A Bunch of Whiners?

I was reading through comments posted on a prominent sports website when I was shocked to see that people considered the Spurs, my dear boys, whiners. As in accredited Whinery Vintage 1999 complete with Cheese and Grapes. What are these people seeing that I am not? Have I become blinded to the truth? Has my inexplicable dating preference for obnoxiously complainy types been transferred to my choice of Basketball Team? Was that how they wooed me away from the hometown team?

I think not, because I grew up in Portland, and a sorrier bunch of whiny, excuse-making petty-class criminals you would never find. And sadly, that also very closely matches some of my earliest dating habits. No, surely if this was the reason, I would still be supporting the Trailblazers, who have the "treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen" fan relationship down pat.

Plus, the David Robinson, my second favorite Spur of all time, was hardly a whiner. You just don't learn that at the Naval Academy.

This does not preclude the possibility that the current crop of player could be whiny brats. So I thought, here in the season of the Technical Crackdown (not as roll-y-off-the-tongue as Year of the Boar, but the title none the less), there would be proof of the claims. I checked the stats. In the top 50 for the regular season of Technicals, Rasheed Wallace tops the list, almost as a matter of rote. He does have a reputation to uphold. Second is Amare Stoudemire, with a total of 15. Tied for 9th is Dirk Nowitski, with 12. The Only Spur in the Top 50, Tim Duncan, comes in tied for 15th with 9, I have Have to argue that 1 of those, if not 2, came in the highly dubious Joey Crawford incident in the end of the season.

In fact, of the teams still in the Playoffs, the Technical Crown can be awarded to Detroit Pistons, with 4 players, Wallace, Richard Hamilton, Antonio McDyess, and Chauncey Billups all in the top 50. Next up is Phoenix with 3: Bell, Stoudemire, and Nash. Please note, this is strictly a quantitative analysis of the number of players on the team who are in the list. It is not even per team who has the most. I can't calculate that and still look like I am working. New Jersey, Utah, and Golden State all have 2 players on the list, Chicago, Cleveland, and San Antonio only 1.

I know this doesn't tell you why the Technicals were called, or the relative validity and severity of the call. But, IF we were to take it as a quick peek into relative whine levels, well then, the Spurs aren't doing to badly now.

Another thing I can't do at work is watch each game to measure whine. But, I call on my voluminous memory, and recall that the Spurs do speak with the referees quite a bit. Is all communication with Refs whining? No. It could be lobbying, discussion, clarification, a joke, a compliment on hair, a review of the latest hot album to drop.

I propose that the Spurs are masterful lobbyists. On par with the D.C. Tobacco Lobby. They get the earnest look of serious consideration and furrow their brows and use well articulated hand-gestures. They balance claiming fouls with contesting them. When Manu flops (I adore him, but he does flop), and doesn't get the call, he gets up. And the on-court behavior matches the off-court. You don't find them shooting off at the mouth between games. It may have won them a couple of games, but it sure didn't win all of them.

This may be a skill set that others around the league don't admire. Probably because they don't have it. But it is a skill. So suck it up. Don't embarrass yourself by whining about it. They would be just too much.