Monday, June 13, 2005

I think they threw a rod

What's the deal with the Detroit Pistons? They looked simply awful in their 97-76 shellacking at the hands of the Spurs in game 2 last night. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. In between Eva Longoria blowing kisses at Tony Parker and Bruce Bowen throwing down treys, the Spurs played some truly inspired basketball. They made steals. They hit free throws (!). They shut the Pistons down completely, making them look like the worst elements of the Washington Generals and the New York Nationals combined. And seemingly anything the Spurs threw up went in the basket. Entering the fourth quarter, Manu Ginobili hadn't missed a shot--small wonder then that the crowd started chanting "M-V-P!" when Manu left the court near the end of the game.

One real annoyance, tho. I've read in the Detroit press insinuations that Ginobili isn't really any good. That he's merely a "Larry Bird," ie that if he were black, he'd be just another role-player. One article went so far as to attribute his popularity to the desire for all the redneck racists in America to have a "great white hope." Which is offensive on the surface of it, but downright ludicrous beyond that. Ginobili is an Italian surname, sure. But the man's from Argentina, you morons. He's Hispanic. He's Latino. And he's insanely popular in San Antonio because of it. But to slur him as a "great white hope" is one of the most wrongheaded, backwards-thinking examples of stupidity I've seen rear its microcephalic head in the NBA in a long time. Well, at least until the owners impose a lockout this summer.

Now Playing: Various Artists The A-Z of Fantasy TV Themes

No comments:

Post a Comment