Crucian Chronicles

Virgin Islands Spurs Ready For Season

To fully appreciate just how popular the late musician Nicholas "Nick" Friday was in the Virgin Islands, you just have to realize that since Tuesday, at the water cooler and in the bar room conversations, his death has totally eclipsed the San Antonio Spurs who opened their 2005 NBA training camp on St. Thomas last Sunday.  Nonetheless, Timmy and the Spurs were able to steal the spotlight back with their intrasquad scrimmage game last night at the University of the Virgin Islands Sports and Fitness Center.

I had the priviledge to be courtside and even got me an autograph from the Pride of Catherine's Rest himself, Timothy Duncan.  It was absolutely amazing to see the crowd going wild for a practice game like if it was an actual NBA matchup.  We was doing the wave and everything.

Yes, Timmy convinced the Spurs organization and Coach Gregg Popovich to begin preparation for their title defense in Timmy's own back yard.  I must say, they have the leg up on the competition.  They are spending the week training in relative peace from the probing stateside media.  They are staying at the luxurious  Ritz Carlton resort on St. Thomas.  They spent Saturday chilling on the beach.  And Tony Parker even got to bring along his personal bedroom buddy friend, Eva Longoria of Desperate Housewives fame.  (That girl is real tiny.  Almost midget-size.)  The team has been driving around St. Thomas escorted by a police motorcade.  A fitting way to start the season for the world champions.

By the way, new additions Nick Van Exel and Michael Finley fitted in perfectly.  If everyone stays healthy, this is going to be a great season.    

USA Basketball

Before I forget. Let me take credit for my earlier prediction that the USA men's basketball team would not win the gold in Athen's. They were barely able to come away with the bronze medals. They hung on to beat Lithuania by 8 points. I know that there are some people who are absolutely stunned that their NBA stars didn't win a gold medal. How could a team with LeBron James, Tim Duncan, and Allen Iverson lose to Puerto Rico, Lithuania, and Argentina? The fact is, basketball is a team sport, not a sport for indivduals. These other countries play together like a team and have done so for years. As individuals, they are not the best players in the world, but as a team they are pretty damn good. The USA can no longer simply show up in the gym and expect to win. They actually have to come to play.

Argentinean player Emanuel Ginobili had one of the strongest quotes of the olympics:

"Here we don't play for money," Ginobili said. "We don't play for anything else but pride and representing your colors. Those are the things that make your family and country really proud of you."

Now if only San Antonio Spurs coach, Gregg Popovich would recognize that he has a star in Ginobili and take him off the bench, maybe Timmy and company could return to the NBA Finals.

USA Dream Team?

Bold Prediction

The USA Men's National basketball team will not win the Gold medal in this year's Summer Olympics. The rest of the world is too good and this U.S. team is just too crappy. Not even Timmy can save them. You can't say I didn't warn you.

Tyson KO'd

Tyson got knocked on his ass last night. Literally! Tyson, at 38 years old, is well past his prime. He hasn't beaten a quality heavyweight in years. I am a big fan of Iron Mike, but Iron Mike went to jail years ago and never came back out. Instead we got Crazy Mike. And Crazy Mike cannot take a punch. Mike Tyson has gone soft and needs to quit before he damages his brain any further.

What's really pathethic is that this young man, Mike Tyson, has earned over $300 million dollars in the 19 years that he has been boxing. But some how he has managed to get himself $38 million dollars in debt. That is the only reason why he is still fighting. He has nothing to prove, but he has to pay off his creditors. This is a perfect example of Lesson #1 in Personal Finance: It doesn't matter how much you make, it's how you manage your money. That's a lesson that most of my people have yet to learn.

Shaq to Miami

Big news in the NBA today:

The Miami HEAT announced today that they have acquired 11-time All-Star center Shaquille O’Neal from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Caron Butler, Brian Grant, Lamar Odom and a future first-round draft pick.

I wish them luck. I was a big Los Angeles Lakers fan until Shaq came to L.A. They should have never gotten rid of Vlade Divac. It changed the character of the team forever. Now he joins one of my favorite ex-Lakers, Eddie Jones, in Miami. Eddie Jones is the guy the Lakers got rid of to make room for Kobe Bryant. I wish them all luck. But Shaq is the most overrated player in NBA history. If you made the slam dunk illegal he probably wouldn't even average double digits. He just uses his size to get position but has no real basketball ability. Now Timmy, that's a baller.

Now that I have offended all the Lakers fans, my work here is done.

Guilty?

Isn't it funny how a few years ago Marion Jones and her boyfriend Tim Montgomery were dominating the world of track and field. She was tearing it up and he was a world-record holder. The fastest man in the world. Then came the allegations of steroid use and the scrutiny of the media. Of course they denied ever using steroids. They say they are clean. But all of a sudden they aren't even good enough to qualify for the U.S. team going to the olympics. They can't even get a third place finish in the 100 m.

Now Marion is my girl, and I am a big fan, but is it coincidence that her ex-husband, C.J. Hunter, was using steroids while they were married and now her baby-daddy is also accused of using steroids. Obviously, she is a little condoning of that behavior. I hope she is innocent but I think Tim Montgomery is guilty like hell. Up until a couple years ago he was a bum that could hardly make the relay team. Now all of a sudden he is a superman breaking world records. That smells fishy.

As for Marion I think that having a baby less than two years ago could be the cause for her poor showing. I don't think she is back in the shape that she was in in 2000. She has spent the last year just recovering from child bearing while her competition has been steadily improving. I think how she does in the 200m on Sunday will be the real test as to whether she just had a bad race or whether her career is really in decline. What role steroids plays in the whole thing? Only she and her man knows. Unless C.J. has some secrets to rat about.

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