Manu Ginobli News: Pro Sports Daily

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March 19

San Antonio Express-News

"For months, Richard Jefferson tried in vain to block out the criticism. He heard the grumblings about a disappointing season, about failing to live up to expectations, about a career at a crossroads. Looking back, Jefferson can't believe what people were saying about Manu Ginobili. "He missed half the season last year, didn't do much in the summer to rest his ankle — you'd think it might take him 40 games to get back into it," said Jefferson, the Spurs small forward. "But that doesn't make much of a story." Of course, Jefferson has dealt with his own share of criticism, too. For a while during January and February, his name was cursed more often around these parts than Santa Anna's. Just ..."

Jefferson says he's best alongside Ginobili

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March 16

San Antonio Express-News

"When it comes down to it, Richard Jefferson doesn't care if he starts or comes off the bench for the Spurs. His only request of coach Gregg Popovich: As much time alongside Manu Ginobili as possible, please. "I think Pop is still trying to find that magic, to get everybody on the same page," Jefferson said before Monday's practice at AmericanAirlines Arena. "Playing with Manu definitely helps." It is no coincidence that Jefferson's best seasons came in New Jersey with Jason Kidd setting him up. He hopes to create a reasonable facsimile with Ginobili, the closest player to Kidd the Spurs have on their roster. Jefferson, who has struggled for much of his inaugural season with the Spurs, ..."

Popovich will try to limit Ginobili's minutes

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March 13

San Antonio Express-News

"Spurs guard Manu Ginobili may be back in the team's starting lineup, but don't expect to see him logging the sort of minutes he played in the first two games since coach Gregg Popovich changed his opening lineup. Ginobili played 36 minutes, 53 seconds in his first start, at Cleveland, and 33:17 in Wednesday's victory over the Knicks. Mindful of keeping Ginobili fresh for the playoffs, Popovich would like to see the per-game number under 30 minutes, and Friday's blowout of the Timberwolves allowed him to play him only 27:44. "He may play a few more minutes a game, just because of the situation we're in," Popovich said. "He's a great player, and we need him on the court. So that might force ..."

Manu: Next two are must-wins for Spurs

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March 12

San Antonio Express-News

"Beginning with tonight's game against the Timberwolves at the Target Center, the Spurs have 11 games in 18 days, a stretch that includes four sets of back-to-back games and opponents like the Cavaliers, Lakers, Celtics and Magic. The Timberwolves and Clippers, Saturday's opponent at the AT&T Center, have only 39 wins between them and the Clippers are 13th and the Wolves 16th in the West. According to Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, that puts both weekend games in a special category. "Must wins, both," said the Spurs' emotional leader, back in the starting lineup since Tony Parker's hand injury put him on the shelf for four to eight weeks. "It's more about being mentally ready than physically ..."

Ginobili's surge continues in Spurs' win

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March 11

San Antonio Express-News

"Manu Ginobili doesn't presume to know what it's like to be Tracy McGrady. Ginobili has had injuries, but not a knee injury. He's had surgery, but not microfracture. He's missed months, but not an entire season. Still, after watching McGrady feel his way around the AT&T Center in a New York Knicks jersey Wednesday night, during what became a 97-87 Spurs victory, Ginobili could sympathize with what McGrady was going through. This is what it looks like when a former star is just trying to be a basketball player again. "He's coming from a way worse situation than me," Ginobili said. "It's not an easy spot to be." The same McGrady who once scored 13 points in 33 seconds against the Spurs ..."

Popovich says Ginobili starts out of 'necessity'

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March 10

San Antonio Express-News

"Some observers might have been surprised to see Manu Ginobili inserted into the Spurs' starting lineup in the wake of Tony Parker's fractured hand. Ginobili wasn't one of them. "It's not that I was expecting it," Ginobili said, "but there weren't many other options." Ginobili earned just his second start of the season Monday at Cleveland, scoring a season-high 38 points and making seven 3-pointers in the Spurs' 97-95 loss. In his only other start, Nov. 18 at Dallas, Ginobili left in the first quarter with a strained groin. After, he joked that he never wanted to start again. Had it not been for Parker's injury, which is set to keep him out six weeks, Ginobili would have gotten his wish. ..."

Manu too good, and Spurs get too smart

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March 9

San Antonio Express-News

"No NBA coach designs smarter inbounds plays than Gregg Popovich, and he came out of a timeout Monday with another one. Everyone said so. But maybe even Popovich wondered as he headed to another bus, after another loss, if he had leaned too much on strategy and on the percentages. Maybe even Popovich wondered if he should have simply sat back and enjoyed the magic of Manu Ginobili. Mike Brown said he's seen variations of the play before, but he said he'd never seen one quite like this. There were nine seconds left, and the Spurs needed three points, and Ginobili's only previous mistake had been wearing a shoe one size too big. His toe had touched the 3-point line. Brown had seen this ..."

Spurs' Ginobili will be in demand

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March 7

San Antonio Express-News

columnist Mike Monroe

"When the Hornets made a fourth-quarter run at the Spurs in Friday's game at the AT"

Ginobili factor in NBA free agency

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March 7

San Antonio Express-News

"With the talent-laden free agent class of 2010 just months from availability, what are the chances a team may be willing to offer Spurs guard Manu Ginobili a contract big enough to lure him away from San Antonio? Depending on where the salary cap figure for the 2010-11 season is set - it is projected to be between $53 million and $54 million -- five teams figure to have at least $15 million in cap space to spend on free agents. Two more will have about $9 million and nearly $12 million. There will be plenty of talented free agents vying for all that money, led by the triad of All-Stars - LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Each of those superstars can sign with only one team, and ..."

Spurs' Ginobili, Blair have on-court symbiosis

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March 4

San Antonio Express-News

"When the Spurs dealt away Fabricio Oberto in June, Manu Ginobili figured he not only was losing one of his best friends and a fellow countryman. He was losing his favorite pick-and-roll partner. "I played with Fabri for over 10 years," said Ginobili, who first met Oberto when they were teenagers in Argentina. "He knew exactly how I wanted the screens. He had a passion for setting screens like I've never seen." Surprisingly, it hasn't taken Ginobili long to find Oberto's pick-and-roll heir apparent. He wouldn't be surprised if he found out that rookie DeJuan Blair has Argentine blood in his veins, too. "I think we enjoy playing together, and we're beginning to get to know each other," ..."

Spurs' Jefferson inspired by Ginobili

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February 26

San Antonio Express-News

"In a season that has produced 19 different Spurs starting lineups, including one that had team captain and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Tim Duncan coming off the bench, nothing qualifies as a surprise. For Richard Jefferson, a starter through nearly all of his first eight NBA seasons and a starter in the first 39 Spurs games this season, a recent demotion to the bench is easier to take just by glancing quickly at the locker next to his at the AT&T Center. It belongs to Manu Ginobili. "No, it's not hard at all to accept," Jefferson said. "I just want to win. You look at a guy like Manu, who's been All-NBA, one of the best players in this league, and he comes off the bench. "Starting ..."

Ginobili: 'I feel great, and I bet you can tell'

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February 26

San Antonio Express-News

"Still seeking every shred of credible evidence that a season that began with great promise might yet produce something special, the Spurs headed to Houston on Thursday afternoon with their most tangible bit of encouragement in weeks. Manu Ginobili, the beating heart of a four-time NBA champion, has declared he feels like, well, Manu Ginobili. The importance of such self-actualization can't be overstated for a team that will play the Rockets at the Toyota Center still seventh in the Western Conference. "I feel great, and I bet you can tell," Ginobili said after submitting Exhibits A through Z in a Wednesday night victory against the Thunder. The performance gave every Spur aboard the short ..."

Manu possessed in Spurs' win

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February 25

San Antonio Express-News

"Kevin Durant was loose in the open court, a 6-foot-9 swirl of arms and legs, about to launch into the kind of open-court dunk he'd been ramming home since before he was old enough to drive. Manu Ginobili squared up his charging opponent and prepared to make SportsCenter. "I really thought I was going to be on the highlights," Ginobili said. "His highlight." Instead, Durant made Ginobili's reel. At the turning point of the Spurs' 95-87 victory Wednesday at the AT&T Center, Ginobili met Durant at the rim, blocked his shot and denied his dunk. It was an improbable play — the 32-year-old Argentine outleaping a 21-year-old with springs for legs — only if you don't know Ginobili. "Manu through ..."

Never normal — Ginobili's last leap

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February 25

San Antonio Express-News

"The previous time, Kevin Durant stood under the basket when Manu Ginobili flew out of bounds. This was in Oklahoma City. Then, in the final seconds, Ginobili's body was parallel to the ground. Durant watched as Ginobili threw a no-look pass that led to a win. This time convinced Durant. "He's not normal," Durant said. San Antonio knew this about Ginobili already. But in a season that's not normal, either, Wednesday brought out the one, skinny, left-handed chance the Spurs have at becoming more than first-round fodder. The evening began without many expectations. All Ginobili anticipated was the residue of the rodeo, but then he came out for warmups, seeing the AT&T Center floor for the ..."

In order to save season, Pop should start Ginobili

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February 10

San Antonio Express-News

"Near the end of the 2008-09 season, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich declared that his "Big Three" of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili needed to reunite in the starting lineup. The quote from Popovich, about an hour before Ginobili was to make his second start of the season, at Indianapolis on April 3: "I just think Manu coming off the bench has run its course. It's time for the three of them to play together. They're our three best players. They're going to make each other better on the court." By game's end, Ginobili had scored 16 points with seven rebounds and seven assists in a 126-121 Spurs victory. Popovich's theory seemed sound. Two days later, Ginobili limped down a hallway at ..."

Ginobili almost himself again

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February 6

San Antonio Express-News

"The ball swung to Manu Ginobili in the corner, followed by the sound of 20,572 fans at the Rose Garden inhaling at once. The Spurs trailed Portland by three with 10 seconds left Thursday, and Ginobili was loading up for a 3-pointer that couldn't have been more uncontested had it come during shootaround. As has been the case with the Spurs for much of the season, Ginobili's potential game-tying shot came with a glitch. He hadn't been expecting the pass from George Hill, who had eschewed an open look, and the surprise threw him out of rhythm. The ball bounced off the rim, and Portland hung on to a 96-93 victory. "I had plenty of time; I stayed with the shot," Ginobili said. "But it didn't ..."

Ginobili says he's not hurt

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January 23

San Antonio Express-News

"Despite getting kicked in the right shin for the second straight game, Spurs guard Manu Ginobili swore he felt fine, physically, after Friday's 116-109 loss to the Houston Rockets at the AT"

Manu is in driver's seat, while Danica can't miss

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January 22

San Antonio Express-News

"As someone who makes driving at more than 200 mph look routine, nothing would appear to faze Danica Patrick. But Thursday night at Sunset Station, the Indy Racing League and NASCAR Nationwide Series driver met her match in Spurs guard Manu Ginobili. On a simulator, at least. She doesn't play video games. "I think you have a good chance of beating me in the racing game, actually," Patrick told Ginobili. "You think so?" Ginobili responded. "Yeah, I do," Patrick said. "I don't know what that says about my driving, which is why I'm scared to do driving games because people will judge me based on the driving." Patrick and the Alamo City's favorite Time Warner customer helped the cable company ..."

Ginobili downplays Argentine paper's report

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January 21

San Antonio Express-News

"Spurs guard Manu Ginobili has a message for fans concerned about comments he made in an Argentine newspaper report indicating he expects to become a free agent this summer. "Just because I don't expect the Spurs to extend my contract before it expires does not mean my days as a Spur are over," Ginobili said before Wednesday's game at the AT&T Center against the Utah Jazz. The article in Clarin, an Argentine publication that has fervently followed Ginobili's career since he came to the Spurs, appeared on Wednesday morning. Ginobili said he was concerned some of his comments weren't properly understood, especially as they related to his belief the Spurs won't offer him a contract extension ..."

A reason Ginobili will want to be back

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January 21

San Antonio Express-News

"The Spurs will want to re-sign the Manu Ginobili of Wednesday. But that's not the issue. Will Ginobili want to re-sign with the Spurs of Wednesday? Maybe he would like to play with a team that can beat the Jazz at least once a season. Maybe he'd like to play with LeBron James, for example, and start over in a new city. A story this week out of Argentina suggests starting over might appeal to Ginobili. If he remains healthy, Ginobili will have options. But when it comes time to make a decision this summer, Ginobili will likely remember his past seven years in San Antonio, as well as Wednesday. Then, he was allowed to play the way he likes to play. Next summer is a lot of games away. That's ..."

Manu's bat experience might come in handy

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January 21

San Antonio Express-News

"Spurs guard Manu Ginobili soon may be needed in his hometown in Argentina. According to news reports out of Bahia Blanca, bats have invaded the courthouse in the town where Ginobili grew up. "Yeah, it happened," Ginobili said. "No jokes, it's true. Between the roof and the (attic), they were all there. They tried to get them out, and they went crazy and started flying all over the place. They can't get them out, so they worry about what to do." One solution: Call Ginobili. After his renowned confrontation with a Mexican freetail bat in the Spurs' Halloween Night victory over the Sacramento Kings at the AT&T Center, the Spurs guard is surprised he hasn't been called to try to clean up the ..."

Ginobili makes pass and gets one

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January 15

San Antonio Express-News

"Until the moment he went sprawling into a row of photographers, Manu Ginobili's night at the Ford Center had been a complete bust. He had missed all 10 of his shots. The only reason he had to go careening into a collection of Canons in the first place was that he was about the blow the Spurs' most important possession of the game. Down by a point in the final 20 seconds of overtime against Oklahoma City on Wednesday, Ginobili fumbled the ball nearly out of bounds, commenced a Superman dive after it, then flung the ball blindly to George Hill before landing headfirst among photographers on the baseline. Hill got the ball to Richard Jefferson, whose 13-footer with 9.1 seconds remaining ..."

Spurs' Ginobili to Pop: No more starts

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January 8

San Antonio Express-News

"Recalling what happened the last time the Spurs played the Mavericks, Spurs guard Manu Ginobili has a request of coach Gregg Popovich: Don't even think about putting me in the starting lineup. It was in the Nov. 18 game in Dallas, his one and only start of the season, that Ginobili suffered a strained left groin. The injury cost him five games on the inactive list and limited minutes during the first few games after his return to action, on Nov. 29 against the 76ers. "I guess that was my only start of the last few years, and probably the last start of my career," Ginobili said after the Spurs' 112-92 victory over the Pistons on Wednesday night. "No doubt. No question." Nodding in the ..."

Spurs' Ginobili is now pain-free

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January 7

San Antonio Express-News

"The headaches and sore sinuses that robbed Manu Ginobili of a decent night's sleep during the Spurs' road trip to Washington and Toronto were gone by the time Wednesday's game against the Detroit Pistons tipped off at the AT&T Center. It was the Pistons who felt the pain of Ginobili's restored health. Ginobili took two charges and had a steal during an 11-0 fourth-quarter run that turned an air-tight game into a blowout victory for the Spurs. His defensive aggression, often applied full-court, keyed one of the most lopsided single quarters of the season for the Spurs. "Oh, yeah, that felt good," Ginobili said. "It looked like we were more energetic. We hustled more, played with more edge. ..."

Illness spreads among Spurs

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January 4

San Antonio Express-News

"The bug that has made Spurs guard Manu Ginobili lose sleep and feel achy for three days has begun to work its way through the team. Several of Ginobili's teammates have reported symptoms similar to those that have deepened Ginobili's voice and given him headaches. Among the newly afflicted are Matt Bonner, still on the injured list with a broken bone in his right hand, and reserve forward Marcus Haislip. Starting point guard Tony Parker also was sniffling and coughing after Sunday's game against the Raptors. Ginobili managed to play more than 30 minutes in the Spurs' 91-86 loss on Sunday but said he looked forward to getting back to San Antonio for some needed rest. "I'm going to get ..."

Spurs' Ginobili shaping up nicely

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December 30

San Antonio Express-News

"The passes come zipping from every direction, and in every way imaginable. No look. Behind-the-back. Over-the-shoulder. In traffic. With English. If there's one thing DeJuan Blair has learned early in his rookie season with the Spurs, it's that when Manu Ginobili is directing a fast break, expect the unexpected. "He can throw it off his back, hit it off his foot," Blair said. "He can do anything. He's amazing." In the Spurs' 117-99 trouncing of Minnesota on Tuesday night, Ginobili did everything but sell popcorn. In what coach Gregg Popovich called one of his Argentine guard's best all-around games, Ginobili had 14 points, nine rebounds, 10 assists and three steals, narrowly missing the ..."

Spurs become too charitable with ball

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December 13

San Antonio Express-News

"In the aftermath of the Spurs' 104-85 victory over Charlotte on Friday, a mistake-plagued effort spectacular in its sloppiness, guard Manu Ginobili asked a question to which he really didn't want an answer. "How many turnovers did we have?" Ginobili said. Having been in the building for what amounted to a 48-minute game of hot potato, one in which more than one of his teammates fired a ball into the bleachers, Ginobili knew the answer would not be good. Apprised of the actual number - a season-high 28 - Ginobili cringed as if he'd just strained another groin. "That's unacceptable if we want to have a good season," he said. This month has rung in a season of giving for the Spurs, who over ..."

Jefferson, Ginobili spark Spurs

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December 10

San Antonio Express-News

"The idea arose the way many outlandish ideas in the NBA arise. From players with too much time on their hands. During a lull in practice Tuesday, Tony Parker and Richard Jefferson got to talking about Jefferson's former life as a prolific alley-oop receiver, and how he hadn't completed one since coming to San Antonio. "I said, 'We have to do something,'" Parker said. "We had to get Richard one alley-oop." Less than 40 seconds into the Spurs' skid-stopping 118-106 victory over Sacramento on Wednesday night, Parker and Jefferson indeed did something about it. Jefferson cut strong behind a baseline screen and rose toward the rim. One pass and one catch later, the pair had connected on their ..."

Ginobili's playing time returns

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December 9

San Antonio Express-News

"Since playing only three seconds in the fourth quarter of a Dec. 3 game against the Boston Celtics — just 18 minutes, 18 seconds for the game — Spurs guard Manu Ginobili has returned to a more typical portion of playing time. After declaring that the left groin strain that cost him five games no longer is holding him back, Ginobili played 26:06 in a Saturday loss to the Denver Nuggets and 24:08 in Monday's loss to the Jazz in Salt Lake City. "(Denver) was really the first game I gave him all his minutes, basically, so he could get his rhythm," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I was careful before that. Starting with the Denver game, I thought we'd just play him and see if his body could ..."

Spurs' Ginobili lacking confidence

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December 7

San Antonio Express-News

"Three games into a somewhat halting return to the Spurs lineup after missing five games with a left groin strain, guard Manu Ginobili is encouraged with his physical condition and his level of fitness. Next up: Regaining the confidence that has made him one of the NBA's most dynamic players. "I felt great before the game," Ginobili said after Saturday's 106-99 loss to the Denver Nuggets at the AT"

MG as KG - winding path back

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December 4

San Antonio Express-News

"A year ago Manu Ginobili didn't sit. He stood. He stood near Ray Allen in the closing seconds in Boston. Then Ginobili reached, nearly grabbing an inbounds pass out of Allen's hands. Paul Pierce would have to foul Ginobili, and Ginobili would have to do what Ginobili does. Make free throws for the win. So Thursday night showed the changes. The Spurs needed someone to make a play - such as someone who had helped win three titles. Yet Ginobili sat for all but three seconds of the fourth quarter. What happened? Doc Rivers has a few ideas. Rivers can be surprised, and he was at times when he played for the Spurs. Dennis Rodman was a teammate, after all. Rivers might have been surprised ..."

Spurs playing a game of bridge

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December 4

Boston Globe

"It's been two seasons since the Spurs dusted the Cavaliers for their fourth NBA title in nine years. The Spurs not only were accustomed to winning, they used their highly effective model of roster building to play deep into June annually. While the 2007-08 version lost to the Lakers in the Western Conference finals - not a shabby follow-up to an NBA title - last season's Spurs were taken out by the Mavericks in the first round, leading to major uncertainty as to whether the most critical parts of the dynasty were losing steam."

Duncan continues to fuel Spurs' engine

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December 1

San Antonio Express-News

"Two months ago, Richard Jefferson arrived for the start of his first Spurs training camp and opened with a joke. Somebody asked about the benefits of playing with a future Hall of Famer like Tim Duncan. Jefferson went straight for the punchline. "His game is pretty much trash now," Jefferson cracked. "I've told him that multiple times, that's why they brought me in here - because of his deteriorating body." Apprised later of Jefferson's ha-ha moment, Duncan smiled - and agreed. "I'm just along for the ride," Duncan said at the time. Funny thing, though: A month into his 13th NBA season, No. 21 is the one driving the bus for the Spurs. Through 15 games, Duncan leads the team in scoring ..."

Mason hobbling as Ginobili nears return

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November 28

San Antonio Express-News

"Just when it appeared the Spurs might be returning to full strength for Sunday's game against the Philadelphia 76ers, they were hit again by another injury. Roger Mason Jr., who had overcome an early-season slump from the 3-point line and turned in his most complete game of the season Wednesday, left Friday's game against the Rockets in the second quarter with a strained left hamstring. Mason did not return to the game and was limping noticeably as he walked to the team bus afterward. Should Mason be out for a while, the impending return of All-Star guard Manu Ginobili could be vital. Depending on how Ginobili responds after a rigorous pregame workout Friday, he may be cleared to play ..."

Spurs' Ginobili to miss 7 to 10 days

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November 20

San Antonio Express-News

"After being examined by members of the Spurs medical staff Thursday, guard Manu Ginobili has been ruled out of action for seven to 10 days. An MRI exam confirmed that Ginobili suffered a mild left groin strain during Wednesday's game against the Mavericks in Dallas. He previously had been bothered by a left hamstring strain that caused Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to sit him during the fourth quarter of a loss to Oklahoma City on Saturday. Both Ginobili and All-NBA point guard Tony Parker, still ailing with a sprained left ankle, were inactive for Thursday's game against the Jazz. Parker now is listed as day-to-day. The muscle strains that have plagued Ginobili are a disappointment after a ..."

Ginobili out, Parker doubtful for Jazz

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November 19

San Antonio Express-News

"The injury bug has bitten the Spurs again. Tony Parker is doubtful and Manu Ginobili is out for Thursday's home game against the Utah Jazz. Parker missed Wednesday night's 99-94 overtime loss at Dallas with a sprained left ankle that has been bothering him for more than a week. Ginobili, meanwhile, hobbled off the floor 7:28 into his first start of the season with a strained left groin. Ginobili is set to undergo further tests on the injury Thursday, and won't play against the Jazz. The injury is unrelated to the hamstring problem that kept him out of the fourth quarter of Saturday's loss to Oklahoma City."

Injury bug bites Spurs again

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November 19

San Antonio Express-News

"The night began with news that Tony Parker would not be able to play against the Dallas Mavericks because of the recurrence of an ankle injury suffered 12 days earlier. Not long after tipoff, the Spurs learned they would be without Manu Ginobili, too. Ginobili earned his first start of the season, then left the floor 71/2 minutes later with a left groin strain. And the Spurs, for the second time in a week, were left to face their Interstate-35 rivals without two of their Big Three. Just a week earlier, Parker missed a victory over the Mavericks — and a preceding victory over Toronto — with the same injury. He aggravated it in his return Saturday against Oklahoma City and had been limited ..."

Hamstring strain means no Ginobili in fourth

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November 15

San Antonio Express-News

"Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he chose to be conservative with the long-term health of star guard Manu Ginobili in the second half of Saturday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the AT&T Center. Fearful that a left hamstring strain that kept Ginobili out of practice sessions on Thursday and Friday had re-tightened, Popovich held Ginobili out of the fourth quarter of a tight game. Ginobili also banged knees with Thunder rookie James Harden in the first half, staying on the floor for several seconds after a collision. "I didn't keep him out because of his knee," Popovich said. "I kept him out because of a hamstring that's been tight. I just thought it would be best to be ..."

Equation changes, Ginobili doesn't

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November 12

San Antonio Express-News

columnist Buck Harvey

"His agent was talking earlier in the day, about how it was just a matter of waiting. "We can't push it," Herb Rudoy was saying. "When they are ready to talk, they will talk." So he waits, as does Manu Ginobili, as do the Spurs. And probably every night, the equation changes. But something isn't changing, and that's Ginobili. He followed a 36-point game against Toronto with a more cautious game against Dallas, and the motivation had little to do with his pending free agency. Anyone who knows him knows that. There are other sides to this, and Dallas has one. Erick Dampier has another year left on a contract considerably stronger than his game, but he has to meet an incentive to trigger that ..."

Big game for Manu helps ease his mind

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November 11

San Antonio Express-News

"There is confidence, and then there is supreme confidence. If ever Manu Ginobili were feeling the latter, it came early in the fourth quarter of the Spurs' 131-124 victory over Toronto on Monday. Fourteen seconds after checking into the game, Ginobili let fly with a long 3-point try. It was, in NBA terminology, a "heat check." The shot swished. Ginobili, on his way to a season-high and psyche-soothing 36 points, was officially on fire. The question now becomes how long Ginobili's hot streak, and his confidence, will last. "I'll tell you after next game," Ginobili said. "If I keep feeling like this, confident with my shot and attacking the rim, you never know." For all the offseason ..."

Iverson's act shows he's no Ginobili

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November 11

San Antonio Express-News

columnist Mike Monroe

"Tony Parker and Tim Duncan were out for the Spurs' game against the Toronto Raptors on Monday night, but when it came time for the opening tip, Manu Ginobili was in his customary spot the past two seasons: on the bench, awaiting opportunity to impose his will on the game. Ginobili's will produced 36 points, eight assists, four blocks and an important victory for the Spurs. Ginobili is the best player since John Havlicek to willingly accept a bench role. Havlicek never started for the great Celtics teams of the 1960s and '70s, but his role was the template for the league's Sixth Man Award. Havlicek is in the Hall of Fame, and if the totality of Ginobili's career, NBA and international, is ..."

Ginobili powers Spurs past Raptors

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November 10

San Antonio Express-News

"In the hours before his team walked into the AT"

After bat, shots for Ginobili aren't just aimed at hoop

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November 3

San Antonio Express-News

"Spurs guard Manu Ginobili has been placed on a precautionary regimen of rabies vaccinations after his now-famous run-in with a flying bat during a game Halloween night. The shots are purely preventative. Because the bat could not be found after the game for testing — team officials say it survived and flew away — doctors recommended that anyone who came in contact with it be vaccinated. Ginobili took four shots Monday in the hip and arm, and he is scheduled for four more such sessions over the next month. "It was pretty funny at the time," Ginobili said Monday, two days after his bat encounter. "Now it's not. I got like a million shots for rabies." According to the federal Centers for ..."

Ginobili drives 'em batty in San Antonio

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November 2

Chicago Tribune

"For Spurs fans, Halloween 2009 will be remembered for Manu Ginobili's heroic and hilarious bat slap. The flying mammal that had interrupted play twice and spooked players, coaches and officials at the AT&T Center in San Antonio learned the hard way that the Argentine exterminator takes no guano. Late in the first quarter of an eventual 113-94 rout of the Kings, Ginobili tracked the bat with his eyes and let loose an open-palmed left hook that netted the creature and slammed it to the floor. "That was amazing," teammate Tony Parker said. "The legend continues with Manu. Unbelievable. ... He's always doing crazy stuff.""

Ginobili: 'I've still got things to work on'

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October 23

San Antonio Express-News

"Ordinarily, a seven-year NBA veteran such as Manu Ginobili would approach the final game of the preseason as a relief. This time, Ginobili would be happy for a few more exhibition games. "I think I've still got things to work on," Ginobili said after Thursday's practice before catching a flight for today's preseason finale with the Indiana Pacers. "The years before, I felt like I was ready and didn't need the preseason. This year, I did need it, and playing 20 or 25 minutes, like last game (22:55 Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder) was really useful for me. "I really do need this next game so I start feeling better, start making more decisions and get to play with the ones that are ..."

Beasley makes his power play in Heat loss

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October 12

Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

"The experiment was put on hold Sunday. Michael Beasley was back at power forward for the Miami Heat, back at the spot where he built his lottery reputation at Kansas State, back where he earned first-team All-Rookie last season. The move certainly wasn't a definitive switch. Nothing can be definitive when Dwyane Wade, Jermaine O'Neal, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili all are held out of the same game, which was the case with the 95-93 exhibition loss to the San Antonio Spurs at AmericanAirlines Arena. But by playing Udonis Haslem off the bench, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra gave himself the chance to look at Plan B, which many considered Plan A when Beasley was taken with the No. 2 pick in the 2008 ..."

Ginobili predicts complete recovery

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June 8

San Antonio Express-News

"Manu Ginobili boarded a flight to Argentina late Sunday afternoon, headed home for the first time in nearly a year. This time, he planned to stay awhile, using his vacation to relax with friends and family and do all the things that a wandering son and brother does when he finally gets a chance to return home. "I've got almost everything packed up and ready to go," Ginobili said from his San Antonio home a few hours before leaving for the airport. "There was a lot to pack." Ginobili could be bringing everything but the kitchen sink back with him to Buenos Aires. It still wouldn't match the baggage he carried the last time he made the trip home. Last summer, the Spurs guard boarded a ..."

Ginobili offers laptop to fuming airman

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April 23

San Antonio Express-News

"Air Force Maj. Tobin Griffeth was fuming this week that the Spurs' Manu Ginobili "took my computer!" But there'll be a happy ending to the major's thwarted quest for a laptop he can use to teleconference with his wife and two boys while in Afghanistan for six months - his first lengthy deployment. The Best Buy at the Forum, where he was promised an Asus Eee PC Netbook, has vowed to find a similar laptop. If it can't, Ginobili said through a spokesman that he'll return his, so Griffeth can have it. Michelle Griffeth was happy to learn Ginobili didn't know she and her husband had dibs on the Asus when the Spurs guard and Time Warner pitchman bought it. "I was hoping that was the case. He's ..."

Pop says to get over Ginobili

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April 19

San Antonio Express-News

"Though Manu Ginobili remains a supportive presence in the locker room and cheers for his teammates from behind the bench during the games, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has admonished his players to eliminate Ginobili from their thinking during the Spurs' playoff run. "We have to be of the mind-set that Manu Ginobili is almost not part of the team, in a crazy sort of way," Popovich said before Game 1 of the Spurs' first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks. "If we spent any time thinking about Manu, it's going to take away from our group-think, and what we have to do. "We can't have him in our minds at all. At this point, unfortunately, he has nothing to do with this except ..."

Mason's scoring up with Ginobili down

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April 15

San Antonio Express-News

"It isn't the way he would have planned it, but Roger Mason Jr. has rediscovered his scoring role since Manu Ginobili's season-ending injury. In five games without Ginobili, the team's offensive sparkplug, Mason has slid back into the starting shooting guard role and fired away. His field goal attempts have gone up to 13.6 per game. He is shooting 45.5 percent from the field, and averaging 16.6 points. "We all have to kind of pick our games up," said Mason, who averaged 18 points on the Spurs' two-game road trip to Sacramento and Golden State. "Obviously, when Manu was here, there was less responsibility for me. With him out, you try to do a little bit more." With Ginobili shelved, Mason ..."