FanHouse Spurs

Looking back at the first week of the 2009-10 NBA season, someone missed a golden opportunity for a Halloween costume.

Wouldn't it have been great if two Lakers fans had gone as Shannon Brown and Josh Powell with the fan who was Brown holding onto a rim (a Nerf rim would have been fine) and sitting on Powell's shoulders?

"Whatever do you mean, Professor Stinkface?"

You know what I mean. Video after the jump.

When it comes to protecting yourself from rabies, it seems as if hand sanitizer won't cut it.

San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili -- three-time NBA champ, Olympic gold medalist, NBA All-Star, exterminator extraordinaire and scourge of PETA -- has been required to get shots for rabies, the San Antonio Express-News reports, because of his quick reflexes and a chance encounter with a bat on Saturday night:

Ginobili took four shots Monday in the hip and arm, and he is scheduled for four more such sessions over the next month. "It was pretty funny at the time," Ginobili told the San Antonio Express-News. "Now it's not. I got like a million shots for rabies."

We're just a week into the season, so don't get mad if your team isn't where you might have expected. It's just that if we go by what we've actually seen, as opposed to what's been predicted, then this is for the most part where teams should fall based on their early performances. But if you're offended by the spot your favorite team holds, fear not: they likely have 79 regular season games remaining to right the ship.

Manu Ginobili had a recent encounter with a bat at a recent Spurs game, the video of which has since been broadcast on almost every blog you can find. And in commenting sections on these sites across the world, people joked about how PETA would respond.

And now they have -- and it is exactly what you would expect from them.

Manu Ginobili is many things: versatile guard, lover of alfajores, and now you can add "bat swatter" to his growing list of roles. As the Spurs and Kings played on Halloween night, someone had the bright idea to release a live bat at the AT&T Center. The bat tried to dive into Kevin Martin on a breakaway layup, and later delayed the game by flying low around the court before fluttering by Ginobili.

Bad move, bat. (Update: PETA Responds, Comparing Manu to Michael Vick. Seriously.)

You're going to have to forgive us here in the early season for a bit. If we don't report on trends that are developing, we're ignoring what we're seeing. If we do tell you what we see, we're over-emphasizing games that are so young in this season that they can't even legally get into a screening of New Moon.

Basically, that's my way of imploring you to remember that we do take these things with a gigantic mountain of salt, but here's what happened. And trust me, the Spurs are going to want to brush this one off.

FanHouse previews a player to watch from each NBA team in advance of the 2009-10 season.

It would be facile and possibly inaccurate to anoint Manu Ginobili as the most important comeback player of the 2009-10 season. After all, the success of the Wizards and Timberwolves surely depend on the health of Gilbert Arenas and Al Jefferson respectively more than the Spurs depend on Ginobili.

But -- while I would never endorse a bias of hype toward the greatest teams in the league -- it should be noted that Gil isn't going to take D.C. to parade level, and even Big Al won't land the Pups in the playoffs. Ginobili, though, could plausibly push his Spurs to the very top of the league. If Manu feels right, this is a legit championship team.

So, does Manu feel right?

FanHouse previews all 30 NBA teams in advance of the 2009-10 season.

Brothers and sisters, repent your sins. Cry unto the Lord that he will be merciful and spare you rebounds and point differential. Lo, the Spurrian nightmare has indeed returned, and the Earth will quake when they cry vengeance.

That's a fancy way of saying, "Dude, the Spurs are really good -- again. Check yourself."

Looking at how the Spurs responded from their most embarrassing playoff exit since the turn of the century is inspiring. To see a team's owner commit to paying the luxury tax in a massive economic downturn is impressive. To see a management group aggressively pursue a multi-positional upgrade through trading older established assets is what every team's fans want to see. And to see a team take a flyer on a player passed up by every other league thanks to injuries makes you happy to watch basketball be played.

It's also downright terrifying.

Free-agent swingman Keith Bogans will sign a one-year contract with the San Antonio Spurs, sources confirmed Monday to FanHouse.

Bogans, a solid defensive player, is being looked at as an heir apparent to Bruce Bowen, who retired recently after being San Antonio's perimeter defensive stopper throughout much of the decade. The Spurs had been grooming Ime Udoka for that role, but they are electing not to bring him back as a free agent after he played two seasons with the team.

Bogans, who will sign a guaranteed deal worth the minimum of $1.03 million, last season averaged 5.6 points for Orlando and Milwaukee. He has a 7.5 average over six seasons.

Bylaws have been checked. Rules have been scrutinized.

And, yes, it has been determined the West must start a center in February's All-Star Game in Dallas.

So, gentlemen, lace up your high tops. The race to be the starting center for the West is as wide open as the Yukon Territory.