Made it safely to New York City and the “World’s Most Famous Arena” for tonight’s Knicks-Spurs game. (New Yorkers love to remind us of their “famous” 20,000-seat arena, which, yes, inspires awe. Sitting near the Knicks bench at the corner of the court…We’ll see if I can catch up with 5-foot-8 NY guard Nate Robinson, the 2009 Slam Dunk champion. Met with Matt Bonner earlier, and he’s itching to get back onto the court following All-Star break.
Sightseeing Tour: NBA store, NHL store, Rockefeller Center, Four Seasons, Radio City Music Hall … Some TV reporter interviewed us on the street, asking about the nation’s economy.
Celebrity Patrol: Who’s here: Eva Longoria, Fat Joe, Deanna Miller (supermodel), Whoopi Goldberg, Chris Ryan of WKXL 1450 AM Concord. Longoria, whose husband, Tony Parker, is the Spurs’ point guard, is sitting directly beneath a basket. At one point, Parker took a spill, falling on the baseline while doing some of his own acting — looking for a foul … Whoopi got a HUGE ovation when shown on the video board in the third quarter.
– The visiting locker room is laughably small, like a high school locker room with a small trainers’ area where the players can hide.
– Talked with Spurs guards George Hill and Roger Mason, gathering sound for “The NBA Life with Matt Bonner” on WKXL. The show can be heard Saturday at noon, and the print edition appears in the New Hampshire Sunday News.
– Part of the Knickerbockers’ starting intro music sounds like the theme song from Beverly Hills 90210.
– Bonner is guarding 6-foot-9 forward Al Harrington, who the Red Rocket once played against during an AAU tourney in Providence. They’re battling, too. Harrington elbowed Bonner out of the paint on a no-foul grappling match for a rebound.
– Gators reunion: David Lee of the Knicks played with Bonner at the University of Florida.
– 3rd Quarter, 5:49: Knicks 67, Spurs 66. Bonner of Concord High has six points (two threes) and five rebounds.
– Slam-Dunk Champ Robinson is amazing to watch. I’ve never seen anyone in person with that kind of leaping ability. He’s taking rebounds over the top of Tim Duncan and crossing up defenders (breakin’ ankles) on the perimeter.
– 4th Quarter, 4:26: Knicks 94, Spurs 92. Lee has five personal fouls, and the Spurs are attacking him like wolves picking out the weak lamb. Tough-luck Lee has been called for at least three ticky-tack fouls.
– The Red Rocket has re-entered the game at crunch time (3:04 remaining), Knicks up one … Bonner hits a pretty 20-footer to give the Spurs the lead … Lee ties the game with a free throw, and the contest goes to OT, 102-102, after Tim Duncan misses a buzzer-beater from 10 feet.
– OT: Bonner plays good defense on Tim Thomas, who bricks a pair of shots while facing up Bonner … Nate Robinson (32 points, 10 rebounds) blasts past Bonner and helping Tim Duncan to give the Knicks a 108-104 lead with 1:45 left.
Knicks win, 112-107. Bonner: 10 points, eight rebounds.
Concord High’s Matt Bonner returned home for spaghetti and meatballs on Saturday night, then led the San Antonio Spurs to a 105-99 win over the Celtics on Sunday. The Red Rocket had a season-high 23 points, eight boards, two steals, two assists. A dejected Celtics fan was shaking his head while exiting the arena, saying “Matt Bonner killed us today.”
Bonner has waited patiently for his moment in Boston, on the parquet, where Larry Bird won championships. This was it. He seized it, shooting 10 of 17 from the floor and hitting three 3-pointers. The Spurs began looking for Bonner in the second quarter, and he kept knocking down shots, making a perfect storyline as Mike Tirico of ABC called the game. (I watched it on DVR after returning home.)
This may sound sappy but anyone who has ever played high school or college basketball in New Hampshire was along for the ride with Bonner. Among others. He’s one of us. He LOVES New Hampshire and talks about our state every chance he gets.
OBSERVATIONS: Bonner did a number on Glen Davis all afternoon. He shot over “Big Baby,” dribbled past him, and embarrassed him as a defender. At least twice Davis had the ball on the wing and Bonner backed off about 10 feet, daring Davis to shoot a 15-footer. He didn’t … Kevin Garnett showed a lot of respect for Bonner’s shooting ability. Instead of double-teaming on the post when Duncan had the ball, KG stayed with Bonner and played denial defense … I asked Spurs coach Gregg Popovich if he had any “special plays” for Bonner on his Homecoming. He joked, “about as many plays as I drew up for Mario Elie.” Most reporters knew it was a joke. Popovich has drawn up ONE PLAY for Bonner in three years.
Rajon Rondo had 16 assists, outplaying Tony Parker for the most part … To quote Kendrick Perkins: “Matt Bonner is the reason we lost the game.”
The boys of “The NBA Life with Matt Bonner” — that’s Chris Ryan of WKXL and yours truly — grabbed a bunch of sound bites from the locker room for our next radio show on Saturday. You can hear a bunch of the Spurs and Celtics on noon show, WKXL 1450 AM.
In the first quarter, I sat down near the court, grabbing an empty seat to shoot some pictures and video. A few minutes later, a nice man tapped me on the shoulder and motioned for me to move. It was Jo Jo White. I was in his seat.
Pro baseball players are packing their bags and heading to Spring Training as early as next week. I’ve been contacting some New Hampshire professsionals and talking with Fisher Cats about their travels. The “On Baseball” column will appear Tuesday. Here are some extras:
Jeff Locke, Conway, Braves farmhand: “Coffee is big in the morning and by mid-afternoon, we switch to Red Bull. When I drove home from Rome (Ga.) last season, I did it alone and bought 10 Red Bulls and put them in passenger seat.”
Ryan Patterson, Fisher Cats outfielder: “My first Spring Training, I flew in and didn’t know there were two different sites in Dunedin (Fla.), and I got a cab to the wrong one. I had to drive around for an hour and a half searching and almost missed my physical.”
What does it feel like to walk into that clubhouse for the first time each season?
“I get a little nervous, excited, and happy to see all my teammates. It’s a new year with a clean slate and a lot of unanswered questions on the upcoming year,” Patterson said.
When Toronto General Manager J.P. Ricciardi drafted Curtis Thigpen in the second round of 2004, the GM planned to outsmart everyone by turning Thigpen into a big-league catcher. Thigpen played mostly first base at the University of Texas, and if you ever watched him as catcher for the Fisher Cats, it made you wonder about Ricciardi’s plans.
Well, the idea finally fizzled. Today Thigpen was designated for assignment, removed from the 40-man roster to make room for Brian Burres, claimed off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles.
Burres went 7-10 (6.04 ERA) last season. The southpaw owns a 13-18 record (5.88 ERA) as a big leaguer.
Thigpen has appeared in 57 games for the Jays, batting .229 with one home run. The Jays have 10 days to trade him, release him or try to pass him through special waivers.
The NBA announced its six contestants for the All-Star 3-Point Shootout, leaving Matt Bonner’s name off the roster. Not surprising, really. The All-Star weekend, like Bonner says, is a popularity contest. There won’t be many Red Rocket jerseys in downtown Phoenix.
