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Sportsnation mentioned Manu's plays against the Nuggets, and Around the Horn made it their second topic.
That's fine, it's on the Daily Dime anyhow.
ESPN is looking for ratings, and the Spurs are notorious ratings killers, especially with the way that Duncan has those boring ass 20:10 games for 10 years, and how, late in the 4th quarter, Manu bends the opponent over a barrel and issues a proper rogering, with his slow, methodical FT thrusts as they look back at him from their vicarious positions.
The 4-letter still sucks, but in PTI Kornheiser says the League HATES the Spurs.
Kornheiser said,"There is something about the Spurs, even if they win 68 games, that prevents them from winning a MVP. Also, the League hates the Spurs and has hated them for years.
Wilbon,"They're too good, they're an example of everything that basketball should be, so they better not hate the Spurs."
WHOA HOLD ON!
the national sports media aren't talking about the spurs??
whatever will they do in this new, unique situation?
Spurs making news about not makin news.
Wgaf about the lebron network anyway???
It's a Chicken and Egg Conundrum. If the largest Sports Media Outlet doesn't talk about you other than disparagingly, then how are basketball fans outside San Antonio, going to learn about why this team has the best record in the league and why this team is playing basketball at all speeds, and WINNING while doing it?
When Gervin was in the league, I can tell you that when he came to play the Clippers here in San Diego, it was an event. Since San Antonio was in the Eastern Conference back then, we only got to see him once and we made sure to see him. The League did a much better job of promoting ALL teams. Nowadays, they are driven by star power but herein lies the rub. The game has gone Global, and whether we like it or not, stars from other countries have the capability to be stars here. Again, Tony Parker said it best, If this exact team was playing in New York, they would be treated like GODS.
Amen.
I also remember back when the Spurs had just joined the NBA, and Gervin was taking the NBA by storm with his prolific scoring, SI the Mag, did their very first feature on him. It was entitled "the Iceman Cometh". That exposure helped the team, as Gervin helped put the Spurs on the map. They began to draw some interest nationally.
People outside of San Antonio better recognize. The next wave of stars might not be American. They could come from another country. What will 4-letter do when the best PG in the league hails from Spain or the best C hails from The Congo or the highest scoring player is a SF from Israel? Don't think it can happen? It already is, subtly, and if the league and it's broadcasting partners (Outside of TNT) don't adjust...they're fucked.
At 1 time in the past 5 years:
The Best PF is from USVI, the 2nd Best is from Germany
The Best C is from China
The Best 6th Man is SG from Argentina
The current PG with the most rings is from France, and the best passing PG is from Canada.
It's there but because the powers that be don't support you unless you're from a top 10 Large Market, then you're in Siberia UNLESS you have perceived stars, that factor supersedes Market Size.
Morons, I hope we win another. I hope we win back to back.
WOW.....some serious overthinking going on in this thread.....who gives a flying fuck....Spurs are always under the radar
It's just a gimmick. Like they can really "ban" talking about the Spurs. It's all staged to make Skip look like a rebel for liking them. Gimme a break. He picked the Lakers in the preseason like everyone else.
I think the surprise lies in the extent of the national snub...it's one thing to simply ignore the Spurs, as the national media has always tended to do, as an inconvenient occasional hindrance to another championship for L.A., Chicago or Boston.
It's another thing entirely to actually have a policy in place which forbids someone from discussing them. The latter begins wading into the waters of the conspiratorial, instead of just another market-driven money-based decision.