Sochan told us JV told him to come see him after the game, so he did. “We just had a polite exchange and, I was, I think, very joyful and, you know, the other person wasn't. He wasn't stable in that moment. So, something he has to work on.”

Imagine hearing 12 months ago that Luka Doncic and Trae Young would be traded for as many combined first-rounders as the Spurs got for Jakob Poeltl.

Lakers gold vs. Spurs black Fiesta is the most aesthetically pleasing uniform matchup in basketball, for my money.

This should be fixed now. Apologies.

"A doctor at the scene attempted to help the woman who was shot, but was kept away by federal agents. When an ambulance finally arrived, it was blocked from reaching her by law-enforcement vehicles, and paramedics had to reach her on foot. The woman has died." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Great day to have functioning eyes and a working brain

Here are two key frames of the video. (Changed language on the first notation.)

Victor Wembanyama was talking postgame about the Spurs' frustrating tendency to play down to the competition: “The good this is, we can match up with everybody and look anybody in the eye. The bad thing is, we look everybody in the eye.” We beat writers sure have missed the poetic son of a gun.

Just saw a commercial for the ex-first baseman running for Congress in my district. He chose to highlight a 2016 quote from MLB’s website. He left out the next part, though: His “significant place in Rangers history” is that they traded him for the guys who actually won.

There we go. That there’s a headline.

One example of how Grok is being used to target women. Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch being sexualised, degraded, and humiliated step-by-step by Grok. All the images accurately reflect the prompts provided.

I’m sure others have noted this but if any screengrab from a TV commercial during a football game can summarize an era, this is it.

The FIFA Peace Prize used to mean something

Also, when reporters start talking about the chatbots this way, it is imperative to remind them they are basically asking a toaster for comment. They should be a lot more embarrassed about this than they currently are. “Grok told CNN…” no it didn’t. You typed stuff into an unreliable calculator.

Spurs are now 4-0 against teams that played last June.

The Spurs are optimistic Victor Wembanyama's latest stint on the injured list will be a short one. "We’re encouraged by what we’ve seen,” Mitch Johnson said today in Indy. Devin Vassell's return, meanwhile, might not be as swift. Spurs injury updates here: www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs...

Feels like a bunch of folks had "Join Bluesky" as their New Years Resolution. And they pulled it off already! If you're new (or been around) and looking for good NBA/WNBA/basketball accounts to follow, here's some. Just follow them all! go.bsky.app/FGmgtea

All right folks, looks like I'm going to spend some more time over here. My account over at the other place got hacked and -- to the surprise of no one -- there's zero indication anyone over there is doing anything about it. Elon makes the world a worse place every single day.

The premise of this commercial, which runs all the time, makes zero sense. The man is wearing a Florida shirt. Why would he need to deny cheering for Florida? Also, who would fear for their safety amid the notoriously tough crowd in … an airport lounge?

As was probably to be expected, Victor Wembanyama did not travel with the Spurs to Indiana and will not play Friday against the Pacers. An MRI conducted today showed no ligament damage. The team remains hopeful for a swift recovery, but he is out for the near term.

So much excitement about teams not scoring. It’s the FIFA College Football Playoff.

Victor: "I was this close to coming back in. They had to hold be back." Going to do more testing tomorrow on his lower leg, but initial prognosis seems optimistic.

julian champagnie's contract by % of the salary cap: '23-24: 2.21% '24-25: 2.13% '25-26: 1.94% '26-27: 1.81% just a monster heist by the spurs.

This is the third year in a row Julian Champagnie has been one of the best contract values in the league. Next year will be the fourth.

Not a fun week for hyperextensions.

The voice in my head every time I see a college football tweet about Ruben Bain: youtu.be/ZrOw6pN6EBo?...

Carter Bryant blew it twice on national TV. Then he told me how sure he is that this will help make him “one of the best players in the world.” Gift link to a column about one of my favorite conversations of 2025, with a rookie who finds hope even in his misses: www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs...

I realize this is not the most important point here but anyone who waxes nostalgically about the “optimism of ‘90s America” clearly did not have access to my Sony Walkman.

Fun/weird fact: The Spurs have beaten the Thunder three times, in *three* cities (Vegas, San Antonio, OKC) in 13 days. Also: Thunder have now lost consecutive games (both to Spurs) for the first time this season. OKC hadn't lost back-to-back games (reg season or playoffs) since April 4-6.

Christmas honking alert.

Making zero assumptions or insinuations about a playoff series but: It is truly wild how well a team that has missed the playoffs six years in a row appears to match up against a juggernaut that until recently was on pace for the best record in NBA history.

Got through 13 minutes before it was taken down. More horrifying than I’d expected. No wonder they couldn’t get anyone on the record offering a justification. There is none.

A journalism rule that ordinary folks don’t understand is that if someone declines to give you their side of the story, you cannot write about that person. This is why nobody covered the OJ trial.

NANTZ: “A minute left, Chiefs down six. These are the moments Mahomes lives for." ROMO: “Absolutely, Jim." (Producer passes over a promo card) NANTZ: “Will watching the rest of this game make your children trans? Stay tuned for a new ’60 MINUTES’ to find out."

A reminder that in Dec., Spurs great Tim Duncan’s 2:1 match in honor of his No. 21 will transform any $1 donated to the San Antonio Food Bank into 21 meals. “This match opportunity could not have arrived at a more crucial moment,” Food Bank CEO Eric Cooper said. safoodbank.org/tim21challen...

Ziggy got a bad rap as a character. These were eight of the funniest seconds in the whole series.

I was just at the gym watching a The Wire s2 episode, and came back to this awful news. Ransone was incredible in that season — so believable as the screw-up determined to live down to everyone's low opinion of him. And great in almost everything else I saw him do. RIP.

Small chair. Big shoes.

Asked Devin Vassell what it means that Wemby looks like this while easing his way back on a minutes restriction: “The league’s in trouble.”

How Spurs' Dylan Harper is getting a head start on playoff education www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs...

Yes. Each player can count a maximum of two games in the 15-19 minute range.

Handling some salt-of-the-earth beat work in Atlanta tonight. Mitch Johnson says Wemby “had some minutes left over” last night and should be good for a few more tonight. Still coming off the bench, though.

More than 300 Spurs defeats into his career, Keldon Johnson learned something new Tuesday about losing. It hurts worse when you expect to win. Heartbreak can’t happen without hope. That’s why heartbreak is one of the best things the Spurs take from the Cup. www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs...

Wembanyama’s grandmother passed away in France this morning, per a team source.

An emotional Victor Wembanyama cut his post-game media session short after informing reporters he “lost somebody” close to him today.

Spurs plus-12 with Wemby on the bench and minus-6 with Wemby on the floor, proving again that nobody knows anything.

A pregame column today on trash talk, “ethical basketball,” and Victor Wembanyama’s charming refusal to fake humility. www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs...

That idea at the end of setting an example is really powerful. You know how you have friends you admire, learn from, emulate, almost wish you were? Or public figures who show you how it’s done? Basically, virtue signalling. It’s really important. bsky.app/profile/will...

But it’s not surprising at all! His complete disinterest in faking humility is one of his more charming qualities. It works for him partly because of the French accent. But also, of the hundreds of questions I’ve asked him, I’ve almost never thought he gave an answer he didn’t believe.

Pictured: Two famous French towers.