Tag: San Antonio Spurs

Getting there is half the fun; arriving there is a real blast

I’ve been a road warrior long enough to know that when things start to go bad early in a travel day, they tend to get worse before they get better.

After a plume of volcanic ash settled in on Mar del Plata, Argengina, and caused the cancellation of the only flight from Buenos Aires on Monday morning, a band of 42 intrepid basketball fans — including one Express-News reporter — ponied up for a special charter bus for a five-hour trip that took more than six hours.

Dropping my bags at the hotel and hopping a cab to the arena, I discovered media credential pickup had ended and I was told to come back tomorrow to pick up my passes. Somehow, my rudimentary Spanish managed to convince the good folks at the media entrance that I hadn’t come all the way from San Antonio to miss Manu Ginobili’s first game of the tournament. They set me up with a day pass and I assured them I would legitimize myself later.

Finally, when the wireless signal in the press room at Malvinas Argentinas stadium proved to be literally an off and on proposition, I flagged a cab back to the hotel to file a report from the tournament. On its way up a fairly steep hill, the taxi sputtered and stopped running, either  out of gas altogether or in need of a fuel pump that could push the petrol uphill. So the cabbie put the taxi in neitral and backed down the hill, and never mind some fairly traffic.

I paid the meter fare and walked the final four blocks, never more thrilled to be walking into my hotel home away from home.

All things considered, I still think Argentina is an amazing, wonderful place to me hanging out for a couple of weeks of meaningful basketball.

Parker: It’s France or nothing

If Tony Parker is going to play anywhere overseas during the NBA lockout, it’s going to be his native France. after a Les Bleus exhibition in London on Tuesday.

that Parker was in discussions to play in China should the lockout linger. Though Parker acknowledged informal talks with teams in China, he says his focus is on France, where he is part owner of the French League powerhouse ASVEL.

He tells ESPN.com he won’t make a decision about a lockout landing spot until after the Eurobasket tournament ends in September. A lot will depend on his health.

“I want to see if I’m healthy, if I’m hurt and by then we will also know a lot more what is happening with the situation of the lockout,” Parker said.  ”If I play (abroad), I will definitely play in France, for my fans, for my team, ASVEL.”

Parker is one of a handful of NBA stars to have his name linked with China.  The most notable is Kobe Bryant, the Lakers’ former MVP.

Due to wrangling with the Chinese Basketball Association, which is seeking to prohibit NBA players coming to that nation on a rental basis during the lockout, Parker says “it looks like China is not going to happen for any players.”

Speaking of his lockout plans, Parker said, “it’s more an emotional decision.”

“It’s not enough for me just to play for the money, stuff like that, because I am a student of the game,” Parker said. “I am passionate about the game. It would be great for my family, my friends, to see me in France.”