Lauren Sokol

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that all fans attending the season opener vs. the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. will receive commemorative NBA Championship rings courtesy of H-E-B and BBVA Compass.  Prior to the game, the defending NBA Champions will unveil their fifth championship banner and Spurs players and coaches will receive their NBA Championship rings.  The pre-game ceremonies will start at approximately 6:30 p.m.  Fans are encouraged to arrive early for the pre-game festivities and doors to the AT&amp;T Center will open at 5 p.m. on opening night to accommodate the earlier start time.

The commemorative NBA Championship rings feature the iconic Spur logo on the front and the team’s 2013-14 regular and post-season records above the NBA logo on the left panel.  The opposite panel is etched with a replica of the Larry O’Brien trophy with five studs, representing each of the Spurs’ five championships.  The giveaway is limited to one commemorative ring per ticketed guest and is ONE SIZE ONLY for all.

The regular season opener will also feature a special performance by the Spazmatics, the popular 80's new wave cover band, at WARM UP and OVERTIME.  WARM UP, the official Spurs pregame party at the Bud Light Courtyard allows fans a chance to skip the lines so they can enjoy live music, food trucks, interactive activities and Bud Light Spurs Hour drink specials.

In the spirit of the season, masters of the macabre from the 13th Floor, San Antonio's legendary haunted house, will decorate the Bud Light Courtyard at WARM UP with ghost, ghouls, zombies and other creatures that go bump in the night.  The Halloween theme will continue at halftime with a performance on center court by the Silver Dancers, Team Energy and some scary special guests.

Following the final buzzer on opening night, fans can also enjoy live music and drink specials at OVERTIME in the Bud Light Courtyard.  OVERTIME is the place to be following Spurs home games and is held after every Thursday, Friday and Saturday game at the AT&amp;T Center.

To guarantee authentic tickets to all Spurs home games, fans should purchase tickets directly from Spurs.com, ATTCenter.com or the AT&amp;T Center box office.   NBATickets.com , launched by the NBA and Ticketmaster, also offers NBA fans a safe, secure place to buy and sell tickets for upcoming games, including available tickets from the primary market and tickets being resold by other fans.  Consumers will be able to buy with confidence, as Ticketmaster will validate every ticket purchased on the league’s site to guarantee authentic NBA tickets.

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Spurs to Give Away Commemorative Championship Rings on Opening Night Courtesy of H-E-B and BBVA Compass

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have waived guard John Holland.
 Holland, who was signed by San Antonio on Sept. 25, did not appear in either of the Spurs first two preseason games. San Antonio’s roster now stands at 18

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Spurs Waive John Holland

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Danny Green Meets Fans in Istanbul

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Spurs NBA Cares Basketball Clinic - Istanbul

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Spurs @ Alba Berlin - 10/8/14

Tom Rowe believes. He believes in a team that lost more games than it won last season. He believes in a core of players who failed to make the playoffs. He believes in a spectacular turnaround for the Rampage.

“We don’t just expect to make the playoffs,” said Rowe, the second-year Rampage coach. “We expect to go deep into the playoffs.”

He means it, and he has his reasons. The Rampage return as many as 19 players from last season, including right wing Bobby Butler, who led the team with 47 points (22 goals, 25 assists), and left wing Quinton Howden, who recorded 27 points in 59 games for the Rampage and 10 for the Florida Panthers in 16 games.

Centers Vincent Trocheck (16G, 26A) and Drew Shore (6G, 26A) also return. Four blue chip prospects will join them: defenseman Jonathan Racine, forwards Garrett Wilson and Logan Shaw and goalie Michael Houser.

Rowe’s optimism, though, is rooted in more than new and returning talent. He gets to start the season with training camp and players buying into his system. That wasn’t the case last year.

Eleven games into the 2013-14 season, Rowe became coach. He inherited a team on Nov. 8 that had lost six games, a team that had lost its coach, Peter Horachek, to the Florida Panthers. Rowe spent the first few weeks observing players, practice habits and the system of the previous coach.

He noticed the players were not practicing hard. The pace was too slow. Rowe introduced his own system, a set of new demands, and the Rampage responded.

“They needed to learn to push themselves,” he said. “I told them, ‘You go fast. You go hard. The only way to get in good shape is to practice at game speed.’ Then all of a sudden you saw guys not pacing themselves. They put in 45 minutes of hard work. It took one month to get them to practice right. It took another month to get them to do it consistently.”

As January turned into February, the results showed on the AHL ice. The Rampage completed the best Rodeo Road Trip in franchise history -- 7-2-0-1 -- and excitement grew. Then the Panthers began calling up players and the team lost momentum. The Rampage finished the season 30-37-3-6 and failed to make the playoffs.

At the end of the season, Rowe took time to learn from his own mistakes. Exit interviews indicated players embraced the new intensity and fast pace of practice. But they also believed Rowe came down too hard at times. Though it went against his nature, Rowe decided to pull back.

Now Rowe has an entire training camp to prepare his team. “We’ve got a very good foundation,” he said.

The first preseason game offered a promising glimpse. Butler scored two goals and goalie Dan Ellis had 24 saves on 27 shots to propel the Rampage past the Oklahoma City Barons, 4-3, Saturday at the AT&amp;T Center.

“Bobby came back in great shape,” Rowe said. “Hopefully, he gets a chance to get called up to Florida. But he’s focused on here.”

Rowe is especially pleased with his veteran leadership: older players pushing younger players and holding them accountable. A favorite is defenseman Greg Zanon, whom Rowe says coached less experienced teammates in the locker room last season.

“We know the work ethic we need,” Zanon said. “We know the system we are playing and what Tom wants for us. Guys are going to be prepared to push right from the beginning, No more feeling out process. We know what to expect. … We are going to go ‘guns-a-blazin.’”

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Optimism Soars

Spurs in Istanbul
by Bill Schoening | October 12, 2014

After an overnight flight following the Alba Berlin game, the Spurs had a day to rest before returning to practice and preparing for preseason game number two in Istanbul, Turkey.

As part of the NBA Cares program, The Spurs also will spend some time with Special Olympics athletes from Turkey.

During their downtime, they can enjoy the sights of the city where East meets West- Istanbul.

Touring Berlin
by Bill Schoening | October 7, 2014

While the mornings here in Berlin have been filled with Spurs practices, player interviews and reports for Spurs.com, the afternoons have been jam packed with besichtigung (sightseeing).  My great grandfather Rudolph Schoening sailed to the States from Hamburg on a ship called the Minerva in 1884, and returned after his wife Gottlieben died in 1927.

Since Rudolph's death in 1934, no one from our family had been back to Deutschland.  I wanted to make sure I took in all I could during my time here.

A few of the highlights include the Famous Brandenburg Gate, a climb to the top of the dome of the Berlin Cathedral, a stroll down the Spree River, and a visit to the Holocaust Museum.  Today I stood in the spot where the Reich Chancellory once stood. This is where Adolph Hitler holed up in his bunker before committing suicide on April 30th, 1945.

Another highlight was reading the messages of hope and peace written on portions of the Berlin Wall, which once separated the free West from the Communist East.

Many friends have asked me about the food, beer and wine and while gastronomically this city is very good, it's rich history, architecture, and natural beauty are what has appealed to me the most. It has been ausgezichnet (excellent)!

Starting Overseas Comes Natural for the Spurs
by Bill Schoening | October 6, 2014

It has been well documented that Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich embraces diversity. From his appreciation of food and wines from around the world to the various countries represented on his team's roster, Pop clearly savors the opportunity to experience different cultures. That's why opening the preseason in Berlin and Istanbul is just fine with him.

"We always enjoy taking a trip like this if possible" says Pop."It builds camaraderie, and we get to experience what each city offers, culturally and gastronomically."

The players also enjoy the chance to bond on the road and take in the sights. During our first night in Berlin, I came across Boris Diaw, Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter at a portion of the Berlin Wall. They were reading about the history of the wall, which divided East Berlin (controlled by the communists) from the free market West.

Ginobili, who is fluent in Italian, Spanish and English, was anxious to learn more about the German capital, "I always look forward to walking around different cities and taking in their history and culture."