SAME OLD SPURS

This must be old news: The San Antonio Spurs are in the Western Conference finals.

Oh, it's true. The Spurs are playing the Lakers in one half of the NBA's version of the Final Four. For those who care, the Boston Celtics and (yawn!) the Detroits Pistons are playing in the Eastern Conference finals. This also means the NBA's worst nightmare ratings wise is still alive: a Spurs-Pistons NBA Finals. Yikes!

Dear David Stern, please make sure Spurs-Pistons doesn't happen because we as fans cannot bear to watch BORING and STALE in the Finals. Where's Tim Donaghy when you need him.

The Spurs are the only four-time NBA champion to fly under the radar. I mean, nobody talks about the Spurs as one of the best teams of all time because no one wants to admit they've seen them play. I know defense wins championships, but c'mon!

I don't recall anything the Spurs do that excites me. The team is loaded with a bunch of old guys with not-so engaging personalities who whine too much to the refs. The worst offender is their best player, Tim Duncan. Have you ever seen a 6-foot-11 guy who plays such a small role on TV. He offers some of the best blank stares in the history of the game. I thought we turned the corner with Duncan when he showed some emotion in Game 1 of the first-round series vs. the Phoenix Suns. Nope. Once that series was over, Duncan went back to his shell.

TV reporters also loooooove Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and his one-liners. Sample:

Reporter: "Pop, Tim (Duncan) has two fouls, when do you plan on bringing him back to the game?"

Pop: "Soon."

Reporter: "Pop, your team is down by eight, how are you planning on getting back in the game?"

Pop: "Score."

And here's the Spurs offense: Play 1. Tony Parker walks the ball up the court, Duncan sets a screen for him. Play 2. Dump the ball to Duncan in the post and have the other four guys spot up. Play 3. Manu Ginobili takes the ball at midcourt, tells the rest of the guys to go baseline (the 1-4 set) and drives to his left.

Now, imagine those three plays 80 times a game and that's pretty much the Spurs offense in a nutshell.

A few dunks. Almost no alley-oops. No frills. Boring. Boring. Boring.

I hope the Lakers finally rid us of these Spurs because, quite frankly, their act is getting old.