As did many people on planet earth last night, I got all of Shaq's congratulatory tweets to Kobe and the rest of the Lakers. It reminded me that the Kobe v Shaq feaud's path to peace evidentally started with a conversation between Shaq and Bill Russell. I wish I could find more on the specifics of that conversation. To me it seems emblematic of the influence Russell still has on the game of basketball.
Another example, I didn't see much made of this on the National level, but this is an absolutely fascinating (if way too short) conversation between Tim Duncan and Bill Russell from earlier this year:
So short. Maybe they started making out, and this is all they can show.
But seriously, there's a pretty broad understanding about the ills of modern day professional sports. But sports are also frequently a venue for dignity, respect, and love in a world (specifically the telivised world) in which those qualities can seem terribly rare.
And now for a paid advertisement from the Griddleman:
1 comment:
Great to see the new blog posts! I'm glad you are back at it again. My Spurs followership is now complete.
Sentimentally it is hard for me to see Bowen go. I have always thought he put a widely underacknoledged stamp on the identity of the squad that won the last three Spurs championships. Those teams were about defense, for which Bowen's furious lock down perimeter play was the keystone. That he was never awarded NBA Defensive Player of the Year is truly unfortunate. He should have carried the honor multiple times. Though he was often seen as a liability on the other end of the floor, so much of the San Antonio offense was about kicking out to a three point shooter after either drawing a double team on Tim, or Tony or Manu slashing and collapsing the lane. Many of those kick outs went to Bruce for the splash. Sure he wasn't a face up scorer, but he wasn't called upon to be. He was irreplaceable on Defense and played his roll well on offense, which often was simply maintaining the threat of three point shooting to stretch the defenders. And in his day there were few three point shooters in the NBA more threatening than Bruce from the corner. Effective and reliable, Bowen was also dependably durable. With a style of play that relied upon athleticism and unyielding tenacity he held his starting position on one of the league's best teams until the age of 37, and also holds the record for most consecutive games started by a Spur ever (a streak several full seasons long that ended in suspension, not injury.) Now 38, an old fogey by professional sports standards, I admit the value Bruce brought to the floor a mere 18 months ago has sharply diminished. There is even talk of Milwakee waving him. So who knows, he may even end up wearing a Spurs uniform again. But quite possibly not, and even so, he would certainly log even fewer minutes than he did this year. So farewell, Bruce. Wherever you go you will always be a Spur to me. I will consider your last great contribution to the team to be that you were part of an incredibly lopsided trade benefiting the Spurs.
On that note I do like the trade. Richard Jefferson could be just the shot in the arm this team needs. I am undecided on DeJuan Blair. I hope he helps us and if people seem to think he is a good pick for the team, that's good. I have just never been able to really appreciate players who make pushing and shoving and weighing more than everyone else a major part of their game. If someone can straighten me out on this Blair fellow, please do.
Get healthy, Manu. It's going to be a great year for the silver and black, and a great year for Odd Years!
Post a Comment