There's a tool in the SB Nation majestic toolbox that we haven't used so far, and I thought it was time to correct that.
If you, like me, are a regular visitor of other SB Nation sites you may have noticed that many of them have daily links posts. There's a theory that those kinds of posts increase a blog's traffic, so SB Nation created a tool called "clippings" to help write them. It works as a sort of cumulative FanShot which only can be accessed, I believe, by those in the blog capable of posting "stories" on the front page. That's an unfortunate design choice that fails to take advantage of the community's collective workforce, and hopefully it'll be corrected in time.
In the meantime, being the hacks that we are, ATS and I have decided that daily posts are impractical, so we're thinking of making two of them per week: one post on Mondays, the following on Thurdays. This, as everything in this first test trial post, is open to discussion, suggestions, etc. etc. If you have any good ideas of things or sections to add, please share them with us. Constructive criticism is the only way we can improve.
What does it mean for the FanShots section? Well, nothing. FanShots are great for many reasons: everyone can write them, they're easy to create, we can move them to the front page if it's particularly clever/funny/newsworthy and they will help us add the clippings necesary to write our link posts. In the long run, I hope this might allow people to be more daring with their FanShots and add stuff not necessarily related to the Spurs, as if often the case, since the obvious MySA, 48MoH, etc. links will always be included. But that's the future.
So without further ado, get ready for our very first This Week in San Antonio Spurs Basketball, or as we will call it henceforth (please ignore the A):
Everything Black, Silver And White
This will be the section for every Spurs-related sports article we can find that wasn't produced in PTR: you know, the good stuff, not our hack contributions. The usual suspects will be, of course, 48MoH, SpursTalk and MySA, but if it's about The Good Guys, it belongs here. To distinguish between my comments and the summaries written by the authors, I've put the latter between quotation marks.
48 Minutes of Hell: Summer League Notes: SA vs. Den
Tim Varner's recap of the second game of the Summer League for our Spurs. He evaluates Ian, George and Malik. A must read.
48 Minutes of Hell: Ian Mahinmi’s Movement
Tim Varner makes a great point: "I have watched Mahinmi play on at least a dozen occasions. Probably more. With that exposure as a backdrop, I can say that Mahinmi looked rusty on Sunday. He was a shadow of his pre-injury self, but–and this is the important part–didn’t seemed hobbled. He moved well." He says something I mentioned during the first game thread, too: it's early, let us not pass judgment till we must. Game 2 proved there's another Ian waiting to resurface, if only his health lets him.
48 Minutes of Hell: In Appreciation of Peter Holt
Graydon points out how much we owe Holt. I agree. If I lived in SA I'd be buying some tickets right now. Hopefully I'll be able to leave some money when I travel there. (Manu jersey, here I come...)
SpursTalk.com: Notes from the Dennis Lindsey Interview
timvp wrote some notes of the interview Joel Myers had with Dennis Lindsey (Not "David", ATS) during the first game of the League. For those of you who missed it.
SpursTalk.com: Summer League Game 1 - Game Thoughts
timvp offers his thoughts on our first game of the Summer League. He's the one guy in SpursTalk whose posts I never miss. Check it out.
SpursTalk.com: Summer League Game 2 - Game Thoughts
Idem, for game 2.
The Red Rocket: Bonners become parents! Congratulations!
Huh, I hadn't heard about this. Congratulations, Matt, wherever you are.
Spurs.com: Silver Dancers Visit Mexico City
"The San Antonio Spurs Silver Dancers recently traveled to Mexico City." And it's important to support them, dammit.
Project Spurs: Spurscast #166: Summer League
Just adding it because I can't believe the Spurs had a podcast dedicated to it, it's in the 166th installment, and I hadn't heard about it. Didn't listen to it, but the topics seem interesting. Let me know if you dare.
Project Spurs: Rebounding With Dejuan Blair
My kind of silly.
Hoopsworld: A New George Hill
"George Hill had a summer league to forget in 2008 but now with a year of experience under his belt he's one of the best players in attendance."
Hardwood Paroxysm: Marcus Haislip: Allow Me To Reintroduce Yourself
There's something about this blog.
MySA: Blair sits out after big debut
McDonald reports: "Having already seen what DeJuan Blair can do with a standout double-double performance in his summer league debut Sunday, the Spurs wanted to give a longer look to other big men, like Ian Mahinmi and James Gist." Yeah, right.
MySA: Spurs' Blair bangs the boards
"A mere 65 seconds after checking into his first NBA summer league game, Spurs rookie DeJuan Blair hip-checked his way through a pair of defenders, snatched an offensive rebound and double-pumped the ball back into the basket."
MySA: Spurs' low-key tactics land McDyess
"Antonio McDyess made things official Friday, signing a contract with the Spurs that makes the 6-foot-9 power forward arguably the team's most significant outside free agent signee of the Tim Duncan era."
MySA: Three is not enough for NBA’s best
"The NBA’s powerhouses are no longer content with having dominant trios. The Spurs, Mavs, Lakers and Celtics are all going for four or more."
MySA: Spurs' extreme makeover
A semi-amusing article about Holt's sudden willingness to spend money to give us the best offseason of the last 10 years. "Go buy some tickets," says RC, and you simply have to nod along.
MySA: Haislip hungry for second chance in NBA
"Four years in Europe honed skills the Spurs believe make Marcus Haislip a useful NBA player, one eager to prove he belongs in the NBA."
MySA: Spurs' big question: What about Mahinmi?
"To the uninitiated, the Spurs' summer league opener against New Orleans was little more than an organized pickup game. To Ian Mahinmi, it was the most beautiful sight on Earth."
MySA: Bid adios to Oberto
McDonald says Oberto is unlikely to return. Not a shock, and a logical move, but it's still sad to see the good guys leave.
Protect the Paint: The San Antonio Spurs: NBA Champs in 2010
A bit dated, considering the other major trades of the offseason hadn't happened yet, but still worth a glance.
Summer League And Nothing But
This is a special section for the next two weeks only. The best coverage is in PTR, anyway, thanks to ATS.
The Dream Shake: Summer League: Rockets 79 - Timberwolves 65
Chase Budinger has a new nickname: Bud Light.
Golden State Of Mind: LV Summer League - Game 3 recap
If you want to read more about Anthony Randolph kicking ass.
Canis Hoopus: Duke Ball
A recap, and a blog's search for a nickname. Sounds familiar?
Ridiculous Upside: A Look Back at the Orlando Summer League
"A look back at ten D-League and other non-NBA players who played well in the Orlando Summer League." What? You didn't know there was another Summer League?
Ridiculous Upside: Vegas Summer League Recap: Day 4
A recap of the Vegas Summer league action for July 13, by Jon L.
Around SB Nation
PTR is a community within a larger community, and some of the best NBA-related content is produced in it. I just selected some of the better articles in our comrades' blogs so that we can all get a glimpse of their general mood and worries as the offseason moves along.
Raptors HQ: Welcome to the ALL NEW RaptorsHQ.com
New SB Nation blog for Toronto fans. Visit, join, be merry and multiply.
Blog a Bull: The 2009-10 season: operation "don't be bad"
"The Bulls are positioning themselves for 2010, but they likely need to do more while still remaining relevant in the Eastern Conference."
Silver Screen and Roll: Re-Signing Lamar Odom Is Not Optional
"Why the Lakers should re-sign Lamar Odom, and why Laker fans have a right to care."
Clips Nation: Iverson in LA - Is it 2006?
"Is there anything to the Iverson rumors? Why would the Clippers consider him?"
Bright Side Of The Sun: Summer Suns get 1st win behind BIG play from Lopez
"Recap of the Phoenix Suns first Vegas Summer League Game. Robin Lopez put up a fantastic performance."
Liberty Ballers: Summer League: Detroit Pistons
One of Wayne's Summer League buddies shares his thoughts on the Piston's Summer Team.
Rufus on Fire: "Goat" by Erik Germani
The Rufus on Fire Basketball Fiction Contest presents: "Goat" by Erik Germani. Other blogs publish literature, PTR makes up new nicknames.
Rufus on Fire: "The Players" by Dan Sweet
The Rufus on Fire Basketball Fiction Contest presents: "The Players" by Dan Sweet. Featuring a Karl and a Carlesimo. Hmm...
Golden State Of Mind: Help Shape 'GSoM Rules + Community Guidelines 2.0'
We're so immature compared to these guys. Give this one a glance.
Pickaxe And Roll: Cash Rules Everything Around Me
Cash, the Nuggets and barely any Karl to bug you.
CelticsBlog: Restricted Free-Agents: Going, going....back?
Some thoughts on the big men arms race going on in the East.
Third Quarter Collapse: Vince Carter: The Resolution (2008-2009 Season Recap)
Nothing but Magic fans talking themselves into Vince Carter, as we would have if he were in black and white now. It's a kickass videos, regardless.
Third Quarter Collapse: Brandon Bass: What's The Attraction?
Read to find out what the Spurs might've signed in a different universe.
Sactown Royalty: Are These Desperate Times?
You know it's desperate times when people are asking themselves if it's desperate times.
Blazersedge: Crystal Ball: Best Values
So much potential... for error. Blazers fan try their hand at divination.
Mavs Moneyball: So, Who is Still Left?
A list of the remaining 2009 NBA free agents. This could've been us, guys. Thank FSM for McDyess.
Even More Hoops
If it deaks with the NBA or basketball in general yet isn't Spurs-related and wasn't written in a SB Nation blog, it goes here.
SI Vault: A Seven-Footer from Timbuktu...
...and other tales of the African Olympic basketball. An article from '92 I stumbled into a couple of days ago. Long, very long, but worth reading if you have 20 minutes or so.
SI.com: Lakers, Spurs have helped themselves in NBA offseason
SI.com's NBA writers size up the first two weeks of free agency.
PBN: Gambles in Vegas
Sam Amico's thoughts on the first weekend of the NBA Summer League.
PBN: Coveted Camby
We covet, he covets, they covet.
The Indianapolis Star: Pacers expected to sign free agent Dahntay Jones
Those crazy Pacers and their 3-decade rebuild plan.
CBSSports: Waiting game could be costly for LeBron, Wade, Bosh
"Will the celebrated free-agent class of 2010 lose its big three? The economic downturn might persuade LeBron, Wade and Bosh to re-up instead of opting out of their deals, Ken Berger says."
The Wages of Wins Journal: Should Kuester Rent or Buy?
Wages of Win: love it or leave it.
NY Daily News: Eddy Curry fails to impress Knicks brass, forgets his sneakers in Vegas
"None other than James Dolan was on hand to see one of his biggest investments, Eddy Curry, prove that he is ready to resurrect his career. Other than dropping a few pounds, Curry failed to make much of an impression." Wow, so unexpected.
FOX Sports: Who may be moving up the NBA food chain?
Good news for... the Clippers?
TheStar.com: Parker leaves Raptors for Cavs
Not a bad player for that salary, I think. The Cavs will be dangerous next year, unless Shaq proves me wrong and completely ruins LeBron's ability to penetrate with his fat ass. But he won't.
Hoopsworld: 5 Things We Learned In The NBA This Week
In the NBA blogosphere ecosystem, I guess Hoopsworld is the moss.
Memphis Commercial Appeal: Hasheem Thabeet makes Grizzlies debut tonight
Dated, but I just wanted to add it because I can't wait for Space Eater to lay the smacketh downeth on him again.
Completely Off-Topic
I just can't help myself, especially in the offseason. I created this section just to put random links I find while I web around. Some are funny, some are interesting, some are fundamentally wrong. I'm not sure ATS will include this one in his posts, but it'll be there in mine, and I welcome any suggestions, as always.
Things on a white background
No, really.
PolyScribe Metamorphosis - 4 artists painting at once
Gorgeous. Incredible. ElectricAsylumArt is one of my favorite YouTube artists, but he and his friends outdid themselves in this one.
How to hold package at fedex location?
Yahoo! Answers is like a Magic 8 Ball of awesomeness.
Lord of the Rings: An Alternate Universe
Kinda silly, but worth a chuckle.
LOLCats, rock, and an Internet forum
And somehow it works.
More forum hijinks
He was asking for it.
The Most Amazing Website On The Internet
Says so right in the URL, must be true.
The best thread ever
Okay, okay, this is the last forum-related link, I promise. Here's the original thread. It goes on and on.
Eternal moonwalk
In case you still haven't gotten enough of Michael Jackson.
5 very good reasons to punch a dolphin in the mouth
Probably not going to win me many fans, but hey.
Saint Joseph, the College
Might've been a better name for it. (I'm so juvenile.)
Big Gulps
If you don't get it... you have a better taste in movies than I do.
There, I fixed it
Remember when I explained "Lo atamos con alambre"? Same concept. A great blog.
Because Internet is Multimedia
If there's something I like about blogs is that they give the readers pictures, videos, links, music, podcasts, etc. It's nearly enough to cause a sensory overload, but that's what we like. Here's where any videos or audio files I want to share will go, with some explanation as to their content.
Hornets vs Spurs Summer League Highlights
In case you missed the game.
Exclusive Interview with DeJuan Blair at NBA Summer League
I love this kid.
The Teammate Game with Becky Hammon and Vickie Johnson
Watch this one. Hilarious. And I love Becky.
Pic of the Week
This one needs no further explanation. I again encourage you to suggest pics for this section in the game threads, or wherever you want. I was going to choose that photo showing off Hill's Gattling guns, but there's something about the sheer fright etched in Crittenton's face that deserves the spotlight.
