1990's Spurs Memories: Fragments: Part I

I have been a life-long Spurs fan. Here are the fragments from 1989-1994.

My 1980's Spurs memories are here.

Okay, technically I am starting with David Robinson's first year, 1989-90.  I hope you'll forgive my indulgence but it wouldn't feel right to group the 1989-90 season with the 1980's.

The 1989-90 season was one of those magical turn-around seasons. You know the type. It's when a team that has been terrible for eternity  break out with a star rookie and take their respective league by storm (for a 12 year old, 4 seasons is almost eternity).

San Antonio had David Robinson fever so bad they actually telecast preseason games. Yes, I still remember watching a preseason game against the brand-new Minnesota Timberwolves.

My dad manged to get us tickets to the regular season opener against the Lakers. I was thrilled to say the least and just like the 1988, the Spurs pulled off the upset.  David was impressive with 23 points, 17 boards and 3 blocks.  I don't have specific memories of the game, other than where our seats were and being really excited. For some reason, I remember my Aunt Nancy was in town, so when we got home, we told her all about the game.

Back in college I was getting rid of my old sports cards and came across this ticket. I had assumed it had just be lost in the sands of time. Although it's pretty banged up, I am happy to say I still have it. 

The 89-90 season was wonderful. The Spurs ended up with the NBA record for best single season turn-around (which would be broken by the 1997-1998 Spurs team and later (I think) the Celtics in 2008.  I watched or listened to probably every game that was possible. Back in the day, only about half the games were on tv (maybe even less),  so that meant a lot of time sitting over a radio like it was the 1920's. I remember eagerly waiting for the sports on the 10 o'clock news so I could watch the highlights. Back then, if you saw a good play - you'd maybe see it twice in highlights in the next 24 hours and then (unless it was a buzzer beater or something really memorable) never again.

Just look at this. David was an athletic freak. It's weird to think the first few seasons of Robinson's career he wasn't perceived as soft. Until the playoff losses starting mounting....

Either in the 1989-90 season or the next season I called into a local sports talk show - I was very nervous but I had something to say (exactly what I have no idea). I remember Jay Howard (voice of the Spurs until 2000) being very nice and patient with a 12 or 13 year-old kid calling into the show.

The Spurs ended up winning the Midwest Division title that year, one game over the (already) hated Utah Jazz and it felt like a big deal. I remember the players celebrating in the locker room like they won a championship. At the time it felt so normal but now it seems pathetic.  Now besides the obvious title championship, teams can only celebrate conference championships and even that should be a muted affair or you will turned into a gif and made fun of on Deadspin.

The 2nd seeded Spurs breezed past the Nuggets in the first round and then faced another up-and-coming team, the Portland Trailblazers. It was a classic series. Both teams dominated their home games in the first four games. Each of the four games were basically blowouts and the series tied up 2-2.



Here are some highlights from game 3. David was incredible:  28 points, 8 boards and 8 blocks. Also, watching this clip I forgot how much I loved that baby blue court. Check out a young - 40ish Coach Pop at the very end as well. 


Anyway, there was the classic double overtime game 5 that the Spurs lost, followed by a Spurs blowout at home and then the first  "Worst Moment in Modern Spurs History" happened. Of course this moment would be be up-ended 3 times in the future, but this was the first of four in my lifetime thus far. Each one getting progressively more painful and dramatic.

Anyway, back to this particular "Worst Moment", the Spurs were up by 7 with a 2:32 left in the game. The Blazers started to trim the lead bit by bit and then......

Ya know, first world problems suck, I tried embedding this from 26:44 but it didn't work, so you can find the beginning of the disaster at around the 26:44 mark.  

This might actually be the first time I am seeing "the pass" in almost 25 years. It was that painful that I practically avoided it until now. I remember seeing a picture of it in the paper the next day and that image was burned into my brain (whether or not that actually happened, I'm not sure).

As we were watching the game, my family was packing up to go to visit family out of town, so the whole 4th quarter my parents were packing up (and if we were packing up for trip, they were probably fighting). Anyway, my Dad was pissed and was like, "Let's go!" after the pass and of course, I was like "No, Dad, maybe something will happen, we gotta stay!!" Well, there were no miracles and a long depressing trip to Corpus followed.

2015 reflections on "The Pass": 
The pass isn't as bad as I thought it would be or remembered it.
Sean probably should have cut to the basket.
This is something Manu would do.
The "breakaway" foul called on Strickland on the other end was HORRID and utter BS.

All this is to say, it was still a very stupid thing to do.

After thinking about that breakaway call, I started to remember that I felt like Portland got all the calls in the game and basically got what they wanted in Portland the whole series....hmmm...(goes to basketball reference.com)....

Free Throws Attempted for the series:

Game 1 - Portland - 45  SA - 15  NOT A TYPO - +30
Game 2 - Portland - 43  SA - 23 (a little better but STILL)
Game 3 - Portland - 38  SA - 33
Game 4 - Portland - 34 - SA - 22
Game 5 - Portland - 45 - SA - 42 (one of the only two close games)
Game 6 - Portland - 27 - SA - 34 (the only time SA had more attempts)
Game 7 - Portland - 40 - SA - 31

Portland + 72 for the series on FTA, Adjusting for the first two games, it's still +22 which isn't that bad at all. Look, that Blazers team was great and we were a very young team. Portland had home court and were even missing Duckworth most of the series. They deserved to win. Finally, I would actually need to watch these games again to get a real sense of what was happening. As with all free throws, it's important to note when they happen rather than raw quantity. Lots of BS can be hidden by just looking at the stats.

At the time, I thought, this was only the beginning of many great things to come but it's strange to think this was the second closest David would get to the Finals until Timmy arrived (of course the Spurs made conference finals in 1995).

When you think about it....outside the 2 minute meltdown in game seven,  they could have been in good shape to have a shot at the title.  The Suns were next up in the conference finals, and while they were a good team, very beatable (Spurs won the season series 3-1). I don't think they would have beat the Pistons but stranger things have happened and the Hemisphere would have been crazy for games 3-4 (and possibly 5). At least it would have been fun and maybe changed Strickland and Larry Brown's future in SA (two keys as to why the Spurs got worse after both left town).

The following season was the regression to what would be "the norm" - perennial disappointment. Every season ended in defeat in the early rounds. Usually, we didn't even make it close.

This is the pocket schedule for 90-91. They STILL give them out at gas stations and restaurants in town. This is the oldest one I own. I am such a pack rat. 

The next season the Spurs lost in the first round to the 7th seeded Warriors. In 1992 Robinson was injured then they were swept by the Suns (I had totally forgotten about this one). In 1993 they ended up beating the Blazers (it felt good but it was a different team than 90). Finally, in 93 they lost in the second round in six to the Suns with the famous buzzer-beater by Barkley that shut down the old Hemisphere Arena.  When you think about it, the only inexcusable loss was to the Warriors and that was back when it was a 5 game series. I wonder if things would have been different if it was seven games....

At the time, it felt like the gods of basketball were just not smiling on San Antonio. However, upon reflection it was simple why the Spurs couldn't win. They had no consistency with the roster, especially with point guard or with the head coach. Besides Larry Brown,  the coaches the Spurs did hire were a joke (Bob Bass filled in for a bit in 92) Jerry Tarkanian, Jerry Lucas and Bob Hill.

Although Robinson's peak would come in 1994 (not his 9' MVP season - more on this later), he was still an absolute marvel in terms of raw athleticism.


In the video above Robinson puts up 34 points, 14 boards, 7 assists and 8 blocks. Just watch it. A few other notes of interest in the video is that it takes place in the old Phoenix arena, which I loved the white ceiling, like a school classroom. Also, it's Greg Simmons on color - that's just a sin. 

As an adolescent, I had quite a temper (sometimes it still comes out) so when the Spurs lost, sometimes, things got broken. Including one time I threw my radio, breaking off the antenna. 

I remember late nights, watching the West coast games with my Dad. Especially as I got older, he was the first to give up and go to bed first; especially if the Spurs were losing (he’s still this way).  

One Sunday night in 1990 or 1991, my sister was at the local bowling alley (Bandera Bowl for those scoring at home).  She called the house and told us David Robinson was there bowling and that people were going up to him, asking for his autograph.  I knew what I had to do.  I begged my Dad to take me down there, and to my surprise, he said yes.  We got down there as soon as we could and David was bowling with (I think) his mother and a few other folks. I slowly made my way down the stairs to get to Robinson, who was sitting at the scoring table.  

I remember thinking his knees came up to my chest and realizing just how tall he was.  I was pretty nervous, but this guy was my hero, so there was no backing down.  Of course he was gracious and I remember telling him “Good luck against the Wolves” as that was the next team they were playing. He was surprised and said thanks.

For a many years, this was my most prized possession.

We would go to 2-5 games a year, depending on how many free tickets we fell into.  On Shaquille O’ Neal’s first visit to SA, our church youth group went along with hundreds of other youth groups from around town.  We were near the “obstructed” view in Hemisphere and it was like a cave back there.  After the game, we were led down to the lower level and Robinson, David Wood and maybe even Antonie Carr spoke.  I say maybe because I have his autograph on the back of the half time stats sheet that I had found on the floor but I don't have any memory of his specifically speaking.  I also got David Wood's autograph! Holy cow, David Wood has a highlight reel on Youtube. The internet is so full of win.  I got a few more autographs along the way in the 90's. 

During training camp of 1990, I saw TonyMassenburg and Steve Bardo at the Rivercenter Mall Footlocker. Massenburg had been  the Spurs 2^nd round pick in 1990 and he was shocked I recognized him. But as a 13 year-old, when I wasn't dreaming of girls, I was thinking about the Spurs, recognizing Tony was no biggie.  I didn't recognize Steve Bardo (as he was an invited camp player) but he gave me his autograph anyway. Massenburg would tie the NBA record for most teams played on (12) and would later be part of the 2005 championship team. 

I have Dwayne Schintzius' autograph but have no memory of how I got it. I think it might have been an HEB promotional event.

RIP Dwayne and that amazing mullet. He died a few years ago at age 43.

Sometime in the late 90’s I also went to an event at a mall and got Avery Johnson’s autograph on a basketball card. So, I imagine my autograph collection might be worth a whole nickel. 

I loved the Spurs, I had a Spurs poster and for awhile, two David Robinson posters in my room. One of my posters is up in my garage!

In the summer of 1994, the Spurs made a big splash, and traded fan favorite, Sean Elliott to the Pistons for Dennis Rodman, the Spurs would never be the same.

Coming Soon:  Part II: 1994-1999

Quote of the Day

I am a glutton for punishment. I decided to revamp our selection from the Analects and just finished reading through all 20 chapters.  No, I wasn't asked, it was just something I felt the urge to do it. Also, I find ancient Chinese philosophies fascinating. 

I think I just earned an extra dork patch for my vest. 

Here's a pretty sweet one from the Analects: 

[11:12] Chi Lu asked about serving the spirits. Confucius said, “If you can't yet serve men, how can you serve the spirits?” Lu said, “May I ask about death?” Confucius said, “If you don't understand what life is, how will you understand death?”

Fun With My Scanner: 1994-1995 Book Cover

I loved text book covers. They would hand these out for us to "protect" our books but I loved just drawing all over my covers. Any excuse to doodle, I take it (even today).

This was from my Algebra II class. I actually ended up failing it for the entire year by 2 points. What can I say? I was a really, really terrible student in high school. It also hurt that I was lazy and didn't care all that much.

That kinda makes excelling at school difficult.

"Do You Fear the Wind?" was a song we sang for the men's chorus. 

Crash and Burn Fragments

Our hard drive crashed back in January just one month after buying an external hard drive and backing up what we had.

Whew.

Felt like a boss.

So, our PC was down for the count while I figured out what to do (called wife's friend husband who graciously helped us out and gave us a new drive (and case). People are cool sometimes.

Writing the book up and up to over 8,000 words, I am shooting for 70,000 - 90,000. Slow and steady but I feel good about what's there. Aiming to finish next December.

Life is good, starting work on another study abroad this time to Ecuador in 2016. We have a former colleague that lives there and is helping us out. Should be coolio.

Planning an interfaith panel on campus in March, got all my speakers lined up, just a few kinks to work out.

Also bring Paul Chappell to campus in October. Keeping busy at work.

I feel like I have so much to write about Confucius, Spurs Memories, Peru Trip stuff, but little time (work, life, the book, etc)! If only I didn't need sleep!

Update on the CHILLIN:

H is obsessed with "Engine" Turtles. Oops, I mean "Ninja Turtles". It's funny because it's basically the only word he mispronounces and he's almost 3!  He's 100% boy and yet during the Super Bowl at a friend's house he put on an Elsa dress and wore that for an hour. The other day after pretending to be lions and tigers that fought, he pretended to be Jasmine and I was Ariel (Disney princesses).

C is turning 9 in a few weeks. When asked what she wanted for her birthday a few weeks back she said (wait for it)....a jump rope!  I am going to miss this innocence!! She's such a mature girl and yet she's also an actual 9 year-old. I am happy to say she still loves playing with dolls and don't tell anyone, but she'll sneak watch the kids shows when E and H are watching them (Sesame Street, Chuggington (sp??), etc.).

E (age 6) is basically in love with her Kindergarten teacher. It's adorable and sweet. She hugs her at every chance she gets. She has her meltdowns but it's almost always when hungry and/or tired. Whoo! That girl has passion!  She gave me a sheet with hearts and peace signs that said I was the best dad ever. Look, I'm pretty good but not that good.

K and I had a silly Vday date. On the way there we talked about how we could basically remember two Valentine's Days dates, well, this one we won't soon forget. After being told it would be an hour wait, it turned into two hours, sat next to a booming loud annoying guy, they dropped my pizza, so they had to cook a new one, K's salad had a rotten tomato and her food was cold. It was peeved to say the least but it worked out, we had each other!

Finally on the last season of DS9 - I decided to give myself a break. Because I deserve it, gosh darn it. I felt like why watch every episode if some episodes happen to be terrible? I skip almost all Quark centered episodes and some of the other Worf centered ones as well, because, ya know Klingons (blah).

Quick nod to Jammer's website, it has helped guide me past all the horrible episodes and I usually agree with him with some notable exceptions.  All said, DS9 iss probably the most compelling Star Trek series made to date. It is also the most consistent quality wise as well (at least 2-4 stinkers per season but that's nothing compared to Voyager and TNG.  I hope the next series (whenever that might be) will be more serialized like DS9.

That's your update, my people.

In the meantime, stay warm, keep your socks clean and don't forget to turn out all the lights when you leave a room.

Quote of the Day

 "The way of truth is like a great road. It is not difficult to know it. The evil is only that men will not seek it." - Mencius 

Peru Fragements Part III: Feeling Small in Peru

In the summer of 2014 I taught a short term study abroad to Peru. Here are the fragments (Part I can be found here, Part II can be found here).

One thing I love about traveling is how your whole life feels longer. Because you are experiencing something new the whole day long, it feels like every day is at least 2 days long. It's like life-extension.

Our fifth day we headed deeper into the Sacred Valley, towards the fortress of Ollantaytambo.
Besides the trip to Machu Picchu, this was my favorite part of our travels. I was in the Sacred Valley for almost six days, and I never tired of the sights, sounds or flavors of Peru. Wow, that reads like a commercial.

Our first stop was at a llama petting zoo (Awana Kancha)  set up specifically for bus loads of tourists to interact with and to feed the llamas, alpacas and vicunas.  It was great because we were the only group there (and we were a small group at that!) it was also perfectly scheduled as we spent maybe an hour here. It didn't feel like we were wasting any more time than we needed to.

One of these llamas spit in the face of my student F, and our guide said it was an "Andean Baptism". All in all, if you've gone all the way to Peru, you should feed and pet some llamas.

After another 40 minutes we made another stop just to take photos. At every decent vista, there were women in traditional grab selling tourist junk. We never once got sick of getting off our bus to take photos. For the first time in my life, I was actually making frequent use of the panoramic feature on my camera.

This is F with his back turned (I figured I wouldn't have to ask permission if his face wasn't shown). F would often go right up to edges of high places and do silly stuff like this, do the Karate Kid pose or if he was feeling energetic, head-stand. If I was going along as a friend, whatever, no big deal. However, being "in charge" makes you a little more nervous about being responsible for someone who might plummet to their death doing something stupid. Some where along the trip F started calling me "Dad" as I was the only one encouraging people to be careful. Oh, and everyone had a family name in the group for F too - so I wasn't the only one.

Next up was the market at Chinchero. It was standard tourist Peruvian stuff.  However, the prices were better than in Lima and Puno and in some cases Cuzco, so I stocked up. Still, I think the best place for typical stuff was in Cuzo in the big in-door market.  However, if you ever find yourself in Chinchero, treat yourself to some homemade bread or empanadas right out of the stone stove. So good.....

On the road again, we stopped to watch some locals roasting some cuy. I was feeling sick when we had it the first time and as you will learn in coming posts, I missed my other opportunity later in the trip as well. I did have a bite though....it was okay...kinda like chicken.

After a few hours of shopping (got some jewelry for my love along with other items for the fam) we made our way to Urubamba.

There's really no reason to go to Urubamba except for a few restaurants set up specifically for tourists passing through. It's an ugly city with an amazing backdrop.  We went to a nice restaurant with a buffet lunch surrounded by beautiful landscaping and gardens. Like a little piece of paradise in an industrialized zone.  Of course there was cliché live Peruvian music (El Condor Pasa MUST DIE....whenever we heard the song, everyone would look me and start laughing as they knew of my distaste for the song). The food was solid and the buffet allowed me to try things like alpaca (very much a cross between beef and a pork chop) that I hadn't had a chance up until this point.

Then, it was on to our final destination, Ollantaytambo. Ollantaytambo was one of the few places where the Incans defeated the Spanish.  The main attraction is a great (unfinished) Sun temple even though people mistake this structure for a fortress. This was our second taste of Incan ruins and it was pure sweetness. I'm a tactile person, so touching the actual rocks was an experience all on its own.  





The first leg up is a little challenging, depending on how in or out of shape you are because of the elevation. However, with the right pacing it's no biggie. Plus at each turn you can have a rest and turn around to appreciate the view (seen below).  

This was from about half way up, looking into town.  Ollantaytambo is a tiny little town. What you see is basically the whole thing.  You can see the trails to Pinkuylluna on the mountain on the left (more on that in another post).
 

This was at the top looking on the "back" side - away from town.  Only a little bit of green as it was winter in June in Peru. Next time I come back, I would love to take my wife in the "Summer" time and see everything with more color!
 

Better view of Pinkuylluna's ruins (center of picture). As I was looking over at the ruins (I had no idea what they were called or what I was looking at), I could see people hiking up the trail. They looked like little ants from where we were and I was jealous. As great as the temple was, they seemed isolated and it seemed like a more authentic experience than what I was having up until this point in the trip.  Little did I know I would be in their position the very next day.



Walking away from the "temple" to exit a different staircase down.  

My fellow professor and I decided to race down this staircase. It was totally stupid but fun. Oh yeah, I won. Incidentally, that's our guide on the left at bottom of the staircase.

After our visit it was time for us to head back to our hotel in Urubamba (about 30 minutes away). Our hotel was a former monastery and still has a church on site (although I don't think it's open to the public). It's quite beautiful (although after checking online - not that cheap either).

San Agustin Hotel, Urubamba

Urubamba really has little to no amenities after dark so that meant that we were eating at the hotel's restaurant. The food was okay but the restaurant itself was beautiful. This was a night where the wine was flowing just a little more than usual (although those under 21 didn't have a drop). Our meal was winding down but we wanted to continue the conversation.

I would like to think it was my idea but truthfully, I don't remember who came up with the idea first. We decided to ask if we could start a little campfire out behind the hotel so we could view the stars. It was a cold and clear night, perfect for star gazing. Even better we were in an area not inundated with light pollution.  They said we could star a campfire and showed what we could use for fuel (corn husks). We asked if we could take the last of our wine bottle and glasses and they also said yes by telling C that "this was our hotel". Wow.

Once we got to the back and had our fire up and going, we noticed that the hotel had very bright lighting for the back sidewalks, so we decided to ask if they could be shut off. Then it was show time for the universe. Surrounded by the Andes we sat and talked and above the mountains, the jaw dropping beauty of the Milky Way.

No, of course this isn't mine. All my photos looked like crap on every setting I could try.

For the first time in my memory that I could actually see the Milky Way in its full glory, as it was meant to be seen. Wine, a campfire and the most beautiful starry night I had ever seen. The only way to make this better had been if my wife had been with me.

This was one of those moments where you want time to stop. 

I've always loved looking up at the stars but in the big city  I've been reduced to staring at about a hundred stars (which on a clear night are still quite lovely).  Making matters worse, every time we go camping it's cloudy and I can't see any stars. I couldn't stop staring up at the countless stars about my head and then it hit me.

This night sky helps explain why the Andean people of  today and yesterday are so spiritual. It's was staring right at me. Being surrounded by this would create wonder and awe in your daily life. Wonder and awe are in many ways prerequisites for feeling "spiritual". Surrounded by the mountains and stars make you constantly aware of your own insignificance. Your smallness was made explicitly clear everywhere you looked.  I have a theory about this. If we are reminded of our place in the universe, it creates awe and fosters a sense of humility that we need to embrace more often. It was a wonderful night but there were more wonderful adventures to come....Part IV coming soon....

Disney Queries

Just got Ducktales Vol. 2 DVD for the kids because C has been loving the old Carl Barks Comics and sue me, I want my kids to like everything I do!!! So, here are my thoughts and queries about this strange, strange world.

Have you ever noticed that in old-school Disney comics, Donald Duck never wore pants and Mickey Mouse never wore a shirt?

That's inversion PERVERSION (but clever, Walt, very, very clever)

To top it off, Goofy was always FULLY CLOTHED.

What's odd about the whole Disney Cartoon Universe is that's it's mainly populated by dog-like people and ducks. We're watching DuckTales and there is the occasional pig in the background, or weasels (of course, they're bad guys) or different birds (like Gyro and Launchpad)  but it's mainly dog people and ducks. The dog people are kinda more like humans and less like dogs (their skin looks human). But the ducks are pretty duck-like. Where are the cats, sheep, goats and cows? Why limit yourself to dog people? 


Is this like an alternate earth where animals evolved and lost their animal aspects such as flight for the ducks and great hearing for the dogs? Wouldn't it be cool if it was a like a Planet of the Apes thing going on and they could retcon the whole universe to show the over-throw of man? (Hint: No).

Also what is very strange is that  the whole universe is segregated. You never see a mixed couple in the Disney animal world. RACISTS.

What's up with Donald's voice? It was a mistake made 70 years ago, just correct it already. People will moan about it but that's because most people are stupid. The voice is  horrible and hard to understand. It doesn't make any sense either, all the other ducks talk normal, so why doesn't he?
In the pilot of Ducktales, Launchpad asks, "why does he talk so weird?" which actually made me laugh.

Donald's like George Costanza of Seasons 7-9 of Seinfeld (when he become a caricature of the character --  in fact the whole show started to go downhill). He's a one-note character that is predictable and boring.WAIT A SECOND --

Mickey = Jerry = Every Man 
Goofy = Kramer  = Stupid Man (and both tall)
Donald = George = Angry Man 

HOLY POOP - Seinfeld is based off of Micky, Donald and Goofy.

 My mind is officially blown.

They actually work okay as a trio but the characterization in the comics by Gottfredson and Barks are so much more subtle and fun than we have ever seen in the cartoons. 

My daughter E asked if Mickey and Minnie were getting married. I told her they had been dating for 60 years so it was doubtful. I mean you know they're DOING IT, right? They can't hold out this long....

One last thing that bothers me is Huey, Dewey and Louie are STILL UNDEVELOPED characters after 60 or 70 years. Even the great Duck Man himself, Carl Barks was too lazy to try. They are just clones of each other that happen to finish each other's sentences. Can anyone address this? Wouldn't it be worthwhile?