The San Antonio Spurs won their fourth championship last night. It was their 3rd in 5 years and their 4th in 9. While I'll always be a Rockets man first and foremost, I absolutely love this Spurs team. Even if they weren't winning titles, I'd respect that they're a classy organization and play the game the way the game's supposed to be played. Anya remarked last night that in '99, she would have been happy with the one NBA Finals trophy; she almost doesn't know what to do with herself now that they have FOUR!

Just to get this out of the way, here are some thoughts from last night's game:

- Parker deserved the Finals MVP, but this game would not have been won without Duncan contributing perhaps the finest two minutes of defensive/rebounding basketball he's ever displayed. With about 5 minutes left, the Spurs had finally retaken the lead, but were also in the midst of a bit of a shooting slump. I don't know the offical stat, but it seemed that SA had the ball for one continuous two-minute stretch due to the awesome rebounding of Duncan. The Spurs would miss; Duncan would get the rebound. The Spurs would miss again; Duncan would get another rebound. The Spurs would score; Duncan steals the ball from LeBron James. The Spurs would miss a shot; Duncan saves the ball by diving out of bounds and keeping the ball alive. It was magnificent basketball.

- It's too bad Ginobili had such a poor game 3 or else last night's clutch performance may have been enough for him to be an MVP candidate in his own right. As much as Ginobili may give me a headache, the man is clutch. That inbounds run down the sideline as time (almost) expired was perhaps the most heads up thing he's ever done and *almost* makes up for that stupid game 7 foul last year against Dallas...almost.

I'm not sure where this Spurs team ranks against the all-time greats. The 80's Lakers and 60's Celtics were obviously better, but I think that the Spurs would compete with some of those 80's Celtics and 90's Bulls teams. I'm not saying that either team would definitely win or lose in a series, but I think that the Spurs could give either of those teams a run for their money.

The Spurs are a dynasty, but I mean that in the little "d" sense of the word. They are the most dominant team in all of sports for the past decade, and when you couple that with 4 titles, they fit the textbook definition of "dynasty" to me. The big "d" dynasties are reserved for teams such as the early Celtics (13 Championships in 20 years), 80's Lakers (5 Championships and 9 appearances in 11 years), and 90's Bulls (6 Championships in 8 years).

What's amazing to me, is that if the West hadn't been so stacked with great teams, the Spurs could have added a couple more trophies to their collection. Had Derek Fisher not made his .04 second shot, it's not hard to imagine that Spurs team not winning that series and advancing to the Finals. Had Ginobili not committed the boneheaded game 7 foul on the Mavs last year, it's not hard to imagine them advancing to the Finals yet again.

With that out of the way, it's now time to admit that the New England Patriots and San Antonio Spurs are the model franchises in professional sports. Both teams are staffed with hungry players that know their individual roles and almost religiously put the team first. Like New England Quarterback Tom Brady, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili purposely earn less than they could all so they can bring in new players to supplement the team. I still hate NE, especially Tom Brady, but they are the ideal models of professional sports teams.

Tony Parker won the MVP trophy last night, a much deserved award due to his stellar play in last night's game, but the Spurs have about 3 or 4 deserving MVP's. Bruce Bowen effectively rendered LeBron James a moot point. Manu Ginobili brings a much needed energy off the bench. Tim Duncan is just solid. This series put Tony Parker into the conversation of the best point guard playing today. Steve Nash still takes the cake, but given another couple of years, Tony Parker has the potential to become the player Nash currently is. And last time I checked, Tony Parker has three rings to Nash's zero.

Their Big 4 are outstanding, but it's the role players that really make the Spurs go. Jacque Vaughn usually put in consistent play when Parker was out. When Finley couldn't score, he'd contribute with a well-time steal. It was nice seeing Michael Finley earn a ring. He's been such a consistent player for so long, and you can tell that he BADLY wanted a ring, that it was nice to see him finally take the stage as an NBA champion. Fabricio Oberto? The main difference between the Cavs and Spurs, well, the main difference outside of the big 4, is that the Spurs have players like Fabricio Oberto who can score 5 crucial points late in the 4th quarter. Oberto is probably my bench player MVP. Manu doesn't count. He's a starter who comes off the bench.

Robert Horry rates his own paragraph. The man has seven rings (2 with Houston, 3 with the Lakers, 2 with SA). I wonder if his ring count and the contributions he's made to his teams is enough to get him Hall of Fame consideration. I think a case could be made. It's really weird how you don't really see much from Big Shot Rob until the playoffs. But once the playoffs role around, it's like he flips a switch and becomes the player he used to be.

The main difference between the first championship and the fourth championship is that the window between winning the title and wondering whether you can win it again shrinks considerably. Anya and I have already discussed whether we think SA can win it all again next year. It's way too early to start taking things too seriously, but I think SA has to be in the conversation. The West is PACKED next year and Dallas, Phoenix, Houston, Utah, LA Lakers, and Denver are only going to get better. The Spurs need to fill in a couple of holes and could stand to add another player or two, but I think SA has just as good a shot as anybody.

But that's talk for a different day. In the meantime, Anya and I have a parade watching trip to San Antonio to plan.

-Matt