A Little Bit Of Hollywood For Bonner

[Sam]

http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070714/REPOSITORY/707140324/1007/SPORTS

[Bruno]

Matt Bonner!

[SpursFanFirst]

Hm For some reason, I'm having a problem opening that link. Perhaps their site is down right now. :huh

[Bruno]

A little bit Hollywood?
Bonner throwing a charity bash today

By DAVE D’ONOFRIO
Monitor staff
July 14. 2007 12:21AM

he NBA Finals finished just a month ago, with his San Antonio Spurs celebrating a championship, but Matt Bonner hasn't had the time to start his summer vacation.

Fast emerging as the state's biggest celebrity, he's thrown out the first pitch at two different minor league stadiums. He's tossed the coin at an arena football game. He's competed in a shooting contest. He's judged a singing competition. He's made radio appearances, he's completed the first of his week-long basketball camps, and - somehow - he's found time to sign a new contract. Everybody wants a piece, and he's happy to oblige.

"So Hollywood," says his smiling, not-so-little brother, Luke.

Tonight, however, the Bonner boys are hoping to turn their celebrity into a big night for the Boys and Girls Club of Concord, as they try to bring a little bit of Hollywood to their hometown. Headlined by Okkervil River, a nationally heralded indie rock band, the two are putting on the first of what they anticipate becoming an annual "Sneakers and Speakers Charity Rockfest" at the Capitol Center for the Arts.

"I wanted to have an annual charity event, and I already have camps, and I play basketball all year, so I could've done a charity game, but why not do something different?" Bonner said of the event, which starts at 6:30 with tickets available at the door. "I love music, have a passion for music, and just wanted to combine basketball and music into a charity event for the Boys and Girls Club."

The Bonners came up with the idea when Luke was visiting his brother in Texas, and it began to really come together once Luke turned the project into the subject of his independent study at the University of Massachusetts. Quickly, two Concord-based acts were signed to the undercard - Lando and The Ron Noyes Band - and soon after Luke began to target a primary performer.

On his UMass basketball blog, he'd previously listed Okkervil River as his favorite concert of all-time, so when the band's drummer posted his thanks, Luke used the back channels to bring them on board. The group was eager to get involved because its lead singer also hails from small-town New Hampshire, making for a natural partnership, given Matt Bonner's never-private state pride.

"I'm New Hampshire to the core, so I want to do as much as I can to give back to the community, and if people want me to make appearances, I always try to accommodate everybody, for New Hampshire," he said. "Even when I'm not in New Hampshire, when I'm in Toronto, or Florida, or San Antonio, I'm always representing New Hampshire, wearing New Hampshire T-shirts. If somebody in New Hampshire is in the news, I'll point it out to everybody."

Few Granite Staters have made more news this summer than Bonner, starting with the memorable finish to his first year in San Antonio. He's among the sea of hands reaching for the Larry O'Brien trophy as NBA Commissioner David Stern handed it over to the team on national television, he was front and center for the champagne shower that accompanies a trip to the pinnacle of the sport - and still he's dealing with the disbelief that joins the journey.

"It hasn't sunk in yet," he said yesterday, during a break in his camp at the SportsZone in Derry. "I remember being in the locker room, spraying everybody with champagne, sitting there with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker - and I'm like, 'Is this really happening?' "

Bonner didn't appear on the court during the Spurs' four-game Finals sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and played a total of just 25 minutes on the way to the Western Conference crown, but none of that detracted from his desire to re-sign with San Antonio.

Traded there from Toronto, where he played 160 games in two seasons, Bonner sat out 26 games this season - in part due to a knee injury - but he so enjoyed being a part of something bigger with the Spurs that when his contract expired at season's end, he took a pragmatic approach to his impending free agency.

Before even seriously entertaining offers from other teams, he made clear he wanted to remain with the champs, and when those feelings were reciprocated, the sides quickly came to terms on a three-year deal.

"No matter what, I'm a role player in the NBA," he said. "I'm never going to be a consistent starter or an All-Star or anything, so for me it's about the team and about winning - and the Spurs are the best at that."

The team's fourth title in a span of nine seasons verified that fact, while proving to Bonner it wouldn't be worth leaving for a lesser team, even if his exit might mean more playing time.

"It's a lot more fun when you're winning," he said. "I signed a three-year deal, and Tony, Tim and Manu (Ginobili) will be there for another three years, so hopefully we can go out and get a couple more."

Having already played three seasons, Bonner's new contract means his NBA career is guaranteed to last at least six years. It could very well be extended again, given that he'll be barely 30 when he next hits the open market in 2010, and sharp-shooting power forwards aren't easy to find. But considering the average life of an NBA career lasts just 3.7 years, already he's ensured to exceed the experience of most pro players, and certainly any ever to come from the courts of New Hampshire.

And he's got the public appearances to prove it.

"These last few weeks, it's like a combination of me coming back right when I'm doing the concert, right when I'm doing my camps, right after we won the championship, right when I'm signing a new contract - it's like everything is just happening in this two-week shot where it seems like I'm everywhere," he said. "And I have been. I'm exhausted."

[SpursFanFirst]

Thanks, Bruno! :)

[Bruno]

A Bonner interview made witha Toronto radio :
http://qml.quiettouch.com/files/radio/fan590/hotaudio/mattbonner-cs-20070713.mp3

[duncan228]

Thanks for posting.

I like him, he seems to be down to earth and more importantly he seems to understand his level of talent and his role. The ability to be a role player and put ego aside isn't common in this league of wanna be superstars.

Bonner seems to get it.