And this stupid putting "Los" on NBA jerseys is the most idiotic thing I've ever seen. Major League Baseball does the same thing. So when will the San Diego Padres come out and put "Fathers" on their uniforms to celebrate Anglo heritage?
Posted on 04/08/2010 6:54:18 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
ESPN has assisted David Stern, the Commissioner of the NBA, throughout his tenure with his fervent effort to globalize the game of basketball. As an NBA fan, I didn't think the effort to demonstrate the globalization of the game could sink to a new low, but with ESPN's report on the recently agreed upon contract extension between the San Antonio Spurs and Manu Ginobili, it did.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The San Antonio Spurs and guard Manu Ginobili have agreed to a three-year extension worth $38.9 million, a league source confirmed Wednesday.
The deal is the maximum the Spurs are allowed to offer Ginobili under the current collective bargaining agreement, based on Ginobili's current salary and age (32).
The contract will not be completed before Ginobili and the team return to San Antonio from their current road trip and the possibility remains the deal could fall apart. Whatever concerns the Spurs might have about Ginobili's injury issues over the last few seasons, though, have been allayed by his performance the last two months.
Ginobili said he has been physically fine since the start of the season, but that he had "a mental issue" to overcome about finishing around the rim.
Ginobili has been with San Antonio since 2002. He's averaging 16.6 points and 5.6 assists per game this season.
He could have become a free agent after the 2010 season ends for the Spurs, who are tied for sixth in the Western Conference standings entering Wednesday's games.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ginobili's value to San Antonio is heightened by the fact that as a Spanish-speaking Argentine, he is immensely popular in San Antonio's Hispanic-rich market. (emphasis added)
Ginobili's value to the Spurs has to do with the fact that he's been an integral part of the team for seven years -- three of those teams won NBA championships. Moreover, during his career he has been selected to the Western Conference All-Star Team (2004-2005), awarded the league's 6th Man of the Year (2007-2008), and selected to the all-NBA's 3rd Team (2007-2008).
His resume speaks for itself, and because that resume makes him a valued commodity throughout the league, the Spurs were motivated to extend his contract now rather than risk losing him during the upcoming July free agent period to the open market---one which will have 9 teams with over $10 million available to spend on free agent talent.
There have been NBA teams in the past that have had players of certain nationalities in markets where those nationalities made up a large percentage of the total demographic, and those players we're let go because they weren't high caliber players -- for reference see the short-lived careers of Yuta Tabuse, a Japanese player and former member of the Los Angeles Clippers and Sun Yue, a Chinese player and former member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
That's not even the case here with San Antonio and Ginobili. Ginobili is considered an Argentine of Italian descent (he has dual citizenship in both countries), and over 80% of the Latino population in San Antonio is of Mexican descent.
I guess this wouldn't matter if you imagined there was no difference between Argentines and Mexicans, but with one nation being a part of the continent of North America and the other a part of the continent of South America, it's difficult to envision that you could plausibly do so.
But ESPN couldn't help itself.
We discussed this past December how the global leader in sports felt the need to make a separate player ranking system just for players of Latin American nationalities. Now ESPN is making the claim, that a player who's been a top-flight player in the league for years has "heightened" value to his team because he's an Italian-Argentine playing in a city with one of the largest Mexican-American communities in the country.
Da-da-da, Da-da-da!
J.C. Arenas is a frequent contributor to American Thinker and welcomes your comments at jcarenas.com
Eduardo Najera might have something to say about this.
Here’s a guy who’s actually earned everything he has yet, with all things liberal, it’s all about race. The funny thing is is that San Antonio is a very conservative city. Many of it’s hispanic population will actually look at this as an insult to his abilities.
What is the NBA? I remember, long, long, lllllllloooooooonnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggggggggg ago that we had a professional basketball association. But now I think it is called the Lebron and Koby Basketball League. I think that is the name of it. That is all that you see on TV anyway are those two. Yesterday, I happened across the Mike and Mike show in the morning just as whining Greenberg (a dimocrat butt kisser if there ever was one) start his DEFENSE of head Muzzie in Charge Obama’s failures too pick the NCAA tournament correctly. I moved on rapidly and did not watch the rest of his dimocrat butt kissing whine. Greenberg might as well wear a DNC arm band.
From a business perspective, this makes perfect sense to me ... and from a personal perspective, I have no problem with marketing based on national pride.
The Houston Rockets make A TON of money from the fact that Yao Ming wears a Rockets jersey ... even to the point where the most popular basketball jersey in China last year was Tracy McGrady (another Rocket, at that time) because Yao is already pretty well universally owned over there.
The American market is divided, and always will be ... we root for local teams, for the few nationally-followed teams (i.e. Lakers), against the nationally-followed teams, or don’t pay any attention at all. In any case, we’re set in our ways ... and the NBA has to compete against the NFL, MLB, Nascar and the NHL. There just isn’t a lot of expansion to be had here.
International markets are a completely different story. There is HUGE potential for profit from marketing international players such as Yao and Ginobli in their home countries ... and the market extends even beyond those players alone, where, as in the case of McGrady, international markets begin following the teams rather than just the individual players.
Baseball has been doing this for quite some time with marketing around players like Johan Santana or Albert Pujols.
Its just business.
SnakeDoc
And he's STILL a hero in Mexico.
And this stupid putting "Los" on NBA jerseys is the most idiotic thing I've ever seen. Major League Baseball does the same thing. So when will the San Diego Padres come out and put "Fathers" on their uniforms to celebrate Anglo heritage?
.
Classic example of rascism.
Pernicious.
OMG, this is such an insult to Manu Ginobili’s abilities. When he’s healthy, he’s like the Tasmanian Devil of Basketball. He will make steals, get physically creamed defending against bigger players heading to make a shot, and when he’s fired up, Make three’s like nobody’s business.
The Spurs did beat the LA Lakers a couple of nights ago, and Ginobili was the reason. They’ve beaten the Cavaliers, too. The reason: Ginobili.
I’d much rather see Hispanics, African Americans, etc be stars in things that make a difference - like science, engineering, manufacturing. We’ve got to get jobs back to this country.
Athletes are entertainers at best...and it’s beginning to appear that a good percentage of them are also felons. I scarcely give a s——er give an Obama about them.
.
Mental issue about finishing around the rim?
By the way, he is of italian descent, Italian immigrants to Argentina. Not sure whether it is his parents or grandparents...
As might Luis Scola, Carlos Delfino, Andres Nocioni, and Fabricio Oberto... since they’re all Argentinian NBA players like Ginobili.
BTW Ginobili is Italian, as are 30% of the people of Argentina. Also, since we’re speaking of race, I bet most of the Dallas latinos have NO idea that Argentina is the whitest country in the Americas and with the pace of immigration to Europe may be the whitest country in the world. They killed all their indians and never had much need for slaves.
I remember a lot of people being upset when, IIRC, The Spurs traded Malik Rose. It's not that he was such a good player at that point. It was that everybody wondered who would lead the Team's Bible Study when they were on the road since if he left.
Ginobili’s value to San Antonio is heightened by the fact that as a Spanish-speaking Argentine, he is immensely popular in San Antonio’s Hispanic-rich market. (emphasis added)
_____________________________________________________
This is complete and utter bullsh!t
I live in San Antonio. I am the biggest Spurs fan ever. I daily follow the ins and outs of Manu Ginobili and the Spurs. And he is very popular - no doubt.
But not because he is a Spanish-speaking Argentine. But because he is a tremendoulsy talented man with lots of class.
But hey - if it makes some La Raza types feel better to glom onto his being Argentine, just so they can use this somehow to their racist advantages.... go for it.
If he'd only remember to lift up the seat first, he wouldn't have to worry about that!
Regards,
MA-NU GI-NO-BI-LI!!! The Spurs have never had a more exciting player to watch.
Although, I do think he looked better with long hair, he was smokin' hot! ; )
Also, just for fun:
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.