Jeff McDonald: Meet the new guy
http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/courtside/archives/2007/10/jeff_mcdonald_m.html
For most people, Spurs media day was a lot like the first day of school. Everybody knew everybody. Everybody – players, coaches, media members – took some time to reconnect after a lazy summer vacation.
Not me. I was the new kid. Well, me and Ime Udoka.
As some of you might already know, Johnny Ludden – our esteemed Spurs beat writer for the past nine seasons – has left the paper to move to Los Angeles and work for yahoo.com. It was the biggest free-agent signing to hit the L.A. basketball scene since Shaq.
Johnny will be a national NBA reporter for yahoo. I’m the poor sap left to try and fill his Shaq-like shoes here. I will be proud to be able to fill even one of them.
At this time last month, I was covering the University of Texas for this paper. A little more than two weeks ago, I was in Orlando, covering UT’s game against Central Florida. That’s when I got the call that would immediately change my life, not to mention my future travel plans.
Cancel that Oct. 6 trip to Dallas for Texas-OU. Book a trip to Dallas Oct. 9 for the Spurs preseason opener.
That’s why Monday at the Spurs practice facility was such a surreal day for me. (Incidentally, it’s almost certain that Gregg Popovich was in a infinitely better mood Monday morning than the coach I used to cover, Mack Brown. Check this space later for more on Pop unplugged).
Here’s hoping for a quick transition from UT to the Spurs. I’m confident Ime and I will be able to find our way around eventually.