Pounding The Rock: FanPosts

I didn't tell you so just yet, but........

bones — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:33:39 -0000

Saw that Avery Johnson attended the Spurs camp a few days ago......I stayed quiet on it for a few days to see if anyone on PtR would cover it, but since you all haven't, I gotta step in.

I took a lot of guff on here for suggesting that Avery Johnson will one day replace Pop. However, please note that Step One in the process is now complete. For the record, I'm OK with it - and I'm even trying to work my way into actually wanting this to happen.

Avery went away and cut his teetch with another team , had a measure of success and I'm sure he learned a lot about what not to do in Dallas. This will only serve us well down the road. Pop won't live forever and it has to be somebody right? Why not Avery Johnson as opposed to anyone else that it out there?

The Story from mysa.com

Sketch: Tim Duncan

carina_gino20 — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:15:34 -0000

Here's a sketch to celebrate the resurrection of the Spurs. We really have to win the championship this season/next year. Four months without the Spurs...we all go crazy. When I found out that Sept 29 was media day, it felt like a silver-and-black Christmas for me.haha.

Anyway, I finished this new sketch a couple of days ago. The original pic was taken during the ceremony at Wake Forest when Timmy was inducted to their Hall of Fame.

via i182.photobucket.com

A must read ESPN Spurs preview

bren — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:57:55 -0000

A really in depth look at the Spurs 07-08 performance and their 08-09 preview.

He pretty much sums up 07-08 like we all noticed, they got off to a hot start, were somewhat propelled by the "Rodeo Trip" but not as much in the past, and in both the regular and post season they squandered second half leads and were generally inefficient with the ball. However, his use of statistics shows the Spurs are still a top defensive team.

Onto the preview:

He cites our biggest strength as Interior scoring and our biggest weakness.....drumroll.....

Biggest Weakness: Age

Taken individually, it doesn't seem so horrible that Ginobili and Udoka are 31, or that Mason is 29, for instance. It's when you start piling up the cumulative impact of all their ages that it really sinks in. Bowen is 37, Finley and Thomas are 35, Fabricio Oberto and Jacque Vaughnare 33 and Duncan is 32. Yeesh.

In particular, the age of the wing players has to be a concern. San Antonio's top four wing players are 31 and older, and while they've taken exceptional care of their bodies, history tells us that the only direction they can surprise us in is down.

Up front, they at least have size and smarts to fall back on, but the age of the top three is a worry too. Ian Mahinmi, a 2005 first-rounder, is the one flicker of youth in that group; he comes off a strong D-League season and will try to win a role as the fourth big man. Unfortunately, San Antonio's frontcourt succession plans got a little messed up when 2007 first-rounder Tiago Splitter decided to stay in Europe; he would have provided an inexpensive, quality young center, but couldn't take the pay cut dictated by the league's rookie salary scale.

He predicts a 47-35 season, 3rd in the division, 5th in the conference.....ouch.

But he echoes what we've all been saying, no scoring outside of the big three and age increasingly playing a factor, particularly on the wings, which makes the Draft and subsequent Free Agency all the more perplexing. Im fine if they didnt find anything particularly appealing in the market and want to save up to make a run at Bosh, Gordon, Wade etc. But to waste a first round draft pick on a third string PG is really a head scratcher.

This World We Live In. Pt.1 of a new weekly series! (Old People, Mechanized Death, and Letters to God inside!)

scrappy-doo — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:31:24 -0000

Hi there, dudes and dudettes. Justin here, also affectionately known (or perhaps obnoxiously known) as Scrappy Doo. I wanted to try a sociopolitical experiment, seeing as how this is an election year. There's a lot of stuff going on in the world (the world we live in.... shameless plug...)and I felt it would fun for everyone (but mostly fun for me) to make fun of them. I'll go on ahead and dive into my tangent (as well as try and stop using so many parentheses...)

Well, I have to admit that recently I've been waking up a lot earlier than I normally do. The demands of one leading a double life as a part time student/full time comic book auteur aren't quite as strenuous as you might think. To compensate my newfound proclivities to wake with the rest of the nation, I've made a pact with myself to try and stay better informed with what's happening in this world that I'm pretty sure I take for granted most of the time. I got myself a subscription to the Wall Street Journal, and I have to say that if half of the things they say in that rag are true, then we all need to get real jobs. I don't think PTR is a tax write off...

I've also been watching the news. A first, when you consider that doing so carries an opportunity cost of less FUEL TV...

DID YOU KNOW:

On the news this morn, states across the southern spread of the US (read: Dirty South) have been considering certain provisions in order to cope with the increasing scarcity of gas in the area. One of these options is to set aside a predetermined ration for the elderly.

FOR. THE. ELDERLY.

Now, I don't know about you guys, but when I heard this (and I watched for a full hour, so I heard it twice, for posterity) I had to approach it with more than a little skepticism. After all, if the news anchor (who was hot) is referring to the same citizen class of driving elders of which we all live in fear, then I feel like we may have a serious problem on our hands. Generally, the way to combat an ever increasing scourge of Oldsters behind the wheel is to not provide them with the ability to go anywhere they want. Rather than doing this, local governments around the area have decided to effectively turn our grandparents into rolling explosive devices.

They might as well be giving Asian women free hood spikes with every fill up.

Now I realize that I may be reaching just a tad here. After all, it's not like this is the worst idea ever (even though it just might be...). I have to admit that I can't seem to find the bright side of this, though. I mean, I'm sure we've all had automotive run-ins with senior citizens before. I for one, refuse to drive anywhere if my Gram Gram is behind the wheel. The way she drives her tiny Lexus evokes memories of watching Grave Digger and Bigfoot tearing apart cars on TNN's "Monster Jam" as a child. It's seriously that bad. Now, I have to live in fear of the fact that government in her area is apparently willing to trade what may amount to human life so Gram Gram can drive herself to church. Does God approve of this seemingly ironical trade-off? We should ask Him, seeing as how local lawmakers have apparently decided to forego their right to do so.

In the end, I suppose that it's best to avoid tinfoil hat paranoia and not live in fear of being run down by a visually impaired geriatric with a full tank of (extremely flammable) petrol, but I just can't shake the spider sense that this isn't exactly what our country needs. We're already a nation that has become overly dependent on oil, and I have to look down the road a bit and take notice that this won't help to break our addiction. After all, the best way to defend ourselves against this newest domestic threat is to armor ourselves in our own vehicles (vehicles that take gas!) in hopes that their own metal will shield us from obliteration via geezer metal (when I say "geezer metal", I mean old people in cars, and not Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler...).

Hey! Whaddya know? CHRISTINE is on TV! Great... Grrrreeeaaaaat...

Hot Damn, Fire Up Your Engines. It's The Preseason.

AusTechSpur — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 02:41:23 -0000

The San Antonio Spurs opened up training camp today, and I have something to say. Actually, I have a lot to say. In fact, I have so much to say that my head is a big jumble of thoughts that keep banging around so ferociously that I have no coherent thoughts.

Lucky for you, I deal with this everyday. So, I will push on.

Tonight's word: accountability. Why accountability? Well, because I get tired of people not stating what they believe in, but bad-mouthing everything the way it is. I get tired of people being critical without having an idea for making things better.

What am I talking about? Well, I'm talking about a new series of FanPosts for this year. It's called, "Putting Your Pride Where Your Mouth Is" [update: I changed this to Put Your Pride Where Your Mouth-IS. I didn't like Put Your Words Where Your Mouth Is from the beginning but couldn't think of anything else at the time].

I want to solicit opinions on what you think the Spurs season will be like? What do you expect from the players? What do you expect from the coaches? Why? Because I want to hold you accountable.

For instance, DennardC says the Spurs "will be lucky to win 50 games this year". I say, "really". But, I'm not one to say DennardC is a nut. I'm not one to even argue with him. It's an opinion. He has the right to it. And, hey, he has some legitimate points. On the other hand, if the Spurs win 56 games, I want DennardC to say, "Damn. I was wrong. We were better than I thought." Or lucky, in this case. Whatever. But, DennardC doesn't get to say, "Man, I can't believe we didn't win it all this year." He also doesn't get to say, "Pop sucks. This team should be much better."

Why can't he say this last one you ask? Because he didn't expect this team to win and Pop sucking wasn't one of the reasons he stated for thinking the team would fall short of 50 wins. They were age, Manu's ankle, curious draft choices, and sub-par free agency. As well as a better West. Those first four were Bren's points. All valid points, by the way.

Ok, so, let's fire up the PYPWYM-IS machine . This first one is easy and doesn't require you get out on much of a limb.

Who do you think will make the Spurs roster coming out of training camp? And why? 13 guys have guaranteed contracts, and thus, are pretty much guaranteed to be on the roster barring trades. Tim, Tony, Manu, Fab, Bruce. KT, Ime, FinDog, The JV, Ian, Bon-Bon, George, The Mason

The Spurs can keep up to 2 more, but are not required to. In competition for the last spots are (profile links are to DraftExpress):

Devin Green - profile
Desmon Farmer - profile
Anthony Tolliver - profile
Salim Stoudamire - profile
Darryl Watkins - profile

PS - I didn't intend to pick on DennardC. He just happened to write something today where I thought, "Nope. I don't agree with that one."

PS2 - Did you notice I wrote an entire post without taking a potshot at SiMA? It was hard I tell you.

PS3 - Tomasito, I ate at Thai Village tonight. The atmosphere is terrible. It's such a dingy place. But the food is good. I had the fried chicken breast with fried plantains and my wife had the Noodles #2: noodles in a brown gravy with shrimp, asparagus, and spinach. I still need to go back and have a curry dish before I give my final rating. Did you know that spot used to be a terrible Italian buffet?

PS4 - What happened to Powell and Stampler? First, before I berate them, I hope they are healthy and busy and not dealing with traumatic shit. Second, WTF? There's no OFF in offseason you lazy m10rs.

PS5 - My wife tells me that using two spaces after a period is old school or something, and that one space is the way to go. Scrappy, is this true? When did this happen?

Poll

Which players with non-guaranteed contracts do you think will make the Spurs opening day roster? (Hm, it doesn't seem that this polling widget allows more than one choice. So, you only get to pick one). Also, please discuss why you think they will make.

A great start to our big man rotation

znimrod — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:31:50 -0000

So it appears that our young blood on the front line (Mahinmi) is going to miss all of training camp with a sprained ankle. This bodes well for his development and what he will be able to bring to the floor this season. Pop said he was planning on playing him 35 minutes a game during the preseason, so now that's out the window. Who knows how much he'll be able to contribute and play this season because of this. I don't know, maybe a miracle will happen, and one of the other "young bloods" will show some promise. And it will most likely be Curious George - all signs point to him; big bright neon yellow signs.

Marquise Walker: How a Child Phenom Became His Father’s Greatest Attempt At Redemptive Success.

scrappy-doo — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:04:48 -0000

This is an article I wrote for www.socalsportshub.com. I'm unusually proud of it, so I'm going on a self promotional rampage right now. Besides, I like you's guys more than I like that site, so I'm just bring the product straight to you. Hope y'all can generate some good controversy out of it. Have at it.

I’m not a huge television watcher. For a sports fan, that’s definitely a weird paradox. Even when my Spurs or Cowboys are playing, I’ll often be found doing something besides watching them on TV. About the only time you’ll ever catch me watching any TV is late at night, when I catch the dregs of that day’s Sportscenter. One of the benefits (or detriments?) of my subdued television habits is that I can usually avoid being part of the outcry at whatever current event is sparking nationwide chagrin. This definitely comes in handy during an election year, as I am notoriously apolitical, and couldn’t care less about who said what or what have you. Still, even I can find it in me to get worked up over something getting beamed over the boob tube every now and again. Who knew that this time it would be an eight year old kid?

Marquise Walker is good at basketball. That much is obvious after even the most casual of glances. During one of my nocturnal ESPN sessions, I was fortunate enough to catch the Outside The Lines feature about him.Being no stranger to child prodigies (I actually was one… I had a twelfth grade reading level in second grade), I looked at Marquise as objectively as possible. What bothered me the most about Marquise’s obviously high level of talent was the fact that I immediately noticed something under the surface of the entire thing. I’m not taking too much stock in my detective work because the segment possessed the subtlety of a jackhammer, but I was quite disturbed by what I was seeing. It follows an unfortunate trend that has become increasingly prevalent throughout my short life.

Marquise Walker is a product. At eight years old, young Walker is already being advertised as the proverbial “next big thing”. Never mind the fact that there about thirty of these during any given period of time, because that really isn’t the underlying rub. The fact that his dear old dad is the one propagating Marquise is. Chikosi Walker isn’t necessarily in the wrong for wanting the best for his son. That is what parents do. But there is a fine line between wanting the best for your children, and living vicariously through them. Early on during the segment, Chikosi talks about noticing Marquise dribbling a kickball when he was two. Starting by having Marquise only dribble to the count of three, Chikosi smiles when recalling how soon it was that he could no longer keep up with his budding money tree. This is where I immediately sensed that something was off about the whole thing. When Chikosi remarked that “I might have something special on my hands”, he says it like a fisherman who just hooked a monster bass. He says it like someone who saw a kid dribbling sacks of money instead of a raggedy kickball.

Before long, Chikosi had met the acquaintance of Lamont Peterson, a basketball trainer who works with college level prospects. The operating words here would be “college level”, an age that would seem to be decidedly above eight. Peterson evidently saw an opportunity to jump onboard Chikosi’s money train and encouraged him to promote his son onYOUTUBE… Before long, Chikosi and Lamont’s viral campaign had plastered Marquise’s young face and skill set all over the internet, under the banner “The Nation’s Top Kindergarten Prospect”. When Chikosi says this on the segment, he gets a gleam in his eye like Scrooge McDuck used to on Duck Tales. It really is about as disturbing a thing I’ve seen in recent memory.

The marketing plan was a simple one. Chikosi would pose his son with top level NBA talent, and have them testify that he was indeed the real deal. The are videos of him with Luther Head, Lebron James, and several other players. The link between each of these videos is telling. Each of these NBA stars has a look on their face that screams about how they have better things to do than shill for some kid. The whole thing just speaks to how much of a scheme this is for Chikosi. He isn’t the only one.

When I was younger, I grew up down the street from a group of brothers who played sports (any sport…) with a tenacity that was discomforting to the other kids in the neighborhood. Two hand touch was never just two hand touch when you played with these kids. They played not just to win, but to mentally scar you with a lasting image of how badly they beat you. I had the good “fortune” of playing Little League with the oldest, and my younger brother played flag football with the younger two. That was when I got a glimpse of the brains of the operation. I had never seen two parents so into what their kids were playing. During timeouts or between innings, BOTH parents would seek out their demon brood and give them pep talks separate from the rest of the team. They wanted their kids to receive the notes that THEY had been taking about the opposition. “The shortstop plays close to the bag, so hit it to the gap.” They would say to their son, as the rest of the team thought about what sno-cones we might get at the end of the game. “The next time you get the ball, you stick behind the guard until you can break free.” It was disgusting. These parents (both of whom had an extreme Napoleon Complex) made no qualms about their desire for their own clan’s success. Their kid’s were going to be stars at NOTRE DAME! STARS!!!!! They were, to be blunt, THOSE parents.

As the segment rolled on, Lamont remarked at how Marquise had become credible upon hearing that Chikosi had footage of Marquise with a Lebron James that couldn’t have looked more disinterested and fake about the whole situation. The used car salesman smile is too telling. Still, Marquise was “credible”. The way Lamont said this was enough to make the viewer think that mass production of Marquise Walker Nikes was imminent. I should probably use this time to reiterate that the child is only eight years old.

Perhaps this is what alarmed me so much about watching Chikosi beam about young Marquise. He had already, in effect, proclaimed his son to be bigger than the game, another epidemic plaguing sports as a whole. We see it everywhere we go. On MTV Cribs, in video games and movies. Everywhere. Sports have become the new American Dream. Sports aren’t just a game, no matter how old you are. Sports=Money, Fame, and Status. This was something that was evident when I was a child playing with the All Star Bros, and it’s evident when you listen to Chikosi speak about his son. I’m suspicious as to whether or not attempts have been made to change Marquise’s name to “Meal Ticket”. This whole situation is bad for so many people, in so many ways. Hearing an eight year old child say that his goal is to “get to the NBA, and just make money” is a sickening thing to hear. When I was eight, I was worried about whether or not I’d be getting Street Fighter II for Christmas. I can count on exactly NO fingers the times I was pressured as a toddler to make an NBA roster. This current attitude has set a bad precedent, and Chikosi Walker is perhaps the culmination of it all.

Chikosi answers statements from the lone detractor in the segment with a conviction that holds as much water as a hula hoop. He falters and stutters while assuring the cameras that he would rather his child deal with the pressure of playing basketball well, than have to deal with the pressure of not having a life, an opportunity. Instead of making excuses though, he should’ve realized early on that basketball should have been merely a gateway, an enabler, to that opportunity. Chikosi neglected to mention to his son that basketball could be one of MANY ways that he might get into a college, at which success would give him the opportunity to do ANYTHING he wanted. Instead, he put the blinders on his child and told him essentially that basketball was the only way out. Wrong. Very wrong.

In asserting to Marquise that basketball was his lone shot, Chikosi set the prospect of failure into his unknowing child’s mind. He also placed him into a sweepstakes where the odds are ludicrously against him. What will happen if Marquise focuses so much on basketball that his academics fall far behind? What if he injures himself badly in high school? What if he peaks at to early an age? What if he just plain doesn’t grow? There are too many uncertainties and pratfalls to put all of your eggs into the basketball basket, and Chikosi managed to conveniently ignore that while he had dollar signs in his eyes.

Though I am not a parent, I have a hard time believing that I will want things this way for my child when I do become one. Like I said in the beginning, EVERY parent worth his or her salt wants the best for their child. That said, there is a right as well as a very wrong way to insure that they achieve their goals. One way to go about insuring their well being is to make sure that their goals are not YOUR goals in secret (or in Chikosi’s case, not so secret). It is not the parents’ job to force their child down a path by disguising and twisting their own attempts at redemptive success as a child’s “love” for that one thing. Who loves basketball more, Marquise? Or Chikosi?

I sincerely hope that Marquise does indeed make it to the NBA, because for how it looks now, his father might have done him the ultimate disservice by taking away the one thing each parent does give their children, a chance to do anything…

Ziller lists Manu as #12 on his list

ForeignFlopper — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:50:32 -0000

Fanhouse

Tom Ziller of Fanhouse has been ranking his 50 best players. Tony was # 25. Manu's #12. Where'll see Timmy falls. y guess is Timmy will be #4 or #5 on his list. If he falls below #7 (or KG) then he got hosed.

Personally, I agree with what he has to say about both Manu and Tony (especially Manu's efficiency on offense). And (thankfully) he says almost nothing about flopping. It's such a cop-out when people use flopping as an arguement against Manu's greatness.

Spurs sign Salim Stoudamire

pollackj — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 06:04:35 -0000

[Mgmnt note: This is from the FanPosts. Thought I'd do a bit of a SBNation big-brother act at PtR, and get something about this signing on the front page. -bb]

Apparently, Damon Stoudamire's stint with the Spurs was not painful enough. Now we get another vertically challenged ball hog to sit at the end of our bench. Woo hoo!! This has been the best off season ever!

I wish that people paid attention to the FanShots. Then I could post this there instead of in the FanPosts section, with it's stupid 75 word minimum.

Spurs in NBA 2k9

r21x — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 03:34:33 -0000

For the handful of you that play video games that happen to simulate NBA basketball here are some ratings by the people at 2k sports.

via img.photobucket.com

No George Hill because he didn't sign a contract yet. However Robert Horry is there and he signed no contract either. So clearly George Hill is no good to 2k sports and they gave him the shaft. Also Roger Mason's video game counterpart sucks. Kurt Thomas is the Spurs fourth best player. How sad.

And now for something completely different...

Hipuks — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 12:00:22 -0000

This has absolutely nothing to do with the Spurs. Just getting that out of the way. Anyway, since the offseason has been pretty slow. I figures I'd put a pic of some of my fish tanks. Because what can be more exciting than the dangerous and extreme world of freshwater fishkeeping?

My 20 gallon tank. Those all natural plants. Just as with boobs, there's really no comparison between the real thing and silicone.

via i218.photobucket.com

This is a Bamboo Shrimp. This guys is a fervent believer, praying to the FSM for food in this picture.

via i218.photobucket.com

Male adult Platy. I had to take all the females out because they were breeding like crazy, so this guy must be going out of his mind.

via i218.photobucket.com

My 10G tank. The driftwood in the middle is a little phallic looking. No I'm not gay. No I don't have anything against gays, in my state CA they can marry.

via i218.photobucket.com

Neon Tetras with some Ghost Shrimp in the picture. Neons are pretty flashy, if they were humans, they'd probably drive Escalades with spinning chrome rims.

via i218.photobucket.com

Female Betta. If she were a human, she'd probably be the chick at high school who asks, Why are you so weird? Before returning her attention to her glittery nails. No I don't have issues.

via i218.photobucket.com

Well, that's all. I think I just destroyed whatever shred of respect I had in this site.

Oh, and yes. I do have a girlfriend. I met her on a fish forum. I'm not even kidding

Sketch: Mr. Longoria

carina_gino20 — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 16:01:41 -0000

Here's my latest sketch. I tried to do a better job with the shading to make it more realistic. It's still a bit off. I'm still too lazy to really make an effort to perfect the shading. But what the heck. I'll just post it as it is.

xx x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xx x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

via img206.imageshack.us

Not Spurs Related, but Austin is Cool!

AusTechSpur — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 04:31:09 -0000

In no particular order, some Austin things I enjoy:

Madras Pavilion: vegetarian Indian food. Get the ~$15 special. It's a lot of food and a great variety. Bonus: the crazy decor. I particularly like the giant gold 'MP' like from a bank in a strip mall dive restaurant.

Foodheads: Tasty-ass sandwiches near campus. Bonus: The blue-eyed brunette coed who may be the most beautiful woman I have seen in person. Not smoking hot in a Hollywood way. Just beautiful.

Ruby's BBQ: The first all-natural BBQ in Texas. Bonus: their chopped beef sandwich is tasty and HOT!!

Continental Club: the place is the shit. Best place to see a band you have no business seeing in a club that small. I saw Raul Malo and the Mavericks, both, within a month there. Bonus: One of the bartenders is an Amazon blonde surfer looking girl. Absolutely gorgeous, about 6 ft tall, and one whole arm is a tattoo. It just throws you.

The Hike and Bike Trail: tons of people exercising. Bonus: tons of people exercising in exercise clothes.

ACL Festival: It's just awesome. Great bands for 3 days. Bonus: I wear skin tight Underarmor and a fanny pack. Look for me.

Asti & Fino: They are owned by the same couple. Asti is great Italian food and Fino is a great date place. Bonus: The Fino Dessert Cocktail. I can't recommend this enough. It is a chocolate liqueur martini with a shot of espresso and an orange rind. Off the charts.

Live Oak Beer: A local brewery who only sells in the keg. It is unpasteurized beer. The Big Bark and Pilsner are awesome fucking beers. Bonus: You can get it at Junior's. Yeah, Junior's baby.

Chuy's: It's an Austin restaurant that has gotten too big for its britches. Bonus(the only reason I put it on the list): Their Green Chile Stew. It is a top 5 meal. Make sure to let the waitperson know that you get a salad with it. They usually don't know.

Guero's: Consistent, decent Mexican food on South Congress. Bonus: Christy. A sassy transvestite waitperson. Love him/her and the training bra boobs.

Threadgill's: Not for the food, which is decent Southern cooking. I worked there, the REAL store on North Lamar, for about 6 years. But for the Live Music they had on Wednesday's. It's an institution. Janis Joplin started singing there. You can eat fried Chicken Livers or grilled Liver & Onions. Eddie Wilson, the owner, is an Austin icon and a strange dude. He and I had an interesting relationship. Not sure if we liked each other or not, but we benefited from each other. Bonus: I once had this exchange with Peter Frampton. Me: "You have a phone call". Peter: "How do you know it is for me"? Me: "Well, I assume you are the only Peter Frampton in the restaurant". Peter: "Good point". I also waited on Dennis Hopper. What a nut!

Dot's: Holy shit. The best soul food you can get in Austin. Or, at least, it used to be until her building burned down. The wife says the new place in Pflugerville (the 'p' is silent) isn't as good. But the place on Howard Ln served up some serious meat loaf, fried catfish, and red beans & rice. Bonus: (I hope you guys remember my post about "what is black culture"). I had always read and heard about soul food and soul food restaurants. I had just never been to one and didn't really know what soul food was. So I asked a black co-worker, a wonderful woman names Ursula, what soul food was. She said, "You see Wayne, soul food is a type of food traditionally eaten by black people in the South". I started laughing and said, "I know that, I just want to know what kinds of food it is". As it turns out, it is mostly what I grew up eating. Who knew?

The 360 bridge: It's a bridge. Yeah, but it is kind of cool looking. Bonus: About 15 years ago me and some buddies got drunk, went up to the hill on the NW side of the bridge and I hurled rocks atoncoming traffic. Lame really, when you consider that my wife got drunk and jumped off it in high school. She said her feet hurt.

Antone's: An old school blues bar that has lost it's old school-ness. When I first moved to Austin it was great. It was an old dive on Guadalupe just north of campus. Bonus: An old co-worker of mine saw Stevie Ray Vaughn there back in the early 80's. He said that the show ended and he was hanging out at closing time drinking a beer when Stevie came out. There were about 10 people in the club. Stevie sat down on the edge of the stage, everybody pulled up a chair, and he just played. Double Bonus: My wife used to wait on Clifford Antone at Threadgill's. Clifford was the owner of Antone's and it just hasn't been the same since he died. He used to come in to Threadgill's and ask for "my waitress" meaning my wife. He'd order a double Meat Loaf. If you ever went to Threadgill's in the 90's you know that a "double" anything is an enormous meal.

The Lower Deck: Going through downtown Austin I-35 splits into an upper deck and a lower deck. Each is two lanes. The lower deck is the scariest shooting gallery you have ever driven through. The entrance ramps have about a 50' "get up to speed" length. Both sides are concrete with no shoulder. Bonus: The stretch of I-35 from Georgetown to San Antonio now forbids trucks to drive in the left lane. That means that all semis have to be in the right lane through the lower deck. Fantastic!

Deep Eddy: Barton Springs gets the publicity, but I like Deep Eddy for swimming. Bonus: It used to be called Eilers Park (I think) and have a big Ferris Wheel. Speaking of Ferris Wheel, the Ferris Wheel debuted during the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893. It was MUCH, MUCH more massive than what you and I think of as a Ferris Wheel. On the original, each car held something like 20 people and a bar. You should read "The Devil and The White City". It's pretty fucking creepy, but a good book.

Dead music venues: A lot of great music venues have come and gone in Austin. Two I managed to visit before they died or changed are Liberty Lunch and Palmer Auditorium. I saw the Neville Brothers at Liberty Lunch in about 90. I saw the Cult at Palmer in '87. Some unknown band named Guns N Roses opened for them and they sucked.

Crazy growth: The city has gotten big, fast. My wife grew up here and is stunned at the size sometimes. A friend of ours got married to a guy who went to UT in the early 80's and has lived in Hawaii for 20 years. He said he used to go up Lamar to 183. Take a left and go out of town and go swimming in these old quarries in the middle of nowhere. Those are the quarries at Braker and 183. Bonus: My old neighbor was a retired military guy. We lived on Jeff Davis which is just east of Burnet and just south of Koenig. He grew up farming the land between Lamar and Burent south of Koenig.

Maria's Taco Express: Great tacos, great price, sunday gospel. Bonus: A GREAT bean and cheese taco.

Ok, Tomasito. What do you have?

Sketch: Manu Ginobili

carina_gino20 — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 03:06:18 -0000

Here's my latest sketch, copied from a 2006 FIBA WC photo.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

via img162.imageshack.us

State of THE ankle

carina_gino20 — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 03:48:30 -0000

Manu posted this in his forum yesterday. At first I thought he was just joking, but I saw the watermark so it really is his ankle.

He's been visiting his forum quite often these days. Said he's got a lineup of movies to watch during his rehab. His latest recommendation is Gone, Baby, Gone. And apparently, he still staunchly refuses to buy a Mac.

*** Click on the pictures to enlarge them ***

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

via img526.imageshack.us

Viscous Damping

Matthew Powell — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 04:32:11 -0000

When I look in the mirror, I can't believe what I see.

Tell me, who's that funky dude, staring back at me?

"Funky?" I'm the least funky person you know, Rivers. I'm 31, bald, plainly-bearded, divorced, have a M.S. in structural engineering from Berkeley and just started pharmacy school at UT-Austin. I am as funkless as I am (occasionally) feckless. I am the anti-funk. Though I do have a suede couch. Holla.

Broken, beaten down can't even get around
Without an old-man cane, I fall and hit the ground

Oh piss the hell off, Rivers. I'm just sore from playing flag football. Yeah, I know, yesterday I had trouble walking at a brisk pace. All that sprinting messed up my "I'm-used-to-running-at-moderate-to-slow-speeds-for-long-periods-of-time" leg muscles. And yes, I nearly ripped my both of my big toenails off due to cleats that were a half-size too small and toenails that I guess needed trimming. And yes, I'm older than all but 2 of the 125 people in my class, but I don't walk with a cane. So blow me.

Excuse the bitchin, I shouldn't complain
I should have no feeling, 'cause feeling is pain

I'll hand it to you, Rivers, you got this part right. I shouldn't complain. My life is easy. But I don't think I bitch all that much, except to my therapist. But I pay him, so that's different. God, I would kill for some rigatoni right now. You ever feel that way, Rivers? Like you would kill for pasta?

Everything I need, is denied me
And everything i want, is taken away from me
But who do I got to blame? Nobody but me

Speaking of my therapist, have you been talking to him? 'Cause I do blame myself for everything. Right again, old chap.

…And I don't wanna be an old man anymore
It's been a year or two since I was out on the floor

ok, you lost me hear. I don't dance. I've never danced. Once, at the eighth grade dance, I did a single jumping jack on the dance floor as a joke. And that fucker Jimmy Redacted never let me live it down. Cocksucker, that one. That and the fact my upper and lower extremities are separated by a derhythmatized zone have rendered me danceless. And you know this, Rivers. You know this.

Shakin' booty, makin' sweet love all the night
It's time I got back to the Good Life

Dude, whatever. Even if I ever did or could, you know I am not the type of guy to talk about it.

It's time i got back, it's time i got back
And I don't even know how I got off the track

Actually, I do know how I got off track. I'm in therapy, remember? We talk about these things. Maybe you should stick to writing songs about yourself. And maybe it was more like 3 jumping jacks, but he still could have let it go.

I wanna go back…Yeah!

Everyone wants to go back. Everyone. You sing it like it's a weakness in me. If you don't want to go back it means you've never been any place worth staying, and that's much more damning that pining for the past. I miss a little bit of many times of my life. You wouldn't know which parts I'm talking about because you never really listen. You're too busy writing the same song over and over again. ok. I'm sorry Rivers. That was mean.

Screw this crap, I've had it! (I've had it!) I ain't no Mr. Cool.

Yes! You got that God damn right, Rivers. I ain't no Mr. Cool. Who gives a shit? Right now I don't. Some time tomorrow I will. Multitudes and such. One day I'll get to Whitman, I promise. And Hemingway. I've never read Hemingway. I know!

I'm a pig, I'm a dog, so 'scuse me if I drool

What? A pig? You're just fucking with me, right?

I ain't gonna hurt nobody, ain't gonna 'cause a scene

Yeah, I'm not too fond of hurting people. It's under the false pretense that if I never hurt any one then I will never get hurt. Turns out this isn't true. So it goes. And yes, I've read that one, Rivers. God, you are such a condescending prick sometimes.

I just need to admit that I want sugar in my tea.
Hear me! Hear me! I want sugar in my tea!

Wait, what? Could you know think of another word that rhymes with "scene?" What about "I just need to admit that I have a crush on Charlie Sheen." Or "I wear Maybelline." Or "boop boop boo boo weeee!" And you drink green tea, anyways. Who puts sugar in green tea? Oh wait, this is about me... I forgot. But I don't drink tea. Never have. That shit is the gross.

Manu: This time I’ll start -10, but I am calm

carina_gino20 — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 05:46:40 -0000

By Manu www.manuginobili.com
Translation by urunobili

Truth is I am surprised of how I have reacted so far. I have always been hyperactive and after my first surgery and my first cast, I have to act very different of how I really am. I have prepared myself mentally to behave on a patient way. It’s been already 4 days without leaving my house and so far I am having a good time. My wife, as always, gives me a great hand to make everything work.

I don’t know if there are any details I could share about the operation that you don’t know already. It was an arthroscopy. They did several cuts from where a camera, light and whatever they need get in to clean and correct things. Despite the fact that it was with total anesthesia and I couldn’t see what they were doing live, they gave me a DVD and the following day I sneaked it to see how everything was done.

The thing that made me very calm was that the doctor (Richard Frenkel) told me that, apart from the injury, the ankle is fine. He told me that many times they open and they find surprises because of other problems. Luckily it wasn’t my case.

Now at home, I go over my days watching movies. All very sedentary, flat. If I have to recommend one of the movies I’ve seen, I liked “Gone baby gone”, that in Argentina was known as “Desaparecio una noche”. It is not new, but I am seeing a little bit of everything, recovering some time. The ones I don’t have on DVD I see them in some of the 200 movie channels I get on my cable service.

I also followed on TV the US Open Tennis Semi Finals and Finals. I wasn’t able to see Juan Martin Del Potro play (upcoming Argie Tennis player), because when he played with Murray I was undergoing surgery in LA.

They advised me to have lots of rest and to try to have my leg up as much as I can and that’s what I have been trying to do. When not in that position, I use the crutches and every once in a while I go to my PC to surf on the Internet.

Although I am still far from Basketball, I am following some news and player movement around the NBA of course. Mainly of the West Conference teams, where the teams I play more often reside. The most important thing is that the Clippers reinforced very well with Marcus Camby and Baron Davis, but they also had to let Elton Brand go. And Houston, that was a very important rival already, will be more powerful with Ron Artest that is a great player.

It is also having lots of attention the players leaving for Europe because of the better salaries. If you ask me if I’d go back there, the first thing I have to say is that I will always prefer to stay in San Antonio.

But one never knows what could happen. If one day I get traded and they send me to a city I don’t like or that I don’t feel comfortable here in the United States, I would think it. But that is something anyone would do. Even Kobe Bryant said that for the right amount of money he would leave the NBA.

Anyway this is all speculation and I am with the rehab “chip” to recover soon. Normally I would have started training by the end of the month, but I’ll have to go little by little. Despite I don’t feel any pain; I won’t be able to step on my foot so far. Tomorrow I’ll get the cast removed to remove the sewing material and they’ll give me a boot. I imagine that later we’ll go over some recovery exercises like pool. I won’t start from zero this time. This time I’ll start -10, but I am calm, filling myself with patience and thinking in doing things best possible to play again.

Your first Spurs game

AusTechSpur — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:29:34 -0000

DYK: We are less than a month away from preseason games.

I figured we needed a discussion starter.

When did you see your first Spurs game live? If you haven't seen a Spurs game live, what is your first Spurs memory of watching them?

I first saw a Spurs game when I was 5 or 6 back in Hemisfair somewhere in the 74-75 range. I was completely overwhelmed by the environment. I'd never been in a building that big. I had seen so many people in one place.

I really only remember two things. Being in shock at the size of everything and thinking the score was 1400-something to 1300-something. The best I can figure is that I was including timeouts in the score.

I also have this vague memory of these tiny little guys running around non-sensically below me.

Poll

What is your favorite Spurs arena?

This has nothing to do with Spurs basketball: Part 2

CMoney — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:03:26 -0000

Hey guys, my apologies for not stopping by as much as I should. Between work, fantasy football and a new woman, I've been really busy. But I did want to share this. Every year the Dallas Cowboys have a kickoff luncheon. For the past 3 years we've edited a video that plays during the luncheon. This video also plays before every home game right before kickoff. If any of you go to any Cowboy games this year, keep an eye out for it. Here you go...

Intro to luncheon video

Kick off video

The Big Lane Violation vs The Admiral

pollackj — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:06:21 -0000

Ok, obviously we all know who we would invite over for dinner, allow to watch our children, or generally be in the same room with, but the Wages of Wins people make the compelling argument that Robinson was a better center for his entire professional career than was Shaq*.

http://dberri.wordpress.com/2008/09/07/the-best-nba-center-in-my-student%E2%80%99s-life/

*Even though Shaq is technically still on a professional basketball team, he is not, currently, engaged in anything that I would call a "career" nor does he look like a "professional" "athlete."