Monday in Malaga was much like the rest of the Grizzlies’ time in Spain. Just a small part of the day was about basketball. The Griz had what was described as their most “spirited” practice in the morning. Perhaps one reason was because everyone participated. Stromile Swift returned from a sore left knee and appeared active. Coach Marc Iavaroni cautioned that the Griz would use “odd” rotations in its preseason debut Tuesday night against Unicaja Malaga because the coaches are still evaluating individuals as well as lineup combinations.

That said, “We’re going to try to win the game,” said Iavaroni, who took time out Sunday to watch Unicaja Malaga play MMT Estudiantes (the Grizzlies’ opponent Thursday in Madrid). “We want to make sure we play solid defense and not foul. Those guys are physical and they’ll try to get you into a physical game. We can’t fall for that.”

Video Postcard
Pau Gasol talks about being in his native Spain, Tuesday’s game and the team’s improvement.

Sneak preview
Game announcer Eddy Vidal previews the Grizzlies-Unicaja Malaga matchup. Vidal lives in Barcelona and has worked with the NBA since 1988. He was a local organizer for the 1992 Olympics.

Odds and Ends

* The Griz left practice in freshly designed gear, and stopped to take a team photo. Policia stopped traffic so that the Griz could pose in front of a large fountain located in the middle of one of downtown’s major boulevards.

The Point Guards

The Spaniards



* At roughly 6 p.m. local time, the Griz players, coaches and staff walked the streets of Malaga as crowds of people jockeyed for position in order to take pictures and get autographs. The mob was pretty well behaved, mainly because there was plenty of security to protect Mayor Francisco de la Torre Prados and the Grizzlies. Sports Minister Elias Bendondo also attended.






* I confess. I confess. My co-host on “The Morning Rush,” Peter Edmiston, unknowingly planted the idea of using video on the blog. Peter captured video with his still camera during Griz media day and posted it on www.sports56whbq.com. Once I figured out that my digital camera was capable of capturing video, I decided to go nuts. Here’s more proof that I’m pulling triple duty –- calling into my morning radio show, getting images and doing lots of interviews (below is my sorry attempt to speak Spanish with Unicaja Malaga’s Carlos Cabezas).

Talking to Sports56’s “The Morning Rush” from a payphone in Malaga