Spurs to face off with Golden State in Quarterfinals

The Golden State Warriors pulled off a victory that almost didn’t happen.  Cruising into the fourth quarter with an 18-point lead, the Warriors took their eye off the ball to watch the clock.

“We were up 18, and I was celebrating, having a ball, and then it seems like two minutes later all of a sudden it’s a single-digit game and every possession mattered again,” center David Lee said.

This season, the Spurs split the series between the two clubs 2-2 but if history is a prelude to the upcoming series…anything can happen. Point 1: The last time these two clubs met in the playoffs was the first round of the 1991 playoffs where the 44-38 Warriors upset the 55-27 Spurs. Point 2: The Warriors have not won on a San Antonio floor since early 1997.

All in all, this should be a fantastic series and tickets are still available. So come on Spurs fans, get out and support your San Antonio Spurs and their Drive for Five!

Kings to…Virginia Beach?!?

Apparently determined to leave the small-market confines of Sacramento, the Maloof family is exploring moving the Kings to an even smaller destination: Virginia Beach, which ranks below the California state capital as part of the Hampton Roads designated market area on most lists.

So says the , which reports that the Maloofs and officials from Comcast, the Philadelphia-based media giant, are expected to be in town next week to propose moving the Kings cross country. The Maloofs would supply the team, Comcast would build help build and lease a new arena, and Sacramento would be unceremoniously dumped after a deal to keep the team died a this spring.

It would be a bizarre pairing to say the least, especially with so many larger cities either in the process of building arenas (Seattle) or with ones already in place (Kansas City, Anaheim). Indeed, are already putting the kibosh on it.

No matter where the Kings end up, or even if they stay put, it’s times like this that Spurs fans should give major thanks that their team, despite San Antonio’s lack of market clout, has developed into such a strong, successful franchise over the years. Indeed, the Spurs have been so ridiculously consistent — 13 straight 50-win seasons, playoff appearances in 35 of 39 seasons in San Antonio — it’s only natural that even die-hards would take it for granted.

For anyone who does, just keep a close eye on what’s going down in Sacramento, where the fans have largely done their part but could end up with nothing but ugly t-shirts and memories of more bad basketball (10 playoff appearances in 28 seasons) than anybody should be subjected to.

No sympathy from scorned fans over NBA impasse

Jeff Marker lives in Dallas, but he is no Mavericks Maniac.

A Spurs season ticket-holder for 20 years, he bleeds silver and black all across the Metroplex.

Before he ever takes his seats for a Spurs game at the ATT Center, Marker has boarded a plane, rented a car and checked into a .

When he expresses his regret about a 2011-12 Spurs season now seriously threatened with cancellation as the lockout heads to litigation, his first thoughts are for the parking-lot attendants, ushers and concessionaires he and his family have gotten to know over many seasons.

The disclaimer of interest announced Monday by the has put the league on a path to what commissioner called nuclear winter. The chill has resonated for Spurs fans across the globe. Email responses to a feedback request posted on Twitter came from Texas, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Spain.

Marker’s concern for those affected by the cancellation of games was a theme repeated often.

“My heart really goes out to the arena workers that have taken such great care of me and my family,” he wrote. “They are the only ones that are really getting (abused) in this process.”

While empathy for those affected dominates Marker’s emotions about the loss of games and the threat the entire season could be canceled, other Spurs fans are mad as hell.

Some will express their fury with their wallets, including Tyler Remmert, a 24-year-old season ticket-holder who says he has spent literally half his life going to Spurs games at the SBC/ATT Center and Alamodome.

“I bleed silver and black (and in the early years, teal, pink and orange). I’ve personally witnessed both championships won at home, unashamedly crying in 2003 watching The Admiral exit the floor for the last time as a champion.

“It is with this background that I make this promise to you now: So long as retains control of the Spurs, so long as David Stern heads the NBA, and so long as heads association, you will not see me in the ATT Center.

“So long as the avarice-infected money-mongers of this league continue to have no regard for the quality of life for the employees (NOT THE PLAYERS) of this organization, I will not give money to them. It will mean nothing, and if perchance they ever read this they would probably laugh. Who cares, right? I’m just another fan, a pauper compared to the owners and players of this league who have made it their business to insult us by making the difference between 53 and 50 percent BRI seem like life and death.”

Another San Antonian, , made it clear he puts most of the blame on the owners for the ongoing impasse:

“While I am sure there is some blame on both sides, the players were willing to give back (seven percent) of BRI and also appeared willing to compromise on many, if not most, system issues. I have not seen any similar demonstration of good faith or fair negotiation from the owners, who made the decision to lock the players out and jeopardize the season in the first place.

“Additionally, as a San Antonio taxpayer, it is incredibly frustrating that the , which was funded in part by approximately $150 million in local tax dollars, will apparently sit unused this season.”

John Lugo, a 19-year-old student and lifetime Spurs fan, expressed frustration at the focus on arcana in the issues that separate the two sides, especially during a time of economic stress.

“Try explaining system issues to people who are now scrambling for minimum wage jobs,” he wrote.

The common thread among Spurs fans appears to be deep disappointment, even from a continent away.

“I’m a Spanish Spurs fan, have been sleepless thousands of nights through the last decade just to watch NBA games — particularly Spurs games,” wrote , from Madrid. “I’m deeply disappointed with both owners and players, and I really wonder how will be the NBA when this nightmare ends.”