22 April 2008
¿Ginóbili punked by award? (No femenino)
Here's an interesting note -- some sportswriters and fans of Manu Ginóbili, the Argentine guard for the NBA San Antonio Spurs, think their man was dissed by being given the NBA's Sixth Man Award. Elizabeth White's AP story in Miami's El Nuevo Herald, Premio a Ginoóbili es tomado como una ofensa en Argentina (Ginóbili's prize seen as insult in Argentina explains that in Ginóbili's home country, many feel it is a slight to describe the Spurs' tempo-wrecking menace as a "substitute."
The daily paper La Nación blasted the NBA for applying the designation, saying in part, "He's only called that because the blockheads that run the NBA think any player who starts the game on the bench is a sub."
The Nuevo Herald notes that even without starting, Ginóbili led the Spurs in scoring, averaging 19.5 ppg in the regular season, and was the only player in the NBA to average at least 17 points while playing less than 32 minutes per game.
Ginóbili is a clutch scorer, indispensable to his team, and many in Argentina (and here, no doubt) feel the Sixth Man award was a slight, when the Spurs' game-changer was a strong contender for MVP.
The daily paper La Nación blasted the NBA for applying the designation, saying in part, "He's only called that because the blockheads that run the NBA think any player who starts the game on the bench is a sub."
The Nuevo Herald notes that even without starting, Ginóbili led the Spurs in scoring, averaging 19.5 ppg in the regular season, and was the only player in the NBA to average at least 17 points while playing less than 32 minutes per game.
Ginóbili is a clutch scorer, indispensable to his team, and many in Argentina (and here, no doubt) feel the Sixth Man award was a slight, when the Spurs' game-changer was a strong contender for MVP.
