This can't be good for the Spurs: Ginobili beaten in 'knockout' by 13-year-old

Here’s our new intern, Josiah Schlatter. Giddyup.
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By Josiah Schlatter
Sometimes, fatherhood makes you take your focus off of the things that earn you millions and millions of dollars. At least this was the case for Manu Ginobili, who’s spent the past few weeks tending to his newborn twin baby boys instead of honing the basketball ability that has treated him so well, or buying some Propecia for that bald spot that’s so obvious on telecasts.
The side effects of being a great father? Getting embarrassed by someone who probably judges someone by how many Silly Bandz they have around their wrists.

Manu Ginobili was back on a basketball court Tuesday for the first time since the Spurs were ousted from the playoffs last month. The results were not encouraging.

Making a short appearance at the Spurs’ youth summer camp at the University of the Incarnate Word, Ginobili — Olympic gold medalist, international icon and three-time NBA champion — lost a shooting contest called “knockout” to a 13-year-old camper named Anthony.

“I’m not good with long rests,” Ginobili said later, acknowledging his rust.

Photo of the slaughter in progress.
To be fair to Ginobili, knockout is a game where someone can be eliminated in the blink of an eye if they miss a shot and the person behind them swishes one. That’s why whenever I play I always try to make sure I have Paul from The Wonder Years shooting after me. If I ever befriend Dikembe Mutombo, knockout is the game we’ll be playing every day to boost my self-esteem.
Nevertheless, I’d like applaud Ginobili for stepping up and being a great father unlike some former athletes lately. I’m looking at you, Tiki Barber.

In the time since Phoenix swept the Spurs from the postseason, Ginobili has focused solely on the fruits of his new fatherhood — changing diapers, feeding hungry mouths and generally being, in his words, “a very in-love dad.”

If he really loved his kids, he’d practice some basketball, too. Nobody wants a dad that can get beat by snot-nosed 13-year-olds.
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Ginobili’s summer more than diaper changes [San Antonio Express-News]