Tag: Toronto

No, not the nose! Sinus infection nearly benches Manu

MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina — Spurs guard Manu Ginobili acknowledged Monday that he missed Argentina’s Sunday practice session with a sinus infection that robbed him of good sleep for a couple of days.

Ginobili told the Express-News he wasn’t sure he would feel well enough to suit up against Canada in the first game of the second round of the FIBA Americas pre-Olympic qualifying tournament here.

A round of antibiotics eased the infection, and Ginobili on Monday scored 16 points, with six rebounds and five assists, in Argentina’s 79-53 victory over Canada.

“I had two really bad days and nights, just couldn’t breathe easily,” Ginobili said. “Yesterday (Sunday) I started with some medicine and slept about nine hours.

“That sleep was very helpful for me, but this is a tough tournament if you are not sleeping well. You play four in five nights, then have one day off, and now we have four in four. So resting is huge, and yesterday, by the time we were to come to practice I just couldn’t make it. But I had a good night and today was a different story.”

Manu’s recovery wasn’t good news for Canada, but at least it allowed Spurs draftee Cory Joseph, the former UT star, to meet him briefly during the pre-game exchange of gifts.

“He welcomed me to the family,” said Joseph, a Toronto native who is Canada’s starting point guard.

“We will get to talk much more at training camp in about a month,” Ginobili said. “Well, at least I hope it will be in about a month.”

Joseph drawing compliments in Canada

With Manu Ginobili playing for Argentina, Tony Parker for France and , first-round pick Cory Joseph has been the forgotten Spurs player in this summer’s round of international competition.

Drafted 29th by the Spurs in June, the newly turned 20-year-old Cory Joseph is drawing good reviews from his Canadian teammates since joining the team late last month. Joseph, a point guard and Toronto native, has impressed with his approach and work ethic,

“I’ve been most impressed with his attitude, not having a sense of entitlement (from being a first round selection),” Canadian forward Levon Kendall told the newspaper. “He understands guys have been here (a while), he’s got to prove himself before he gets that respect. He has to earn it to a certain extent so that’s what I’ve been most surprised (about). It’s nice to see that.”

No doubt that attitude will serve Joseph well once he’s finally able to join the Spurs, who — you might have heard — feature a few players even more accomplished than the Canadian national team.

Will we ever see an NBA All-Star Game again in San Antonio?

The news that prompted a question about whether the league’s mid-season classic ever would return to San Antonio.

The league traditionally likes to revolve this game around, particularly for franchises with new buildings.

But with the ATT Center open since 2002, we still haven’t seen an All-Star Game there.

Since that opening, we’ve seen the league allow the game to be played in Las Vegas, at the Dallas Cowboys’ Stadium in Arlington and once before in Houston. And it will be heading back to Houston again with a gap of only seven years — shortest span in league history for a single franchise between times hosting All-Star Games.

The ATT Center was suitable for the WNBA All-Star game last month, but apparently might not be good enough — or the league can’t block enough hotel rooms in the busy convention period of late February — to bring another NBA All-Star Game to town when San Antonio’s climate might be at its best of the year.  

And the immediate future doesn’t look bright. The league will have the renovated Madison Square Garden open next year, along the with the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the New Jersey Nets. The league hasn’t had an All-Star Game at the United Center in Chicago, Canseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, the Palace at Auburn Hills (Mich.) and the American Airlines Center in Dallas or the American Airlines Arena in Miami.

The only franchises to have failed to host an All-Star Game include Toronto, Memphis and Portland. Oklahoma City hosted two previous All-Star Games when the frachise was in Seattle.

But with 14 different teams (including the joint Laker/Clipper All-Star extravaganzas) hosting the All-Star Game since the Spurs, it might be doubtful if the game is ever coming back.

The NCAA appears to have outgrown the Alamodome for men’s Final Fours after overlooking the facility in its last bidding cycle. And it seems that the NBA has similarly progressed past the ATT Center as well for its spectacle events as well.