Spurs Waive Darius Washington

The Spurs waived Darius Washington today, the D-League beast who played in 18 games for the Spurs while Tony Parker and Jacque Vaughn were out with injuries. If he clears waivers, the Toros can retain him. One source suggests that the Spurs wanted Washington's Austin Toros teammate Keith Langford (pictured) all along:

"Mike Schmidt an NBDL, NCAA scout says that while the Spurs called up Marcus Williams from the Toros, they had originally wanted to sign Langford instead. Langford had been out the previous 10 days with an injury, and San Antonio needed somebody to step in and play right away, so they were forced to sign Williams. Spurs GM RC Buford went to watch Keith Langford play against Tulsa, though, his first game back, where they saw him shut down Dallas Mavericks assignee Maurice Ager."

If that has any truth to it, Langford (23.2 points a game on 53% shooting) will probably be called up relatively soon. He's more of a combo guard, but is a bonafide D-Leauge All-Star candidate and apparently good on the defensive end. Washington was a decent prospect, but wasn't always focused on defense (I remember a few lapses and dumb fouls on his part). Unfortunately, Langford falls way short of Washington in beard growth. Farewell, grizzly bear.

The Infirmary Ward

AP Photo/Eric Gay

- Ginobili missed tonight's game with Chicago (a 94-79 victory) and may miss a few more with his sprained index finger. To be honest, I don't mind him missing time. He needs the rest, especially after admitting to being worn out.

- Francisco Elson returned from his ankle injury. Normally I'd plug in a snide remark about how Butterfingers Elson will drag down the team...but neh, he's been playing well this year. Until next time, Cisco.

- Marcus Williams was released, resigned, and actually played for the Spurs tonight thanks to all the injuries (0-1, 0 pts, 1 blocked shot in 2 minutes of garbage time). I think I owe someone money for my "Hell will freeze over before he ever steps foot in the NBA" prediction. Whatever, he still blows until further notice. But hey, he's awesome in D-league!

- Another one bites the dust...Brent Barry sprained his left calf with 3:20 left in the first quarter. With Manu already out, Ime Udoka needs to pick up some slack.

Update: Barry will miss around 2 weeks with a torn left calf muscle. With Barry and Ginobili out, Finley and Udoka are the only experienced wing options, unless Popovich decides to play Bonner at the SF.

Losing to Win

New Spurs article posted at Realgm.com.

This Is Really, Really Stupid

I take pride in the semi-professionalism of this blog. Not a lot of swearing, no pop culture jokes, few mentions of Stephen Jackson or strip clubs. (This may also mean less visits to the humble little blog, but I digress.)

However, I guess it's unavoidable that this is going to become a major issue, maybe along the lines of the T.O.-Jessica Simpson fiasco. So I might as well address it now...if you ignore this completely, I respect you entirely....here is the entire saga to this point (deep breath):

Tony Parker....MARRIED!......CHEATING?.......MET SUPERMODEL AT WEDDING?.....NOT CHEATING.....TIMMY DOESN'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT.....BUT SHE HAS PROOF!.....THE PROOF IS RIDICULOUSLY STUPID....TONY SUES FOR $20 MILLION!

To be honest, I really don't care about any of this. It's stupid. I want his ankle to heal. Now.

But, for the sake of....well, for the hell of it, really, I'll jump on board.

The website that is fueling it is one of those "celebrity hunting" sites. I won't link them because it's trash and I don't want to perpetuate this type of crap. They have "proof" that could be created easily by any 6th grader with a knowledge of Photoshop. I'm sure they are paying this model nicely. Also, this same girl did this with Ronaldinho (the futbol/soccer star) a couple of years ago until he threatened to sue. If nothing else, it's obvious that Parker's high-profile inevitably puts a target on his back.

On a good note, the Spurs are too unfriendly with the media to be distracted or caught up in this at all. Except for you, Jacque Vaughn. I can tell you're the gossipy sort...you're not fooling anyone.

Ime Udoka: Part Baller, Part Ninja

From the WTF files...
By: Gabe Muoneke, Hoopshype blogger and teammate of Ime's on the Nigerian National Team

THE IME UDOKA STORY

It’s a trip when you get to know people. Ime was so quiet and I figured he was just some guy who could play with a Nigerian father. Well, folks in S.A., don’t be fooled. That dude in an Afr-I-CAN! I mean damn! The only thing non-African about him is his accent. We went to Nigeria, man… When they brought out the food I figured uh oh… He aint eatin’ th… What the?! Ime was tearing that Fu-fu (thank Jay-Z for everyone knowing what that is now) to shreads. I asked him about his adornment of the vittles. He said that’s all he ate growing up. Imagine my surprise when I saw he must have grown up doing the African ju-jitsu too.

When the National Team went to Algeria for the African Championships in Algiers, every team was on edge because the Top 3 squads got the invite to the World Championships. So after we lost to Angola in the semis and had to play Algeria for the third spot, they knew, we knew, everyone knew they had no shot. First quarter… Tactics. African ball, man. Trust me: as corrupt as can be. Despite all the cheating from the three-man (North African) refereeing crew they just couldn’t beat us. So the coach sent in their best player, who was injured but came in with a purpose. I think his name was Ali Bidane or something. We had the ball out of bounce under. He guarded me. As the ref handed us the ball, he turned, looked at me as if there was not a game going on. And pop! Not an elbow, not even a signature yours truly gutter. He decked me right in the jaw. I couldn’t believe it. And come on. I freely admit when I throw cheap shots. I wouldn’t hide it if I started to. I mean, I’m in the middle of basically middle eastern country playing the local team. I know better (read on to see my contradiction). He nailed me, we turned it over, and yes, my Rodman 101 class did well. I looked up court, saw both refs back and calmly asked him in by most polite French, “Pardon me sir, I object to you striking me.” Next thing you know… Both teams on the court going at it. Wow.

Imagine my surprise! (My cheeks hurt). That wasn’t the real brawl. After we won was the real issue. After the game, they were waiting for us to come out of the locker room. And seriously, I didn’t start it. Kingsley Ogwudire was in front of our team in an all-out tirade in his best Arabic. The next thing you know, there were three Algerian players on him. Everyone was engaged in combat save me, if you can believe it. And lo and ehold… Ime! He was taking people out like in Mortal Kombat. Finish him! Incredible. I was so out of it as I had five guys I was fighting (oh yeah, the crowd jumped in as the fight spilled over to the court of the championship game of Senegal and Angola).

In the middle of the whole thing I heard Ime, literally in mid-swing of another opponent say,”Watch back, Gabe” and he calmly, I mean calmly, smeared a guy who, as I turned to see his warning, jumped from the stands with a chair to probably kill me or knock me out to where the crowd would have. I mean, Ime caught the guy in mid air with a fist and calmly continued his dispacthing of oncoming people. He and other guys (yes, me too) were whoopin’ so many people the crowd backed up. True to the letter! But Ime had the most notches by far. As we retreated to the locker room to kind chants of, “You cudly blackies! We highly doubt your ability to leave this gym with lives intact” in French, (it might have been a bad translation) all I could do was marvel at Ime. This guy, I thought, was a quiet American guy was standing there – all his stuff gone (gym bag, wallet, shoes, jersey) – with a stick in his hand we tore off the walls of the locker room in the middle of North Africa quite literally with our lives on the line… laughing. All the while I was texting my wife that I loved her and might have a hard time seeing her again while she was watching the whole incident on BBC News. And Ime… laughing. He is and always will be my 9ja broda. Ime… Wetin happen bros? Abi na notin. Notin dey happen. To this day I don’t know how we got out of there. But that night we ate like kings at the Nigerian Embassy. And Ime was with us… Killing his Fu-fu.

Tell me how I could have seen a thing like that if I had made the NBA out of college! You just can’t make this stuff up.

Link: Gabe Muoneke's blog on Hoopshype

Injuries Galore for Spurs' Big Three

Timmy Duncan continues to miss games after his knee and ankle issues, but the Spurs have been a respectable 2-1 without him heading into their road game with the Lakeshow. Ginobili's back-to-back 37 point games have carried the offense, but it turns out he's had a bum thumb since Portland.

News coming out of SA is that Parker has been banged up as well. Duncan is reportedly ready to return, but Parker will miss at least one game because of a sprained right ankle he's endured since a late November game with the Timberwolves.

It may cost them a few games, but better to get them healthy now then try to play for homecourt advantage in December. The injuries have also opened up opportunities for role players to get some confidence. Darius Washington was brought back up from Austin after tearing up the D-League and Matt Bonner had a career game of 25 points and 17 rebounds against the Warriors.

Sigh Of Relief, Duncan's Injury "Minor"

From ESPN: Duncan out vs. Mavs; knee treated as 'short-term' injury

The San Antonio Spurs received some encouraging news Monday afternoon when an MRI exam came back negative on Tim Duncan's right knee and right ankle, both injured in the first half of Sunday's home victory over Portland.

Duncan has been ruled out of Wednesday's showdown with San Antonio's longstanding rivals from Dallas, but Spurs spokesman Tom James said that a firm diagnosis on how long Duncan will be out is at least a day or two away.

The Spurs say they want to see how Duncan responds to treatment before putting an estimate on his return date. But they are treating it as a short-term injury, which naturally comes as a great relief to the defending champs. Things didn't look especially promising when Duncan went down hard after tangling with Portland's James Jones in the second quarter Sunday, with the two-time MVP requiring the help of teammates to leave the floor.

"It's not a big deal at all," Spurs spokesman Tom James said.

"It's more scary than anything else -- at least that's what I'm hoping," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said initially.

Although Duncan's right knee is still sore, he'll be listed as inactive with a sprained right ankle Wednesday when the Mavericks visit the AT&T Center for the first time season. The Mavs won the teams' first meeting in Dallas on Nov. 15.

Even if Duncan winds up missing a week or two, San Antonio has a favorable schedule in December to cope with his absence. The Spurs are one of only two teams in the league still unbeaten at home this season at 10-0 -- Boston is the other at 9-0 -- and will be on the road for only three of their 12 games this month.

Timmy NOOOOOoOOOooo!

Duncan sprains right ankle, bruises knee; will have MRI Monday

SAN ANTONIO -- San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan bruised his right knee and sprained his right ankle Sunday in the second quarter of their game against the Portland Trail Blazers.

The team said all of Duncan's ligaments appeared stable but that he would have an MRI on Monday. He was not to return to Sunday's game and the team said he would miss some playing time.

Duncan got caught up with Portland's James Jones and fell to the floor near the Spurs' basket with 7:40 left in the half. He was clutching his knee and had to be helped off the floor by two of his teammates.

Hopefully, he's fine long-term. In fact, it could have been a lot worse, but we'll know more on Monday. He'll probably miss a week or two. In case you were wondering, it's not the same knee that he had surgery on in 2000.