duncan228
05-24-2008, 01:26 AM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA052408.8D.BKNspurs.notebook.22e6e45e.html
Spurs-Lakers notebook: Popovich agrees to contract extension
By Mike Monroe
LOS ANGELES — Spurs owner Peter Holt has a handshake agreement with Gregg Popovich that will keep him coaching the Spurs through the 2011-12 season, an extension of two seasons over the deal he had when the season began.
He thinks Popovich has signed it, but isn’t certain.
“He keeps telling me he’s too busy,” Holt said Friday, before the Spurs played the Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals at Staples Center, “but I think he finally did this week. It’s all right, though, because we’ve got a handshake, and with Pop, that’s enough.”
Popovich and Holt have known all season they would work toward a contract that will keep Popovich with the club through 2012 because two-time Most Valuable Player Tim Duncan insisted on such an assurance when he signed his contract extension, also through the 2011-12 season, before the first game of the regular season.
“We’re all going to hang around until 2012,” Holt said. “We’d love to go out just like David (Robinson) did, winning another championship.”
The final game of Robinson’s great career was Game 6 of the 2003 NBA Finals, when the Spurs won their second title.
“I’m glad Pop’s deal is done,” Holt said. “It makes my life easy. I don’t see how these other guys are all smart enough to keep hiring these different coaches. I know I’m not. I sell Caterpillar tractors for a living.”
Air Cablevision: The Spurs were to fly back to San Antonio after Friday’s game on an aircraft owned by Cablevision, the telecommunications company that owns the New York Knicks and New York Rangers.
After being stranded for seven hours on a Champion Air plane with mechanical problems following a Game 7 victory over the Hornets, the Spurs asked the NBA to find them a different charter carrier.
Champion Air, which has declared bankruptcy, is ceasing operations on May 31.
At least through the rest of the Western Conference finals, the Cablevision plane will be at the team’s disposal.
“We were hoping that if we are fortunate enough to get to the Finals we’d be able to use the same plane, but we don’t know if that will happen,” Holt said. “For now, it’s ours through this series. If it turns out we have to work out something else later on, well, we’ll be happy we have to.”
The NBA, which administers the charter program most of the league’s teams use, made the arrangements for the Spurs’ use of the Cablevision plane.
Talking Cowboys: Even when he’s in the midst of trying to help the Spurs win another title, Bruce Bowen’s thoughts never stray too far from his beloved Dallas Cowboys.
Asked during Friday morning’s shootaround if he was happy about the Cowboys re-signing running back Marion Barber and cornerback Terence Newman, Bowen gushed, “Absolutely. Absolutely.
“I was a little worried about Newman because he made a statement, like, with Pacman Jones coming in maybe I need to look elsewhere,” Bowen said. “Newman is a great cover guy. I’m happy with him. I just hope he and Barber continue to have the hunger after this great reward.”
Bowen is a lifelong Cowboys fan.
When the team trained at the Alamodome last summer, he spoke to the players at coach Wade Phillips’ invitation about what it takes to be a champion.
Staff writer Tom Orsborn contributed to this report.
Spurs-Lakers notebook: Popovich agrees to contract extension
By Mike Monroe
LOS ANGELES — Spurs owner Peter Holt has a handshake agreement with Gregg Popovich that will keep him coaching the Spurs through the 2011-12 season, an extension of two seasons over the deal he had when the season began.
He thinks Popovich has signed it, but isn’t certain.
“He keeps telling me he’s too busy,” Holt said Friday, before the Spurs played the Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals at Staples Center, “but I think he finally did this week. It’s all right, though, because we’ve got a handshake, and with Pop, that’s enough.”
Popovich and Holt have known all season they would work toward a contract that will keep Popovich with the club through 2012 because two-time Most Valuable Player Tim Duncan insisted on such an assurance when he signed his contract extension, also through the 2011-12 season, before the first game of the regular season.
“We’re all going to hang around until 2012,” Holt said. “We’d love to go out just like David (Robinson) did, winning another championship.”
The final game of Robinson’s great career was Game 6 of the 2003 NBA Finals, when the Spurs won their second title.
“I’m glad Pop’s deal is done,” Holt said. “It makes my life easy. I don’t see how these other guys are all smart enough to keep hiring these different coaches. I know I’m not. I sell Caterpillar tractors for a living.”
Air Cablevision: The Spurs were to fly back to San Antonio after Friday’s game on an aircraft owned by Cablevision, the telecommunications company that owns the New York Knicks and New York Rangers.
After being stranded for seven hours on a Champion Air plane with mechanical problems following a Game 7 victory over the Hornets, the Spurs asked the NBA to find them a different charter carrier.
Champion Air, which has declared bankruptcy, is ceasing operations on May 31.
At least through the rest of the Western Conference finals, the Cablevision plane will be at the team’s disposal.
“We were hoping that if we are fortunate enough to get to the Finals we’d be able to use the same plane, but we don’t know if that will happen,” Holt said. “For now, it’s ours through this series. If it turns out we have to work out something else later on, well, we’ll be happy we have to.”
The NBA, which administers the charter program most of the league’s teams use, made the arrangements for the Spurs’ use of the Cablevision plane.
Talking Cowboys: Even when he’s in the midst of trying to help the Spurs win another title, Bruce Bowen’s thoughts never stray too far from his beloved Dallas Cowboys.
Asked during Friday morning’s shootaround if he was happy about the Cowboys re-signing running back Marion Barber and cornerback Terence Newman, Bowen gushed, “Absolutely. Absolutely.
“I was a little worried about Newman because he made a statement, like, with Pacman Jones coming in maybe I need to look elsewhere,” Bowen said. “Newman is a great cover guy. I’m happy with him. I just hope he and Barber continue to have the hunger after this great reward.”
Bowen is a lifelong Cowboys fan.
When the team trained at the Alamodome last summer, he spoke to the players at coach Wade Phillips’ invitation about what it takes to be a champion.
Staff writer Tom Orsborn contributed to this report.