker had 30 points. Tim Duncan added 24 points, 13 rebounds, nine blocked shots and, when double teamed, always managed to find an open teammate.

And then there was Bruce Bowen, who likely will have to miss Sunday's game after undergoing surgery to remove himself from Nash's hip. A clearly frustrated Nash finished with 18 points, but he only had one field goal through the first three quarters.

"He can't be Superman every night," said Suns coach Mike D'Antoni.

Imagine spending an entire series running into open car doors. That's what Bowen did, caroming off a thousand different screens and picks set for Nash. Sure, Bowen is physical, maybe borderline chippy, but it was a matchup worth staring at.

"Bruce had the toughest job on the team, without a doubt," said Popovich. "I don't know how he does it."

If there was such a thing as a basketball coroner, he would have said the game's time of death came at exactly with 5:23 remaining in the third quarter. That's when Bowen found his usual spot on the baseline, just inches behind the three-point line, and hit a trey that stretched the Spurs' tiny lead to 66-61. Then Ginobili added another three-pointer with 4:58 and that was that.

"There was a stretch where they couldn't miss," said D'Antoni.

Clearly, that last section was written by Mrs. Gene. Well done, madam.


It didn't help that the Suns' Raja Bell decided to foul everybody except the Spurs' Silver Dancers. Or that Leandro Barbosa forgot how to make a three pointer (0-5 Friday, 0 for his last 12 attempts). And yet, the Suns actually whittled the Spurs' lead down to five.

But by then, there were only 34 seconds remaining and San Antonio kept making free throws. Meanwhile, I'll have permanent ear damage from the sound of Spurs' fans whacking those thundersticks as the seconds ticked down.

Aside from "jokes" about fouling Silver Dancers and permanent ear damage, this is actually not bad for little Genie.


Remember Stoudemire? He scored 38 points and added 12 rebounds in the loss. You think he might have made a difference in Game 5?

He did make a difference in game five by making a conscious decision to move toward an altercation at the end of game four. What is so hard to understand about this, champ?


This is why it would have been fitting to see the series go seven games. Then Stern's decision would have been sort of rendered moot. America would have rejoiced.

"Absolutely I can understand why people would want to see it go one more," said Duncan. "You also have to understand why we didn't want to see it go one more."

My point exactly.

Oooooh, BUUUUUUUUUUURN!! Eat crap, Tim Duncan!


Of course, Nash is right when he says there are no guarantees. Maybe the Spurs win this thing in six even if Stoudemire had played last Wednesday in Phoenix -- but I doubt it.

"We'll never know," said Nash.

And that's the shame of it all.

Hopefully, the Spurs will never suspend anyone from the opposition ever again.

[hater]

Finally changed the title to "Marching On"

no they didn't. the asterisk is so disrespectful.

[L.I.T]

Wojciechowski - the quality goes out before the name goes on.


....

Awe-inspiring. You get an emoticon: :worthy:

[conqueso]

Spurs Advance*

* - Opponents too stupid to follow rules

[TampaDude]

Gene can kiss my asterisk... :lol