What happened to Pop?

[princesspur]

I am out of town and want to know why Pop got tossed.

All ESPN says is he was arguing.

[marini martini]

NaW, he was going for a ref! Look at the pics in the game blog! :ihit

Too funny :toast :toast

[mikejones99]

he did it on purpose to get the Spurs fired up

[marini martini]

he did it on purpose to get the Spurs fired up

Methinks, also :toast

[Brutalis]

His wife was having their 4th child, duh!

[Dex]

There was a sequence during the second quarter where Thomas got beat up under the basket without a call, then Ginobili took a couple bumps on the perimeter with still no whistle. Pop went stomping and cursing after the ref with some procreational remarks. Back-to-back Ts earned him a standing ovation and a quick exit.

Since the Spurs were looking like crap and the score was a meager 38-36 against a weak Indiana squad, it's probably a good chance Pop was also trying to send a message for his guys to get their asses in gear. They eventually seemed to come around in the second half.

[princesspur]

There was a sequence during the second quarter where Thomas got beat up under the basket without a call, then Ginobili took a couple bumps on the perimeter with still no whistle. Pop went stomping and cursing after the ref with some procreational remarks. Back-to-back Ts earned him a standing ovation and a quick exit.

Since the Spurs were looking like crap and the score was a meager 38-36 against a weak Indiana squad, it's probably a good chance Pop was also trying to send a message for his guys to get their asses in gear. They eventually seemed to come around in the second half.

Hmmm....it just doesn't seem like Pop to play that game.

Thanks for your info.

[Solid D]

Yeah, what Dex said...He went Serbian on Mark Wunderlich. Duncan drove left and missed, perhaps was fouled, then on the rebound Kurt Thomas was fouled (no call) underneath by Marquis Daniels and then when Manu ran down the loose ball in the corner, Murphy pushed Manu almost making him lose his balance o/b. Pop charged the floor while play continued. Yes during play.

Sean Elliott commented that Pop was upset with the way the Spurs were playing (38-36 at the time). I agree that it seemed like Pop was shaking things up but Wunderlich was an excellent choice for Pop, IMO.

[Dex]

On a personal note, that sequence was awesome. Pop was so pissed off.

That ref had it comin' to him.

[mando6599]

On a personal note, that sequence was awesome. Pop was so pissed off.

That ref had it comin' to him.


Let's be honest here. Pop wanted the rest of the night off to give Coach B another chance to coach. Pop knew in the back of his mind that they're playing the Thuggets in Mile High No Oxygen arena and wanted to start packing early. Look at TD, Parker, and to some extent, Ginobili. All will be better rested due to his tirade. :)

[Whisky Dog]

I especially liked the "FUCK YOU" tirade that Pop exploded on Wunderlich

[Solid D]

Wunderlich had just called a cheapie on Duncan on a Marquis Daniels fast break the play prior. Then Wunderlich just watched 3 fouls at the other end with 3 no calls. Wunderlich is on my Bottom-3 list, so Pop had just cause, regardless of his ulterior motives to motivate the team.

[SequSpur]

poor sportsmanship....

[T Park]

I especially liked the "FUCK YOU" tirade that Pop exploded on Wunderlich


Almost as good as against the Bobcats, when he was talking about the ref to the coaches

"Hes a fucking idiot, he doesn't know shit"

:lmao

[carina_gino20]

:lol at Manu


With his angry coach headed straight for an official, San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili pulled out his best defensive moves Thursday night.

“I tried to box him out,” Ginobili said of his unsuccessful attempt to block coach Gregg Popovich, who was ejected. “I could have done better.”

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2008030624

[Solid D]

Yeah, actually Don Newman bear-hugged Pop from behind and slung him back and away from Wunderlich. Don is pretty strong. :lol

[~Sweetmelody~]

:lol at Manu



:lol

[ata]

Yeah, what Dex said...He went Serbian on Mark Wunderlich. Duncan drove left and missed, perhaps was fouled, then on the rebound Kurt Thomas was fouled (no call) underneath by Marquis Daniels and then when Manu ran down the loose ball in the corner, Murphy pushed Manu almost making him lose his balance o/b. Pop charged the floor while play continued. Yes during play.

Sean Elliott commented that Pop was upset with the way the Spurs were playing (38-36 at the time). I agree that it seemed like Pop was shaking things up but Wunderlich was an excellent choice for Pop, IMO.

Wunderlich probably understood a lot of serbian.... (just speculating)

[Budkin]

Pop is a madman sometimes.

[plugchunker]

anybody hear what the crowd was chanting after he got ejected?

[FlAVaK]

Pop just took himself out of the game to get some rest for the upcoming stretch, just like playing all starters under 30 minutes, no surprises there...
But yea, what was the crowd chanting, i couldn`t understand that too?!?

[The Truth #6]

This ejection is even funnier considering Pop's recent remarks about not worrying about the refs, especially because the supposed foul on Manu that sent Pop over the edge was hardly even a foul.

The paradox in this is that as the team was taking it easy, Pop decided to take it even easier by getting himself out of the game, yet, this move seemed to help motivate the team. However, I think the team would be familiar with Pop's tricks by now. Luckily, they still work.

[Obstructed_View]

Hmmm....it just doesn't seem like Pop to play that game.

Thanks for your info.
I'm sorry, you must have a different "Pop" in mind than I do, because the coach of the Spurs has done that as long as he's been with the team, and I only say that because I don't know for sure if he did that before he was with the team.


This ejection is even funnier considering Pop's recent remarks about not worrying about the refs, especially because the supposed foul on Manu that sent Pop over the edge was hardly even a foul.
Not worrying about the refs and not going after them when you feel like they are fucking your team are two completely different things. Pop tells Timmy to stop his whining and just play. That only works if Pop goes to bat for him. When Pop complains during every whistle or spends timeouts yelling at officials rather than talking to his team, then there's a problem.


The paradox in this is that as the team was taking it easy, Pop decided to take it even easier by getting himself out of the game, yet, this move seemed to help motivate the team. However, I think the team would be familiar with Pop's tricks by now. Luckily, they still work.You're damn right they still work. Every player knows that Pop is back in the locker room watching the game. Their chances of getting away with poor effort are zero. Would you want to have to walk into that locker room and face him? I sure wouldn't.

[ancestron]

I've been waiting for Pop to explode. Those damn refs...

[dmac]

I am out of town and want to know why Pop got tossed.

All ESPN says is he was arguing.

He had early dinner reservations, plus it was Indy...

[Pero]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs4WIeenesQ

[zepn]

Think the chant was "Ref's you suck!"

[spurastic]

It was "Ref you suck" and then cheering as Pop stormed off. I think this was just the last straw for Pop. He has to be fed up with the many fouls on Tim, Manu and Tony that the refs allows in every game and needed a make a statement to refs and NBA management in general.

[thebigchill]

Pop came close to knocking Don Newman's block off. It's gonna happen one of these days. I swear it takes real cojones(sp?) to get in Pop's way when he goes off. :ihit

[50 cent]

Tony was smiling when they took the timeout after Pop got tossed.

[carina_gino20]

Tony was smiling when they took the timeout after Pop got tossed.

yeah, it was funny because the guys on the bench, and even Coach Bud, were smiling after Pop got tossed. :lol They probably tired of Pop's 'trick' already, but I'm glad it still worked.