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That was a great article, I was soooo happy for him last night. I kept yelling at the tv for Dan Patrick to give Fin the microphone so he could say something, but he didn't.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/c...s.3d00b7d.html
Buck Harvey: Fortunate Finley: How the karma switched for one
Web Posted: 05/31/2007 12:54 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
This was over with the first shot of the game.
Fittingly, Michael Finley took it.
A year ago, Finley summed up what happens When Things Go Wrong. He joined the defending champs expecting to win as they had, and he instead took a literal blow to highly sensitive areas. Jason Terry got him with a punch to the groin, and his former team of more than eight seasons, the Mavericks, got him with the season-ending loss.
So Wednesday night, he used the word "gratifying," and the soft smile that accompanied it said as much.
Of all the Spurs, no one appreciates what has gone right more than Finley.
Not everything has tilted the Spurs' way recently. Deron Williams, for example, didn't have the stomach flu at the same time he wore a boot on an ankle.
Phoenix also didn't go away as Dallas did. Steve Nash wasn't suspended along with Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw. And Joey Crawford didn't leave until the end of the season.
Otherwise, the Spurs have been blessed, and now the only question is this: Will it be the Cavaliers or the Pistons who lose their luggage on their way to San Antonio next week?
Just a year ago, though, the opposite happened. Tim Duncan hobbled with a sore foot when he wasn't fouling out, and Manu Ginobili wasn't the Ginobili who won Game 4 in Utah.
Then, instead of scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter to beat the Jazz, he notoriously fouled Dirk Nowitzki. The Spurs lost that Game 7 in overtime, and Gregg Popovich immediately rushed to congratulate Avery Johnson. Other Spurs, including David Robinson, followed.
Finley, instead, walked quickly toward the tunnel that leads to the team's locker room at the AT&T Center. He would eventually text message his former teammates in Dallas, but he wasn't up to congratulations that night.
Dallas had not only advanced to the conference finals, but so had two other teams that Finley could have signed with instead of the Spurs. One was Phoenix, the other was the eventual champion, Miami.
According to those in the organization, Popovich hurt over this. Finley had done everything the Spurs had asked, and Popovich felt as if they had let Finley down.
Finley didn't talk to the media the night of the loss to Dallas, but the next day, he was the only Spur who did. Then, he said he was sticking with his decision to sign with the Spurs "100 percent," and he tried to frame the disappointment.
"The ball just didn't bounce our way," he said that day. "Dallas got a lot of bounces and a lot of breaks. You have to tip your hat to them. Maybe they're destined to do something good. You never know."
You never know, all right. The Mavericks would blow a Finals lead, then collapse in the first round this year.
That created a playoff opening for the Spurs, and Finley helped create a few others. The Spurs eliminated the Nuggets, for example, when Finley threw in a franchise playoff record eight 3-pointers.
Phoenix, another team that wanted Finley, fell next. As for the suspensions: The Suns could have used a professional such as Finley in a huddle of youth.
He was solid against the Jazz, scoring in double figures in both of the first wins. He played with a sore lower back, but how could he complain? Despite his age, Finley was one of only two Spurs to play in all 82 games in the regular season.
He went 30 minutes in the Game 4 victory in Salt Lake City, and the text message communication came back the other way then. Dirk Nowitzki congratulated him.
That brought Finley to the threshold of something he'd never known before, a conference le. So it's little wonder he was the one who came out firing Wednesday. He shot and scored the game's first basket, and he followed with the next. The Spurs never trailed the rest of the way.
"I thought it was important for us to come out with a strong effort," Finley said, "to let them know we were serious."
Serious?
Anyone who saw him last year, who saw him after the loss, knew he would be.
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That was a great article, I was soooo happy for him last night. I kept yelling at the tv for Dan Patrick to give Fin the microphone so he could say something, but he didn't.
Fin has been HUGE throughout the Playoffs!
Great Article that illustrates what a selfless good sport Fin Dog is...
I'd never believe Fin turned cancerous in Dallas at the thought of giving up his spot, after reading this article. That man doesn't know the meaning of the word pout like a .
He'll choke.
I cant imagine we have a former superstar in this team for a couple of million dollars. Spurs are blessed to have acquired Fin dog
Stay classy, Whottt
whott is baiting timvp now.
yathink?
gimme the good stuff jim - Eastern Conference in 6?
If we play Cleveland, there is no way in that Horry gets his 7th ring...they have owned SA the last 2 years and Lebron owns Bruce.
Detroit will be tough, but we do have a slight chance in that series, if we can get CWeb in foul trouble, as he has always been a huge Spur killer.
I'll be classy like Fin...refuse to shake the hands of my old team because they beat me fair and square...
That's a move.
As is going to their number one rival for the vet min when they are paying him 15 million
Sorry...Finley's a ...a bitter one...he'll choke because he's more worried about himself and puts himself above the team...
He's AJ part 2.
Better hope we get up 3-1 or you won't see anything resembling clutch from him.
Edit: Why does Pop have such a soft spot for self centered pouting es like AJ, Larry Brown and Fin? He's not one himself...and his team is nothing like that...
Kick Fin's ass to the curb before he makes the rest of the team like that...
off. He got hammered in the nuts by one of those assholes, the owner was trashing him, and the Spurs had the game won, only to lose by a fluke one in a lifetime bonehead foul. I do not blame him for being a little bitter. He did text his friends on the team the next day and that showed that once he was over the shock, he did man up.....excuse him for being human.....you self rightious ass.
Amen. They treated him like , the players did, the fans did, and Cuban did. And whottt is expecting Finley to be all cool with it?
So did Drob...didn't stop him from shaking the nuthammerers hand.
And unless all those guys hammered him in the nuts...he was pouting...wishing he'd gone to a different team.
him...he's the reason we lost with all that negative karma...
Poor Manu was just the channel for it.
The owner was trashing the Spurs and the entire city of SA as well...didn't stop the rest of the team from being good sports.the owner was trashing him,
LMAO...and the Spurs had the game won, only to lose by a fluke one in a lifetime bonehead foul. I do not blame him for being a little bitter. He did text his friends on the team the next day and that showed that once he was over the shock, he did man up.....excuse him for being human.....you self rightious ass.
It's called poor sportsmanship Jim...plain and simple.
And the reason he came here was to stick it to his old team, that just so happened to be paying him a fortune, and nutride a defending champ...
You do realize that part of the reason the Mavs wanted to dump him was because he was turning cancerous at the idea of a reduced role...
I'm extremely happy for Finley, especially since he is earning it all. He isn't coming in as the 10th man in garbage time. A championship would mean a lot to every single player on the team, including the guys who haven't played a single second in the playoffs. They have put in their time in practice, and they feel whatever the team feels, but Finley is playing his heart out, hustling on defense, playing physical, and making his shots. He wants it more than anyone else on the team, and it shows.
Aw, that article made me a little teary. I'm really glad for Fin that we are headed to the Finals, and I hope they win and he gets his ring.
I want that 4th ring and 4th Finals MVP for Timmy though.
Go ahead...make exceptions for Finely....put that above the rest of the team, he does it too...that's probably why he sucked ass most of the season as well...he was still in pout mode...pissed off he was stuck in SA.
Whottt, now you're just being a .
It's all about Fin....
Why?
Because he couldn't win a le on a team with two MVP's and is getting paid 15 mil per season by the Mavs to play for us?
I just don't get heartwarming aspect of all this...
I'm not making an exception for Finley. If anyone on our team went through the same thing, I wouldn't blame them for giving their old team the cold shoulder. I can't believe you're criticizing a guy for doing something most of us would do in the same situation.
What did he go through that was so traumatic...
Picking the wrong team...defending champs?
No need to feel sorry for him....he felt sorry for himself plenty. And I do think that's why he sucked all season.
You guys act like this dude is the pope. He's not.
I hope ya'll are right...I hope he comes through...we will need him too....until that time...
This guy is the same that whined like a about Bowen...
I am sorry ya'll, Finley is a ing ...
Go ahead...I will let ya'll celebrate his ness in peace.
I am going to go pout like a no one agrees with me...please feel sorry for me. Kiss my ass a little, I'm special...thanks.
I seem to recall footage of Finley hugging Jerry Stackhouse at the end of that game. Skip ahead to the end:
http://mavericks.ning.com/video/vide...091:Video:1229
Finley's a class act through and through. Good for him to finally get his ring.
So how long have you been suffering from Tourette's?
Not all of us threw Finley under the bus. Just the 12 year old girls in pink Dirk jerseys and the cocaine and boob job crowd at the AAC. We have one of the worst home crowds in the League.
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