The San Antonio Spurs are an embarrassment to basketball.

Reason 1) Tony Parker. Tony Parker falls down on every play. For instance, three plays in the fourth quarter of their ludicrous win Tuesday night, Parker falls with no contact and gets calls. That's embarrassing to the game. His wife, Eva Longoria told a magazine that she initially worried about Parker as he would lie on the floor several plays a game. Fortunately he consoled his wife, telling her that he's not really hurt; he does that to get the call next time, too.

Reason 2) Manu Ginobili. Ginobili falls down on every play. By far the least liked player in the league, Manu flops to such a great extent that every fan in every city knows it's coming. However, officials continue to give him undeserved calls. I've often said that he can't be blamed since the officials are such lemmings for him, but the guy knows he's flopping-- it's embarrassing to basketball. Also, Manu Ginobili complains as much as any player on any team at any time-- despite getting more undeserved calls than Dwyane Wade in the Finals.

Reason 3) Bruce Bowen. Bruce Bowen is not talented. He is frequently praised as being an elite defender, but if you know anything about anything, you know that he has kicked Steve Nash, Steve Francis, Wally Sczerbiak, Ray Allen, Amare Stoudemire and others in games. He has been suspended and been in fights. A Google search or youtube search fields only articles about cheap shots, kicking, nut-shots and being a dirty player.

The reason is because Bowen is a dirty player. Obnoxious announcers will counter with the fact that Bowen is a nice guy. While it's still probably not true, that has nothing to do with the fact that he is a dirty cheap-shot basketball player. He's an embarrassment to the sport.

Reason 4) Tim Duncan. Tim Duncan has never fouled a player in the NBA. He has never missed a shot without being fouled. He has never travelled, stepped out of bounds or been in the key more than three seconds. When accused, he bulges his eyes and runs up the floor like a sad charlie brown robot. Is Duncan a super talent? No doubt. But he doesn't love basketball. Basketball is a chore for Duncan, which is why he doesn't play with any flair or expression. His only expression is distaste for a call, which of course only gets a reaction because it halts him from finishing his goal.

Reason 5) Greg Poppovich. Poppovich is the epitome of awful in the NBA. The fact that he repeatedly employed the Hack-a-Shaq strategy, removing the beautiful to watch Phoenix Suns from their offense, defines his kind of basketball. He doesn't have the intellect or talent to match teams like Phoenix, New Orleans or LA. No, he uses deceit, dishonesty and fouls-- something that should be a penalty-- to manipulate the game so that the better team does not win.

And that is what happened. The better team did not win in the Phoenix series. Game one, despite people blaming it on late game mis-cues, was really determined by Donaghy like-officiating.

This game tonight just had so many bad calls I don't know where to start. It had the Hack-a-Shaq trash, it had a total mis-call at the end that gave the ball to the Spurs and took away an opportunity for an exciting finish. The Spurs are an embarrassment to basketball.

the jackdaddy doesn't want to hear your crap at jackhoops@gmail.com